This week’s signings and offers

Posted May 24, 2012 by Bill Ward

Updated May 26, 2012 at 10:52 AM

This week’s college football scholarship signings and offers for Hillsborough County players, as reported by the prep coaches:

Brandon: Junior linebacker Isaiah Harris received an offer from Tennessee State.

Robinson: Junior offensive/defensive lineman Bruce Hector (6-3, 270) was offered by Bowling Green.

Sickles: Junior defensive back Adekunle Olusanya (5-10, 200) received an offer from Western Michigan.

Tampa Bay Tech: Junior offensive lineman Donald Clarke (6-3, 270) signed to play at Division III Becker College in Massachusetts. Titans offensive lineman Caleb Tucker (6-4, 270) accepted a preferred walk on at USF. That’s a total of eight Titans headed to the next level from the 2011 squad, the most in the past decade. Meanwhile, defensive end Antonio Guerad, a junior, and offensive lineman Tyree St. Louis, just a freshman, received offers from Arkansas State.

Tampa Catholic: Junior wide receiver Zach Benjamin (6-4, 187) received an offer from Arkansas State.

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Shank out as Gulf boys hoops coach

Posted May 24, 2012 by Andy Villamarzo

Updated May 24, 2012 at 04:04 PM

Jeffrey Shank is no longer employed at Gulf High School and is out as boys basketball coach, Buccaneers athletic director Travis DeWalt confirmed Thursday afternoon.

“Jeffrey Shank is no longer employed at Gulf High School,” DeWalt said. “We’re looking to fill the position as soon as possible. That’s our time frame for hiring someone at this moment.”

DeWalt stated he has no further comments on the situation.

In Shank’s lone season as basketball coach, he led the Buccaneers to a 10-14 record, with the season ending in the Class 5A-District 8 quarterfinal loss to Ridgewood (62-55).

Shank was tabbed as the successor for Buck DeWitt after the 2010-2011 season when DeWitt was forced to step down due to health reasons.

Andy Villamarzo can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or follow him on Twitter at @andyvillamarzo.

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Be prepared for year’s busiest boating weekend

Posted May 24, 2012 by Frank Sargeant

Updated May 24, 2012 at 03:44 PM

Make sure your boat has all the required safety gear and that you have a designated skipper who stays clear of alcohol if you’re on the water this weekend – the FFWCC will have every available officer enforcing boating laws on the busiest boating weekend of the year.

The quarter-moon tides this weekend likely will result in “blah” fishing for species that feed mainly on strong current flows, including snook. On the other hand, slow tide movements are good for offshore bottom fishing, and mangrove snapper (AKA gray snapper) are biting really well. Good areas to try include the shoulder of the ship channel on both sides of the Skyway – weight a sardine with 4 ounces of lead and drop it to within a foot or two of bottom. The snapper you catch this way will be big ones, 3 pounds and up – the best eating in the sea.

For inshore action, the deeper grass flats are the place to find chunky trout – look for “kelp” grass at depths of 4-10 feet. This orangish grass is typically found from Port Manatee south and west toward the Gulf in hard bottom areas, and also holds black sea bass, including some big spawners – trout and seabass are readily caught on plastic tail jigs and swimbaits bounced off bottom. Live sardines are also a good bet to turn on bigger trout and, early in the day, noisy topwater plugs will do the job.

Tarpon are everywhere, but many skippers reported a weird bite the past week. Some think the fish may leave to go offshore to spawn early this year because of the quick climb in water temperatures – Gulf water is already 84 degrees, when the long-term average here is around 80. If the fish do depart, they’ll be back in a few weeks, and will head up inside Tampa Bay and Charlotte Harbor to “blackwater” areas where they can be caught on live threads or cut shad or mullet, as well as on DOA Baitbusters in 8-15 feet of water.

Tribune correspondent Frank Sargeant can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

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Train and O.A.R. added to summer concert series

Posted May 24, 2012 by Roger Mooney

Updated May 24, 2012 at 02:40 PM

Two more musical acts have joined the list of performers to take the stage at Tropicana Field this summer as part of the Rays Summer Concert Series.

Train returns for the second time and will perform at the conclusion of the Rays-Red Sox game on Friday, July 13.

