AVON PARK –– The countless hours of extra batting practice and the thousands of ground balls that helped to hone his fielding have paid off in a big way for Steven Levine. The South Florida Community College baseball player will continue to chase his dream of making it to the major leagues by playing for Florida Southern College in Lakeland in the fall of 2008. The 19-year-old Levine, who played third base and batted .330 with a team-high 42 RBI for the Panthers last year, is excited to be able to play for the Moccasins, after signing a baseball scholarship with the Division II powerhouse last week. "I'm really looking forward to playing for Florida Southern because I felt comfortable when I visited the campus and they have some nice facilities," Levine said. "The coaches were great and it's definitely a baseball school and that's what I wanted. ...more

November 27, 2007

It was the road less traveled. Maybe never traveled. If it's been traveled, I'd like proof. On Wednesday, I set out on, dare I say, an unprecedented journey that reached the far corners of Hillsborough County to witness, in as many instances as possible, arguably the biggest day for high school senior athletes: National Signing Day. ...more

November 15, 2007

Payne Sisters Leave Sickles Soccer Team Shelby and Sydney Payne, members of last year's United States U-14 national developmental team, have left the Sickles High School girls soccer team two weeks into the season. ...more

November 15, 2007

Junior tight end Jason Harmon has leaped into prominence for Florida Atlantic University. ...more

November 10, 2007

When you're Kevin Costner, you get a lot of people asking you to show up at events. But a recent request from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays immediately grabbed the actor's attention. ...more

November 8, 2007

Actor Kevin Costner's band, Modern West, plays at Thursday night's event in downtown St. Petersburg in which the Tampa Bay Devil Rays will unveil new uniforms minus the "devil." ...more

November 7, 2007

Advocates, administrators, presidents, animals and athletes. The community submitted diverse name suggestions for a new middle school in Citrus Park. The Hillsborough County school board is scheduled to vote on the name at its meeting at 3 p.m. Tuesday. The district's policy is that schools should be named for outstanding citizens, geographic locations and people who have made significant contributions to education. ...more

October 31, 2007

Clint Hurdle's dad, Big Clint, is on the phone from his home in Merritt Island. He wants to read you the English paper his son wrote, dated 2/10/66, when Clint was a third-grader. Big Clint saved it in plastic. ...more

October 24, 2007

TAMPA – The bitter divorce and custody battle between Elijah Dukes and his estranged wife will stop briefly as the embattled baseball player heads for the Dominican Republic on Wednesday to play winter ball. Dukes and his wife, NiShea, were in court today fighting over visitation of their children and his payment of alimony, child support and her attorney's fees. ...more

October 9, 2007

A place to play ball, hang out, stay out of trouble. The Boys & Girls Clubs is all that, say three young alumni — and much more. ...more

September 19, 2007