IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN A SPRING TO REMEMBER AT UF The people you have to feel badly for are the kids who, through no fault of their own, didn’t get a chance to compete for national championships due to the corona virus epidemic. The decision to cancel all the championships starting with the NCAA Basketball Tournament hit everybody hard, but maybe no school was hit as hard as the University of Florida. Think about it for a second. Although nobody would have picked the Gators to win the NCAA Basketball Tournament, just ask Kentucky, Auburn and LSU if UF is a team they would want to play again. The Gators were locks to be in the field of 64, most likely an eight or nine seed. Maybe that’s not ideal, but with the right matchups, the Gators could have been a team capable of doing some damage. Kerry Blackshear Jr. went from a player everybody in the ACC knew about last year to one everyone in the country wanted when he took Virginia Tech to within a couple of bad whistles away from knocking off Duke in 2019. He was on everybody’s preseason All-America list. Could he have shown why by putting the Gators on his back? Maybe nobody was hurt more than Mike Holloway when the NCAA indoor and outdoor track and field championships were cancelled. He was going for a third straight indoor national title. He’s won nine national championships and had a string of 21 top three finishes in the last 22 NCAA indoor and outdoor championship events. Could he have done it again? Inexplicably, the Gators failed to make it to the NCAA gymnastics championship event last year, which is why Jenny Rowland’s team was on a mission to prove last year was nothing more than a fluke that won’t be repeated anytime soon. With Trinity Thomas leading the way, the Gators won the SEC championship and were ranked 2nd nationally when the season was cancelled. The closest anyone came to the Gators in 10 meets was LSU, which lost 198.375-197.775. That .6 may not seem like much, but if this were football it would be like winning by two touchdowns. Florida beat Georgia in Athens 197.80-196.50. That’s like beating the Poodles by seven touchdowns. Thomas had four perfect 10s during the season. Everything pointed to a Florida-Oklahoma showdown for the national championship. Softball? Tim Walton has made it to Oklahoma City for the Women’s College World Series 10 of the last 12 years. The Gators were 23-4 the day the NCAA music died. Kendyl Lindamin was hitting .410 with seven homers and just starting to heat up and Sophia Reynoso was busy making the impossible plays at shortstop look routine? Could those two seniors have led UF back to Okie City for one last chance to win a national title? The Gators were ranked #1 in all the baseball polls and looking like a team very capable of winning a national championship. Kevin O’Sullivan had just the right combination of hitting and pitching to go with his usual slick fielding outfit. Friday and Saturday starters Tommy Mace and Jack Leftwich figure to go high in the Major League Baseball Draft so it’s unlikely they’ll be back, meaning they’ll miss their shot at leading the Gators to a national championship. The men’s tennis team was ranked sixth nationally when the season ended. This was Bryan Shelton’s deepest and most talented team. The Gators could have made the final four of the NCAAs. Could they have won it? Quite possibly. Amanda O’Leary’s lacrosse team beat then #1 Maryland in College Park to end the Terps 88-game home winning streak. They also beat then #3 Stony Brook. The dynamic duo of Shannon Kavanaugh and Brianna Harris were capable of leading UF to its first national title ever in lacrosse. The women’s golf team was ranked 10th nationally and maybe not a true threat to win it all, but entirely capable of a top 10 finish. Freshman Ricky Castillo could have finished top ten in the individual scoring at the men’s NCAA. While we will never know how many – if any – national championships the Gators could have won, we do know this: They would have been in the hunt for several and it wouldn’t have been shocking to see them bring home two or three. This spring seemed like the perfect storm for UF athletics. It’s the kids that you have to feel badly for. If you’ve been a part of competitive athletics, then you know just how tough it is to win a championship, but even if you never got to hoist that championship trophy you remember how incredible it felt just to be in the hunt. All those kids from Florida’s outstanding teams have lost that opportunity. The NCAA is considering a plan that would give all the athletes whose seasons were abruptly ended an extended season of eligibility. On paper that seems like a great idea, but it might prove to be a serious burden for schools that don’t have the athletic department revenues of a University of Florida. Realistically, there aren’t that many non-power five schools that could afford to bring back all the athletes who were in their final seasons of eligibility. If it comes to a vote of the NCAA schools, how many of the ones that scrape by financially would be in favor of having to pay for another scholarship year for however many seniors they would have lost? And then there is the problem of scholarship limitations. With incoming freshman classes if you bring back those seniors whose last season was cut short, you would have to extend the scholarships in every affected sport. Again, would the have nots of college sports approve of adding to the rosters? They believe the championship deck is already stacked against them so would they vote yes? Could the NCAA do this by executive order of president Mark Emmert? Or simply by vote of the NCAA Council, that group of 40 athletic directors and commissioners that have immense power? The council might have the same problem as a vote of the general membership. There are only five power conferences so that vote might not work out favorably for giving another year of eligibility and expanding the rosters. Basically, what we have is a can’t win situation for the NCAA, which will get roundly criticized no matter what direction it takes. Ultimately, however, the one loser in all this will be the athletes themselves. SINCE WE’RE ON THE SUBJECT OF THE NCAA With no championship events to present, just what does the NCAA do with all its spare time? Dana O’Neill of The Athletic seems to think if you’re one of the schools mentioned prominently in the college basketball corruption trials, then you should be shaking in your shorts. Her reasoning is quite simple. Since the NCAA hasn’t anything better to do it might as well devote all its enforcement power into dropping the hammer on schools like Kansas, Arizona, LSU, Louisville, Auburn, South Carolina, Creighton, Oregon, Southern Cal, Oklahoma State and Miami. O’Neill writes, “Do not be fooled by the inactivity. A good housecleaning still could come, as the HBO documentary so pointedly reminds us. The NCAA Tournament is shut down. The NCAA’s enforcement arm is not, and the punishments stemming from the FBI’s investigation have merely been postponed until college campuses return to some sort of operational normalcy. Arizona, Auburn, Kansas, LSU and Louisville are among those still waiting their NCAA comeuppances, and by hiring Pitino, who could face a lengthy ban, Iona has added itself to the TBD pile. Unrelated to the FBI investigation but every bit as intriguing, Memphis’ decision to stand by James Wiseman is now in the hands of the new Complex Case Unit, the school’s fate not available for appeal.” She goes on to write, “The NCAA, remember, now has stronger penalties at its disposal, including coaching bans that extend beyond one season and lifetime show causes, as well as multiyear postseason bans for programs. Iona, ironically, may have just hired a coach who won’t be able to coach. Former Penn coach Jerome Allen received a 15-year show cause for his involvement in an admissions scandal. The connection between head coach and program in some of these instances is slightly more tenuous, but coaches are always held accountable for what goes on in their program. Jim Boeheim sat for nine games for a failure to monitor his staff and promote an atmosphere of compliance. That was 2015, before the new strident penalty structure, and last I checked, no one went to jail.” Because he botched the decision to cancel sports for the remainder of the spring (he didn’t really act until the conference commissioners took it upon themselves), Mark Emmert might think sticking it to some college basketball programs, particularly a blueblood like Kansas, would show the world who’s boss. The reality is that the corruption in college basketball didn’t start recently. It’s been going on for years, right under Emmert’s nose. If anything, the trials only show how ineffective he’s been as a leader. Now, there is no question the NCAA needs to clean up its act and if it takes nuclear winter on a few basketball programs, so be it, but whatever Emmert does he is still going to look weak and ineffective. RANDOM THOUGHTS: Andy Kennedy has been great as an analyst on the SEC Network the last two years, but he’s a coach and a good one. Ole Miss was absolutely brain dead to fire him two years ago. Andy will be back on the sideline next year after he was hired by UAB Thursday. UAB is his alma mater so this is like homecoming for him. He’ll do well … The Los Angeles Rams released running back Todd Gurley Thursday, a testament to the stupidity of these big dollar, front loaded contracts. Counting bonus money, Gurley was paid $34.5 million for two seasons. He averaged only 3.8 yards per carry and gained 857 yards last year. The cost per yard was staggering … In anticipation of what they’re going to have to pay Tom Brady and the money they may have to eat from Jameis Winston if they can’t trade him, the Tampa Bay Bucs raised their season ticket prices 15% Thursday … The Denver Broncos released Joe Flacco after one season. Drew Lock will be the starting QB and the backup will be former Gator Jeff Driskel … Sam Vecenie of The Athletic released his mock NBA draft, picks 1-60. Noticeably absent are any Gators. You won’t find many mock drafts where you’ll see the names Keyontae Johnson or Scottie Lewis and those that do have them buried in the second round. This should be a clear sign to Johnson, Lewis and Andrew Nembhard to return to Florida, improve your game and improve your chances of making it in the NBA.

