By ADAM ADKINS and EDDIE DANIELS
LAKELAND The goal put forth by Gulf’s Mike Calafiore is very simple: Do better than last season. And if his third period pin of Jesuit’s Doug Holder in the first round of the state finals is any indication, his focus appears to be intact.
“Starting off that way is great,” Calafiore said following the victory. “I have three more guys left until I’m a state champ.”
That dream was dashed last season when Calafiore, then a junior, suffered a 10-5 loss in the Class 1A 119-pound finals. That loss has stayed with the senior and has been a driving force this season.
“We told him, if he’s going to win this thing, you gotta force your style,” Gulf coach Travis DeWalt said. “That’s going after the kid and not playing catch up and it looks like he was focused out there.”
Instead of a week full of physical preparation leading into Thursday’s competition, DeWalt focused in more on the mental aspect of the tournament.
“We did more mental preparation than anything,” DeWalt said. “A kid’s not going to get too much more conditioning in three days. We just wanted to make sure he was ready mentally and that he was focused.”
Also advancing from the group of 14 Pasco County are: Calafiore, Tim Longnecker (Gulf), William Bentley, Travis Tindell (Hudson), Brian Rushing (Land O’ Lakes), Alex Turner, Eddie Ortiz (Wesley Chapel), Jimenez, Chance Finlay, Reyes Perez (Pasco), William Hand, Nick Hynes (Zephyrhills).
QUICK STUDY: One would think Pasco’s 103-pounder, Vidal Jimenez, was a veteran of the FHSAA state tournament. The junior slept well Wednesday night and the secured an 8-3 decision against Fort Lauderdale Archbishop McCarthy’s Ian Fitzpatrick Thursday.
A veteran he is not. This is his first season wrestling and in his debut, he impressed coach Mark DeAugustino enjoyed with more than the final score of his bout.
“What impressed me the most was at the end of the match, he didn’t even know the match was over,” DeAugustino said. “He got back down on the mat and was ready to wrestle another period. That tells me he’s ready to go.”
That win earned Jimenez (26-11) the remainder of Thursday off. He’ll face Tampa Baptist seventh grader Clark Glass (38-1) in today’s quarterfinals, which begins at 10 a.m.
“He wasn’t looking at no clock, he wasn’t looking at any score. The whistle blew, the period is over, lets go back and wrestle another one. When you got your kid thinking that way, you’re going to win some matches.”
NEED A REVERSAL: Bloomingdale coach Donald Peek said Day 1 of the tournament has always gone well the past few years. Day 2, however, is another story.
Last year, both Austin Figari and Kyle Paladini won their opening-round matches but lost the next two. Three of the Bulls’ four state qualifiers – Paladini and brothers Chris and Austin Figari – won their first match Thursday, leaving Peek hoping for a reversal of fortunes heading into today.
“The second day has always been a challenge for us,” Peek said. “They’re hungry for it, so we’ll see what happens.”
There’s no questioning Paladini’s hunger, and he believes this year will have a different outcome.
“I feel really good about this tournament so far, a lot different than last year,” said Paladini, who scored a technical fall against Pembroke Pines Flanagan’s Keigan Stanley. “I’m a lot better this year, a lot stronger, so I feel I’ll do pretty good tomorrow.
“[I just have to] keep my head straight, more than anything. I know that I’m better than everyone else hear and I know that I can take them, so I’ve just got to keep that in my mind and wrestle hard. I’ve only got three matches left.”
THOSE WITH 1: Alonso’s Kurt Ivy (152), Chamberlain’s Patrick Spano (152), Riverview’s Darryl Dismus (135), Plant’s Clayton Bourassa (171), Tampa Baptist’s Clark Glass (103), Land O’ Lakes (140) Brian Rushing and Hillsborough heavyweight Allan Nunez all have something in common, as they are the lone wrestler representing their school in the state tournament.
Ivy, Spano, Dismus, Glass, Rushing and Nunez each shared something else in common Thursday: they won their first-round match.
