Tag: Florida

Make it count: Streamsong part of growing trend with destination tournaments

BOWLING GREEN, Fla. – First-tee jitters are real. Doesn’t matter if it’s the U.S. Open, a city championship, a high school match or even a two-day team event that’s meant to be a vacation. When most players step up to that opening drive with a …

BOWLING GREEN, Fla. – First-tee jitters are real. Doesn’t matter if it’s the U.S. Open, a city championship, a high school match or even a two-day team event that’s meant to be a vacation. When most players step up to that opening drive with a little something on the line, the internal butterflies take flight. 

That’s kind of the whole point of competition, of having to add up all those numbers and post the result on a scoreboard for all to see. It brings a whole new level of interest, even for 30-handicappers who spend four hours doing a lot of math to figure out where they are getting strokes. 

“Competition gives people the chance to do something they can’t do every day,” said Scott Wilson, director of golf at Streamsong in Central Florida. “Normal golf is every day, stroke play or match play depending on what you do within your foursome, and it’s fine, great. But with competition, now all the sudden you have something to play for. It suddenly matters even more.”

Streamsong, which boasts three courses among the top 20 on Golfweek’s Best 2020 list of top resort courses (see page 40), gives recreational players five great chances a year to stick their peg in the ground and experience real competition. With the resort’s Spring Classic, Summer Classic, Fall Classic, Holiday Cup and Family Cup, anybody can get their competitive juices flowing while enjoying a vacation at a top destination. 

Streamsong Blue (Courtesy of Streamsong Resort/Laurence Lambrecht)

Streamsong’s events are part of a larger trend, with ever-increasing teams of players traveling long distances to premium resorts to do more than sample the links – they want to play with something on the line. It’s not a new concept, but there are more opportunities than ever. Even resorts such as Bandon Dunes in Oregon and Destination Kohler in Wisconsin, both of which offer four highly ranked courses, offer multiple opportunities throughout their golf seasons to ratchet up a buddies trip or family retreat to another level. 

Basically, these events are like a classic member-guest tournament, but because they are at resorts instead of private clubs, nobody has to be a member. Check just about any top resort’s website to find such events, but try to book early, as they often fill up quickly. Wilson said most of Streamsong’s events feature 80 to 100 players. 

“We started with four events and we’ve grown to five, and we probably could have several more,” Wilson said. “Most of the folks are local, and by that I’ll say Southeast U.S., but there’ve been times people have come from California or Oregon and up in the Northeast to play with their families and friends. It’s been great.”

Top-ranked golf courses surely are part of the draw – Streamsong’s events are played on a mix of the resort’s Red, Black and Blue courses, which were built by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, Gil Hanse, and Tom Doak, respectively. The remote courses – about 90 miles southwest of Orlando and 50 miles west of Tampa – rank as Nos. 2, 3 and 4 on Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play list for public-access tracks in Florida.

Overall winners of Streamsong’s events receive packages to return and defend their title, and of course there are social events, trophies, prizes and bragging rights for various flights. Wilson’s staff uses a mix of formats – scramble, shamble and four-ball, for example – for its two-day events, some of which include two rounds and others three rounds.

“Any day of the week, any of the three courses could be a person’s favorite,” Wilson said. “And that’s the beauty of doing it over two or three courses, depending on the tournament – you get to see a lot of great golf. …” 

“And it’s not just stroke play. These are all just a little different, not your ordinary tournament. It just creates interest outside of normal golf. These have just been a lot of fun.”  

Streamsong Black (Courtesy of Streamsong Resort/Laurence Lambrecht)

 

Streamsong’s 2020 events

Spring Classic: March 22-25; 54 holes of four-ball stroke play on the Blue, Black and Red; $439 single occupancy per night, $339 per person double occupancy per night

Family Cup: June

Summer Classic: August

Fall Classic: October

Holiday Cup: December

Check streamsongresort.com for exact dates and formats as they are announced.

Pricing: To be determined based on event. (The price for the recent Holiday Cup was $685 per player for two night’s double occupancy in the resort’s hotel, two rounds of golf, plus a welcoming party, luncheon, putting contest and more. It was $908 for single occupancy.) Some events use carts, and others are walking only.

