swamprat

6 hours ago, Down4theblue said:

I have a semi interesting story about the Lakeland High Qb. His dad is from Morehead,Ky I grew up watching him play Basketball, in Hs. His dad was Buddy Smith. Long story short. The kid is a beast. Many D1 offers. Long Story short. The dad passed away during the height of Covid. He has another older son who plays LB for the U. Just an interesting tidbit though some of you may enjoy.  

I probably saw him last season when they opened at Clearwater. They don't have programs at the games anymore. Lakeland ran all over them. 

Florida Schools I follow...

Class 3M District 7

Seminole 31 Countryside 12
St. Petersburg 42 Seminole Osceola 14
Largo 21 Gibbs 6

Others

Newberry 24 Calvary Christiam 21
Alonso 27 Sickles 25
Brandon 14 Tampa Freedom 6
Sumner 46 Gaither 22
Berkeley Prep 28 Booker 8
Sarasota Riverview 35 Cardinal Mooney 7
Clearwater Central Catholic 42 Clearwater 20

A week ago, news outlets reported this, but that was false. Today it is true. Sad.

TAMPA, Fla. — Former Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Williams has died at 36, according to reports from ESPN and the NFL.

ESPN says his agent confirmed that Williams died on Tuesday morning.

Williams was on life support after suffering severe injuries in a construction accident in Hillsborough County last week.

Last Wednesday, outlets incorrectly reported Williams had died.

https://baynews9.com/fl/tampa/news/2023/09/07/update--former-bucs-wr-mike-williams-on-life-support-after-construction-accident-

As usual, much better than the movie.

Lots of stuff since I last posted. I went back through my Jesse Stone Series, all pre Mike Lupica. I also went back through my Jack Reacher Series hoping to figure out what the next series will be about.

The new ones start with the following...

I ran in to Huggins, literally, outside of the basketball arena up there in 2010. Big guy. 

Next week will be like a bye week scrimmage. Bama will be just fine. 

My grandson is going on his first official visit next Saturday. I don't know why, but I'm kind of psyched. 

Florida Schools I follow...

Class 3M District 7

Clearwater 56 Countryside 6 *
Largo 33 Boca Ciega 10
Seminole 48 Dunedin 8
Tarpon Springs 31 Seminole Osceola 10

Others

Sarasota Riverview 52 Palmetto 42
Apopka 18 Dr. Phillips 14
Leto 35 Tampa Freedom 7
Maimi Columbus 42 Jesuit 14
Wharton 25 Gaither 24
East Bay 31 Sickles 20
Alonso 42 Spoto 33
Carrollwood Day 56 Calvary Christian 34
 

* Clearwater opened with a nice drive to go up 7-0, then another short drive. Countryside had a nice drive in the 1st quarter as well. What should have been a 14-6 at the end of the 1st ended up 36-6 thanks to two consecutive drives by Countryside that ended with a pick six, and another where the receiver fumbled the ball for a nice scoop and score for Clearwater. It was a running clock by halftime.

Austin Reed put that team on his back and led them to victory. 

For USF, new coaching staff, same result. Alex Golesh said USF made him promises and that is why he walked away from a good gig at Tennessee. He brought in a bunch of transfers and I am certain the "advertisers" in the Tampa Bay Area promised NIL money. This is a major rebuild.

Florida Schools I follow...

Class 3M District 7

Lakeland 28 Largo 0
Seminole Osceola 49 Dunedin 0
Riverview at Countryside Cancelled
Seminole at Tarpon Springs PPD

Others

Apopka 14 West Orange 7
Clearwater 21 Northeast 18 OT *
Calvary Christian 52 Tallahassee St. John Paul II 0
Alonso 37 Blake 24
Berkeley Prep 31 Plant 24
Riverview 35 Freedom 0
Newsome 32 Sickles 30
Treasure Coast 66 Jesuit 28
Buckholz 53 Sarasota Riverview 31

Clearwater came from 15-0 down in the 3rd quarter to send it to OT. 

The game at Countryside was cancelled. I think I will just collect the love of my life, go to the pool, and hang out tomorrow night. 

We got back home around noon, today. Several bridges were closed so we had to take go a little out of our way. We never saw any of the damage or flooding being reported on the news in the Tampa Bay area, However, I did not venture down to the beach after getting home. 

Tropical Storm conditions here in Citrus Park, where we are staying. We are 101 miles southeast of the eye, as of 5am. 

My place in Largo is 99 southeast of the eye. Here is a shot from there this morning. 

Current conditions in Largo from my Ring camera.

As of 11am EST, the NHC has it 226 miles southwest of Largo. If it stays on their track, in 12 hours it will be 128 miles away to the southwest of Largo and 143 miles southwest of where we are staying. However, the place we are staying is 0.2 degrees further west of Largo. About an 11 mile difference.

The problem with possibly being on the southeast side of the storm is that the hurricane spins counter clockwise, so the storm surge is usually greatest on the southeast side. The storm surge in Largo is predicted to be 4-7 ft. It could be more if the storm intensifies earlier than expected. 

1 minute ago, theguru said:

I was wondering, I figured you were right in the path of Idalia. 

More so since we moved to Largo. We're just 3 miles from Indian Rocks Beach. Storm surge is not the problem for us, but we live in a 55+ retirement community (mobile home park). 😁 It would be just my luck to live 40 years in Tampa, move to Largo, and get blown out after one year. 

We closed on that place a year ago last Saturday.

We are being evacuated and are heading up to my sister's place right next to where we used to live. 

Florida Schools I follow...

Class 3M District 7
Countryside 48 Dunedin 19
Palm Harbor University 28 Seminole Osceola 14
Seminole 17 Boca Ciega 14
Largo 35 Pinellas Park 17

Others
Apopka 2 Ocoee 0 *
Alonzo 40 Freedon 0
Gaither 35 Steinbrenner 7
Clearwater Central Catholic 21 Berkley Prep 14
Sickles 26 Jefferson 12
Jesuit 34 Wharton 20
Sarasota Riverview 54 Bradenton Southeast 0
 

*Apopka blocked a punt out of bounds in the Ocoee end zone for a safety with less than 3 minutes left in the game or that bad boy may still be going on. 😀

On 8/19/2023 at 2:11 PM, swamprat said:

Last night he had a couple of tackles for loss, playing with an hyperextended thumb which he got the day before in practice. He said after the game it was killing him. He couldn't get a hold of anything with his left hand. He played through to the 4th quarter when they pulled the starters, though. 

Turns out it wasn't a hyperextended thumb. More like a broken thumb with joint involvement. He is cleared to play tonight. Hope it doesn't rain much.