Putting for Par

To be fair, I rarely give myself the opportunity to putt for par, but hacking up the local links has quickly become a regular activity for me during my slow slow slow slow slow slow slow knee surgery rehab.

Watching the stunning scenery and gold being played in Northern Ireland on TV this weekend makes my local par-3 municipal course seem a little anticlimactic, but reality shows this small green oasis in suburban St. Petersburg proves to be a well-kept testimate to horrid golfing by the elderly, children, and yours truly.

I suppose there comes a time in every man’s life when he reaches a certain age and looks forward to golfing. Just thought mine would be a little later in life, but when the football door (proper football that is, where I use my feet and play for 90 minutes), the golf door may open.

 

Two rounds today recorded my worst and my best (still your worst) rounds since the great golf awakening of the summer of 2019.

What really excites me is the prospect of some proper golf weather in the upcoming fall and winter; none of this retiree-summertime-muggier-than-a-pigs-fart kind of weather. And by “proper golf weather”, I mean the type of weather our forefathers played through; blustery, but not freezing; wet, buy not monsoon; weather fit for the Scottish golf gods of yore. Nothing a fleece sweater or tweed jacket can’t deter.

I purchased a summer membership to St. Petersburg golf courses and will master this one before conquering the rest before October 31, when the membership ends. Lookout for divots at a course near you.

(Baseball) Ground Hopping I: Crescent Lake

Beneath the shadow of the iconic Crescent Lake water tower, tucked in an obscure corner of Crescent Lake Park, lies a surprisingly historic ground that predates all of the city’s contemporary sports venues.

Built one year prior to the aforementioned water tower in 1925, it remains a living museum to the city’s sports history which is surrounded by baseball lore and wonder for nearly 100 years, despite not gaining a major league team itself until 1998.

Huggins-Stengel Field – formerly known as Crescent Lake Field – is largely unchanged since the days played on by legends such as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Mickey Mantle. They New York Yankees called the field its springtime home from 1925 through 1961 before moving on to more southern pastures in Ft. Lauderdale. From 1962 through 1987, the New York Mets became the ground’s perennial visitors before the Baltimore Orioles took over in 1992 through 1995. Yes, major league tenants used this quaint facility hidden in a residential neighborhood until 1995. How the game has changed.

But what hasn’t changed is the ground itself; little is improved or been altered since the departure of legends and professionals. The field is more-or-less the same field used throughout the century and the facilities – if you want to call them that – still remain, only they have a new purpose: to house the city-run TASCO or the Teens Arts, Sports and Cultural Opportunities program which call the former field facilities home. The filed is now occasionally used for the off high school or collegiate match or practice, but is still maintained with superior quality for its occasional use.

The field dimensions also remain unchanged and still feature the absurd and grandiose 430 foot right field line. To put that into perspective, the deepest part of Tropicana Field, home of the local Tampa Bay Rays, is only 404 feet.

With never any real grandstands, the only seating currently available are two metal bleacher banks underneath the trademark blue canopy used by all St. Petersburg parks where seating is concerned. The only other relief from the sun is the shadow cast by the 500,000 gallon-capacity water tower that looms overhead, or in my case, a grey summer’s day.

Situated at the entrance to the TASCO offices are two plaques commemorating the men for which the ground is named.

Legend says only Babe Ruth and Micky Mantel are the only players who ere able to hit the ball into the adjacent Crescent Lake, which lies more than 500 feet from home plate.

 

Hristov Nears Milestone in Rowdies’ Dominant Win

Don’t mention it to him when you see him, but Georgi Hristov is on the verge of becoming the all-time Tampa Bay scoring leader, scoring his 55th goal in Tampa Bay’s 2-0 win over Bethlehem Steel Saturday night. Hristov is two goals

 

shy of breaking the record of 57 goals in a Rowdies shirt,

which is held by Derek Smethurst, who has held the record since 1978.

“I don’t really think that way, because then I create pressure for myself,” Hristov said. “That’s not the way I want to move forward. I just try to do whatever I can and do my best. If I think about it, it just creates pressure.”

