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19 March 2010
Brad Keseloski flips at Atlanta Motor Speedway after being hit by Carl Edwards (Photo by the Associated Press) Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s first reaction to Brad Keselowski’s wreck in Atlanta on Sunday was terror. “That wreck scared the [expletive] out of me,” Earnhardt said.”…I was just so glad that he was OK.” He hasn’t talked to Keselowski about his driving style and he doesn’t think he’ll offer Keselowski advice. Just like Earnhardt stayed away from offering Danica Patrick too much advice, he figures Keselowski has enough people telling him what to do. “Brad has an awesome amount of talent and a terrible amount of confidence,” Earnhardt said. “It’s been working for him and he doesn’t see any reason to change. But everybody has to change. He’ll learn at his own pace.” Earnhardt probably knows Keselowski better than any other Cup driver. He did, after all, employ Keselowski as a full-time Nationwide driver for the last two seasons. This is Keselowski’s first full season, though he’s not a rookie of the year candidate. Keselowski ran enough races last year that he used up his rookie of the year eligibility. Earnhardt emphasized that what Keselowski had to learn had nothing to do with talent and everything to do with his racing maturity. “Everybody that comes into this sport as a rookie has a lot of [expletive] to learn,” Earnhardt said. “Nobody comes in here and is David Pearson right off the bat. Or is Dale Earnhardt or Richard Petty. They might have the raw skill but they don’t have the experience or the understanding of the driver etiquette or whatever. “Brad doesn’t need to tame himself down or anything but everybody has lessons to learn. When you guys find yourself in a new environment, you sorta gotta learn the ropes.” That includes Earnhardt Jr., himself. I asked Earnhardt if he had any … umm… teaching moments as a rookie when veterans put him in his place. Drivers have been asked that all day. Jeff Gordon said his came at Phoenix in 1993 at the hands of Dale Sr. Junior got some lessons from his dad, too. Apparently there were hand gestures “when I was out there being an idiot.” “I’d already won the [Busch] championship the year before,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “I went to Daytona in 99 I was like, ‘I’m the champ.’ I went out in practice. The cars are coming on pit road. I tried to go three wide, and I wrecked Dick Trickle, Jeff Burton and about eight other guys. They all came to my garage stall and were like get your [expletive] head out of your [expletive].” As for Keselowski, Earnhardt is sure he won’t rub people the wrong way forever. “You think you know everything, you think you got everything figured out,” Earnhardt said. “It’s a good attitude to have, it’s refreshing the way Brad is. But you learn that you don’t have everything figured out. … It’s all about maturity not talent. Not raw talent. It’s all about growing up in the world.” Follow Tania Ganguli on Twitter @taniaganguli or e-mail her at tganguli@orlandosentinel.com.
19 March 2010
There’s your new stud quarterback, Gators fans. Looks like a guy who can replace Tim Tebow to me. This is one of the many great photos of the Florida Gators at spring practice courtesy of the Orlando Sentinel. I just got back from Oklahoma City a little while ago, but Sentinel correspondent Bobby Callovi told me that Urban Meyer is in attendance at today’s session, cornerback Adrian Bushell is still nowhere to be found (curious: He should be competing for starting job) and WR Andre Debose is not participating in one-on-one drills. Also, freshman Robert Clark and Solomon Patton are tearing up workouts today, per Callovi. Stay tuned.
19 March 2010
Breaking news I think a lot of UCF fans are going to love … UCF is officially a Nike school. The university has reached an agreement with Nike to provide shoes and apparel for all sports. “We had explored a number of different options with a number of different manufacturers and equipment providers and ultimately we have reached an agreement with Nike,” said David Chambers, UCF executive associate athletic director. Chambers credited UCF Athletic Director Keith Tribble, currently on the road leading the school’s search for a men’s basketball coach, for locking up the best possible deal with Nike.Nike has a nondisclosure agreement tied to all shoe and apparel contracts, so UCF declined to release details of the contract. “I wish we could say more, but I can say that we are very happy with the agreement,” Chambers said. The deal is believed to be a five-year term with multiple options for extensions. Click on this link to read more about the agreement. More details coming soon.
19 March 2010
Oak Ridge senior Cady Lalanne capped his senior high school season by being named Florida Dairy Farmers Class 4A Player of the Year on Friday. “To me, it shows all the hard work that me and my coaches went through to get me to develop to be a player like I am right now,” Lalanne said. “It means a lot.” Lalanne signed early with Georgia. He said he will play a FAAZ Magazine all-star game in Orlando, April 6, and then the Florida vs. USA Hardwood Classic in Orlando, April 10, and then focus on workouts with his high school coach, Derek Heard , to prepare for college basketball. Lalanne received 84 to 73for runner-up Sam Mills of Fort Lauderdale Cardinal Gibbons in a vote by a statewide panel of media and coaches. He joins these other players as Mr. Basketball finalists: 6A – Austin Rivers , Winter Park; 5A – Jeremiah Samarippas , Bartow; 3A – Brandon Knight , Fort Lauderdale Pine Crest; 2A – Patric Young , Jacksonville Providence; 1A – Josh Castellanos , Orlando Christian Prep. Knight won the Mr. Basketball honor last season as a junior.
19 March 2010
Josh Castelllanos was a surprise winner of the Florida Dairy Farmers 1A boys basketball Player of the Year honor. Even he was surprised when the honor was announced on Friday. “I didn’t really even know I was mentioned,” Castellanos. “It’s exciting. It’s a great accomplishment for me and for the OCP basketball program.” “Josh did a lot of nice things for us at the state tournament that people probably saw,” said OCP coach Reggie Kohn . “He was our glue guy all year.” Castellanos is OCP’s third consecutive small-school state MVP, following UCF freshman Keith Clanton , who won the award the past two years. Kohn also won the state Coach of the Year vote for his classification for the second season in a row and third time in his young career. Kohn was voted 5A Coach of the Year at Lake Howell in 2005-06 and was the 1A Coach of the Year when OCP won the state title last season. Castellanos, a 6-1 senior point guard, said Air Force is the college that seems to be recruiting him the hardest at this point. Castellanos received 67 points to 51 for runner-up Justin Jackson of Jacksonville Arlington Country Day in a vote by a statewide panel of media and coaches. He joins these other players as Mr. Basketball finalists: 6A – Austin Rivers , Winter Park; 5A – Jeremiah Samarippas , Bartow; 4A – Cady Lalanne , Oak Ridge; 3A – Brandon Knight , Fort Lauderdale Pine Crest; 2A – Patric Young , Jacksonville Providence. Knight won the Mr. Basketball honor last season as a junior.
19 March 2010
The Sentinel’s outstanding photographer Gary W. Green covered today’s UCF spring football practice. While he works on processing his images, you can scroll through my less awesome amateur shots. I just wanted to give readers a quick look at spring workouts while they wait for the good stuff to roll in:
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