"Ornery" FAU Defense Readies for 'Horns

As FAU prepares for its first real game since the New Orleans Bowl last Dec. 21, confidence is high that the Owls can go into Austin and give the Longhorns a tough game - not just on the scoreboard but in the trenches.

Coach Howard Schnellenberger is firm in his belief that the FAU defense, which often won the turnover battles last season, is even better and meaner in 2008.

Schnellenberger believes that a mean, tough defense can stifle a Texas offense that thrives on athleticism, not physicality. While it may be hard to fathom that a Sun Belt team is scheming to overpower a team from the BIG XII, that is the game plan Schnellenberger is sticking to - at least out loud.

"Once we step out on the field with Texas, the only ones who can help us is ourselves. Texas always has a very polished team that has great talent, but they aren’t tough, they aren’t a physically tough team."

FAU returns eight starters on defense, and Schnellenberger is counting on them as well as four experienced backups moving into starting roles to lay the wood on the Texas receivers.

"My defense will get to a point where they will be mean, nasty and ornery bastards and that’s what you need for Texas. Texas will move the ball with tit-for-tat, screens and options, but we’ll make them pay a price whenever they catch one of those dinky passes. We’ll put three hats on them and make them not want to get up, that’s the way to beat Texas."

Sounds like a plan to me.

Ready, Set, Practice!

Owls training camp begins Wednesday at 3:30 behind the Oxley Center. Heading into day one of practice, there are several major questions that face the Owls despite the fact that about 17 starters are returning from last year's championship squad. Among those questions:

1) Who will play tight end in place of the injured Jason Harmon? -- Rob Housler and Jamari Grant are candidates and will most likely split time. Grant has more experience but Housler may have the inside track for the starting job.

2) Will the defensive line be able to improve it's pass rush? -- Definitely. It couldn't be any worse than last year after half the line went down with season-ending injuries. It's a testament to the strength of the linebackers and defensive backs that the Owls were able to win 8 games with such poor QB pressure. The line improved as last year's fill-ins gained experience. This season should be a major improvement.

3) Who will play safety? -- Kris Bartels and Taheem Acevedo are gone. Who will take their spots? This is a major one that we'll have to keep an eye on throughout August.

4) Can Rusty Smith be as great as he was last year? -- I don't see why not. He had an unbelievable sophomore season, quite unexpectedly, after winning the preseason battle over Sean Clayton. Rusty now comes into 2008 as the undisputed starter and star of the offense, the Sun Belt, and the South Florida college football scene. Can he handle it? I think so.

5) Can the Owls keep their chip-on-the-shoulder swagger that made them so tough last year? -- Duh. Schnellenberger is the master of this type of motivation, especially with an August 30th date with Texas looming. The respect for Coach S in the Oxley Center borders on reverence. When he talks, everybody listens.

Mike Jarvis is the Right Hire for FAU

I'm not surprised that he was hired. The only shocker was that it took so long.

Mike Jarvis was the logical choice for a program that needs a big name coach to be taken seriously. Until the men's basketball team can consistently win more than they lose, splashy hires like this (and Matt Doherty in 2005) are necessary.

Hopefully Jarvis, in his senior citizenship and with high-profile jobs in the rear-view mirror will be comparable to Howard Schnellenberger on the football side. Maybe Jarvis is just old enough to be content at FAU, but still young enough to inspire winning play.

Schnellenberger has the formula down pat, and has built the football program into a winner. Jarvis enters with talented players, a renovated arena and a resume that demands respect. FAU has a bleak basketball history that provides the perfect canvas for Jarvis to paint his final coaching masterpiece.

Pay little attention to the negativity that surrounded his departure from St. John's several years back. It seems to have been an unfortunate blip in an otherwise upstanding (not to mention winning) career.

Signs indicate that Jarvis isn't taking this job as a retirement hobby. He has a clear-cut mission that will drive his competitiveness: He wants to become just the second coach to win 100 games at four D-I men's basketball programs.

So, while there is a risk that Jarvis' transgression at St. John's was a true insight into the kind of coach he really is, it is a risk that FAU needs to take in order to bring men's basketball up to the level of it's record-setting football team.

Here is a story about the official hiring.

Owls Not Dead Yet in Lafayette

After getting smushed in their opening game of the Sun Belt tourney, the baseballin' Owls rebounded to win two games: 12-7 over Middle Tennessee and 4-2 over #1 seed Louisiana Monroe.

