It was said that nature abhors a vacuum and sports fans abhor a tie. Yet with the sole exception of baseball, where extra innings can continue ad infinitum, sports contests in the United States used to tolerate ending in a tie. Now, with the heavy influence of statisticians, odds makers and gamblers, sporting events such as football, basketball, hockey and soccer have all added provisions to the rules to eliminate the possibility of a contest ending in a tie; overtime periods some for fixed periods, some with "sudden death" conclusions, still others with "shootouts" as methods for providing a final resolution and no ties. ...more

November 7, 2009

Union bashing This is in response to Donald Smith ("Union negotiations," Letters, Oct. 31). ...more

November 4, 2009

The Lake Placid volleyball team still has business to attend to, even if alterations are currently being made on the championship banners that hang from the rafters in the Green Dragons gym. ...more

November 3, 2009

As expected of two teams that combined for one win entering the day, the Rams and Lions played an awful football game. St. Louis, though, loved the outcome - for the first time all season. ...more

November 2, 2009

It's Fred Wild Elementary students against the world in a competition of mathematical computations where speed and accuracy are of the essence. ...more

November 1, 2009

Avon Park was one game-winning touchdown drive away from pulling off the upset of the year against the No. 5-ranked team in the state in Lake Highland Prep on Friday night at Joe Franza Stadium. ...more

November 1, 2009

A young woman whose days are typically filled with rehabilitation sessions spent a whirlwind weekend in Gainesville recently, a treat from some who had heard her story and were touched deeply. ...more

October 28, 2009

The officiating crew from Saturday's Arkansas at Florida football game will be removed from its next scheduled assignment on Oct. 31 and will not be assigned to officiate as a crew until Nov. 14, Southeastern Conference Commissioner Mike Slive announced Wednesday. ...more

October 22, 2009

The officiating crew from last Saturday's Arkansas-Florida football game will be removed from its next scheduled assignment on Oct. 31 and will not be assigned to officiate as a crew until Nov. 14, Southeastern Conference commissioner Mike Slive announced Wednesday. ...more

October 22, 2009

So there we were, properly duded up in orange and blue and crammed together with 90,000 or so of our closest friends, ready for the victim du jour, in this instance the Arkansas Razorbacks. ...more

October 21, 2009