Shameless plug: Me on Catch 47

Not much to report from Tuesday's news conference, where Jim Leavitt detailed how tough an opponent Tennessee-Martin will be Saturday. (He had me at "Their long-snapper is back.") Anyway, it's short notice, but those of you on Bright House Networks for cable can watch me tonight on the Press Box show with the Times' Tom Jones. It's on at 6:30 p.m. and again at 8:30 and 10:30 tonight -- I'm on a great panel with Rays broadcaster Todd Kalas and Catch 47's Roxanne Wilder, talking about the Bucs, Rays and, yes, college football.

We've got DirecTV at the house, so I don't get to watch me or anyone else on Catch 47, so I have to watch vicariously through you guys. I have to find someone to tape Saturday's game for me so I can watch it after the fact ...

While I'm self-promoting, just a reminder that we'll be having a live chat here on the blog on Thursday at 1 p.m. -- send in your questions to auman@sptimes.com ...

-- More attendance notes: USF reports that 39,000 tickets have been distributed for Saturday's opener, with four more days to sell individual tickets, which go as cheap as $5. It's already a considerable bump from last year's opener against Elon, which drew 33,639. The record for a home opener is the 49,212 that saw the first-ever game in 1997, but this game could challenge the second-biggest home opener, which was 43,122 to see USF play Florida A&M in 2005.

-- Soccer note: USF's men's soccer team, fresh off a 2-1 exhibition win at No. 8 Maryland, will open its season Saturday at 7:30 p.m. against Bowling Green -- I understand if you have other plans. The match will take place at the University of Tampa's Pepin Stadium, however, and not on USF's campus. The men's team won't play on campus in its renovated soccer/track facility until Sept. 13 against Florida International. USF's women's team, which opened its season with a 1-1 tie against North Florida at Pepin on Friday, won't play on the new field until Sept. 11, against Stetson.

Comments

[Chris]

CAN SOMEONE PLEASE HELP LOU HOLTZ MAKE UP HIS MIND!!!

About a week ago I heard him pick USF to win the Big East and Mark May took Pitt. Two days ago on another show on ESPN Holtz picked Pitt to win the Big East after getting all over May for picking them.

Now he has changed his BCS National Championship teams. Is this so by the start of the season he has an array of choices to say he was right at the end of the season?

[Terry Lucas]

Greg... You got an over-under on the soccer attendance guess Saturday night (excluding family members and their girlfriends)?

[JoeB]

Good stuff on TV Greg. But my question to you is, does TV do Roxanne Wilder justice? Inquiring minds want to know.........