It could be more exciting, but I doubt it. The first half of the Championship game had everything you could ask for in a basketball game. Up and down play, physical match ups, unparalleled intensity and a packed, enthusiastic house. The only thing it didn’t have was good shooting. UCLA hit 29% while Florida was […]
“It’s not about me,” is how Florida Head Coach Billy Donovan began his answer. One of the hundreds of scribes covering the Final Four in Indianapolis wanted to know just what it would mean to him to win the National Championship. “That’s something I want to make very clear,” Donovan continued. “It’s not about me, […]
Having seen Florida play a couple of times during the regular season, when they showed up in Jacksonville for the first and second round I wondered, “what’d they do with the Gators?” They played OK during the regular season, starting with seventeen straight wins but going 7-6 in the next thirteen games to become an […]
Good stuff for the past five days in Jacksonville for the NCAA first and second round games. Hard to imagine a better setting for four days of basketball and some R and R for fans. If you’re on the NCAA site selection committee, there are not too many better places for a visit in early […]
https://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2004/02/jacksonville-sports-jaguars-sam-kouvaris.jpg4931000Sam Kouvarishttps://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/sam-kavouris-sam-sportsline.pngSam Kouvaris2006-03-20 11:42:452019-08-17 11:43:22No Basketball Jones Here
As much as the NFL owners are portrayed as a fraternity of like-minded, chummy associates, when it comes to money, their relationship is about business. That was very apparent in the final day of the meeting/negotiating session in Dallas as the owners were trying to hash out revenue sharing among themselves and a deal with […]
https://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2004/02/jacksonville-sports-jaguars-sam-kouvaris.jpg4931000Sam Kouvarishttps://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/sam-kavouris-sam-sportsline.pngSam Kouvaris2006-03-10 11:41:542019-08-17 11:42:27They Made A Deal
It seems almost unheard of that the NFL could some how screw things up, but from the rhetoric surrounding the labor talks, we know that anything is possible. The owner and the players are apparently far apart on the issues and that in itself, even if they ever make a deal, seems ludicrous. I’m well […]
From the Super Bowl to the Daytona 500 is a big jump, but since the NFL moved their big game back a week, the two biggest events in football and auto racing now follow each other just two weeks apart. Detroit was miserable and everybody knows it. They got a free pass from most of […]
You could only chuckle when the reports about Detroit hosting the Super Bowl started coming in. The game was awarded to the Motor City as a nod to the car manufacturers, William Clay Ford the owner of the Lions, Roger Penske and as a reward for building a new stadium. Detroit’s like any other “Old […]
As a voter for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, I get a chance each year to hear the pros and cons debated about each of the eligible players the day before the Super Bowl. There are 39 electors on the Hall of Fame committee, writers and broadcasters representing the 32 NFL cities, the Pro […]
“The season?” Mike Peterson asked in response to a question about his reflections of the year. “The season was great, 12-4 but we didn’t get it done tonight. I’m not into making excuses. If I’m on the field, I’m supposed to make tackles. I didn’t. We lost.” That was the general theme in a quiet […]
More than anything I was glad that decision day finally came for Tim Tebow of Nease High School. Both he and his parents looked frazzled at the announcement in St. John’s County on Tuesday. Tebow picked Florida and the auditorium erupted with applause. I couldn’t help but think what the reaction would have been if […]
Sometimes it’s meaningful, and other times it’s just for the pride factor. Against the Colts, the Jaguars really didn’t have anything tangible to play for except pride. The Colts are going to win the division, win or lose in Jacksonville, and the Jaguars are going to have to win a couple of games down the […]
I just wrote a commentary called “Finding Florida State,” a little play on the “Finding Forrester” movie that concentrated on self-discovery. To put it nicely, Bobby Bowden’s self-discovery involved a little bit of the “evil eye” all week long. In the twenty-five years I’ve known him, I’ve never seen Bowden as angry as he was […]
