SEBRING –– The time for tweaking their lineup and making adjustments is over for the boys basketball coaches in the Heartland. It's tournament time. The second round of the boys Class 4A-District 10 tournament is tonight in Palmetto, and Avon Park and Sebring are both in action. Avon Park, which is the No. 5 seed, faces fourth-seed Hardee at 6 tonight. The Red Devils, who lost to Okeechobee 57-55 on Saturday, have had an up and down season and a win tonight against a talented Wildcat squad would send them into Friday night's semifinals. ...more

February 5, 2008

OKEECHOBEE – Despite a valiant fourth-quarter comeback, the Avon Park boys basketball team fell to Okeechobee 57-55 on Saturday night in the Brahman gym. Early foul trouble forced the Red Devils to sit freshman Alonzo Robertson, who finished with 11 points, and Tim Dennis, who did a good job on the boards. Okeechobee took advantage by taking a 35-18 halftime lead. Freshman Avierre Conner finished with 12 points and helped the Red Devils mount their second-half comeback. ...more

February 4, 2008

SARASOTA — No championship is just handed to a team, and the Sebring girls basketball team seemingly tried to rest on its laurels of past tournament wins and almost saw their chance at a third-straight district championship slip away. Hannah Shoop's basket on a beautiful no-look pass by senior Whitney Lee with 1:07 to play ended a Blue-Streak scoring drought — which saw a 15-point lead dwindle to just four points — and lifted the Blue Streaks past the No. 4 seed Palmetto Tigers 52-44 in the semifinals of the Class 4A-District 10 tournament on Friday. ...more

February 3, 2008

The top-seeded Sebring girls basketball team had little trouble against Palmetto on Friday night, but an all-Heartland final wasn't meant to be, as host Booker rallied to defeat Avon Park in overtime. ...more

February 2, 2008

Four men are behind bars after a rash of burglaries at several of the area's produce warehouses, according to arrest reports. Tens of thousands of dollars in tomatoes and squash were stolen, apparently for resale, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. ...more

January 29, 2008

SEBRING — Daniel Grimaldo stepped up the ball and thought of all the penalty kicks he'd taken in his life. Some went left, some went right, but none were bigger than the one straight in front of him. "I'm not going to lie — I prayed right there in the box," the senior said. "I knew I had to get it in. I knew it was our last chance. And there was no better feeling than watching that ball go in." Sebring captured its first-ever district boys soccer title in dramatic fashion on Friday night, scoring twice in the second half and netting a penalty kick in the 78th minute to defeat defending district champ Palmetto 2-1 in the finals of the Class 4A-District 10 tournament at Firemen's Field. ...more

January 27, 2008

Daniel Grimaldo's penalty kick goal in the 78th minute was the difference Friday night as the Sebring boys soccer team won its first ever district championship with a 2-1 victory over Palmetto in a physical Class 4A-District 10 tournament final on Firemen's Field. ...more

January 26, 2008

SEBRING — The last time the Sebring boys basketball team faced DeSoto, the Blue Streaks drove home from Arcadia with a 23-point loss hanging over their heads. During the rematch on Thursday night, however, there was plenty more hanging in the balance. Sam Robinson scored 23 points and Javier Medina added 10 more as Sebring led the entire way and claimed at least a tie for the second seed for the Class 4A-District 10 tournament with a 57-42 victory over the Bulldogs. The Streaks could find themselves in a three-way tie for first-place in district if Hardee defeated DeSoto on Friday night (results were not available as of press time). But whatever the case, Sebring took care of business when it needed to, winning crucial games over Palmetto on Tuesday (81-64) and DeSoto on Thursday to close out district play. ...more

January 26, 2008

Red Devils Rush Past Green Dragons AVON PARK — Four Red Devils scored in double figures on Thursday night as the Avon Park boys basketball team used a balanced attack and a strong second half to pull away from Lake Placid 69-47 in non-district action. ...more

January 25, 2008

BRADENTON - Johnny "Creep" Vazquez, a middle school dropout, grew up in one of Manatee County's toughest neighborhoods and had joined a street gang by the time he was a teenager. ...more

January 24, 2008