A few thoughts to jump start your Monday morning: BEN SHELTON DELIVERS FOR DAD: GATORS WIN NCAA TENNIS TITLE Could there possibly be a better ending to the first NCAA men’s tennis championship in University of Florida history? Freshman Ben Shelton, playing No. 5 singles, lost the first set 3-6 to Baylor’s Charlie Broom, but rallied to take the next two, 6-1, 6-2, scoring the championship clinching point that not only made history for the Gators but made dad Bryan Shelton the happiest tennis coach on the planet. Under Shelton, who became Florida’s head coach in 2013, the Gators have steadily grown into a national power. In the three of the four previous non-Covid seasons, the Gators made it to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament twice and the Final Four in 2019. This year, UF won its second SEC championship in a season that seemed to gain momentum with every match. On their way to the NCAA title, the top-seeded Gators beat No. 16 Illinois (4-0), No. 8 Texas A&M (4-1), No. 4 Texas (4-0) and No. 2 Baylor (4-1). The Gators dropped the doubles point Saturday night at Lake Nona, but when Andy Andrade, Sam Riffice and Josh Goodger won their singles matches, all eyes turned to the Ben Shelton-Broom match. Broom looked good for one set, but Shelton dominated the second and third. When he scored the final point to win his match, he leapt over the net and into the arms of volunteer assistant coach Scott Perelman, kicking off an orange and blue celebration that won’t be forgotten any time soon. Sunday, Riffice, Andrade and Duarte Vale all won their matches to advance to the round of 32 as the individual championships got under way. Riffice and Vale will also compete in doubles championships starting today. HIGHTOWER NO-HITS USF: THIS IS HOW YOU FINISH OFF AN NCAA REGIONAL Elizabeth Hightower (17-5, 1.51 ERA) didn’t get to finish off her no-hit bid Friday night. She held South Florida hitless for 6-1/3 innings when she was lifted with one out in the seventh for Katie Chronister. Hightower was unhittable once again on Sunday but this time she went the distance, striking out 10 while walking only three as the Gators (45-9) won the Gainesville Regional with an 8-0 win over South Florida. It was a weekend of complete domination by the Gators, who allowed only three hits while outscoring three opponents, 19-0, as they advanced to another NCAA Super Regional. Florida will host Georgia (32-21), which upset 13th-seeded Duke to win the Athens Regional, next weekend. In taking the regional, the Gators followed Tim Walton’s very simple formula for winning: Good pitching, good defense and timely hitting. The Gators allowed only 11 baserunners in three games – three singles, seven walks, one error. The error (top of the seventh Friday night) didn’t come back to haunt as UF pulled off a spectacular double play a couple of batters later when center fielder Cheyenne Lindsey threw out a runner at the plate and, after making the tag, catcher Julia Cottrill threw from her knees to nail the runner at third to erase the threat. In the bottom of the inning, Lindsey singled and Hannah Adams doubled off the center field wall for the game’s only run. Saturday, Natalie Lugo (17-2, 1.60 ERA) pitched a 2-hitter, striking out 11 as the Gators blanked South Alabama 8-0. Charla Echols hit a home run and Kendyl Lindaman hit a 2-run double. The closest USF came to a hit Sunday off Hightower was in the seventh when Adams went three feet behind the bag on the shortstop side of second base to make the stop and threw from her knees to first to record the out. Julia Cottrill provided the early offense with a run-scoring double and a home run. In the top of the seventh, Sarah Longley hit a grand slam, the first home run of her Florida career, and Lindsey followed with a solo shot over the center field fence. This isn’t the most talented team Walton has had at Florida but there is never a doubt that he gets everything they have in the tank. They don’t have a dominant pitcher but they don’t walk people, don’t beat themselves with errors and you get the feeling they have the other team right where they want them when they’re trailing by one or two runs in the final two innings. Never say never, not with this team. GATORS ARE A SIXTH SEED IN HOOVER The next stop on this rather bizarre baseball season is Hoover, Alabama where the Gators (35-19, 17-13 SEC East) seeded sixth seed for the SEC Tournament. The Gators will open the tournament at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday against 11th-seeded Kentucky (29-22, 12-18 SEC East). If they win their first round game, they will face 3rd-seeded Mississippi State (40-13, 20-10 SEC) Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. By losing all three games to Arkansas over the weekend, the Gators may have lost their shot at a top eight national seed when the NCAA announces its tournament selections next Sunday. Whereas the Gators are almost certain to host a regional, they probably have to win at least twice in Hoover to earn a top eight national seed. Only the top eight teams will host super regionals. The Gators have enough pitching to win a couple of games in Hoover, but once you get past Tommy Mace and Hunter Barco, it will be tough sledding. Even if the Gators had earned a top four seed for Hoover, it would have taken five wins to take the tournament title. As the sixth seed, UF will need to win six times to take the tournament and that is the longest of shots. FLORIDA DEFENSE GETS A HUGE COMMITMENT Dan Mullen may have found the answer to the STAR position over the weekend when Jadarrius Perkins (6-2, 190, Hattiesburg, MS) announced he’s coming to Florida. Perkins was the No. 5 junior college prospect and No. 3 corner in the nation at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College where he played in 14 games in two years. He signed with Missouri back in February but entered the NCAA transfer portal on April 29. Perkins, who has been timed at 4.42 in the 40, has both the size and speed to handle the STAR, which is a hybrid corner/safety/linebacker who has to be strong enough to play the run and physical enough to handle tight ends in the slot. He is the fifth transfer Mullen has landed for the 2021 season. OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC Alabama: Alabama (48-7) won the Tuscaloosa Regional by outscoring three opponents 20-0. The Crimson Tide, the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Softball Tournament, will play host to 14th-seeded Kentucky in the super regional … Alabama (29-22, 12-17 SEC West) will open the SEC Baseball Tournament with No. 7 seed South Carolina. Arkansas: With their sweep of Florida, the Razorbacks (42-10, 22-8 SEC West) captured the SEC regular season championship and the No. 1 seed for the SEC Tournament. Arkansas will face the winner of the Georgia-LSU game Wednesday evening … Arkansas left fielder Braylon Webb was arrested for public intoxication Saturday night after the Hogs finished off their sweep of Florida … Arkansas (43-9) went 3-0 over the weekend to win the Fayetteville Regional. The No. 6 seed Razorbacks will host No. 11 Arizona in a super regional next weekend. Auburn: Corner Marco Domio is the third Auburn player to transfer to UCF. Domio was a 4-star juco recruit out of Blinn College in 2020 … Auburn (27-24) was two-and-through in the NCAA Tallahassee Regional ... The Tigers (26-27, 10-20 SEC West) took two of three from Missouri to take the last spot in the SEC Baseball Tournament where they will play Ole Miss on Tuesday. Georgia: Georgia (32-21) rallied on Sunday to take out 13th-seeded Duke, 10-9, to advance to the Gainesville Super Regional … Georgia (30-23, 13-17 SEC East), seeded 8th for the SEC Baseball Tournament, will face 9th-seeded LSU in a first round game Tuesday in Hoover. Kentucky: Kentucky (43-14) advanced to the Tuscaloosa Super Regional the hard way by shutting out Notre Dame twice on Sunday to come through the loser’s bracket to win the Lexington Regional. The 14th-seeded Wildcats will face No. 3 seed Alabama in the super regional ... Kentucky (29-22, 12-18 SEC East) is the No. 11 seed in the SEC Baseball Tournament. LSU: Former LSU QB TJ Finley will make a decision at 11 a.m. today between Alabama, Auburn, Houston and Penn State … The Tigers (35-20) needed two games Sunday to take out Louisiana to win the Baton Rouge Regional. They face Florida State in the super regional … LSU is the No. 9 seed in the SEC Baseball Tournament with a Thursday date with 8th-seeded Georgia. Mississippi State: The Bulldogs scored another big transfer when Michigan State point guard Rocket Watts (6-2, 190, SO) announced he is transferring to StarkVegas. The former 4-star recruit averaged 7.7 points, 1.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game ... The Bulldogs (40-13, 20-10 SEC West) are the No. 3 seed in the SEC Baseball Tournament where they face the winner of the Florida-Kentucky game in the second round Wednesday … Mississippi State (35-25) went 2-2 at the NCAA softball Stillwater Regional. Missouri: The Tigers (41-15) won the Columbia Regional by outscoring three opponents 17-0. Missouri, seeded 8th, will host James Madison, the surprise winner in Knoxville in the super regional. Ole Miss: Lane Kiffin is hiring Gardner-Webb offensive line coach Jake Thornton, who served as a grad assistant at Alabama in 2017 … The Rebels (38-17, 18-12 SEC West) are the No. 5 seed in the SEC Baseball Tournament. They face 12th-seed Auburn (25-26, 10-20 SEC West) in the first round in Hoover on Tuesday … Ole Miss (36-22) went 2-2 in the Tucson softball regional. South Carolina: The Gamecocks (33-20, 16-14 SEC East) are the No. 7 seed for the SEC Baseball Tournament. They will face Alabama Tuesday. Tennessee: By taking two of three from South Carolina over the weekend, Tennessee (42-14, 20-10 SEC East) clinched the East Division championship for the first time since 1997 as well as the No. 2 seed for the SEC Baseball Tournament. The Vols will face the winner of the South Carolina-Alabama game on Wednesday … The Vols were the No. 9 seed for the NCAA Softball Tournament but they lost two of three to see their season come to an end. Texas A&M: Texas A&M is not renewing the contract of baseball coach Rob Childress (622-336-3 in 16 seasons), who has taken the Aggies to six regional championships and the College World Series in 2011 and 2017. Childress took the Aggies to 13 consecutive NCAA regionals from 2007-19. A&M went 29-27 this season and didn’t make the SEC Tournament field of 12 … The Aggies went 2-2 in the Norman softball regional, finishing their season 32-23. Vanderbilt: The Commodores (39-13, 19-10 SEC East) finished a half game behind Tennessee in the SEC East. Vandy, the No. 4 seed in the SEC Baseball Tournament, will face the winner of the Ole Miss-Auburn first round game on Wednesday. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Why is it that we love Phil Mickelson so? Is it because he looks like a guy who stopped off at the local municipal course to get in nine holes after pulling a shift behind the counter at Advance Auto Parts? Or is it because he can’t resist taking the impossible shot from under the tree and over the water instead of punching out and playing for a par? That’s the way most of us play the game. We are inclined to take the one-in-a-million shot rather than play it safe. We know that anyone can make a six but how many can hit a 7-iron over the oak tree and 150 yards to the green where we can two-putt for par? Phil always seems to go for broke when playing it safe would be so much smarter but that’s what endears him to us. That he can make six bogeys in the last round including three in the final six holes while blowing three shots of a 5-shot lead over the final six holes … and still win the PGA! That’s why we love Phil Mickelson. If he’s playing, chances are he’s flirting with disaster and there is something in that fire all the guns at once approach to the game that appeals to us. We don’t mind the feeling that a heart attack is imminent. It’s Phil and if he’s going to go down in flames, we’re going down with him. But if he wins? Oh my. Did you see all those thousands celebrating at Kiawah Sunday when that last putt dropped? Were you celebrating too? I know I was.

