CHARLOTTE HARBOR, Fla. – The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office is mourning the loss of one of its deputies. 

It happened during a traffic stop at a gas station on Sunday. 

Authorities say Corporal Elio Diaz pulled over a white pickup truck and the driver, Andrew Moyston Jr., 24, opened fire.

Diaz was taken to an area hospital where he died. 

“I want you guys to please keep Elio’s family in your thoughts and prayers, especially during this time of year,” Sheriff Bill Pummell said during a press conference on Sunday night. “Elio was a friend and a good family man. He loved his children and he was a really great cop.”

After the shooting, deputies went on a manhunt for the suspect. 

He was located at a Popeye’s restaurant on King’s Highway. 

Officials say the suspect shot and killed Corpora Diaz after the deputy pulled him over. 

Officials say he grabbed a rifle as deputies approached, and they opened fire, hitting Moyston in the head. 

Moyston Jr. was flown to an area hospital and died. 

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This basketball season is going to be an interesting one for Tulane.

With so many new faces and inexperience players that head coach Ron Hunter has to navigate, there are going to be ebbs and flows depending on how they’re able to execute on any given night.

After a prolonged stretch of playing against mid-major and lower-tier programs, this Green Wave group was going to face a tough test when they matched up with ACC foe Florida State.

This was a chance for Tulane to make a statement, but after they got down early, they couldn’t overcome that deficit and eventually lost, 77-64.

The Green Wave were ready to play from the opening tip by jumping out to a quick 6-0 lead, but that period was the only time they held the lead after the Seminoles snatched if from them just under five minutes into the contest.

With 6:52 left in the first half, Florida State had run their newfound lead up to 14 points and extended that into the locker room with the score being, 37-22.

Tulane played much better in the second half, actually winning that period, 42-40, but they ultimately never threated Florida State since that early lead was too much to overcome.

It might be a frustrating result for the Green Wave since they had broken their four-game losing streak on Dec. 10 by throttling Southern Miss, but there was still some positives to take away for Hunter and his young team.

Most notably, Kaleb Banks continues to showcase his skill set.

He finished with a career-high 33 points and 16 rebounds. He went 11-of-20 from the field and 10-of-13 from the free throw line to hit this number.

Unfortunately, the only other player to join him in double-figures was Rowan Brumbaugh who had 15.

Still, for the Green Wave to respond to a tough first half by actually winning the second is a good sign going forward.

Hopefully they can build upon this effort against Florida State and carry it with them going forward.

Tulane faces local New Orleans school Dillard University in their final non-conference game of the season on Dec. 20.

Gainesville, Fla. – While there is still a bowl game to play for the Florida Gators, much of the talk surrounding this team has been focused on improving the roster through the transfer portal. They have some holes on this roster that need to be filled, and the portal offers teams the opportunity to immediately find answers. 

Yet, there has been little to no action on this front by Gators and head coach Billy Napier. Sure, they’ve gotten some visits. However, outside of a commitment from a punter, nothing has come to fruition. 

So, is this slow burn approach by Napier and his staffers going to come back and bite them?

Potentially. 

With the news coming out that visits were unlikely to take place for this upcoming week due to their bowl game and the practices that go along with it, it only left this past week open for transfers to take a visit to Gainesville. 

Additionally, there was the report that the Gators would be big spenders this offseason and that they clearly wouldn’t be outbid for any player that they feel is necessary to have. 

As a result of the spending news, their name is in the running for multiple high ranking transfers, but that alone won’t get them over the finish line. They need to get visits to complete the job. 

For example, one big name they are in contention for is former Oklahoma wide receiver Nic Anderson.  Anderson currently ranks as the No. 8 overall transfer in the portal according to 247Sports. 

It was said that two teams to watch out for were for the wide receiver are Texas A&M and Florida. However, only one of those teams received a visit, and it wasn’t the Gators. He also set up a visit to LSU. 

If Napier expects to continue winning like they have done to end the season, then he and the Gators need to begin making noise in the portal. You can’t constantly rely on nailing your evaluations on diamonds in the rough, even if you have been above average at it in certain positions. 

Napier is at the University of Florida. Being at this school allows you to spend NIL money and be aggressive for the most talented players at both the high school level and in the transfer portal. 

Yes, he might be waiting for the bowl season to end so that those on teams involved in bowls can enter the portal. But is that a smart decision from Napier? 

He can’t sit idle for too long though. When you have young-offensive talents like DJ Lagway and Jadan Baugh, you need to give them help to maximize their talents. Lagway needs some more big bodied receivers and could use an offensive lineman or two. 

On the other side of the ball, the defense showed that they can be more than capable of stopping high-powered offenses. This side just needs a couple of pieces like an experienced safety or additional cornerback. 

Fill these holes, and this team can be dangerous in 2025. Don’t fill them, well, we’ve all seen how that can go.