Chris Humpherys's NBA Basketball fan blog

The words of the prophets were written on the subway wall.  Or in this case, the Green Monster.  Walking out to leftfield every inning, Jason Bay had to see it.  As did every somber Red Sox fan who visited Fenway over the past two nights.  A constant reminder that their newest nemesis, the Tampa Bay Rays, were two games better than them.

The Green Monster in historic Fenway Park not only features the manually changed scoreboard on its façade, it also shows the regular season standings.  Tampa Bay 97-65.  Boston 95-67.  Two games back.  This season, the Rays won their first American League East title in franchise history.  It shows, for the last two games in Fenway are ones that Red Sox nation would rather forget.

Continue reading "Rays Write Red Sox Eulogy"

You know how that old urban legend goes?

Out of the blue, a woman feels a sharp pain in her left forearm.  Three thousand miles away, a brother she never knew she had slices his arm in a wood-cutting accident.  They simultaneously sense a connection and ultimately share a tearful reunion after discovering there’s a sibling out there they never knew they had.

The same is true in the world of college football.  Tommy Bowden, head coach of the Clemson Tigers, was fired today.  Or he stepped down, depending on which story you believe.  That means Tommy Tuberville, head coach of the Auburn Tigers, can’t be very far behind.

Continue reading "Separated At Birth; Clemson Fires bowden, Tuberville To Follow"

I got a call yesterday from an old friend who was in a bind.  He currently lives out west, but used to work with me here in Gainesville back in the day.  He called to tell me that he recently tried to renew his drivers license, but was flagged for failure to pay child support, even though he hasn’t legally been required to pay it for years.  His kid’s all grown up.  Glitch in the system.

Anyway, as he’s in Irvine, California, home of the Anteaters, and I’m in Gainesville, home of the one-loss Florida Gators, he needed someone to run to a local Department of Motor Vehicles - everybody’s favorite place to visit -  and pay a $47.50 fine for him so that he could reinstate his license.  Clearly a pain in the rear, but as I had nothing to do this afternoon but pretend the Florida-Ole Miss game never happened, I figured what the heck.  A friend in need is a friend DMV’ed.

Continue reading "Missed Extra Points and Sex Parties at the DMV; Just Another Day in Gainesville, Florida"

The following article will be published in the September issue of Campus Talk, a magazine distributed in Tampa, Orlando, Gainesville and Tallahassee. If you're a local, pick one up and increase their circulation. They also have lots of pictures of pretty girls for extra motivation.

October means pennant races are in full swing.  With playoff positions now set, we at Campus Talk thought we’d celebrate some of baseball’s more memorable post-season moments.

1932 – While many view the modern athlete as arrogant, Babe Ruth may have actually invented athletic braggadocio.  Baseball had never seen anything like Ruth.  He shattered nearly every record the game had ever known.  In the third game of the ’32 Series, Ruth allegedly ‘called his shot’ by pointing to the centerfield bleachers.  The very next pitch he slugged clean over the centerfield fence.

Continue reading "October Moments To Remember (in 750 words or less)"

The Daytona Beach Kennel Club and Poker Room recently built a brand new structure just down the road from the old one.  Gone is the old school track and seedy poker room.  The new and improved complex now sits at the intersection of I-95 and I-4 and features more tables, a cleaner card room, a much nicer dog track, more simulcast screens and a considerably nicer bar and dining area.

On a recent trip to Daytona, I had some time to kill so I figured I’d pay the new poker room a visit, check out the surroundings and hopefully take down a big pot or two in the process.  I’ve been having significantly better results at cash games than tournaments lately, so I opted for the $1-$2 no limit table.  Besides, the only sit-n-go they offered at the time was a $120 buy-in, six person tournament with prize money for first place only.  Not exactly the odds I was looking for.