The Owls now need to beat Western Kentucky (the team that beat them 9-0 in Wednesday's opener) twice today to advance to the championship game. Not easy. Not impossible either.

Senior catcher Alex Silversmith has been the offensive hero in the two wins. He has hit a big homer in each after not displaying much power prior to this in his FAU career - he hit just nine homers in four years.

Besides FAU and WKU, New Orleans and homestanding ULL remain in the hunt. Bracketologize here.

FIU Faces Probation Until 2012; Canes Are Thugs?

Results from the NCAA's annual progress report were released yesterday, and they revealed that 218 Division I teams, including FIU and FAU, face punishment for not meeting minimal student-athlete standards. In all, the FIU athletic program loses 20 1/3 scholarships over the next four years, with the fledgling football program losing 3 of them. FIU athletic director Pete Garcia basically blamed his predecessors, saying that when he arrived at FIU, the university just didn't have the educational and technical support to help its athletes make high academic marks.

I now go to the defensive crouch posture in reference to my alma mater, the University of Miami. I've had to hear Hurricanes football players called "thugs" (when detractors are feeling extra-courteous) for years. I've long maintained to the detractors (who have an astonishing reluctance to deploy or even listen to reason when it comes to the topic) that since Butch Davis' arrival in 1995, things have been squeaky clean in comparison to most other collegiate programs. Well, I've been vindicated. According to the same NCAA annual progress report, the Canes football team posted a score of 969, placing it in the top 20 percent of all teams. Check the number of academic All-Americans the football team has had in the past decade, and while you're at it check the number of arrests, too - it's an eye-opening and preconceptions-smashing experience. Hate the Canes if you must, but check the facts before you paint a huge number of really solid kids as "thugs".

Mike Jarvis Should be Next FAU Hoops Coach

The Florida Atlantic basketball program may end up snagging another big name in replacing departed coach Rex Walters.

Mike Jarvis, Boca Raton resident and former head coach at St. John's, George Washington and Boston University is said to be interested in the job. It would be natural for the Owls to reciprocate that interest.

FAU has been lucky at getting famous, if not infamous, coaches to lead the Owls' student-athletes.

Remember before Walters, the coach for a year was Matt Doherty, who is now coaching at Southern Methodist in Dallas. Doherty came to FAU a couple of years after being run out of North Carolina.

Howard Schnellenberger, for all the wonder, aura and majesty he brings from his days as a National and Super Bowl champion coach, also came to FAU after some rough times. After resurrecting Miami and bringing Louisville to national prominence, Schnelly took the job at Oklahoma. He only lasted a year before he was run out of town. Rumors swirled that he was drinking too much and recruiting to little, so the Sooners said so long. It wasn't long after that when he came to start FAU's program and ensure friends and fans that the Oklahoma disaster was a bump in an otherwise smooth and glorious career.

That brings me back to Jarvis. A celebrated and winning coach who left St. Johns a few years back amid threats of NCAA sanctions. It was the first time that Jarvis had ever been accused of wrongdoing, however it seemingly ended his coaching career.

Jarvis was inducted into the George Washington Sports Hall of Fame for what he did at that program (143-100). He didn't have a bad run at Boston U either (101-50). At St. Johns he was 110-61 before he was fired.

But he is getting up there in years, and nobody has toched this guy after the St. John's situation. Will FAU pass on a coach with nine NCAA tournament appearances, two trips to the Sweet Sixteen and one to the Elite Eight? Jarvis' overall record is 364-201! He is one of four Division I coaches to have won 100 games at three different colleges! FAU shouldn't stop him from making it four.

When the other candidates include Villanova assistant Pat Chambers, current assistant Mike Balado, and Georgia Southern head coach Jeff Price, I think it would be foolish for FAU not to give Jarvis the job.

Sun Belt Draftees Don't Include FAU

FAU seniors Josh Pinnick, Cerge Sincere and Taheem Acevedo have not heard their names called at the NFL's college player selection meeting - as expected. But a few Sun Belt guys have ...

Troy's Leodis McKelvin, a defensive back and kick return specialist, was taken by the Buffalo Bills with the 11th overall pick, tying a record for a Sun Belt player. Pro Bowl defensive end DeMarcus Ware was selected 11th in 2005 by the Dallas Cowboys.