7 standout draft prospects from the 2020 Senior Bowl the Ravens should be interested in

The Baltimore Ravens might have had to change up their draft board after a handful of 2020 NFL draft prospects stood out at the Senior Bowl.

The Senior Bowl is one last chance for NFL scouts and general managers to get a live look at draft prospects practicing and playing before the 2020 NFL draft. A bunch of the top players in the country all facing off against one another, it’s a great test for some prospects that might have been previously ignored or undervalued.

As happens every year, a handful of prospects really shined above the rest and likely helped their draft stock. With general manager Eric DeCosta now in charge of the Baltimore Ravens, those that drew the spotlight could draw the attention of the team come draft night. Let’s take a look at seven standouts at the 2020 Senior Bowl that the Ravens should be interested in drafting.

Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

EDGE Bradlee Anae, Utah

Anae proved how athletic and disruptive he can be after posting three sacks in the Senior Bowl, including two on mobile quarterback Jalen Hurts. Even when Anae wasn’t registering sacks, he was in the quarterbacks’ faces and creating big plays elsewhere like this interception that came from his pressure.

Pass rusher is easily the biggest concern for Baltimore heading into this offseason. With how Anae performed in live game action, he might have cemented himself as a Day 2 prospect Baltimore can grab and immediately use as a situation pass rusher.

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Lady Vols run past Florida, 78-50

Lady Vols run past Florida, 78-50.

GAINESVILLE — Rennia Davis had a solid homecoming performance to help the Lady Vols to a 78-50 Southeastern Conference victory over Florida Wednesday night at the O’Connell Center.

Davis, a junior forward and Jacksonville native, scored 18 points and grabbed five rebounds to help Tennessee improve to 14-3 overall and 4-1 in the SEC.

Davis led a balanced attack for the Lady Vols, who fell behind the Gators (11-7, 2-3) 6-2 early before closing the first quarter with a 15-3 run.

Rae Burrell scored 11 points. Jordan Horston added nine. Jazmine Massengill finished with eight and Kasi Kushkiuah and Lou Brown had seven points and apiece while Knoxville native and Farragut High School graduate Jaiden McCoy and Jessie Rennie each finished with six.

Lavender Briggs and Brylee Bartrum each scored 11 for Florida.

The Lady Vols return to action Monday night when they host Alabama.

The Crimson Tide have won five consecutive games in the series between the two longtime rivals.

 

Notre Dame’s Highest “Top Early Top 25” Ranking We’ve Seen

The Irish also come in one spot behind Florida who is fresh-off an Orange Bowl victory and 11-2 season.

We tend to react when national college voices weigh in on Notre Dame gets mentioned, whether it’s good or bad.

This week you’ve seen us post a few different “Too Early Top 25” rankings that various college football writers have offered.  We reacted to one by considering firing it into the sun while the other we dissected, we pretty much fell in line with.

Now we have one that has ranked Notre Dame higher than any we’ve seen this week.

From Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde:

9. Notre Dame

There are two attractive but difficult additions to the schedule: Clemson at home and Wisconsin at Lambeau Field. Those are in addition to games at USC and Pittsburgh. But with Ian Book and most of the offensive line returning, Brian Kelly has some building blocks. There are a lot of good players to replace on defense. The recruiting consistency of the Fighting Irish will come into play there.

Notre Dame coming in at nine placed them a spot ahead of national champion LSU which may come as a shock to some.  The Irish also come in one spot behind Florida who is fresh-off an Orange Bowl victory and 11-2 season.

Three 2020 Notre Dame opponents show up on the list with Clemson being top-rated in the nation and Wisconsin checking in at 13 and USC at 16.  Simple logic leads you to understand why the November 7 showdown with Clemson could very easily be the biggest game at Notre Dame Stadium since The Game of the Century versus Florida State in 1993.

Notre Dame Football: Will Irish Crack Top Ten in Final AP Poll?

Notre Dame’s best win ends up being over Navy who will finish the year as the only ranked opponent the Irish defeated in 2019.

I’m well-aware that if there isn’t a “No. 1” next to your name at the end of the season that if you’re a blue blood in college football that the number ultimately doesn’t matter a whole heck of a lot.

