Blogging from A to Z Challenge 2022: T is for Tim Tebow

 Today's athlete has played two professional sports. Tim Tebow best known for his college glory days of winning two National Championships and a Heisman Trophy Championship.

He played in the NFL most notably with the Denver Broncos and New York Jets.

In 2013 he failed to catch on with the New England Patriots and in 2015 he failed to catch on the Philadelphia Eagles.

In 2016-2019 Tebow pursued a baseball career in the New York Mets farm system. In 2020 he failed to make the Mets in Spring training.

He tried a football comeback as a tight end with the Jacksonville Jaguars this past season but was cut before the regular season.

Blogging from A to Z April Challenge 2022: F is for Fred Taylor

 Fred Taylor was a Gator great at the University of Florida. The running back was part of a National Championship winning team and ended up being named to the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame.

                                                          His Gators highlights

In the NFL he finished his career as the 17th leading rusher in NFL history. He is a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars Pride. He holds multiple franchise records.

His NFL highlights...

Fred Taylor the athlete for F, as in football.

NCAA Baseball Champions: Florida Gators

The Florida Gators baseball team finally one a National Championship. It was on their 11th appearance in the College World Series. The team had appeared in 33 post season tournaments and won 14 Southeastern Conference Regular Championships, and seven SEC Tournament Championships.

They were always that good team that never won the championship but now they have.


Hype video for the team....

Highlights from the tournament..

The college baseball season all wrapped up in time for the Major Leagues busy month of All Stars and the trade deadline.

March Reads: Tim Tebow Through My Eyes

 Filling in the blog with a post about some of the books I read in March. One of the books was Tim Tebow's Through My Eyes. As a Florida Gators and a football fan the book appealed to me.

Yes Tim Tebow worked hard to be a successful quarterback in college. I read through a few Goodread reviews and no one mentioned how much his parents sacrificed/spoiled him so he could be successful.

Reading the book I came away with why Tebow only wants to play quarterback.

It was also interesting to read his takes on games, wards, players and faith. As expected it was in the book.

Tim Tebow in the NFL may have been  bust. However, in life he has been a success and helped a lot of people. His future will be interesting and that might make a better book.

Steve Spurrier The Ole Ball Coach calling in quits

Steve Spurrier likes winning! He was good at it. However, a mediocre season for him last year and the South Carolina Gamecocks starting the season 2-4 Steve has decided to retire.

As a player he won the Heisman Trophy Award while with the Florida Gators and played in the NFL.
He was a successful coach in the USFL.

He found success coaching Duke. The Blue Devils were not a football powerhouse but  Spurrier coached them to winning seasons two out of his three seasons there.

At Florida, Spurrier coached a powerhouse to a National championship, and nine top 10 seasons.

The NFL he did not have success but returned to the SEC where he had success again at South Carolina.

The record 228-89-2.  His quotes and personality will be missed.

College Baseball Brackets

The brackets for the College Baseball Playoffs are set. The top seed is the UCLA Bruins. Other top seeds include the LSU Tigers, the Louisville Cardinals, Florida Gators, Miami Hurricanes, Illinois Illini, TCU Horned Frogs, and Missouri State Bears.

A teaser for the UCLA Bruins...

Highlights from an LSU-Alabama game this season..

A Louisville Cardinals challenge..

The SEC Champions Florida Gators..

You can look at the brackets here and see who else is in the tournament. 

Bye, Bye Billy Donovan

Billy Donovan has resigned from being the men's head basketball coach at the University of Florida.



One really can't blame Donovan for leaving to try coaching at the next level the NBA. After a sub par season with the Gators last season he was going to have a challenge there. Likewise with the Oklahoma City Thunder he will have a challenge. You can read about him joining the Thunder here from an article by USA Today.

I wasn't taking a shot at the Coach. As a college basketball fan I have nothing but respect for the man. As a Gator fan I love what he has done with the program. I feel sorry for the Gators next coach. It is always a difficult challenge to follow a legend and that is exactly what the coach will be doing.

At the college level and mostly at Florida Billy Donovan has had a Hall of Fame career. He certainly has become a legend. In 21 years of College Basketball head coaching he has compiled a 502-206 record. His first two seasons were with Marshall Thundering Herd.