Softball is being played in Gainesville in late May. All is right with the world. After the softball season was prematurely scrapped in 2020, the excitement of postseason college softball is bubbling over. Though I might be biased, the quest for a trip to Oklahoma City and a spot in the Women’s College World Series is one of the most exciting displays in sports. And it all starts this weekend with regionals getting underway all around the country – including at the Home of the Florida Gators, Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. How the Gators Got Here After getting off to a hot start in 2020, only to be confronted by a global pandemic-sized roadblock, Florida softball exited the 2020 season with more questions than it entered the season with. In 2020, Tim Walton and the Gators were tasked with replacing All-American talent with the graduation of the program’s strikeout leader (1,208), Kelly Barnhill, and Amanda Lorenz, who owns the program’s top career batting average (.407). Last season, the Gators were doing their best to remedy Barnhill and Lorenz’s departures as they pitched by committee and added to their lineup by way of the transfer portal and healed injuries. The Gators got through 27 games in 2020 before the NCAA brought down the hammer, shattering the championship hopes of not only Florida, but every team in the country. Wins against the 12th-ranked Florida State Seminoles and the fifth-ranked Arizona Wildcats highlighted the Gators’ 2020 record of 23-4. But talents such as shortstop Sophia Reynoso and catcher Jordan Roberts would see not only their season end, but their college careers end as well, leaving the Gators with a pair of crucial holes to fill once again. And if not for the NCAA’s decision to grant players an additional year of eligibility, the Gators could have been in a lot worse shape. Jaimie Hoover and Kendyl Lindaman were both seniors last year. This year, they’re super seniors. And though Hoover and Lindaman’s contributions might not be as flashy as, say, Hannah Adams and Charla Echols, having them on the roster this year has helped the Gators tremendously up to this point. Florida won a share of the SEC regular season title two weeks ago with a sweep of Texas A&M, a feat that wouldn’t have been possible if not for Hoover. In the final game of the three-game series, with a share of the conference crown in the balance, Hoover helped eliminate the Aggies’ lead on Sunday with a two-RBI single to knot the game up at four runs apiece in the fifth inning. The Gators went on to keep the Aggies at bay for the remainder of the game, securing the series sweep behind a 6-5 win. Meanwhile, in the opening game of the SEC tournament, Lindaman came up clutch in blasting a three-run home run in the bottom of the fifth frame to give the Gators a 3-2 lead over Mississippi State, which was threatening to upset the Gators with an early 2-0 lead. In addition to their super seniors, the Gators have proven to field a well-rounded roster. Florida third baseman, Charla Echols, who made her way to Gainesville by way of the transfer portal in 2020, has notched 53 RBIs this season, which leads the SEC. Meanwhile, Gainesville-native Katie Chronister is second in the conference in opposing batting average, holding batters to .164. Per usual, Walton’s emphasis on fielding translates well when looking at the numbers. Across the SEC, Florida’s .983 fielding percentage leads the league. Florida currently sits as the fourth best team in the country and boasts a 42-9 record. The Gators also won all eight of their SEC regular series in 2021. And of Florida’s eight conference opponents, four finished the regular season ranked in the top 25. Of the SEC’s 13 softball programs, 12 secured spots in the NCAA tournament. The Florida Gators will start their NCAA tournament run on Friday afternoon when the Gainesville regional kicks off at 2 p.m. when the hosting Gators battle the University of South Florida. What the Bulls Bring Everyone is quick to point to the fact that the Gators have already handled business against the USF Bulls. But in a season like college softball, you could say that happened eons ago. Florida and USF first met in February as the Gators opened their much-anticipated 2021 campaign in Tampa for a three-game-turned-two-game weekend series. The Gators posted back-to-back wins against the Bulls, winning the first 6-3 and the second 15-0. The third game of the series was scrapped due to inclement weather but was made-up in a double-header on April 7. To summarize, yes, the Gators are 5-0 against the Bulls this season. However, no, Florida should not overlook this scrappy Tampa team. The Bulls boast one of the best pitchers in the country in terms of ERA. The Bulls’ junior ace, Georgina Corrick, maintains a .97 ERA, giving her the ninth-best mark in the country. Corrick’s 300 strikeouts in 2021 is also among the best in the country, putting her just two Ks from Washington’s Gabby Plain, who has posted a nation-leading 302. USF’s ace brings the ability to pitch around batters with a curve ball and rise ball, in addition to tossing pitches right into the zone with an off-speed change up and screw ball. Corrick won the distinction of the American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year for the third time in her career this season. Offensively, USF fields AnaMarie Bruni carries a team-leading .382 batting average. And while Bruni comes with consistency, she’s yet to knock her first long ball of the season. Instead, Kyndall Williams and Brooke Hartman lead USF’s explosive efforts, each with four home runs apiece. Also Joining USF and UF The Baylor Bears and South Alabama Jaguars will also be joining the Gators and Bulls in the Gainesville regional hosted at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium this weekend. The Bears come into Gainesville as the second-seeded team in the regional and will square off against the Jaguars on Friday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. Baylor (27-21) have battled a tough regular season having had to face teams like No. 1-ranked Oklahoma, No. 7-ranked Oklahoma State and No. 11-ranked Texas. But contributions from Lou Gilbert from the batter’s box have helped Baylor. Yielding a .336 average and 20 extra base hits, Gilbert leads the Bears’ lineup. However, Baylor’s pitching staff comes with struggles. Of the Bears’ two main pitchers, Gia Rodoni and Sidney Holman-Mansell, who have combined for 230 innings of action, Rodoni carries an ERA of 4.84. Baylor’s staff from the circle has given up 322 hits in 318.2 innings. Meanwhile, the South Alabama Jaguars, who are the third-seeded team in the Gainesville regional, carry a record of 30-19. One of the Jaguars’ 30 wins came against the in-state Crimson Tide. On March 7, a 1-0 game knocked off Alabama. Allie Hughen leads the Jaguars’ pitching efforts through South Alabama’s opening 49 games. Through 73.2 innings of action, Hughen maintains a 2.09 ERA.a 2.09 ERA. Meanwhile, Olivia Lackie, who seems to be the team’s ace from the circle, has averaged a 2.28 ERA through 174.2 innings. Opposing batters have batted with an average of .194 agains Lackie. Offensively, the Jaguars are led by Makenzie Brasher, who boasts a .374 average from the plate. However, South Alabama’s power comes off the bat of Kamdyn Kvistad, who has launched a team-leading 10 home runs in 2021. The winner of the opening two contests will square off on Saturday.

OK, Tim Tebow has been a Jaguar for over 24 hours and the world did not fall off its axis. Duval County did not break away and go floating out to the Atlantic. The Great Flood of the St. John’s River did not wash way away TIAA Bank Field. There is no plague of locusts in Northeast Florida. And a giant raptor did not bite off Trevor Lawrence’s arm and take it to Tom Brady’s house. Tim Tebow is a Jacksonville Jaguar and he has lived to tell about it. As a matter of fact, despite the naysayers and whiner and haters – and even those honest, well-meaning critics who think Urban Meyer has lost his marbles – the popularity of the NFL is soaring to new heights in these parts. There is even a winning feeling about a losing franchise. To quote Sally Field’s speech after winning an Oscar: “This time I feel it. And I can’t deny the fact that you like me. Right now, you like me!” Suddenly things like Colin Kaepernick’s version of patriotism (or lack of), the criminal behavior of athletes and Bill Belichick’s moral compass are not dominating the talk shows and sports headlines. This story may have been the biggest and best damage control tool of the Roger Goodell era. And whether you like or not, the feel-good Prodigal Son theme plays a part in it. Coming off one of the darkest periods of American history, there is fresh hope and energy and light. Between the hiring of Urban Meyer, drafting of Lawrence and the flirtatious nature of the Tebow deal, it has shoved the Jaguars to the front of the relevancy line. I like it. Many of you like it. The Jaguars have become the most talked about franchise in the NFL and for the first since their cup of coffee in the spotlight, they are topic d’ jour in a good way. Of course many do not like the Tebow acquisition. And that’s OK. Fine to disagree. Just don’t piss on everybody’s parade. Let folks be happy. I wondered this week if there was a Las Vegas money line on whether Tebow would make the 53-man roster and play 8 of the 16 games, and what the odds would be? Would you risk $100 to win $500 that Tebow would make the roster and, unless injured, get in games as a tight end and special teams in eight games? In the Great Debate About Signing Tim Tebow, raging for nearly two weeks, some of the weakest and most feeble criticisms were deployed by so-called experts. “Unfairly taking a roster spot. Too old. Being favored by his old coach. Should have converted to tight end at 23, not 33, and just as he was a flop as a baseball player he’s a flop as an NFL tight end.” Trouble is, they missed the whole point. Even if he’s cut and doesn’t take a snap, Tim Tebow will find a way to make the Jaguars better. And the good will created by Meyer and Chad Kahn will resonate forever in rewarding vibes for the once beleaguered franchise. Think about this: What if Tebow moves to the front office and helps secure the Jags future by sparing them from a possible move to London? Hey, we’re talking about Superman here! And the cheap imitation of talk show kryptonite won’t take him down. Some of the crappiest comments have come from former players. The ones that ticks me off most are what when they keep referring to as “losing the lockerroom.” I’ve been around locker rooms all my life, either as a player or journalist, and while there are no doubt specials tenets that must be adhered to, locker rooms are all different. The idea that a coach and GM must walk on eggshells and that every decision must be vetted by a vigilante committee is pure poppycock. I don’t remember Vince Lombardi holding a kangaroo court with Starr, Horning, Kramer and Davis to determine if Magee staying out late to drink before a Super Bowl hurt their feelings. Who among these bad-mouthers even has a clue of what Urban Meyer is trying to build? Or what means of motivation he’s going to use? Would anybody who knows Meyer ever think for one second that he’d keep his pet player on the squad just as a favor even if Tebow wasn’t good enough? I’ve read and heard just about all of the comments and quite a few others came to me through social media and on the Buddy Martin Show (see below). But the one that struck me the hardest was that of his former colleague and even teammate (briefly) whom I shall refer to as “Greg McHuckleberry,” who I felt went out of his way to hit below the belt. You can figure out who I’m talking about. “And I think it kind of undermines what Urban Meyer is trying to build. Maybe he makes the team, maybe he doesn’t, I don’t know. But it’s going to take away from the task at hand, which is trying to put together the most competitive roster in camp. “And I bet you there’s going to be players, as someone who went to training camp with Tim, there are going to be players who are rolling their eyes at the amount of attention the fourth-string, fifth-string tight end gets, and it’s going to piss people off. As a result, it’s going to affect locker room chemistry, just like it did for us with the Jets. Not because anyone had any animosity toward Tim, they just have animosity with the coverage Tim receives. So, I think it’s a stupid move.” Yeah, it really wrecked those Jets. No doubt they’d have won a couple of Super Bowls if Tebow hadn’t screwed up their chemistry. Good thing Greg Huckleberry came to the rescue! And by the way, for those who blame Tebow for bringing “the circus to town” with him, some of us like circuses and find joy in things like the elephants, the lady on the flying trapeze and the car full of clowns. And if Greg Huckleberry wants to join the Jaguars, they’ve no doubt got a spot reserved for him in that clown car. Here's what readers and listeners are saying about Tebow: Did he (Greg McHuckleberry) learn so much in the 2 games he played in the NFL or the practice squad year? He won a Natty so I will give him that and that's all- #idiot. —John T Kerr "If he (Tebow) doesn't feel he can contribute then I believe he will be the character to admit and he will be the one to walk away. I do not believe he will have to be cut. For the record, I believe he will make the team and contribute." — Tom Cothron 1. How many roster spots go to TE on one team? How many actually play? (Tampa has six. Name more than two) 2. When didn’t heart and character add to a players over all ability and value. Convince me otherwise' 3. People will flock because of who he was and is. 4. Brady came to Tampa and won against the odds. Why can’t Tebow catch a few passes? — Danny Del Rio. All he wants is a shot. He was blackballed in the NFL for whatever reason. Give him the chance, and let him decide the final outcome from his performance level. —William Too stall Hall As a motivational speaker sure. But c’mon Buddy, those orange and blue glasses has your brain not being rational. Wonderful young man but he’s what 34? Hasn’t played in 8 years. Was bad at baseball now wants to try and play a brand new position at the highest skill level in the world? I’ve always said, marry my sister, teach my kid in Sunday school but I don’t think there’s anything left in the tank for the NFL. Before all the Tebow fans lose their minds, remember it’s just my opinion and the answer will come without any of our opinions having an effect. Let’s re-visit in December. —Mark Cook (Mark: I’m in for December and willing to be wrong. Right now it has made the Jacksonville Jags the most talked about team in the NFL, including the defending world champs in Tampa. — Buddy) Mark Cook let the process play out. We’re all talking about it, and it’s fun ... as it should be. Tebow will succeed or fail, and that’s life. If he flames out, it will be obvious to everyone, and life will go on. If he succeeds, well.... won’t that be something!? —Jamie Atkinson Buddy: You should have heard what the critics said when Jimmy Johnson took over the Cowboys in 1989. —Ed Werder The Tebow Jags Jersey Dropped. Can you get use to #85?

