Driving down Ponte Vedra Boulevard you can see the Ocean Course at the Ponte Vedra Inn and Club is starting to come back after being torn up for renovation. Same thing in town when you drive down San Jose. San Jose Country Club is re-doing their fairways and greens and changing one of their par […]
https://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/top-golf.jpg7401400Sam Kouvarishttps://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/sam-kavouris-sam-sportsline.pngSam Kouvaris2020-06-18 13:23:252020-06-19 10:32:37Can Fun Save Golf?
As sports begin to dip their toe into what their post-pandemic product will look like, fans haven’t been a part of the equation. NASCAR, UFC, some European soccer leagues and now the PGA Tour have held competitions, but no “in-person” fans have been allowed. Without fans, races have been won, fighters have had their hands […]
It’s a slippery slope when any columnist writes about race relations. But I think this is a critical juncture and that having these conversations, discussions and debates are important. With thirteen per cent of America, sixteen per cent of the State of Florida and thirty per cent of the residents of the City of Jacksonville […]
It appears we’ll have some sort of NFL season in 2020. Several owners this week thought out loud that fans would be allowed, but the decision on that is a while off. With only fifteen percent of each team’s revenue coming from ticket sales, they could play a season without fans in the stands. It […]
As a kid growing up in Baltimore I was a big baseball fan. Still am. Often if I’m just scanning through the channels I default to the MLB Network. When my TV career was ended, I was home nights for the first time in my professional life. That was different for my wife, who after […]
https://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Fenway-Park.jpg7401400Sam Kouvarishttps://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/sam-kavouris-sam-sportsline.pngSam Kouvaris2020-05-21 13:55:362020-05-21 13:55:36Wait! It’s Almost June? I Miss Baseball
You might have to tilt your head a little, and maybe even squint a bit, but it appears there is a light at the end of this pandemic tunnel we’ve been living in. It feels like forever, but it’s been about two months since the first calls from politicians to try and “flatten the curve” […]
https://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/everbank-field-jacksonville.jpg7401400Sam Kouvarishttps://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/sam-kavouris-sam-sportsline.pngSam Kouvaris2020-05-15 18:39:292020-05-15 18:39:29For The Last Two Months . . .
In these “social distancing” times, it’s pretty normal to not see some people you’re used to seeing. But where’s Shad? In a literal sense, I’m sure he’s working on one of the myriad of forty-plus companies he owns. The last time we saw him was in a picture during the NFL Draft, sitting at a […]
“Read your article on the draft today,” my friend ‘Wooly’ texted me last Sunday. “Really liked it but thought you were holding something back,” he added. It’s not that I was holding anything back, I told him. But the Jaguars clearly have their own ideas about how this team should be built and what it […]
There’s always been a two-way discussion for NFL teams about the college draft: Do you pick for need or just draft the best player available? For the Jaguars this year they were picking for something different: No drama. Head Coach Doug Marrone stressed that point several times leading up to the draft and the Jaguars […]
https://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Marrone-and-Caldwell.jpg7401400Sam Kouvarishttps://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/sam-kavouris-sam-sportsline.pngSam Kouvaris2020-04-25 13:16:392020-04-27 13:25:35Jaguars Get What and Who They Wanted
There are a lot of moving parts for any NFL team when it comes to the yearly college draft. This year there will be even more moving parts as the NFL will conduct the draft virtually with everybody, from GM’s, scouts, coaches, medial staff and anybody else with input to a team’s pick meeting via […]
https://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/jaguars-draft-room.jpg7401400Sam Kouvarishttps://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/sam-kavouris-sam-sportsline.pngSam Kouvaris2020-04-17 10:23:532020-04-17 10:23:53A Complicated Draft, In More Ways Than One
It’s not hard to find the last example of all of America in crisis. Nearly eighty years ago, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and the United States entered World War II. Young men enlisted and were sent off to fight. Every other American was asked to do the same as now: Stay home and do […]
https://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/baseball-1940s.jpg7401400Sam Kouvarishttps://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/sam-kavouris-sam-sportsline.pngSam Kouvaris2020-04-09 16:48:412020-04-09 18:48:53Sports During A National Crisis WWII
When his best friend Mark Brunell talks about Tony Boselli, he says he didn’t like him much at first. “He thought he was the best player on the team,” Mark says. “Which he was.” “And he thought he was the toughest guy on the team,” Brunell usually continues. “Which he was.” I can attest to […]
We’ve been told a lot over the past week what we can’t do. “Don’t do this” and “Don’t do that” have been among the myriad levels of “stay at home” mandates. So what can we do? Turns out, “stay at home” doesn’t mean sit in your living room eating Cheetos or cowering to the coronavirus. […]
https://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/play-golf.jpg7401400Sam Kouvarishttps://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/sam-kavouris-sam-sportsline.pngSam Kouvaris2020-04-03 11:40:042020-04-03 11:40:04Things We CAN Do
