Not a high school in the state of Florida sees anything but disaster in proposed legislation that would overhaul the Florida High School Athletic Association, for good reason, argues Nancy Smith.
Sports
Palm Coast’s Tennis Phenom Reilly Opelka, 17, Goes Pro After Catching Agent’s Eye
Reilly Opelka, 17, caught the eye of an agent at Palm Coast’s Men’s Futures Tournament in January, and got an offer. He turned pro a week ago, skipping college for the tour.
Not What Visiting Soccer Players Want to See: Man Threatens Teens With a Gun at Motel
Four teens visiting Palm Coast as part of the weekend’s State Cup soccer tournament were threatened with a gun when a Red Roof Inn guest, Samuel Foy, 35, screamed at the teens to be quiet.
Upon Further Review: Inside the Police Failure to Stop Darren Sharper’s Rape Spree
Nine women reported being raped or drugged by Sharper to four different agencies before NFL safety Darren Sharper’s capture. His Sharper’s rampage of druggings and rapes could have been prevented, according to a two-month investigation by ProPublica and The New Orleans Advocate.
Obama Proposals Would End Tax-Subsidized Loans For Sports Stadiums
The proposal comes as many team owners, including Florida, are pressing cities and states for new facilities, with some threatening to move elsewhere if they don’t get them.
From His Flagler Beach Home Base: Ray Black Jr.’s Road to NASCAR’s Truck Series
Ray Black Jr., competing tonight in NASCAR’s Truck Series race at Daytona International Speedway, tells of his joujrney from Alabama to Flagler Beach, and the wisdom in not wrecking.
Lawmakers Punt to Full Legislature on Millions in Tax Subsidies for Speedway and Jaguars
A process intended to reducing lobbying may do the opposite now that the Joint Legislative Budget Commission moved any funding decisions regarding the stadiums to the full Legislature.
No Surprise: Florida’s Economic Development Agency Wants Tax Subsidies for Daytona Speedway, Jaguars and 2 Other Sports Venues
Daytona International Speedway is seeking $3 million a year for 30 years to subsidize its operations, the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars have asked for $1 million a year for three decades.
Palm Coast’s Reilly Opelka, 17, Picked as Wild Card For Main Draw of Men’s Futures Tourney
Reilly Opelka’s pick marks the first time in at least four years that a Palm Coast resident was selected by USTA as the Main Draw Wild Card for the tournament played in the city.
Daytona Speedway Seeking $3 Million A Year in Tax Gifts, Jaguars Close Behind
The Jacksonville Jaguars are following closely behind the Daytona Speedway in requests of up to $90 million in sales tax dollars over 30 years, tax revenue that would be subtracted from public needs.
Sanford, Ferguson, Tallahassee: When Cops Act Like Vigilantes
When police from Sanford to Tallahassee protect themselves or FSU football players and sit on information that should be disclosed and vigorously pursued, they invite mistrust and charges of a cover-up.
Pop Warner Football Smackdown: Games Over, Fights Erupt at FPC—Between “Adults”
Tensions escalated into fights and brawls that sent three people to the hospital after a Pop Warner football game between Flagler and Daytona Beach Saturday at FPC, even though the game involved children ages 5 to 7, and was not scored.
Keith Olbermann, Derek Jeter, John Thrasher and the Artlessness of Rants
Ed Moore delivers a rant of his own about Keith Olbermann’s rant denigrating Derek Jeter, and compares that opinion to the unfriendly reception John Thrasher got from FSU faculty and staff.
FSU Coddles Jameis Winston Again, Undercutting Its Own Anti-Sexual Violence Campaign
Just as FSU has ramped up its kNOw MORE anti-sexual violence campaign, Winston unleashed a misogynistic, vile, expletive punctuated public outburst. The reigning Heisman Trophy winner and star quarterback was benched just one game.
Blame The Victim, Sports Fans: It’s Going To Be An Exciting Season for Misogyny
Following video showing Ray Rice slugging his then-fiancee, there were scores of comments along the lines of “She slapped him! He had every right to hit her,” and the bizarre “Don’t start a fight you don’t intend to finish!” Diane Roberts isn’t taking it.
Flagler Sheriff’s PAL Baseball Enrollment Is Open For Ages 4-15
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Police Athletic League (PAL) has opened enrollment for the fall baseball season for children ages 4-15. Practice begins the second week of September. Opening day is Monday, Sept. 29.
Sheriff’s Deputy In Rear-End Crash With Matanzas Coach Keith Lagocki on SR100: No Injuries
Keith Lagocki, the long-time coach at Matanzas High School, along with three family members escaped injury Sunday afternoon when a Flagler County Sheriff’s deputy’s cruiser rear-ended Lagocki’s car just west of Belle Terre Parkway. The deputy was also not injured.
How the NFL Protects Wife-Beaters: Ray Rice’s Laughable Suspension
Baltimore Ravens’s Ray Rice got a mere two-game suspension for beating his fiancee (now wife) unconscious in an elevator a few months ago. The mockery of punishment shows why goons can always depend on a perverted degree of hero-worship in this country.
