It’s been a while since there was this kind of buzz around the Jaguars. While the national media has always considered putting a team in Jacksonville “a mistake” and has always looked at Jacksonville as an outpost, they couldn’t ignore the early success the franchise had particularly in 1996 and 1999. Although they tried. In […]
https://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2004/02/jacksonville-sports-jaguars-sam-kouvaris.jpg4931000Sam Kouvarishttps://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/sam-kavouris-sam-sportsline.pngSam Kouvaris2014-04-11 11:35:252019-12-27 11:35:51Jaguars Buzz is Real
It’s just cliché enough to say “Things are bigger in Texas.” And it’s generally true. Bigger buildings, bigger roads (and lots of them), bigger traffic jams and certainly bigger aspirations. It’s not that bigger is better, but for their first time hosting the Final Four at ATT Stadium, the locals and the NCAA have decided […]
https://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2004/02/jacksonville-sports-jaguars-sam-kouvaris.jpg4931000Sam Kouvarishttps://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/sam-kavouris-sam-sportsline.pngSam Kouvaris2014-04-04 11:35:582019-12-27 13:38:06Final Four Bigger in Big “D”
As expected, it wasn’t easy. Florida withstood a run by UCLA in the second half with poise and tough defense as they beat the Bruins 79-68 to advance to the Elite Eight for the fourth consecutive year. “Done it before,” Will Yeguete said in the post-game locker room. “Go back to the hotel, get some […]
https://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2004/02/jacksonville-sports-jaguars-sam-kouvaris.jpg4931000Sam Kouvarishttps://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/sam-kavouris-sam-sportsline.pngSam Kouvaris2014-03-28 11:45:182019-12-27 11:45:47Gators in Elite Eight: Want More
It’s like a traveling road show when teams go deep into the NCAA tournament. Like that old saying, this week it’s “If it’s Wednesday this must be Memphis.” Adapting to that kind of travel and schedule, new arena’s, new locker rooms, new environments favor a veteran team in college basketball and certainly the 2014 Gators […]
https://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2004/02/jacksonville-sports-jaguars-sam-kouvaris.jpg4931000Sam Kouvarishttps://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/sam-kavouris-sam-sportsline.pngSam Kouvaris2014-03-27 11:45:542019-12-27 11:46:20Gators vs. UCLA: Toughest Test Yet
While looking for a constant upgrade in the draft and through free agency, Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley isn’t forgetting what last year was like. The ups and downs, the teaching and the learning and how he can take that and move forward. “I know this sounds bad,” Bradley qualified his statement before going on […]
It really is all about defense for the Florida basketball team. And while that’s a given for most teams, the Gators have bought into it.’ “This was about to our standard,” Senior Patric Young said in the post-game locker room after Florida’s 61-45 win over the 9th seeded Pitt Panthers. “We can’t always control whether […]
It’s difficult to be such a favorite in college basketball. A team that shoots well, and executes their game plan, no matter what their talent level, size or speed, can make things difficult. Florida found that out in the first half against the Albany Great Danes in their first game in the NCAA tournament in […]
It would be pretty easy for the 2013-14 Gator basketball team to strut into Orlando with an attitude. They’ve won 32 games; they’re the only team to ever go 18-0 during the regular season in the SEC. They won the SEC tournament by beating Kentucky for the THIRD time this year and they finished the […]
No 16 seed has ever beaten a #1 seed in the history of the NCAA tournament. I thought I’d get that out there right away so if there is some kind of jinx, it’ll fade by game time on Thursday. But the Gators won’t need it. As the top ranked team in the country for […]
https://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2004/02/jacksonville-sports-jaguars-sam-kouvaris.jpg4931000Sam Kouvarishttps://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/sam-kavouris-sam-sportsline.pngSam Kouvaris2014-03-19 11:48:482019-12-27 11:49:22Gators in Orlando For NCAA’s
I’m not surprised, but I am impressed. For what seems like forever, the Jaguars in free agency were a non-factor. And even when they were a factor, it didn’t matter. Jerry Porter, Drayton Florence and Tory Holt were supposed to make a splash. They did, more looking like a belly flop. A bunch of journeymen […]
Walking off the practice field last summer during Gus Bradley’s first training camp as the head coach of the Jaguars, I found myself at the back of the pack walking with the Jaguars new leader. “What the biggest surprise,” I asked as the two of us made our way to the locker room. “Just the […]
“This is just goal number one,” Patric Young said with a big smile on his face after the Gators finished an undefeated regular season in conference play. Florida jumped out to a 21-point lead at halftime over Kentucky, weathered a 15-0 run by the Wildcats in the second half and finished with an 84-65 win […]
I guess we should just be amused when people who don’t know anything about America try and come up with reasons why Americans are, well, Americans. We are somewhat iconoclastic, doing things our way in our almost 240 years as a nation. We drive on the other side of the road than the British. Our […]
https://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2004/02/jacksonville-sports-jaguars-sam-kouvaris.jpg4931000Sam Kouvarishttps://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/sam-kavouris-sam-sportsline.pngSam Kouvaris2014-02-27 11:55:222019-12-27 11:55:54“Personal Foul” on the Dutch
