Rock out

Chris McCarty plays with Mark Gaignard at 8 p.m. tonight (Jan. 31) at Skipper’s Smokehouse, 910 Skipper Road. $7-10. Must be 21 or accompanied by parent. Call 1-800-594-8499.

Two 5K Run/Walks tomorrow

Wharton High School PTSA is sponsoring its annual Wharton 5K Run and 1 Mile Fun Run tomorrow, January 31.  The 5K race will begin at 8 a.m.  by the Community Center in Live Oak Preserve off of Bruce B. Downs Blvd., located across from Wharton High School.

So far, more than 80 runners have pre-registered. There will be on-site registration. There will be many door prizes for the runners from area businesses and supporters of the run.  The proceeds of this event support the Wharton PTSA Wishes for Wharton Program.

And Pride Elementary's Run with Pride will begin at 8:30 a.m. at the school, 10310 Lion's Den Drive. Registration begins at 7 a.m.

An evening of song

Soprano Liana Valente will perform as part of the Resident Artist Series. Hear an Evening of North American Music at 8 tonight (Jan. 30) at the recital hall at the USF College of Visual and Performing Arts, 4202 E Fowler Ave.

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Get the blues

Celebrate with the Damon Fowler Group at the band’s CD release party at 8 tonight (Jan. 30) at Skipper’s Smokehouse, 910 Skipper Road. $10-15. Must be 21 or accompanied by parent. Call 1-800-594-8499.

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New Tampa Rotary breakfast meeting

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Sheryle Baker, director of the Life Center, will talk at 7 a.m. Friday (Jan. 30) at the New Tampa Rotary Club breakfast meeting at Tampa Palms Golf and Country Club, 5811 Tampa Palms Blvd. The cost is $12. Call (813) 972-9235.

Super Bowl traffic tie-ups

New Tampa drivers could be mired in traffic, more than usual, trying to make it around town for the Super Bowl. Area transportation officials expect increased traffic starting at 6 p.m. Friday (Jan. 30) through Sunday (Feb. 1).

Here are some spots to avoid.

• Fowler, west bound at Bull Run near the Museum of Science and Industry, will be closed from 7:15 to 7:40 a.m. and from 8:15 to 8:40 a.m. daily for the team bus' arrival at the sport complex.

Road closures around Raymond James Stadium to avoid:

• Starting at 10 p.m. Saturday (Jan 31) Himes Ave between Columbus Dr and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd will be closed to traffic and is expected to reopen at 6 a.m. (Feb 2)

• Starting at 12:01 a.m. Sunday (Feb 1) Dale Mabry Highway North between Columbus Drive and and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard will be closed to traffic and is expected to reopen at 4 a.m. Monday (Feb 2)

Road closures in downtown to avoid:

• Starting at 6 p.m. tonight (Jan 29) the northbound lane on Franklin Street will be closed from Harbour Island to Old Water Street. It will reopen at 6 p.m. Sunday (Feb 1)

• Starting at 6 p.m. tonight (Jan 29) Old Water Street will be westbound only from Channelside Drive to Florida Ave. It will revert to two-way traffic at 6 p.m. Sunday (Feb 1)

• Between 6 p.m. and midnight Friday (Jan 30) and Saturday (Jan 31) Channelside Drive between Meridian Ave and Cumberland Ave will be closed.

Call (813) 274-8750 or check here. 

USF no match for No. 7 Louisville

From the Times:

By Steve Bittenbender

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — For the first 20 minutes, USF played streaking Louisville as strong as anyone has for the month of January.

The Bulls shot better than 50 percent against one of the country's best defenses and ended the first half trailing by just a point against the Big East co-leaders and the seventh-ranked team in the nation. But a 22-3 run by the Cardinals (16-3, 7-0) to start the second half quelled any thought of an upset Wednesday night as USF fell 80-54.

Dominique Jones scored 19 for the Bulls (7-13, 2-6), but the Cards limited him to 2-of-5 shooting in the decisive 20 minutes.

After committing just nine turnovers in the first half, the Bulls had six in the first 8:30 of the second. That allowed Louisville to take a 33-32 halftime lead and make it 55-35 during that span. USF finished with 21 turnovers while forcing Louisville into just 11.

"We got out of hand with our mistakes and that's when they ran away with the game," Jones said.

Louisville, which won its eighth straight, was led by Edgar Sosa's 16 points.

The Bulls started sharp, hitting 10 of their first 18 shots, and they scored 18 inside in the first half despite Gus Gilchrist sitting out with two fouls. Gilchrist's absence was offset by Jones, who had 15 by the break.

"For the first 20 minutes we played as well as we could play," Bulls coach Stan Heath said. "They wore us down in the second half."

USF cooled off after the solid start, making just 10 of 27 shots in the second half. Still, the Bulls' overall shooting (45.3 percent) was much higher than the 38 percent the Cardinals defense had been yielding.