USA 1, Belgium 2: Back to Flanders Fields (or Houligan’s)
A US win over Belgium is a spot in the quarterfinals of the World Cup for the first time since 2002, but Belgium is fielding the strongest team in its history, stronger than both Ghana and Portugal. There will be goals.
PAL and Flagler County’s Firefighters’ Union Donate $1,000 to Grace Community Food Pantry
The Flagler County Sheriffs Office PAL and the Flagler County Professional Firefighters’ Association teamed up to donate $1,000 to Pastor Charles Silano’s Grace Community Food Pantry.
Brazil 1, Chile 1 (Brazil on PKs): Sudden Death
Brazil have not been performing as a World Cup-winning team. They’ve been playing like the scattered parts of a Swiss watch, and some of them have yet to be wound up. Now they face a Chilean team that could give them nightmares.
FPC’s David Halliday, Now Hall of Famer, a Finalist for National Inspiring Coach Award
FPC’s Dave Halliday is one of 25 national finalists for the Brooks Inspiring Coach award. He’s already earned $5,000 worth of gear for FPC and $500 for team expenses. Winning will double that. But he needs your votes.
USA 0, Germany 1: Small Loss for a Big Win
There are numerous ways for the Americans to advance to the next round, but only two ways to guarantee it: a win or a tie against Germany, which happen to be the hardest and second-hardest results to achieve. That may leave the American fate yet again in Ghana’s hands.
From Houligan’s to the Portuguese-American Club, the World Cup Inflames Palm Coast
FlaglerLive’s Ezra Salkin braved the brawn and brash of Palm Coast’s emerging soccer–sorry, football–culture and reports on his close encounters with fandom in two of the city’s most football-fevered spots.
The Despicable Luis Suárez Bites Again: Time to Ban the Cannibal From Football
Uruguay’s Luis Suárez bit Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini moments before Uruguay took a 1-0 win into the next round. It’s Suárez’s third recorded biting incident on top of other repulsive acts on the field. Time to ban the little chomp of horrors.
USA 2, Portugal 2:
Triumph and Agony
Beating Ghana was thrilling, but only beating Portugal will prove that the Americans are serious about their World Cup campaign. Against whiny, brilliant Cristiano Ronaldo, and without Jozy Altidore, the Americans may have a crucifying 90 minutes in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest.
Room For Debate:
Should The Washington Redskins Change Name?
The U.S. Patent Office’s decision to block trademarks for the Washington Redskins has renewed debate on the NFL team’s name, which Indians find offensive and the team owner and NFL commissioner defend as traditional and respectful. The debate is outlined.
This Is It: Ghana 1, USA 2: Revenge Complete
Both Team USA and Ghana return to the World Cup with revenge on their mind–the US for losing to Ghana in a terrifically fought round-of-16 match four years ago, and Ghana for being unjustly eliminated by the cheating hand of Uruguay’s Luis Suarez in the quarterfinal. It should be a high-energy, dazzling match as long as both teams display the verve they have, but don;t always produce.
France 3, Honduras 0: Slogging back to Honor
French national football has been a comedy of errors and disgrace since the team got clobbered in South Africa four years ago, and self-imploded with acrimony and racist issues. A much calmer, gentler team heads to Brazil, with higher hopes.
Don’t Bother Me. I’m at the World Cup.
The World Cup is as close as it comes to a religious experience for many of us–despite the sport’s corruption, match fixing scandals and ubiquitous racism among fans, in Europe especially. But it’s not for nothing that they call i the Beautiful Game. Try it. You might be reborn.
Costa Rica 3, Uruguay 1: Magnificent Upset
The despicable Luis Suarez, the Liverpool striker, one of the greatest players and most repulsive human beings in world football, will lead Uruguay to what may be yet another impressive run in international competition, again on Brazilian ground.
Colombia 3, Greece 0: Juan Valdez Beats Zeus
Colombia can be among the surprises of the tournament, and they’re playing in a group that favors it: anyone in Group C can win it, anyone can advance.
Chile 3, Australia 1: The Mapuche Gods Have It
So, while Iraq falls apart and the United States considers a summer air campaign there, it’s time for the day’s third match, a free-wheeling affair between lowly but beer-swilling Australia and tightly disciplined Chile, whose spoiler capabilities should not be underestimated.
Spain 1, Netherlands 5: Rematch, Beauty and Dethroning
This is the treat of the day: a rematch between the 2010 World Cup finalists, a game Spain won 1-0 at the end of a violent and too often ugly game. Spain these days feels like Rodney Dangerfield in Brazil: it’s getting no respect despite its crushing record in the past eight years.
Mexico 1, Cameroon 0: Nothing To Lose
An evenly matched game between two formerly competitive teams that don’t have it this year, and barely qualified, which should make this a lot more fun than it deserves to be: in essence neither team has anything left to lose and can make a stepping stone of the other.
