Blog # 27 with some Football

My Beloved 67 Bloggees:

 

 

For those of us in Alabama, it may be challenging to watch the Florida - South Carolina game that is being broadcast regionally on the SEC Network at 12:30 Central Time  this Saturday.  The competing game is Alabama at Arkansas which means we are out of luck in this state. However, it looks like it will be on  http://www.espn3.com/ and so far it doesn't indicate there will be a blackout as it does with other games. NEXT

 

 

 

 

It is time for our regular feature on the blog You Make Me Feel Old. It seemed like just yesterday, although it was nearly 30 years ago, when I witnessed at the Omni in Atlanta, Danny Ainge dribbling the length of the court for a game-winning layup against Kelley Tripucka and Notre Dame in the 1981 NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBziG_w7lUs .

 

Well the other day, I was watching a D-League game on NBA TV (I know...get a life...but remember we all are basketball junkies) and who was coaching the tenacious Maine Red Claws?  Austin Ainge, son of Danny. http://www.necn.com/Boston/Sports/2009/07/21/Red-Claws-introduce-Austin/1248211866.html  Gulp, seeing him on the sidelines makes it seem like the calendar is flying by like 78 speed on a phonograph (you young people, this will help you understand that simile  http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2001/AnnyPeng.shtml ) . Yes, Austin Ainge, You Make Me Feel Old. NEXT

 

 

 

 

 

Speaking of BYU you may have noticed that Gator 2010 NCAA nemesis, Jimmer Fredette http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201003180068 , scored 47 points Tuesday night in BYU's 104 - 79  win at Utah http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201101110610 . I may be showing my cards early, but I believe I will have the 17 - 1 Cougars going a long way in my bracket. NEXT

 

 

 

 

 

Gator Transfer Update:

 

Jonathan Mitchell (Rutgers) - Ouch!  On Tuesday night he went 2 for 12 including 0 for 3 deep for a total of 4 points in 24 minutes in the 67 - 53 loss at Connecticut http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201101110129 . Smirk.

 

Eloy Vargas (Kentucky) - Ouch! On Tuesday night he missed both field goal and both free throw attempts in 9 minutes. But he did capture 3 rebounds, two offensive in the 78 - 54 victory over Auburn. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201101110292  Smirk.

 

Jai Lucas (Texas) - Semi-ouch! On Tuesday night he did go 2 for 3 from the field and 1 for 2 from the gift lane for 5 points. However, he committed 4 turnovers in 17 minutes in the 83 - 52 win at Texas Tech http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201101110592  Overall performance is worth a smirk. NEXT

 

 

 

 

 

Does the name Noah Dahlman ring a bell http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/players/playerpage/1334081/noah-dahlman ?  Of course our Spartanburg bloggee knows him as he plays for local Wofford. The Samford supporters bloggees  know him as he has been a scoring machine in the paint  throughout his career in the Southern Conference. The nation was introduced to him last year as his Wofford Terriers almost shocked the March Madness world in its near upset of #4 seed Wisconsin http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/19/wisconsin-beats-wofford-b_n_506599.html 

 

No doubt, those in Statesboro, GA will never forget him after watching him score 26 points on 10 for 10 shooting in Wofford's 74 - 65 win at Georgia Southern on Wednesday night.  http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201101120226  For you Birmingham bloggees, he comes to Birmingham on February 16th when Samford hosts Wofford. Be sure to circle that date to watch "Lunch Pail" Dahlman do his thing.  NEXT

 

 

 

 

Last week, the only two teams with former Gators were eliminated in the playoffs, the New Orleans Saints and Philadelphia Eagles. All four teams that had a bye last week have UF alumni on their squad for this next round of NFL Playoffs.

 

Atlanta Falcons - OLB Mike Peterson (# 53) 

 

Chicago Bears - DB Major Wright (# 27),

 

New England Patriots - OLB Jermaine Cunningham (# 96), TE Aaron Hernandez (# 85), ILB Brandon Spikes (# 55), RB  Fred Taylor (# 21), DE Gerard Warren (# 92)

 

Pittsburgh Steelers - C Maurkice Pouncey (# 53)  (Max Starks is on injured reserve)  NEXT

 

 

 

 

Finally, sometimes a player needs to control his emotions before giving a teammate a "five". Check out Washington Wizards' Javale McGee after teammate Trevor Booker gives him a hard slap upon receiving a technical foul (it is at the end of this clip) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91K_SXrhc5I . THAT'S IT

 

 

 

 

Enjoy a hoops-filled holiday weekend....Gators, C'mon and Beat South Carolina and Samford Win on the Road against Chattanooga,

 

 

 

Barry

Blog # 26

My Beloved 67 Bloggees (Welcome Aaron, Luke and John....sounds like an old Dion song.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dHvYB5JdSs ) :

