1 » Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah has had a star-studded last few days. In addition to being introduced along with the rest of his team by comedian Will Ferrell before Wednesday night’s game (“He’s a Scorpio and a horrible dancer,” Ferrell said of Noah), he was also name-dropped during the latest episode of the sitcom Whitney on NBC. Following a Chicago-Philadelphia game last week, Noah met up with champion eater Takeru Kobayashi, a greeting that was captured by his YouTube channel.

2 » Speaking of Noah, the Bulls’ star center told the Chicago Tribune last month that his rough start to the 2011-12 season was in part due to the pressure he felt after signing a five-year, $60 million contract extension in 2010. “Sometimes you feel like because you’re given so much money you’re expected to do things. That’s not the right mentality to have as a player,” he explained. “I have to play my game. I have to have fun out there. If I don’t, I’m not the same player.” Without an offseason to work on some of the kinks in his game, Noah started exceptionally slow, shooting poorly and turning the ball over more often than he should be. Now back into the swing of things, he has posted double-digit points in eight of his last 10 games (including five-straight double-doubles from Jan 23-30). “I’ve always been a player who reacts well to criticism and doubters,” Noah said. “I feel my teammates were always behind me. But I knew as well as anyone how poorly I was playing. And not only wasn’t I playing well, but I was putting a lot of pressure on myself. I wasn’t playing loose out there. I was playing tight. In the beginning of the year, I was overthinking a lot. I was going through a lot of things personally. I feel a lot more comfortable now. I have to stop overthinking and just play.”

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Eight former Florida Gators basketballers competed in five of the seven NBA games played on Tuesday and most ended the night with praiseworthy performances.

Golden State Warriors power forward David Lee posted a team-high 29 points (on 13-of-20 shooting) with nine boards (four offensive) and three assists in a team-high 35 minutes as Golden State went on to upend Cleveland 105-95.

Similarly dominant, Denver Nuggets forward Corey Brewer played a team-high 34 minutes off the bench, scoring a team-best 22 points (on 8-of-14 shooting) with four rebounds, two steals and a block. Denver defeated Milwaukee 105-95.

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1 » In his season-ending meeting with the media, Denver Broncos vice president of football operations John Elway gave quarterback Tim Tebow his biggest endorsement thus far even if it was not completely what Tebow’s fans may have wanted. “Tim is the starting quarterback going into training camp,” Elway said Monday, according to the Denver Post, failing to go further than that designation. “He made great strides. He has earned the right to be the starter going into training camp next year.” Elway also admitted, as expected, that Denver will look to add some competition for Tebow at the quarterback position because the Broncos’ “passing game was not where we want it to be.” As he mentioned during the season, Elway plans to work with Tebow in a number of areas including in the film room and on his footwork, drops and timing with receivers. He expands on these comments in the video below:

2 » Continuing his stellar play this year Houston Rockets forward Chandler Parsons had yet another solid game Monday, again earning the start and scoring eight points (on 4-of-7 shooting) with eight boards (three offensive), four assists and two blocks in 29 minutes. He also had two impressive plays in the game including one put-back slam and another dunk over Washington’s 7’0″ center JaVale McGee, which you can see below:

In related NBA news, center Marreese Speights had his best performance with his brand new team the Memphis Grizzlies, registering a double-double of 16 points and 12 boards. Speights went head-to-head with Chicago Bulls C Joakim Noah, who has been struggling with a hand problem this season and had just two points and five rebounds. Memphis beat Chicago 102-86 on Monday.

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STILL TRYING TO CURE FLORIDA’S ROAD WOES

Donovan knows what ails the Gators on the road but getting the team to correct those issues is another story. As is obvious to many fans who have watched Florida complete in true road contests, the Gators are struggling with their energy and intensity but also in three other areas: turnovers, shooting efficiency and defending field goals.

“The only thing that I can talk about is coaching our team and what we do, so I never want to take away anything from our opponent,” he said. “We played against obviously a very good Syracuse team, a very good Ohio State team, Rutgers is a very good team, Tennessee is a very good team. We’ve had four road games against four really good teams. And I don’t think South Carolina at home is any exception; I think they’re a good basketball team. As it relates to winning on the road, our guys got to learn. We have a lot of guys in situations for the first time going through something like this.