Check that -- getting up each day and doing the best you can. As a member of “The Silent Generation” and one who has lived through World Wars, Cold Wars, a polio epidemic, a presidential assassination, 9/11, recessions, Watergate, natural disasters and various stock market crashes, this feels a little bit familiar. A little, but not much. Because in all my many decades of existence I’ve never experienced anything like this Coronavirus Pandemic. Aside from the health disaster, death, fright, peril and economic Armageddon, this has wiped out my entire sports universe, a small price to pay for something that’s making a huge dent in humanity. For a guy who publishes a sports magazine, writes sportsbooks and a blog and does a daily sports show online, however, this is not good news. This time there are no sports to deflect our attention from the bad news. It was times like these – wars, economic distress, natural disaster – that always caused guys like me in the sports-writing business to be riddled with guilt and anxiety over professional inadequacy. That’s where the term “The Toy Department” became a euphemism for sports journalism first surfaced. We were almost shamed. During Watergate and Vietnam, it made me want to alter my career path, which I eventually did. And yet as I shuddered to even think about assessing this current possible catastrophic circumstance, the thought came to mind that what got us through all those previous disasters will get us through this one. Time, resilience of the human spirit, prayer, trusting in the good old American values of the golden rule and random acts of kindness, plus good fortune and blessings from a higher power. Just as in life, none of us knows the timing of the end, just as we did not know the time of the beginning. And so the mantra at my house is “do the best you can every day, check in on others and be thankful for every breath and every heartbeat God grants us.” Taught to me by my Depression-era mom, Margaret. At my house we went proactive pretty quickly, deciding that every family needs to adopt a protocol with priorities. Since my wife and I are in the highest risk group -- although in reasonably good health -- but needed to err on the side of caution. So she cancelled her bridge group and said “no” to several invitations, then we did the following: Quit attending public meetings, including church, or going inside restaurants or bars or theaters. We watched our church services online. Ordering groceries for 2-3 weeks at Publix through the delivery service Instacart. Ordered what household goods we needed from Amazon. Went out for the mail, etc., wearing our “outdoor” shoes left by the door and switched to a pair of new slippers when returning. Asked friends and relatives not to visit, except on rare occasions, keeping proper social distance from grandchildren, son and daughter. (Non-hugging was one of the toughest protocols) And, of course, rearranging daily activities. I began reading books again -- when we are not watching one of the bazillion movies and TV shows on Netflix, Amazon Prime, HBO, Hallmark and Lifetime. I could go on, but it’s probably not unlike most of what you’ve been doing. And we’re in it for the long haul. Now, this work thing. I’m lucky that I can do almost 100% of it at home. GatorBait Magazine will continue publishing regularly, although in a little bit of a different format. You’ll still get the writings of myself, Kassidy Hill, Franz Beard and Ainslie Lee, perhaps in a more compact form for a while. I continue to stream my show at my home studio Monday-Thursday at 9 p.m. on Facebook Live The Buddy Martin Show. Some nights it’s more personal than others. It’s tough to talk all sports when there are none. But it began to remind me of my days as a cub sportswriter when there weren’t any major sports to cover, although covering high schools was pretty “major” for a 20-something journalist. All we have is our past, present and future. But we don’t know the future. And there really isn’t any “present” for sporting events. So I made a decision. We are and going to delve into the past of Gator sports in a big way. Our GatorBait team came up with the idea to feature an extensive historical research project we are calling Florida Gator Flashback: Football by the Decade. We are planning to kick off it off next week with features, historical articles, interviews with key figures of that decade, some reprints of stories and comments by the so-called experts about what stands out today from that particular era. Kassidy kicks off three weeks of “The Teen Years,” 2010-2019 next week. Then we will feature this lineup with these writers to follow. 2010-2020 — Kassidy Hill 2000-2009 — Franz Beard and Buddy Martin 1990-1999 — Franz Beard and Buddy Martin 1980-1989 — Franz Beard and Kassidy Hill 1970-1979 —Kassidy Hill and Ainslie Lee 1960-1969 -- Buddy Martin and Ainslie Lee. This is an ongoing task and one which we’d like you to help us on, so we welcome your input. Please send your comments, questions and suggestions to GatorBaitEditor@gmail.com. (We will probably not reply, but it doesn’t mean we don’t appreciate it.) Some of you have already posted on our show site or emailed us your favorite era, players, etc. Stay safe out there. Thoughts and prayers for you and your family. Meanwhile, I don’t want to sound Pollyannaish about the current crisis because I take it uber-serious. I would like to leave you with this quote from former Homeland Security official Tom Bossert: “If we work together, this terrible moment could be our finest hour.” Maybe that’s what Charles Dickens meant when he wrote: “It was the best of times and the worst of times.” ADDENDUM At this writing, “An Evening With Terry Bradshaw” scheduled for April 8 at the Reilly Arts Center in Ocala has been postponed and will be rescheduled in the near future. “I’m coming to Ocala, I just don’t know when yet,” said the Fox NFL Sunday cohost and four-time Super Bowl winner. “Hang in there folks.” For more information call the Reilly at 352-351-1606. A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER As Charles Dickens wrote, “It is the best of times and the worst of times.” Prayers to all of you and your families during the Coronavirus Pandemic. We here at GatorBaitMedia.com and Facebook.com/The Buddy Martin Show will continue with our magazine, live streaming show and website and invite you to join us as we unite with community spirit and navigate these perilous weeks and months ahead. If you need information about what we do, write me at GatorBaitEditor@gmail.com. May God bless and protect you.

BY FRANZ BEARD GATORBAIT SENIOR COLUMNIST With spring football cancelled not only at Florida but throughout the Southeastern Conference, we now understand just how important those 15 practices were for teams (like Florida) that went bowling last year. Dan Mullen spent a good portion of practice time for the Orange Bowl getting reps for the young guys so while the spring practice would have helped, especially for the early enrollees, the Gators won’t be hurt as badly as some other SEC teams. Mullen returns 12 starters and 31 of the 44 on his two-deep roster so experience isn’t going to be a problem, particularly at the most important position on the field. Kyle Trask is the SEC’s leading returning passer and has an 8-2 record as a starter. Backup Emory Jones showed star quality when he got his reps. Additionally, four starters return on the O-line, tight end Kyle Pitts should be the front runner for the Mackey Award, and with Trevon Grimes, Jacob Copeland and Kadarius Toney, there is talent and speed at wide receiver. Over on defense, Georgia transfer Brenton Cox is instant pass rush. Jeremiah Moon would have missed the spring anyway recovering from injury. The secondary could be the nation’s best with three starters among 10 experienced returnees. So while Mullen and his staff would have loved to have had the 15 practices in the spring, the Gators aren’t going to be devastated like some teams. In fact, with spring football cancelled the gap between Florida and Georgia has narrowed to the point the Gators might be favored to win the SEC East and start the season ranked among the top five teams nationally. One other factoid: The only assistant Mullen lost from his staff was tight ends coach Larry Scott, now the HBC at Howard. Scott was a good coach, but his replacement – Tim Brewster – is an upgrade both as a position coach and recruiter. ELSEWHERE IN THE SEC Alabama: Where Alabama will be hurt most without a spring practice is on the defensive side of the ball where seven starters must be replaced. The offense won’t miss a beat, especially with LT Alex Leatherwood, RB Najee Harris and receivers DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle for Mac Jones to throw to. Bama needed spring, but there’s no mistaking the talent is there. Arkansas: The situation is a mess. New HBC Sam Pittman is putting in a new system for a team that has lost its last 19 SEC games. Most of the starters return on both sides of the ball, which is either good news or bad news. The QB will be former Gator and grad transfer Feleipe Franks. Auburn: The defense has to be rebuilt and the offensive line lost four starters. That’s the bad news. The good news is quarterback Bo Nix is a superstar in the making after beating Oregon and Alabama as a true freshman. Georgia: There is a new offensive coordinator, a new offensive line coach and a new QB in Wake Forest grad transfer Jamie Newman. The questions are on the offensive side of the ball and not having spring football could cost Georgia a shot at the national title. The defense will be among the nation’s best. Kentucky: When football resumes in August, the Wildcats will have quarterback Terry Wilson back from a knee injury in game two last year. Four starters return on the O-line and there are seven returning starters on defense. LSU: Coach O has to replace 14 starters from last year’s national champion, the most important of which is quarterback Joe Burrow. Myles Brennan has the arm to be an outstanding replacement, but he will be in his third offensive system in three years. No spring football is a real problem in Baton Rouge. Mississippi State: This situation would seem much worse if not for the fact Mike Leach will be working with Stanford grad transfer QB K.J. Costello. Costello has a big arm and high intelligence. He’ll learn the Air Raid easily. Having running back Kylin Hill returning is huge. Fourteen starters return. Missouri: New HBC Eli Drinkwitz needed the spring to implement a brand new offensive scheme for a team that lost its starting QB. On the defensive side of the ball, 10 starters return, so the situation isn’t as hapless as those at Arkansas and Vandy. Ole Miss: There is a potential quarterback controversy with sophomores John Rhys Plumlee and Matt Corrall, so not having spring practice is going to be a setback for new HBC Lane Kiffin. He does have a lot of offensive talent to work with, however. South Carolina: Will Muschamp has 16 returning starters including QB Ryan Hilinski. There is a new offensive coordinator (Mike Bobo), however, so missing the spring will be a setback for the offense. The D-line has to be rebuilt. Tennessee: The Vols have 16 returning starters, one of which is stud left guard Trey Smith, one of the top 10 O-linemen in the country. The quarterbacks needed the spring because they were erratic last year, but they’ll be in the same system for a second year. The Vols could challenge in the SEC East. Texas A&M: With 20 starters returning including fourth year starter at QB Kellen Mond, is there any question why Jimbo Fisher is smiling? The lack of spring football isn’t going to hurt the Aggies and might make them the favorite to win the SEC West. Vanderbilt: Without spring practice and the loss of their best three offensive players from last year as well as the departure via transfer or graduation of every scholarship quarterback, Vandy could look like a dead roach.