His stats are quite impressive at the University of Florida. In his 19 years at the school he delivered two National Championships and four Final Four Appearances. In the 77 years of Gator basketball before Billy the Kid arrived they had only gone to one Final Four and zero National Championships. Before Donovan the Gators had only won one Conference Championship and zero conference tournament. Billy guided them to six SEC Championships and four conference tournament championships.The best stat for his legacy might be that he averaged 24.6 wins a season in the 77 years before him the team averaged 11.5.

Beyond the stats Billy Donovan knew the game and spoke intelligently about it. He developed nine first round NBA picks. He was a coach who delivered and as a fan you always had hope for your team with Billy Donovan being courtside. Donovan turned a football school into a basketball power. The Blue and Orange of Gator Country will certainly miss him! I look forward to see how he meets his next challenge and wish him the best of luck with the Oklahoma City Thunder!

My Rankings After week 10: 1,2, stay the same, bif shuffle21 last undefeated teams

My #4 Georgia was upset by Florida, #5 Ole Miss fell again, and as you imagine the rankings were shuffled. Florida State, Mississippi State and Marshall remain the only undefeated teams left.

#3 Notre Dame visits #13 Arizona State this week. The game of the week #4 Kansas State at #6 TCU. #5 Alabama visits #15 LSU. #7 Oregon at #16 Utah. #9 Baylor at #14 Oklahoma as the big games keep coming. #12 Ohio State at #10 Michigan State.



1) Florida State University Seminoles (8-0) beat Louisville 42-31. The Seminoles entertain Virginia on Saturday.

2) Mississippi State Bulldogs (8-0) held off Arkansas 17-10. The Bulldogs host Tennessee-Martin  on Saturday.

3) Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7-1) beat .The Navy 49-39.The Irish visit Arizona State on Saturday.

4) Kansas State Wildcats (7-1) crushed Oklahoma State 48-14. The Wildcats visit TCU on Saturday.

5) Alabama Crimson Tide  (7-1) did not play. The Crimson Tide visits LSU on Saturday.

6) Texas Christian Horned Frogs (7-1) edged West Virginia 31-30. The Horned Frogs host Kansas State on Saturday.

7) Oregon Ducks (8-1)  blasted Stanford 45-16. The Ducks visit Utah on Saturday.

8) Auburn Tigers (7-1) stopped Ole Miss 35-31. The Tigers host Texas AM on Saturday.

9) Baylor Bears (7-1) crushed Kansas 60-14. Baylor visits Oklahoma on Saturday.

10) Michigan State Spartans (7-1) did not play. The Spartans host Ohio State on Saturday.

11) Nebraska Cornhuskers (8-1) beat Purdue 35-14. Nebraska has a week off.

12) Ohio State Buckeyes (7-1) walloped Illinois 55-14. The Buckeyes visit Michigan State on Saturday.

13) Arizona State Sun Devils (7-1) topped Utah 19-16 in OT. The Sun Devils host Notre Dame on Saturday.

14) Oklahoma Sooners (5-2) did not play. The Sooners host Baylor on Saturday.

15) LSU  Tigers (7-2) did not play. The Tigers host Alabama on Saturday.

16) Utah Utes (6-2) lost to Arizona State in overtime 19-16. The Utes host the Oregon Ducks on Saturday.

17) Mississippi Rebels (7-2) fell to Auburn 35-31. The Rebels host Presbyterian on Saturday.

18) Missouri Tigers (7-2) doubled up Kentucky 20-10. The Tigers have a week off.

19) UCLA Bruins (7-2) defeated Arizona 17-7. The Bruins visit Washington on Saturday.

20) Marshall Thundering Herd (8-0) did not play. The Herd visit Southern Miss on Saturday.

21) Arizona Wildcats (6-2) lost to UCLA 17-7.  The Wildcats host Colorado on Saturday.

22) Georgia Bulldogs (6-2) fell to Florida 38-20. The Bulldogs visit Kentucky on Saturday.

23) West Virginia Mountaineers (6-3)  lost to TCU 31-30. WVU visits Texas on Saturday.

24) Duke Blue Devils (7-1) nipped Pitt in double OT 51-48. The Blue Devils visit Syracuse on Saturday.

25) Clemson Tigers (6-2) did not play. The Tigers visit Wake Forest on Thursday.

