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TAMPA — His approach to a game that no longer seems crucial or even consequential to most locals was well-intentioned.
As Hurricane Milton’s wrath made its initial approach to Tampa, Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield was asked about how he compartmentalizes things even as a storm and the Saints defense converge on his thought process.
“(I’m) compartmentalizing one step at a time the preparation part when it comes to the storm,” Mayfield said Wednesday via Zoom from New Orleans, where the Bucs had relocated a day earlier. “Then once we’re out there (against the Saints), realizing this could be a sort of Sunday to give the people of Florida, especially around our area, some hope and something to look forward to watching.”
A time zone away, USF coach Alex Golesh wrestled with a similar question: How important could his team’s game Saturday against Memphis be for an area in need of a few hours’ respite?
The answer arrived via stutter step. In lieu of a straight-line response, Golesh slanted and faded, curled and crossed. How does one snugly squeeze a football game into perspective when perspective has gone haywire? Maybe, just maybe, the Bulls’ clash with Memphis can offer relief and diversion for those with power.
For thousands of others, relief means a hot shower or hot meal, not a hot read from the quarterback.
“My emotions are super, super mixed,” Golesh said.
Make no mistake, Golesh will do his darndest to have his preoccupied kids focused and prepared for a game on which their conference title hopes could hinge. But afterward, their collective mindset immediately will pivot back to their loved ones and pets and a community subsisting on generators (the Selmon Athletics Center remained without power Thursday evening).
“So we’re going to take it one day at a time here,” Golesh said earlier this…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/usf-coach-alex-golesh-prepares-165000988.html
Author : Tampa Bay Times, St. Petersburg, Fla.
Publish date : 2024-10-11 16:50:00
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