With that said, I’m legit curious as to where Notre Dame will rank in the end of season polls as they won their final five contests of the regular season yet saw almost no change, going from 16 to 14 between October 27, right after the Michigan loss and December 8, after conference championship weekend.

So where will Notre Dame fall in the final rankings that will come out after LSU and Clemson play for the national championship next Monday?

In order to figure that out we have to look at the current rankings and see what has changed or who may potentially fall.

Spots 1-3 will remain the same three teams with the title winner ending up first while the runner-up will check in at two and Ohio State will be three after falling in a thriller to Clemson.

Number four will likely go to 12-2 Georgia who won the Sugar Bowl as Oklahoma will fall and I’m fully on-board with that.

How far might that be?  Not far enough to really effect Notre Dame but the 12-2 Sooners will likely check in no-better than five but at worst you’re probably looking at number eight.

Along with Oklahoma you will most likely see Oregon, Alabama and Florida at five through eight as you now enter likely Notre Dame territory.

I don’t think the Irish’s 33-9 win over Iowa State was dominating enough to pass up Penn State who got a hard-fought win over Memphis in the Cotton Bowl, but it was still convincing nonetheless.

The nine through eleven range is exactly where I have Notre Dame coming in with the most logical case probably being for them to be 11.

Here’s why:

Penn State was already ranked ahead of Notre Dame and perhaps they didn’t dominate the Cotton Bowl but they were in control for the vast majority against a good, not great Memphis team.  In no way, shape or form does Penn State deserve to fall behind the Irish.

The debate to me comes in at who gets set at No. 10: Notre Dame or Minnesota?

Both the Irish and Golden Gophers finished the season 11-2 but to me, Minnesota’s wins are better than Notre Dame’s and that should be taken into consideration.  Minnesota has a win over top ten Penn State (according to my poll, anyway) as well as Auburn who will finish in the top 15.

Notre Dame’s best win ends up being over Navy who will finish the year as the only ranked opponent the Irish defeated in 2019.  That has to count for something even if Minnesota’s out of Big Ten schedule consisted of South Dakota State, Fresno State and Georgia Southern.

From there I think you find your next gap.  Here is how I would rank the rest of my final top 25 and here’s why for each:

12.  Baylor – three losses but what was their best win?  Playing Oklahoma closely, twice?
13.  Utah – What looked like a likely College Football Playoff berth at the start of December ends with an embarrassing loss where the Utes appeared to have no interest in playing a very average Texas team.  Perhaps 13 is generous for them.
14.  Auburn – Some great wins along the way but four losses are four losses, even if they came against largely SEC teams. Minnesota beating them on New Year’s Day keeps the Tigers from a top-ten finish.
15.  Wisconsin – Four losses for the Badgers who gave away the Rose Bowl and who I still can’t understand for the life of me how they lost to eventual 6-7 Illinois.
16.  Memphis – fought hard against Penn State in the Cotton Bowl despite going through a head coaching change so falling only one spot (Minnesota passes them) feels justified.
17.  Michigan – No shame in losing to Alabama as I keep them exactly where they were entering bowl season.
18.  Iowa – Destroying USC knocks the Trojans out of the top-ten and wraps up a season that saw the Hawkeyes finish with ten victories.  It’d be a hair higher had they not lost to Michigan head-to-head.
19.  Appalachian State – Had they played and beat someone better than North Carolina perhaps I’d have them higher but a great accomplishment nonetheless to finish with just one loss and in the top-twenty nationally.
20.  Navy – Since the final regular season poll was released they dominated Army and snuck by Kansas State in the Liberty Bowl and deserve a slight bump.
21. Cincinnati – All the credit in the world due to Luke Fickell who has the Bearcats humming after dominating Boston College.  My only question is how long before he’s back in the Big Ten?
22. Boise State – It was a great year until Chris Peterson took out a years worth of frustration on his former team, riding off into the sunset and dominating Boise State.  A solid but not great season for the Broncos.
23.  Air Force – Controlled the line of scrimmage and the Cheez-It Bowl versus Washington State as the Falcons record their first 11 win campaign since 1998.
24.  Texas A&M – They are still on the short list of most disappointing teams in 2019 for me but at least the Aggies ended the season on a high note, defeating old conference-rival Oklahoma State.
25.  Florida Atlantic – The Owls finish the year 11-3 after beating up SMU in their bowl game.  An impressive showing worthy of praise after Lane Kiffin didn’t coach the bowl game due to accepting the Ole Miss job.

