FOUR BITS: Corps Classic, Beal, Donovan, Harvin

Posted by Adam Silverstein | Posted in Basketball, Football | April 1, 2013
Comments » 3

1 » Though nothing at all is finalized, the City of Jacksonville is working towards holding the Navy-Marine Corps Classic for a second-straight season and hopes to reach a deal with the U.S. Navy to do so at some point over the next few months. “The City of Jacksonville would like to continue the game and is working on a proposal to the Navy that includes several options for the 2013 Navy-Marine Corps Classic,” executive director Alan Verlander told OGGOA last Thursday. The proposal set to be delivered to the Navy includes contingencies and/or solutions to avoid the condensation issue that ended the 2012 game at halftime last year. The City of Jacksonville has also had “very preliminary” talks with programs about potentially participating in the game (with the Florida Gators being an obvious preference as the local team) but is waiting until the conclusion of March Madness before continuing to gauge interest from said teams.

2 » Grantland’s Zach Lowe sat down with Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal for a wide-ranging interview about his rookie season. In the question-and-answer session, Beal discusses his ankle injuries, playing with John Wall, watching Florida in the postseason, playing in the NBA and where he feels most comfortable on the court.

3 » Head coach Billy Donovan deciding to stick with the Gators rather than try his hand at an NBA career or leave Florida for Kentucky began what Yahoo! Sports’s Dan Wetzel describes as a trend of “choosing happiness over climbing the ladder.” In this piece published over the weekend, Wetzel looks at how Donovan may have set forth a path that other young head coaches like Butler’s Brad Stevens and Virginia Commonweath’s Shaka Smart are now following – turning down big-time coaching jobs like UCLA to build a program from the ground up at a school where they feel comfortable and happy. “I think there was a day when it was a different world, but I think that world has changed,” athletic director Jeremy Foley said in the feature. “Obviously Billy had a lot of opportunities and for a brief moment there he took one at the NBA, but he’ll ask you, ‘What’s wrong with being happy?’ And at the end of the day he woke up and said, ‘We’re happy at Florida. We don’t have to do anything different.’”

4 » The Seattle Seahawks trading for wide receiver Percy Harvin (and signing him to a six-year, $67 million deal with $14.5 million fully guaranteed) was a big win for both parties. While Harvin is certainly excited about his new home, Seattle offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell was beaming at the thought of having Harvin in the fold. “My mind started racing,” Bevell told NFL.com’s Albert Breer. “You start thinking about all the things you can do with a player like that. And now the hard part is to harness that talent.” Bevell went on to explain that he never saw Harvin as selfish or difficult during his time with Minnesota (he was the coordinator there from 2006-10) but rather someone who was very competitive and wanted “you to show him how he can help you win.” Suddenly, one of the most exciting teams in the NFL, which boasted one of the best defenses in the league, may have an offense that can match.

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16 Gator Bites for Wednesday, March 20

Posted by Adam Silverstein | Posted in Basketball, Football, Other, Recruiting | March 20, 2013
Comments » 3

From time to time, OGGOA will come across a plethora of news and notes that we wish to share – too much to fit into one of our truncated BITS segments. When stories like these fall through the cracks, we catch and wrap them all up with Gator Bites.

» Though President Barack Obama‘s official 2013 NCAA Tournament bracket will be released on Wednesday at 9 a.m. on ESPN, the network released his Final Four late Tuesday night. President Obama chose the Florida Gators to win the South Region and also has Louisville, Indiana and Ohio State advancing to the Final Four.

» Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah had a hellacious experience during his team’s game on Monday evening. With 5.7 seconds left in overtime and Chicago trailing Denver by a single point, Noah got in perfect position underneath the basket and tipped in what otherwise would have been a missed shot. Though Noah scored the apparent game-winner and the referees did not call interference on the play, they checked the replay and eventually reversed their decision. The problem? Referees are only allowed to use replay to review on-court calls of interference, not to check on non-calls. Take a look at the video below to see what transpired on Monday.