It was about racing. From the inception of what is now known as NASCAR through the beach driving in Daytona and onto the 2.5 mile tri-oval through the rule changes designed for speed and safety and all the way up to about 2000, driving at Daytona was all about racing. Finding speed was always the […]
https://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2004/02/jacksonville-sports-jaguars-sam-kouvaris.jpg4931000Sam Kouvarishttps://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/sam-kavouris-sam-sportsline.pngSam Kouvaris2014-02-22 11:56:062019-12-27 11:56:36NASCAR: Looking To The Past To Find The Future
While attendance at the MLS exhibition on Wednesday night between Philadelphia and New York was down because of the weather, that’s no indication of the passion for “the beautiful game” here in Jacksonville. When the NASL had a team in North Florida in the early ’80’s it was relocated from Boston and kept the name […]
https://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2004/02/jacksonville-sports-jaguars-sam-kouvaris.jpg4931000Sam Kouvarishttps://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/sam-kavouris-sam-sportsline.pngSam Kouvaris2014-02-13 11:56:452019-12-27 11:57:21Jax: An Events Town
It wasn’t quite ten years ago that you could sense a spike in the interest surrounding what was happening on National Signing Day. Formerly reserved for what were called “recruit-niks” and hard-core college football fans, suddenly high school auditoriums were full of students and faculty as football players (although all ‘fall’ sports use today as […]
No team gets to the National Championship game without being a pretty good squad. Actually better than that. So when Auburn and FSU were matched up in Pasadena for the final BCS Championship game, nobody should have expected anything but a close game. It’s never a mismatch unless the pollsters fall in love with one […]
https://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2004/02/jacksonville-sports-jaguars-sam-kouvaris.jpg4931000Sam Kouvarishttps://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/sam-kavouris-sam-sportsline.pngSam Kouvaris2014-01-07 11:58:082019-12-27 11:58:34As Good As It Gets: FSU Wins National Championship
There are only a couple of questions about tonight’s outcome of the National Championship game between FSU and Auburn. If you just look at how the two teams got here, it’s easy to pick FSU to win going away. The Seminoles won every game by double digits and scored more than 40 points almost every […]
https://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2004/02/jacksonville-sports-jaguars-sam-kouvaris.jpg4931000Sam Kouvarishttps://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/sam-kavouris-sam-sportsline.pngSam Kouvaris2014-01-06 11:58:422019-12-27 11:59:08FSU vs. Team of Destiny
When they walked into the ballroom for their “Media Day” interviews, I was struck by how much the 2013 FSU football team reminded me of the 1993 team that played for, and won the National Championship. Big and athletic, there aren’t any “fat” guys on this team. Even the biggest of the offensive and defensive […]
https://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2004/02/jacksonville-sports-jaguars-sam-kouvaris.jpg4931000Sam Kouvarishttps://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/sam-kavouris-sam-sportsline.pngSam Kouvaris2014-01-05 12:00:042019-12-27 12:01:03FSU A Close-Knit Group
Different events have a different feel. The Super Bowl is big, corporate, sponsor-driven and engulfs the city it’s in; bringing the national focus on everything that surrounds it. The National Championship is a mini version of that, but with a much more homey feel. There’s some national media, but not much. Whichever network is televising […]
Jaguars Buzz is Real
/in Jacksonville Jaguars/by Sam KouvarisIt’s been a while since there was this kind of buzz around the Jaguars. While the national media has always considered putting a team in Jacksonville “a mistake” and has always looked at Jacksonville as an outpost, they couldn’t ignore the early success the franchise had particularly in 1996 and 1999. Although they tried. In […]
Final Four Bigger in Big “D”
/in College Basketball/by Sam KouvarisIt’s just cliché enough to say “Things are bigger in Texas.” And it’s generally true. Bigger buildings, bigger roads (and lots of them), bigger traffic jams and certainly bigger aspirations. It’s not that bigger is better, but for their first time hosting the Final Four at ATT Stadium, the locals and the NCAA have decided […]
Gators in Elite Eight: Want More
/in College Basketball/by Sam KouvarisAs expected, it wasn’t easy. Florida withstood a run by UCLA in the second half with poise and tough defense as they beat the Bruins 79-68 to advance to the Elite Eight for the fourth consecutive year. “Done it before,” Will Yeguete said in the post-game locker room. “Go back to the hotel, get some […]
Gators vs. UCLA: Toughest Test Yet
/in College Basketball/by Sam KouvarisIt’s like a traveling road show when teams go deep into the NCAA tournament. Like that old saying, this week it’s “If it’s Wednesday this must be Memphis.” Adapting to that kind of travel and schedule, new arena’s, new locker rooms, new environments favor a veteran team in college basketball and certainly the 2014 Gators […]
Bradley Looking To Upgrade Team, Self
/in Jacksonville Jaguars/by Sam KouvarisWhile looking for a constant upgrade in the draft and through free agency, Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley isn’t forgetting what last year was like. The ups and downs, the teaching and the learning and how he can take that and move forward. “I know this sounds bad,” Bradley qualified his statement before going on […]
