Getting Through July...

We are now entering the dullest of months in the sports world. NFL, NBA, and the NHL are all on hiatus. The Bigs are just getting to the halfway pole of its 162 game season. The Euro football tournament is done. Even the College World Series is wrapped up. So what better way to pass the time than to prognosticate. And if there's one thing I've found that gets the comment boards rolling, it's college football. So, without further delay, here's my take on the 3 Florida schools 2008 season.

First up, the Florida State Seminoles. Another disappointing finish in 2007, the 'Noles will be hoping on a relatively easy schedule to begin 2008 to get off to a quick start. FSU starts off with home games against Western Carolina, Chattanooga, Wake Forest, and than a "neutral site" game against Colorado in Jacksonville. Then comes the Miami game, and the Noles will travel south to face the 'Canes for what should be their first real test. Miami will already have played a couple tough ones, but we'll come to that later. The rest of the season actually shapes up pretty well for FSU. They get VA Tech, Clemson, BC, and Florida all at home. While wins in those games will be tough, this should be a step in the right direction for FSU.
Prediction: 8-4 (Miami, Clemson, BC, Florida losses)

Let's look at FSU's fellow ACC'ers, the Miami Hurricanes. Miami's 2007 season, much like FSU's, was one that should be forgotten. A 7-6 record that included an embarrassing end to the Orange Bowl is not what 'Canes fans are looking forward to in '08. A top recruiting class should also lend itself to a step forward after last year. If possible, Miami's schedule is even more favorable then Florida State's. The 'Canes avoid Clemson and Boston College, and get Virgina Tech at home. Miami does have 2 tough out-of-conference games on the road, first in the Swamp against the Gators. The following week, they head to College Station to play Texas A&M. A 3-1 start heading to the FSU game is not out of the question. A win against the 'Noles, and the Canes should be in contention in the ACC late into October.
Prediction: 9-3 (Florida, Virginia, VA Tech losses)

Now the Gators. Pre-season ranked #5 by ESPN's Mark Schlabach, the Gators will also be looking for an improvement on the 2007 season. A disappointing 5-3 SEC record, accompanied with a 41-35 shootout loss to Michigan in the Capital One Bowl should have the Gators more than focused heading into 2008. Many prognosticators, such as myself, believe this year's Gators to be a class above last years. Heisman winner Tim Tebow will actually have help in the backfield with newcomers Emmanuel Moody and Chris Rainey, along with returners Brandon Jacobs, Percy Harvin, and Louis Murphy. This could easily be the fastest offense college football has seen in decades. If the defense grows up even a little over last year, watch out. The Gators start the season with a couple of intriguing out-of-conference games, against Hawaii and Miami. Barring a major upset, the Gators then head to the annual 3rd week rivalry with the Tennessee Volunteers, which will be played in Knoxville. Since 1992, Florida or Tennessee has won the SEC East 13 times. The SEC schedule then gets a little easier, with games against Mississippi, Arkansas, and Kentucky making up 3 of the next 4. A weaker LSU comes to Gainesville in week 7. Then comes what should be the game of the year. Florida vs. Georgia. With the Bulldogs expected to make a serious run at the BCS title, this game will go miles to determine who's Orange Bowl dreams are kept alive. Georgia, also, only has Tennessee and LSU on the schedule to provide any sort of bumps on the road to Jacksonville. However, last year's Bulldog win will be in the heads of the Gators, similar to when Auburn came to the Swamp last year, and there will be no lack of power in red and black. But should the Gators get past the Dawgs, only Vanderbilt, South Carolina, the Citadel, and Florida State stand in the way of the Gators and possible title hopes.
Prediction: 11-1 (Georgia loss)

So maybe my orange and blue blood is showing. But the amount of talent and pure speed Florida will be able to put on the field is scary good. Mix that with a more experienced, talented defense, and they shouldn't have to rely on 49-35 wins this year. Florida State and Miami, both, should have improved seasons as well. I don't think its a stretch to see these to fighting for the ACC for much of the season. Game 1 is only 61 days away...

Marreese Speights Gone for Good

This isn't a breaking news story. In fact, draft experts had already been counting Speights in mock drafts for months. Still, Speights has now positioned himself as yet another NCAA Basketball casualty in the never-ending drive for early dollar.

