F@#k It, Let's Go Bowling

Yes, The Dude and Walter Sobchak would most definitely support Disney's newest venture. Well, at least on every day except Shabbos.

And exactly what is Disney's new addition to its Wide World of Sports complex going to be? How about a 100 lane bowling stadium? Yeah, when you're laying down that much wood you get to call it a stadium.

Disney's Wide World of Sports is expanding its strike zone with what could be the biggest bowling stadium in the country.

Planned for 100 lanes, stadium-style seating and a restaurant, the facility would be complete in about 18 months. When not used for tournaments, the stadium would be open to the public, Disney officials said Monday.

"It's big. It will be big for the area," said Ray Turgeon of Winter Springs, a bowler who had heard rumors about the facility and the tournaments it will host. "For a lot of new bowlers who have not bowled in a national tournament, it would be great."

Big is an understatement. The venue is going to be huge. Though, apparently United States Bowling Congress tournaments are the "world's largest participatory sporting event", and Osceola County is hoping that they'll energize the economy with dollars from the visiting bowlers. Hopefully, none of them show up with an empty briefcase, and a sob story about a stolen rug.

Keith Brumbaugh, Getting Closer To The NBA Everyday

I've covered the saga of Keith Brumbaugh on quite a few occasions. When that first post was written, almost two years ago, it seemed that Brumbaugh had become another talented basketball player that couldn't stay out of trouble off of the court. However, since that arrest he's gotten his life back on track, tallied good numbers while playing for Hillsborough Community College and declared for the NBA Draft. On Wednesday night he took another big step forward by participating in the NBA Pre-Draft Camp, and putting in a good showing.

This is the week Brumbaugh has been waiting for, the week he was supposed to have three years ago, when he was a can't-miss high school senior out of DeLand hoping to show pro scouts and general managers how much talent he had in his 6-foot-9 inch body.

The four-day 2008 NBA Pre-Draft Camp is going on here at the Disney Wide World of Sports Complex, and Brumbaugh is finally getting his chance to go up against top talent.

Wednesday night, he looked terrific in his first game at the camp, hitting three of four shots and grabbing four rebounds in his 14 minutes of action.

Yes, Brumbaugh has made some mistakes, and some people will probably always hold those against him. However, there is something powerful about seeing someone make the most out of a second chance, and it appears that Brumbaugh is doing just that.

What stood out most was the happy-go-lucky, self-deprecating man who looked like he was having more fun than anybody else in the gym. Gone seems to be the truculent, scowling kid who was in trouble with the law for much of 2005-2007.

This Keith Brumbaugh couldn't be happier to be getting another chance.

"I mean, I look around here and I'm just so happy to be doing anything that's associated with the NBA, like playing in this camp," he said Wednesday night, smiling and laughing his way through a 20-minute interview. "Whether I make the NBA or not, I'm not worried about it. I just feel so lucky to be here with these great players, and get a chance to play."

Currently, he's projected as a second round pick, and is supposedly getting some serious looks from the San Antonio Spurs. Getting drafted, after everything he put himself through, would be a great accomplishment for Brumbaugh. Hopefully he makes the most of this opportunity, and can go on to become the player many people thought he would when he was selected as Florida's Mr. Basketball in 2005.

Keith Brumbaugh Declares For The NBA Draft

I've made a couple of posts in the past(here and here) regarding Florida's 2005 Mr. Basketball, Keith Brumbaugh, and his fall from basketball glory and attempts at getting back to the top. It seems that he might be as close to achieving that goal as he's ever been. Brumbaugh announced Friday that he'll be entering the NBA Draft that takes place in June.

Brumbaugh, Florida's 2005 "Mr. Basketball" and former DeLand High superstar, informed officials Friday that he plans on entering the NBA draft after leading the nation's junior-college ranks in scoring at Hillsborough Community College in Tampa.

"I'm back on the scene," Brumbaugh said.

Brumbaugh did play well for Hillsborough Community College, averaging 36.5 points and 10 rebounds per game over the course of the 2007 season. Hopefully, he has worked out all of the problems that held him back off of the court because his talent on the court has never been questioned. Currently, he's projected as a second round pick, and some say that that's only because of his past legal troubles. However, being selected by any NBA team would be a great accomplishment, and a true testament to just how well Brumbaugh has rebounded after falling so far at one point in his life.