“There’s a learning process. As much as I want that to be expedited and sped up and have it all figured out, there are certain things they’ve got to get better at. When you go on the road and you do play against good teams, if you do turn it over, if you do shoot a real low percentage, if you do give up a high percentage, that’s a problem. If you look at our stat sheet on the road, teams have shot a very high percentage [.466] against us, we’ve turned the basketball over [17.3 per game], we have not shot a high percentage [.429]. [...] That’s not a formula on the road to really be able to win.”

If you compare those numbers to what Florida puts up in other games, the differences are apparent. The Gators shoot 48.9 percent on home/neutral courts, only give up 9.6 turnovers per contest and defend at a 40.0 percent clip.

There is one thing Florida does quite well away from home that Donovan is noticing.

“There is a level of persevering that goes on [while] on the road. There is a level of fortitude and an ability to handle the adversity when a team goes on a run, how you respond. The one positive that we have had on the road is we have had some level of resiliency where we have gotten down and we have fought back,” he said.

“Our resiliency and our fight is there; they have done that. Sometimes when you have a 40-minute game with turnovers, not a great shooting percentage, giving up things defensively that need to be taken away, sometimes that’s not the best formula to really put yourself in a true position to win. [...] It’s not like our team has been blown out by 25 points on the road and we’re just ways away from being competitive. We’ve been competitive; it’s just how do we find a way to get the result we want?”

PRACTICES A “LOSE-LOSE SITUATION”
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Al Horford, F/C, Atlanta Hawks
- 2010-11: Averaging career highs in points (15.3), field goal percentage (.557), assists (3.5) and minutes (35.1), Horford also contributed 9.3 rebounds and 1.0 block per game last year. He led his team to the second round of the playoffs for the third-straight season; nlike the previous two years, the Hawks were not swept but rather fell 4-2.
- 2011-12: The Godfather was named a captain in Atlanta one year ago and wound up earning his second-straight NBA All-Star nod as a reserve. The Hawks resigned him to a five-year, $60 million extension in Nov. 2010, and he enters this season as one of the team’s two best and most popular players.

Joakim Noah, C, Chicago Bulls
- 2010-11: Averaging a double-double with career highs in points (11.7), field goal percentage (.525), assists (2.2) and minutes (32.8), Noah was also good for 10.4 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 1.0 steal per game. He only played in 48 games due to having two surgeries for ligament damage in his hand and a right thumb injury but helped lead Chicago to the conference finals where the Bulls lost 4-1 in five games.
- 2011-12: Noah was rewarded by Chicago for his hard work with a five-year, $60 million extension last offseason. His defense and shot blocking makes him an elite big man in the league and he will be a key piece for the Bulls this season as they hope to earn a spot in the NBA Finals.

David Lee, F/C, Golden State Warriors
- 2010-11: Falling just short of a double-double average aver accomplishing that feat in consecutive seasons with the New York Knicks, Lee contributed 16.5 points, 9.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.0 steal per game in 36.1 minutes on average last season. He shot 50.7 percent from the floor and 78.7 percent from the line in 73 games after missing nine due to an elbow injury that got infected.
- 2011-12: Lee agreed to a six-year, $80 million contract with Golden State after being traded from New York before last season and shined as a efficient big man in an up-tempo offense. His numbers fell because he was not relied upon as heavily with the Warriors, but he should have ample opportunities to showcase his talent.

Read the rest of OGGOA’s 2011-12 NBA Preview…after the break!

Udonis Haslem, PF, Miami Heat
- 2010-11: Averaged 8.0 points and 8.2 rebounds on 51.2 percent shooting in 26.5 minutes; did not start a single game for the second-straight year and only participated in 13 regular season contests before suffering a Lisfranc fracture in his foot. Haslem was named a team captain for being a veteran leader in Miami who accepted a reserve role and turned down significantly more financially lucrative contracts to remain with his hometown team. He was able to return for the playoffs and played 24.2 minutes per game averaging 5.3 points and 4.5 rebounds.
- 2011-12: Haslem returns in a reserve role and is expected to be named a team captain once again. The Heat are looking to return to the NBA Finals and capture their first title since LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined the team.

Mike Miller, G/F, Miami Heat
- 2010-11: Averaged 5.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game while shooting the worst he has in his career (40.1 percent from the field, 36.4 percent from downtown, 67.6 percent from the free throw line). Started two contests in 41 games played, missing 41 contests throughout the season with a nagging thumb injury that was fractured and torn during the preseason.
- 2011-12: Fully healthy over the summer and hoping to be a big-time contributor for Miami this year, Miller had hernia surgery just as the NBA lockout was ending and is expected to miss the first few weeks. He will join the team in a reserve role, serving as a three-point specialist who the Heat hopes will help spread the floor.

