Blog # 18 with some Football

My Beloved 38 Bloggees (Welcome, John, Daniel, Dana, Carli, Rye, Kelly and our second Chip) :

 

 

I know I sent a blog yesterday, but I have too much good stuff to wait. Usually when I accumulate about 5 items, I send it. So here it is. 

 

 

 

As a basketball junkie, you will love this website http://www.usbasket.com/ncaa1/Ex-NCAA-D1-Basketball-Players.asp . By scrolling down and clicking on Florida or other school, you can see where recent players are continuing their basketball careers, including overseas. For example, you can discover that former Gator long-range shooter, Lee Humphrey, is playing in Germany this year. By clicking on his team's name, you can end up seeing that he is averaging 6.1 points per game, shooting 37.1 % from long distance. http://www.eurobasket.com/team.asp?Cntry=Germany&Team=127&Page=3 

 

I know that some of you are also fans of UAB, Alabama, Samford, Missouri, Penn, Stetson, Texas, Brown, Cincinnati, Columbus State and Vanderbilt so you'll want to go to the website to check out the whereabouts of former basketball players from those universities.  I predict each bloggee will soon spend an average of 10 minutes at this website, especially if you follow multiple teams. It is addicting. Be sure to make it one of your Favorites so you can access it easily in the future. NEXT

 

 

 

You may have noticed that Jacksonville only beat Bethune-Cookman 67 - 60 on Thursday night http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201012300281 . Your reaction may be, "Florida got beat by that team which barely beat lowly Bethune-Cookman". However, note that Larry Little's alma mater (for you youngsters he was one of the greatest offensive linemen in NFL history as a Miami Dolphin...plus his brother David Little  was an amazing Gator and Steelers linebacker) was 22 out of 22 from the free throw line, while Jacksonville characteristically missed 10 free throws, thereby skewing the final score. NEXT

 

 

 

 

Moving away from the South a bit, the brother-in-law of the world's most powerful man, Craig Robinson, head coach of struggling Oregon State and Michelle Obama's brother, had a big Pac-10 conference opening win Thursday night, with a thrashing of a solid Arizona State team, 80 - 58  http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201012300450 .  Remember that ASU nipped one of the strong surprises of this year, UAB, last month. NEXT

 

 

 

 

I am proud that one of our bloggees is a basketball coaching living legend from Stetson University where he coached the Hatters for 36 years....one of my idols when growing up in Orlando, Dr. Glenn Wilkes. http://www.basketballsbest.com/wilkes.htm . For years, I have been receiving his newsletter mainly emphasizing coaching techniques and wisdom. At my request, I received his AOK to include the following link http://www.basketballsbest.com/  if you also want to receive his free emails (after clicking on the link, slowly scroll down a bit until you see Subscribe to Basketballs Best FREE Coaching Newsletter in the middle). NEXT

 

 

 

 

Finally a switch to football. Sound FX is one of the best sports shows on TV. Within a couple of days of a week's NFL games, this NFL Network program shows highlights with key players miked. Well, this past week their timing was perfect as Tim Tebow was the focus of one of the segments in the Broncos comeback victory after being down by 17. Do you remember when Magic Johnson won his first NBA game and his genuine "collegiate" enthusiasm was so refreshing? Click on the following and you will feel the same way about Tebow, even though it was a meaningless NFL game. Get ready to be fired up!  This will be an NFL memorable video for years to come!  http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-films-sound-efx/09000d5d81d4ddd8/Sound-FX-Take-a-Te-bow

 

 

Beat Xavier (and beat Eastern Michigan for you Samford fans) and Happy New Year once again,

 

 

 

Barry

 

Blog # 17

My Beloved 31 Bloggees:

 

 

Last night was one step forward and five steps back for the SEC (I am ignoring Arkansas's 28-point victory over former Louisville great, Jerry Eaves' North Carolina A & T hoopsters  http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201012290019 ):

 

Vandy defeated Marquette 77 - 76 in the last 4 seconds http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201012290615 . Good resume-building home win for the 'Dores. However...

 

South Carolina only beat a bad 2 - 12 OVC team, Jacksonville State, 56 - 49. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201012290525 . They are certain to be SEC East cellar-dwellers.

 

LSU lost to an average Rice team 74 - 68 which was not that close. I tuned in and the Owls had a double figure lead most of the second half. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201012290486  Rice does have a guy I envy, guard Connor Frizzelle, who shoots free throws at a 92 % clip http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/teams/rae/stats  It makes one miss Taurean Green who was money in the bank at the gift lane during crunch time of the Gator national championship teams.

 

Tennessee struggled with a horrendous 4 - 10 Tennessee-Martin team 68 - 62. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/teams/tae/schedule  Tuesday, on the Big Ten Network I saw Tennessee-Martin lose to Ohio State 100 - 40 and if I recall, they only had 29 points with a few minutes left before garbage time set in.

 

I was shocked to see Auburn win in overtime against Georgia Southern  88 - 84. http://auburntigers.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/122910aaa.html  Why? The last score I had seen was in the first half something like Auburn winning 38 - 12. I thought to myself then that Frankie Sullivan returning to the team is finally making an impact (Florida fans know all about Sullivan from last year's SEC tourney when he scored 27 against us in a losing effort http://auburn.rivals.com/bboxscore.asp?game=46661 ) However, their second leading scorer left the team over the Christmas break, Andre Malone and Auburn resorted to playing like this year's 297th ranked (out of 345 Div I schools) Auburn. Ouch.

 

Finally a depleted, dissension-filled Mississippi State squad was soundly beaten by St. Mary's,  94 - 72  http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201012290366  . The 11 - 2 Gaels are solid but SEC teams should not be losing by that margin to any unranked school.  NEXT

 

 

 

Do you ever watch a college hoops game on TV and you look on a team's bench and one of the assistants look familiar. That happened to me Monday night when the Big Ten Network camera spanned the Penn State bench. Then it hit me. Lewis Preston, the former Gator assistant who replaced Anthony Grant when he left for VCU, is a Nittany Lion assistant.  http://www.gopsusports.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/preston_lewis00.html  My guess is that he was nudged out by Florida. Why else would you make such a lateral move especially when Billy's assistants were developing the reputation to be good hires for head coaching jobs (Pelphrey, Grant and Jones....sounds like an accounting firm or a 70's folk rock group). NEXT

 

 

 

Dear Billy Donovan.....please start recruiting this guy...... http://www.komonews.com/home/video/111892554.html  NEXT

 

 

 

Don't forget, Florida travels to Xavier and their 6th rated point guard in the country, Tu Holloway http://collegebasketball.rivals.com/viewcbse.asp , for a revenge game from last year, on Friday at 3:00 Central on ESPN 2. By the way, the following Gator game is Monday against Rhode Island who beat the mighty Big East's 10 - 3 Boston College Eagles last night 67 - 65. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201012290485  Maybe it will snow in the Northeast and they won't be able to get to Gainesville, a la Fairfield last Tuesday. THAT'S IT

 

 

Enjoy and Happy New Year....I will be celebrating tomorrow afternoon at the big Samford - Eastern Michigan game in a Southern Conference - MAC clash,

 

 

Barry

 

 

P.S. If you have had enough of these Blogs, feel free to reply with "you wore me out" and I will not be insulted at all. I will certainly take you off the list. Otherwise consider spreading the word. The more, the merrier.