A few thoughts to jump start your Friday morning: TEBOW GETS A MAKE-GOOD CONTRACT WITH THE JAGUARS Tebow-mania is the word of the day in Jacksonville after Urban Meyer and the Jaguars signed the former Florida Heisman Trophy winning quarterback to a make-good, one-year contract as a tight end, a position he’s never played. It’s not like Meyer is bringing in Tebow to compete with wunderkind QB and No. 1 draft pick Trevor Lawrence although you might think so because wherever Tebow lands on an athletic field the sharp knives of critics are sure to follow. His is such a magnetic personality that he creates a stir everywhere he goes. It’s not that Tim makes the effort to draw attention to himself, but something that goes with the territory of being Tim Tebow. It seems there is no middle ground – either it’s love or intense dislike, but rarely anything in between. People who love Tebow love everything he stands for as a person but his detractors can’t stand the fact that he gets so much attention. The reality is that Tebow wouldn’t get so much media attention if the media didn’t pay so much attention to him. It’s as if they can’t help themselves and by making Tebow such a focal point, Tebow lovers love him more and those who dislike feel the necessity to take their shots. Paul Finebaum, who worked with Tebow for seven years on the SEC Network, says Tebow sucks the oxygen out of the room. Having covered every game Tebow ever played at the University of Florida and stood there like hundreds of others with a microphone in his face, I can attest to his almost bigger than life persona. His mother Pam once told me that when Tim was just a tyke and they were living in The Philippines where dad Bob was a Baptist missionary, she would put Tim in a sandbox to play all alone while she worked just steps away. She says that every time she looked over at the sand box, there were more toddlers who wanted to play with Tim. He didn’t ask for playmates, they just showed up. It’s pretty much like that wherever he goes. If Tim is there, media and throngs of people show up. Signing with the Jaguars is just the first step. He still has to make the team. Those who are betting he won’t make it point to the fact that he is pushing 34 years old, has never played tight end and hasn’t played football in the NFL in more than eight years. Of course, many of those same people said he would never make it to AAA in baseball but he did. The fact that he made it that far after not playing the game since his junior year in high school is not only miraculous but should also tell you it’s never a particularly good idea to bet against him. I have no idea if Tim has the skills to make it in the NFL this time around but I do know he’s going to shame any player who thinks he doesn’t have to bust his butt every single snap in training camp. Those who can’t match his effort will probably find themselves on the waiver wire, searching for gainful employment somewhere other than Jacksonville. If Tebow does make the team and prove he can contribute, it will be a source of inspiration to anyone out there who has ever been willing to dream big dreams and take big risks. But there is one side effect of the Tebow signing that many are overlooking and it is Trevor Lawrence. No, Tebow isn’t going to teach Lawrence the art of the perfect spiral, but what he will do goes back to what Finebaum said – he will suck the oxygen out of the room. It is usually a roller coaster existence for rookie quarterbacks no matter how talented or touted they may be. Peyton Manning, if you might recall, completed 28 passes to the other team as a rookie back in 1998 when he piloted the Indianapolis Colts to a 3-13 record. The press was often brutal as they tend to be for every quarterback touted as can’t miss that comes into the NFL. If Lawrence is a typical rookie QB, he’s going to have good games and games he will forever wish he could forget. Having Tebow around might take some of the media scrutiny away on those bad days, however. If he’s on the team and sees the field he might be that vacuum that absorbs way more attention than he deserves. If Lawrence is throwing more passes to the guys wearing something other than Jacksonville teal, it might prove to be the perfect distraction. For all we know, that might be exactly what Urban Meyer was thinking when he signed Tebow. GATORS DROP 6-1 DECISION TO NO. 1 ARKANSAS Florida’s hopes to get a first day bye at next week’s Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament took a hit Thursday evening in Fayetteville when Patrick Wicklander (5-1) and Kevin Kopps combined to limit the Gators (35-17, 17-11 SEC East) to three hits as Arkansas (40-10, 20-8 SEC West) took a 6-1 win. The loss drops the Gators two full games behind SEC East leader Tennessee (41-13, 19-9 SEC East) and 1-1/2 behind second place Vanderbilt (37-12, 18-9 SEC East). A top two finish in the SEC East gets the Gators a first day bye, but that will require the Gators winning today and Saturday as the regular season comes to a close. Florida took a 1-0 lead in the second inning on a Kendrick Calilao home run. Singles by Sterlin Thompson and Nathan Hickey in the third put two on for UF, but those were the Gators final hits of the entire game as Wicklander (11 strikeouts) and Kopps (five strikeouts) dominated the rest of the way. Arkansas tied the game in the fourth and knocked Tommy Mace out of the box with two in the fifth. Hunter Barco (9-2, 4.13 ERA) gets the start tonight as the Gators try to even the series at one win apiece. THE ROAD TO OKC BEGINS TODAY FOR FLORIDA SOFTBALL Florida’s road to the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City begins at 2 p.m. today with an air of familiarity. The Gators (42-9), who won the SEC regular season championship and the overall No. 4 seed for the NCAA Tournament, will be facing the South Florida Bulls (29-17), a team they’ve beaten four times already this season. The Gators opened the season in Tampa back on February 13 with 6-3 and 15-0 wins over the Bulls. The two teams met in Gainesville back on April 7 with the Gators claiming 9-1 and 2-1 wins. Baylor (Big 12) will face South Alabama (Sun Belt) in the other Gainesville Regional game at 4:30. Elizabeth Hightower (16-5, 1.64 ERA) owns two of Florida’s wins against South Florida while Natalie Lugo (16-2, 1.71 ERA) and Katie Chronister (9-2, 2.20 ERA, 6 saves) own the other two. Charla Echols comes into the regional leading the Gators in hitting (.384), home runs (14) and RBI (53). She has only struck out twice in 146 at bats this season. Florida coach Tim Walton (959-244 career) has taken the Gators to all 10 of the school’s appearances at the Women’s College World Series. NO. 1 GATORS ADVANCE TO NCAA TENNIS SEMIFINALS Despite losing the doubles point, Florida’s top- seeded and No. 1 ranked tennis team (24-2) scored a 4-1 win over eight-seeded Texas A&M (19-9) Thursday night in the NCAA quarterfinals at Lake Nona. Florida got singles wins from Sam Riffice, Blaise Bicknell, Ben Shelton and Duarte to knock off the Aggies for the third time in as many tries this season. Next up for the Gators is a Saturday semifinal match with No. 4 seed Texas, a 4-3 winner over Southern Cal. GATORS TRAVEL TO SYRACUSE FOR NCAA LACROSSE QUARTERFINALS The 6th-seeded Gators (18-2) will try to earn a spot in the NCAA Lacrosse semifinals Saturday (3 p.m.) when they face No. 3 Syracuse (15-3) at the Syracuse Soccer Stadium. Florida and Syracuse have met 11 times in the past with Syracuse holding a 7-4 edge including 3-1 at home. The last time the two teams met was 2019 when Syracuse eked out a 14-13 win over the Gators at Donald Dizney Stadium. Florida, which has won 15 consecutive matches, has made it to the NCAA semifinals three times in school history. The Gators made it to the quarterfinals with a decisive 17-3 win over Jacksonville last weekend. OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC Alabama: Third-seeded Alabama (45-7) starts regional NCAA softball play against Alabama State in Tuscaloosa. Arkansas: With their 6-1 win over Florida, the Razorbacks (40-10, 20-8 SEC West) clinched at least a tie for the SEC West Division championship … The 6th-seeded Razorbacks (40-9) play host to Manhattan in regional NCAA softball action today ... Former Arkansas offensive lineman Chibuenze Nwanna, who opted out of the 2020 season, is transferring to Charlotte. Auburn: Auburn (24-25, 9-19 SEC West) stayed alive in its fight to play in the SEC Baseball Tournament with a 15-6 win over Missouri … The Tigers (27-22) No. 2 seed in the Tallahassee softball regional where they will face Kennesaw State today. Georgia: The Georgia-Clemson season opening football game in Charlotte will be a 7:30 p.m. primetime kickoff on ESPN … Georgia, which is the No. 2 seed in a regional it hosts, will face Western Kentucky in NCAA softball play. Kentucky: Wide receivers coach Jovon Bouknight, who was arrested for DUI back on May 8, will be retained … The 14th-seeded Wildcats (39-13) host Northwestern in regional softball play. LSU: Kyle Caskey, who spent the last two years coaching running backs in the CFL and before that nine years as an assistant with the Cincinnati Bengals, has been added as an offensive analyst … Seventh-seeded LSU (32-19) hosts McNeese State in NCAA regional softball play. Mississippi State: Mississippi State (38-13, 18-10 SEC West) needs to sweep Alabama (29-20, 12-15 SEC West) and hope Arkansas loses twice to Florida for a tie for the SEC West Division title. The Bulldogs beat Alabama, 4-2, Thursday evening … The Bulldogs are the No. 3 seed in the NCAA softball Stillwater Regional. They face Boston University today. Missouri: Eighth-seeded Missouri (38-15) opens NCAA softball regional play against Illinois-Chicago ... Missouri has received approval to build an indoor football practice facility. Ole Miss: Ole Miss (37-16, 17-10 SEC West) stayed hot on the heels of Mississippi State for a second place finish in the SEC West with a 2-0 win over Georgia (29-22, 12-16 SEC West). If the Rebels finish second they will earn a first day bye in the SEC Baseball Tournament … The Rebels (34-20) are the No. 2 seed in the Tucson Regional, where they will face Villanova … Ole Miss will open its 2021 football season against Louisville on Monday, September 6. South Carolina: Jalyn McCreary, who averaged 5.1 points and 2.5 rebounds per game for the Gamecocks last season, is transferring to South Florida. Tennessee: The 4th-ranked Vols (41-13, 19-9 SEC East) blasted South Carolina, 10-4, to remain a half-game ahead of Vanderbilt in the SEC East Division standings … The 9th-seeded Vols will host Eastern Kentucky in NCAA regional softball play ... Former Michigan linebacker William Mohan is transferring to Tennessee. Texas A&M: The Aggies (31-21) are the No. 3 seed in the NCAA softball Norman Region. They face Wichita State today … The Aggies (29-25, 9-19 SEC West) got a surprising 2-1 win over LSU (32-21, 11-17 SEC West) Thursday night to keep pace with Auburn for the 12th and final spot in the SEC Baseball Tournament. Vanderbilt: The Commodores (37-12, 18-9 SEC East) remain a half-game behind SEC East Division leader Tennessee after scoring a 4-2 walk-off win over Kentucky (28-21, 11-17 SEC East) Thursday night. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Not only are the sharp knives out for Tim Tebow but they’re out there for Urban Meyer for having the audacity to give Tebow a one-year make-good contract with the Jaguars. Mel Kiper of ESPN and Jason LaCanfora of CBSSports spent the day doing their best to show the world how angry they are, more at Meyer than Tebow. LaCanfora even wrote, “I heard from numerous sources that several of Meyer’s Ohio State players wanted nothing to do with signing to play for him as undrafted free agents. They’d had enough of him and how it would work in the pros.” Here is what I know. Urban didn’t win three national championships because he (a) doesn’t know how to coach and (b) lacks the ability to put a team together. Urban knows the risk here but you don’t win 85.4 percent of your football games without taking a few risks along the way. Maybe it works. Maybe it doesn’t. Mel Jr. and LaCanfora will look silly if it works out and of course, they’ll beat their chests and remind us just how right they were if the Tebow experiment fails.

“People buy with their eyes” – Doc Holliday, legendary recruiter, former UF assistant under Urban Meyer and formerly Marshall head football coach Toward the end of his 12-year run as the football coach at the University of Florida, Steve Spurrier lost a recruiting battle for a highly coveted offensive lineman because of better dorm rooms at the University of Georgia. That was 20 years ago and several years before an all-out arms race began in the Southeastern Conference. The prevailing attitude of Florida’s athletic administration during the Spurrier years and in the years immediately after as the arms race in the SEC began to heat up to unmatched proportions was “facilities are overrated … this is Florida.” It is that attitude that has plunged Florida into a scramble to catch up as one school after another has upgraded facilities. Athletes in nearly every sport that used to come to Florida simply because it was Florida, have been looking elsewhere the last ten years. As Doc Holliday said, they’re buying with their eyes. A good example of arms race impact happened in South Carolina where Clemson’s heavy investment in facilities created a reversal of fortune. From 2010-13 Steve Spurrier led the University of South Carolina to the greatest four-year era in school history, going 42-11 with four straight wins over Clemson. Aided by a commitment to better facilities, Clemson has seen its recruiting profile go through the roof. The Tigers are 89-10 since the 2014 season with two national championships, two second place finishes and six consecutive appearances in the College Football Playoff. In 2017, Clemson threw a 50-gallon can of gasoline on an already raging fire, by opening the $55 million Allen N. Reeves Football Complex, which includes a nap room, miniature golf course, Wiffle ball field, bowling lanes, a barber shop, a recording studio and a slide that will take players inconvenienced by stairs down from the second floor to the first. South Carolina did fight back. Spurrier helped jumpstart a commitment to South Carolina facilities with a large donation toward what is now the Steve and Jeri Spurrier Indoor Practice Facility. Since then the Cyndi and Kenneth Long Football Operations Center opened with nearly as many amenities as the one 132 miles upstate in Clemson. Unfortunately for South Carolina, by the time the decision was made to fight back, recruits were already buying with their eyes and rushing to Clemson where they saw a commitment to better facilities. The recruiting battles Spurrier won from 2010-13 became lost causes, in large part because South Carolina was late to go toe-to-toe with its chief rival. The University of Florida has suffered a similar fate as it spent far too many years without a serious commitment to building better facilities. Never was that more evident than 2014 when then UF athletic director Jeremy Foley stated, “I wear orange and blue goggles a lot and I’m certainly willing to have wide-open eyes but I don’t agree with the assessment our facilities have fallen behind … As you look around our facilities, we’re not into bells and whistles. We’re always looking to upgrade our facilities, but we’re not getting into an arms race.” It was more than just bells and whistles, however, and it has proven to be a costly miscalculation. Not every school has spent lavishly the way Clemson did in the ACC or that South Carolina did to answer its rival. Not everyone has forked out as much cash as Alabama and Texas A&M, both of which have upgraded their entire athletic plants. Texas A&M felt it needed a new football stadium to compete for recruits in the SEC. So, over a two-year period it gutted Kyle Field and rebuilt from the ground up to the point that it’s one of the two or three best stadiums in the country. The cost? $485 million paid for up front in cash. It’s said that only God and the Longhorns have more money than the Aggies, but everyone else in the league has spent record amounts of cash upgrading facilities starting with the advent of the SEC Network. Since it went online, every school in the SEC has picked up a guaranteed $20 million extra and that eliminated a substantial amount of the financial risk associated with upgrading. And, with a new contract from ESPN that will guarantee an additional $20 million and a yearly per school payout from the league in excess of $60 million, everyone including Vanderbilt has taken the plunge. Even the University of Florida has gotten involved although the perception remains that UF has been an almost reluctant participant in the league-wide facilities building boom. Foley prided himself on running a fiscally tight ship so every check that was written for construction was like drawing blood from a turnip. Meanwhile, schools like Alabama, Texas A&M and LSU spent without hesitation. Florida’s price for a late start is best seen on the recruiting trails as athletes who used to flock to Florida in nearly every sport have been saying no to the Gators and yes to schools perceived to have a stronger financial commitment. On one hand, it doesn’t make sense. In the SEC, the University of Florida is second only to Vanderbilt in terms of academics. Only Texas A&M has a larger student body and a greater number of living alumni. Only Texas (30+ million) has a larger population base than Florida (22+ million) among the states that make up the SEC. Financially, Florida has done well, but UF ranks only 10th nationally in athletic department revenues, a surprising fourth in the Southeastern Conference. Despite all the money, Florida is middle-of-the-pack, somewhere around seventh or eighth in the league when you look at the entire athletic plants from top to bottom. Here is a sport-by-sport assessment of Florida’s athletic programs from the standpoint of facilities and how they stack up against the rest of the SEC. FOOTBALL Since football is the financial engine that turns the wheels of the entire athletic program, this is the first place to start. Ben Hill Griffin Stadium: The Swamp has lost some of its luster and while some of that can be attributed to football teams that haven’t won an SEC title since 2008, it also has to do with a stadium that lacks amenities and packs fans in like sardines. In terms of being a tough place to play, there are few places more intimidating on hot afternoons when the stadium is packed. During the past decade, however, wins were harder to come by and that only exacerbated how The Swamp had fallen back to middle of the SEC pack. Tiger Stadium, Bryant-Denny Stadium, Kyle Field, Jordan-Hare Stadium are all perceived to be superior venues to BHG. Practice facilities: Nightmare. The practice fields were in such bad shape in the Will Muschamp era that