The Darkside Of Fishing

Sure, everyone has told a "fish story" or two, and maybe some of us have even cut the tip of a fish's tail to get within the size limit(looks around nervously). But what about secret compartments? Filleting at sea to avoid detection? And possible violent reprecussions? Well, that's exactly what is happening in Ponce Inlet, FL.

On Dec. 20, marine patrol officers inspecting a fishing boat returning to the Ponce Inlet boat ramp discovered a secret compartment beneath its deck.

After removing bulkhead panel screws to open the compartment, 51 red snapper were found by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission law enforcement officers Chris Creese and Clay McDonough.

The catch egregiously exceeded the five-man crews' state limit of two red snapper per person in the Atlantic. And many of the snapper were shorter than the state's minimum-size limit of 20 inches.

Then on Saturday, a sportfishing boat returning from federal waters to Ponce Inlet was stopped and inspected by a marine patrol and 126 filleted red snapper were found bagged in a cooler. Charges for filleting fish at sea, bag limit and size limit violations are pending.

But surely they've encountered things like this in the past, right? Uh, apparently not so much.

The wildlife commission handed this second case off to its federal counterpart, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Service Office of Law Enforcement, and federal agents are investigating.

One of them, special agent Richard Chesler, said, "Apparently we have an issue with that kind of activity in this area."

McDonough said the two incidents, which occurred within 23 days of each other, are the largest busts he's made in his 10 years on the force.

And while some know that there is a problem, they're scared to go on the record about it for fear of reprecussions. Which they say could be life-threatening.

Has Ponce Inlet become a hot bed for black market seafood?

More than a few local charter boat captains say yes, but they're not willing to say it on the record.

They worry their boats left unattended at docks overnight will be targeted. They worry about violence.

"Narc on one of these guys, you could get shot over something like this," said one local captain.

Like I said, if you've ever been fishing, chances are that you broke a law either intentionally or unintenionally. From not having the correct license, to using incorrect tackle or even violating the size limits. However, the scope of these infractions is much wider, and hopefully state authorities can put an end to it without anyone being shot, stabbed or gaffed.

It's Like High School Basketball In The 50's

We all know that sporting events can get rather heated. Players talking trash, fans elbowing boobs and parents rushing the court are just part of the excitement. But waving a Confederate flag? Come on, who invited David Duke?

Moments after the 48-47 Port St. Lucie victory, students and fans followed the visiting team out of the gymnasium to their bus, the report said.

Students yelled at the bus and blocked its path. Some students were waving a Confederate flag at the bus, Florida Today reported.

This unfortunate incident has caused increased police presence at Satellite Beach High School basketball games, and the principal considered the Confederate flag waving "inciting" and stated that it was handled "very severely". Hopefully there won't be any retaliation when the teams face each other again in January, and everyone keeps their "Battle Flags" at home.

College Football Debriefing

Each week, after all of the games have been played, I'll re-visit some of them and give my take(synonym for biased, slightly informed opinion). It's called the debriefing because whatever happened during your chosen team's game you probably felt like you were part of a crime scene, or maybe a terrorist attack. Whether you thought you were robbed by the referees, or got to witness some WMD's exploding in your stadium, this is where we'll re-open fresh wounds and examine the positives and negatives. But since we're all college football fanatics, probably mostly the negatives.

Down Goes Frasier!
Ok, so Ohio State losing at home to Illinois isn't quite as shocking. In fact, it's more like Roy Jones getting knocked out by Glencoffe Johnson. Surprising to see, but only because one side was overvalued based on past achievements. The Fighting Illini put on a clinic in ball control on Saturday. They ran 27 plays, including a successful 4th down conversion, in the 4th quarter. The Buckeyes ran 3. Illinois held the ball for 13:25, and OSU held it for 1:00. You can't score if you don't have the ball, and Illinois kept it away from the team formerly ranked #1.

The SEC Is Back On Top
It's the strongest conference in the world! There's so much depth that other teams drown just thinking about playing in it! They beat the hell out of each other all season, but would still whip your favorite non-SEC team! Wooo, sorry about that, forgot to turn the SEC homerism machine off. However, with the OSU loss LSU moves up to #1. Right now, we would get an LSU/Oregon matchup for the national championship. That actually seems like it would be a pretty good game. The Ducks have good speed on both sides of the ball, and Dennis Dixon can do some amazing things from the quarterback position. Though, with the way this season has been going I would advise against either fanbase buying their BCS title game tickets just yet.

