There’s s rich list of names and dates that are a part of Jacksonville’s baseball history: Henry Aaron 1953, Tom Seaver 1966, The Bragan’s 1984, Alex Rodriguez 1994 and even 2019 as current All-Stars Brad Hand, J.T. Realmuto, Christian Yelich and Clayton Kershaw all spent time In town during their ascent to the Majors. But […]
As they start the 106th edition of the Tour de France this weekend in Belgium, 17-time Tour finisher George Hincapie knows what the riders are feeling. “All of the Grand Tours are hard,” Hincapie said, looking fit and relaxed as we talked sitting in the study of his bike-centric Hotel Domestique in Travelers Rest, South […]
https://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/George-Hincapie.jpg10001400Sam Kouvarishttps://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/sam-kavouris-sam-sportsline.pngSam Kouvaris2019-07-05 18:07:072019-07-05 18:07:07George Hincapie Still Riding High
I’ve been pretty fortunate in my journalism career to do some exciting things and meet some interesting people. I’ve often said that I had the second best job in the world, Pat Summerall and now Jim Nantz topping that list. And you might have heard me say more than once, “I’ve flown with the Blue […]
https://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/racing-fishing.jpg10001400Sam Kouvarishttps://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/sam-kavouris-sam-sportsline.pngSam Kouvaris2019-06-27 09:10:492019-06-27 09:11:46Racin' and Fishin' at Daytona
To find National Champions, and lots of them, look no further than the Sporting Clay, Skeet and Trap team at JU. A shooting team? At JU you say? Exactly. They’ve won nineteen National Event Titles, at least two outright National Championships and have had thirteen team members invited to the U.S. Olympic Training Center. Each […]
Don’t spend any time worrying about Yannick Ngakoue not coming to the mini-camp. I can tell you this: the players don’t care. They all know this is the business part of the season and running around in his “pajamas,” as Head Coach Doug Marrone likes to say, isn’t going to make a bit of difference […]
This week the World Golf Hall of Fame will welcome five new members of the Class of 2019. In now what has become a bi-annual event, Peggy Kirk Bell, Jan Stephenson, Billy Payne, Retief Goosen and Dennis Walters will be inducted at Pebble Beach, site of this year’s U.S. Open. While they’ll be inducted in […]
https://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/World-Golf-Hall-of-Fame.jpg10001400Sam Kouvarishttps://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/sam-kavouris-sam-sportsline.pngSam Kouvaris2019-06-07 16:59:322019-06-07 16:59:32World Golf Hall of Fame
You never know who you might run into on the golf course. A few years ago I saw Jim Frey headed to the first tee at Marsh Landing. Sports fans know Jim as the manager of the Chicago Cubs in the mid-‘80’s. The Cubs were broadcast every day on WGN “Channel 9” on the cable […]
https://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/jim-frey.jpg10001400Sam Kouvarishttps://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/sam-kavouris-sam-sportsline.pngSam Kouvaris2019-06-01 17:30:092019-06-01 17:32:41Shoot Your Age 500 Times Former Cubs Manager Jim Frey Did That This Week
Lots of smart people come through the Jeopardy! pipeline but haven’t come close to what James Holzhauer is doing. Holzhauer is plenty smart and being a professional sports gambler, he knows how to play the odds but has the confidence and competitiveness of a top-level athlete. It’s a rare combination. It is impressive during Holzhauer’s […]
Yes I said Tiger wouldn’t win again and reiterated that he certainly wouldn’t win a Major for the rest of his career. In the crow-eating category, several of my friends charitable endeavors were bolstered out of my bank account thanks to Tiger winning last year in Atlanta and again at Augusta. I joked with them, […]
Pictures courtesy of the Jacksonville Jaguars/Rick Wilson There’s a prevailing thought that “all jobs are open” during the offseason in the NFL. There are 90 players on every roster once OTA’s start. Eventually that number gets pared down to the 53 on the team when the season starts. That means when the 32 teams get […]
https://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/jaguars-rookie-training-camp-1.jpg10001400Sam Kouvarishttps://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/sam-kavouris-sam-sportsline.pngSam Kouvaris2019-05-10 10:01:012019-05-13 10:20:50Odds Against Rookies in the NFL
There’s been a lot of talk recently about the measureables of athletes: height weight, 40-time, shuttle run, bench press. And some talk about production and “getting to the next level.” As anyone who’s played anything knows one of the best cliché’s in sports is “you can’t measure heart.” Because you can’t. That’s why Donnie Horner […]
When you pick a player in the first round of the NFL Draft, you expect him to step in a be a starter for ten years. That’s what first round talent is supposed to be: solid, reliable and sometimes spectacular. But despite the millions of dollars spent and the millions of man-hours dedicated to the […]
I’m not sure what the downside is to hitching our wagon to Shad Khan and going along for the ride. If a rising tide floats all boats, Khan IS the rising tide. Not many cities have a patron who is among the wealthiest people in the world. He has the vision and the wherewithal as […]
