Mike Bianchi: Stupid Blogger or Stupidest Blogger?

Last night, I received two messages on twitter that changed the rest of my evening:

Apparently the Orlando Sentinel's Mike Bianchi was suggesting that the Big East drop USF from its arsenal and add the clearly much more powerful likes of Central Florida. Of course, I felt the need to comment, but that has since fallen down the page, as many other people have felt the need to either rip Bianchi once again or praise him for yet another brilliant article. In his last line of the post, Bianchi suggested this:

"I've said it many times before and I'll say it again: If the Big East doesn't invite the Knights, a bigger and better conference will soon enough."

Now, we all know that Bianchi has been pushing for the Big East to add UCF for quite a while now, and he's done more than his share of trying to smear the name of USF in the process. If I were UCF, I would seriously be knocking down the door of the Orlando Sentinel to make them stop allowing Mike Bianchi to have access to the internet. He really is making them look even worse at a time when they need all the good publicity they can get.

In reality, I think Bianchi's posts suggesting various ways and reasons for the Big East to add UCF are doing exactly the opposite. Bianchi's columns are reducing the amount of respect that the university should be striving toward. In short, Mike Bianchi's idiotic drivel is exactly what UCF doesn't need right now, and he's single-handedly making all the schools in the Big East hate Central Florida. It's depressing to the rest of us that Bianchi gets paid to produce this, and it's insulting that he calls himself a journalist. Unfortunately, there are people who agree with this trash, making them dumber than Bianchi himself.

It's people like these that really would not make us sad if the entire city of Orlando just broke off from the state and drifted off into the Atlantic Ocean. UCF should take its chances and maybe campaign for membership in a "bigger and better conference". Let's see how Central Florida fares in the SEC. Vanderbilt would welcome that because it would mean they'd no longer be the bottom feeder of the conference. You know, UCF probably would establish a great rivalry with Florida too.

I'll have much more to say about this later

Ranking the 2010-2011 USF Sports Teams

As many of you know, this time of year is torturous for us bloggers. The lack of news combined with the anticipation of a new season makes for a long summer. I've spent a good amount of this time reflecting on the past year in USF athletics and ranking them in order of how well they performed. You can check out what I thought of our 15 sports teams this season after the jump.

The 2011 USF Primer: Wide Receivers

Sterling Griffin is back this season after breaking his ankle last summer, adding another weapon to the Bulls passing game. (Picture: www.gousfbulls.com)

The 2011 Primer rolls on as we continue to look at the offense and the wide receiving corps. The Bulls receivers were plagued with injuries last season and struggled to produce with the new offensive system in place and the struggles of B.J. Daniels. However, this season, the Bulls are healthy, have new, talented faces on the roster and should be more consistent with Daniels in his second full season under Todd Fitch. Let's take a look at the starting receivers and who to look out for this season. [Keep Reading]

The 2011 USF Primer: Offensive Line

Danous Estenor can lift cars so defensive lines stand no chance against him this season. (Picture: www.usfnation.com)

The 2011 USF Primer rolls on as we turn to the other side of the ball and take a look at the offense. The Bulls are slow to score points and struggled under first year coordinator Todd Fitch and inconsistent play of B.J. Daniels. This season however, they look to put more points on the board and have the weapons needed to do. We first will take a look at the overall offensive unit, names to know, then dig into the offensive line. [keep reading]

USF Offers 2012 Offensive Lineman

The Bulls have plenty of offers out there for the class of 2012, but will have to be very selective in who they accept verbal offers from. One player they are very high on is offensive lineman Will Holden.

Holden, the 6'6" 271-pound star from Green Cove Springs, Florida (Clay High School) is high on the USF list and Holden is very high on USF as well.

The 3-star prospect (according to Rivals) attended the Bulls Super Bull camp held two weeks ago and came away impressed by the coaching staff and facilities. USF has competition to win his commitment. Holden has offers from FAU, FIU, Iowa State, Louisville (stay away from our state!), and even UMass.

The Bulls added a few offensive lineman in the 2011 recruiting class and have several young players on the roster now, making the offensive line loaded with talent, but there is always need for more depth and ability.