Gators Change Mindset, Beat Pitt
/in College Basketball/by Sam KouvarisIt really is all about defense for the Florida basketball team. And while that’s a given for most teams, the Gators have bought into it.’ “This was about to our standard,” Senior Patric Young said in the post-game locker room after Florida’s 61-45 win over the 9th seeded Pitt Panthers. “We can’t always control whether […]
Gators “Survive and Advance”
/in College Basketball/by Sam KouvarisIt’s difficult to be such a favorite in college basketball. A team that shoots well, and executes their game plan, no matter what their talent level, size or speed, can make things difficult. Florida found that out in the first half against the Albany Great Danes in their first game in the NCAA tournament in […]
Gators Ranking Doesn’t Matter
/in College Basketball/by Sam KouvarisIt would be pretty easy for the 2013-14 Gator basketball team to strut into Orlando with an attitude. They’ve won 32 games; they’re the only team to ever go 18-0 during the regular season in the SEC. They won the SEC tournament by beating Kentucky for the THIRD time this year and they finished the […]
Gators in Orlando For NCAA’s
/in College Basketball/by Sam KouvarisNo 16 seed has ever beaten a #1 seed in the history of the NCAA tournament. I thought I’d get that out there right away so if there is some kind of jinx, it’ll fade by game time on Thursday. But the Gators won’t need it. As the top ranked team in the country for […]
Jaguars Free Agency: Impressed, Not Surprised
/in Jacksonville Jaguars/by Sam KouvarisI’m not surprised, but I am impressed. For what seems like forever, the Jaguars in free agency were a non-factor. And even when they were a factor, it didn’t matter. Jerry Porter, Drayton Florence and Tory Holt were supposed to make a splash. They did, more looking like a belly flop. A bunch of journeymen […]
Gabbert Gone
/in Jacksonville Jaguars/by Sam KouvarisWalking off the practice field last summer during Gus Bradley’s first training camp as the head coach of the Jaguars, I found myself at the back of the pack walking with the Jaguars new leader. “What the biggest surprise,” I asked as the two of us made our way to the locker room. “Just the […]
Gators Still “Chasing Greatness”
/in College Basketball/by Sam Kouvaris“This is just goal number one,” Patric Young said with a big smile on his face after the Gators finished an undefeated regular season in conference play. Florida jumped out to a 21-point lead at halftime over Kentucky, weathered a 15-0 run by the Wildcats in the second half and finished with an 84-65 win […]
“Personal Foul” on the Dutch
/in Featured/by Sam KouvarisI guess we should just be amused when people who don’t know anything about America try and come up with reasons why Americans are, well, Americans. We are somewhat iconoclastic, doing things our way in our almost 240 years as a nation. We drive on the other side of the road than the British. Our […]
NASCAR: Looking To The Past To Find The Future
/in NASCAR/by Sam KouvarisIt was about racing. From the inception of what is now known as NASCAR through the beach driving in Daytona and onto the 2.5 mile tri-oval through the rule changes designed for speed and safety and all the way up to about 2000, driving at Daytona was all about racing. Finding speed was always the […]
Jax: An Events Town
/in Featured/by Sam KouvarisWhile attendance at the MLS exhibition on Wednesday night between Philadelphia and New York was down because of the weather, that’s no indication of the passion for “the beautiful game” here in Jacksonville. When the NASL had a team in North Florida in the early ’80’s it was relocated from Boston and kept the name […]
National Signing Day: “Mark Your Calendar!”
/in Highschool/by Sam KouvarisIt wasn’t quite ten years ago that you could sense a spike in the interest surrounding what was happening on National Signing Day. Formerly reserved for what were called “recruit-niks” and hard-core college football fans, suddenly high school auditoriums were full of students and faculty as football players (although all ‘fall’ sports use today as […]
As Good As It Gets: FSU Wins National Championship
/in College Football/by Sam KouvarisNo team gets to the National Championship game without being a pretty good squad. Actually better than that. So when Auburn and FSU were matched up in Pasadena for the final BCS Championship game, nobody should have expected anything but a close game. It’s never a mismatch unless the pollsters fall in love with one […]
FSU vs. Team of Destiny
/in College Football/by Sam KouvarisThere are only a couple of questions about tonight’s outcome of the National Championship game between FSU and Auburn. If you just look at how the two teams got here, it’s easy to pick FSU to win going away. The Seminoles won every game by double digits and scored more than 40 points almost every […]
FSU A Close-Knit Group
/in College Football/by Sam KouvarisWhen they walked into the ballroom for their “Media Day” interviews, I was struck by how much the 2013 FSU football team reminded me of the 1993 team that played for, and won the National Championship. Big and athletic, there aren’t any “fat” guys on this team. Even the biggest of the offensive and defensive […]
Fisher/Malzahn, FSU/Auburn Contrast in Style
/in College Football/by Sam KouvarisDifferent events have a different feel. The Super Bowl is big, corporate, sponsor-driven and engulfs the city it’s in; bringing the national focus on everything that surrounds it. The National Championship is a mini version of that, but with a much more homey feel. There’s some national media, but not much. Whichever network is televising […]