Corey Brewer, G/F, Denver Nuggets
- 2010-11: Averaged 8.6 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.6 steals in 56 games (22 starts) while playing 24.3 minutes per contest with Minnesota before being traded to New York as part of the deal for Carmelo Anthony. Brewer was then waved and signed by the Dallas Mavericks, where he played in 13 games (two starts) and averaged just 5.3 points, 1.8 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 0.8 steals in 11.4 minutes per game.
- 2011-12: Brewer was traded to Denver in the offseason and is still trying to find his groove in the pros. He has continued to work on his consistency both from the field and downtown while playing solid defense and being an effective player when he gets on the court. Brewer won a NBA title with the Mavs last year and joins a Nuggets team that lost 4-1 in five games in the first round of the playoffs.

Marreese Speights, C, Philadelphia 76ers
- 2010-11: Averaged career-lows in points (5.4), rebounds (3.3) and blocks (0.3) while playing five fewer minutes per game (11.5) than he did in 2009-10. Speights shot 49.5 percent from the field and 75.3 percent from the line and only played in 64 of 82 games being deactivated often on coach’s decisions.
- 2011-12: There was talk that Speights might be traded in his fourth year with Philadelphia, but the 76ers wound up retaining him with hopes that he continues to develop. Speights was showing some promise early in the 2009 season before a knee injury slowed him down and diminished his contribution level with Philly.

Matt Bonner, F/C, San Antonio Spurs
- 2010-11: Averaged 7.3 points and 3.6 rebounds while shooting 46.4 percent from the field, 45.7 percent from three and 74.4 percent from the line in 21.7 minutes – all numbers improved from the previous season.
- 2011-12: Bonner signed a four-year, $16 million contract with San Antonio prior to the 2009-10 campaign and continues to serve as a reserve for the Spurs, which fell 4-2 in the first round of the playoffs last year.

Chandler Parsons, F, Houston Rockets
- 2011-12: The No. 38 overall pick in the second round of the 2011 NBA Draft, Parsons spent some of his offseason in France playing for Cholet Bakset before returning to the United States to join his team. He signed a four-year, $3.7 million contract with Houston with the first two years of the deal guaranteed and additional conditional guarantees available in the final two seasons. The 2011 SEC Player of the Year, Parsons averaged 11.8 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 34.1 minutes per game with the Gators while shooting 48.0 percent from the floor and 36.8 percent from downtown. He will have to work hard for time at forward with the Rockets seeing as there are currently five players in front of him for playing time.

Vernon Macklin, PF, Detroit Pistons
- 2011-12: The No. 52 overall pick in the second round of the draft, Macklin signed a standard rookie contract with Denver and was able to spend the entire shortened offseason practicing with the Pistons. He averaged 11.6 points and 5.4 boards in 24.5 minutes per game with Florida while shooting 59.3 percent from the field and a paltry 45.1 percent from the line. Macklin will be at the end of the bench for Detroit, which features a deep frontcourt, and may not see much playing time in his rookie campaign.

1 » Participating in a preseason game for the Chicago Bulls Tuesday night, former Florida Gators center Joakim Noah gave Indiana’s Tyler Hansbrough a bit of a reality check as he stuffed his shot right at the basket. Check out the video below:

2 » Appearing on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno alongside play-by-play man Al Michaels last Thursday, former Florida wide receiver and current NBC color commentator Cris Collinsworth discussed getting into broadcasting and the play of Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow. The entire show is viewable below; however, if you are just interested in watching Collinsworth do the Gator Chomp upon entering the studio, skip to 18:55 (thanks to OGGOA reader Eli M. for the heads-up).

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1 » Though he is now at Ohio State, former Florida Gators head coach Urban Meyer still obviously has an affinity for quarterback Tim Tebow. Speaking with The Gainesville Sun, Meyer explained how proud he was of what Tebow has been able to accomplish this year. “Isn’t it great?” he said. “He did it in high school, he did it in college and now he’s doing it in the NFL. What more do you want? The thing about Tim is he makes the people around him better. It’s the essence of football. It doesn’t matter what style of offense you run. It’s a team sport.” As to those non-believers? “They just don’t want to buy in,” Meyer said. “Even John Elway. It doesn’t matter if you brought him in if you’re Elway or the general manager. Who cares? Just enjoy it.”

