Lucas Duda hit a go-ahead, three-run homer to back Jake Odorizzi, and the Tampa Bay Rays beat Baltimore 9-6 on Saturday night to eliminate the Orioles from postseason contention. Duda’s third-inning homer, his 30th overall and 13th since the Rays acquired him from the New York Mets, helped Tampa Bay build a 9-1 lead.
Going into Saturday’s game against North Carolina State, the concern for Florida State was true freshman quarterback James Blackman would either be unable to move the offense, or commit a couple of key turnovers or two, or both. In the end, the Seminoles’ frustrating 27-21 loss to the Wolfpack, which dropped them to 0-2 for the first time in 28 years, could not be laid solely at the feet of Blackman.
Ryan Finley threw for 230 yards and two touchdowns as North Carolina State got its first road win over a ranked team since 2008, defeating No. 12 Florida State 27-21 on Saturday. Jaylen Samuels had two touchdowns as the Wolfpack broke a 10-game losing streak to ranked teams. Their last win over a Top 25 team coincidentally was against Florida State in 2012. Their last victory on the road over a ranked team was at North Carolina.
For the third year in a row, Florida State University President John Thrasher is getting a substantial bonus and another boost in pay. FSU trustees on Friday voted to boost Thrasher’s annual salary by 7 percent to $555,560. Trustees also agreed to give him a $200,000 bonus for his performance. Last year, Thrasher was given a $100,000 bonus. Thrasher later this year will also get a 1.45 percent raise being given to all FSU employees.
A young, inexperienced starting quarterback is the talk of college football in the state of Florida. How will Florida State true freshman James Blackman do this weekend as he steps in for the injured Deondre Francois? The Seminoles are not the only ones starting a signal caller with precious little experience. Though he is now a legend among the Florida faithful, the Gators’ redshirt freshman Feleipe Franks has started a grand total of two games.
A lawsuit filed Friday challenges the constitutionality of part of a new state law that requires a coveted medical-marijuana license to go to a black farmer.
The first sentence of a Reason blog post this week got House Speaker Richard Corcoran’s attention: “Mere hours after Hurricane Irma, Miami-Dade County was ticketing residents for building code violations on their wrecked properties.” The House’s graphics team soon was on the case, producing an infographic based on the story, first reported by WSVN-TV. Corcoran tweeted it with the message: “Revealed: Hours after Hurricane Irma hit, Miami-Dade County issued 857 known notices that could result in fines. Outrageous.” The Reason post had focused on resident Celso Perez,…