Cush Corner Sports Blog

Mon, 16 May 2011 13:43:00 GMT

 Despite a playoff on the 17^th hole, I thought THE PLAYERS had somewhat of an anti-climatic ending.  It would’ve been nice to see either K.J. Choi or David Toms make a clutch putt to win the tournament instead of seeing Toms miss a short putt to give Choi the win.  Still, it was a great week of golf, and I have decided that THE PLAYERS makes for the best week of sports on the First Coast.  Below are the reasons why I have this opinion.

First and foremost, the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass provides an amazing atmosphere in many ways.  The landscaping is immaculate.  I can’t imagine how much work goes into making the course look so nice.  Even someone who isn’t a golf fan would enjoy seeing all of the colorful flowers and the amazing architecture of the clubhouse.

THE PLAYERS is also the greatest people-watching event of the year if you ask me.  I am always amused by how many guys dress like a golfer from head to toe.  It’s not uncommon to see someone wearing all of the following:  golf shoes, long pants, a fashionable belt with buckle, a golf shirt with some type of logo on it, and a matching hat.  As for the women, they tend to dress up as if they’re going shopping at the St. Johns Town Center of going out for a night on the town.

The experience of attending a golf tournament like this is very unique too.  At what other type of sporting event can you customize your own experience?  At most sporting events, you are assigned to a specific seat and that is only place that you can view the action from.  At THE PLAYERS, there are hundreds of great places to watch the event from.  You can walk all 18 holes alongside your favorite golfer or you just camp out in one location for a while.  Few sporting events offer fans the opportunity to get as close to the action as THE PLAYERS does.  Some golfers exchange high fives with fans as they walk by while others will find a little kid in the crowd to give them a golf ball or an autograph.

While it was disappointing that Tiger Woods had to make an early exit because of injury, the tournament was still exciting without him.  While none of the names atop the leader board all week were major stars, I was still intrigued by the competition amongst the guys like K.J. Choi, David Toms, Paul Goydos, Nick Watney, Lucas Glover, Davis Love III, and Graeme McDowell. 

Whether it’s a big name that wins the tournament (Woods, Mickelson, Garcia) or a lesser-known golfer (Perks, Ames, Stenson), it’s fun to watch history be made at our local event.  A few lasting memories that I’ll take from this year’s tournament are the turtle diving into the water on Saturday, Ian Poulter running from the 17^th tee to the green, and David Toms missing a short putt in just the 4^th playoff in tournament history.

If you’ve never been to THE PLAYERS, you owe to it to yourself to go.  The size of the venue has the feel of Disney World.  Sometimes a map is required to navigate around the course, and there are plenty of exciting moments just around the corner.

I worked a grand total of 73 hours during the week of THE PLAYERS and carried 40 to 50 pounds of equipment with me as I walked from hole to hole in the heat throughout the week, but I enjoyed every minute of it.  I have definitely grown to love this event over the years, and I’m already looking forward to next year.

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 12:54:00 GMT

        Now that I've had a chance to sleep on the gutsy decision that Jaguars general manager Gene Smith made last night when he gave up a second round pick to move up from 16 to 10 to select Missouri quarterback Blaine Gabbert, I have decided that I like this move.

        After seeing David Garrard start 76 games over the past 9 years with the Jaguars, we know what we have with him.  He's probably not going anywhere yet, but I can't imagine that the team will be paying two quarterbacks a lot of money beyond the 2011 season.

        In my opinion, Gabbert should sit on the bench for at least 8 games before he gets a chance to start.  Because he came out as a junior and because he played in a spread offense in which he took most of his snaps from the shotgun formation, he needs time to get accustomed to a pro-style offense.

        A lot of "experts" think that Gabbert is the best quarterback in this draft.  If he lives up to the potential that so many people think he has, then the loss of a second round pick won't be a big deal at all in the years to come.

        I'll admit that I really didn't see Gabbert play at all while at Missouri.  I did watch the recent ESPN special that he took part in with Jon Gruden though.  In this series which also included film sessions with Cam Newton, Jake Locker, Ryan Mallett, and Andy Dalton, I thought that the show with Gabbert was the least entertaining of the bunch.  I just didn't see a lot of personality from Blaine in that half-hour special.  That doesn't mean he doesn't have a personality.  I just haven't seen it yet.

