MLB 2011; How they finished

Three DuvALUMNI played a part in the most amazing night in regular season baseball history: Brett Myers (Englewood) starting the final game of the season for the Astros against the Cardinals , who were one of four teams with a shot at the playoffs on the final night. Sadly for Myers, he was shelled and the Cards moved on to the NLDS. Also not faring so well, Kenny grad Jonathan Papelbon took his first loss and only his third blown save of the season as the Orioles won in the bottom of the ninth against the uber-slumping Boston Red Sox. Chipper Jones watched his Atlanta Braves disastrously slump in September, finally being passed by the Cardinals on the final night. The Bolles grad went 0 for 5 in the 13-inning loss to the Phils, giving the Cardinals the playoff slot. As for the year in review here's how our DuvALUMNI fared in 2011:

Billy Butler (Wolfson) - DH Kansas City; Butler finished the year with 19 HR and a career-high 95 rbi with a .291 average.

Chipper Jones (Bolles) - 3B Atlanta; aside from the aforementioned collapse of the Braves, Chipper had a decent season with 18 HR 70 rbi and a .275 average. He turns 40 next April but said after their season-ending loss on Wednesday that he will return for the 2012 season. Was a 2011 All-Star.

Howie Kendrick (West Nassau) - 2B LA Angels; An all-star year for Kendrick, who had career highs in both homer runs (18) and rbi (63) to go with his .285 average.

Daniel Murphy (Englewood) - NY Mets - Murphy finished second on the Mets with a .320 average (trailing only NL batting champ Jose Reyes). Murphy had a season-ending injury August 7.

Brett Myers (Englewood) P - Houston; His last game notwithstanding, Myers finished strong for a rather weak Astros squad, winning 4 of his last 5 games. His season totals were a 7-14 record with a 4.46 ERA.

Jonathan Papelbon (Kenny) P - Boston; Outstanding year that will be long-forgotten due to the historic collapse of the Red Sox. Paps was 4-1 (ouch that one) with a 2.94 ERA and 31 out of 34 in the Save department.

Darren O'Day  (Kenny) P - Texas; The only DuvALUMNI alive in the playoffs, O'Day tore a labrum in his left hip that required surgery which limited his time on the mound for the Rangers. He only had 5 appearances since the All-Star break. He finished with 16 innings pitched with a 0-1 record.

Adam Wainwright (Glynn Cty) - P - St. Louis; Wainwright missed the entire season with elbow surgery From MLB.com: Wainwright tossed the equivalent of two innings in the bullpen. "This was my third throwing session off the mound [to a crouched catcher]," he said. "The first two times we did one set of 30. This one we're kind of progressing, now we're doing two sets of 20. So the up-down, but you're also adding some throws in there." Wainwright said he only threw fastballs on Thursday, but one of the next steps in his rehabilitation process will be to throw changeups.

NFL Week 3

Once again, many NFL DuvALUMNI were not activated or didn't play, due to injury or otherwise. They include: Champ Bailey, Tim Tebow, Marcus Thomas, Rusty Smith, Jason Spitz, & Stephen Nicholas.

For those who played:
Daniel Thomas (HIlliard) rushed for 95 yards and caught 27 yards worth with a touchdown in Miami's loss to Cleveland. Nolan Carroll (Clay) was in on 5 tackles for the Dolphins.

Cliff Avril (Clay) had two tackles, 1 sack and a forced fumble in Detroit's overtime win over Minnesota. Letroy Guion (Bradford Cty) played for the Vikings but registered no stats.

CJ Spiller (Union Cty) had only one carry for 3 yards for Buffalo's upset of New England...Brian Dawkins (Raines) had 2 tackles and 1 assist for Denver in their loss to Tennessee. Jamie Harper (Trinity) played for the Titans but did not carry the ball.

Rashean Mathis (Englewood) had 4 tackles 1 assist and pass defense in the Jags' water-logged loss to the Panthers. Leon Washington (Jackson) saw multi-duty for Seattle carrying for 29 yards, and returning punts and kickoffs.

