The fate of the high school fall sports season in Florida hangs in the balance. The COVID-19 pandemic has created a lot of uncertainty for athletics, but at this time, the official start date of fall practice is July 27. Don’t count on that date staying in place. It’s written in pencil. And the first […]
Nick Brahms admits he sometimes thinks about the moments when he didn’t do his job the right way on the offensive line. It just makes the Auburn center work that much harder. He’s striving to be at his best for the fierce and rugged competition he faces week to week in the SEC. “I’ll be […]
The 2020 Minor League Baseball season is over. Scheduled to begin in April, an announcement was made to cancel the season Tuesday. Among the teams not playing ball this year are the Pensacola Blue Wahoos, the Double-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. Revenue is vital for minor league teams. Playing a season is a tall […]
Pen Air Field will be a little quieter the second weekend of July. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of West Florida football team isn’t holding its Friday Night Lights and Sunday Night Showdown camps next month. A special teams camp is also held that weekend. All camps scheduled on campus for June and […]
COVID-19 strikes again in the world of sports. Because of the rise in cases in Florida over the past week, the Northwest Florida Youth Sports Alliance announced over the weekend it is shutting down offseason conditioning for football for three weeks. The Navarre Youth Sports Association football program is part of the league. The league […]
Social distancing took center stage as Navarre’s girls soccer team returned to work this week for the first time in nearly three months. Players were spaced out as they kicked soccer balls around and did various exercises such as sit ups and pushups. It’s not the regular normal the Raiders are used to due to […]
I have an update on the all-star basketball games next month. The games will tip off July 24 at Tate, beginning with the girls game at 5 p.m. Because it’s in a gym, regulations are in place. At this time, attendance is limited to half capacity, which is roughly 998 people. That includes players, coaches, […]
Navarre’s football team quickly dealt with a situation involving a handful of players that were at a gathering with someone outside the program displaying COVID-19 symptoms. As a precaution, all six players were sent home prior to the team’s summer workout Wednesday. None showed signs of the virus. They did not attend Thursday’s workout either. […]
Sitting at a kitchen table just after midnight, Keith Brahms and Tony Carter discuss the challenges the country is facing in a moment riddled with divide. Football coaches at Navarre and longtime friends, they are opposite in many ways. Their skin color is the most obvious. Still, they respect each other, refusing to let disagreements […]
The new normal is here for high school athletics. How long it lasts remains to be seen. But at least for the next four weeks, social distancing, temperature checks and hand sanitizer will all be part of the equation when it comes to summer workouts. It’s great athletes are getting a chance to get out […]
James Baccarini is the new head boys soccer coach at Navarre. And he’s thrilled about the opportunity in front of him. “It’s a dream come true and a blessing,” Baccarini said. “It’s exciting to be able to take over the program and lead it in the direction that I want to take it in.” He […]
Temperature checks were executed and questions about COVID-19 symptoms were asked ahead of the first day of summer workouts for Navarre’s football team. It’s the new normal for the time being. But one that is necessary to live with in order for the Raiders to get back to work and return to some sense of […]
That didn’t take long. Less than a week after losing its opponent for the 2020 season opener, the University of West Florida football team has found a replacement. And it’s a good one. Texas A&M Commerce is coming to town Sept. 3 to take on the reigning NCAA Division II national champion Argonauts at Blue […]
Florida made a move Friday to change the landscape of college athletics. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill that allows NCAA athletes to benefit off their name, image and likeness in endorsement deals. Passed by a 37-2 count in the state senate, the bill goes into effect on July 1, 2021. Florida would be the […]
A familiar name is on the preseason All-SEC team released by Athlon Sports last week. Former Navarre Raider Nick Brahms landed on the third team at center. He started five games at the position in 2019 for the Auburn Tigers. Brahms is also rated as one of the top five centers in the conference heading […]
