Sticks of Fire: a Tampa blog

Crazy news this week, and they all sound like someone is sending code.

• There’s a gator in the kitchen.
• He burgled my eatery, and I swiped his getaway.
• Looking for a pink panted bank robber.
• Someone’s monkeys went missing (by the way, the search mission is called Operation Monkeybars).
• Dolphins grab a Long.
• Poker in Sun City.
• He poured bubbles on my bumper.

With crazy news comes crazy quotes.

“I think they’re more street-smart than a zoo monkey.”

“If you’ve got an alligator going into a house, you’ve got a problem.”

Ya don’t say.

It looks like Florida is losing another Spring Training team.  The Cincinnati Reds are likely leaving Sarasota and may move to Goodyear, Arizona.  Arizona is stoked, cuz the Cactus League will have nearly the number of teams as the Grapefruit League.  Sarasota wants to replace the Reds with another spring training team (perhaps the Baltimore Orioles), but there may be no need.  Arizona just shipped 22 alligators to Florida.  Unlike baseball players, alligators have no chance of getting all drunked up at Hyde Park Cafe and end up tasered by cops.  Plus, the ‘gators probably have a better pitching staff.  Besides, everyone knows that Sarasotans favorite team is the Tampa Bay Rays!

It’s the season’s first installment of the Florida college basketball update and the Gators still have the best team in the state. By a long shot.

Florida (18-3) : beat South Carolina, Vanderbilt

With a very young Gators team Billy Donovan is playing the respect card and basically begging pollsters to not rank his team. The Gators are coming off their biggest win of the season, a throttling of the previously 13th ranked Commodores. While the win is impressive it is best to withhold judgment on this team until they play a good team on the road, where young teams typically struggle.

Up Next: Arkansas (Sat, 3:00)

Miami (15-4) : lost to UNC, beat Clemson

With nothing but ACC games left on their schedule the ‘Canes badly need some conference wins if they are going to have any chance to get into the NCAA tournament. Sunday’s win against previously 25th ranked Clemson helps and raises the Cane’s ACC record to 2-3. Miami’s fortunes seem to rise and fall with how Jack McClinton’s shot is falling.

Up Next: @ Wake Forest (Tues, 7:00), @ Duke (Sat, 3:30)

South Florida (10-10): lost to Louisville

Baby steps. Just keep repeating that Bulls fans, baby steps. After all if the football team can play in a bowl game this season then surely the basketball team can get to the NCCA tournament in the next few years right?

Up Next: @ Marquette (Tues, 8:00), St Johns (Sat, 7:00)

Florida State (13-8) : beat UVA, lost to NC State

With Al Thornton in the NBA now the Noles have become a disgrace of a basketball team and the local ink sheet is trying the ol’ “blame it on bad luck routine.” At least Noles fans still have that football team to fall back on.

Up Next: @ Virginia Tech (Tues, 9:00), UNC (Sun, 2:00)

Considering we had an all time upset, a number of SEC shootouts, and closely fought games yesterday was one of the more exciting opening weekends in college football history. And we’re not done with Florida State facing off against Clemson Monday night.

• The Gators romped 49-3 on lowly Western Kentucky, and Golden God Tim Tebow looked especially impressive. Despite attempting only 17 passes Tebow threw for 300 yards and 3 touchdowns. From the highlights I saw it appears Tebow’s running ability suckered in the safeties on play-action leaving receivers wide open down the field.

• With everything that has changed in Miami it has to be comforting to Canes fans that their defense is the same old dominating run-stuffing machine. The Canes man-handled Marshall 31-3, collecting four interceptions. One red flag for the Canes though, quarterback Kirby Freeman went 9 for 21 for 81 yards, an interception and a touchdown.

• It has to be discomforting for Bulls fans that USF only beat Division 1-AA opponent Elon 28-13. I missed the game but why did Mike Ford only get six carries, especially if he ran for 83 yards on just those six carries? The only reason I can think of is Jim Leavitt is trying to pull some kind of rope-a-dope before their game against Auburn next Saturday.

We are just a few days away from the opening weekend of tailgates, Gator chomps and tomahawk chops. And since nothing divides Floridians like their college football loyalties we are also just a few days away from our state’s version of the Civil War as families, friends and neighbors become The Enemy for the next four months.

• The BlogPoll is out and the Gators are receiving much love. And the BlogPolls creator, mgoblog, questions the Gators ranking as overrated at sixth overall. Where can you find the most underrated team? Just head north a few hours to Tallahassee.

