At one time, testing high school athletes for steroids was seen as the best way to fight performance-enhancing drug use among the young. Now, those efforts are losing steam because of high costs and few positive results. ...more

March 17, 2009

The tragedy in the waters off Tampa Bay is a grim reminder to all who enjoy boating that nobody is immune to the dangers of the sea. ...more

March 7, 2009

Since track isn't exactly football with a platoon of coaches to help with the many events and athletes, it isn't unusual for coaches to look to upperclassmen and those who have competed for a couple of years to help. ...more

March 4, 2009

As surely as winter takes another trip across the northern tier of America, the signs of spring already are blossoming in Florida. ...more

February 24, 2009

TAMPA Faye Dowdell looks for any edge she can find in today's gloomy economy. ...more

December 12, 2008

Hernando County Sports Briefs ...more

November 10, 2008

Yes, it was just a baseball game. But when the Tampa Bay Rays threw themselves into a pile after winning the American League pennant late Sunday, people throughout the region experienced a feeling of unmitigated joy. ...more

October 21, 2008

It's easy to know where you stand with Sebring's George White. He pulls no punches, and if you want his opinion, well, just stick around. He'll give you that, too. For those who know White, it's a part of what makes him special and a fixture around the city he's called home from the beginning. ...more

July 20, 2008

SEBRING — While most of the eight kids eased into the new YMCA swimming pool Tuesday, 9-year-old Dalton Hiller splashed everyone else when he hit a perfect cannonball. Everyone laughed, and then practice began. Hiller and the other students, 6 to 14 years old, were preparing for the July 12 Heartland Triathlon. Depending on age, the kids will swim either 100 or 200 yards, bike three or six miles and run either half a mile or a full mile. Hiller is a Cracker Trail Elementary student and said he lifts weights at home. He hopes to improve on last year's 31st place he earned during the inaugural kids event – maybe even enough to win this time. ...more

June 12, 2008

While there is a role for the U.S. Congress in big and small matters that concern Americans, most of us are tired of hearing about Major League Baseball's steroid case and the New England Patriot's videotape scandal. For some reason, though, the nation's most important business has been put on hold for hearings and questioning. Sometimes Congress is all we have to hold people accountable, so we don't dismiss their power to call people on the carpet. Sometimes these matters are relatively small. But the Roger Clemens steroid accusations is not a matter that should have members of Congress locked up for days hearing testimony. It serves no purpose. It seems like some members of Congress enjoy the face time they get on these frivolous hearings. They want to fight for the best sound bite, or to see who can best insult someone being questioned. It's one thing when it was tobacco executives sitting there lying to the country about the dangers of their products, and quite another when a baseball pitcher and his trainer are lying about each other. ...more

February 15, 2008