Cypress Creek High Boys Basketball Will Have You Seeing Double…Twice!

If you’ve attended a Cypress Creek Middle High School boys basketball game this year, you might have thought you were seeing the same two players over and over and over again.

You’re not.

The Coyotes have not one, but two sets of identical twins this season on their varsity roster — juniors Tai-Sheim and Jai-Keem Anthony, and sophomores Jalen and Jehlani Warren.

Chemistry is the name of the game for both sets of brothers.

The Anthonys moved to the Wesley Chapel area from Atlanta as fifth graders, already in tune with each other on the basketball court. They began to develop roles when they came up to the Wesley Chapel High (WCH) junior varsity team as sophomores a year ago, Tai-Sheim as a guard/forward, Jai-Keem as a point guard/shooting guard.

“I remember the first game (at WCH) last year, I scored 19,” Jai-Keem said. “The next game, I scored 21 and it seemed to get easier from there.”

The brothers never have a problem finding each other on the court. “I know I can look up the court and he (Tai-Sheim) will be in the corner for the three,” Jai-Keem said. “It always easy for us to find each other on the court.”

Both players would like to be the Cypress Creek point guard,  but Tai-Sheim has accepted his role. “I’m fine with it (not being the point),” Tai-Sheim says. “He (Jai-Keem) is shorter, so coach put him at point. I just try to fit in wherever I play.”

The Warren twins aren’t playing together as Coyotes for the first time. Jehlani is the quarterback of the football team, while Jalen is one of the running backs and also played strong safety.

The two have a lengthy history on the courts, however, and sometimes Jehlani and Jalen have even had to face off as opponents in various leagues. “When we used to play together in rec leagues, they made us play on separate teams because we were so good together,” Jehlani says.

The Warren twins’ dad, Christopher, says that it wasn’t until their last year of AAU basketball that his twins were allowed to play on the same team together.

“They would take turns taking over games,” Christopher Warren said. “They pushed the offense along and were a good 1-2 punch.”

The Warrens grew up in Virginia Beach,  and only moved to the Wesley Chapel area last year. They, like the Anthonys, developed  into their respective roles playing in rec leagues and in middle school.

Jehlani was more of a shooting guard or small forward, and Jalen played a lot of point guard. He has since shifted to shooting guard and forward for the Coyotes, as Cypress Creek already has Jai-Keem and freshman Willie Ravenna, who can play point. But, Jalen still finds his brother when he needs to deliver a pass.

“When I’m dribbling in, he (Jehlani) knows if I’m gonna cut or pass it,” Jalen says. “It’s very exciting because he’s the person I know best, and I know he’s not going to fail me.”

There’s a mutual confidence boost when the twins are on the floor together. “I’m more confident (with Jalen on the court),” Jehlani says.

The sets of twins, and the rest of the Coyotes, picked up their first win ever by beating Sarasota Military Academy 53-49 on Dec. 19 — their last game before the holiday break. Their schedule so far has been  brutal, with losses to Wiregrass Ranch High, Berkeley Prep and Tampa Catholic.

Isaiah Flores leads the team with 8.3 points a game, with Jai-Keem right behind him at 7.3 and Tai-Sheim at 6.

“Both sets of twins are great kids that come from great families and they give 100 percent,” Coyotes head coach Anthony Mitchell says. “Our team is a work in progress, but having siblings together helps unite us.”

Despite Promotional Concerns, DICK’s Lacrosse Tournament Is Back

The 13th annual DICK’s Sporting Goods Tournament of Champions (ToC), dubbed as the national championships for the sport of lacrosse, is once again scheduled to be played in Wesley Chapel at the end of the month.

However, the once-friendly relationship between host Pasco County and Kroenke Sports Enterprises (KSE), LLC, which puts on the event, has become a little bit frosty, as the county is claiming KSE is not holding up its end of a deal the parties agreed to in 2016.

As a result, the Pasco County Board of County Commissioners voted on Dec. 12 to reduce the amount of money the county pays the tournament organizers from $90,000 to $20,000.

According to a letter sent to KSE’s Stephen Stienker, the county is claiming that KSE agreed to promote Pasco County in exchange for the $90,000 annual rights fee the county previously paid to KSE each year.

Administered by the Pasco County Tourist Development Council (TDC) and collected from a local-option tourist development tax on transient lodging like hotels, motels and campgrounds, the $90,000 is roughly half of the county’s budget for sports event sponsorships.

