Dee-cision is near

By BRANT JAMES and GREG AUMAN

© St. Petersburg Times, published January 5, 2001

Hernando High School football/baseball standout Dee Brown isn't letting anyone know if he's narrowing his college preferences, but his step-father detects something is up.

"He's been short of a quiet shill lately, all closed up," Scotty Scrivens said. "Maybe he knows and he's keeping it in and at some point he'll say, "Dad, I want to go here.' "

But not at this point.

"It's a long process," Brown said. "I just have to wait and see what works out."

Brown visited Miami on Dec. 1. Saturday, he will tour Central Florida, which has offered a full scholarship and an invitation to play baseball and football.

Scrivens learned Thursday that an official visit has been scheduled at USF for Jan.12. Brown's remaining confirmed visit is for Tennessee on Jan. 19.

"(Tennessee coaches) said I could play both (sports), and it seems like a good fit," Brown said. "But we won't know until we get up there and see how it feels."

Brown's final visit will be to a late entry, Georgia, on Jan. 26 -- if new coach Mark Richt agrees to allow him to play baseball.

Richt concluded his tenure as Florida State offensive coordinator in the Orange Bowl on Wednesday night.

Bulldogs baseball coach Ron Polk has said Brown could play both sports, Brown said.

Georgia has arisen as an interesting wild card because Richt scouted Brown for the Seminoles.

"We just have to wait and see how (Richt) feels about it before we can go up," Brown said.

The All-State centerfielder and All-Suncoast linebacker has expressed an interest in attending school near his Brooksville home, but has no plans to visit Florida or Florida State.

Because the Gators wanted him to play one sport, Brown said "Florida is pretty much out of it."

Seminoles officials told Scrivens they would "get back to him" after the Orange Bowl.

Brown said he's in no rush to make a decision. "I'm not going to rush it. I'll take my time and sit down and discuss the pros and cons. I have no set date."

Alonzo returns

Spring Hill's aspiring pro, Jose Alonzo, will be back in the ring Feb. 2 when he's scheduled to perform on the "Return of the Dragon" undercard at Roberts Arena in Sarasota.

Alonzo signed a contract to fight as a 167-pound super middleweight against an undetermined opponent. Alonzo said three foes are being considered by long-time Tampa-based promoter Henry Grooms.

Alonzo, 5-0 with two knockouts, hasn't fought since winning a four-round unanimous decision over Vincent Godbolt last January.

Alonzo is under the tutelage of new trainer Angel Rosa. Alonzo's former trainer, Don Kahn, abandoned the boxer when his Brooksville training venue, Island Gym, was closed in April after the arrest of its owner.

Alonzo said he's ready to move on.

"I'm feeling good and ready to go. Better than ever," Alonzo said. "I can't wait."

China "The Dragon" Smith and Thomas "Boom Boom" Johnson are scheduled to headline the card.

New addition

Hernando County has a new minor-league player to keep an eye on -- former Pasco High School star Alex Cruz.

He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates last summer, and lists Ridge Manor as his hometown.

Cruz, a shortstop taken in the 27th round, had 166 at-bats in 2000, hitting .211 with 1 home run, 5 doubles and 11 RBI for the Bradenton Pirates of the Gulf Coast League.

A three-time All-Sunshine Athletic Conference pick at Pasco, Cruz batted .469 with 8 homers his senior year. He had accepted a scholarship to St. Petersburg Junior College before opting to sign with the Pirates.

On the Web

Given the lack of strong local sports sites on the Internet, we were pleasantly surprised to hear about redmulerunners.com, which has been up and running about five months.

There's a map of the course for the upcoming Flatlanders Challenge race, as well as pages for the running club's mission, history, members and by-laws.

The site is produced by Spring Hill Technology, which runs springhillonline.com. That site has a page for Brookridge Country Club, which posts tee times for the upcoming week and minutes from monthly board meetings.

If you have a local sports site, we want to hear about it. Send an e-mail to Greg Auman at aumanac1@aol.com.

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