 

 

It was like Ali versus Frazier on Tuesday night in Knoxville, with Florida and Tennessee battling into overtime. Ordinarily the Gators have a tough time on the boards with the Volunteers (remember how the departed headband-wearing Wayne Chism always seemed to beat our bigs to the ball) especially at Thompson-Boling Arena but we matched them with 35 rebounds each.  Kenny Boynton's two clutch threes and free throws in the extra period were key. But we don't get past regulation if Alex Tyus doesn't swat away a near-certain two points from their annual Gator thorn, Brian Williams. Tremendous SEC divisional road 81 - 75 win for the Gators. http://www.gatorzone.com/story.php?id=19553  NEXT

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trivia question.  Who is second in the NBA this season in three-point shooting percentage?  Scroll down to the bottom to see the answer. You probably can guess his alma mater. NEXT

 

 

 

 

You may have determined by now, I always find transfers interesting to follow. A good number of our bloggees also follow the University of Alabama. Therefore, here is an update of recent Crimson Tide transfers:

 

Justin Tubbs - The 6' 3 senior guard is in his second year at East Tennessee State playing for Murry Bartow.  Last year he averaged 12.1 points per game shooting just under 41 %. This year he has dropped to 10.7 points per game shooting  just under 40 %. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/players/60338

 

Justin Knox - The 6' 9  senior forward is averaging just over 6 points per game and about 4 1/2 rebounds per game in less than 17 minutes per game for the North Carolina Tar Heels. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/players/72893

 

Demetrius Jemison -  The 6' 8  senior forward is finishing up is career with the lowly 2 - 14 Manhattan Jaspers (which surprisingly is located in the Bronx...members of the Birmingham Tipoff Club learned that fact courtesy of our December speaker, former Manhattan coach, Fran Fraschilla). He only has played in 7 games because he received NCAA clearance on December 10th. Since then he has averaged 10.9 points and 7.9 rebounds in 31 minutes per game. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/players/60339  He almost joined another Tide transfer, Rico Pickett, but Rico left the team after last season to pursue professional basketball overseas after leading the MAAC in scoring  http://blog.timesunion.com/collegesports/siena-has-seen-the-last-of-rico-pickett/8308/ . NEXT

 

 

 

 

 

Speaking of the Crimson Tide, its basketball team has finally bought into Anthony Grant's ability to take them to the next level and it is fun to watch. You can tell by everyone's body language on the court and the bench. Limiting an explosive (but young) South Carolina team that just beat Vandy, to less than 30 % shooting and  just 47 points should have Alabama fans licking their chops after its 57 - 47 Wednesday night victory http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201101120006 . By the way, I was able to view the game on www.espn3.com . You Tide maniacs can watch a replay of the game at that site. NEXT 

 

 

 

 

 

Jacksonville University's recent 31-point loss at Belmont http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201101100047 at the end of a three-game road trip, stung Gator basketball fans looking back to the December 20th overtime loss to their Northern Florida neighbors. Country music legend  Vince Gill's favorite team, Belmont http://www1.vincegill.com/news.php?c=1&more=1&p=1009&pb=1&tb=1 , is an excellent mid-major whose losses have only been to Tennessee (twice) and Vandy but the margin of defeat is disturbing. It will be interesting to see what happens in JU's house during the rematch on February 3rd to determine if we should give 10-4 Jacksonville a mulligan. I expect these scrappy guys to get revenge. NEXT

 

 

 

 

 

Auburn started to show some life with the upset of Florida State last week, but the team has turned south the last two games. Part of it is because star junior Frankie Sullivan did not play in those two losses to LSU and Kentucky. My guess is that he will not play again this year because of the swelling in his injured knee and Auburn's downtrend will continue. This will save a year of eligibility because he will be eligible for a medical redshirt....he has not played in over 30 % of his team's games and he has not played in any games in the second half of the season which is where the Tigers are now in their schedule http://www.ncaapublications.com/productdownloads/D111.pdf  see page 159, Section 14.2.4  NEXT

 

 

 

 

 

 

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." That Charles Dickens quote http://www.literature.org/authors/dickens-charles/two-cities/book-01/chapter-01.html  summarizes the Florida State basketball team. Within a week of losing at the lowly Auburn Tigers, they whip the top-rated Duke Blue Devils 66 - 61 http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201101120213  We know it is tough for Gator fans to root for the "School Out West" but a big win like that heightens our road victory against them which should pay dividends for us with the Selection Committee.  THAT'S IT (except Scroll Down even if you didn't try to answer the trivia question so you can read about the player's outstanding Wednesday night)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoy...I promise it will be blog-free Friday....feel free to reply with blog feedback...suggestions are welcome and I will not be insulted,

 

 

 

 

 

Barry

 

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Matt Bonner. He has shot 117 threes and made 58 of them for 49.6 per cent. http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/stats/bycategory?cat=Fielding&conference=NBA&year=season_2010&sort=22&qualified=1  You have to be impressed how he has managed to hang on and contribute with such a winning organization like the San Antonio Spurs. A team could have purchased his services in 2006 for a couple of old NIKE shoes and beat-up basketballs. Wednesday night he scored all of his 17 points in the second half to lead the Spurs over the Milwaukee Bucks 91 - 84  http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/recap?gid=2011011215 .  Only 4 % of the Yahoo Fantasy NBA players start Bonner like I do. The other 96 % need to be bloggees, don't you think?

