May 4th, 2012 11:30am
by Pat Dooley
Sometimes things hit you in the face like a bag of hammers and sometimes they slowly creep into your brain until you have that “A-ha!” moment. This was the latter and in a way it made me feel stupid.
Because when I threw the set-up out to my wife she got the punchline right away.
And this is it — while a lot of us are rejoicing that college football driving towards a four-team playoff with the speed of Junior Johnson, that …
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April 13th, 2012 07:54pm
by Pat Dooley
PONTE VEDRA BEACH — During the red carpet walk for Tim Tebow’s annual golf tournament Friday, Florida coach Will Muschamp spoke optimistically about the recovery of Ronald Powell, who suffered a torn ACL in the spring game.
“Nobody is going to work harder in the nation than Ronald Powell,” Muschamp said. “I told him after the game it was a setback and he said, ‘It’s not a setback. I’ll be OK.’
“The guy has got an amazing attitude. I’m struggling with it …
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April 7th, 2012 05:04pm
by Pat Dooley
I should have retired.
After securing a victory last year as an honorary coach in the Orange and Blue game, I could have walked away undefeated. Instead, I came back for more.
And a wild ending left Andy Staples and I on the short end of a 21-20 score. Our Orange team scored with 23 seconds remaining but didn’t convert a two-point conversion.
After the game, I confronted Will Muschamp.
“If you kick the extra point, I’m 1-0-1. I’m still undefeated,” I said.
“You have …
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March 23rd, 2012 04:06pm
by Pat Dooley
This trip started at 3:37 a.m. 11 days ago when the alarm went off for the drive to Tampa to catch an early flight. Sometimes it feels like it will never end.
But if you are going to ride the March Madness train, this is what you get. And if you are going to be away from home for an extended period, it’s difficult to believe there are two better sites than Omaha and Phoenix.
For one thing, the people in both …
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March 21st, 2012 02:13pm
by Pat Dooley
PHOENIX — This week is a good example of why the NFL is The King.
Here we are at the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Major League Baseball is about to crank up. The NBA is in high gear. Tiger will tee off at Bay Hill tomorrow.
And all anyone can talk about is the NFL.
Peyton Manning signs with Denver. Tim Tebow is traded to the New York Jets. Sean Peyton is suspended for a year.
Oh well, I might as well …
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March 20th, 2012 02:48pm
by Pat Dooley
PHOENIX — Hello, mountains. Hello, lack of humidity. Hello, cement.
We are back in Phoenix after a crazy night of flying (head hit pillow at 4:15 a.m. Eastern) and it brings back a lot of memories.
Certainly, the best of those memories was 2006, still my favorite trip of all time. Not only did Florida win the national title, we were treated like kings by the Fiesta Bowl people. Of course, with everything that has transpired concerning their finances, maybe we all …
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March 19th, 2012 03:03pm
by Pat Dooley
When you cover the NCAA Tournament, there are usually some pretty cool scenes. Like Sunday night at the Hilton in Omaha.
The Hilton is across the street from the arena where the regional was played Friday and Sunday. After Florida’s win, Kansas was pushed to the brink of elimination before surviving Purdue. I watched the game while eating dinner at the hotel bar.
Almost as soon as the horn had sounded the quiet bar exploded as Kansas fans stormed the place in …
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March 18th, 2012 05:54pm
by Pat Dooley
One of the great things about covering Florida sports is that you get to travel a lot. And that means you get to see things you never thought you’d see.
Today was one of those days. I went to the Old Mattress Factory to watch the Florida women play and grab some lunch. In the corner there was what looked like a game of some kind.
Only when I approached it did I realize what it was. For $2 you can try …
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March 15th, 2012 01:07pm
by Pat Dooley
Since this is my fifth trip to Omaha — including 14 days in June for the College World Series — I felt like I’d seen everything in the city.
But I had only seen the CenturyLink Center from the outside (although it was the Qwest Center them). It’s right across the Hilton where the Gator baseball team stayed and a 3-wood from the TD Ameritrade Park where the CWS is held.
The arena is linked to the Hilton with a sky bridge …
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March 11th, 2012 03:48pm
by Pat Dooley
NEW ORLEANS — So what do we make of this?
How does our view of Kentucky change heading into the tournament it really wants to win?
It depends on how you see it — whether you are a Kentucky fan or are hoping the Wildcats don’t make it back to Atlanta for the Final Four.
The optimistic Kentucky fan will tell you this was good for the ‘Cats, that as hard as it was to stomach this team needed a loss before the …
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Pat Dooley shot an 85 at Augusta National. Tripled the 18th. Other than that, there’s not much to tell. Great wife, two beautiful daughters. Been at The Sun since 1987 and worked in Jacksonville and Fort Lauderdale before that. Spent a year in Storrs, Conn. Actually, it was only five days but it seemed like a year. Likes Tom Petty, The Beatles, Weezer and long walks on St. Augustine Beach as long as they end at the Beachcomber. Reads every e-mail except those sent with Russian alphabet. Favorite sports are college football, college basketball, golf and cooking chili.