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Wednesday, June 08, 2005 |
| At 11 PM EDT the poorly defined center of Tropical Depression One was at 17.6 North 83.9 West, 210 miles west-southwest of Grand Cayman. Maximum sustained winds are 35 mph and minimum central pressure is 1003 millibars (29.62"). The depression is moving to the north at 6 mph. Tropical Depression One Advisory #2 (National Hurricane Center) The wind speeds were increased on the basis of the last observation from Hurricane Hunters. Its appearance on satellite is not impressive. Upper level winds are unfavorable for development currently, but are expected to become slightly favorable over the next day. The 72 hour forecast has landfall in the vicinity of the Alabama/Mississippi state line on Saturday night. Tropical Depression One Discussion #2 (NHC) I've been puzzling over the infrared satellite loop. It's really difficult to pick out a center of circulation from that. From that alone, one would think that the center is about 100 miles north/northeast of the given position. According to the discussion, that is about where the strongest winds are at. I'm not sure what to make of it. 2005 Hurricane Season, Weather comment []11:11:08 PM  trackback []
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| While the hurricane season starts on June 1, it is not uncommon for the month to pass by without so much as a tropical depression (as was the case last year). Storms that do manage to form and develop tend to do so in the west Carribean and Gulf of Mexico since that is where the warmest water is during this time of year. Because the water is not at its peak temperature yet (and the relatively small area of the Gulf,) such storms are rarely major. Here are some highlights and trivia of June storms (based on the past 50 years):
Florida Referendums 2004, Weather comment []9:17:04 PM trackback []
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| The Hurricane Hunter found winds just strong enough to justify calling the disturbance a tropical depression. At 5 PM EDT it was 235 miles south-west of Grand Cayman Island with winds of 30 mph and minimum central pressure of 1004 mb (29.65"). The current forecast is for it to develop into a tropical storm in the next day or two while heading to the Gulf Coast of the United States. Tropical Depression One Advisory #1 Tropical Depression One Discussion #1 2005 Hurricane Season, Weather comment []5:17:25 PM trackback []
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| The first tropical system of the year may be near. From this morning's Tropical Weather Outlook: SURFACE OBSERVATIONS AND SATELLITE IMAGERY INDICATE THAT THE BROAD Details in the Tropical Weather Discussion: 1004 MB LOW CENTERED OVER THE TIP OF HONDURAS/NICARAGUA WITH A According to the Plan of the Day for the Hurricane Hunters, the plane will be in the area at 4 PM EDT. I'll be keeping an eye on this. LATER: At 12:45 PM EDT, NOAA's Satellite Services Division estimated the disturbance to be of tropical depression strength. We'll see what the Hurricane Hunters say... 2005 Hurricane Season, Weather comment []1:42:51 PM trackback []
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| No Florida State players were drafted yesterday. Also, none of our high school recruits were drafted. In past years the draft has depleted our recruiting class. In 1997, for example, Michael Cuddyer had committed to the Seminoles and waited until the last minute to decide to play baseball instead of going to college. In 2001, Joe Mauer made a similar decision. (He was also a highly rated quarterback. At the time the joke was that he was going to be the next Chris Weinke). It is fairly hard to research other instances of this. But it is not hard to research our players being drafted (or not). Thanks to The Baseball Cube, we can look back on past years to see the last time the first Seminole picked was drafted so late:
A few notes to this: - While they are rare, players picked as late as Craig Patterson can have an impact. Pick 765 in 1979 belonged to the Houston Astros who drafted Glenn Davis, who would go on to be a two-time All-Star. - In the recent years (at least) that we didn't have a player drafted early, we did have prospects who went on to play for us get drafted. In 2000, Tony Richie was drafted in the 8th round, but went to school instead and was the first Seminole picked in 2003. - The difference between 1979 and 1980 is simple: Mike Martin became coach in 1980. With the exception of winning a national championship, he has meant as much to Florida State baseball as Bobby Bowden has meant to FSU football. The Tallahassee Deomcrat has an article on our relative lack of star power: Unified front helps FSU
Florida State enters the Gainesville Super Regional without the power, and even star power, that it had a year ago. Yet coaches and players insist this FSU team possesses the necessary ingredients to go even further in the NCAA postseason. Speed, doing the little things right and patience at the plate have countered offensive deficiencies to push FSU over the 50-win plateau - something it didn't reach a year ago. The ace - Bryan Henry - and bullpen are solid. And there is something else - togetherness. "I've never had a tighter-knit group of guys - never," FSU coach
Mike Martin said. "Senior leadership. ... Four seniors and, boy, did
they really get across to the other guys what is expected off the field
and on the field."... To understand how remarkable Florida State's sucess is with a lack
of star seniors, consider the other fifteen teams that are still in
contention for the national championship. Here are some tidbits
on their draft: - Eleven of those teams had at least one player drafted in the first round (Miami and Tennessee both had two). - Three of the teams that did not have a player drafted in the first had at least one drafted in the second. - Florida was the last team (besides FSU, of course,) to have a
player drafted. Their first player drafted was pick #200 in the
sixth round. - As of this moment (19th round) ever round has had least one player taken from a team in the Super Regionals. - Also, atm, there have been 61 players taken from the other fifteen schools. - Of those schools, Baylor leads the way with seven players
drafted; Tennessee, Miami, Cal State-Fullerton, and Mississippi have
five apiece. I'll update this post when a Seminole does finally get drafted. LATER: So, 26 picks later than the previous 'latest first FSU' pick.
It appears that this is the latest ever for such a pick. In the
years before 1979 there were players taken in the 10th, 1st, 4th, and
8th rounds. In 1974 there were no FSU players taken and there
were only 687 picks that year. By my count there are only eleven teams left from the field of 64
that started the College World Series playoffs that do not have a
player drafted (Even Army/United States Military Academy had a player
(Schuyler Williamson) taken before Lynch (#780).
Florida State comment []12:33:24 PM trackback []
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| As one would expect, the first pick in the baseball draft, Justin Upton, figures prominently on the sports pages of Hampton Roads: Upton 1st, Zimmerman 4th in Major League Baseball Draft (Virginian-Pilot)
CHESAPEAKE -- Manny and Yvonne Upton, with sons B.J. and Justin, sat on
a table in Great Bridge High School’s crowded media center Tuesday
afternoon. They stared at a large, flat screen hooked to a laptop as
news cameras stared back.
Yvonne grimaced. Justin snapped his bubble gum. Manny and B.J. were stoic, belying the anticipation in the room. Already thick, the tension was exacerbated by technical glitches in starting the 1 p.m. Web cast of Major League Baseball’s amateur draft, in which Justin Upton was expected to be chosen first.
The alleged hold-up? The New York Yankees’ tardiness in joining the official draft conference call .
Ultimately, though, even the “Damn Yankees” couldn’t forestall the inevitable forever:
“Arizona selects Draft No. 8526, Upton,” came the voice of a Diamondbacks executive through the speaker... Baseball Comes Calling (Daily Press) As much as Justin Upton wanted Tuesday to
be just another day, it wasn't. Life changed around 12:30 p.m. when the
17-year-old high school senior became a millionaire. Not a bad bit of publicity for my alma mater, Great Bridge High
School, as the Associated Press pictures show him wearing his
jersey. With him being the first pick overall, every sports page
in the country has at least a mention of him and his school. Jackpotzrebie comment []11:17:58 AM trackback []
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Last update: 7/3/2005; 2:36:44 PM .