• Speaking of Florida State, debate rages over at SMQ regarding the Nole’s chances of winning the ACC. It was not to long ago that winning the ACC was a mere formality for FSU, and now they are considered a dark horse pick.

• The Times Bulls Blog rains down Bulls link while quoting South of the Border’s Pedro. The Sunshine State officially has two dark horse teams with USF’s expected emergence on the national landscape.

• A man named Kirby has been tabbed the Cane’s starting quarterback and THE Gators blog, EDSBS, is tickled with anticipation of what could go wrong. And if the above links have failed to shake the summer doldrums out of ya EDSBS presents a daily affirmation, in 3 Days…

Just because we’ve been away for awhile and so much has been missed we present a rare redux edition of the wide web of (tampa bay) sports. Up today, Rays Blogs square off in the Octagon, Kanes makes an offer you can’t refuse, and Curt Schilling further jams his foot down his mouth.

• (Blog Fight!) The Rays may not be interesting but at least their fan blogs still are. To recap, first DRays Bay implied Rays fans were idiots. The Rays Index called DRays Bay out on it. To which DRays Bay responded. Then I went cross-eyed.

• (Now To Some Real Pseudo-News) After suggesting he would play for the Rays next season Curt Schilling has recanted, ON HIS BLOG! See, it was all a misunderstanding, much like WWII. Hitler didn’t invade Poland, he just crossed the border with a few friends to buy some kilbasa.

• (When Pigs Fly) Kane’s Furniture, who brought us the Devil Rays Kane’s Club, are offering free furniture for a year if the Gators can ONLY repeat as National Champions in football. AND they have to go undefeated. Quite the limb Kane’s is walking out on there.

• (Get St Louis To Sign Your Chest) Tomorrow is Ice Fest, the Bolts fanfest held at the St Pete Times Forum formerly known as the Ice Palace. Apparently the Bolts are unveiling new uniforms at the event, which are almost guaranteed to be worse than the current ones. But the new ownership group has to pay the bills some how.

Congrats to the University of Florida who proved that Buckeyes make great Gator bait. Never before in one year have I seen so much domination of one school over another, which is amazing considering the schools aren’t even in the same conference. Just complete ownage of the Ohio State athletic department by the Florida athletic department. UF needs to beat tOSU in the college World Series to complete the karmic cycle.

Billy Donovan has to return next season, but that is coming from a biased Gators fan. Florida can match any money Kentucky can throw at Billy, and really the only job I can see Donovan take on would be the Miami Heat job. Jumping to Kentucky at this point is at best a lateral move, considering how high the Florida basketball program is right now. Even with all their losses Florida will have enough talent to win the SEC (although not the NCAA). Speights and Hodge are very good players, and if Green returns the Gators would have to be the favorites to win the SEC.

In other Florida roundball news, USF finally found their coach, former Arkansas coach Stan Heath. Heath isn’t the most exciting of the candidates originally linked to the job, but he is the best of the group that was left. Heath should make USF better simply by bringing in more talent. I was surprised Arkansas fired Heath considering he got the Razorbacks into two straight NCAA tournaments, and would have won the SEC championship if he hadn’t run into the juggernaut that is the Florida Gators. But Arkansas’ loss is South Florida’s gain.

Pop question, which one will last longer: Florida’s NCAA run, FSU’s NIT run or the USF coaching search? I’ve got Florida listed as the favorite but don’t over look the USF coaching search as the underdog here. You never know how long that could take.

• Word is that VCU’s Anthony Grant has taken his hat out of the ring for the USF job. I had Grant as the number one seed which means USF is left with a fairly unimpressive list of canidates to choose from. It looks like USF will have to decide between picking a former coach who could add some name recognition to the program (i.e. Mike Jarvis, Pete Gillen), or going with a coach who has been successful in the mid-major ranks (Travis Ford, John Pelphrey).

• FSU is doing their best to prove the NCAA Selection Committee wrong by advancing to the third round of the NIT Tournament. If the Noles can win tomorrow night against number one seed Mississippi State then they will advance to the Final Four at Madison Square Garden.

• And finally, there is this team called the Gators which are pretty good, from what I hear. I hate the Butler draw on Friday for Florida since the Gators struggle against teams which slow the game down and force them to score out of a half court set. Billy Donovan’s team is at their best when they are running and playing at a fast pace.