The good news for Speights is that he's being universally projected in the first round. I've seen him listed as high as the lottery, but also sinking towards the bottom of the first round. It would be a big surprise if he fell to the second round, but one never knows.

I don't like this decision for two reasons:

1. The once-green Gators were ready to make a serious tourney run this year, with Speights leading the way. It's a tough and unexpected (I think) blow to their hopes...but then, it's hard to feel sympathy for a school that just won two of the last three titles! (Yes, I like saying that). I wonder what Billy Donavan really thinks about this.

2. Marreese Speights, what are you doing? Look at the history of early mid-late first round picks! Odds are, you won't be playing serious minutes until at least 2010, possibly later. You may never even get off the pine, and your contract will be expendable. These aren't the great NFL riches that await you. Imagine if you had boosted your position with a great Gator run...sigh. These kids never learn.

Florida State explodes for 17 runs, eliminates Florida

What Freddy Kruger, Jason, and that weirdo from the Texas Chainsaw Masscre is to 19 year old sexy coeds, so is today's Florida\Florida State baseball game to pitchers. The Florida State Seminoles eliminated the Florida Gators from the NCAA tournament today by a final score of 17-11. The two teams combined for 35 hits (25 by FSU, 10 by UF). Two big innings by the Seminoles proved too much for the Gators to overcome. A 7-run, 5th inning, in which FSU sent 13 men to the plate, combined with a 5-run 7th inning provided the difference for the Seminoles, who now advance to play the loser of the Bucknell\Tulane game, which will be played this evening.

The Gators actually had a 5-1 lead after the 3rd inning. The Seminoles cut the lead to 5-2 in the 4th, and then came the eruption of offense. After Florida State scored 7 times to take a 9-5 lead, the Gators rallied right back to tie the game at 9 with 4 runs of their own in the bottom of the 5th, thanks in large part to a 3-run home run by Clayton Pisani. That would be the last time the game was close. FSU extended their lead to 15-9 in the top of the 7th, thanks to a 3-run homer of their own by junior Tony Delmonico. Mr. Baseball and probable top-5 draft pick Buster Posey contributed a 2-run home run of his own and the Seminoles easily closed out the final 2 frames for the win.

In other Florida baseball action, while I am typing, the Huricanes of Miami hold a 5-0 lead in the 3rd inning over Missouri in their winner's bracket game. A win for the 'Canes would give them a bye into the Coral Gables Regional championship game.

Topsy Turvy Opening Day to NCAA Baseball Regionals

Top seeds went down all over the country today, including in Tallahassee. The #1 seed Florida State Seminoles and the #2 seed Florida Gators were defeated in the opening round of the NCAA baseball tournament. #1 overall seed Miami was able to get by Bethune-Cookman.

The Seminoles were blanked 7-0 by Bucknell and senior pitcher Matt Wilson, who pitched a complete game shutout, allowing only 6 hits. All the scoring was done in the first 4 innings, as the Bison put up 3 runs in both the 2nd and 4th frames.

Meanwhile, in the early game in Tallahassee, the Tulane Green Wave sent 11 men to the plate in a 6 run 7th inning to defeat the Florida Gators, 7-4. The Gators had just scored 4 runs in the bottom of the 6th to take a 4-1 lead before Tulane erupted in the 7th. Reliever Billy Bullock entered the game with 2 on and nobody out with a 4-1 lead. He faced 5 batters, allowed 3 hits, a walk, and a sacrifice fly. He left the game trailing 6-4, after giving up 3 runs (plus the 2 runners he inherited coming into the game scored, as well as one runner that was on base when he was yanked also scored). To be fair, while Florida had 4 hits in their 4-run 6th inning, they managed just 4 hits in the other 8 frames and never really threatened.

What all this means is that Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. EST, Florida will play Florida State in an elimination game. Some may have predicted Florida being in this situation, but not many people could have forseen a matchup with FSU in the loser's bracket. Florida State won the regular season series, 2-1. Both teams won a game on their home field, while FSU took the relatively new, annual neutral-field site game in Jacksonville. But all that is meaningless now. Lose tomorrow and your season is over.


