Micah Handlogten dunks on South Carolina (UAA Photo) There was newfound intensity at practice Monday and again on Tuesday. Perhaps embarrassed by their performance against Auburn last Saturday, the Florida Gators went at it both days like a team with something to prove.   “We practiced really hard on Monday, which we usually don’t do,” Florida coach Todd Golden said Wednesday night after the 19 th -ranked Gators spent two hours making a hell fire and brimstone statement to th

“What, me worry?” – Alfred E. Neuman   When he checks the career stats of his scholarship quarterbacks, Jon Sumrall sees 80 completions in 137 attempts (58.3 percent) for 1,129 yards (8.24 yards per attempt), four touchdowns and three interceptions. Those numbers are accumulated over 10 games in two seasons, eight at Georgia Tech for Aaron Philo, two at Florida for Trammel Jones Jr. There is one start in there by Philo against a D1AA team, although he did finish and win a gam

The last time we saw something like this, Urban Meyer was telling players they had to earn the right to wear the Gator logo, and the rest is, well … two national championships worth of history.

Boogie Fland finishes off a dunk against Auburn (Photo by Chris Spears) With 11 Southeastern Conference games remaining in the regular season and a Sunday showdown at the O-Dome with Alabama looming, it is time for 19 th -ranked Florida (14-6, 5-2 SEC) to start playing up to its potential. All six of Florida’s losses were winnable games, but the Gators failed to seal the deal by missing open shots, free throws and failure to come up with critical stops at crunch time.   That

Tommy Haugh powers up for two of his 27 against Auburn (Photo by Chris Spears) Benny Kimble, the late, great high school and junior college basketball coach in Mississippi, used to say, “If a frog had wings, he wouldn’t bump his butt every time he jumps.” Translation: Wishful thinking isn’t going to change reality.   The first time I heard Benny use that old adage was at practice the day after the McComb Tigers had lost a basketball game they should have won. He stole that ph

Jon Sumrall likes the direction in which the Gators are going (Photo by Chris Spears) but admits there are holes that have to be filled on a roster that totals 87 – 67 veterans and 20 newbies (high school/juco signees).   “There's still some major areas of concern that we have on this roster, but we have to develop everybody we’ve got to do their best and try to get this football team ready,” Sumrall said Saturday at an impromptu meeting with the media at halftime of Florid

It’s not complicated: This team can’t shoot. And until they can, the phrase “best frontcourt in college basketball” belongs in air quotes big enough to be seen from orbit.

Tommy Haugh scores two of his 27 points against Auburn (Photo by Chris Spears) For the sixth time this season, the Florida Gators (14-6, 5-2 SEC) let a perfectly winnable game slip through their fingers. Give Auburn (13-7, 4-3 SEC) plenty of credit for scoring a 76-67 win over the 16 th -ranked Gators at the O-Dome, but it’s not like the Tigers didn’t get a lot of help.   Last Saturday in Nashville, the Gators were money at the foul line. Against Auburn, it was hit or miss. T

What graduate degree was Beck pursuing? How did he make progress toward it in the fall with the busy football schedule? 

"We just talked about being brave and keep fighting, that’s what this is all about. We are the fighting Gators and we’re gonna just keep taking out one routine at a time.”

Todd Golden faces best friend Steven Pearl today at the O-Dome (Photo by Chris Spears) There are folks calling the O-Dome matchup (4 p.m., ESPN) between Auburn (12-7, 3-3 SEC) and 16 th -ranked Florida (14-5, 5-1 SEC) “The Saturday Shabbat” as Todd Golden faces best friend Steven Pearl.     “We've been great friends since my 21st birthday,” Golden said Friday before the Gators began preparations for Auburn. “We played on teams in Australia and Israel together and, obviously,

Todd Golden isn't fazed by Charles Bediako's return (Photo by Bobby D'Alessio) “Morons. I’ve got morons on my team.” – Strother Martin as Percy Garris in the 1969 film “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”   You realize that Percy Garris could have been talking about today’s NCAA, which, in its infinite wisdom, has a mess on its hands that could have and should have been avoided. Oh, if only this organization which is supposedly headed up by smart people who are backed up by s