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Drew Weatherford: "I'm done with football"

After a 2010 rookie season with the Tampa Bay Storm of the Arena League, former Nole Drew Weatherford has apparently taken his last snap.

"I'm done with football... I tried in arena football last year but I think it's time to join the real world," Weatherford told WCTV in Tallahassee.

In 2009 Weatherford had tryouts with three NFL teams but never landed a contract. Now he's entering the business world, according to the Channel 6 report. Always likeable and articulate during his FSU days, Drew might do well following his brother into politics. Will Weatherford recently became Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives at a youthful 31 years old.

Seminoles' witness protection program -- a.k.a. North Alabama -- sends 2 more into deep cover

Ever since Terry Bowden became the head Lion at North Alabama, the welcome mat has been out for Noles looking for a new home. This year two more found their way to relative obscurity at the Florence, Alabama school.

Jamar Jackson is hoping for better luck and more playing time in UNA purple. Jackson was the nation's no. 6 DE prospect when he signed with FSU. But one injury after another made J.J's game appearances as rare as a solar eclipse.

Similar situation for Cameron Wade. The 6'5" WR from just over the state line in Cairo had his best season in 2009 with three catches. Then he missed a good part of last season due to a back injury.

One explanation for why the careers of both Jackson and Wade never worked out: The dreaded Curse of the Class of 2007. Of the 19 players signed by FSU in '07, only four ever made a meaningful impact: Taiwan Easterling, Bert Reed, Rodney Hudson and Kendall Smith.

For most people it's an inspirational movie, for FSU fans its a horror show

Chances are "The Fifth Quarter" is now showing at a theater near you (check for local listings here). It's the heartwarming story of former Wake Forest linebacker Jon Abbate, and his struggle to find reasons to live and play football after his younger brother was killed in a car accident. The critics say if you liked "The Blindside" you'll be moved by "The Fifth Quarter." But be forewarned. The film includes actual Wake Forest game footage -- including, as we understand, the Noles' painful 30-0 loss to the Deacons in 2006. (Yep, the game that was so humiliating, it convinced Jeff Bowden to quit just three days after the fact.) So go see this gridiron drama at your own risk. We thought you oughta be prepared so you don't risk gagging on your Milk Duds.

Noles run out of time against the Rams

by Bill from Tampa

Moments earlier Chris Singleton pumped faked getting his man in the air and drove the ball in along the right baseline for the slam dunk giving Florida State a 71-70 lead.

Seven point nine seconds remained in overtime. That is all that separated Florida State from their first appearance in the Elite Eight since 1993.

All the Seminoles needed to do was to hold VCU on the inbound play under the Rams’ basket.

But the Rams had burned the ‘Noles on inbound plays throughout the game. This one particularly hurt when Joey Rodriguez bounced the ball under and in between two Seminole defenders right to a cutting Bradford Burgess who laid the ball in to take a 72-71 lead with 7.1 seconds left.

With time running out it looked like Derwin Kitchen might pull out the last second win. After driving from the top of the key down to the right of the lane Kitchen passed up a layup and kicked the ball to Singleton who never got a shot off, having it blocked and thus ending a comeback and the Seminoles’ season.

The last seconds of overtime had an eerily similarity to end of regulation. Singleton had just tied the score at 65 with his only three pointer of the game with 41 seconds left. Bernard James swatted away Burgess’ floater in the lane with only 15 seconds on the game clock.

Leonard Hamilton chose to not call a timeout and avoid letting VCU set up in the zone, presumably to let his offense attack.

Kitchen had the ball but instead of attacking the basket, Kitchen dribbled aimlessly on the perimeter and heaved a wild turnaround jumper that had no chance of going in, sending the game to an extra period.

Those two plays will be remembered by FSU fans for a long time. It is not how Kitchen, who had 23 points and 11 rebounds, should be remembered in his final college game. But they summarized FSU’s inability to put the ball in the basket against VCU.

Is VCU the TCU of college basketball?

In 2010, TCU proved yet again to be a giant killer, and for emphasis -- in a kind of how-do-you-like-us-now statement -- it humbled the Big Ten champs in the Rose Bowl. So what does VCU, the surprising breakout team of March Madness, have in common with the Horned Frogs? They embrace the underdog role to play above their perceived talent level. The bigger the opponent, the more inspired they are to embarass them (though TCU has almost outgrown the sneaky assassin M.O., while the Rams are just assuming it).

So don't be surprised if upstart VC-who? comes out tonight with an emotional edge. After all, the Rams became the overnight darlings of the sports bar nation by mugging Purdue. No doubt they'll be pumped as they attempt to stun the Noles from the tip-off with their high energy basketball blitzkreig and three-point accuracy. Here's a good look at what FSU is up against, in case you missed it.

Leonard Hamilton has been seeing that video in his sleep all week. Now comes Ham's opportunity to put a very big notch on his gunbelt by preparing the Noles to slow down VCU, steal the momentum and bring the Rams back down to earth. Whichever team prevails, this could well be the game that fans remember as the best of the tournament long after it's over.

Hugh Durham's take on FSU's current coach

Here's part three of our Q&A with the Noles all-time winningest basketball coach. We asked if he felt FSU's program was in good hands with Leonard Hamilton at the helm.

"You just look at the record. There are a number of positive things. Number one, he's got a high graduation rate. People say that's what they want: 'Yeah, we want our guys to graduate.' What they really want you to do is win and graduate. And if you reflect on the quality of players he's had in the program, you don't hear about them being in a lot of difficulty on or off campus. Then there are only two teams in the conference that have won more conference and tournament games in the last three years than Florida State. I'm pretty confident that's true. Also, they've been to the NCAA's the last three years. And for the last several weeks they've been playing without their leading scorer, leading rebounder, and best defensive player. And they've been hanging in there. So that's a compliment to the team and the coaching staff."

