Brad

KANSAN.com Wacker: New players + new schedule = same result for football team By Brian Wacker (Contact) Tuesday, April 25, 2006 Kerry Meier’s four-touchdown performance in the annual Spring Game was exciting, especially considering the Jayhawks had a grand total of 13 passing touchdowns all of last year. But before you start scraping your cash together for a plane ticket to the Fiesta Bowl, take a look at next year’s team and its schedule and you’ll probably come to the same conclusion I did: This is a team that will be lucky to break .500. The defense — and in particular, the rushing defense — was Kansas’ bread and butter last year. Led by Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year Nick Reid, the D allowed less than 1,000 yards of rushing and only eight rushing touchdowns in 12 games. It would have been even less than that had KU not played Texas, which gained 336 yards on the ground and scored four rushing touchdowns. But the anchors of that defense — Reid, Kevin Kane, Banks Floodman, Charlton Keith, Charles Gordon and Theo Baines — have all played their last games at Memorial Stadium. Without a returning starting linebacker or half of its secondary, it’s implausible to believe that Kansas will even come close to matching last season’s defensive output. Without its defense playing at such a high level, Kansas could have easily gone 2-9 last season. That’s because the offense was an embarrassment. Whether it was terrible play-calling and personnel decisions by the coaching staff or underachieving, not-talented-enough players, the Kansas offense consistently produced inconsistency. With the emergence of Meier as at least a serviceable quarterback, it looks like the offense will show improvement. But really, anything is an improvement, compared to last year’s musical chair act that played out behind center. The changes on offense and defense should ultimately result in a wash if Meier is able to live up the early hype. But the biggest reason Kansas won’t improve upon last season’s record is the schedule. First look at the non-conference schedule, which features early tests from big name teams. After two cupcakes against Northwestern State and Louisiana Monroe, the Jayhawks will go on the road to Toledo for a nationally-televised match up, against a team that won the GMAC Bowl (comparable to the Fort Worth Bowl) and that will already have been battle-tested by an opening game against fellow Big 12 North chum Iowa State. The following week, the Bulls of South Florida will storm into Lawrence. The Bulls lost to N.C. State in the Meineke Car Care Bowl on New Year’s Eve last season. But they are no strangers to playing tough non-conference games on the road. South Florida lost at Penn State by 10 points and at No. 9 Miami last season. Jayhawks fans will and should feel happy with a 3-1 record going into Big 12 Conference play, which won’t offer any free lunches next season. The Big 12 North’s stock is rising with Nebraska, which the Jayhawks face in Lincoln, bringing in its second top-rated recruiting class in a row and still glowing from its upset of Michigan in the Alamo Bowl. Did anyone really think the ’Huskers would stay down for long? Other tough tests will come at home against Colorado, which always plays Kansas well, Texas A&M, a team looking to prove itself legitimate after a disastrous 2005 season, and tough road games at Iowa State and Missouri, which will want to avenge three straight losses to Kansas. The remaining three games are at Baylor and at home against Oklahoma State and Kansas State. Those are games that Kansas should win, but as the Jayhawks proved against the Wildcats last season in Manhattan, the better team doesn’t always come out on top. My prediction is that Kansas will finish the season the season at 6-6, just enough to return to the Fort Worth Bowl and beat an equally average opponent from an inferior conference. Look, there are literally thousands of things that could happen between now and the beginning of football season that could change the way Jayhawk fans look at next year’s season. Nebraska quarterback Zak Taylor may go down with an injury. Missouri’s athletics department may decide to scrap funding for its football team to cover its legal bills. Nick Reid may find a discrepancy on his ARTS Form and discover he still has another year of eligibility. But right now, with the players that Kansas is bringing back and the tougher pre-conference schedule, it doesn’t look like Jayhawk football will be moving forward next season. It’s hard to when you’re stuck in neutral. Story Link

No, but to be as sarcastic, negative and insulting as you are about USF leads me to believe you are just here having fun and could not give a **** about USF. Your first dozen posts proved that.

turkeysoup is certainly not a Bulls fan, just someone that found this to be a good place to take cheap shots at USF and rile up people. Ignore him.

