Stupor Bowl 2011

I don't remember any of this, and it's the day after.  Oh, yeah, the Steelers lost. Or was it that that other team won?  Shit.

Weekend at the Beech

Ah, the best of intentions can be killer...or is that a killer?  The plan for the "weekend" trip to NC was to get the boys off to the slopes for a bit, and to become more familiar with the impending daughter-in-law.  A short visit to the Charlotte Casa was in the mix as well.  And we thought it would be cool for Winnie to see (and play in) some snow, since we obvious weren't going to get her out to Colorado in her present lifetime.  Thought sure the two parts of her genetic make-up would LOVE the snow...turns out, not so much.  Maybe if she had been younger, who knows--Sassy had a great time, but Winnie was pretty miserable.  Might have been the 49 steps from the house to the road that got to her (and to me, who shovelled most of them after the first snowfall).  The place was pretty much like all rental units in NC, very Timbers 6-ish, but with better decor. 

Jane and I got there the night before the kids, so we had a chance to scope it all out, and I got to ride all day Friday by myself, since B and S got held up in town (natch).  Beech Mountain is...how to say....small and mostly flat.  The "black" runs they had were actually one longer bluish run split into 2 (maybe 3) trails.  One good thing, it was the least crowded of all of them. And that was a big issue on Saturday when B and I  went out.  The slopes were so covered with participants, it falls into the "I wouldn't say your mother is fat, but..." school of hyperbole: I wouldn't say it was crowded, but at the base I couldn't fall down without hitting at least 2 people sitting on the snow. And that was the best result, because when they were upright, they were positively dangerous.  Really. 

There seemed to be some nice houses on the slopes at Beech, but location, location, location.  There's a reason that big houses on or near the slopes in the west command millions of dollars--that's were the good snow is.  Ah, well, another experience to remember.  B and I had as much fun as we could, and Shelley (who was injured) spent a good bit of time with Jane and learned to knit.  A good result all around.  Now to start planning the wedding!

Gators Take Lions "Out Back"

....and whup 'em up good.  A sloppy, even crappy, game, but not without its excitement.  What can you say about 6 INTs (5 for them), a blocked punt, a fumble into the endzone, and a pick-six to seal the game?  Pretty much that first thing I said.

Ah, Ahmad Black is the hero of the game, as he has been the hero of the season.  How fitting for an over-achiever who was "too small" and "too slow" to play safety to be the star on this under-achieving team.  A feel good story, for sure.  And he seems like a good kid as well, one we hope will get the big bucks at the next level.

Have you noticed how much ink Mike Pouncey gets in the various media services?  Is that because he talks better than he snaps, or just because he'll give an opinion on anything, anytime?  He has certainly become the "little brother" of the twins--hope he gets picked by the Steelers so the set can be reunited.  And Gruden sure loved him during the bowl game--raved about his skill as a blocker, etc, though he seemed to shut up a bit when that snap sailed over Reed's head.  Guess he'll be a great guard playing beside brother MP1.  (Who, BTW, is going to the Pro Bowl as a rookie! What?!?! A rookie, you say? From Pittsburgh?  Damn, that's unheard of .... at least within the last 50 years.  Big, huge, mega props to you, Maurkice.  You da man!)

But I digress....
It was so special that Urban's last victory was against a legend and his outmanned team, who managed to keep with striking distance until late.  It would have been unseemly to hang 50 points on the Lions with JoePa on the sidelines.  The irony is that one of Urban's role models growing up was Paterno, who, by the way, will still be coaching when Urban isn't--that is, NEXT YEAR! How times have changed....
Gators get a chance to try again next year with most of the same guys and a new coach, plus Driskel.  Go Gators!!!

Last Bumper Sticker of the Season:

Rap is to music as Etch-A-Sketch is to art.