he lived in constant fear that players were going to break ankles or tear up knees. When UF finally got around to building a long-needed indoor practice facility, the initial plan was a 70-yard field. When Jim McElwain objected and demanded a 100-yard indoor field, some genius in the UF planning department didn’t include end zones, scoreboards, bathrooms and other details. That caused delays and cost overruns. And, the location eliminated one of the grass fields. UF now has only one 100-yard grass outdoor field, a 70-yard artificial turf outdoor field and the indoor field. Alabama, for example, has an indoor practice field, three 100-yard outdoor grass fields and a 100-yard artificial turf outdoor practice field. Performance facilities: Florida’s weight room was upgraded during the Muschamp era but it is still way behind most of the SEC. The Davis Performance Center at Texas A&M and the Bill Battle Performance Center at Alabama make Florida’s facilities pale by comparison. Football operations facility: Florida’s will open next year where the old McKethan Stadium was located. While needed and welcomed, it’s a good five or six years late. The LSU Football Operations Center and the Fred Smith Center at Arkansas are outstanding, but the Bright Football Complex at Texas A&M and the Cyndi and Kenneth Long Center at South Carolina are the best. BASKETBALL Stephen C. O’Connell Center: Back in 1985 when the San Francisco Giants were still playing at Candlestick Park, it was suggested that the stadium desperately needed an overhaul to which KNBR’s Ron Lyons said, “That would be like putting lipstick on a pig.” That’s pretty much what happened when the O-Dome was gutted and renovated. Even though the overruns were well in excess of the original budgets, the O-Dome is nothing more than a lipstick-wearing pig. It is indeed an improvement over what it was, but it’s anything but a first class arena. For a few dollars more than what was spent on the O-Dome renovation, UF could have built a palace like they did at Ole Miss for $90 or so million or at Auburn (a bit more than $80 million). The arena can accommodate volleyball and gymnastics quite nicely but there is no room for indoor track. There are at least seven better basketball arenas in the league. Bud Walton Arena at Arkansas is the best in the league. Florida can’t touch The Bud. Basketball practice facilities: They were great when they were first built, behind the times now when everyone has built new and better facilities. Kentucky and Tennessee have the best in the SEC. BASEBALL Florida Ballpark: After years of playing in a substandard facility, Kevin O’Sullivan finally has the kind of ball yard that will make recruiting so much easier. The new stadium seats 7,000, can be expanded to more than 10,000 and has shade, something that kept fans away in droves at McKethan on hot afternoons. Practice and performance facilities are exceptional. About the only complaint is not enough parking, but parking was a problem at McKethan as well. That the stadium is only the fourth or fifth best in the SEC is not indicative that corners were cut or that UF underbuilt. It’s just that several of the stadiums such as the ones at Arkansas, LSU and Mississippi State would be outstanding Class AAA minor league parks. SOFTBALL Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium: The new Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium is the best in the SEC, completely gutted and renovated in 2017 at a price of $15 million. The practice and performance facilities are first rate. It’s the kind of ball park and facility you expect for a team that has won two national championships and has made it to the Women’s College World Series eight times. TRACK AND FIELD Percy Beard Track: That Mike Holloway has won nine national championships (five outdoor, four indoor) with Florida’s facilities is water changed to wine miraculous. “He deserves better,” a track letterman told me. “Nobody does more with less.” The Percy Beard Track was once one of the palaces of the college track circuit, but no more. There is no indoor facility, which makes the four indoor national titles even more amazing. Florida’s facilities are bottom half of the SEC and can’t come close to comparing to those of Arkansas or LSU or Texas A&M. GYMNASTICS Stephen C. O’Connell Center: Sellout crowds are not unusual. The renovated O-Dome is actually one of the best gymnastics venues in the entire country, easily the best in the Southeastern Conference and it attracts recruiting classes that rank annually among the best in the country. Ted Crom Gymnastics Studio: The practice facility was gutted and renovated in 2012. It’s one of the best in the country, which is fitting for a 3-time national championship program that is a regular in the final four at the NCAA Championships. The only practice facilities that can really compare in the SEC are at Alabama and Georgia. VOLLEYBALL Stephen C. O’Connell Center: Home matches are played at the O-Dome, where the Gators draw good crowds and enjoy a very good home court advantage. Barnhill Arena at Arkansas and Kentucky Memorial Coliseum are cozier and make the crowds a bit more intimidating but Florida has a 30-year track record of success under Mary Wise, who has done everything possible in college volleyball except win the big one. Lemerand Athletic Center: Volleyball practice facilities are good but not great but Mary Wise continues to recruit at a high level. Kentucky and Tennessee have invested heavily in the sport. Tennessee’s Cronan Volleyball Center is an outstanding standalone facility. GOLF Mark Bostic Golf Course: It has been years since Florida was a true national power in a sport that weather says it should dominate. Getting good recruits to come play on the UF course is a serious issue. The original course was designed by legendary Donald Ross more than 100 years ago. It has been renovated and reconfigured on more than one occasion, most recently in 2001. This is like the O-Dome in that further renovations would be like applying lipstick to a pig. The course is only 6,700 yards and ranks on the low end of home golf courses in the SEC. UF could have bought the financially struggling Gainesville Golf and Country Club, which has hosted some mini-pro tour events in the past. Former UF golfers complain that not enough has been done to reach out to Gators on the PGA Tour to get them to donate the way former Georgia golfers give to that program. Bad course. Bad locker rooms. Bad facility in general. And we wonder why Georgia, Arkansas, Ole Miss and LSU continually outrecruit UF. Chris M. Kane Golf Practice Facility: The best description for this eyesore is “disastrous.” The second best description is “embarrassment.” TENNIS Ring tennis center: “Our facilities are pretty poor and there’s no excuse for it,” one former UF tennis letterman told me. “How Coach Bryan Shelton can recruit at a high levelis amazing. You think about how much it rains in Florida and how few indoor courts we have.” Shelton has the Gators ranked No. 1 nationally even with facilities that are ranked lower half of the SEC. After years of dominance, the Florida women have been slipping, in part because better players have gone where there are better facilities. Georgia is the gold standard when it comes to tennis facilities in the SEC. SWIMMING Stephen C. O’Connell Center Natatorium: Despite very average facilities, the Florida men have won nine consecutive SEC championships. Florida hasn’t won a men’s national title since 1984 and the last women’s national championship was 2010. A new pool and diving facility equal to the ones at Georgia and Texas A&M would help, but when it’s obvious that isn’t a plan that is on the drawing board for anytime in the near future. SOCCER/LACROSSE Donald R. Dizney Stadium: This is the best lacrosse facility in the Southeastern Conference (UF and Vanderbilt field the only two teams) and it ranks among the best soccer venues. Plans are on the drawing board to upgrade practice and performance facilities while moving operations from the Lemerand Center to the stadium on the west side of campus. ACADEMICS/NUTRITION The Otis Hawkins Center has been a welcome addition since it opened its doors in 2016. Florida athletes consistently perform at high levels in the classroom in every sport thanks to an unparalleled commitment to academics. Football, for example, finished the spring semester with a team GPA of more than 3.0. Athletes who come to the University of Florida understand they’re going to be given every opportunity to leave with a meaningful degree. The Hawkins Center rates with the best academic centers for athletes in the conference. When the new football operations center is open, it will house the dining and nutrition center for UF athletes, something that has been lagging for awhile. Auburn, Alabama and Kentucky all have 24-hour chefs on duty to make sure athletes are well fed. Florida, to its credit, was one of the first schools in the league to hire full-time nutritionists. OVERALL ASSESSMENT Like it or not, there is an arms race in the Southeastern Conference. It’s no longer good enough to simply say winning cures everything. If you recruit better athletes and give them good coaching, you should win, but the times have changed. There was a time when the University of Florida could get by with average or in some circumstances, below average facilities, but that was then and this is now. Good coaching has always been a requirement, but it takes more in these challenging times. Kids will gravitate to the school that does the best job of combining good coaching with the best facilities. Facilities have become the ultimate tiebreaker. It’s as if there is this unwritten rule that goes something like this: When in doubt, pick the school with the best facilities because that is tangible evidence of commitment. To once again quote Doc Holliday: “People buy with their eyes.” For too much of the past 10 years, athletes weren’t seeing what they wanted to buy at the University of Florida. Things are changing, but can UF stop the slide and regain a foothold in recruiting? That remains to be seen but at least the effort to put a best foot forward when it comes to facilities is being made. After a decade of losing its grip, Florida is fighting back.

A life well lived shouldn’t be confined to a box. And Steve Spurrier had too many boxes. Boxes with trophies and awards. Boxes with game balls and iconic cleats. Boxes of jerseys and pictures, autographs and letters. And boxes of visors; so many visors. Steve Spurrier has lived a life beyond even his own imagination. And with just a little over a month until the planned grand opening of his next venture—Spurrier’s Gridiron Grille in Gainesville—the ball coach sits in a low lit private room in the middle of his new restaurant, surrounded by friends and business partners, and admits with a bit of surprise that even he has to look at his life with wonder. “God's really smiled on me and my family, my children and grandchildren, wonderful wife, 50 years. So yeah, there's no question, it’s beyond my wildest expectations.” A product of small Johnson City, Tennessee, Spurrier first came to Gainesville in 1963. He won a Heisman, married his wife Jerri, spent a decade in the NFL, became a coach, won a National Championship, led Danny Wuerffel to a Heisman, turned around not one but two SEC East programs and became a legend in every sense of the word. A life like that—one beyond his wildest expectations—creates a lot of memories. The problem? They were stuffed in all those dang boxes. So his daughter Amy had an idea. It was simple, in its own right, but inspired. Take everything out of the boxes and show it off. Steve Spurrier is too laid back to have his life shoehorned into a stuffy museum. But a restaurant? One built around an interactive museum, and was an homage to the man but also a thank you to the fans who helped make him? That could work. Plus it gave him something to do. Not in his retirement, because he doesn’t like that word, but between adventures. "Some people say never retire. And I don’t like that word, retire. People ask me, ‘Coach, will you ever coach again?’ And I may coach an all-star game like I did in 2020, February, I coached the Polynesian All-Start game in Hawaii. They asked me to come out and coach one team, Frank Beamer coached the other team. Our team won. "If one of these spring leagues pop back up—The Rock, Dwayne Johnson owns that XFL league, he bought that. They talked about maybe coming back in 2022. So I think they called and said take over the Tampa, Orlando team so I may do that. “I’m not retired from life, I’m just not coaching right now…These people that do nothing, I don’t know how they do nothing.” Spoken like a man who loves what he does. And Spurrier definitely loves what he does. His life, and now his museum/restaurant, is a testament to that. For that matter, it’s a testament to all that made him who he is today, even if he didn’t love it in the moment. “Someone said if you do things in life you really enjoy, you’ll never have to work a day in your life. So, I tell people all the time I've had to work three weeks in my life. In high school I had a summer job down at Hicks Produce tomato place and we stacked tomatoes in a cart up six high, in the middle of summer, making boxes, cutting your hands to put tomato boxes together. That was three weeks of my life I really worked. Other than I’ve been lucky to do what I’m doing.” Almost 60 years later, boxes of tomatoes from Johnson City will be back in Spurrier’s life. They’ll be shipped to Gainesville for the first three months of Spurrier’s Gridiron Grille, used to make an updated version of the tomato sandwich Spurrier ate everyday of his childhood. The menu will contain items like the tomato sandwich, but also varying dishes from pasta to fish, sandwich’s and burgers; everything from affordable plates in the low teen’s to a $60 lamb. The names will play on some of Spurrier’s best plays and players. “We will be very successful; we think Gainesville is a good place for a restaurant like this,” muses Spurrier. His business partner and the restaurant’s managing partner, Freddie Wehbe, has worked tirelessly to make sure of it. Wehbe, who spent the better part of the last two years traveling the world to research why some celebrity restaurants work and others don’t, refuses to let Spurrier’s exist on name alone. The HBC will bring fans in. The food and atmosphere will keep them coming back. Polished casual, as its called. This is no sports pub, but it’s not quite white tablecloth Shula’s either. Wehbe wanted to put a special emphasis on things he knew would be important to the Gainesville culture. So in addition to becoming one of the Top 10 employers in Alachua County, Spurrier’s will also source all of their products locally. Not some, not most…all. Well, all but the Johnson City tomatoes, but that's a special exception. Any cheese and milk product will be made with products from a dairy farm in Hawthorne, which is 15 minutes east of Gainesville. Beef will come from a cow farm in Williston, 20 minutes west of the city. Produce will come from Lake City, 25 minutes north of Gainesville. And if you order fish, you can pull up the Spurrier’s Gridiron Grille app and see at what time that morning the captain pulled your fish out of the Gulf near Cedar Key. The Visors bar on the rooftop—which will feature 240 of Spurrier’s famous visors on the wall, above a floor that purposely mimics the Florida locker room from the 1960’s—is the first of its kind in the college town. The adult atmosphere that still lends it self to a laid back style has already drawn the attention of Shands and UF Health Hospital, as well as the Florida Gators University Athletics Association who plan to use both Visors and Spurrier’s private meetings rooms as a place to schmooze guests. Both have already booked rooms for the fall. The bars both upstairs and downstairs will feature an extensive wine list, as well as a special collection from local brewery First Magnitude, with beers crafted just for Spurrier’s. The fishbowl podcasting room has been equipped with special sound proof walls, ceilings and even air conditioning, to provide an ideal spot for streaming shows. The Dan Mullen Coaches Show will move there this football season. Paul Finebaum, SEC Network and ESPN have already reserved the spot for the Alabama football weekend. And any local Gator podcaster can use the spot for free in exchange for mentioning the restaurant. The kitchen is one of the largest in the area; the opportunity to run it while working with a farm-to-table menu drew an executive chef out of Miami. He moved his entire family to Gainesville, knowing he couldn’t turn down the chance to become the first chef to cook at Spurrier’s. The intentionality behind everything, while appearing effortless, has attracted others hoping to emulate what Spurrier and Wehbe believe this place can be. While visiting a recruit in the area, Alabama head coach Nick Saban stopped in just to see what his old friend and foe was doing with a restaurant. Soon after he returned, this time to take notes and ask pointed questions. He wants to open something in the same vein in Tuscaloosa; called Saban’s of course. Outside, in addition to the seven foot tall statute commissioned of Spurrier tossing his visor, will be a Florida Gators Hall of Fame. Fans and restaurant visitors can vote on three new inductees every year. All of it combines to create not only a place that pays homage to its namesake, but also serve as a love note to the area that has adopted Spurrier as its own. And if you’re lucky, while stopping in to poke around the museum area (something visitors will be allowed to do even if they aren’t eating at the restaurant) maybe the man himself will wander by. He’ll probably point to the football and cleat in encased in glass, and tell you about the time he kicked the game winning field goal against Auburn, and how it took years to get the ball back. “Some guy caught it, held on to it for years. He brought it to me years later. You can tell it’s been played with in the yard and stuff. He said it was the same ball. I guess it could be.” Or he’ll read over the letters hanging on the wall, pointing out the phone’s from presidents and dignitaries and contract negations that set the standard for what coaches make now in college football. Maybe he’ll find the game ball from one of his six SEC Championships and recall in vivid detail how he beat Gene Stallings’ Alabama squad. You won’t find much South Carolina memento’s; he’s saving that for the Columbia restaurant. Or he’ll point to the wall of Danny Wuerffel memorabilia, donated by his former quarterback, not wanting it to sit in a box in his house, something Spurrier understands. Each highlighted memento and place of honor are a reminder of the journey Steve Spurrier has blazed through college football. Because a life well lived shouldn’t be confined to a box. And Steve Spurrier has had quite a life.

