1 » On the heels of FOX Sports’ piece about Florida Gators head coach Urban Meyer on Tuesday comes another from the New York Times’ Pete Thamel, who notes that Meyer has a new perspective on his coaching career these days. In fact, it even led him to discard his Blackberry for a time being in place of an “older model with no Internet connection. He programmed seven numbers in it – for his four immediate family members, his two sisters and his father. No one else knew the number.” His wife, Shelley Meyer, is happy with his progress and health now. “As scary and hard as it was on the family and the team, so much good has come out of it,” she said. “The way he is now, he could go 10 more years.” Even strength and conditioning coach Mickey Marotti noticed something wrong with Meyer’s weight – by looking at his butt. “When he’d walk, his pants would sag halfway down,” Marotti said. “He looked like one of our players. He completely lost his entire rear end.”

2 » A university spokesperson announced Thursday that senior Florida basketball guard Hudson Fricke has decided to transfer to Milligan College. A walk-on who only played 22 minutes in three years, Fricke’s only points came on four free throws during the 2007-08 season. OGGOA wishes him the best of luck with his new team.

3 » Recapping what coaches learned during Oakland Raiders training camp this offseason, Jerry McDonald of the Contra Costa Times notes that former Gators wide receiver Louis Murphy “is far and away the Raiders’ best and most dangerous receiver” even though he “still drops too many passes for a real level of comfort. Murphy, who caught 34 balls for 521 yards and four touchdowns as a rookie, was the team’s best WR and second-leading pass catcher in 2009-10.

4 » Tough night for former Florida kick returner Brandon James on Thursday. While returning a punt for the Indianapolis Colts, James muffed the catch, allowing the Green Bay to recover the ball in the endzone for a touchdown. Additionally, rookie cornerback Ray Fisher returned a kickoff 58 yards for a TD. With Devin Moore likely to be the team’s primary returner, there is a chance James loses his opportunity with the Colts.

5 » No. 9 Gators soccer (2-0) looks to stay undefeated Friday night as they take on the Florida Atlantic Owls (0-1) at 6 p.m. at James G. Pressly Stadium in Gainesville, FL.

6 » Conspicuous by their absences Thursday night were New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez and linebacker Jermaine Cunningham, neither of whom participated in the team’s third preseason game. Hernandez missed practice this week with an undisclosed injury, and Cunningham has yet to participate in a single NFL down this season. Both, however, are expected to see major playing time this year. Florida rookie LB Brandon Spikes, who did play, recorded seven tackles (five solo) and a quarterback hit.

Photo Credit: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Tags: Aaron Hernandez, Brandon James, Brandon Spikes, Devin Moore, Florida Atlantic Owls, Green Bay Packers, Hudson Fricke, Indianapolis Colts, James G. Pressly Stadium, Jermaine Cunningham, Louis Murphy, Mickey Marotti, Milligan College, New England Patriots, Oakland Raiders, Ray Fisher, Shelley Meyer, soccer, Urban Meyer

In their most dominant performance of the season, No. 4 Florida Gators baseball (45-15) throttled the Florida Atlantic Owls (37-24) 15-0 to win the 2010 NCAA Gainesville Regional on Sunday night at McKethan Stadium and advance to Super Regional competition.

Fueled by sophomore outfielder Tyler Thompson – who posted a three home run, six RBI performance in which he went 4-for-5 – the Gators smacked six homers over the outfield wall (a school postseason record) while simultaneously shutting out the Owls behind seven strong innings by freshman starter Brian Johnson (6-4).

Johnson also went 3-for-5 from the plate with a homer. Junior first baseman Preston Tucker (4-6, four RBI) and freshman catcher Mike Zunino (2-4) provided the other two dingers of the evening. In all, Florida tallied 19 hits and five walks, stranding 10 on base.

Relievers redshirt sophomore Tommy Toledo and junior Kevin Chapman tossed the final two innings of the contest to complete the shutout.

Johnson was honored with the Gainesville Regional’s Most Outstanding Player award after the game for his .625 (5-8) performance at the plate for the series and dominant outing from the mound on Sunday. UF as a whole placed seven players in eight spots on the All-Tournament Team, including Johnson, Thompson, Tucker, Zunino, senior outfielder Matt den Dekker and freshman pitcher Hudson Randall.

The win advances the Gators to Super Regional action for the second-straight year and fourth in the last seven. Gainesville, FL, will once again host the event, which will consist of a three-game series against the winner of the Coral Gables Regional (to be decided Monday night between Miami and Texas A&M).