While Bourassa was the lone member of the group to fall in his opening tilt, he bounced back with a win against Greg Rhoulhac of Fort Lauderdale Stranahan during wrestlebacks to stay alive in the tournament.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: If you were in The Lakeland Center at the start of Thursday’s matches and you blinked, you probably missed Brandon’s 112-pound sophomore Eric Grajales.
Grajales, last year’s Class 2A 103-pound state champ, pinned Palatka’s Robert Mohr in nine seconds into his first-round match.
“You probably won’t see any faster than that in the tournament,” Brandon assistant Mike Ferrario said.
HEAVYWEIGHT DOMINANCE: Four of the five heavyweight qualifiers from Hillsborough County won their opening round matches. Joining Hillsborough’s Nunez were Jesuit’s Paul Lazaro, Wharton’s Dino Cox and Middleton’s Moses McCray.
McCray, who finished fourth in Class 2A-Region 2 behind Nunez and Cox, scored an upset against Springfield Rutherford’s Kyle Starling, the 2A-Region 1 champion.
MORE OF THE SAME: While the county heavyweights had a strong showing, so did the 152-pound weight class, which was arguably the toughest in Hillsborough County.
Of the six 152-pound wrestlers from Hillsborough County in the state tournament, five advanced to the quarterfinals (Robinson’s Ruddy Santiago, Alonso’s Kurt Ivy, Brandon’s Keith Koziel, Bloomingdale’s Kyle Paladini and Chamberlain’s Patrick Spano).
A FOURTH INSTALLMENT?: Wharton’s Ben Krcmar and Armwood’s Ruben Perez, Hillsborough County’s top two 135-pounders, each won their opening-round match. The two have locked up three times this season, with Krcmar winning the last two (in the Hillsborough County championship and last week’s 2A-Region 2 final), Perez’s only two losses of the season.
The pair are on opposite ends of the bracket, meaning the first time they can meet would be in Saturday’s championship, should they advance that far.
INJURY REPORT: Boca Ciega’s Cordero Garrison, the team’s lone state qualifier, was taken off on a stretcher during his loser’s bracket match against Springstead’s Keith Hansen with what appeared to be a neck injury. However, Paul McLaughlin of the FHSAA said Garrison had minimal movement in his arms and legs before being transported to the hospital but there was no other update available.
The Shark made his Champions Tour debut in 2005 at the Senior British Open in Scotland. He finished third and then all but disappeared from the tour.
While many thought Norman would bring big-name recognition to the Champions Tour, instead, recently anyway, Norman’s made news as the other man in Chris Evert’s life.
Various health issues, thriving business ventures and an ongoing feud with PGA Commissioner Tim Finchem have led to Norman’s absence from the tour.
‘’I don’t think he really enjoys playing golf anymore because he doesn’t play that much,’’ Nick Price said. ‘’I mean, that’s my take on it. But, you know, I thought he may have played a little bit more.’’
If he could, Tom Watson would wear shorts on the golf course on Friday.
The cold front that moved through the area, bringing upper 50’s and low 60’s temperatures, is near tropical compared to the weather conditions in Watson’s hometown of Stilwell, Kansas.
‘’It’s going to be a cold week, but I’ve played in some cold weather before,’’ Watson said. ‘’It’s not as cold as where I live right now – 14.’’
Watson actually welcomes the weather elements, including wind. Last year’s final round, which featured 25 mph gusting winds, were ideal for the competitor that he is.
‘’You come off the golf course and you use all of your wits about you to play a round of golf and that gives you a lot more satisfaction on a windless day when you shoot a good score,’’ he said. ‘’You’re supposed to do that. On a hard-blowing day, when you shoot a good score on that day, then you’ve done something.’’
Mark O’Meara entered the media tent and proudly exclaimed “The rookie’s here.” He then added how great it is to turn 50 and have people calling you a rookie.
O’Meara, a two-time major championship winner on the PGA Tour and 1998 Player of the Year, is making his Champions Tour debut at the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am. He said he felt very welcome, with his fellow competitors calling him “rookie” all week.
He’ll take the playful jabs with the hope that this newest venture in his golf career pumps new life into his game, which admittedly has struggled recently.
