Sam’s Commentary

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Smart Football

My friend Michelle is the quintessential football fan. She loves the game. Loves the action, the hitting, and the strategy. I’ve seen her scream at the television, jump up from her desk and run around the office, flailing her hands in the air. I’ve seen her close her eyes and cover her face during a […]

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Inspiration

I’ve been thinking about the similarities between the Americans who brought home two of the biggest sporting prizes from Europe in the last two weeks. David Duval captured the Claret Jug as the “Champion Golfer of 2001” as they say in the presentation ceremony at The Open Championship, and Lance Armstrong’s wore the yellow jersey […]

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The Fix

The fix is not in. The talk about Dale Jr.’s win and Cal’s home run being pre-planned is silly. I guess next you’re going to tell me that the rest of the guys in the Tour de France are laying back so Lance Armstrong can win. Soon, people are going to go through past sports […]

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Return to Daytona

“Seven, eleven and three-quarters,” a fan shouted to me through the rain few years ago before the infield was open at Daytona International Speedway. “What?” was my bewildered response from the parking lot outside the tunnel entrance in turn four. “Seven, eleven and three-quarters,” (which actually sounded like “sevem levem, tree quarters”), the fan repeated. […]

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Seattle All Star

When they play the All star game in Seattle next week, it will have a definite Mariner feel to it. Four Mariners were named to the starting lineup, selected by the fans through paper ballots and Internet voting. While fans in other cities are crying about ballot box stuffing, which player would you take out […]

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20 Years

You might have seen on Channel 4 this week that I’m celebrating my 20th year at WJXT. It also marks the 20th year Tom Wills, Deborah Gianoulis, George Winterling and I have been the anchors at Channel 4, the longest running four person anchor team in television history. There are many people to thank starting […]

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World Sport

I’ve been in London and Paris for the past week with my family, going through the regular tourist routine, seeing the sights. I spent every frequent flyer mile I’ve ever earned and if you have children, you know, as they get older the vacations better get exciting or they won’t want to go. Anyway, the […]

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Dad

My Dad throws like a catcher. Kind of a short stroke, not much follow through. I have been on the receiving end of his throws many times. Mostly baseballs, but footballs too, the occasional Frisbee or nerf ball, all thrown with that short stroke. I’m lucky to have been on the receiving end of those […]

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Petty, Petty?

Eventually, we’ll know why Richard Petty decided this week to speak out regarding the Dale Earnhardt situation, but for now, it makes no sense at all. Petty chastised NASCAR fans for holding on to Earnhardt’s memory, saying it’s time to move on. “He didn’t win that many races,” the man they call The King said, […]

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Charley Pell

I wanted to wait a few days before writing about Charley Pell. Sometimes when people die, everybody’s coming out of the woodwork to say something about that person, good or bad. I first met Charley in 1978 in a back stairwell in Charleston, South Carolina. He was just getting his feet wet as the Head […]

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Realignment

I’m with Wayne Weaver on this one. The NFL owners should have blown the whole thing up and started over. Even Weaver’s idea of 16 teams in each conference playing one game against everybody else and one game against the other conference sounded intriguing. Wild, but intriguing. Instead, the owners opted for the “old” rivalries, […]

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Owners Profits

It must be the biggest secret since we cracked the Nazi code in WWII. NFL owners and administrators were aghast when their profit and loss statements were made public, a product of Al Davis’ suit against the league. “We’re not making that kind of money,” they collectively screamed from offices mostly paid for by the […]

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Mom

Stories about how Moms have influenced careers, made great athletes what they are, and pushed through adversity are plentiful. That’s the story about my Mom too. We didn’t grow up poor, but we weren’t close to rich either. (I never heard any discussions about money when I was a kid, but I did think liver […]

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The Fight Game!

Boxing has always been considered shady. Promoters are depicted in the movies wearing heavy pinstriped suits, black shirts, white ties and fedoras. The reason they’re portrayed that way, is because it’s not that far from the truth. Boxing is shady. Even at the highest levels there’s infighting, back-biting, double-dealing and outright theft. I can remember […]

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Jordan Abducted!

Whatever alien power that has stolen Michael Jordan should return him. Now. Anytime I’ve ever talked to Jordan, he’s been the model of what an athlete should be. A Jordan post-game press gathering was more conversation than interview. Jordan was gracious and patient, his answers in complete sentences (a rare commodity these days) well thought […]

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Guatemala Fantasy

I grew up a city kid. Concrete sidewalks, asphalt streets, a few ball fields around, but mostly houses, apartments, cars and buses. We did have a big field next to the house where they eventually built apartments. I made a lot of mischief there, all kid stuff. There was a stream running through my neighborhood. […]

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Tiger’s Greatness

The guy is phenomenal. Tiger Woods’ performance at the Masters was thrilling, strong willed and gutsy. It didn’t have the magic of his other major championship victories, but it had grit and was a show to remember. Is it a Grand Slam? No. Call it the Major Slam or the Quad Slam, whatever you want, […]

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Brunell Signs

“The days of free-spending free-agency are over. The salary cap is beginning to work.” With those words, Jaguars owner Wayne Weaver echoed the sentiments of his fellow NFL owners; the lottery is over. Weaver and quarterback Mark Brunell agreed at the “11th hour and 57th minute” on a four year, $30 million deal with an […]

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Terps Fever

It’s the first time, ever that the University of Maryland has their basketball team in the Final Four. Not “since whenever” or “post-whatever” but ever, as in forever. The Maryland basketball team is big news in Baltimore and Washington. The head coach is a star and the players celebrities. The football team is a sidelight […]

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Golf, Vodka and Soda

Some people say golf isn’t even a sport. A game they say, played by non-athletes who can do nothing else but hit a ball in a hole. I can see part of that. I’ve always contended that if you took a person who has inherent athletic skills, good hand-eye coordination and a desire to learn, […]