Common Gators!

Bama will try to have the crimson tide roll...

But I think this guy has something to say about it



Only Gators get out of the Swamp alive!

ESPN drops writer because of anti-ESPN commentary

The interview that got him fired

Freedom to speak has price
"I wasn’t surprised. ESPN, a terrific network, has always been hypersensitive to criticism, especially when it comes from its independent-contract employees. Over the six years I’ve worked for ESPN, I’ve received complaining phone calls from its executives almost every time I’ve written a critical word about the network."


Whitlock leaves ESPN, but not quietly
"Outspoken Kansas City Star columnist Jason Whitlock was, in his own words, "dumped" by ESPN for ripping colleagues Mike Lupica and Scoop Jackson in an interview with the sports blog The Big Lead."



I think this guy is too similar to Mike Freeman who played the race card with Chris Leak..so I don't have much respect for him. Except for the fact that he stood up to ESPN's crappifying of the sports world as we know it. He stood up to the complete commercialization of DISESPNABC

Florida vs. Kentucky highlights

If you missed any.. here is a good collection of 'em.

ABC/ESPN makes it official

This week the College Gameday crew heads out to corn-filled Iowa, mecca of all things football, pigskin and produce. And not surprisingly the SEC gets shunned again for the ABC night game.


I'm not saying the SEC has any truly nail-biting games this week. FL v. Bama should be a good match up. Auburn v. SC would have been a decent matchup if it was a Saturday game. But I truly believe they're comparable to OSU v. Iowa.

Instead a great decision by ESPN, the 24-hour commercial channel for itself, leads us to Ohio State v. Iowa. Ohio State has been on gameday 3 times now. VS penn state, VS Tejas and now Iowa. An Ohio State team that NO ONE cares about outside Ohio, possibly the Big Ten.



So I've decided I'm not watching gameday. It's an eternal love fest for Notre Dame and Ohio State. The clips for other teams get smaller while teams like ND get more press.. why? The SEC has been snubbed too much. No respect.

Disney has ABC and ESPN clenched together like butt cheeks. I need to find new sports channels to watch.. See this post

Five Things We Learned This Weekend

From Sports Illustrated:

1) That Notre Dame is headed to the Sugar Bowl. As flawed as that team is, you can pretty much script the rest of its season. The Irish are going to beat their next seven opponents fairly easily. And they’re going to get crushed by USC. That puts them at 10-2; Sugar gets first choice of at-large teams this year. The only remaining mystery is how much they’ll lose the bowl game by.

Look, someone isn't buying into the hype machine!

5) That Florida fans need to get a clue. A contingent of idiots at The Swamp booed Chris Leak (the nation’s top-rated passer coming into the game) on two occasions during Saturday night’s win over Kentucky. Tim Tebow runs fast. He’s the future. I get it. But if you’re stupid enough to think the Gators would have won at Tennessee two weeks ago without Leak, I’ve got an autographed Bobby Sabelhaus jersey to sell you.

Stop booing our Heisman candidate! He is the man. He is the leader of this team.

Quick notes on players playing/ not playing this upcoming week

Looks like-

Percy Harvin should be all go this week before Alabama


Meyer said offensive guard Ronnie Wilson will return to practice this week and be available for Saturday's game. Wilson, the No. 1 left guard entering two-a-days, fractured his ankle in August and missed the first four games.


No new news on Marcus Thomas

Let's just hope Kentucky is the darkhorse of the SEC

Kentucky made the Gators look vulnerable last night but we overcame and prevailed in the tough SEC.


Chris Leak is our quarterback. He may be the classic drop back passer. But he is good! Don't chant Tebow. That's for next year. Until then, lets get behind our HEISMAN CANDIDATE quarterback Chris Leak. He kept us moving down the field for nearly all the drives.

Our running backs looked like they averaged good yardage... except when they fumbled it. Urban you better get on our running backs. What happens when we go against the killer defenses of SEC?