2 » Crossing paths with Tebow during his time in Gainesville, FL, former Gators center Joakim Noah (now of the Chicago Bulls) also waxed poetic about the former Heisman Trophy winner. Just one day before Tebow faced the Chicago Bears, Noah was excited to show his Florida pride at practice. “Timothyyyy!” Noah said proudly, according to ESPNChicago.com. “We got to show Timothy a little love here. For all the haters out there, you know the guy is kicking ass. Making me very proud to be a Gator boy.” He added that, while he may not share the same belief system as Tebow, that does not make him any less of a supporter. “It’s a beautiful story,” he said. “He is who he is. There’s no lie about who he is. He’s comfortable. Me personally, I have completely different beliefs than him. But at the same time I respect the fact that he speaks his truth. He speaks his truth and he’s a warrior. He’s a winner. At the end of the day, his teammates respect that.” Noah went on to talk about the two being in a class together and how, being a “Gator boy” he “love[s] the Tebow talk.”

Read four more BITS about Tebow…after the break.

3 » Former Florida quarterback Danny Wuerffel appeared on FOX & Friends for a few minutes Tuesday morning to (mostly) discuss Tebow but also his battle with Guillain-Barre syndrome and his work with Desire Street Ministries. Asked about Tebow being vilified for being open about his religious beliefs, Wuerffel said, “He himself is just a wonderful person to be around. Anybody that has played with him or knows him loves to be with him. In this day and age, and with this time with all this media that is out there, it’s just very polarizing. He really doesn’t try to draw attention to himself. So much of his response to this ‘Tebowing’ thing – it wasn’t a planned thing at all – he was just thankful for an exciting end, a win, and just got down and prayed.”

4 » Arguably the best signal caller in the NFL today, six-time Pro Bowl selection and three-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady of the New England Patriots (the Broncos’ next opponent) told WEEI radio on Monday that he believes Tebow is very much a professional passer and that he was impressed with what he saw from him on Sunday. “Everyone says he struggles throwing the ball. What I saw yesterday, he had no problems throwing the ball. He threw the ball extremely well when I was watching,” he said. “They’re winning a ton of games and he’s playing very well.” Brady called facing Tebow and Denver “a huge test” because the Broncos “play for 60 minutes” and have “obviously closed a lot of games and finished very well.”

5 » Also getting into the Tebow conversation is Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown, who recently spoke with ESPN about his new mission – traveling throughout the United States to speak about his Amer-I-Can Program and helping retired athletes. Brown said he was proud of how Tebow has played recently and the way he ignores critics. “I think what Tebow has done is totally embrace the fact that he’s big and strong and he wants to win and if he has to run he’s going to run. And when he has to pass, he’s going to try to hit a pass. And so he’s the epitome of a guy playing football that doesn’t fit what people talk about, but he fits winning because he doesn’t turn the ball over and he’ll use his legs as an offensive weapon,” he said. “[Tebow's] also a great kid. He has his religious beliefs, he doesn’t let anyone influence him, and he’s working to be better — but he’s not going to give up his legs (laughs). I think [Michael] Vick should take note of that and understand how to use his legs and use Tebow as an example.”

6 » Responding to Chicago linebacker Brian Urlacher’s backhanded compliment to Tebow (in which he called him “a good running back”), ESPN NFL analyst and former QB Steve Young called Urlacher out for being disrespectful and a sore loser. “I thought it was so cheap of Brian Urlacher after the game [to say] we lost to a running back,” Young said. “To me, he did it to you. He Tebowed you. Just take it like a man and walk away. You lost your shot.”

1 » Nothing that Denver Broncos executive vice president John Elway has done to this point – whether it be verbal comments or body language – has shown that he fully supports quarterback Tim Tebow. Despite the fact that Tebow is winning games and doing so in a variety of ways, Elway recently answered “no” when asked by a radio station if he was “any closer to having your quarterback on this team” than he was a month earlier. With Tebow continuing to win and Elway receiving more and more criticism, he told FOX Sports this week that he “could have done a better job answering that question.” “It was a little too blunt,” he went on to say. “I should have said, ‘We’re not talking about the future. We’re talking about right now. Tim Tebow is definitely our guy.’”