Billy Donovan, The Florida Gators and the making of a basketball school

Yes football is king in the SEC. The Florida Gators were a football school and probably will be one again (hopefully soon). This past season was a train wreck for the football team. However, the University of Florida has turned into a basketball school under Coach Billy Donovan. Coach Donovan has been building his legacy at Florida since 1996.

Today's blog was going to congratulate Florida for barely holding off the Kentucky Wildcats to win the Southeastern Conference Tournament. The Gators went 18-0 in the conference and hold a 32-2 record overall.

Reason Number One

Reason number one why Donovan should be considered a coaching legend at Florida is conference success. Before Billy Donovan took over as head coach for the Gators the team had won just one SEC regular season championships and zero SEC Tournament Championships. The Gators have won six regular season championships and four SEC Tournaments in the Billy Donovan era.

                                                                  Reason Number Two

For a long time 20 win seasons in college basketball have been a measure of success. The Gators have won at least 20 games for the last 16 seasons.

                                                            Reason Number Three

The Florida Gators had never won a men's basketball championship before hiring Coach Billy Donovan now they have two. Here are highlights from the first one..

And from the second one...

Reason Four

Probably the biggest measure of success in college basketball is getting into the big dance, the NCAA Tournament. It is probably more important than a 20-win season. The Gators have gone dancing 19 times and 14 of those times have been under Billy Donovan. Florida has gone to the Sweet 16 nine times in school history. Seven of those were teams coached by Mr. Donovan. Six of seven Florida teams to reach the Elite Eight have been Coached by Billy Donovan. Florida has reached the Final Four four times, three times lead by Billy Donovan.Coach Donovan has lead the Gators to the NCAA Finals for the only three times in school history and has won the schools only two National Championships.

Case closed!

College Baseball

The college baseball playofs are in full swing. This week I have written two articles on them so I am going to share them and hopefully add some highlights.The articles I wrote concentrated on the Florida Gators and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, the same schools I covered for football and basketball.

First up the Florida Gators did not fare well in the Bloomington (Indiana) Regional. You can read my article here. Yes they played a strong schedule but in the regionsal they showed they did not belong. The next article was Georgia Tech winning three must  -win games in a row before falling to Vanderbilt. You can read that one here.

No Gators highlghts sorry. However, here are some Georgia Tech ones...

Here is the press conference after their opening loss..

Here are some highlights from the Illinois game...

Here is the press conference after their win over Vandy...

Well I will be back soon with a new post..

A To Z: Victorious, The Louisville Cardinals and my Bracket

It has been a busy month with the A to Z: Challenge. The Louisville Cardinals winning the NCAA Basketball Championship and me winning my bracket almost slipped past the blog. What does it have to do with V? Well today V is for victorious.

But before we celebrate the victors I have to tip my hat to the Michigan Wolverines. I mean they knocked out Kansas a team I had going to the finals and putting my bracket into jeopardy.

Then Michigan crushed a team I covered this season, The Florida Gators. Yes I was rooting against the Wolverines again. Well I knew someone else had Michigan to win everything. 

The Wolverines then beat the Syracuse Orange to reach the title game. Again making me nervous...

Louisville

The Louisville Cardinals masrch to the championship was relatively eas. They started against 16 seeded NC A&T...

Then they faced 8th seeded Colorado State...

Then they faced 12-seeded Oregon., before a big show down with the Duke Blue Devils

Then they played the surprise team the Wichita State Shockers to earn a spot in the championship game...

I had picked Louisville to win everything. I had already clinched second place with my picks. I needed Louisville to win or second place was going to be my finish. It was a close a game...

but in the end my bracket and the Louisville Cardinals were victorious.

March Hoops Post 2

Part 2 of my last college basketball post. I ran out of room on last post and the games kept going.Thje conference tournaments gave me a chance to extend my basketball coverage past FLorida and Georgia Tech.

First up the MEAC Tournament

I picked up the MEAC Tournament and recapped the action on March 12, March 13, March 14, and the semi-finals on the 15th. It was a fun tournament as all of the top seeds were eliminated.

Here are highlights from the home team being eliminated...

From a minor conference to a major conference the Big East...

I started recapping the action on March 12, March 13, March 14, and the semi-finals on March 15.

I also covered the Conference-USA semi-finals.

