It’s a shame Venus was injured and couldn’t perform at the top of her game in the finals at Wimbledon, but in truth, the women’s finals wasn’t about who won and who lost. The Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, are far and away the best female players in the world. Yes Kim Clistjers and Justine […]
Now, there are eleven. Eleven being the operative word in that sentence. Eleven is a nice number, a good number for players on either side of a football. It’s about the right number on a soccer pitch for guys in the same color jersey, but it’s not the right number for teams in a conference. […]
About this time of year, I get to tell a fish story. You might know that I like to fish. I’m not very good at it, growing up on the concrete and asphalt streets of Baltimore wasn’t conducive to knowing anything about fishing. But my time in Charleston, S.C. and specifically in Jacksonville has given […]
There’s no real flash or pizzaz to the NBA Finals this year. No Lakers, no Knicks, no Michael, no nothing. San Antonio and New Jersey aren’t major metropolitan areas (technically speaking if you actually count New Jersey as New Jersey.) They aren’t teams with a rich history; in fact, both are ABA transfers who actually […]
Now that the circus has left town, the PGA Tour can look at the “Great Annika Experiment” and decide if it was good for everybody, or good for anybody. The organizers of the Colonial look brilliant. They invited the one person on the planet who can actually play, who brought more publicity to their tournament […]
It’s been a strange week for coaches and their image. Alabama football coach Mike Price goes to a charity golf tournament in Pensacola, has a few drinks, ends up in a strip bar and a woman charges $1000 of room service to his credit card the next morning in a Holiday Inn. Larry Eustachy declares […]
Jack Del Rio stepped to the podium on the day he was introduced as the Jaguars’ Head Coach, it didn’t take long to realize he was a presence. He commands attention and is a force in whatever he’s doing. He was that way as a player, as an assistant coach, and now as a Head […]
I’ve always said I’ve gotten to do things throughout my career that I never would have come close to if not for the job I have. Playing Augusta National is one of those things and near the top of the list. I’ve played Augusta several times, including last Monday as an invited member of the […]
Sometimes when you read the things you’ve heard said, they look very different in print. Sometimes without the impact and subtleties and sometimes more harsh than intended. Hootie Johnson, Chairman of Augusta National and the Masters golf tournament has suffered from both cases for the past ten months. He’s been characterized as a Neanderthal and […]
Plenty of people have been to Augusta National. Thousands stream here every year for the practice rounds, holding their tickets as if their admission to the site of the Holy Grail. Up until about five years ago, you could just show up in Augusta, walk to the gates of Augusta National and buy a ticket […]
When it happens in your town, it always seems so huge when weather stops play in the local PGA Tour event. But the guys on tour deal with weather every week. It’s no big deal to them. Sometimes we make a lot about the advantage of playing in the morning vs. playing in the afternoon, […]
It’s not the worst-case scenario, but it’s close. Florida’s second round 68-46 loss to Michigan State in the NCAA tournament is not the kind of ending to the season that Billy Donovan, the Gator players or fans expected. While it’s been an up and down year and the team is young, the expectations were high […]
“First off, move those microphones back some. I’d like to say first of all that the comment that was made earlier about being a little bit older and having a knee injury. I didn’t have knee injury. I had a bone bruise. I never had any knee surgeries, and I played the whole season. That […]
After a spate of college basketball transgressions have come to light in the last couple of weeks, the big hammer dropped on Monday when Georgia suspended their Head Coach Jim Harrick and withdrew the team from the SEC and the NCAA tournaments. Harrick has been suspended pending further investigation into academic fraud at the University, […]
In our never ending quest to look younger, feel better, have a slimmer waist and better hair, exercise has been tabbed as one of the essential ingredients to happiness. At least that’s what the studies say and that’s what the media has bought into. Despite Oprah’s focus on feeling good about yourself, even if you’re […]
Of course NASCAR should have run the Daytona 500, 500 miles, that part is indisputable. If it’s the biggest race of the year, it needs to be afforded that kind of attention to detail. But again, NASCAR is a growing organization, still uncomfortable in the glare of the “big sport” spotlight. The Monday before the […]
Opening testing to the news media and the public in January gives NASCAR a head start on publicity for the new season, but it really kicks off ten days before the Daytona 500, a 10-day “Speedweek.” The drivers gather on Thursday for the Bud Shootout draw, a goosed up media event that determines the starting […]
Going into Super Bowl XXXVII the main question was, Can the Bucs score? The answer, of course, is an emphatic yes. In fact, the Bucs were not only the best team in the playoffs but also the hottest, leaving San Francisco, Philadelphia and eventually Oakland in their dust. After a tentative first quarter, Tampa Bay […]
Going to a Super Bowl city can be fun, frustrating, exhilarating and exhausting all at the same time. Super Bowl XXXVII is San Diego’s third time hosting the NFL’s big party, and that’s just what it is: a big party, or parties to be more correct. While 70,000 people attend the game, upwards of 300,000 […]
A bunch of people asked me on Saturday, “Hey, who won that game last night?” Some of them just had a passing interest in what was going on (since neither Florida nor Florida State were playing) and others just went to bed before the game went into overtime. Either way, as sports fans, they missed […]