TONEY AND GRIMES WERE SMART TO STAY FOR ONE MORE YEAR Both Kadarius Toney and Trevon Grimes could have entered the NFL Draft and it’s likely both would have been drafted at some place in the final three rounds. Both elected to stay at Florida for their senior seasons, a move that, in part because of the corona virus outbreak, is likely to turn out to be quite prudent on both their parts. The NFL scouts all have seen how Toney turned a routine bubble screen into a long touchdown on Florida’s first offensive series against Miami in game one of 2019, so they know what’s possible. There aren’t many highlights after that because he spent most of the season injured, but the potential is there and the NFL knows it. The injury and lack of productivity wouldn’t stop Toney from being drafted but it would prevent him from getting drafted earlier with a much bigger first year contract. Grimes has shown what he can do, too, but he’s never been the featured receiver. The way the Gators spread the ball around, it’s unlikely he will have off the charts productivity in 2020 but he’s almost certain to catch more than the 33 passes (for 491 yards and three TDs) that he caught last year. With Van Jefferson, Freddie Swain, Tyrie Cleveland and Josh Hammond gone form last year’s receiving corps, both Toney and Hammond will get their chances to shine and if they stay healthy, they’ll serious improve their draft potential and maybe move up to a second or third round selection. Second and third round contracts are worth substantially more than those offered to guys who go in rounds five through seven. Due to corona virus, pro days have been cancelled nationwide so neither Grimes nor Toney would have had a chance to wow the scouts enough to earn private workouts prior to the draft. The virus will run its course and you can almost count there will be a 2020 season, a combine and pro days next year, just one more reason why Toney and Grimes did the smart thing by coming back for their senior seasons at UF. KANSAS WINS AP/COACHES NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP The Associated Press and Coaches polls have voted Kansas #1 in their final polls, so unofficially, the Jayhawks are the national champs. From the NCAA’s perspective, that’s acceptable since there is a really good chance Kansas will get hammered with sanctions in late summer or early fall. Since the AP and Coaches polls aren’t official national championships, the NCAA won’t have to strip the Jayhawks of their title. The three teams that I feel badly for are Gonzaga, Dayton and San Diego State. The deck is always stacked against the teams from non-power conferences and this is a year in which these three teams all had a very good chance to hoist the big trophy and swing and sway to “One Shining Moment” in Atlanta. The Zags have been knocking on the door for a long time, but Anthony Grant might have had that once in a generation stud in Obi Toppin that could have carried Dayton to the national title. Jim Dutcher at San Diego State had Malachi Flynn, who was easily one of the five best players in the country and one capable of carrying the Aztecs on a deep run. But, we’ll never know how well they could have done over a mad dash that lasts three weekends. As Billy Donovan once said, it’s not necessarily the best team in the country that wins the national championship, but the one that can go 6-0 over a three-week stretch. I think Kansas was playing the best basketball in the country during the last three weeks of the regular season, but Kansas has been the hottest team in the country more than once and has only one national championship to show since the Danny and the Miracles team of 1988. Two other teams that I think could have gone a long way and possibly won the national title were Kentucky and Virginia. This was not John Calipari’s most talented team, but it was one of his best defensive teams and one that could have won six in a row. Virginia got hot at the right time and was that one team nobody wanted to play. The AP Final Top 25 1. Kansas 28-3; 2. Gonzaga 31-2; 3. Dayton 29-2; 4. Florida State 26-5; Baylor 28-4; 6. San Diego State 30-2; 7. Creighton 24-7; 8. Kentucky 25-6; 9. Michigan State 22-9; 10. Villanova 24-7; 11. Duke 25-6; 12. Maryland 24-7; 13. Oregon 24-7; 14. Louisville 24-7; 15. Seton Hall 21-9; 16. Virginia 23-7; 17. Wisconsin 21-10; 18. BYU 24-8; 19. Ohio State 21-10; 20. Auburn 25-6; 21. Illinois 21-10; 22. Houston 23-8; 23. Butler 22-9; 24. West Virginia 21-10; 25. Iowa 20-11. The Coaches Final Top 25 1. Kansas 28-3; 2. Gonzaga 31-2; 3. Dayton 29-2; 4. Baylor 26.4; 5. Florida State 26-5; 6. San Diego State; 7. Kentucky 25-6; 8. Duke 25-6; 9. (Tie) Creighton 24-7 and Villanova 24-7; 11. Maryland 24-7; 12. Michigan State 22-9; 13. Louisville 24-7; 14. Oregon 24-7; 15. Seton Hall 21-9; 16. BYU 24-8; 17. Virginia 23-7; 18. Ohio State 21-10; 19. Wisconsin 21-10; 20. Auburn 25-6; 21. Butler 22-9; 22. Illinois 21-10; 23. Houston 23-8; 24. West Virginia 21-10; 25. Iowa 20-11. WHO I WOULD HAVE VOTED ALL-AMERICA First team: Obi Toppin, Dayton; Malachi Flynn, San Diego State; Udoka Azubuikie, Kansas; Luke Garza, Iowa; Devin Dotson, Kansas Second team: Filip Petrusev, Gonzaga; Markus Howard, Marquette; Myles Powell, Seton Hall; Immanuel Quickley, Kentucky; Jalen Smith, Maryland UPCOMING HBO DOCUMENTARY WON’T BE GOOD FOR MILLER OR WADE On March 31, HBO will air a documentary entitled “The Scheme,” which is about agent/runner Christian Dawkins, who was convicted of bribery in federal court for his role in the college basketball corruption scandal. In the documentary, recordings are played of Dawkins speaking to Arizona coach Sean Miller and LSU coach Will Wade about buying players. These aren’t the federal wiretaps that were used in court, but these recordings leave no doubt that Miller and Wade will be found guilty in the eyes of the NCAA. Both these guys are good basketball coaches and very engaging personalities. They are also cheaters of the highest magnitude. They have been and always will be. This documentary might only be the tip of the proverbial iceberg when it comes to college basketball. Not only did we have a season without an NCAA Tournament, but the next season might be one played without a number of very high profile coaches. THE BRADY LEGACY; WHO WANTS JAMEIS? When he left the San Francisco 49ers for the Kansas City Chiefs, a lot of folks thought Joe Montana was the greatest of all time. Two years later, having not lifted the Chiefs to the Super Bowl, Montana’s legacy was considered tainted. When Brett Favre left the Green Bay Packers for the New York Jets, he held tons of NFL records and was thought to be one of the greatest ever. Three years later – one with the Jets, two with the Minnesota Vikings – and a 26-19 record as a starter, people were forgetting all the things Favre did at Green Bay. Now after 20 years with the New England Patriots, Tom Brady is going to sign with the Tampa Bay Bucs where he will undoubtedly be an upgrade over the 30-30 man (30 TDPs, 30 INTs in the same season), Jameis Winston. Brady working with Bruce Arians could be a dynamic duo, but what if it doesn’t happen? If the Bucs don’t ascend mightily, will Brady’s legacy be seriously tainted? He won six Super Bowls with Bill Belichick, but now he’s going to have to fly solo and if it doesn’t happen, will the good times in New England be forgotten? Meanwhile, what about Jameis? There is no room for him in Tampa, not with the big salary that Brady will command, so where does he go from here? Jameis has always had the arm talent. The scouts were drooling over him when he led FSU to an unbeaten national championship season in 2013. That year he made all the throws and he didn’t make many bad decisions – at least on the field – but since then he’s been backsliding when it comes to bad decisions. So we have to ask if maybe Jameis had a reverse brain fart in 2013 and instead of his instinctive bad decisions he made good ones. Or, maybe that was the one year that Jameis decided to be coachable and what we’ve seen in the subsequent years is the real Jameis Winston brain at work. Can he be coached out of the bad decisions and bad habits? Maybe it’s all about landing with the right coach. Maybe all Jameis needs is a no-nonsene coach who can get and keep his attention for more than 30 seconds. NFL coaches will look at the big arm and want him, but then they’ll look at the bad decisions and realize that if they sign him he could be a career-wrecker. Whoever signs Winston is going to have to part with something in the neighborhood of $25-30 million against the salary cap and live with the consequences if he proves to be uncoachable. RANDOM THOUGHTS: Former Gator Dante Fowler Jr. has a three-year, $48 million contract with the Atlanta Falcons where he will re-unite with the coach who recruited him to Florida, Dan Quinn … Former Gator Brian Poole signed a one-year extension worth $5 million to remain with the New York Jets, where he was one of the top slot cover-corners in the NFL last year … The NCAA is trying to figure out whether or not to give this year’s college basketball seniors another season of eligibility since the tournament wasn’t played. What has to be worked out is raising the scholarship cap (currently 13) to accommodate those who would choose to come back and there are some academic issues that would have to be addressed. For example, what about players who have graduated but can’t get into grad school? The NCAA needs to figure out what to do about this very soon … I’ve just started season three of “The Man in the High Castle” on Amazon Prime. Starting at the midway point of season two, this series really began to get interesting. I’m also watching “Boston Legal” once again. Have there ever been two more entertaining TV lawyers than James Spader (Alan Shore) and William Shatner (Denny Crane!)? If you’ve never watched it and want to get hooked immediately, watch season one, episode one when Al Sharpton appears as himself!