Hristov found himself in the right place to score the opening goal of the match in the second half. Midfielder Jack Blake sent in a well-placed free kick that was met with Hristov’s head and floated over Bethlehem’s John McCarthy in goal.

“It was a good goal. I knew it would be a good goal. When your’e in the box, you try to be in the right place at the right time. I was just smarter than the defender, so I’m happy I was there.

 

The goal was a dauntless response to the controversial call in the first half that disallowed a valid goal scored by the Rowdies

“Honestly, the referee has got to do a little bit better, Hristov said. “They have to step up a little bit. Obviously they didn’t want to call it off, I know it’s not something they wanted to do but it doesn’t matter. This is professional sports and I play for my family; I want to win games and it’s important

 

for us.”

Hristov’s scoring prowess came among a comprehensive victory for Tampa Bay in front of more than 7,300 fans in the seasons’ home opener. Leo Ferndandes scored the second goal of the match, and his second in as many starts, while Cody Mizell made his

triumphant return to Al Lang for the Rowdies on an outstanding performance, making four crucial saves.

“I thought it was a real good performance from the first minute, really,” head coach Stuart Campbell said. “I thought we defended really well as a team and attacked really, really well as a team and created multiple chances.”

Tampa Bay has remained undefeated with two victories in the young 2018 season, which gives Campbell a lot to work with in the coming weeks.

“It’s absolutely crucial. we were away for the first game so  it was a good performance and a great result getting you first win of the season away and then coming home to this crowd is amazing. I though the atmosphere was brilliant.”

The Rowdies travel to Louisville next week to take on the undefeated Louis

ville City FC. LCFC earned a 2-0 win of Nashville in their opening match of the season, but did not play last week against as their match against North Carolina was postponed.

Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 31.

Rowdies Ready for Home Opener

Tampa Bay‘s season ended on a sour note last year with an extra-time loss in the conference semi-finals. Despite all the expectations, the club was left wanting more after bowing out of the United Soccer League’s Eastern Conference Semi Finals, but this year has all the makings of another serious contention for the top spot.

Youth  and speed is the theme this year, according to head coach Stuart Campbell. This is a stark contrast from previous years where the Rowdies relied on experience and expertise of veterans to the game, but changes were made this season.

Yes, changes, though the Brits are ones to be keen on change (although, Campbell is a proud Scotsman), but the captain of the helm is excited for the new challenge.

“We had a good season last year, but one of the things we reflected on is we wanted to go a little bit younger this year and try to introduce some more speed to the team and I think we definitely done that in the off season,” Campbell said.

Youth and speed; combine that with a deep core of last year’s squad with still features the veteran leadership of Joe Cole, the scoring prowess of Georgi Hristov, and the rock of our defensive line up, Neill Collins, the Rowdies are expected to thrive (again) this year.

“Sky’s the limit for this group.  I know every one of these players is hungry to win this year,” Campbell said.

Cole is also excited to be a part of the Rowdies for his third season. The three-time Premier League champion is confident the club will make an impact on the league’s season and says winning a USL title would “mean the world” to him.

“We’re really excited about the season,” Cole said. “I think the recruitment has been very good this year. We’ve identified where we want to strengthen gone out and got a lot of good young American players – which is very important over here, they know what the league s about – So we set the bar high this year.”

Offense will be a key component this season, which is expected to be explosive with the key additions of goal scorers like Jack Blake and Jochen Graf.

“We scored a lot of goals last year,” Cole said. “The communication is good, the movement is good, I think we can  score a lot of goals this year.”

The Rowdies opened up the 2018 season with a 4-1 win on the road last week. They will look to build on that win in tomorrow’s home opener at Al Lang against a strengthened Bethlehem Steel side. Kick off is at 7:30

 

 

Here Lies the 2017 Season

There is rarely a bigger disappointment, but sport is full of disappointments.

The Tampa Bay Rowdies fell just short of continuing their season on Saturday night after falling to the New York Red Bulls II in the Eastern Conference semi-finals in the United Soccer League playoffs.

I feel like writing I’m writing an obituary: Here lies the 2017 season, cut down far too soon. There was mourning in the stadium, attempts at consolations from fans to players, but it rarely does any good.