        There are some pieces in place for Gabbert to succeed with the Jaguars for years to come.  Let's not forget that both offensive tackles, Eugene Monroe and Eben Britton, are ascending players who are entering their third year.  Offensive guard Uche Nwaneri is also relatively young too while the other guard Vince Manuwai and center Brad Meester are a little long in the tooth.

         Marcedes Lewis is one of the best tight ends in the league.  Mike Thomas is coming off a very good 2010 season, but I don't think he is a legitimate number one receiver at this point in his career.  The rest of the receiving corps (Jason Hill, Jarrett Dillard, Tiquan Underwood, Nate Hughes, and John Matthews) leaves a lot to be desired.

         To recap, I think it's worth the risk to take Gabbert with the 10th pick.  I don't think Jaguars fans have been this excited about a first round pick since Matt Jones in 2005.  Let's hope that Blaine has a better career than him.  How cool would it be if he turns out to be one of the best quarterbacks in the league someday?  He certainly has all of the measurables to become a star.

Tue, 12 Oct 2010 15:37:00 GMT

To the dozens of fans of the Cush Corner Blog:

It's been about a month since I checked in with you, so I just thought I'd offer a few thoughts about our local teams.

Jaguars

That was a great win over the Colts a couple weeks ago.  When Josh Scobee's 59 yard field goal went through the uprights and landed in Jaxson de Ville's arms, that was the most exciting moment for the Jaguars in that stadium in my 9 years of covering this team.  For those of you that don't know, I've been watching the Jaguars since day one as a fan, so I've seen a lot of great moments involving the team in the 90's (first game vs. Houston in '95, first home win vs. Pittsburgh in '95, Morten's miss in '96, the welcome home celebration after the '96 playoff win in Denver, first MNF game vs. Pittsburgh in '97, 62-3 playoff win vs. Miami in '99, etc.), but there haven't been a lot of great moments since I started shooting the games from the sidelines in the 2002 season.

I can't say enough about the addition of Aaron Kampman to this team.  He's got 3 sacks through the first 5 games, and he's also been able to get a lot pressure on the opposing quarterbacks.

Marcedes Lewis has gotten better each year, and this season he's playing at a Pro Bowl level.  He's also developed into a leader which is nice to see.  He's the only good pick that the Jaguars made in the first round while Shack Harris was in charge of the personnel.  Shack's other first round picks were Byron Leftwich in '03, Reggie Williams in 04, Matt Jones in '05, Reggie Nelson in '07, and Derrick Harvey in '08.  While most media members have given up on Harvey who is now in his third year, I still think he has some potential.  Let's wait for the season to play out before we judge him.  Maybe he'll continue to learn a thing or two from Kampman.

Finally, kudos to the offensive line.  The Jags have been able to run the ball well during most of Jack Del Rio's tenure with the team, and they've been able to pave the way for Maurice Jones-Drew and company the last couple of games.  Speaking of the O-Line, this Sunday, Brad Meester will make his 151st career start which will allow him to surpass Jimmy Smith for the most starts as a Jaguar.  With apologies to Leon Searcy who spent just 5 years with the Jaguars, I think Meester (now in his 11th season with the team) is the second best offensive lineman in team history behind Tony Boselli. 

Seminoles

I think they've gotten better in each game since the 47-17 loss at Oklahoma on September 11th.  A few weeks ago, I was critical of Jimbo Fisher's offense.  I was seeing a lot of quick screens to wide receivers, and those plays just won't work against good teams.  In the last couple games though, I've seen less of those types of plays which makes me happy.  The veteran offensive line has been doing a great job of blocking for talented running backs such as Jermaine Thomas, Chris Thompson, and Lonnie Pryor.

On defense, new coordinator Mark Stoops has done a great job in turning this unit around.  He's working with most of the same players that couldn't stop anyone last year, yet this defense leads the nation in sacks, and the defensive backs such as Greg Reid, Xavier Rhodes, Mike Harris, and Nick Moody have all made some big plays.  Brandon Jenkins looks like he might develop into FSU's next great defensive end.  Everett Dawkins has played very well this year too.

