Lodged somewhere between the heaven that is playing every Sunday and the hell that is not knowing if you will suit up again is a purgatory known as injury rehab. ...more

August 31, 2008

Elbert Mack had every excuse to fail. Mack was not expected to be successful throughout his football career because he was too small. After seeing his father leave his family, the odds were stacked against Mack becoming a successful man. ...more

August 22, 2008

What Hillsborough County Jail Deputy Charlette Marshall-Jones did last January was an outrage. While searching a partially paralyzed man during booking, she dumped Brian Sterner out of his wheelchair, as casually as if he was a bag of dirty laundry. The Sheriff's Office quickly and rightly charged her with abusing the disabled, a third-degree felony that could bring up to a five-year sentence. ...more

July 8, 2008

Monica McIntyre likes to call daughters Heaven and Trinity "my little miracles." ...more

July 4, 2008

Ever catch a 20-pound snook? Odds are that even if you have been so lucky as to get a huge fish in recent years, you're not actually sure of how much the lunker weighed. All snook longer than 33 inches (32 inches on the east coast) must now be released, and even weighing the fish is discouraged because weighing them requires suspending them from the jaw - a no-no for successful release. ...more

June 22, 2008

This is a letter I received for Father's Day a few years back from my son, who was waiting for and received a lung transplant at the Ohio State Medical Center. He refers to himself as Number One Son, since he is the only son. Dear Dad, I love you and I know I'm number one son. The best times of my life were with you, hunting in the woods, and I thank God for letting me enjoy them with you. ...more

June 15, 2008

Twenty-five years ago, several advocates for children huddled at the University of South Florida to discuss how to better help children with special needs early on, when nurturing and stimulation are so critical. ...more

June 5, 2008

SEBRING — RCMA teen parents had plenty to celebrate on the final day of classes for seniors at Sebring High School on Thursday — all four senior teen parents are graduating. Jelisha Ward couldn't stop smiling as she took off her backpack after class and picked up her son, Dylah Samuels, in the RCMA Teen Parent building. "Knowing I have a diploma is a great accomplishment," Jelisha said. "I am so happy to be done with high school and moving on to the next phase of my life." Katrina Caldwell, family support worker for the program, said typically only about 25 percent of teen parents graduate, but this year 100 percent of the girls who started high school will be collecting diplomas. ...more

May 22, 2008

"The Logic of Life," by Tim Harford (Random House, $25) ...more

February 24, 2008

TAMPA -- A $1 wager can get you a $37 million return tonight as the Florida Lottery tries to give away a ballooning jackpot that has rolled over for several weeks. ...more

February 20, 2008