A few thoughts to jump start your Wednesday morning: TIME TO REVIEW FACILITIES IN THE SEC There is an arms race going on in the Southeastern Conference with everyone trying to catch up to Arkansas and Texas A&M. Here is an evaluation of all 14 SEC schools and where I rank their facilities overall as well as the venues for the big three sports – football, basketball and baseball. SEC Rank in parenthesis Alabama (4): Football is the engine that drives everything sports-related at Alabama and it shows in facilities. It’s not that the other facilities are bad. They aren’t. The athletic plant is exceptional, but what Nick Saban wants, Nick Saban gets. If this were about football only, Alabama would win hands down, but there are other sports to be considered. Other than baseball, which has a nice new stadium, the other facilities are good but not spectacular. SEC stadium ranks: Football 3; Basketball 11; Baseball 7. Arkansas (1): Start with the best basketball arena and baseball stadium in the SEC, indoor and outdoor track and field facilities that are unmatched anywhere in the country and you’re just scratching the surface. The genius of Frank Broyles was to get the state’s gozillionaires to compete against each other for the naming of facilities. They get money from the Walton (Walmart), Reynolds (aluminum), Tyson (chicken), Jones (as in Jerry), Baum (Walmart), Walker (Walmart) and Fowler (KFC) families, all of whom have their names on first class facilities. The football stadium is at best middle of the pack in the SEC, but the standalone football facility, practice facilities and the Jerry and Gene Jones Center make up for the lack of a state of the art football stadium. SEC stadium ranks: Football 10; Basketball 1; Baseball 1. Auburn (8): Few stadiums can match Jordan-Hare from the standpoint of sightlines and comfortable seating. They’ve resisted the urge to go bigger to stay comfortable. The basketball arena is outstanding in that there isn’t a single seat more than 45 feet from the court. They would be smart to scrap Plainsman Park and build a brand new baseball stadium. Auburn gets very high marks for its academic, housing and feeding amenities (24 hour chef on duty). Practice and performance facilities are very good. Track, tennis and other sports could use some TLC. SEC stadium ranks: Football 2; Basketball 5; Baseball 11. FLORIDA (7): Florida is playing catch up to the rest of the league. The administration finally woke up after years of allowing the rest of the SEC build new facilities. Back when they had Urban Meyer and Billy Donovan they should have started the upgrades but now Florida pretty much middle of the pack although doing its best to move up the ladder. The Swamp is getting some upgrades and a new football facility is on the way. For what was spent on the O-Dome and the indoor practice facility, they could have converted it to an indoor practice facility and built a new arena (check the price of Ole Miss and Auburn). The renovated O-Dome is an improvement, but a new arena might have kept Billy Donovan in Gainesville. Baseball and softball have beautiful new ball yards. Golf and tennis would be better if not for poor facilities. Mouse Holloway deserves a better track and an indoor facility as well. SEC stadium ranks: Football 7; Basketball 7; Baseball 5. Georgia (9): Sanford Stadium is an iconic venue with great sightlines but expansion has made it a tad cramped. Stegman Coliseum is an absolute dump. Until they build a new arena basketball will continue to suffer despite having enormous talent within an hour of campus. Foley Field is an upgrade from the old ball yard but it’s nothing special. The new football facility will help recruiting. Golf and tennis are among the best facilities in the country. They probably should pay more attention to sports other than football. SEC stadium ranks: Football 5; Basketball 13; Baseball 10. Kentucky (12): At some point, you have to wonder when Rupp Arena will be scrapped and a new arena built that seats 30,000 or more. They would fill it. They downsized Kroger Field (formerly Commonwealth Stadium) and it’s better than it was but still not a palace. The new baseball park is an improvement but still bottom of the SEC. Old Memorial Coliseum is a great venue for volleyball, gymnastics and women’s basketball. Good track facilities. Kentucky basketball players live like it’s the NBA. Everybody else? Like it’s college. SEC stadium ranks: Football 12; Basketball 3; Baseball 12. LSU (3): LSU’s athletic plant is third despite the Maravich Center. It’s been renovated twice in the last 20 years but it’s still an old building (50) and there’s only so much that can be done. Tiger Stadium is the best in the country, not just the SEC, and in terms of game day atmosphere it doesn’t get any better. Alex Box Stadium seats 11,000 and there are plans to expand it. Track facilities (indoor and outdoor) are outstanding. Excellent performance and academic support. Very good minor sports facilities. SEC stadium ranks: Football 1; Basketball 9; Baseball 2. Mississippi State (13): The school is in the smallest town in the SEC, has one of the smaller student bodies and has the least amount of money. In most leagues, Mississippi State facilities would rank in the top five. In the SEC only Vanderbilt has worse. With few exceptions, Mississippi State will never win recruiting battles for top tier players in football and basketball so facilities aren’t as big a deal as they are other places. Baseball is a different story. The stadium is the largest and easily one of the three or four best in the entire country. SEC stadium ranks: Football 11; Basketball 12; Baseball 3. Missouri (11): Unlike Texas A&M, which felt like an SEC school from day one, Missouri still feels like it belongs in the Big 12. You want proof? They still have a wrestling team. The powers that be have finally figured out you better put some money into all things football or else you’ll find yourself a bottom feeder. The basketball arena is nice but doesn’t exactly give you the warm and fuzzies. The former basketball arena is where they do volleyball, gymnastics and wrestling. They have a nice athletic park concept but it just doesn’t have an SEC fit to it. SEC stadium ranks: Football 13; Basketball 8; Baseball 14. Ole Miss (10): The Manning Center (football) and the basketball facilities (The Pavilion and Tuohy practice facility) are first rate. Swayze Stadium (baseball) is older but it’s still one of the better ball yards anywhere in the country. Vaught-Hemingway has been upgraded and turned into a bowl. It would be the third or fourth best stadium in the ACC. Upgrades continue with football and all sports facilities. SEC stadium ranks: Football 9; Basketball 4; Baseball 4. South Carolina (6): They’ve been spending like crazy to upgrade the entire athletic plant and it’s starting to pay off. The new football only facility is a great addition and they have an indoor practice facility as well. The three major sports venues are all very good but middle of the pack when it comes to the SEC. If they were in the ACC, they’d be no worse than second best when it comes to facilities. SEC stadium ranks: Football 8; Basketball 6; Baseball 6. Tennessee (5): Tennessee began a major commitment to facilities back in 2008. Since then five new facilities have opened while the football, basketball and baseball venues have received massive renovations. It’s a bit surprising that for all the money they’ve spent everywhere else no investment was made to build an indoor track and field facility. Overall, the athletic plant is one of the better ones in the country but few national championships to show for it. SEC stadium ranks: Football 4; Basketball 2; Baseball 9. Texas A&M (2): It is said only God and the Longhorns have more money than the Aggies. Once they joined the SEC they decided to completely rebuild Kyle Field, cost $485 million. They did it in two years, never missed a home game, and it was all paid for in cash. All the other facilities are outstanding although there is somewhat of an antiseptic feel to them. They’re just too clean and too pristine! At some point, they’ll get an inferiority complex and spend more money to make their facilities better than those at Arkansas and see if they can outspend the hated Longhorns. SEC stadium ranks: Football 5; Basketball 9; Baseball 8. Vanderbilt (14): Vanderbilt Stadium is the smallest and by far the worst in the SEC. Memorial Gym is ancient. The home field advantage in baseball has everything to do with Tim Corbin recruiting future first round pitchers and little to do with the ball yard itself. They are planning to spend a lot of money on upgrades, but when finished folks will think they’ve put neckties and lipstick on pigs. SEC stadium ranks: Football 14; Basketball 14; Baseball 13. GATORS TRAVEL TO FAYETTEVILLE TO FACE NO. 1 RAZORBACKS The Gators (35-16, 17-10 SEC East) began the season a unanimous No. 1 in all the polls. Tonight they begin a three-game series in Fayetteville against Arkansas (39-10, 19-8 SEC West), which is the unanimous No. 1 as the regular season draws to a close. Florida is ranked seventh in one poll, eighth in two others and ninth in the fourth. Tommy Mace (5-0, 4.40 ERA) will get the start for the Gators while Arkansas will counter with lefty Patrick Wilander (4-1, 1.93 SEC). Hunter Barco (9-2, 4.13 ERA) is the Friday starter with Franco Aleman (1-3, 5.26 ERA) set for Saturday. The Gators go into the series trailing Tennessee (40-13, 18-9 SEC East) by a single game in the East Division and ½ behind Vanderbilt (36-12, 1809 SEC East). The Gators almost certainly have to win two of the three games with the Razorbacks to have any kind of shot at overtaking either the Vols or Vandy. A second place or better finish in the East will get the Gators a first day bye in the SEC Tournament next week. NO. 1 UF TENNIS FACES AGGIES IN NCAA SEMIFINALS The Gators (23-2) continue their quest to bring home the national championship tonight at Lake Nona against 8th-seeded Texas A&M (19-8) in the NCAA semifinals. Florida has beaten the Aggies twice, once in the regular season in College Station and the other time in the SEC Tournament semifinals. GATORS ADVANCE AFTER FIFTH PLACE FINISH IN GOLF REGIONALS The Gators shot the second best round of the day Wednesday (even par 284) to move up three places to fifth at the Cle Elum, Washington Regional, good enough to advance to the NCAA Golf Championships. Ricky Castillo shot a 2-under 69 in the final round to lead the Gators while Tyler Wilkes was 1-under (70) and Gio Manzoni was even par (71). The NCAA Championships begin May 28 in Scottsdale, Arizona. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Dino Gaudio has been charged by the US Attorney in Louisville with attempted extortion. The former Wake Forest head coach, ESPN commentator and Louisville assistant coach under Chris Mack, was fired after three years on the job. He threatened to expose recruiting violations in the way Louisville produced videos for recruits, claiming also that Louisville used graduate assistants in practices, which also goes against NCAA rules. For that he asked for 17 months of severance. Louisville, turned the matter over to the US Attorney who has charged Gaudio with attempted extortion. I’m not saying Louisville and Chris Mack did the wrong thing, but when you consider the amount of hot water the program is already in with the NCAA, the very last thing needed is negative publicity and this is negative. Of course, the NCAA has to love this. Because it’s now a federal issue, anything Gaudio submits as evidence becomes public record which the NCAA can use against Louisville in dealing with all the allegations that are part of the college basketball corruption trials. And, lest we forget, Louisville already had its 2013 NCAA title vacated because of violations during Rick Pitino’s tenure as head coach. We could actually see the NCAA issue the death penalty to the Louisville hoops program. Don’t think that will happen? See Southwestern Louisiana from 1973-75 when the USL (now Louisiana) program was shut down by the NCAA for more than 100 violations. What Beryl Shipley did at USL pales in comparison to the last 10 years at Louisville.

