Florida AD Scott Stricklin oversaw an athletic program that finished sixth nationally (Photo by Chris Spears) A few thoughts to jump start your Thursday morning: For the 42nd consecutive year, the University of Florida finished among the top ten in the Learfield Director’s Cup standings that signify overall excellence from top to bottom of the entire athletic program. A strong second place finish by the Florida women’s track and field team at the NCAA outdoor championships pushed Florida into sixth in the Learfield standings, just nine points ahead of Southern Cal and 23 ahead of Georgia. What makes this finish remarkable is the Gators did it without winning a single national championship, ending a streak of 16 consecutive years in which Florida had at least one team bring home the big trophy. This was a year in which the Gators could have very well won the Director’s Cup championship. Texas, for the second straight year won the title, this year with 1,322 points. The Longhorns had three national championships. Without the benefit of a single national title, the Gators finished 217.5 points behind Texas. That is ground that could have been made up with a few stronger finishes in NCAA tournaments. Men’s basketball didn’t make it out of the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Gymnastics finished third, men’s golf finished in a fifth-place tie, softball lost in the super regionals, baseball didn’t make it out of the regional and lacrosse lost in the second round. Learfield Directors Cup top 25 (SEC schools in bold face): 1. Texas 1,322; 2. Stanford 1,263.5; 3. UCLA 1,199.25; 4. North Carolina; 1,166.75 5. Virginia 1,148.75; 6. FLORIDA 1,104.5; 7. Southern California 1,095.5; 8. Georgia 1,081.25; 9. Michigan 1,067.75; 10. Ohio State 1,071.25; 11. Duke 1,039.25; 12. Texas A&M 980; 13. Alabama 968.75; 14. Arkansas 965.75; 15. Tennessee 964.75; 16. Oklahoma 930.75; 17. Nebraska 929; 18. LSU 926.75; 19. Notre Dame 898.5; 20. Princeton 878.5; 21. Penn State 864.5; 22. North Carolina State 860; 23. Oregon 783; 24. Wisconsin 754; 25. BYU 730; other SEC schools and schools of interest in the top 50: 26. Auburn 724.5; 27. Kentucky 716.5; 34. Ole Miss 672.25; 40. Vanderbilt 628.25; 41. Florida State 604; 44. South Carolina 598.5; 57. Miami 452 SOFTBALL TRANSFER ALERT: PICKENS TWINS AVAILABLE The Pickens twins are in the NCAA softball transfer portal – All-American outfielder Madsion Pickens, who spent the last two seasons at Louisville, and middle infielder Mackenzie Pickens, who played the last two seasons at Ole Miss. There is no indication where the Pickens twins are leaning to at this point, but Florida might have a shot at them since they were high school teammates with pitcher Caroline Stanton at Buford (GA) High School. Stanton enrolled early at Florida back in January but took a redshirt season to prevent injury since Georgia plays softball in the fall months. At Louisville, Madison Pickens hit 11 home runs and drove in 74 RBI while hitting .456 in 2026. In her two year career she hit .368 with 14 home runs and 99 RBI. At Ole Miss, Mackenzie Pickens, hit .271 last season with 11 home runs and 43 RBI. For her two-year career she hit .300 with 18 home runs and 78 RBI. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Einstein is often attributed with the quote “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Scholars and biographers are of consensus opinion that Einstein never said it. Nobody debates the veracity of the statement, only who actually said it first. Perhaps it was a Nostradamus moment for the genius who first coined that phrase because in the learning lab that is life its own self we have an ongoing Exhibit A: the NCAA, which, in its infinite wisdom, spends half its existence in court rooms where it typically gets clobbered. For aspiring attorneys wishing to make a name for themselves in the field of sports, no one provides more billable hours than the NCAA, whose newest rules about eligibility and age are about to be challenged in multiple jurisdictions. The new rules are well intentioned and designed to put up guardrails that will keep college sports from spiraling out of control. Everybody agrees that allowing five years eligibility over a five-year period that begins with graduation from high school is a nice first step. Everybody agrees that these inconsistent NCAA eligibility waivers should be abolished along with the silliness of different redshirt rules for every sport. Everybody agrees that it is ridiculous for college age kids to have to compete against grown men in their mid-to-late 20s who have spent years playing professional basketball whether in the US or internationally. The new rules, which go into effect immediately, grant five years eligibility to athletes who fit into the 19-to-24 age bracket but deny a fifth year to those who completed their fourth year during the 2025-26 athletic calendar year. So, someone who was a third-year junior last year, has two more years of eligibility but someone who finished his fourth year is kicked to the curb. That inconsistency alone is about to trigger hundreds of lawsuits that the NCAA is almost certain to lose. The NCAA can argue until the cows come home that it has a right to make and enforce its own rules, but inconsistency and precedent says they will once again get torched on legalities. For example, how can the NCAA grant a seventh year for Kentucky basketball transfer Franck Kepnang? A 6-11 center originally from Senegal, Kepnang has played 111 college basketball games in six seasons, two at Oregon and four at Washington. He will be 25 years old before the basketball season begins in November. Under the new rules he should be ineligible based on six previous seasons and age, but the NCAA gave him a waiver to play. The new rules eliminate waivers but Kepnang was granted a waiver and if the NCAA renegs on its ruling Kepnang will hang the organization in court. That Kepnang has been ruled eligible should be good news for Denzel Aberdeen, who has petitioned the NCAA for a waiver that will grant him a fifth season at the University of Florida. How can the NCAA grant Kepnang a seventh year and deny Aberdeen, who is only a few credit hours from his college degree, a fifth year? If common sense comes into play, this will be an easy decision but whoever said common sense factors in NCAA rulings? Set this in stone: Denzel Aberdeen will be playing for the Gators this coming year. The only question is who grants his eligibility – the NCAA or the courts. If the NCAA denies the waiver, Denzel will take his case before a friendly local judge who will note the NCAA’s record of inconsistency and favoritism when he issues a restraining order that will allow year five. The new rules should also effect Florida’s Urban Klavzar, who came to UF from Slovenia where he was playing for a professional team. The NCAA, in its infinite wisdom, took a year of eligibility away from Klavzar when he arrived in Gainesville. He’s a senior this year, but under the new rules he should be eligible for a fourth season in 2027-28. Another Gator who likely has a case that needs to go to court is AJ Brown, who received a medical redshirt in 2023-24 at Ohio University and took a redshirt at Florida last season while rehabbing a bad shoulder. This will be his fifth season of college basketball so based on the new rules, it will be his last. But, if the NCAA is ruling that Kepnang gets a pass for three injury-filled seasons at Washington in which he played a combined 32 games, it seems logical that Brown should have two seasons remaining, not one. Logic says the cases for Aberdeen, Klavzar and AJ Brown should be decided favorably for the Gators, but there will be hundreds of challenges, most of them filed within the next week or so. Prior to Wednesday’s ruling, sports attorney Darren Heitner, whose undergraduate and law degrees were earned at the University of Florida, had something like 55 clients ready to challenge the NCAA in court. Per a post by Jon Rothstein on X, Heitner picked up an additional 20 players whose high school graduation year was 2022. In a lawsuit brought against the NCAA in Ohio on behalf of players who spent four years playing without the benefit of a redshirt, Ohio, attorneys Ryan Downton and Charles Rittgers stated, “Rather, they challenge the NCAA's application of the rule that allows players they competed against from the high school class of 2017-20 and 2023-25 an additional year of competition while denying plaintiffs the same opportunity … The NCAA then compounded the problem by allowing former professional players to compete in their fifth year following high school graduation regardless of the number of professional games they had played, while denying plaintiffs the same opportunity for a fifth year of competition.” The NCAA Division I Cabinet’s justification: “Student-athletes who will exhaust their eligibility this year have received the full period of eligibility permitted by NCAA bylaws and the life-changing benefits college sports provides. Giving those student-athletes another season would destabilize rosters just ahead of the coming season by disrupting settled expectations of countless student-athletes regarding their expected roster spots and playing time next year, including incoming freshmen who are eager to participate in the life-changing experience of college athletics.” This is a brand new case about brand new rules, but essentially, it’s the same thing being done over and again by the NCAA. In other words, more insanity.

Why is this man happy and clapping? It's time for taling about REAL football! (UAA Photo) So much for that other kind of football — time to get going on the debate about the great American version of the real game. While Spain and Argentina settle the World Soccer Championship in one kind of football, we focus on opening arguments about the SEC version of America’s game in Tampa. We keep our eye on one kind of pitch as we begin to hear pitches of another kind. I’m not going to lie — I have enjoyed watching the soccer as an hors d’oeuvres, but now I’m ready for the main course. And I like the early trends of what I am beginning to hear and feel. I hear you haters — there goes old Buddy again, filling up his cup with Kool Aide. Well not so fast my friends -- and enemies! Even the skeptics in the media are starting to warm up to the notion that Florida’s new coach will be a difference maker. There’s a different hum in the air around Gainesville this summer, and it’s got nothing to do with the heat index. It’s the sound of a program waking up. Apparently some of the media outside the Orange & Blue hemisphere are waking up, too. Here’s the part I love most: This isn’t just a bunch of Gator homers talking themselves into a fairy tale fantasy about progress. Some of the toughest, most skeptical voices in the business are modifying their tune in real time — and that’s the kind of validation you can’t manufacture. Back in December, Paul Finebaum wasn’t buying it. He flat-out said Sumrall “made a bad decision to turn down Auburn” and cracked that “I’m not sure anybody fits Florida.” Fast forward to June, after watching Sumrall operate through spring practice and the SEC spring meetings, and Finebaum sang a completely different tune on “McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning”: “I felt okay about them, because I like Sumrall, and I like some of the components that he has brought to the table, but there seems to be some real momentum now.” He went further, crediting the entire operation Stricklin has built around his coach — “it was just how quickly and how different that infrastructure feels and seems as opposed to what it was under four years of Billy Napier.” Finebaum has since gone as far as calling Sumrall the “cream of the crop” among this year’s new SEC hires, and by June he was floating Florida as a legitimate playoff contender if the Gators can navigate their brutal early slate. When a guy who publicly doubted your hire six months earlier starts talking playoff, you know something real is happening in Gainesville. Cole Cubelic has been in Sumrall’s corner even longer, and after sitting down with him this summer, Cubelic doubled down without hesitation: “I love the way he’s come up. I love the way he handles himself. I love the way he manages his business and manages a football team. I think he’s going to do great things at Florida… I think he’s going to be awesome”. That’s not a media personality humoring a fan base — that’s a guy who played CFB at a high level, who’s watched this sport for a living saying he sees something real building in the Swamp. So when Sumrall takes that podium and later brings alongside Jadan Baugh, Myles Graham and Vernell Brown III on Wednesday, how will he be received? Expect a coach who’s already done the hard, unglamorous work of tearing down and rebuilding — culture, coaching staff, and roster all at once — before he’s even coached a single down in The Swamp, and who’s already turning heads among the very media voices who doubted him. For a fan base that’s waited a long time to feel this way again, that’s more than enough reason to believe. Gator Nation, get your Media Days popcorn ready — this one’s going to be worth the watching. When Sumrall steps to that podium in Tampa on his first SEC Media Days as Florida’s head coach, he won’t be selling hope — he’ll be selling receipts Let’s rewind for a second, because the contrast matters. Florida limped out of 2025 at 4-8, its worst mark since 2013, and parted ways with Billy Napier before the season even ended. Athletic director Scott Stricklin went looking for a fixer, not a caretaker, and found one at Tulane. Sumrall arrived in Gainesville on November 30 with a 42-11 record as a head coach and a six-year deal worth roughly $45 million — and from the minute he walked into the building, he made it clear the Gators logo would no longer be handed out, it would have to be earned This is the part that has old-school Gator fans nodding along like they just heard the Swamp shake for the first time in years. Sumrall isn’t running a country club. His practices are built around a demanding, no-excuses gauntlet designed to forge mental and physical toughness — the kind of standard that separates pretenders from contenders in this league. Even in spring ball, Sumrall was blunt with reporters about where his team stood, calling the Gators “inconsistent” through four practices — no sugarcoating, no spin, just the truth. That’s a coach who trusts his players enough to be honest with them, and that’s exactly the kind of authentic, personality-plus leadership Sumrall has built his career on — fiery, emotional, and unmistakably real. If you want a signal that Sumrall means business, look at who he brought with him. Within days of taking the job, he landed Kentucky’s Brad White as defensive coordinator — a coach who built four top-25 defenses in Lexington and developed first-round NFL talent along the way. Sumrall and White go back to 2019-21 on the same Kentucky staff, and White didn’t hesitate to follow him to Gainesville. Then came Buster Faulkner, fresh off being named the 2025 FootballScoop Offensive Coordinator of the Year at Georgia Tech, to run the offense. Faulkner’s philosophy is refreshingly simple and delightfully greedy: He wants chunk plays, 40-yarders, explosiveness that lights up the scoreboard, while White’s defense is being built to suffocate the other side with violence. Lights-out offense, lockdown defense — that’s not a rebuilding plan, folks, that’s a possible championship blueprint. Anybody who’s covered SEC football as long as I have knows championships are won in the trenches, and Sumrall clearly knows it, too. His staff has made offensive and defensive line development a centerpiece of both the transfer portal work and high school recruiting, reshaping the roster piece by piece into something with a real identity rather than a patchwork of leftovers. And he didn’t just bring in coaches — he brought in their guys too, from Kentucky safety Cam Dooley to Penn State offensive linemen, all following the coordinators who recruited and developed them. That’s continuity, that’s trust, and that’s exactly how you build a “cohesive team identity” instead of a roster full of strangers. On top of all that toughness talk, Sumrall isn’t ignoring the resources at his disposal. Florida’s got elite facilities — revamped recovery areas and nutrition centers that most programs would kill for — and he’s putting them to work keeping this roster fresh and built for the SEC grind of a long season. Combine that with a coaching staff united, in the words of one player, by a genuine “winning culture,” and you understand why the buzz heading into Tampa feels different from the manufactured optimism of years past. I don’t know about you but to borrow on and old Jimmy Buffet title, I’m looking for changes in latitudes and attitudes. And I think I’m seeing it. More importantly, I’m feeling it.