It’s always the toughest to talk to a coach or player after a loss as a reporter, but a season ending loss just feels cruel. There are only so many ways to ask a man about his emotions when he’s choking back the tears before you just sound like a jerk trying to evoke a sobbing answer.

“It’s disappointing that we didn’t get the win we deserved,” Rowdies head coach Stuart Campbell said. “Without a shadow of a doubt” Campbell said he believed his team deserved to win that match. “They don’t deserve to be on that end of the result.”

It is difficult to pin any blame on one moment or one person on Saturday. Tampa Bay took the lead quickly in the first half with a goal from Georgi Hristov, but New York was able to equalize with a penalty.

“I can’t fault the players performance or effort. I can’t fault them for that,” Campbell said. “They give absolutely everything.”

Campbell sent out a tried and true lineup Saturday night, unchanged in three consecutive matches. It was an easy decision as that lineup outscored opponents 5-0 in the previous two games. Campbell sent out all the firepower he had at his fingertips in the added 30 minutes of overtime, but New York was able to score a second goal in the early minutes of the extra period. That line up also tallied 23 shots that night.

The remainder of the extra time was an onslaught of pressure by Tampa Bay but additions such as Martin Paterson and Alex Morrell were unable to help find the second goal.

“At the moment, it’s just disappointment,” Rowdies captain Joe Cole said. “Disappointment for the fans, disappointment for the players, the staff, the owner. This is football sometimes. You don’t always get what you deserve.”

If you polled the fans after the loss, they would place the blame on the officiating. The referee became the star of the show for a brief stretch, making some questionable decisions, and resulted in seven yellows for the Rowdies, but professionals are taught to look past that; to play past that.

“That’s part of professional soccer,” Campbell said.

If you asked New York, they would probably tell you they outplayed the Rowdies, whom they previously beat 4-2 earlier in the season as well, but the real culprit for the Rowdies’ loss can be placed on the New York goalkeeper and his lucky stars.

“Their goalkeeper made some unbelievable saves,” Campbell said. You have to give that goalkeeper credit. He made three or four world-class saves tonight.”

That keeper, who I am intentionally remaining nameless, could also thank his cross bar and goal posts for saving two Tampa Bay goals that night, and a defender who made a diving goal-line clearance with his head.

“Their keeper was the best player on the pitch,” Cole said.  “But I don’t want to make excuses. It’s fresh now, and it’s raw, but we’ll review it in a few days and see the progress of the team, but right now, it’s just disappointment.”

Ending the season is just the beginning. Like disappointment, uncertainty is rampant in sport. In the case of the USL, it involves uncertainty for players and staff. Several players will be leaving the club after this year. Some know it, and some don’t. There is no promise coach Campbell will stay. There no promise anyone will stay. Except for one.

“I’m going to be back next season, and I’m really looking forward to that” Cole said.

It will be tough to see many leave. The last match is a lot like the last day of school. Try to say goodbye, say you’ll stay in touch, but no one was in the mood for goodbyes Saturday. No one was thinking about the future. The future wasn’t important. Saturday night was a time to grieve.

As Joe Cole said, we’ll review the season in three days’ time. Now it is time to look ahead. Look at the progress the team made on and off the field. Look at attendance, look at the success, and look towards December. December will be the time when Major League Soccer announces two team to join the league in the future. But that future is still uncertain. As for now, we should applaud the players for their efforts and look towards next year. Season starts in March.

Perfection

Matt Pickens earned his 10th clean sheet of the season Saturday while Marcel Schafer scored two goals in the Rowdies 3-0 routing of Cincinnati in Tampa Bay’s first playoff match since winning the North American Soccer League’s Soccer Bowl in 2012.

Alright, I’ll admit it. I wasn’t able to actually go to the match on Saturday. Fourth match I’ve missed since 2010; second this season. But while my band was entertaining 10’s of people in a small venue in Tampa, I watched the Rowdies play one of their most cohesive wins since Stu Campbell has taken the over at the helm in 2015.