O.A.R. will perform after the Rays-Athletics game on Friday, August 24. 

Other acts scheduled to perform are LL COOL J (June 2 vs. BAL); ZZ Top, 3 Doors Down and Gretchen Wilson (June 17 vs. MIA); Earth Wind & Fire (June 30 vs. DET); and The Wiggles (August 5 vs. BAL).

The concerts are free with the purchase of that date’s game ticket.  Fans can watch the concerts on the field by purchasing field access passes available at raysbaseball.com/concerts.

Train – July 13, Rays vs. Boston Red Sox, 7:10 p.m.
Formed in 1994 in San Francisco, Calif., Train is best known for their hit singles “Meet Virginia,” “Calling All Angels,” “Hey, Soul Sister” and most recently “Drive By.”  The band consists of lead vocalist Pat Monahan, drummer Scott Underwood and guitarist Jimmy Stafford.  Train has won three Grammy Awards, including Best Rock Song in 2002 and two Billboard Music Awards.  Their self-titled debut album was certified platinum while the song “Meet Virginia” became a Top 40 hit.  In 2001, Train released their single “Drops of Jupiter,” which remained in the Top 40 for nearly 40 weeks and helped their second album sell more than 3-million copies.  Train’s third album, My Private Nation went platinum largely due to their successful single, “Calling All Angels” which was the band’s third Top 20 hit.  In 2009, Train released “Hey, Soul Sister” from their album Save Me, San Francisco.  Train’s most recent album California 37 was released in early 2012 and their first single “Drive By” is currently climbing up the Billboard Top 100 charts.  “Drive By” marks Train’s third Hot 100 Top 10.

O.A.R. – August 24, Rays vs. Oakland Athletics, 7:10 p.m.
O.A.R. released their seventh studio album, King, in August 2011.  It debuted at No. 12 on the Billboard charts, making it their highest debut to date.  Since forming the band in 1996, O.A.R. has remained true to the basic principles of song writing and performing live for masses of faithful fans dating back to their start at Ohio State University.  They’ve produced several studio hits including “That Was A Crazy Game of Poker,” “Night Shift” and “Love and Memories,” which was performed at the MLB All-Star Home Run Derby in 2006.  King has a strong act to follow as 2008’s All Sides produced the band’s first ever certified platinum single “Shattered” and earned them a spot on performing songwriter’s list of the 100 Most Influential Independent Artists of the Past 15 Years.

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Report of Malcolm Glazer’s death a false Internet hoax

Posted May 24, 2012 by Ira Kaufman

Updated May 24, 2012 at 12:48 PM

A Twitter report early this morning that Tampa Bay Buccaneers owner Malcolm Glazer had died created a brief Internet firestorm and was denied by the Glazer family today.

Bucs co-chairman Joel Glazer said Thursday the online report that his father, who turns 85 on Friday, had died after a “massive stroke” was erroneous.

The tweet that sparked the flurry of online rumors was posted by a user identified as Danny McMoomis of Manchester, England, who wrote:

“CNN Reports from Tampa - Malcolm Glazer dies in hospital at 2am local time following 3rd massive stroke. #mufc #glazer #RIPMalcolmGlazer”

The Glazer family also owns Manchester United, the globally popular soccer team in the English Premier League. The Glazers have been unpopular owners with many Man U fans since taking over the team in 2005. Malcolm Glazer lives in Palm Beach, not Tampa.

Manchester United quickly confirmed to the BBC that rumors about Glazer’s death were incorrect. Joel Glazer reiterated that this morning.

No such report was made by CNN, but citing that trusted news source seemed to give the rumor extra legs and it was briefly the top trending topic in England on Twitter.

When the hoax was revealed, several Twitter users directed their ire toward McMoomis, who deleted the original post and later tweeted:

“Sorry, Malcolm. I understand this isnt the kind of interest you’re usually after. Forever in your debt.”

Malcolm Glazer suffered a pair of strokes in 2006 and his sons have taken over the day-to-day operations of the Bucs and Manchester United.

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USF baseball faces elimination game

Posted May 24, 2012 by Joey Johnston

Updated May 24, 2012 at 12:02 PM

CLEARWATER—Before the Big East Conference baseball tournament began, University of South Florida coach Lelo Prado talked about the importance of starting strong.

