Antonio Blakeney hits jumper with 3 seconds left to lift Mooney over Ft. Myers 66-64 in Holiday Classic semis. Its the third time in three nights that Cougars beat a team that was ranked in the top 10 in their classification.
Friday, December 28, 2012
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Mooney and Braden River advance to Suncoast semifinals
Cardinal Mooney has proved to be a heart-throbbing Giant Killer after two games of the Suncoast Holiday tournament at Sarasota Riverview High School.
The Cougars notched their second straight victory over a highly touted foe when it came from behind to defeat Tampa Sickles 54-50 in second round action Thursday to advance to the semifinals.
Braden River also earned a ticket to the round of four, but did it in convincing fashion with a 50-28 rout over South Fort Myers.
Braden River's Trevon Young and Cardinal Mooney sophomore Antonio Blakeney continued to show they are among the top players in the area, perhaps the two best.
The Cougars notched their second straight victory over a highly touted foe when it came from behind to defeat Tampa Sickles 54-50 in second round action Thursday to advance to the semifinals.
Braden River also earned a ticket to the round of four, but did it in convincing fashion with a 50-28 rout over South Fort Myers.
Braden River's Trevon Young and Cardinal Mooney sophomore Antonio Blakeney continued to show they are among the top players in the area, perhaps the two best.
Jared Williams plans on playing next season after sitting on 2012 because of injury
Jared Williams expects to be back.The former standout running back from Southeast and Bradenton Prep missed the entire 2012 campaign at SMU due to a leg injury he suffered at the conclusion of the 2011 season in the Mustangs bowl game.
Williams was granted a redshirt and is ready to compete for the starting running back job in 2013. The position should be wide open with the graduation of Zac Line, the Mustangs leading rusher the past three seasons when he gained more than 1,000 yards each year with 1,325 in 2012.
As a true fresman in 2011, Williams rushed for 180 yards with a single game high 80 yards on 11 carries against Rice. He will be a sophomore eligiblity wise next season.
The best part for Williams is that he will be able to play for his family and friends. SMU is slated to join the Big East Conference in '13 and is scheduled to play USF at Raymond James Stadium in a date to be determined.
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Bucs Gerald McCoy Pro Bowl selection draws some criticism
Gerald McCoy became the first Tampa Bay
Bucs defensive lineman to make the Pro Bowl since 2003 when he was selected on
Wednesday.
This is the first season the defensive tackle has been
healthy and will participate in all 16 games barring the unforeseen Sunday at
Atlanta. The third year pro was selected third in the 2010 NFL draft, but his
first two years were marred by injuries.
This year McCoy has recorded career highs with five sacks
and nine tackles for losses for the 6-9 Bucs, who are in the midst of a five
game losing streak.
Beckles cited the Bucs beleaguered pass defense, which
ranks last in the league, noting it influences opponents to throw a lot which
allows for a lot more opportunities to get sacks and tackles for losses. With
that in mind, McCoy’s stats are not that impressive, he noted.
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| Gerald McCoy a Pro Bowler |
McCoy was the only Bucs to be named to the team. Safety Ronde
Barber, receiver Vincent Jackson and rookie running
back Doug Martin were named alternatives. Jackson not making
the team was a bit surprising with his 19.3 yards per reception average.
McCoy’s selection did not go without criticism. Former
Buc and current WDAE radio co-host Ian Beckles of the Ron
and Ian Show took the defensive tackle to task on his show today and said he
did not have a Pro Bowl season.
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Pro Football Talk stands by story on Bucs player deriding coaching staff
A report in
ProFootballTalk.com that a player with the Bucs asked mockingly if the
Bucs head coaches could be sent back to college has grown a set of legs.
But Mike Florio of PFT stands by the story.
“On Monday we reported in the aftermath of a 41-0 blowout loss to the Saints, punctuated by a sideline brouhaha involving assistant coach Bryan Cox and linebacker Adam Hayward, that one member of the Buccaneers privately remarked after the game, “Can we send these coaches back to college?“
The story prompted a fairly quick response, with the team and multiple members of the Tampa media probing for more details, none of which were provided in the interests of honoring the promise of anonymity.
Now that the Tampa media has had a chance to ask the players about it, two days after the story broke, some players predictably have provided unrealistically sweeping denials.
“That’s a [expletive] made-up quote,” cornerback Ronde Barber told the Tampa Tribune. “No one said that. I can promise you that.”
I promise you that someone did, Ronde.
Who’s in a position to be more sure? The guy to whom it was told, or the guy who has no idea what his teammates have said in the hours after a frustrating shutout loss to one of their biggest rivals? That’s why we opted not to go with the same-old “we stand by our report” when asked for a response by the Tribune, choosing instead something far more pragmatic: “If Ronde is aware of every private communication in which his 52 teammates engage, that’s even more impressive than his Hall of Fame playing career.”
Our guess is that Ronde opted to react strongly due to speculation in the local media that he was the source. As his career in Tampa likely winds to a conclusion, it wouldn’t be the ideal way to make his exit.
Regardless, we won’t say who said it. But I promise you that someone did.
Some of the
Bucs players, including 16 year veteran Ronde Barber questioned the quote and
posed the question if it is the truth. Media types scrambled all over the find
the source, but came up empty furthering speculation that maybe Barber was
right.
But Mike Florio of PFT stands by the story.
Here is what Florio
today on the PFT website:
“On Monday we reported in the aftermath of a 41-0 blowout loss to the Saints, punctuated by a sideline brouhaha involving assistant coach Bryan Cox and linebacker Adam Hayward, that one member of the Buccaneers privately remarked after the game, “Can we send these coaches back to college?“
The story prompted a fairly quick response, with the team and multiple members of the Tampa media probing for more details, none of which were provided in the interests of honoring the promise of anonymity.