McKelvin, a 2008 Senior Bowl attendee, returned seven career punts for touchdown at Troy. Over his final two seasons, he started all 25 games at left cornerback for the Trojans, recording 126 tackles (3.5 for losses), five forced fumbles, three interceptions and 16 pass breakups.

McKelvin ran a 4.38 40-yard dash during his workout at the NFL Combine.

Also: Arkansas State’s Tyrell Johnson was selected with the 12th pick in the second round (43rd overall selection). Johnson was the 2007 Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year. He finished his career as the Sun Belt Conference’s career leader in tackles.

Middle Tennessee DE Erik Walden was selected with the first pick in the sixth round (167th overall) by the Dallas Cowboys.

Seems like the Cowboys like to scout the Sun Belt. Maybe a couple of the FAU seniors will have a chance to latch on there as free agents ...

Just for the record, FAU defeated Troy, Middle Tennessee and Arkansas State this season.

The Owls still have never had a player drafted or even play in an NFL regular season game. That will all change in the next year or two, however.

Owls Try to Top WKU This Weekend

Sorry to steal the top spot from ASponge. Grading the Marlins is my favorite South Florida Fan feature. However, I need to relay some information to the growing number of Owls supporters that frequent this blog.

This weekend it's the FAU Owls and the WKU Hilltoppers in a Sun Belt series between two pretty evenly matched teams. FAU is in 3rd place and WKU is in 4th. ULM is running away with the leauge at 17-4 but the Owls and Tops are within striking distance of 2nd place Troy (12-6).

The Owls are 10-6 SBC, 23-16 overall
The Tops are 10-8 SBC, 23-17 overall

Tonight's pitching matchup is the Owls' embattled ace Mickey Storey (2-4, 6.80 ERA) against WKU lefthander Bart Carter (4-3, 5.79 ERA).

From the looks of the numbers on the offensive side for both teams and the high ERAs of both pitches, we could be in for another loooooooooooong one at FAU Stadium.

None of what you read was the important part ... this is: ON THE RADIO (well, computer): Steve Bishop and Jay Warman will have the call on fausports.com.

Yep, you read that right. I will be the color man on tonight's broadcast at 6:30. I have hardly any experience but figured I'd give it a try. How hard could it be? I'll probably regret those words.

A Strange Thursday in Boca

Some things to tell you:

1st: Tonight the FAU athletics people had a schmooze fest for the Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce at the site of the new football stadium. It was preceded by the football team's final spring scrimmage. After scrimmaging behind the Oxley Center, the team headed to the site of the stadium and held a bonfire and pep rally.

2nd: Brooke Hogan. Yes THAT Brooke Hogan, was at the scrimmage and the bonfire. Apparently she is considering attending FAU. I say let her in if the Hulk wants to make a nice donation towards the new stadium. Howard Schnellenberger Field at Hulk Hogan Stadium anyone? And we would always have someone good to sing the national anthem.

3rd: There was a press conference today at 3:30 and FAU baseball coach Kevin Cooney announced his retirement after 21 years on the job. He coached future big leaugers. He coached in regionals. He coached the Owls to a super regional, just one step away from the College World Series. He brought FAU baseball into Division I. He had a winning record in 18 of 20 seasons. This season will make 19 out of 21.

Associate Head Coach John McCormack is expected to succeed Cooney. Mac has been with the Blue Wave/Owls for 18 years.

FAU Spring Game Photos

If you weren't there ... it was a beautiful scene. Blue skies. Green, synthetic grass with little pieces of rubber beneath instead of dirt. A standing room only crowd of over 1,000. It was a real American day with the red, white and navy blue jerseys, the tailgate picnics and the festive atmosphere on the Boca Raton campus. The countdown to TEXAS has officially begun ...

Above, Rusty Smith winds up to fire a pass while LB Ted Czepiga leaps in his way. A RS senior, Czepiga played a great game, mostly on the second team. The half-built building in the background is the new student rec center, opening in August.

RB Charles Pierre carries the ball through a hole in the second team defense. WR Cortez Gent looks to throw a block on DB Erick McIntosh who is ready to make the tackle. Pierre had two rushing TDs in the game while E-Mac had his share of great plays too.