Merrrrrryyyy Christmas... to all you rich folks

Santabama came to our House (and Senate) and agreed to some tasty new tax laws a week before Christmas.  Up to $10 million per family to pass down to the next generation, who, of course, won't know what to do with it. Maybe, they'll have enough left over to pay off the staggering debt that Santabama had given them last year.  Oh what fun it is, to ride and sing.... Cause that's all we'll have left--horse racing (can't beat Kentucky) and American Idol.  Somebody will be laughing all the way (to the bank) but it'll most likely be the Chinese.

Now don't get me wrong...I'm in favor of taxpayers keeping as much of their own money as humanly possible, it's just a sad tradeoff when we have to agree to support the huge pool of welfare gamers in order to keep a little bit of our own money.  Almost like the protection racket.  Hey, youse supports our boyz here, and we don't bust up your family business, ya know?

However you slice it, the new law is the best piece of conservative legislation to come out of Congress since, well, the Bush tax cuts.  Now, Mr. Economy, start your engines!

Will Muschamp...

...restore the Gators to their former glory? (True, we've only had one bad year--well, maybe two--in the last 5, but we want those National Championships, baby.)

I like him already--he looks good in Orange and Blue, and I think he looks a little like Pete.

There is some buzz going around, mostly by webheads who don't appreciate the difficulty of conducting a search in the public eye.  Lots of comparisons of this hire to Ron Zook.  But those are inapt, because Zooker was an assistant coach already, and they took the Zook only after being turned down by most other good coaches.  And that was a last minute, desperation move, as borne out by the results.  I'm sure part of the frustration stems from listening to the network talking heads and bloggers spewing forth all the big names they thought we could get--foolish, foolish.  Who wants Bobby Petrino, anyway?

Still, this seems odd and has an unusual sense of "Why him, why so quick, and why not talk to others who are head coaches and who might want to come--like Stoops?" but I think the jury needs to get empaneled first before pronouncing a verdict.  Who was this Urban Meyer character 6 years ago?  Did anybody know anything about him?  At least Muschamp has been well indoctrinated in the SEC, and used to live in G'ville, for Urban's sake.  And, lest we have to compare with our SEC West brethren, look how the Gene Chizak thing turned out at Auburn.... (True, he hasn't had to do much coaching this year--just give the ball to Cam--but at least he hasn't blown games for them.)

What we need as much as anything is some new offensive juice.  It's great that Will is a defensive kinda guy, he'll look out for that side, but without offense in this league, you're dead.  (Note comment above re Auburn.)  I hope we get a really good one (and I'm a bit biased against Major Applewhite, as I never thought he was as good as his hype--I'm holding out for Kerwin Bell!)

GO GATORS!!

Urban Flight

We've heard about Urban Legend, Urban Decay, and Urban Renewal, but this is the sad one.  Old Urbie has done gone and quit us--how could he do that?  He is too Type A for his small little family to fill up that huge need for activity and, most of all, validation.  Crimenently, Trigger, he had an 85 member family of active strong young men, just crying out to be fatherfigured!

But I guess he deserves to try to start a new life.  I suspect, however, that if he sits out a few years and then goes back to coach at ND, a lot of Gators will feel cheated and betrayed.  Let him do the TV commentating if that works for him, but we (UF) put a lot of time, effort and money into developing his rep and standing (not to mention retirement fund) and it would be a travesty if he took that somewhere else in a short hurry.  We can be happy for anyone who retires at that age--and a little jealous--but Urban, do the right thing and stick to your excuse.

Too little time for family? C'mon, why didn't you think of that 25 years ago when the kids were little? It's a lifestyle, you know...success at the level you aspired to costs something.  As the drill sargeant therapist would say, "Why don't we chug on over to mamby-pamby land and see if we can find you some family time, you Jackwagon?"

Hey, isn't that Nate in the background of the picture?  Think he'll want to be a once-was-a coach's son?  No more sideline passes?  Did you ask the boy first, Urban?  My guess is he'd rather continue to be part of the best team in the southeast than to suddenly have a new Dad who comes to his games.  Sheesh.

Probably the best thing we can say to Urban is Good Luck and Thanks for the Memories!  He did so much for the program, you can't really be mad at the guy for wanting a life.  He deserves it, even if it turns out not to be what he really wants.