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey A few thoughts to jump start your Sunday morning: SEC Media Days can trace its roots to the days of the Sky Writers, where the best sports columnists and writers in the south flew to all 10 Southeastern Conference schools for the stories that would hype the upcoming football season. Along the way some genius came up with the idea of bringing coaches and a few players from each school to a central location. Instead of the 30 or so writers who went on the Sky Writers tour, thousands of writers, columnists and broadcasters from all over the country will gather in Tampa starting tomorrow for the pinnacle talking season event. All the other conferences stage their own media days, but nothing comes remotely close to the SEC. When SEC commissioner Greg Sankey takes the podium to get things going Monday morning, he will be peppered with questions about legislation before the United States Congress intended to bring sanity to a chaotic college sports world but instead may usher in further instability. Sankey believes college sports need legislation from Congress to stomp the brakes on the out of control situation that threatens the very foundation of the sport. He also believes the Protect College Sports Act, in its current form, would be bad for the Southeastern Conference and college sports in general. Therefore, he is opposed to the point of discussing the possibility of the SEC going its own way. The threat of secession is very real but its main purpose is to get tweaks in the legislation that will prove more favorable to the Southeastern Conference. Of course, every time the SEC exerts its power and influence, the little guys stomp their feet and throw tantrums. They’re used to the NCAA model which tries to push the concept of equality but as the most powerful figure in all of collegiate athletics, Greg Sankey understands that you can’t handicap the haves by bringing them down to the level of the have nots. The SEC and the Big Ten are the haves of college sports. Everybody else is a have not. For example, both the Big 12 and Atlantic Coast Conferences as well as all the Group of Six leagues want television revenue pooled. That formula works in pro football where all 32 teams get an equal cut of the TV money but the NFL also has collective bargaining agreements, salary caps and other rules in place that are protected by anti-trust legislation. The SEC and Big Ten negotiated revenue packages that dwarf those of the other leagues in Division I and with the rising cost of doing business these days neither league feels an obligation to share its broadcast money. Another issue that Sankey opposes is the proposed freeze on conference memberships that is a prominent part of the Protect College Sports Act. This is well-intentioned because it halts runaway expansion but it prevents potential beneficial moves. For example, UCF is in the Big 12 where its closest rival is Cincinnati, nearly 900 miles away. South Florida sits 90 minutes west on I-4. Adding USF to the Big 12 would give UCF a natural rival but such a move would be banned under the congressional legislation as proposed currently. These are just a couple of the questions Sankey will have to answer tomorrow morning. SEC Media Days has everything to do with football, but football will have to take a temporary backseat to this opportunity to get The Commish to offer a roadmap of where the SEC and all of collegiate sports are headed. DOES MESSI RIDE OFF INTO THE SUNSET AS THE UNDISPUTED CHAMP OF ALL TIME? At 39 years old, today’s Argentina-Spain clash for the World Cup figures to be the last time on soccer’s biggest and grandest stage for Lionel Messi, who has almost willed Argentina into this opportunity for a second straight championship. It isn’t lost on the world’s immense soccer community that Messi spent most of his legendary career playing for Barcelona in the Spanish League. He is as loved in Spain as he is in Argentina although today he is public enemy No. 1 for Spain, which understands completely that to beat Argentina is to neutralize Messi. Easier said than done. If Messi isn’t the greatest soccer player of all time then he is certainly on the short list. If he is able to go out on top with consecutive World Cup championships, will he elbow his way past Pele as the greatest World Cup champ of all time? Pele led Brazil to World Cups in 1958, 1962 and then again in 1970 when he was 30 years old. Messi may not be as explosive as he was in younger years, but all that experience has allowed him to pick his spots to exert the kind of greatness into circumstances that result in victories in big matches. Against England in the semifinal, his assists on both Argentine goals were nothing short of brilliant. If Messi stars and Argentina wins the championship today will that make him the greatest player in World Cup history? ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Cole Hutson, who played in 48 games at Texas (23 starts) the last four years, has filed a lawsuit against the NCAA asking a Travis County court to grant an injunction that will allow him to play a fifth year. Hutson, who went undrafted by the NFL and was offered an invitation to a Dallas Cowboys mini-camp, is challenging the NCAA’s new 5-for-5 legislation that failed to grandfather in athletes who had completed their fourth – and then final – year of eligibility last year while extending a fifth year to underclassmen. Judges in Ohio and Colorado have already filed temporary restraining orders (TRO) against the NCAA on behalf of mostly basketball players. The Hutson case might not be the first for a football player challenging the new rules, but it is certainly the most high profile and, if granted, could open the floodgates for football coaches to add experienced players ahead of the 2026 season. Per Longhorns Wire, the best version of the Texas offensive line in 2025 had Cole Hutson starting at left guard. It doesn’t seem the least bit coincidental that the only position on the 2026 O-line that isn’t manned by a returning starter is left guard. Add Hutson into the mix and suddenly the Texas offensive line, already ranked No. 2 nationally by Lindy’s, becomes formidable. Now, did Hutson initiate the lawsuit on his own volition or was he prodded into filing by the Texas coaching staff? In that Hutson says he has been told by HBC Steve Sarkisian that a roster spot is being held open for him, it would seem there is some measure of collaboration. How many coaches in Division I have a position of need and an experienced player ready to step in for one more season? The NCAA, in its infinite wisdom, will fight the Hutson case just as it has gone to court to fight the other eligibility lawsuits. Precedent says the NCAA will lose. Again and again. Precedent also says the NCAA won’t compromise but will continue to duke it out in courtrooms across the country where friendly local judges will rule in favor of the athletes. The 5-for-5 legislation is very well intended and it comes at a time when chaos reigns supreme throughout college athletics but failure to grandfather in fourth-year seniors is a mistake because it opens the door for local courts and friendly judges to have national impact not just on who plays but the balance of power as well. For example, the success found by Trinidad Chambliss, who will play quarterback for Ole Miss in the fall, makes the Rebels legitimate contenders for both the SEC and national championships. An added year of eligibility is going to further change the recruiting landscape. When combined with NIL money and the transfer portal the extra year will mean fewer chances taken on developing high school kids and more emphasis placed on experience. Why place job security in the hands of an 18-year-old who will take as many as two or three years to evolve into a functional player at the power conference level when players with starting experience are not only available but plentiful? The four- and five-star athletes won’t necessarily be fazed by this chaos. Top athletes will never lack for opportunities but instead of signing a three-star, coaches are already trending to the portal to find plug and play types ready to fit right into a starting lineup. As the NCAA proves time and time again, there are consequences that are not always pleasant every time it introduces new rules or tries to fight it out in court. What the new rules and subsequent lawsuits are going to do is relegate the non-power conferences and their members to minor league status. The Group of Six schools as well as those in D1AA and DII leagues are in the process of becoming the college sports equivalent of baseball’s minors complete with tiers. Minor League Baseball has its rookie leagues and classes A through AAA which is what collegiate sports conferences are in the process of evolving into. The sage philosopher Ferris Beuller put things into perspective when he said, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it.” He wasn’t talking about college sports, but he could have been.

“Get in line in that processional, step into that small confessional, there the guy who’s got religion’ll tell you if your sins original” – From “The Vatican Rag” by Tom Lehrer It is July 18, 2026, a good day for a soul-cleansing slate of true confessions about sports and other things. Confession No. 1: I think it is already next year Both my grandfather and father died believing every new season would be the one in which the Florida Gators finally won the Southeastern Conference championship. They were “wait ‘til next year” Gators. My grandfather, whose cousin was Dale Van Sickle, passed away in 1973, never having seen his beloved Gators win the SEC in either football or basketball. My father was overjoyed in 1984 when the Gators won their first SEC title only to suffer the disappointment of the championship being snatched away by a coalition of school presidents and athletic directors, spearheaded by Vince Dooley. I am convinced that if Marshal Criser had lived up to his promise and stuck with Charley Pell that the Gators would have emerged from probation and won the SEC. But, he didn’t so it took the Return of the Native to make that happen and that thanks only to Ben Hill Griffin, who told UF athletic director, “Steve Spurrier is going to be the football coach next year. You don’t have to be the athletic director, Bill.” Thanks to Spurrier the Gators won their first SEC title that counted in 1991 and there were five more after that including a national championship in 1996. Spurrier made us believe, ending the suffering of hundreds of thousands of “wait ‘til next year” Gators. Urban Meyer reinforced the belief that the Florida Gators can win both SEC and national championships, but since then we’ve reverted back to the “wait ‘til next year” mentality. For reasons I cannot begin to explain, there is a level of confidence that is growing quietly within in the months since Jon Sumrall was hired to reverse the losing trend. I felt this way with Spurrier and also with Urban. I’ll admit that Dan Mullen was a jolt of confidence until his lack of recruiting success caught up with him. I wanted Billy Napier to win, but he let his own ego get in the way. So now we have Sumrall. He hasn’t coached a single game at UF, but something in his demeanor tells me the Gators have the right coach at just the right time. Confession No. 2: When it comes to Coaches All-SEC selections, the Gators typically get screwed It has been going on for years. Here are two glaring examples. In 1995, the SEC coaches voted Peyton Manning the first team All-SEC quarterback over Danny Wuerffel. Danny threw for 3,266 yards, averaged 10 yards per pass attempt and threw 35 touchdown passes for the Gators, who went 12-1, won the SEC championship and played Nebraska for the national championship. Danny was first team All-SEC by the AP, second team All-America (Tommie Frazier of Nebraska first team), finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting behind Eddie George and Frazier, and won the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award. Peyton threw for 2,954 yards, averaged 7.8 per attempt and 22 touchdown passes. Head-to-head, Danny led the Gators to a 59-37 rout of Tennessee. That week Peyton was on the cover of Sports Illustrated looking like someone had stolen his puppy. Example two, Jake Slaughter, who didn’t make first, second or third team All-SEC center when the coaches voted in 2024. The AP voted him first team All-SEC and he went on to be the consensus first team All-America center. The coaches did vote Jake All-SEC first team in 2025. He made second team All-America largely because it’s difficult to put a first team label on an offensive lineman from a 4-8 team that was 104th nationally in total offense. There have been other cases, too many to mention here, but when the SEC coaches vote, count on Florida getting screwed. I have to wonder why. This isn’t a conspiracy theory. The facts back it up. Confession No. 3: Florida has gone cheap too many times What do Ron Zook, Will Muschamp, Jim McElwain and Billy Napier have in common other than the fact they were all four fired prior to fulfilling the initial terms of their contracts? The answer can be summed up in one word: CHEAP. Rather than pay the price it takes to hire a more experienced, expensive coach, the Gators went cheap. How is it that you