CORONA VIRUS AND THE QB SITUATION AT EVERY SEC SCHOOL There will be no spring practice even if the all clear is given for the Corona Virus on April 15. How does that affect the quarterback situation at each SEC school? For a school like Florida, the affect will be minimal. For a school like Vanderbilt, it’s akin to the Titanic going belly up in the North Atlantic. Here is how I rate the QB situation at all 14 SEC schools: (1) FLORIDA: This will be the third year in the system for returning starter Kyle Trask (237-354 for 2,941 passing yards and 25 TDPs (7 INTs) and backup Emory Jones (267 passing yards for three TDs; 256 rushing yards for four) so no spring practice, no problem. They both know the offense and now they don’t have to worry about getting hurt during the spring. About the only real negative is that Mullen probably didn’t get to work on some of the packages he plans to use for Jones in the fall. (2) Texas A&M: Kellen Mond has been Jimbo Fisher’s starting QB for the last two seasons so no spring practice, no problem. Mond threw for 2,897 yards and 20 TDs last year while running for 500 and eight more scores. Redshirt freshman Zach Calzada could have used the reps in the spring, but he’s been in the system for a full year, so it’s not like he has to learn everything from scratch. As long as Mond stays healthy, this is the second best QB situation in the SEC behind Florida. (3) Alabama: Mack Jones (97-141 passing for 1,503 yards and 14 touchdowns) played in 12 games, started three, and showed he’s far more talented than anyone gave him credit for. He has the same offensive coordinator that he had last year in Steve Sarkisian and he returns weapons like RB Najee Harris (1,224 rushing yards for 13 TDs, 27-303 receiving for seven) and stud wide receivers DeVonta Smith (68-1,256 and 14 TDs) and Jaylen Waddle (33-560, six TDs). Because he knows the offense, throws as accurate a deep ball as you’ll see in college football and has those kind of weapons, Jones will be just fine even without the spring. Who gets hurt by no spring are sophomore Taulia Tagovailoa and early enrollee freshman Bryce Young. (4) Auburn: There is a new offensive coordinator in former Arkansas HBC Chad Morris, but Morris and Gus Malzahn are old buddies who know each other’s offenses in and out, so no spring practice isn’t likely to hurt sophomore Bo Nix, who threw for 2,542 yards and 16 touchdowns (six INTs) while running for 313 and seven. No spring practice will definitely hurt the backup QBs, such as former minor league baseball player Cord Sandberg. If Nix stays healthy, it’s an excellent situation. (5) Kentucky: Terry Wilson, who went down in game two with a season-ending injury, wasn’t going to participate in the spring anyway so he’s not hurt by the cancellation of practices. Besides, he’s got the same offensive coordinator he had in 2018 when he threw for 1,889 yards and 11 TDs and ran for 547 and four more. The one who needed the spring was Auburn transfer Joey Gatewood, who needed to learn the offense. Last year’s backup Sawyer Smith is back for his final year. If Wilson is healthy, then this is an extremely good situation. (6) Mississippi State: Even without the benefit of spring practice, the QB situation should be very good for the Bulldogs. Mike Leach, after all, turned Garner Minshew into the nation’s leading passer and an NFL-capable QB in a single fall camp back at Washington State. In former Stanford QB and grad transfer K.J. Costello (6,151 passing yards, 49 TDs in three years), Leach has a QB with an outstanding arm with superior intellect (could have gotten into Stanford without a football scholarship). Can Leach keep Garrett Schrader happy? Schrader played in 10 games, started four, last year when he threw for 1,170 yards and eight TDs and ran for 587 yards and six TDs. Although this isn’t ideal, the combination of Leach and Costello should make this an easy transition even without spring football. (7) Tennessee: This is one of the better situations in the SEC since offensive coordinator Jim Chaney has two quarterbacks with starting experience in Jarret Guarantano (2,158 passing yards, 16 touchdowns) and Brian Mauser (541 passing yards, two touchdowns). Both of them could have used the spring, but at least they’ll be working with the same playbook and system when football reconvenes in August. The Vols also have rising sophomore J.T. Shrout, who saw limited action in five games in 2019. (8) South Carolina: Will Muschamp hired former Colorado State HBC Mike Bobo as his offensive coordinator and with Bobo came grad transfer Collin Hill, who threw for 840 yards and eight touchdowns in three games before he went down with a season-ending injury in 2019. Without a spring practice to get the new offense down, last year’s South Carolina starter Ryan Hilinski (2,357 passing yards, 11 TDs as a true freshman) could be at a real disadvantage since Hill spent three years with Bobo running the same offensive system. True freshman Luke Doty will have to be reckoned with in August. This is not a bad situation, but it would have been much better with spring practice. (9) Georgia: Kirby Smart has a new offensive coordinator/quarterback coach in Todd Monken, which means a brand new scheme. He’s also breaking in a new O-line coach in Matt Luke. Additionally, the QB is going to be Wake Forest grad transfer Jamie Newman, who really needed the reps in the spring to learn the offense and adjust to the new personnel. Newman had good stats at Wake Forest – 2,868 passing yards, 26 TDP; 574 rushing yards, six TD – but nine of his 11 interceptions came against the five teams Wake Forest played that posted winning records. Newman might discover that learning a new offense on the fly while going against better secondaries in the SEC than he ever saw in the ACC isn’t quite as easy as he might have thought when he transferred in. Early enrollee freshman Carson Beck doesn’t get the benefit of spring football, so the backup situation is going to be dicey. (10) Ole Miss: The good news is the Rebels return two quarterbacks with starting experience in John Rhys Plumlee (910 passing yards, four TDs; 1,023 rushing yards, 12 TDs) and Matt Corrall (1,362 passing yards, six TDPs). Both of them could have used the spring to learn new HBC Lane Kiffin’s offense, but Kiffin’s offenses are always very user friendly and he’s a well-known QB guru. The problem is figuring out which one makes the Kiffin offense better? Maybe Kiffin will go with a two QB system at least until either Plumlee or Corrall shows he can make the offense hum along. (11) LSU: Nobody needed spring football more than Myles Brennan, who has to follow Heisman winner and Tiger legend Joe Burrow. Brennan has always had the big arm but limited experience (three seasons, 600 passing yards, two touchdowns). Brennan spent last year learning his third offense in three years, but now Joe Brady is gone, so he needed the spring to learn a fourth offense. At least when football resumes he’ll be able to throw to Ja’Marr Chase, last year’s Biletnikoff winner. The backups are true freshmen. (12) Arkansas: Former UF QB and grad transfer Feleipe Franks will have to learn a new offense and win over new teammates without the benefit of spring practice. He’ll be learning from offensive coordinator Kendal Briles, who did well at FAU with Kiffin and at Houston, but whose offense stunk it up last year at FSU. Can Franks play an entire season in new surroundings with new coaches the way he did the last four games at UF in 2018 when he went 4-0 with eight TDPs and four rushing TDs. Behind him are senior Jack Lindsey, redshirt sophomore John Stephen Jones and sophomore K.J. Jefferson, who combined to throw for 424 yards and five touchdowns last year. (13) Missouri: There is a new coach (Eli Drinkwitz) and a new system to learn. The starting QB is likely to be Shawn Robinson, who sat out last season after transferring in from TCU. In seven starts before he got hurt as a sophomore at TCU in 2018, Robinson threw for 1,334 yards and nine TDs (eight INTs) and ran for 230 yards and three TDs. Taylor Powell, who played in six games and got a start against Georgia last year, is the other experienced QB on the roster. Robinson would have benefitted from spring football, but at least he’s got some starting experience in a Power Five conference. It’s not an ideal situation but it’s not bottom of the barrel, either. (14) Vanderbilt: All of Vanderbilt’s experienced quarterbacks transferred out and the three best offensive players from last year – running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn, wide receiver Kalijah Lipscomb and tight end Jared Pinkney – graduated. Juco transfer Jeremy Moussa and early enrollee freshman Ken Seals were hoping to get a leg up on juco transfer Michael Wright and former Kentucky backup QB Danny Clark, but with no spring practice the already tenuous situation for HBC Derek Mason took a turn for the worse. A FEW FINAL THOUGHTS: Tom Brady quarterbacking someone other than the New England Patriots? Well, it’s actually going to happen and he’s expected to sign with the Tampa Bay Bucs. Did anyone really expect that? Now what do the Bucs do with Jameis Winston and his $23 million salary? Is there anyone out there who can turn him into a decent NFL QB? … Phillip Rivers signed with the Indianapolis Colts for $25 million which means Jacoby Brissett is almost certainly on the move again … And with Rivers gone from the Chargers, do they spend big bucks for a free agent QB or do they roll the dice and go with a rookie like Justin Herbert of Oregon? … Kevin Durant is one of four Brooklyn Nets to test positive for Corona Virus … Wyoming has hired Northern Colorado coach Jeff Linder to replace fired Allen Edwards … Samford fired former Kentucky big man Scott Padgett … Former Vandy coach Bryce Drew has been hired as the head basketball coach at Grand Canyon … This is how I would have seeded the top four lines if there had been an NCAA Tournament – (1) Kansas, Gonzaga, Dayton, Florida State; (2) Baylor, San Diego State, Kentucky, Villanova; (3) Maryland, Michigan State, Creighton, BYU; (4) Duke, Louisville, Oregon and Auburn.

In one moment, Jyron Gilmore was watching film of Scot Brantley lay out Detroit Lions quarterback Eric Hipple. Watching the ferocious-hitting linebacker, who spent time with the Florida Gators and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, had Gilmore grimacing. “Seeing him, I mean, that guy is a monster.. he knocks people’s heads off,” Gilmore laughed afterwards. But moments after Gilmore watched in awe and Brantley reminisced, Brantley stood to speak. “This day is about Jyron,” Brantley assured. “It means that much more to me that I can sit here with a fine young man that exemplifies all of the things that everybody has talked about. It’s amazing.” Gilmore, back in January, was announced as the winner of the 2019 Scot Brantley Trophy. “It was a great feeling considering it was the Scot Brantley Award,” Gilmore said back in January. “And just being in that category with him – it meant a lot to me. And I just thank God for being blessed and having this gift and skill set to be able to be in that category and win that award. It means a lot to me." An annual recognition given to the most outstanding football player, student and citizen within the nine Central Florida counties of Marion, Alachua, Citrus, Levy, Sumter, Lake, Volusia, Putnam and Columbia, the Scot Brantley Trophy selection is a season-long process. What started out as a 56-player watchlist, compiled by Todd Swearingen and Brantley himself, slowly dwindled down to a final four. Joining Gilmore in the final ranks was Dunnellon’s Ja’Quavion Fraziars, Vanguard’s Dewayne McBride and The Villages’ Mac Harris. According to Brantley, through the entire course of the process, Gilmore “kept coming to the top”. And on Friday morning, the North Marion High School senior was recognized in front of his administration and members of the Ocala Quarterback Club, which sponsors the award. The Ocala Quarterback Club’s Captain Mike McGinnis, and Scot Brantley Trophy Chairman Todd Duffy, were among those in attendance during the presentation. Meanwhile, as the award’s namesake spoke, it became clear what Brantley admired most about this year’s recipient. “The dedication of giving yourself and your life to Jesus Christ, and to be able to call him by name and not just by God… Jesus Christ is the reason that we all exist. And he (Gilmore) understands that. And that’s the main thing that caught my attention,” Brantley managed to say through his cracking voice. Just minutes apart, Gilmore went from watching Brantley “knock people’s heads off”, to hearing him become emotional in just talking about Gilmore’s off-field character. “It still feels kind of unrealistic,” Gilmore said following the presentation. “I feel I was the best player picked… or I was the player highly looked at over a bunch of great players, so that means a lot to me.” Gilmore, a Tennessee Tech signee, will make the move to the Volunteer State this fall. Before then, the North Marion senior is prepared to represent his school, city and county as the face of high school football. “I feel like I’m the best person to represent my city,” Gilmore said. “I’m not trying to be cocky, I just know that I’m up for it… it’s not even a challenge to me, I’m just up for it and I would love to put my city on the map.” And Gilmore will do so with the Scot Brantley Trophy in tow.