Florida is 20-1 in night games at home this season and won its 13th consecutive game on Sunday. The Gators outscored their three opponents 32-5 over the weekend.

Photo Credit: Phil Sandlin/Associated Press

Tags: All-Tournament, baseball, Brian Johnson, Coral Gables Regional, Florida Atlantic Owls, Gainesville Regional, Hudson Randall, Kevin Chapman, Matt den Dekker, McKethan Stadium, Mike Zunino, Most Outstanding Player, NCAA, Preston Tucker, Tommy Toledo, Tyler Thompson

1 » No. 4/6 Florida Gators baseball (34-12) topped the Florida Atlantic Owls (31-19) 7-3 Wednesday night, but the story of the game was the return of sophomore pitcher Tommy Toledo from a serious injury sustained on March 14. Toledo, who broke facial bones after taking a line drive off the face two months ago, tossed a scoreless inning without trepidation. Senior Jeff Barfield (3-0) got the win after four innings of work as the Gators added three home runs behind him from freshman shortstop Nick Fontana (2-3, three runs), senior outfielder Matt den Dekker (1-3, two RBI) and freshman third baseman Austin Maddox (1-4, two RBI). Maddox’s blast tied Florida’s single-season record for homers by a freshman (16).

2 » The Gainesville Sun’s reigning two-time golfer of the year, J.D. Tomlinson (Gainesville, FL), has committed to join the Gators’ 2011 recruiting class, according to the paper. The 10th-ranked golfer in the nation, Tomlinson can officially sign with Florida on Nov. 10. “It is amazing, I have grown up wanting to play golf at the University of Florida and I had worked really hard to make that happen,” he told the Sun. “I am really glad my hard work has paid off.”

Tags: Austin Maddox, baseball, Florida Atlantic Owls, golf, J.D. Tomlinson, Jeff Barfield, Matt den Dekker, Nick Fontana, Tommy Toledo, University of Florida

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

1 » Former Florida Gators wide receiver Riley Cooper will join teammate quarterback Tim Tebow in Mobile, AL, on Jan. 30 after accepting an invitation to the 2010 Under Armour Senior Bowl. Cooper was Florida’s leading receiver in 2009 with 961 yards on 51 catches while also accounting for nine touchdowns. Senior Bowl practices throughout the week, as well as the game itself, will be televised by the NFL Network.

2 » Gators thrower Mariam Kevkhishvili, a three-time NCAA Champion, broke a Georgian national record and Florida indoor school record in the women’s shot put during the Kentucky Invitational on Saturday at E.J. Nutter Fieldhouse. In addition to Kevkhishvili’s astounding feat, other Gators achieved promising results at the event. Florida, in total, scored two NCAA automatic-qualifiers, accounted for four provisional-qualifying marks and won three events in 48 hours. Read more about the Gators track & field team’s accomplishments this weekend.

3 » One of the few remaining Gators in the NFL Playoffs, San Diego Chargers defensive tackle Ian Scott has gone through a tumultuous two seasons with the team having been signed, released and then re-signed by the Chargers in a 13-month period. In fact, he even considered moving his entire family back to Gainesville, FL, at one point. The Gainesville Sun’s John Patton caught up with Scott and put together a nice feature article on the former Florida standout.

4 » The No. 6 men’s and No. 7 women’s Gators swimming and diving teams (7-0, 2-0 SEC), (8-2, 2-1 SEC) were victorious after turning in 159-118 and 163-122 wins over the Florida Atlantic Owls Saturday at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. Sebastien Rousseau led the way for the men with an NCAA provisional mark in the men’s 200-yard butterfly (1:47.97) while senior Liz Kemp stood as a beacon for the women by taking home the 1,000-yard freestyle title (10:05.29).

Extra Bit » If you thought former Tennessee Volunteers head coach Lane Kiffin‘s departure created a ruckus, check out this video of the school’s Sports Information Department trying to settle down the clearly ticked-off media…after the jump!
Continue Reading » FOUR BITS: Cooper, shot put, Scott, swimming

Tags: diving, E.J. Nutter Fieldhouse, Florida Atlantic Owls, Ian Scott, Lane Kiffin, Liz Kemp, Mariam Kevkhishvili, NCAA, NFL, O'Connell Center, Playoffs, Riley Cooper, San Diego Chargers, Sebastien Rousseau, Senior Bowl, swimming, Tennessee Volunteers, Tim Tebow