Coach Hugh Durham on what made the 1972 Seminoles special

The third in our series with Hugh Durham, Florida State grad, former player and the Noles' all time winningest coach.

"Just because you have good players doesn't mean you're going to be good, because you have to have chemistry. That was one of the things. And our players really liked each other. Not only did they respect each other, they really liked each other. They spent a lot of time together off the court. Ron King was probably the most identified of our group, because he was Mr. Basketball coming out of Kentucky. Was ranked in the top ten in the country. But all our guys liked him. A lot of times when somebody is an outstanding player and they get a lot of publicity, other players don't gravitate toward them. But that wasn't the case with us. We also had good leadership from our seniors. And we had guys who wanted to be coached. So when you put all that together -- guys who liked each other, had chemistry and actually enjoyed working to get better -- that's what that team had."

Hugh Durham on his 1972 Seminoles vs. the 2010-11 Sweet Sixteen team

In the second part of our Q&A with FSU's winningest coach, we asked who would win a fantasy basketball game between his 1972 team that played for the national championship and this year's Seminoles under Leonard Hamilton?

A: "I don't know. There's certain things about the game that have really changed. And strength development is one of them. Kids now have been lifting weights since they were in high school. And if you go back and look at those pictures of Bill Walton (UCLA) and (FSU players) Reggie Royals and Lawrence McCray, they weren't nearly as strong as kids are today. It's a different era. If our guys had been on a strength program for six years -- two in high school and four in college -- they'd be different players than they were. But I really liked our team. We had a lot of what it takes to be good.
And I would enjoy being able to coach that team in
today's NCAA tournament."

Seminoles advance in the dance after dominating Notre Dame, 71-57

by Bill from Tampa

It’s not often you see a smiling Leonard Hamilton after a game, even when it is a win. But after a near perfect performance Hamilton had plenty of reason to grin from ear to ear as Florida State manhandled Notre Dame all game long in beating the Fighting Irish 71-57 to reach their first Sweet 16 since 1993.

Lower seeds such as a ten seed that Florida State came into the NCAA as generally don’t beat second seeded teams in such dominating fashion. But that is exactly what the Seminoles did in giving nothing easy to the Irish from start to finish.

Heck, even the walk-ons got into the swing of things as Andrew Rutledge finished off the scoring with a three pointer from the right corner with just seconds left in the game.

The shooting statistics tell the story of the dominance. FSU shot 45% while a stifling defense held Notre Dame to just 30%, that included 7-30 three point shots, well below their 39% season average. Meanwhile FSU, not known as a three point shooting team, shot 9-19 from behind the arc.

Notable also in the statistics was free throw shooting. Notre Dame had taken 316 more trips to the stripe than its opponents over the course of the season. Instead it was the Seminoles who were the aggressor, making almost as many freebies as the Irish took (18-25 compared to 12-19).

Notre Dame had one lead in the game at 2-0 and tied it just once, 9-9. But a flurry of three pointers, seven in total, in the first half staked the ‘Noles to a 34-23 halftime lead.

And then FSU upped that to twenty-three, 52-29, after  Michael Snaer (who had just swatted away Ben Hansbrough's shot at the other end of the floor) nailed a three pointer from the right corner.

The Irish did make an 11-0 run right after that to close to 52-40. But that's as close as the Domers would get as FSU opened it back up to sixteen, 63-47, with 3:59 to play.

It would be hard to point to anyone player to credit for the win, just the way Hamilton likes it, because it was clearly a team effort at both ends of the floor.

Bernard James recorded yet another double double with 14 points and 10 boards, made even more remarkable after having multiple IVs earlier in the day due to flu-like symptoms. Snaer had an excellent game with 13 points. Derwin Kitchen had 10 with 6 of the team’s total 15 assists (against just 12 turnovers) and Okaro White added 10 as well.

And on defense, FSU frustrated Notre Dame on every possession, with defenders in the face of the shooter on nearly every shot, and just physically beat down the Irish, knocking cutters off their routes. Rotations to the ball were nearly flawless, allowing ND a scant few dribble penetrations, and an extended defense pushed the guards out past their comfort zone.

As former Wake Forest Head coach Dino Gaudio now ESPNU analyst said after the game, “FSU contests every shot. They don’t hope you miss …. they MAKE you miss.”

It quite possibly was the best offensive and defensive performance of the season for the Seminoles. Notre Dame Head coach Mike Brey sensed that as well, waving the white flag by emptying the bench with 1:33 to play.

“I thought we executed our game plan well,” Hamilton said. “We moved the ball well, we made the extra pass.”

"Hopefully, this is just the beginning of something special," Seminoles coach Leonard Hamilton said. "The good thing about this team is I still think our best basketball is ahead of us."

No offense, coach, but after years of frustration for FSU fans, this season is already something special.

NFL draft experts compare Ponder to Kosar (like that's a good thing?)

Christian Ponder's NFL draft stock is shooting up like Apple shares after the iPad announcement. And last week's pro day workout only added to his value. In this video (click on the Watch Video link on clip #1), NFL Network analysts break down CP7's strengths and how he compares to Jake Locker and other 2011 QB prospects. One draft guru even compares him to former Cane Bernie Kosar -- at his best, thank you -- and touts Ponder's brainpower as an asset and an edge. Bonus: The video includes footage of Christian's draft day audition for pro scouts.