Adam Thomas, who replaced Ed Caum as the Pasco County director of tourism in September, said that as a new employee, he was going through various contracts and checking to make sure the deliverables were being met. After some research, Thomas determined that was not happening in KSE’s case.

“None of the agreement was being met,’’ Thomas says.

That included displaying the county’s name or “Visit Pasco” slogan and logo on the websites of 60-plus qualifying tournaments in 22 different states for the DICK’s ToC, as well as in newsletters, backdrop banners, apparel, mentions in news and press releases and on trophies.

Thomas said that when he visited the websites of the qualifying tournaments, many weren’t even active, and on the ones that were still active, he says there was not a single mention of Pasco.

Videos were supposed to be created by KSE as well, promoting the DICK’s ToC and Pasco County.

“It is a long laundry list of deliverables and obligations that weren’t being done,” Thomas says.

The county has requested a full and detailed accounting of the expenditures of the $90,000 paid to KSE for the 2016 event and expenditures already made for the 2017 ToC.

According to Florida Statute 125.0104, any money from the Tourist Development Tax earmarked for promotion has to be spent on promotion.

“I do want to see the audit of 2016,’’ Thomas says. “If that money is being spent on something else, like operations or salaries, that’s a bigger problem.”

Thomas said this year’s DICK’s ToC, scheduled to be played Dec. 29-31 at Wesley Chapel District Park on Boyette Rd. and Wesley Chapel High on Wells Rd., will still go on, but the letter to KSE says it will take whatever legal remedies are necessary, from withholding payment or even terminating the agreement.

This is the second year of the two-year deal — with an option for a third year — Pasco County signed with KSE in May of 2016.

“We don’t want the tournament to cancel,” Thomas says. “It brings a lot of people and fresh dollars to our economy. I just want the return on investment from the agreement that was signed by KSE and the county. I don’t want them to cancel the tournament at all.”

The ToC website, at NDPLacrosse.com, has made some changes and is currently referencing Pasco County twice, while also displaying a large bright yellow “Visit Pasco” logo.

The DICK’s ToC started in 2006, and has been held in Wesley Chapel every year since 2008. Hosted by the Wesley Chapel Athletic Association (WCAA), the county says the tournament has an estimated annual economic impact of about $3 million.

As many as 115 teams have competed in the ToC, although in recent years, those numbers have declined. In 2015, there were 73 teams participating, and last year’s event attracted only 53 teams.

Tj Fitzsimons, the Wiregrass Ranch High lacrosse coach who has coached some of the Pasco Lions teams from the WCAA at the tournament in the past, said he was told just under 70 teams are slated for this year’s event.

Teams earn bids at regional qualifying tournaments to compete for the DICK’s national championship across five divisions – Rising Stars (graduation years of 2019, 2020 and 2021), Elite (2018-2021) and 9U-10U through 15U.

One of those qualifiers, the Derek Pieper Memorial Cup, is held in Wesley Chapel every year in mid-November.

Game times each day will be held from 8 a.m.-6 p.m. For more information, visit NDPlacrosse.com/Default.aspx?tabid=493987.

‘The Captain,’ Dave Andreychuk, Celebrates His Hockey Hall Induction

Hunter’s Green residents Sue Andreychuk, Dave Andreychuk, Dr. Tom Frankfurth, Doug Dunbar, John Loyless, Doug Dunbar, Joe Pequinot and Andy Ritter celebrate The Captain’s Hockey Hall of Fame induction at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto. (Photo courtesy of Andy Ritter)

Long-time Hunter’s Green resident and former Tampa Bay Lightning captain Dave Andreychuk is officially in the National Hockey League (NHL) Hall of Fame.

Andreychuk was formally inducted into the Hall on Nov. 13 at the Allen Lambert Galleria in Toronto, an hour from where he learned to play hockey in Hamilton, Ontario.

“Nobody thinks, ‘I want to be a Hall of Famer,’’’ Andreychuk said during his induction speech. “You think about just trying to play in the NHL, just trying to make your team better.”

Which is exactly what Andreychuk, who was drafted in 1982 by Buffalo, was able to do. While he played more than 1,600 games during his 23 seasons, and scored an NHL-record 273 career power play goals and 640 goals (14th all-time) overall, it was his experience and leadership that was credited with bringing the Lightning its only Stanley Cup in 2004.

