Florida
Who is Brady Singer? Reds’ new pitcher was Jonathan India’s Florida Gators teammate
Terry Francona joins the Reds as their new Manager
Terry Francona joins the Reds as their new Manager.
Brady Singer, the right-handed starting pitcher the Cincinnati Reds acquired Friday in a trade of Jonathan India and Joey Wiemer to the Kansas City Royals, was India’s teammate with the University of Florida Gators from 2016 to 2018.
Singer and India were separated by just 13 picks in the 2018 MLB draft, with the Reds selecting India fifth overall and the Royals taking Singer 18th.
Together they helped the Gators to the 2017 College World Series championship. Singer started and won two games in the CWS. India was a key contributor for the 2017 team despite an injury, and he earned SEC Player of the Year honors as a 2018 All-American, lifting Florida to a 2018 CWS win in an elimination game with an RBI single and three-run homer against Texas.
Singer was the Royals’ first-round pick in 2018.
The Baltimore Orioles’ Grayson Rodriguez (11th overall) and the Seattle Mariners’ Logan Gilbert (14th), among the top pitchers in the American League last season, were two of the players selected between India at fifth overall and Singer at 18th.
Later in the first round, the Royals also took Jackson Kowar, a Florida teammate of India and Singer, 33rd overall.
At Florida, Singer posted a 23-10 record and 3.22 ERA. In his final college season, Singer was named Baseball America National Player of the Year, and won the Dick Howser Trophy as the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association’s top college baseball player.
Singer’s high school, Florida’s Eustis HS, produced another former Reds draft pick.
Catcher Chris Okey starred at Eustis, a couple of years before Singer. He played three seasons at Clemson before the Reds made him their second-round pick in the 2016 MLB draft. Okey had two hits in 13 plate appearances for the Reds in 2022.
Singer played at Tavares High School and transferred to Eustis before his senior season. He was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the second round of the 2015 MLB draft, but opted instead to pitch for the Gators.
Singer pitched six shutout innings at GABP in the Royals’ win against the Reds in August.
Singer scattered five hits and walked one while striking out six in Kansas City’s 8-1 win. India had one of those five hits.
It was the only start out of 10 Singer made in August and September that he won.
Singer’s only other career start against the Reds came in July 2021. He allowed one run on five hits and a walk while striking out six over six innings in a no-decision. India walked and singled off of Singer.
Singer struck out the only batter he faced in the 2024 postseason.
In Game 3 of the American League Division Series against the New York Yankees, Singer entered a 2-2 game in the top of the 7th inning and struck out American League MVP Aaron Judge to end the inning.
One inning later, the Royals’ Kris Bubic gave up a solo home run to Giancarlo Stanton, which proved to be the difference in a 3-2 win.
Florida
Florida wide receivers coach Billy Gonzales, RBs coach Jabbar Juluke not being retained
Sources tell On3 that Florida interim head coach and wide receivers coach Billy Gonzales is not being retained on Jon Sumrall’s staff. He’s had three stints at Florida as a wide receivers coach, coming under Urban Meyer, Dan Mullen and Billy Napier.
He’s developed three first-round picks in Ricky Pearsall, Kadarius Toney and Percy Harvin. Gonzales landed top wide receiver talent out of the high school ranks, most recently five-star Vernell Brown and four-star Dallas Wilson. Both were top-50 recruits in the 2025 recruiting cycle.
Florida running backs coach Jabbar Juluke is not being retained, sources tell On3. He had been with Napier previously at Louisiana.
Gonzales stepped in as interim coach in October, when Florida fired Billy Napier after four seasons. Gonzales went 1-4 as Florida’s interim coach this season, picking up his lone win over Florida State in the regular season finale.
“A goal of mine would be, obviously, [to] be able to stay here,” Gonzales said in his introductory press conference as interim head coach. “My first goal is to make sure we put a fantastic group of players on that football field that are going to compete and play for the University of Florida.”