I know that this past Saturday was Jimbo Fisher's 45th birthday, but in watching the team celebrate the win over Miami with him, you can tell that the players really relate to him and really like him.  That will go a long way as he tries to get this program back to the level it was at in the 80's and 90's.

Gators

There's at least 10 guys (Tebow, Pouncey, Haden, Wright, Dunlap, Cunningham, Spikes, Cooper, D. Nelson, and Hernandez) that I can think of from last year's team who are now on NFL rosters.  It's hard to replace that type of talent in one year.  The Gators went through a similar transition in 2007 after they lost guys like Reggie Nelson, Jarvis Moss, Brandon Siler, Chris Leak, Ray McDonald, and Dallas Baker.  Florida went (9-4) that year although Tim Tebow won the Heisman Trophy since he had to carry a huge load.  When more playmakers emerged the following year, the Gators went (12-1) and won the national championship.  This year's team is similar to the '07 team in that there aren't a lot of playmakers. 

Still, if Florida can beat South Carolina at The Swamp on November 13th then they will likely make it to the SEC Championship Game.  If they get there, Alabama might not be their opponent.  The Crimson Tide still has two undefeated teams on their schedule.  They'll travel to LSU on November 6th and host Auburn on November 26th.

If Urban Meyer insists of continuing to run the spread option offense, the Gators will keep struggling until Jeff Demps is healthy.  He's the fastest player in college football and makes a big difference when he's on the field.  Carl Moore has done a nice job at receiver, but I don't think he's a game breaker.  Andre Debose might develop into that type of player soon, but as of right now, none of the Gators wide receivers scare me like Percy Harvin, Louis Murphy, and Andre Caldwell once did.

Aaron Hernandez was also a dangerous player at tight end.  The Gators don't have that type of threat this year, but I think University Christian's A.C. Leonard can be that type of guy as early as next season.  Also, I was able to watch incoming quarterback Jeff Driskel recently.  He's from Orlando and one his games was televisied on ESPNU this past Friday.  He's 6'4", 230 pounds, and he seems to have some good running ability, so he should be a good fit in Urban's offense down the road.

Mon, 13 Sep 2010 16:41:00 GMT

I must say that it's pretty ridiculous that so many media members were waiting to hear what Tim Tebow had to say after his NFL regular season debut which included a whopping 3 plays on the field.  With that type of crowd waiting to speak with the hometown hero, the Broncos PR staff dropped the ball by not having Timmy speak at the same podium where head coach Josh McDaniels spoke.  It would've been easier for everyone.  Instead, they brought him out into a hallway where a few dozen media members converged upon him as soon as he exited the locker room.  It was pure chaos.

I was by myself with a camera on my right shoulder and a First Coast News microphone in my left hand.  Being a short guy like I am, if I don't get a spot in the "front row" then there's no way I'm going to get a good shot since I'm not tall enough to get a good view in the second row and beyond.

So, as Tebow starts to talk, I notice that there is a huge microphone that is right in front of my camera lens thus covering Tim's face.  I had to use my microphone to push the big microphone out of my shot (see picture below).  It's not the first time I've had to do this in my career, but it is the first time that I've had to do it this much.




Finally, after our back and forth microphone sword fight, the guy (who I believe was from the CBS affiliate in Denver) placed his mic in a different location.  Unfortunately, he decided to rest his FAT arm on my head which caused pressure on my neck.  This clown was leaning his arm on my head so much that my hat was falling off.  It was the most uncomfortable that I've ever been while shooting an interview as I felt like a sardine, packed in from all different directions.




If you look at the image above, you can see the obtrusive microphone at the top of the picture.  I've been covering Tebow since his sophomore year at Nease High School.  After three years there and four in Gainesville, I'm now looking forward to taking a break from fighting through media crowds who are wanting a soundbite or quote from him.  I wish him well with his NFL career, and it's been fun to watch his career unfold even if my view is obstructed at times.