The OBC Gets Click Clacked
Coach Spurrier must have had flashbacks to the 90's during Saturday's UF/South Carolina game. The Gators rolled up 51 points on his Gamecocks, and that was without the services of their most explosive playmaker, Percy Harvin. Tim Tebow scored 7 touchdowns, and rushed for 120 yards. This morning he's curing sick kids at Shands with his dashing good looks, and this afternoon he'll be turning Lake Alice into the biggest body of Hunch Punch with his sweat.

B.C. Continues to Fall
Last week it was unranked FSU. This week it was unranked Maryland. The Eagles have looked more like dodo birds in their back to back losses, and Matt Ryan's two late TD passes helped make his statline look a little more respectable. However, anyone who actually watched the game realized that anymore "Matty Heisman" this season should be punishable by a slap to the back of the head.

Kansas Is No Longer Quietly Creeping
Kansas had their game against Oklahoma State broadcast in big boy fashion, and they put on a show. They put up 529 yards of total offense, and eventhough they allowed 195 yards rushing they still won 43-28. Their defense didn't look quite as strong as it had in past games, but the offense seemed to click better. They definitely have the talent to win the Big 12, though the season finale against Missouri and a possible Big 12 title game against Oklahoma would both be good matchups.

The Orange Bowl Deserved Better
48-0? Seriously? The Hurricanes are lucky that Michael Irvin, Luther Campbell and Lamar Thomas don't show up at practice and hand out some ass whoopins. The game was over by halftime, but that final Virginia touchdown, off of the Kyle Wright fumble, illustrated perfectly how inept the UM offense has been all season. The most disappointing aspect, however might have been how lax the entire team seemed to be. There didn't seem to be much fight in them, especially not up to the level that was expected for the final Hurricanes game in such a storied venue. The Orange Bowl deserved to go out with a bang, but instead it was more like an embarrassing beatdown in front of your friends and family. This is the way it should be remembered.


My (insert respective team here) Did This Well
Well, if by "team" you mean "Tim Tebow", then they ran the ball extremely well. Tebow accounted for all 7 of the Florida touchdowns, and rushed for 120 yards on 26 carries. Outside of Tebow, Caldwell played well and it was nice to see some other receivers get involved with Harvin out.

My (insert respective team here) Didn't Do This Well
Penalties were a bit of a problem, and the defense did give up some passing yards. However, the rush defense was stout, outside of the 3 touchdowns, though the 2 sacks is indicative of the little amount of pressure they've been able to put on opposing quarterbacks this season.

Heismens!
Tim Tebow. 22-32, 304yds passing, 2TD's, 1INT, 26 rushes, 120yds rushing, 5TD's.

Pat White. 16-25, 181yds passing, 2TD's, 0INT, 24 rushes, 147yds rushing, 1TD.

Kevin Smith. 41 rushes, 320 yards, 4TD's.

Ray Rice. 34 rushes, 243 yards, 2TD's.

Consider yourself debriefed!

There Will Be No More Friday Night Lights For Raines High School

High school football played under the lights on Friday night has become such a big tradition nationwide that they've made movies and TV shows about it. However, if you're a fan of Raines High School in Jacksonville you better bring your sunglasses for the last two home games of the season.

Neighborhood violence has put an end to a high school tradition at one Northwest Jacksonville campus. Effective immediately, there will be no more home night games for the Raines High School football team.


Athletic officials told WJXT-TV that they worry students could be at risk because of increasing violence near the school.


The changes mean fans planning to attend this Friday's game featuring Raines and Bishop Kenny need to get to the field early. School officials have moved the game to 1 p.m.

The school district has decided to move the school's remaining two home games to Friday afternoon because of safety concerns.

A shooting that happened about two weeks ago near the school as a Raines football game against Lee High School was letting out prompted administrators to consider a change.

While it is sad that violence is the cause for the schedule change, administrators say that the change isn't permanent and it is nice to see that they're being proactive. Though, the 1PM kickoff seems to be a bit odd. Aren't the kids still in school at that time? Maybe that's why Florida ranks so low in most of the state education lists.

College Football Debriefing

Each week, after all of the games have been played, I'll re-visit some of them and give my take(synonym for biased, slightly informed opinion). It's called the debriefing because whatever happened during your chosen team's game you probably felt like you were part of a crime scene, or maybe a terrorist attack. Whether you thought you were robbed by the referees, or got to witness some WMD's exploding in your stadium, this is where we'll re-open fresh wounds and examine the positives and negatives. But since we're all college football fanatics, probably mostly the negatives.

