Lamm at Large

The college football landscape is changing at warp speed. Every month, it seems, schools are switching conference affiliations. The original concept of geography determining the make up of conferences is deader than the Statue of Liberty play.   The Big 10 now has 18 teams stretching from New Jersey to California. The SEC has expanded to the West, grabbing Texas and Oklahoma after earlier pulling in Texas A&M, Arkansas and […]

USA Ryder Cup teams generally fall comfortably in place. Oh, the last spot on the 12-man team often creates some debate, but little else.   Not this year. With only the 30-man field Tour Championship remaining on the schedule, six players have qualified: Scottie Scheffler, Wyndham Clark, Brian Harman, Patrick Cantley, Max Homa and Xander Schauffele.   The biggest controversy surrounds Brooks Koepka, who now plays on the LIV Tour. […]

The Gators kick off their football season in nine days and . . . well, the silence is deafening.   I've heard little about the '23 Gators from the media and the hundreds of Gator fans I know. In fact, my two best friends are Gators and their lips have been sealed on the subject. The main reason, of course, is the Gators aren't expected to be very good. They're […]

You have to be careful when you start talking about the greatest this or the worse that. So here I go tiptoeing across eggshells about the greatest individual comeback in all sports. I offer golfer Lucas Glover as No. 1 on my list -- and he might not be through.   Lucas won the last PGA Tour event of the year -- when few of the world's top 50 players were […]

The Jaguars were a poor tackling team last season. So were the Gators.   In fact, most teams at all levels tackle poorly. Whatever happened to "stick 'em between the numbers" and "knock their heads off"? The fundamentals of tackling?   The rules happened. I've gotten over getting frustrated about missed tackles. "Stick 'em between the numbers" and "knocked their heads off" are now illegal, 15-yard penalties. I sympathize with, […]

It was about 25 years ago. I don't remember any details except for one. It was a preseason game for the Jaguars and afterward, I asked Coach Tom Coughlin, "What was the best thing about tonight?"   "No one was injured," he replied. I couldn't help myself but a follow-up question seemed so obvious.   "If that's the best thing, Tom, why you'd play the game tonight?"   He stared […]

The USA women's soccer team is its own worst enemy. It became so good, winning back-to-back World Cups, it inspired other countries around the world to beef up their women's soccer programs. You get as good as USA women's soccer by starting at the youth level; by making soccer "cool" for girls.   And in making women's soccer profitable for those who excel. The USA team has several millionaires among […]

When I watched the NFL Hall of Fame inductions last week, I found myself thinking of Fred Taylor. The former Jaguars running back belongs in the Hall, but more of that in a moment.   What makes a Hall of Famer? For skill position players, the numbers often tell the story. For offensive linemen it's more difficult except in a case like Joe Thomas, who played more than 10,000 consecutive […]

Football is a big man's game. So why do the small players get the vast majority of the credit and attention?   Seldom has an NFL team won the Super Bowl without a stout offensive line, often one that survived the season without a significant injury. Backup quarterbacks have won rings. Ditto for 5th wide receivers or backup running backs.   Not backup offensive lines.   That is a prelude to […]