Moving on, it was good to see the Jaguars start the season with a win.  Over the years, the team has not had much success with signing pass rushers through free agency.  Reggie Hayward was pretty good before injuries derailed his career, but Bryce Paup and Hugh Douglas were enormous busts.  Aaron Kampman on the other hand appears to be a great fit on the field and in the locker room.  Even though he joined the team in the spring, it's clear that he's already stepped into a major leadership role on defense.

Kudos to Tyson Alualu for getting a sack in his first career game.  He's well on his way to proving his draft day doubters wrong.  Also, I'd like to give credit to general manager Gene Smith for sticking to his beliefs and picking the player that he thought could help his team win now.

It was nice to see Kassim Osgood score the game-winning touchdown.  He came here wanting to show that he can play receiver.  While he didn't really do that during the offseason or the preseason, he deserves to have a bone thrown his way from time to time because he's an excellent special teams player and showed that in his first game with the Jaguars.

Also, Marcedes Lewis is poised to become one of top tight ends in the NFL.  If he continues to play the way he did yesterday and throughout the preseason, then he could be receiving lots of money in the near future.

I liked to see Eugene Monroe literally peel a guy off of a pile after a Maurice Jones-Drew run. 





The linebacker didn't like what Monroe did to protect his running back, but I liked seeing Eugene in an enforcer role.  To me, it seems like Monroe has improved a lot from year one to year two, and I would love to see him develop more of a mean streak.  Tony Boselli always protected his teammates, and that's something we haven't seen a lot of since the Jaguars let him go after the 2001 season.

By the way, I was standing behind Jack Del Rio when Jabar Gaffney scored just before halftime.  JDR was pacing on the sidelines as he was waiting for the team to come off the field after the P.A.T.  He lit into Derek Cox and asked him, "Are you ____ kidding me?" and "How in the ___ did you let that happen?"  I'll let you fill in the blanks.

Finally, I just have one thought on FSU's embarrassing loss in Oklahoma.  While I think Greg Reid is a good football player and a great punt returner, I don't think he's a very good defensive back.  He's too small to match up with bigger wide receivers, and I'm not sure who tackles better, him or Reggie Nelson.  My suggestion is to move him to running back, maybe even wide receiver.  He needs the ball in his hands, and that's also his best shot to make it to the NFL.  You don't see many 5'8" DB's in the NFL, but who's to say that Reid can't become the next Darren Sproles or Dante Hall?

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 20:51:00 GMT

While I've been hearing Kenny Chesney's latest song "The Boys of Fall" on the radio for weeks, I hadn't seen the music video until today.  Let's just say it's very powerful.  I had tears in my eyes during New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton's speech at the beginning of the video.  Take a look and let me know what you think.

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 20:49:00 GMT

It seems like every time I watched a preseason NFL game in the past few weeks, I noticed at least one player from the First Coast on the field.  That got me thinking about just how many guys there are in the NFL who played high school football right here in the Jacksonville area.  I looked through the rosters of all 32 teams and compiled the following list.  Keep in mind that this list will look much different in about a week when teams trim their rosters from 80 to 53 players.