Jabar Gaffney (Raines) plays Monday night for the Skins.

Thomas cracks the century mark for Miami: NFL Regular Season Week Two

Daniel Thomas

Former Hilliard star  Daniel Thomas ran for 107 yards for the Miami Dolphins Sunday in a loss to Houston. Thomas did not play last week due to a hamstring injury, but became the first Dolphin to run for over 100 yards since the 2009 season. More here on this story.

Jabar Gaffney (Raines) started and caught 5 passes for 63 yards as the Redskins stay undefeated. C.J. Spiller (Union Cty) saw more action for Buffalo in their win; rushing for 63 yards, while also catching a pass and returned a couple of punts. Leon Washington (Jackson) continued his multi-dimensional role for Seattle, with one rush and 2 kickoff returns (19.5 avg). Jason Spitz (Bolles) saw action for the Jaguars on the offensive line. Tim Tebow (Nease) played for Denver...at wide receiver!  Tebow filled in this week in practice when the Broncos' receiver corps was thinned out by injury. He was not in on many plays and  was not thrown to during the game.

On the defensive side of the NFL DuvALUMNI ball, Cliff Avril (Clay High) started and recovered a fumble and had a pass deflection in Detroit's blow-out victory...Nolan Carroll (Clay) had two tackles on defense and one assist on special teams for Miami...Letroy Guion (Bradford Cty) started and had a QB hurry for the Vikings...Brian Dawkins (Raines) had three tackles and 1 assist with 1 pass defended for the Broncos. Rashean Mathis (Englewood) registered 7 tackles with 1 interception and a pass defended for the Jaguars in their blow-out loss to the Jets...Stephen Nicholas (Lee) had 3 tackles with a forced fumble and fumble recovery in the Falcons' Sunday night win over the Eagles. Nicholas also provided the final tackle of the game, stopping the dangerous DeSean Jackson on a punt return.

Many of the NFL's DuvALUMNI were inactive for this week's games: A pair of Broncos - Champ Bailey(Charlton Cty) and Marcus Thomas (Mandarin); and a pair of Titans - Jamie Harper (Trinity), and Rusty Smith (Paxon/Sandalwood) did not see action.

College Honor Roll week 2

Arkansas St. QB Ryan Aplin (Fleming Island) was a near-perfect 19 of 21 passing for 274 yards and 3 touchdowns...Illinois RB Troy Pollard (Jackson) ran for 101 yards and a touchdown in the Illini victory Saturday... Lance Byrd (Stanton) ran for 153 yards on 20 carries for FCS school Presbyterian... Deja Alexander (First Coast) caught 6 passes for 93 yards for Western Carolina... Riley Haynes (Nease) was in on 10 tackles for Wake Forest in their victory over NC State... Charles James (Mandarin) picked off E.J. Manuel and set up Charleston Southern's touchdown in their loss to Florida State.

NFL DuvALUMNI

Regular Season Week 1

Many DuvALUMNI were inactive for this week's games:

Rusty Smith (Sandalwood) came home but was not activated for the Titans in town. Denver's Marcus Thomas (Mandarin) and the Dolphins' Daniel Thomas -no relation (Hilliard) were inactive for their games. And despite the chants of the Broncos fans last night, Tim Tebow (Nease) did not see action. For those who did:

