UCF

Joe Skinner continues courageous fight against leukemia

How cruel of a world do we live when people are subject to the kind of torture that comes as a result of cancerous diseases?

Makes you question everything you’ve ever believed in, right down to the battle between good and evil and why bad things happen to good people.

Cancer affects people of all ages and chips at the very spirit of helpless bystanders each and every day.

Earlier this month I wrote a story about 17-year old Joe Skinner, a Bishop Moore senior and UCF baseball signee, and his sudden battle with a rare form of leukemia.

Just a couple of days after it was published Skinner was put in the intensive care unit after going into septic shock. An infection was discovered, then more than a week later he was flown by air ambulance to Dallas in hopes of undergoing a previously planned experimental treatment.

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National No. 1 Olympia High School turns in unbeaten regular season

ORLANDO, Fla. – A come-from-behind win on the final day of the regular season kept Orlando’s Olympia High School atop the MaxPreps national high school baseball rankings this week.

The No. 1 Titans became just the second team in Central Florida history to make it through the regular season without a blemish on its record. But it’s an elusive trip to the state final four that would be most satisfying as playoff qualifiers get underway this week.

The Titans face Ocoee on Wednesday in their Class 8A, District 3 opener, just four days after local rival Dr. Phillips had their backs against the wall late in the season finale.

Olympia scored seven runs in the final three innings to win 9-5 (in eight innings) and improve to 100-12-1 since 2012, which happens to be the last time Olympia went unbeaten before losing in the region title game to finish 29-1.

(Read more about Olympia’s win over Dr. Phillips at Orlando Sentinel)

“They just believe they’re going to win,” Olympia coach Chuck Schall said. “Even at the end there when we’re down, there’s not a guy on that bench that doesn’t think we’re going to come back.”

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UCF Sports publisher talks Breshad Perriman, UCF football, baseball & UCF Athletics Hall of Fame

Brandon Helwig of UCF Sports joined me Saturday to talk about the rising draft stock of former UCF wide receiver Breshad Perriman, the holes UCF is looking to fill this spring in the secondary and at wide receiver, and the current state of the No. 6 UCF baseball program.

Helwig rounded up the segment by talking about the upcoming UCF Athletics Hall of Fame induction of former football player Asante Samuel, football and baseball player Dee Brown, softball player Stephanie Best and the 1978 UCF volleyball team.

( – Click here to listen to Brandon Helwig of UCF Sports on Carnahan Chronicles – )

Top high school baseball team in nation remains unbeaten

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. – When you’re the No. 1 high school baseball team in the nation, in both the USA Today and MaxPreps rankings, each game feels like so much is on the line.

Olympia baseball

Olympia won the Florida League High School Invitational on Saturday to improve to 17-0-1.

Orlando’s Olympia High School improved to 17-0-1 on the season Saturday while defending its Florida League High School Invitational title with a 2-0 win over Pembroke Pines Charter at Lake Brantley High School.

The national attention will continue to follow the Titans as they near postseason play.

“We try not to focus on that,” Olympia coach Chuck Schall said. “The rankings and all that, it’s always there, but we try not to let those expectations dictate how we play.

“Every time we win these close ballgames it just makes us tougher.”

Olympia is winning close games thanks to a stable of quality pitchers and equally impressive efforts defensively.

(Read more about Olympia’s recent win at Orlando Sentinel and 740 The Game)

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Carnahan Coverage: No. 22 UCF baseball pushing for first postseason trip since 2012

The UCF baseball team reached a regional championship game in 2012, capping a back-to-back run in the postseason with one of the strongest squads in recent memory.

A year ago the Knights lineup featured a majority of players new to the program, yet they barely missed out on being selected for the NCAA Tournament.

Entering this season UCF has just five players on roster from that 2012 team. But the experience this group garnered a year ago has them ranked No. 22 in the Baseball America preseason rankings.

I spoke with senior JoMarcos Woods and head coach Terry Rooney for the Orlando Sentinel this week about how valuable that experience will be this year. The Knights will face five teams this season that open ranked in the Top 25.

Carnahan Coverage: Temple routs UCF in men’s basketball

ORLANDO, Fla. – Will Cummings has been hampered by a leg injury over the past few weeks, but in his return to the Sunshine State on Wednesday he helped Temple terrorize UCF to the tune of 86-62.

Family and friends made the trip from Jacksonville to see Cummings in action and he did not disappoint, finishing with 14 points, four rebounds and three assists.