 

 

 

 

Special Blog # 25

My Beloved 64 Bloggees (Welcome Mark) :

 

 

I feel that this blog should be devoted to this one moving article. Any talk about basketball on the court doesn't seem right to be combined with this true, powerful story. Hoops talk will resume with the next blog.

 

Take three to five minutes to read it regarding the shared, painful, personal losses of Billy, Anthony and Pelphrey. Thanks to bloggee Chris for sending it  http://www.thepostgame.com/features/201101/billy-donovans-secret-sorrow .

 

 

Barry

 

 

Blog # 24 with some Football

My Beloved 63 Bloggees (Welcome Pete) :

 

 

I have fallen in love with a new free website to watch college basketball -  http://www.espn3.com/ . If your high speed internet provider is included in the following list   http://espn.go.com/espn3/affList you can watch numerous games free. If you remember from a blog last week, I was struggling to find a way to watch Saturday night's Ole-Miss/FL game which was being televised on CSS and not available on my DISH satellite. After 10 minutes of despair that night, I decided to try this ESPN3.com I have heard about. Presto....I watched the rest of the game right at my desk in my home office.

 

The website archives its games from one to seven days, so on Monday, I was able to watch the first 10 minutes of Saturday's Ole-Miss/FL game that I missed. (I know, I need therapy).  It also looks like you can possibly watch games from your computer when you are away from home with its Remote Access feature.

 

I will be now checking http://www.espn3.com/ frequently for games I may want to view....and the price is right. Sorry, ESPN Full Court, I don't need you. Hey, this blog may finally pay off for you bloggees. NEXT

 

 

 

 

On Sunday, there was good news and a bit of bad news when Gator pre-conference victims battled with Xavier smashing Rhode Island on the road 72 - 45  http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201101090485 . My guess is that it makes UF's win at Xavier even more special while on a lesser note, reduces some of the impact of the home win against Rhode Island. Because the NCAA Selection Committee emphasizes road wins http://www.suite101.com/content/understanding-the-ncaa-basketball-tournament-a102103 , this game turned out just right for the Gators. NEXT

 

 

 

 

Maybe the bad weather in the Northeast during December helped the Gators. What, you say? As a result of the snowstorms, Fairfield University's basketball team could not get to Gainesville to play the Gators on December 28th. I am talking about the 12 - 3 Fairfield Stags who on Sunday beat a conqueror of the Alabama Crimson Tide this season, St. Peter's, 70 - 43 and are on an 11-game swinning streak.  http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201101090201  . The Stags have developed into one of the top defensive teams in the country, ranked 7th as of last week http://www.fairfieldstags.com/news/2011/1/5/MBB_0105112928.aspx , and surely would have given Billyball problems a la Jacksonville University.  NEXT

 

 

 

 

One of the purposes of the blog, is to provide info to help fill out the brackets during March, especially with respect to teams in the South. Such as, one of our new bloggees is boasting about his Old Dominion Monarchs and their 12 - 3 record http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/teams/oah/schedule . I am sold. What I love is that they have outrebounded every opponent on their schedule which includes ACC's Clemson and the Big East's Georgetown. In fact, in every game but two (Missouri and George Mason), the rebounding margin was at least eight. How impressive is that toughness!  NEXT

 

 

 

 

I am sure he won't mind if I tell you that if you want to get the perspective of bloggee Kevin Brockway, the Gator hoops beat writer of the Gainesville Sun, click on http://brockway.blogs.gatorsports.com/ . I do it daily. NEXT

 

 

 

 

To football, it sounds like not-ready Florida DB Will Hill is declaring for the draft....it might end up just being the UFL draft    http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/college/gators/os-report-floridas-will-hill-draft-01102011,0,1238106.story  . NEXT

 

 

 

 

This just in....the Saints just missed another tackle on Seattle's Marshawn Lynch. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GD5EUVIvWo  THAT'S IT

 

 

 

Enjoy,

 

 

 

Barry

Blog # 23 with some Football

My Beloved 62 Bloggees (Welcome Joe, Doug and Phil):

The Gators opened up their SEC schedule with a victorius battle against scrappy Ole Miss 77 - 71 http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201101080210 . When Kenny Boynton and Chandler Parsons can contribute offensively, we are tough to beat...especially with our new bruising front line. Plus imagine when we get the already new and improved 6 ' 10 Erik Murphy back in the lineup from his foot injury.