replace legends like Spurrier and Urban Meyer with two who have never been head coaches? How is it that rather than make Bob Stoops a Godfather offer Florida hires a head coach whose three years were spent at Colorado State and despite paying him $4 million he either can’t or won’t spend a few hundred dollars to get his teeth whitened? Yes, I know all those “if we hadn’t hired him, some other top program would have” excuses about Billy the Nape. Lane Kiffin was available and would have crawled backward to get the job. Lane, it was said, “isn’t our type.” Well, I guess not. He wins. Four coaches, none of whom should have been the Florida head coach in the first place, were hired on the cheap. Sometimes you get what you pay for. Confession No. 4: Golf vs. soccer Golf, any way you slice it even when I take into account my Tin Cup moment at Valle del Sol in Santa Ana, Costa Rica, where I put 10 straight balls in the water and had to send my caddy to the pro shop so I could continue. Golf, I have determined, is God’s way of giving me a glimmer of hope in the middle of despair. I can hit 100 bad shots but that one I hit on the screws or the remarkable hole-out from the kitty litter will convince me that there is hope, that I can do this and if I were incapable then God wouldn’t have allowed me to hit a shot that even Scottie Sheffler or Rory McIlroy would admire. Because I occasionally hit that one perfect shot, I can watch golf on TV without ever getting bored, knowing the only difference between me and Scottie Sheffler is that he has conquered his slice while my driver is a work in progress. As for soccer, I find it very difficult to get excited about a game in which a kick to the shins results in a grown man going down like he was shot with a deer rifle. For reasons unexplained, you never hear an announcer say “suck it up Buttercup” when someone who is barely touched flops and acts as if he’s suffering unbearable pain. A zero-zero tie is called a nil-nil draw. There is something fundamentally un-American about a game in which there is a loose ball and no one scoops it up, starts running with it and no one bothers to knock him into next week. Soccer purists believe their game is beautiful and needs no tweaking. Golfers are offered a lifeline of hope from Dan Jenkins who wrote rules for the recreational golfer: Hit until you’re happy on one and 10. Hit from the ladies tees on the two longest par fives. No hitting from under bushes or behind trees. A mulligan every three holes, a free throw out a sand trap once on the front nine and once again on the back nine. All putts within 12 inches are good. Confession No. 5: I am dismayed that there are so few great sportswriters anymore During the time I was a kid just cutting my teeth as a sportswriter, I sat with the late, great Jack Hairston at old Perry Field watching the Florida Gators and Ole Miss play for the SEC baseball championship. Jack was there to watch this phenomenal Ole Miss shortstop named Archie Manning, but because baseball is a 9-inning game that proceeds at what some would call a leisurely pace, there was time to talk about what it takes to be a better than the average bear sportswriter. “Your job is to get the story,” Jack told me. “By the time you write it and they [the public] read it everybody already knows the score so the story really isn’t about the score. It’s about the people who made the score possible. Tell their story.” Nearly 60 years and thousands of games of all kinds later I still try to abide by Jack’s words. Getting the story means taking the time to know the people, the sport, the circumstances, the setting and so much more then weaving it into something that compels people to feel as if they were a part of the event. Back in 2011 at a gathering of writers and publishers of college sports websites, a speaker held up an iPhone and told us this is the future of sportswriting, the place that people will get their news. Further, he told us that people no longer had the patience or attention span to read lengthy stories, that to successfully reach our audience we had to compact our stories into the 300-to-600-word range because that is what would hold the attention of someone reading on an iPhone. I nearly gagged. I still do, but that does indeed clue you in on why we have lots of sports reporters but very few exceptional sportswriters. It’s very difficult to do anything more than report the basics in a 600-word (or less) story. To really tell the story requires a whole lot more than 600 words. I think great sportswriters such as Dan Jenkins, Furman Bisher, Red Smith, Tom Boswell and Blackie Sherrod roll over in their graves at what has happened to sportswriting. Newspapers have gone out of business left and right and those that survive have no room for at-length stories. Sports Illustrated is no longer this weekly magazine for which you wait impatiently for the mail to arrive on Tuesday. Sporting News is now a mostly irrelevant website. ESPN, which has essentially cornered the sports broadcasting market, is one of the few places where you can read anything in-depth and that is worrisome because every time the earnings reports come out, more writers get the axe. We live in a 24-hour news cycle dominated by websites that rush to get 300 words out the fastest rather than (a) getting the facts right and (b) offering meaningful, thoughtful writing and analysis. As a kid I was blessed to grow up in an era when I rushed to The Hub on Sunday mornings after Gator football games to buy a stack of newspapers so I could read Jack Hairston, John Crittenden, Ed Pope, Tom McEwen, Furman Bisher, Bill McGrotha, Hubert Mizell, Buddy Martin and so many others who wrote as if football was religion second only to the Baptists in the South. During the 1960s, the contingent of newspaper writers covering the Gators home and away was larger even than those covering Ohio State, Michigan and other bluebloods. So many of these guys were must-read. How many sportswriters are there in Florida now whose columns and articles are required reading? My top ten sportswriters of all time: 1. Dan Jenkins; 2. Furman Bisher; 3. John Kilgo; 4. Jim Murray; 5. Dave Kindred; 6. Tom Boswell; 7. Curry Kirkpatrick; 8. Mitch Albom; 9. John Crittenden; 10. Frank Deford. Confession No. 6: We shouldn’t hold onto grudges unless it’s the University of Georgia we’re talking about I was there at the Gator Bowl November 9, 1968, freezing cold, soaking wet and miserable when Vince Dooley called time out in the last minute. The score was already 48-0. The Gators hadn’t crossed midfield in the second half. One of Vince’s scrubeenies asked if he could kick a field goal so he sent him in, the field goal was good and the final score was 51-0. I was also there October 27, 2007 when Mark Richt let his players storm the field. Lest we forget, Vince led the charge to strip the Gators of the 1984 SEC title and prevent UF from winning the SEC in 1990. I do not believe in holding grudges, but I make an exception for Georgia. I’m an SEC guy all the way. Whenever an SEC team plays a team from another conference in any sport, I hope they win, but not Georgia. The only reason a Gator should ever wish for Georgia to win is if Georgia winning helps the Gators win a championship. Otherwise, I hope Georgia is beaten so badly the powers that be in Athens consider the possibility of defunding that sport. Confession No. 7: I’ve eaten just about everything but sauerkraut makes me gag I’ve traveled to 62 different countries and lived in several. I have this standard rule, don’t ask what we’re eating until after dinner. You name it, I’ve probably eaten it with one exception. Sauerkraut. In the fifth and sixth grades at Lake Mary Elementary, sauerkraut and weenies were served every other Thursday. Fortunately, Jimmy Best’s mom was a war bride from Germany. He thought this was gourmet eating. So, his mom made sandwiches for two or three of us and he traded them for our sauerkraut and weenies. In the years since, dozens of people have tried their best to disguise sauerkraut in a new recipe but an inch from my nose the smell hits me and I gag. When I lived in Germany they thought I was very strange that sauerkraut couldn’t pass the smell test. It’s strange that kimchi doesn’t faze me. Confession No. 8: My favorite Steve Spurrier quote “I forgot to get fired and I’m not gonna cheat. That’s the way you lose your job. You get fired for losing or you cheat.” My second favorite Spurrier quote was when he was told a library at Auburn had caught fire and more than 20 books were destroyed in the blaze: “The real tragedy was that 15 hadn’t been colored in yet.”

If Dawgs’ schedule downgrades them, will it help or hurt the Gators? Kirby Smart is going to walk into that Tampa Marriott ballroom on Tuesday, July 21, wearing his championship rings and his game face and somewhere between the third and fourth question about Gunner Stockton, somebody’s going to ask him the one that’s been gnawing at Bulldog Nation all summer: “Georgia, why does your schedule read like a cakewalk?” Because here’s the deal, folks. ESPN’s Football Power Index has the Dawgs locked in at No. 5 nationally to open the year — behind only Ohio State, Texas, Notre Dame and Oregon — with a 22.9% shot at the SEC, a 63.7% shot at the Playoff, and a 9% shot at the whole shebang, the national title (247Sports). That’s rarefied air for a program that’s now won back-to-back SEC titles and made four of the last five Playoffs — the only team in the sport that can say that. But there’s that asterisk hanging over Athens like a summer thunderstorm, and it’s this: Georgia’s strength of schedule ranks a modest 20th nationally — dead last among the 16 SEC schools. That’s the part I ponder as we roll into Talkin’ Season and the buzz amps up in Gainesville. Jon Sumrall, who appears on Wednesday, announced he is bringing Jadan Baugh, Myles Graham and Vernell Brown III. There appears to be an increasingly group of experts hopping on the Jon Sumrall bandwagon — among them former Gator coach Urban Meyer. In his recent podcast “Triple Option,” asked to name the top five coaches he was excited to watch in 2026 listed Kyle Whittingham, Michigan Jon Sumrall, Florida Lane Kiffin, LSU Matt Campbell, Penn State Curt Cignetti, Indiana Media Days voters don’t just hand out trophies for talent — they factor in the gauntlet. And Georgia’s gauntlet, this go-round, is missing some teeth. Yes, they still tangle with No. 8 Alabama, No. 12 Oklahoma and No. 14 Ole Miss, and yes, the annual blood feud with Florida in Atlanta on Oct. 31 is still circled in red. But there’s no LSU on this slate, no true road test that scares you the way Georgia’s gauntlets used to. So will the media downgrade the Dawgs when they gather in Tampa? A little — and it’s already starting. Texas, riding Arch Manning’s Heisman buzz, has edged ahead of Georgia in the SEC championship odds board and last year’s preseason media poll already had Texas topping Georgia 96 votes to 44 for the crown. Kirby himself sees the writing on the wall — he told Paul Finebaum back in April, half-exasperated, “Apparently all we can do is win the SEC championship right now, so that’s not good enough.” That’s a program being punished for its own excellence, and a coach who knows it. Now — is a slightly humbled Georgia good news or bad news for the Gators? It’s both, and that’s what makes this profession fun. Good news first: Every ounce of preseason oxygen that gets sucked toward Austin and Columbus is oxygen that isn’t suffocating Jon Sumrall on Wednesday, July 22, the very next day at that same Tampa podium. Nobody’s grilling a first-year Gator coach about national title odds when Texas and Georgia are hogging the marquee. That means there’s room to build, quietly, the Sumrall way — no days off, no excuses. And there’s real substance behind that. Florida’s own strength of schedule has actually improved to 28th nationally — no LSU for the first time since 1970, and the brutal in-state trips to Miami and USF swapped for FAU and Campbell. ESPN’s SP+ projects an 11.4-point jump for Florida, from 3.5 to 14.9 — the fifth-best improvement in the country. Jadan Baugh’s back after the seventh-best rushing season in school history. There’s a case building in the Swamp, even if the world isn’t watching it yet. Here’s the bad news, though: A Georgia team that senses even a whiff of disrespect is the most dangerous animal in this conference. Kirby has turned “chip on the shoulder” into a coaching philosophy, and a team that returns 14 starters, quarterback Gunner Stockton and safety KJ Bolden isn’t going to play like a No. 5-ranked afterthought — they’re going to play like they’ve got something to prove, which usually ends with somebody else’s season getting wrecked in Atlanta on Halloween weekend. And by the way, Florida’s own path is no picnic regardless of what the pundits say about Georgia’s — one composite ranking actually has the Gators’ 2026 slate as the fourth-toughest in the SEC, tougher than Georgia’s, Alabama’s or Vanderbilt’s. So when the cameras swing to Kirby on Tuesday and to Sumrall on Wednesday in Tampa, don’t expect a full-blown Georgia dethroning. Expect a proud program getting needled about an easy September, a coach who’ll bristle right on cue, and a Gators team quietly building its case one podium appearance behind. That’s Talkin’ Season, y’all — see you in Tampa.