Other top seeds that find themselves in the loser's bracket on day 2 include #8 Georiga (who lost 10-7 to Lipscomb), #18 Long Beach State (7-3 losers to Fresno State), #19 Texas (losing 2-1 to St. John's), #20 Stanford (were beat 4-2 by UC Davis), and #21 Vanderbilt (8-5 to Oklahoma).

Florida NCAA baseball fates revealed

2 of the Big 3 Florida schools will host an NCAA regional next week.

The #1 National Seed Miami Hurricanes will host Bethune-Cookman, Ole Miss, and Missouri in what looks like the "group of death." You would have thought being the #1 overall seed would have gotten you a little easier path...

The #4 seed Florida State Seminoles will welcome Bucknell, Tulane, and the Florida Gators to Tallahassee. The Gators were hoping to host their own regional, but with the early exit in the SEC Tournament, those hopes evaporated.

The SEC tied its own NCAA record of having 9 teams invited to the Tournament. The ACC has 3 of the top 4 overall seeds (#1 Miami, #2 UNC, #4 Florida State). Regional action kicks off Friday, May 30.

Gators swept out of SEC Tourny

It was a short appearance for the Florida Gators in the 2008 SEC baseball tournament. After losing yesterday to the Vanderbilt Commodores, UF faced #7 seed South Carolina today. The Gators jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, and it was downhill from there. USC scored 5 runs in the 2nd inning, 5 runs in the 8th inning, and went on to win 11-3.

Florida starter Billy Bullock didn't get out of the 2nd inning, needing over 50 pitches to record 4 outs. His final line was flat out ugly. 1.1 IP, 6 hits, 5 runs (all earned), 1 BB, 2 SO's, and 57 pitches.

There were a couple of bright spots in today's blowout, however. A pair of sophmores, Matt den Dekker and Cole Figueroa, combined for 6 of the Gators 10 hits. Den Dekker, the Gator center fielder, went 3 for 4 and scored all 3 of the Gators' runs. Figueroa went 3 for 3 and drove in a run. He did, however, commit an error in the field.

The Gators finished the regular season winning 6 of their final 8 games, earrning the 3rd seed in the tournament. But after this extremely disappointing showing in the SEC, the Gators are left to wait until Monday, when the NCAA field and regional locations will be announced live on ESPN at 12:30. Hopefully they can take this feeling of bitter emptiness and use it to try to avoid a similar letdown in the NCAA's.

Gator's play ball

It's not just UM and ACC baseball updates on here anymore. The Florida Gators kicked off the SEC tournament today. After a weekend sweep of Vanderbilt, the Gators earned the #3 seed in the tourny. They were rewarded with a first round game against... Vanderbilt. The Commodores jumped out to an early 2-0 lead before the Gators' got a chance to bat, and they never looked back.

The Gators threatened often late in the game, including a bases loaded situation in the 4th, and had 2 men on in the bottom of the 9th. But UF never got the key hit to drive in their runners. They scattered 8 hits and left 14 men on base throughout the game.

The bullpen was impressive, trying to keep the Gators' hopes alive. 4 pitchers combined over 3 innings to give up just 1 run on 5 hits.

Florida will now take on #7 seed South Carolina tomorrow in an elimination game. The Gamecocks lost in the early game to LSU. South Carolina took a 4 run lead to the 9th inning, but LSU scored 4 in the 9th, and a walkoff home run in the 10th won it for the Tigers. The Gators will probably have to win at least this game if they hope to host a regional series in the NCAA tournament.

Tim Tebow is Amazing

Tim Tebow just seems to have it all. Aside from being the reigning Heisman winner and perhaps the most popular player in the vaunted history of Gator football, he also just happens to be a decent guy. Scratch that...more than a decent guy.

As Pasik reports (and when he says something positive about the Gators, he's always right), Tebow is performing medical operations in Southeast Asia! Such procedures include things like circumcision. How can you not like this guy? Apparently, Mr. All-American hero is also an All-World hero, who dedicates the time he could be spending with every attractive girl within 200 miles of Gainesville at an orphanage instead.

Here's a quote from his holiness:

"The first time, it was nerve-racking," he said. "Hands were shaking a little bit. I mean, I'm cutting somebody."

Hmmm. That sounds like what the Georgia defense will be feeling next year.

