Baseball rules Gator Nation

Looks like the focus is on baseball in Gainesville.

Video interview with coach Urban Meyer

Thanks to the Tampa Tribune for the link.

On the road again

(Tampa Tribune)

Coach Urban Meyer's on the road, drumming up fan support. The Tampa Tribune went along for the ride and brought back a few pictures. Click here to check them out.

Another addition to the Gator playbook

The short yardage pass.

Exciting, huh?

Potential Gator recruit is turning heads

Here's to hoping Florida comes out on top in the recruiting race for Corey Hobbs.

From The Gainesville Sun:

If you were to draw up the ideal defensive tackle, you would begin by giving him size, say a 6-foot-5 frame, and bulk, about 310 pounds worth. He would be quick and smart. His name would be Corey Hobbs.
...“If he had to choose today, he would probably pick Florida, he likes the team a lot,” [Oviedo football coach Greg] Register said. “But I know he’s not going to jump on anything too quick, he needs to weigh his choices and make a good decision.”

Denny's Waffles is a Hall of Famer

Denny's Waffles - that's the name my buddies and I used to call Danny Wuerffel as we cheered on the Gators toward the 1996 Heisman Trophy and National Championship.

Now Wuerffel is in the Florida Sports Hall of Fame. From the Tampa Tribune:

Wuerffel, who will be inducted into the Florida Sports Hall of Fame tonight during a dinner at Tropicana Field, threw his last pass during the 2003 NFL exhibition season. After six seasons with four different teams, he joined a different organization.
...Wuerffel has built his professional life around Desire Street Ministries in New Orleans. He is the group's director of development, while serving as associate athletic director for Desire Street Academy, a private school.
...``I think one of the critical issues in this country is dealing with the growing violence problems in our inner cities. The first time I saw this [Desire Street area], it shocked me. I really couldn't believe people lived like this. It was something you visualized in a third- world country, and here it was, in our own back yard. I just believe I was meant to do this, to try to make a difference.''

Gator fans are cocky again

From the Orlando Sentinel:

Go outside now and take a big whiff.
You smell it?
Ah, the blustery air of arrogance is back in Gainesville.
It's a beautiful bouquet, isn't it?

Some Gator fans are whack jobs

During a recent appearance at the Palm Beach County Gator Club, coach Urban Meyer signed a few autographs. From the Palm Beach Post:

[A fan] rolled up his right shirt sleeve and asked the University of Florida's new football coach to sign his Gators tattoo.
...Dan Doyle, a '91 UF graduate, said he planned to have a local parlor make the signature above his longtime tattoo permanent.

Later, during Meyer's speech:

"You are absolutely the biggest whack jobs I've ever seen," Meyer concluded as he addressed close to 600 fans at West Palm Beach Marriott. "I signed a man's tattoo. There's your 1-A whack job right there."

Demand for football tickets increases under Meyer

File under "duh."

Spurrier wants you to buckle up

Gamecock head coach Steve Spurrier has taken on a new cause - seat belt safety. He's appearing in a PSA about safe driving. From the Gainesville Sun:

Spurrier said he has long been a committed seat belt user and thinks everyone should wear one. "If you don't like life, if you want to die, then don't do it."

At least he's not mincing words.

Haslem leads team in rebounds

The Miami Heat have a few days off before the Eastern Conference Championship game. Heading onto the matchup against either Indiana or Detroit, former Gator Udonis Haslem has become an integral part of the Miami squad. He's averaging 9.6 points and a team leading 11.5 rebounds in the playoffs.

Offseason trouble at Georgia

In other SEC news this week, Georgia football players have had a few run-ins with the law. From the Gainesville Sun:

For the second straight week, Georgia football coach Mark Richt plans to meet with senior defensive tackle Darrius Swain on Wednesday.
For the second straight week, that meeting must take place at the Athens-Clarke County Jail.
Swain, arrested May 7, is serving a 45-day jail sentence for repeated driver's license violations.
...It's been another rough offseason for Richt and his Bulldogs as four other players have also landed in legal trouble.
..."I see them as isolated events," athletic director Damon Evans said Tuesday. "I don't see this as a lack of discipline in our program."