 

 

 

 

Blog # 16 with some Football

My Beloved 31 GHB Bloggees:

 

 

How would you like to be up by 19 with 13 minutes left or up by 12 with 5 minutes left and lose the game by 3. That happened Tuesday night to former UF assistant Shaka (Khan) Smart and his VCU Rams in a 68-65 loss in Birmingham to the UAB Blazers. http://uabsports.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/122110aaa.html.

 

UAB's Mike Davis, a Bama alum, somehow manages to rebuild a competitive team each year and his 2010-2011 version may be his best. He is starting to build some depth to reduce the minutes of his fine starters, especially top-notch 5 ' 8 point guard, Aaron Johnson, sharpshooting 6' 5 guard, Jamarr Sanders and budding superstar, 6' 10 forward Cameron Moore. Speaking of Cameron, the Blazers travel to Durham to play Duke in Cameron Indoor Stadium on January 5th. The physically talented Blazers could sneak away with an upset W.  Shhhhh....our secret. NEXT

 

 

 

Where are they now? Craig Brown whose long-range threes made us giddy in the Gators' first Final Four run in 1994 was an assistant coach with UCF for the past 10 years. With the coaching change there, he now provides color commentary as a part of the Gator Basketball Network http://www.gatornetwork.com/sports/basketball-m . Oh how I wish he had some eligibilty left. NEXT

 

 

 

Mississippi State basketball is becoming a mess. Did you see the fight between two of their players, Renardo Sidney and Elgin Bailey, while they were watching a game in the stands? http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/college/2010/12/24/2010-12-24_mississippi_state_basketball_star_renardo_sidney_caught_on_camera_exchanging_blo.html  (scroll down for the you tube video) .  

 

This may be Coach Rick Stansbury's downfall.  One bloggee reported to me that before this fight, supposedly, Sidney was suspended for 5 games after an incident in practice, the day before the tourney in Hawaii began.  BUT his suspension was somehow changed to only 1 game after a call from Sidney's mother to Stansbury......funny how those calls change things!  Who knows, she may have threatened to start "singing" if he sent her son home from Hawaii. NEXT

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Only one more week of the NFL regular season remains which sadly means only one more week of the best way to watch the NFL....the Red Zone. What a great channel DISH Network and others offer!  (Click on the following link to see how you can get it in your area).  http://redzonetv.nfl.com/   Automatically switching games, especially when a team is in the red zone, is a guy's dream....without having to use the remote. Plus, there are no commercials. My wife has never been much of a football fan, but she loves Tim Tebow and loves the Red Zone.  So when Tim led the Broncos to that exciting comeback win on Sunday, she got to see it and went nuts! Oh yeah, me too. THAT'S IT

 

 

Finally a note....if you don't see a link within a paragraph, you can assume the subject being discussed is either just my opinion or info from decent unnamed sources that has not been substantiated but worth discussing.

 

 

Enjoy,

 

 

 

Barry

Blog # 15

My Beloved 31 GHB Bloggees:

 

 

After re-reading my last blog, I saw that I indicated that Jacksonville University would give the Gators fits and they did with an overtime upset last Monday. I only saw the last 7 minutes of the game on the Sun Sports replay this morning and the Dolphins played just like  they did when I saw them play Samford here in Birmingham.....pesky, disruptive and full of heart.

 

Look for Jacksonville along with their other Atlantic Sun Conference members, Belmont (who should have beaten Tennessee on Thursday), Campbell and East Tennesse State to make some noise during the college basketball season. The A-Sun might get more than one bid to the Dance this year. NEXT

 

 

The Furman Paladins scored an impressive victory for the Southern Conference defeating in-state foe South Carolina by 16 on Wednesday night http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201012220220 . The Gamecock fans are getting used to success with their athletic programs after the baseball World Series win and the football SEC East title, but it looks like Darrin Horn's hoops crew has a long way to go before matching those lofty championship levels. Gator fans (and SEC fans) are loving not having to face Devan Downey this year. That guy wouldn't miss during crunch time. NEXT

 

 

On New Year's Eve Day the Gators will play at Xavier. Look out for 6 foot guard Tu Holloway. In Xavier's 10-point loss at Gonzaga on Wednesday night, he scored nearly half of the Musketeers' 54 points with his 26-point effort along with 5 steals. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201012220233 He did have 7 turnovers, however. For the year he averages 21.8 points playing 39.7 minutes. Oh how I wish the Gators had a shutdown defender...Corey Brewer do you have any younger brothers?  NEXT

 

 

Do you think Trent Johnson regrets leaving Stanford? His LSU team lost at home by 20 to the Mean Green of North Texas State on Wednesday night. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201012220319  I hope he doesn't have a 30-year mortgage on his home because those notoriously impatient Cajuns won't put up with much "meaux" of those embarrassing defeats. Don't forget his Tigers also lost to Nichols State in Novermber by 9. NEXT

 

 

Washington State is having a great year (10 - 2) so far even though they lost to Butler by 16 on Christmas night in the championship game of the Diamond Head Classic http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201012250632 .  In that game, 6 ' 6 guard Klay Thompson led Washington State with 31 points. For the year he averages 22.8 points. Why do I bring him up? He is the son of Miami, Florida high school legend, Mychal Thompson, who went on to the University of Minnesota and then was the overall first pick of the 1978 NBA draft by the Portland Trailblazers, finishing up with the Los Angeles Lakers 12 years later.  THAT'S IT

 

 

After their lethargic win over Radford on Wednesday, the Gators play on Tuesday at 6:00 pm Central Time against the Fairfield Stags on ESPNU. They should have no problem with Fairfield who only starts one player over 6 ' 5 (Ryan Olander, 6 ' 11).

