1 » Remember how former Florida Gators center/guard Maurkice Pouncey was supposed to start at the latter position for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2010? The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is reporting that fans should not jump to any conclusions considering the fact that Pouncey has actually been splitting time with incumbent starter Justin Hartwig at first-team center in recent practices. Whether or not Pouncey starts at center during the first week of the 2010-11 NFL season is of no consequence; already getting reps there is indicative of his bright long-term future with the team.

2 » Speaking with the Sporting News, former Florida Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Danny Wuerffel said he doubted Alabama running back Mark Ingram could repeat his 2009 honor while putting Gators redshirt junior starter John Brantley firmly in the running. “I’m not just being a loyal Gator on this one – OK, maybe a little bit. Brantley has tons of young offensive talent around him and supposedly a new scheme that fits his style better so he could put up huge stats,” Wuerffel said. “Plus, the best teams on Florida’s schedule – Alabama, LSU, Georgia and Florida State – all return less than half of their defensive starters from last year. If UF loses two regular-season games or less,which I think is likely, Brantley will be in the discussion.”

3 » Arkansas radio personality Renee Gork was fired by her station – KAKS – on Monday after Arkansas Razorbacks head football coach Bobby Petrino became enraged that she wore a Gators hat to his press conference on Saturday. According to the Associated Press, “Gork, a Florida graduate, said she grabbed the hat without thinking Saturday because it was raining outside. She also said she sent a letter of apology to the university and Petrino.”

4 » Former Florida star women’s basketball player and 11-year WNBA veteran Murriel Page was hired as an assistant coach under head coach Amanda Butler on Monday. Inducted into the University of Florida Hall of Fame this past April, Page (1994-98) was a first-team All-Southeastern Conference honoree in 1997 and 1998 and a finalist for the 1998 Naismith Player of the Year and Associated Press National Player of the Year awards. “Murriel’s professional experience, her passion for the Gators and the quality of person that she is makes her the perfect fit for our program,” Butler said in a UF release. “We looked at a number of different applicants from a variety of backgrounds and locations and Muriel stood out to everyone.”

Photo Credit: Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images

Tags: Amanda Butler, Arkansas Razorbacks, Bobby Petrino, Danny Wuerffel, Hall of Fame, John Brantley, Justin Hartwig, Mark Ingram, Maurkice Pouncey, Murriel Page, Naismith Player of the Year, National Player of the Year, NFL, Pittsburgh Steelers, University of Florida, women's basketball

1 » Faced with elimination, top-seeded No. 4 Florida Gators baseball (41-4) rode past the No. 12 Arkansas Razorbacks (40-18) 5-4 in the 2010 Southeastern Conference Tournament on Thursday at Regions Park in Hoover, AL. Sophomore starter Alex Panteliodis (9-2) picked up the win, tossing 6.2 innings, striking out five and giving up three earned runs. Junior closer Kevin Chapman earned his 11th save of the season, though he did give up a run in the ninth and final inning of the game. Freshman third baseman Austin Maddox (2-4) led the way with two RBI, and freshman shortstop Nolan Fontana (2-3) scored two runs. Florida will face Vanderbilt (41-16) in the second elimination game of the tournament Friday evening, airing live at ESPN3.com.

2 » Still making touchdowns – but now for the Jacksonville Sharks of the AFL – former Gators wide receiver Dallas Baker was faced with an injury scare Saturday night in a 46-44 win over the Cleveland Gladiators. “I thought I tore something,” Baker told The Florida Times-Union. Instead Baker, who scored twice during the game before falling to the turf, suffered a sprain according to an MRI exam after the game. He is second on the team this season with 416 yards and nine touchdowns in five games played.

Four more BITS on track & field qualifiers, tennis’ NCAA wins and losses and a Gator winning Rookie of the Year…after the break!
Continue Reading » SIX BITS: Baseball wins, Baker OK, seven Gators qualify, tennis updates, lacrosse rookie of year

Tags: AFL, ALC, Alex Panteliodis, Alexandre Lacroix, Allie Will, Anastasia Revzina, Antoine Benneteau, Arkansas Razorbacks, Ashley Bruns, Austin Maddox, baseball, Christian Taylor, Cleveland Gladiators, Dallas Baker, Evelien Dekkers, Fidela James, field, Jacksonville Sharks, Jeff Demps, Josh Izewski, Keely Medeiros, Kevin Chapman, Lauren Embree, Magill Tennis Complex, Mariam Kevkhishvili, Marrit Boonstra, National Championship, NCAA, NCAA Outdoor Championship, Nolan Fontana, Regions Park, Rookie of the Year, Shara Proctor, tennis, track

Two former Florida Gators will come together next season on the Arkansas Razorbacks basketball staff as head coach John Pelphrey has hired former All-American guard Brett Nelson (1999-2003) as an assistant coach.