What do Kenny Boynton and Jamal Crawford of the Atlanta Hawks have in common...they are the king of the 4-point play. Kenny has four this year (according to Bill Koss during his color commentating of the Ole Miss game) and Jamal, who has played more than twice as many games (32 versus 15), has five http://www.nba.com/hawks/news/crawford_4point_record.html .

Sometimes after a win, you can't get enough, so you want to hear from the coach. Go to http://www.gatorvision.com/ , scroll down until you get to Gatorvision Videos, and for free you can frequently see a replay of  Billy Donovan's uninterrupted post-game press conference. Occasionally you can also watch post-game interviews with players.  NEXT

A few SEC thoughts:

Let me ask for a raise of hands....how many of you are ecstatic that Kentucky lost to Georgia 77 - 70? http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201101080230  Having lived in Atlanta, deep in enemy territory for 17 years, one develops an anti-Georgia feeling.....however, Go "friggin" Dogs!

Anthony Grant is a winner. I know some Gator fans who would rather have him at the helm in Gainesville instead of Billy (I might be included). Remember it was less than 4 years ago when Grant and his VCU team beat Duke and Coack K in the first round of the NCAA tourney. At times, inherited players cause him to be a tough "parent" but it pays dividends. JaMychal Green has been on fire since he came off his Grant-mandated three-game suspension. Saturday, Green and his double-double led the Tide to a 75 - 57 road victory over Mississippi State http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201101080366 . Impatient Alabama fans should be flogged if they complain about Grant who should be at the Capstone for a long time.

Vandy, Vandy, Vandy. When are you going to learn how to play on the road?  Squandering an 11-point lead in the last 8 minutes to an inexperienced team like South Carolina, is inexcusable http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201101080525  . Your only road win was in Murfreesboro (I have learned that natives of that town, say its name in one syllable....try it) against Middle Tennessee State and it is only 45 minutes from Nashville http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/teams/vac/schedule . It might be time to build a new arena so that you can learn to play where coaches are on the sidelines instead of the baselines.

I remember during the days of the old Southwest Conference in the late 70's, reporters would complain bitterly for having to cover the first day of the conference tourney that had yawners such as Rice - Baylor,  TCU -  SMU and Texas Tech - Houston. That had to be the case on Saturday in Auburn when the LSU Tigers defeated the War Eagles 62 - 55 http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201101080028 . After one half, LSU was ahead 32 - 6. The Birmingham News made a good decision by not assigning anyone to cover that game (fortunately their Auburn beat writers are all in Glendale for another event).  NEXT

Gator transfer notes:

Rutgers' Jonathan Mitchell had a double-double leading Rutgers to 85 - 72 win over Providence. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201101080492  He had 21 points on 7 for 17 shooting and captured 10 rebounds. Don't forget the Gators have Rutgers transfer dynamic point guard Mike Rosario who is sitting out this year but participating in practice helping the Orange and Blue prepare for each opponent.  http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player/profile?playerId=41876

Texas' Jai Lucas played just 2 minutes in an overtime loss against Connecticut and only dented the scorebook by missing his single shot attempt. I thought after scoring 13 points in their last game's romp over Arkansas, that he would get more PT. I guess not.  http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201101080585

Kentucky's Eloy Vargas played just 4 minutes and had a blocked shot.....however he did pick up 2 fouls in that time. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201101080230 

Virginia Tech's Allan Cheney is out for the season with a viral inflammation of the heart. http://www.hokiesports.com/mbasketball/recaps/20101223aac.html  NEXT

In Birmingham they are still talking about Saturday's triple-overtime thrilling 100 - 97 victory by UAB over Coach Tim Floyd's UTEP Miners http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201101080034 . It was a battle between stars, Cameron Moore of UAB with 29 points and the game-winning three and Randy Culpepper of UTEP who scored 34. One of our bloggees offered me a prime ticket but I received his message after the game started. Darn. NEXT

To football, give yourself 90 seconds and watch the pre-game speech by Miami of Ohio interim coach Lance Guidry before Thursday night's GoDaddy.com Bowl. You will want to put on a helmet and hit the field.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2l1HG3KrNBk  THAT'S IT

Enjoy, especially you Birmingham bloggees who are stuck at home because of the snow and ice....remember that the Gators travel to Knoxville on Tuesday night for an 8:00 CST ESPN tilt against the Pearl-less Volunteers...let's see if that road momentum from their last successful trip to Xavier carries over.

Barry