A bronze statue of Andreychuk holding the Cup above his head stands outside Amalie Arena, where the Lightning still play.

TAMPA, FL – JUNE 7: Dave Andreychuk #25 of the Tampa Bay Lightning skates with the Stanley Cup after defeating the Calgary Flames in game seven of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals on June 7, 2004 at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Florida. The Lightning won the Stanley cup by defeating the Flames 2-1. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

Hunter’s Green is holding a celebratory party for Andreychuk tonight.

During his Hall of Fame speech, “Andy” thanked his friends and family for years of support.

A handful of Hunter’s Green residents joined him in Toronto for the Hall of Fame weekend, while others cheered him on at Amalie Arena on Nov. 18, when the Lightning honored him.

Andreychuk gave special thanks to his three daughters — “You made my life a lot better” — and his parents Roz and Julian, who  attended the induction.

He also gave special thanks to his wife, Sue. “She always had a smile on her face,’’ he said. “When I would come home after a game, whether we won or lost, not much changed.”

5 Teams To Keep An Eye On In Local High School Sports This Winter

The Wiregrass Ranch High boys soccer team, a state semifinalist in 2015, is poised to have its best season yet. (Photo: Andy Warrener)

Below are five teams we’re watching closely this winter high school sports season:

1: Wiregrass Ranch High (WRH) Boys Soccer — Head coach David Wilson says that the 2017-18 team could potentially be the best he’s ever had. That’s saying a lot from a coach who brought his team to the state semifinals in 2015 and hasn’t lost a game against a Pasco County team in four years.

“When you have a strong and talented group of seniors that have played together for three years on varsity, there’s potential for great things,” Wilson said.

A trio of senior veterans coming off All-State seasons form the down-the-middle strength for the Bulls. Center back Jackson Trudel controls the game from the back line. Center-mid Royce Luedde is 6-foot-4 and controls the air, the middle of the field and is great on set pieces. Midfielder Ian Flores is one of the most highly-recruited players Wilson’s ever had, with 60 colleges having contacted him, including Rutgers Univ. in New Brunswick, NJ, which has offered him a scholarship.

The youngsters aren’t bad either – freshman Justin Amis and junior Rafael Silva scored three goals apiece in a 13-0 preseason win over Hernando, with sophomores Noah Leonard and Jake Bierhorst pitching in two goals each.

2: WRH Boys Basketball — The Bulls have had the unenviable situation to be mired in Class 8A, District 8, which is brutally tough, with the likes of perennial New Tampa powerhouses Freedom and Wharton, as well as defending state champion Sickles. If the Bulls continue to build on their 2016-17 arc, they might be ready to pull even with that triumvirate of top-tier teams.

“Eight seniors return for this year’s team,” says Bulls head coach Jeremy Calzone. “So, if there’s a year to do it, it’s this one. It’s the most experience we’ve ever had to start a season.”

Senior forwards Jayden Wilson (6’-9”) and Justin Rush (6’-6”) give the Bulls great size. Junior guard Elijah Howell is the team’s best shooter and leader on the floor. Senior guards Val Garcia and Jordan Miner also are veterans who have been on varsity since their freshman years.

3: Cypress Creek Middle High (CCH) Girls Weightlifting — New program starts from scratch, right? Not so much. Four-year Wesley Chapel High (WCH) girls weightlifting coach Tico Hernandez has 24 girls on the team to start the season.

Like their coach, sophomores Addison Metcalf and Megan Faysash, who is already emerging as the team leader, come over from WCH. Junior Neely Peterson didn’t lift in 2016-17, but is a fierce competitor, according to Hernandez. Freshman Emily Speck is the team’s spark plug and is working to perfect her skills and technique.

4: Wesley Chapel High (WCH) Girls Basketball — The team’s toughest opponent this year likely will be adversity.

Coming off their best record (15-9) since the 2009-10 season with everyone poised to return, the Wildcats lost their top returner to an ACL injury, and CCH’s opening just four miles away took some of WCH’s other key players.

“We lost 80 percent of our scoring from last year,” Livingston said. “We only return three kids total from last year’s varsity team.”

But the toughest adversity will come in the form of getting over the death of a family member. The Monday prior to tryouts, assistant coach Marcellus “Coach Shack” Shackelford was killed in a car accident.