After graduating from the University of Florida, Nelson first worked as director of basketball operations at Colorado State and then Virginia Commonwealth (under Alabama head coach Anthony Grant). He got his first assistant job with Donnie Jones at Marshall in 2007, coaching under him for three seasons before leaving the program with him during a transition to Central Florida just two months ago.

“I am very excited to have Brett join our staff,” Pelphrey said in a release. “Brett has a tremendous basketball IQ and will bring our student-athletes a first-hand perspective of the commitment and dedication that is required to win Southeastern Conference championships and compete nationally. In his tenures at Colorado State, Virginia Commonwealth and Marshall, Brett has been instrumental in both the recruiting and on-court successes of those programs. I have known Brett throughout his basketball career as a player and a coach. He is an exceptional person and will be an excellent addition to our coaching staff and our program.”

During his time with the Gators, Nelson led the team to four NCAA Tournaments, a National Championship game and two Southeastern Conference Championships while averaging 11 points per game.

Grant, Jones and Pelphrey are all former assistants under head coach Billy Donovan.

Tags: Anthony Grant, Arkansas Razorbacks, Billy Donovan, Brett Nelson, Donnie Jones, John Pelphrey, National Championship, NCAA Tournament, SEC, SEC Championship, University of Florida

1a » No. 3 Women’s Tennis won 2010 SEC Championship Tournament
Over the weekend, the Florida Gators women’s tennis team (24-2) captured its 16th conference title in the last 23 years and first since 2006. It defeated the LSU Tigers (10-15) 4-0 on Friday before advancing to the finals to take on the No. 13 Tennessee Volunteers (16-8). Florida took down Tennessee 4-1 in the championship finale Sunday afternoon at the Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, GA. Senior Marrit Boonstra and freshman Allie Will were named to the All-Tournament Team.

1b » No. 6 Men’s Tennis fell in 2010 SEC Championship Tournament finale
Also fighting for a conference crown over the weekend was the men’s tennis team (19-4), which defeated the Mississippi State Bulldogs 4-1 Friday in semifinal action at Boone Tennis Complex in Lexington, KY. The men moved on to the championship game Sunday but were swept 4-0 by the No. 2 Volunteers, who took home the title.

2 » No. 7/11 Baseball took three of four games last week
Beginning the week with a solid 18-8 defeat of the South Florida Bulls (17-20), Gators baseball (28-11, 12-6 SEC) finished out the week by winning two-of-three games at home against the No. 9/7 Arkansas Razorbacks (33-8, 13-5 SEC). UF dropped the opener 8-3 before evening the series with an 8-2 win Saturday and taking it home Sunday with a 2-1 victory.

3 » No. 4/4 Softball dropped two of three games last week
Florida softball (35-7, 15-4 SEC) was hoping for a chance to even out its week after dropping two of its previous three games; unfortunately, inclement weather on Saturday forced the team to cancel its series finale against No. 17/18 Tennessee (39-9, 15-5 SEC). The Gators began the week with a tough 8-3 home loss to the Florida International Golden Panthers (30-15, 11-5 Sun Belt) at Pressly Stadium on Tuesday. The ladies then split a weekend series with the Volunteers, winning game one 6-0 before falling 4-3 in game two at Lee Softball Stadium in Knoxville, TN.

4 » No. 4 Gymnastics fell at home in 2010 NCAA Championship
Gators gymnastics, a consistently great program that has been hoping for a NCAA Championship since it came in second in 1998, once again fell short of a title over the weekend, failing to come out on top during the NCAA Super Six team final in Gainesville, FL. The Florida women came in fifth place with a total of 197.00, behind the new NCAA Champion UCLA Bruins (197.725), second-place Oklahoma (197.25), third-place Alabama (197.225) and fourth-place Stanford (197.10). Utah (196.225) was the only team to finish behind UF). The match was the Gators’ ninth NCAA Super Six all-time and sixth in the last seven years.

Photo Credit: GatorZone.com

Tags: Allie Will, Arkansas Razorbacks, baseball, Boone Tennis Complex, Florida International Golden Panthers, gymnastics, Lee Softball Stadium, LSU Tigers, Magill Tennis Complex, Marrit Boonstra, McKethan Stadium, Mississippi State Bulldogs, NCAA Championship, NCAA Super Six, Pressly Stadium, SEC, SEC Championship, softball, South Florida Bulls, Tennessee Volunteers, tennis, UCLA Bruins

1 » A 90-minute rain delay did little to derail No. 7/9 Florida Gators baseball (24-9, 9-4 SEC) from taking a 10-8 win over the Kentucky Wildcats (21-13, 4-9 SEC) Friday night on the road at Cliff Hagan Stadium in Lexington, KY. Marking the 100th victory of head coach Kevin O’Sullivan’s career, the win was powered by a home run each from freshman catcher Austin Maddox (3-5) and senior outfielder Matt den Dekker (2-3). Sophomore Alex Panteliodis got the start but received a no-decision after giving up five earned runs in 5.1 innings. Senior reliever Jeff Barfield (2-0) tossed 1.1 innings for the win as junior closer Kevin Chapman earned his seventh save of the season with four strikeouts in 2.0 innings.