That’s my best guess at what 1-25 will look like in the final AP Poll.  Thoughts?  Share them in our Fighting Irish Forum!

See my full 1-25 rankings on the next page

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Ranking the championship game matchups since the BCS era

LSU and Clemson meet Jan. 13 for the national championship. Where will this game rank among those since the BCS era?

LSU and Clemson get together on Jan. 13 for the College Football Championship. How will this game stack up eventually against the others since the BCS Championship began?

21. 2012: Alabama 42, Notre Dame 14

John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

The game felt like a mismatch and it delivered a rout. Eddie Lacy, the game’s offensive MVP, ran for one touchdown and caught a pass for another in the final minute of the opening half, spinning away from the Notre Dame defense twice, to cap a 28-0 blitz.

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Tests indicate Florida country club sits on former plantation’s burial grounds

Tests indicate approximately 40 burial graves lie on the grounds of Capital City Country Club in Tallahassee, Florida.

Earlier this month archaeologist Jeffrey Shanks said tests indicated with “a high level of confidence” that approximately 40 unmarked burial graves lie on the grounds of Capital City Country Club in Tallahassee, Florida.

“The preliminary results of this testing appear to confirm the presence of a cemetery at the site,” Shanks said in a release after a month-long test operated by the National Park Service in coordination with Capital City staff and the city of Tallahassee near the seventh hole on the property.

According to the Tallahassee Democrat, records suggest the cemetery is associated with the former Edward Houstoun Plantation, which operated from the 1830s through the Civil War. Approximately 80 slaves worked the plantation land, and it’s believed the formerly enslaved stayed on to work the land as agricultural laborers after the war.

“The cemetery likely includes burials of enslaved persons who worked on the plantation,” said historian Jonathan Lammers, who researched the site. “It may also include burials dating to the post-Civil War period, when formerly enslaved persons living nearby continued to use the site.”

Shanks said two acres (7,000 square meters) of property were surveyed by not only using ground penetrating radar (GPR), but also two trained human remains detection dogs who confirmed the presence of human remains.

A cadaver dog alerts to the possibility of human remains below ground near the 7th hole at Capital City Country Club. (Photo: National Park Service via Tallahassee Democrat)

“GPR, in cases like this, will not pick up all of the graves,” said Shanks. “It is safe to assume there are more graves present than what the (radar) is showing.”

A known gravesite is currently maintained by the country club and exists in an area that is not commonly disturbed by golfers.

What’s next

“A hundred years ago when the golf course was constructed there was certainly no technology to decipher what was or wasn’t here,” said Jay Revell, Capital City Country Club’s resident historian. “It’s fair to say that the golf course is one of the reasons why this burial ground has been preserved as well as it has for so long.”

Delaitre Hollinger, executive director of The National Association for the Preservation of African-American History & Culture, Inc., and immediate past president of the NAACAP in Tallahassee, is heading the efforts to memorialize the burial ground at the course.

“They deserve much better than this,“ said the 26-year-old Hollinger, whose ancestors were enslaved in Tallahassee’s Leon County. “And they deserved much better than what occurred in that era.”

From the Tallahassee Democrat:

Shanks said it was important to note the cemetery at the golf course “is not an outlier —there are many hundreds of these abandoned and unmarked historic cemeteries across the state, many of them African American … It is a major statewide issue that needs to be addressed.”

Archaeologists found 120 coffins in what is believed to be the first African-American burial ground in Tampa in September. Then in November, another 145 caskets were discovered in Tampa at King High School.

“The discovery of these graves at the Capital City Country Club will be an important part of the statewide conversation on how to best protect abandoned African American cemeteries,” Shanks said. “I would not, however, recommend any excavation or ground disturbing activities. These burials are not under threat of development or other disturbance and, in my opinion, should be left in place if possible.”

According to the Associated Press, there are no plans to exhume or disturb the rediscovered remains at Capital City Country Club.