Gator Football 2010

Gator Schedule 2010  -  We are now 7-5 (w/ a bowl game to go)

September 4 Miami (OH) 34-12

September 11 USF 38-14
September 18 @ Tennessee 31-17
September 25 Kentucky 48-14
October 2 @ Alabama 6-31 (ouch!)
October 9 LSU 29-33 (2x ouch!)
October 16 Mississippi State (HC) 7-10 (ineffable)

    and thus, "We shall grapple with the ineffable, and see if we may not eff it after all." — Douglas Adams
October 30 Georgia 34-31 (ef-able once more)
November 6 @ Vanderbilt 55-14

November 13 South Carolina 14-36
November 20 Appalachian State 48-10
November 27 @ Florida State 7-31
The ultimate low in a season full of them...I'm speechless.
December 4 SEC Championship (wait'll next year)

Bowl game... I think I must be dreaming--the Outback Bowl jumped 2 SEC teams with better records to pick Florida as a match for Penn State.  Wa-hoo!  Urban gets a shot at JoePa, and the Gators get to smear salve on a roughed up season.  Auburn gets the spot we should have had (at the beginning of the season)--a shot at the NC.  But at least the SEC can continue its dominance.   Go Tigers!!!!!

Semi-holed

There is a palpable sadness that afflicts me, and I believe I can say why.  This is an unfamiliar feeling, to be sure.  And, BTW, we suck.

Those Seminoles...you can't say enough good things about them.  No, seriously...there aren't enough good things to say.  Sadly, they were on a scoring binge Saturday and the Gators continued to stink up the field on offense.  This time it was the turnovers that killed us.  And whatever the offense has, it looks like the defense caught it too.  Of course, giving the Semi-holes the ball on our side of the field several times didn't help the D do its job.  What happened to their turnovers?  We didn't get none.

I am not as devastated as I thought I might be on those few occasions that I had entertained the thought of this tragedy occurring.... Tragedy? Say what?  I will quote from the tough but fair commentator/blogger out of Tampa known only to my EVO as Alligator Army (website) who poignantly said:

"...Florida had won six consecutive games in a series that had not had that level of domination in 20 years. Things happen.  Teams lose games.  In addition, it is not very flattering to be a fan and blow this game out of proportion.  There are a lot of tragedies in life and losing to Florida State is not one of them.  A tragedy would be attending Florida State, not losing a football game."

He also warns about FSU fans gloating (even though 1 out of 7 is not really that big a deal):

"Finally, brace yourselves for FSU fans taunting you for their 31-7 win when they fill your McDonald's order. (Ouch!) Kindly remind them that the numbers that matter are 30 and 51. Those are the differences between UF's (17, 53) and FSU's (47, 104) ranks in the US News & World Report rankings for public universities and national universities."


God bless you, whoever you are.

War Eagle!!!

Bumper Sticker of the Week:

If it is broke, you better get busy fixin'.

App State--We All Need Some-one We Can Lean On

With no apologies at all to the Rolling Stones--the copyright has to have expired by now.

If only every game could be like this.  The Mountaineers were outmanned pretty much the whole game, and scored a TD only at the end with the scrubs in the game.  Ooops, I meant the underclassmen....

It was an offensive workout, of sorts, getting ready for FSU, but there was an air of ... of ... insubstantialness to it.  When the Ol' Ball Coach had a game like this--and Meyer early on--the score was more like 66-3 or 72-10.  Admittedly, Appalachian State is nobody's pushover, as Michigan found out a few years ago.  Hopefully they will win the Div 2 national title again this year.  But like the "old fashioned" girl at the end of year dance, we just couldn't have our way with them as we would have liked.  I hope that doesn't bode ill for the next game with the 'Holes.

Bumper Sticker of the Week:

If you are tempted to fight fire with fire, remember the Fire Department prefers water.

the Future will be here soon

I went to a Dreadnaughts game last night for the first time.  Aside from the many ways high school football has changed, I was astounded by the size of the players.  What have we been putting in our food the last 40 years?  One of the largest ones, and the fellow I had come to see, was the quarterback of the opposing Hagerty Hounds, who has committed to play for the Gators next year.  This man (in every sense of the word) is touted as the Second Coming of St. Tim.  And he was all that...and more.  Remember his name, because you may be hearing it for years to come--Jeff Driskel.