It’s called the “Offseason Conditioning Program” officially by the NFL but as we know, there is no “off-season” in the league. They’ve stretched it out to 12 months, hoping you’ll keep teams in mind when shopping, discussing and whetting your sports appetite. For the Jaguars, they’re hoping it’s a new beginning, or more specifically a […]
They played early at Augusta National in yesterday’s final round of The Masters because of weather. But it didn’t make a difference. Early or late, it’s the same. Because this is The Masters. It was a leaderboard fitting of The Masters with Major Champions trying to add to their collection and others trying to make […]
Receiving an invitation to cover the Masters when I was at Channel 2 in Charleston in late 1978 was an unexpected and welcome surprise. I took my Dad as my cameraman since I was a one-man sports department at the time. We rented a room through the Augusta Housing Bureau and were both amazed the […]
It was over forty years ago when Mayor Jake Godbold decided that Jacksonville’s image needed burnishing and the local citizenry needed their spirits lifted. He chose sports as a vehicle to promote city pride and invited Baltimore Colts’ owner Robert Irsay to town for the now-famous “Colt Fever.” Godbold was unfairly dubbed “Mayor Jock” because […]
https://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Lenny-Curry.jpg10001400Sam Kouvarishttps://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/sam-kavouris-sam-sportsline.pngSam Kouvaris2019-03-29 07:55:502019-03-29 07:55:50Mayor Curry on Board With Sports
There’s a certain level of confidence that’s needed to lead. Whether it’s a business, a political movement or a sports team, the leader has to believe in what he or she is doing. The problem is, sometimes those leaders are so cloistered, so single-minded that their confidence turns to hubris and things don’t go so […]
https://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/jacksonville-jaguars-offseason.jpg10001400Sam Kouvarishttps://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/sam-kavouris-sam-sportsline.pngSam Kouvaris2019-03-22 18:36:202019-03-22 22:39:17Are Jaguars acting with confidence or hubris? That answer is important.
On a tough weather day on a difficult golf course, Rory McIlroy used his new found “poise and patience” to win the 38th edition of The Players Championship contested at the TPC at Sawgrass Stadium Course. A missed birdie putt on two and an unheard of double-bogey six on number four could have derailed McIlroy’s […]
I’ve always said that most of the locals who attend THE PLAYERS think every PGA TOUR event is like this week in Ponte Vedra. The Players is like nothing else out there, taking the best from every PGA Tour stop all year and incorporating it into the TPC at Sawgrass for one week. It’s not […]
https://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/the-players-tpc-sawgrass.jpg10001400Sam Kouvarishttps://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/sam-kavouris-sam-sportsline.pngSam Kouvaris2019-03-13 09:36:472019-03-13 09:36:47THE PLAYERS a Blend of Then and Now
Season of ’73 Saved Baseball in Jax
/in Baseball /by Sam KouvarisThere’s s rich list of names and dates that are a part of Jacksonville’s baseball history: Henry Aaron 1953, Tom Seaver 1966, The Bragan’s 1984, Alex Rodriguez 1994 and even 2019 as current All-Stars Brad Hand, J.T. Realmuto, Christian Yelich and Clayton Kershaw all spent time In town during their ascent to the Majors. But […]
George Hincapie Still Riding High
/in Cycling /by Sam KouvarisAs they start the 106th edition of the Tour de France this weekend in Belgium, 17-time Tour finisher George Hincapie knows what the riders are feeling. “All of the Grand Tours are hard,” Hincapie said, looking fit and relaxed as we talked sitting in the study of his bike-centric Hotel Domestique in Travelers Rest, South […]
Racin’ and Fishin’ at Daytona
/in Fishing, NASCAR /by Sam KouvarisI’ve been pretty fortunate in my journalism career to do some exciting things and meet some interesting people. I’ve often said that I had the second best job in the world, Pat Summerall and now Jim Nantz topping that list. And you might have heard me say more than once, “I’ve flown with the Blue […]
This Team Wins Titles
/in Featured /by Sam KouvarisTo find National Champions, and lots of them, look no further than the Sporting Clay, Skeet and Trap team at JU. A shooting team? At JU you say? Exactly. They’ve won nineteen National Event Titles, at least two outright National Championships and have had thirteen team members invited to the U.S. Olympic Training Center. Each […]
Jaguars Locker Room Leadership
/in Jacksonville Jaguars /by Sam KouvarisDon’t spend any time worrying about Yannick Ngakoue not coming to the mini-camp. I can tell you this: the players don’t care. They all know this is the business part of the season and running around in his “pajamas,” as Head Coach Doug Marrone likes to say, isn’t going to make a bit of difference […]
World Golf Hall of Fame
/in Golf /by Sam KouvarisThis week the World Golf Hall of Fame will welcome five new members of the Class of 2019. In now what has become a bi-annual event, Peggy Kirk Bell, Jan Stephenson, Billy Payne, Retief Goosen and Dennis Walters will be inducted at Pebble Beach, site of this year’s U.S. Open. While they’ll be inducted in […]
Shoot Your Age 500 Times Former Cubs Manager Jim Frey Did That This Week
/in Baseball, Golf /by Sam KouvarisYou never know who you might run into on the golf course. A few years ago I saw Jim Frey headed to the first tee at Marsh Landing. Sports fans know Jim as the manager of the Chicago Cubs in the mid-‘80’s. The Cubs were broadcast every day on WGN “Channel 9” on the cable […]
Holzhauer Streak on Jeopardy! Impressive!