Read 14 more interesting bites of Florida Gators news…after the break!
Continue Reading » 16 Gator Bites for Wednesday, March 20

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FOUR BITS: Dunker (again), Harvin, Rainey, Tebow

Posted by Adam Silverstein | Posted in Football | March 13, 2013
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1 » Less than two months after being arrested for third-degree felony grand theft of a motor vehicle and second-degree misdemeanor driving with a suspended license, Florida Gators redshirt freshman guard Jessamen Dunker was cited by the Gainesville Police Department on March 6 for speeding and once again driving with a suspended license. His total fees for the two offenses are $277, according to Alachua County Court records. Dunker’s attorney, Huntley Johnson, claimed in court back in January that Dunker paid $600 for the scooter he is accused of stealing. The player was released while the State Attorney’s Office determines whether or not it will file formal charges against him. Head coach Will Muschamp suspended Dunker from all team activities on Jan. 18 and reiterated Tuesday that he remains indefinitely suspended. The most recent citation received by Dunker is his third brush with the law since arriving in Gainesville, FL. On Nov. 14, 2012, he was cited for driving without a seat belt and reportedly directed multiple expletives at the officer that pulled him over. Dunker’s latest written arrest was first reported by The Miami Herald‘s Matt Watts.

2 » Signing a brand new six-year, $67 million contract with the Seattle Seahawks on Monday (which included a $12 million signing bonus and $25.5 million guaranteed), wide receiver Percy Harvin has been all smiles as he gets acquainted with his new team. Another bit of good news that Harvin announced on Tuesday was that he is migraine-free for the first time in his life and that the ailment has not returned after the Mayo Clinc diagnosed him with sleep apnea. “I haven’t had a migraine in two years now,” he said at his official press conference on Tuesday. “Been fully healthy from that aspect so everything’s been good. I’m gonna knock on wood that nothing resurfaces, but it’s all been great.”

3 » Former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Chris Rainey, who was released from the team in January after he was arrested for simple battery (a charge that was later thrown out), was at Florida’s Pro Day on Tuesday as he is in Gainesville for the offseason living with his girlfriend while his agent tries to get him back in the league. Reports out of Pro Day were that Rainey and the Pittsburgh contingent – which included general manager Kevin Colbert and head coach Mike Tomlin – did not speak or come near each other during the event. The media caught up with Rainey after the workouts were over. “I’m just being patient man, that’s all,” he said, according to the Palm Beach Post. “I’m just wanting my agent to give me that phone call. [...] I guess they probably wanted to teach everybody else a lesson or something [by cutting me].”

4 » The New York Jets were supposed to have cut quarterback Tim Tebow by the time NFL free agency opened on Tuesday at 4 p.m. Except now more than 24 hours has passed and Tebow remains on the team’s roster. Stemming from comments made by the team’s new general manager that indicated Tebow may very well remain on the team and compete for the quarterback job this season comes a story from the New York Daily News that quotes new offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg (father of Gators redshirt freshman quarterback Skyler Mornhinweg) saying he has already spoken with Tebow and believes he can contribute to the offense – if he remains on the team, of course. “We had a long discussion,” Mornhinweg said. “He’s got my thoughts on the situation and he has some thoughts as well. If he’s on this football team, which he is right now, then I would do it a certain way and try to utilize all of our players that can help us win a football game.”

“First of all, he would be taking reps at quarterback and then some of his other skills could certainly help a football team,”he continued. “What he did in Denver, that was something else. So, the man can play football. So, how do you utilize him would certainly be the key. So, he’s on our football team right now. It’s my duty and responsibility to have some thoughts on how he could help us win the next football game. So I have put an awful lot of thought into that. He certainly has some skill to do that. I will say. He’s got some quarterback skills. As a quarterback, the gut instincts are real important and he certainly has that…. Just talking in general [about] quarterbacks, the decision making is key as well as the accuracy and timing. He certainly has some of that. That’ll be interesting to see exactly where he’s at.”

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Minnesota trades WR Percy Harvin to Seattle

Posted by Adam Silverstein | Posted in Football | March 11, 2013
Comments » 1

After four tumultuous years playing for the Minnesota Vikings, former Florida Gators wide receiver Percy Harvin was traded on Monday to the Seattle Seahawks for a compensation package including the team’s No. 25 overall pick in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft and other draft selections.

The trade is contingent on Harvin passing Seattle’s physical and agreeing to a new multi-year contract with the Seahawks. The Vikings also received a 2013 seventh-round pick as well as a 2014 “mid-round pick.”