Steve Spurrier kicks the field goal that beat Auburn in 1966 (UF Communications photo) Since we are 59 days from the Gators first football game of the Jon Sumrall era and there is no live action involving the Gators, it’s a good time to make a couple of lists. There will be more in the days ahead as we plod on until SEC Media Days begin in Tampa on July 20. TEN UNFORGETTABLE FOOTBALL GAMES THE GATORS WON 1. Florida 18, Georgia Tech 17: My first Florida football game in 1960. Florida scored on a Lindy Infante run to cut the margin to 17-16 but rather than go for the tie, Ray Graves held up two fingers to go for the win. Graves was in his first year and the former defensive coordinator for Georgia Tech legend Bobby Dodd. After 10 years of Bob Woodruff mediocrity that involved punting on third down, going for two and a win was like a jolt of electricity in the crowd of 40,000-plus. Tech expected another option pitch but instead Larry Libertore shot putted a pass into the end zone, caught by fullback Jon MacBeth for the win. It was bedlam in the stands. I became a Gator for life that day. 2. Florida 30, Auburn 27: This game is remembered as the one that clinched the 1966 Heisman Trophy for Steve Spurrier. Late in the fourth quarter with the score tied at 27-27, Spurrier convinced Graves to let him try a 40-yard field goal. Convinced it was a trick play, Auburn didn’t even rush. Spurrier drilled the field goal with 2:12 remaining to win the game. The kick put Spurrier over the top in the Heisman Trophy voting. 3. Florida 59, Houston 37: On the first possession of the opening game of the 1969 season, the Gators faced third and seven from the UF 30. On a play that had been rehearsed ever since the spring, John Reaves dropped back to pass and found Carlos Alvarez streaking down the west sideline of Florida Field. What made the play work was offensive coordinator Fred Pancoast flopped the tight end to the right side and flanked Carlos out four yards wider on the left side. The Houston safeties shifted a few yards over to compensate for the tight end, leaving Carlos one-on-one with corner Johnny Peacock. Because the safeties had shifted there was no deep help for Peacock. The TDP was the first of five thrown by Reaves. Houston had been predicted No. 1 in the nation by at least one publication. For trivia buffs. The touchdown dance was invented by Houston's Elmo Wright that day. 4. Florida 25, Kentucky 17: The Gators slogan for decades was “Wait ‘til next year.” Next year became reality in 1984 when the Gators beat Kentucky in Lexington to win the SEC championship. This was Charley Pell’s team, coached by Galen Hall. Charley was fired after three games when the NCAA, in its infinite wisdom, hit UF with 109 major violations. The SEC awarded the championship to the Gators but in the spring under pressure from Georgia and Tennessee, elected to strip the title. When the plane returned from Lexington that night University Avenue was swarmed by fans. At the airport, fans had to be moved back so the plane could land. This is an injustice that should be remedied by the SEC, which never stripped Alabama’s 1992 national title or 1999 SEC title for NCAA transgressions. 5. Florida 50, Oklahoma State 7: The first game of the Steve Spurrier era began with Shane Matthews completing three straight passes for 65 yards setting up Dexter McNabb’s touchdown run. Matthews who had three attempts in his entire collegiate career up to that season opener threw for 322 yards in the first of 122 wins Spurrier would post as the HBC of the Gators. Florida went 9-2 in 1990, best record in the SEC but the Gators were denied the SEC championship by a vote of the SEC presidents led by Georgia. Imagine that. 5. Florida 14, Florida State 9: This 1991 clash us probably the greatest defensive struggle in the history of Florida Field saw the Gators escape with a win when Will White batted away Casey Weldon’s pass in the end zone with less than two minutes remaining. What proved to be the game-winning touchdown came in the third quarter when Matthews and Harrison Houston connected on a 72-yard touchdown pass. Houston outleaped an FSU defender for the ball at the FSU 27. The defender fell to the ground while Houston landed on his feet and ran to the endzone untouched. 6. Florida 35, Kentucky 26: The first SEC championship that wasn’t taken away from the Gators came in 1991 in Lexington. A week after the win over FSU, Florida bolted out to a 28-6 lead then cruised home with the win that clinched the title and sent the Gators to the Sugar Bowl. 7. Florida 52, Florida State 20: When Ohio State beat previously unbeaten Arizona State in the Rose Bowl, the Sugar Bowl rematch of Florida-FSU became the 1996 national championship game. When FSU beat the Gators in the regular season, the difference was the Seminoles relentless pass rush. In the Sugar Bowl game, the rush was neutralized because Spurrier went to the shotgun. With time to throw, Danny Wuerffel picked the FSU defense apart as the Gators won their first national championship. 8. Florida 41, Ohio State 14: The 1996 Ohio State Buckeyes were supposed to be invincible and it looked like it when Ted Ginn ran back the opening kickoff for a touchdown. That was the Buckeyes’ last hurrah. Florida’s defense was so good and the pass rush so strong that by the second half, Ohio State was confined to 2-man routes with everyone else in max protect mode. Derrick Harvey and Jarvis Moss combined for five sacks and the Gators held Ohio State to 82 total yards for the game. Chris Leak completed 26-37 passes against an Ohio State defense so scared of the Gators speed that the safeties played 30 yards off the ball. 9. Florida 31, Alabama 20: Alabama came into the 2006 SEC championship game unbeaten and No. 1 to face the once-beaten Gators in Atlanta. With the Gators trailing 20-17 going into the fourth quarter, Tim Tebow took the game over, leading the Gators on a 62-yard TD drive to take the lead and then finishing off a 65-yard drive with a 5-yard TDP to Riley Cooper with 2:50 left to clinch the win. Florida played the game without Percy Harvin, out with a high ankle sprain. 10. Florida 24, Oklahoma 14: Oklahoma’s point-a-minute offense and Heisman Trophy QB Sam Bradford got an introduction of what was in store on the game’s third play when Major Wright delivered a hit on a deep throw down the sideline that sent Manny Johnson into next week. Florida’s defense held Oklahoma to 14 points and 360 yards, both season lows. The Gators picked Bradford off twice, the second by Ahmad Black in the fourth quarter when the Gators held a slim 17-14 lead. Tebow took over after that, completing all six of his passes for 76 yards, the game-clinching TD coming on a 4-yard pass to David Nelson. Tebow threw for 231 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 109. Percy Harvin, playing on a gimpy ankle, ran for 122 yards and a TD, plus caught five passes for 49 yards as the Gators won their second national title in three years. MY 10 FAVORITE SPORTS MOVIES 1. Hoosiers: No matter how many times you watch it, you get to that moment when Jimmy Chitwood (played by Maris Valainis) takes and makes the last shot to give Hickory the 1954 Indiana state championship win over Muncie Central. Gene Hackman is outstanding in his role as Norman Dale, a former college basketball coach given a chance for redemption at the tiny school in southern Indiana. Based on the real-life story of Milan High School. 2. The Natural: Based on a 1952 novel Robert Redford stars in the role of Roy Hobbs, a former phenom who disappeared for 16 years after being shot while on his way to try out for the Chicago Cubs. When he resurfaces for the New York Knights he leads the team to an improbable championship. Glenn Close and Robert Duval are outstanding in supportive roles. 3. Field of Dreams: Based on the novel Shoeless Joe about Shoeless Joe Jackson and the 1919 Black Sox scandal, Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) hears voices – “If you build it, they will come” – that lead him to build turn an Iowa cornfield into a baseball field. James Earl Jones is outstanding as Terrance Mann, a reclusive and controversial author, who becomes a believer. The field from the movie actually exists and is a tourist attraction. 4. The Longest Yard (Original): Burt Reynolds as former NFL star Paul “Wrecking” Crewe who is sentenced to 18 months in prison after he drives off in his girlfriend’s sports car, leads the police on a chase and then dumps the car in the river. In prison, warden Rudolph Hazen (Eddie Albert) forces Crewe to enlist prisoners to form a team that plays a game against the guards, all of whom belong to the semi-pro team with national championship ambitions managed by Hazen. Funny scene at the game when the dance team of transvestite prisoners sings “you got to be a football hero to get along with the beautiful girls.” The chase scene was filmed in Forsythe Park in Savannah, across the street from my third floor apartment where I watched from the balcony. 5. Trouble with the Curve: Clint Eastwood starred and directed this movie about aging baseball scout Gus Lobel dealing with glaucoma, the troubled relationship he has with his daughter Mickey (Amy Adams) and an overzealous general manager who wants to get rid of him. Sent to scout high school phenom Bo Gentry (Joe Massingill), experience and he sound of the bat tell Lobel Gentry will be a bust. Daughter Mickey discovers Rigoberto Sanchez (Jay Galloway) and his wicked curve ball. In Atlanta Sanchez throws unhittable curve balls past Gentry. The GM is fired and Gus Lobel's career is saved. 6. Bull Durham: Kevin Costner as catcher Crash Davis, sent to Durham to mentor Ebby Calvin “Nuke” Laloosh (Tim Robbins). Susan Sarandon in the role of Annie Savoy is outstanding, first as the older girlfriend of Nuke LaLoosh, a naïve young pitcher with a blazing fast ball. A great scene when Crash tells an opposing hitter the pitch that's coming from Nuke Laloosh. 7. Remember the Titans: Based on the true story of the 1971 TC Williams High School state championship football team, the movie is about how racially divided Alexandria, Virginia comes together behind the football team coached by Herman Boone. TC Williams came about when all-black George Washington and all-white Hammond consolidated to form a single school. Boone got his team to erase the racial barrier to become champions. 8. Jerry Maguire: Tom Cruise as NFL agent Jerry Maguire, the movie inspired by the real life agent Leigh Steinberg. Maguire has a revelation of integrity that costs him his job as the top agent for a huge firm. His only client upon leaving is wide receiver Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr.). Ditched by his girlfriend (played by Kelly Preston), Maguire finds love and redemption through his secretary Dorothy (Renee Zellweger) and her son Ray (Jonathan Lipnicki). Two great lines: “Show me the money!” and “You had me at hello.” 9. Cinderella Man: Based on the true story of heavyweight champion Ray Braddock, who becomes a longshoreman during the depression to support his family after breaking his hand and retiring from the ring. Braddock is given a chance to return to the ring as a fill-in for another fighter. The opponent is the No. 2 heavyweight contender in the world Corn Griffin. Braddock knocks him out and after several other fights, takes on heavyweight champ Max Baer. A 10-to-1 underdog, Braddock scored one of the greatest upsets in boxing history. 10. Tin Cup: Kevin Costner as golfer Roy McAvoy, a legendary ball striker who will take risky shots when all he needs is par. Running a driving range in West Texas, McAvoy qualifies for the US Open and has a chance to win it until he reaches the last hole where he refuses to lay up. Shot after shot goes in the water blowing his chance to win the tournament but he finally holes a miraculous shot for a 12. Great line by sports psychologist turned Roy’s girlfriend Molly Griswold (Renee Russo): “It was the greatest 12 of all time. No one’s going to remember the Open 10 years from now but they’ll remember your 12.” I can relate. I hit 10 in a row into the water at Valle Del Sol in Santa Ana, Costa Rica. I had to send my caddy to the pro shop to get another sleeve of balls.

