Blog # 22 with some Football

My Beloved 59 Bloggees (Welcome Fred, Garrett, Harry, Marshall, Andrew, former Gator footballer Robbie, Rich, Suzy, 2 Charlies and 1 Charles):

 

 

On Saturday night at 7:00 Central, the Gators host the best of the west, SEC West that is. The Ole Miss Rebels bring their 12-3 record to Gainesville without a bunch of signature wins. However, look at the opposing big-time name head coaches that  Andy Kennedy has bested this season:

 

Arkansas State - John Brady

Southern Miss - Larry Eustachy

East Tennessee State - Murry Bartow (ok that is a stretch, but good guy)

Saint Louis - Rick Majerus

Alcorn State - Larry Smith (great NBA rebounder...still needs to prove himself as a coach)

SMU - Matt Doherty (national coach of the year in 2000-2001 while at North Carolina)

 

The Florida - Ole Miss game is broadcast on regional cable network, Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast (CSS) http://www.csssports.com/pages/about_us .  I have DISH network wish does not offer CSS. The game is on ESPN's Full Court (which I understand is free this weekend on DirecTV). I will either go to a sports bar or find a buddy who has cable, but most likely his TV will be tuned to NFL playoffs. PLAYOFFS? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7fjDS0jKiE  Thank you, Jim Mora. NEXT

 

 

 

Speaking of NFL Playoffs, let's play Jeopardy. The answer is Philadelphia Eagles and New Orleans Saints. The correct question is which two teams among the eight participating in the NFL Playoffs this weekend, have Gators on their roster?  That's right the Eagles have DE Bobby McCray (# 73) and WR Riley Cooper (# 14) while the Saints have DE Alex Brown (# 96) and signed this week, RB DeShawn Wynn (# 35).  NEXT

 

 

 

Three years ago, I saw ESPN's analyst, Jimmy Dykes, speak to our Birmingham Tipoff Club. He is an amazing speaker. I remember one point he made that I will never forget.

 

He said when he goes to practices of both teams before a game, he can tell who is going to win over 99 % of the time by the following:

 

When the head coach blows a whistle and tells everyone to come up....if the players, assistant coaches, trainers, student managers, all stop what they are doing, come to the coach and there is complete silence,  that team will win because of their respect toward their leader. He says it is mind-boggling how true it is. Joe Dean Jr. was in attendance and shook his head yes in total agreement. NEXT

 

 

 

 

If you are a Birmingham bloggee, joining the Birmingham Tipoff Club is a must. Starting this Monday (snow weather permitting) we meet weekly at the Harbert Center for lunch served at 11:30 with the program featuring a popular hoops speaker beginning at noon. This year Gene Keady and ESPN' s and Duke's Jay Williams highlight the schedule.  Not only are weekly highlights shown, but some weeks we have Skype video interviews with a basketball coach, player or broadcaster. Last year former Alabama center and  SEC Player of the Year, Erwin Dudley, was featured from Turkey. During our recent December special meeting, we Skyped Ronald Nored, the Butler star from Birmingham. For more info go to http://www.birminghamtipoffclub.com/  Membership is mandatory for all Birmingham college basketball junkies. NEXT

 

 

 

 

In the "Battle of Chili" on Thursday night, the outcome didn't help the Gators resume. Xavier, a UF victim last week, was schooled 66 - 46 by their cross-city rival, Cincinnati  http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201101060116 . The Bearcats are now 15 - 0 with a relatively easy schedule so far.   http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/teams/cbc/schedule It will be interesting to see how they do when the meat of the Big East schedule arrives.  I have always been a fan of their head coach, Mick Cronin.  He dominated the Ohio Valley Conference when he was the head coach of Murray State the three years before he took the Cincinnati job in 2006. NEXT

 

 

 

 

I don't mean to insult my Mizzou bloggee and I love Coach Mike Anderson, especially his exciting fast-paced style of play, but North Alabama? What are they doing on Missouri's  January hoops schedule? They are Division II. You play them in exhibition games before the season starts, not now. Next thing you know, they will play Nancy Drew State or Ann Landers U. How about scheduling Anderson's former school, UAB? I am sure ESPN would televise it in a second.  Oh yeah, Missouri squeaked by the Florence, Alabama school  on Wednesday night  98 - 58. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201101050367

 

Trivia question....it will be more challenging for those bloggees who live outside of Alabama.  Who is the head football coach at North Alabama? He once went undefeated at a BCS school.  No googling.  Scroll down to the bottom of this email for the answer. NEXT

