Sam’s Commentary

Malik Jackson At The Players: “It’s Pretty Dope”

He’d be hard to miss in any situation. But Jaguars defensive lineman Malik Jackson at 6’6″ and 290 lbs. was wearing a bright burnt, Tennessee orange shirt on Thursday watching golf in the first round of The Players. “It’s just to see all of my Tennessee brothers and sisters,” he said with a laugh and […]

Winning Score? TPC Stadium Is Firm And Fast

If they wanted to, they could make it impossible. The Stadium Course in 2017 is going to be firm and fast, thanks to a lack of rain in Ponte Vedra in the last month. “We’ve been able to control it this year,” said Jeff Plotts, the Stadium Course’s Director of Agronomy. “We haven’t had rain […]

Sergio: Everybody’s New Favorite

It’s funny how perceptions change. Think George Foreman. Big, hulking, brooding, tough guy that nobody rooted for as the heavyweight champion. After losing to Ali in the ‘rope-a-dope’ fight, the public started to take to Foreman and through the years he’s become the big loveable guy who sells grills. For a long time in his […]

THE PLAYERS In May Or March Is Still Huge

As administrations have changed at the PGA Tour over the last 40 years, the focus of The Players has changed as well. The tournament founder and then-Commissioner Deane Beman wanted it to be the first significant tournament of the year. And in truth, wanted it to become the fifth major. Beman was visionary when it […]

GJO To The Players Is A Long Trip

From John Tucker, Dick Stratton and a few others sitting at Silver’s Drug Store in Jax Beach talking about holding a golf tournament to the present day, the old GJO (Greater Jacksonville Open) has morphed into one of the biggest sporting events in the world. It didn’t take long for the new Executive Director of […]

Jaguars Take “Bama OL In 2nd Round

Photo by: Phillips Helmets It’s not hard to see where Tom Coughlin wants to take the Jaguars as the VP of Football Operations. His long-time mantra of ‘run the football, stop the run’ is already reflected in the Jaguars signings in free agency and taking Leonard Fournette at the top of the draft. As a […]

Jaguars Take Fournette: “Physical”

Photo by: Phillips Helmets I’m willing to be gladly surprised, especially if Leonard Fournette is everything the Jaguars think he is. “He’s special, he’s special,” Jaguars VP of Football operations Tom Coughlin repeated at the podium tonight after making the pick. “We need players who can put it in the end zone. This guy can […]

Past Is Prologue For The Jaguars Draft

Photo by: Phillips Helmets To figure out what the Jaguars are going to do, the best barometer is what they’ve done in the past. And you can go back to when Tom Coughlin was last making the decisions in Jacksonville. “You want to take the best player available,” he said last week discussing how the […]

Jaguars Draft 2017: Take The Best Player

Photo by: Phillips Helmets For all the changes the Jaguars have made on the team and the administration for 2017, one thing remains the same: No real information from the pre-draft luncheon. At least this year it was a bit of a cat-and-mouse game between Vice President of Football Operations Tom Coughlin, Head Coach Doug […]

Nothing Good In The Jags 2017 Schedule

Photo by: Phillips Helmets Of the things that come to mind when looking at the Jaguars 2017 schedule the best are the fact that seven of the 13 opponents had losing record in 2016 and there are only three playoff teams to face. Everything else is summed up well by my colleague Cole Pepper: “If […]

Mt. Acosta Classic Is Something Special

Now in it’s fifth year, the Mt. Acosta Classic might be the most unique and interesting running/cycling/endurance event in North Florida. “To be able to have the bridge shut down and not have any vehicles on the road gives everybody an appreciation of how beautiful the city is,” said Marie McMaster the Race Director and […]

Marrone Looking For Competition, Consistency

Photo by: Phillips Helmets It doesn’t matter where Jaguars Head Coach Doug Marrone is or who’s asking the question. The question is always the same: “What about Blake Bortles?” At the AFC Coaches breakfast at the NFL’s annual meeting in Phoenix, Marrone was asked about Bortles in every way possible. And he stuck by his […]

Khan “Actions Speak Louder Than Words”

Photo by: Phillips Helmets In his five years as the owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Shad Khan has become an integral part of the NFL Ownership. On the finance committee and chairman of the league’s business development committee, Khan is helping make policy now and shaping the league for the future. Since his investment in […]

Coughlin “We Need A Culture Change”

Photo by: Phillips Helmets It didn’t take long for Tom Coughlin to identify one change the Jaguars needed to make. “We need a culture change. People need to know your goals when they walk in the door,” the Jaguars VP of Football Operations said at the NFL Owners meeting in Phoenix on Monday. “We have […]

NFL Owners Talk Player Safety, Shorter Games In Phoenix

For the first part of this week the NFL Owners will get together in Phoenix for what they call the “Annual Meeting.” It’s the only time each year all 32 Owners, GM’s, Presidents, Coaches and executives get together to talk about immediate changes to improve the game and look to the future of the game […]

Gators Swamp Virginia, Head To New York

When the game is only two-twenty minute halves, streaks can go a long way. Either way. Florida went on a 21-0 run against Virginia in their second round NCAA game in Orlando while the Cavaliers were scoreless for eight minutes. That combination put the Gators up by 19 on their way to a 65-39 win. […]

FSU Can’t Shoot, Loses To Xavier

Smooth and organized never described the 2016-17 Florida State basketball team. Even by Head Coach Leonard Thompson’s own assessment, the ‘Noles liked to “pressure the ball and be aggressive.” That made any deficit look erasable. Except when the opponent shoots 66% in the first half and pretty much keeps it up for the entire game. […]

DL3 In The HOF, Still Wants To Play

It would be easy to describe Davis Love III as a local guy who made good. But he’s so much more than that. A golf pedigree that included his father as a former professional and one of the top teachers in the world and a low-handicap mom put “DL3” at the top of prodigies expected […]

Jaguars Free-agency Preview: Plugging Holes

Photo by: Phillips Helmets As the Jaguars segue into a new era, how they approach free-agency in 2017 will give us some clues about what new Executive Vice President Tom Coughlin thinks the team needs to change to win. We know from his previous stint in Jacksonville and how he helped build the New York […]

Shorter SpeedWeeks, Better Racing?

From a 21-day stretch known as “SpeedWeeks” the racing at Daytona International Speedway has been condensed down to a few days. NASCAR fans still plan their February vacation around the 500, but the days of comping out in the infield for weeks or parking your multi-million-dollar RV and making new friends around the nightly bonfire […]