I owe Mike Krzyzewski a thank you in writing.

And seeing that his final season as the head coach of the Duke Blue Devils is winding down, it’s fitting that I publicly issue that thank you now rather than later.

You know when a kicker lines up for a field goal that seems destined to go in only to end up sailing wide left or wide right?

It almost happened this week.

Some teams dream of winning a state championship but never achieve it. But Pace’s softball team might just have a chance to get the job done this season.

The Patriots were a final four team a year ago and have nearly their entire roster back, including a pitching staff that might be unmatched in this area.

Pace didn’t win a district championship in girls basketball two weeks ago on a Friday night in Navarre.

The Patriots did their best to try to win one. They poured their hearts and souls into upsetting top-seeded and reigning champ Navarre.

National signing day has come and gone and once again there is no shortage of talent. Navarre, Pace, Milton, Crestview. All have athletes who are headed to the next level.

That chance to play a college sport is a dream for every athlete. Heck, I used to have that dream. I just didn’t have the talent to match it.

Reaching the top is never easy, especially in sports where the competition is always trying to stay one step ahead of you.

It takes time, patience and the willingness to deal with failure, which ultimately makes you stronger.

Florida’s rules for high school athletics seem so relaxed when it comes to athletes transferring that you have to try hard to do something that constitutes a violation.

Yet, rules still seem to be broken in one form or another and you wonder if any lessons are ever learned from it.

Imagine waiting and hoping for a shot at pro football but you just aren’t sure if it will ever happen.

Punter Corliss Waitman knows all about it.

We sometimes forget that it’s 2022, not 1992, and that the world of college athletics, especially the football landscape, has changed in ways we could have never imagined a few decades ago.

If only Kirk Herbstreit and Desmond Howard understood that.

It’s probably been at least a few years now, but there was a day when we posted a story on the Navarre baseball team and someone from the Pace baseball team commented on it.

The person mentioned that the Raiders are fortunate to have great coverage and it would be great if Pace got the same thing.