Campbell has always had a plan, and likes to stick to it. He’s also got a knack for keeping his team motivated after difficult first halves. Of Tampa Bay’s 50 goals scored in the USL season this year, 25 of them came after the mid-match break. He’s not one to divulge locker room talks or atmospheres behind close doors, but his success is evident both his skill as a coach and tactical talent.

It may have taken Campbell some time to get the personnel he was in search of on the field, but his line ups became consistently productive with the addition of Martin Paterson and break out performances by Alex Morrell, and veteran leadership of Georgi Hristov, Marcel Schafer, and Joe Cole.

The addition of Sebastian Guenzatti in Saturday’s line up and the shear consistency of the defense, despite losing Damian Lowe earlier this year, has been divine grace of goal-stopping power.

This season has become the most successful season for Tampa Bay since Campbell played on the pitch himself, but now in charge on the sidelines, does he have what it takes to bring the team to the top?

Campbell has flaunted his ability to mix up not only line ups but tactics as well. His 4-3-3 formation, which he experimented with midway through the season, was successfully employed in big wins in Cincinnati, kicking off a five-match unbeaten run through July to August.

Saturday’s match was variation of that, with Hristov and Walter Restrepo on the flanks while Guenzatti took his place up at the top. Joe Cole played behind the striker to add offensive prowess, while Schafer and Martin Vigaard played in tandem in the middle, giving Schafer the freedom to do what he does best.

Campbell is well aware of the caliber of players he has at his disposal. He’s had the luxury to take time to adjust roles, giving him many options in his back pocket. His experience as a captain and caretaker boss at Bristol Rovers combined with his experience gained in Tampa Bay should instill confidence in every Rowdies fan and player ahead of next week’s match up against defending champions, New York.

 

 

Playoff Bound

Marcel Schafer looks for one of those assists he loves so much. He got one on Wednesday night, as well as two goals of his own.

God lied. He said he’d never flood the Earth again. But there was a second flood …. of goals … from the Rowdies Wednesday night. Pair off everyone.

Marcel Schafer seemed to want to make it to the playoffs more than anybody and scored his fourth and fifth goals of the season, his first two goals scored at home.

The first goal, as pleasing as it was, is easy to forget. His second goal, rendered me longing for a cold shower and a cigarette.

But as humble as he is, Schafer would have rather not scored it.

“Normally I’m the player that wants to assist my teammates,” Schafer said. “It means more for me than when I score, to cross the ball and assist the team. In this situation, I didn’t see anyone and in Germany you say ‘I take my heart into my hands’ and shot.”

But deep down, he knows he’s great.

“Maybe it is dangerous to give me too much space,” Schafer said. “It was a really great goal, I think.”

“Great” is an understatement. The goal, which ended up being the game winner in a 3-2 victory for Tampa Bay, looked to come out of a German military experiment that went really, really right.

Schafer’s left foot works with the precision of a Mercedes and the power of a German weight lifter named Helga. And coming from 20 yards out, zipped by goalkeeper Rafael Diaz who probably still smells sauerkraut and doesn’t know why.

In all seriousness, Schafer is correct. It is a team effort, and despite his two goals, he was able to tally that assist he loves so much, by setting up fellow veteran, Joe Cole for a Rowdies goal in the 18th minute.

“It was our target that today we would clinch the playoffs and we did it,” Schäfer said. “We did a great job today. The whole team did a great job. We worked hard and now we’re in the playoffs.”

The “veteran connection” was an important one today. Schafer set up Cole, Cole returned the favor, setting up Schafer’s second goal, and Georgi Hristov made sure to get on the score sheet with an assist in Shafer’s first goal.

“The whole team played really, really well,’  Rowdies head coach Stuart Campbell said. “From back to front, front to back, young to old, old to young – call it what you want – I thought everyone was really impressive and they deserve a lot of credit.”

The Rowdies will hit the road for their final two matches of the season, first in San Antonio and then to Orlando before competing in the playoffs for the first time since wining the championship in 2012.

 

Rowdies Photos Match September 30, 2017

Rowdies Fail to Secure Home Playoff Spot

Coach Stuart Campbell wants a redo.

