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 […]
I’m not too worried about whether the United States wins or loses in the World Cup. Don’t get me wrong. I’m thrilled that we (about the only time anybody in sports can use the word “we” is when referring to their own national team) beat Portugal. Nobody thought the US had a chance against the […]
In this month of TV ratings or “sweeps” with all of the choices on television, I was surfing the channels the other night and stopped on a PBS documentary about Muhammad Ali. Yet another contest that Ali wins hands down. The champ vs. any made-for-TV movie. This documentary focused on Ali’s ring record and his […]
It’s now under a thousand days before the Super Bowl is played here in Jacksonville. There’s a little bit of anticipation about the game, but any real enthusiasm has been kept pretty well under wraps. I’ve covered the game since the early ‘80’s and have seen successful host cities, and not so successful host cities. […]
I was doing my regular appearance on the Lex and Terry Morning show today when new Colorado Rockies manager Clint Hurdle called in. Hurdle is a former Major League player who was once called the “Next Phenom” by Sports Illustrated magazine on their cover. He was a solid player who now talks mostly about his […]
As expected, the mini-camp just completed was a get acquainted session for the players and coaches of the 2002 Jaguars. Just over half of the players were brand new, 46 of the 89 on the field had never been there before. A chance for the coaches to let the players know what’s expected, and a […]
There’s been so much focus on who’s not on the Jaguars, now that the draft is over its time to look at who is on the team. The names are actually ones you know, but the question is whether they can play or not. Todd Fordham, Brad Meester, John Wade, Maurice Williams, Zach Weigert, Chris […]
I don’t know if my annual trip to Augusta would be considered a pilgrimage or a reunion because it feels like a little bit of both. Even the drive through eastern Georgia each spring is nostalgic. Going through towns, like Statesboro, Sardis and Waynesboro, depending on the route we take, seeing how they’ve changed over […]
As the picture of six of New York’s finest slowly parading the tattered American Flag to mid-court before Monday night’s national championship game crossed the television screen I elbowed Irish, sitting next to me at the bar and said, “ Hey look, there’s the flag.” Irish, of course, is my close friend Pat Rainey, Commander, […]
I had a chance to spend a few minutes with Wayne Weaver yesterday. He wanted to talk about the upcoming Fan Forum at the stadium. An event where he and other Jaguars executives (I wonder if Tom Coughlin will be there) will meet with Jaguars fans at the Stadium to hear about what’s right and […]
I remember watching the NCAA selection show one year when JU was going to get a bid. They drew Temple in the first round in Dayton. Not bad I thought, until then-coach Bob Wenzel came on the news and complained loud and hard about being the 8th seed. He talked about how hard the 8-9 […]
I laughed out loud when I heard University of Maryland basketball coach Gary Williams talk about his fondest memory at Cole Field House. “Sitting in section Q and taking two exams to get out of here,” is how Williams said he’d remember the 47-year home to Maryland basketball. Yesterday, the Terps finished the regular season […]
I was watching the Closing Ceremonies the other night from the Salt Lake Olympic Winter Games, trying to figure out why I like the games so much. The XIX Winter Games had special appeal because they were held in the United States. It was a chance to wave the flag and host people from all […]
The 44th running of the Daytona 500 had all of the elements that have made NASCAR racing the premier motor sports attraction in the United States. It had the blend of racing, rubbin’, cautions, a rare red flag, lead changes, personality and goofiness that draws people to NASCAR racing. I was walking through the infield […]
We’re a couple of days into the Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake. The opening ceremonies were a beautiful international celebration, reflective of the history of the American West, and at the same time respectful of what’s going on in the United States right now. The competition has been tight with some medals won or […]
All of the little sayings turned out to be true. Third time’s a charm, defense wins championships, and they didn’t become sayings because they’re not true. In their third trip to the Super Bowl, the New England Patriots became champions, relying on the defense to get the job done. It’s not the biggest upset in […]
In an odd twist, all three times the Patriots have made it to the Super Bowl; the game has been played in New Orleans. New England wasn’t competitive against the Bears or the Packers in their other two appearances and is already a 14-½ point underdog to the Rams. Fourteen and a half? That’s not […]
Imagine this conversation at the Jaguars offices: Wayne Weaver: “Alright, who are we putting on the expansion draft list?” Rick Reprish (Personnel Director): “It needs to be somebody who’s actually taken off our hands. Somebody who can play.” Paul Vance (new capologist): “It needs to be somebody who clears a lot of cap room for […]
Full of hubris and humility, swagger and sweetness, Steve Spurrier owned the room yesterday in his first remarks as Head Coach of the Washington Redskins. If you wanted to like him going in, you loved him when you left. If you didn’t care for his style beforehand, you were gagging halfway through. It was classic […]
It’s been a week since Steve Spurrier resigned at Florida and the domino effect is still taking place. Ron Zook has replaced Spurrier, but the rest of the jobs that were real possibilities last week are still possibilities. The Vikings have a coach, the Chargers still do not. The front-runner for Steve’s services is Carolina. […]
It was only uncomfortable a couple of times in the large meeting room yesterday under the stadium where the University of Florida makes their big athletic program announcements. New Head Football Coach Ron Zook was at the end of answering questions and was rambling on, telling a story about how he was hired in Pittsburgh. […]
Finding the right coach to lead the Gator Nation was a tough enough job to begin with. Having to do the searching in public made the process a whole lot harder. What if Jeremy Foley had just kept everything to himself and then popped up yesterday and said “It’s Ron Zook.” Gator fans would have […]
Finding a football coach for the University of Florida isn’t a hard job. Finding the right coach is a very difficult task. There are a lot of factors Athletic Director Jeremy Foley is dealing with, not the least of which is the next coach will have to follow Steve Spurrier. Spurrier was so successful at […]
Usually the Monday following the final weekend of the NFL regular season is pretty cut and dried. Certain coaches know they’re going to be fired, the playoffs are set and everybody is looking toward the playoffs. None of that’s true today as not even the playoff picture is set. If the Ravens win tonight they’re […]
When he decided to leave, he just left. After fifteen years as a college Head Coach and twelve at the University of Florida, Steve Spurrier just decided he’d had enough. And true to form when he made up his mind to leave, he left. He didn’t hedge, he didn’t negotiate, he just left. He didn’t […]
In the middle of the locker room, Jaguars Linebacker Kevin Hardy stood, with the help of crutches, surveying the landscape. As he looked around, the sight was different than anything he’d seen in the past, and is different than anything the locker room will look like in the future. There are remnants of the Jaguars […]