BASKETBALL ROSTER SHUFFLES WITH BASSETT TRANSFER Dontay Bassett has elected to put his name in the NCAA transfer portal, which shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. Bassett spent four years at UF (redshirt as a freshman) and never really developed offensively although he was a very good defender. He scored only 160 points in three years (96 in 2018-19 when he averaged 2.7 per game), but battled through injuries in the recently completed season, scoring only 21 points in the 17 games in which he played. As a graduate, Bassett can transfer anywhere without having to sit out. A native of Oakland, California, he might choose to go back west to be nearer to family. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see him transfer to Florida Atlantic where he would play for Dusty May, the former Florida assistant who helped recruit Bassett to UF. With Bassett leaving and Kerry Blackshear Jr. having used up his eligibility, Mike White now has the NCAA limit of 13 scholarship players for next year. Of course, that could change with transfers or with players electing to leave for the NBA, but the corona virus not only has torpedoed March Madness but it has seriously altered the NBA season. Plans are for the league to crank up as soon as possible once the all clear is given to resume play and have crowds in the arenas again but the draft is a totally different matter that will have to be addressed. Will the league go ahead with a June draft? Or will it wait until after it holds playoffs so that teams can draft according to needs? Currently, the Gators have three – freshman Scottie Lewis and sophomores Andrew Nembhard and Keyontae Johnson – who are likely to take a look at the NBA. Per ESPN, Lewis is considered the 38thbest prospect while Johnson is the 64th. Nembhard isn’t listed among ESPN’s top 105 prospects. It’s possible that Lewis could slip into the late first round, but second round is more likely. Johnson has moved up considerably but he’s mid-second round, at least currently. Nembhard isn’t likely to be drafted. The only way these three can move up is pre-draft workouts but that’s going to be very difficult if the league elects to play instead of completely postponing its season. Right now, postponing seems the least likely option. If the draft is held in August, which would seem the case if June and July are used for the playoffs, then it would certainly work in Florida’s favor. In that Nembhard, Johnson and Lewis would have so much uncertainty facing them they would be very smart to simply stay in school for one more year. Another year of college basketball, after all, wouldn’t hurt any of them. One other thing of note: Second round money is NOT guaranteed in the NBA but first round money is. Another reason for Lewis, Johnson and Nembhard to stick around one more year. UF BASKETBALL ROSTER AS OF MARCH 16 REDSHIRT JUNIORS (2): Anthony Duruji (6-8, 220); Tyree Appleby (6-1, 165) JUNIORS (4): Andrew Nembhard (6-5, 200); Noah Locke (6-3, 205); Keyontae Johnson (6-5, 235); Osayi Osifo (6-8, 215, JUCO TR) SOPHOMORES (5): Scottie Lewis (6-5, 185); Tre Mann (6-4, 180); Omar Payne (6-10, 222); Jason Jitoboh (6-11, 280); Jaques Glover (5-11, 175) FRESHMEN (2): Niels Lane (6-5, 195); Samson Ruzhentsev (6-8, 205) THIS TRANSFER MIGHT BE ON FLORIDA’S RADAR Landers Nolley (6-7, 230), who was Virginia Tech’s leading scorer (15.8) and second leading rebounder (5.8) as a redshirt freshman, has entered his name in the NCAA transfer portal. He’s a wing who can play some high post, more of a slasher than a shooter, but entirely capable of going off on a tear when everything he throws up goes in. He had a high game of 30 against Clemson and he hit seven three-pointers in a game against Lehigh. Given Florida’s history of transfers from Virginia Tech – Dorian Finney-Smith, Jalen Hudson and Kerry Blackshear Jr. – and the fact that as a true freshman he was on the VaTech team with Blackshear, Nolley might have Florida high on his list. UF recruited Nolley out of Langston Hughes High School in Atlanta back in 2018. If Florida were to lose someone else to transfer or to the NBA Draft, adding a transfer would make sense, particularly one as skilled as Nolley. ON THE MOVE IN THE SEC Three from Vanderbilt have entered the NCAA transfer portal. Leaving are Matthew Moyer (6-8, 229, JR), Olton Jankovic (6-10, 212, FR) and Trace Arbuckle (6-2, 173, FR). Arbuckle averaged 3.0 points per game while Moyer averaged 2.0 points and 2.2 rebounds. Jankovic averaged 0.8 points and 1.0 rebounds. Transferring from Alabama is redshirt freshman Raymond Hawkins (6-9, 243). Hawkins is from California and is expected to transfer closer to home. Franco Miller (6-3, 202, RFR) is transferring from Ole Miss. He averaged 0.3 points and 0.9 rebounds per game. JUST WHEN YOU THINK YOU’VE SEEN EVERYTHING Rick Pitino is back in the US and coaching college basketball once again. He’s the new head coach at Iona, replacing Tim Cluess, who stepped down after 10 years due to health concerns. Pitino, who has spent the last couple of years coaching Nick Calathes’ team to championships in Greece, could get zapped by the NCAA before he ever coaches a game at Iona since there is an ongoing investigation into Louisville due to fallout from the FBI’s findings in the college basketball corruption trials. Just to refresh your memory, Pitino was fired for cause after he was linked to allegations that Adidas paid $100,000 to have prospect Brian Bowen sign with the school. If the NCAA goes after Pitino, he will fight back and the NCAA’s record in court against coaches who fight back isn’t very good. See the NCAA vs. Jerry Tarkanian. The NCAA hounded Tark but he fought back and eventually won an out of court settlement for something like $2.5 million. If the NCAA doesn’t successfully derail Pitino, he will win and win big at Iona. That you can count on. WHY DOESN’T THE NCAA … ? Suppose the government gets a real handle on the corona virus in the next couple of months, possible since a vaccine is already being tested. If the virus is contained, you know that baseball will crank up a shortened season and the NBA will go ahead with playoffs. So what does the NCAA do? Does it just sit on its hands and let a summer go by, meaning no sports until September? Or does it do something totally outside its normally conservative box by going pro-active … perhaps cranking up baseball, softball, track and field, lacrosse, golf, tennis and gymnastics for a whirlwind of championships from June until the end of August? Although nothing has been decided by Major League Baseball, something has to be done about the draft. If there were college baseball and travel ball teams playing in the summer, they could hold a decent draft. As it is right now, a June draft would be quite inconclusive since high school baseball hadn’t even begun in the northern states when everything shut down and the college season was only four weeks old. Moving the draft back makes sense for MLB. Having even an abbreviated college baseball season would certainly help MLB scouts make their decisions and they would have a chance to see the high school kids on the travel ball circuit. It’s my opinion that the NCAA needs to have a plan in place to get the public re-engaged in sports as soon as possible. If fans have to go until August, then you might lose a rather large chunk of them. People get into routines and once they grow accustomed to watching movies or TV series on Amazon or Netflix or get into doing things with the family, it might be too easy to spend the time on something other than sports. The student-athletes will be involved in their classwork until the month of May and in some cases a bit beyond, so if the virus has been contained – I’m not saying probable, but it is possible – then it wouldn’t be all that difficult to get sports going on campuses again. The question is would the NCAA think outside the box and have a plan in place to get things going? TRIVIA QUESTION Which major college coach at a Power Five school had a 73-59 record at a low major prior to his Power Five job and then went 85-66 in his first five years on the big job? Fans at the low major thought good riddance since he went 9-19 in his last year there and at the Power Five school they wanted to fire him three years into the gig. Judging by what’s happened in the years since, he’s done pretty well and the boosters no longer want him fired. WHO GETS HURT THE MOST BY NO SPRING FOOTBALL? Georgia would win the kewpie doll if you ask me. They have a new offensive coordinator, a new offensive line coach and a grad transfer quarterback who would have a problem reading a defense spelled CAT if you spotted him the C and the A. Todd Monken’s new offense isn’t being implemented and he’s got to get on the same page with Matt Luke, who happens to be the new O-line coach. And then there is Newman, who had a 4.1% interception rate against man coverage and who ran a lot of the time not exactly by design but because he couldn’t exactly get a read on the defense. All this does indeed bode well for the Florida Gators, who return their starting (Kyle Trask) and backup (Emory Jones) quarterbacks, four starters on the O-line, the same QB coach (Brian Johnson) and OC (Dan Mullen) as well as the O-line coach. Spring football is important at Florida, for certain, but the Gators don’t have a lot of new parts trying to figure out how they all fit together. Georgia does. Advantage Florida.

TEN THINGS THAT MAKE ME THINK WHAT IF? (1) What if Ara Parseghian had succeeded Bob Woodruff? Before Ray Graves was offered the Florida job, UF president Dr. J. Wayne Reitz had his eye on Ara Parseghian who was turning Northwestern from Big Ten dormat into a respectable football program. At Miami (OH), Ara had gone 36-9-1. In his first two seasons at Northwestern, the Wildcats were 4-13-1 including an 0-9 1957, but then came a 5-4 1958 and a 6-3 1959 which included a 45-13 thrashing of Bud Wilkinson and Oklahoma. Dr. Reitz had at the top of his list Parseghian and Delaware coach Davey Nelson, who was highly recommended by General Bob Neyland, who served on the NCAA rules committee with Nelson. Nelson turned him down and Reitz almost had a deal with Parseghian, but Northwestern, sensing it might challenge for the Big Ten title in the next two years, gave Parseghian a raise and made promises to upgrade facilities as well as give his assistant coaches raises. Northwestern never won the Big Ten, but that didn’t stop Notre Dame from hiring him in 1964. Parseghian went 95-17-4 at Notre Dame. Would he have had that kind of success at UF where it would have been easier to recruit than at academic blueblood Northwestern? Meanwhile, at Florida, Dr. Reitz turned to Bobby Dodd, who recommended his defensive coordinator Ray Graves. Graves took the job for the enormous sum of $19,000 a year, which was actually a pay cut from what he was making at Tech, but it was, after all, a head coaching job. Under Graves, Florida emerged from the dark ages, went 70-31-4 over the next 10 years and took the Gators to five bowl games. (2) What if Gene Ellenson had succeeded Ray Graves? Coach Ellenson was offered the Georgia job back in 1964, but upon receiving promises that he would be the successor when Ray Graves retired, he elected to stay on at Florida. Ellenson was a brilliant defensive coordinator but every bit as important, he was the heart and soul of the team. His pregame speeches were legendary and some of his motivational tactics such as the hatchet in the crown of the helmet with a note “We’re going to kill your quarterback” that was allegedly signed by the FSU defense (Florida won the game 9-3) were the things legends are made of. I have to believe that Gene Ellenson would have been the right coach to take the Gators to even greater heights than Coach Graves. He was a decorated war hero (two silver stars pinned on his chest by General Patton during the Battle of the Bulge) who people trusted instantly. I believe he would have hired the right assistants and would have brought about an integrated Florida football program as fast or faster than Doug Dickey. (3) What if Lou Holtz had said yes when offered the job after Doug Dickey was fired? When Douglas Adair Dickey was fired after a 4-7 season in 1978, at the top of Florida’s wish list was Lou Holtz, who was not exactly the happiest of campers with Frank Broyles constantly looking over his shoulder at Arkansas. Holtz had been at Arkansas two years (20-3-1 record) but he was looking and Florida had long intrigued him. Holtz had conversations with the Florida administration but didn’t get a definitive offer. This was the days before cell phones, so when Florida did decide to make the offer, Holtz couldn’t be reached. So, there was no official offer made. Holtz went on to go 40-18-1 in the next five years at Arkansas but he only tied for the Southwest Conference title one time. The problem at Arkansas was the same one everybody has – recruiting to Fayette Nam. It’s not exactly the garden spot of the earth and it’s not the easiest place to recruit to. At Florida, he certainly would have recruited well and in those days, Holtz offenses were wide open. He would have inspired the masses. With Holtz in the rearview, Florida turned to Charley Pell, who had turned Clemson into a powerhouse in a short time. (4) What if UF