May 9th, 2013 06:45am
by Pat Dooley
We’ll see if Billy Horschel’s streak of excellent golf continues this week at The Players Championship. I know the media hopes it does.
Horschel has always been fun to watch and a great quote, but there was never any reason for someone other than the papers in North Central Florida to ask him questions until he went on this run that has elevated him to third on the money list.
On Wednesday, he was his entertaining self in the media room at …
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March 31st, 2013 09:42am
by Pat Dooley
DALLAS, Texas — What day is this anyway? One more day in Dallas and then it’s back home. Time for Four from the Floor”
1. If you were like me, you thought Ohio State was going to pull it out Saturday night when they whittled a 20-point lead down to three with 2:45 to play. Give Wichita State credit for hanging on for the win. That’s the thing about this tournament — you’re always one bad-shooting night away from being eliminated. …
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March 29th, 2013 12:03pm
by Pat Dooley
I know this is a little late but it was a late night here in Dallas. Time for Four from The Floor:
1. The best part of Thursday night was meeting up with a couple of old friends. Jeff Miller, whom I succeeded as sports editor of the Gainesville Sun, and Scott Noll, who worked for me in Gainesville, both came to the sports bar at our hotel. A lot of stories were shared and we showed off pictures of our …
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March 27th, 2013 09:56am
by Pat Dooley
It’s Day Eight in Texas where everything is bigger, I’m told. That includes the giant beers at Boston’s, a sports bar near our hotel in Arlington.
Tomorrow, we move to the media hotel which is in Dallas. The NCAA in its infinite wisdom has placed the media 30 minutes from the stadium. I’m guessing that was part of the bid to get a regional here, that Dallas would have to be involved.
We’ll force ourselves to stay in a luxury hotel and …
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March 24th, 2013 11:54am
by Pat Dooley
Sorry this is late, but I’m having amazing wireless issues at the hotel.
Four From The Floor:
1. On Saturday night I thought the UCLA basketball team was staying here, but it turned out to be the UCLA track team. I asked one of the athletes in the hotel elevator this morning if it was a coincidence that they were here when their basketball team was playing in the NCAA Tournament. He said, “Yeah, it’s coincidence. If we had planned this we …
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March 23rd, 2013 10:45am
by Pat Dooley
Another day in Austin. And for those of you who follow me on Twitter, yes, they did fix the CBS channel in my hotel room. I knew you were worried. Time for the latest four from the floor:
1. I was courtside, obviously, when Brett Comer lofted an underhanded pass that seemed to be a huge mistake only to see Chase Fieler come flying to the basket for the one-handed dunk that was the signature moment in Florida Gulf Coast’s win …
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March 22nd, 2013 10:33am
by Pat Dooley
The Four From The Floor comes at you a little late because it was one of those typical NCAA Tournament Thursday nights on the road. Where I was people actually were clapping when the Harvard-New Mexico game ended.
1. I can’t say I am surprised that Missouri laid an egg in the tournament. If you watched that team this year, it was a collection of good players but it only acted like a team at home. And never bet on Frank …
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March 21st, 2013 09:05am
by Pat Dooley
Another week, another postseason tournament. Let’s see what we have for four from the floor:
1. Man, the SEC isn’t exactly showing itself to be better than anyone thought in the NIT. Kentucky loses to a No. 8 seed and then Tennessee gets waxed at home. Some teams just don’t want to be in that tournament. “I don’t feel like we played as hard as we needed to win the game against a team like this,” said Tennessee’s Jarnell Stokes. Exactly. …
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March 17th, 2013 09:51am
by Pat Dooley
Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all. I forgot to bring something green to wear but, then again, I’m Irish every day. Time for the four from the floor:
1. There’s a lot of buzz in Nashville that Tennessee is going to make the field. Jerry Palm of CBSsports.com has the Vols in, Joe Lunardi does not. He has them as his first team out. Tennessee may end up benefitting from the lack of mid-major conferences producing conference champs other than the …
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March 16th, 2013 10:48am
by Pat Dooley
It was a fun night of basketball Friday night but I did manage to watch the Gator baseball game on my iPhone. On to today’s four from the floor:
1. OK, so here’s why I think Kentucky has a chance to make the NCAA field. There is nothing to suggest they should but isn’t the tournament more interesting if the Wildcats are in it? I know the NCAA selection committee isn’t supposed to consider this but if they stick Kentucky in …
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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.