The University of West Florida football team just lost its opponent for its season opener. The reigning NCAA Division II champions were scheduled to host West Virginia Wesleyan Sept. 3 at Blue Wahoos Stadium. But West Virginia Wesleyan is a member of the Mountain East Conference, which announced Thursday that it does not plan to […]
Four Lighthouse Private Christian Academy athletes signed national letters of intent Tuesday evening in Pensacola. Eddie Brown is among them. The Stingrays basketball standout is taking his talents to Central State University in Ohio. Brown established himself as one of the top scorers in the state last season, averaging nearly 40 points per game. Three […]
The Florida High School Athletic Association’s Board of Governors approved allowing football players to play up to six quarters during the week. Passed by an 11-2 count Tuesday, the rule goes into effect for the 2020 season. As it stands now, the six quarters are available for players to use Monday through Saturday. Navarre head […]
Athletes are in the spotlight regularly. They give us a reason to cheer and to be amazed. They also have a platform to stand on that many of us don’t. On Sunday, Dwayne Carter is leading a peace march in Navarre starting at 5 p.m. He’s one of the greatest running backs in Raider history […]
Sports are back. Those three words never carried as much meaning as they did Thursday after the Santa Rosa County School Board approved a plan to allow high school athletes to participate in summer workouts and conditioning. The workouts begin June 15. “I honestly couldn’t be happier sports are coming back. I can’t wait to […]
Andrew and Matthew McTamney make it clear that while they are twins, they are different people. The similarities they share, however, extend beyond being brothers. Both have excelled in the classroom and on the field as baseball players for the Navarre Raiders. “We happen to play the same sport and are both in the top […]
There is good news for baseball and softball players in Escambia, Santa Rosa and Okaloosa counties. On June 26, a Subway All-Star baseball and softball showcase will be held for all senior athletes from the 2020 graduating class. The event is going to take place at the Gulf Breeze Recreation Center. Athletes will have an […]
Santa Rosa County Superintendent Tim Wyrosdick is presenting a plan for high school athletics to the school board Thursday morning. The plan involves the start up of summer workouts for high school teams. If approved, those workouts are expected to begin later this month. And June 15 is looking like the date that begins. Earlier […]
Plans are still being worked out for getting summer athletic activity at the high school level up and running in Santa Rosa County. June 8 had been viewed as a potential date to get things going. Now it’s looking as if June 15 will be the earliest possible start date. Superintendent Tim Wyrosdick said working […]
Dante Wright has every reason to sit back and just enjoy all that he’s accomplished in just one season of college football. To call his freshman year at Colorado State an almost unreal success would be an understatement of epic proportions. The list of accolades and accomplishments are impressive. Start with the fact that he […]
Governor Ron DeSantis announced in a press conference Friday morning he is lifting restrictions on youth sports and summer camps in the state of Florida. The decision is effective immediately despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. “We believe that this makes sense based on the data and observed experience,” DeSantis said. “We are not going to […]
If things were normal, Navarre’s spring football game would have been played tonight at Milton. It would have been the culmination of three weeks of hard work that would have served the Raiders well in their quest to prepare for the 2020 season. But the COVID-19 pandemic took away spring football. And so tonight in […]
Kim Slaybaugh has never played a minute of soccer for the Navarre Raiders. And yet, the time she has put into the program is next to impossible to measure. As the mother of five daughters who all played at Navarre, she has spent more than her fair share of minutes, hours, days and months around […]
Inside a loud gymnasium on a February night, a spot in the district championship game hanging in the balance, Hailey Neely is lighting up the scoreboard in a tightly contested game. She scores 21 points before fouling out of Navarre’s triple-overtime loss to top-seeded Pace. It’s a bitter end to an impressive senior season for […]
The 2020 Southern League All-Star Game and home run derby have been canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Jackson Generals were scheduled to host the all-star events June 22-23 at The Ballpark at Jackson in Tennessee. It’s the second time in three years the league’s all-star game has been canceled. The announcement was made […]