 

 

 

 

Below is the link to an interesting short interview with Joakim Noah that was in the USA Today on Tuesday, especially how he was involved in football recruiting . Some additional questions are in this online version  than what was in the newspaper.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/bulls/2011-01-03-joakimnoah_N.htm  THAT'S IT

 

 

 

 

 

Big Hoops Weekend.....Beat Mississippi for my fellow Gator fans and Beat Elon for my fellow Samford fans,

 

 

 

Barry

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Terry Bowden

 

Blog # 21 with some Football

My Beloved 48 Bloggees (Welcome Hank, Tysen and Alan):

 

 

I owe you one. After seeing UAB play Kent State, I had thought the Blazers  would give Duke a better game and, in fact, upset them, instead of losing, 85 - 64.  Unfortunately, I did not take into account that UAB stud 6' 10 forward, Cameron Moore,  would shoot 3 for 15 (he did have 15 rebounds, however). http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore;_ylt=ApFDoRYlb6Vq1PBDzbm4aq_evbYF?gid=201101050173  My bad. NEXT

 

 

 

There was positive news and negative news for ex-Gators in Tuesday night's Texas Longhorns destruction of the Arkansas Razorbacks  79 - 46 (tough night for the football/basketball Razorbacks). http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201101040585 . Gator transfer, Jai Lucas (son of point guard John from the old Maryland days of the 70s with CBS analyst Len Elmore, former Congressman Tom McMillan and the fiery coach, Lefty Driesell) finally paid some dividends.....13 points in 23 minutes shooting 5 for 7, including 3 for 4 from way downtown plus 6 rebounds. Will he be a one-hit wonder like Zager and Evans?   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izQB2-Kmiic 

 

By the way, his brother John Lucas III, the former Oklahoma State star, got waived this week by the Chicago Bulls http://chicago.sbnation.com/chicago-bulls/2011/1/4/1914078/nba-contract-deadline-chicago-bulls-waive-john-lucas-iii .

 

 

The negative news is the continued descent of former Gator assistant coach, Arkansas's John Pelphrey. They are not very patient in Sooey Land. Only one player averages double figures, Rotnei Clark, who is a fine deep shooter, but not a consistent guy I would want leading my team in scoring.  Pelphrey's only salvation might be his # 5 ranked incoming recruiting class http://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1154662 . At Florida, he was an amazing recruiter and that trend seems to have continued. NEXT

 

 

 

Did you see that Ivy League's Harvard defeated ACC's Boston College Wednesday night for the third straight year, this time 78 - 69. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201101050058  Coach Tommy Amaker, the former Duke star, steps up his game when he can show his old conference that he can coach.

 

 

 

 

Now for this blog's episode of, Who is that Assistant Coach? On Tuesday night I was watching parts of the Ohio State - Iowa game when a camera shot of the Iowa bench showed an ex-Gator assistant coach from the early 90's. He just completed 17 years leading the University of Central Florida.  Who is that Assistant Coach?  Why it is Kirk Speraw who returned to his Hawkeye alma mater this year. Thanks for playing. http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2010-04-23/sports/os-ucf-kirk-speraw-iowa-0424-20100423_1_ucf-coach-kirk-speraw-hawkeyes-iowa  NEXT

 

 

 

 

For you Birmingham bloggees, last Sunday I went to the Hilltop, to see Birmingham Southern play Oglethorpe in a Division III rivalry. It was definitely entertaining and I plan on going back. Our Panthers ended up winning and they have a sharpshooter with the sweetest J....Jasen Jonus. http://www.bscsports.net/index.aspx?path=mbball  His brother, Justin,  played at Alabama  a few years ago before transferring to Troy.

 

I would encourage all you local basketball junkies to check it out and support the program of my favorite SEC basketball analyst, Birmingham Southern athletic director, Joe Dean, Jr., who does so much for our city, including Chairman of Community Relations of this Saturday's BBVA Compass Bowl http://www.bbvacompassbowl.com/joe-dean.php . (By the way, March Madness needs to have Joe as one of its CBS broadcasters, don't you agree?) Their next game is  Saturday at 5:00 against Rhodes College. Here is their complete schedule.  http://www.bscsports.net/schedule.aspx?path=mbball  NEXT

 

 

 

 

To football.... you bloggees in Orlando have probably already read in the local "diaperwipe" the following tremendous article about Charlie Weis coming to UF.   http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/college/gators/os-bianchi-charlie-weis-florida-20110103,0,3189371.column  Thanks to our LA bloggee for this one.  NEXT