Certainly Jeff has the potential to be the greatest Gator QB ever, but then, Tim's high school highlight reel was just as jaw-dropping as what I saw last night.  The biggest difference I saw was in speed--Jeff is faster than Tebow (though Tim Terrific was deceptively fast, he relied more on bull-em-over) and has slicker moves.  Jeff singlehandedly kept his team in the game, and accounted for a total (running, passing, and receiving) of almost 500 yards! On two of his TD runs, he broke through and outran the entire LHS secondary, in one case putting on a burst of speed to get by a player who had taken an excellent angle on him. Unbelievable!  We will have to see if he develops all that promise at the next level, but he is scary good.
I ended up taking some video with my Droid, but missed the best plays.  This is the only one that came out, and is also the first video I have ever uploaded to YouTube. Ya-hoo!... or whatever.

The noise is pretty harsh, but none of that is me yelling; Jeff shows how hard it is to sack him.

Timmy Saves the Weekend (as usual)

Tim Tebow gets 2 TDs against the Chiefs, including his first passing TD!!

Tebow threw his first NFL pass, a 3-yard TD toss to fullback Spencer Larsen en route to a 49-29 win.

“I think we caught them off-guard,” Tebow said.

As Carl Weathers gets paid to say, "Here we go."

Cold Cocked

With apologies to the local paper for stealing that headline, it is once again time to bemoan the state of the Gator offense--it's beyond cold, it's frozen.  It's terrible. It's become Addazio'd. (Ah, a new adjective, used to mean incompetent, or in way over one's head.) What is the point in creating a 3 headed monster if you only show one head at a time?  Why not have them shift around before the snap, like the Georgia game? Stupid.  Beyond stupid, it's criminal.  Here is an opinion snippet from the Gainesville Sun:

"It was the UF offense we saw in back-to-back losses to LSU and Mississippi State. What happened to the hurry-up offense? What happened to Burton and Reed seeing significant snaps in the shotgun? It was almost as if the Gators forgot what got their offense cranked up coming out of the open date three weeks ago."

But, in fairness, we must also congratulate the University of South Carolina Gamecocks for a great game.  Obviously the two teams that played Alabama both showed up. Well done, Steve and gang. Props to Marcus Lattimore--he killed it.  And the post-game celebration and comments were very tasteful and reserved, under the circumstances.  Just because you broke our collective Gator hearts, don't let that bother you on the trip back to Columbia....

No, this is, as you said Steve-o, South Carolina's time in the spotlight.  About time.  What wasn't said, however, is that you get to go to Atlanta and have the same thing done to you in the Championship game. 

You've seen this guy before, and you should find him even more awesome by December.  He should be plenty pissed by then.

War Eagle!! 

The Gators must regroup now and practice beating up on App State, so they can whip our in-state rival FSU.  A win there would ease the pain a bit, and possibly keep us out of Shreveport for the holidays.  Gator Bowl?  We can only hope.  Maybe play someone easy, like Penn State.  Maybe even Utah...wouldn't that be a storyline?

No, no pictures, please.  OK, if you insist, just this one: Dubose returning the opening kickoff for a TD.

Our bright spot for the evening, lasting exactly 14 seconds.

Bumper Sticker of the Week:

(another one for Addazio)

Some cause happiness wherever they go. Others, whenever they go.

Oh Vandy, ....

