Go Gators

National Champs and Tebow's coming back? It sure is great to be a Florida Gator!

Gators Drafted

9 Gators were drafted in the NFL Draft this weekend, the most of any team. Shockingly none of the players were named Chris Leak, as he had to settle for a free agent contract with Da Bears (where he'll backup fellow Gator Rex Grossman).

Jarvis Moss - 1st round - Broncos - article
Reggie Nelson - 1st round - Jaguars - link
Ray McDonald - 3rd round - 49ers - link
Marcus Thomas - 4th round - Broncos - article
Joe Cohen - 4th round - 49ers - link
Ryan Smith - 6th round - Titans
Dallas Baker - 7th round - Steelers - link
DeShawn Wynn - 7th round - Packers
Brandon Siler - 7th round - Chargers - link

No word yet on if Earl Everett is signing as a free agent somewhere.

All Your Titles Are Belong To Us

My mom just sent me this sweet photo from Titletown, USA (aka Gainesville, FL)

The Rematch

Bring on the Buckeyes!

Back to the Final Four!

Thank you Lee Humphrey!

Gators at the White House

All politics aside, this is pretty sweet. The Gators got to visit the White House yesterday to celebrate their football National Championship. You can find a transcript of the whole ceremony here, but here were some of the highlights for me:

"I particularly like the story of the two quarterbacks, Chris Leak and Tim Tebow. First of all -- (applause.) Where's Tebow? There he is. It's like the guy is trying to bring the single wing back, you know? " -- George W. Bush

"I appreciate your defense. I clearly remember linebacker Earl Everett. (Applause.) I've seen that face before. (Laughter.) So has the whole country. You might remember, Everett lost his headgear. He didn't lose his head -- (laughter) -- but he lost his headgear and he went on to make a great tackle in a key moment. That's called tough defense, hard-nosed defense." -- George W. Bush

"It didn't take Urban Meyer long. Like, the guy shows up, the next thing he knows, he's at the White House. (Laughter.) Whoever hired him, good choice." -- George W. Bush

Gators #1 Seed

Congrats to Dem Gator Boys for the #1 seed in the NCAA tournament. Back-to-back?

"They are at championship level basketball right now. They are a well-oiled machine." -- Stan Heath Arkansas coach

And what's up with the NIT snubbing the Huskies? Weak.

The Boys From Old Florida

Book #2 of my '07 reading list was The Boys From Old Florida: Inside Gator Nation by Buddy Martin.

If you're not a Gator fan, you can stop here and move right along to the next book. For Gator fans though, this book provides a nice way to bone up on your Gator history...you know those days before Spurrier?

Martin provides a nice mix of historical facts interlaced with insightful interviews of former players and coaches. Although the prose is a cliched at times and the editing weak, (for instance on pg. 79 we read 'That 70-yard catch of Reaves' missle against Houston may be more famous, but none ever surpassed the amazing grab Alvarez made against Florida State two weeks later" only to read further down the *same page* "Great as the catch against Florida State was it could still never surpass the one against Houston...") Martin's love for the Gators shines through, and this is after all a book about loving the Gators. Another big plus is that the book is surprisingly up-to-date, covering the Gators all the way up to the start of the '06 season. There's coverage of Urban Meyer's hiring (and why Spurrier didn't get the job), his first season as the Gators' head coach, and even a few references to Tim Tebow.

We Are The Champions

Damn it feels good to be a Gator.

"Suddenly, it's Florida's world, and we're all just fighting for second." -- Bud Withers of the Seattle Times

National Championship

It's D-day. Go Gators! Let's bring home that title.

BTW, is Urban Meyer wearing a Spot watch in this photo?

Gators Are Hungry

Some good quotes coming out of the Gator camp today after the news that the Gators will open as 7.5 point dogs to the Buckeyes. Personally I think the lack of respect could be a good thing. It worked wonders for Texas last year (anyone remember how everyone was ready to anoit USC as the best team in college football history before the game even started?...sound familiar?). Gotta love the hunger, I credit it to the Urban effect.

"For some reason, people don't like us very much, but I don't think we're going to have problems responding to it because it's been like that all year. Why change things up? We don't want to go in being the top dog and who everyone thinks is going to win...Every week we're supposed to lose,it just seems like we never get any respect, and we love that." -- Brandon Siler

"We kind of laugh at it because all season, basically no one's given us a chance. Tennessee was better, LSU was better and we're always going to be underdogs no matter where we play." -- Percy Harvin

S-E-C!, S-E-C!, S-E-C!!!

Go Gators! Bring on Ohio State.

Another Gator National Championship

Nicely done Emmitt. Mario Lopez....you got served.

It's Great To Be a Florida Gator

Good couple days to be a Gator. Florida is #1 in the preseason basketball polls and David Eckstein wins the World Series MVP. Now if we can just beat Georgia this weekend.