Before his team's Class 6A-District 8 boys basketball tournament game Friday, first-year Plant City coach Dale Chambers was told the program hadn't advanced to a district championship game since 1993. ...more

February 9, 2008

Top-seeded Keswick Christian held Bradenton St. Stephen's to five second-half points en route to a 67-20 win Friday night. ...more

February 2, 2008

The Andre Roy reunion tour rolled into Canada's capital Saturday night for the second game of a two-game road trip against both of his former teams. ...more

January 20, 2008

SEBRING — The Highlands County commissioners appear likely to appoint a citizens advisory committee that will advise them on whether to raise or lower impact fees. Commissioner Don Bates brought the idea up for discussion for the first time at the commissioners' Tuesday meeting. No action was taken, but the five county commissioners agreed to discuss it again at their next meeting, Jan. 22. ...more

January 16, 2008

LAKE PLACID — After coming back from the Christmas break with a disappointing effort in an 18-point loss to Mulberry, the Lake Placid boys basketball team bounced back with a convincing 78-45 win over Moore Haven on Thursday night. Senior forward Conlin Veley led the way with a game-high 23 points to go along with nine rebounds as the Class 3A Green Dragons improved to 7-8 on the season. "This was a nice win for us," said Veley. "We played a lot better as a team after not playing very well at Mulberry on Tuesday. We got the ball down the floor, hit some outside shots and didn't make a lot of mental mistakes. "We need to play smart and together because the district race is wide open, and we still have a chance to make this a good season." Lake Placid came out strong in the opening minutes as K.J. Delbert scored four of his 11 points, Marcus Waugh netted four and Veley added nine — including a 3-pointer — as the Green Dragons jumped out to a 17-11 lead heading into the second stanza. ...more

January 12, 2008

GIRLS BASKETBALL Nature Coast finds itself on the wrong end of a running clock against St. Pete Catholic, 61-28. ...more

January 7, 2008

The Nature Coast Technical Lady Sharks are used to games ending under a running clock. They just aren't accustomed to being on the receiving end of the mercy rule. ...more

January 7, 2008

Talk about your trap games. With two games still to be played in the regular season, the Bucs have already wrapped up their division title and secured a playoff berth. Throw in the fact that Christmas is two days away and there's potential here for the Bucs to take the weekend off mentally. Nothing would be worse. The Bucs still have an outside chance at securing the NFC's third seed in the playoffs, so it's important they play this game like any other because there's plenty to be lost here. The goal now is to build momentum heading into the playoffs and improve the areas in which the Bucs have been substandard the past few weeks. Above all the Bucs must avoid falling into a slump, and if they play to win and play as if their opponent is one of the best the league has to offer, they should be able to do that. ...more

December 22, 2007

Sheriff's Helicopter Serves Vital Function In response to the letter to the editor on Dec. 13 entitled, "Helicopter Policy Up In The Air," I do not know if the sheriff dispatches the helicopters unnecessarily; but many years ago, a young woman was taken from a Hernando County convenience store to the wetland woods west of U.S. 19, tied to a tree, assaulted and killed. ...more

December 20, 2007

AVON PARK –– Carelessness with the ball, as in 30 turnovers, proved too much to overcome for Avon Park in Saturday night's 56-47 loss to Okeechobee in boys basketball. The Red Devils, who were coming off a disappointing district loss to DeSoto on Friday night, got a game-high 19 points by sophomore center Cleveland Nobles, but the lack of an outside shooting threat hurt Avon Park in the second half. The loss dropped the Class 4A Red Devils to 0-6. "It's real frustrating because we've played well enough to win, but we haven't been able to finish games," Nobles said. "We were a little tired after Friday night, but that's not an excuse. "We just have to keep our heads up and fight our way through it and keep working to become a better team." ...more

December 10, 2007