Harvin, Minnesota’s leading receiver in each of the last three seasons, is scheduled to earn just $2.755 million in the final year of his rookie contract and has made life difficult for the Vikings as of late over demands to be featured more in the offense and paid like one of the top receivers in the league.

He reportedly threatened to walk out on the team last offseason and has gotten into heated exchanges with former head coach Brad Childress and current head coach Leslie Frazier over his four years with Minnesota.

Harvin has missed 10 games in his NFL career including seven-straight to conclude the 2012 season. The injury issues he had with the Gators have continued with the Vikings as he suffered a string of violent migraine headaches in 2010 that are apparently now under control and severely injured his ankle last season.

Despite the red flags, Harvin remains a game-changing player who has scored 29 touchdowns (receiving, rushing, returning) in four seasons while averaging 11.8 yards per reception, 6.4 yards per rush and 27.8 yards per kick return.

Harvin was the consensus 2009 Offensive Rookie of the Year and was selected as both a Pro Bowler and All-Pro (as a specialist) following his rookie campaign. He also holds Minnesota’s single-season record for combined yardage (2,081) and the Vikings franchise record for career kickoff returns (five).

His 104-yard kickoff return in 2011 is the longest non-scoring play in NFL history and no player since Harvin’s rookie season of 2009 has returned more kickoffs for touchdowns.

The trade, which was first reported by FOX Sports’ Jay Glazer, is expected to be completed within 48 hours once Harvin passes his physical and signs a new contract.

Photo Credit: Reuters

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FOUR BITS: Harvin, Nelson, den Dekker, Moten

Posted by Adam Silverstein | Posted in Basketball, Football, Other | March 8, 2013
Comments » 9

1 » In a piece written Thursday focusing on the Minnesota Vikings and the team’s plans at wide receiver, Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports reported some interesting information about Percy Harvin. Cole takes a look at Harvin’s contract demands and reveals that the 2014 free agent is expecting to receive a deal closer to the $16.5 million per season paid to Detroit’s Calvin Johnson rather than the approximately $11 million being earned by guys like Tampa Bay’s Vincent Jackson and Kansas City’s Dwayne Bowe. “The Vikings fear that the strong-willed Harvin may play the absolute minimum required to get to free agency and that he’ll create such a stink that the last thing the Vikings will consider is franchising him,” Cole reports.

Why the concern? “Harvin threatened to walk out on the team last offseason after hearing that former Florida teammate Aaron Hernandez received a contract extension after only two years.” There is no doubt that Harvin is a top-tier talent – if he was not as injury-prone, an elite-level contract is not something he would need to fight to receive – but he is doing himself absolutely no favors from a professional standpoint with the attitude he has displayed since joining the NFL.

Read three more BITS of Florida Gators news…after the break!
Continue Reading » FOUR BITS: Harvin, Nelson, den Dekker, Moten

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FOUR BITS: SEC titles, Harvin, Tebow, Zunino

Posted by Adam Silverstein | Posted in Football, Other | February 22, 2013
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1 » Florida Gators swimmers brought home four league titles on Thursday during the third night of the 2013 SEC Swimming & Diving Championships, which are being held for the first time in College Station, TX. Junior Elizabeth Beisel started off the title wins by capturing the SEC Championship in the women’s 400-meter individual medley for the third-straight year. She broke the four-minute mark at 3:59.53, which is also a personal record and the best time in the nation this season. Also winning a title for the women’s team was freshman Natalie Hinds, who swam the 100-meter butterfly in 51.70 (also the top time in the country this season) to win her first SEC Championship. Junior Marcin Cieslak matched Beisel with his third-straight SEC title in a single event by winning the men’s 100-meter butterfly in 46.02, a season-best mark. Duplicating Hinds’s accomplishment for the men was freshman Pawel Werner, who swam the men’s 200-meter freestyle in 1:33.82 to win the SEC Championship.

At the close of action on Thursday, Florida (748.0 points) led 16-time defending champion Auburn (630.5) by 117.5 points. The Gators men’s team has won the most SEC team championships in league history (33) but has not brought home the top spot since 1993. On the women’s side, Florida (676.0) trails Georgia (790.0) by 114 points. UF’s women’s team has also won the most SEC team titles in league history (17) but has not come in first since 2009; UGA is looking to win its fourth-straight championship. Two days of competition remain with the event concluding Saturday night.

