1 » No. 3 Florida Gators women’s track and field won the 2010 Southeastern Conference Indoor Championship Sunday, its first since the 2004 season. Scoring 110 total points, the team was led by junior Charlotte Browning and senior Shara Proctor, who were named co-winners of the Cliff Harper Trophy for the SEC’s high-points scorer. The men’s team finished second at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, AR, as the home team Arkansas Razorbacks beat them out for the men’s crown 123-119. Both the women’s and men’s teams also captured numerous individual SEC titles over the weekend.

2 » No. 3/11 Gators softball (12-1) swept the Northwestern State Lady Demons (8-5) 15-0, 5-0 and 10-1 over the weekend at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium in Gainesville, FL. Sophomore outfielder Michelle Moultrie powered Florida’s offense by going 5-8 (.625) with a double, triple, home run and six RBI, while junior OF Kelsey Bruder joined her with similar 5-8 performance for four runs, two homers, six RBI and 11 total bases. Junior pitcher Stephanie Brombacher (10-1) won each game of the series, striking out a combined 13 and only allowing three walks.

Read four more BITS on gymnastics, lacrosse, men’s tennis and Senior Day…
Continue Reading » SIX BITS: SEC titles, softball sweep, gymnastics

Tags: Alabama Crimson Tide, Alexandre Lacroix, Antoine Benneteau, Arkansas Razorbacks, Ashanée Dickerson, Auburn Tigers, Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum, Brittany Dashiell, Charlotte Browning, Cliff Harper Trophy, field, gymnastics, Illinois Illini, Jennifer George, Jennifer Mossor, Kelsey Bruder, lacrosse, Linder Stadium, Lonnika Thompson, Michelle Moultrie, North Carolina Tar Heels, Northwestern State Lady Demons, Pressly Stadium, Randal Tyson Track Center, Ring Tennis Complex, SEC, SEC Championship, Senior Day, Shara Proctor, Sharielle Smith, softball, Steffi Sorensen, Stephanie Brombacher, Susan Yenser, tennis, track, women's basketball

1 » Just because National Signing Day ended the 2010 recruiting cycle on Feb. 3 does not mean the Florida Gators coaching staff is done recruiting. The University of Florida will host its first Junior Day for 2011 high school graduates Saturday as prospects from all over the state (and some from beyond) will travel to Gainesville, FL, to learn about the Gators. The majority of the outing includes a presentation about Florida football from a suite, a tour of The Swamp and a chance for the high schoolers to meet with some current players and pick their brains about the Gators. OGGOA will provide you with a full recap of the event early next week.

2 » In case you wanted or needed some data to explain why former Florida basketball player and current New York Knicks star forward/center David Lee deserved to be in the 2010 NBA All-Star Game all along, his hometown paper (St. Louis Post-Dispatch) has it together in a column for you.

Four more BITS on the Olympics, Jeff Demps, eye black, etc. after the jump!
Continue Reading » SIX BITS: Junior Day, Lee, Olympics, gym, track

Tags: Alabama Crimson Tide, All-Star, David Lee, field, Gator Chomp, gymnastics, Jeff Demps, Junior Day, NBA, NCAA Football Rules Committee, NCAA Indoor Championships, NCAA Player Rules Oversight Panel, New York Knicks, Olympics, SEC, Steve Mesler, Terrell Wilks, The Swamp, Tim Tebow, track, University of Florida, World Cup

1 » The 2009 NFL Playoffs may have begun with seven but only one former Florida Gators player has made it to Super Bowl XLIV at Sun Life Stadium in Miami, FL. That man is New Orleans Saints defensive end Bobby McCray, who did not have a dominating regular season but has had quite an impact on his team’s first two playoff games. Making it a point to hit both Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner and Minnesota Vikings QB Brett Favre hard, McCray knocked each out of the game for a short period of time. Now he will turn his focus on NFL MVP and Indianapolis Colts QB Peyton Manning. Keep an eye on No. 93 throughout the game on Sunday.