I have an eclectic group of friends. My wife says that’s because they make me feel like I’m normal. That’ might be true. They’re a diverse group for sure. One thing that binds most of them is that they’re sports fans. They’ve all laughed at this meme going around on social media: Day Six Without […]
https://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/sports-on-tv.jpg7401400Sam Kouvarishttps://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/sam-kavouris-sam-sportsline.pngSam Kouvaris2020-03-27 17:06:582020-03-27 17:06:58No Sports, No Problem
Like most everybody else, I’ve been staying home, following the guidelines, working on some projects, talking on the phone with friends and tracking the progress against the coronavirus. And just like most everybody else, I’ve had a chance to let my mind wander about a lot of subjects. Looking back over the last month or […]
https://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Doug-Marrone-and-Dave-Caldwell.jpg7401400Sam Kouvarishttps://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/sam-kavouris-sam-sportsline.pngSam Kouvaris2020-03-20 16:06:302020-03-22 22:38:47What Are They Up To
We’ve been at this a while, you and me. About forty years actually. Mostly we’ve talked about sports, but you even embraced me when they asked me to anchor the news on television for a few years. Some of you laughed, and even said you were inspired when I used to do those silly pep […]
https://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Sam-Kouvaris-2.jpg7401400Sam Kouvarishttps://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/sam-kavouris-sam-sportsline.pngSam Kouvaris2020-03-15 16:54:202020-03-16 03:59:03We’ll Get Through This
This would seem to be a week all about golf here in North Florida. With The Players being contested at PGA Tour’s Stadium Course in Ponte Vedra, the best players in the world will be playing for the largest prize money total in golf, $15 million, with $2.7 million going to the winner. This week […]
https://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/the-players-sawgrass.jpg7401400Sam Kouvarishttps://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/sam-kavouris-sam-sportsline.pngSam Kouvaris2020-03-06 15:11:362020-03-06 15:11:36On The World Stage, THE PLAYERS Is Still Ours
It was about two-thirty in the morning of April 3, 2007 when Billy Donovan finally emerged from the Gators’ locker room in the bowels of the Georgia Dome. Just a few hours earlier Donovan’s Gators had beaten Ohio State for their second consecutive NCAA Basketball Championship. I had been in that locker room earlier, doing […]
All of Jake Godbold’s time in office happened before the Internet and cell phones. Despite that, he was more connected than most people, certainly politicians, are today. Connected to everybody. Not just people in his party. Not just to those who voted for him. Not just to his donors or his staff. Connected to everybody. […]
https://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Mayor-Jake-Godbold.jpg10001400Sam Kouvarishttps://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/sam-kavouris-sam-sportsline.pngSam Kouvaris2020-02-21 17:21:492020-02-21 17:21:49Jake, Jax and Sports: A Perfect Match
A few years ago my friend, racecar driver Scott Lagasse, Jr. from St. Augustine invited me to come along on his Champions Ride for Bicycle Safety, I like riding my bike, and although I was coming off knee surgery, I joined in with some of Scott’s high-profile friends from the racing community to try and […]
https://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/jimmie-johnson.jpg10001400Sam Kouvarishttps://www.samsportsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/sam-kavouris-sam-sportsline.pngSam Kouvaris2020-02-14 20:09:422020-02-15 23:23:53NASCAR and Fitness? Jimmie Johnson Changed That
Can Fun Save Golf?
/in Golf/by Sam KouvarisDriving down Ponte Vedra Boulevard you can see the Ocean Course at the Ponte Vedra Inn and Club is starting to come back after being torn up for renovation. Same thing in town when you drive down San Jose. San Jose Country Club is re-doing their fairways and greens and changing one of their par […]
Do Sports Need Fans
/in Featured/by Sam KouvarisAs sports begin to dip their toe into what their post-pandemic product will look like, fans haven’t been a part of the equation. NASCAR, UFC, some European soccer leagues and now the PGA Tour have held competitions, but no “in-person” fans have been allowed. Without fans, races have been won, fighters have had their hands […]
Can Sports Help?
/in Featured/by Sam KouvarisIt’s a slippery slope when any columnist writes about race relations. But I think this is a critical juncture and that having these conversations, discussions and debates are important. With thirteen per cent of America, sixteen per cent of the State of Florida and thirty per cent of the residents of the City of Jacksonville […]
Can the 2020 Jaguars Be Virtually Good?
/in Jacksonville Jaguars/by Sam KouvarisIt appears we’ll have some sort of NFL season in 2020. Several owners this week thought out loud that fans would be allowed, but the decision on that is a while off. With only fifteen percent of each team’s revenue coming from ticket sales, they could play a season without fans in the stands. It […]
Wait! It’s Almost June? I Miss Baseball
/in Baseball/by Sam KouvarisAs a kid growing up in Baltimore I was a big baseball fan. Still am. Often if I’m just scanning through the channels I default to the MLB Network. When my TV career was ended, I was home nights for the first time in my professional life. That was different for my wife, who after […]
For The Last Two Months . . .