2 » From GatorZone: “Sophomore Florida multi-event athlete Gray Horn turned in the second-best decathlon score in school history Thursday, charting 7,566 total points to place third at the Mt. Sac Relays Multi-Events hosted by Azusa Pacific University at Cougar Stadium.”

3 » No. 4/6 men’s and No. 10/11 women’s golf are each currently competing in their respective 2010 Southeastern Conference Championships. After the first round of action, the men’s team is in a tie for second place while the women are struggling and are currently in ninth. The Gators’ men are just two strokes behind the leading Arkansas Razorbacks and have a chance to take the lead Saturday.

4 » By all accounts, former Florida defensive coordinator Charlie Strong is already doing an amazing job in his first head coaching gig with the Louisville Cardinals. Granted, it is only spring practice so far. Regardless, Sports Illustrated’s Andy Staples put out a nice piece about Strong on Monday, stating what OGGOA has long believed, that “schools nationwide are about to regret passing on Charlie Strong.”

Extra Bit » OGGOA has heard that Gators basketball’s Friday visit with Rutgers transfer guard Mike Rosario went really well. Some we have spoken with seem to believe he will be committing or already has committed. However, we are not able to confirm that at this point – just wanted to make our readers aware of what we are hearing.

Tags: Alex Panteliodis, Arkansas Razorbacks, Austin Maddox, baseball, Charlie Strong, Cliff Hagan Stadium, golf, Gray Horn, Jeff Barfield, Kentucky Wildcats, Kevin Chapman, Kevin O'Sullivan, Louisville Cardinals, Matt den Dekker, Mike Rosario, SEC, SEC Championship

Florida Gators athletics took home two titles and 10 overall victories this past weekend from Fri., April 9 to Sun., April 11. Get all the details…after the break!

1 » GYMNASTICS: No. 4 Florida Gators gymnastics captured the 2010 NCAA North Central Regional Championship.
Continue Reading » SIX BITS: Gators weekend wrap-up 4/9 – 4/11

Tags: Aja Paculba, Alex Panteliodis, Alexandre Lacroix, Allie Will, Antoine Benneteau, Arkansas Razorbacks, Ashanée Dickerson, Austin Maddox, baseball, Brian Johnson, Caroline Chesterman, Caroline Cochran, Colgate Raiders, Daniel Pigott, Ensley Gammel, Georgia Bulldogs, Hudson Randall, Jerico Weitzel, Josh Adams, Justin Poovey, Kevin Chapman, Kitty Cullen, lacrosse, Lauren Embree, Le Moyne Dolphins, Marrit Boonstra, NCAA, NCAA Championship, NCAA North Central Regional, O'Connell Center, SEC, softball, Stephanie Brombacher, Tennessee Volunteers, tennis

1 » After suffering their first loss of the season against No. 6/3 Florida State in the inaugural Florida Four tournament, the No. 5/6 Florida Gators traveled to Coral Gables, FL, for a three-game series against the No. 16/11 Miami Hurricanes. OGGOA will wrap-up the series on Sunday, but on Friday, the Gators (6-1) took down the Hurricanes (6-2) 7-1 in the series’ first game. Sophomore starter Alex Pantelidois (3-0) held Miami hitless into the fifth inning and registered a career-high eight strikeouts. Fellow sophomore Nick Mardone earned his first career save by striking out seven over 3.1 innings without giving up a hit or run. Three Gators acquired two RBI in the contest.

Five more BITS including a softball doubleheader, gymnastics triangular meet and SEC openers for men’s and women’s tennis…after the break!
Continue Reading » SIX BITS Baseball, softball, gymnastics, tennis win

Tags: Alex Pantelidois, Alexandre Lacroix, Allie Will, Antoine Benneteau, Arkansas Razorbacks, Ashanée Dickerson, Ball State Cardinal, baseball, DeMarini Invitational, Ensley Gammel, Francesca Enea, gymnastics, Lauren Embree, Marissa King, Marrit Boonstra, Miami Hurricanes, Nick Mardone, North Carolina Tar Heels, O'Connell Center, Pacific Tigers, SEC, softball, Stanford Cardinal, Stephanie Brombacher, Tegan Gerhart, tennis