Chaos Reigns Supreme!
Hope you enjoyed your stay at #2 South Florida. Your weeklong rental is up, now get the hell out! South Carolina, your #6 ranking has been repoed. Kentucky, the week of celebrating is over and #8 is no more. Cal, you had it all for a fleeting second but now even #10 is too high. Auburn, it was nice that you battled back to #18 but that's done now. Tennessee, your blowout loss means no more #20. Texas Tech, the hiccups by your "high powered" offense cost you #22. Cincy, you had played back up to #23 but threw it all away. K-State, you had moved back to being ranked but your defeat shredded that progress.

Just a quick recap of the ranked teams that lost this past week(end). Of those losses, seven of them were to teams either unranked or with lower rankings.

Ohio State Survives Their First Week
The way this season has been going, it's not how much you win by just that you win. The Buckeyes built a 17-0 lead by halftime, but had to withstand two Michigan State defensive touchdowns to pull out their win. This week they face Penn State at Beaver Stadium. Their rental of the #1 spot could end as early as this Saturday.

There's A First Time For Everything
As if you needed more proof of this season's craziness, Vandy beat Steve Spurrier for the first time this past Saturday. Going into the game, Spurrier was 14-0 against Vandy but lost 17-6. With that, South Carolina fell from #6 to #16.

More Thursday Night Entertainment
Once again we've been blessed with a great Thursday night game. This week, the #2 Boston College Eagles travel to Blacksburg to face the #8 Virginia Tech Hokies. VaTech will be B.C.'s first big test of the season(please, G.T. and Wake aren't tough), and it will be a good stage for quarterback Matt Ryan to showcase his skills for the Heisman voters. If past Thursday nights, and the season as a whole, are any indication you might want to get a sick day ready for Friday.

My (insert respective team here) Did This Well
On Saturday, the Gators defended the rush pretty well. They held Kentucky to just 97 yards rushing with an average of 2.8 yards per carry. Not bad against a team that had been averaging 180+ yards per game.

My (insert respective team here) Didn't Do This Well
Defend the pass. When you shut down the run, your opponent will naturally tend to pass more. Kentucky definitely did that, to the tune of 38 completions on 50 attempts for 415 yards, 5 TD's and 0 INT's. Florida was able to sack Woodson six times which was great to see because they haven't put much pressure on quarterbacks this season. However, there were still a number of breakdowns and poor tackling on pass plays.

Heismans!
This year it's wide open. "Experts" are talking about Tim Tebow as a frontrunner, and it seems that there are quite a few players who could take home the trophy.

UCF's Kevin Smith ran for 170yds and 4 TD's last week, and Rutgers' Ray Rice had 181 yards rushing.

Other than that, most of the usual stat producers had a bye or a down week.

Consider yourself debriefed!

College Football Debriefing

Each week, after all of the games have been played, I'll re-visit some of them and give my take(synonym for biased, slightly informed opinion). It's called the debriefing because whatever happened during your chosen team's game you probably felt like you were part of a crime scene, or maybe a terrorist attack. Whether you thought you were robbed by the referees, or got to witness some WMD's exploding in your stadium, this is where we'll re-open fresh wounds and examine the positives and negatives. But since we're all college football fanatics, probably mostly the negatives.

Upsets, Upsets, Come Get Your Upsets!
What appeared to be a relatively docile college football weekend shook up the polls and shattered dreams. Five of the top ten lost(Oklahoma, Florida, WVU, Texas & Rutgers), as did two other ranked and previously unbeaten teams(Clemson & Oregon). It was like bizzaro college football world opened up, and started sucking in teams.

LSU Back On Top
Despite a slow first half against Tulane, LSU moved past USC into the #1 spot in the AP Poll. Both teams have the ability to put lots of points over the course of 60 minutes, but LSU's defense is much tougher. They deserved to get moved up.

South Florida Benefits From The Shake Up(So Does Kentucky)
So what FBS team from Florida is currently ranked the highest? Florida? No. Miami? Uh uh. FSU? Wrong again. UCF? Nope. It's the University of South Florida, which maxxed out their win against West Virginia on Friday night with all of the upsets on Saturday. They're currently sitting at #6, while the next closest Florida school is UF at #9. And no, that's not a typo. Kentucky has crept up to #8 in the football rankings. Andre Woodson continues to lead the Wildcats extremely well, and has them sitting alone atop the SEC East. Bizarro world indeed!