TE Jamari Grant shows off his impressive wing-span while blocking for K Warley Leroy. Erick McIntosh can't get around the edge in time. Grant played with the first team offense for most of the day after starter Jason Harmon was knocked out on the first play with a knee injury following a reception.

Photos by UP photographer Kelsey Hamilton.

FAU's Depth Apparent in Spring Game

One play ... one injury to one great player.

In the FAU spring game, star TE Jason Harmon was one and done with a knee injury. It didn't appear too serious but we shall see.

Later in the game DB Tavious Polo tackled an offensive player with his head. However, he was coherent and able to answer questions after the game.

As for that game ... The defense won, for what it's worth, as the offense couldn't score on a two minute drill at the end. The defense showed great depth and speed in throttling the high-powered FAU offense.

The usual stars were out as Frantz Joseph and Jervonte Jackson led the hard-hitting first team. Before he knocked himself out of the game, Polo had his customary interception.

But the spring game isn't about the stars, it's about hope for the future and unknown players making names for themselves. There were a few nice surprises on Saturday:

LB Ted Czepiga, a RS senior was great in for the second team. He even had an interception.

DB Erick McIntosh, E-Mac is BACK after lotsa injuries. The RS junior had a phenomenal game and was the most pleasant of surprises. He got his day started with a fumble recovery for a TD. He also had an interception and several pass break-ups.

RB Alfred Morris, A RS freshman fresh from the scout team played solid tailback in relief of DiIvory Edgecomb and Charles Pierre. Morris played with the first team and had a TD catch and a two-point conversion run.

As expected:

The D-Line is much, much better. Jervonte Jackson is the anchor but add in Robert St. Clair, a healthy Josh Savidge, a stronger Michael Hancock and a beastly Dino Cox and you have your self a hell of a line.

Rusty Smith to Cortez Gent. I write it all the time and it never gets old. Just enjoy it. Smith just knows where Gent is going to be before he gets there and seems to always put the ball on the numbers. When they screw up it is shocking because they are usually perfect.

The running game is solid. Pierre, Edgecomb, Morris, Jeff Blanchard and Xavier Stinson coming in. And don't forget about Willie Rose who runs, catches and blocks with the best.

There are still battles at many positions and some guys you may never have heard of are pushing the current starters. It is a good problem to have. This is the deepest and most talented team in Owls football history.

Don't know who these guys are? Check this out.

And follow the Owls all season long at upsports.blogspot.com

Sigh of Relief from Hurricane Baseball Nation

Jay had a nice recap below of what transpired in Boca Raton last night, but I want to let out an enormous sigh of relief on behalf of Hurricanes Baseball fans everywhere on account of the cardiac special served up by UM and FAU, as UM snatched victory from the jaws of defeat and vanquished the Owls, 12-10. FAU was actually in control for the most of the game (up 10-3 in the 5th inning) and it took a frantic comeback in the 9th with two outs and Miami down 10-9. UM wins the season series 2-1 (to say "barely" would be a monumental understatement).

My hat is off to FAU - fabulous hitters all and a gutsy group of players that embrace rather than shrink from the challenge of taking on the number #1 team in the land and punching them in the mouth. Fortunately, however, the Canes aren't much into shrinking from challenges either. The quality experience in the clutch from Jemile Weeks and Yonder Alonso were the difference in this game, and the reason that the Canes are 31-3 and blowing into Tallahassee with renewed fervor and confidence for an must-watch series with #2 FSU. It is games like last night's which test a team's character, and it cannot be said that Miami's character is wanting, and this baptism by fire courtesy of Florida Atlantic will prove to be invaluable heading into the postseason.

Alonso's Big Blast Beats FAU

Boca Raton -- As Yonder Alonso’s towering ninth inning homer sailed up and out of FAU Stadium, so did the Owls’ hopes of defeating top-ranked Miami for the second time in as many games.

The Hurricanes beat the Owls 12-10 in the deciding game of a three game series in front of an FAU near-record crowd of 2,348. After splitting the first two games in Coral Gables, Miami came back from a 10-3 deficit to beat FAU in Boca Raton.

“Pretty good game,” said FAU coach Kevin Cooney. “We were up by a bunch and couldn’t finish it off. A great relief pitcher got bitten.”