1.  Kevin Alexander, Denver Broncos  (Union County High School), Clemson

2.  Cliff Avril, Detroit Lions  (Clay High School), Purdue

3.  Champ Bailey, Denver Broncos  (Charlton County High School), Georgia

4.  Gary Barnidge, Carolina Panthers  (Middleburg High School), Louisville

5.  Alex Brown, New Orleans Saints  (Hamilton County High School), Florida

6.  Nolan Carroll, Miami Dolphins  (Clay High School), Maryland

7.  Tony Carter, Denver Broncos  (Mandarin High School), Florida State  *Released on 8/30/10

8.  Laveranues Coles, New York Jets  (Ribault High School), Florida State  *Released on 8/29/10

9.  Andra Davis, Buffalo Bills  (Suwannee High School), Florida

10.  Brian Dawkins, Denver Broncos  (Raines High School), Clemson

11.  Clarence Denmark, Jacksonville Jaguars  (Lee High School), Arkansas Monticello

12.  Jabar Gaffney, Denver Broncos  (Raines High School), Florida

13.  Mardy Gilyard, St. Louis Rams  (Flagler Palm Coast High School), Cincinatti

14.  Letroy Guion, Minnesota Vikings  (Bradford High School), Florida State

15.  Brandon James, Indianapolis Colts  (St. Augustine High School), Florida

16.  Kelly Jennings, Seattle Seahawks  (Suwannee High School), Miami

17.  Bruce Johnson, New York Giants  (Suwannee High School), Miami

18.  Darcy Johnson, St. Louis Rams  (Palatka High School), Central Florida

19.  Ricardo Matthews, Indianapolis Colts  (Terry Parker High School), Cincinnati

20.  Rashean Mathis, Jacksonville Jaguars  (Englewood High School), Bethune-Cookman

21.  Stephen Nicholas, Atlanta Falcons  (Lee High School), South Florida

22.  Rod Owens, New England Patriots  (Wolfson High School), Florida State

23.  Colin Peek, Atlanta Falcons  (The Bolles School), Alabama  *Released on 8/16/10

24.  Sha'reff Rashad, New York Giants  (Episcopal High School), Central Florida

25.  John Russell, Kansas City Chiefs  (The Bolles School), Wake Forest

26.  Lito Sheppard, Minnesota Vikings  (Raines High School), Florida

27.  Rusty Smith, Tennessee Titans  (Sandalwood High School), Florida Atlantic

28.  C.J. Spiller, Buffalo Bills  (Union County High School), Clemson

29.  Jason Spitz, Green Bay Packers (The Bolles School), Louisville

30.  Tim Tebow, Denver Broncos  (Nease High School), Florida

31.  Marcus Thomas, Denver Broncos  (Mandarin High School), Florida

32.  Gerard Warren, New England Patriots  (Union County High School), Florida

33.  Leon Washington, Seattle Seahawks  (Jackson High School), Florida State

34.  Bobby Williams, Houston Texans  (Raines High School), Northern Alabama

35.  Johnny Williams, Denver Broncos  (Fletcher High School), Kentucky

36.  Kion Wilson, San Diego Chargers  (Raines High School), South Florida

Final Observations

The Denver Broncos have 7 players from this area on their roster.  The Jaguars have 2.  Raines High School leads the way with 5 former Vikings who are currently on NFL rosters.

Fri, 21 May 2010 11:26:00 GMT

I had the privilege of covering the FHSAA Class 3A Baseball State Title Game between Bolles and Miami Gulliver Prep last night in Port St. Lucie.  While the first six innings didn't have much excitement, the 7th inning was one for the ages.

Bolles senior Caleb Denmark was on the mound trying to close it out as the Bulldogs led the Raiders 3-2 with 2 outs in the top of the 7th.  After Denmark surrendered the tying run, Bolles head coach Storm Davis sent Denmark back to third base where he started the game, then he called for his ace Mark Lumpa to jog in from left field where he had been playing during the entire game.  Lumpa threw a complete game the day before with 92 pitches, but his team and his coach needed him to get one more out.  That's exactly what he did, and he only had to throw one pitch to do so.

Then, in the bottom of the 7th, Taylor Betros (an unsung hero of the game) got on base to begin the inning.  D.J. Stewart moved him over to second with a sacrifice.  Then David Perkins came up to bat.  He was 0-3 for the night at that point having struck out looking in his last two at bats.  The senior second baseman ripped one to left.  Somehow, the home plate umpire managed to get between me and the leftfielder, so I couldn't see exactly what happened, but the Gulliver Prep player wasn't able to make a diving catch which allowed Betros to score the winning run then jump into Denmark's arms at home plate.  The whole team quickly jumped on top of those two creating a massive dogpile, or should I say Bulldog pile?

Anyway, I really enjoyed the drama that this game offered.  From Denmark giving up the tying run to Lumpa ending the rally to Perkins delivering in the clutch, this game had a little bit of everything.  Heck, the 7th inning had a little bit of everything.