Cliff Avril (Clay - Detroit) started for the Lions registering 1 tackle and 1 assist. Another Clay High product, Nolan Carroll, had 3 tackles for the Dolphins but spent most of his evening chasing Tom Brady's receivers. Champ Bailey (Charlton Cty) and Brian Dawkins (Raines) started in the defensive backfield for the Broncos. Dawkins had 7 tackles, 2assists and 1 tfl; Bailey had 5 tackles and 1 tfl. Jamie Harper (Trinity) came home to play for the Titans against the Jags. He had 3 carries for 10 yards and one reception for 21 yards. He went up against Rashean Mathis (Englewood) for the Jags who had 3 tackles. Jason Spitz (Bolles) also played on the line on special teams for the Jags. Jabar Gaffney (Raines) and CJ Spiller (Union Cty) are the only two DuvALUMNI to score a TD. Gaffney caught three passes for 54 yards for the Redskins,  including the TD and Spiller (Buffalo) had 5 carries 16 yards with the TD run. Letroy Guion (Bradford Cty) started for Minnesota in their loss to San Diego. The defensive tackle had 1 tackle and 3 assists. Lee High alumn Stephen Nicholas had 3 tackles, 1 tfl and 1 qb hit for the Falcons in their loss to the Bears. Leon Washington (Jackson) focused on returns Sunday for the Seahawks, averaging 9 yards/ punt return and 26 yards / kickoff return

DUvALUMNI who diidn't make an NFL Roster

A handful of DuvALUMNI who were in training camp with NFL teams did not make the final cuts for their squads. Lake City's Vince Anderson was released by Tampa Bay, Tony Carter (Mandarin) was cut by the Vikings; Brandon Hicks (Forrest) was cut by the Bills and Bear Woods (Baker County) was cut by the Falcons. Shaun Chapas (Bolles) was placed on the practice squad by the Dallas Cowboys. That leaves sixteen DuvALUMNI on NFL rosters.

Best of DuvALUMNI College Football Week One

There are 200+ plus current college football players in FBS and FCS division schools. Each week we highlight the best of the best. All DuvALUMNI College Football Line-up

Offense
QB - Ryan Aplin - Arkansas St. (Fleming Island) 20-32 passing for 290 yards
RB - Jawan Jamison - Rutgers (Bolles) 17 carries for 54 yards
RB - Andrew Buie - West Virginia (Trinity) 30 yards rushing, 11 yards receiving
WR- A.J. Jenkins - Illinois (Terry Parker) 11 rec. 148 yards and 1 touchdown
WR- Chris Summers - Liberty (Ribault) 5 rec. 88 yards and 1 touchdown
WR- Deja Alexander - Western Carolina (First Coast) 6 rec. 64 yds.
OL - James Nicholson - Charleston So. (Nease)
OL - Sam McRoy - FAU (Raines)
OL- Ryan Basford - Navy (Bishop Kenny)
OL- D'Angelo McCray - Memphis (Jackson)
OL- Corey Mason - Bethune-Cookman (Mandarin)

Defense
DL - Louis Nix - Notre Dame (Raines) 2t - 5a - .5tfl
DL - Jack Taylor - Wingate (Keystone Heights) 3t - 4a - 1.5tfl
DL - Mike Mayoral - JU (St. Augustine) 2t -3a - .5tfl
DL - Timmy Jernigan - Florida State (Lake City) 1 a - 1 QB pressure
LB - Gary Tinsley - Minnesota (First Coast) 4t - 3a - 1tfl - 2 BrUp
LB - Sam Barrington - South Florida (Terry Parker) 2t 7a
LB - Scott Betros - Wake Forest (Bolles) 2t 7a 1.5tfl
DB - Lacy McDougald - JU (Fletcher) 5t 1a 1tfl 1BrUp
DB - Xavier Brewer - Clemson (Bartram Trail) 5t 2a 1BrUp
DB - Rashard Hall - Clemson (St. Augustine) 5t 3a 1 rec. fum.
DB - David Wright - Navy (Englewood) 4 tackles
   K - Caleb Sturgis - Florida (St. Augustine) 11 pts 2FG (51 yd long) 5xp
   P - Brandon Holdren - FAMU (First Coast) 37.9 avg. 3 in20

Players of the week: Offense; A.J. Jenkins; 148 yards receiving for Illinois
                          Defense; Gary Tinsley; led Minnesota to a near-upset of Southern Cal..