https://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2004/02/jacksonville-sports-jaguars-sam-kouvaris.jpg4931000Sam Kouvarishttps://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/sam-kavouris-sam-sportsline.pngSam Kouvaris2005-12-06 23:40:142019-08-16 23:40:43Florida State Found
It’s Bobby’s fault. No, it’s Jeff’s fault. Wait a minute, it’s Mickey’s fault. Actually let’s blame it on Chris Rix or even Jared Jones. That’s the game that’s going on in Tallahassee: Who’s to blame? Perhaps the blaming should stop (it won’t) and the hand wringing could take a small break for a quick analysis […]
“Do you think we’ll still be running this offense five years from now?” one Gator fan asked me last week. “If Urban Meyer is still your coach,” I answered. The fan just rolled his eyes and walked away. “Have you gotten on the ‘bash Urban’ bandwagon?” one Georgia fan asked me this week. The point […]
Long time Jacksonville television personality and social pioneer Dick Stratton died on Sunday 11/06/05 after a lengthy illness. He Was 78. Sam remembers his long-time friend and mentor below. Dick Stratton: 1927-2005 Jacksonville’s First “Star” Dick Stratton There’s a plaque on the wall in the press box of the stadium that reads: “Dick’s career spanned […]
No surprise that the Jaguars and the City resolved their differences in a fact-to-face meeting between Wayne Weaver and John Peyton. Once they got into the room together, Peyton knew he needed to figure out a way to get the deal done, and Weaver knew he had all of the legal cards on his side […]
Thinking back to the late ‘80’s and early ‘90’s when the NFL was talking about expansion and Jacksonville was doing everything it could to be noticed, a stadium lease and an agreement between the city and any NFL team was an afterthought. That idea went right to the forefront though when the people trying to […]
When Jacksonville was awarded a franchise in the NFL I was as excited as anybody as a sports fan. As a journalist, the field was open and the possibilities were endless. A lot of that didn’t work out, and a lot of it did, the one constant being our Monday night show, “The End Zone.” […]
After they beat Kentucky, I went on the air and talked about how the Gators were now Urban Meyer’s team. Not the remnants of the Steve Spurrier era, not a bunch of Ron Zook’s recruits but rather actually Urban Meyer’s team. The offense had the looks of confidence needed to run that spread option and […]
Gators: National Champs
/in College Basketball/by Sam KouvarisIt could be more exciting, but I doubt it. The first half of the Championship game had everything you could ask for in a basketball game. Up and down play, physical match ups, unparalleled intensity and a packed, enthusiastic house. The only thing it didn’t have was good shooting. UCLA hit 29% while Florida was […]
Billy Donovan’s World
/in College Basketball/by Sam Kouvaris“It’s not about me,” is how Florida Head Coach Billy Donovan began his answer. One of the hundreds of scribes covering the Final Four in Indianapolis wanted to know just what it would mean to him to win the National Championship. “That’s something I want to make very clear,” Donovan continued. “It’s not about me, […]
Gators In Indy
/in College Football/by Sam KouvarisHaving seen Florida play a couple of times during the regular season, when they showed up in Jacksonville for the first and second round I wondered, “what’d they do with the Gators?” They played OK during the regular season, starting with seventeen straight wins but going 7-6 in the next thirteen games to become an […]
No Basketball Jones Here
/in College Basketball/by Sam KouvarisGood stuff for the past five days in Jacksonville for the NCAA first and second round games. Hard to imagine a better setting for four days of basketball and some R and R for fans. If you’re on the NCAA site selection committee, there are not too many better places for a visit in early […]
They Made A Deal
/in Football/by Sam KouvarisAs much as the NFL owners are portrayed as a fraternity of like-minded, chummy associates, when it comes to money, their relationship is about business. That was very apparent in the final day of the meeting/negotiating session in Dallas as the owners were trying to hash out revenue sharing among themselves and a deal with […]
It’s The Goose, Stupid!
