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