 

 

 

 

Will Muschamp was interviewed for over 7 minutes this morning by noted Miami sports talk show host and former Dolphin tight end, Joe Rose.  http://www.wqam.com/index.php?page=727  Click on the Muschamp interview in the Joe Rose Interview Box. Thanks to our South Florida bloggee for this one. NEXT

 

 

 

Tough night in the Dreayer household. I kissed my wife good night and called her, "sweet baby". I ended up on the couch the rest of the night.  http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gameon/post/2011/01/jeannine-edwards-ron-franklin-called-me-sweet-baby-not-sweet-cakes/1   I need to keep the sports section away from her.  Can I get a rimshot?  Yes,  http://instantrimshot.com/

 

 

 

Enjoy...great time of the year, isn't it?...hoops galore with some post-season football,

 

 

 

Barry

Blog # 20

My Beloved 45 Bloggees (Welcome Paul, John, Alec, Eli, Karen and David):

 

 

The Gators looked like a March Madness team with their solid 84 - 59 win over a formidable mid-major, Rhode Island, on Monday. http://www.gatorsports.com/article/20110103/ARTICLES/110109865/1136?Title=Florida-routs-Rhode-Island-with-crisp-performance

The analyst on the broadcast, former women's coach Carolyn Peck  (between us, she makes my heart skip a beat.....but of course, nothing compared to my bride....whew!), made an excellent point indicating that the Gator's tough defense created numerous offensive opportunities. I do admire her criticism about having the slightly injured Vernon Macklin in the game during garbage time. However, seeing Macklin and chiseled freshman Patric Young in the game together for the first time that I can recall, made it worth it for me....what toughness. If we play Ohio State again, that could be a strategy.

 

Chandler Parsons' 18 point, 12 rebound (7 offensive), 5 assist performance made Gator fans act like Pavlov's dog  http://nobelprize.org/educational/medicine/pavlov/readmore.html .  Imagine if Boynton could be more consistent shooting threes....we would be a scary team if that ingredient were added to the way we played against Rhode Island. But, Kenny, I loved your defense which was more important. NEXT

 

 

 

A new regular feature on the blog will be You Make Me Feel Old.  Watching Chandler Parsons in action makes me feel old. His dad, Gary Parsons, was a high school basketball star at Winter Park (FL) High School while I was attending its rival, Orlando Edgewater. Gary went on to play hoops at local Rollins College, earned all-conference honors and was inducted in the Rollins College Sports Hall of Fame in 1987 http://www.rollinssports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=19500&ATCLID=1549231 . Chandler Parsons, You Make Me Feel Old  NEXT

 

 

 

Speaking of Rollins College:

 

 

1.  One of their star players is senior 6' 8 Matt Robertson averaging nearly 16 points a game, shooting 59 % from the field. https://admin.xosn.com/fls/19500/oldsite/stats/MBB1011/teamcume.htm . Some of our bloggees are Samford University basketball supporters like myself, so we wince when we see those numbers from the Samford transfer. Those of you who live in the Orlando area should consider seeing him play (along with Rollins' women's team....see below....they play a doubleheader with the men both, at home tomorrow night and this Saturday afternoon.)

 

 

2.  The women's basketball coach is Glenn Wilkes Jr., the son of a Gator (and Southern) Hoops Bloggee. Glenn Jr. has led the lady Tars for 24 years and they are currently ranked 14th in Division II. I remember seeing him play at Stetson University for his dad. He had close to shoulder-length hair, so seeing his picture is shocking  and makes Glenn Wilkes Jr a runner-up for You Make Me Old  http://www.rollinssports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=107523&SPID=11255&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=19500&ATCLID=1550215&Q_SEASON=2010  NEXT

 

 

 

A few blogs ago, I indicated I saw a familiar-looking assistant coach on the bench of Penn State and it turned out to be former Gator assistant, Lewis Preston. Let's make Who is that Assistant Coach? another regular feature of the blog.

 

Last  night, I was watching the St. John's upset over Georgetown and saw a Red Storm assistant coach charting plays. I immediately recognized him but I thought he retired a long time ago from the Big Ten.......Who is that Assistant Coach?......Gene Keady, best known for his time as Purdue head coach. Technically he is an adviser at St. John's, but for our purposes he is an assistant coach.  Keady was a piece of work on the sidelines during his day  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVC9vtqgmXc .  NEXT

 

 

 

No way. Absolutely no way. I witnessed Auburn losing decisively to Samford at home in November, 79 - 68 http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201011190028 . The War Eagles also have lost at home to Presbyterian, NC-Asheville and Campbell. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/teams/abb/schedule  I watched talented FSU get nipped by Florida and on Christmas they defeated 15th ranked Baylor. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/teams/fan/schedule .