“You want to win the first game, then you want to win the second game,’’ Prado said. “You fall into that losers’ bracket and you’ve got to fight like crazy to get out of there.’‘

The Bulls are there now.

Following Wednesday night’s 7-2 loss against Connecticut, a team they swept during the regular season, the Bulls (34-21) meet the Pittsburgh Panthers (28-27) in an elimination game this afternoon at 5 at Bright House Field.

USF took two of the three regular-season meetings at Pittsburgh, dropping the opener 2-1, then winning 6-5 and 9-8 on April 13-15.

The Bulls will start senior right-hander Derrick Stultz (8-1), a second-team All-Big East selection. Stultz must pick up the team after left-hander Andrew Barbosa, a first-team All-Big East selection, was beaten by UConn in the tournament opener.

Stultz missed two full seasons due to elbow and shoulder injuries. Prado said Stultz has made a complete turnaround physically, mentally and academically.

“There were a lot of people who told me not to take a chance on Derrick from the get-go,’’ Prado said. “There were a lot of people who thought I should just get rid of him. But this season, he has been a changed man. He had to clean a lot of things up, not just physically. He got his academics done. He made a commitment to push himself. That’s what it comes down to for all of us—that solid commitment to excellence—or else you’re just going to coast through life.

“Derrick has had a great season and we need that kind of effort to continue.’‘

Prado said the Bulls must get solid pitching, but also cash in on its opportunities. Against UConn, the Bulls left 14 men on base.

If USF defeats Pittsburgh, it plays Friday night at 6 against the loser of tonight’s game between No. 1-seeded Louisville and UConn.

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Tampa Catholic seeks lacrosse coaches

Posted May 24, 2012 by Rick Harmon

Updated May 24, 2012 at 11:30 AM

Tampa Catholic High School is looking for qualified candidates for head boys and girls lacrosse coaches.

Please forward résumés to Athletic Director Freddie Langiotti by June 1, 2012 at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

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“Oil Can” autobiography takes reader out of comfort zone

Posted May 23, 2012 by Bob D'Angelo

Updated May 23, 2012 at 10:50 PM

Dennis “Oil Can” Boyd was a colorful, animated pitcher during his 10-year major-league career, winning 43 of his 77 career victories from 1984 to 1986 with the Boston Red Sox.

But he looks at his career and life in black-and-white terms. In his autobiography that will be released June 1, Boyd is controversial, foul-mouthed, funny and engaging — sometimes, in the same paragraph. Like a pitcher who can change speeds and throw to different locations, Boyd, along with veteran Boston sports journalist Mike Shalin, addresses racism, addiction and more in “They Call Me Oil Can: Baseball, Drugs, and Life on the Edge” (Triumph Books; $25.95, hardback, 226 pages).

Boyd is not afraid to reach back and throw high and tight. That makes this book interesting, amusing, puzzling and at times unsettling. Without a doubt, Boyd takes readers out of their comfort zones.

He does not believe in integration, for example, writing that it “gave white people an upper hand; it didn’t give us a hand at all.”

“I couldn’t have been Jackie Robinson,” he writes. “Not for one day!”

Boyd saves his harshest words for Tampa resident Wade Boggs, and the two former teammates already have waged a war of words on Boston’s talk radio circuit. In the book, Boyd writes that the Hall of Fame third baseman was “a bigot, a modern-day Ty Cobb type.”

“I used to joke that if the ball was black he would’ve had 8,000 hits. In my opinion, he didn’t like anything black,” Boyd writes. “I don’t think he even liked nighttime. He probably wouldn’t even wear black shoes.”

“He was very unique, and most times he was an all-right guy.”

Boggs responded to Boyd’s radio attack (which was similar to his written attack) with his own broadsides.

“Absolutely, positively, 100 million percent, I am not a racist, I am not a bigot,” Boggs said on the air in early May. “You have a delusional drug addict who let not only his family down, but his team, the city of Boston, Red Sox Nation when it counted most. Now he wants the good people of Boston to go out and spend money on this garbage to support his habit. I find that extremely amusing.”

Boggs’ wife Debbie also chimed in: “We have relatives that are African-American in our immediate family.”