Florida Gators

I left off on the blog with the Gators wrapping up the regular season. In the SEC Tournament they beat LSU.

Next up they beat Alabama and then in the SEC final they lost to Ole Miss.

The Round of 64 the Gators crushed Northwestern State.

The Round of 32 the Gators beat Minnesota.

Well I will be back soon with another post..

College Basketball

Well I have limited thecollege  basketball posts to just two this month. Though the coolest part of the season is about to start. First the conference tournaments and then the NIT and the Big Dance, the NCAA Tournament.

Georgia Tech

Well I have three recaps for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets since my last update.

First Georgia Tech beat the Virginia Tech Hokies 64-54. You can read my recap here. Below are some highlights from that game...

The other two games I recapped for the Yellow Jackets did not go their way. Starting with..

North Carolina Tar Heels 72 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 70-58. My recap is here. I found highlights for that game as well..

Then the Virginia Cavaliers crushed them 82-54. You can read my recap of that beat down here. Well, I was lucky enough to find highlights for all three games.

Florida Gators

Moving to another conference for another team. I have four recaps from the Florida Gators.

First the Gators crushed Mississippi State 83-58. You can read my recap here. I have highlights below..

Next the Gators beat the Kentucky Wildcats in a battle of SEC powers. You can read my recap here. Highlights from that game are below...

Then the Gators were upset by the Missouri Tigers. I cover the wins and losses. You can read that recap here. I have highlights for that game here...

Then the Gators bounced back and beat Arkansas to avenge an earlier loss. You can find out all about it here. Here are some highlights from that game..

I will be back next month with some more basketball posts. I will be back later with posts about..

College Hoops Update!

We are inching closer to March Madness! The best part of the college basketball season. It has been about three weeks or so since I shared my recaps on college basketball. I will do that now since my weekend is going to be crazy busy (which means cool things to blog about soon!)

Georgia Tech

I'll start with there loss to the North Carolina Tar Heels. As poorly as ACC play has gone for the Yellow Jackets this game was not a surprise. You can read my recap here. Highlights below..

Then there was Georgia Tech's first ACC win over Wake Forest. They won with authority and you can read my recap here. More highlights below..

I did miss to recaps Georgia Tech lost both games one was to FSU. However, I did recap their win over Virginia. You can read that here.

Florida Gators

Switching gears to a team that wins more. First the Gators beat their rivals the Georgia Bulldogs again. You can read the recap here. Here are some highlights..

Then the gators rolled past some more Bulldogs, this time Mississippi State. The recap is here. Then the Gators shut down South Carolina you can read that recap here.

No luck on highlights n those games. Then the Gators beat then #16 Mississippi you can read about it here. Below are some highlights.

The Gators luck ran out in Arkansas. You can read about the Razorbacks big upset here. Highlights below..

Well there are the recaps I have written since last time. I will have some more up soon and I will blog later this month as we get ready for the Tournaments.

College Basketball Update

Well since my last blog post on college basketball I have written several more recaps.

We will start with...

Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech lost in overtime at home against Virginia Tech. The Yellow Jackets could have used a win over the Hokies. You can read my recap here. Below are highlights..

Next Georgia Tech got beat by the Duke Blue Devils. You can read the recap here.

Florida Gators

The Florida Gators have fared much better than Georgia Tech. The Gators whipped the LSU Tigers 74-52 in Baton Rouge. You can read my recap here.

Next the Gators visited Texas A&M and whipped them 68-47. You can read my recap here.

Finally the #17 Missouri Tigers were supposed to challenge the Gators but Florida crushed them 83-52.You can read the recap here.

Like I said I was picking up the basketball coverage. I was lucky enough to find highlights for all the games for the blog. I will be back soon with another post.

College Hoops

Ok I have been a bit of a slacker on cllege basketball coverage. However, now that the college fooball season is over and we are inching closer to the madness the basketball coverage will be increasing. I am covering the Florida Gators and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets for Outside the Redzone the same teams I covered for football.

The Florida Gators

The first basketball recap of the season was Florida's win over Wisconsin. You can read that recap here.

Here are some highlights since I like to add a little extra to the blog...

Next recap for the Florida Gators was their huge win over the Georgia Bulldogs. You can read that recap here. Sorry couldn't find highlights for this game. Here is a quick recap of the game...