Turnovers hurt us and our offense still isn't quite clicking. When we get back Harvin..throw in Cooper and Fayson...along with the already experienced wideouts we should be good to go.

Now lets go see what the message boards and news commentators had to say.

Watch out Kentucky

The Swamp is waiting for you. Only Gators get out alive.

Stolen from Orange and Blue Hue

Some respect for the SEC

Sports Illustrated finally realized what SEC fans new all along...
SEC defense reigns supreme. SEC manhandles all the other conferences

On SEC Defense-

"But more strikingly, anyone who watched the game couldn't help but be dazzled by the speed and intensity of the two defenses. Time and again, powerful linemen surged into the backfield, blazing-fast linebackers came up to deliver crushing hits and defensive backs flew across the field to break up what seemed like certain completions."

A couple of quotes-

"These are the best defenses in the country," said Florida coach Urban Meyer. "I've been fortunate to coach against Pac-10 teams and Big Ten teams, Mountain West, WAC, Mid-American, even some ACC schools. I've had a little flavor of it all, and I really feel strongly that top to bottom, we're the toughest defensive conference in the nation."

"Each year," said Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville, "the defenses in our conference get better."

Marcus Thomas, we need you man..You're a beast

Defensive tackle Marcus Thomas spent today in meetings with school officials to appeal a five-game suspension he received earlier this week for marijuana use.



I hope what his Mother said is true...

“Basically, we think he’s being hit with double-jeopardy,” she said. “He’s being hit twice with the same mistake. I’m behind him 100 percent.”

The reasoning given by Thomas and his Mother is that the first positive test and the second positive test were from the same single instance. Supposedly, there was not enough time in between tests to have the THC clear the system.

If not...do the crime, do the time.

I'm sure Marcus Thomas is the only athlete in the NCAA that has ever done this drug, so I guess they will make an example out of him. But we need him back, he gets double teamed and makes it easier for the rest of the team. He is a cornerstone of UF's rock solid defense.

This is for you Notre Dame fans

Willingham = Weis

Who is the next coach at Notre Dame?

Not so fast, my friend

Lee Corso got the Gators fired up

Lee Corso, the night before the UF v UT game, said the Gators were too soft to win in Knoxville. Those comments probably helped UF secure the win in the 4th quarter.

"I watched it Friday night and Saturday morning," Brandon Siler said. "We were watching college football and it came up over and over on the screen: Florida is too soft to win in Tennessee. The reaction (of the players) was real crazy. We were angry. We knew we weren't that kind of team and went out and proved it. How dare anyone think about us like that. I don't have anything personal against (Corso). He has a job to do. I'm pretty sure he has a change of heart right now."

I love it when rival fans talk trash

Then lose the game

Here is the answer

ESPN losing my faith

Enough said.

Two big time punt returns the refs messed up on

#1 - phantom block in the back call

#2- A no call that should have been "tripping"

Is that not tripping? Tell me that's not tripping.

A heart attack game

This image explains what turned the game around for the gators

After a phantom block in the back call on a Brandon James punt return for TD it wasn't looking good for the gators. But UF did not fold. After two long drives down the field when it was needed the most, Dallas Baker was two touchdowns more rich.

21-20 game over


The defensive line was on lock down -1 rushing for Tennessee! Two INTs by Reggie F'n Nelson. They scored twice, one was on a trick play. And their kicker just has a great leg.

Just a crazy game, going into the most hostile environment in CFB... 105,000 people!

It's great to be a Florida gator. Our freshman were great. Big things this season.

Only gators get out alive and we're bringing them to Neyland Stadium.



Only gators get out alive in Knoxville

ReCap of UF vs.UCF highlights

ChrisLeakfan4life has some amazing videos. I always enjoy watching his put together Gator highlights. Some of the songs I like better than others. The heavier the rock, the better. That's how football background music should be.