Reunited!

Gotta love Jacksonville taking Derrick Harvey and reuniting him with the Eraser, Reggie Lewis. The Jags are turning Gainesville into it's own private recruiting grounds!

Finally, It's Draft Day

Now like most people I too believe the NFL draft is Christmas in April. And since Rate has been doing such a good job covering everything, I have sat back and kept my mouth such. But now that we are only hours away I just can't stand it anymore. So I'm going to touch on the needs of two cities, the one I live in now, and the one I'm from and love.

Starting with my current home of Tampa the buzz is that the Bucs have to draft a "play maker" receiver to replace Joey Galloway. The only problem is of all the the big three projected first rounders none of them come close to the speed the Bucs desire. All the really fast guys are all under six foot and do not fit the Gruden mold of a play maker, also since the Bucs have only five picks for the entire draft the chances of a Desean/Dexter Jackson slipping into the second day are slim to none. Now corner is another need for them and the organization has already said if USF standout Mike Jenkins is sitting at #20 they will definitely grab him but if he's not that might look at going D-Line. And even though there are four QB's on the roster expect them to try to move Chris Sims for a late round pick and use it to grab Garcia's possible successor.

Now to touch on the Bucs division rival to the north we make a stop at my old stomping grounds of Charlotte, N.C. Now I will be upfront and say that I'm a Panther fan since the day they won the expansion rights and much like the rest of the NFC South you're good one year then bad the next. Now the Cats don't have too many glaring holes. For the most part their problems are depth related and with several extra second day picks the chances of the trading up or down are not very likely. Now as of last week their first pick was a no brainer, the best OL available preferably Ryan Clady or Jeff Oath. But with the retirement announcement the other day from Mike Rucker there is only one pick that really makes sense, and that is DE Derrick Harvey.

Now I'm not the most knowledgeable guy on Mr. Harvey but I have seen enough to know that he is a beast of a pass rusher and would compliment Peppers very well. Plus I have heard rumors that Chris Leak, who is from the Queen City, has been pimping his buddy to the organization. The Panthers have been very good on draft day and hopefully the future menu of the Cardiac Cats will include a little Gator.

12:01 AM - Draft Day Begins

As ASponge mentioned, I'm going to blogging about the first round of the draft all day today, so keep checking back here to see my rants and ramblings. Most of the coverage is going to focus on Miami's picks, but I wanted to kick-start the day with a my predicted top Bust and Steal.

BUST - Glenn Dorsey - Somehow, Dorsey's injury problems are being swept under the rug, a luxury that not many players get to enjoy. Yes, he has great size at 6'2" 297 lbs. Yes, he has strength (225 27 times) and good speed (5.14 40). But, I want everyone to think about that for a second. Where were these strength and speed numbers pulled from? His Pro Day, where numbers are often inflated, and a running assumption that he's been primed for the NFL by the SEC. Now, I'm a die-hard SEC fan, and would argue that as true for just about any other player, but there's one thing that people seem to forget about Dorsey. He disappeared against major SEC teams. In his senior season at LSU he had 7 sacks and 12.5 tackles for a loss. Here's those stats broken down by game: Miss St (1 Sack, 2 TFL) V-Tech, (0,0) Middle Tenn St. (1,1.5) South Carolina (1,1) Tulane (0,0) Florida (1,1) Kentucky (0,0) Auburn (0,1) Bama (1,2) La.Tech (1,3) Ole Miss (0,0) Arkansas (0,0) Tennessee (0,0) and Ohio State (1,0). Puts it a little into perspective, doesn't it? With the exception of his 1 and 1 against Florida, Dorsey accumulated most of his stats either against scrub schools, or from the bottom of the SEC. Also, remember how good LSU's lines just about always are. If there really is such thing as a "system QB," then I think that Dorsey is a "system DT."