A few thoughts to jump start your Tuesday morning: MULLEN, WHITE HAVE DONE WELL IN THE TRANSFER PORTAL In another couple of weeks, the spring semester will have ended at more than 90 percent of all the Division I schools, which can only mean the transfer portal will heat up even more. In the SEC where Tennessee has lost 34 football players via the transfer route and Georgia has lost nine basketball players, the Florida Gators have actually done quite well. Dan Mullen has lost eight scholarship players in the football portal. The only ones who figured to play a lot were linebackers James Houston IV, who hasn’t found a transfer destination yet, and Jesiah Pierre, who transferred to Texas Tech. Mullen has signed four transfers, all of whom will play important roles in the fall – running back Demarkcus Bowman (from Clemson), defensive tackles Antonio Shelton (from Penn State) and Daquan Newkirk (from Auburn), both of whom are grad transfers, and placekicker Jace Christmann (from Mississippi State), also a grad transfer who will not be on scholarship. Bowman is a former 5-star back with gamebreaking abilities while Newkirk and Shelton are both strong against the run and capable of collapsing the pocket on the inside. Christmann, who kicked for Mullen at Mississippi State back in 2017, left Starkville as the school’s all-time leader in scoring. Depending on who is available in the transfer portal in the next two or three weeks, Mullen may add one or two more. It seemed the sky was falling when Mike White lost Tre Mann and Scottie Lewis to the NBA Draft followed in short order by Noah Locke (to Louisville), Omar Payne (to Illinois), Ques Glover (to Samford) and Osayi Osifo (to Jacksonville) transferring, but the losses have been completely offset. The four transfers White has added could all start in the fall. White picked up three double figures perimeter scorers who all play outstanding defense and a power forward who is as good a shot blocker as Payne and a better offensive player. Brandon McKissic was a finalist for the Lefty Driesell National Defensive Player of the Year and Phlandrous Fleming Jr. won the Big South Defensive Player of the Year twice. McKissic averaged more than 17 per game and Fleming scored 20. Myreon Jones is a superb outside shooter from Penn State who scored more than 15 per game and is a lock down defender. C.J. Felder from Boston College averaged 2.2 blocked shots per game. Overall, White has upgraded both the offense and the defense through the portal. He has one open scholarship that could be used to add a transfer with multiple years of eligibility or a big man out of high school. The transfer portal hasn’t been kind to many of the schools in the SEC, but both Florida and Alabama have done the best job of limiting losses while bringing in quality replacements in both sports. GATORS REMAIN TOP TEN IN BASEBALL POLLS Although the Gators (35-16, 17-10 SEC) went 2-2 last week, they remained top ten in all four significant college baseball polls. Florida lost a midweek game to unranked Stetson then took two out of three to win their weekend SEC series with Georgia. Florida’s best ranking is seventh in the Collegiate Baseball poll. The Gators are eight in the USA Today Coaches and Baseball America polls and ninth at D1Baseball.com. The rankings certainly aren’t an exact science, but the fact the Gators are top ten in all the polls does bode well for the NCAA Tournament. The Gators are almost a mortal lock to host a regional, but they will have to be a top eight national seed to host a super regional as well. Winning at least one of the three games in Fayetteville against No. 1 Arkansas this weekend will help since it would give UF 18 wins in SEC play. Scoring at least one win in the SEC Tournament would also be a factor. If there is a negative moving forward it is Florida’s No. 20 RPI. Key players: Jud Fabian, who had a 2-homer game against Georgia Saturday night, is tied with Florida State’s Matheu Nelson for the NCAA lead with 20 home runs ... Since taking over the closer’s role, Jack Leftwich (7-3, 3.25 ERA) has thrived, picking up three wins and four saves. In 61 innings, Leftwich has allowed only 41 hits while walking only 19 … Kendrick Calilao is 10 for his last 20 with three homers and seven RBI ... Hunter Barco (9-2, 4.13 ERA), who has won six consecutive games since March 28, is tied for third nationally with nine wins. Collegiate Baseball poll: 1. Arkansas 39-10; 2. Vanderbilt 36-12; 3. Mississippi State 36-13; 4. Texas 38-12; 5. TCU 35-14; 6. Tennessee 39-13; 7. FLORIDA 35-16; 8. Arizona 35-13; 9. Oregon 33-11; 10. Texas Tech 33-12; 11. East Carolina 36-11; 12. Ole Miss 36-15; 13. Notre Dame 26-10; 14. Stanford 28-12; 15. South Carolina 31-18; 16. UCLA 30-16; 17. UC-Irvine 33-15; 18. Louisville 26-18; 19. Gonzaga 30-13; 20. Louisiana Tech 36-14; 21. Oklahoma State 30-16-1; 22. Arizona State 30-16; 23. Michigan 25-13; 24. Charlotte 37-16; 25. North Carolina State 26-14; 26. Georgia Tech 25-20; 27. Fairfield 33-1; 28. Virginia Commonwealth 32-14; 29. Grand Canyon 34-17-1; 30. Florida State 28-19. USA Today Coaches poll: 1. Arkansas 39-10; 2. Vanderbilt 36-12; 3. Texas 38-12; 4. Tennessee 39-13; 5. Texas Tech 33-12; 6. Mississippi State 36-13; 7. Oregon 33-11; 8. FLORIDA 35-16; 9. Notre Dame 26-10; 10. Arizona 35-13; 11. East Carolina 36-11; 12. Ole Miss 36-15; 13. TCU 35-14; 14. Louisiana Tech 36-14; 15. Stanford 28-12; 16. Florida State 28-19; 17. Southern Miss 35-17; 18. South Carolina 31-18; 19. Charlotte 37-16; 20. Gonzaga 30-13; 21. UCLA 30-16; 22. UC-Irvine 33-15; 23. Louisville 26-18; 24. North Carolina State 26-14; 25. Old Dominion 36-14. Baseball America poll: 1. Arkansas 39-10; 2. Vanderbilt 36-12; 3. Notre Dame 26-10; 4. Texas 38-12; 5. Tennessee 39-13; 6. Mississippi State 36-13; 7. Texas Tech 33-12; 8. FLORIDA 35-16; 9. Arizona 35-13; 10. East Carolina 36-11; 11. Ole Miss 36-15; 12. Florida State 28-19; 13. Oregon 33-11; 14. TCU 35-14; 15. Louisiana Tech 36-14; 16. Charlotte 37-16; 17. Stanford 28-12; 18. UC-Irvine 33-15; 19. Louisville 26-18; 20. Old Dominion 36-14; 21. South Carolina 31-18; 22. Southern Miss 35-17; 23. Michigan 25-13; 24. North Carolina State 26-14; 25. Gonzaga 30-13. D1Baseball.com poll: 1. Arkansas 36-10; 2. Texas 38-12; 3. Vanderbilt 36-12; 4. Tennessee 39-13; 5. Texas Tech 33-12; 6. Oregon 33-11; 7. Arizona 35-13; 8. Notre Dame 26-10; 9. FLORIDA 35-16; 10. Mississippi State 36-13; 11. East Carolina 36-11; 12. TCU 35-14; 13. Ole Miss 36-15; 14. Louisiana Tech 36-14; 15. Stanford 28-12; 16. Florida State 38-19; 17. Gonzaga 30-13; 18. UCLA 30-16; 19. Southern Miss 35-17; 20. UC-Irvine 33-15; 21. South Carolina 31-18; 22. Charlotte 37-16; 23. North Carolina State 26-14; 24. Michigan 25-13; 25. Arizona State 30-16. UF SOFTBALL: GATORS NO. 3 RPI The Gators got the fourth overall seed for the NCAA Tournament on the strength of winning the SEC regular season championship and the No. 3 RPI, giving the Gators host privileges for both the regional and super regional. The SEC wound up with five of the top eight seeds which means those teams will host regionals and super regionals. The SEC is sending 12 of its 13 teams into the regionals. Only Texas A&M (No. 40) had an RPI outside the top 30. NCAA RPI 1-30 (SEC teams boldface): 1. UCLA 41-4; 2. Alabama 45-7; 3. FLORIDA 42-9; 4. Oklahoma 45-2; 5. Oklahoma State 42-9; 6. LSU 32-19; 7. Arkansas 40-9; 8. Florida State 39-10; 9. Tennessee 41-13; 10. Texas 39-11; 11. Arizona 36-13; 12. Duke 42-10; 13. Missouri 38-15; 14. Arizona State 32-14; 15. Oregon 37-15; 16. Washington 41-11; 17. Liberty 42-13; 18. Kentucky 39-13; 19. Georgia 29-21; 20. Clemson 42-6; 21. Virginia Tech 33-13; 22. Louisiana 44-10; 23. Delaware 25-9; 24. Wichita State 39-11; 25. Notre Dame 31-13; 26. Villanova 36-13; 27. Ole Miss 34-20; 28. Auburn 27-22; 29. Mississippi State 33-23; 30. James Madison 34-1 UF TENNIS: GATORS ADVANCE TO NCAA QUARTERFINALS With their 4-0 win over 16th-seeded Illinois (23-3) Monday night, No. 1 Florida (23-2) advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals at Lake Nona. The Gators will face Texas A&M Thursday in the semifinals. Florida owns a 5-2 regular season win over the Aggies and a 4-3 win in the SEC Tournament. UF GOLF: GATORS IN AN EIGHT-PLACE TIE AT NCAA REGIONAL The Gators shot even-par 284 as a team, which places them in an eight-place tie with Denver at the NCAA Regional at Cle Elum, Washington, six shots behind leader Wake Forest. The Gators got under-par performances from Ricky Castillo (-3 68, tied for fourth) and Yuxin Lin (-1 70, tied for 15th). OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC Alabama: Trent Richardson, who last played in the NFL in 2016, has played in the CFL and Alliance of American Football in the years since. He will suit up this fall for Chihuahua in a professional league in Mexico … Eight football players have transferred out and three have transferred in. Alabama had zero basketball transfers but two transferred in. Arkansas: The Hogs have lost 15 football players to the portal while gaining six. Three basketball players transferred out and three transferred in. Auburn: Auburn has lost 16 football players to transfer while welcoming four via the portal. In basketball, four have transferred out and four have transferred in. Georgia: K.D. Johnson, who averaged 13.5 points per game last season, will announce his transfer destination on Wednesday ... Nine Georgia basketball players have transferred out while four have transferred in. In football, 12 have transferred out and two have transferred in. Kentucky: Sahvir Wheeler (5-10, 180), who averaged 14 points while leading the SEC in assists (7.4) last season is transferring to Kentucky. Two UK basketball players have transferred out while four have transferred in. Ten football players have transferred out while six have transferred in. LSU: LSU will face UCLA in its football season opener in the Rose Bowl on prime time September 4 … Twelve football players have transferred and only one has transferred in. In basketball, three transferred out and four transferred in. Mississippi State: Abdul Ado (6-11, 255) will play his super senior year elsewhere after placing his name in the NCAA transfer portal Monday. Ado averaged 5.9 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.0 blocked shots per game last season … The news wasn’t all bad for Mississippi State, however, as point guard Shakeel Moore (6-1, 180) announced he will transfer in from North Carolina State. He averaged 6.8 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game off the bench as a freshman last season … The football team has lost 21 to the transfer portal while seven have transferred in. In basketball, five transferred out and three transferred in. Missouri: It has been a revolving door for transfers both for football and basketball. In football, 16 have transferred out and three have transferred in. In basketball, six have transferred out and four have transferred in. Ole Miss: Maryland transfer Chance Campbell (6-3, 235) is thought to be an immediate impact player for Lane Kiffin’s defense. Campbell averaged 11 tackles per game for the Terps last season, which ranked second in the Big Ten … Eight football players have transferred out while two have transferred in. In basketball, five have transferred out and three have transferred in. South Carolina: The Gamecocks and North Carolina scheduled two games home and home with UNC playing at Williams-Brice in 2028 and the Gamecocks traveling to Chapel Hill in 2029 … Eleven football players have transferred out while eight have transferred in. In basketball, six transferred out and four transferred in. Tennessee: Here is the damage report for Tennessee football when it comes to transfers. So far, 34 have transferred out and seven have transferred in. The Vols saw four basketball players transfer out with only one transferring in. Texas A&M: The Aggies finished the spring with only 11 scholarship offensive linemen. They will pick up three freshmen and Tennessee transfer tackle Jahmir Johnson in the fall … Eighteen football players have departed via transfer while one has transferred in. In basketball, eight have transferred out and five have transferred in. Vanderbilt: Vanderbilt has seen 20 football players transfer out with only three transferring in. In basketball, seven have transferred out and three have transferred in. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Dan Wetzel of Yahoo! Sports gets it. After a week of slings and arrows being tossed at Urban Meyer for signing Tim Tebow, many by players who are better described as never was than has been, Wetzel wrote Monday, “No. It’s not like Meyer gave him $150 million and said he was Week 1 starter at quarterback. We’re talking about one of the 90 camp invitees for a 1-15 team led by a rookie head coach. The Jags’ tight ends combined to catch two touchdown passes. How many of the angry masses can name one of them, let alone the position depth chart? … This is a low risk gamble.” Tebow will serve his purpose by giving 100 percent effort on every snap. Those who aren’t moved by a 33-year-old who’s never played tight end busting it like that will find themselves on the waiver wire or trade bait. If Tebow makes the team and contributes that will be a plus.