Just like any good story, this one has a few characters with compelling stories.  Lumpa is generously listed at 5'9" in the program, but he's probably more like 5'6".  Even though he threw just one pitch, he was credited with the win which improves his career record as a pitcher on the varsity level to (28-0).  It'll be interesting to see if he can continue to excel on the mound at the next level.  He will play at Duke next year, and the Blue Devils are traditionally one of the least successful teams in the ACC.

Perkins will be joining Lumpa at Duke.  These two guys did not have to endure many losses at Bolles, but odds are they'll get more accustomed to it in Durham.  This year, Duke has an (8-20) conference record.  That's third worst in the ACC and good for last place in the Coastal Division.  Hopefully they can help to make the program more competitive.

Denmark will stay in town and play college baseball at UNF.  Out of all the Bolles players, he was the most emotional during the trophy presentation.  I also noticed that his pants were dirty in the first inning.  At that point, he hadn't done any sliding, so I'm thinking that he wears the dirt stains on his pants as a badge of honor.  He seems like a hard-nosed gritty player who should be able to make an impact with the Ospreys next year under new head coach Smoke Laval.  By the way, Denmark led Bolles with 37 RBI, and he's tied for the lead in home runs (along with Perkins) with 7.

I mentioned that Betros was the unsung hero of the game.  With Bolles trailing 2-0 in the third inning, he laid a bunt down which the pitcher fielded but then he threw it away as he tried to make the play at first.  The throwing error allowed two runs to score.  A simple bunt ignited a rally in which the Bulldogs scored the go-ahead run soon after that.  By the way, Betros is a pretty good football player who wasn't able to compete in spring football practice or Thursday night's spring game because the baseball season went so long.  Taylor told me that he didn't mind missing out on spring football.  Who can blame him?  He's been a part of back to back state championship teams in football and baseball!  That's four state championships that he's been a part of in high school, and he still has his senior year in front of him.

I asked Coach Storm Davis after the game how long it'll take before he starts to think about a three-peat.  As I write this blog less than 12 hours after the Bulldgos won their second title in a row, I think Storm is already looking ahead to next year.  His team will have a great chance to win another title because of the return of these players listed below:

OF D.J. Stewart: Rising junior is the Bulldogs' leadoff hitter.  He led Bolles with 47 runs scored and also has some pop in his bat (5 HR)

SS Austin Slater:  Rising junior has already committed to Stanford.  He had a big game in the 2009 State Title game.

P/1B Hayden Hurst:  Hard-throwing 6'4" right-hander will be a junior.  He pitched a complete game in the '09 title game as a freshman.

P/1B Hunter Wildes:  Another rising junior who is an up and coming player.

Well, that'll put a wrap on this game which is one of the best ones I've seen in any sport at the high school level.  It was a pleasure to be a part of it.  I just wish I didn't have so many technical difficulties when I was trying to send my video back for the 11:00 news.  At least it made it on the air in Good Morning Jacksonville.  We'll also be showing some video on First Coast News at 6 on Friday and on Sports Final this Sunday.

Sat, 01 May 2010 13:42:00 GMT

As we get set for the first practices of the 2010 season with this weekend's mini camp, I'd like to take a minute of your time to share a few Jaguars nuggets with you.

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:15:00 GMT

I've decided that National Signing Day is one of my three favorite sports days of the year alongside Super Bowl Sunday and the NFL Draft (which is now spread out over three days, but for these purposes, I'll refer to this event as one day).

For the second year in a row, we here at First Coast News had the opportunity to do a half hour special about Signing Day.  Our cameras visited 22 different schools in the area this past Wednesday, and during this special, we showed video and mentioned the names of each young man or woman who was accepting an athletic scholarship to the college of their choice.

As you can imagine, an effort like this takes a lot of planning beforehand and a lot of driving and editing on the day of.  I arrived at work on Wednesday around 6;30 a.m. and didn't leave for the day until close to midnight.  Here's what my itinerary looked like the other day:

8:00 a.m.  Clay High School signings
9:00 a.m.  Baker County High School signings
10:40 a.m.  Columbia High School signings
12:15 p.m.  Orange Park High School signings
1:15 p.m.  St. Joseph Academy signings

A couple other guys from our station had a similar schedule.  I even had two interns combine to shoot video at 5 schools.  From 2:30 to 7:30, I was editing all of the video from the 22 different schools we visited, then at 7:30, it was time for the special.