PITTSBURGH - A five-run eighth inning for the Panthers pushed them to an 11-9 victory at Trees Field on Sunday afternoon, winning the rubber game of the weekend to improve to 17-21 overall and 6-12 in the Big East. http://www.cstv.com/sports/m-basebl/stories/042306abo.html

Courtesy USF SID Office Grand Slam By Karns Gives USF A Split Of Saturday Doubleheader PITTSBURGH, Pa. (April 22, 2006) – A grand slam by pinch hitter Brad Karns led the University of South Florida baseball team (19-21, 8-9 BIG EAST) to 5-3 win in game two of a doubleheader versus the Pittsburgh Panthers (16-21, 5-12 BIG EAST) on Saturday, April 22 at Trees Field. Trailing 2-1 in the top of the ninth with the bases loaded, Karns crushed the first pitch he faced over the wall in left-center field to give the Bulls their first lead of the day versus the Panthers. Earlier in the day, USF dropped game one of the weekend series, 7-1. Karns, who registered his first-career grand slam, notched his first home run of the season. Joey Angelberger led all USF hitters, batting 2-for-3 with a run scored versus the Panthers. Relief pitcher Nick Manganaro earned his third win of the season, allowing one run on one hit while striking out one in one and two-thirds of action. Closer Chase Lirette picked up his sixth save of the season striking out one Panther batter in two-thirds of an inning pitched. Starter Daniel Thomas pitched a strong six and two-thirds innings, striking out nine batters. Down by two-runs, heading into the top of the ninth, USF loaded the bases with no outs. Freshman Gus Fernandez drew a walk to bring in the Bulls’ first run of the contest. During the next at-bat, Karns, who pinch hit for catcher Braulio Pardo, drove in four runs with one swing, giving USF the lead. 5-2. Pittsburgh scored a run in the bottom of the ninth, however Lirette came in a shut down the Pittsburgh, earning USF a split of the weekend series, 1-1. Earlier in the day, USF fell to Pittsburgh, 7-1. Freshman Addison Maruszak hit a team-best 2-for-3 against the Panthers. Junior Casey Hudspeth suffered his fifth loss of the season, striking out six batters in five innings pitched. USF will close out its series with the Pittsburgh Panthers on Sunday, April 23. With the series tied at 1-all, the game will mark the deciding contest of the series. First pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m. Pittsburgh Panthers 7, South Florida 1 (Apr 22, 2006 at Pittsburgh, PA) (Game 1) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- South Florida....... 000 000 001 - 1 4 3 (18-21, 7-9 BIG EAST) Pittsburgh Panthers. 102 021 100 - 7 12 2 (16-20, 5-11 BIG EAST) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Pitchers: South Florida - HUDSPETH; CASSIDY(6). Pittsburgh Panthers - MULDOWNEY,Bi; LANDIS(8). Win-MULDOWNEY,Bi(4-3) Loss-HUDSPETH(4-5) T-3:09 A-114 South Florida 5, Pittsburgh Panthers 3 (Apr 22, 2006 at Pittsburgh, PA) (Game 2) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- South Florida....... 000 000 005 0 - 5 6 1 (19-21, 8-9 BIG EAST) Pittsburgh Panthers. 100 000 101 X - 3 7 0 (16-21, 5-12 BIG EAST) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Pitchers: South Florida - THOMAS; MANGANARO(7); LIRETTE(9). Pittsburgh Panthers - BRANT; CICATELLO(8); BASSAGE(9); PARISE(9). Win-MANGANARO(3-2) Save-LIRETTE(6) Loss-BASSAGE(0-2) T-3:10 A-105 HR USF - KARNS (1). CICATELLO faced 2 batters in the 9th. BASSAGE faced 2 batters in the 9th.

Courtesy USF SID Office USF, Pittsburgh Baseball Game Rained Out PITTSBURGH, Pa. (April 21, 2006) – The game between the University of South Florida baseball team (18-20, 7-8 BIG EAST) and the Pittsburgh Panthers (15-20, 4-11 BIG EAST) has been postponed due to severe thunderstorms. The three-game series will be rescheduled to begin on Saturday, April 22 at noon. Both teams will attempt to play two nine-inning contests on Saturday. Both games can be view via GameTracker on Pittsburgh’s official site www.pittsburghpanthers.com.

This lame duck is still quacking... Get with the program boys...

Not to start an argument, but in going through the 1000+ pics of the game, it sure seemed Matt got lost behind the size of the line...maybe it was MikeGs camera angle when Matt had the ball, but he looked small....

It's set to depart shortly...

