University of South Florida junior defensive end George Selvie didn’t hear what he expected from the NFL Draft Advisory Committee, so he will return to USF for his senior season.
Information provided by the draft committee indicated Selvie “would not be selected” in the first three rounds, USF coach Jim Leavitt told Selvie.
“[Leavitt] told me they didn’t have me going as high as we thought,” said Selvie, USF’s first two-time All-American.
Two months ago, Todd McShay of ESPN and Scouts Inc., who ranked Selvie as the nation’s third-best pass rusher, and Michael Detillier of M&D Draft Report both projected Selvie as a mid-to-late first-round choice. Detillier still has Selvie as the 35th best overall prospect, while McShay no longer has Selvie among his mock first-round selections.
“It was kind of surprising and disappointing,” Selvie said. “Now it makes me want to work even harder for next season.
“I can work on getting bigger, stronger, using better technique; just getting better overall. I talked to a lot of people, including my family, prayed on it and took a lot of things into consideration. This was the best decision.”
As a sophomore, Selvie had 14.5 sacks, was a consensus All-American and was named Big East Defensive Player of the Year.
Last year, Selvie suffered a high ankle sprain in USF’s fourth game at Florida International. It plagued him all season. He missed parts of three games, but finished with 5.0 sacks and earned All-Big East honors.
The 6-foot-4, 245-pound Selvie said he will use the projection as motivation.
“We didn’t reach all of our goals this year,” Selvie said of USF’s 8-5 season. “Next year, our senior class, we have to go through the whole season strong. We can’t get up to No.10 or No.2 and then fall back.”
With Selvie coming back, the Bulls will have six returning starters on defense, including three on the defensive line - Selvie and tackles Terrell McClain and Aaron Harris.
Just curious: does Selvie’s decision change your prediction on how the Bulls will fare next season?
University of South Florida and Florida State officials have had discussions about a home-and-home football series that would start this fall in Tallahassee.
The Bulls’ 2009 schedule is done, but USF is willing to substitute a road game — most likely at Indiana — to play at FSU. The Seminoles only have 11 games and need another home game.
USF’s only two non-conference road games are at Western Kentucky (Sept. 12) and Indiana (Oct. 10). The reason why Indiana would be the most likely game is USF’s visit to WKU is the first home game for the Hilltoppers as a full-fledged Division I member.
USF athletic director Doug Woolard, who doesn’t comment on potential future schedules, has said in the past, the Bulls’ goal is to have at least six home games a year, so USF would not give up a home date to play at FSU.
It is unknown when the USF-FSU game in Tallahassee would be played this fall. USF may have to juggle some of its home game dates to make room for FSU.
It also is unknown when the return game would be played in Tampa. The Seminoles last played in Tampa in 1979, against Arizona State. FSU athletic director Randy Spetman could not be reached for comment.
The teams also had discussed a neutral-site game at Jacksonville this fall, but FSU needed a home game and it couldn’t get worked out.
There are still a number of dominos to fall for this game to happen, but both sides are working toward making it a reality. If it does, here would be USF’s 2009 schedule (with dates subject to change):
USF’s possible 2009 schedule (if FSU is added). Dates of exisiting games could change.
Sept. 5 Wofford
Sept. 12 at Western Kentucky
Sept. 19 Florida International
Nov. 28 Miami
at Florida State TBA
*Cincinnati
*Louisville
*West Virginia
*at UConn
*at Pittsburgh
*at Rutgers
*at Syracuse
*Big East game. Dates TBA
Former University of South Florida WR Taurus Johnson said he has been selected to play in the East-West Shrine Game in Houston on Jan. 17.
“It was a blessing,” Johnson said. “I am very excited and pumped and ready to show the scouts what I can do. It’s a great opportunity and I’m going to work real hard in practice.
“I can’t wait to play. And I want to thank [receivers] Coach [Mike] Canales and all the coaches for helping me get to this point, but mainly I want to thank God first.”
Johnson was USF’s second-leading receiver with 38 receptions for 498 yards last season. He had a team-high six TD receptions. In USF’s St. Pete Bowl victory against Memphis, Johnson had four catches for 40 yards, including the Bulls’ first touchdown on a 26-yard pass from Matt Grothe.