This game reminds me of a play I read long ago:
"Oh Vandy, Poor Vandy, Gators Hung One on You and I'm Feeling so Randy"...no, wait that's not good....maybe "so Sandy"... hmm, "It Tastes like Candy"? Yeah, you see if you can think of a good rhyme for Vandy (although the Sad in the play's original title is probably closer--wow, if any more Vandy players had gotten hurt, the coach would have had to go up in the stands for replacements).
Appropriately, that play is from the Theatre of the Absurd, which is what the special teams were yesterday. Chris Rainey! 2 punt blocks! Where has he been all season? Oh, wait... never mind. But he's back now.
On the second blocked kick, I saw at the edge of the replay that Rainey wiped out some Vandy player as he gave [futile] chase; that makes for 2 blocks on the same play--the punt and then the player. Love to see Chris get a second chance--he is a good kid, just a bit quirky. He seems to be in better touch with reality now that Urban is sitting on him--gives him a chance to get his life back together. I respect Urban for that, because he knew he was going to take some shots for it. Outlaw program, stupid stuff like that. Rainey's football skills aside, he is well liked, even by the people he threatens. (Did you see the sick moves he put on the defense on his first few runs? It was almost comical. Reminded me of the insane move he made on the Oklahoma defender in the NC game. You remember ... the one he injured himself on and had to leave the game.)

And Jordan Reed... what a beast. And what an arm! That's what you get when you move your tight end to quarterback I guess. Not. This can't be the way Johnny Brantley had it scripted at the beginning of the season. Ah, well, if it works, don't knock it.

We might be able to solve the energy crisis--just put a harness on Terron Sanders and toss a football on the ground. Talk about force and momentum. Wow. Did anyone notice any of the Vandy players seriously trying to get close to him, much less try to tackle that moving mountain? I'll bet they could feel the earth move on the sidelines....

You have to feel bad for Coach Caldwell. The fact that his team was overmatched wasn't a big surprise, but he can't have foreseen the triage unit that his team became. Seemed someone was coming out for Vandy about every other play. Glad to see most survived the game. Good luck to the Commodores the rest of the season--it's almost over! (Basketball has already started.)

On to the most exciting week in a long time. A win next week sends us to Atlanta! Again. But even last year's lead up to play Bama in the title game wasn't so intense. Maybe we expected it last year and had given up on it this year after the MS loss. It is quite obvious that the Best of the East will have its hands more than full with the West Champion. How's this suit you: Two of the SEC western division teams are in the BCS top 5; and five of them are in the top 20. The first Eastern Division team to appear is the Gators at #22. (But then, the only ACC team in the top 25 is VaTech at #20, who lost to James Madison!) Oh, and the usual plethora of Florida ranked teams has dwindled to two--UF and (wait for it....) UCF. Seminoles and Hurricanes? Sorry, not this time. Ouch.
Spurrier had a great line a few weeks ago when asked about his team's chances to win the Eastern Division and play in the SEC title game. He remarked that certainly some team from the East will win it, because "they won't let two teams from the West play." Which, this year, is probably a better idea. (Just FYI, so far in games between ED teams and WD teams, the East is a whopping 2-14! And by the end of next Saturday, it's likely to be 2-16. I guess the ED abbreviation is more appropriate this year then ever.) Hey, how about UF playing the Newton-led Auburn Tigers for the championship? A scary thought, but it will happen if each team wins next Saturday....

Bumper Sticker of the Week:
(in memory of the Vanderbilt running game)

The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But it's still on the list.

Halloween Again

What a strange time this is, every year. Last night was All Hallows Eve, when folks far and wide dress up in odd garb to ward off evil spirits, and people give gifts to strangers to do the same. I am amazed that, in a predominanly Christian nation such as ours, these pagan rituals are allowed to continue, indeed to flourish. Maybe this outpouring of simulated evil has its purpose as a purgative for the other side of human nature. And there's profit in the candy.

RIP: Lest we forget, Grossi died 5 years ago today, on All Saints' Day, the ultimate irony of her life.

Pics of the little Stockton progeny all dressed up:







Laura, please send me one of you, if you dressed for your party.

Brant? Shell?

Only 53 shopping days until Christmas....

Florida-Georgia O.M.G.!

