It’s more than just good optics. Good energy abounded everywhere in the O’Connell Cener -- the vibe already boosted by the return to work of Dick Vitale, who got to make the celebratory on call of 7-foot-8 Olivier Rioux  rebounding and sticking back the 99th and 100th points.

Alex Condon dunks in two of his 25 points against Bama (Photo courtesy of UAA Communications) The play that defined Florida’s 100-77 blowout win over 23 rd -ranked Alabama (14-7, 4-4 SEC) came in the final 23 seconds of the first half. It was still a competitive game at the time – 19 th -ranked Florida (16-6, 7-2 SEC) held a 44-36 lead – when Labaron Philon Jr., the SEC’s leading scorer, got the ball on the left wing beyond the 3-point line. Due to a defensive switch, Philon

The New York Times didn’t just “disband” its sports department.  It took a proud, talented group of reporters and editors and told them their life’s work could be subcontracted out to a property it bought for $550 million.

Todd Golden talks it over with referee Olandis Poole (Photo by Chris Spears) Although there is no such thing as a perfectly played game, Florida’s effort against South Carolina was so good at both ends of the court that even Todd Golden was surprised.   “Yeah, it was pretty close,” Golden said on Gator Talk with Sean Kelly. “I think we did a really good job from start to finish, you know, defending, rebounding, taking the ball, making shots. And, you know, I thought the first

Looking to bounce back from a low score last Friday of 197.100 due to just a 48.600 on vault, UF’s lowest score on Vault since the 2002 season, the Gators were laser focused.

Thus, a new signing period was created. That one, the early signing period, has really made NSD a thing of the past. A relic.

To his credit, Spurrier didn’t pout. He used the attention to do something classy for a change of subject —paying tribute to his old 49ers teammate and golf buddy John Brodie, who actually had passed away at 90.

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

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

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

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

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