A few thoughts to jump start your Thursday morning:At Atlantic Coast Conference Media Days in Charlotte Wednesday, Ashton Daniels, whose quarterback journey has taken him from Stanford to Auburn to Florida State, said, “We’re going to get this place (FSU) back to where it needs to be. It’s just going to take time.” Time is precious and in short supply in Tallahassee where FSU has posted six losing seasons in the last eight and is 7-17 in the last two. Another losing season in 2026 and FSU might put out a Bat Signal to its alumni and boosters to hold bake sales and car washes profitable enough to raise the $51 million it will take to send HBC Mike Norvell on his way. Norvell isn’t the only coach in the country on the hot seat but the enormity of his buyout may offer a measure of protection most others lack. He’s actually a pretty good football coach but like every coach in Division I he’s under a win now or else mandate. For years there was this unwritten rule that a head coach had five years to get his program established as a consistent winner, but as coaches’ salaries continue to increase exponentially so does the demand to win now. Jon Sumrall made it perfectly clear on the day he was hired as Florida’s football coach that he understood the clock is ticking and he is expected to produce an immediate winner. Sumrall is Florida’s fifth football coach since 2011. The previous four had multi-year deals but never made it past year four before they were fired. “I respect the Florida fan base is not patient,” Sumrall said at his first UF press conference. “They want to win right now, too. You’ve got the right coach. I’m wired that way. I’m not comfortable having a plan to win in eight years. I want to win tomorrow.” Sumrall signed a six-year deal with a starting salary of $7.45 million to coach the Gators. That’s more than double what he made last year at Tulane, which won the American Conference championship and made it to the College Football Playoff. Sumrall went 12-2 his first year at Troy (2022) then followed that up with an 11-2 second season. His first year at Tulane produced a 9-5 record followed by the 11-3 mark in 2025. He’s won three conference championships (two at Troy, one at Tulane) and played for the conference championship (Tulane) the other year. Since taking the Florida job, Sumrall has been a positive, enthusiastic CEO of the Florida football program. His confidence has contagiously carried over to the Florida fan base. Just a week before Sumrall speaks at SEC Media Days in Tampa and a little more than two weeks away from the start of fall practice, there is a noticeable uptick in a fan base starved for a winner. In a little more than half a year, Sumrall has neutralized the negativity that comes from four losing seasons in the last five and six since 2013 for a program that went 33 straight years without posting a sub-.500 record. “I’m built for this job,” Sumrall said months ago. “I was made for this job. Winner’s win. I’m a winner. We’re going to win.” He is on the clock but seems unfazed by the pressure. Something about Jon Sumrall makes it easy to think his own personal coaching history is about to repeat itself. They might be scrambling for buyout money just in case at what Urban Meyer dubbed “the school out west” but if Sumrall produces a winner immediately, the $7.45 million he’s being paid will seem like a bargain. FOLLOW THE MONEY Auburn, which has moved its season-opener with Baylor to Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, has entered into a lucrative NIL agreement with the Aflac Kickoff Game. As many as 24 Auburn athletes will enter into third party deals to market and promote the game. The Peach Bowl, which is the sponsor of the game, is hoping deals like this will help convince future teams to move games to neutral sites. Beside the NIL money, Auburn will be compensated for moving a game from Jordan-Hare Stadium 108 miles up the road to Atlanta. The game will be nationally televised, which is good for Auburn’s exposure but taking the money involves a tradeoff. It’s good for Auburn’s bottom line, but local businesses that count on football weekends to stay in the black will lose a weekend of revenue and Auburn fans lose a home game. Since Jordan-Hare seats 87,000 and Mercedes-Benz Stadium seats 71,000, thousands of fans will lose an opportunity to see Auburn play in person. Weighing the adverse effect on the community and season ticket holders with its athletic department finances, Auburn AD John Cohen said, “The challenge that we have is we also have to be extremely competitive for third-party marketplace for NIL … We have to get great, quality student-athletes.” Home games have always been sacred but this is a brand new era of college sports in which athletes are paid but there is no salary cap and the guardrails currently in place are at best inadequate. To know where college sports are headed just follow the money and brace yourself. It is only a matter of time before corporate sponsorship patches make uniforms look like soccer jerseys are the norm. Imagine the Publix Gators playing the Chico’s Bailbonds Bulldogs in Jacksonville in a World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party sponsored by Grey Goose Vodka. It might happen sooner than you think. MORE LAWSUITS AHEAD FOR NCAA Earlier in the week eleven athletes from four different sports filed a class action suit against the NCAA in Federal Court in Colorado, all of them challenging the NCAA’s new 5-for-5 legislation that failed to grandfather in fourth-year seniors who are excluded from a fifth year of eligibility. More than a week ago a judge in Cincinnati granted an injunction for 16 basketball players who took the NCAA to court after being denied a waiver that would make them eligible. In a statement on behalf of the 11 in Colorado, attorney Rob Shelquest said: “These athletes aren’t asking for special treatment. They’re asking to not be singled out and excluded from the NCAA’s eligibility framework. The NCAA updated the rules but refused to apply them only to the very group that was most immediately affected. If the NCAA has determined that five years of eligibility is the fair rule for college athletes, then athletes who would still be eligible but for completing four years of eligibility should not be deprived of the same educational, athletic and NIL opportunities.” Bet the farm that this lawsuit is the tip of the proverbial iceberg. With the 2026-27 athletic year set to begin on a wholesale basis in 52 days when college football kicks off, we can expect hundreds and perhaps thousands of athletes to lawyer up to take on the NCAA for injunctive relief that overrules the 5-for-5 legislation. The NCAA, in its infinite wisdom, could look back on dozens of lost court cases and say no more. That would be the prudent and intelligent thing to do, but can anyone recall when the NCAA actually did the smart thing and compromised? It would be so simple to compromise rather than waste millions of dollars in legal fees while taking a beating in one courtroom after another. The NCAA has vowed to appeal the Ohio case and continue fighting any new cases. In its statement following the loss in Ohio, the NCAA said: “Giving those student-athletes another season would destabilize rosters just ahead of the coming season by disrupting settled expectations of countless student-athletes regarding their expected roster spots and playing time next year, including incoming freshmen who are eager to participate in the life-changing experience of college athletics.” Side note: Denzel Aberdeen is the only Gator athlete known to be considering taking on the NCAA in court. He has filed the paperwork necessary for a waiver with a decision any day now. Should the NCAA reject his waiver request, Aberdeen is prepared to take his case to the courts. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: During the past few weeks I have probably watched as many or more soccer matches than I have in my entire 74-plus years. I can’t say that seeing all these World Cup matches has changed my mind about the game – I still don’t like it nor do I anticipate a time when the game will grow on me enough to enjoy it. My reasons for disliking the game are numerous and while I don’t qualify as an expert, I’m far from a novice when it comes to understanding it. While I may find soccer rather boring, this World Cup has given me an appreciation for two things – (1) the passion of fans from all over the world who live and die with their country’s team every four years; and (2) the greatness of Lionel Messi. The World Cup is a magnet that brings in millions of fans from every corner of the globe to the country – countries in the case of the current World Cup which staged matches in Canada, Mexico and the United States – in which the spectacle unfolds over the course of several weeks. To World Cup fans, each match is a celebration in which the competition taking place on the field is matched by the competition among fans who fill the stadiums. They sing, they dance, they yell, they scream and they cry tears of joy when they win and advance to the next round, tears that represent the heartbreak of an entire country when they lose. Perhaps it is because the World Cup takes place only once every four years that it brings out such fanatic intensity from the fans. They save their money for years in advance with the hope of spending a month in a foreign country watching their national team, first in group play, then in the knockout round where it’s win and move on, lose and go home. If the fans are fortunate then they may have occasion to behold true greatness. I’ve been writing about sports professionally for more than 60 years. Experience has taught me to recognize greatness when I see it no matter the sport. When it comes to soccer or any sport, Lionel Messi has an it factor that is off the charts. Whatever it is, Messi has it in abundance. He’s not very big (5-7) and not very fast, probably because at 39 his illustrious career is winding down. Physically he looks quite ordinary but watching him play is the soccer equivalent of watching Michelangelo paint the ceiling on the Sistine Chapel. He is a soccer savant. Wednesday in Atlanta in Argentina’s World Cup semifinal win over England, Messi was denied scoring opportunities by an English defense determined that if it lost, it wouldn’t be because Messi found the back of the net with his foot. No problem. Messi showed he is every bit as adept passing the ball as he is scoring goals. In the last five minutes of regulation he assisted with a corner kick, then in extra time delivered a spectacular pass that found the head of a teammate, who knocked the ball past the English goalie for the game-winner. Truly great players in any sport save their best for the games and moments that mean the most and Messi delivered, practically willing Argentina to the World Cup championship match against Spain Sunday. The match with Spain will probably be the final time we see Messi in the World Cup. I haven’t a favorite team for this championship match, but I do have a favorite player. If this is the last time I’ll see Messi in a World Cup match, then I watch, hoping he goes out in a blaze of glory, leaving one last indelible mark on the game.

Photo Courtesy UAA It all didn’t just fall off the turnip truck. Bell ran the turnip empire down in Tuscaloosa, where “excellence” isn’t a goal, it’s a floor. By BUDDY MARTIN GatorBaitMedia.com So let me get this straight, Gator Nation: After a presidential carousel that spun faster than a lane runner on a zone read — Fuchs, Sasse, Fuchs again, Landry, Ono-gone — the University of Florida finally landed a steady hand. And not just any hand. A national-championship hand. Dr. Stuart Bell didn’t just fall off the turnip truck. He ran the turnip empire down in Tuscaloosa, where “excellence” isn’t a goal, it’s a floor. Let’s talk about what Bell did at Alabama, because Gator fans need to understand exactly who just walked into Tigert Hall. During his decade as president of the University of Alabama, Bell oversaw one of the most dominant athletic eras in the modern history of college sports. We’re talking Nick Saban’s machine humming at full throttle — multiple football national championships, a men’s basketball program that finally broke through under Nate Oats, softball titles, gymnastics dynasties. Alabama didn’t just win under Bell. It expected to win, every year, in everything. Saban has since admitted he wasn’t sure he was going to retire from Alabama right up to the beginning of the press conference – he was very happy. One reason was because his every need was looked after by Bell. That winning culture doesn’t happen by accident. It happens when the president understands that athletics is the front porch of a flagship university — and that a championship front porch sells everything behind it. Now he’s bringing that Tuscaloosa standard to Gainesville. In his first statement since being appointed UF’s 14th president, Bell said he’s preparing to “take the state’s flagship university to new heights.” He laid out a 100-day plan to fill vacant leadership and listen to campus stakeholders. And he set the bar where Gator fans want it — Top 3, not just Top 5. “My vision for UF,” he told the Board of Trustees, “is to be a Top 3 public university in the nation.” Read between the lines, sports fans. A president who chases Top 3 in academics is a president who will not be satisfied with “pretty good” on the field, either. Here’s the part that should make every Gator fan sit up a little straighter in the stands: Bell genuinely believes UF is “uniquely positioned to be consistently recognized as one of the top five public universities in the country.” He said it himself. He sees the runway. He sees the resources. He sees a university that has everything it needs to soar — if leadership gets out of the way and lets it happen. Sound familiar? It should. That’s exactly the formula that turned Alabama into a monster. Hire great people, give them what they need, and raise the expectations until anything short of a title feels like a disappointment. Florida athletics is already sitting on a gold mine. Jon Summral’s football program is building. Todd Golden has basketball relevant nationally again. The women’s programs are championship-grade. The facilities are world-class. The recruiting footprint is one of the best in America. What Florida has lacked, at times, is the kind of clear-eyed, championship-savvy presidential leadership that treats winning as a feature, not a bug. Enter Bell. The man who helped keep Saban happy, funded and firing on all cylinders. Now, I’m not naive. There’s political weather here — the DEI debates, the Board of Governors, the pledges to the Legislature. Bell sailed through confirmation by promising to be “aggressive” and “unapologetic” and to keep ideology out of the classroom. That’s the price of admission in this state right now, and Bell paid it. But none of that touches the part Gator fans care about most: Does this president get it? Does he understand that on a fall Saturday in the Swamp, the whole university — the rankings, the research dollars, the reputation — rides along with every snap? If his Alabama résumé means anything, the answer is yes. Bell wrote that UF’s greatest strength “has always been its people,” and that he wants a strategic plan that’s “practical, focused and ambitious.” You know what else is practical, focused and ambitious? A national championship athletic department. Bell knows what one looks like. He’s already built one. The Gators have wandered through a presidential wilderness for a few years now. Sasse downplayed the rankings, and Florida slipped out of the Top 5. The Ono saga left everybody dizzy. The interim years felt like holding pattern. But look up, Florida. The clouds are parting. You just hired a president who has rings, proffered by The Lord Of The Rings, who knows how championship cultures are built — from the engineering dean’s office all the way down to the locker room. A little bit, but that’s the only thing that’s the only place that I can see who believes, out loud and on the record, that Florida belongs at the very top and is “uniquely positioned” to get there. Top 3 in academics. Top 5 in everything. And if history is any guide, a whole lot of trophies along the way. The Swamp’s about to get deeper. And Gator Nation, I’ve got a feeling the water’s just fine. --- Buddy Martin is a longtime sports columnist and observer of all things SEC. He’s been watching Florida athletics long enough to know a good hire when he sees one — and this one smells like a championship.