With 4:29 remaining, UConn’s Lorin Dixon was leveled by a screen set by a University of South Florida player. When she returned to the bench, UConn coach Geno Auriemma held up two fingers, like an old fight doctor checking on a punch drunk boxer.
There was no need for Auriemma to check on the Bulls – his Huskies had knocked them out in the first half.
In a matchup of the nation’s two highest scoring teams, USF was no match for No. 1 ranked UConn. The Huskies KO’d the Bulls 83-37 Tuesday night before the second-largest Sun Dome crowd (4,290) in USF history.
“Our energy … I think that wore the South Florida kids down a little bit, because the shots they’re used to getting, the things they would generate up this point, just weren’t there,” Auriemma said. “And then what happens, you kind of lose your game plan at some point and it gets away from you.
“Once that happens, coaches really struggle to keep it together. I thought that was what we were able to do. We were to completely get them out of their comfort level.”
UConn (14-0, 1-0 Big East) held USF to 11 second-half points, tied for the second fewest in a half. USF’s 37 points tied for the 11th fewest in school history.
“They played like they were the No. 1 team in the nation and we didn’t play like a team that had won 13 games,” USF coach Jose Fernandez said. “They were not going to be upset in their Big East opener.”
UConn forward Maya Moore had 24 points and eight rebounds, while center Tina Charles had 17 points and 12 rebounds.
Five minutes before halftime, USF (13-3, 0-2) only trailed 30-18, but UConn built a 45-26 halftime lead. The Huskies then crushed the Bulls with a 26-5 run to open the second half.
“They’re not No. 1 for nothing,” USF senior guard Shantia Grace said. “But as a whole we played a bad game. You can’t play like that. You have to play a perfect game. We didn’t.”
Porche Grant led USF with 10 points. Brittany Denson had six points and 12 rebounds. Grace, Jazmine Sepulveda and Janae Stokes, USF’s top three scorers, were a combined 3-for-29 from the field and combined for only 12 points.
TAMPA – If the Rams really do have an interest in talking to Raheem Morris about their vacant head coach’s job, they have a funny way of showing it.
Though it’s been reported that the Rams have asked for and received permission to speak with Morris, they have yet to contact Morris.
“I seriously have not heard,’’ Morris said in a response to a text message about the situation.
It’s possible that the Rams, knowing Morris was returning to Tampa following his interview in Denver, haven’t gotten around to calling Morris yet.
Or it could be that the Rams are simply lining up alternate candidates and will call Morris at a later date, should the need arise.
What makes us wonder is the fact that Rams executives were asked just 48 hours ago about Morris and expressed no interest or desire to interview him.
That seemed to change when the report about the Rams interest in Morris came out earlier in the day on NFL.com.
The truth of the matter, though, is that no one, including Morris, really seems to know for sure whether Morris is really up for this job or not.
As soon as we get something concrete on it we’ll let you know. Until then we’ll continue to wait for confirmation from Morris, the Bucs and or the Rams.
Harry Hubbard has a pretty good record when it comes to interviewing for coaching positions.
When he interviewed for the Middleton head football coaching job in 2001, the administration selected him to be the program’s first coach when the school reopened in 2002.
Prior to Middleton, his most recent interview was in 1985 for an assistant coaching job at Jefferson. He was given the position.
On Friday, Hubbard will interview at Blake for the vacant head football coaching job.
“It’s good to be able to apply somewhere else,” Hubbard said. “It feels a little funny walking around not coaching anything right now.”
Hubbard said he also plans to apply for the coaching job at George Steinbrenner High in Lutz and possibly the position at Strawberry Crest in Dover. Both schools are scheduled to open in the fall and Hubbard has a history of doing well at new schools.
“Anytime you go to a new school, it’s like starting a new program,” he said. “Some other people might see it as something different. You’re starting over.”
But, if Blake offers him the job, Hubbard could end up coaching a program he dominated as Middleton’s coach.
“If they offer, then yeah I’ll take it,” he said. “I don’t have time to sit around. I don’t think I’m that hot of a commodity.”
TAMPA – We told you a week ago that the Rams were considering talking to Raheem Morris about their vacant head coach’s position. Well, it appears they have indeed decided to talk to Morris.
Adam Schefter of the NFL Network is reporting that Morris is now among the candidates the Rams are scheduling interviews with.
This is a bit of a turn of events, as sources inside the Rams were saying just two days ago that Morris was not among the candidates they planned to talk to.