had stood by Charley Pell and weathered the NCAA storm? Florida got hit hard by NCAA sanctions in 1984. Thinking it would ease sanctions, UF offered to fire Pell. UF was NOT going to get the death penalty. That didn’t happen until 1987 when SMU got caught cheating for the third time in a decade (1981 and 1985 were the other two times). Other schools stood by their coaches: Oklahoma stood by Barry Switzer in 1973; Clemson stood by Danny Ford in 1982; Texas A&M stood by Bear Bryant in 1957 and by Emory Bellard in 1977 (he was fired for losing in 1978, not for cheating); Georgia stood by Vince Dooley in 1978, 1982 and 1985; Kentucky stood by Fran Curci in 1977; Southern Cal stuck by John Robinson in 1982 … and so on. Even with the sanctions and scholarship limitations, I don’t think Florida football would have slipped nearly as far as it did if Pell had remained the coach. For all practical purposes, he left behind an NFL team in 1984-85. He was the master recruiter (not all the violations were heinous … see Dale Dorminey and the violation for him getting a pack of Juicy Fruit and a Sprite) and Florida would have still gotten the better players in the state. With Pell gone, Miami and FSU cleaned up. (5) What if Bill Arnsparger had his way and had hired Mike Archer? Athletic director Bill Arnsparger did not want Steve Spurrier as its head coach. It was only after having his thinking “nudged” a bit by Ben Hill Griffin that he came around to hiring Steve Spurrier. Arnsparger wanted Mike Archer, who succeeded him at LSU. Under Archer, LSU went from 10-1-1 to 4-7 in 1989, yet that’s who Archer wanted. After a 5-6 in 1990, LSU fired Archer. I have to think Florida would have been sent back into the football dark ages under Archer. Good assistant. Horrible head coach. (6) What if Steve Spurrier had elected to stay rather than leave for the NFL? I’m of the opinion that if Spurrier had stayed, Jabar Gaffney, Reche Caldwell and Lito Sheppard would have stayed another year rather than bolt to the NFL. I’m also of the opinion that the Heisman Rex Grossman was denied in 2001, he would have won it in 2002 with Spurrier calling the plays. In Spurrier’s 12 years at UF, the Gators won 10 or more games all but three seasons. I have no doubt the 2002 Gators would have won the SEC championship. Beyond that, I think the trend of nine or more wins would have continued. (7) What if Ron Zook had been able to hire the people he wanted? Zooker did NOT want to hire Ed Zaunbrecher as his offensive coordinator. He wanted Larry Fedora, but was told that Fedora didn’t have enough experience (he was at Middle Tennessee State). Zaunbrecher changed UF from a vertical passing game into one in which the bubble screen was king. Basically, he turned Rex Grossman into a pedestrian QB. There were other assistants that Zooker wanted to hire but for a variety of reasons (money for one thing) wasn’t allowed to hire. Would that have made a difference for a head coach who was learning on the job? (8) What if Zooker (a) didn’t have the frat house incident and (b) hadn’t lost to Mississippi State? The frat house incident really was the straw that broke the camel’s back, but there was no way UF president Bernie Machen was going to fire Zooker after that. If he had, it would have sent a signal to every frat house out there that you can get a coach fired if you provoke him enough. Zooker was basically dead man walking right then but he lost to Mississippi State in Starkville, 38-31, and that was the excuse needed to fire him. Had he won that game, UF would have been 6-2 with the only losses by two points to Tennessee in Knoxville and three to LSU. Zooker was fired on the Monday before the Georgia game. Florida lost that one 31-24 and I have to believe the Gators would have won if not for the distraction of Zook being fired. If – a lot of ifs here – he hadn’t lost to MSU and then beaten Georgia, would UF have fired Ron Zook? (9) What if Cam Newton had stayed out of trouble and hadn’t transferred to a juco? Cam Newton’s problems were bigger than academic. Although he was initially charged with stealing a laptop, he actually had bought it hot and knew it was stolen when he bought it. A deal was made with the state attorney that if Newton turned in the computer and fingered the thief, he would get off with probation. When police arrived at his dorm, Newton panicked and tossed the computer into a dumpster below his window. The academic problems compounded things so he transferred out and went to Blinn College in Texas where he won a juco national title and then to Auburn in 2010 where he led the Tigers to a national title while winning the Heisman. Had he stayed at UF and out of trouble, he would have used the 2008 as a redshirt and would have been eligible in 2009. With Tebow gone after the 2009 season, Newton would have had a good enough UF roster to win the SEC East and perhaps the SEC title in 2010. Urban might not have retired and the wheels might not have come off the UF program. (10) What if Jeremy Foley had hired Dan Mullen after Urban resigned after the 2010 season? Mullen went a surprising 5-7 his first year at Mississippi State (2009), then pulled off a shocker by going 9-4 in 2010. When Meyer decided to hang up his whistle (temporarily it turned out), Foley could have hired Mullen, who would have been a good fit since he spent five years recruiting the state and already knew the UF culture. Instead, Foley zeroed in immediately on Will Muschamp, who was the head coach in waiting at Texas. Like Ron Zook, Muschamp had never been a head coach before so it was on-the-job training. I have no doubt that Muschamp is a good man and is going to prove himself to be a very good head football coach, but he needed experience and didn’t have it. While Mullen only had two years of head coaching experience, he had turned Mississippi State around and ended up taking MSU to eight straight bowl games before he got the call from Scott Stricklin to take over UF after the 2018 season. I don’t doubt for a second Dan would have been wildly successful at UF had he gotten the job back in 2011. I don’t think for a nanosecond that Georgia would be dominating the SEC East if Mullen had gotten the job back then.

By KASSIDY HILL GatorBait Columnist University of Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin in conjunction with the Southeastern Conference announced today—Friday March 13—that “all organized team activities, including competitions, team and individual practices, meetings and other organized gatherings, will be suspended through Apr. 15. The SEC had previously announced all competition was suspended through Mar. 30.” The World Health Organization labeled the coronavirus a global pandemic on March 11, following cases being confirmed in 100+ countries. The Florida football team was set to begin practice on Monday, March 16. As of now that is simply postponed until the aforementioned April 15th date. However, that date is still in flux according to Stricklin. “We had put April 15 out as a date to work towards; my sense is that’s probably optimistic. I’m not an expert but based on what we’re told here on campus, we probably need to expect potentially that could go longer and we’re just gonna have to be prepared for that…things aren’t going to be normal for a little while. They’re going to get normal again. I hope April 15 is right on, that would be exciting news for everybody. I just think we have to prepare ourselves that it may be beyond that. “Most important thing is we as a society, as a community and as a university, take the steps necessary to protect our young people, protect our staff and our coaches and protect our fans and the people who love watching our young people compete and that’s why we’re trying to take these steps and do that. Spring football itself will also be in flux as Stricklin said there is no one certain plan right now to either postpone or cancel altogether. Football student athletes are on campus throughout summer as well, giving the calendar more flexibility says Stricklin. “I would say at this point [spring football is] in flux. Obviously we’re not going to go through normal spring ball as we had scheduled and we’re probably not going to have a spring game on April 18. Beyond that, we’re not in a position to make definitive comments. “You want everyone to have as much preparation as possible for the season and you want everybody to be as equitable as possible with how much preparation they have. As long as those two things are in place, we can figure out when that happens.” The NBA canceled the remainder of its season on Wednesday, March 11. The next morning, the NCAA postponed the Men and Women’s basketball tournament before then canceling the remainder of spring and summer games and championships for all NCAA sports. The SEC at that time was still allowing schools to make decisions on organized team activities such as practices, workouts and more. Stricklin says as the Gators mens basketball team was preparing to take the floor for a tournament game against the Georgia Bulldogs, he and his staff began to see the disproportionate response and change their mindset. “In the last 24-48 hours, this whole process has gone from 'how can we play some games' to ‘what do we need to do to take immediate steps to buffet ourselves for what is about to happen with the spread of COVID-19' and when you change that mindset, when you flip that from figuring out how you play games, whether it’s with no fans in the stands or whatever, to ‘how can we help our society and our communities get through this as quickly as possible,’ you start taking totally different approaches.” Following the SEC mandate on Friday, Florida is electing to not only close practices but the majority of the athletic areas (locker rooms, weight rooms, practice facilities, etc). The Hawkins Center for academics and the training room will be the only things to remain open during this time. The University of Florida—which began preparing for possible coronavirus spreads as far back as February 6 according to Stricklin—will have all classes online by Monday till at least March 30. Within the SEC, since spring sports are at this time simply postponed, there is logistically an opportunity for a shortened, truncated season. However Stricklin reveals that after speaking with coaches, he doesn’t know if that’s the best option. “[Softball coach] Tim Walton sent me a text last night. He had talked to some of his seniors. He said they felt like if there was an opportunity to get their senior year back -- which I know the NCAA is taking some steps along those lines today -- they came here to win national championships, not to play a truncated, partial season. They would rather wait and have the opportunity to come back and do that as opposed to trying to power through.” The Gators baseball team is currently ranked No. 1 in the country, softball is No. 7, gymnastics is No. 2, mens track and field is No. 2, women’s track and field is No. 11, lacrosse is No. 7, the men’s basketball team was a projected nine seed in March Madness and the women’s basketball team had a postseason chance as well. The NCAA announced on Friday that they would allow an extra year for spring sport athletes who will now miss the majority of their seasons and championships. Stricklin would like to see that extended to winter sport athletes as well. “I may be in the minority here. I think any senior who had a championship opportunity taken away because of this should get another year. I don’t know if the NCAA will take that up, like they should the spring sports. But you have track athletes, you have gymnasts, you have swimmers and divers, and basketball that what they worked for all year was taken away. I think we should give those kids another year. Whether that happens or not I don’t know.” Stricklin did say he will push for this to be allowed. The UAA employs 370 hourly workers and as Stricklin says, “candidly, that’s our top concern: those 370 people, many of which are hourly employees. How do we continue to make them whole?” In another candid moment, Stricklin admits that the revenue from spring sports, while welcome, isn’t a hugely significant number. The hit will come from the cancelation of the SEC and NCAA Tournament. However, “there’s a lot of cynicism about college athletics and that decisions are made for financial reasons. I can tell you the decisions that were made this week by and large the financial ramifications really were no consideration.” While the world hits pause for a few weeks, the student athletes at University of Florida are hitting pause on their entire career. That is what Scott Stricklin says hurts the most, even when doing the right thing. "They invest a lot of time and effort and energy in being in a position to compete against the very best and have a chance to be successful. Through no fault of their own, no fault of any of us, that’s been taken from them. The psychology of an athlete is always working toward something. They woke up this morning and there was nothing to work toward. That’s a hard thing to process. In addition to great sports health programs, we have great mental health services. We’re probably going to have to really engage those with our student-athletes because I imagine a lot of them are going to be processing this for several weeks to come.”