Two new recruits for Gator basketball

The Gainesville Sun has more details on the young center I mentioned yesterday who has committed to Florida. Marresse Speights will join the Florida squad in 2006. And there's also news of a high school sophomore who has committed to Florida. Gary Clark, a 6' 3" guard from Sarasota Booker has verbally committed for the Gators' 2007 class.

Here are some more details from gatorsports.com:

Marreese Speights, a 6-foot-10, 240-pound senior center out of Admiral Farragut High in St. Petersburg, announced his intentions to play for the Gators. Sophomore Sarasota Booker 6-foot-3 guard Gary Clark also made a verbal commitment Monday.
...As a senior, Speights averaged 18.5 points and 8.9 rebounds in leading Farragut to a 25-7 record. He earned Class 2A all-state first-team honors.
...Clark joined Lake Howell guard Nick Calathes as a sophomore high school commitment, meaning Florida could have a potential starting backcourt of the future lined up if both don't change their minds before signing day in November of 2006.

6' 10" center commits to Florida

The Gators have a new addition to the commit list - 6' 10" Marreese Speights from St. Petersburg.

Things to look forward to this fall

CNNSI listed a few things they're looking forward to this fall in the SEC:

All Spurrier, all the time. At South Carolina, the Ol' Ballcoach is happier than he has ever been, and he's disciplining more players than anyone outside of Knoxville. Can Steve Spurrier jam those square pegs into the holes in his passing offense?
...The Ol' Ballcoach on an SEC sideline. It will be a welcome sight to see – and it will ratchet the stakes for South Carolina-Florida to near-hysterical levels.
...Urban Meyer has a terrific résumé and greater expectations than anyone who has entered the SEC since, well, Spurrier at Florida 15 years ago. Meyer's system has worked everywhere else. Will it work in Gainesville?
...Will QB Chris Leak be as good as everyone thinks in Urban Meyer's system? And how will Midwesterner Meyer respond to the good ol' boy gladiator pit that is SEC football?

Urban Meyer bio

If you missed the Urban Meyer bio on Sun Sports, they're replaying it tomorrow at 11am. Sun Sports is available on cable throughout Florida and via satellite nationwide.

Haslem helps pick up Shaq's slack

Shaquille O'Neal sat out injured during Miami's game three win over Washington, giving other Heat players a chance to shine. Former Gator Udonis Haslem grabbed another double-double, and Dwayne Wade was the big star of the night, with 31 points.

Another play from coach Meyer's playbook

Gatorsports.com has updated its interactive Florida Gator playbook.

Spurrier draws unprecedented interest from Florida fans

Former Florida coach and current South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier is still setting records in Gainesville. This time, he's attracted the largest number of Gator fans to a regular season away game.

The previous record was set when 5,400 fans made the trek to Tallahassee for the annual matchup against Florida State in 2000. But this coming season, 7,500 fans are headed from Gainesville to Columbia, SC to see the old ball coach in action against new Florida head coach Urban Meyer. And that's not the half of it - literally. Another 7,810 Florida fans also tried to buy tickets to the game, but the Gamecocks only made 7,500 available.

Haslem modest in double-double effort

The Miami heat surged into a 2-0 series lead over the Wizards, with a narrow 108-102 win in Miami. Former Gator Udonis Haslem grabbed a double-double, with 14 points and 13 rebounds. But he remained modest (from CNNSI):

"We didn't play well. We're fortunate to get this win," Haslem said. "We're definitely going to have to correct things at their house if we're going to get wins. It's going to be a fight. We know that."

These are your gators

(image from The Gainesville Sun)

Notice anything odd? None of the Gator players are wearing orange and blue. It's part of coach Urban Meyer's mental preparation for the players. Coach has banned any gator gear from summer workouts and has banned the players from entering the locker room. A few of the Gators try to explain (from gatorsports.com):

"I guess we've been taking some things for granted," said wide receiver Dallas Baker. "(The coaches) are trying to show us it's a privilege to be a Gator."
"I think people here take things for granted, including myself," senior linebacker Todd McCullough said... "To win games, you have to put in the time in the summer. What's going to get us back in the locker room is for us to practice and train like champions."
"We need to appreciate being a Gator and we need to work for it," offensive tackle Randy Hand said. "If we work hard this summer and do what the coaches ask us to do, we'll get back in there."