Sumrall is a 43-year-old Alabama native who won two conference titles at Troy and made the American Conference title game in 2024 in Year 1 at Tulane. He won a conference title over the weekend and has the Green Wave playing in the College Football Playoff. Sumrall is 11-2 on the season and 43–11 in four years as an FBS head coach.
Florida
Retired NYC restaurant owner charged with DUI in Florida golf cart crash that killed his wife
A retiree who once owned a quaint Queens diner was charged with a DUI after his wife was killed in a golf cart crash at their dream retirement spot in Florida late last month — while he was behind the wheel.
Angelo Theodosiou, 64, and his wife Christina Theodosiou, 58, were cruising through Nocatee, an unincorporated coastal community in Florida, on Nov. 30, when tragedy struck.
Christina Theodosiou fell from the golf cart and smacked her head against the pavement around 10:45 p.m. that night. She was transported to a nearby hospital, but succumbed to her injuries the following day, according to an arrest report obtained by Law & Crime.
Investigators observed that Angelo Theodosiou’s “eyes were bloodshot and watery and pupils displayed a reddened sclera.” Responding officers could also smell “an odor of alcoholic beverage” on him “from approximately three feet away in an open area,” according to the report.
At the scene, a distraught Angelo Theodosiou refused to complete a standard field sobriety test. He also failed to submit to a breathalyzer test, according to the report.
Officials noted in the report that he was “repeatedly asked what was happening and why he was arrested” the following day.
Angelo Theodosiou’s lawyer, L. Lee Lockett, said that the widower is “heartbroken” and maintains his innocence that he wasn’t impaired the night of the accident.
“He’s distraught. He’s depressed as can be,” Lockett told the St. John’s Citizen.
Angelo Theodosiou was charged with driving under the influence and refusing to submit to police testing. He made bond and was released from jail the day after his arrest, according to Law and Crime.
Residents in the cozy retirement hotspot told the outlet that they figured a recently opened greenway path would be bound to cause an accident sooner or later, since it’s created more congestion. Some said they’d seen some recent near-miss collisions between golf carts and e-bikes.
Angelo Theodosiou previously owned the Jackson House Restaurant in Jackson Heights, Queens, according to a 2018 article written by students at the School of the New York Times.
He and his brother ran the restaurant, which retained its original name after they purchased the property in the 1990s. Under their leadership, Angelo Theodosiou told the students that they aimed to treat every customer like “family.”
“It might sound corny, but it’s really true,” he said.
It’s unclear when he retired and made the move to the Sunshine State.
Florida
Florida bear hunt sparks tension as groups buy up permits, offer cash to hunters
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — Florida’s bear hunt has roared back to life, with hunters expected to kill “several dozen” black bears as activists scramble to pay them not to.
For the next three weeks hunters are expected to kill “several dozen” Florida black bears, according to WESH.
Bear advocacy groups protested, petitioned and even dragged the state to court — all attempts to stop the hunt before it began. None worked. So activists pivoted to a new strategy: pay the hunters not to pull the trigger.
Florida non-profit Bear Warriors United is offering $2,000 to any hunter with a permit who’s willing to take the bench this season. Another local group, the Sierra Club of Florida says its members and allies have secured 52 of the states 172 permits.
See also: Armed man in bulletproof vest detained for following congressman at Stuart parade
Sierra Club Florida Director Susannah Randolph told WESH she hopes that the FWC is keeping a close eye on how many bears each hunter kills. She noted that there has been chatter online among hunters wanting to “settle the score” now that dozens of hunters were bought out — even though taking more than one bear would amount to poaching.
“I don’t trophy hunt. When I deer hunt, I don’t hunt for antlers,” Hunter Jason Howard told WESH. “It’s for meat. I enjoy deer meat, wild hog meat, turkey meat and I hope to enjoy bear meat as well.”
For advocates, the debate doesn’t end when the season does. Randolph says she’s alarmed by FWC’s plans to eventually allow dog-hunting of black bears, calling it “extremely cruel” and noting that even former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi prosecuted dog-hunting cases.
The only certainty in this year’s hunt is that debate is far from hibernating.
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