DuvALMUNI week 3 NFL Pre-season

Vince Anderson (Columbia High, Bucs, S) 1 tackle
Cliff Avril (Clay - Lions, DE) - started, 2 t, 2 sacks, 1 tfl, 2 QH, 1 forced fumble
Champ Bailey (Charlton Cty - Broncos, CB) - started;3 tackles, 1 pass defense
Nolan Carroll (Clay - Dolphins, DB) - 6 total tackles
Tony Carter (Mandarin - Vikings, DB) - 1 tackle 1 assist
Shaun Chapas (Bolles - Cowboys, FB) - 1 rush 2 yards
Brian Dawkins (Raines - Broncos, S) - started, 1 pass defended
Jabar Gaffney (Raines - Redskins, WR) - started - 2 rec 27 yds
Letroy Guion (Bradford Cty, Vikings, DT) started, no stats
Jamie Harper (Trinity - Titans, RB) -13 rush 36 yds 1 TD
Brandon HIcks (Forrest - Bills, LB) 1 tackle 2 assists, 1 QB hurry
Rashean Mathis (Englewood, Jaguars, CB) started, 4 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 QBH
Stephen Nicholas (Lee, Falcons, LB) started, 3 tackles 2 assists
Rusty Smith (Paxon/Sandalwood, Titans, QB) did not play
C.J. Spiller (Union Cty, Bills, RB) 4 rush 21 yds.
Jason Spitz (Bolles, Jaguars, G) played
Tim Tebow (Nease, Broncos, QB) 6-11 93 yds. passing; 4 rushes 25 yds. 82.8 QB rating
Daniel Thomas (Hilliard, Dolphins, RB) 7 rush 16 yds. 1 rec. 19 yds.
Marcus Thomas (Mandarin, Broncos, DT) not activated for game
Leon Washington (Jackson, Seahawks, RB) 8 rush 33 yds; 2 rec 19 yds.
Bear Woods (Baker County, Falcons, LB) did not play
duvALUMNI player of the week in bold

NFL Preseason Week #2

Rundown of DuvALUMNI in the NFL preseason week 2:

Vince Anderson (Columbia High, Bucs, S) did not play
Cliff Avril (Clay - Lions, DE) - started, 1 tackle, 1 QB hurry
Champ Bailey (Charlton Cty - Broncos, CB) - started; no stats
Nolan Carroll (Clay - Dolphins, DB) - 1 tackle 2 assists, 1 pass defended
Tony Carter (Mandarin - Vikings, DB) - 1 tackle (special teams)
Shaun Chapas (Bolles - Cowboys, FB) - 1 rush 3 yards
Brian Dawkins (Raines - Broncos, S) - started, 1 tackle
Jabar Gaffney (Raines - Redskins, WR) - started - 1 rec 19 yds
Letroy Guion (Bradford Cty, Vikings, DT) started, 2 tackles 1 assist, 1 tackle for loss
Jamie Harper (Trinity - Titans, RB) -11 att 83 yds 1 TD 1 rec. 24 yds.
Rashean Mathis (Englewood, Jaguars, CB) started, no stats
Stephen Nicholas (Lee, Falcons, LB) started, 3 tackles 1 tfl
Rusty Smith (Paxon/Sandalwood, Titans, QB) 0-2
C.J. Spiller (Union Cty, Bills, RB) 6 rush 10 yds; 2 rec 11 yds
Jason Spitz (Bolles, Jaguars, G) played
Tim Tebow (Nease, Broncos, QB) 1-2 10 yds passing; played on third team
Daniel Thomas (Hilliard, Dolphins, RB) started, 12 att. 52 yds 1 TD
Marcus Thomas (Mandarin, Broncos, DT) not activated for game
Leon Washington (Jackson, Seahawks, RB) 4 rush 26 yds
Bear Woods (Baker County, Falcons, LB) 2 tackles, 1tfl
standout player of week in bold

Baseball pt.2

Latest stats from other locals: (MLB and AAA players updated in previous post.)