These games are not good for my adrenal system!{pant}{pant}{pant}
But I liked this result a lot more than the previous two games. I didn't realize the Gators hadn't won in October--we were very close to going O for October, but thankfully dodged the bullet that went on to hit the 'Dawgs square in their SEC title hopes. My calculator says it is mathematically impossible for them to get to Atlanta, unless there is no winner in the UF-USC game. Not likely. How sad for Richt, but how wonderful for Urban and the Gators.
Now the East rep in Atlanta which will be served up as the sacrificial lamb for whichever Beast comes out of the tangle in the West will either be a Florida team, or a team coached by a Florida legend (who would have had to beat the Gators to get there). Gotta love it.

RAINEY...he's b-a-a-c-k.  Just in time.

Glad Burton had another good game..two TDs.

 
Stone Hands Thompson finally catches one.I think I know the solution to Deonte's problem--don't throw it to him.  Throw it near him so he has to fight somebody for it...

Will Hill finally wakes up and picks off 2 passes (though both were tipped), this one a critical turnover in OT

And...(drum roll, please) Chas redeems himself with the game winner

Man, that feels good.

(The cutest part of the game for me was when Pierce called to tell me he was rooting for the Gators. What a sweet little man. Fortunately, the Tigers also won, so everyone in Orange and Blue Land is happy.)

Bumper Sticker of the Week:                     (in recognition of Rainey's return, and perhaps in honor of athletes everywhere)
We never really grow up, we only learn how to behave in public.

Three strikes....MSU

Third loss in a row, second one that was preventable. Someone suggested that a loss to Mississippi State at home (homecoming, no less) counted double. I don't know what to say, so I won't. Not even any pictures...it's too painful to remember.
One thing I thought was appropriate, however, was a quote from Pat Dooley's blog/column/rant/whatever, to wit:

"'We're not very good,' Urban Meyer said in his post-game presser. He said it several times. He could have said it another 20 times and come well short of the number of times it was said in the press box. And that's just at my seat."

At least we won't lose next week.

It may be too early to shift allegiances, but if the Gators lose to Georgia in two weeks--a thought that was unthinkable at the beginning of the season--it will be time to become an Auburn fan. War Eagle!!! At least I have the family connection, and it would still be Orange and Blue.
Cam Newton for Heisman!

C'mon Gators, get up and go!!!

Bumper Sticker of the Week....
(maybe for Urban, but certainly for Addazio)

I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.

Luck of the ... Cajuns?

How can that happen? And to lose to that yahoo of a coach is even more painful, and certainly to lose that way really rips it. Got to admit, the fake field goal was clever--predictable, but clever, but still (a) the Gators should have been all over it (what were you thinking, Jenoris?), and (b) I can't believe the bounce they got, right back to the kicker. Sort of makes Urban's uberthinking about bounces and luck in response to a question before the game prophetic. Ouch!

This one will hurt for quite a while. Even though it doesn't knock us out of the SEC championship game, it means we have to beat the rest of the East to get there (especially the Ole Ball Coach, who deserves a mighty round of applause for beating the Tide today). It can be done, but it won't be easy. The games that looked like locks before the season started have become iffy now, starting with MSU and Georgia. Georgia!?! Who would have thunk it...?

On the good side, we found our kickoff returner--Andre's touchdown return was SWEET!  And we know that Johnny B can lead the team on a long drive to win the game.  Well, shoulda won it....

We can probably still count on a win at Vandy, and probably against App State, but I'd say every other game is a contest. Exciting that way; frustrating as hell, but exciting. I just hope we beat the Noles this year! I would hate to go into that game needing a win to get to a bowl... double ouch!

Bumper Sticker of the Week:

Fortune favors the prepared mind.

Beaten by the Best (so far)

Not entirely unexpected, but sad for how it went down... and down... and down. Trouble early, and it got worse from there.
Here's a good way to tell you're going to lose--JB running!




And another?  The opposing coach jumping up and down telling his guys to watch out for the"surprise" play you've called.  Yeah, that works.
The bright spot? We held the two best runners in the SEC to under 100 yards combined. Small victories, especially when the major defeats are self-inflicted.

How about that LSU-Tennessee finish? That was amazing. Might have preferred them to lose, as we play them next week.
So, bring on the Tigers...I hope we're ready to rebound.
Bumper Sticker of the Week:
(dedicated to the offense)
Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool.

