My Beloved 72 Bloggees (Welcome Pete and Terry):
Routine win by the Gators against Auburn on Thursday night 45 -40 http://www.gatorzone.com/story.php?id=19615 . Seriously, watching that game gave me that empty feeling that you get when you look in the rear view mirror and see a police officer's car on your tail and lights flashing (not you, bloggee Birmingham Police Officer Phil) . We can't lose to Auburn! In a previous blog I committed to tearing up my UF diploma if we lost. I had my paper shredder ready with less than two minutes left.......but finally, Kenny Boynton nailed a "had-to-have" three to tie and then Erving Walker duplicated the feat on the next possession giving us a three-point lead, virtually clinching the road SEC win.
After the game, I decided who should be the MVP of the SEC this year....medical redshirt,.Frankie Sullivan. The Auburn star only played a couple of games this year with that offensively-challenged (and that is an understatement) team. But while he played, that team did beat FSU who within a week went on to beat Duke. After watching last night's game, can you think of another player who was more valuable to his team than what Sullivan must have been when he played this year? NEXT
I love reliable sharpshooters in the SEC. With the three-point shot, they can keep you in most games. I think back to guys like LSU's Chris Jackson (now known as Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf...would you believe the 41-year old is still playing hoops in Japan http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/sp20101011eo.html ), Tennessee's Chris Lofton (with the Iowa Energy of the NBDL) and the Gators' Lee Humphrey (playing in Germany) who had ice in their veins when their team needed a three.
Vanderbilt's John Jenkins currently fits that mold. Last year as a freshman, he shot 48.3 per cent beyond the arc. This year he is down a bit to a respectable 41.3 per cent, but Wednesday night he was 4 for 5 as Vandy defeated Ole Miss, 84 -74. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201101190615 I fear him when the Gators play the 'Dores especially in their mausoleum, I mean, gymnasium. Here is a short interview with Jenkins. http://www.gatorsports.com/article/20110120/ARTICLES/110129932/1093?Title=Q-A-with-Vanderbilt-s-John-Jenkins NEXT
As our Birmingham attorney/frequent sports talk show co-host bloggee John warned me, then 15 - 0 Cincinnati will soon start acting like pregnant hens and lay some eggs. They have done just that, losing 3 out of 4, including Wednesday night to Notre Dame 66 - 58 (even though Miss St. transfer, Ben Hansborough, went 1 for 8 for the Irish...but did shoot 11 for 12 from the gift lane). http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201101190423 . The Bearcats' November and December "Little Debbies" schedule is catching up to them. It reminds me of the Gators frequent pre-conference schedule of High Point, Longwood, FAMU and Georgia Southern before they received the "toughen it up" edict by the best conference commissioner in the history of collegiate sports, Mike Slive. NEXT
Turning to football, do you think Auburn Nation is not doing somersaults after seeing the title of this story regarding new Michigan Offensive Coordinator, Al Borges. http://www.freep.com/article/20110119/SPORTS06/110119089/1433/Michigans-Al-Borges-This-is-the-best-place-Ive-been If you remember, he was the Offensive Coordinator for Auburn from 2004 - 2007, reaching a peak during the Cadillac Williams, Ronnie Brown, Jason Campbell undefeated 2004 season. NEXT
Thanks to Orlando bloggee Scott for informing me about the subject of the next "episode" of our blog regular feature, You Make Me Feel Old. I remember when Jim Yarbrough was a giant tight end for the Gators in the late 60's and then went on to the Detroit Lions for a nine-year career as an offensive tackle http://www.gatorcountry.com/swampgas/showthread.php?t=174940 (long-time Gator football fans will love the pictures in that link).
My high school from Orlando, Edgewater (in the late 60's featured Orlando's greatest high school football player ever, former Gator, Eddy Moore), just hired 30-year old Zac Yarbrough, Jim's son, to be its new football coach.
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2011-01-20/sports/os-hs-edgewater-hires-coach-20110120_1_jeff-gierke-bill-gierke-edgewater-athletic-director Zac, You Make Me Feel Old. NEXT
There are three football games on television this weekend involving former Gator players (the following format is a tribute to the late public address announcer of the New York Yankees, Bob Sheppard) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhrVnoISIkE&playnext=1&list=PL407A335AFA32CD39&index=64 :
1. East-West Shrine Game on NFL Network, Saturday, 3:00 pm CST - "Playing for the East, Defensive End, Number 84, Justin Trattou, Number 84"
2. NFC Championship Game on Fox Network, Sunday, 2:00 pm CST - "Playing for the Chicago Bears, Defensive Back, Number 27, Major Wright, Number 27"
3. AFC Championship Game on CBS Network, Sunday, 5:30 pm CST - "Playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Center, Number 53, Maurkice Pouncey, Number 53.
Have I been in Siberia for the last few years? I always thought the East-West Shrine Game was played in San Francisco, going back to when I was a kid. What is up with the game being played in my hometown, Orlando, Florida? Well, it has been moved to other cities beginning in 2006 in San Antonio http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/6356676.html . THAT'S IT.
Enjoy.....Florida, let's beat Arkansas on Fox Sports Net South at 7:00 CST (blacked out in Southeast on http://www.espn3.com/) and Samford, let's get back to winning ways at Wofford today...don't forget NBA League Pass is free through tomorrow on most cable and satellite systems,
Barry
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