 

 

Enjoy,

 

 

 

Barry

 

 

 

 

Blog # 14 with some Football

My Beloved 31 GHB Bloggees (Welcome Henry, Arnold, Karl and Steve):

The Gator resume for March Madness is building nicely. Soundly defeating Kansas State, the number 6 team in the country, by 13 is certainly a quality win, especially outscoring the Wildcats 49 to 24 in the last 29 minutes after a horrendous start. Also, having one of our two conquerors this season, undefeated UCF, win over the U in the first game of the doubleheader, takes away some of the sting from that loss a few weeks ago.

Warning...warning. Don't be fooled. Jacksonville University will be visiting the O'Connell Center on Monday afternoon and will give the Gators fits. After seeing the Dolphins live a few weeks ago, last year's Atlantic Sun regular season champs will be extremely disruptive on the defensive end. My prediction.....the Gators will suffer at least  20 turnovers, probably more. Jacksonville is not very big (no one over 6' 7 plays much), and doesn't shoot very well from the free throw line, but their athleticism and rising star head coach, Cliff Warren, could make it a long afternoon for the Orange and Blue. NEXT

Saturday had an interesting battle of ex-Auburn coaches when Cliff Ellis's Coastal Carolina Chanticleers beat Jeff Lebo's Eastern Carolina's Pirates at the buzzer  http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201012180122  . The way Auburn is playing under Tony Barbee, especially losing on Saturday at home to Presbyterian 62- 59 http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201012180028 , they may want either of those coaches back. But it is early.....got to give Tony some time. Plus right now on the Plains, basketball just isn't high on the priority right now for some Cam reason. NEXT

Quick note about Gator transfer Jai Lucas's contribution in Texas's win over North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Saturday.......5 minutes and all bagels in the box score http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201012180413 . I prefer his UF recruiting classmate, Erving Walker, any day. NEXT

This has been a bad sports year for the Nutt family. In football, Houston's Ole Miss Rebels finished 4 - 8 and 1 - 7 in the SEC finishing last in the Western Division. Brother Dickey, the head coach of Southeast Missouri State (SEMO) Redhawks' basketball squad, is 2-10 so far, even after defeating Jacksonville State Sunday night 76 - 67. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/teams/sap/schedule  NEXT

Former Kentucky star, Antoine Walker is starting his professional basketball comeback in the NBDL with the Idaho Stampede. This week he had 25 points and 9 rebounds in a loss to the Maine Red Claws.  http://www.nba.com/dleague/games/20101216/IDAMNE/gameinfo.html   He has had some major financial problems which prompted the comeback  http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=mc-afterthebuzzer121010  THAT"S IT 

Enjoy your hoops....I am taking a break for about a week,

Barry

Blog # 13 with some Football

My Beloved 27 GHB Bloggees (Welcome Gil, Irby, Jeff, Brandon, Chris, Coach, Sean, Jim, Scotty and Rusty):

 

 

 

Monday I saw Fran Fraschilla, the ESPN college analyst and former Manhattan, St. John's and New Mexico coach, speak to the Birmingham Tipoff Club. My favorite story he told has some Dale Carnegie overtones.

 

Fran was a young assistant coach of  a school (I believe it was Ohio State) playing Kentucky.  Before the game Wildcats Coach Joe. B. Hall shook hands with the opposing head coach and assistants addressing each and everyone of them by name. Fran was impressed that Coach Hall knew who he was even if Coach Hall had studied the game program right before the game. Fran indicated that when he, himself, became a head coach, he regularly did the same thing. 

 

Later in his talk, he was making a point and addressed the Tipoff Club's High School Player of the Week, Jeremy Watson, by name...more than 30 minutes after Jeremy received an award at the beginning of the program. Fran certainly talked the talk and it made an impact on all of us. As Dale Carnegie always emphasized,  "The sweetest sound to everyone's ears is their name". NEXT

 

 

 

To the NBA. One of our bloggees had always been unimpressed with big man Marreese Speights when he was wearing the Orange and Blue. He was shocked when Speights went to the 76ers as the 16th pick of the 1st round of the 2008 NBA draft. Our bloggee continued to be surprised with the positive impact Speights was making in the NBA shooting about 50 % averaging about 8 points and 4 rebounds in about 16 minutes a game during the first two years 

 

Then came Doug Collins and this year Speights' minutes have decreased dramatically with three of his last five games resulting in the dreaded DNP in the box score. Evidently Collins agreed with our bloggee and is frustrated with Speights' lack of  "intestinal fortitude" (quoting one of my favorite "rasslers" growing up, Buddy Colt) .  http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/playerbreakingnews.asp?sport=NBA&id=1516&line=146341&spln=1

I look for Speights to be wearing different laundry soon and congrats to our bloggee for eventually getting it right about the former Gator center.  NEXT

 

 

 

Sticking with the NBA, former Vandy and Missouri star and nephew of Coach Mike Anderson, Birmingham's DeMarre Carroll, has been sent to the Dakota Wizards of the NBDL by the Memphis Grizzlies. The 2009 first round pick will join former UAB Blazer and Mississippi State hoopster, Walter Sharpe, on the squad. http://www.kxnet.com/getArticle.asp?ArticleId=687787  NEXT

 

 

 

Speaking of the NBDL, look who is on the Iowa Energy....Chris Lofton, Tennessee's Gator killer. That guy would never miss, even from way, way downtown. Evidently his 6 ' 2 height hasn't helped him in the pro ranks, especially without playmaking capabilities.  http://www.nba.com/dleague/playerfile/chris_lofton/career_stats.html  Vandy's sophomore sharpshooter, John Jenkins, reminds me of Lofton and I will be extremely worried when we play the 'Dores mainly because of him (and their crazy building) NEXT

 

 

 

Don't forget, the Gators play # 6 ranked Kansas State on Saturday at 2:30 in a game that will let us know if we are making progress with respect to playing top teams since our Novermber 2nd half trouncing by Ohio State. In Birmingham, it is on Fox Sports South, in Florida on Fox Sports Florida. Those of you in other parts of the country check your local Fox Sports station. THAT'S IT

 

 

Enjoy and Go Gators (even though I know some of you new bloggees are just here for the ride),

 

 

 

Barry

 

 

P.S.  Most of us are also football fans. If you loved Dandy Don Meredith and did not see the tribute at halftime of Monday Night Football, be sure to click on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvZ09Mp1-DA  . The end of the interview with Frank Gifford is quite moving. 