WHAT TO DO WHEN THERE ARE NO SPORTS ON TV I’ll start with the obvious. It might turn out that the decisions to shut down all sports for the foreseeable future was an over-reaction, but since there are so many unknowns about the corona virus, shutting down sports was the only choice to make. I’d much rather look back on this time and say the virus was vastly over-rated than to see lives lost unnecessarily because not enough caution was taken. Given the choice, I'm happy with the decisions that have been made. So, since there are no sports to watch whether live or on TV, then what shall we do with our time? And, since I write about sports and there will be no sports for awhile, what will I write about? I’ve decided to search Youtube for ball games that helped shape University of Florida sports history. TODAY’S FLASHBACK: GATOR BOWL 1969, FLORIDA 14, TENNESSEE 13 If you were to ask 100 fans the 10 most important Florida football games in history, only a handful might point to the 1969 Gator Bowl when Florida nipped Southeastern Conference champion Tennessee, 14-13, but the significance of this game cannot be under-estimated. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7S4SdUS7CE To understand why it was so important, you have to go back to August of 1969. That’s when UF president Dr. Stephen C. O’Connell, in his infinite wisdom, decided that the Gators were never going to win the Southeastern Conference championship as long as Ray Graves was the head coach. Dr. O’Connell took it upon himself to make a deal to hire former Gator quarterback and University of Tennessee head coach Douglas Adair Dickey as the head coach to replace Graves. Graves would be allowed to coach the Gators through the 1969 season and would be allowed to remain on as the athletic director. In that he wasn’t a wealthy man, Coach Graves felt he had no choice but to accept the deal. What Dr. O’Connell never counted on was 1969 would turn out to be one of the greatest seasons in Florida football history. Armed with a core of young talent dubbed “The Super Sophs” and with an offensive coordinator in Fred Pancoast ready to unleash a passing offense like no one in the SEC had ever seen, the Gators became the darlings of college football starting with the third play of the season-opener with a Houston team that some publications had predicted to win the national championship. This was a Houston team that had twice scored more than 70 points in 1968 and had finished out its regular season with a 100-6 win over Tulsa, a game in which Larry Gatlin (yes, that Larry Gatlin, the country/western singer) caught the TDP that got the Cougars their 100 points. Houston was supposed to wipe the Florida Field grass with the young Gators only the Cougars were stunned on the third play of the game when John Reaves and Carlos Alvarez hooked up on a 70-yard touchdown pass, a play they had practiced so many times in the summer they could have run it in their sleep. It’s important to tell the story of “The Pass” as it has become known because it pretty much sets the stage for the rest of this season and why the Gator Bowl game was so important. Pancoast knew he had an absolute burner in Alvarez, who was the state sprint champion (9.6 100 yards) as a high school senior at North Miami. “The Cuban Comet” was a high school running back who became a wide receiver as a UF freshman. Because this was an era without social media, recruiting combines and Youtube, Carlos was relatively unknown. Pancoast thought he could get Carlos behind Houston corner Johnny Peacock, but he wanted to make certain All-American safety Paul Shires couldn’t give over-the-top help. So Pancoast flopped tight end Bill Dowdy to the left side of the formation and had Alvarez flank four extra yards wider than usual. Alvarez made one simple move on Peacock and then hit the after-burner. Peacock was toast. Because he had to first cover Dowdy, Shires had to delay by a full second or two giving Peacock any help, and then there was the matter of the four extra yards. No chance. Reaves’ throw was like a scalpel through the air, a good 50 yards from where he threw to the waiting hands of Alvarez, who was a good 10 yards behind Peacock. Touchdown Florida and the rout was on. The Gators won the game, 59-35, and a season of offense like no one had ever seen was begun. Florida went on to an 8-1-1 regular season record, a loss to Auburn and a tie to Georgia on successive weeks the only blemishes. Nobody, particularly, Dr. O’Connell expected that, but O’Connell was still confident that he had made the right move because Dickey had taken Tennessee to a 9-1 record and the SEC championship. What could go wrong? What went wrong was the week leading up to the Gator Bowl game on December 27, Buddy Martin of Cocoa Today and Jack Hairston of the Jacksonville Journal unearthed the little secret that Graves was out after the ball game and that Dickey would be named Florida’s head coach. The Florida players threatened to boycott the game, arguing that if Graves was out, then Gene Ellenson should be the successor. After all, Ellenson had turned down the Georgia job (Vince Dooley got it when Gene said no) to remain at UF with the promise that he would succeed Graves. Graves talked the team out of a boycott and they played that Saturday, but they played with a chip on their collective shoulders. Florida’s defense came through in the first quarter when linebacker Mike Kelley intercepted a Dewey Warren pass inside the UF 10 to snuff out the Vols’ first drive of the game. Florida’s second drive ended with a missed field goal from the Tennessee eight but the UF defense delivered a three-and-out. The Gators blocked a punt that Kelley scooped up and ran into the end zone for the first score of the game. Trailing 10-7 in the third quarter, the Gators put together a 67-yard scoring drive that culminated with a nine-yard Reaves to Alvarez touchdown pass. In the fourth quarter, Florida’s defense put up a ferocious stand inside the 10 to force a Tennessee field goal. Tennessee’s fate was sealed in the fourth quarter when its punter dropped a snap. The game ended with Florida threatening to score at the Tennessee one. The significance of this game is enormous. I am of the opinion that Florida football would have been far better off with Ray Graves passing the torch on to Gene Ellenson than it ever would have been with Doug Dickey at the helm. While I recognize Dickey for his efforts to integrate the team and the courage it took to play a black quarterback in an era when they were few and far between, especially in the south, I have no doubt that Coach Ellenson would have succeeded in bringing about a fully integrated team seamlessly. If you ever talked to Gene, then you know he could instantly gain your trust. If he was your friend, you had none better. Gene Ellenson was that rare man who could inspire men like few I have ever met. He was a man’s man who had two silver stars pinned on his chest by General Patton for his heroism at the Battle of the Bulge. At Florida, his pre-game speeches became legendary. As a defensive coordinator, his troops played with incredible passion and were tough as nails. Dickey didn’t have the charisma that Florida needed and it didn’t help that he took over under such adverse circumstances. From 9-1-1 in 1969, Dickey’s first two seasons were 7-4 and 4-7. Dickey was so disliked by the team he inherited that in their final game as seniors, there was the infamous Florida Flop in the Orange Bowl when the defense let Miami score so John Reaves could have a chance to set the all time (then) record for passing yardage. When the game ended, many of the players sprinted to the open end zone at the Orange Bowl and jumped into the pool where Flipper swam during Miami Dolphins home games. To this day, I believe that although he meant well, Dr. O’Connell made the worst possible move and set Florida football back a long, long way. SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT: When this virus has run its course, Corona Beer should embark on a serious advertising campaign with this slogan: “A six-pack a day will keep the virus away.” THE BEST COMMERCIAL SEQUENCE FOR A SUPER BOWL: The 1997 Super Bowl featured this sequence of commercials with the lizards and the frogs. Louie hired the ferret to pull off a hit on the frogs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aS3op_7QVIY WITH NO SPORTS ON TV, TRY WATCHING THIS: On Amazon Prime they have the entire Boston Legal Series (William Shatner, James Spader, Candice Bergen). This was Shatner at his absolute best. It’s worth a binge watch weekend!

The Florida Gators University Athletic Association in conjunction with the University of Florida and the Southeastern Conference, will be cancelling spring sports as well as winter and spring championships in the wake of the Coronavirus. The spread of COVID-19 was labeled a global pandemic by the World Health Organization on Wednesday March 11. SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey originally announced Thursday morning sweeping precautions league wide for all sports, saying no SEC sporting events would be conducted through March 30. Thursday evening, the NCAA governing body and President Mark Emmert cancelled all remaining events on the calendar for all NCAA sports and championships Read the entirety of the NCAA release: Today, NCAA President Mark Emmert and the Board of Governors canceled the Division I men’s and women’s 2020 basketball tournaments, as well as all remaining winter and spring NCAA championships. This decision is based on the evolving COVID-19 public health threat, our ability to ensure the events do not contribute to spread of the pandemic, and the impracticality of hosting such events at any time during this academic year given ongoing decisions by other entities. RELATED: NCAA CANCELS SPRING SPORTS; FLORIDA GATORS PLANS FOR FANS Following Sankey's release and UF's own academic changes, the Florida athletic department began to release their own individual updates in relation to the remainder of all spring sports. Team are still allowed to practice although Spring football, which begins for Dan Mullen's 2020 squad on Monday March 16, will now be closed to the public. The team had originally planned four practices open to the public. Dan Mullen's spring speaking tour, set to kick of on March 17, has also been postponed at this time. Read the entirety of Florida's release below: Updated March 12, 1:20pm Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankey announced today that beginning Thursday, March 12 and continuing until at least Monday, March 30, regular-season competition for teams in all sports on SEC campuses, as well SEC championship events, will be immediately suspended. The first event affected by this will be the SEC Men's Basketball Tournament in Nashville, which will be canceled. NCAA Championship participation will be determined by NCAA authority. The University of Florida announced it will move classes online by Monday, March 16, and classes will remain online until at least March 30. Student athletes and other students that remain on campus will continue to have access to Gator Dining, health facilities and other support services. The campus will remain open and fully operational. The Gators Ticket Office will automatically refund all ticket purchases for events scheduled to take place from March 13 to March 30. Refunds will be processed back to the form of payment used for the original purchase. All purchasers will be contacted once the refund is processed. The Florida athletic teams will be permitted to hold practices and team activities but will not travel or participate in competition. The football team, which begins spring practice on March 16, will close practices to the public. In addition, Dan Mullen's public speaking tour in March will not be held at this time. Stick with GatorBait Media for full coverage of all Florida Gators athletics and updates to Florida's spring sports as the coronavirus evolves.