Courtesy USF SID Office USF Bulls (18-20, 7-8 BIG EAST) vs. Pittsburgh Panthers (15-20, 4-11 BIG EAST) Date: April 21-23 Location: Trees Field (500), Pittsburgh, Pa. Television: N/A Radio: N/A  Record: USF improved to 18-20 following a 6-4 win over UCF on Tuesday Rankings: N/A Live Stats: GameTracker - www.pittsburghpanthers.com The Series: Friday’s contest versus the Panthers will mark the first-ever meeting between USF and Pittsburgh. Projected Starters Game No. 39 - Friday, April 21 - 7 p.m. USF - No. 10 Casey Hudspeth, junior, RHP (4-4, 4.67 ERA, 68 K) Pittsburgh - No. 19 Billy Muldowney, junior, RHP (3-3, 3.58 ERA, 62 K) Game No. 40 - Saturday, April 22 - 3 p.m. USF - No. 26 Daniel Thomas, sophomore, RHP (2-4, 4.82 ERA, 43 K) Pittsburgh - No. 6 Rob Brant, sophomore, LHP (3-5, 4.25 ERA, 55 K) Game No. 41 - Sunday, April 23 - Noon USF - No. 31 Davis Bilardello, sophomore, LHP (1-3, 4.36 ERA, 36 K) Pittsburgh - No. 34 Paul Nardozzi, junior, RHP (4-5, 3.64 ERA, 55 K) USF Hits The Road To Face First-Time Foe Pittsburgh In BIG EAST Action TAMPA, Fla. (April 20, 2006) – The University of South Florida baseball team (18-20, 7-8 BIG EAST) hits the road to take on the Pittsburgh Panthers (15-20, 4-11 BIG EAST) in a three-game series at Trees Field beginning April 21 at 7 p.m. The Bulls, coming off a mid-week victory (6-4) over instate rival UCF on Tuesday, will be facing the Panthers for the first time. Having won two of its last three BIG EAST contests, USF will look to continue to climb in the conference standings during this weekend’s three-game set. The Bulls enter this weekend’s series batting .285 with 11 long balls and 181 RBI. As he has all season, senior Kris Howell leads USF with a .352 batting average. The Tierra Verde, Fla., native has driven in 17 runs and crossed home plate 24 times. Brian Baisley is second on the team in batting average, hitting .326 with two home runs and 18 RBI. Junior Ty Taborelli is coming off a solid performance at UCF (3-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored) and is hitting .288 15 RBI and 23 runs scored. USF’s pitching staff comes into Friday’s game with a 4.62 ERA, having struck out 313 batters in 350 and two-thirds inning of action. Junior Casey Hudspeth will take the mound for the Bulls on Friday. The Sarasota, Fla., native leads the BIG EAST with 68 strikeouts. Hudspeth, who has registered a 4.67 ERA in 2006, is looking to earn his fifth win of the season. Sophomore Daniel Thomas is scheduled to get the start on Saturday. Thomas holds a 2-4 record with a 4.82 ERA in 2006. The Tampa native has struck out 43 batters in 56 innings pitched. On Sunday, sophomore Davis Bilardello is slated to get the start for the Bulls. Bilardello, who comes into the weekend with 36 strikeouts, is looking to win his second game of the season.

Thanks LakeBull, like you, BullDoug has contributed to the site...

Who's Moffett?

jumping ship....running them off.... hmmm... We criticize that no one EVER loses a job at USF, then we "run someone off" (even though he resigned) and it is a bad sign... I'll keep in mind this direct correlation the next time an assistant at another program leaves, it'll be a sure sign that the program is in trouble...

We're the Regis Philbin of the  Big East Courtesy of USF SID Office USF GOLF SET TO HOST BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIPS AT LAKE JOVITA WOMEN EARN NO. 2 SEED, MEN SEEDED FIFTH IN 54-HOLE EVENT TAMPA, Fla. – The University of South Florida men’s and women’s golf teams are set to host the 2006 BIG EAST Championships, which begin Sunday with practice round action at Lake Jovita Golf & Country Club in Dade City, Fla. A total of 12 men’s teams and seven women’s squads will compete in the 54-hole event.  Each of the programs will play 36 holes of golf on Monday before concluding action Tuesday with a final round of 18 holes. “Lake Jovita is an excellent venue,” head USF men’s coach Jim Fee said.  “The course will provide a true test for the entire field as we compete for a league championship.” The USF women earned the No. 2 seed in the event while the men claimed the No. 5 seed.  Under the direction of head coach Susan Holt, the USF women are currently ranked No. 53 in the nation by GolfStat.com.  USF’s lineup will feature sophomore Christina Jones, freshman Gennifer Mendez, junior Daniella Ronderos, junior Jessica Buchta and senior Fernanda Rivera.  Jones owns a pair of medalist honors on the season and is tops on the roster in season stroke average. “We may be the second seed, but we had the best Spring of any team in the conference and feel like we have momentum on our side,” Holt said.  “We want to make a statement in our first year in the BIG EAST and bring home a victory for USF.  It’s not where you start (No. 2 seed), but where you finish.” The men’s lineup is led by sophomore Tyler Hitchcock, whose season stroke average of 73.93 places him 10th among all competitors in the conference championship.  Rounding out the lineup for the Bulls are junior Kevin Tilbury, junior Justin Fetcho, senior Chris Black and freshman Brandon Lee.  USF owns eight top-10 finishes on the season, including the team title at the Sam Hall Intercollegiate. “Following a great fall season, our expectation is to bring it all together this weekend,” Fee said.  “The team that stays relaxed and focused during the long 36-hole day will have an advantage over the rest of the field.  We know what it takes to win and are up for the challenge.” Lake Jovita is a nice track...almost bought a house there a few years ago...

