After nearly three months, Matt Patchan finally spoke publicly about being shot in the shoulder earlier this year. The former Armwood All-American was shot on May 9 when he and a group of friends were standing in Sadie Park in Brandon and an unknown shooter fired at them. ...more

August 6, 2008

DIXIE YOUTH LEAGUE DEBS SOFTBALL After finishing runner-up a year ago, Hernando Debs have some unresolved business in year's 11-team Dixie World Series in Alexandra, La. HYL SQUAD OUTSCORED FOES 54-0 AT STATES ...more

August 1, 2008

GAINESVILLE Florida safeties Dorian Munroe and John Curtis will miss the upcoming season because of knee injuries. ...more

July 13, 2008

FOOTBALL Nature Coast quarterback/linebacker Stephen Pelaez signs football pact with St. Francis, Ill. ...more

June 3, 2008

One look was all it took for Jesuit OL Phil Smith. ...more

January 21, 2008

GAINESVILLE - University of Florida safeties coach John "Doc" Holliday has accepted a job with the West Virginia University, Holliday's wife, Diana, said in a report from the Independent Florida Alligator. ...more

January 10, 2008

There's no sense trying to dress this one up. Job 1 on defense in the NFL is to stop the run, especially come playoff time, and especially when your opponent is a Giants team that ranked fourth in the league in rushing. The Bucs' ultimate objective will be to make the Giants' attack one-dimensional, which means forcing QB Eli Manning into a situation where he must throw the ball to win the game. If the Bucs can't do that, they could be in for a long day. Brandon Jacobs is a powerful runner who can break off large gains and keep the chains moving. He'll follow his guards and his center on an attack that goes right through the middle of the defense, so the Bucs have to fill well from the secondary and get top-level play from DTs Jovan Haye and Chris Hovan. ...more

January 5, 2008

Only University of South Florida CB Ryan Gilliam and a handful of USF's coaches have been to the Sun Bowl before. ...more

December 26, 2007

LB Michael Boley has become the Falcons' biggest playmaker on defense. He has the ability to make plays all over the field, much like Derrick Brooks and Cato June, but his best trait may be his blitzing. He is fast, and the Falcons make good use of his skills. They line him up on the strong side much the way the Bucs do with June, so the Bucs should have a tight end there to help when he attempts to invade their backfield on a blitz. With a chip-blocker left in as well, the Bucs should be able to pick up not only Boley but Keith Brooking and the occasional blitzing defensive back. It's imperative that the Bucs are sound against the blitz this week. The Falcons take a lot of chances on defense, and Boley, in particular, has the ability to get to the quarterback and make him pay with a heavy hit. ...more

December 16, 2007

This is always Job One for the defense anyway, but it bears an underscore here because of the way the Texans attack. They want to run a balanced offense, primarily to set up play-action passes to Andre Johnson. To keep defenses off balance, they often run out of one-back sets using three and sometimes four receivers spread wide. That forces defenses into nickel and dime packages that are easier to run against. The key for the Bucs is to bottle up the Texans rush while playing in those nickel and dime schemes. With a player like Ronde Barber, that shouldn't be a problem. But the Bucs cannot take Ron Dayne for granted if he's the primary ball carrier today. Dayne has run well in Ahman Green's absence and could be the go-to guy in the red zone. The Bucs have to respect his ability to slow that Texans rush. ...more

December 9, 2007