SLEEPER - Andre Caldwell - Obviously, being a Gator grad makes me a little biased here, but I just cannot understand why Bubba isn't getting more attention. For one, his "injury" that people stigmatize him for was a freak accident on a kick return. How does that make him injury prone? Caldwell also turned in the 2nd fastest WR 40 time (4.37) at the combine, and displayed good hands in drills. But, what really sets Bubba apart from everyone else is that he has to be the most well-rounded WR in the draft. We've seen him run out of the backfield, he's even thrown a few times, and he's a very good blocker. The NFL player that always comes to mind when I think of Caldwell is Hines Ward. They're both similar weights (Caldwell is 6'1" 200, Hines is 6'0" 205), they both have great hands, and they both not only are good at blocking, but really enjoy blocking. Is Caldwell going to be a 4-time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl MVP like Ward? Let's not give him too much credit. But I do think that he is going to be a very solid contributor for some team. Personally, I'd love to see the Dolphins take him at #57. A great blocking receiver like Caldwell on the outside can really open up the field for Ronnie, Ricky, and especially LoBo.

That's all for now, much more to come as the day rolls on. Make sure to follow along with the live-updating comments (basically a chat) at The Phinsider in addition to your coverage here at The South Florida Fan.

Here's hoping for a great draft! Now I'm off to get some sleep.

Orange and Blue and Rate's Debut

Hey everyone, I'm a new contributor here at TSFF, going to be covering mostly football for the Dolphins and Gators. Shoot me an e-mail sometime if you wanna know more about me, otherwise, lets get to the important stuff.

Here's a couple of game notes I put together for the first half of the Gators Orange and Blue Debut. Just some quick observations, I might do a little better writeup/analysis later, since these notes assume that you've seen the game.

-I LOVED the TD run from Mon Williams on the opening drive where he literally carried 4 defenders into the endzone. Mon is a guy we've been looking for some production out of for awhile now, one of those "potential" guys. Hopefully we can see some more out of him this year.

-Cam Newton may have dispelled any rumors that the Gators will return to a dual-QB system. He still shows his flashes of greatness, but overall his play was very sub-par. I still have some hopes for him, but I'm willing to bet that Brantley will be our backup QB this year once he gets healthy again.

-First play of Blue's second drive. Tebow jukes the defender in the backfield, and still manages to get off the option pitch. Stuff like that shows why people talk so much about Tebow being a spread QB, Leak couldn't of done that.

-Kudos again to Tebow on the play that his first interception happened. He drops the ball and picks it up to continue the play, and made a great pass. He made the play, and that's what we want to see. Rowley just juggled the pass. The second interception wasn't his fault, either.

-Kestahn Moore is really a good kid, and a hard worker. He's improved his ball handling, but when he runs the ball, he still lacks that killer instinct that I like to see in a running back. I'd really like to see him hit the holes a little faster if he's going to be the guy.

-Carlos Dunlap is a BEAST. I was really excited to see him come in last year, and after he's had a year to improve, he really impressed in this game. Remember, Dunlap is the guy who was starting defensive end and kick returner for his high school team.

-The Gators are ridiculously deep at Wide receiver. Just look at players like Justin Williams, who's probably our 5th or 6th string receiver.

-I wonder if the Gators can make it the entire season without a single punt return yard this season? Remember, all season, we only had 5 punts returned... for 22 yards. Brandon James has 5 punt returns for MORE then 20 yards. The combination of Chas Henry's leg and Brandon James' return skills are going to help the Gators win a lot of field position battles this year.

-Chris Rainey is going to make a lot of big plays this year. They say that speed kills in football, and with the combination of Percy, Rainey, and Deonte, we have speed that will make greased lightning look slow.

-People want to talk about our troubles in the secondary, but if we can improve our pash rush, then it will help our corners tremendously. Haden and Pierre-Louis are going to be solid corners this year either way with the experience they gained last year, but with a strong enough pass rush, they could be All-SEC'ers.

-One thing that does concern me is the play of the offensive line. Now, a few factors comes into this. For one, the first and second team was split between the two teams, so the line wasn't at it's best. But it does show that we have holes in our depth. Another thing to remember is that the position that is the most effected by a lack of consistent game-time is the offensive line. Look at the bowl games, after 2-3 week layoffs, teams normally let up more sacks in their bowl games then any other time in the season. Need more proof? Look at how the Giants beat the Pats. As we get into the season, our offensive line will really solidify themselves, but, I'm still a little worried about our depth there. We have to stay healthy.

-Sturgis looks really, really impressive. He hit the 47 and 52, and only barely missed the 57, and the 62 was only BARELY short. He's got a serious leg, and we finally have a kicker.