Read more about the game in a story I wrote for the Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News.

Carnahan Chronicles Radio: UCFSports.com publisher Brandon Helwig talks about state of UCF men’s hoops program

UCF Sports publisher Brandon Helwig joined the show Saturday to talk about the UCF men’s basketball team overcoming NCAA sanctions, the program’s upcoming recruiting class, the dwindling crowds at games the past couple seasons, the impact A.J. Rompza had on the fanbase, and upcoming home games against Cincinnati and Temple.

( – Click here to listen to Brandon Helwig talk state of UCF men’s basketball – )

Carnahan Chronicles Radio: Orlando Magic, Doc & Austin Rivers, Jameer Nelson, Orlando City Soccer Club, Cardale Jones, Pacquiao-Mayweather

The Orlando Magic beat a team with a winning record for just the fifth time this season when they knocked off Dwight Howard and the Houston Rockets on Wednesday. On Saturday’s show we talked about where the Magic currently stand while also touching on the recent L.A. reunion of Doc and Austin Rivers, who won two state basketball titles at Winter Park High School. Speaking of reunions, former Magic player Jameer Nelson has been making the rounds as of late in a bit of an unusual way as he’s now with his third team this season.

( – Click here to listen to more on Orlando Magic, Doc & Austin and Jameer Nelson – )

The Orlando City Soccer Club made it’s first-ever MLS SuperDraft selection Thursday when the Lions selected Connecticut forward Cyle Larin while UCF forward Romario Williams was taken third overall by the Montreal Impact. We opened the final segment of the show Saturday talking about Major League Soccer before touching on the decision of quarterback Cardale Jones to return to Ohio State. We also shared some thoughts on boxers Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao finally meeting in the ring.

( – Click here for more about MLS SuperDraft, Cardale Jones & Mayweather-Pacquiao – )

Hannah Plybon emerges from small town to captain of University of Akron women’s hoops team

(The following story is an alternate version of what will appear in the Jan. 9, 2014 edition of OrrViews in Orrville, Ohio)

ORLANDO, Fla. – It didn’t take long for Hannah Plybon to showcase the kind of impact she could have at the highest level of college basketball.

Hannah Plybon (left) earned as spot on the All-MAC Freshman Team a year ago.

Hannah Plybon (left) earned as spot on the All-MAC Freshman Team a year ago.

On the heels of successful runs in three different sports during her senior year at Orrville High School in Ohio, Plybon made an immediate impression on coaches and teammates upon her arrival at the University of Akron.

Plybon worked her way into the starting lineup as a freshman before her rookie season ever got underway, on a team featuring six seniors that had returned from a 23-win campaign.

Plybon has since blossomed into a leader at Akron, on a squad that opened the 2014-15 season by winning its first 10 games.

She’s now less than a year removed from being named to the All-MAC Freshman Team after starting 32 of 33 games for the Lady Zips, who qualified for the NCAA Tournament and won the Mid-American Conference for the first time in school history.

Not bad for someone hailing from small-town America, where the pride of being hometown to former college coach Bobby Knight and a jelly manufacturer is offset by two decades worth of factories closing shop and families relocating elsewhere.

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Carnahan Chronicles Radio: Interview with UCFSports.com publisher Brandon Helwig

The UCF Knights football team capped its regular season with a miracle in the closing seconds on the road against East Carolina, when Justin Holman connected with Breshad Perriman on the game’s final play to help wrap up a share of the American Athletic Conference title for the second year in a row.

UCFSports.com publisher Brandon Helwig was there to see it all play out firsthand and he’ll be in St. Petersburg on Friday when the Knights take on North Carolina State of the Atlantic Coast Conference in the Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl.

On Saturday Helwig joined the show to talk about UCF’s big win at ECU, to preview the upcoming bowl game, and touch on how much longer he thinks head coach George O’Leary might continue coaching and whether the Knights have a realistic chance at improving its conference affiliation in the near future.

( – Click here for J.C.’s interview with Brandon Helwig of UCFSports.com – )

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Carnahan Coverage: Justin McBride tallies career-high in points & rebounds in UCF win

Justin McBride broke out in a big way for the UCF Knights on Sunday in Orlando during a 75-67 win over undersized Bethune-Cookman.

The sophomore center came off the bench seven minutes into the game and had his way in the low post before going on to finish with a career-high 31 points and 8 rebounds in 22 minutes of work.