Another positive for the Bulls was how they held Terrence Williams, who entered the game averaging 20.5 points in his past four games, to only five. Still, the versatile swingman found ways to contribute as he had 10 rebounds and six assists.

5A-8 soccer semifinals: Wharton, Freedom notch shutouts

From the Times:

By Peter Arrabal

TAMPA — Second-half scoring from Will Hunt and Matt Carbone propelled Wharton into a Class 5A, District 8 final against Freedom, as the Wildcats topped Newsome 2-0 and the Patriots knocked out King with a 6-0 victory.

Neither the Wildcats (15-6-3) nor the Wolves could find the net in the first half Wednesday, but Hunt drove home a header three minutes into the second half to put Wharton ahead.

"Will got his ups, beat his mark, like any good midfielder would, and put it in the back of the net," Wharton coach Scott Ware said. "That was crucial, to get us that edge early in the second (half)."

Newsome's best challenge came in the 74th minute when the team was awarded a penalty kick for a handball in the box. Newsome (16-6-1) was unable to capitalize, as Ian Connelly's shot bounced off the crossbar.

"I think they're very confident," Ware said. "I remember last year, and we have 15 guys returning, each and every game we got more and more confident."

Fourth-seeded Freedom (11-2-5) opened the scoring in the 16th minute on a header by Doug Yablun. Eliot Toledo sprinted past his defender in the 32nd minute to extend the lead, and again scored in the 42nd minute.

Manny Martes, Taylor Nalls and John Beauplan had goals in the second half. Top-seeded King (11-4-3) managed just two shots in the match.

"We've always been rivals with Freedom, being so close," Ware said about the upcoming match. "There's a lot of emotion between these two teams."

USF seeks to open pharmacy college

From the Times:

By Donna Winchester

Despite reductions in funding for higher education that threaten degree programs statewide, the University of South Florida will seek approval today for a pharmacy program from the group that oversees the state's 11 public universities.

If approved, the plan would create a four-year clinical program and an inaugural class of 50 students in fall 2011.

Within six years, the program would reach a capacity of 400 students, costing $10.5 million a year in salaries and labs; and generating $7.3 million in tuition, according to a business plan the university submitted to the Florida Board of Governors.

USF officials say there is a critical need for the program as the state grapples with a 20 percent shortage in pharmacists. They also say only two other state universities – the University of Florida and Florida A&M University — offer similar programs.

A love of learning

From the Times:

By Dong-Phuong Nguyen

NEW TAMPA -

He's a champion of the New Tampa Library and a familiar face at the New Tampa Rotary. He is a member of more than a dozen organizations and spends about 10 hours a week volunteering, promoting educational and cultural endeavors.

Said (pronounced sigh-EED) Iravani, 43, now has another project he's tackling: chairman of the Community Advisory Board at WEDU, the member-supported television station. He is charged with gathering feedback from the community and bringing it back to the station for possible implementation.

Iravani, a civil engineer, sat down with North of Tampa to talk about work, civic duties and television programming, and how he finds time to do it all. (Hint: He documents everything he does during the day in 15-minute increments.)

What are your plans as chair of the Community Advisory Board?

"It's a matter of outreach. It's truly a community organization. The more people who are involved, they can provide input about ideas or joint collaboration to enhance more local programming. PBS here is not the same PBS in Mobile, Ala., and it's not the same in San Francisco.

"It reflects the community, and the community has to say what they want. I like to make the community more engaged. I would like to invite all civic organizations, Rotary clubs, Kiwanis clubs — all of the religious organizations from different faiths and PTAs to get involved.

You've been at the forefront in pushing for the expansion of the New Tampa Library. What do you hope to see for the new space?

"I hope to see a quiet study area, where father and son, mother and daughter, can come. If somebody just wants to study, to create an environment people can really use. Maybe have a Panera or a Dunkin' Donuts or a Starbucks where people can have coffee, muffin, juice. Our most far-reaching goal is trying to create a community center to bring a coherence to the New Tampa Community."

What is your biggest passion?

"Overall, my biggest passion is anything related to science. I really look at those as fundamental values. Anything related to wisdom, knowledge, intelligence and improving society's awareness. Educating people, whether it is cultural awareness or science awareness. And literacy. It should be a fun job to encourage people to read."

How do you find time to serve on all these boards and committees.

"My experience in life is the busier you are, the more you get done, and the more sense of satisfaction and happiness that it brings, you become more and more motivated. I find that if I go through a week that if I just sit, read the paper, sip coffee, those are the weeks that I'm slower."

What is your greatest accomplishment?

"In life? Tough question … ."

Well, what is it that keeps you going?

"Every time I make a positive contribution to society, every time I make positive change … any time I see that, no matter how small, tomorrow is better than yesterday. That gives me satisfaction."