(Photo by Chris Spears) It’s Florida and then there is everybody else. That’s the mid-summer assessment for basketball in the Southeastern Conference. With nearly every roster complete, the Gators have five experienced starters ready to go for the 2026-27 season and more experienced, quality depth than any team in the country. Todd Golden has assembled a roster capable of playing any style and withstanding a bad day at the office by a whistle-happy zebra crew. ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi already has the Gators as the national No. 1 seed. Lunardi predicts 12 of the 16 SEC teams will make the NCAA Tournament, but only the Gators and Texas (No. 3) are current top four seeds. Here is a team-by-team mid-summer look at Southeastern Conference basketball: FLORIDA Last year: No. 9 final ranking, No. 1 NCAA seed, lost second round Too early ranking for 2026-27: 1 ESPN; 1 Sports Illustrated; 1 CBS; 2 The Athletic Joe Lunardi bracketology for 2026-27: No. 1 East Probable starters: Tommy Haugh (6-9, 215, SR); Alex Condon (6-11, 236, SR); Rueben Chinyelu (6-10, 260, SR); Boogie Fland (6-3, 185, JR); Denzel Aberdeen (6-5, 195, SR) Todd Golden has the nation’s deepest and most experienced roster. The only question at mid-summer is who will make Denzel Aberdeen eligible – the NCAA or the courts? Bet the farm that if the NCAA denies his waiver request for a fifth year he will win in court. The Gators have the nation’s best front court in Tommy Haugh (second team All-America), Alex Condon (second team All-SEC) and Rueben Chinyelu (national defensive player of the year), a very capable backcourt duo in Aberdeen and Boogie Fland, and depth everywhere. To solidify his front line, Golden brought in internationals Domen Petrovic (from Slovenia) and Alex Butajevas (from Lithuania) to go with veteran Viktor Mikic and incoming freshman Jones Lay. In the backcourt, SEC Sixth Man of the Year Urban Klavzar is an elite shooter. The Brown brothers (Isaiah and AJ) and last year’s freshmen CJ Ingram and Alex Lloyd will mean little, if any, dropoff on the perimeter when Golden goes to the bench. The roster Tommy Haugh (6-9, 215, SR); Alex Condon (6-11, 236, SR); Rueben Chinyelu (6-10, 260, SR); Denzel Aberdeen (6-5, 195, SR); Urban Klavzar (6-1, 195, SR); AJ Brown (6-4, 210, RSR); Domen Petrovic (6-9, 220, SR); Alex Kovatchev (6-5, 195, RJR); Boogie Fland (6-3, 185, JR); Isaiah Brown (6-5, 210, JR); Viktor Mikic (6-11, 260, JR); CJ Ingram (6-7, 210, SO); Alex Lloyd (6-3, 185, SO); Alex Butajevas (6-10, 220, FR); Jones Lay (7-0, 240, FR) Too early predictions: The Gators are head and shoulders better than any team in the country. THE REST OF THE SEC ALABAMA Last year: 25-10; No. 16; lost NCAA Sweet 16 Too early rankings for 2026-27: 15 ESPN; 17 Sports Illustrated; 19 CBS Joe Lunardi bracketology for 2026-27: No. 3 Midwest Nate Oats has one returning starter (Amari Allen) and hope that Aden Holloway will be eligible after his lawyers maneuver through the legal process. Holloway is the bomber on the perimeter to make Oats 3-pointers or layups offensive strategy work. Allen was a late NBA Draft dropout who could become a lottery pick. Freshman Jaxon Robinson should start. Big teams have given Bama problems, so Oats went heavy into the portal for size, landing Brandon Garrison (6-10, 240) from Kentucky and Drew Fielder (6-11, 225) from Boise State. Probable starters: Aden Holloway (6-1, 180, SR); Jaxon Richardson (6-6, 205, FR); Amari Allen (6-6, 190, SO); Brandon Garrison (6-10, 240, SR); Drew Fielder (6-11, 225, SR) ARKANSAS Last year: No. 13; lost NCAA Sweet 16 Too early rankings for 2026-27: 11 ESPN; 14 Sports Illustrated; 10 CBS; 9 The Athletic Joe Lunardi bracketology for 2026-27: No. 3 West Billy Richmond III is the only returning starter but he’s versatile enough to play three positions effectively. From the portal John Calipari landed a scorer in Jeremiah Wilkinson (from Georgia) and an experienced inside guy in Cooper Bowser (6-11, from Furman). Freshmen will play a prominent role, especially 5-star big Miika Muurinen, a 7-footer from Europe with serious offensive skills, and Jordan Smith, another 5-star with explosive offensive skills. Another 5-star freshman to watch is JJ Andrews. Probable starters: Billy Richmond III (6-5, 205, JR); Jeremiah Wilkinson (6-1, 185, JR); Cooper Bowser (6-11, 220, SR); Miika Muurinen (7-0, 223, FR); Jordan Smith (6-2, 200, FR) Too early predictions: Third year in Fayette-Nam for John Calipari. Lots of young guys who are talented. Wilkinson has to score and Muurinen has to be as good as advertised. Top four in the SEC. AUBURN Last year: 22-16; NIT champions Joe Lunardi bracketology for 2026-27: No. 8 South The Tigers went on a tear to win the NIT but that didn’t stop a wholesale evacuation. Steven Pearl kept his experienced backcourt in Kevin Overton and Tahaad Pettiford. Pearl went international to bring in Mantas Rubstavicius, a Lithuanian and 7-year pro (23 years old) and French pro Narcisse N’Goy, a dominant rebounder. Troy transfer Thomas Dowd averaged a double-double. Probable starters: Kevin Overton (6-5, 180, SR); Tahaad Pettiford (6-1, 175, JR); Mantas Rubstavicius (6-6, 190, SR); Narcisse N’Goy (7-0, 220, SR); Thomas Dowd (6-8, 220, SR) Too early predictions: If N’Goy and Rustavicius are eligible, the Tigers will be very good. Middle of the SEC pack. GEORGIA Last year: 22-11; lost NCAA first round Joe Lunardi bracketology for 2026-27: No. 8 Midwest Mike White might have had a contender until eight players transferred out including Jeremiah Wilkinson and big guy Somto Cyril. Kanon Catchings, who came on strong in the last half of the season, will be the go-to guy. Penn State transfer Freddie Dilione was a solid pickup who will start on the wing. Not much in the way of size or depth. Probable starters: Blue Cain (6-5, 190, SR); Marcus Millender (5-11, 180, SR); Freddie Dilione (6-5, 195, RSR); Kanon Catchings (6-9, 190, JR); David Ugonna Ike (7-0, 235, FR) Too early predictions: The starting five will have to come up big for Georgia to finish top half of the SEC. Typical Mike White team that will win some it shouldn’t and lose some that would be won. KENTUCKY Last year: 22-14; lost NCAA second round Too early ranking for 2026-27: 17 ESPN; 23 Sports Illustrated; 16 CBS; 20 The Athletic Joe Lunardi bracketology for 2026-27: No. 5 Midwest Kentucky spent a ton of money and continues to make huge cash offers to any good player who will listen. Mark Pope spent freely to keep Malachi Moreno from staying in the NBA Draft, even more to land international Ousman N’Diyae and bank-breaking amounts to land transfer Milan Momcilovic, an unconscious bomber from Iowa State. If they mesh and make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament, Pope’s job is safe. If the Cats post another 10-loss (or more) season, then Pope’s time in the unemployment line will be soothed by a rather hefty buyout. Probable starters: Zoom Diallo (6-6, 195, JR); Alex Wilkins (6-6, 170, SO); Milan Momcilovic (6-8, 220, SR); Ousmane N’Diaye (6-11, 220, SR); Malachi Moreno (7-0, 250, SO) Too early predictions: The Wildcats could be good if Pope can get everyone on the same page. Top five SEC. LSU Last year: 15-17 Will Wade’s roster is a work in progress. Israeli point guard Yam Madar has been ruled ineligible. RJ Luis, a former St. John’s star with three years of college basketball and two years in the G-League, is waiting an eligibility decision as is eight-year Euro pro Brice Dessert. There are no returning starters, a bunch of transfers and only one incoming freshman. Plus, North Carolina State is investigating LSU for tampering in the way it hired Wade. This is an ongoing saga, the end of which we won’t know for awhile. Probable starters: Austin Nunez (6-2, 170, SR); Mouhamed Dioubate (6-7, 220, SR); Abdi Bashir (6-7, 175, SR); Marcio Santos (6-9, 250, SR); Michael Ruzic (6-10, 220, FR) Too early prediction: A lot of controversy and questions about the roster. Somewhere between 11 and 14 in the SEC. MISSISSIPPI STATE Last year: 13-19 The only returning starter is Josh Hubbard, back for his senior season after averaging 22.1 per game last season. He is 53 points away from 2,000 for his career. HBC Chris Jans had to dip heavily into the portal after the departure of 10 players. Kennesaw State transfer RJ Johnson is physically strong enough to play the three while Seton Hall transfer Tajuan Simpkins will occupy a spot on the perimeter. There isn’t much in the way of size or experience in the paint so Washington State transfer ND Okafor is going to have to stay out of foul trouble. Probable starters: Josh Hubbard (6-0, 190, SR); RJ Johnson (6-4, 225, RJR); Tajuan Simpkins (6-5, 185, SR); Thomas Bassong (6-8, 230, SO); ND Okafor (6-9, 235, RSR) Too early predictions: Bottom feeder MISSOURI Last year: 20-13; lost NCAA first round Too early ranking for 2026-27: 21 ESPN Joe Lunardi bracketology for 2026-27: No. 8 West Dennis Gates lost four starters, returning only forward Trent Pierce. In typical Gates fashion he didn’t go after superstars in the portal but found solid players who score, share the ball and play very good defense. Kansas transfer Bryson Tiller is an outstanding post defender and rebounder. Freshman point guard Jason Crowe will be the key. If he can get the ball to shooters Jordan Crawford and Cord Stansbury, Mizzou will be a tough out. Probable starters: Jordan Crawford (6-3, 183, SR); Cord Stansbury (6-4, 180, SR); Jason Crowe (6-3, 170, FR); Trent Pierce (6-10, 210, SR); Bryson Tiller (6-11, 245, SO) Too early predictions: Middle of the pack in the SEC, but extremely tough to beat at home. OKLAHOMA Last year: 21-16; lost NIT quarterfinals Joe Lunardi bracketology for 2026-27: No. 11 West Porter Moser’s job security is shaky. Joe Castiglione has retired and the new AD may not be happy with another NIT trip. Oklahoma returns two starters from last year’s team which had to get hot late to even make the NIT. Xzayvier Brown can light it up when he gets hot and Derrion Reed is solid at both ends of the floor. The key to success might hinge on the NCAA ruling former Australian pro and 2-year G-League vet Akoldah Gak eligible. He’s the best of the incoming bigs. Probable starters: Xzayvier Brown (6-2, 167, SR); Dalton Forsythe (6-2, 187, JR); Tyler Hendricks (6-6, 180, RSR); Derrion Reed (6-8, 226, JR); Akoldah Gak (6-11, 240, SR) Too early predictions: Somewhere between seven and nine SEC wins. OLE MISS Last year: 15-20 Chris Beard lost 12 scholarship players to the portal so it is a massive rebuild. Guards Ilias Kamardine and Patton Pinkins return. Everybody else is a newbie. Ole Miss landed Australian Ben Henshall, an outstanding outside shooter who has played three seasons of pro ball in the Australian Basketball League and several small forward types in the portal. Size is going to be an issue. The only bigs the Rebels landed were 6-11 Arizona State transfer Santiago Trouet and redshirt freshman Stefan Cicic, a 7-footer from Pepperdine. Probable starters: Ilias Kamardine (6-5, 185, SR); Patton Pinkins (6-5, 200, SO); Ben Henshall (6-5, 200, SR); Christian Brown (6-8, 236, SO); Santiago Trouet (6-11, 220, SR) Too early predictions: It’s going to be a long season. SOUTH CAROLINA Last year: 13-19 Lamont Paris got another year, but another losing season likely gets him the boot. Only two scrubs off last year’s team return. Paris picked up a couple of double figures scorers from the portal in Kory Mincy (from George Mason) and Shane Blakeney (from Drexel) but neither has the firepower to replace Meechie Johnson. Texas transfer Camden Heide will start. Paris signed three international bigs, none of whom are overwhelmingly talented. Probable starters: Kory Mincy (6-2, 185, SR); Shane Blakeney (6-5, 197, RSR); Camden Heide (6-7, 205, SR); Jakub Necas (6-11, 240, SR); Juan Fernandez (6-11, 220, SR) Too early predictions: Last year’s 13 wins might seem like a monumental task to surpass. TENNESSEE Last year: 25-12; No. 12; lost NCAA Elite Eight Too early ranking for 2026-27: 6 ESPN; 12 Sports Illustrated; 15 CBS; 15 The Athletic Joe Lunardi bracketology for 2026-27: No. 5 South Rick Barnes is pushing 72 years old and he has yet to take the Vols to a Final Four. He’s tried to do it for years with defense but seems to have reversed course in the offseason by bringing in seven proven scorers from the portal including Juke Harris, who averaged 21.4 at Wake Forest, and Jalen Haralson, a 16.2 scorer as a true freshman at Notre Dame. Rick is aware that his last rodeo isn’t far down the road, so he’s rolled the dice by going heavy into the portal. Probable starters: Dai Dai Ames (6-2, 190, SR); Terrence Hill (6-3, 190, JR); Juke Harris (6-7, 200, JR); Miles Rubin (6-10, 220, SR); Jalen Haralson (6-7, 200, SO) Too early predictions: Lots of people who can put it in the basket, but can they rebound and play defense? Sweet 16, maybe Elite Eight. TEXAS Last year: 21-15; lost NCAA Elite Eight Too early ranking for 2026-27: 9 ESPN; 5 Sports Illustrated; 5 CBS; 7 The Athletic Joe Lunardi bracketology for 2026-27: No. 2 South Florida is the only team in the SEC with more talent than Texas. Marcus Spears Jr., who would have been the No. 1 high school recruit in the country next year, has reclassified to form what should be a dominant front line with Matas Vokietaitis and TCU transfer David Punch. Can transfer guards Isaiah Johnson and Mikey Lewis not only co-exist but thrive in the backcourt? Probable starters: Isaiah Johnson (6-1, 170, SO); Mikey Lewis (6-3, 185, JR); Matas Vokietaitis (7-0, 255, JR); David Punch (6-7, 240, JR); Marcus Spears Jr. (6-9, 210, FR) Too early predictions: The talent is there but is the chemistry? If Miller can get these guys to share the basketball they could make the Elite Eight or higher. TEXAS A&M Last year: 22-12; lost NCAA second round Joe Lunardi bracketology for 2026-27: No. 9 East Bucky McMillan brings back only one starter (McKenzie Mgbako) but he added serious scoring in G-League star Bryson Warren (19.8 per game) and second team All-American PJ Haggerty, who averaged 23.4 per game at Kansas State. They will fit well in McMillan’s first guy with an open shot launches offense. If the Aggies can rebound they are good for 20 wins. Probable starters: Tyshawn Archie (6-1, 175, SR); Bryson Warren (6-3, 191, SR); PJ Haggerty (6-3, 192, SR); Cade Phillips (6-9, 212, SR); McKenzie Mgbako (6-9, 220, RSR) Too early predictions: Middle of the pack in the SEC, tough to beat in Aggieland. VANDERBILT Last year: 27-9; lost NCAA second round Too early ranking for 2026-27: 19 ESPN; 13 Sports Illustrated; 25 The Athletic Joe Lunardi bracketology for 2026-27: No. 6 East The return of All-SEC Tyler Tanner (19.5 points, 3.6 rebounds, 5.1 assists) was huge for Mike Byington, who found four new starters in the portal including combo guard Ace Glass (Washington State), who’s in range when he gets off the bus. Byington got an outstanding defender in Mizzou transfer T.O. Barrett and picked up size in Bangot Dok (Colorado) and Berke Buyuktuncel (Nebraska). Depth, which was a strength a year ago, could be a problem. Probable starters: Tyler Tanner (6-0, 170, JR); T.O. Barrett (6-4, 200, JR); Ace Glass (6-3, 185, SO); Bangot Dok (7-0, 210, SR); Berke Buyuktuncel (6-11, 240, SR) Too early predictions: The Commodores will win between 20-23 regular season games, in part because Memorial Gym is one of the toughest places to play in college basketball.