Tebow recently avoided a question asking whether or not he felt the entire organization was behind him; that non-answer is likely what led Elway to personally apologize to his star, which FOX Sports notes he did recently. In fact, Elway has also told Tebow that he plans to work with him alongside QB coach Adam Gase in the offseason – not to “fix’ his throwing motion but rather to improve his accuracy. “I don’t believe you change a throwing motion. I do believe you can really help your accuracy by your feet,” Elway said. “That’s where, to me, Tim has so much upside. He’s improving. It’s just a matter of getting it burned into his reactions and mind.”

2 » The Florida Gators football team participated in its annual banquet on Saturday in which the team is presented a number of awards for everything from on-field performance to working hard in practice and how courageous a particular player may be throughout the season. Below are the 2011 award winners along with some award explanations, courtesy of the University of Florida.

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On what winning 400 games means to him: “One, I’m definitely clearly getting older. A guy like Jason Williams is here at the game, and he was obviously a part of it when it first started, coaching him. Chandler came in the locker room [and I thought about] his time here. Joakim Noah has been on campus a lot with the lockout. The Brent Wrights of the world. The [Udonis] Haslems. I think more about the time here and the guys that have come through. There have been a lot of special guys. Not only the guys that people get a chance to watch that are in the NBA, because those are obvious guys, but the Justin Hamiltons, the Brent Wrights, the Major Parkers – that first recruiting class. Anthony Roberson, Matt Walsh, Brett Nelson, there have been so many guys that have come through that were close to making the NBA that maybe didn’t make it that had a huge significance and impact on our program. It’s not just the NBA guys, it’s a lot of really good quality kids I’ve coached for a period of time. It’s hard to believe you see Jason Williams. The guy is married, he already has a couple of kids and is retired from the NBA. It’s definitely a reflection that time is moving on and you’re getting older.”

Read everything else Billy Donovan had to say…after the break!

On being able to celebrate the win with good friend John Pelphrey by his side: “It was a great feeling. I would be remiss not to even mention a lot of the guys that I’ve had a chance to work with starting with Donnie Jones and Anthony Grant and John Pelphrey. And then having Rob Lanier and Shaka Smart and Louis Preston. Now having Norm [Roberts] and John back and Matt McCall. I’ve been fortunate that I’ve had a lot of really high level quality top assistants that have done a really good job. The other thing you look at too is in today’s day and age, where there is so much turnover in coaching, and really college athletics has changed so much. I’m probably in a unique and rare situation with the fact that, although there has been a lot of great presidents that have come through the University of Florida since I’ve been there – and I’ve had a great relationship with all of them – the one mainstay for me has been Jeremy Foley and my relationship with him that started 16 years ago. That has been a great relationship beyond the professional side of going to work every day and working with him at a great intuition. There has been a lot of people that have been a major part of that, that have sacrificed a lot from players, coaches and administration that have given us an opportunity to go out and try to compete.”

On being older but still the youngest active coach with 400 wins: “One of the first things that comes to mind for me in coaching is Coach [Rick] Petino giving me the opportunity to work at Kentucky with him. He gave me the opportunity to learn a lot and thrust me into a lot of different situations. He forced me to grow in a lot of different ways, challenged me. It really started with him, the time and energy and sacrifices he and his family have made for me.”

On if he can even look ahead to a larger win total: “I’m sure, if you ask Mike Krzyzewski and Jim Boeheim if they were going to coach until they were 70, they would have said, ‘No way.’ It’s hard to imagine coaching that long in this day and age. So much of it has changed from even when I first started out. A lot of things have changed. As long as I feel like I do right now in terms of the energy and the passion and the enthusiasm and the excitement, then I’m going to keep doing what I really enjoy doing. But I think there’s always that fear and worry that, do you get to a point where you say, ‘OK, now it’s time and I’ve had enough,’ or ‘I’m not enjoying this as much as I did,’ or ‘I’m not as passionate and motivated.’ When I look at coaching another 24-25 years, I’m not even halfway through to that point. It’s hard for me to even grasp what a guy like Mike Krzyzewski or Jim Boeheim or Jim Calhoun or guys like that that are obviously up there in age and still have the level of passion and enthusiasm that they do.”

On how the game has changed since he first began coaching: “Patrick Ewing today was at our shoot around and I played a year with Patrick and he’s a great guy, but it’s hard to believe in this day and age that Patrick would be in college for four years. [...] That’s totally changed now. The level of money that’s generated in college athletics, and in particular what’s generated in college football and stuff like that, there is kind of a microwave to get it done right now, the pressure to get it done right now and it’s hard to stay in a place for a period of time. There was a time where there probably was for coaches, 25 years ago or 20 years ago, a lot more patience at the college level. Some of that stuff has changed. A lot of it has changed because of the amount of money coaches are making, the amount of money institutions are making, the commitment that fans and alumni and boosters make to a program.