My (insert respective team here) Did This Well
Uh, cut down on the penalties? 7 for 44 yards was less than usual, but they came at the most inopportune times. Personal foul on special teams? Illegal formation on a successful fake punt? Gun, bullet, foot. The Gators didn't allow any sacks either. Woohoo...

My (insert respective team here) Didn't Do This Well
Hmmm...win?!? Actually, Florida's rushing average was way down, and when your starting "tailback" carries the ball three times for four yards things probably aren't going too well.

Heismens!
Graham Harrell put up another 5 passing TD's, as Texas Tech hung 75 points on the powerhouse that is Northwestern St. He's leading the country in pass yards, and has 24 TD's to just 2 INT's.

Mike Hart turned in another 100+ yard performance, going for 106yds and 1 TD. UCF's Kevin Smith has another monster day, rushing for 223 yards and 3 TD's. Smith has to get mentioned now, as he's third in the nation in rush yards(713) and first in rush TD's(10).

Michael Crabtree gets some space because he's racked up almost 1,000 yards receiving through five games and has 14 TD's. Sure, Texas Tech is a pass heavy offense, but those numbers are pretty impressive, especially for a freshman.

Thursday Night Is Fun Again!
After a down week last week, we get another good Thursday night matchup. This time it's the #8 ranked Kentucky Wildcats going on the road to face the #11 ranked South Carolina Gamecocks. South Carolina's pass defense has been pretty good so far, though their rush defense gives up an average of 200 yards per game. However, Kentucky's rush defense hasn't been any better giving up an average of 203 yards per game, and their pass defense is weaker than USC's. It should be another good SEC matchup.

Consider yourself debriefed!

NASCAR Fan Blood, It's The Best!

I believe that there's a horrible blood shortage in the state of Florida, at least that's what they're constantly telling us. Everytime I see one of those bloodmobiles I consider giving blood, though it's mostly because I know how easy it is to get wrecked afterwards.(Keep your cookies and juice, bring me alkeehol!).

Well, now NASCAR has entered the blood donating arena by providing free admission to next year's Daytona 500 qualifying races in exchange for your cells. I hope they screen for whiskey, Busch Light and tobacco.

Free admission to next year's Daytona 500 Qualifying races is the latest freebie being offered to blood donors Tuesday in a partnership between Florida's Blood Centers and the NASCAR Foundation.

From noon to 6 p.m., at the infield Boardwalk Club at Daytona International Speedway, donors are being urged to come and give a pint. In addition to free admission to the qualifying races scheduled for Feb. 10, 2008, donors will also receive a goodie bag with coupons for local restaurants and theme parks.

Donors can be as young as 16. There is no upper age limit.

I'm not sure I would include "give a pint" in the description because people(i.e. drinkers) will automatically think of a pint glass, and those are pretty damn big. Especially when they're holding your blood.

However, it is nice to see NASCAR doing their part to help build up the blood supply in the state. Though, Gunner's dad can't be happy about the 16 year old age limit. In fact, he would probably say something like "that's fucking bullshit".

It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere - Tropical Juice Edition

Since it's Friday, and the end of the workweek for most people, we think that you should be provided with a post that takes the edge off so to speak. Because it's going to be random and hopefully humorous, that means that it won't always be sports related. It will also pop up at any time on Friday.

As a surfer in Florida, I always look forward to hurricane season. Yes, that may seem weird, but hurricanes, and tropical storms, produce some of the best waves we see all year. I hate looking foward to something that could end up causing lots of damage and taking some lives. I pray that all of the systems end up being "fish spinners", and when a storm appears that it's going to impact land I hope that everyone in the area has heeded any and all warnings.

With that said, the east coast of Florida is set to receive some decent sized swell from Hurricane Dean late this weekend into early next week. I can't wait to ride something with a little power, since most of the recent swells have been small and weak, pushed in courtesy of the Bermuda High. Hopefully we get something even bigger later in the season from a storm that does no damage and recurves out to sea after paralelling the coast. To show how good Florida can get on Hurricane swells here's a video of Chris Ward surfing Hurricane Wilma in Miami back in '05.



Happy Friday!

PS- Please pray for everyone in the Caribbean that's going to get slammed by Dean.