Morris, who spent Monday interviewing for the Denver Broncos head coach’s job, is on his way back to Tampa and may land here only to learn that he’s been asked to catch a flight to St. Louis.
Morris is one of at least eight candidates whom the Rams are planning to talk to. The others include Ravens defensive coordinator Rex Ryan, Green Bay assistant Winston Moss, Dallas assistant Ray Sherman, former Giants head coach Jim Fassel and former Saints head coach Jim Haslett.
Others who are expected to be interviewed for Rams head coach’s job include former Vikings defensive coordiantor Leslie Frazier,
It won’t determine the Class 5A-District 8 top seed, but on Wednesday, the King and Bloomingdale boys basketball teams will meet in a showdown of two of the county’s top programs.
This game would have had more importance if King didn’t have to forfeit the first four games of the season for using an ineligible player, but nevertheless, the Lions are 8-2 on the court. King enters the game with a record of 4-8 and is led by senior forward Toarlyn Fitzpatrick’s 13.9 points and 10 rebounds per game.
Bloomingdale (12-2) is led by senior forward Callum Townsend’s 24.3 points per game, which leads the county. Senior guard/forward Joe Raga adds 15.9 points and 5.0 assists per game.
King went 2-2 in the second annual McDonald’s Tampa Hoops Classic during the holiday break and is probably more prepared to play in a big game at this point of the season. Two of Bloomingdale’s last three games were against opponents with losing records and the other against a Class 2A school which they won, 54-46.
Still, Bloomingdale has the best depth in the county. What’s your take?
Here’s the release from the team:
The Tampa Bay Rays have agreed to terms with catcher Michel Hernandez, outfielder Jon Weber, left-handed pitcher Randy Choate, right-handed pitcher Julio DePaula, infielder Ray Olmedo and outfielder Ray Sadler to minor league contracts. Each player received an invitation to major league spring training.
Hernandez, 30, was a member of the Rays postseason roster through all three rounds in 2008. The Rays acquired the 11-year minor league veteran from the Pittsburgh Pirates for cash considerations on August 31, and he was assigned to Durham’s (AAA) postseason roster. Hernandez hit .266 (67-252) in 76 games with Indianapolis (AAA) in 2008. The Cuba native was called up to the majors September 9 when catcher Shawn Riggans underwent knee surgery. He played in five games for the Rays, his first big league action since 2003 with the New York Yankees.
Weber, who turns 31 this month, was invited to major league camp by the Rays in 2008 and spent the entire season with Durham. The left-handed hitter batted .265 (103-389) for the Bulls with 13 homers, 51 RBI, 24 doubles, and 11 stolen bases. Following the season, he played for Venados de Mazatlan of the Mexican Winter League. Weber has played 10 seasons professionally, including parts of four years in independent leagues.
Choate, 33, pitched for Nashville (AAA) last season in the Milwaukee Brewers organization. Over the winter, he pitched for Aguilas Cibaenas of the Dominican Winter League. The southpaw has spent parts of eight seasons in the majors with the Yankees (2000-03) and Arizona Diamondbacks (2004-07) and pitched in two postseasons (2000-01) for New York. Over 196 career major league outings he is 5-7 with a 4.64 ERA. Choate is a Tampa resident and was selected by the Yankees out of Florida State in the fifth round of the 1997 June Draft.
DePaula, 26, joins the Rays after nine years in the Minnesota Twins organization. He appeared in 51 games, including five starts, for Rochester (AAA) in 2008. Following the season, he pitched for Gigantes del Cibao of the DWL. DePaula reached the majors in 2007 and made 16 appearances over two stints in the Twins bullpen. In the minors, he owns a 48-35 career record with a 3.16 ERA.
Olmedo, 27, has played parts of five years in the majors with the Cincinnati Reds (2003-06) and Toronto Blue Jays (2007). In 2008 he was the starting shortstop for Columbus (AAA), then a Washington Nationals affiliate, and hit .252 (89-353) with four homers and 10 stolen bases. The Aragua, Venezuela, native has played for Bravos de Margarita of the Venezuelan Winter League in each of the last two offseasons.
