Covering the Florida Gators as close as I do every day, I sometimes find the need to vent regarding some of the coverage, news, opinions and general sentiments surrounding the program. In those instances, OGGOA presents CHOMPING On:

Redemption.

When it comes to sports, that word is one of the most highly sought after experiences while simultaneously being one of the most rarely achieved.

Men like Scott Norwood (Buffalo Bills, Super Bowl XXV), Bill Buckner (Boston Red Sox, 1986 World Series) and Chris Webber (Michigan Wolverines (1993 NCAA Championship) only dream about having the opportunity to right their wrongs, while few others like Alex Rodriguez (New York Yankees, 2009 MLB postseason) have been able to overcome obstacles and achieve some form of salvation.

Florida Gators senior forward Dan Werner, in the last home game of his career on Tuesday, has a chance to do just that. No, Werner is not going to score a career-high in points (20), and he is not likely to have the ball in his hands for a game-winning shot (again), but he can indeed turn his legacy around with one effort-filled performance.

Read the rest of CHOMPING On: Dan Werner’s swan song…after the jump!
Continue Reading » CHOMPING On: Dan Werner’s swan song

Tags: Billy Donovan, Dan Werner, National Championship, NCAA Tournament, NIT, SEC, Senior Day, Stephen C. O’Connell Center, Vanderbilt Commodores

1 » No. 3 Florida Gators women’s track and field won the 2010 Southeastern Conference Indoor Championship Sunday, its first since the 2004 season. Scoring 110 total points, the team was led by junior Charlotte Browning and senior Shara Proctor, who were named co-winners of the Cliff Harper Trophy for the SEC’s high-points scorer. The men’s team finished second at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, AR, as the home team Arkansas Razorbacks beat them out for the men’s crown 123-119. Both the women’s and men’s teams also captured numerous individual SEC titles over the weekend.

2 » No. 3/11 Gators softball (12-1) swept the Northwestern State Lady Demons (8-5) 15-0, 5-0 and 10-1 over the weekend at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium in Gainesville, FL. Sophomore outfielder Michelle Moultrie powered Florida’s offense by going 5-8 (.625) with a double, triple, home run and six RBI, while junior OF Kelsey Bruder joined her with similar 5-8 performance for four runs, two homers, six RBI and 11 total bases. Junior pitcher Stephanie Brombacher (10-1) won each game of the series, striking out a combined 13 and only allowing three walks.

Read four more BITS on gymnastics, lacrosse, men’s tennis and Senior Day…
Continue Reading » SIX BITS: SEC titles, softball sweep, gymnastics

Tags: Alabama Crimson Tide, Alexandre Lacroix, Antoine Benneteau, Arkansas Razorbacks, Ashanée Dickerson, Auburn Tigers, Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum, Brittany Dashiell, Charlotte Browning, Cliff Harper Trophy, field, gymnastics, Illinois Illini, Jennifer George, Jennifer Mossor, Kelsey Bruder, lacrosse, Linder Stadium, Lonnika Thompson, Michelle Moultrie, North Carolina Tar Heels, Northwestern State Lady Demons, Pressly Stadium, Randal Tyson Track Center, Ring Tennis Complex, SEC, SEC Championship, Senior Day, Shara Proctor, Sharielle Smith, softball, Steffi Sorensen, Stephanie Brombacher, Susan Yenser, tennis, track, women's basketball

1 » Saturday’s Florida Gators vs. Florida State Seminoles game carries a lot of implications. The Gators’ undefeated season and National Championship hopes are on the line. Senior quarterback Tim Tebow and more than a dozen of his teammates will be playing their last game in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Senior Day. Recruits will be in attendance from all across the country to watch both teams play. Above all else, it is the in-state rivalry and familiarity that fuels the passion behind this game. “It’s not solely that if you beat them it makes your season a success,” Tebow said, “but it helps but a smile on your face, that’s for sure.” Senior linebacker Ryan Stamper has even more motivation. “I actually have three high school teammates that play for Florida State,” Stamper said. “So it’s like playing against your friends. You really want to beat them. It’s like a love-hate thing.” Senior wide receiver David Nelson concurs. “Every time you talk to fans, every time you talk to people associated with this program, the one team they really talk about is Florida State,” Nelson said. “It’s bragging rights for a whole year, it helps your recruiting.” The Gators have owned these bragging rights for five straight years, winning its games against the Seminoles by a combined 90-27 in that time span.

2 » If Florida State plans to take down Florida on Saturday, stopping Tebow will be the first thing the defense has to do. Think doing it during the game is tough? FSU has had problems finding someone to replicate Tebow on its scout team for practices leading up to the game. “I guess we can try to find somebody,” safety Jamie Robinson said earlier in the week. “But we haven’t had anybody in the past try to get us a Tim Tebow look.”

Don’t forget: » Florida basketball (4-0) takes on the No. 2/2 Michigan State Spartans (4-0) in the first game of the 2009 Legends Classic Friday night at 8 p.m. OGGOA will have a game story up after the contest is over, though no live coverage will be offered tonight as I am attending a wedding rehearsal dinner. Weak, I know.

Tags: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, David Nelson, Florida State Seminoles, Jamie Robinson, National Championship, Ryan Stamper, Senior Day, Tim Tebow

1 » Speculation surrounded Florida Gators head coach Urban Meyer’s future this week, forcing him to (for the third time in six months) declare he has no intention of coaching the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and plans to remain in Gainesville, FL. Would that declaration stop the talk of Meyer leaving? Of course not. Now we have Mike Freeman of CBSSports.com telling Gators fans that Meyer’s next destination will be the NFL and the Dallas Cowboys – as soon as next year. While we here at OGGOA do believe the NFL is in Meyer’s future, we see him as the future successor to New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick…half a decade from now.