New Recruit

Florida head coach Urban Meyer is preparing for the future at quarterback. Jevan Snead from Stephenville, Texas verbally committed to Florida. He starts his senior year this fall, and as a junior, Snead was turning heads. This past season, he threw for more than 3,000 yards and rushed for another 525.

More from The Alligator.

Looking back on spring

The Gainesville Sun ran an SEC spring game wrap-up. Based on spring, the paper predicts Tennessee will take the SEC, Phillip Fulmer will earn coach of the year, UF's Chris Leak will be quarterback of the year, and Auburn's Stanley McClover will be named defensive player of the year.

Here are a couple of highlights from the team by team breakdowns (quoted from the Gainesville Sun). Read the full story at gatorsports.com:

• ALABAMA
  True freshman quarterback John Parker Wilson threw for 168 yards in the spring game and was the game MVP. Wilson, by the way, was UF wide receiver Chad Jackson's quarterback in high school.
  
• ARKANSAS
  Arkansas did not hold a full-scale spring game. Instead, the Hogs had a 48-play scrimmage, which was dominated by the defense. The No. 1 defense pitched a shutout, gave up only one first down, recorded 3 sacks and forced two turnovers.
  
• AUBURN
  Quarterback Brandon Cox, a lefty with a strong passing arm had an excellent spring game, completing 13 of 22 passes for 226 yards.
  
• LSU
  New coach Les Miles said the quarterback position is wide open between sophomore Jamarcus Russell and redshirt freshman Matt Flynn. But while Russell was clearly the better quarterback in the spring game, Miles apparently wants to officially keep the competition open because he wants to see how incoming true freshman Ryan Perrilloux performs in August.
  
• MISSISSIPPI
  Larry Kendrick never seemed to find the right position for his talent at Florida and transferred to Ole Miss two years ago. The Rebels can't decide where he belongs either, so he's playing three positions - running back, wide receiver and fullback - and producing at all of them.
  
• MISSISSIPPI STATE
  Sylvester Croom's tough discipline apparently has taken hold in Starkville. After the spring game, Croom said the Bulldogs are better at every position except offensive tackle. He said the Bulldogs will be tougher and better fundamentally in 2005.
  
• FLORIDA
  Urban Meyer feels good about his No. 1 offensive line, but is concerned about the struggling play of the No. 2 unit, which includes two true freshmen (Eddie Haupt and Ronnie Wilson). Also, the unsettled place-kicking job is wide open heading into August.
  
• GEORGIA
  Quarterback D.J. Shockely threw three touchdown passes and completed 11 of 19 passes for 193 yards. Massive tight end Leonard Pope (6-foot-8), was named the best offensive player of the spring and cornerback Tim Jennings the best defensive player.
  
• KENTUCKY
  Andre Woodson had an excellent spring and emerged as the clear starter at quarterback. He threw for 478 yards and four touchdowns in the spring game.
  
• SOUTH CAROLINA
  Those league rivals (Fulmer, especially) hoping to see Spurrier fail in his return probably find comfort in the fact Spurrier hasn't found (or at least settled on) a quarterback yet. They should remember this: it was pretty much the same at UF when he first arrived in 1990.
  
• TENNESSEE
  Despite a growing image problem because of a rash of recent arrests and disciplinarian problems, the Vols still emerge from the spring as the favorites to win the conference. The strength of the team is at linebacker, where defensive coordinator John Chavis said the starting three of Kevin Simon, Jason Mitchell and Omar Gaither are all excellent NFL prospects. Simon returned after missing last season with a major knee injury. He did not participate in contact drills. He's bench pressing 465 pounds now and is expected to be full speed for the start of two-a-days.
  