“I want us to be accurate and truthful in the story we tell,” said Hollinger, who doesn’t want the site “to be prettied up.”

Shanks agrees: “Personally, I would like to see them memorialized in some way, so they are not forgotten to history.”

Contributing: Associated Press, Tallahassee Democrat.

Notre Dame Football – Camping World Bowl Schedule

Not going to lie:  Obviously excited for one more game for the 2019 season to get here but now I really want to go drive a go-kart before Christmas.  

Notre Dame’s 10-2 football team leaves South Bend today to spend Christmas in Orlando as they prepare for the 7-5 Iowa State Cyclones in the Camping World Bowl.  When will you hear from Brian Kelly and some of the players before the game?

Today is the travel day from South Bend while plenty is planned both in preparation and in fun off the field this week.  Here’s how that will look for the Fighting Irish (all times ET):

Monday, Dec. 23 – Travel Day

Tuesday, Dec. 24 – First On-Site Practice (Boone High School)

  • 11:30 a.m. – Brian Kelly and a selected player will meet the media before practice gets underway at noon. The first three periods of practice will be open to the media at Boone High School in Orlando.

Wednesday, Dec. 25 – Second On-Site Practice (Boone High School)

  • 11:30 a.m. – Brian Kelly and selected student-athlete will address the media before noon practice again just as Jesus would want it on his birthday.

Thursday, Dec. 26 – Day For Kids & Third On-Site Practice (Camping World Stadium)

  • Day for Kids Event (9-11 a.m.) at Andretti Indoor Karting & Games

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iL1h9aiHVR8&w=560&h=315]

  • 1:30 p.m. – Coach Kelly available upon arrival before practice begins at 2 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 27 – Head Coaches Press Conference (Rosen Plaza Hotel)/Pep Rally (Pointe Orlando)

  • Coach Kelly & Iowa State Head Coach Matt Campbell will hold a joint press conference (9 a.m.) at the Rosen Plaza Hotel

  • Notre Dame pep rally at 4:45 p.m. at Pointe Orlando

Not going to lie:  I’m obviously excited for one more game for the 2019 season to get here but now I really want to go drive a go-kart before Christmas.

Also worth noting – with Christmas coming up we’ll all be busy but keep it here as we’ll have reaction from each day ahead of game day as Notre Dame seeks just their eighth 11-win season in school history.

Recruiting rankings as we close out a busy Early Signing Day

Here are the 10 best performing teams this signing day.

Wednesday marked the first official day of college football’s early National Signing Day, and it was a wild one.

The Georgia Bulldogs placed 4th on the 2020 recruit signee list, for 247 Sports.  Kirby Smart and the Georgia coaching staff did exceptionally well at locking down the future of Bulldog football.

Here is a list of the ten schools who did the best in today’s recruiting mayhem.

1. Clemson – (6 5-stars, 11 4-stars, 6 3-stars)

2. Alabama – (3 5-stars, 18 4-stars, 4 3-stars)

3. Ohio State – (2 5-stars, 15 4-stars, 9 3-stars)

4. Georgia – (2 5-stars, 14 4-stars, 3 3-stars)

5. LSU – (2 5-stars, 13 4-stars, 6 3-stars)

6. Texas A&M – (1 5-star, 12 4-stars, 9 3-stars)

7. Auburn – (1 5-star, 12 4-stars, 10 3-stars)

8. Florida – (0 5-stars, 16 4-stars, 7 3-stars)

9. Notre Dame – (2 5-stars, 7 4-stars, 9 3-stars)

10. Texas – (1 5-star, 12 4-stars, 3 3-stars)

The list of ten consists of six SEC teams, three of which Georgia will face in 2020 (Florida, Auburn, Alabama).

Georgia will play against 7 teams next year in the top 25 for 2020 recruiting.

Notable Dawgs rivals on the list of 25 include Tennessee (0 5-stars, 12 4-stars, 10 3-stars) at #15, South Carolina (1 5-star, 7 4-stars, 13 3-stars) at #16, Kentucky (0 5-stars, 4 4-stars, 16 3-stars) at #23 and Georgia Tech (0 5-stars, 6 4-stars, 18 3-stars) at #24.

What a start for the Bulldogs in a recruiting battle that has only just begun.