Continue reading "Playing Two Pair With A Flush Draw On The Flop"

In my current quest to work as little as possible while also attending premier sporting events throughout Florida, I decided to withdraw a small portion of my dwindling bank account and scalp a ticket to the Monday night Red Sox-Rays game.  Despite having lived in Tampa, I had never been to Tropicana Field.  But let’s be honest, prior to this season, there was never really a good reason to go.  Since their inception, the Rays have never finished in anything other than last place in their division.

This year, however, the Rays have flipped the script.  For a good part of the season, they held the best record in baseball, an even more significant feat if you consider they’re doing so in the American League East.  Even Red Sox fans are impressed with the Rays’ mettle.  No matter how often Beantown would make an attempt to narrow the gap, the Rays consistently maintained a comfortable lead.

Continue reading "Rays Fans Are Baby Taunters!"

Since I’m Tampa for the weekend, dog-sitting for my folks, I decided it would be in my best interest to attend Friday night’s USF-Kansas game at the New Sombrero.  While my friends wanted to go to Sunday’s Bucs-Falcons contest, for some reason I had a feeling the Friday night college game would be a little more exciting of an atmosphere.  If you had the good fortune of watching this game, it’s safe to say I was right on the money.

As I plan to watch the Ohio State-USC game this weekend with two rabid Buckeye fans (is there any other kind), to support their cause, I thought I’d re-up my currently inactive (due to lack of funds) sports book account.  It’s not necessarily that I think the Beanie-less Buckeyes can, or will, win.  It’s just not that often that you see a +360 moneyline for the number 5 team in the nation.  I figure, if the Buckeyes lose, at least I can somewhat pretend to commiserate with my peeps.  And if they win, I’ll be able to buy them a scarlet cocktail or two to celebrate.

Continue reading "Confessions Of An Amateur Sports Bettor, Vol. 1: Kansas at USF"

As Week Three of the college football season approaches, athletic directors nationwide have blessed us with a delectable amount of non-conference football match-ups which give the keen observer an indication as to which conference boasts the best overall talent.  Non-conference play will reach it climax this Saturday night as Ohio State limps in to USC.  One of these two programs has played in five of the last six national championship games.  The vest against the best.  And although Beanie Wells isn’t (allegedly) 100%, could we really ask for anything more? 

And don't forget about a less heralded, non-conference match-up this Friday night that pits two, top-tier major conference teams against one another:  # 13 Kansas vs #19 South Florida.

Continue reading "What We've Learned From Non-Conference Play"

Miami.  The U.  The orange and green.  That silly pelican.

These images extract a nauseating reaction from Florida fans.  Although currently in rebuilding mode, Miami’s place in history as one of the most successful college football programs is undeniable.  Five national championships.  Countless impact players that have gone on to successful, if not Hall of Fame careers in the NFL:  Jim Kelly, Steve Walsh, Michael Irvin, Warren Sapp, Bernie Kosar, Vinny Testaverde, Ray Lewis, Santana Moss, Reggie Wayne, Clinton Portis and of course, Frank Gore.

Gator fans have a particularly ill relationship with ‘Canes fans… for perennially, we’ve been on the receiving end of the whoopin’.

Continue reading "More Hurrcanes To Attack Florida; Meyer The Best Levee"

On a day when Ohio State was leading its home opener 13-0 early and LSU led last year’s giant-killer Appalachian St by 31 points at halftime, it appeared at least early on that Hawaii would give the Florida Gators a fight.  Florida won the coin toss and deferred to give Hawaii the football to start the game.  The Rainbow Warriors then proceeded to drive down the field and take what seemed like a lot longer than three minutes off the clock before having to punt.  The Gators were unable to score on their first possession.

Florida's first quarter woes continued as they were once again unable to stop the Rainbow Warriors on their next possession.  That was until Ahmad Black ended a promising Hawaii drive with an interception in the end zone.  Twelve minutes into their season, the Gators had already committed five penalties and looked like they had plenty of kinks to work out on both sides of the ball.  Hawaii had controlled the ball for 8:46 of the first quarter, running 17 plays.

Continue reading "Gators Fi-Lei Rainbow Warriors; Prove Florida Is Hotter Than Hawaii"