Freshman closer Glen Troyanowski entered with one out in the eighth inning to try to protect a 10-7 FAU lead. He escaped the eighth with the Owls lead at 10-9, but after recording two easy outs in the ninth, Jemile Weeks singled and Troyanowski fell behind the Hurricanes’ first baseman. He served up a 2-0 fastball and Alonso deposited it over the batting cages and into the forest behind the right field fence.

“I just got a good pitch,” said Alonso, who let the FAU fans seated along the right field line know that it was time to quiet down by bringing his finger to his lips as he rounded first base. As Alonso approached home plate he was engulfed in a celebratory mob of teammates.

“This time it was their day,” Cooney said.

The Owls let an early lead and a gutsy pitching performance by starter Adam Morrison go to waste. Morrison struck out four and gave up seven runs in five innings of work. But the Owls played some shoddy defense behind him and four relievers.

After a two out walk to Weeks in the fifth, Alonso hit a high pop into shallow left-center field. Four Owls converged on the ball but none caught it, as it plopped harmlessly onto the outfield grass.

In the eighth inning third baseman Troy Bubley, inserted for defensive purposes, had a routine ground ball get stuck in his jersey. The freakish error led to two Hurricanes runs, setting the stage for Alonso’s ninth inning blast.

“[Troyanowski] was one pitch from being the hero and now he’s the goat,” Cooney said.

The Owls got off to a torrid offensive start to open up a big lead against Miami starter Michael Rudman. FAU scored multiple runs in each of the first four innings. Shortstop Nick Arata was one of FAU’s offensive stars. He had three hits, including a two-run homerun, and scored three times. Catcher Alex Silversmith went 4-for-5 with an RBI.

The near-record crowd filled the stands behind home plate and the grassy berms along the baselines. There was believed to have been a bigger crowd when Miami visited FAU in 2001, but FAU didn’t start keeping official attendance figures until 2003.

The Hurricanes improved to 31-3 with the win as the Owls fell to 21-13. This weekend the Owls travel to New York for a four game series against New York Tech.

Hit the Road Rex

After pulling a similar shenanigan with little-known Mercer less than a month ago, this time FAU men's basketball coach Rex Walters really is gone. Mercer didn't up the ante or anything, the University of San Francisco has swooped in and acquired him. The lure was a $ 300,000 salary, slightly more than he made at FAU.

After writing the following passage on his blog on March 27, Walters is heading out of town:

"I am totally committed to getting this program to the highest level. One man can not do it alone. I will demand that my coaching staff and players out work the competition everyday that we put FAU across our chests. We truly need everyone's support to make this thing happen at FAU. A team and a basketball program is a very fragile one. I promise that everyday when I wake up my mind is on doing everything I can to get us there. I am not looking nor will I look to go somewhere else."

Walters will succeed the legendary Eddie Sutton at USF.

A very odd choice in my opinion. Especially since it has now been proven twice in the last two years that good Sun Belt coaches get SEC jobs. Alabama's and South Carolina's coaches are fresh from the Belt.

In two season's with the Owls, after succeeding the departed Matt Doherty (now at Southern Methodist in Dallas) as coach, Walters went 31-33 in two full seasons. His tenure was highlighted by a hot temper that led to many technical fouls and the nickname T-Rex. He suspended the team's two best players (Carlos Monroe and Paul Graham III) and had heated run-ins with nearly all others. He helped continue a trend of mediocre baskteball that Doherty started in 2005-06 but got students excited about FAU hoops. Walters fostered the men's bball team's move from the Atlantic Sun to the Sun Belt conference and won a first round playoff game in the conference tourney each year, both were against FIU.

Bye Rex.

FAU Spring Football Primer

As the Florida Gators play their spring game at The Swamp today in front of about 60,000 people and an ESPN audience, the FAU Owls are preparing for a spring game of their own, to be held at the FAU Track and Field complex on April 19. If 600 show up, it will be a standing room only crowd, as the T & F complex will only have a few of those metal bleacher stands set up on one sideline.

Despite the lack of big league facilities and hordes of fans, head coach Howard Schnellenberger has collected an amazing group of talented players that surprised everyone and won the Sun Belt Conference and New Orleans Bowl last season, just the Owls' seventh in existence.

In preparation for year 8, the Owls enter with their higest anticipation and expectations ever as 18 of last year's 22 starters return. A look at this years's team with last year's stats ...