 

Therefore, there is no way the Seminoles could lose to  Auburn unless it was on the gridiron. Well, they did lose on the Plains Monday night 65 - 60 in the hoops upset of the decade (ok to some folks, the decade is just a few days old). http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201101030028  Auburn Coach Tony Barbee, you remind me of Anne Sullivan....you are a Miracle Worker. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056241/  THAT'S IT

 

 

 

I am trying to avoid sending the blogs on consecutive days, but I was unsuccessful today. I will do better. As always, you can always reply with "you wore me out" and I will not be insulted as I take you off the list. By the way, thanks for spreading the word about the blog to other college basketball junkies. We are adding them daily.

 

 

Enjoy,

 

 

 

Barry

Blog # 19 with some Football

My Beloved 39 Bloggees (Welcome Jeff):

 

 

Great win on Friday by Florida at Xavier 71 - 67 on New Year's Eve Day, breaking the Muskateers' 30-game home winning streak http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201012310682 . I believe if the game were 41 minutes instead of 40, the Gators might not have hung on after nearly squandering a 15-point lead. Erving Walker....you are my favorite 67 inches in college basketball.

 

Pre-conference wins at FSU and Xavier and a neutral site victory against Kansas State more than offset our 3 losses to Ohio State, UCF and Jax....but hey, I am a tad biased and probably not a good candidate for the NCAA selection committee.  NEXT

 

 

 

 

Remember the name, Andrew Goudelock. In Birmingham we know Goudelock after seeing him last year score 23 points including 5 for 8 from three-point land when his College of Charleston defeated Samford in a Southern Conference tilt. http://www.cofcsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=14800&ATCLID=204869413  Last year Goudelock also hit a ridiculous three with 2 seconds left to send the game into overtime against then 9th-ranked North Carolina in which his Cougars eventually defeated the Tar Heels 82 - 79. http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap/_/id/300040232/boxscore?gameId=300040232

 

Well, Bruce Pearl also knows about Goudelock, especially after his Tennessee  Vols' upset loss at home on Friday by the College of Charleston 91 - 78. The talented 6 ' 2 future NBA guard, scored 31 points for Bobby Cremins' team, 10 for 15 from the field including 6 for 7 three-pointers. Oh by the way, he contributed 6 assists. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201012310580  NEXT

 

 

 

 

Now that I have pumped you up about Goudelock, on Sunday he laid an egg going 3 for 11 including 1 for 6 deep for just 7 points as College of Charleston was embarrassed at Morehead State 69 - 49 http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201101020375 . We remember that team from Kentucky which gave the Gators a fight in mid-November led by the nation's leading rebounder, Kenneth Faried  before eventually falling to the Orange and Blue 61 - 55  http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201011210210

NEXT

 

 

 

 

On Friday MIT lost at Harvard 84 - 58 http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201012310245  . Even if I paid for a ticket, they probably wouldn't let me in the gym to see those teams play...just too much difference in IQ between participants and spectator.  NEXT 

 

 

 

 

On Saturday, I watched a few minutes of hapless South Carolina losing at home decisively to Boston College 85 - 70. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201101010525  Darrin Horn's Gamecocks did start three freshmen and one sophomore so there will be giant growing pains in the state capital. I don't know what is more painful for fans in Columbia...their basketball team or the fact that Southwest Airlines dissed their city in favor of Charleston and Greenville last year http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/04/20/1387425/southwest-airlines-says-no-to.html .

 

By the way, if you live in a city that is serviced by Southwest Airlines, be sure to sign for the free Ding notification that lets you know when they have dirt-cheap fares to and from your city http://www.southwest.com/html/cs/specialoffers/signup.html?int=HOMEDINGCNS000101015  No, I don't get a kickback, just spreading their LUV!  THAT'S IT

 

 

 

Enjoy and to Gator senior defensive back Ahmad Black on his game saving interception in the Outback Bowl......thank you! Don't forget, the Gators play Rhode Island on ESPNU tonight at 8:00 Central following Penn vs. Kentucky, a game that is very important to our Quaker bloggee.

 

 

Barry