Good things to do when bored during the offseason: 1) Create conversation by stating a mature opinion on a team, player, etc. Post some information about how former Bulls are doing elsewhere, etc. 2) Speculate on 2006 performance 3) Provide ideas that would improve the Bulls experience 4) Comment on Bulls upcoming opponents 5) Re-ignite the OCS debate 6) Be a courteous board member Bad things to do when bored during the offseason: 1) Bring to life old posts with no real value to others than to re-affirm your belief a player was good. 2) Start unsubstantiated rumors about a student-athlete 3) Post plugs for pay sites, or other for profit enterprises 4) Pollute the board with attempts at witty one-liners on every thread* 5) Insult our school, teams, players, coaches and admins 6) Pick a fight with another member * perfectly fine behavior in the Mad Cow Lounge

Thanks Josh..we're fine...I just don't want any oneupsmanship here between Rivals and Scout. Everyone knows where to go to pay for Bulls information and whatnot. I think it is a valid thread in that just like your message board thread it allows for SPECULATION. Whomever the new fellow is that started the thread somehow translated speculation into fact, and that is why it is smart to get all facts before a kneejerk reaction. Good lesson learned today. And Josh, you should be flattered. As the Dolphins fan intimated - if Josh said it, it must be true!! ;D (Too bad - and a good thing - you didn't say it though!!)

No Bulldoug, if you pulled it out...you need to use it..

Everyone knows Hill is having academic struggles...even those that just read the USF releases and blogs...he's been missing a lot of practice for that very reason... there is no story. And please don't start that plugging for pay sites stuff here. No one will sign up to chase down a message board rumor.

but did you get your taxes in on time? **** bloggers always one step ahead of us old fashioned message board types...

trying to be nice...

With all due respect to those who have already done so, can we hold off on bashing our own players?

Quick, someone consult the Magic 8 ball...where's ChiTown?

Courtesy USF SID Office USF’S DIRECTOR OF BASKETBALL OPERATIONS ANNOUNCES RESIGNATION SCOTT THOMPSON ARRIVED AT USF PRIOR TO 2003-04 SEASON Tampa, Fla. – Scott Thompson, the Director of Men’s Basketball Operations at the University of South Florida, has announced his resignation, head coach Robert McCullum announced Thursday. Thompson’s resignation is effective immediately and a search for a successor will begin in the near future. “We greatly appreciate Scott’s hard work and dedication to the USF men’s basketball program over the course of the past three years,” McCullum said.  “We all wish he and his family the best of luck in their future endeavors.” Thompson recently completed his third year with the program, having arrived with McCullum prior to the start of the 2003-04 campaign.  His responsibilities included team travel, film exchange, equipment inventory, supervision of the team’s managerial staff and academic monitoring.  A native of Rienzi, Miss., Thompson previously worked with the men’s basketball program at his alma mater, Ole Miss, where he lettered in both cross country and track. “"I want to thank coach McCullum for the opportunity he gave me three years ago” Thompson said.  “I have the utmost respect for who he is as a coach and a man. I will forever be indebted to him for how he has molded me in the coaching profession and how he and his wife welcomed Ashley and myself into their family. "After several days of prayer and discussion with my family, I felt that stepping down was best for myself and the team,” Thompson added.  "I will always cherish the relationships with players, coaches, administration and boosters that were formed during my time at USF."

Well, let's not get crazy just yet. It was posted by someone who just joined the board this morning. Josh has been online today and emailing me this morning, not a peep about this. I think we may be looking at speculation...not that it is not possible, but let's not get too crazy until there is something official. Then we can all start forming our cement boots. Besides, we need a calm before the smazza-storm that will erupt whether or not it happens...

Allow me to clarify, he clearly is correct. I do not mean a slap that is not well supported...We are going to take these slaps in articles until we build our base. It ought to motivate Bulls fans to help build the fan base and not just complain. I'd love us to be the Big East example of how to fill an NFL stadium. But until everyone associated with the program (fans included) get involved in selling our program we will continue to be looked at in this light.