• VANDERBILT
  Offensive coordinator Ted Cain says Jay Cutler is the best quarterback in the SEC, but the story of the spring probably was the defense, which allowed only two touchdowns in 16 possessions in the spring game.

An argument for age limits in the NBA

When Kwame Brown chose the NBA over Florida, did he make the right move? He's obviously too immature to be a franchise player just yet, but he is raking in millions. The Orlando Sentinel has details.

14 reasons Urban Meyer should enjoy a long career at Florida

Details of Florida head coach Urban Meyer's contract are out. Here are a few bonuses that might make the coach want to stick around for a while, in addition to his 7-year, $14 million contract (from CNNSI):

• $450,000 in bonuses by winning the Southeastern Conference, the national title and some postseason coaching awards in the same year.
  
• $2.1 million for remaining at UF for 7 years.
  
• $500,000 signing bonus.
  
• $250,000 lump sum payment for staying through the end of the 2006 season.
  
• $500,000 after 2007.
  
• $250,000 after 2008.
  
• $500,000 after 2009.
  
• $600,000 after 2011.
  
• $75,000 for winning the SEC championship game.
  
• $100,000 for going to the BCS.
  
• $150,000 for making the BCS title game.
  
• $250,000 for winning the national championship.
  
• $500,000 a year for his apparel contract.
  
• $300,000 a year for his radio and television contract.
  
• $200,000 a year for speaking to the school's booster clubs.

So, let's have a little fun. Say Meyer stays at Florida for the next 7 years, Florida wins one national championship, earns four bowl bids, and wins four SEC championships. What would coach rake in?

$27,250,000

Not bad.

Coach Meyer pokes fun

(Orlando Sentinel)

Sun Sports is running a one-hour biography of new Gator head coach Urban Meyer tonight at 7. The special takes a look at Meyer's coaching influences, his family, and his future at Florida. Gator fans are quickly learning that Meyer urges discipline, but the special also shows a little Urban humor.

The Orlando Sentinel has a preview of the special, including a quote from Meyer on the thousands of fans that regularly showed up for spring practices:

"[The show] includes Meyer telling a Polk County booster club that when he saw so many fans at practices, he "thought there might be an unemployment problem in Gainesville."

Jason Williams fined for locker room outburst

(CNNSI.com)

The NBA fined former Gator hotshot Jason Williams $10,000 for grabbing a pen out of a reporter's hand and yelling in his ear. The outburst followed Memphis' series-ousting loss to Phoenix. Williams was apparently upset at a newspaper colum written by a reporter the prior Sunday.
From CNNSI.com:

The Sunday column was critical of the Grizzlies' lackadaisical play and included a quote from Williams, "I'm happy. I go home and see my kids and my wife and I'm OK. All of this [stuff] is secondary to me."

So Williams reacted.

Williams twice took the pen out of the hand of Geoff Calkins, a columnist for The Commercial Appeal. He also screamed in his ear as the reporter tried talking to other Grizzlies. "You can talk to TNT, but don't answer this [reporter's] questions," Williams said. "I'm not letting him write anything. I didn't do anything. I just took his pen."

Set your TiVo

Sun Sports is running a profile on Florida coach Urban Meyer. Here are a couple of highlights (pulled from gatorzone.com).

A comment from legendary coach Lou Holtz on his first meeting with a young Meyer:

"We talked football for an hour and I knew he was someone special."

And a quote from Gator Linebacker Brandon Siler:

"At first, when he arrived, we all wondered who the heck did he think he was," says Siler. "After 45 minutes of hearing him talking we thought, we're about to win a national championship."

The one-hour show premieres Friday, and will be repeated a few times after that. Sun Sports is available throughout Florida and on satellite.

Urban Meyer's playbook

Want to learn more about Florida's new spread option offense? Check out a few key plays in this badass interactive feature of gatorsports.com.

Chris Leak attracting NFL interest

Looks like Florida quarterback Chris Leak is moving up the potential 2006 NFL draft list. Check out We Are the Boys for the details.

Coach Meyer is making the rounds

Gator head coach Urban Meyer is on the road, drumming up excitement for the upcoming football season, and Florida fans just can't seem to get enough.