That last part is a bit of a stretch — unless you are into genealogy (which I am). Jason Anderson, the black relative referenced by Debbie Boggs, is actually the son-in-law of Debbie’s sister. Or, if you want to muddle it up, it’s Wade’s sister-in-law’s son-in-law. That was told to me by Jason’s father-in-law, by the way. Have fun diagramming that family group sheet.

Boyd even tweaks Hall of Famers Willie Mays and Hank Aaron. “The guys who came immediately after Jackie (Robinson) had some kind of crazy attitude,” he writes. “Willie Mays and Hank Aaron and those guys, I got to hear them speak as I got older, and for some reason they felt like they were entitled to be there” in the majors.

Besides racism, addiction is a major subject in “They Call Me Oil Can.” Boyd still admits to having a drug problem (“I just maintain and go a day at a time”), and the stories he tells in his autobiography are well, mind-blowing.

Because of cocaine, Boyd almost missed his wedding. “I was so messed up that my friend had to dress me. I couldn’t even put on my own tux.”

Cocaine became like a person to Boyd.

“Hey, I’m down here. This is cocaine. Come get me.”

“I’ll be right there.”

He smoked crack in the Oakland clubhouse. He didn’t want to leave the remnants in his locker, so he put it in the lining of his cap and went out to pitch.

“I fired this one pitch and my hat flew off. I looked down at the mound and there were rocks all over. I picked up a couple of rocks, like I’m cleaning the mound,” he writes. “I’m picking it up, putting what I can in my pocket, cleaning that stuff off. I even mashed a couple of them into the dirt, ground them into the mound with my foot.”

In addition to cocaine, Boyd used marijuana on a daily basis.

“Nobody ever knew when I was high on weed,” he writes, “because I wasn’t ever not high on weed.”

Boyd even went to his car in the parking lot at Fenway Park between innings to smoke marijuana or crack.

“A few times I was almost late getting to the mound because I was running back down the runway,” he writes, telling his teammates he was using the restroom.

Boyd certainly tells some good stories and is not afraid to credit those who helped him along the way. As a youth growing up in Meridian, Miss., Boyd writes that he “really learned the game” from his high school coach, Bill Marchant, “especially the mental part of the game, which we didn’t know as black kids.”

“We would physically match anybody, but as soon as we got on the ballfield against white teams, they’d play with strategy.”

Boyd also writes about being taunted by opposing players on all-white teams and their fans, claiming he once was hit in the face by a banana peel as he headed off the field to the dugout.

There are several stories floating around about the origin of Boyd’s nickname. As Boyd tells it, he and his best friend, a distant cousin named Pap, broke into a local bootlegger’s place and stole corn whiskey. A local drunk homeless man (called Mr. Fat Mama) caught the pair drinking the whiskey out of oil cans in a tin shed. The next day, Pap called Boyd “Oil Can,” and the nickname stuck.

“They Call Me Oil Can” opens with Boyd’s disappointment about not getting the starting nod for Game 7 of the 1986 World Series. That went to Bruce Hurst, who had already beaten the New York Mets twice in the Series.

In one chapter, Boyd talks about his teammates from that squad, which was one strike away from winning the franchise’s first World Series title since 1918 until the Mets staged a remarkable comeback to win Game 6.

Boyd has warm recollections of Al Nipper and Rich Gedman (who wrote the book’s foreword), longtime coach Johnny Pesky (“He knew the dap handshake … I don’t know where he’s from, but that man’s hung out with some brothers.”), Dwight Evans (“he was like a big brother to me”), Mike Greenwell (“He was a redneck kid, but not a racist redneck kid.”) and Roger Clemens (“regardless of whatever he did or didn’t do, I love him to the bone.”).
He did have some differences with Bob Stanley (“I felt like he was belittling me …”) and Jim Rice, and had complicated feelings for Don Baylor.

“He was a big black Mandingo-kind of guy, but he had this white wife,” Boyd writes about Baylor. “That messed me up. It really did. I didn’t know how to talk to him.”

Boyd is at his best when he writes about the art of pitching, the ability to keep a batter off-balance with an assortment of pitches, pitching locations and speed changes. He remains a defender of the inside pitch.

“Mediocre hitters become above-average hitters and good hitters become great hitters without the knock-down pitch,” he writes.