"Just as importantly, I am going to spend a great deal of time listening. I want to hear from our students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends. I want to know what you think we do well, where you believe we can improve, and what ideas you have for helping UF continue to grow and lead.” — Dr. Stuart Bell, in his first statement as president. The historical case against it is thin. And I categorically reject the notion that a cheer born on a football field in Gainesville was somehow secretly channeling a disputed, century-old rumor about alligator hunting There are symbols of our past that are painful and haunting — the kind that trigger a memory of something horrific that may or may not have actually happened. But eventually, we find a way to move on. We have to. That's how healing works. I was raised as a son of the South, where we've mastered the art of moving on — where we learned to drink in the fragrance of magnolias to offset the stench of burnt homesteads and destroyed lives. Ancient history, you say? I can recall the stories my grandmother told me, stories her own grandparents told her, about Sherman marching through the South, torching houses and villages and farms, leaving families and homes in heaps of rubble. Even some of my own blood felt that pain. These aren't wives' tales. They're eyewitness testimony, handed down through generations. Plenty of people stayed bitter about that for a long, long time — understandably so, since they were done in by their own countrymen. To this day, some folks still cling to those nightmarish memories. Most believe the war was about slavery. I've heard strong arguments it was as much an economic grab dressed up in territorial ambition. Doesn't much matter which. What matters is we've learned that sometimes the best thing you can do with your mistakes is learn from them, turn the page and move on. And if we can take our darkest chapters — our Civil War, our ugliest secrets — and find a way to set them down, surely we can do the same with a slang term that got swept up in an ugly, reinterpreted history it may never have actually belonged to. Which brings me to the conundrum of "Gator Bait." Once upon a time, it was the most beloved cheer in The Swamp — a call-and-response war chant that rattled visiting teams and rallied the home crowd. Then, in June 2020, University of Florida President Kent Fuchs put it in mothballs, citing "horrific historic racist imagery associated with the phrase" even while admitting he knew of "no evidence of racism associated with our 'Gator Bait' cheer at UF sporting events." Read that again. The university banned its own cheer while conceding it found no proof the cheer itself was ever used with racist intent. That's not evidence. That's an abundance of caution steamrolling a tradition. War chants have been around as long as men have gathered in groups to compete. The most successful and globally recognized one, the Maori Haka, "originated as a fierce physical challenge and battle cry to intimidate enemies," historically performed "to invoke the favor of the gods before combat." Today it remains legendary for "building deep unity and projecting raw, unbreakable strength." 
 Here's what actually gets lost in the rush to bury Gator Bait: The historical case against it is thin. As one summary of the record puts it, "the supposed actual use of black children as bait in alligator hunting is repeatedly mentioned in primary sources, especially newspaper and magazine articles published between the 1880s and 1920s. But since most of them are vague and possibly jocular, their reliability is disputed. Historians and fact-checking website Snopes found no solid evidence that the practice was real, dismissing these accounts as rumors or racist tall tales." Other researchers push back, arguing the sheer volume of these old accounts, plus specific details in some of them, means they "cannot be summarily dismissed as fabricated," and that some may reflect a real — though likely not widespread — practice. Read carefully, that's a historian's shrug, not a smoking gun. And I categorically reject the notion that a cheer born on a football field in Gainesville was somehow secretly channeling a disputed, century-old rumor about alligator hunting. Our GatorBait chant was about intimidating Georgia and Tennessee, not about anything else. It grew out of pride in a mascot, not malice toward anybody. I think I've finally found the right name for what happened to "GatorBait." Linguists call them contranyms, or auto-antonyms — words that flip into their own opposite over time. "Awful" is the textbook case. In the 1300s it meant "worthy of awe," something that inspired reverence and wonder. By the Victorian era, it had curdled into meaning something terrible. Same word, opposite meaning, centuries apart. There are plenty of others. "Terrific" used to mean terrifying, causing fear — now it means excellent. "Nice" was once an insult meaning foolish or ignorant — now it's a compliment. "Literally" used to mean strictly true, without exaggeration — now half the country uses it as an intensifier while exaggerating wildly. Words get repurposed, reclaimed, and flat-out reversed all the time, and we don't set fire to the language every time it happens. Stephen A. Smith built a whole broadcasting persona on saying a guy is "a baaad man" as the highest compliment in sports. Bad, in that case, means good. Nobody's confused. Context tells you everything. So here's my pitch: Reject the racist interpretation, because the evidence for it never held up. Reclaim "GatorBait" as exactly what it always was on Saturdays in The Swamp — a battle cry, a piece of our history, a chant that belongs to Gator Nation and nobody else's grievance. I'm counting on the leadership of new UF President Dr. Stuart Bell, confirmed by the Florida Board of Governors on July 1 after a two-year search that finally gave the university a permanent hand on the wheel. Word around Gainesville is he's a very baaad man. And it was reassuring to see him show up and ask for input already on Monday. That’s what stabdup guys do right away. Bring back the chant, Doc. Let 'em hear it echo off the upper deck in The Swamp one more time. We buried a lot in this country because it was easier than fighting about it. Sometimes that's the wise move. But sometimes turning the page means having the nerve to write a new chapter instead of leaving the page blank.

(Photo by Chris Spears) A few thoughts to jump start your Monday morning: “I win. Google it.” Those are the words of Curt Cignetti, whose two seasons as the head coach at Indiana have produced 27 wins, two losses and the 2025 national championship. Cignetti doesn’t do it with magic woofie dust. He wins, in large part because he dominates on the money down. Win on third down consistently and it tends to show in the won-lost record. Cignetti and Indiana went 16-0 last year, converting a national best 56.5 percent on third down. The Hoosiers’ defense consistently got the ball back for the offense by holding opponents to 30.1 percent of their third down conversions. Third down conversions keep the chains moving and the clock ticking. Indiana was tenth nationally in time of possession. The Hoosiers held the ball a full five minutes longer than opponents. When Indiana went 11-2 in 2024 the Hoosiers converted 47.22 percent of its offensive third downs (13th nationally) and allowed 32.74 third down conversions on defense (15th nationally). Indiana serves as a barometer for what Jon Sumrall and the Gators hope to do on both sides of the ball: Move the chains, control the clock which keeps the defense off the field and get third down stops to get the offense back on the field. In the four years prior to Sumrall taking the Florida job, the Gators struggled on both sides of the ball when it came to third down. The 2022 Gators converted 40.48 percent of their third downs, seventh in the Southeastern Conference and best of the four years Billy Napier was head coach. On the other side of the ball, the Gators were dead last on third down, allowing 49.71 percent conversions, which ranked 129th nationally, second from the bottom nationally. In the games the Gators lost they converted 39-104 on third down (37.5 percent) and allowed 46-88 third down conversions (52.27 percent). Here are the numbers and both the SEC and national ranking for third down conversions on both sides of the ball for the Gators from 2023-25: 2023 (5-7 record): Offense converted 36.91 percent on third down (10th SEC, 86th national); defense allowed 35.62 percent conversions (6th SEC, 36th national). In the games the Gators lost they converted 36-93 (37.7 percent) offensively and allowed 33-88 (37.5 percent) conversions on third down. 2024 (8-5): Offense converted 37.89 percent on third down (13th SEC, 92nd national); defense allowed 39.67 percent conversions (11th SEC, 75th national). In the games the Gators lost they converted 17-63 third downs (26.98 percent) and allowed 23-60 (38.3 percent) third down conversions. 2025 (4-8): Offense converted 34.21 percent on third down (15th SEC, 116th national); defense allowed 44.38 percent conversions (15th SEC, 119th national). In the games the Gators lost they converted 28-100 (28 percent) on third down while allowing 57-119 (47.89 percent) third down conversions. Four seasons, three losing records and poor performance on third down whether on offense or defense. The money down stats don’t lie. Sumrall went 20-8 in two seasons at Tulane, taking the Green Wave to the American Conference championship game in 2024 (9-5 record) and then winning the league while earning a berth in the College Football Playoff last year (11-3 record). The 2024 Green Wave converted 50.29 percent of its third downs (4th nationally) and held opponents to 32.95 percent (18th nationally) on third down. The numbers regressed in 2025 when Sumrall lost heavily to graduation and had to replace the bulk of the team on both sides of the ball. Offensively Tulane converted 42.08 percent of its third downs while holding opponents to 39.57 percent. When he took the Florida job, Sumrall’s first and most significant hire was Georgia Tech offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner. In 2025 Georgia Tech ranked No. 23 nationally and third in the ACC, converting 46.1 percent of their third downs. In all three seasons as the Tech OC, Faulkner’s offenses converted more than 40 percent of their third downs. When he served as the quarterbacks coach for Georgia’s back-to-back national champions, the Bulldogs converted 45.03 percent on third down in 2021, 51.1 percent on third down in 2022. It is tougher to judge the hire of defensive coordinator Brad White, who was handicapped at Kentucky by predictable offenses, pedestrian offenses, particularly the last three seasons. The 2022 Wildcats had a very good quarterback in Will Levis so the offense was able to stay on the field. White’s defense gave up only 3.26 yards per rush attempt and 6.4 per pass attempt while ranking 12th nationally overall (311 yards per game). On the money down, the Wildcats ranked 21st nationally, allowing just 33.33 percent conversions. In a conference as competitive as the SEC which consistently sends more players to the NFL than any other, there is a very fine line between winning and losing. So much can be justified with statistics, but there is no mistaking the correlation between winning and effectiveness on third down. For Sumrall and the Gators to reverse a losing trend that began late season in 2020 it will take better efforts on third down than we’ve seen. For the Gators to reverse the losing trend that has been in place since the 2021 season, third down will be critical. SIX GATORS, ONE RECRUIT TAKEN IN THE MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL DRAFT Six Gators and one signee from the 2026 recruiting class were taken in the Major League Baseball Draft over the weekend. Of the six taken in the draft, all but outfielder Blake Cyr have the option of returning to the University of Florida in the event they can’t agree to financial terms. Cyr is a fourth-year senior who in all probability will not challenge the recently instituted NCAA 5-for-5 rule. Here are the draftees and the their slot value. Liam Peterson, RHP (Cleveland, Round 1, pick 19): Slot value $4,350,500 Kyle Jones, CF (Milwaukee, Round 3, pick 102): Slot value $770,600 Russell Sandefer, RHP (Los Angeles Dodgers, Round 4, pick 132): Slot value $575,300 Luke McNeillie, RHP (New York Mets, Round 5, pick 152): Slot value $472,500 Hayden Yost, OF (Seattle, Round 5, pick 162): Slot value $425,500 Blake Cyr, OF (New York Yankees, Round 18, pick 548): Maximum bonus of $150,000 Signee: Kevin Roberts, OF (Baltimore, Round 4, pick 110): Slot value $711,800 A power hitting outfielder from Jackson, Mississippi, Roberts is 17 years old. If he elects to go the college route, he won’t be eligible for the draft until 2029, so does he bet on himself that he would be worth substantially more money three years from now or does he take the money now? Another question: Can Florida offer an NIL compensation package that would provide security during the three years he’s developing as a college player? ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Just in case you missed it last week, Ohio judge Christopher Wagner handed the NCAA another beatdown in court, ruling in favor of 24 athletes who are challenging the NCAA 5-for-5 ruling that excludes last year’s fourth-year seniors (2022 high school graduates) from a fifth year of eligibility. Ruling that the NCAA acted in an “arbitrary and capricious” manner, Judge Wagner stated that the athletes would suffer “irreparable damage” if denied an opportunity to compete. The NCAA, in its infinite wisdom, called Judge Wagner’s ruling “wrong” and vowed to appeal. Here are excerpts from the NCAA statement: “As disappointing as the ruling itself is he decision by some member schools to support a lawsuit designed to circumvent the rules by which those same schools agreed to be bound. It is fundamentally unfair to the many programs and student-athletes who follow the rules to compete against those who do not. Integrity in college sports relies on all members abiding by the same standards. While we will seek to overturn this ruling, it is now apparent that Congress must act swiftly to restore stability, uniformity and fair competition in college athletics.” The NCAA paints itself as a virtuous defender of integrity and fairness, which is hardly the case. A decades-long trail of inconsistency and selective enforcement of rules makes the NCAA fair game in court rooms across the country where it consistently takes a losing stand rather than compromise by tweaking its rules. Hundreds of athletes across the country are lining up to challenge the fairness of the 5-for-5 rule that excludes last year’s fourth-year seniors while granting a fifth year of eligibility to first, second and third-year underclassmen. The simple thing to do would be to amend the rule to grandfather in the fourth-year athletes but that makes far too much sense for the NCAA to comprehend. Instead, the NCAA will spend millions of dollars sending out its teams of lawyers to courtrooms where judges will strike down their arguments with near uniform precision. The NCAA never misses a chance to lament the high cost of doing business in college athletics these days yet it spends money like a drunk 70-year-old millionaire in a strip joint losing in court when the prudent choice would be a compromise. Compromise would be the smart thing to do, but instead the NCAA chooses to take yet another stand on yet another indefensible hill where it will lose. Again. At the end of its statement of opposition to Judge Wagner’s ruling, the NCAA begs once again for congressional intervention. Congress can’t agree on a plan to fund the government so why does the NCAA think these folks in Washington can fix college athletics? College athletics are a multi-billion dollar business enterprise. How many of the college presidents who ultimately run the NCAA and how many senators and congressmen ever ran a business much less know anything measurable about sports? This is like putting a chimpanzee in the pilot’s seat of a 747 and expecting him to fly non-stop from Orlando to Tokyo. The NCAA isn’t the answer nor is Congress. College sports are in definite need of reform but these people haven’t a clue how to get it done. We can only hope and pray someone with a plan will emerge before it’s too late.