/in Featured/by Sam KouvarisYou might have to tilt your head a little, and maybe even squint a bit, but it appears there is a light at the end of this pandemic tunnel we’ve been living in. It feels like forever, but it’s been about two months since the first calls from politicians to try and “flatten the curve” […]
Where’s Shad?
/in Jacksonville Jaguars/by Sam KouvarisIn these “social distancing” times, it’s pretty normal to not see some people you’re used to seeing. But where’s Shad? In a literal sense, I’m sure he’s working on one of the myriad of forty-plus companies he owns. The last time we saw him was in a picture during the NFL Draft, sitting at a […]
Draft Shows What Jaguars Think of 2020
/in Jacksonville Jaguars/by Sam Kouvaris“Read your article on the draft today,” my friend ‘Wooly’ texted me last Sunday. “Really liked it but thought you were holding something back,” he added. It’s not that I was holding anything back, I told him. But the Jaguars clearly have their own ideas about how this team should be built and what it […]
Jaguars Get What and Who They Wanted
/in Jacksonville Jaguars/by Sam KouvarisThere’s always been a two-way discussion for NFL teams about the college draft: Do you pick for need or just draft the best player available? For the Jaguars this year they were picking for something different: No drama. Head Coach Doug Marrone stressed that point several times leading up to the draft and the Jaguars […]
A Complicated Draft, In More Ways Than One
/in Jacksonville Jaguars/by Sam KouvarisThere are a lot of moving parts for any NFL team when it comes to the yearly college draft. This year there will be even more moving parts as the NFL will conduct the draft virtually with everybody, from GM’s, scouts, coaches, medial staff and anybody else with input to a team’s pick meeting via […]
Sports During A National Crisis WWII
/in Featured/by Sam KouvarisIt’s not hard to find the last example of all of America in crisis. Nearly eighty years ago, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and the United States entered World War II. Young men enlisted and were sent off to fight. Every other American was asked to do the same as now: Stay home and do […]
Boselli Battles COVID-19
/in Featured/by Sam KouvarisWhen his best friend Mark Brunell talks about Tony Boselli, he says he didn’t like him much at first. “He thought he was the best player on the team,” Mark says. “Which he was.” “And he thought he was the toughest guy on the team,” Brunell usually continues. “Which he was.” I can attest to […]
Things We CAN Do
/in Featured/by Sam KouvarisWe’ve been told a lot over the past week what we can’t do. “Don’t do this” and “Don’t do that” have been among the myriad levels of “stay at home” mandates. So what can we do? Turns out, “stay at home” doesn’t mean sit in your living room eating Cheetos or cowering to the coronavirus. […]
No Sports, No Problem
/in Featured/by Sam KouvarisI have an eclectic group of friends. My wife says that’s because they make me feel like I’m normal. That’ might be true. They’re a diverse group for sure. One thing that binds most of them is that they’re sports fans. They’ve all laughed at this meme going around on social media: Day Six Without […]
What Are They Up To
/in Jacksonville Jaguars/by Sam KouvarisLike most everybody else, I’ve been staying home, following the guidelines, working on some projects, talking on the phone with friends and tracking the progress against the coronavirus. And just like most everybody else, I’ve had a chance to let my mind wander about a lot of subjects. Looking back over the last month or […]
We’ll Get Through This
/in Featured, Golf/by Sam KouvarisWe’ve been at this a while, you and me. About forty years actually. Mostly we’ve talked about sports, but you even embraced me when they asked me to anchor the news on television for a few years. Some of you laughed, and even said you were inspired when I used to do those silly pep […]
On The World Stage, THE PLAYERS Is Still Ours
/in Golf/by Sam KouvarisThis would seem to be a week all about golf here in North Florida. With The Players being contested at PGA Tour’s Stadium Course in Ponte Vedra, the best players in the world will be playing for the largest prize money total in golf, $15 million, with $2.7 million going to the winner. This week […]
Billy Donovan, Still Winning
/in College Basketball/by Sam KouvarisIt was about two-thirty in the morning of April 3, 2007 when Billy Donovan finally emerged from the Gators’ locker room in the bowels of the Georgia Dome. Just a few hours earlier Donovan’s Gators had beaten Ohio State for their second consecutive NCAA Basketball Championship. I had been in that locker room earlier, doing […]
Jake, Jax and Sports: A Perfect Match
/in Featured/by Sam KouvarisAll of Jake Godbold’s time in office happened before the Internet and cell phones. Despite that, he was more connected than most people, certainly politicians, are today. Connected to everybody. Not just people in his party. Not just to those who voted for him. Not just to his donors or his staff. Connected to everybody. […]
NASCAR and Fitness? Jimmie Johnson Changed That
/in NASCAR/by Sam KouvarisA few years ago my friend, racecar driver Scott Lagasse, Jr. from St. Augustine invited me to come along on his Champions Ride for Bicycle Safety, I like riding my bike, and although I was coming off knee surgery, I joined in with some of Scott’s high-profile friends from the racing community to try and […]