Blog # 12 with some Football

My Beloved 17  Bloggees:

 

 

 

The SEC West showed its true colors again when host LSU recently lost to Coastal Carolina in overtime, 78 - 69 http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201012130319 . The Big South Conference's Chanticleers head coach is a familiar name, Cliff Ellis, the former Auburn, Clemson and South Alabama  country music crooning head coach. Ellis has followed the path of guys like John Brady, Mike Davis and Rod Barnes in moving  to a mid-major university after leaving or being forced to leave  a BCS school. NEXT

 

 

 

Being a Raiders fan, I was a bit excited when I saw that Oakland beat Tennessee this week in what I thought was an AFC tilt. Wait a minute, it was college basketball. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201012140580 . After losing by just one point to Michigan State last week, Oakland (based in Rochester, Michigan)  could be a team to watch in the Big Dance. They made it last year, winning the Summit League tourney and are favorites this year to repeat. Meanwhile it will be interesting if Tennessee can rebound from this loss as they soon enter the "Pearl-less" stretch of SEC play. NEXT

 

 

 

Gator assistant coach, Richard Pitino, probably made a condolence call last night to his dad after previously undefeated Louisville was upset by the 7-1 Dragons of Drexel  52 - 46. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201012140314 (By the way, the only loss Drexel has suffered was 74 - 68 to January 3rd Gator opponent, Rhode Island). Louisville had some ugly, ugly stats. They were outrebounded 45 - 25. They made only 12 of 25 free throws. Finally, they shot 15 for 47 for just under 32 per cent. Louisville might have had a practice after the game with that effort. Drexel coach, former Masschussetts Calipari replacement, Bruiser Flint, must be a defensive wizzard. Drexel's offensive stats weren't that much better, however.  NEXT

 

 

 

UF transfer update.....Jai Lucas was 2 for 9  with 4 assists in 30 minutes against North Florida last night http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201012140585  Yes, there is a smile on my face along with yours, probably. NEXT

 

 

 

With regard to our new Gator football coach, the following story was on the front page of the Birmingham News sports section this morning.  http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2010/12/scarbinsky_coach_boom_wont_be.html  I have been taking some dramamine since watching Muschamp move around during his press conference. But seriously, the future looks bright.  NEXT 

 

 

 

I will close with one of the funniest lines by a basketball coach with holiday season overtones. When living in Atlanta, I was a member of the Hawks Booster Club. The late Chuck Daly spoke to us when the Pistons were in town. I asked him something like what did he think of the officiating in the NBA compared to when he coached in college, his reply......."I send each and every NBA official a Christmas card each year...(a two-second pause) .....in Braille".

 

 

Hope you are enjoying and Go Gators,

 

 

 

Barry

Blog # 11 with some Football

My beloved 17  Bloggees:

 

 

With the Gators off from December 9th to December 18, let's focus on some tidbits with some ties to the Gators and basketball in the South:

 

 

Iowa State, with their head coach, Fred Hoiberg, "The Mayor" (he grew up there in Ames), beat rival Iowa  on Friday  75 -72  http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201012100276 . You may remember "The Mayor" from his 10 years in the NBA and in the 1995 Big Dance, when he sparked Iowa State to a first round victory over the Gators with 15 points, just a year after we went to the Final Four.  NEXT

 

 

We all remember former Samford and LSU head man, John Brady. You talk "about what have you done lately?", .....in 2006 I saw LSU dominate Duke in a Sweet Sixteen victory in Atlanta on their way to the Final Four. Two years later, LSU dumps him mid-season. Now he is at Arkansas State where they are 3 - 6 this season after defeating the "feared" Hornets of Alabama State over the weekend http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/teams/aav/schedule   (Trivia Question: Which QB currently in the NFL is an alumnus of Alabama State? The answer is at the bottom of this email)  NEXT

 

 

On January 3rd, our last game on our pre-conference schedule, we host Rhode Island on ESPNU. Over the weekend, they lost to the Quinnipiac Bobcats 73 - 66. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201012111115 Do I need to say more? NEXT

 

 

In the last blog we talked about Murry Bartow and East Tennessee State. On Saturday, his Buccaneers, with Alabama transfer Justin Tubbs,  went to Starkville and upset Mississippi State 63 - 62. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201012110366 . MSU is a bit short without talented point guard Dee Boss and forward Renardo Stanley,  http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/news?slug=teamreports-2010-ncaab-mbg but should be at full strength when the conference season starts in January and they return. By the way, the Gators play at Starkville on Saturday, January 29th in a CBS game. NEXT

 

 

Can you imagine being a fan of  ACC's  Wake Forest this year. Yesterday, the Demon Deacons lost at UNC-Wilmington, our first victim of the season. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201012120398   Wake Forest had already lost to Stetson, VCU and  Winthrop http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/teams/wad/schedule . What will happen when their conference schedule starts? It is a good thing they don't have to play Quinnipiac. THAT'S IT

 

 

Will Muschamp? Other than no head coaching experience (but did Bob Stoops didn't have it either when he was hired by OU....this just in....it worked out OK in OK) I love getting him. I went to my attorney this morning and put him in my will....bad news, Coach Muschamp ....you will end up owing money.

 

 

Enjoy and Go Gators!

 

 

 

Barry

 

 

Scroll Down for Trivia Answer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tarvaris Jackson

 

 

 

Blog # 10 with some Football

My beloved Bloggees,

 

 

I will take the win, but last night was not a super  performance against a smaller, less talented team, the Kent State Golden Flashes. I mentioned in the last blog that I saw Kent State play UAB live on Sunday and they were not impressive, especially their 6' 11 center, Justin Manns, who was taken out of the starting lineup last night. He came off the bench and played just 13 minutes with zero points and as many rebounds as turnovers. Is he related to Eloy Vargas?

 

By the way, Eloy played nine minutes Wednesday night for Kentucky in their win against Notre Dame and did get one rebound and one steal, but the remainder of his linescore was blank http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201012080292 . Oh look who is playing for Notre Dame, former Miss. State hoopster and Tyler Hansborough's bro, Ben, who scored 21 points including 5 for 9 from threeland.  NEXT....

 

 

 

There was an interesting battle of head coaches this week when Bobby Cremins's College of Charleston defeated Murry Bartow's East Tennessee State squad 79 - 59.  http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201012070107 . Cremins, who might be the only head coach who has a gym floor named after him at another University, has a team that could be there in March, led by their stud guard and a player to remember, Andrew Goudelock. Of their three losses, two of them have been at NC and MD by a combined six points.

 

A few years ago I did a day trip to MD with a free SW airlines ticket to see the Gators upset the defending champs. On the way back, I sat next to Murry who was scouting for the Grizzlies while in-between college coaching gigs. What a prince of a guy...didn't want the flight to end. He has found his niche at ETSU (after a disaster Joey Meyer-type situation at UAB, following his dad), taking them to the Big Dance the last two years from the one-bid Atlantic Sun Conference. NEXT.....