“Anytime you do something new, it kind of gets the juices flowing,” O’Meara said.
The University of South Florida’s 2007 Big East football opener against West Virginia has been moved to Friday, Sept. 28, and will be televised by ESPN2. Kickoff will be 8 p.m. from Raymond James Stadium. The game originally was scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 29.
Both teams play the preceding Saturday, Sept. 22: USF hosts North Carolina and West Virginia hosts East Carolina.
USF also will play nationally televised contests at Auburn (Sept. 8, ESPN or ESPN2) and at Rutgers (Thursday, Oct. 18, ESPN).
USF 2007 schedule
Sept. 1 Elon
Sept. 8 at Auburn 7 p.m. (ESPN or ESPN2)
Sept. 22 North Carolina
Sept. 28 West Virginia* 8 p.m. (ESPN2)
Oct. 6 at Florida Atlantic
Oct. 13 UCF
Oct. 18 at Rutgers* 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Oct. 27 at Connecticut*
Nov. 3 Cincinnati*
Nov. 10 at Syracuse*
Nov. 17 Louisville*
Nov. 24 at Pittsburgh*
* Big East games
Q: I know that the NFL Draft is around the corner and soon it’ll be here and I keep seeing these mock drafts with the Bucs taking Calvin Johnson at No. 4. We’ve spent the last three drafts using the top pick on offense and it’s time that we look at the other side of the ball and take a franchise DE (Gaines Adams) with the pick simply because Simeon Rice is coming off a year with injuries and you never really know how that shoulder will truly heal. Also, Dewayne White’s a free agent and could walk if the money’s good and a starter’s job is promised, Greg Spires’ better days are behind him and he carries a cap number, and there’s nothing special about the depth at end. — Mike Cena, Houston
A: I couldn’t agree more.
Q: Do the Bucs have two draft picks in the second round from the McFarland trade? With four picks through the top 70 they should be able to land some talent and depth. — Joseph C. White, Port Charlotte
A: You are correct. They’ll have four of the first 70 picks. That should give them plenty of ammunition should they want to work a trade of some kind.
OK, maybe the headline is a little harsh. It wasn’t exactly a massacre, but the University of South Florida’s 70-53 loss to Syracuse on Valentine’s Day may have killed the Bulls’ Big East Tournament chances. At worst, it severely crippled them.
With four games remaining, USF (12-14, 3-9 Big East) is in 14th place with only the top 12 teams making the league tournament. The teams – Providence (5-5), UConn (5-6) and St. John’s (5-7) – right now holding down the final three spots are two wins ahead of USF, meaning the Bulls must pass at least one of those teams. And since USF has already lost to UConn and St. John’s, the Bulls would have to have one more league victory to get in the tournament over UConn or St. John’s.
So – if you’re still with me – the Bulls’ best shot (other than winning their final four games) is for Providence to lose out and USF to win two of its last four games, to pull even with the Friars at 5-11 for the 12th and final spot.
Providence has six games left – at Notre Dame tonight, St. John’s (Feb. 17), West Virginia (Feb. 20), Syracuse (Feb. 24), at USF (Feb. 28) and at St. John’s (March 4). If the Friars win just one of those, USF would have to win three of its final four games – and then that may not even be enough based on the plethora of tiebreakers.
USF coach Robert McCullum said before the season and numerous times in the past weeks, he felt USF needed six league wins to make the tournament. There’s a possibility now that may not even be enough.
CANN DEBUTS: Even though, it cost USF freshman Zaronn Cann a year of eligibility, Cann played 11 minutes against Syracuse, his first game action since injuring his knee Dec. 15, 2005 against Florida Atlantic.
Cann wasn’t bad offensively, scoring six points. Defensively, his inexperience showed, picking up four fouls in his brief time in the court.
“I thought he did a good job,” McCullum said. “He’s obviously limited in what he can do. When you’re only on the second team [during practice] you’re not getting a lot in terms of learning what’s going on, what you need to do, your timing, your rhythm. All things considered, I thought he did a good job.”
