Bowls, Bulls and long-awaited heaps of rubble

Lots to get to this morning, starting with a few links to stories in Thursday's Times. Staff writer Stephen Holder has a front-page feature on former USF cornerback Mike Jenkins, who could stay in town if he's still around when the Bucs pick at No. 20. Jenkins worked out Tuesday in Tampa for the Saints, who pick 10th, and I honestly think if the Bucs want Jenkins, they're going to have to move up in the draft to get him.

I was at the Hilton Carillon Park in St. Petersburg last night, where there was a gathering of organizers and local officials for the St. Petersburg Bowl, which is expected to be approved Wednesday to join the 32 bowls already in place for the 2008 season. One piece of news that should help the bowl's initial attendance is a low price point of $30 for tickets -- much more likely that local football fans might show up for a new game at a more affordable price. The Big East has had 6-6 teams miss bowls the last two seasons -- Pittsburgh in 2006, Louisville last season -- and that's with Notre Dame not taking up one of the league's contracted bowl berths.

I'd be surprised if the NCAA approves all three proposed new bowls -- there's a game in Washington, D.C., that would pit Navy against a ninth ACC team, and a game in Salt Lake City that would pit a Mountain West team against a Western Athletic Conference team. The ACC didn't have any bowl-eligible teams not in bowls last season, so that game has a backup plan with the MAC, which obviously wouldn't be as attractive as an ACC team from Virginia or Maryland. And yes, the D.C. bowl could also have Army playing in it, but Army hasn't been to a bowl since 1996. The seven teams that were bowl-eligible last season but didn't play in a bowl? That'd be Troy (8-4), along with six 6-6 teams: Louisville, South Carolina, Iowa, Northwestern, Louisiana-Monroe and Ohio.

-- Was over at softball for interviews on Tuesday and noticed something fans have been waiting to hear about for two years: There's construction going on at USF's soccer stadium, where a new track and field facility will be in place this fall. The red track surface has been pulled up and sits in a huge pile in one corner, and the infield grass has been pulled out, leaving a big dirt area that will be cleared for the new surface and infield. It's a joint-use facility that will be built using $2.79-million from Hillsborough County, which can use the track for its own events, sharing it with the Bulls. When we first reported on the new facility in May 2006, construction was ideally going to start that November, but with construction started, it's clear the logistical hurdles have been cleared, so soon Bulls fans will see actual hurdles instead.

-- So I'm in a doctor's office with my daughter for an appointment Wednesday and I'm reading Tampa Bay Illustrated magazine to pass the time. There's a feature on Tampa's 10 most charitable and fashionable men, and lo and behold, there's two guys with USF ties in there. Bulls baseball volunteer assistant Tino Martinez made the list, as did former USF basketball player Brian Lamb, now with Fifth Third Bank. I'm frankly disappointed the ever-fashionable Ernest Hooper didn't make the list for a second year in a row. This concludes the fashion-shoot portion of today's blog.

Comments

[DELdaBULL]

GA aka DA MAN!

[DELdaBULL]

Enough with the bowls, how about a playoff?

[Brendan]

My feelings exactly! Having so many bowls dilutes the accomplishment of NOT being 6-6.

[Brendn]

Also, if the Saints move up to get anybody it will be Glenn Dorsey.

[Miles Lamoureux]

Finally we are making progress on the upgrades to our facilities. Obviously the Soccer & Track Stadium was a priority because USF is the host for the Men's Big East Soccer Tourney this fall! Softball stadium and Football practice fields are next.

[Dave W]

Just as long as the Bucs don't take a RB. There would be no point and the real problem areas on defense would be ignored. I would love to see Mike stay in Tampa, but I want him to go higher than #20. I don't think there is any way he can get past Houston, so the Bucs will probably have to move up.

I've been surprised by the wide array of opinions on Ben Moffitt from the several Bulls fans I've spoken with. Some guys say he is worth a 4th rounder, others say 7th. I think it's somewhere in between; the class is weak overall (Beau Bell, Phillip Wheeler? Good college players, but just like Ben, not all-pro guys. Not the year to replenish the LB corps).