A bunch of people asked me on Saturday, “Hey, who won that game last night?” Some of them just had a passing interest in what was going on (since neither Florida nor Florida State were playing) and others just went to bed before the game went into overtime. Either way, as sports fans, they missed […]
Despite his obvious affection for Tom Coughlin, Jaguars Owner Wayne Weaver knew it was time for a change. “There’s a point in this business where you have to say we need innovative new ideas, new fresh approaches and you have to move in different directions, and that’s really what it’s all about,” Weaver said during […]
I don’t know if Tom Coughlin will be back as the Jaguars Head Coach next season. I do believe that only Wayne Weaver has the answer to that question, and he might not know what the answer is yet. I also believe the decision to keep or not keep Coughlin will not be based on […]
Guest Commentary by Kris Mulholland This will go down as the saddest day in Gainesville’s history. Believe me, I know. I grew up in Gainesville. Gainesville has seen its share of miserable days. Emmitt Smith skipping his senior season. Steve Spurrier resigning. Sister Hazel releasing a second album. Dwayne Schintzius deciding to grow a mullet. […]
It was just a two second shot on the television, nothing you’d notice if you looked away from the screen. With the victory in hand and his performance the difference, FSU quarterback Chris Rix, standing on his own sideline, turned and embraced teammate Alonzo Jackson. He whispered something in his ear, smiled and the two […]
In the parity world of the National Football League, it’s nearly impossible to predict games anymore. Calling a game the “lock of the week” seems like an oxymoron. Different levels of play occur each week with very little consistency among teams. The Forty-Niners are playing at home against a Donovan McNabb-less Eagles squad and they […]
I’ve been covering the Masters since 1979. I was there when Fuzzy Zoeller made that putt on 11 to win the Green Jacket and I’ve been there to see Tiger Woods begin his historic run. And I was there when they had those little brass plates on the wall that said “Gentlemen Only” designating card […]
Sitting in the office preparing for “The End Zone” at Sneakers Sports Grill last night, one of the managers, Colleen, told me about a young boy who was already in the audience. “He’s here as the guest of the Jaguars Boosters. He’s from “Make-a-Wish and has a terminal illness. Apparently he was supposed to go […]
Confident of victory coming in, the Bulldog faithful showed up in Jacksonville in full force. This year’s Georgia/Florida game had the feel of one of the great ’80’s rivalries where just about anything could happen. But again this year, the favored team struggled and Florida put a new shine on their season with a 20-13 […]
Could Saturday’s loss to Ole Miss signal the end of the “Golden Age” of Florida football? And not just the University of Florida but at Florida State as well? This season it appears there’s Miami and then there’s everybody else. Florida and FSU, perennial contenders for the state championship and therefore the national championship, appear […]
There seemed to be a collective yawn coming from our side of the Atlantic after Europe wrested the Ryder Cup from the Americans on Sunday. Yes, it was exciting, and some people tuned in live in the morning to catch all of the action, but there sure wasn’t the fervor that’s existed around the cup […]
When Bob Hayes became ill last year, I went to see him in the hospital at Shands Jacksonville, slipping in the back door and wandering up to his room. He did not look well, perhaps a simplistic statement about somebody who is in the hospital, but he looked sick. He called me by name as […]
Growing up in Baltimore in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s you were a Colts fan. There wasn’t a lot of choice in the matter. Everybody followed the Colts. Even if you moved to Baltimore from out of town, you might have kept your allegiance to some other team, but you did it quietly. On the […]
I let a girl take advantage of me at Wolfson Park once. Actually, she pretty much did whatever she wanted, and I just stood there, without any say in the matter. After about 3 minutes, she was finished with me, kind of chuckled, and sent me away. She had struck me out. That’s right, a […]
Even though they set a strike date of August 30th, Major League Baseball players continue to tell just about everybody privately that they’re not going on strike. Certainly the owners are hearing this, and in turn have hardened their position at the bargaining table, trying to effect sweeping reform on the economics of the game. […]
After the first week of camp, the Jaguars have a distinctly different feel than in previous years. This team has a little less braggadocio and a little more chippiness than in the past. Without established stars at so many positions, some young players have developed their own personalities and that’s spilled over to the rest […]
There are a lot of things to take from this year’s British Open (The Open Championship to the rest of the world). First, they play some pretty good golf around the world, not just on the PGA Tour. There’s no question, as a whole, the best golf is played in America where the money is […]
Just the mere talk about a baseball strike raises the ire of most sports fans. The average salary is more than 2 million a year, they say, and they’re going on strike? “I’m not doing it for me,” said Nomar Garciaparra, “I’m doing it for that little leaguer who will get here and say ‘I […]
I was at Wimbledon on Friday, seats at Centre Court and the whole bit. Wimbledon is very different than just about any sporting event there is. A cross between the Super Bowl and the Masters. The Super Bowl atmosphere, with people everywhere and a lot of excitement, the Masters feel because of the reverance afforded […]
With the US out of the World Cup, my interest is still there, but certainly not at the pitch it was. The contrasting style of play between countries makes any international match up with something on the line fascinating, but without the Americans involved, I’ll be a casual observer. The US team’s drive into the […]
