Having picked Uconn to win it all, I thought it was funny that I found myself rooting for Georgie Tech to at least give them a game. But the Huskies were clearly the best team, and the predictions about the Final Four were right: The real championship game involved Duke on Saturday. They didn’t make […]
I’ve been trying to do a story on driving at Daytona International Speedway for a couple of years now. The Richard Petty Driving Experience (RPDE) runs an operation there, as well as 21 other tracks around the country. It’s been suggested to me more than a few times, “Why don’t you just do the ride […]
I spent about an hour with the engraver from Waterford crystal standing next to the 18th green yesterday at The Players Championship. A friendly Irishman, he joked that if Paddy Harrington won, “we’d need a bigger trophy.” “A-d-a-m-S-c-o-t-t, short and sweet,’ and we both laughed. “When do you think I can start,” he asked. “When […]
Don’t the Gators wish they could blame it on Christian Drejer. They got to the NCAA tournament with a solid late run, especially in the SEC tournament, and fell flat on their face, again, in the first round. This time the opponent was Manhattan, a popular upset pick, but it didn’t look like Florida out […]
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 Kouvaris2004-03-08 22:30:502019-08-16 22:32:02Blame It On Drejer
There’s not much sentimentality in sports. Guys retire, they’re celebrated for a day, or possibly have a farewell tour in their last season, and they’re gone. Replaced by the next group, the next generation, the younger, faster, bigger stronger evolution of whatever game is being played. NASCAR might be the least sentimental of all, drivers […]
I was stunned, but not overly surprised when Bob Hayes didn’t make it into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this year. As a member of the selection committee, I was in the room and part of the discussion about Hayes’ credentials when his name was presented in front of the full committee. The Senior […]
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 Kouvaris2004-02-02 22:19:022019-08-16 22:30:12Hayes Not In The Hall
Now that the Super Bowl is just a year away from being in Jacksonville, people are scared. Really scared. It’s actually coming here? How are we going to handle that? It’s almost the same attitude that most everybody had in 1993 when Wayne Weaver and company were pursuing an NFL team. Never happen. Too small, […]
On the day he was named Head Coach of the Washington Redskins two years ago, Steve Spurrier was coy with the press, saying he didn’t expect to work as hard as some of the other coaches (he named Jim Haslett as one) and he didn’t expect any surprises in the NFL. “Football is football,” Spurrier […]
I’ll admit I’d been in a little bit of a funk for the past few weeks. The Thanksgiving holiday snapped me out of it. I like spending time with my kids around, doing nothing in particular but enjoying their company. The funk didn’t have anything to do with my birthday (not a milestone), or some […]
“And we’re a pretty good football team too,” is what I heard from the podium Saturday night after Florida beat Georgia for the 13th time in 14 years. The speaker was Gators Head Coach Ron Zook, and that quote made my ears perk up. It’s the first time I’d heard Zook say he thought his […]
They seem to have it all: A beautiful stadium, nice weather, natural grass, a solid fan base and an attractive product. So why can’t the Jaguars sell out the stadium? They’re not the only ones with this problem. Tampa, Atlanta, Miami and many other NFL towns aren’t selling out unless their team is a winner. […]
I guess I’m supposed to be mad at Jimmy Smith. I sat in his living room nearly two years ago, doing a live broadcast for Channel 4, two days after Smith was charged with DUI and, according to police, tested positive for cocaine. Smith maintained that the test was a police mistake and said he […]
It was a very different time for journalism, television and the USA. Although Watergate was still fresh in our minds and a healthy amount of skepticism was essential for every journalist, there was still innocence to news coverage. The responsibility for reporters was to the viewers and there was a real attachment between the two. […]
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 Kouvaris2003-08-13 07:39:042020-03-28 07:39:57USA Hockey 1980: A Different Time
An NBA star is accused of some sort of sex crime, and the usual “he said, she said” begins, while there’s a collective yawn from the public. Unless the star is Kobe Bryant and his hometown is Los Angeles. The instant Bryant was accused, the coverage has been nonstop. From the major networks to 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 Kouvaris2003-08-01 07:40:312020-03-28 07:41:10He Said, She Said