“The last several years it’s been guys going to college for a year and they can leave. For a while there it was guys going right out of high school. Even with the Kwame Brown situation, he never even made it here and went right out of high school. Kids now, and I understand it, I’m not faulting them or anybody because they have an opportunity to earn an income. There was a view where you need to get your education before you go professional sports. Now it’s: I have a certain amount of a window year-wise to make money and earn income. I can earn more income playing professional – whether it be overseas or the NBA – than I ever could make I if took my degree and started out at an entry level job. Therefore, I think the view for a lot of guys is that they can always go back and get it or do it online. There was never online classes 25 years ago, now guys can get their degrees online. Everything has changed. I’m not saying it’s bad change, just everything has changed.

“The NCAA right now is having a hard time keeping up with all that change. So much has changed, even from the way kids communicate now from text messaging, e-mailing and tweeting. It’s totally different. I’m not saying it’s bad, just different. That’s why there is so much of a push now for these guys to be paid while they are in college, because a lot of money is generated in college athletics.”

On if he has ever felt pressure from someone other than himself to win: “You always have, when you’re working for an institution or working for somebody, an internal level of responsibility to do the best job you can and not let people down. You don’t want to let people down you don’t want to let the athletic director down or the president down or the school down or the fans down. The day-to-day job of doing the job, I know what really needs to be done. A lot of times, people from the outside looking in, they don’ necessarily know you’re being evaluated of what takes place inside the lines on the court whether you win or lose. There are things I’ve learned over the years where there’s’ probably a lot more smaller victories that take place inside practice and the gym that I have a level of appreciation for now that I didn’t 15 or 20 years ago. Most of the pressure is coming from the expectation level that I have of doing the best job I can performing in the job that I have right now. And then when you’re working with great people, you want them to feel good about what you’re doing.”

On taking the Gatorade shower: “I got got pretty good. I’m not sure whose paying for the dry cleaning bill. I told the guys, they’re a part of it, too. I’ve been fortunate to coach not only good players but really good people. It’s nice when you go into a locker room and you see a group of guys happy for 400 games. That was nice that I could share it with them.”

On Urban Meyer going to Ohio State: “I spoke to him last week right before Thanksgiving when all this stuff was going on. They had been talking. I do think that for him, in my conversation with him, a lot of it was just about his family, spending time with them to talk about it. I said this before, there was no doubt in my mind that he was going to go back in at some point. Sometimes unique situations happen. Jim Tressel is a great coach and has done a great job there, but if those situations don’t happen maybe Urban’s not back in coaching. It probably took for him a unique situation as it relates to where he grew up, where he started coaching, being form Ohio. There’s probably some things there for him that internally mean a great deal. That’s what he was trying to look over. I don’t think it has anything to do with…he loves Florida, loved his time here. But if he was out, I’m not so sure he’s just jumping into any job. I think he was waiting for something that really made sense for him, and that really made sense for him.”

1 » Florida Gators redshirt freshman forward Cody Larson may have had his legal matter settled in the state of Florida (he accepted deferred prosecution for his misdemeanor criminal trespassing charges) but how his actions will impact his legal status in South Dakota is another story. According to Keoland.com, Larson’s 120-day suspended jail sentence may be invoked due to him violating the law. “Minnehaha County State’s Attorney Aaron McGowan filed a motion this week asking a Sioux Falls judge to drop the suspended sentence and consider jail time on the prescription drug charges from last year,” the website reports. “A court date has been set for Friday. That’s when it will be up to a judge to decide if Larson serves any or all of those 120 days.”

2 » After nearly three months away from football, former Gators offensive tackle Max Starks has officially been re-signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers, the same team that cut him shortly after the lockout ended due to concerns over his weight and status following offseason neck surgery. Starks, a favorite of the front office but reportedly a problem for the coaching staff, returned Wednesday and found his old No. 78 jersey hanging in his locker. “It was good to see everybody and everybody was happy to see me,” he told the Steelers’ website. “It was like old times. There are a lot of old faces and some new faces. It’s comfortable and it’s home. I am happy to be back.” OGGOA spoke with Starks a few weeks ago in an exclusive interview that will be published on the website in the coming days. He hopes to returns to the NFL gridiron as soon as Sunday.

Click to expand and read three more BITS of Gators news.