Taylor Hendricks got his first start tonight for Utah!

With all due respect to the three games yesterday, today is what I consider Opening Day. What is your favorite MLB team?

Cincinnati Reds for me, though I don't have any connection to the Ohio area. With the Reds being a longtime spring training tenant in Tampa (1930s-1980s) and then Plant City (late 1980s through late 1999s) and Sarasota (late 1990s and the 2000s), there were plenty of old Floridians who adopted the Reds as their favorite team, well before MLB moved into the state.

It also didn't hurt that the Reds were one of the few clubs, perhaps the only club, that had clear radio reception in Florida after sunset. Cincinnati's flagship, 700 WLW, can be heard up and down the east coast. It wasn't that long ago that radio was the primary outlet to follow daily baseball as even as late in the 1990s you only got maybe 2-3 games per week total on ESPN plus whatever offerings on WGN (Cubs) or TBS (Braves).

Sorry if this has been covered already. But are there any activities going on for kids before the game? I know in the past there has been bounce houses and stuff like that.

The Quotes of Steven Wright:
1 - I'd kill for a Nobel Peace Prize.
2 - Borrow money from pessimists -- they don't expect it back.
3 - Half the people you know are below average.
4 - 99% of lawyers give the rest a bad name.
5 - 82.7% of all statistics are made up on the spot.
6 - A conscience is what hurts when all your other parts feel so good.
7 - A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.
8 - If you want the rainbow, you got to put up with the rain.
9 - All those who believe in psycho kinesis, raise my hand.
10 - The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
11 - I almost had a psychic girlfriend, ..... But she left me before we met.
12 - OK, so what's the speed of dark?
13 - How do you tell when you're out of invisible ink?
14 - If everythng seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something.
15 - Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.
16 - When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.
17 - Ambition is a poor excuse for not having enough sense to be lazy.
18 - Hard work pays off in the future; laziness pays off now.
19 - I intend to live forever ... So far, so good.
20 - If Barbie is so popular, why do you have to buy her friends?
21 - Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.
22 - What happens if you get scard half to death twice?
23 - My mechanic told me, "I couldn't repair your brakes, so I made your horn louder."
24 - Why do psychics have to ask you for your name
25 - If at first you don't succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried.
26 - A conclusion is the place where you got tired of thinking.
27 - Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.
28 - The hardness of the butter is proportional to the softness of the bread.
29 - To steal ideas from one person is plagiarsm; to steal from many is research.
30 - The problem with the gene pool is that there is no lifeguard.
31 - The sooner you fall behind, the more time you'll have to catch up.
32 - The colder the x-ray table, the more of your body is required to be on it.
33 - Everyone has a photographic memory; some just don't have film.
34 - If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you.
35 - If your car could travel at the speed of light, would your headlights work?

Slightly faster than JB
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The UCF Knights wide receiver room is loaded with talented players, including veteran Jarrad Baker. Jarrad has battled injuries and managed position changes throughout his career, but is now solidified as a leader in the wide receiver room. He continues to battle for playing time, but when he gets on the filed, he is looking to show off his speed.

Click here for more from Andrew Cherico for the Sons of UCF.

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St. Augustine wide receiver Carl Jenkins Jr. is emerging as one of UCF's top targets in the 2025 class.

The 6-foot-3 wideout was offered in May and returned to campus earlier this month for another visit. He also camped last year and attended one of the home games.

"My UCF visit was an eye opener, most definitely," Jenkins said. "I knew about UCF already and knew the coaches, but I learned so much stuff I didn't know. The toured me around the whole school. The receivers coach, Coach (Grant) Heard, we talked about everything. I talked to the head coach, Coach (Gus) Malzahn. We've got a good relationship. He was asking me questions about my goals in college, stuff like that."

Heard and UCF offensive coordinator Darin Hinshaw spoke a bit about how he would be utilized within the offense.

"They showed me some of their plays and how I'd fit in," Jenkins said. "They know I'm a playmaker. With me being 6-3, 175, I can catch the deep balls and make people miss. Coach Heard said I make wow plays."

During his visit, he met top 2025 quarterback EJ Colson who was also touring UCF.

"We were in the locker room getting dressed up to take pictures," Jenkins siad. "We chatted it up and got to know each other."

What stands out about UCF?

"My favorite part is how they treated me," Jenkins said. "They treated me like I'm at home. It's comfortable. It's like the fifth time I've had a conversation with Coach Heard. Coach Hinshaw, Coach Jay (Carter), they were all there when I arrived to the facility and showed me around. They just made me feel at home."

A week before his UCF visit, Jenkins toured Wake Forest and North Carolina.

Wake Forest: "I loved Wake Forest. I feel like a lot of people underestimate Wake Forest. It's a private school, an ACC school that not too many people know about so they're a little underestimated. The facilities are beautiful. The coaching staff is amazing. Their receivers coach loves me. He showed me a lot of their plays too. He was going through my film telling me what he likes and didn't like. I definitely love Wake Forest."

North Carolina: "I loved it. North Carolina, a lot of people think it's a basketball school but the football is great too. I've got a good relationship with the assistant wide receivers coach. He toured me and my QB, just keeping it real with us. I met a couple of their receivers and they were telling us about it. The facilities are beautiful."

Jenkins plans to visit Wake Forest again at the end of July. In addition to UCF and Wake Forest, other offers include West Virginia, Iowa State, Indiana, UConn and South Florida.

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Having a drink in Homosassa and the bar is full of Jersey douche bags. Why are they here, it feels like Jersey Shore. Nothing worse.

Happy 407 Day, Orlando!
Please go support a local business.
Which are your favorite local businesses?