Update on D'Vario Montgomery: As fans, we watch prospects and dream that they could join our team and Montgomery is one player everyone is watching. He came away from the USF Super Bull high on the Bulls and has us ranked up with UCF on his list (how are we not above that Mickey Mouse school?). Montgomery has stated he will do all of his research on both programs and will take other visits, but at the moment, USF is in pretty good shape and hopefully we made a lasting impression on the young man.

Happy 4th of July!!

Happy 4th of July to everyone. We hope everyone enjoys their day with family and friends, remember to be smart while having fun. Don't drink and drive and don't do anything stupid with fireworks either.

The most important thing on this day is to say thank you to the men and women serving this country and make it possible for us to enjoy this holiday and go about our lives. This is a very special holiday and we hope everyone enjoys it responsibly.

Top 10 Moments of 2010 Season: Number 9

With only 9 weeks until football season begins, I won't waste any time getting right to the next highest moment on this countdown.

Number 9: Opening Kickoff

On the surface, the moment leading to Maikon Bonani booting the opening kick against the Stony Brook Seawolves seems just as exciting as any ordinary kick. But this was so much more than the opening of a football season. This was the opening of an entirely new chapter of the history of South Florida athletics. For the first thirteen years of the Bulls' existence, they had been under the rule of coach Jim Leavitt. And while we Bulls fans were grateful to Leavitt for being the father of this program and building us from the ground, many believed it was time for a change. Now, the change had finally come. This year was the first year of coach Skip Holtz's reign as head coach of the USF football team, and Bulls fans near and far were dying to see how the new hire would fare in his first year as a head coach of a BCS program.

On September 4th, my friends and I spent basically the entire day tailgating. It was a night game, but we got to the stadium around noon. Nothing excited us more than the thought of bringing in the new age of USF football with a memorable day at the stadium. Then came that time. Time to go into the stadium. I never thought the time would come, but it was finally here. For the entire time leading up to kickoff, I remember the fans filing into the stands and the student section growing louder and louder. By the time the band entered the field, the anxiety was at a peak for me. This was the longest hour of my life. But, the team did end up taking the field and they tossed the coin. The adrenaline was pumping and students started pounding on chairs to simulate the stampede that was finally entering the field after an offseason that seemed eternal. Maikon Bonani set up and kicked the ball away, and the first season of the Skip Holtz era had officially begun. So on the surface, it just looks like any ordinary football season beginning, but to us, this was the beginning of a new life for Bulls Football.

My Short Conversation with Scott from Bearcats Blog

Last week I received an email from one of my fellow Big East bloggers, Scott from the Bearcats Blog. The email contained a request to fill out a short questionnaire about various subjects ranging from sports to movies to taking a shower on a road trip. I'm glad to have had the opportunity to be a part of it, and I'd like to thank Scott for including me. You can read my responses to his questions here and also follow him on twitter and like the Bearcats Blog on facebook. Feel free to comment on his post, or come back here and tell me what you think about my responses.

Volleyball Schedule is Completed

The same day the Big East released the home and away slates for the basketball conference games, one of my favorite USF sports announced the finalization of their schedule. The volleyball team will be kicking off 2011 with a trip to Albuquerque on August 26th for matches against New Mexico and New Mexico State. They return home September 2nd for the USF Volleyball Invitational which includes teams like Bowling Green and Bethune-Cookman. They go away for the rest of the month, and come home to play conference games against Rutgers and Seton Hall in the first weekend of October.

The only strange part of the schedule is that traditional late-season, "why are we playing them?" game, where the ladies will host Florida A&M on November 23rd, three days after the Big East tournament ends.

Speaking of teams in Florida, the Bulls will have five matches against in-state teams. They'll host Bethune-Cookman on Sept. 4, then go to Orlando to play FAU and UCF in the UCF invitational the following weekend. In mid-October, the girls will take a break from conference play and road trip to Fort Meyers for a match against Florida Gulf Coast. They then of course close their schedule with a final match against A&M. For more information, you can go ahead and view the whole volleyball schedule here.

The 2011 USF Primer: Secondary

Quenton Washington and company lead a talented secondary into the 2011 season looking for a Big East title.

This 2011 Primer continues as we take a look at the last defensive unit (offense coming next week), the secondary. The Bulls are loaded with stars and tons of leadership in the secondary. The team is loaded and it could be one of the strongest units on the team. [keep reading]