2 » All of the pre-2010 NFL Draft attention has been focused on former Gators QB Tim Tebow (wide receiver Riley Cooper has received a little, too), but linebacker Brandon Spikes is preparing for the biggest job interview of his career, too. Staying quiet while training and working out after a sub-par (for him) season, Spikes is doing whatever he can to impress scouts at the NFL Scouting Combine from Feb. 24 to March 2. “I’m anxious to get started,” Spikes told Jeremy Fowler of the Orlando Sentinel. “Hopefully, I can go to the league and grab it by the neck.” Speaking about the future at Florida, Spikes was optimistic. “Those younger players know what we started and the legacy we have here. They just want to keep it going. I say it all the time to my younger group, the linebacker corps, those guys are talented. The sky’s the limit for those guys. If they continue to work and buy into the program, they’ll have the same success.”

Read how Jeff Demps, Chris Rainey and Frankie Hammond fared in track and field action and how gymnastics and tennis performed this weekend after the jump!
Continue Reading » SIX BITS: McCray in Super Bowl, weekend wrap-up

Tags: Alabama Crimson Tide, Alexandre Lacroix, Antoine Benneteau, Bobby McCray, Brandon Spikes, Chris Rainey, combine, Draft, field, Florida Atlantic Owls, Frankie Hammond, George Washington Colonials, gymnastics, Indianapolis Colts, Jeff Demps, Linder Stadium, Mariam Kevkhishvili, N.C. State Wolfpack, NCAA, New Orleans Saints, NFL, Peyton Manning, Playoffs, Rector Field House, Ring Tennis Complex, Shara Proctor, Sun Life Stadium, Super Bowl XLIV, tennis, Tim Tebow, track, Virginia Tech Elite Meet

It took senior forward Dan Werner strongly batting away an in bounds toss with 3.5 seconds remaining on the clock to propel the Florida Gators (16-6, 5-3 SEC) to a 66-65 win over the Alabama Crimson Tide (13-9, 3-5 SEC) on the road at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, AL.

Though Werner made a heads-up play in the final seconds, he preceded it with a major mistake that could have cost his team the game. The Gators were only up four with 1:09 remaining in the game when he inexplicably fouled Crimson Tide guard Anthony Brock to allow Alabama to continue its 9-2 run and cut Florida’s lead to one. A runner by G Mikhail Torrance gave the Tide a 65-64 lead with only 44 seconds left, but a clutch floater by Gators sophomore point guard Erving Walker with nine tickets left on the clock ended up being the game-winning basket.

Read the rest of OGGOA’s Florida at Alabama game story after the jump!
Continue Reading » Walker floats Gators to 66-65 win over Tide

Tags: Alabama Crimson Tide, Alex Tyus, Anthony Brock, Anthony Grant, Billy Donovan, Coleman Coliseum, Dan Werner, Erving Walker, JaMychal Green, Kenny Boynton, Mikhail Torrance, Tony Mitchell

Location: Coleman Coliseum – Tuscaloosa, AL [Capacity: 15,316]
Time: 7:00 p.m. (EST)

TV: ESPNU
Online: ESPN360

Odds: Florida +2.5, O/U 128.5

KEEP AN EYE ON…
-The dynamic backcourt of…sophomore point guard Erving Walker and freshman guard Kenny Boynton who are averaging 33.7 points and 8.4 assists per game in SEC play this season.
- Speaking of Walker and Boynton…they have hit 40 of the Gators’ 49 treys in SEC play, and Walker is shooting 55.8 percent (24-of-43) from downtown in conference action.
- Junior forward Alex Tyus…who is dominating the front court, averaging 15.2 points and 7.4 rebounds over the last 12 contests. He has hit double figures in 12 straight games and scored 15+ in seven of those 12.
- Double-digit scoring by Vernon Macklin…Florida is 10-1 when the redshirt junior transfer center does so.
- Alabama sophomore forward JaMychal Green leads the team with 7.2 boards per game while also contributing 14.6 points. Senior guard Mikhail Torrance is tops on the team with 15.1 points per game.

STREAKS:
- Alabama leads the all-time series against Florida 73-56; however, the Gators have prevailed in 14 of the last 17 meetings.
- The Gators are 15-5 against the Crimson Tide under head coach Billy Donovan and won the last time they visited Coleman Coliseum on Jan. 8, 2008.
- Donovan’s long-time assistant, Anthony Grant, is Alabama’s new head coach; the two will be going head-to-head for the first time.
- The Gators ended a four-game winning streak on Sunday with a loss to No. 14 Tennessee. It was their longest in SEC play since 2007.
- Allowing 95 and 89 points to its first to SEC opponents, the Gators have held teams to 62.4 points per game over the last five. Florida is 10-1 this season when holding opponents to 60 points or less and 120-2 all-time under Donovan.
- The Gators have hit at least one three-pointer In 599 consecutive games.
- The Crimson Tide have upset wins over then-No. 15 Michigan and then-No. 23 Mississippi State this season.
- As a team, Alabama is averaging 68.4 points per game while holding opponents to just 31.7 percent shooting from three-point range.

