1 » The Florida Gators announced Wednesday that the team will participate in its first of 15 spring practices on March 16 with the remainder coming between then and the 2011 Orange & Blue Debut on April 9. The 2011 season begins on Sept. 3 as Florida takes on Florida Atlantic at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

2 » Pittsburgh Steelers rookie center Maurkice Pouncey, who has started every game this season but suffered a high ankle sprain in the AFC Championship game, remains questionable for Super Bowl XLV. He was seen Wednesday utilizing crutches with a hard cast on his lower left leg, indicating that the injury is quite serious and may indeed keep him out of the big game. ESPN medical expert Stephania Bell, asked about Pouncey’s injury, said moderate high ankle sprains are usually given an “estimate of four to six weeks” though players have come back both earlier and later than that time frame depending on the severity of the injury. Bell also noted that Pouncey being only 21 will help him recover a bit faster. “I think when you look into the context of two weeks, it’s the Super Bowl, and Pouncey doesn’t have gross instability or a fracture based on what we know,” she said. “So it will come down to whether the Steelers get the pain down enough and the swelling down enough that Pouncey can have normal motion in the joint and put pressure through the foot.”

3 » Still recovering from an injured thumb, Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah sat down with Comcast Sports Net in Chicago, IL for an “up close and personal” seven-minute interview. You can watch it in full below.

4 » Former Gators decathlete Steve Mesler will be inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame on March 27. He will be honored after capturing the gold medal as a bobsledder for team United States at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada in February. “I thought it was amazing,” Mesler said when he learned about his selection. “You don’t think about putting yourself in the Hall of Fame when you’re competing and training. It’s such a surprise to be honored that way. It still humbles me to think that we did something that puts us in that classification.” Mesler joins names already inducted into the hall like Sandy Koufax, (fellow Florida alum) Dara Torres, Red Auerbach (among many others).

Tags: AFC, Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, bobsled, Chicago Bulls, Dara Torres, decathalon, Joakim Noah, Maurkice Pouncey, National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, NBA, Olympics, Orange & Blue Debut, Pittsburgh Steelers, Steve Mesler, Super Bowl XLV

1 » The Buffalo Bills announced Wednesday that the team has signed former Florida Gators wide receiver Chad Jackson. A free agent after being cut by the Denver Broncos on Sept. 7, 2009, Jackson’s NFL career has been marred with injuries.

“The Bills had been looking at me for a while and I had the opportunity to come up and get a workout in and they obviously liked what they saw,” Jackson said. “I’ve heard a lot about coach Gailey and the things he can do on the offensive side of the ball. I’m looking forward to working with him. He’s the type of guy that if you can make plays he’s going to get you the ball. I’ve got a good opportunity ahead of me signing with this organization, but I have to prove myself to the coaches and coach Gailey. Once I do that I think everything will work out real well. I’ve got a lot of speed to me and a lot of size to me and I can make plays in the open field. I can make a lot of things happen.”

After forgoing his final year of eligibility with Florida and entering the 2006 NFL Draft, Jackson was though to be a potential first round pick. However, he fell to the second round, causing the New England Patriots to trade up 16 slots (from No. 52 to No. 36) in order to select him. He missed the 2006 preseason with a hamstring injury, hurt his groin during the season and finished his rookie year with 13 catches for 152 yards and three touchdowns after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in the AFC Championship against the Indianapolis Colts. The Patriots placed him on the physically unable to perform list before the 2007 season, only activating him for four games. He was cut in 2008 and signed with the Broncos on Oct. 27, 2008, once again only playing in four games.

2 » Former Gators decathlete and U.S. Olympic gold medalist bobsledder Steve Mesler has accepted an invitation to speak on campus at the University of Florida on Thurs., April 1 at 10 a.m. Mesler will speak at the College of Health and Human Performance about his experiences at the Olympics. Admission is free, and Mesler will stay afterward for photographs with fans.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Tags: bobsled, Buffalo Bills, Chad Jackson, Denver Broncos, New England Patriots, NFL, Olympics, Steve Mesler, University of Florida

Former Florida Gators decathlete Steve Mesler and the four-man United States bobsled team have won the gold medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada. A right-side pusher for “Night Train,” a sled piloted by veteran driver Steve Holcomb, Mesler helped send USA-1 to gold in the event for the first time in 62 years (since 1948).