McCullum said it was Cann’s decision to play in the final five games and burn a year of eligibility. “He was adamant [about playing],” McCullum said. “He wanted to do what he could do to the help the team, which was admirable.’
CARRIER DOME SOUTH: Syracuse exactly wasn’t intimidated by the announced Sun Dome crowd of 6,292, especially since at least half were rooting for the Orange. It reminded me of the old Buccaneers, when visiting fans would outnumber Tampa Bay fans at Tampa Stadium. Wednesday’s game was the smallest crowd Syracuse had played in front of since 4,025 were on hand for SU’s visit to Miami in 2004, ironically also played on Valentine’s Day.
“There’s a lot of Syracuse people [here in Florida],” SU coach Jim Boeheim said. “I don’t know why they don’t stay in Syracuse, why they come here. It was a perfect day today [a high of 9 degrees] in Syracuse.”
ODDS AND ENDS: USF held Demetris Nichols, the Big East’s leading scorer coming off a career high 37 points Sunday against St. John’s, to only eight points. “They made it hard for him,” Boeheim said. “The last game [against St. John’s] he had 24 open shots and today he got two.” ... McCullum seemed a little miffed when asked by a Syracuse writer about Darryl Watkins scoring 17 points, nine more than his average. “Write how you want to write it,” McCullum said. “Do you want Watkins to get 17 or Nichols to get 30? I’ll take what happened tonight. I don’t think we lost the game on the defensive end.” ... In the past three games, the Bulls have been outscored by 21 (St. John’s first half), 30 (Louisville first half) and 16 (Syracuse second half). … Freshman Solomon Bozeman made his first start in six games, replacing Jesus Verdejo. Bozeman finished with six points, hitting two of three 3-pointers in 35 minutes. Verdejo missed all three shots and was scoreless in 14 minutes. ... Melvin Buckley and Kentrell Gransberry combined for 34 points, USF’s remaining eight players combined for 19.
Got a little more info on the Rays’ caravan stop in Orlando this weekend. The Rays will be downtown during lunchtime, passing out hot dogs around the Orange County Regional History Center. Later, they’ll head to the ESPN Club at Disney from 4-7 p.m. I’ve heard James Shields and Seth McClung will be on hand for the Friday leg but don’t know about any others.
Saturday, the Rays will have an autograph session at the Mall at Millenia. It will run from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. and those on hand will include Don Zimmer, Akinori Iwamura, Ty Wigginton, Delmon Young and Greg Norton. Broadcasters Dewayne Staats and Joe Magrane also will make the trip, as will the beloved mascot Raymond. In addition, tickets for the Rays’ series against the Rangers at Disney May 15-17 will go on sale Saturday at the Ticketmaster outlet in the FYE store at Mall at Millenia.
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Changing the subject completely, USA Today had an interesting story today about Jeff Niemann’s younger sister Emily, a former Baylor basketball standout.
FORT LAUDERDALE - Zach Taylor’s 60th minute goal broke a scoreless deadlock and propelled Tampa Prep into the Class 2A state championship with a 1-0 victory over Jacksonville Providence on Wednesday at Lockhart Stadium.
Despite dominating the match and out-shooting Providence 27-3, the Terrapins (26-3-2) were unable to produce a score until Taylor’s header. That goal was created when Tampa Prep striker Ryan Griffin took the ball to the corner flag and, despite being marked by two defenders, managed to loft a pass to the far post. That’s where Taylor had made his run and was waiting for the cross. From just outside the six-yard box, Taylor headed in the ball for the game’s lone goal.
‘’I noticed Griffin was down there at the flag right away and knew he could get the cross off,’’ Taylor said. ‘’I just made that run to the far post and thankfully, the ball got there for me.’’
Tampa Prep, the 2005 Class 2A champion, will face Delray Beach American Heritage in today’s final in Lockhart Stadium at 5 p.m. American Heritage, which advanced by defeating Maitland Orangewood Christian 5-4, was the team that knocked the Terps out of the state semifinals last season. Earlier this season, The Terps defeated American Heritage 2-1 in a tournament match.
