A few more notes, and then I'm off ...
It's not good news for you regulars who like plenty of updates, even in the doldrums of summer: I'm taking a week off, starting this afternoon, and while I'll have my laptop with me, I've vowed to take a break and go blog-free. I'll be back and posting like a madman next week, don't worry.
But before I go, I wanted to offer up a few notes, a few links, since there still are a few things going on. I can't get a full read on how much the Houston Texans' signing of veteran Rosevelt Colvin will impact rookie Ben Moffitt's chances of making the roster. It doesn't help.
-- If you're like me, when you read the paper Monday morning and saw FSU's longtime coach was retiring, your first thought was "Would they go after Ken Eriksen?" It seemed fathomable, if the Seminoles offered a bump in pay and the frustrations of getting a new stadium had worn on Eriksen. Rest easy, Bulls fans. Eriksen isn't interested in going to Tallahassee.
Remember, USF is home for Eriksen, who played baseball for the Bulls and has two decades of experience with the softball program. Tampa is where his daughters have grown up, and the team he has back next season, fresh off a Big East regular-season title, isn't the kind you want to leave, either. That's not to say he'll never leave, but he isn't leaving this summer for anything at Florida State.
-- Former USF shortstop Addison Maruszak makes his pro baseball debut tonight as the Staten Island Yankees play at the Brookyn Cyclones in the season opener of the New York-Penn League. His manager in Staten Island, curiously, is former Florida coach Pat McMahon. Speaking of Gators, it's interesting to read that the new executive director of the University of Florida Alumni Association is ... a USF graduate.
-- Former USF football player Otis Dixon, 29, has stepped down as head coach at Lakewood High, moving on to a job in the insurance industry. Dixon had applied for a job at Hernando High this summer but wasn't chosen, so it's one less tie the Bulls have in the Pinellas County football scene.
-- Forgot to post this when USF announced it, but a newspaper in Sudbury, Canada, reminds me that former Bulls volleyball standout Kristina Fabris is moving on to a pro career in Finland.
-- Former USF cornerback Mike Jenkins hasn't played his first NFL game yet, but he's already made it to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. All the Dallas Cowboys' rookies made a visit there, according to the Canton Repository. ...
-- More love for Big East commish Mike Tranghese from the Orlando Sentinel.
There you have it. Barring any big news in the next few hours, I won't be back for a week. If news breaks, my colleagues are ready to pinch-blog, and behave yourselves on the comments. ...
Times sportswriter Greg Auman, who covers USF, will post news and thoughts on the Bulletin and we invite your participation in the comments area.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!
Posted by: Blog Dorks | June 17, 2008 at 11:21 AM
how disgusting that a USF alum would head up the uf alumni association.
makes me want to vomit.
Posted by: chitownbull | June 17, 2008 at 11:24 AM
Greg, Wait! Before you catch the train to vacation town, can you at least give us some scuttlebutt on what it means that possibly both John Riek and Keith Brumbaugh did not submit their names to the NBA draft? I mean, there is no possible way we can have scholarships left at this point, but a bull can dream, right?
Posted by: bowlingninjas | June 17, 2008 at 11:45 AM
Enjoy your days off G.A. and recharge that motor because when you get back there are some phone calls that need to be made to some of these '09 recruits, such Freddie Riley, Dexter Fields, Jason West, C.J. Harris, Ramon Galloway, Keith Clanton, Isaiah Philmore, and especially Dante Taylor now that we have Gilchrist.There are others as well but those are just for starters.
As many fans across the nation know recruiting is a season all to itself since it is basically year round now for football and basketball.The best way to pass the time during the summer months is with recruiting and judging by the reaction of the fans on blogs and message boards it appears to be something that will work around here just like at other team sites.
Go get some R&R and we look forward to your return.
Posted by: The Champ | June 17, 2008 at 11:59 AM
No Guest Blogger? You should give some fine St. Pete times intern or USF journalism major the opportunity to blog for you for one week.
Posted by: USF_Grouper | June 17, 2008 at 12:03 PM
Maybe I can get David Brenner. (Cue bad Brenner impersonation) ...
Posted by: G.A. | June 17, 2008 at 12:09 PM
get that guy bob linger from fox 13 to be the guest blogger.. i heard he has some extra time on his hands.. maybe he can give us live recruiting updates directly from fantasyland..
Posted by: j-dizzle | June 17, 2008 at 12:42 PM
Enjoy the time off.
Posted by: E.T. | June 17, 2008 at 12:58 PM
Have fun GA!
I've been to Sudbury. Trust me when I say that both Tampa and Finland are far more interesting places to be.
I think Addison will be successful in low-A ball, and hopefully he'll get out of the NY-Penn League this season.
Posted by: Dave W | June 17, 2008 at 01:43 PM
Enjoy the time off.
Posted by: GP | June 17, 2008 at 05:13 PM
HAVE A GOOD TIME, GREGGIE POO!!!
Posted by: Mike Lakeland | June 17, 2008 at 05:27 PM
Greg,
You going to walley world??
Do you have a son name Rusty?? Ole Russ.
Have fun buddy. Here is a link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_a6e0qhfzu0
Posted by: Ari Hinkelberger | June 17, 2008 at 05:37 PM
Oh well, with Greg gone, we can now turn to the blogs of tbo.com. Oh wait -I forgot, they hardly ever have anything interesting
Posted by: anonymous | June 18, 2008 at 11:12 AM
Where the hell am I going to get my play-by-play updates on the women water polo team's pre-season scrimmage???
Posted by: Steve Stacy | June 19, 2008 at 09:28 AM
UCF's blogger never goes on vacation.
Posted by: ucf rocks | June 19, 2008 at 03:46 PM
It's Leavitt's fault that Greg went on vacation. His repeated unwillingness to answer Greg's questions have caused Greg to have a nervous breakdown.
Posted by: Cee, Jr. | June 20, 2008 at 07:48 AM
Isn't there a football camp on campus this week? It seems like there could be a lot of recruiting news- will the SPT cover it without GA? Maybe Joe Rienzi could take care of it...
If not, I know that GA will update us on any developments ASAP.
Posted by: Dave W | June 20, 2008 at 01:57 PM
"UCF's blogger never goes on vacation." UCFCrock
Typical UCiFer, he doesn't have a life.
Posted by: Al | June 21, 2008 at 07:17 AM