Now that the Tampa media has had a chance to ask the players about it, two days after the story broke, some players predictably have provided unrealistically sweeping denials.
“That’s a [expletive] made-up quote,” cornerback Ronde Barber told the Tampa Tribune. “No one said that. I can promise you that.”
I promise you that someone did, Ronde.
Who’s in a position to be more sure? The guy to whom it was told, or the guy who has no idea what his teammates have said in the hours after a frustrating shutout loss to one of their biggest rivals? That’s why we opted not to go with the same-old “we stand by our report” when asked for a response by the Tribune, choosing instead something far more pragmatic: “If Ronde is aware of every private communication in which his 52 teammates engage, that’s even more impressive than his Hall of Fame playing career.”
Our guess is that Ronde opted to react strongly due to speculation in the local media that he was the source. As his career in Tampa likely winds to a conclusion, it wouldn’t be the ideal way to make his exit.
Regardless, we won’t say who said it. But I promise you that someone did.
Friday, December 14, 2012
Fired by USF less than a week ago, Holtz has new job
It didn't take Skip Holtz long to land on his feet and keep his money to the chagrin of the University of South Florida.
Fired by USF on December 2nd, Holtz was hired as the new head football coach at Louisiana Tech today. He replaces Sonny Dykes, who resigned to take head job at California.
Holtz inherits a program that went 9-3 and led Division I-A (FBS) in scoring averaging 52 points per game. The Bulldogs were second in the nation in total offense and fourth in passing offense averaging 350.7 yards per game through the air.
In what might be a twist of fate, Louisiana Tech had problems stopping opponents ranking 120th in total defense giving up 520 yards per game and was 117th in scoring defense allowing 38.5 points per game.
A lack of defense was the biggest criticism of Holtz during his time at USF so he will get an opportunity to show he can be a defensive fixer-upper.
Louisiana Tech is moving from the Western Athletic Conference to Conference USA, the league where Holtz coached (for East Carolina) before he was hired by USF three years ago.
Holtz was 16-21 in his three years at USF with 14 losses in his last 16 Big East Conference games finishing in the league cellar the last two years. The Bulls were 3-9 this past season, their worst record in the history of the 16 year old program.
"I am tremendously excited for the opportunity to build on what Coach Dykes started and to lead this great team forward," Holtz told FoxNews.com. "This is a football program with outstanding student athletes, a history of winning and optimism in the future. I'm honored to be part of the Bulldogs family and I'm ready to get to work."
Willie Taggart is the new head coach at USF. But according to reports, the school owes Holtz $2.5 million (spread out over 5 years at $500,000 annually). USF athletic director Doug Woulard extended Holtz's contract through 2017 after the 2011 season despite a losing season and finishing last in the Big East.
Fired by USF on December 2nd, Holtz was hired as the new head football coach at Louisiana Tech today. He replaces Sonny Dykes, who resigned to take head job at California.
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| Skip Holtz lands on feet quickly |
In what might be a twist of fate, Louisiana Tech had problems stopping opponents ranking 120th in total defense giving up 520 yards per game and was 117th in scoring defense allowing 38.5 points per game.
A lack of defense was the biggest criticism of Holtz during his time at USF so he will get an opportunity to show he can be a defensive fixer-upper.
Louisiana Tech is moving from the Western Athletic Conference to Conference USA, the league where Holtz coached (for East Carolina) before he was hired by USF three years ago.
Holtz was 16-21 in his three years at USF with 14 losses in his last 16 Big East Conference games finishing in the league cellar the last two years. The Bulls were 3-9 this past season, their worst record in the history of the 16 year old program.
"I am tremendously excited for the opportunity to build on what Coach Dykes started and to lead this great team forward," Holtz told FoxNews.com. "This is a football program with outstanding student athletes, a history of winning and optimism in the future. I'm honored to be part of the Bulldogs family and I'm ready to get to work."
Willie Taggart is the new head coach at USF. But according to reports, the school owes Holtz $2.5 million (spread out over 5 years at $500,000 annually). USF athletic director Doug Woulard extended Holtz's contract through 2017 after the 2011 season despite a losing season and finishing last in the Big East.
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Natalie Novak to compete for USF
Lakewood Ranch senior Natalie Novak has committed to USF
where she will participate in cross country and track.
Last spring she competed on Lakewood Ranch’s 4x800 meter relay team that won the Class 3A state title. This past fall she finished 26th in the Class 3A State Cross Country meet with a personal best time of 19 minutes and 15.11 seconds.
Novak said her costs will be taken care of through a
combination of academic and athletic scholarships. She also considered DePaul,
North Florida and West Florida. Her main events in track are expected to be the
800 meter run and the mile.
“I went to an official visit to DePaul (Chicago) and it’s a
great school, but USF is a perfect fit for me. It has a great coaching staff
and competes in the Big East Conference,” Novak said.Last spring she competed on Lakewood Ranch’s 4x800 meter relay team that won the Class 3A state title. This past fall she finished 26th in the Class 3A State Cross Country meet with a personal best time of 19 minutes and 15.11 seconds.
“I am excited for her and think she will do well,” Lakewood
Ranch girls cross country coach Kristina Bratton said. “It’s a perfect fit
because of the weather and it’s close to home. If she went out of state and ran
in colder weather it would take her time to adjust. I think she will do best in
the 800. She has great speed and is an aggressive runner. “
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