Lincoln Financial Sports Would Like You To Sweat Your Balls Off

I heard on Monday about the Gators changing the kickoff time of their first game from 6pm to 12:30pm, though I didn't catch the reason. Well, as it turns out Lincoln Financial Sports decided they wanted to televise the UF game, and unlike last year when they wanted to do the same thing, there were no other games available as a replacement. Jeremy Foley let's us know about all of the in's and out's regarding the decision.

"The Southeastern Conference asked us to move our season opener to 12:30 to accommodate our television partner, Lincoln Financial Sports. We were in a similar scenario last year and the league had other options. This year, they had no other alternatives other than to ask us to move our game time and we are contractually obligated to do so."

Which really means "sorry everybody, but because of money we're going to subject you to possible heatstroke, definite sunburn and without a doubt dehydration from drinking too much alcohol and not enough of our wonderful Gatorade."

To give you an idea of the temperature difference between the two times here's what they averaged in Gainesville over the past two days(Sept. 1 isn't too far away, and it's hotter in the stadium anyway).

6pm: 84 degrees
12:30pm: 91 degrees

Remember too, that the game is going to last roughly 3 hours, which, when started at 12:30pm, pushes it into the hottest part of the day. Yesterday, the temp went from 91* at 12:30pm to 93*(2pm) to 96*(4pm). Compare that to 78* at 9pm, and you can see that it's about 20 degrees hotter for the duration of the game.

I knew they made this Gatorade commercial for a reason. Just replace "players" with "fans", and let Keith Jackson tell you what to do.

Are That Many High School Football Players Really Using Steroids?

This high school football season in Florida is going to be a bit different than past ones because of a bill signed into law by Governor Charlie Crist back in June. The law states that athletes and their parents must consent to the "anabolic steroid random testing program" before they can play any regular season games.

I don't have a problem with the program, but one quote from an Orlando Sentinel article on the matter caught my eye. This is from Nathan Keller, a senior middle linebacker at West Orange High School.

"I'm sure a lot of kids that are hearing about this today are pretty scared, because I think a lot of guys are juiced," said Nathan Keller, a middle linebacker entering his senior year at West Orange High School. "I think a lot of guys might not play football once they realize they could get tested."

"I wouldn't be scared or nervous, because I know I'm not on steroids," Keller said. "But there are probably five kids on every football team out there that are doing at least something to get bigger."

Five kids on every team that are juiced? There are 18 high schools in Orange County alone, so that would mean that close to 100 kids are using steroids. For some reason that number seems awfully high to me. Though, not all 18 of those schools have football teams. Hopefully the new bill can help eradicate the problem that seems to be so big in our area high schools.

Keith Brumbaugh, Hopefully Back On The Right Track

A little over one year ago(it was one of my first posts actually), I wrote about the '05 Mr. Basketball from Florida being arrested again. At that time things didn't look too good for Keith Brumbaugh, as he was facing multiple criminal charges. However, he put in the time and work at a rehab facility in Texas run by John Lucas, and it appears that he may be headed down the right path again.

It was reported today, that Brumbaugh will be playing for Hillsborough Community College next fall. That's worlds apart from Oklahoma State, but at least Brumbaugh seems to be making progress in his basketball career. Hopefully he flourishes there, and goes on to play at an even higher level because he is an extremely talented basketball player.

The All-American Football League: Taking Graduates Of Your Favorite College, Leaving Phone Messages

An onslaught by the common cold has precluded any updates(unlike Disturbed, I am not down with the sickness), but I have managed to post up one golden nugget.

While Mark Cuban's idea for a football league got a good amount of press, the All-American Football League has flown under the radar a bit more. However, the marketing efforts are starting to pick up steam as it approaches the proposed launch date next April.

The league is doing its best to embrace the college atmosphere, which is probably to be somewhat expected since it's being created by guys like Cedric Dempsey(former NCAA president) and Doug Dickey(former University of Tennessee AD). Supposedly the league is even going to have "colleges' bands and cheerleaders" attending games(FAMU FTW!).

As far as prospective players, the only stipulation is that the participant must have graduated from a 4-year college or university in the state where the team is based. In that respect, it is very different from the XFL, AFL or the proposed Cuban Football League that are seen by many as just using NFL castoffs. While most of the guys eventually paid to play in the AAFL probably did participate in the NFL, for a short time at least, using only "homegrown" talent(no Marcus Thomas, not that kind of homegrown) will help add to the college-like atmosphere that they're hoping to create. Also, seeing guys who were once fierce rivals come together in a team setting to beat another state's team will just add to the buzz. Right now, the plan is to have the league be comprised of eight teams.

