Bonani, an employee at Busch Gardens, was looking to secure a gondola door as it left the platform.  Bonani held on for about 50-60 feet before falling to the ground landing in a landscaped area.

The only injury reported is a fractured vertabra, but that could be enough to keep Bonani out the entire season.

No guests of the park were hurt int he incident.  It was Bonani’s final day on the job.

Rocky

Happy Father’s Day Snake.

I’m sure the Beef Studs will be there in full force, and I hope that this guy, and of course Singlet Guy makes the journey over.  And let’s hope that these guys forget to set their alarm.

Darek Sharp from 620 WDAE will be there broadcasting from the Center from 9-12 this morning.  Greg of course will be there, and Fox Tampa Bay will have a camera crew out there as well.

I’ll try to keep this place going 2 to 3 posts a week and expanding the links include some great sites like EDSBS, Doc Saturday, TNIAAM, and the like.

Stay classy Trent, hope the Tahitian Inn thing keeps going for you.

Oh, and for everyone who wanted to see his mug shot, its here.

On Sunday April 19,  the South Florida Bulls beat Villanova 6-4 and took sole possession of first place for the first time since joining the Big East Conference in 2006.  The Bulls took the series from Villanova winning two out of three.

Conference mate West Virgina did not fare so well against Notre Dame dropping two out of three to the Irish.

Current Big East Standings:

Last night the Bulls took a break from the Big East schedule to travel to Gainseville, Florida for a one game matchup with the #22 Gators.

The Bulls found themselves down 1-0 after two having given up a solo home run in the bottome of the second.  The Bulls got two runs in the top of the third.  The Gators added a run in the fifth inning to tighten the difference at 3-2.

The Bulls opened the ninth frame with a monster home run off the bat of Jonathan Koscso to move the score to 4-2 as the Gators batted in the bottom of the ninth.

The Gators moved quickly to tie it up with one run crossing on a wild pitch and the other on a sacrifice fly.

The Bulls started the top of the tenth with a single by Brandon Smith, but couldn’t plate a run.  The Gators ultimately won after loading the bases and ending it with a RBI single to left field.  5-4 Gators.

The Bulls pitching staff at times looked stunning and at times looked erratic.  The Bulls hit four batsmen and threw 5 wild pitches.

The loss puts the Bulls at 24-15 as they open a key three game series against second place West Virginia 28-9.  The series starts Friday at 7 p.m. at WVU.  The three-game series concludes on Sunday.

Rocky

Also on the radar is 6′8″ King PF Toarlyn Fitzpatrick.  Fitzpatrick signed with Georgia Southern in the fall, but head coach Jeff Price resigned from his post last month, and Fitzpatrick was granted a release from his LOI.  Toarlyn has heard from Miami and Tulane since his release 2 weeks ago, but said he will sign on with the Bulls if a scholarship is offered.  From Greg’s Blog:

“I was interested in USF before they approached me,”  Fitzpatrick said. “Once I got my release, Coach Heath called me and said he wanted to set up a meeting. I’m going to go talk with him and see what he has to say. They were definitely a situation I wanted to pursue.”

The Suncoast Player of the Year took King to the Final Four this year, averaging 14.0 ppg, 11.4 rpg, and a very nice 4.3 bpg for the Lions. 

If we can close the door on Fitzpatrick, which looks like it will be a definite possibility, we might have turned the corner. Here is the roster for next season, with the starters in italics:

PG: Howard Crater Leemow
SG: DoJo Dumars Noriega
SF: Gus Burwell Noriega
PF: Espinosa Fitzpatrick
C: Famous Rivas

We are still a little thin up front, which makes the Sandi Marcius signing very important, but this is a lineup that can make some noise next season.

Can I start to be optimistic here?

First off, congrats to the women’s basketball team for winning the WNIT Tournament Saturday at Phog Allen Fieldhouse.  Being able to go into a hostile environment and bringing home some hardware is always a tremendous accomplishment.  Hopefully winning the WNIT helped soothe the pain of not being invited to the NCAA tournament.

Spring practice will be concluding this week with the Green and Gold game being played Sunday Saturday at Raymond James Stadium.  The game is at 7pm, and will be on BHSN for everyone who won’t be able to make it.  

At halftime of the game, there will be a flag football game for some of the old timers, including Derrick Sarosi, Vassay Marc, Otis Dixon, and Leroy Selmon Jr.  Should be a blast of the past for some of the fans who have been with the program from the beginning.   

Everyone looking to see what George Selvie will do in his final spring game will be left a little disappointed.  He is being held out of the game for precautionary reasons, and Matt Grothe will be wearing a gold no contact jersey.  Backup QBs BJ Daniels and Evan Landi might be eligible to recieve contact, but that has not been decided yet.

After practice yesterday, Leavitt spoke with Greg Auman about the influx of players that will be coming in, and letting the team know that their positions are not safe, especially on the offensive line.  Said Leavitt,

“There’s nobody on the o-line that I think is good enough to play for us right now today.  We’ve got a lot of work to do there. Tight end we don’t have anybody yet that I think is good enough to really go after it. We’ve got some competition there, but losing Cedric (Hill).”

That being said, the top 3 returning lineman have been limited in practice, with Zach Hermann out with a concussion, Jacob Sims with an injured hand, and Jeremiah Warren focusing on academics.

Baseball has been coming around lately, with a sweep of Pitt last weekend have the Bulls sitting in 2nd place right now in the Big East at 7-2.  After a slow start, Ryan Lockwood as come on strong lately, getting his batting average up to .325.  RFr. Todd Brazael is leading the team right now with an impressive .395 BA along with 11 doubles and 26 RBIs.

The BaseBulls head up to Washington DC this weekend to play the Georgetown Hoyas in a 3 game set.  Afterwards, they have a weekday series vs. FIU then head up to play Villanova.

Thats all for now.  Everyone have fun at the spring game.  GO BULLS!

First off, Coach Leavitt finalized his coaching staff as he hired Clemson linebacker coach David Blackwell to be our co-DC/LB Coach.  Coach Blackwell will report to Tampa on Sunday, and will be ready to go for Monday’s practice.  This seems like a great hire, and Blackwell’s former bosses have said some great things to say about him.  Greg over at the Times spoke with Larry Coyer, who was the Pirates DC when Blackwell started his coaching career as a defensive GA.  

“We took him as a defensive grad assistant, and he just locked into it.  He’s a really good football coach. He’s passionate, always has been. He loves football, and whatever it takes, that’s what he’s going to do. He’ll fit in with Coach (Jim) Leavitt well.”

Who knows, Leavitt might have a head-butt showdown with Blackwell at halftime to fire up the team.  This quote always helps too.

“He’s a great recruiter, too, something people overlook sometimes,” Coyer said. “One day, that guy is going to be a head coach. South Florida is lucky to have him.”

I like the recruiting remark.  Clemson’s SID Dabo Swinney gave the typical we’re going to miss him statement.

“I am happy for David and this opportunity that he has to be a coordinator at a program like South Florida.  I am thankful for the job he did at Clemson in his six years with us. He had a tremendous impact on our coaching staff and in recruiting. We wish him the best.”

Again with the recruiting.  Leavitt seems more than pleased though.

“We are going to get him going immediately.  He is a great addition to our staff. He has a proven track record on the field and in recruiting. I have tremendous confidence in the assets he will bring to this program.”

I guess he is a good recruiter.  Hope he can coach up the LB’s too.  The linebacker corps needs to replace T-Mac and Brouce at the starting OLB spots for next season.  Brett is reporting that Blackwell is getting 160K for his services next year.  Welcome to Bulls County Coach Blackwell!