The stars:
QB Rusty Smith, Jr. - Last year's SBC Player of the Year and NO Bowl MVP. Threw 32 TDs in 13 games with only 9 picks as a sophomore. 3688 total yards in HS's pro-style offense. Mel Kiper will know his name soon, if he doesn't already.
RB/KR DiIvory Edgecomb, Sr. - Mr. Dependable was also Mr. Versatile for the Owls. He collected 1761 total yards, including 1155 on kick returns.
RB Charles Pierre, Sr. - He runs for positive yardage and never fumbles. Not a flashy back, but a steady runner on an offense with enough speed and flash. 4.6 yards per carry, 60 per game.
FB Willie Rose, Jr. - Coach HS brough back the fullback in 2007. Rose was a key cog in the Owls' offensive machine. He most notably out ran the entire Troy secondary on a long TD run in the regular season's last game. 25 rushing yards per game, 20 recieving, great blocker, 8 TDs.
WR Cortez Gent, Jr. - Smith's favorite target, great speed and hands. 64 catches, 1084 yards, 9 TDs.
TE Jason Harmon, Sr. - The most spectacular FAU ofensive player, he became known for the Harmon Hop, where he leaps over defenders that go for low tackles. 63 catches, 825 yards, 5 TDs.
C Nick Paris, Sr., - The center is also the team clown and one of the most popular players. He also is a great center.
CB Corey Small, Sr. - Didn't get the fanfare that Polo got, but the reason Polo got all the picks was because opposing QBs stayed away from Small. Five interceptions.
CB Tavious Polo, So. - One of the fastest players on the team, Polo makes up for his techincal shortcomings with his blazing speed. A freshman All-American, he had seven interceptions.
DT Josh Savidge, Jr. - Missed most of last year with a knee injury, got a medical redshirt and will be back to anchor the FAU pass rush.
DT Jervonte Jackson, Sr. - Hunkered down and survived the season as the leader of an injury plagued D-Line. Had 28 tackles and two sacks.
LB Frantz Joseph, Sr. - The Boston College transfer is a star with the Owls and an NFL prospect. Led the team in tackles with 131. He also had 2 sacks and 3 picks.

The solid contributors:
K Warley Leroy, Sr. - 19/27 field goals, 44/46 extra points. He missed three field goals that cost the Owls a victory against USF but recovered to have a strong season.
WR Chris Bonner, Jr. - 25 catches, 420 yards, 3 TDs
WR Conshario Johnson, Jr.- 17 catches 163 yards, 2 TDs
The O-Line - When QB Smith has a great game he always brings his O-lineman (all eight of them that rotate) into the press conference with him. Paris and departed Jarrid Smith were last year's stars. This year the big men will be Paris Sr., Vinnie Henderson, Sr., Brandon Jackson, Sr., Lavoris Williams, So., David Matlock, Jr., John Rizzo, Sr., Kevin Miller, Jr., Ryan Wischnefski, So.
LB Andre Clark, Sr. - 68 tackles, 3 sacks.
DE Robert St. Clair, Sr. - 4 sacks, 7 tackles for loss.

The prospects:
WR Lester Jean, So. - Made some amazing plays in an inconsistent freshman season. 19 catches, 246 yards, TD.
LB Malik Eugene, So. - With depth at linebacker, Eugene played a lot of special teams. Still, he had 6 solo tackles.
WR/KR Avery Holley, So. - A small, but speedy wide receiver that was hurt in the season opening game against MTSU. He also plays point guard in the basketball team.
RB Xavier Stinson, Fr. - Heralded running back should put injuries behind him and fight for playing time.
LB Yourhighness Morgan, Fr. - Yes, that is his name. The funny thing is he may just have the talent to live up to it. His brother Handsome is also being recruited by the Owls.

Strengths: The offense that was a question mark coming into last season with an inexperienced QB in Smith and a glut of young, raw wide receivers like Gent comes into this season as a dynamic force to be reckoned with. On the defensive side the D-Line should be improved.

Weaknesses: The safeties and linebackers are question marks this spring. The Owls biggest loss was the graduation of both starting safeties and star linebacker Cergile Sincere. Frantz Joseph will anchor the linebackers but both safeties will be relative newbies.

I know I've left a few names out, but you get the idea. This team is primed for another SBC championship in 2008.

