New York WR Plaxico Burress has caught 16 passes for 197 yards in the postseason, but his bold prediction is receiving a lot more attention than his on-field performance. ...more

January 30, 2008

A flick off a keeper's hand, a few inches lower on a shot, a second quicker here and there ... the slimmest of things seperated Wharton and Freedom on Friday night in the Class 5A-District 8 final. ...more

January 26, 2008

As frustrated as Chamberlain coach Doug Aplin was, Plant coach Mike Phillips was pleased after Tuesday key Class 5a, District 10 game at Plant. ...more

January 22, 2008

SEBRING – The Sebring Senior Softball League experienced some near wins and near losses, causing heart-throbs at the Highlands County Sports Complex on Jan. 15. Discount Aluminum nailed a 19-18 victory on Highlands Independent Bank Sebring. At the end of the third inning, HIBS led 11-3, but Discount Aluminum came alive by scoring three in the fifth, four in the sixth and five in the seventh innings bringing the score to 18-14. In the bottom of the eighth, Discount scored five more runs, making the final score 19-18. ...more

January 21, 2008

AVON PARK — Fred Mixon always has the last word in at least one family argument: "10-7." The final score of the Avon Park football team's stunning defeat of Hardee this past season is a bragging right Mixon's 2007 Red Devils have over a decade-full of AP teams before them, a fact Mixon doesn't mind pulling out at the dinner table. "It's amazing, all the people who came before me, who never beat Hardee," Mixon said. "I've got older cousins, so it's nice to just say: 'Ya'al couldn't do it.' " The Red Devil win over the Wildcats was more than the highlight of the team's season, it turned out to be the highwater mark for a AP defense that would ultimately give way when the Devil offense struggled to keep themselves on the field. ...more

January 18, 2008

LAND O' LAKES - In order to accomplish something the Land O' Lakes' senior girls basketball players never had, it took a pair of freshmen to come up huge Thursday night. ...more

January 11, 2008

It wasn't quite the finish Tampa Tribe Under-17 coach Tom FitzSimons had in mind when his team surprisingly reached the final of Sunday's Rising Stars Division at the Dick's Sporting Goods Lacrosse Tournament of Champions. Then again, he never envisioned even getting this far in the first place. ...more

