The year in photos, plus more notes ...

If it hasn't hit you yet that the 2007-08 school year is winding down, USF's official site has chosen the top 100 photos of USF athletics for the season, a fun reminder of some of the great moments of the past year. You can watch the pics in a slideshow here, and USF is in all-out offseason garage-sale mode, so you can buy prints of any of the shots, ranging from $13 for a 5-by-7 to $99 for a 20-by-30 print. For no extra charge, I offer up my narrated tour of best of the best:

No. 23: We know why you're poring over the photos. You're looking for pics of me, and here you go. Jazmine Sepulveda drives against Rutgers, with me just to her left. I'm just happy I'm watching the action on the court. Yes, I'll be happy to autograph these, but single-file line, people.

No. 31: Supercool shot of Dominique Jones taking a 3-pointer over Donte Greene and Syracuse. Best part of the shot, again, is in the background, because nobody in college basketball does the arms-crossed-annoyed deal like Jim Boeheim. I really like Boeheim, but this is how I picture him.

No. 42: Great shot of Jessie Hester's game-winning touchdown at Auburn. Has his hand up in celebration, the official signaling the touchdown, and best of all, some guy in an ESPN vest with HIS BACK TURNED TO THE PLAY. It's overtime, he's standing two feet from the end zone. Hope he got a phone number out of that ...

No. 55: Perhaps the single coolest play of football season, with George Selvie getting so quick a jump on the snap against Central Florida that he almost intercepted the handoff. When Selvie's agent compiles a highlight DVD one of these years, you could do a lot worse than leading off with this play. Insane burst of quickness.

No. 82: Even if he wore a USC shirt, it was fun to see Bucs coach Jon Gruden courtside at a USF basketball game. Still, Coach ... Jerramy Stevens?

No. 85: For sheer memorable moments, having Jim Leavitt in facepaint and a hula skirt in the middle of the student section in the Sun Dome must be right up there for Bulls fans.

No. 89: Just a funny photo, with Dominique Jones scoring in overtime against UConn, and the caption identifying the feet of Hasheem Thabeet, who was knocked off his feet on the play.

No. 100: Another cool shot, with Yankees star Derek Jeter shaking hands with USF's Mike Consolmagno during their spring training exhibition. What Jeter is saying: "Please tell them not to hit me anymore."

-- Did You Say Utes?: Tyler "T.J." Canales, son of USF receivers coach Mike Canales, will begin his college career this fall as a quarterback at Utah. He originally signed with Weber State in 2005, but has been on a Mormon mission in Honduras.

-- As much as we write about walk-ons, have to throw a link up to collegefootballwalkon.com, which hopes to launch a national award for the nation's top non-scholarship player. A tip to up-and-coming site builders: If the page isn't ready, don't link to a page that says "coming soon!" but instead, just don't link to anything until it's ready. This site does that, amusingly, with the word "Why?" on the main page.

-- We'd mentioned the possibility of this the other day, but an important update for USF baseball signee Jay Taylor: prosecutors have dropped the felony charge brought against him after his arrest on May 21. Taylor and his family will likely meet with USF coach Lelo Prado to discuss the incident and his future at USF.

-- Wharton, having had great success under former USF guard Tommy Tonelli, has turned to another former Bull, naming David Bastian as its head basketball coach on Tuesday. The Times' Keith Niebuhr has the story here. That also means he'll be coaching Stan Heath's son, Jordan.

-- Remember how there were dueling St. Petersburg Bowl logos a few weeks back? The Big East has unveiled the official official logo, and sadly, there are no tents pictured outside Tropicana Field. The letters do cleverly follow the downward slope of Tropicana's profile, and I'm impressed that the palm trees are actually taller than the Trop (the pelican, I should point out, also is not to scale).

-- Jim Leavitt, getting a workout on the local dinner/lunch circuit, will speak at the Kiwanis Club of Pinellas Park on Thursday afternoon.

Comments

[Karen M.]

My personal favorites are #47 & 48. Wonder why.

[Ari Hinkelberger]

Photo of the year is either Mike Jenkins returning the int at Auburn (not shown) or Jessie Hester catching the TD in OT.

That game put us on the map. No question.

[Kevin in Palm Harbor]

I like the walk-on idea, though that site needs a lot more help than just bad links..

[xr4ti_007]

In #42, look at the reactions to the Auburn fans when Hester scored. If you zoom in with high resolution, you can see their stunned and anguished expressions; several have their hands on their head in disbelief. While at GoUSFBulls.com, go to Men’s Sports then Football then Roster and select Matt Grothe’s bio. There are video highlights from every game. Mike Ford, George Selvie, and several other players have highlight clips as well.

[Reality]

I am glad to hear that The Champ will have a Bull teaching him how to play the game. I am surprised to hear that he is not going to a private school. Stan, you need to step it up and spend some of that coin on getting your kid a good education.

[GP]

Greg I think you have to throw 38 into the mix, not exactly for the 2 right up front, but for the "Wow" factor all around Tampa after that win and the feeling around campus.