[Steven Stacy]

I think we should just go ahead and make every game...no, wait...make that every practice or scrimmage a bowl.

"The Garden Weasel Andros/Argos Flag Football Bowl" or the "Bears Stearns St. Patrick's Day Pick-up Game of Tag Football Bowl" has such a ring to it!

[Norb]

Big time track meets at USF would be great. Anything that brings more positive attention to USF is terrific.

[DELdaBULL]

I love amazing track meets like the Florida relays or the Florida State Invitational. Maybe USF could compete foor the state finals now also and move it from UF. Tampa is pretty much Centrally located.

[Norb]

So what happens to St Petersburg Bowl when the Rays complete their hostile takeover of Al Lang Field & level the Trop?

[G.A.]

The new stadium would be bowl-compatible. Only possible pinch would be the 2011 bowl, where the new stadium might not be ready and the old stadium might be, um, razed. Otherwise, no glitches in the transition.

[tj]

I hope the game in the new stadium isn't set-up like the Emerald Bowl in San Fran, which is also played on a baseball field, with both teams on the same sideline.

[Brendan]

But does bowl-compatible mean bowl-appropriate? Just because you can, doesn't always mean you should.

[941]

Arrghh!

GA, you had me going; "over at softball.....construction going on....

Eriksen's ladies need a facility soon!

[Al]

Too many also ran bowl games, teams that don't finish 8 and 4 shouldn't be bowl eligible.

The BEast shouldn't play in bowls against bottom feeders from C-DOA.

[Joe]

But doesn't everybody see the beauty of this? If the bowl pits a Big East team vs CUSA there may be one more chance to relive the USF vs UCF "rivalry" before bidding the Knights (and their dirtbag coach) farewell forever.

Of course I would hope that USF would get to a bigger bowl than this, but I guess I'm the silver lining type when looking at bad situations!

[Norb]

Or even better, Syracuse vs UCF, with Coach O'Leary leading the 'cuse vs his old team.

[KC]

If I hear Mike Jenkins has character issues one more time, I will lose it. One inicident does not make a trend, just like one win isn't a winning streak. Whoever passes on him will be sorry.

[Ken]

I don't know where anyone will be drafted, but I do think Moffitt will make a team and start on special teams play, and he'll be a very good backup at one of the LB positions.

I have mixed feelings about the SPB--do we really need enough bowls to accomodate every team that went 6-6 during the season? And surely the BE doesn't need to beat up on yet another CUSA team. It all seems a bit much to me. Could they bump it to at least 7-5 to be bowl eligible?

[Ken]

I have a bowl game for you--and it will have great attendance and TV viewing every year--how about Notre Dame vs. the winner of the Army-Navy game?

[Dave W]

A mock that I saw somewhere on the Scout network said DR-C was the pick over Jenkins because of a character toss-up. What non-sense. What about the overall level of competition toss-up?

I liked the interview with Mike in the Oracle. I didn't know that he and DR-C were friendly growing up. Florida just produces such an amazing amount of talent. Plus, his confidence in Wally, Tylerr, and Jerome Murphy was good to read about. I share that confidence in each guy.

[Dave W]

And I totally botched Tyller's name. My bad. It is a unique spelling, if anything.

[G.A.]

Again, every time you guys correct yourselves on spelling mistakes, I laugh, but then feel a tiny bit better about the world we live in. Then laugh again.

[Janet]

KILLER picture of Tino Martinez!! Thank you for the link. Wish I could read the Q & A on that page. Would it be possible for you to list them here on your blog? I'd appreciate it. Thanks again, and congratulations to Tino. He's always been a very gracious, giving, and stylish man.

[G.A.]

Janet, that text is awfully small to read, but best I can tell, it's all the magazine offers online. I'll see what I can do to get a link where you can read his answers ...

[Janet]

Thank you kindly, G.A., but I was able to find his answers online. Hugs. :^)

[Rob]

Bring on the St. Pete Bowl, just don't rename it to the Tampa Bay Bowl!