Be prepared golf fans. Actor/comedian Bill Murray is about to turn the Outback Pro-Am upside down.
Peter Jacobsen predicts there will be a lot of laughing when Murray hits the TPC of Tampa Bay course on Friday. Don’t be surprised if you see him diving into sand traps or invading the crowd during play.
“Bill is one of those unique individuals that is, what you see is what you get,” Jacobsen said. “He’s very bright. He can talk on numerous subjects. He’s also one of the funniest people.”
And one other thing - the man who made a name for himself in the cult classic “Caddyshack” can play golf.
“Bill puts on a pretty good act, [but] he is a good golfer,” Jacobsen said. “Don’t let anybody kid you. He has a great swing. He grew up as a golfer. He’s had a low as probably a 1 or 2 handicap. He probably plays to an 8 or 9 now but that’s because he’s more interested in running or jumping into a bunker, rather than making a 5-footer for par.”
Former Florida State defensive back James Colzie, a defensive graduate assistant on Coach Bobby Bowden’s staff the last three seasons, has been hired as defensive backs/special teams coach at Valdosta State. At the end of last season, Colzie interviewed for a job on new Miami coach Randy Shannon’s staff and had an offer from Colgate to become the DBs coach.
When first-year Valdosta State coach David Dean took over last month for Chris Hatcher, who left to become coach at Georgia Southern, he received a call shortly afterward from former FSU linebackers coach Kevin Steele, now defensive coordinator at Alabama. Steele recommended Colzie for a job and that’s how he ended up at Valdosta.
“I was really impressed with James during his interview,’’ Dean said Wednesday. “We think he really fits in well on our staff.’’
GAINESVILLE — That funky sound you hear is Kool and the Gang’s “Celebration” getting cranked up by every college football coach in the country. The NCAA Football Rules Committee voted Wednesday to repeal rules 3-2-5 and 3-2-5e, which took away an average of 14 plays from each Division I-A football game last season.
To read more about the decision, check out Thursday’s Tampa Tribune or stay tuned to tbo.com.
Want to know why golfers routinely return to the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am?
It ain’t for the Bloomin’ Onions. It’s all about the TPC of Tampa Bay course.
“I always look forward to playing here,” said 2005 champion Hale Irwin. “I think it’s one of our better venues. It tests all of your skills. You know, all of it. The driver has to be working well, you have to hit good irons and you have to putt well.
“I’ve always felt like this course tests us as much or more than just about any other course we play on a regular basis.”
And of course, the food is great!
Following Tuesday night’s 63-57 loss to Georgia Tech, the Noles have four regular-season games remaining until the ACC Tournament in Tampa. Do they still have a shot at avoiding another trip to the NIT?
Yes, but barely. FSU (17-9, 5-7) probably needs to win three of its final four games to receive serious consideration for an automatic NCAA Tournament bid, which would be the Noles’ first trip to March Madness since 1998. Of those four games, all look winnable, but then again, in the rough and tumble ACC, all of them look losable as well.
FSU plays at Virginia on Saturday, at Maryland, at home against North Carolina State, and at Miami to close the regular season. Virginia appears to be the most difficult game to win on paper, but then again, FSU wasn’t supposed to lose at home to Georgia Tech on paper. The Yellow Jackets entered Tuesday’s game with a 17-game road losing streak.
For speculation’s sake, let’s say FSU wins three of its final four games and finishes 20-10. I’m guessing the Noles get in even if they flop at the ACC Tournament. Here’s why: They are the last team to defeat No. 1-ranked Florida, they handily defeated a Virginia Tech team that now has two wins over North Carolina, and while Duke has stumbled of late, FSU’s first win at Duke in school history came early enough in the season for the selection committee to notice. When FSU knocked off the No. 1 ranked Blue Devils at the end of last season, most already had the Noles pegged for the NIT.
Of course, trying to figure out how the NCAA Tournament selection committee awards automatic bids can be like trying to keep up with who the real father is of Anna Nicole Smith’s baby. So, the best advice we have for the Noles is to win as many games as possible until Selection Sunday.
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