Night Train, which had been on a tear since coming together, also won the 2009 World Championships in Lake Placid, NY, the United States’ first four-man world title in 50 years. The team went on to capture the 2010 World Cup title (for the first time in 17 years) and the 2010 World Cup overall crown. They were the gold medal favorite heading into the Olympics.

USA-1 completed four runs of 50.89, 50.86, 51.19 and 51.52 seconds for a total time of 3:24.46. They beat out second-place Germany and third-place Canada by 0.38 and 0.39 seconds, respectively.

Mesler occupied the third slot in the sled. On each run, he was responsible for managing the balance and speed of Night Train, partially due to the fact that he is the team’s fastest member stemming from his days as a decathlete with the Gators. The two-time Olympian (he was a reserve in 2002) was a key member of the USA-1 sled.

Video of the first two runs is available courtesy of NBCOlympics.com (final two later).

Tags: bobsled, Steve Mesler

Former and current Florida Gators student-athletes usually find a home in the Summer Olympics; however, when it comes to the Winter Olympics, appearances are few and far between. That changed in 2006 when Steve Mesler, a scholarship decathlete who earned a degree in exercise and sport science from the University of Florida in 2000, competed as a bobsledder in his first Olympic Winter Games in Torino, Italy.

Now a right-side pusher in “Night Train,” a four-man sled squad piloted by Steve Holcomb, Mesler is in line for an Olympic medal if USA-1 can continue its hot start. Night Train has been on a tear since coming together, starting with winning the 2009 World Championships in Lake Placid, NY, the United States’ first four-man world title in 50 years. The team also captured the 2010 World Cup title (for the first time in 17 years) and the 2010 World Cup overall crown.

Team Holcomb, the medal favorite heading into the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, is in first place with a commanding lead after its first two runs at the Whistler Sliding Centre. Setting track records of 50.89 and 50.86 seconds on each run, USA-1′s combined time is 1 minute and 41.75 seconds – 0.40 seconds ahead of Canada and 0.44 better than a veteran German team.

Mesler occupies the third slot in the sled. On each run, he is responsible for managing the balance and speed of the sled, partially due to the fact that he is the team’s fastest member stemming from his days as a decathlete with the Gators. The two-time Olympian (he was a reserve in 2002) is a key member of the USA-1 sled, which could be the first in 62 years (since 1948) to bring home a gold medal in the four-man event for the United States in the Olympics. Video of the first two runs – NBC.

Night Train (USA-1) will take its third and fourth runs, which will determine all three Olympic medals, beginning at 4 p.m. (EST) on Saturday.

Tags: bobsled, Olympics, Steve Mesler, University of Florida

Former and current Florida Gators student-athletes usually find a home in the Summer Olympics; however, when it comes to the Winter Olympics, appearances are few and far between. That changed in 2006 when Steve Mesler, a scholarship decathlete who earned a degree in exercise and sport science from the University of Florida in 2000, competed in his first Olympic Winter Games in Torino, Italy.

After graduation, Mesler wanted to continue his athletic career and tried out for bobsled in San Diego, CA, in June 2001. After practicing with Todd Hays’ four-man team for a few years, Mesler participated in the 2006 Games in Torino; his team’s sled would finish in seventh place.

Four seasons with Hays’ team was enough for Mesler, who moved on to the aptly nicknamed “Night Train,” a four-man sled squad piloted by Steve Holcomb. Night Train has been on a tear since coming together, starting with winning the 2009 World Championships in Lake Placid, NY, the United States’ first four-man world title in 50 years. The team has since captured the 2010 World Cup title (for the first time in 17 years) and the 2010 World Cup overall crown.

Team Holcomb is now the medal favorite heading into the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver with Mesler occupying the third slot in the sled. On each run, he is responsible for managing the balance and speed of the sled, partially due to the fact that he is the team’s fastest member stemming from his days as a decathlete with the Gators.

The two-time Olympian (he was a reserve in 2002) is a key member of the USA-1 sled, which could be the first in 62 years (since 1948) to bring home a gold medal for the United States in the Olympics. “Right now, we are the team to beat,” Holcomb told the Associated Press on Friday.

Keep an eye out for the futuristic-looking, shiny black USA-1 “Night Train” sled at the Whistler Sliding Centre during the XXI Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver.

OGGOA Related Story: Mesler’s family was scammed out of $7,332 and lodging by a Whistler house rental company. They have since received the money back.

Tags: bobsled, Olympics, Steve Holcomb, Steve Mesler, Todd Hays, United States, University of Florida, Whistler Sliding Centre, World Championships, World Cup

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