/in Featured /by Sam KouvarisLots of smart people come through the Jeopardy! pipeline but haven’t come close to what James Holzhauer is doing. Holzhauer is plenty smart and being a professional sports gambler, he knows how to play the odds but has the confidence and competitiveness of a top-level athlete. It’s a rare combination. It is impressive during Holzhauer’s […]
Tiger Misses Cut, Still Wins
/in Golf /by Sam KouvarisYes I said Tiger wouldn’t win again and reiterated that he certainly wouldn’t win a Major for the rest of his career. In the crow-eating category, several of my friends charitable endeavors were bolstered out of my bank account thanks to Tiger winning last year in Atlanta and again at Augusta. I joked with them, […]
Odds Against Rookies in the NFL
/in Football, Jacksonville Jaguars /by Sam KouvarisPictures courtesy of the Jacksonville Jaguars/Rick Wilson There’s a prevailing thought that “all jobs are open” during the offseason in the NFL. There are 90 players on every roster once OTA’s start. Eventually that number gets pared down to the 53 on the team when the season starts. That means when the 32 teams get […]
Can’t Measure Heart
/in Featured, Running /by Sam KouvarisThere’s been a lot of talk recently about the measureables of athletes: height weight, 40-time, shuttle run, bench press. And some talk about production and “getting to the next level.” As anyone who’s played anything knows one of the best cliché’s in sports is “you can’t measure heart.” Because you can’t. That’s why Donnie Horner […]
Jaguars Take Allen, Easy Pick
/in Jacksonville Jaguars /by Sam KouvarisWhen you pick a player in the first round of the NFL Draft, you expect him to step in a be a starter for ten years. That’s what first round talent is supposed to be: solid, reliable and sometimes spectacular. But despite the millions of dollars spent and the millions of man-hours dedicated to the […]
Hitch Our Wagon to Shad Khan and Let’s Go!
/in Jacksonville Jaguars /by Sam KouvarisI’m not sure what the downside is to hitching our wagon to Shad Khan and going along for the ride. If a rising tide floats all boats, Khan IS the rising tide. Not many cities have a patron who is among the wealthiest people in the world. He has the vision and the wherewithal as […]
Culture, Not X’s and O’s Jaguars Focus
/in Jacksonville Jaguars /by Sam KouvarisIt’s called the “Offseason Conditioning Program” officially by the NFL but as we know, there is no “off-season” in the league. They’ve stretched it out to 12 months, hoping you’ll keep teams in mind when shopping, discussing and whetting your sports appetite. For the Jaguars, they’re hoping it’s a new beginning, or more specifically a […]
The Masters is Emotional
/in Golf /by Sam KouvarisThey played early at Augusta National in yesterday’s final round of The Masters because of weather. But it didn’t make a difference. Early or late, it’s the same. Because this is The Masters. It was a leaderboard fitting of The Masters with Major Champions trying to add to their collection and others trying to make […]
Masters Memories
/in Golf /by Sam KouvarisReceiving an invitation to cover the Masters when I was at Channel 2 in Charleston in late 1978 was an unexpected and welcome surprise. I took my Dad as my cameraman since I was a one-man sports department at the time. We rented a room through the Augusta Housing Bureau and were both amazed the […]
Mayor Curry on Board With Sports
/in SamSports Headlines /by Sam KouvarisIt was over forty years ago when Mayor Jake Godbold decided that Jacksonville’s image needed burnishing and the local citizenry needed their spirits lifted. He chose sports as a vehicle to promote city pride and invited Baltimore Colts’ owner Robert Irsay to town for the now-famous “Colt Fever.” Godbold was unfairly dubbed “Mayor Jock” because […]
Are Jaguars acting with confidence or hubris? That answer is important.
/in Jacksonville Jaguars /by Sam KouvarisThere’s a certain level of confidence that’s needed to lead. Whether it’s a business, a political movement or a sports team, the leader has to believe in what he or she is doing. The problem is, sometimes those leaders are so cloistered, so single-minded that their confidence turns to hubris and things don’t go so […]
McIlroy Wins Players, Furyk Contends
/in Golf /by Sam KouvarisOn a tough weather day on a difficult golf course, Rory McIlroy used his new found “poise and patience” to win the 38th edition of The Players Championship contested at the TPC at Sawgrass Stadium Course. A missed birdie putt on two and an unheard of double-bogey six on number four could have derailed McIlroy’s […]
THE PLAYERS a Blend of Then and Now
/in Golf /by Sam KouvarisI’ve always said that most of the locals who attend THE PLAYERS think every PGA TOUR event is like this week in Ponte Vedra. The Players is like nothing else out there, taking the best from every PGA Tour stop all year and incorporating it into the TPC at Sawgrass for one week. It’s not […]