 

 

 

Gator transfer Jonathan Mitchell had a performance that was both admirable and pitiful in Rutgers 64 - 48  Tuesday win over Marist (who did not have Rik Smits) http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201012070492 . The 6 ' 7  forward shot 6 for 11 from the field and was 3 for 4 from three-point land. The Gators could use that type of performance. However, in 27 minutes, Mitchell had ZERO defensive rebounds, and just one on the offensive end. No thank you, Adam Allen-clone. You remember the 6 ' 8 sharpshooting forward who averaged 10 minutes a game and .8 (that is point eight) rebounds for the Gators in 2007 - 2008 before injuries have since sat him down. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player/profile?playerId=36379  NEXT....

 

 

 

There is a new team in Division One with a new head coach who went by the name, The Big Nasty, in his playing days. Central Arkansas, more known for its most famous basketball alumnus, Scottie Pippen, is coached by Corliss Williamson http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/news?slug=teamreports-2010-ncaab-cdm . We remember him from his days as an Arkansas Razorback who won the Big Dance in 1994 when the Gators made their first Final Four appearance.

 

I was there in Charlotte and my Gator entourage was gleeful at half with a seven-point lead over the Dukies.  Then Grant Hill turned up the notch a bit on his way to 25 points and a 5-point victory over the Gators in the semi-finals. http://espn.go.com/ncb/boxscore?replayId=1693  NEXT.....

 

 

 

I hear Assistant Coach Lanier will be in Birmingham this weekend to visit a prospect. My guess it is 6' 6 senior Kevin McDaniels (at least it should be)  http://rivals.yahoo.com/alabama/basketball/recruiting/player-Kevin-McDaniels-112365 but that has not been confirmed. Kevin attends the basketball factory in Birmingham, Central Park Christian, that has produced Alabama's Tony Mitchell and the recent Auburn signees from the Ivory Coast,  Willy Kouassi and Bernard Morena (who were bypassed by Florida because they didn't want the required package deal). Last night Kevin had 36 points. http://highschoolsports.al.com/game/score/players/861042/ NEXT....

 

 

 

 

And for a little football, David Nelson on the Buffalo Bills scored his first NFL touchdown last Sunday.  http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2010120500/2010/REG13/bills@vikings/watch  Here is an interesting article about Nelson. http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/bills-nfl/article277654.ece  Note how impressed the Bills were with Nelson's "superb route-running". Maybe former WR coach, Billy Gonzalez, should get some credit here, reminding us that the Gators miss him being on the staff. (I wrote the above piece about Nelson, at the beginning of the week...something tells me Gonzalez not on the football staff may have less impact and pertinence at the end of this week, if you know what I mean)  THAT'S IT

 

 

 

Ok, thanks for reading this far down the blog. The Gators are off until they play a week from Saturday in Sunrise, Florida against the team from the Little Apple....Manhattan, Kansas's # 5 AP ranked Kansas State Wildcats and their coach with the Pat Summitt scary eyes, Frank Martin. Any of you South Florida blogees attending?  Thanks for the feedback and spread the word.

 

 

 

Enjoy and Go Gators!

 

 

 

Barry

Blog # 9 with some Football

My beloved 17  Bloggees:

If you watched the Gators win over American....I am sure you will take the road win but you may be complaining how to get back those two hours (or less if DVR'ed) of your life. If the Gators were like ACT scores....we would be ok.....taking the best score of each section among all the times we took the test and adding them up. For example, I would love Boynton's 27-point scoring from last year's NCAA tourney game against BYU, Parsons' double-digit rebounding from the Morehead State game and Macklin's 91% field goal shooting from the UCF game, but unfortunately that is not how it works. Somehow, we need to put it all together in one game. We know the potential is there, just like the first half against Ohio State.

Joakim Noah is certainly a character. Here is a short funny bit when the star-struck Noah describes being  in a steam room with John Elway over Thanksgiving.  http://denver.sbnation.com/denver-broncos/2010/11/30/1847778/bulls-joakim-noah-meets-broncos-john-elway-steam-room . The link includes a two minute video of Noah...he starts talking about Elway about one minute into it, so be patient.

We have another UF transfer laying an egg. Check out Kentucky's Eloy Vargas's performance against North Carolina on Saturday. He was 0 for 2 from the field, 2 rebounds and he fouled out in 9 minutes....that was not a typo, 9 minutes. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201012040413

Interesting score on Saturday......Michigan 65 - Harvard 62.  Former Michigan Coach (and Duke star) Tommy Amaker almost beat the Wolverines after leading at the half. Look for Amaker to lead Harvard to the Big Dance. Will be interesting how the Crimson do at UConn on December 22. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/teams/had/schedule 

Maybe they are not that bad. After our lackluster 13-point win against Florida Atlantic, Gator Nation was griping, especially with the perceived quality of the opponent. However, Mike Jarvis's Owls last two games have resulted in wins against BCS schools....Mississsippi State and South Florida. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/teams/fav/schedule

You think the Gators have fallen a bit from our Final Four runs with the 04s? If you remember, we played UCLA in both of those Final Fours. Yesterday the Bruins lost at Pauley Pavillion to (4-3) Montana 66 - 57 http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201012050606 . What would John Wooden have said after witnessing that loss?  He might have forced them to take down their banners.

I scouted the Gators next opponent last night, when Kent State played UAB here at Bartow Arena and lost 75 - 59. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/teams/kae/schedule . Kent State is a  pedestrian MAC team, with a bit of athleticism but should not give the Gators trouble at all.  They start a 6 ' 11" center, who besides an opening dunk, was the most worthless 83 inches I have seen on a basketball court this year since watching my buddy's twin 4-year olds shoot on his driveway court. The Golden Flashes had no answer for UAB's   6 ' 10  " Cameron Moore (who is a Alex Tyus/Chandler Parsons skills combo) and his 28 points and 15 rebounds....mostly around the paint.

With regard to football, the Redskins waived Kestahn Moore off their practice squad after an eight day stay. http://www.nfl.com/teams/washingtonredskins/transactions?team=WAS  On the other hand, the San Francisco 49ers added DeShawn Wynn to their active roster from their practice squad. Maybe 49er teammate Ray McDonald can help DeShawn focus...we know DeShawn has the talent but does he have a big enough valentine? We are pulling for you, DW.