2 » Tracked down by a St. Paul Pioneer Press reporter at his home in Fleming Island, FL, Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Percy Harvin refused comment about his situation with the team. “I’ve got nothing to say about any of that,” he said. At the 2013 NFL Combine on Thursday, Minnesota general manager Rick Spielman reiterated that he has no plans to get rid of Harvin and expects him to be in training camp on time. “We have no intent to trade Percy Harvin,” he said. “Anything related to his contract … will all be kept internally.” This story continues to be interesting.

3 » The New York Jets contingent spoke with the media on Thursday and of course one of the highlights of their media availabilities was everyone tip-toeing around the subject of quarterback Tim Tebow. Head coach Rex Ryan noted that Tebow is “under contract to be a New York Jet, so we’ll see how things go in the offseason. But Tim is under contract.” New general manager John Idzik, who inherited Tebow on his roster, praised the player’s work ethic but did not speak in specifics about whether or not he would be with the team to compete going forward. “My view on Tim Tebow is he is a highly competitive athlete. Everywhere he’s been, he’s been a highly competitive athlete,” he said. “And what we do, we’re going to provide as much competition as we can on a daily basis, at every position, quarterback included, and we’ll see how that rolls out. I would think Tim would be game for that. He’s a competitor.”

4 » New Seattle Mariners catcher Mike Zunino, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2012 MLB Draft, has been competing with his future teammates in Peoria, AZ over the last few days and is looking every bit the player the Mariners hoped. Larry Stone of The Seattle Times caught up with Zunino this week and wrote that the player is quickly winning over other players and manager Eric Wedge. “He’s a complete player, very comfortable in his own skin for a young man,” Wedge said. “You can tell already he has a great respect for the game. You can tell already he’s a student of the game. I’m very impressed with the way he handles himself catching bullpens, just handling a pitching staff early on. Fundamentally, he’s been very impressive both from the offensive and defensive side.” To his credit, Zunino says he is in no rush to get to the majors. But if he continues to play the way he has over his last two college seasons, he will be there soon enough. “I’m going to do the best I can, put my work in every day, and try to be the best player I can be, and the best teammate I can be,” he said. “Eventually, wherever the chips may fall, that’s when I’ll make that next jump.”

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14 Gator Bites for Tuesday, February 19

Posted by Adam Silverstein | Posted in Basketball, Football, Other, Recruiting | February 19, 2013
Comments » 1

From time to time, OGGOA will come across a plethora of news and notes that we wish to share – too much to fit into one of our truncated BITS segments. When stories like these fall through the cracks, we catch and wrap them all up with Gator Bites.

» Rather than doubling down on disappointment while stuck playing in the state North Carolina, No. 2 Florida Gators women’s tennis (4-1) came from behind on Monday to pick up a huge victory over the No. 1 North Carolina Tar Heels (9-1) in Chapel Hill, NC. UNC, which took over for UF as the No. 1 team in the country last week, held a 2-0 advantage over its visitors after winning the doubles point and a singles match to start the contest. The Gators answered by rallying with four consecutive singles match victories to pick up the 4-2 win. First, junior Olivia Janowicz took down No. 79 Tessa Lyons 6-2, 6-1. Freshman Brianna Morgan then picked up a 6-1, 6-1 win over No. 122 Lauren McHale, leaving the match in the hands of Florida’s two best players. No. 4 senior Lauren Embree came through in the clutch once again with a 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 victory against No. 7 Gina Suarez-Malaguti, and No. 9 junior Sofie Oyen fought hard on court two to defeat No. 30 Zoe De Bruycker 3-6, 6-1, 6-3. UF’s loss on Sunday at No. 4 Duke was its first in over a year’s time. By taking down the Tar Heels on Monday, the Gators avoided falling in consecutive matches for the first time in three years.

» Former Florida guard Matt Walsh, who signed a deal with Spirou Charleroi of Belgium in August 2012, told OGGOA on Monday that his contract has been purchased by Brose Baskets of Bamberg, Germany. The three-time defending German champions play in the Euroleague and are hoping Walsh helps push them to a fourth-straight title.