He also offers some advice, noting that if Red Sox pitcher Josh Beckett listened to him, “he’d go out there overnight and turn unhittable.”

“And if he’d let me call pitches from the dugout, he’d throw a no-hitter,” he adds.

Beckett, by the way, has won 129 games in 12 seasons and has 1,661 strikeouts (Boyd had 799 in his career).

After baseball, Boyd worked in real estate, trying to build a housing project in Meridian. He also tried to bring professional baseball to the city, but claims people in his hometown did not want to see him succeed.

“They weren’t proud of me when I left and they weren’t proud of me when I came back,” he writes.

Boyd is erratic at times, but Shalin keeps him on track and keeps the book’s pace brisk and snappy. Shalin is also savvy enough to let Boyd do the talking, and the result is a blunt, honest and sometimes painful work, although Boyd seems to be at peace with himself.

These days, Boyd does charity events for the Red Sox, goes to card shows and participates in fantasy baseball camps.

“One thing is abundantly clear to me,” he writes in his introduction. “Love me or hate me, people will never forget Oil Can Boyd.”

After reading his autobiography, people won’t be able to forget him.

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Rays 5, Jays 4 (11): Another walk-off win

Posted May 23, 2012 by Roger Mooney

Updated May 23, 2012 at 06:33 PM

ROGER MOONEY
ST. PETERSBURG The Rays held another one of those on-field celebrations Wednesday afternoon, a gathering near second where B.J. Upton stopped after driving home Rich Thompson with the winning run during the 11th inning of the Rays 5-4 victory against the Blue Jays at the Trop.

It was the fourth walk-off win of the season for the Rays and the 12th in their last 54 home games.

It was the fifth walk-off hit of Upton’s career, four of which have come against the Blue Jays.

The win enabled the Rays to complete the .500 homestand with two straight wins and pick up a game on the first place Orioles, who now lead the AL East by one game.

Here are some notes from the victory:

—Upton extended his hitting streak to seven games. He’s batting .448 during that span with two home runs, four doubles, four RBI, five stolen bases and a .793 slugging percentage.

—James Shields completed seven innings for the first time since April 21 against the Twins. He allowed a solo home run in the first inning to Jose Bautista. It was the fifth time in 10 starts he has allowed a first inning run.

Shields recorded 22 swinging strikes, his most since tossing a complete game May 11, 2011 against the Marlins. Of those swings and misses, 14 came on changeups.

—Carlos Peña is batting 3-for-8 with a home run, three RBI, two walks, three runs and a hit-by-pitch in his two games at the leadoff spot.

—Drew Sutton made his first career start as a cleanup hitter and was 2-for-4 with a two-run double in the first inning and a two-out, infield single in the ninth.

—Joel Peralta suffered his third blown save of the season. He has allowed five home runs this year.

—The Rays are 10-5 in series finales this season … They are 2-1 in extra-inning games. Since 2007, the Rays are a major league-best 45-23 in extra-inning games … The Rays are 11-3 in one-run games, the second-best mark in the majors.

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Plant, Wharton set to compete in Heath Evans tourney

Posted May 23, 2012 by Bill Ward

Updated May 23, 2012 at 04:59 PM

Defending Class 8A state football champion Plant High, along with Wharton, are two of 16 teams that will compete in the prestigious Heath Evans Foundation 7-on-7 Championship next month at West Palm Beach King’s Academy.

The invitation-only tournament includes the team the Panthers knocked off last season for the 8A crown, Miramar, Class 7A semifinalist Palm Beach Gardens Dwyer, Class 6A runner-up Miami Central and Class 4A runner-up Miami Booker T. Washington. The tourney is slated for June 9. Plant is the event’s defending champion while Wharton will be participating for the first time.

Teams will be split into two divisions and play a round-robin format starting in the morning. Following a lunch break, single-elimination play begins with the semifinals set for 3 p.m. and the championship game scheduled for 4 p.m.

The tourney is open to the public at a cost of $5 per person. Tickets are available at the gate. The King’s Academy is located at 8401 Belvedere Road in West Palm Beach, about one mile east of 441. Proceeds from the tournament benefit the Heath Evans Foundation, a not-for-profit institution established to help abused children.

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