USTA Will Combine Its New York and Boca Raton Operations in Orlando
The United States Tennis Association, in line for state and local incentives, plans to build a state-of-the-art facility at Lake Nona in Orlando that will consolidate divisions from New York and Boca Raton. Gov. Rick Scott and the non-profit USTA announced the $60 million, 63-acre, 106-court project today (May 14).
David Beckham Lobbies Tallahassee for Tax Breaks on a Soccer Stadium in Miami
Elected officials — including Gov. Rick Scott — and staffers flooded Twitter with “selfies” alongside Beckham, who wants to bring a professional soccer team to Miami and has set his goal on the Port of Miami as a potential stadium site.
On World Tennis Day, Palm Coast’s Reilly Opelka, 16, Plays Madison Square Garden
Palm Coast’s Reilly Opelka, a top American junior tennis player, made it to one of the world’s premier sports arenas as he opened for Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray in an exhibition match at Madison Square Garden Monday evening.
Global Warning Olympics: Closing Ceremonies for Winter
Watching the Olympics requires too much of a suspension of disbelief to make the effort worth the time or the self-deception. There was an added and quite massive invention to these games: faking winter in a warming world, though in that regard we’re all self-deluded Russians.
A Palm Coast-Based Referee, 66, Is Accused of Inappropriately Touching a Star 14-Year-Old Girl During a Game, and a Team Is Rattled
Marion Al Jennings, a Palm Coast retiree who officiates with A-1 Officials Association, faces a battery charge for allegedly grabbing a 14-year-old girl’s buttocks and rubbing her breast as he officiated her game earlier this month at Calvary Christian Academy. A-1 referees also officiate at Matanzas and Flagler Palm Coast High School.
Eddie Johnson, US National Team Striker and Bunnell Native, is Traded to DC United
Bunnell native and Flagler Palm Coast High School graduate Eddie Johnson was traded to DC United on Tuesday, DC United announced, from the Seattle Sounders, where Johnson had played the last two seasons. Johnson had made 48 appearances and scored 23 goals for the Sounders.
Florida State’s Jameis Winston, In the Pocket of a “Big Football Town”
As with anyone accused of a crime, Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston is entitled to the benefit of the doubt and is presumed to be innocent. But how can we be sure that justice is being served when the actions of those responsible for investigating sexual assault complaints against athletes is so slipshod?
Cowardice as Culture: Richie Incognito’s NFL and the Adulation of Brutality
For years, in college and in the NFL, lineman Richie Incognito behaving loutishly and unaccountably on and off the field in an NFL culture that rewards and protects brutality. Jonathan Martin is the rare whistle-blower who reveals ugly truths the league and its fans would too often prefer not to acknowledge, argues Steve Robinson.
From Indian Trails Middle School to The U.S. Open: Reilly Opelka’s Tennis Zoom
Reilly Opelka, 16, a Palm Coast native and former Indian Trails Middle School student, qualified for the main draw of the U.S. Open Juniors tournament. He lost in singles on Tuesday but he;’s still alive in doubles. He talks about what it was like growing up in Palm Coast and moving to a tennis academy in Boca Raton.
Eddie Johnson More Brawny Than Brilliant, But Helps US Win Gold Cup Anyway, 1-0
It was not a beautiful performance by either Eddie Johnson, who put in all 95 minutes, or the U.S. Team, and the last minutes were marred by a brawl Johnson triggered as he brought a little Bunnell to Soldier Field, but the U.S. won its fifth Gold Cup anyway.
Bunnell’s Eddie Johnson Shines in 5-1 Win Over El Salvador in Gold Cup Semi
Bunnell-born Eddie Johnson, the electrifying striker gunning for a spot on Team USA’s World Cup squad, scored immediately after coming into the quarterfinal Gold Cup match on a substitution Sunday, refreshing his Demolition Man moniker.
Tax Subsidy May Trigger Free for All as Florida Cities Grab for Spring Training Teams
New rules for spring training funding offer up to $666,660 a year in sales tax revenue for stadium upgrades or construction if a community seeks to retain or entice a single team to move. The funding can jump to $1.33 million if a community can cobble together a two-team package.
NFL and MLS Snub Florida After Bill to Subsidize Dolphins and Soccer at Taxpayers’ Expense Fails
The NFL awarded the 2016 Super Bowl to the San Francisco area and the 2017 championship contest to Houston, a little more than two weeks after a bill tied to potential state funding for the Miami Dolphins and an Orlando soccer stadium died in the Florida House.
Forget Rio: Palm Coast Lands Soccer Academy in Planned Expansion of Economic “Niche”
The New Jersey-based Player Development Academy will build up to six fields on 65 acres west of U.S. 1 that will link with the Indian Trail Sp[orts Complex–and with Palm Coast’s sports-niche market, which has turned into an engine of economic development.
From Jackie Robinson to Jason Collins: Still Telling It On the Mountain
It will be Jason Collins’s misfortune to be labeled the “gay Jackie Robinson.” Like Robinson, he may have to endure a painful personal burden. But, argues Steve Robinson, history is less likely to view him as a pioneer than ask instead: “what took so long?”