/in Football/by Sam KouvarisIt seems almost unheard of that the NFL could some how screw things up, but from the rhetoric surrounding the labor talks, we know that anything is possible. The owner and the players are apparently far apart on the issues and that in itself, even if they ever make a deal, seems ludicrous. I’m well […]
Changing Daytona
/in NASCAR/by Sam KouvarisFrom the Super Bowl to the Daytona 500 is a big jump, but since the NFL moved their big game back a week, the two biggest events in football and auto racing now follow each other just two weeks apart. Detroit was miserable and everybody knows it. They got a free pass from most of […]
Detroit’s XL
/in Football/by Sam KouvarisYou could only chuckle when the reports about Detroit hosting the Super Bowl started coming in. The game was awarded to the Motor City as a nod to the car manufacturers, William Clay Ford the owner of the Lions, Roger Penske and as a reward for building a new stadium. Detroit’s like any other “Old […]
Hall Of Fame Choices
/in Football/by Sam KouvarisAs a voter for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, I get a chance each year to hear the pros and cons debated about each of the eligible players the day before the Super Bowl. There are 39 electors on the Hall of Fame committee, writers and broadcasters representing the 32 NFL cities, the Pro […]
The Season
/in Jacksonville Jaguars/by Sam Kouvaris“The season?” Mike Peterson asked in response to a question about his reflections of the year. “The season was great, 12-4 but we didn’t get it done tonight. I’m not into making excuses. If I’m on the field, I’m supposed to make tackles. I didn’t. We lost.” That was the general theme in a quiet […]
Tebow’s Choice
/in College Football, High School Football/by Sam KouvarisMore than anything I was glad that decision day finally came for Tim Tebow of Nease High School. Both he and his parents looked frazzled at the announcement in St. John’s County on Tuesday. Tebow picked Florida and the auditorium erupted with applause. I couldn’t help but think what the reaction would have been if […]
Risk-Reward Jaguars
/in Jacksonville Jaguars/by Sam KouvarisSometimes it’s meaningful, and other times it’s just for the pride factor. Against the Colts, the Jaguars really didn’t have anything tangible to play for except pride. The Colts are going to win the division, win or lose in Jacksonville, and the Jaguars are going to have to win a couple of games down the […]
Florida State Found
/in College Football/by Sam KouvarisI just wrote a commentary called “Finding Florida State,” a little play on the “Finding Forrester” movie that concentrated on self-discovery. To put it nicely, Bobby Bowden’s self-discovery involved a little bit of the “evil eye” all week long. In the twenty-five years I’ve known him, I’ve never seen Bowden as angry as he was […]
Finding Florida State
/in College Football/by Sam KouvarisIt’s Bobby’s fault. No, it’s Jeff’s fault. Wait a minute, it’s Mickey’s fault. Actually let’s blame it on Chris Rix or even Jared Jones. That’s the game that’s going on in Tallahassee: Who’s to blame? Perhaps the blaming should stop (it won’t) and the hand wringing could take a small break for a quick analysis […]
Urban Crisis
/in College Football/by Sam Kouvaris“Do you think we’ll still be running this offense five years from now?” one Gator fan asked me last week. “If Urban Meyer is still your coach,” I answered. The fan just rolled his eyes and walked away. “Have you gotten on the ‘bash Urban’ bandwagon?” one Georgia fan asked me this week. The point […]
Dick Stratton: 1927-2005
/in SamSports Headlines/by Sam KouvarisLong time Jacksonville television personality and social pioneer Dick Stratton died on Sunday 11/06/05 after a lengthy illness. He Was 78. Sam remembers his long-time friend and mentor below. Dick Stratton: 1927-2005 Jacksonville’s First “Star” Dick Stratton There’s a plaque on the wall in the press box of the stadium that reads: “Dick’s career spanned […]
Jacksonville’s Jaguars
/in Jacksonville Jaguars/by Sam KouvarisNo surprise that the Jaguars and the City resolved their differences in a fact-to-face meeting between Wayne Weaver and John Peyton. Once they got into the room together, Peyton knew he needed to figure out a way to get the deal done, and Weaver knew he had all of the legal cards on his side […]
Jacksonville Vs. Jaguars
/in Jacksonville Jaguars/by Sam KouvarisThinking back to the late ‘80’s and early ‘90’s when the NFL was talking about expansion and Jacksonville was doing everything it could to be noticed, a stadium lease and an agreement between the city and any NFL team was an afterthought. That idea went right to the forefront though when the people trying to […]
Rashean Mathis, Star
/in Football, Jacksonville Jaguars/by Sam KouvarisWhen Jacksonville was awarded a franchise in the NFL I was as excited as anybody as a sports fan. As a journalist, the field was open and the possibilities were endless. A lot of that didn’t work out, and a lot of it did, the one constant being our Monday night show, “The End Zone.” […]
Urban Challenge
/in College Football/by Sam KouvarisAfter they beat Kentucky, I went on the air and talked about how the Gators were now Urban Meyer’s team. Not the remnants of the Steve Spurrier era, not a bunch of Ron Zook’s recruits but rather actually Urban Meyer’s team. The offense had the looks of confidence needed to run that spread option and […]