Sadler, 28, split the 2008 campaign between Round Rock (AAA) and Corpus Christi (AA) in the Houston Astros system. The right-handed hitter combined to bat .272 (123-452) with 25 homers, 78 RBI and a .527 slugging pct. Following the season, he played for Caribes de Anzoategui of the VWL. Sadler played three games with Pittsburgh in 2005, his only action in the majors. Over nine minor league seasons, he has tallied 131 homers and 128 steals.
With a record nine Big East teams ranked in this week’s Associated Press poll, it shouldn’t be surprising the University of South Florida’s next opponent is a Top 25 team.
No. 23 Louisville (9-3, 0-0 Big East) visits the Bulls (5-8, 0-1) Wednesday night at the Sun Dome. While seven of the Big East’s Top 25 teams are ranked higher than the Cardinals, no team has been more dominating against USF.
The Cards, who are 21-3 all-time against USF, have won the last seven meetings. In their last three trips to Tampa, the Cards’ average winning margin has been an obscene 30.3 points.
After Wednesday, the Bulls have a three-game road trip, including at No. 1 Pitt and No. 25 West Virginia, giving the Bulls four ranked teams in their first five league games.
“If you get caught up looking ahead, you can worry yourself to death,” USF coach Stan Heath said. “You have to find ways to get your wins and the wins aren’t easy.
“Probably technically when you look at the schedules, if you’re the oddsmaker, you’re probably picking against us in most of these games. That can’t be something we’re caught up in. We have to find ways to win.”
Heath said two examples were Boston College upsetting then No. 1 North Carolina and St. John’s upsetting then No. 7 Notre Dame last weekend.
“Who would have gave Boston College [a chance] to get it done?” Heath said. “Who would have gave St. John’s [a chance] against Notre Dame and they got it done. That’s why we play the game and that’s why we’re going to prepare ourselves to win.”
USF freshman forward Eladio Espinosa said the Bulls gained a lot of confidence from Friday’s 57-52 loss to No. 13 Syracuse. The Bulls rallied from a 16-point halftime deficit.
“Personally I love playing a ranked team,” Espinosa said. “A lot of people probably hide away from a challenge, but I enjoy the challenge.
“We’re looking forward to playing Louisville and Pittsburgh [on Jan. 14]. We understand now we have a chance to win. Everyone knew we could win, but we didn’t know how good we were until the second half [against Syracuse].”
You can never have too much advance notice, so mark your calendars for April 18. That is the “tentative date” for USF’s spring football game at Raymond James Stadium, USF officials said. A start time has not been determined yet.
TAMPA - There’s a new front runner in the race for the Denver Broncos head coaching job, but it may not be Bucs defensive coordinator Raheem Morris.
According to former Raiders executive and current National Football Post contributor Michael Lombardi, Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels has moved ahead of Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo in the eyes of the Broncos brass.
Both candidates were interviewed over the weekend and the Broncos apparently came away from the meetings more impressed with McDaniels than Spagnuolo.
The news comes in the wake of the Broncos meeting with Morris, which was moved from Wednesday to Monday. There’s no word yet on how the meeting with Morris went. The Browns have interviews scheduled for today with Cowboys offensive coordinator Jason Garrett and their own offensive coordinator, Rick Dennison.
The decision to move the Morris interview up from Wednesday is viewed by some as a sign the Broncos are eager to make a decision and that they could name their new coach before the week is out.
Meanwhile, in Seattle, the Seahawks are expected to meet today with Bucs linebackers coach Gus Bradley.
The interview was contingent on the Seahawks asking for and being granted permission to speak with Bradley. As of late Monday permission still had not been sought, but plans were for the Seahawks to seem permission this morning.
TAMPA - Sickles, Newsome and East Bay joined Durant in the semifinals of the Wharton Invitational on Monday afternoon.
Facing virtual playoffs to advance to the knockout stage, Sickles defeated King 2-0, Newsome came back from an early deficit to beat Hillsborough 5-2 and East Bay beat Wharton 2-0 to close out group play.
Sickles got goals from Christian Matta and Boris Simeunovic either side of halftime in its win against King. After losing in a similar situation in the High School Invitational tournament during the holiday break against Stanton Prep, Gryphons’ coach Tony Calvo said he was pleased the team had learnt from that loss.
“These guys came really prepared today,” Calvo said. “I’m extremely excited with my bench. It being hot out here today, they came out and played awesome, [and] Sebastian Matta has seven goals in the last five games.”