Read OGGOA’s Florida Gators at Alabama Crimson Tide preview after the jump!
Continue Reading » Gameday: Florida Gators at Alabama Crimson Tide

Tags: Alabama Crimson Tide, Alex Tyus, Anthony Grant, Billy Donovan, Chandler Parsons, Coleman Coliseum, Erving Walker, JaMychal Green, Kenny Boynton, Mikhail Torrance, SEC, Vernon Macklin

1 » When former Florida Gators assistant Anthony Grant left the program a few years ago to take over the Virginia Commonwealth Rams, head coach Billy Donovan wished him luck. When Donovan left the team after the 2007 National Championship game, Grant’s name was the first called by Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley to replace the long-time head coach. However, a change of heart by Donovan thurst Grant back to VCU, where he would eventually be tabbed as head coach by the Alabama Crimson Tide. Mentor and assistant will square-off for the first time Thursday in Tuscaloosa, AL. “You never like to play against one of your friends, but Anthony and I have a great relationship,” Donovan said.

2 » Speaking of Donovan, his frontcourt players from those championship seasons (and even the year after) have been experiencing a lot of success in the NBA recently. Philadelphia 76ers center Marreese Speights spoke with the Philadelphia Daily News about how genuinely happy he is that former teammate and now Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah is finding success in the pros. “He and a lot of the other guys were really good at watching out for me when I first got to Florida,” Speights said. “That meant a lot. It’s good to see him doing so well in the league, but it’s not surprising. He always has had a great work ethic, trying to improve his game in every way. He improved a lot in college, from not playing a lot as a freshman to becoming someone who could have been taken with the first overall pick.”

There are four more BITS waiting for you after the jump!
Continue Reading » SIX BITS: Grant, Speights, Tebow, Easley, honors

Tags: Alabama Crimson Tide, Allie Will, Anthony Grant, Billy Donovan, Chicago Bulls, Dominique Easley, field, Jacksonville Jaguars, Jeremy Foley, Jeremy Postin, Joakim Noah, Marreese Speights, NBA, NFL, Philadelphia 76ers, SEC, Shara Proctor, Tim Tebow, track, Uche Nwaneri, Virginia Commonwealth Rams

1 » Former Florida Gators forward/center Al Horford of the Atlanta Hawks has been named as a participant in the 2010 NBA All-Star Game. Though OGGOA is quite pleased with Horford’s accomplishment, we would be remiss if we did not speak out for fellow former Gators F/C David Lee. Lee, who has played with the New York Knicks his entire career, was snubbed by voters after averaging an impressive 19.4 points per game and 11.4 rebounds per game thus far. To his credit, Horford is averaging 13.6 points per game and 9.8 rebounds per game.

2 » The following commits to Florida’s 2010 recruiting class have been named PARADE All-Americans: five-star defensive end Ronald Powell, five-star defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd, five-star safety Matt Elam and four-star cornerback Joshua Shaw.

3 » One aside from the 2010 Under Armour Senior Bowl is that players from the Gators and the Alabama Crimson Tide are playing together on the South team – and they’re having a good time doing it. “We’re getting along really well,” former Florida quarterback Tim Tebow said. “They’re good guys. We’ve had fun, trash-talking back and forth and giving each other a hard time. It’s been a lot of fun. When we break down (after a play), they say, ‘Go Alabama.’ They’ve been trying to get me to say that, but I haven’t yet. It’s been fun.”

Three more BITS including a Florida Gators bobsledder after the jump!
Continue Reading » SIX BITS: All-Star, PARADE, Donovan, bobsled

Tags: Al Horford, Alabama Crimson Tide, All-American, All-Star, Atlanta Hawks, Billy Donovan, bobsled, Catholic University, Central Florida Knights, David Lee, Joshua Shaw, Linder Stadium, Matt Elam, NBA, New York Knicks, Olympics, PARADE, Ring Tennis Complex, Ronald Powell, Senior Bowl, Sharrif Floyd, Steve Mesler, tennis, Tim Tebow, track, Under Armour, William Donovan