ReCap of Florida vs Southern Miss on YouTube...outstanding

Southern Miss fan on myspace, speaks for itself

SEC vs. the rest

Spurred on by this article, I have come up with a monumental idea.

Make two polls. The SEC poll and the rest of the country poll. At the end of the season, have playoffs between the two number ones, number twos and so on. It's the playoff system everyone is talking about. I created it for you!

Here are the AP rankings as of right now ..."3-6-7-10-13. That’s not the winning Powerball numbers, those are power football numbers. Five SEC squads in the AP Top 15."

It is completely possible. Too many good SEC teams don't get their chance at the MNC... See Auburn a few years ago. There is a team every year it seems..

I love this quote by standout safety, Tony Joiner

When responding to the intimidation factor involved going into a big time rival school's stadium like Tennessee's, Tony Joiner said:

"That is really where we want to get," junior strong safety Tony Joiner said. "We really want to go into somebody else's house and take their cheese. Make a sandwich in their kitchen."

Opposing fans

Opposing fans always seem displeased when they come into The Swamp and leave feeling even worse. Consider this. The Swamp is the most hostile environment for college football teams to come into nationwide. Expect the worse! Our fans will be loud, they will probably be chattering at opposing fans before the game as well. Expect it!



We are not suppose to like you, for that game you are the enemy. The players on the field will try to psyche opponents out, and so will the fans. It is just how it works. I do feel any physical exchange of any sort, cussing, throwing things and things of those extreme should not be part of the opposing fans banter.




With that in mind, consider the story of the most recent game. As my group of homeboys are sitting in the student section for UF-UCF game, about 10 ucf fans come and sit down in varying places around us. First of all, how can ucf fans be sitting in the UF student section? And secondly they seemed to feel they owned the place. Every once in awhile they would try to start a U-C-F cheer. This would always be ended with SUCKS by the UF students. It made UCF fans angry from the start of the game. To rap up this little story, the UCF fans tried to pick fights all night and almost succeeded until the cops escorted rowdiest of the fans out of the stadium. I was not impressed by the character of the UCF, surprising to me, because lots of times I'm not impressed with the way some of our own fans act.

All the UCF folks were gone by half time anyway. Gators Are On Fire!

UCF has a long ways to go

First team offense looked spectacular against UCF.

Quarterbacks
-Chris Leak was nearly perfect. He spread the ball to MANY receivers. He was throwing bullets and making great reads. Just a great performance. I hope he keeps it up
- Time Tebow shows great potential. Had some good hard hitting runs, and few decent passes. Put one good drive together, but had an INT and fumble. He needs to work on turnovers.

Receivers
-Have so many options, it literally is ridiculous. WE have the best wide receiver core in the country. Other than a Harvin fumble, we were flawless. Harvin also had a dazzling 58-yard touchdown run to make up for the fumble. Caldwell, Baker, Cornelius and Ingram all great. Others like Fayson, Cooper, D. Nelson, Tookes and Casey also had good receptions. We are loaded!

Running game
Deshawn Wynn should be our main back. He isn't dancing as much anymore. And he is running strong. I like him as our number 1 back. Moore also had a good run for a TD.

Offensive line
- Looked great tonight. If they keep improving, our running game might be a monster. Would love that.


First team defense was on lock down

Defensive line
Got all the big-time boys back and it showed. Shutdown the run. No points, nothing!

Secondary
Great as usual, have the speed and helped with the shutout.

Second and third teams-
In the 3rd and 4th quarters, when second and third teams began playing, the immaturity showed. Our offense did move the ball but it was third and long every time. The defense did not give up big plays or any points, but the ball was moved better against them.

Urban Meyer showed his class by being conservative the second half. Did not run up the score in the second half, seemed more like a practice scrimmage.



And we got our rings

After Leak, there is Tebow, after Tebow... Cam Newton

Tonight, Westlake (Atlanta, Georgia) 4-Star quarterback Cameron Newton committed to the Gators.