Bolles offensive tackle Brent Benedict was kind enough to join us in studio for a live interview for the special.  For those of you who may have seen the show, you can tell that this is a very mature young man who will be easy to root for when he attends the University of Georgia in the fall.  The Benedict family altered their plans so Brent could be a guest on our show.  They had a long drive to Pensacola ahead of them afterwards because they had a visit scheduled on Thursday with Dr. James Andrews who operated on Brent after he tore every major ligament in his knee during a game this past season.  Thanks to Brent and his family for choosing to sacrifice some sleep to help the FCN boys out and good luck with the 'Dawgs.

After the special, I had to prepare for the 11:00 news by doing some more editing, and I had to update our website with some information and video.  During the past week, several viewers have sent me the names of student-athletes who have earned athletic scholarships, so I had to add some people to the list on our website which by the way, if you haven't seen it, you should take a look at it because there are A LOT of names on it.  Congratulations to these young men and women and their families.  Seeing all of your smiling faces makes all of the hard work worth it.

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 17:42:00 GMT

Hey folks.  I know that I'm not a frequent blogger, but I'm thinking that it's time for another post.

As you know, if you're a fan of any of the local football teams (Jaguars, Gators, Noles, etc.), then the 2009 football season as we know it is over.  Have no fear though.  There are plenty of other upcoming events in the spring that I'm looking forward to such as:

January 12:  Kentucky at Florida (College Basketball)
  -The Wildcats are currently (15-0) and ranked 3rd in the nation.  Can the Gators hand them their first loss?

January 16:  Parade in Camden County (High School Football)
   -The Class AAAAA State Champion Camden County Wildcats will be honored in a victory parade in Kingsland, GA at 10AM.

January 18:  MLK Classic (High School Basketball)
  -Several local basketball teams will be in action during this tournament at the FSCJ South Campus.

January 18:  UNF at JU (College Basketball)
  -This game will be played at Swisher Gymnasium on the JU Campus at 8PM.  It'll also be televised live on CSS (Comcast Channel 54).

January 25:  Providence vs. Arlington Country Day (High School Basketball)
  -These are arguably the two best teams in the city, and this game will feature about a half-dozen future college basketball players including Kentucky signee Stacey Poole Jr. and Florida signee Patric Young.  This game will be played at the UNF Arena at 7:30 p.m.

January 29:  JU at UNF (College Basketball)
  -The rematch in the battle for River City supremacy.  This game will be televised live on CSS at 7PM.

January 30:  Senior Bowl (College Football) from Mobile, AL
  -This annual All-Star game and showcase for NFL scouts will feature a handful of local players, and it might even include Tim Tebow if he decides to participate.

January 30:  Shrine Bowl (High School Football)
  -This annual All-Star game will be played at Mandarin High School at 2:30 p.m.

February 3:  National Signing Day (College Football)
  -Dozens of local high school football players will sign letters of intent to the colleges of their choice while those same colleges announce their incoming recruting classes.

February 12:  JU Basketball Reunion (College Basketball)
  -All former Dolphins basketball players are invited to attend this event which will honor the 40th anniversary of the 1970 NCAA Runner-Up team that featured 11-time All-Star Artis Gilmore.

February 14:  Daytona 500  (NASCAR race)

February 24:  NFL Combine begins
  -This week-long event from Indinapolis will feature hundreds of college football players who perform drills in front of NFL scouts and coaches.

March 5:  Free agent signing period begins  (NFL)
  -This is the first day that NFL teams can sign free agent players to their rosters.

April 16:  Jacksonville Sharks home opener
  -The brand new arena football team in town hosts the Orlando Predators at the Veterans Memorial Arena.

April 22-24:  NFL Draft
  -This is now a three-day event with the first round coming on Thursday night (April 22), the 2nd and 3rd rounds on Friday night (April 23), and rounds 4 through 7 getting underway on Saturday morning (April 24). 

May 6th-9th:  The Players (golf)
  -Will Tiger Woods return from his hiatus in time for this event in Ponte Vedra?  Only time will tell.