2 » While on the subject of coaching, plenty is being said about Florida State Seminoles head coach Bobby Bowden this week. One article focuses on the fact that Saturday’s game will probably be Bowden’s last trip to The Swamp. “[I’ve thought about it] a little bit,” Bowden said. “Not enough to distract me. But I’ve thought about it, yeah. Thought about how this might even be the last time I’m ever in Gainesville.” Another explains how Bowden never had a chance in recruiting Florida senior quarterback Tim Tebow. “We never had a chance,” he said. “Mom and dad went there, and I remember Bob Tebow saying that since Tim was little, that he wanted to play at Florida. To me, it was cut and dried.”

3 » With Tebow closing out his career, there are four years of memories and accomplishments to look back on. The Palm Beach Post writes that Tebow will leave a strong impression on Gator Nation and the state of Florida long after he has graduated. Everyone from teammates, coaches, teachers and school officials to analysts, ministers, mothers and even Governor Charlie Christ seems to agree. For a guy’s whose career is already unparalleled, Tebow will have success in life even if it is not in the NFL.

4 » Following up on our BIT from Thursday about the massive success of the 2006 recruiting class, the Gainesville Sun has gone as far as to declare it “the greatest recruiting class in school history – and one of the greatest in the history of college football.” One member of that class is redshirt junior offensive lineman Corey Hobbs, a four-star recruit who has only seen action in 11 games in his Florida career. The Orlando Sentinel is reporting Hobbs has decided to quit the football team following this season. Hobbs, who will be honored on Senior Day along with some of his other teammates, has decided to begin law school next semester.

Tags: Bill Belichick, Bobby Bowden, Corey Hobbs, Dallas Cowboys, Florida State Seminoles, New England Patriots, NFL, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Senior Day, The Swamp, Tim Tebow, University of Florida, Urban Meyer

As if you did not know by now, Florida Gators senior quarterback Tim Tebow will be playing his last home game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Saturday against the Florida State Seminoles. While a common theme among non-Gators fans is that the media is obsessed with Tebow, it appears that the only time they really come out of the woodwork to praise him is when a momentous event occurs – be that his final home game, winning the Heisman Trophy or even the concussion he suffered earlier this season against the Kentucky Wildcats.

Tony Barnhart, the self-proclaimed “Mr. College Football” who writes for both the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and CBS Sports, took his sweet time in realizing that the sporting world has been watching a remarkable athlete, teammate, leader and individual every Saturday during football season for four years. “All I know is that Tim Tebow has three games left as a college football player,” Barnhart wrote. “And there may come a day when we call him the greatest player of all. So just enjoy it.”

Things are broken down on a more simple level by Chris Low of ESPN. “Bill Parcells used to always say that you are what your record says you are,” Low wrote in his blog on Tuesday. “Tebow’s record says that he’s a winner. As legacies go, I can’t imagine a better one.” Low’s post is a must-read for any Tebow fan or college football fan questioning why he gets so much acclaim.

As to how Tebow will be honored in his home finale, it will not be anything special. “Obviously Tim Tebow is an icon, but our hope is that fans will salute this class as a whole,” University of Florida associate athletic director Mike Hill said. “Tim would not want that. This is about Senior Day. Not Tim Tebow day. Gators fans are pretty savvy when it comes to football, they know what this group has accomplished. They will make all seniors know how much they love what they’ve done as Gators.”

While that is true, UF has still decided to extend the Senior Day festivities by two minutes “with the belief that some ovations will be longer than usual,” Hill said. If you think The Swamp is loud on fourth down during a tied game, just wait until you hear the crowd when Tebow emerges from the tunnel.

Tags: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Florida State Seminoles, Mike Hill, Senior Day, The Swamp, Tim Tebow

With Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Charlie Weis on the hot seat and set to be fired any day now, Florida Gators head coach Urban Meyer has once again been shrouded in speculation about his future. For the third time in the last six months, Meyer took the time to refute any rumors about his interest in the Notre Dame job.

“I’ll dispel those rumors right now,” Meyer said during his Monday afternoon press conference. “I’m going to be the coach at Florida for as long as they’ll have me. We’ll make that clear.”

Prior to Meyer speaking, senior quarterback Tim Tebow was at the podium and asked a similar question about Meyer’s future. “I don’t think that’s anything he’ll do now, I think he’s enjoying his time here,” he said. “He loves working for [athletic director] Mr. [Jeremy] Foley. He loves being here at the University of Florida. He loves his players and I don’t think he wants to go to a place where he has to start fresh and start new. I don’t think he wants to do that. He enjoys being here. It’s the best place in football. I don’t know why he would leave. He’s enjoying it.”

Press Conference Notes:
- Redshirt sophomore back-up QB John Brantley was named Offensive Player of the Week for his three touchdown performance against the FIU Golden Panthers.

- Michael Guilford, a walk-on defensive back/quarterback for the Gators who was killed in a motorcycle accident in 2007, will be honored with his senior class next Saturday in The Swamp on Senior Day. “He’s got a terrific family, and we’ll just try to do the best we can to make that family feel at peace with what he did here, because he was a phenomenal young man and a phenomenal member of this team,” Meyer said.

- As he has been in the past, Meyer was emotional when discussing the Gators’ senior class, pausing multiple times during the press conference to compose himself and fight back tears when talking about the players.

- Meyer also mentioned that he believes Tebow has the intelligence and ability to coach Florida later in his football career.

OGGOA will have more news and notes for you later.

Tags: Charlie Weis, Florida International Golden Panthers, John Brantley, Michael Guilford, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Senior Day, The Swamp, Tim Tebow, Urban Meyer