“My teammates really made an effort to throw me the ball,” McBride said. “They just found me and I started scoring a little bit, and the basket got bigger and bigger.”

( – Click here to read J.C.’s recap of UCF vs. Bethune-Cookman for the Orlando Sentinel – )

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Melvin Gordon sets new FBS record with 408 yards rushing in one game

The rush toward the Heisman Trophy took a new and intriguing turn in favor of Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon over the weekend.

On Saturday Gordon set a new Football Bowl Subdivision record by rushing for 408 yards on 25 carries – in just three quarters of work – in a 59-24 win over No. 16 Nebraska. The previous mark of 406 yards was set by TCU’s LaDainian Tomlinson against UTEP on Nov. 20, 1999.

Gordon also scored four touchdowns, the last of which broke the rushing record and made the two fumbles he lost earlier in the game seem like a distant memory. Of his 25 carries, five went for at least 40 yards.

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Carnahan Chronicles Radio: Interview with Danny Morales, local sports update, college and pro football talk

A friend from back home succumbed to a long illness earlier this week and I felt it was only right to dedicate this week’s edition of Carnahan Chronicles radio to his memory. See you when we get there, Jason Vann.

This week the show got underway with talk about the opening round of the high school football playoffs in Florida and the lone remaining girls volleyball team from the area still playing for a state title. I also gave mention to the UCF women’s soccer team hosting a match this weekend in the first round of the NCAA postseason and interviewed Valencia Voice editor-in-chief Danny Morales about UCF football’s win Friday over Tulsa.

( – Click here to listen to J.C. dedicate show, talk local sports, and interview Danny Morales – )

Producer Chris Vazquez joined me to talk about the biggest college and pro football games of the weekend, but the conversation took a bit of a turn each segment as we zeroed in on a couple topics that’ve created debate in our respective circles.

The first was whether the Florida State-Miami game is an even bigger rivalry for fans of the Seminoles than Florida State-Florida. The other was whether the Cleveland Browns should invest in Brian Hoyer or Johnny Manziel as the franchise’s quarterback of the future. Not sure we came to a clear conclusion, but talking it out is a good step in the right direction.

( – Click here to listen to J.C. and Chris talk FSU-Miami and college football this week – )

( – Click here to listen to J.C. and Chris talk Cleveland Browns QBs & NFL games this week – )

Carnahan Coverage: Temple becomes latest foe to fall at hands of UCF

The UCF Knights have yet to drop an American Athletic Conference game in the second year of the league’s existence. Despite a close outcome a season ago, Temple showed little fight on Saturday as the Owls were turned away 34-14 at Bright House Networks Stadium.

Two different quarterbacks combined for three interceptions for Temple as both P.J. Walker and Connor Reilly were largely ineffective. The Owls also lost a fumble and surrendered four sacks.

UCF outgained Temple 466-182 in total yards and held them to just 3 of 13 conversions on third down, in what was just another day at the office for a defense that improved the Knights to 5-2 overall and 3-0 in AAC play.

( – Click here to read J.C.’s story on Temple at UCF for the Philadelphia Inquirer – )

Carnahan Coverage: Quarterback Nick Montana not good enough for Tulane on road at UCF

Backup quarterback Nick Montana had a chance to make his mark under center for Tulane while in Orlando as his hall of fame dad watched from the stands against UCF.

Joe Montana is known for taking part in thrilling finishes as a quarterback in college at Notre Dame and in the NFL while with the San Francisco 49ers. Nick is more likely to be remembered for his mishaps on Saturday, which included errant passes and spiking the ball on fourth down with seconds remaining before halftime of the Green Wave’s 20-13 loss to the Knights.

Montana finished 18 of 42 passing for 147 yards and two interceptions. Many of his passes fell out of the reach of his intended receivers or failed to travel far enough to move the chains. Twice in the fourth quarter Tulane took possession with the chance to tie the game, only to fall short despite the Green Wave defense forcing four turnovers in the loss.

“We just didn’t take advantage of some of the turnovers our defense gave us,” Tulane coach Curtis Johnson said. “We’ve got to get to the point where, offensively, we can make touchdowns or field goals or something when they give us the ball way down there.”

The Green Wave defense has recorded at least one takeaway in 16-straight games and in 31 of their last 32 outings.

It was the second-straight backup quarterback to enter Bright House Networks Stadium. The result was no different for the Knights the last time around.

( – Click here for J.C.’s story on Tulane’s 20-13 loss at UCF for The Times-Picayune – )