AA
Mycal Jones - of - Mississippi (ATL) (Wolfson) - 6 HR 27 rbi .237 BA

A
Tim Griffin - (Bartram Trail)   Everett (Seat) p 2-0 3.04 era
Jake Dunning  (Clay) San Jose (SF) p 5-2 4.70 era
Kyle Parker (Bartram Trail) Asheville (Colo) of  18 HR .281 BA
Charles Thomas (Mandarin)    Boise  p 1-1 4.02era
Joey Bergman (Bishop Kenny)    Quad cities  2b 0hr 7rbi .200
BJ Larosa (Episcopal)  Rancho Cucamonga (LAD) C .231 BA
Ben Gamel (Bishop Kenny) Staten Island (NYY) 1 HR 20 rbi .302

Independent Leagues
Paul Fagan  (Bartram Trail)  Lake Erie p 4-9 4.43 era
Brandon Rapoza (Bartram Trail)  Sioux Falls p 3-10 6.10 era
Jeff Flagg (Bishop Kenny)  Traverse City 1b 10hr 24rbi  .272
Chase Fontaine (Nease)  Worcester inf .226 BA
Blake Sanders (Nease)  McAllen inf  2 hr .256  BA

Rookie League
Jalen Simmons (Camden Cty)   GCL  .091
Ronald Melendez (ACD) GCL Blue Jays (Tor) OF.214
Daniel Vargas-Vila (St Joseph)    Orem p 1-2 3.52 era

Local MLB signings

Earlier this year, Javier Baez was playing shortstop in his senior year at Arlington Country Day - now he is 2.6 million dollars richer. The ninth overall pick in this summer's MLB draft inked the deal with the Cubs close to the signing deadline earlier this week...Patrick Leonard, who starred at Creekside High until he moved to Texas in his senior year, signed with the Royals with a $600,000 bonus.

Montel Harris to miss some time?

Montel Harris (Trinity) is only 126 yards away from becoming the all-time rushing leader in Boston College history, and only 1002 yards from becoming the all-time rushing leader the history of Atlantic Coast Conference. The bad news is he is going to have to wait to get at those marks. Harris had arthroscopic surgery Wednesday on what was another lateral tear on his meniscus; the same tear he suffered toward the end of last year. Harris is hoping to back in action by the third game of the season, but if for some reason the healing does not go the way the doctors want, Harris does still have a redshirt season to use.

Tebow No. 3 in Denver?

 Kyle Orton started for the Broncos tonight in their second pre-season game of the year. The surprise to many was when Brady Quinn entered the game after Orton put in his time. Does this mean that Tim Tebow (Nease) has been demoted to the number three QB in Denver? Broncos' GM John Elway tweeted that Tebow would be number three for tonight's game - is that a harbinger of Tim's future?

Baseball DuvALUMNI ; MLB & AAA

Latest updates from DuvALUMNI in Major League Baseball and AAA Minors. other minor leagues update this weekend.

MLB


 Billy Butler - DH - Kansas City (Wolfson) - 14 HR 65 RBI .284 BA

 Darren O'Day - RP - Texas (Bishop Kenny) - 0-0 3.86 ERA has missed most of the season with hip injury.

 Adam Wainwright -SP - St. Louis (Glynn County, GA Academy) - has missed entire season , surgery.            

 Howie Kendrick - 2B / OF - LA Angels (West Nassau) - 8 HR 36 RBI .288 BA - 2011 all-star

 Brett Myers - SP - Houston (Englewood) - 3-12 4.71 ERA

 Jonathan Papelbon - RP - Boston (Bishop Kenny) 4-0 3.08 ERA 27/28 Saves

 Chipper Jones - 3B - Atlanta (Bolles) 10 HR 53 RBI .272 BA - 2011 all-star

 Daniel Murphy - 1B - NY Mets  (Englewood) 6 HR 49 RBI .320 BA

AAA

Mat Gamel - 3B- Nashville (Mil) - (Bishop Kenny) 25 HR 87 RBI .325 BA - spent two weeks in July with parent club Brewers, then re-assigned to Nashville.