GATORS WILL FACE GEORGIA MINUS THE FANS Crowd noise won’t be a factor when the Gators (19-12) face Georgia (16-16) in the second round of the Southeastern Conference Basketball Tournament in Nashville today. After allowing fans to be present for the two first round games, the SEC followed the lead of the NCAA and prohibited fans for the remaining four days of the tournament at Bridgestone Arena. Win or lose today, the Gators go into the game (3 p.m., SEC Network) fairly certain they’ll be part of the NCAA Tournament field that will be announced Sunday evening, but they can certainly enhance their seeding with a couple of wins in Nashville. If they get past Georgia today, they will face Mississippi State (20-11) on Friday afternoon. Currently, the Gators are listed as a nine seed, facing eight seed Saint Mary’s in Cleveland in the latest brackets of ESPN’s Joe Lunardi. If UF could get to Saturday’s semifinals, it’s entirely possible they could move up to the seven or possibly even the six line, which is far more advantageous. The eight-nine winner advances to face the #1 seed in the bracket barring a miracle win by a 16 seed. But, first things first. The Gators need to beat Georgia for a third time and that’s not an easy thing to do. In both wins over Georgia earlier in the season, the Gators had to rally from enormous deficits – 22 points at the O-Dome and 13 down in Athens. In both those games, the Gators had second team All-SEC center Kerry Blackshear Jr., whose status is questionable due to a sprained wrist. With or without Blackshear, however, the Gators need to turn up the defensive intensity the way they did in Athens a couple of weeks ago when they held Georgia to 54 points. In that game, Scottie Lewis locked down defensively on Anthony Edwards, holding Georgia’s SEC Freshman of the Year to 3-10 shooting from the field and 1-4 from the three-point line. In addition to needing a big effort once again on Edwards, the Gators are going to need a solid effort on Georgia’s 6-9 Rayshaun Hammonds, who came up big in the win over Ole Miss Wednesday night, going off for 22 points, 11 rebounds and four assists. SEC BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT Wednesday’s scores Georgia (16-16) 81, Ole Miss (15-17) 63 Arkansas (20-12) 86, Vanderbilt (11-21) 73 Thursday’s games Alabama (16-15) vs. Tennessee (17-14), 1 p.m. Georgia (16-16) vs. FLORIDA (19-12), 3 p.m. Missouri (15-16) vs. Texas A&M (16-14), 7 p.m. Arkansas (20-12) vs. South Carolina (18-13), 9 p.m. GATORS WHACK FSU BEHIND ECHOLS, LINDAMIN Charla Echols and Kendyl Lindamin each hit two-run homers as the 7th-ranked Gators (23-4) took an impressive 5-2 softball win over 12th-ranked Florida State (17-7) Wednesday evening at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the third, Lindamin singled to right field and Echols followed with her eighth homer of the season to center field to give the Gators a 2-1 lead. After FSU tied the game in the top of the fifth, Hannah Adams doubled to left field and Lindamin followed with her seventh homer of the season to right center. The Gators added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth when Cheyenne Lindsey drove in E.C. Taylor with a single. Katie Chronister (3-0) got the win in relief for the Gators while Natalie Lugo picked up her NCAA-leading sixth save of the season with two hitless innings. The Gators will play host to 24th-ranked Baylor for three non-conference games this weekend. Other UF sports: Grace Stark, who ranks second nationally in the 60 meter hurdles and who holds the world under-20 record, was named SEC Women’s Freshman of the Year ... Florida’s women’s golf team moved up to 7th in the Golfweek team rankings while the Florida men’s team moved up to 19th … The men’s tennis team dropped down to 9th in the Oracle/ITA rankings while the Women fell to 46th … The lacrosse team (5-2) dropped from 5th to 7th in the Inside Lacrosse poll. LOMAS BROWN HALL OF FAME: IT’S ABOUT TIME! Although it should have been done years ago, former Gator offensive tackle Lomas Brown was finally elected to the College Football Hall of Fame, Class of 2020. A first team All-America at left tackle in 1984 when he was the anchor of The Great Wall of Florida, arguably one of the two or three best offensive lines in the history of the Southeastern Conference, Brown won the coveted Jacobs Blocking Trophy as the best lineman in the SEC. He went on to a 7-time Pro Bowl career in the NFL, earning a Super Bowl ring with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2002. Others selected to the 2020 class were: Eric Dickerson, RB, SMU; Steve McNair, QB, Alcorn State; Glenn Dorsey, DT, LSU; E.J. Junior, DE, Alabama; David Pollack, DE, Georgia; Eric Crouch, QB, Nebraska; Keith Byars, RB, Ohio State; Jumbo Elliott, OT, Michigan; Cade McNown, QB, UCLA; Leslie O’Neal, DT, Oklahoma State; Anthony Poindexter, DB, Virginia; Bob Stein, DE, Minnesota; Michael Westbrook, WR, Colorado; Elmo Wright, WR, Houston; Dick Sheridan, coach; and Andy Talley, coach. THINKING OUT LOUD ABOUT PLAYING IN EMPTY ARENAS From here on out, the college basketball season will conclude in near empty arenas due to the outbreak of the corona virus. From a purely basketball standpoint, the effect might be rather substantial. One reason the SEC, for example, holds its tournament nearly every year in Nashville is because of the proximity to Kentucky. Kentucky fans fill the arena and give the Wildcats a substantial advantage. Will Kentucky have that same advantage Friday night playing in a cavernous arena without the Big Blue Nation roaring at every dribble? On to the NCAA Tournament, where Dayton figures to be the top seed in the East with first and second round games played in Cleveland, a mere hop, skip and a jump from Dayton. Out west, Gonzaga will be the top seed with the first two rounds in Spokane. Spokane Arena is four minutes from the Gonzaga campus. So kiss those home court advantages good-bye for Dayton and the Zags. Florida State, which is on everybody’s two line, will almost certainly play its first round game in Tampa, so another home court advantage negated. Now, let’s go beyond home court advantages. If there are not going to be huge fan bases, then why play in these enormous arenas? The semifinals and championship game are scheduled for Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, capacity 75,000. It’s almost certain the NCAA will switch to either nearby Georgia State Arena or Alexander Coliseum at Georgia Tech. And how about travel? Should teams be required to criss-cross the country to events that are thousands of miles away when there are smaller arenas within driving distance or a short flight away? Should, for example, the NCAA decide to go into a full emergency mode and put the region back in regional? By that, I mean, as best as possible, put southern teams in the South, eastern teams in the East, midwestern teams in the Midwest and western teams in the West? Finally, the economic impact is going to be huge. Now I know that this figures to be a short term impact compared to the possibility of spreading the virus to thousands upon thousands of people, but when people descend upon these venues in droves, it indeed adds a huge shot of dollars into the local economies. I’m sure there will be folks who think the conferences and the NCAA have over-reacted, that these decisions will create more fear than there is already out there, but why take the chance? It’s better to take drastic actions now than regret it later. MORE THINKING OUT LOUD ON THURSDAY (1) I keep reading all these predictions about where Tom Brady is going to be playing football next year. My opinion hasn’t changed. I think he’s going to finish his career in the same place he started. I don’t think he’s willing to have his legacy tainted by going someplace where he’s dealing with a new coach, new owner and unrealistic expectations. As long as Bill Belichick is the coach and Robert Kraft is the owner, the Patriots will have a team capable of making it to the Super Bowl. (2) Since I’m on the subject of quarterbacks, Joe Burrow and Tua Tagovailoa are going to be the first two QBs taken in the NFL Draft in April. From what I saw the last couple of years on TV and then at the Combine, there is no question in my mind that the next best QB on the board is Justin Herbert of Oregon. I’m not enamored with Utah State’s Jordan Love. Yes, he’s got all this raw ability but I’ve never seen him make consistently good decisions. I wouldn’t be surprised to see New England take Georgia’s Jake Fromm in the second round. (3) I keep hearing all this talk how Georgia landed a psychological blow on Alabama by hiring Scott Cochran. I think that was Kirby Smart’s intent when he hired Cochran, but I’m not so sure it’s going to have that much of an effect on Alabama. Yes, Cochran was a fine strength and conditioning coach and someone Nick Saban trusted, but it’s not like this is the first time Saban has had to replace one of his assistants. I seriously doubt Nick was completely caught offguard when Cochran bolted. After all, Cochran had been begging for an on the field coaching job for quite some time and Nick resisted, so he knew Cochran was shopping. About the only psychological impact I can see this having on Saban is for Nick to declare war on Kirby Smart and implement plans to kneecap his former assistant. (4) Here is where SEC basketball coaches rank nationally in salary: (1) John Calipari, Kentucky $8,158,000; (4) Rick Barnes, Tennessee $4,700,000; (12) Buzz Williams, Texas A&M $3,843,182; (13) Bruce Pearl, Auburn $3,840,366; (23) Tom Crean, Georgia $3,200,000; (27) Frank Martin, South Carolina $3,050,000; (31) Cuonzo Martin, Missouri $2,900,000; (33) Kermit Davis, Ole Miss $2,850,000; (34) MIKE WHITE, FLORIDA $2,814,000; (41) Ben Howland, Mississippi State $2,555,000; (42) Will Wade, LSU $2,501,500; (45) Eric Musselman, Arkansas $2,500,000; (46) Nate Oats, Alabama $2,462,000. GOOD QUOTES FOR THURSDAY From Dana O’Neill of The Athletic, NCAA president Mark Emmert on the difficult choice of allowing the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments to go on without the presence of fans: “Making sure these men and women have a chance to compete in a championship, this is an opportunity of a lifetime for them and many of them will only get one crack at this. If we can do the games without fans, it’s hardly ideal, but it’s way better than not having these championships.” From Gene Sapakoff of The Post and Courier (Charleston, SC), Clemson coach Dabo Swinney on his policy of trying to eliminate cuss words from the vocabulary of coaches and players: “We really try to set a good example and our players try. Occasionally, you know, you just call them out. You say, ‘Hey, we don’t need that.’ Just to make them think about it. Just try to articulate yourself a little bit better without some of that if we can. To make them better men.” RANDOM THOUGHTS: Tiger Woods has been elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame’s 2021 class. The age requirement for the Hall is 45. Tiger will be 45 on December 30, 2020 … I’ll be interested to see how Corona Virus affects the crowds for The Players Championship over at Ponte Vedra Beach this week. Nineteen of the world’s top 20 players will be teeing off in the first round today. Even though he hasn’t been playing well to start the season, I’ll go with Brooks Koepka as my favorite to win it … With Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz testing positive for corona virus, the NBA has suspended its season indefinitely. I have to wonder if Major League Baseball is considering moving back its season a month.