A career that seemed destined to end at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton now ends in an auditorium in Houston. Tony Boselli will announce his retirement this week from football at age 31. Rest, rehabilitation nor three surgeries have given Boselli relief from the shoulder problems that originally put him out of […]
An NBA star is accused of some sort of sex crime, and the usual “he said, she said” begins, while there’s a collective yawn from the public. Unless the star is Kobe Bryant, and his hometown is Los Angeles. The instant Bryant was accused, the coverage has been nonstop. From the major networks to 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 Kouvaris2003-07-15 07:43:252020-03-28 07:44:19Black and White
It’s a shame Venus was injured and couldn’t perform at the top of her game in the finals at Wimbledon, but in truth, the women’s finals wasn’t about who won and who lost. The Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, are far and away the best female players in the world. Yes Kim Clistjers and Justine […]
Now, there are eleven. Eleven being the operative word in that sentence. Eleven is a nice number, a good number for players on either side of a football. It’s about the right number on a soccer pitch for guys in the same color jersey, but it’s not the right number for teams in a conference. […]
About this time of year, I get to tell a fish story. You might know that I like to fish. I’m not very good at it, growing up on the concrete and asphalt streets of Baltimore wasn’t conducive to knowing anything about fishing. But my time in Charleston, S.C. and specifically in Jacksonville has given […]
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 Kouvaris2003-06-11 07:46:182020-03-28 07:47:05A Fish Story
There’s no real flash or pizzaz to the NBA Finals this year. No Lakers, no Knicks, no Michael, no nothing. San Antonio and New Jersey aren’t major metropolitan areas (technically speaking if you actually count New Jersey as New Jersey.) They aren’t teams with a rich history; in fact, both are ABA transfers who actually […]
Final Four Thoughts
/in College Basketball/by Sam KouvarisHaving picked Uconn to win it all, I thought it was funny that I found myself rooting for Georgie Tech to at least give them a game. But the Huskies were clearly the best team, and the predictions about the Final Four were right: The real championship game involved Duke on Saturday. They didn’t make […]
Driving At Daytona
/in NASCAR/by Sam KouvarisI’ve been trying to do a story on driving at Daytona International Speedway for a couple of years now. The Richard Petty Driving Experience (RPDE) runs an operation there, as well as 21 other tracks around the country. It’s been suggested to me more than a few times, “Why don’t you just do the ride […]
Scott Wins Players
/in Golf/by Sam KouvarisI spent about an hour with the engraver from Waterford crystal standing next to the 18th green yesterday at The Players Championship. A friendly Irishman, he joked that if Paddy Harrington won, “we’d need a bigger trophy.” “A-d-a-m-S-c-o-t-t, short and sweet,’ and we both laughed. “When do you think I can start,” he asked. “When […]
Blame It On Drejer
/in College Basketball/by Sam KouvarisDon’t the Gators wish they could blame it on Christian Drejer. They got to the NCAA tournament with a solid late run, especially in the SEC tournament, and fell flat on their face, again, in the first round. This time the opponent was Manhattan, a popular upset pick, but it didn’t look like Florida out […]
Junior Wins Daytona
/in NASCAR/by Sam KouvarisThere’s not much sentimentality in sports. Guys retire, they’re celebrated for a day, or possibly have a farewell tour in their last season, and they’re gone. Replaced by the next group, the next generation, the younger, faster, bigger stronger evolution of whatever game is being played. NASCAR might be the least sentimental of all, drivers […]
Hayes Not In The Hall
/in Football/by Sam KouvarisI was stunned, but not overly surprised when Bob Hayes didn’t make it into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this year. As a member of the selection committee, I was in the room and part of the discussion about Hayes’ credentials when his name was presented in front of the full committee. The Senior […]
Super City
/in Football/by Sam KouvarisNow that the Super Bowl is just a year away from being in Jacksonville, people are scared. Really scared. It’s actually coming here? How are we going to handle that? It’s almost the same attitude that most everybody had in 1993 when Wayne Weaver and company were pursuing an NFL team. Never happen. Too small, […]