Shackelford was the only assistant four-year head coach Peter Livingston ever had.

“There’s a lot of adversity we’re trying to overcome this year,” Livingston said. “We also want to celebrate him (Coach Shackelford) and try to get ready for the season.”

5: WCH Boys Basketball — Last season was a down year for the typically steady Wildcats boys basketball team. After a 21-8 season two years ago, WCH managed just a 9-17 record in 2016-17.

They should bounce back this season, as they get a shot in the arm from the school’s football team. Division I-A senior football recruits Chaz Neal (who is 6’-9”) and Isaiah Bolden will take to the hardwood for the ‘Cats in 2017-18.

Neal played in seven games for Armwood a year ago, averaging three rebounds.

U.S. Women’s Hockey Kicks Off Four Nations Cup Tonight

U.S. women’s national ice hockey team defender Monique Lamoureux-Morando looks for a teammate during an exhibition win over the University of Tampa’s men’s team last month.

The U.S. women’s hockey team has a busy winter schedule planned as it trains in Wesley Chapel, and much of the activity will take place right off I-75 at Florida Hospital Center Ice, including the Four Nations Cup, which drops the puck tonight.

Canada plays Sweden this afternoon at 3:30 p.m. at FHCI to get the action started, and the U.S. takes on Finland at 7 p.m.

Formerly known as the Three Nations Cup before Sweden joined the United States, Canada and Finland in 2000, the tournament has featured the top national teams in women’s hockey since 1996. Although Canada won 11 of the first 15 Three/Four Nations cups, the U.S. has won four of the last six, including the last two.

Also at FHCI this week, the U.S. plays Canada on Wednesday, November 8 (the game is sold out) and Sweden on Friday, November 10.

On Sunday, November 12, the first- and third-place games will be held at Amalie Arena in downtown Tampa at noon and 3:30 p.m.

The match against Canada, winner of the women’s hockey gold medals at the last four Olympics, will pit the two top teams in the world. The U.S. has split games with Canada, winning 5-2 on Oct. 22 in Quebec City, and losing 5-1 in Boston on Oct. 25.

Although all eyes are on the Four Nations Cup, what is really driving the U.S. women is erasing the memory of the 2014 Sochi Olympics, where they lost a 2-0 lead in the final four minutes to Canada in the gold medal game before falling 3-2.

The U.S. women have reasserted themselves as arguably the best team in the world, winning every world title since then, and seven of the last eight.

“The way we see it, pressure is a privilege,’’ says forward Meghan Duggan, a former University of Wisconsin Badger who won the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, given to college hockey’s best female player, in 2011. “We are coming off three world championships, so we’re feeling pretty confident. I’m proud of this team, and we’re looking forward to showing the world what we have in this next tournament.”

That talent will be on display all winter long at FHCI, as the team continues to train at the not-even-one-year-old facility in preparation for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

So far, the members of the team are happy to have landed in Wesley Chapel.

“Honestly, it’s been fantastic,’’ said Duggan. “I think Wesley Chapel and a lot of the different pieces of the puzzle coming together for us is a big reason why we’re down here.”

Those puzzle pieces include an area that is ripe with off-the-ice activities that have included lots of golf, shopping and hanging out at the pool (and outstanding accommodations) at Saddlebrook Resort, plus a new hockey facility that Duggan says is state of the art.

The experiences in Wesley Chapel haven’t been limited to hockey and hanging out, either. The U.S. team, like the rest of us in the area, got to experience its first hurricane when Irma swept through town last month. Bad weather is nothing new for players from the snowy and cold north, but a hurricane was altogether different, as Irma’s approach made for some nervous hockey players.

“I’ve never been through anything like that, where trying to get water and stuff was difficult,’’ said Jocelyne Lamoureux. “That raised the anxiety a little.”

The team spent less than 24 hours in a shelter at Saddlebrook, which was only subjected to windy conditions that reminded Lamoureux of the straight-line wind storms she’s experienced in her home state of North Dakota.

Hurricanes aside, Duggan says Wesley Chapel has been an ideal spot for the team.

“We scoped (the area) out in April and May with wide eyes and excitement,’’ she said. “It’s going to be hard to leave after the Olympics to go back to our colder climates.”

For additional information, please visit TeamUSA.USAHockey.com