In a previous blog, I indicated that current UCF athletic director, Keith Tribble, was a former Gator tight end. What was I thinking? Of course, he was a "big ugly" on the offensive line. Thanks for the catch, Blogee Howard.

 

Go Gators and beat Kent State on ESPN2 on Thursday before the nine-day exam break,

Barry

Blog # 8

My beloved 17 Bloggees  

 

I was in Orlando coincidentally this week from Wednesday morning until Thursday afternoon for a short family get-together. The Gators were playing UCF that night in town. Unless I wanted to jeopardize inheritance, there was no way I could go to the game. You talk about things working out. We had a great meal at an amazing restaurant, Seasons 52, and I did not have to witness our disappointing loss except for the last 5 minutes on TV.

 

The season is early and with our talent, I am hoping that Billy and the guys will get it together. Remember we lost to a poor South Alabama team last year and still made it to the Dance. That UCF team was much better than South Alabama was, so no need to jump out of buildings, yet.

 

 

In the meantime, I had to do a double take when I looked at my fantasy NBA team (consisting of all Gators) Wednesday night and saw that Joakim Noah played 22 minutes and had 16 points.....and ZERO REBOUNDS. Are you kidding me? He is second in the league in rebounding, and could not get a single ricochet? http://espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=301201004  I thought that maybe on this weird basketball night, Steve Nash might not have gotten an assist, but the Suns did not play.

 

 

We might want to try to lobby for a change in the SEC hoops schedule this winter and let the SEC East teams play the SEC West teams twice.  Mississippi State lost at home to one of our earlier victims, Florida Atlantic, this week 61 - 59. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201011300366   Also, Ole Miss outscored the U in the second half by 17 and still lost 86 - 73 to the Hurricanes!  Yes, if you do the math (FSU alumni blogees get a pass), you can tell Ole Miss was down by 30 after 20 minutes! We are already know about Alabama, Auburn and LSU's woes from previous blogs....all that is left is Arkansas who lost at home to a perennially ok UAB team.  Bring on the West.

 

 

Just in Jaise you were wondering...Jai Lucas is still laying eggs in Texas. In his last game against Lamar, he played 26 minutes, went 2 for 8 from the field, including 0 for 4 from downtown, 2 for 4 from the free throw line and 5 turnovers. Maybe Dan Werner was contagious. (Just kidding, Dan, but I do see there is something about you regarding your Italian team, however, I don't speak the language. Can someone translate the reference to Dan in this site http://www.corrieredellosport.it/legadue/2010/11/25-141174/Scafati,+via+Fattori: andrà+a+Pistoia? ?)

 

 

Go Gators and beat American on Sunday,

 

 

 

Barry

 

Blog # 7

My beloved 14 Bloggees:

A hoops win over the Seminoles in Tallahassee sure takes a lot of the sting out of the football loss. It also certainly helps our "body of work" when it comes to the NCAA Selection Committee. I will be curious to see how the Seminoles do against Ohio State tonight.

Florida's next opponent is undefeated UCF in the Magic's new arena this Wednesday. In their last win against Alabama State, 84 - 48,  http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201011270103 Marcus "Son Of Michael" Jordan scored 18 points in 19 minutes including 4 for 6 from "way downtown".  Don't forget that UCF is led by former UF and Donovan assistant Donnie Jones.  That should be an interesting evening. By the way, UCF's AD is former Gator tight end, Keith Tribble.

On Sunday, the Gator hoopsters go to DC to play American University who lost their first game on Sunday at home to Ivy League's Columbia 64 - 62. Our only common opponent has been Florida Atlantic who we beat at home by 13, while American beat them in Boca Raton, by 10. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/teams/aan/schedule  American has a three-point shooter, Troy Brewer, who is a transfer from University of Georgia. I don't remember him, but that makes sense as he only averaged 2 points a game over two years in Athens. He is not related to Corey.

Jacksonville University showed what they are made of again, beating Auburn on the road  http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201011270028   69 - 55 .  Just like when I witnessed them on Wednesday beating Samford, they forced over 20 turnovers with their tenacious defense. I like this team a lot and am especially worried  about how the turnover-prone backcourt of the Gators will handle their pressure on December 20th.

On Page 68 of the Nov. 29th Issue of ESPN THE Magazine it lists the highest-scoring NBA player born in each state. For example, for Georgia, it lists Dale Ellis, the ex-Vols star who had 19,004 points in his NBA career.  Two Gators are listed, can you name them and the two states? I will put the answers at the end of this email. Hint, they are both still active in the NBA. By the way, it lists only players born in 49 states...evidently the Green Mountain State of Vermont has not produced any NBA players...how strange is that? 

Remember when Alabama lost 50 - 49 to St. Peter's last week in the consolation round of a holiday tournament. I didn't realize how poor St. Peter's had been playing. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/teams/sby/schedule  They were previously smothered by Robert Morris 55 -30. And last night they lost by 20 to Seton Hall 69 - 49. This doesn't say a whole lot about Anthony Grant's Bama squad. The SEC West in hoops is going to resemble the SEC East in football.

Enjoy and let's beat the improved Knights tomorrow night in my hometown, the City Beautiful, the home to 70's local sports broadcasting legends, Frank Vaught, Don Jonas and Tracy Dent,


Barry
(scroll down for quiz answers)








Mike Miller -  South Dakota
Matt Bonner - New Hampshire

Blog # 6 with some Football

My beloved 14 Bloggees...we added one....keep 'em coming,

 

 

This week I went to scout our December 20th opponent, Jacksonville University who played at Samford and beat them 60 - 49. http://samfordsports.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/stats/2010-2011/sam1124.html I have some bad news for Gator fans. The Dolphins are the type of team that will give us problems. They are excellent, in-your-face athletic defenders that created 21 turnovers, 14 of them being steals. Not only do they defend around the basket, but they were excellent defending around the perimeter. They play Auburn this weekend....I have seen them both, take the JU Dolphins.

 

 

It looks like our opponent on December 22nd will be a gimme. Radford is 2-2 with their wins against Ann Landers U and Nancy Drew State (Emory and Henry & Methodist). When they played South Carolina and George Mason they lost 85 - 56 and 81 - 55 respectively. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/teams/raa/schedule  However, we can't forget last year's South Alabama's upset in front of the Rowdy Reptiles.

 

 

Baylor only beat Lipscomb by 12. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201011220050 . It was a battle of head coaches whose fathers were also head coaches. We know that Scott Drew is the son of Valpariso legend, Homer Drew. Which former SEC head coach's son leads Lipscomb? ............."The Man in Plaid", Wimp Sanderson, whose son, Scott, coaches the Nashville school.