The No. 9 Florida Gators baseball team (35-16, 17-10 SEC) took the series over the rival Georgia Bulldogs (29-20, 12-15 SEC) this weekend despite falling in game three. The Gators now have eight consecutive series victories at Florida Ballpark. *Catch a full video recap at the bottom Series Notes Game One: 4-3 Florida The Gators got the comeback victory in game one thanks to infielder Josh Rivera’s late-inning performance. He singled home the winning run in the bottom of the eighth with two outs and a 1-2 count. Gators tie season high with 16 strikeouts Tommy Mace, Trey Van Der Weide and Jack Leftwich combined to strike out 16 batters Mace 6.2 innings of three-run ball on seven hits and two walks while striking out 10 batters Kendrick Calilao 2-for-3 Cory Acton 2-for-2 Game Two: 9-2 Florida Florida’s four home run night clinched the series victory over the Bulldogs. Ties season high in home runs in a single game Also hit four home runs on March 12 against Jacksonville and on May 1 versus Vanderbilt Outfielder Jud Fabian accounted for two home runs Fourth two-homer game of the 2021 season Fifth player in Gator baseball history to hit 20 or more homers in a single season Leads the SEC in homers Went 2-for-3 Calilao Home run 2-for-3 Rivera Home run 2-for-3 Career-high four RBI LHP Hunter Barco 6.1 innings Allowed two runs on six hits and two walks while striking out eight Has now struck out seven-or-more batters on seven separate occasions this season Game Three: 6-1 Georgia Florida fell 6-1 to Georgia on senior day. RHP Franco Aleman 6 innings, ties career high of innings pitched in single game Allowed seven hits, five runs and three strikeouts Kirby McMullen extended his on-base streak to 23 games. Went 1-for-3 with a hit-by-pitch Calilao 2-for-4 6-for-10 over the weekend series Now has multiple hits in five of the last six games What’s Next? Florida will be on the road next weekend facing No. 1 Arkansas for their final series of the regular season next weekend. Game one is set for Thursday at 7 p.m., game two Friday at 8 p.m. and game three Saturday at 3 p.m. The Gators are 7-9 on the road this season. The 2021 SEC Tournament begins May 25 in Hoover, Alabama.

A few thoughts to jump start your Monday morning: EARLY REVIEWS ARE GOOD FOR KYLE TRASK Color Tampa Bay Bucs coach Bruce Arians impressed with Kyle Trask after a rookie mini-camp this weekend. Here are Arians’ comments couple of comments courtesy of the Tampa Bay Times: “I thought he was great. I thought he was fantastic. He’s got three guys coaching the [expletive] out of him on each play, so they need to calm down and let him go. I’m really pleased with where he’s at right now.” And this … “I think he grasped it very well. He was throwing the ball where it’s supposed to go. He had a couple of drops on him, but I thought he looked really good. Just the way he processes information. He took it from the first time ever hearing it, and he was throwing it to the right guy. He was throwing against some really well-disguised coverages that he saw the first day of his career. I was real impressed with how he processed his information. He was very accurate.” I’m not at all surprised that Trask impressed from day one. A lot of the so-called experts have claimed that Trask doesn’t have great arm strength for the NFL but Tom Brady has seven Super Bowl rings and Joe Montana three. I don’t recall either one of them having real bazookas. What Brady has and what Montana had was the ability to process information in a split second and then deliver the ball with accuracy to the right place. Quarterbacks with big arms come and go every year in the NFL but the ones who stick around a long time – big arm or not – are the ones who can look over a defense, figure out instantly what they need to do and then get the ball on time to the right receiver. Trask showed us the last two seasons that he can process the info and then get it to the right place on time. And, as Kyle Pitts told us, Trask has the ability to turn what would be a 50-50 ball for other quarterbacks into an 80-20 – or better – pass for his receivers. Trask isn’t going to take Brady’s job in Tampa, but he’s going to learn from the best who ever played the game and he’s going to spend the next year or two playing the part of a sponge and absorbing everything he’s taught. When he finally gets his chance, don’t bet against him succeeding. GATORS WIN SERIES BUT MISS OUT ON AN OPPORTUNITY The good news for the Gators (35-16, 17-10 SEC East) is they won their series with Georgia (29-20, 12-15 SEC East) by taking the Friday and Saturday evening games. The bad news is that by losing their Sunday game 6-1, the Gators missed out on a chance to take over first place in the SEC East. Consider it an opportunity lost. Had the Gators swept Georgia, they would have ended the weekend tied at the top of the SEC East Division with Tennessee (39-13, 18-9 SEC East), which lost two out of three to No. 1 Arkansas (39-10, 19-8 SEC West). Also, with a sweep the Gators could have moved past Vanderbilt (36-12, 17-9 SEC East). Vanderbilt lost two out of three to Ole Miss (36-15, 16-11 SEC West). The Gators got a run-scoring single from Josh Rivera in the bottom of the eighth Friday night and two shutout innings from closer Jack Leftwich (7-3, 3.51 ERA) to win game one, 4-3. Kendrick Calilao homered in the second inning for the Gators. Saturday, the Gators pounded out four homers and Hunter Barco (9-2, 4.13 ERA) went 6-1/3 innings, striking out eight, as UF cruised to a 9-2 win. It was the sixth straight win for Barco, who last lost back on March 28 to South Carolina. Jud Fabian hit his 19th and 20th home runs to take over the SEC lead. Calilao and Rivera also homered. Sunday, Georgia took an early lead and never was threatened. Franco Aleman (1-3, 5.26 ERA) gave up a 3-run homer in the first and a solo homer in the second before settling down. Florida had opportunities to make the game interesting but the Gators left 12 men on base including the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth. The Gators will travel to Arkansas for the final regular season series starting Thursday night, probably needing to win two out of three to have a shot winning the SEC East and securing a top eight national seed. UF SOFTBALL: GATORS EARN A NO. 4 NATIONAL SEED The Gators (42-9) didn’t win the SEC Tournament, but they still earned a No. 4 national seed. They open up play in the NCAA Tournament at 2 p.m. against South Florida (29-17, American Athletic). Also in the Florida regional are South Alabama (30-19, Sun Belt) and Baylor (27-21, Big 12). If Florida wins its regional, it will host a super regional. The Gators are paired against the winner of the Athens regional – Duke (42-10, ACC), Georgia (SEC, 29-21); UNC-Greensboro (Southern, 34-15) and Western Kentucky (Conference USA, 31-13). Five SEC teams were among the top eight national seeds which means they will host regionals and super regionals – 3. Alabama; 4. Florida; 6. Arkansas; 7. LSU; and 8. Missouri. Tennessee is a No. 9 but won’t get a super regional; Kentucky is a No. 14 but also won’t get a super. Georgia will host a regional but isn’t the top seed (Duke is top seed but can’t host in Durham because of Covid-19 issues on campus). Also in the tournament are Mississippi State, Texas A&M, Auburn and Ole Miss. Florida made it to the SEC Tournament championship game in Tuscaloosa with another comeback win. The Gators blew a 5-2 lead in the top of the seventh, but tied the game at 6-6 in the bottom of the seventh on a Kendyl Lindaman sacrifice fly that scored Hannah Adams and a walkoff infield hit by Jaimie Hoover that scored Katie Kistler from third base. In the SEC Tournament championship game, the Gators had a bad first inning and then couldn’t mount a comeback against Alabama ace Montana Fouts. UF LACROSSE ADVANCES TO NCAA QUARTERFINALS The Gators avenged their last loss Sunday when they stomped Jacksonville 17-3 to advance to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Lacrosse Tournament. The Gators lost to JU back on March 3. Since then UF has won 15 straight games. Sunday, Grace Haus led the way for the 6th-seeded Gators (18-2) with seven goals. Florida hits the road for the quarterfinal match with No. 3 seed Syracuse, which beat Loyola Maryland 20-8 Sunday. Other UF spring sports Men’s tennis: The Gators (22-2) are the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament as it advances to the quarter-final round tonight at Lake Nona. Florida will face 16th-seeded Illinois (23-2) at 7 p.m. Track and field: The Florida men finished fourth at the SEC Championships with 74 points while the UF women finished sixth with 62 points. Men’s golf: The Gators are the No. 3 seed in the Cle Elum, Washington Regional that begins today. Seeded ahead of the Gators are Wake Forest and Pepperdine. The Gators are ranked 21st nationally. KIM MULKEY SAID IT … Former Baylor and now LSU women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Saturday. The parting words from her speech should be standard for the coach of ANY college sport: “As a coach, don’t ever forget to take care of your players and in college don’t forget to graduate your players. You can’t promise them championships. You can’t promise them they’ll be drafted but the one thing you can promise them when you sit in their home is that you can send them home with a degree in hand.” In 21 years as a head coach at Baylor, Mulkey had a 100 percent graduation rate. Don’t you wish more coaches had this kind of commitment to the education and future well-being of their players? OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC Alabama: All-Sun Belt Conference punter Jack Martin is transferring in from Troy where he averaged 46.1 on 25 punts last year. Arkansas: Former Arkansas quarterback Cole Kelley, who started games for the Razorbacks in 2018, won the Walter Payton Award, which is D1AA’s equivalent of the Heisman Trophy. Kelley led D1AA in passing at Southeastern Louisiana ... The Razorbacks expect to hold on to the nation’s No. 1 baseball ranking after taking two out of three from 4th-ranked Tennessee over the weekend … Both the Arkansas men and women won the SEC track and field titles. Auburn: Bydarrius Knighten, a defensive back with 262 tackles and six interceptions in his career, is transferring from D1AA Southeast Missouri State. Georgia: Redshirt sophomore safety Brandon Turnage, a 4-star prospect back in 2019, is transferring in from Alabama … Wide receiver Tommy Bush is transferring to North Texas. Bush is a former 4-star recruit from 2018 who caught one pass in his UGa career. Kentucky: Sahvir Wheeler, who averaged 14 points and 7.4 assists per game at Georgia last season, could pull the trigger on a transfer to Kentucky this week. UK is thought to be a strong leader over LSU, Oklahoma State and Kansas ... Nolan Hickman, the 5-star point guard who asked out of and was released from his national LOI, will be signing with Gonzaga. LSU: LSU’s softball team got a No. 7 seed with a 32-19 record and only 13-11 in the SEC. That was a serious shock to Washington, which finished 41-11 in the very tough Pac-12. Washington got a No. 16 seed. Mississippi State: The nationally 3rd-ranked Bulldogs (36-13, 17-10 SEC West) were shocked over the weekend, losing two of three to lowly Missouri (14-33, 7-20 SEC East) … Tight end Powers Warren, the son of Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren, is transferring to Michigan State … Wide receiver Geor’quarius Spivey is transferring to Arizona State. Missouri: Linebacker Jamal Brooks will be a grad transfer to South Alabama. He was in on 46 tackles during his four seasons at Mizzou. Ole Miss: The Rebels (36-15, 16-11 SEC West) moved to within a game of 3rd-ranked and West Division second place Mississippi State (36-13, 17-10 SEC West) by taking two out three from Vanderbilt despite the absence of ace Gunnar Hoagland, who will have to undergo Tommy John surgery. Tennessee: Four-star linebacker Katron Evans, who was released from his UT national letter of intent, is signing with Deion Sanders and Jackson State. Texas A&M: Shadrach Banks, a former 4-star recruit who was an early enrollee wide receiver, is transferring to TCU. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Greg McElroy, who has a national championship ring as a quarterback not so much for what he did but because Nick Saban surrounded him with exceptional talent and didn’t ask him to do too much, couldn’t resist the opportunity to take a swipe at Tim Tebow, who not only had a better college career than McElroy but a better NFL career (the college stats are no-brainers, the pros you could look up). Speaking to Mark Heim of Al.com, McElroy said, “As a player who went through training camp with Tim, there’s going to be players rolling their eyes at how much attention the fourth or fifth string tight end gets. It’s going to piss people off. As a result, it’s going to affect locker room chemistry like it did with us with the Jets. Not because there’s animosity towards Tim, but there’s animosity toward the coverage Tim receivers. I think it’s a stupid move. You’re [Urban Meyer] staring your tenure at Jacksonville, you’re setting a tone, and people say he can help with leadership. Let me tell you what helps with leadership in the NFL, money. You want guys to be incentivized? Pay them … I think it really undercuts what Urban Meyer is trying to build.” I’m sure Urban is losing sleep as this is written because he doesn’t have Greg McElroy’s blessing.