Some stats, comments and videos:

6-foot-4, 232-pound frame

Cameron Newton profile

"Newton is a big, mobile, strong armed, and accurate quarterback that seems to be able to make all the throws."

Rivals has him at 6-4 and Scout has him at 6-6. Who is right? A 6-6 quarterback...wow...that reminds me of a certain star qb from the school we play Saturday.

Great Summary of Florida's first game stats

Over at there is a terrific chart that breaks down rushing offense, passing offense and receiving of Florida's first game.

GatorDavid pulled the chart from an NCAA Web site. Here is the ncaa chart of the Gators first game.

Playing Tennessee just got a little easier

Tennessee center Major Wingate, who was a thorn in the Gators side last year, has been dismissed from the team.

"I am disappointed and discouraged in some of the decisions that Major has made," coach Bruce Pearl said. "While he has made some progress in certain areas over the last several months, I am unable to allow him to return to our team this season."


I wonder what he did? This is pure speculation but I wouldn't be surprised if it was drug related. A green NBC logo possibly?

Steve Irwin was the man

Died doing what he loved out in the wilderness

Goodbye Steve

Gators are restless

Bring on UCF. We're hungry

Notes from the first week of college football

-Ainge looks comfortable, improved from last year's performances



After Tennessee Pounds California you have to love Ainge's quotes even if you're a Gator fan:

"This was more than just Tennessee vs. Cal," Ainge said. "It was the South vs. the West, the Southeastern Conference vs. the Pac-10."

And he is right, this does show the power of the SEC. I hope it opens a few eyes in the West. The PAC-10 once and for all does not play defense (sans USC). They cannot compete with the SEC and probably not the other Southern conference, the ACC.

(Arkansas does not count because Arkansas cannot compete with SEC, they shouldn't be in our conference. They have a high school offensive coordinator. Go join the ACC, you'll do reasonably well there I bet.)

- Although I do believe the ACC is tougher than the PAC-10, I can't allow Bowden's quote about defense slip without being commented on:

"You don't know how hard it is to beat Miami," Seminoles coach Bobby Bowden said. "I mean, I've been playing these guys for 31 years. They've probably got as good a defense as there is in the country, unless it's us."

It seems like Bowden and Coker have plenty of respect for each other and their respective programs but they shouldn't be surprised if everyone else across the nation may not agree. What I saw last night was more of an offensive travesty rather than defensive deity. The rushing game was literally non-existent. Makes me feel good about Florida's rushing game.

Cismesia wins the game with a field goal in the fourth quarter. Wide Nothing

There are major issues in both of those programs and no one was surprised to see a repeat of last year. The game was surprisingly boring and uneventful. I honestly expected FSU to win by more than they did. I believe FSU is in less of a decline than Miami. Kirk Herbstreet made a great call with Miami winning the Mythical National Championship. Your team started great and they really showed the nation.

-Gator this and that
Percy Harvin will be a great one at making defenders miss

Expect to see more out of receivers Cornelius Ingram, freshman Riley Cooper and Jarred Fayson and Senior Bubba Caldwell. Baker and Harvin already proved their worth and won't be disappearing. Our receivers will be devastating many a defensive secondary if we start clicking just a little better.

Meyer praises Jemalle Cornelius, the defensive secondary and even the offensive line

Tid bits taken-

"(Cornelius) graded out fantastic," Meyer said. "You'll see him much more involved in the offense. That's my fault (that he wasn't). He had one opportunity to make a big play and he hit it (catching a 29-yard TD pass). He's an excellent blocker, an excellent football player. He's one of our best players."

Smith is one of six defensive players who graded out as a champion. The others were cornerback Reggie Lewis, safeties Reggie Nelson and Tony Joiner and linebackers Brandon Siler and Earl Everett.

"It was (Carlton Medder's) first real playing time as a Gator and I'm very proud of him," Meyer said. "He has a long way to go, but I love his effort. He was our best hustler in the offensive line."