-Poor Major Wright. Because of the red shirt rules Major couldn't really hit Tebow, but Tebow levels the poor guy anyways. And for a guy that really takes a lot of pride in being a hard hitter, that's especially gotta hurt.

-I love the play of our linebackers. There were a few busted coverages that will need to be improved, but they were hitting hard and hitting fast, with good wrap-up and tackling technique. And I don't care what anyone says about QBs, a good football team begins and ends with solid blocking and tackling.

-Another player that I'm excited to see develop is Aaron Hernandez. He's still a little raw and needs more work, but I feel like he could be an All-SEC TE by his senior season. He definitely has the size and hands.

-WOW at that jump into the endzone for Rainey. The guy is the size of Carlos Dunlap's leg, but he has no fear. I love the kid already.

-I really want to see more out of Emmanuel Moody. I've heard that he did better in the second half, but we also didn't play a lot of starters in the second half. I'll reserve judgement for now.

Overall, I gotta say that I'm really excited about this coming season. After watching "The Rain Man's" performance, if you aren't excited too, you probably don't have a pulse. I also think we have a ton of depth at linebacker now (Hey, how about a 3-4?), our secondary is improving to be at least decent now, and the defensive line looks COMPLETELY different then it did last year, which is a very, very good thing. We still have some depth issues on the offensive line, and I still don't know if we have our elusive 1,000 yard running back, but at the very least Tebow shouldn't have to run as much next season.

So then, what's the answer to the big question? Are the Gators a championship team? Maybe. I think we have some of the pieces to be national champions, but not all of them, and the pieces that we do have aren't all working together perfectly, either. Not to mention how tough the SEC is, and how good Georgia is looking as well. It's still just the spring though, and we have a long way to go.

This writer's prediction? Circle Saturday November 1st on your calender, because it could very well be a #1 vs #2 matchup.

Tim Tebow!

Just the sound of the reigning Heisman-winner, the name of that freakishly speedy behemoth brings a swell to Gator fans' hearts worldwide (yes, the Gator Nation is everywhere).

Last year may have ended in disappointment, but this should be a fantastic season. Personally, I can't wait for the Georgia rematch, where hopefully the Gators will give them a humbling payback for their shenanigans last season.

Tim Tebow. Tim Tebow. Tim Tebow. The Orange and Blue game means we can chant his eminence's name once more.

Spring Gators MIA

So another crowded Saturday gameday has passed here in sunny Gainesville, Fl and once more the Gators were victorious. It took me about 45 minutes to drive the one mile to Moe's to get a fajita and I almost died about ten times in the 3 miles per hour post game day traffic. You get used to it living in a football college town after a little while on this warm September day...Wait just a second!

That's right, its spring and football fanatics are still, well, football fanatics. 60,000 strong filled in all of the open sections of Ben Hill to see the Gators work it out in a highly competitive(although still scrimmage) game.

Its hard to really tell a lot about a team, especially when its missing so many parts. The widely publicized absence has been Percy Harvin. An early Heisman favorite after his ridiculous combined rushing and receiving statistics as a half halfback, half receiver, half any other offensive position that might be invented any time soon. (gatorback anyone?) Apparently he has an ankle discomfort that has spread all the way up his leg and to his knee. Apparently this discomfort has been with him since high school? Sorry, something isn't sitting right with this after watching him effortlessly run around defenders for the past two years. Here's to keeping fingers crossed that we'll be seeing Percy running routes this fall instead of having the long snapper out in pass patterns.

The other thing we would have liked to seen previewed for this coming year was the two quarterback system. Meyer keeps talking about trying to spell Tebow on some plays(about time) and putting in another quarterback like he used to do with Tebow and Leak. The only problem with this is that Newton doesn't look like he wants to run into the line a la Tebow. He has shown off an impressive arm and some mobility but he does not appear to be a substitute battering ram like Tebow was two years ago. The other backup QB, John Brantley, continues to have strange things happen to him. After hurting his nonthrowing shoulder wrestling a lineman in a practice drill, now his hand had a cast on it after he jammed his hand. I haven't heard of this injury but that is what he reported on the sideline. Brantley had a great local high school career, but it was disappointing to not be able to see what kind of quarterback he will be this fall for the Gators.