They’re doomed. It’s a foregone conclusion that Tim will fail because he’s almost 34 and surely over the hill. Urban will lose the lockerroom for cheating other young tight ends out of a roster spot and gifting it to his former player. The whole thing will blow up in their face and the Jacksonville Jaguars will become the laughingstock of the NFL. How do I know this? Because I’ve heard and read it for over a week now. Shame on Urban Meyer and Tim Tebow for defrauding NFL fans! What’s that you say? You’re the one person who believes Tebow being signed by the Jaguars is a good thing and the story will turn out to have a happy ending? Sit down and shut up! Don’t be bringing that positive crap in around here! As we write this column, we are still awaiting Tebow’s signature on the contract for it to become real. Meanwhile, back to the real news. Oh wait – please, no! There’s a sense of foreboding about the news today, so quick, let’s go back over to sports channel. Normally this is the time for NFL fans to get jacked up about the schedule being announced – the Bucs opening vs. the Cowboys and Tom Brady and going back to play in New England; the Jags playing the Dolphins in London and Urban Meyer making his debut in Jax vs. the Saints. To be played before packed houses. But hold on here – Let me apologize for once again using the “T” word and writing about a guy who hasn’t played a down for more than 3,000 days. To be honest, I don’t know if I’ve got the gumption to argue the Tebow-to-Jacksonville pro and con anymore. The Red State vs. Blue State political cold war debate kind of knocked the stuffing out of me. I’m already on record as supporting the idea of the Jaguars giving Tebow a shot, so there’s nothing more to say. Except let’s wait to see and enjoy the ride. Am I the only one who feels this is fun? “This is a great story,” said ESPN host Paul Finebaum, whose program has been inundated by callers this week on the Tebow issue, even though Paul’s listeners are college fans. He sees this as a viable option that may or may not work – but should be considered. Like so many others, Finebaum’s got his doubts, but is willing to give it a chance. “There’s no way you can guarantee somebody an NFL roster spot. It must be earned.” Not that it’s comparable, but imagine if Peyton Manning decided to become the head coach o the Saints tomorrow and asked his brother Eli to play another season as backup quarterback? Bad idea? Absurd? Maybe. Good story? Of course! What if it worked? In other similar cases it has failed. Look no further than Washington and Steve Spurrier when he brought in Danny Wuerffel and Shane Matthews. Of course since Spurrier wasn’t allowed to pick his quarterback initially and pulled the plug on owner Daniel Snyder, it was never going to become a long-term solution. I think what the critics are missing is the joy of “possibility.” Where do dreams go to live anymore? Which is what makes the story so delicious. Have we become so calloused by name-calling, garbage-throwing politics and the deadly virus that we can’t root for people? I loved the comment by Tebow’s former All-American linebacker teammate Brandon Spikes: “He won two national championships at Florida for Urb. Now Urb is giving him a chance to play again in the NFL. I don’t see the issue here folks. Can’t y’all just be happy for the guy?” And as I’ve said hundreds of times – especially to those who love to cast me as the blind patriot and unabashed homer (partly justified) – I root for the story over the team. And, in some cases, moreso when it involves my friends. And I will admit to being friends with one or more of these subjects. Meanwhile, if you’ve ever been in a position to hire somebody you know well, believe in their skills and are confident he or she can do the job better than anyone else -- but become hesitant over the voices of critics -- maybe you’ll appreciate Urban’s dilemma. I’ve been there twice – once at the pinnacle of my career. I was doing a national search for an executive sports editor in New York and kept running up dark alleys before the light turned on for me. The best guy was somebody I’d been working with as an assistant three times before. I finally gave in and hired him. From there, my friend and former assistant became a renown journalistic figure and, once out from under my tutelage, soared to the highest echelon of his profession. Critics had told me I should have found somebody else and accused me of just favoring my friend. Urban, of course, doesn’t have a bunch of film on Tebow playing tight end and has never coached him as a pro. I can attest to Meyer’s conviction that he’s always felt Tim’s ability, leadership and intense competitive nature would make him an intriguing candidate. On numerous occasions – and especially while we were doing a podcast over the summer – Urban said if Tim ever decided to return to the NFL he’d likely find a coach interested in talking to him. “But Tim has to decide what he wants to do,” Urban would say – including playing baseball and broadcasting on TV. Turns out it that coach was Urban. When Tebow called his old coach and then agreed to work out as a tight end, Urban asked two of his assistants to evaluate him. Meyer wasn’t there. Apparently his coaches were blown away. “He was in the best shape of his life,” Meyer told Cris Collinsworth. “Asked to see if he could work out with a couple of our coaches. I wasn’t even there. And they came back to me and said, ‘Wow. This guy is in incredible shape.’ Then I went another time and watched them try him out. And they said, ‘Go work on these things.’ He comes back later and they try him out again. I’m not there. And they came in and said, ‘Wow, this guy has ball skills. He’s a great athlete. He looks like he’s 18 years old and not 33.’ And I said, ‘Guys, you don’t understand. Now this guy is the most competitive maniac you’re ever going to talk to, and let’s give it a shot.’” It’s going to be a rough road for both Urban and Tim, but they’ve chosen a path of extremely challenging circumstance and substantial resistance. No matter if they succeed, they’ll never get full credit. And besides, don’t we love to see heroes fall?

A few thoughts to jump start your Friday morning: ROTATION CHANGES AS GATORS HOST GEORGIA IN CRITICAL SERIES The importance of this weekend’s series with Georgia (28-18, 11-13 SEC East) isn’t lost on Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan. Although the Gators trail East Division leader Tennessee (38-11, 17-7 SEC East) by two games and second place Vanderbilt (35-10, 16-7 SEC East) by 1.5, the 9th-ranked Gators (33-15, 15-9 SEC) are still very much in the hunt for a divisional title or at least a move up to second place. While the Gators are facing Georgia at home, 4th-ranked Tennessee will be hosting No. 1 Arkansas (37-9, 17-7 SEC West) and Vanderbilt goes on the road to face 18th-ranked Ole Miss (34-14, 14-10 SEC West). If the Gators pull off a sweep while the Vols and Vandy lose two out of three, Florida could find itself tied at the top of the East on Sunday night. If UF can continue the momentum to either win the division or finish second they will earn a first day bye at the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Alabama. Considering the lack of overall depth and fragility of the Florida pitching staff, one extra day could be critical since a strong showing in Hoover could ensure hosting both NCAA regional and super regionals. Championship possibilities have everything to do with O’Sullivan shaking up his weekend rotation ahead of tonight’s first game with Georgia (6:30 p.m., SEC Network+). The importance of winning game one without going deep into the bullpen is why O’Sullivan has moved Tommy Mace (5-0, 4.43 ERA) back into the Friday night starting role after spending the last four weekends pitching on Saturday. Mace hasn’t been dominant in his last four starts but he eats up innings and doesn’t walk people. If he can give the Gators at least five or six good innings, O’Sullivan can save wear and tear on long reliever Christian Scott (4-2, 2.74 ERA, 2 saves) and closer Jack Leftwich (6-3, 3.51 ERA, 4 saves). The move to Mace on Friday shifts Franco Aleman (1-2, 5.17 ERA) back to Sunday afternoon. When Aleman is on his game, he can dominate with heat in the 95-98 range, but he gets into trouble at times with location. Perhaps the move back to Sunday will take some of the pressure off and allow Aleman to find some consistency. The shakeup moves lefty Hunter Barco (8-2, 4.26 ERA) up a day to Saturday. During the past month, Barco has won each of his last four starts. He is coming off a dominating effort against Kentucky last weekend when he limited the Wildcats to two hits and struck out 10 in 6-2/3 innings for his team-high eighth win. The innings and strikeouts were career highs. One Florida pitcher to keep an eye on this weekend will be Brandon Sproat (2-0, 3.31 ERA), who had his best outing of the season against Stetson Tuesday night when he allowed only one hit and one walk in four shutout innings. If Sproat can give the Gators two or three innings of long relief this weekend, O’Sullivan will have options on how to use Scott and Leftwich. Georgia will go with lefties Liam Sullivan (1-1, 3.96 ERA) and Jaden Woods (3-0, 4.00 ERA) on Friday and Saturday. Hot Gators: In Florida’s last 14 games, center fielder Jud Fabian is 19-47 (.404) with six doubles, seven home runs and 15 RBI … Kris Armstrong has three home runs and 10 RBI in his last nine games ... Leftwich has two wins and four saves in his last nine appearances. Leftwich has allowed only 39 hits in 56-1/3 innings. SEC SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT: GATORS COME FROM BEHIND … AGAIN! Does this sound familiar? Mississippi State (33-23) jumped on the Florida Gators 2-0 in the second inning at the SEC Softball Tournament in Tuscaloosa Thursday afternoon. The Gators (41-8) were behind so they had the Bulldogs right where they wanted them. Following an all-too-familiar script, the Gators limped along offensively a lot longer than Tim Walton probably would like, but in the fifth and sixth innings a wakeup call was delivered to the Florida dugout. With one out in the bottom of the fifth, Emily Wilkie was hit by a pitch and Charla Echols followed with a single up the middle, just the Gators third hit of the game off Mississippi State starter Annie Willis. Kendyl Lindaman then delivered her seventh home run of the season to right center on a 3-2 count to put the Gators up 3-2. In the bottom of the sixth, Cheyenne Lindsey and Hannah Adams hit back-to-back one-out singles to set the stage for Echols, who hammered her 13th home run of the season to right center to essentially put the game out of reach and advance the Gators to the tournament semifinals against Missouri (38-14), a 4-1 winner over LSU. In the other semifinal, host Alabama (43-7) will face Tennessee (41-12). Elizabeth Hightower got the start for the Gators, going four innings before Natalie Lugo (15-2, 1.65 ERA) came on in the fifth to mow down nine of the ten batters she faced to earn the win. It was the 11th come from behind win for the Gators and their fifth in the last seven games. Other UF spring sports: Lacrosse: The 6th-seeded Gators (16-2), who have won 13 games in a row, will face Southern Conference champion Mercer (7-7) in an NCAA Tournament first round game at Donald Dizney Stadium today at 4 p.m. If the Gators win, they will face the winner of Jacksonville (11-1) and Vanderbilt (12-6) Sunday at noon. Shannon Kavanaugh is Florida’s top scorer with 13 goals and three assists while Brianna Harris has eight goals and five assists. SEC track and field championships: After one day at the SEC Championships in College Station, the Florida men are in fifth place with 11 points as Thomas Mardal won the hammer throw with a season best effort of 245-4. It was the fourth SEC championship of Mardal’s career. OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC Alabama: Grad assistant and former Bama DB Shyheim Carter will get a chance to try out for the Houston Texans. Arkansas: Defensive lineman Enoch Jackson is transferring to North Texas. He played in two games in 2019 and didn’t get into a game in 2020 … When Florida travels to Arkansas for the final SEC baseball season of the regular season, Baum-Walker Stadium will be at full capacity. Capacity is 11,531. Auburn: Safety Chris Thompson Jr., a former 4-star recruit, is transferring to Southern Cal. He played in six games with eight tackles in 2020 … Nolan Hickman, the point guard who asked out of his LOI with Kentucky, has narrowed his choices down to three schools – Gonzaga, Kansas and Auburn. Georgia: Georgia will allow full capacity at Foley Field for its May 20-22 baseball series with Ole Miss. Kentucky: Five-star point guard Ty Ty Washington (6-3, 180) will sign with Kentucky, picking UK over Baylor, LSU, Kansas and Oregon. LSU: Quarterback TJ Finley says Alabama, Auburn, Georgia and Mississippi State have reached out to him since he announced he is transferring out last week. Mississippi State: DJ Stewart, who was the second leading scorer at 16 points per game and the team leader in assists with 103, is expected to remain in the NBA Draft. Missouri: Scott Linehan, a former NFL offensive coordinator and last year’s passing game coordinator at LSU, has joined the Missouri staff as an analyst. South Carolina: Pitcher Sam Swygert is transferring out. He is one of five players from the 2020 recruiting class who have elected to leave the program. Tennessee: Former UT quarterback and pitcher/first baseman Todd Helton has been named to the College Baseball Hall of Fame. He holds the UT career record for home runs (38) and saves (12). Texas A&M: Jimbo Fisher told the Dallas A&M Club that he’s happy the Aggies went 9-1 last year but “we finished fourth (nationally), that’s just three spots too low.” Vanderbilt: While claiming pitcher Jack Leiter is not injured, Vandy coach Tim Corbin says he hasn’t decided if Leiter will be part of the rotation this weekend against Ole Miss. NON-SEC FOOTBALL, BASKETBALL, BASEBALL AND OTHER STUFF Former Gator Udonis Haslem, who is more like a player-coach for the Miami Heat, made his season debut on the floor Thursday night. Haslem had hardly broken into a sweat when he got into an altercation with Dwight Howard of the Philadelphia 76ers, for which the 40-year-old was promptly ejected. The Pac-12 has hired George Kliavkoff, the president of entertainment and sports for MGM Resorts International, as its new commissioner, replacing the inept Larry Scott. Kliavkoff has a 5-year contract to get the conference off life support when it comes to football. Former Arkansas basketball coach Mike Anderson is feeling the love at St. John’s. Anderson led the Red Storm (I hate that nickname, liked the old one better but it’s not politically correct) to a 16-11 record this past season after being picked to finish 9th in the Big East. St. John’s has given Anderson a 6-year extension. A group of 50 Hartford businessmen known as “Friends of the Neighborhood,” are pushing back against the University of Hartford’s decision to drop down from Division I to non-scholarship Division III. The group, which includes many financially well connected and influential members, intends to use whatever leverage possible to get the Board of Regents to reconsider the move. This sounds a lot like what happened when UAB tried to drop football a few years back. Patrick Baldwin Jr., who was being heavily recruited by Kentucky, Duke and numerous other blueblood basketball programs, will try to elevate the program at Milwaukee where his father is the head coach. A 6-10 forward who is a pure shooter with what seems to be unlimited range, Baldwin Jr. is considered the nation’s fourth best prospect. On the resignations front, Northwestern athletic director Mike Polisky resigned 10 days after his hire amid protests from students and faculty. Polisky is one of four defendants named in a lawsuit filed by a former Northwestern cheerleader. At South Carolina, school president Bob Caslen resigned after plagiarizing a speech during commencement. Alex Rodriguez is heading a group that has put in a bid to buy the NBA Minnesota Timberwolves for approximately $1.5 billion. If you are craving college football, then you better watch the D1AA championship game between Sam Houston State and South Dakota State this weekend. It’s the last college football you’ll see until late August. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: As I was leaving a lunch gathering Thursday, I had to chance to talk for a few minutes with old friend Jack Thompson, a former Florida offensive lineman and assistant coach, about future of college sports. Thompson sees tough sledding ahead as sports deal with name, image and likeness in the future. “Here is where it could undercut all of college sports,” Thompson said. “You get a school that wants to recruit a couple of guys who are considered program-changers. Next thing you know, someone arranges a deal for them to come play and this is BEFORE they’ve ever suited up. You’re going to have two problems. One is in the locker room with guys already on the team who are going to be unhappy because guys who haven’t proven anything are getting a money deal. The second is with your recruits who didn’t get a deal. Nobody is going to be happy. I don’t know how they’re going to deal with this in the future, but from what I’m seeing it’s not going to be good. I think this is going to be the end of college sports as we know them.” Obviously, this is a time when leadership will be critical to figure out how to make this work, but when I look to the NCAA I see Mark Emmert and realize my friend might very well be right.