A few thoughts to jump start your Sunday morning: The talking season is upon us and will be in full gear in another week when SEC Media Days kicks off in Tampa. Nobody will be surprised when media gathered from all over the nation predicts a 1-2 SEC finish with Texas and Georgia occupying the top two spots. The real questions will be teams three through 12, all of whom are capable of finding the consistency it will take to win anywhere from eight to ten games. Here is early prediction of the SEC from top to bottom: 1. Texas: Arch Manning has new shiny weapons in wide receiver Cam Coleman and running back Hollywood Smothers, but what will put the Longhorns on top is new defensive coordinator Will Muschamp. Toughest games: Ohio State; Oklahoma (Dallas), Ole Miss; at LSU. 2. Georgia: Georgia’s depth chart isn’t nearly as scary as it used to be but if the Bulldogs avoid injuries, the first team on both sides of the ball is good enough to be a top five team nationally. Toughest games: Oklahoma, at Alabama, Florida (Atlanta), at Ole Miss. 3. Oklahoma: Brent Venables is one of the truly elite defensive play callers in the country. If QB John Mateer stays healthy, the Sooners will challenge for the SEC championship game. Toughest games: at Michigan, at Georgia, at Florida, Ole Miss, Texas A&M. 4. Ole Miss: Trinidad Chambliss and Kewan Lacey are back on offense and Suntarise Perkins is back on defense. What’s missing is Charlie Weis Jr. calling the plays, but Ole Miss will still make the College Football Playoff. Toughest games: LSU, at Florida, at Texas, Georgia, at Oklahoma. 5. Texas A&M: If the Aggies have successfully rebuilt the offensive line they will be very, very good. If the line is inconsistent the Aggies could finish much farther down the pack. Toughest games: at LSU, at Alabama, at Oklahoma, Texas. 6. LSU: The focus on recruiting the portal worked for Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss but will the same formula work at LSU? If everything meshes the Tigers could challenge but figure at least two or three winnable games will go the other way. Toughest games: at Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Alabama, Texas 7. Alabama: Kalen DeBoer is a very good football coach but is he the right fit at Alabama? Can the Tide run the football? Who’s going to be the quarterback? Toughest games: Georgia, Texas A&M, at LSU, Auburn. 8. FLORIDA: If Jon Sumrall finds a way to compensate for a lack of depth on the D-line and new OC Buster Faulkner can maximize Jadan Baugh’s enormous talents, then the Gators have a shot to be the surprise team of the Southeastern Conference. Toughest games: at Auburn, Ole Miss, at Texas, Georgia (Atlanta), Oklahoma. 9. Missouri: Ahmad Hardy might be the best running back in the country. If Eli Drinkwitz can convince Austin Simmons of the futility of throwing into double coverage Mizzou will be good for an 8-10-win season. Toughest games: Florida, Texas A&M, at Ole Miss, Texas, at Georgia, Oklahoma. 10. Tennessee: Last year’s 8-5 was a signal of things to come. Josh Heupel doesn’t have an experienced quarterback and whoever wins the job might be running for his life behind a below average O-line. Toughest games: Texas, Auburn, Alabama, at Texas A&M, LSU. 11. Auburn: Byrum Brown will rank among the elite quarterbacks in the SEC if Alex Golesh can find some people who can hang onto the football. Too much inexperience in the front seven defensively. A seven-win or better season will require the Tigers to win shootouts. Toughest games: Florida, at Georgia, LSU, at Ole Miss, at Alabama. 12. South Carolina: The offense can’t be as bad as it was last year when Mike Shula was calling the plays. New OC Kendal Briles has a stud to work with in LaNorris Sellers but can he find five O-linemen capable of keeping the QB upright and healthy? Toughest games: at Alabama, at Florida, at Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Georgia. 13. Vanderbilt: There is no Diego Pavia to rally the troops to wins from fourth quarter deficits. There are a lot of holes for Clark Lea to fill, but Vanderbilt has recruited well and the slide from last year’s 10-win season won’t be so dramatic. Toughest games: at Auburn, at Georgia, Ole Miss, Alabama, at Florida. 14. Mississippi State: Jeff Lebby has the Bulldogs trending upward. If he somehow gets the Bulldogs to seven wins this season he will be somebody’s hot ticket item for another HBC job in a setting with more to offer than you’ll find in scenic Starkville. Toughest games: Alabama, at LSU, Oklahoma, at Texas, Auburn, at Ole Miss. 15. Kentucky: New HBC Will Stein has taken over a program that lacks talent on both sides of the football. Winning four games will be viewed as a serious accomplishment. Toughest games: Alabama, at Texas A&M, LSU, at Oklahoma, Florida, at Missouri. 16. Arkansas: Any way you slice it the Razorbacks are in deepest and darkest. It is going to be a rocky road for first-year coach Ryan Silverfield because talent and experience are in very short supply. Toughest games: All nine SEC games. GATORS NO. 18 IN ESPN PRESEASON POWER RANKINGS For a league that has supposedly been left behind by the Big Ten, the SEC should be very, very good if you go by ESPN’s preseason power rankings (FPI). Twelve SEC teams rank in the top 25 and that includes the Gators at No. 18. The Big Ten placed seven in the top 25, the ACC three and the Big 12 two. Top 25 FPI (SEC teams bold face): 1. Ohio State; 2. Texas; 3. Notre Dame; 4. Oregon; 5. Georgia; 6. Indiana; 7. Miami; 8. Alabama; 9. LSU; 10. Texas Tech; 11. Texas A&M; 12. Oklahoma; 13. Southern California; 14. Ole Miss; 15. Michigan; 16. Tennessee; 17. Penn State; 18. FLORIDA; 19. Clemson; 20. BYU; 21. Missouri; 22. Auburn; 23. South Carolina; 24. SMU; 25. Iowa ALL 16 SEC TEAMS RANK TOP 20 IN SCHEDULE DIFFICULTY PER ESPN ESPN has offered one of the best ways to determine who has the strongest conference – the SEC or the Big Ten – with its recent strength of schedule rankings. Using strength of schedule as an indicator, there are no weak links in any SEC schedule this year. The SEC boasts the seven toughest schedules, 14 of the top 15 and 16 of the top 20. Florida has the No. 7 toughest schedule. Ohio State is the only Big Ten school to crack the top 10 (No. 8). Seven Big Ten teams have schedules ranked in the top 25 while there are two from the ACC. Top 25 toughest schedules: 1. Arkansas; 2. Oklahoma; 3. Texas; 4. Kentucky; 5. Ole Miss; 6. Mississippi State; 7. FLORIDA; 8. Ohio State; 9. Texas A&M; 10. South Carolina; 11. LSU; 12. Missouri; 13. Auburn; 14. Tennessee; 15. Alabama; 16. Michigan; 17. Northwestern; 18. Vanderbilt; 19. Southern California; 20. Georgia; 21. Nebraska; 22. Florida State; 23. Purdue; 24. Boston College; 25. Washington FOUR GATORS TAKEN FIRST FOUR ROUNDS OF MLB DRAFT Headlined by the Cleveland Guardians taking right handed pitcher Liam Peterson with the 19th pick of the first round, four Gators were selected in the first four rounds of the Major League Baseball Draft Saturday. Also selected were center fielder Kyle Jones (pick No. 102 overall, third round, Milwaukee Brewers), signee/outfielder Kevin Roberts (pick No. 110 overall, fourth round, Baltimore Orioles) and right handed pitcher Russel Sandefer (pick No. 132 overall, fourth round, Los Angeles Dodgers). The draft will conclude with rounds five through 20 today. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: File this under you learn something new every single day. Saturday night in a World Cup quarter-final game in Kansas City, Swiss striker Breel Embolo got one yellow card too many and was booted from the game with Argentina under something called the “mistaken identity law.” On the play in question, Embolo flopped, falling face forward intentionally in an attempt to draw a foul on Argentina’s Larendo Paredes. The referee assumed that Paredes was guilty of a foul so he issued a yellow card but video review showed Embolo flopped. With visual proof of a flop, the referee cleared Paredes and used the mistaken identity law to swap the yellow card to Embolo. Because Embolo already was playing with a yellow card, he was banished from the game. This is where soccer rules get tricky because Switzerland was not allowed to play someone in Embolo’s place. Apparently two yellow cards in a game is the equivalent of one red card, the result of which is banishment and your team has to go the rest of the game one man down. Switzerland was forced to play the remainder of the second half and both halves of overtime with only 10 players to Argentina’s 11. The score was 1-1 at the time and Switzerland was putting enormous pressure on the Argentine defense. Regulation ended with the score still 1-1, but in the second half of the 30-minutes of overtime play, Argentina struck for a pair of goals. Would they have scored if the Swiss had been playing at full strength? That is a question that will be debated for years to come, particularly if Argentina goes on to win the World Cup. In a 61-game drama-filled month of the World Cup on North American soil there have been far too many flops to count. Most of the time it’s a slight nudge that sends someone to the turf where he clings to the allegedly injured body part as if a transplant might be the only way to end the pain. Some of the time it’s a complete whiff but a lack of contact doesn’t prevent a dive complete with an acting job worthy of an Academy Award nomination. It turns out that there were two other instances during the World Cup that the mistaken identity law has resulted in a referee’s call of a foul has been overturned but none of them had the long range implications of the Embolo flop. By reversing the call Saturday night, the Swiss had their aggression severely curtailed. Maybe if they play 11-on-11 they score and win the match in regulation but that’s something we’ll never know for sure. What we do know is Breel Embolo got caught and punished. The severity of the punishment is being called controversial but was it? The first yellow card should have served as a warning to Embolo and he should have been smart enough to know a second would result in his banishment. He should have also realized that everything that happens on the field is caught on camera and subject to review. Either he was too dumb or simply too ignorant but no matter which one it was, he cost his team. Now wouldn’t it be nice if there was not only a video review of flops on the basketball court but a reversal of a bad call?