 

 

 

Udonis Haslem is likely out for the year. http://www.gatorsports.com/article/20101123/ARTICLES/101129813/1136?Title=Haslem-8217-s-season-may-be-over .   He is such a warrior on the court and will be sorely missed by the Heat's Big Three. A lot of people tell me that they can't watch the NBA, however, I tune in whenever I get a chance to see Haslem and the Heat play.  I will never forget Haslem's clutch free throws in the last minute of the miracle NCAA win against Butler in 2000....it made Mike Miller's historical shot relevant.

 

 

 

Either Georgia is bad or BYU is great......Miss Valley State only lost 72 - 70  at Georgia but lost 86 - 36 at BYU. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/teams/mbe/schedule

 

 

 

Either  Wake Forest is bad or Belmont is great.......Winthrop won at Wake Forest  83 - 74 but lost to Belmont  71 - 44. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/teams/way/schedule

 

 

 

We'll finish off with some pigskin NFL Gator news. Jarvis Moss, who changed all of our lives with his blocked field goal against South Carolina in National Championship Season # 2, was a bust with Denver after being drafted in the first round. He was waived recently by the Broncos but picked up by my Raiders, with the help of a recommendation by Louis Murphy http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2010/11/24/jarvis-moss-joins-raiders-as-de-after-getting-glowing-recommenda/

 

 

 

Here is a name from the recent past. Kestahn Moore, whose critical fumbles at LSU still "Bucknerize" Gator fans, signed onto the practice squad with the Washington Redskins. http://www.footballnewsnow.com/2010/redskins-have-busy-tuesday-shuffling-roster/

 

 

 

Earlier in the month, the San Francisco 49ers signed DeShawn Wynn to their practices squad. http://www.footballnewsnow.com/2010/49ers-sign-receiver-and-running-back-release-two/  I looked up the word "underachiever" in the dictionary and there was DeShawn's picture. What talent he had in Gainesville, but apparently without a valentine pumping underneath the numbers. Let's hope he turns it around in the Bay area...we know that Mike Singletary only puts up with 100 % effort.

 

 

FYI, the weather is miserable in Birmingham this morning, cold and rainy. That means it will be the same in nearby Tuscaloosa for today's Iron Bowl. The good news is that if we can't beat the Tide, at least we can enjoy their fans being miserable. Go Cam!

 

 

 

Enjoy and Beat FSU Saturday and Sunday,

 

 

 

Barry

 

Blog # 5

My beloved 13 and holding opt-in Gator Hoops Blogees:

Many of you know I have had season tickets to nearby Samford University. On Friday, I went to Auburn to see Samford play the War Eagles. Folks, it wasn't even close...Auburn's defense is quite poor and Samford won 79 - 68, its first win against a BCS school in over 10 years. http://samfordsports.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/112010aaa.html . The Gators play in Auburn on January 20th....I am pretty confident, you can mark that in the W column for the Water Lizzards.

Ohio State is pretty good as we know by their second half against us. Here is another reason. Comparative scores don't always tell the true story, however, the Gators 17 - point victim on opening night, NC-Wilmington, lost at Ohio State over the weekend by 40, including being down by 32 at half. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201011200443

It could be a sour New Year's Eve...the champagne might taste a little off after the Gators go to Cincy and battle a tough Xavier team. Remember how they spanked us last year in Gainesville. They are starting off like gangbusters 4-0 including a recent win over the Tidebusters, tough Seton Hall.  http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201011210508

Guess who is 5 -0? Our old SEC foe, Tubby Smith and the Minnesota Gophers http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/teams/mbd/schedule . Ralph Sampson Jr. has led them to victories over West Virginia and North Carolina (even with the 'Heels freshman pre-season All-American, Harrison Barnes who might be a tad OVERRATED with his 36 per cent shooting percentage) http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/teams/nav/stats

Speaking of beating North Carolina, Vandy got it done yesterday against the 'Heels  http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201011210615 . I am not looking forward to our annual trip to the Nashville dungeon....this year, it is our regular season finale.

My warning in the last blog about Morehead State and their star was legitimate after watching the Gators play them last night  "I used to see them play Samford when they were in the OVC three years ago. I remember their stud, Kenneth Faried, from when he as a freshman....he is a double-double physical guy."  He proved how special he was with an impressive double-double, including 14 rebounds in the second half. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201011210210 . Billy compared him to Dennis Rodman, which on the court is a heckuva compliment. The Gators were fortunate to come away with the W.

Ouch, in a matinee today, Anthony Grant and the Tide just lost to the St. Peter's Peacocks 50 - 49 even though St. Peter's only got 19 rebounds for the game. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201011220543 . Fortunately for Anthony, that loss will be buried in the latter pages of the Birmingham sports section during this Iron Bowl Week.

Gators play former St. Johns coach, Mike Jarvis and Florida Atlantic on Tuesday night. We need to get our mojo back before going to Tallahassee on Sunday night. 

Enjoy and Go Gators!

Barry

Blog # 4

My beloved 13 Bloggees:

Two tall high school seniors, Willy Kouassi, a lean 6-foot-10 center, and Bernard Morena, a rangy 6-8 small forward, both from the Ivory Coast attending Birmingham's basketball high school power, Central Park Christian (Alabama's Tony Mitchell and former Tide star, Rod Grizzard are graduates) are apparently a package deal. From what I was told, Florida stayed away because the Gators just wanted one of the players. They both have committed to Auburn but have not signed.

http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2010/08/auburn_mens_basketball_lands_w.html

When an ACC team loses to an Ivy League, it is worth mentioning. On Thursday night, Boston College with its new coach, Steve Donahue, was upset at home by Yale  75 - 67. You may remember Donahue, from last year's Sweet Sixteen darling, Cornell.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201011180058

The Gators play 3rd ranked Kansas State on December 18 in the Orange Bowl Classic. There may be hope. Kansas State only beat the Blue Hose of Presbyterian 76 - 67 on Thursday night. By the way, I love the nickname for Kansas State's city, Manhattan, Kansas....the Little Apple.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201011180288

When you sell a stock, it is a good feeling to see it subsequently go down. Gator transfer Jai Lucas last night for Texas, played 16 minutes with zero assists and  0 for 2 from the field in the overtime win against the Zookers of Illinois. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201011180585

What are these two guys doing in the NBDL, the minor leagues of the NBA? When I saw these SEC stars play against the Gators, they seemed to be "can't miss" NBAers? http://www.nba.com/dleague/players/

Chris Lofton (TN)

Patrick Patterson (KY...almost a Gator)

By the way, our old friend who we will never forget inbounding, or should I say not inbounding, the ball against Creighton in the waning seconds of the second overtime of the first round NCAA tourney loss in 2002, Orien Greene, is in the NBDL. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/college/men/recaps/2002/03/15/fak_cbt/

For some crazy blackout reason, I was not able to watch the Gators game last night on Sun Sports Network with my DISH satellite. This Sunday, the game against Phil Simms and Morehead State, is on Fox Sport South, so I should be able to see it. They recently lost to our first game victim, NC Wilmington, by two points. I used to see them play Samford when they were in the OVC three years ago. I remember their stud, Kenneth Faried, from when he as a freshman....he is a double-double physical guy. Go get 'em, Patric!

