The stretching and special teams work have concluded Friday afternoon at Brandon’s practice when a late arrival, Mario Rodriguez, jogs onto the McLane Stadium field in full pads and presents a signed index card to coach Dean Eychner. “Tutoring?” Eychner asks, gazing at the card with the teacher’s signature. “Uh, ...
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Fri. May 17, 2013 at 8:31 p.m. | Joey Knight
East Lake and Berkeley Prep have been named FHSAA Academic Team Champions for posting the best cumulative student-athlete grade point averages in their respective classifications for the 2012-13 school year. The academic team championship is determined over the course of the school year. The school with the highest cumulative team ...
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Fri. May 17, 2013 at 3:29 p.m. | Joey Knight
First-year Robinson coach Shawn Taylor navigates practices these days in a sleek new golf cart with shiny rims and the Knights’ logo emblazoned on the side. • It’s one of the few fully loaded units on Jack Peters Field. Taylor, a Knights alumnus selected to replace retiring Port Tampa icon ...
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Thu. May 16, 2013 at 9:39 p.m. | Joey Knight
Wharton low-post reserve Drew Vanderbrook signed Thursday with Indian River State College, a two-year program in Fort Pierce. A 6-foot-8 Freedom transfer, Vanderbrook said he chose IRSC over a handful of other junior colleges and Division III programs. He becomes the second member of Wharton's Class 8A final four team ...
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Thu. May 16, 2013 at 3:00 p.m. | Joey Knight
Durant senior ace Paige Davis, who helped lead the "Cardiac Cougars" to the Class 8A state title in 2012, formally signed her paperwork Wednesday with South Florida State College, a two-year program in Avon Park. The Tampa Bay Times' All-Suncoast Pitcher of the Year in '12, Davis leaned more on ...
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Thu. May 16, 2013 at 8:46 a.m. | Joey Knight
The fervor over the Jesuit basketball team's state championship season reached a new level of euphoria Tuesday afternoon. Lin-sanity. Beneath a shroud of secrecy, Houston Rockets PG Jeremy Lin made a 90-minute cameo Tuesday at the Tiger Palace, where he engaged in a pickup game with the seniors from Jesuit's ...
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Wed. May 15, 2013 at 11:23 a.m. | Joey Knight
Chamberlain rising senior DE Anthony Davis said Tuesday he has received a scholarship offer from Middle Tennessee, bringing his offer total to the double-digit stratosphere. Currently deemed a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, Davis (5-foot-11, 215 pounds) said he also has been offered by Houston, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Texas Tech, Toledo, Tulane, ...
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Tue. May 14, 2013 at 8:40 p.m. | Joey Knight
A numerical snapshot of spring drills at Strawberry Crest 1 Former head coach on second-year coach John Kelly’s staff. Jeremy Shobe, who compiled an 11-30 mark in four years at Wiregrass Ranch and led the Bulls to the program’s first playoff berth, is coaching linebackers. 2 Formal offers — from ...
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Mon. May 13, 2013 at 7:40 p.m. | Joey Knight
VERO BEACH — They’re staging the state prep softball finals on the grounds once known as Dodgertown, where no less an immortal than Sandy Koufax once worked his arm into shape each March. At times Thursday night, it seemed he still was working. A mesmerizing southpaw ended the greatest season ...
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Thu. May 09, 2013 at 10:17 p.m. | Joey Knight
Academy of the Holy names state hurdling medalist Ryann McEnany confirmed to the Tampa Bay Times on Tuesday evening she has committed to the University of Florida. McEnany, who earned two medals at the Class 2A state meet -- one in hurdles, one for a relay -- said she expects ...
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Wed. May 08, 2013 at 7:13 p.m. | Joey Knight
Their historic trek has occurred mostly under the radar. For 2 1/2 months, the Freedom Patriots quietly compiled an 18-3 regular-season mark before a resounding run — equal parts clutch and cacophonous — through the region playoffs. To be sure, we’ve learned much about the mettle of this team in the ...
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Tue. May 07, 2013 at 6:35 p.m. | Joey Knight
Billy Donovan has become the latest in-state college coach to offer Tampa Prep freshman Juwan Durham a scholarship. Terrapins coach Joe Fenlon confirmed Monday evening Durham, a 6-foot-9 low-post standout, has received an offer from the University of Florida. FSU and USF previously offered Durham, as have "many" out-of-state coaches, ...
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Mon. May 06, 2013 at 9:24 p.m. | Joey Knight
Photo gallery JACKSONVILLE — Bloomingdale junior Andrew LeBlanc felt the southerly gusts, saw the rain being blown horizontally, peered at the gray northeast Florida sky, and knew it was the Bulls’ day. “I felt pretty good,” the junior 4x800-meter relay anchor said, “because I knew it would be a tactical ...
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Sat. May 04, 2013 at 10:34 p.m. | Joey Knight
Photo gallery JACKSONVILLE — As gusts of roughly 20 mph sent pellets of rain blowing horizontally across Hodges Stadium, St. Petersburg pole vaulter Cayman Ellis wondered if the atonement for which he had spent a year toiling would arrive. “All the time we were waiting, I thought they were going ...
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Sat. May 04, 2013 at 9:48 p.m. | Joey Knight
photo gallery JACKSONVILLE — He embarked on the Class 3A meet with a state record in his sights. He ended it with pellets of rain in his face. Hoping to make a splash in the final meet of his prolific prep career, Hillsborough senior Jeremiah Green did just that — ...
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Fri. May 03, 2013 at 10:21 p.m. | Joey Knight