There was a nice bright spot to watch though and that was at the Gators biggest weakness coming in, defensive line. Coming off of a year where the four man pass rush looked like an immobile troop and losing the only real player in Harvey, the Gators showed off some new athletic talent in the form of Carlos Dunlap. Sporting the popular number 8 jersey made wearable by Rex Grossman, Dunlap looked both too fast and too strong for opposing linemen. Hopefully an upgraded secondary(which should allow the Gators to send more than four on rushes) and Dunlap's ability should let this defense play back up to the caliber of the championship team.

Marreese Speights Should Stay in School

The first mistake in Marreese Speights' life was the spelling of his name. I'm sure it was intentional, but you have to wonder how Maurice turned into Marreese.

There had to be a plethora of other mistakes along the way, but I can assure you that the most recent is his decision to test the NBA Draft waters. This is a guy who has everything to gain by staying in school. The Gators should be bolted to the Top 25 next year, if not the top 10, and Speights is primed for national exposure.

As a general principle, a college player should never leave early unless he's a lottery pick. Marreese Speights is not even close to that right now.

The only good news is that he's going in without an agent, which means he can keep his eligibility (but he hurts his brittle draft stock at the same time). For the good of the Gators and yourself, stay in school and give Marreese a good name.

College Basketball Season Over in Florida

The last remaining Florida college basketball program was eliminated from post-season play today.

The Florida Gators were defeated by UMass 78-66 in the NIT Final Four at Madison Square Garden. The Gators blew a 9 point halftime lead and the Minutemen never looked back as they took the lead with 11:29 left in the 2nd half. A major reason for the loss was Florida's pathetic free-throw shooting: 8 for 21 from the line. It's a real shame because UF seemed to be playing at their highest level this year, having dominated wins over San Diego State, Creighton, and #1 Arizona State to reach the NIT semi-finals. Billy Donovan cannot be pleased with this performance.

The Majority of the posts will now be concentrated on the baseball season, primarily the Florida Marlins and a little on the Tampa Bay Rays. We'll also keep you in touch with the collegiate teams (Canes, Gators, Noles).

Panthers Representing So. Fla. Sports

It hasn't been a good year for sports in this area. Scratch that. It's been an abominable year for South Florida sports. Let's recap:

1. The Dolphins go 1-15, despite expectations of reaching .500.

2. The Heat have the worst record in the NBA, and they were supposed to be a championship contender!

3. The Marlins finish with a losing record and trade both Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera.

4. The Hurricanes were blown out in their last game at the Orange Bowl.

5. The Gators, heavy favorites, lose a secondary bowl game to Michigan.

And now, thanks to the Panthers, we have something to root for. "It was an awesome game to play in," Panthers center Stephen Weiss [of a playoff-type game in front of a sellout crowd]. "There was a lot of emotion. It's nice to come out with two points."

Pull yourselves out of that lugubrious slumber and discover that "audacity to hope" again. Say it with me. Goooooooo Panthers!

It's Over - An NIT Bid for the Gators

Am I dissapointed? You betcha...but to quote asponge, my brother, friend, and colleague of many years, "The Gators will be just fine if they enter the NIT, maybe even better off (they could win it)." A shocking statement from such a devoted Gator fan. I'm incredibly impressed that he was able to gather the words to say so about such a heart-breaking 80-69 loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide in the first round of the SEC Tournament. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for myself. So thank you for stating what all Gator fans should be thinking to themselves. It's been a good run of 9 consecutive NCAA Tournament bids, but I'm not gonna lie. I'm devastated that it's all over. Gotta go - Lipstick Jungle is coming back on.

Must-Win for Gators?

Is tonight's first-round SEC matchup with Alabama a must-win? It depends on how you look at it. Sure, it's a must-win if they're going to qualify for the Big Dance, but is anything in sports truly a must-win, especially when it involves academic athletes in pursuit of things far beyond an NCAA title?

The Gators will be just fine if they enter the NIT, maybe even better off (they could win it). Also, it's not as if this team has been cursed lately, winning the last two titles. Gator fans, don't be too sorrowful if they lose. Just reach into your back pocket and pull out your tri-championship banner.