Corey Wimberly - OF/2B - Indianapolis (Pitt) - (Ribault) 0 HR 11 RBI .238 BA

Eric Hurley - P - Round Rock (Tex) - (Wolfson) 6-1 4.57 ERA

Michael Kirkman - P - Round Rock (Tex) - (Lake City) 1-3 5.40 ERA

Pre-Season Week One : NFL DuvALUMNI

Great to have football back -- even the pre-season variety. As of our count, 20 area players are on NFL rosters this pre-season. Three rookies made their debut; Jamie Harper scored a TD, Shaun Chapas caught a pass and Daniel Thomas started. Here are the stats:

Vince Anderson (Columbia High, Bucs, S) 1 tackle
Cliff Avril (Clay - Lions, DE) - started, 1 assist
Champ Bailey (Charlton Cty - Broncos, CB) - started; no stats
Nolan Carroll (Clay - Dolphins, DB) - 2 tackles, 2 assists
Tony Carter (Mandarin - Vikings, DB) - dnp
Shaun Chapas (Bolles - Cowboys, FB) - 1 rec. 4 yds
Brian Dawkins (Raines - Broncos, S) - started, no stats
Jabar Gaffney (Raines - Redskins, WR) - started - 5 rec. 38 yds
Letroy Guion (Bradford Cty, Vikings, DT) started, no stats
Jamie Harper (Trinity - Titans, RB) - 8 att 27 yds 1 TD
Rashean Mathis (Englewood, Jaguars, CB) started, no stats
Stephen Nicholas (Lee, Falcons, LB) started, no stats
Rusty Smith (Paxon/Sandalwood, Titans, QB) 4-9, 55 yds. PR 64.6
C.J. Spiller (Union Cty, Bills, RB) 2 rush 3 yds; 2 rec 16 yds
Jason Spitz (Bolles, Jaguars, G) played
Tim Tebow (Nease, Broncos, QB) 6-7 91 yds. 15 yds rushing, PR 118.8
Daniel Thomas (Hilliard, Dolphins, RB) started, 4 rush 5 yds.  1 rec 25 yds
Marcus Thomas (Mandarin, Broncos, DT) started 1t, 1a
Leon Washington (Jackson, Seahawks, RB) 8 rush 23 yds; 3 rec 11 yds
Bear Woods (Baker County, Falcons, LB) 4 t, 2 a, 1tfl

Are we missing anyone?  Please comment if we have and we'll get them on the list.

Daniel Murphy's strong return in 2011

One of the biggest fears of athletes is returning to original form after injury. Former Englewood star Daniel Murphy had to return after two injuries-- to his knee. After a stellar rookie season in 2008 where Murphy batted .313 in 131 at-bats and a nice sophomore year leading the anemic New York Mets in homers (with 12), he hurt his knee in spring training of 2010. While rehabbing in the minor leagues he suffered another knee injury which kept him out for the season. He has returned to form offensively and has become a more solid fielder (at many positions) for the Mets this year, with many pointing to Murphy (who was also a star at JU) as one of the few answers in a year full of questions for the Mets. He is currently batting .318 with a slugging percetage of .454

Jason Spitz comes home

Earlier this year, Bolles grad Jason Spitz got a Super Bowl ring as a member of the Green Bay Packers; now he gets to play in his hometown. The Jacksonville Jaguars signed the free agent guard Thursday and with  the Jags cutting Vince Manuwai, Spitz is possibly the heir apparent for Manuwai's starting job. Spitz started his first three years with the Packers, but a back injury cost him his starting position in 2009. He played in all of the Packers games last season, mostly on special teams. He will wear number 67 for the Jags.

Nicholas Re-signs with Falcons

Lee High graduate Stephen Nicholas is staying with the Atlanta Falcons. D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Nicholas' deal is worth 17.5 million dollars over 5 years. Nicholas has made 25 starts in the past couple of seasons for the Birds.