Kentucky Schmentucky

What was supposed to be a challenge for the Gators turned into a rout pretty quickly. More like Barbie-tucky if you ask me!

And yet, this was the second week in a row that the Gators faced the SEC leading rusher (guess what? it happens again next week too) and held him to ridiculous yardage. True, we all knew that the Tennessee guy wouldn't hold up once the real season started, but it seems insane to hold any first string runner on an SEC team to 26 yards on 20 tries...that's stunning. And this week, Locke got his 100+ but most of that was after the second and third string D was mopping up. And how about those 2 interceptions on a team that had ZERO turnovers in the first 3 games? (don't burst the bubble by reminding me who UK played in those games, please). Go Gator D!!!! You rock!

Also, finally, the offense stopped being MIA and kicked some butt early. Let's keep our fingers crossed! Dubose got in...about time... Carl Moore was consistent and terrific...and Burton, what can you say? As they said in the G'ville Sun, "The last time a guy named Burton had a night this great he was honeymooning with Elizabeth Taylor."

Except that all this BS about scoring more touchdowns than Tim Terrific is preposterous. As marvelous as Trey's feat was, TT also had 5 rushing TDs against SC, and 2 scores through the air. Admittedly, Timmy didn't cross the goalline with the ball on those, but he should get some credit for getting it there. Same for Brantley--someone had to throw the ball to Burton. If we split the passing TD credit between thrower and catcher, TB is still 1/2 a score behind TT (as it should be). Let's hope Trey eventually breaks the record for real, but for now, a lot of hype has been prematurely ejaculated. (Don't get me wrong, we LOVE Trey already, but he needs to work really hard to pass our revered Tim. And I think he will. Someday.)

Another opinion from the G'ville Sun writers: "Big-boy football is here."

Here's a freaky stat, and I don't know where to look to check if it's ever happened before. During the game, there were 9 (count 'em, nine) touchdowns scored. Every one was scored (as in crossing the goal line) by a player wearing a jersey with the number 8 on it. Coincidence? I think not.

Demps again...does he ever have a bad game?

and the new guy, Dubose. About time.

Carl Moore has been playing well.  Good comeback.

And, once again, props to the defense for shutting down a high scoring team.  Bostic gets an early interception.

 Ahmad - hardest working Gator out there!

Bumper Sticker of the Week:
(here's one for the Democrats)
Ignoring the facts doesn't change the facts.

Though much is taken, much abides...

Had a meeting at the beach this morning and spent the rest of the day "working at home," or another euphemism for goofing off at the beach. The new lawn man came to give me an estimate--the old guy has to go, blew his last chance--and then the AC went out. Eventually the pump man showed up and fixed it, but it was nip and tuck. Poor Jane was sweltering most of the day! (as was Winnie) Lucky it wasn't the height of summer.

The waves...wow. Forecast at 8 to 9 feet, but it didn't look that big. Lots of surfers out, some really good ones. Not the usual rummies we get with the 2 foot swells. I don't have a surfboard anymore and I'm not sure I would have challenged the big breakers--though they weren't too rough, more rolling--I did decide you only go around once (well, that we remember anyway), so I dashed out about 6:30 to go body surfing with my relatively new Body Glove board (I bought it for Pierce over the summer, and it had never been out of the wrapper). I don't know if I was even on the right side of the thing, but, as I lay on it panting and cramping after about 20 minutes of getting beat to death by whitewater, I said "Lord, please let me have just one good ride." And I dropped right down the next big-ish one and into the best 30 second wave I've had in 40 years. Still can't hold a candle to snowboarding, but it was all I had at the time.

Jane and Winnie were watching from the beach, and the ambiance and situation made me think (for a fleeting instant) I was 20 again; my body disagreed, but I ignored it. Apparently Winnie started barking after me right as I went in and didn't stop til I came back. Who knows what she was on about, but what a sweetheart she is.

I hope the ocean is calmer tomorrow. I have to get some work done.