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Like I said it has been a slow start for me on the basketball articles. I only have one for Georgia Tech and that was of their loss to the North Carolina State Wolfpack. You can read that recap here. I found highlights from that game...

More Yellow Jackets coverage to come.

Well I am covering some things so more performing arts posts will follow, I have written some more football articles, so there are a lot of things on tap for the blog.

End of the College Football Season Post

College Football

BCS Campionship Game

The Alabama Crimson Tide made sure there was no doubt they were the National Champions with their 42-14 victory over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. However, they also made the most compelling argument for a playoff system. Alabama would not have been in the BCS Championship Game if Ohio State would have been eligible for postseason play. The championship game would have been the undefeated Buckeyes against Notre Dame.I am not taking away anything from Alabama. The way they played last night they could have beaten any college team in my opinion. Highlights from the game below...

My Top 25

Okay so you know Alabama is my number one ranked team, and Ohio State is number two. If you wonder how I rank the other 23 check here. Louisville was my strongest climbers and some new teams made my rankings.

The Sugar Bowl

Okay it is dissapointing when the team you root for loses a big bowl game. It is even worse when you cover that team and have to write a recap. Well that's what happened when the Louisville Cardinals beat the Florida Gators. You can read my recap here. I am happy for Louisville coach Charlie Strong, who was a Gator assistant, for his big win. He has done a great job with the Cardinals and he had his team ready to play. He also didn't let his team falter down the stretch. Louisville won the Sugar Bowl and the Gators are lucky the score wasn't worse.Florida also had a great season and a super turnaround from last year.

Well the season is over but I will still be writing some more college football articles so stay tuned another football post will be here before you know it.

December Football Post Number 2

A little delayed since I was busy with the holidays. However, none the less  I have written some new football related articles since my last football post and I wil give you update on my fantasy football team.

Fantasy Football

My fantasy football team did not make the playoffs. So, the next best thing is to win the consolation round. Not only did I step away from my blog due t the holidays I also stepped away from my fantasy team. My lineup was what it was. I did not make any moves or change anything. My team won anyway. Now if they would have won the previous week I would havebeen in the playoffs. Oh well that is life and my team survives to play one more week.

NFL

Okay the team I cover for Outside the Redzone, the Jacksonville Jaguars are having an awful season. However, they did play the New England Patriots and the score was closer than most folks expected. You can read my recap here.

NCAA

Bowl season is here! I wriote an article about place to watch the bowl games around me. If you like you can read it here.I also wrote an article about the Florida Gators five best moments in Bowl History which turned out to be about five different bowl games. You can read that here. Since the Gators are going to the Sugar Bowl here are highlights from their last visit...

A Football Post

Another week another death in the NFL. This time due to an alcohol related accident. Sad, a taxi ride or a designated driver could have saved a life.

Fantasy Football

Speaking of sad my streaky fantasy football team lost this week. So I missed the playoffs. I just needed a win or tie to advance. Oh well bring on the consolation round. How did you do in your league?

College Football

No recaps this week since there was only the Army Navy game on tap. Here is my final regular season rankings, Do you agree or disagree? So it has been two weeks without a college football recap. The Gators did not play. Georgia Tech lost to FSU so the Florida State cover person got the recap. I am a team player you can read their recap here.

NFL

Well the Jacksonville Jaguars dropped their last two. First the Buffalo Bills crushed them 34-18, you can read that recap here. Last week the Jaguars played the New York Jets close but lost 17-10. You can read that recap here.

Mixing it up this month a little football, to go with all the death notices, birthdays, and other stuff. I'll be back with a new post soon. Will have some theater ones coming up.

November Football Post 4

Fantasy Football

I project I will lose this week with a two point lead. My opponent has one more player left for Monday and I am a sitting duck. In a close match he will prevail. It almost sounds like politics...

NFL

What the heck? The Jacksonville Jaguars actually won this week. You can read my recap here.
Sorry couldn't find any highlights...

College

Well I cover two college teams so I will start with the winning one first. The Florida Gators beat Florida State. You can read my recap here. Here are some highlights..

Georgia clobbered Georgia Tech you can read my recap here. Here are some highlights...

Here is my new college rankings for this week.

Wanted to get the football post out of the way. I watched a play and a concert today which means I have reviews to write which equals more blog posts soon!