Also, the AAFL isn't trying to compete directly with any existing football leagues in terms of scheduling. The games will be played in the spring into the summer, and won't try to go head-to-head with the NFL, NCAA or even high school. They've also got a set up in place where the games will be played at "universities known for college football"(the University of Florida is already on-board), and the games could be broadcasted on a private netowrk with no commercials. Though, there's no TV deal just yet.

Since tryouts are slated to begin tomorrow, July 3, receiving a phone call today regarding a scrimmage between former Gators and Vols piqued my interest. As did the tailgating encouragement, though college football fans don't usually need too much encouragement in that department. Anyway, here's the message that was left on my answer machine today. Replace the University of Florida fanfare with your favorite school's, and let me know if it increases your interest. I am curious how they got my telelphone number, as I don't contribute enough(know of any blog related opportunities? hit me up!) to be considered a big time booster by any means.

AAFL Phone Message

The Story Of Happy Gilmore Comes To Life

Remember Happy Gilmore? The story about a guy who loved playing hockey, but kind of sucked. Instead, he achieves success after being discovered by a handicapped former PGA pro because of his ability to drive the ball a long, long distance. Well, that handicapped pro was named "Chubbs", and he became handicapped when an alligator bit his hand off. To refresh your memory, here's a clip where Chubbs explains that an alligator bit his hand off, but he was able to pluck out one of its eyes during the attack.



Yesterday, an eerily similar situation occured in Venice, Florida.

"A Tennessee man who lost his ball in a golf course pond nearly lost a limb when an 11-foot alligator latched on to his arm and pulled him in, authorities said.

Bruce Burger, 50, was trying to retrieve his ball from a pond on the sixth hole Monday at the Lake Venice Golf Club.

The alligator latched on to Burger's right forearm and pulled him in the pond, said Gary Morse, a spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. He used his left arm to beat on the reptile until it freed him.

"I saw him reach down to get his ball and he yelled ... 'Help. Help. I've been bitten by a gator,"' said Janet Pallo, who was playing the fifth hole and ran over to drive the man to the clubhouse.

Burger, from Lenoir City, Tenn., was taken to a hospital but was not seriously injured, Morse said Tuesday.

It took seven Fish and Wildlife officers an hour to trap the one-eyed alligator, which measured 10 feet, 11 inches, Morse said."

Damn, I guess that whole thing about life imitating art isn't far off sometimes.

Though, that gator is fortunate he didn't latch onto John Daly, or he might be getting served today with some Jack Daniels and two packs of 'grits.

Signature Pharmacy Steroid Probe Goes Deeper

Yesterday, federal officials raided a pharmacy in Orlando, FL in connection with an investigation into the illegal distribution of steroids.

The first professional athlete tied to the investigation was Gary Matthews Jr., outfielder for the Los Angeles Angels. Since then, more ties to athletes have surfaced.

*Richard A. Rydze, a physician for the Pittsburgh Steelers, purchased roughly $150,000 worth of steroids and HGH in 2006. Currently, there are no allegations that he broke any laws, and he's claiming that he bought them for his private patients.

*Allegedly, authorities have a Philadelphia Eagles player on tape entering the facility while they were conducting surveillance.

Also, one of the founders, Naomi Loomis, "attended The Ohio State University, College of Pharmacy and graduated with honors in 1995". Officials involved with the case have stated that college athletes were involved with Signature Pharmacy, though no OSU players have been mentioned at this point.

Stay tuned because I have a feeling that more and more athletes are going to be named in the coming weeks.

Daytona Beach Thunder Player Dies While Making Tackle

The most recent reports out of Daytona Beach, Florida are that Javon Camon, a defensive back on the Daytona Beach Thunder, a team in the World Indoor Football League, died while being blocked. Camon was blocked hard by Columbus Lions receiver, Juval Winston, and had to be carted off of the field after laying motionless for a number of moments. He was pronounced dead at Halifax Medical Center a few hours later. The Thunder was 0-1 heading into tonight's game against the Columbus Lions, and lost 45-42.

Camon was a four-time letterman while playing football for the University of South Florida from 2001-2004. He was special teams MVP in 2003, and led the team in tackles as team captain his senior year.