Stay Current at the FAU Sports Beat upsports.blogspot.com

FAU Takes Down #1 Miami!

Owls 6, Hurricanes 3

In baseball, anything can happen. Last night it did. Starting pitcher Mike Obradovich shut down the Miami offense and William Block of Nova High hit two jacks for the Owls.

With the win the Owls inched closer in the all-time series. It's now 21-4 Miami. We're getting better.

The Owls and Hurricanes are now an even 1-1 this year with the rubber game coming up next Wednesday night in Boca Raton.

I know that some of the loyal readers and contributors to The South Florida Fan are Palm Beach County residents as well as big baseball fans ... So I hope to see you at FAU Stadium (kind of a grand name for a 500 plastic seats and 2 berms) on Wednesday night at 6:30 for Owls-'Canes III.

The Boca Bureaucrats' Monkey Wrench

Thought the FAU Stadium plan was moving along quicker than normal and it just seemed too good to be true? Me too. We were wrong.

According to the Palm Beach Post the City of Boca Raton is dragging its feet on an I-95 interchange that was agreed upon between FAU and the city upon approval of stadium construction. You can read about it here.

Even if FAU gets past the city's qualms, they still have the problem of powering up the backside of campus. Nothing has ever been there that has required electricty. It was an army airfield before it was a burrowing owl sanctuary and there is no power source out there.

August 2010 is a long way off, but if interchange construction is as slow as highway and road construction, it might be a close call. Still hard to believe that the all-powerful-wizard-with-the- initials-HS-that-coaches-FAU-football would let a few sniveling city officials get in the way of his dream.

Owls Set to Face #1 Miami Tonight

Each season the FAU baseball team affords itself the opportunity to knock off some of the top teams in the country. The problem is that the Owls hardly ever do so.

This season the Owls (formerly known as the Blue Wave before a university-wide branding effort in 2005 that mandated that all teams become the "Owls") have been swept in a season-opening series by #4 North Carolina and lost 16-7 to Miami last week.

The Owls (18-11, 8-5 Sun Belt) are a pretty good team with a high-powered offense, led by right fielder Mike McKenna. A major hurdle that FAU never seems to be able to clear is obtaining shut-down pitching. High-powered arms are hard to come by at the Major League level, let alone the second tier of Division I college baseball. The best pitchers that don't go pro out of high school end up at places like UNC, Miami and Florida State. The Owls are left with high school all stars, like Mickey Storey of Deerfield Beach, that can survive in the Sun Belt Conference, but usually get bombed by some of the better teams.

To compound the issue, FAU saves its best starting pitching for weekend conference matchups.

The results? Not pretty. In 24 all-time games between the teams since FAU baseball turned D-I in 1994, Miami leads the series 21-3.

Hopefully the Owls can reverse the trend for once at Alex Rodriguez Whatever They Call it at Mark Light Stadium in Coral Gables at 7 p.m. The Hurricanes are ranked #1 for the first time since 2004.

Make Some Room for the Owls

I stumbled upon a link to The South Florida Fan Blog and figured that there would be some information on the FAU Owls ... FA who? That's where I come in.

Up here in Boca Raton we have a large state university with a burgeoning sports program. Florida Atlantic had the only college football team (coached by UM legend Howard Schnellenberger) in the state of Florida that won a bowl game (the New Orleans Bowl against Memphis) in 2007. We have a baseball team that has had 20 consecutive winning seasons. We have a basketball team coached by former Heatian Rex Walters. Our softball coach, Joan Joyce, has led the Lady Owls to 10 conference championships in 11 seasons.

True, our mascot is kinda lame. A burrowing owl isn't the most intimidating animal. It isn't the smartest either (kinda like your average FAU student). If you were a bird of flight, would you choose to make your home in the ground? Exactly.

Anyway, despite our financial and intellectual shortcomings, and lack of an on-campus football stadium (we have one in the works but play at Fort Lauderdale's Lockhart in the meantime), we are pretty damn good at sports.

Back to me. I am the sports editor at the University Press, FAU's student newspaper. I am one of the foremost experts in the world on all things sporting at FAU. My blog is called FAU Sports Beat and is located at upsports.blogspot.com. In addition to my own blog I will now be The South Florida Fan Blog's FAU sports guy and I may feel the need, from time to time, to opine on other matters.

So make some room for the Owls. Hoot.