January 7, 2008

Many tried to beat Brandon, but until Saturday night, none successfully, since Bradenton Manatee prevailed in the final match of the 1972-73 season. Manatee would tie Brandon the next year; therein lies the nine dual-match difference between the winning streak and the unbeaten streak. The close calls during the years kept the Eagles in check. The closest of the close: Nov. 26, 1979: Brandon 32, Leto 24. The first match of Jim Graves' final season as Brandon's coach. The key match was Marty Shirley's pin of Dennis Reynolds at 167 pounds. Reynolds went on to finish fourth in the state. Shirley fell out of the starting lineup by season's end. After this win, the unbeaten streak stood at 73 and the winning streak at 64. Jan. 10, 1980: Brandon 28, East Bay 27. With three bouts remaining, East Bay led 21-17, but wins by Tony Gustafson at 188 and Dave Walker at 220 saved the match, which was marred by a fight involving a former Brandon wrestler and East Bay fans. Graves went into the stands to help break it up. Dec. 1, 1981: Brandon 32, Chamberlain 25. Russ Cozart was in his second year at Brandon, coaching against his old school in the season opener. "It wasn't really close, but it got close toward the end," Cozart said. "It was an unexpected scare. Ed Goodpaster was also in his second year, having replaced me at Chamberlain, and he was building a nice squad." Nov. 30, 1982: Brandon 29, Chamberlain 27. This was another season opener, and Chamberlain had 12 seniors. Todd Gustafson and Eric Grant defeated Chiefs they had lost to previously, and Andre Green's pin at 189 gave Brandon an insurmountable 29-12 lead. The original final score was 29-24, changed after Brandon forfeited a bout for using an ineligible wrestler. It was Brandon's 100th consecutive win. Feb. 4, 1984: Brandon 35, Miami Southridge 24. Arguably the biggest challenge to the streaks since they began, Southridge came into the Eagles' Nest as defending state champion and led Brandon 24-23 with two matches left. Jim Husk watched in dismay as his last wrestlers were disqualified for stalling. The streaks were at 131 (unbeaten) and 122 (winning). Dec. 10, 1988: Brandon 31, Chamberlain 28. The first of two clutch performances by Brandon heavyweight Steve Smith, whose pin capped a comeback from a 28-19 deficit. The streaks were at 189 and 180. Jan. 10, 1989: Brandon 35, Bloomingdale 23. This match's original final score was 32-26 - this alteration resulted from a Bloomingdale forfeit - and Smith again was the hero. With the match tied at 26, he saved the streaks at 193 and 184 by pinning Charles Perez in 5:37. Elation was tempered by an injury suffered by Brandon's Jason Davis, whose leg was broken against Bloomingdale's Kevin Williams. Nov. 26, 1996: Brandon 43, East Bay 27. Before this weekend, this was the closest Brandon had come to falling since the 1990s began. East Bay got four consecutive wins beginning at 130 pounds to tie the match at 21. However, the Eagles, strong in the heavier weights that season, dominated the last half of the match, getting the clinching win from 189-pounder Josh Lambrecht. 1969 - Brandon's program begins with a 45-13 loss to Robinson. Feb. 20, 1973 - Bradenton Manatee defeats Brandon 28-19 in the final dual meet of the 1972-73 season, the last time the Eagles lost a dual meet. Nov. 29, 1973 - Brandon defeats Chamberlain 40-12 in the first match of the 1973-74 season, the start of a national record unbeaten streak, which ended at 468 after this year's Graves Duals final. Jan. 26, 1974 - Brandon and Bradenton Manatee tie 24-24 in the ninth match of the season, the last time the Eagles did not win a match before Saturday. Therein lies the nine-match difference between the unbeaten and undefeated streaks, both national marks. Jan. 28, 1974 - Brandon defeats Robinson 32-17, the first victory of the national-record winning streak which ended at 459. Feb. 7, 1980 - Brandon's last dual under Jim Graves, a 59-6 win against King. The Streak stood at 75 consecutive wins and 84 matches without a defeat. Graves resigned at the end of the season. He left with a career record of 97-11-1 and led the program to its first state title in 1977. Dec. 1, 1980 - Brandon defeats Chamberlain 47-17 in the first match under new Eagles coach Russ Cozart, who took over the program following two seasons at Chamberlain. Nov. 30, 1982 - Brandon gets consecutive win No. 100 with a 29-27 win against Chamberlain. Feb. 6, 1988 - Brandon notches win No. 176 with a 76-6 win against Hillsborough, breaking the national wrestling program mark for consecutive wins held by Bismarck, N.D. Jan. 27, 1990 - Brandon gets consecutive win No. 200 with a 70-6 win against Hillsborough. One day later - exactly 16 years after the winning streak began - Tony Ippolito, a beloved former Eagles standout and the program's and Hillsborough County's first state champion, dies from a rare form of cancer. He was 33. Jan. 18, 1997 - Brandon defeats Chamberlain for consecutive win No. 293, breaking the national mark for consecutive victories by a high school team in any sport. The old record was held by the Amherst (N.Y) Sweet Home High volleyball team, which won 292 consecutive matches from 1978-87. Dec. 16, 1997 - Brandon gets consecutive win No. 300 with a 70-3 rout of Plant. Jan. 8, 2005 - Brandon gets consecutive win No. 400 with a 53-12 victory against Chamberlain in Graves Duals semifinals. Jan. 5, 2008 - Brandon loses to Homestead South Dade in the final of the Graves Duals 32-28, ending The Streak. The Eagles' national record winning and unbeaten streaks end at 459 and 468, respectively. ...more

January 6, 2008

Many tried to beat Brandon, but until Saturday night, none successfully, since Bradenton Manatee beat Brandon in the final match of the 1972-73 season. Manatee would tie Brandon the next year; therein lies the nine dual-match difference between the winning streak and the unbeaten streak. The close calls during the years kept the Eagles in check. The closest of the close: ...more

January 5, 2008

A "beautiful goal," that's how Nature Coast Head Coach Patrick O'Grady described the Sharks' only goal by senior Jean-Pierre Salazar in a losing effort Wednesday night against 4A-8 rival Sunlake, 3-1. ...more

December 25, 2007