Hillsborough got a pair of goals in the first five minutes against Newsome from Kofi Forkuoh, giving the surprise package of the tournament early hope they would advance. But Newsome hit back to tie the game before halftime, Armani Alicea getting the first before a crisp strike from the top of the area by Steven Gonzalez tied the game right before halftime.
“It reset the game to 0-0,” Newsome coach Neal Rickmers said. “We just said, ‘lets just keep battling back, and we’ll break even, and when we break even we start over,’ and essentially that’s what happened.”
Johnny Van Der Luit had a second half hat trick for the Wolves, including one goal from the penalty spot to send the Wolves through.
East Bay got a goal in either half against Wharton to advance to a semifinal against Durant, which closed out its pool play with a 4-0 win against Bloomingdale.
The Cougars goals all came in the final 20 minutes, when their pressure finally told on the Bulls’ squad. Billy Fanning scored twice for the Cougars, with Cecil Cooper also finding the net.
Durant coach Jamin Hollingsworth said he was pleased with the way his team had reacted to sustaining some injuries over the holiday period.
“It started with the Jesuit tournament, when we won four games in two days with hardly any subs,” Hollingsworth said. “The guys had to step up, and it carried over to this. We’re playing two games Saturday with two back-up goalies on the field playing significant minutes, and I told the guys, ‘you either use this as an excuse and get beat, or just go out there and get the job done.’
“To their credit, I’m extremely proud of them, they’ve made no excuses, the guys on the field have got to get the job done, and they did it.”
The semifinals will be at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Wednesday night at Wharton High, with East Bay and Durant playing in the first semifinal, and Sickles and Newsome in the second.
Football purists love to stress that the Super Bowl is about the game, the game, the game.
They’re wrong. There is more to the biggest day in American sports than two teams meeting to decide the NFL championship.
It’s the little details that are fascinating, and that’s what Allen St. John reveals in his book, “The Billion Dollar Game: Behind the Scenes of the Greatest Day in American Sport — Super Bowl Sunday” (Doubleday, $24.95).
With Super Bowl XLIII coming to Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium in a few weeks, this is the perfect “look-behind-the-scenes” book for the football junkie.
It’s an absorbing, thorough look at the people and corporations that make the game possible. St. John begins his odyssey in the days before Super Bowl XLI in Miami, and takes the reader through the process that concludes with Super Bowl XLII in Glendale, Ariz., in 2008.
The reader meets Peter Eisenman, the forward-thinking architect who built University of Phoenix Stadium, enabling Arizona to host the big game. And Donna Tavoso, who helps put together Playboy’s annual Super Bowl party.
St. John climbs into the production truck to gain insight from Artie Kempner, Fox’s director for the Super Bowl. Watching the network prepare for the big game is one of the more fascinating parts of this book.
Halftime shows are given plenty of attention, as are the commercials that sometimes are more interesting than the game itself. And don’t forget tickets — and ticket brokering.
Despite St. John’s effort to cover all the angles, there are a few glitches. For example, St. John notes that Dolphin Stadium is located in Homestead County. There is no such county in Florida, and the city of Homestead is far south of the stadium in Miami-Dade County.
Another mistake also concerned Miami, which was the site for Super Bowl V, the “Blooper Bowl” between the Colts and Cowboys. St. John mistakenly refers to that game as Super Bowl IV (the game in which the Chiefs upset the Vikings).
But for the most part, St. John is on the mark. He gives the reader a new perspective on the logistics that can make — or break — a Super Bowl.
The visiting Oklahoma media has spent time this week asking OU Sooners all about the added difficulty of taking on Florida in what “basically is a home game for the Gators.’’
Because the BCS title game is being played in Dolphin Stadium, which officially is some north of Havana, it is being assumed the Gators are like LSU playing in the Sugar Bowl.
Truth is, to much of the Miami area, the second most-popular team is the one playing Florida.
At least OU coach Bob Stoops, the former Gators defensive coordinator under Steve Spurrier, remembers the drill.
“Yeah, but there’s a whole lot of ‘Cane fans and I’m calling on all the Hurricane and Seminole fans that are down here to root for us,’’ Stoops said. “That won’t be hard I don’t think. So there’s another part of south Florida that isn’t for the Gators, and we’re hoping to recruit them here this week.’’
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