Spurrier Quits
/in College Football/by Sam KouvarisOn the day he was named Head Coach of the Washington Redskins two years ago, Steve Spurrier was coy with the press, saying he didn’t expect to work as hard as some of the other coaches (he named Jim Haslett as one) and he didn’t expect any surprises in the NFL. “Football is football,” Spurrier […]
Dads and Daughters
/in Featured/by Sam KouvarisI’ll admit I’d been in a little bit of a funk for the past few weeks. The Thanksgiving holiday snapped me out of it. I like spending time with my kids around, doing nothing in particular but enjoying their company. The funk didn’t have anything to do with my birthday (not a milestone), or some […]
They’re Zook’s Gators
/in College Football/by Sam Kouvaris“And we’re a pretty good football team too,” is what I heard from the podium Saturday night after Florida beat Georgia for the 13th time in 14 years. The speaker was Gators Head Coach Ron Zook, and that quote made my ears perk up. It’s the first time I’d heard Zook say he thought his […]
Solving Ticket Problems
/in Jacksonville Jaguars/by Sam KouvarisThey seem to have it all: A beautiful stadium, nice weather, natural grass, a solid fan base and an attractive product. So why can’t the Jaguars sell out the stadium? They’re not the only ones with this problem. Tampa, Atlanta, Miami and many other NFL towns aren’t selling out unless their team is a winner. […]
Jimmy Smith’s Long Road
/in Featured/by Sam KouvarisI guess I’m supposed to be mad at Jimmy Smith. I sat in his living room nearly two years ago, doing a live broadcast for Channel 4, two days after Smith was charged with DUI and, according to police, tested positive for cocaine. Smith maintained that the test was a police mistake and said he […]
USA Hockey 1980: A Different Time
/in Featured/by Sam KouvarisIt was a very different time for journalism, television and the USA. Although Watergate was still fresh in our minds and a healthy amount of skepticism was essential for every journalist, there was still innocence to news coverage. The responsibility for reporters was to the viewers and there was a real attachment between the two. […]
He Said, She Said
/in Basketball/by Sam KouvarisAn NBA star is accused of some sort of sex crime, and the usual “he said, she said” begins, while there’s a collective yawn from the public. Unless the star is Kobe Bryant and his hometown is Los Angeles. The instant Bryant was accused, the coverage has been nonstop. From the major networks to the […]
Boselli’s Retirement
/in Jacksonville Jaguars/by Sam KouvarisA career that seemed destined to end at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton now ends in an auditorium in Houston. Tony Boselli will announce his retirement this week from football at age 31. Rest, rehabilitation nor three surgeries have given Boselli relief from the shoulder problems that originally put him out of […]
Black and White
/in Basketball/by Sam KouvarisAn NBA star is accused of some sort of sex crime, and the usual “he said, she said” begins, while there’s a collective yawn from the public. Unless the star is Kobe Bryant, and his hometown is Los Angeles. The instant Bryant was accused, the coverage has been nonstop. From the major networks to the […]
Proud Americans
/in Tennis/by Sam KouvarisIt’s a shame Venus was injured and couldn’t perform at the top of her game in the finals at Wimbledon, but in truth, the women’s finals wasn’t about who won and who lost. The Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, are far and away the best female players in the world. Yes Kim Clistjers and Justine […]
ACC SEC Moves
/in College Football/by Sam KouvarisNow, there are eleven. Eleven being the operative word in that sentence. Eleven is a nice number, a good number for players on either side of a football. It’s about the right number on a soccer pitch for guys in the same color jersey, but it’s not the right number for teams in a conference. […]
A Fish Story
/in Featured/by Sam KouvarisAbout this time of year, I get to tell a fish story. You might know that I like to fish. I’m not very good at it, growing up on the concrete and asphalt streets of Baltimore wasn’t conducive to knowing anything about fishing. But my time in Charleston, S.C. and specifically in Jacksonville has given […]
NBA Finals
/in Basketball/by Sam KouvarisThere’s no real flash or pizzaz to the NBA Finals this year. No Lakers, no Knicks, no Michael, no nothing. San Antonio and New Jersey aren’t major metropolitan areas (technically speaking if you actually count New Jersey as New Jersey.) They aren’t teams with a rich history; in fact, both are ABA transfers who actually […]