Defensive playmakers, Running Back expected to play against UCF

Coaches are counting on the return of Thomas and Harris to benefit everyone on a defensive line and ignite the pass rush.

"I'm anxious to see a full complement of defensive lineman, on a rotating basis, stay fresh and push the pocket," Meyer said.

Thomas and Harris both sat out of the opener for unspecified disciplinary reasons. Each is healthy and ready to hit something. I hope it makes us the best defense in the nation.



Before a stinger sidelined Wynn in the first game, he had the potential for a big game. He is expected to be back for the UCF game. He will be our most dominating back this year if he can stay healthy. With that being said, Meyer still feels very uncomfortable at the position.

"It's going to be a tryout camp this week. I want to see who can make a guy miss. If they can, they might be playing tailback for us this week."

And completely Off Topic
Steve Irwin dies at 44

How did the football and basketball teams look in their first games?

Tebow fighting for his first college touchdown

Notes-

The football team defense looks rock solid. Even the secondary looked fast. Other than a Chris Leak interception freebie early in the game, Southern Miss would not have scored the entire game. The interception may also have been because of a bad route run but freshman Harvin. Reggie Nelson, Reggie Lewis and Tony Joiner all had strong games. Nelson is truly a beast. He was everywhere. Linebackers were solid as to be expected.The first team defense will be dy-no-mite. Even at the end of the game, when our second team defense was in, we didn't allow points. That was a good showing.Only thing lacking were the sacks! There were none. But there were lots of holding calls against our defense and quarterback throw aways. That tells you we still had plenty of pressure.

The offensive line still needs some work. Our running game just was completely sporadic. Sometimes it looked good, sometimes looked horrible. I think D. Wynn got hurt too. Not a good sign. We have playmakers at receiver. Percy Harvin and Dallas Baker were great. Caldwell took it easy the first game. And Jemalle had a great long pass for a touchdown. Tebow showed his heart already in just two plays and forced his body in for a touchdown.

Southern Miss was a strong opponent. They had a strong QB, Jeremy Young , who showed composure, but lacked in a strong throwing game. The yards they received were from a strong showing at their running back position.


Mareese Speights Looking good!

The Gator Boys, so far, took care of business in Canada. I wasn't able to watch it but from reports sounds like there were plenty of dunks and our freshman put up some decent numbers. Our championship team only played together for a limited amount of time, giving freshmen a chance to mesh with their new team mates. We broke the century mark easily, scoring 107 points.

Sounds like the Canadian fans were in awe of our team.

Patriots missed out on a couple of good players

The Patriots release Jeremy Mincey and Vernell Brown to make their final roster cut.


Jeremy Mincey was a playmaker. Maybe it was the switch of positions that hurt him

"Florida rookie Jeremy Mincey struggled with the transition from down lineman to linebacker, and the learning curve appeared to be a bit too steep."



It was probably Vernell's size that hindered him, because he had the heart of a great player.

At least they were assured some money, picked up degrees from the 13th best public university in the nation and who knows, maybe someone else will pick them up in the future.

5 other players from Florida are still on the Pats

Remembering the Champs

This was from The Alligator remembering the 1996 National champs

Steves Spurrier's play-calling on Dianabol. Danny Wuerffel's pinpoint passing on Sustanon. Ike Hilliard vacuuming in passes on Anadrol. Fred Taylor and Terry Jackson rushing past reeling lineman with a surge only Deca Durabolin should be capable of inducing.

Great read, gave me goosebumps. I hope this year gives me goosebumps

Who doesn't know Roman Numerals? Someone at Pepsi just got fired

First it was the crocodile head, now it's Roman Numerals.
We are just giving the seminoles material to make fun of us for!
It doesn't matter that the Pepsi advertising company was responsible, this is going to give our rivals great fodder for the future.

Pepsi will pay for another set of shirts to be distributed in late September before the Alabama game.

I want my t-shirt on our home opener. Thanks