Enjoy and Go Gators,

Barry

Blog # 3

My beloved 13 Bloggees....welcome to Gainesville Sun Gator Hoops beat writer Kevin Brockway who recently joined us. Be sure to regularly go to http://brockway.blogs.gatorsports.com/ to read his excellent Gator Hoops skinny.

No comment on the Gators meltdown in the second half after a super first half against 4th ranked Ohio State....there are plenty of message boards addressing that situation. That is not the purpose of this blog which attempts to let you know about relevant info related to basketball in the South with an emphasis on Gators, ex-Gators and graduated Gators...info that was interesting to me when I discovered it. I will keep the blog short like this one and will include links in case you want to see more about each topic.

"Studio Gangster" ....I never heard of it until Udonis Haslem enlightened me when describing Celtic Paul Pierce. http://www.celticstown.com/2010/11/12/haslem-calls-pierce-studio-gangster-rivalry-brewing/

The SEC is looking worse and worse....LSU losing at home to Ann Landers U, I mean Nichols State 62 - 53  http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201011160319

It is not the SEC, but it is in the Region....Kennesaw State smashed Georgia Tech 80 - 63. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201011151374 . Kennesaw State's coach, Tony Ingle, must be a character or the Birmingham Tipoff Club would not have invited him to speak this January.

Remember when Stetson beat Wake Forest last week.....well the Hatters turned around and lost at Bethune Cookman 78 -66 and it wasn't even that close  http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201011160052

Meanwhile Wake Forest lost at home 90 - 69 to VCU and its former UF assistant coach (for one year) Shaka Smart. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201011160628 . Anthony Grant left the VCU program in pretty good shape, it appears. Speaking of Grant, although it is difficult for me living here in Birmingham, I root for the Tide hoopsters because of the classy Grant.

Anytime you don't want to receive this Blog anymore, just reply "no more, thanks" and I will not be insulted. Feel free to forward to others or give me their email address and I will include them in the future.

I always encourage your feedback through replying to this email. It is also a great way for us to keep in touch.

Enjoy and Go Gators,

Barry

Blog # 2

My beloved 12 opt-in Gator Hoops Blogees,

 

Matt Bonner....wow!  7 for 7 from downtown last night. No wonder the Spurs keep him each year even though he is a matador on defense. http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/recap?gid=2010111425

 

David Lee's take on Noah beofre last week's Golden State-Chicago game.....hilarious, especially about Noah going shirtless to class. http://progators.blogs.gatorsports.com/10935/noah-was-flamboyant-freshman-lee-recalls/

 

Decent game for Texas transfer Jai Lucas...8 points in 14 minutes...but he doesn't start  and had 3 fouls http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201011100585

 

Be sure to tape (or watch live) the Gator Hoops team against Ohio State tomorrow night.....6 Eastern on ESPN.  Reminds me of the Passover night National Championship game in Atlanta. That was great.....Matzah ball soup, Dayenu  and the 4 Questions at the Wiesenfelds and then MARTA to our second consecutive National Champion with the '04s.Will never forget it. Thanks, Neil.

 

Ohio State is supposed to have a beast in certain one and done freshman Jared Sullinger, a 6 foot 9, 280 pounder.  http://ohiostate.rivals.com/barrier_noentry.asp?ReturnTo=&sid=&script=content.asp&cid=1148334&fid=&tid=&mid=&rid=

The Buckeyes are friggin' loaded with bulk, like Sullinger and Houston Palm Beach, I mean Dallas Lauderdale.

 

Here is a super Question and Answer exchange with Billy and Yahoo Sports....interesting fact about his recruiting of Mike Miller......also note what he says about Rutgers transfer Mike Rosario http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/news;_ylt=AuOvbW34gKr4HKcffpullorevbYF?slug=jn-donovan111510

 

Speaking of Rutgers transfers, how about Jonathan Mitchell and his 1 for 11 shooting in a loss to Princeton....he did have 8 rebounds  http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201011120471

 

Many of you know, when the Gators lose in football, I can't read about it nor talk about it. It is like when your girlfriend dumps you (don't worry, my wife knows about it...the Gator loss that is). So the only football-related item I will mention is because of injuries, the Indianapolis Colts activated Brandon James who had 4 catches for 36 yards and 2 punt returns for 5 yards. http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/boxscore?gid=20101114011

 

Enjoy and Go Gators,

 

 

Barry

Blog # 1

1. Might be a good thing that for the first time in a while, we don't play the Hatters   http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201011120628 . Used to go to Stetson games growing up.....happy for them with probably one of their biggest wins ever. A few years ago, I sat on a dais during a meeting of the DeLand QB Club next to retired  legendary Stetson coach, Dr. Glenn Wilkes. I was tongue-tied as if I sat next to John Wooden...great guy and I know he still feels close to Stetson, happy for their win last night.

 

2. Allen Chaney did not play for VT last night...I don't remember him having a heart condition   http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/news?slug=teamreports-2010-ncaab-vah

 

3. Auburn might be the worst SEC team in history http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201011120028

 

4. Georgia might be overrated losing to a HBCU only known for Willie Totten (oh yeah, his college receiver Jerry Rice) http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201011120230

 

5. Eloy Vargas.....pedestrian debut.....Stacey Poole Jr  virtually a spectator...Brandon Knight, wish we had him except for the fact he is one and out... http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201011120292

 

6. Kenny Kadji...didn't remember where he went... http://hurricanesports.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/080610aaa.html

 

 

Go Gators,

 

 

Barry

 

 

P.S. If you are sitting home watching football now (until 2:00 Central), tune into Versus Network and watch Dartmouth freshman, Daniel Barstein, punting for the Big Green. During the previous 4 years he was in my high school teen group for which I serve as advisor here in Birmingham. He has made the Ivy League football Honor Roll twice already but he is even a better kid than a punter. (When you are watching a team for their punter, it is a bit different....you root against their offense to see more of the punter.)