I’m used to UF winning football games, but not by three points, and definitely not with less than 15 seconds left on the clock. I needed that like I need elective oral surgery. Why do we do this to ourselves? I tell people I’m not the biggest sports fan, that my life doesn’t wax and wane on the outcome of a game. I prefer to think of it as a half-truth rather than half-lie. Come to think of it, I can’t recall the last time someone said “half-lie.” Why is that? Don’t tell me everyone else is as delusional as [...]
Football
Giving it up for Michigan
If you’re a Florida fan, you can’t say that Michigan didn’t deserve to win the game today. Other than turnovers, UM outplayed the Gators in every way. In fact, if it weren’t for the turnovers the game wouldn’t have been close. The Gators young defensive line was handled by UM for most of the game, the Gators older offensive line was handled by UM for the whole game, and the UM quarterback was playing catch in the backyard with his receivers all day. It’s a dispiriting loss for UF, but in a small way I do feel a little good [...]
You can’t win them all
Auburn played a heck of a ball game. It’s just a shame they had to play it late at night, on a day when I was having a pretty good day. I’d like to say that Florida had some kind of moral victory… outplaying the Tigers, or being the better team… but it wouldn’t be true. You get greedy when your team wins a lot of ball games. You want them to win them all. There’s always a night like this sometime, when you find out you can’t. I’ll tell you who I feel good for: Tommy Tuberville. He’s had [...]
Go Gators
There may come a day this season when Tennessee looks like a poor test, but going into this weekend I was a little worried. Partially, this is because I am a worrier by nature; but you’ve got to admit, the young Gator defense gave you a little bit of discomfort in the second half against Troy State, right? There may come a day when I regret saying this, but the Gators looked like they picked up right where they left off in January on Saturday. The only cause for concern was the pass rush, but the run defense was pretty [...]
Newsvine – NAACP Leaders Urge Fairness for Vick
Newsvine – NAACP Leaders Urge Fairness for Vick: “R.L. White, president of the Atlanta chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said the Atlanta Falcons quarterback has been vilified by animal rights groups, talk radio and the news media and prematurely punished by his team and corporate sponsors.” I didn’t have anything to say about the Michael Vick story until I saw this headline. Most of the things said by the NAACP are correct, and I agree 99.9%. Vick hasn’t been convicted of anything, and we should withhold judgement until he is convicted of a crime [...]
Football
There are a lot of reasons why I wouldn’t be a Peyton Manning fan. He played for the University of Tennessee, Florida’s biggest rival in the SEC in the 1990s. He plays for the Indianapolis Colts, arguably the Patriots’ biggest rival in the AFC over the last ten years. He doesn’t have a Hollywood, rags to riches story. You could argue that he’s never been the underdog in his life. And yet, I have a hard time holding a grudge against the guy. He always seems to say the right things in public, and he’s far and away the funniest [...]
Upon further review
I’ve read a lot about OSU’s mistakes… particularly the characterization that those early personal fouls put them behind the eight ball. However, that first personal foul by the OSU kicker on UF’s Brandon James (on the kick-off return) was not a bad foul. The kicker is usually the last man to beat on a kick-off return. If the OSU kicker doesn’t bring James down by his face mask on that play… Brandon James is GONE… as in, he scores. James has had great returns all year, running with speed and strength… deceptively hard to bring down for his size. That [...]
The word according to Fox
Facts that will get air play later today (if Fox can be believed): OSU: Less than 90 yards total offense for the game. Troy Smith, the Heisman Trophy winner: The lowest passer rating in BCS history (O.K. … so it’s not a very long history). Jim Tressel: Worst loss in his career as a head coach (in points differential). All year the Gators were know for their great defense… but I didn’t think they were THAT good. Sure, OSU lost their best wide receiver early in the game. But was he THAT good… that he could turn around the WHOLE [...]
All is forgiven
I have no choice but to admit I was a Chris Leak doubter. But this is not a night for remembering the past. Tonight, Chris Leak proved to everyone that his numbers are not a fluke. He proved to everyone that he’s got as much mental toughness as any player on the UF football team. On the first play of the game, OSU got away with a holding penalty… and got on the board first. It was a play that easily could have stunned the Gators. It took OSU about 12 minutes (game time) to go from stunning to stunned. [...]
Yelling at the tube
For the second time this NFL season I cheered out loud in response to a Bucs performance. In a play right out of the Gators’ national championship game, Ike Hilliard broke free for a long catch-and-run touchdown to complete the Bucs improbable comeback… and the walls erected around my cynicism fell down. It lasted about thirty minutes. About ten minutes into the overtime period, the Bears completed what initially looked like a controversial play… a long pass putting them in field goal range (and that much closer to the Bucs losing a game in sudden-death overtime). Immediately after the play, [...]