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UConn FR G/SF Stephon Castle is the son of 1995-96 UCF PG Stacey Castle. Stephon is a possible 1st round draft pick.

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Entering his third year at UCF, Jamaal Johnson is looking to emerge on the defensive line.

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UCF wide receiver Trent Whittemore caught a touchdown from KJ Jefferson during Saturday's scrimmage.

Join Eric Lopez and Trace Trylko as they debate some of the current topics surrounding UCF Athletics.

In this episode, the guys break down the latest with Spring Football, which is, well, not much really. Is that a good thing though?

We also discuss the latest news with the basketball transfer portal and high school recruits.

Also: the battle for the sign, Deestroying, did Big XII basketball blow it, and words that start with the letter "U"

Thanks for watching here ... from the Sons of UCF.

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UCF defensive tackle Ricky Barber had a big performance during the scrimmage, including multiple sacks and TFLs.

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Randy Pittman had a big scrimmage for the Knights on Saturday.

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Saturday was a scrimmage day inside the Bounce House for Gus Malzahn's football team. The Knights are heading into the final phase of spring practice with the spring game coming up next Friday.

"Good scrimmage today," Malzahn said afterward. "The weather was perfect. We had a lot of our top boosters there. The atmosphere was great. Offensively, we did some good things. Randy Pittman and Trent Whittemore had touchdown passes from KJ Jefferson. Ran the ball a little bit more than we did the scrimmage before. Ricky Barber on defense really stood out with what he did. I think he had two sacks and played in the backfield. Had a couple turnovers.

"Big picture, I do like where we're at as a whole. Our defense is flying around and making plays. It was really good the offense ran a little bit more today to see stopping the run and blocking for the run."

KJ Jefferson wasn't allowed to be tackled, but the other quarterbacks were. Malzahn says the former Arkansas quarterback is becoming well acclimated to his new team.

"The meshing with the teammates, definitely," Malzahn said. "He's getting more and more comfortable with the offense each time we go out there. Obviously he's in a gold (no-contact) jersey. I like his approach. I think his teammates are doing a good job around him too."

Spring is always the big evaluation period and Malzahn said they've been experimenting with different lineups to see how players respond.

"With our ones and twos, we've mixed and matched," Malzahn said. "We wanted to see some of the twos go with the ones and vice versa. The young guys, some of them have moved up from working with the threes, two and ones. It's been really good. We're learning a lot about our guys. Overall, I think we're in a good spot in all three phases."

What's the biggest difference from last year?

"I would say probably quality depth," Malzahn said. "That's probably the thing that stands out. We've got some playmakers on defense that have played a lot of football and played successfully. Then some offensive guys we've brought in too that have played a lot of football. Probably the veterans. That's what I really feel like sticking out the most on both sides of the football. That's always a good thing."

Asked about offensive line vs. defensive line during the scrimmage, Malzahn noted he liked what the defense did at times.

"There was a really good play on the goal line by one of our linebackers," Malzahn said. "Ricky Barber had two sacks and played in the back field all day."

Is the competition at center becoming clearer?

"Caden Kitler has been doing a very solid job," Malzahn said. "Jabari Brooks, he's playing. Waltclaire (Flynn), we moved him up. He's been with the twos the whole week. He got some reps with the ones today. We're still in the process of determining that. Caden Kitler has got the majority of the reps with the ones."

Beyond RJ Harvey, Johnny Richardson and Myles Montgomery have been seeing the most action among running backs.

"I thought they made some good runs," Malzahn said. "There were a couple explosive runs, a smoke draw and things like that. We ran a little more gap than we did last week. That's always good for the defense too with the fits. Our running backs did a solid job."

Malzahn said the spring game format will be similar to last year.

"We'll go two 12-minute quarters, just like a regular football game," he said. "I know we have some fan experiences with kicking and catching things. We'll have fun with it. It'll be pretty good football for a good half and then after half we'll have more of the games like fastest man, strongest arm, those type of things. A little bit more fun for the fans. We've got a little surprise for everybody too."

Wide receiver Kobe Hudson was dinged up during the first week of spring, so UCF made the decision to hold him out for the duration. That's allowed more opportunity for the others.

"We're being very wise with (Hudson)," Malzahn said. "He's going to be fine long term. We've been able to get some of those guys developed too. Jarrad Baker has had a really solid spring. Chauncey Magwood has had a solid spring. Xavier Townsend, we're moving him around to all positions. He's playing some X to the boundary. He's a guy we've got to get the ball to. It's been good for him to get those other positions down in the spring."

Has one position group stepped up this spring?

"If I had to pick one, the linebackers," Malzahn said. "We have quality depth at linebacker. The physicality and everything that goes with it, that group is really standing out in a good way from my standpoint."

The UCF Knights football team continued their spring practice schedule with their second intra-squad scrimmage. Both sides of the ball saw some highlights, including touchdown catches from Trent Whittemore and Randy Pittman. On the defensive side of the ball, there were a few forced turnovers, and according to Ricky Barber, the d-line lived in the backfield. Overall, head coach Gus Malzahn was pleased with the performance, and wants his team to close out the spring strong with this last week of practice.

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Hello you great UCF Sports fans…😀😀😀…


We have an early UCF Softball game due to BYU not playing on Sunday’s.
We have won the first two games of the three game series and a win today would really keep our momentum going.


Our UCF HOME against BYU starts at 12 Noon on ESPN+.


Let’s Gooooooooo Ladies…

Looking for 3 baseball club tickets for tonight's KState game. Willing to buy 4 if that helps. Thanks!