» Despite multiple reports pointing to the contrary, Minnesota Vikings general manager Rick Spielman on Friday said he has “no intent” of trading wide receiver Percy Harvin, who is entering the final year of his rookie contract. Harvin raised concerns about Minnesota’s offense (and how he was not utilized much) prior to the 2012 season and reportedly got into an explosive verbal argument with head coach Leslie Frazier during the season. While it does look like he and the Vikings will split ways, multiple players have come out in his defense and expressed their desire to see him return to the team. The latest to do so is quarterback Christian Ponder, who said he “obviously” wants Harvin to return because “he’s a tremendous player” and “a heck of a part of this offense and this team in general.” Ponder told KFAN in Minneapolis, MN that he and Harvin have a good relationship and “spent some extra time together” working on their on-field chemistry during the last offseason.

Read 11 more bites of Florida Gators news…after the break!
Continue Reading » 14 Gator Bites for Tuesday, February 19

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FOUR BITS: Henry, Whitson, Harvin, Wambach

Posted by Adam Silverstein | Posted in Football, Other | February 14, 2013
Comments » 4

1 » The Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Wednesday announced that former Florida Gators punter Chas Henry has received a one-year contract. Henry, signed as an undrafted free agent by the Philadelphia Eagles before the 2011 season, remained the team’s starter heading into 2012 but was replaced at the start of the season with Mat McBriar. He tried out with other teams throughout the year but was not able to find a new job when all was said and done. In Tampa Bay, Henry will start out as training camp competition for incumbent starter Michael Koenen, who is signed through 2016. Henry averaged 44.0 yards per punt during his time with the Eagles; Koenen averaged 45.3 yards per punt during the 2012 season and also handles the Bucs’ kickoff duties.

2 » Florida junior right-handed pitcher Karsten Whitson, expected to enter the 2013 season as the team’s No. 2 starter, will be sidelined indefinitely with shoulder fatigue, the school announced. Whitson, who has missed significant time with multiple injuries during his sophomore season with the Gators, is a power pitcher with a mid-90s fastball and devastating slider. He went 8-0 with a 2.45 ERA in 2011 but pitched just 33.1 innings in 2012 and went 4-0 with a 3.51 ERA. His shoulder has long been an issue, however, and Baseball America reported on Wednesday that he met with Dr. James Andrews for a consultation. As of press time, the results of that meeting are unknown. Whitson originally joined Florida rather than signing a $2.1 million offer from the San Diego Padres, which selected him with the No. 9 overall pick in the 2010 MLB Draft. “We knew there was a possibility he might not pitch the first two weekends,” head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “We were kind of prepared for this, so it hasn’t really changed a whole lot in regards to this weekend.”

3 » As the 2013 NFL league season gets closer to starting (March 12), reports about wide receiver Percy Harvin and the Minnesota Vikings continue to swirl. Now that it is out in the open that Minnesota is almost definitely trading Harvin before the season begins, reports are noting Harvin is looking for a new contract similar to what top-tier wideouts Calvin Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald have received (eight years, $130-150 million with $50-60 million guaranteed) and will holdout from minicamp and training camp if he does not receive one. And while the Vikings are looking to trade Harvin due to a combination of cost and questionable off-the-field demeanor, running back Adrian Peterson – who won the league’s most valuable player award this past season – does not want the only other playmaker on his team going anywhere. “To be honest with you, I don’t know if we will or not. But me, individually, and giving you my opinion, I wouldn’t trade him for nothing,” he said on KFAN-FM in Minneapolis, MN. Harvin was garnering MVP consideration during the first half of the season and still led Minnesota in receptions (62) and receiving yards (677) despite playing just nine games (leaving the last one early after injuring his ankle).

4 » U.S. Women’s National Team captain and former Gators striker Abby Wambach played in her 200th international match on Wednesday, scoring a goal at 51’ and helping lead the United States past Scotland 3-1. Now the eighth American to play at least 200 games as a member of the USWNT, Wambach is also inching closer to former teammate Mia Hamm’s world-record international goals mark. Her shot into the net on Wednesday marked the 153rd of her career (63rd on a header), moving her within five goals of Hamm’s record of 158.

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