Coming off a frustrating 2-2 draw away to Bethlehem mid week, the Rowdies hosted the Pennsylvania side and played them to another, maybe even more frustrating, 1-1 draw.

“I felt there was only one team trying to win the game tonight,” Rowdies Head Coach Stuart Campbell said without his usual enthusiasm. “We were pressing and pressing and pressing and just couldn’t get that second goal.”

Campbell expressed his desire to play Bethlehem in the playoffs, but a problem remains; The Rowdies have yet to clinch a home-birth in the playoffs.

With the point awarded on Saturday night, the Rowdies remain in fourth place, a desired position to finish the season in, considering it is the last spot to be awarded a home playoff match. But Tampa Bay has work to do.

Campbell’s frustration is well earned. Bethlehem played in slow motion, stopping every play, creating free kicks, and feigning confusion when it came to substitution time.

“The way [Bethlehem] celebrated at the end, you’d think they had won the championship, all jumping on each other,” Campbell said “Fair play to them. If they’re that happy with a point, good luck to them.”

Tampa Bay was without the likes of its top goal-scorer, Georgi Hristov due to yellow card accumulation but should have had more than enough fire power to pull of a win with goal machine Martin Patterson.

It would unfortunately take until the 80th minute for Tampa Bay to equalize Bethlehem, who scored on their lone attempt on goal in the 56th minute.

With Paterson taken out of the match, Sebastian Guenzatti scored his second goal since joining the club.

“I’m always ready when the coach needs me,” Guenzatti said. “As a starter or a sub, you’ve always got to be ready. The ball came to me and the only thing I could do was put it in the goal and it felt really good. It was a great pass from Darnell.”

The final 10 minutes was everything you wanted it to be: Rowdies dominated possession and felt like they were seconds from scoring they entire time.

“I thought tonight we should have won the game,” Campbell said. “We just couldn’t get that elusive second goal. I felt we were going to go on and win the game I had that feeling tonight. When we got the equalizer, I was convinced we were going to go on to win it.”

The Rowdies had to settle with splitting the points, which was more reminiscent of a loss than anything else.

Still clinging to fourth place, the Rowdies will try again to clinch a home playoff spot on Wednesday night against New York in their final regular-season home match.

 

 

Rowdies Rack up Usual Road Point

Photo courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rowdies

Not the road warriors Mad Max had in mind.

It’s hard to complain considering Tampa Bay often comes home with a point, but it is also disappointingly familiar watching the Rowdies lose a lead late in the game and settle for one point for the sixth time this year.

“It’s mixed emotions really,” Rowdies Head Coach Stuart Campbell said. “Getting a point on the road is always good, but I’m disappointed we didn’t get all three because we played really, really well. We spoke before the game about the importance of getting a result and we got one. A point on the road is never bad, but it’s slightly disappointing we didn’t get all three.”

The Rowdies are on the cusp of a home playoff spot with two three remaining matches int eh regular season to go. Four teams sit in a position only six points behind Tampa Bay in search of the home playoff spot.

But a point did them some good, and it was a Wednesday afternoon make up game, which certainly threw a wrench in the gears of their usual midweek training schedule.

Positives shone through the negatives with a penalty goal from Georgi Hristov and Hunter “Gorskie Scoreski” Gorskie scored his third goal since joining the club four matches ago.

“It’s always tough (to not win,)” Gorskie said. “We’re disappointed not to get three points — especially when we had the lead twice — but that’s football. It’s part of the game. It’s good to get a point and we’ll play them again on Saturday.”

Frustration came in the way of lack of red cards shown to Bethlehem, most notably, goal scorer Cory Burke. Burke put an excessive tackle on Rowdies midfielder, Michael Nanchoff, who was carried off on a stretcher and an air cast around his ankle. No word on his condition as of time of publication.

the Rowdies remain in fourth place in the USL’s Eastern Conference, two points behind Charleston in third place and two points ahead of Rochester in fifth. Tampa Bay is three points out of second place with a game in hand.

A rematch of Wednesday will take place at Al Lang on Saturday night. Not saying there’s bad blood between the sides after Wednesday, but it’s safe to say this will be no friendly match with important points on the line.