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

1 » New Orleans Saints defensive end Bobby McCray is the only former Florida Gators football player to make his way out of the 2010 NFL Playoffs and into Super Bowl XLIV in Miami, FL. McCray and his team will face the Indianapolis Colts and star quarterback Peyton Manning in the grandest stage of them all. Also in action Sunday were Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Percy Harvin (five receptions for 38 yards, four rushes for 15 yards and one fumble) and New York Jets cornerback Lito Sheppard (two tackles). McCray has been a big-name over the last few weeks, delivering powerful hits to both Arizona Cardinals QB Kurt Warner and Vikings QB Brett Favre.

2 » No. 11 Florida men’s tennis fell 5-2 to the No. 6 Baylor Bears on Sunday at the Baylor Tennis Center in Waco, TX. Senior Antoine Benneteau held his own in singles competition, though junior Alexandre Lacroix fell in three sets to Denes Lukacs 6-3, 3-6, 6-1. Lacroix and Benneteau, the No. 10-ranked doubles team in the country, continued their hot streak by winning their match 9-7. The Gators host the Furman Paladins on Jan. 30 at 10 a.m. in the first round of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex. The Georgia Tech yellow Jackets and Penn State Nittany Lions are also involved in the short tournament.

Tags: Alexandre Lacroix, Antoine Benneteau, Arizona Cardinals, Baylor Bears, Baylor Tennis Center, Bobby McCray, Brett Favre, Denes Lukacs, Indianapolis Colts, Kurt Warner, Lito Sheppard, Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints, New York Jets, NFL, Percy Harvin, Playoffs, Super Bowl XLIV, tennis

1 » Two-star dual-threat quarterback/athlete Tyler Murphy (Wethersfield, CT) is the newest member of the Florida Gators unanimously ranked No. 1 2010 recruiting class. Courted by QB coach Scot Loeffler and interim head coach Steve Addazio, Murphy took an official visit to Gainesville, FL, this weekend and committed on the spot. Murphy was previously committed to the Temple Owls, but as soon as the Gators offered him, it became apparent that he would end up in the Orange & Blue. “It’s been very exciting,” he told ‘Mark Wheeler of Rivals. “Just to know where everything falls into place and that all the hard work pays off. It’s very exciting and I’m very happy to be able to come down [to Florida].”

»» Rivals is also reporting that the Gators and 2010 three-star tight end commitment Michael McFarland (Tampa, FL) have agreed to have him grayshirt the 2010 season and enroll with the 2011 recruiting class. McFarland was reluctant at first, out of pride, but realized that this move would benefit him in the long run. Grayshirts usually wait until the second semester to enroll in school instead of in the fall. This move would open up an additional scholarship for Florida to fill before National Signing Day on Feb. 3.

2 » Florida women’s basketball and No. 8 tennis were in action on Sunday, both taking home victories. Basketball (11-9, 4-3 SEC) defeated the South Carolina Gamecocks (10-9, 3-4 SEC) 59-56 while tennis swept the North Texas Mean Green 7-0. Senior forward Sharielle Smith led the Gators with 11 points while freshman F Jennifer George grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.

Photo Credit: Mike Orazzi

Tags: grayshirt, Jennifer George, Michael McFarland, National Signing Day, North Texas Mean Green, Scot Loeffler, Sharielle Smith, South Carolina Gamecocks, Steve Addazio, Temple Owls, tennis, Tyler Murphy, women's basketball

1 » After losing its opening match, the No. 4 Florida Gators gymnastics team (2-1, 2-0 SEC) won its second straight contest of the season Friday. Florida traveled to face the No. 12 Kentucky Wildcats (3-2, 1-2 SEC) in Lexington, KY, and took home a 196.05-195.35 victory at Memorial Coliseum. Freshman sensation Ashanée Dickerson won her third-straight all-around competition with a total of 39.25. Overall, the Gators finished the day with at least a share of four of five event titles. Florida continues its streak of facing ranked SEC opponents when it hosts the No. 16 LSU Tigers on Jan. 29 at 7 p.m. for the fourth annual Gators Link to Pink meet in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center to raise awareness about breast cancer.

Learn about three more big Gators victories, injury updates on a football and basketball player and David Lee’s season-high night after the jump…
Continue Reading » FOUR BITS: Gators take home four wins Friday

Tags: Alexandre Lacroix, Antoine Benneteau, Ashanée Dickerson, Auburn Tigers, Central Florida Knights, Claudio Romano, Conor Dwyer, David Lee, Dee Finley, diving, gymnastics, Kenny Kadji, Kentucky Wildcats, Linder Stadium, Marc Rocafort, Memorial Coliseum, NBA, New York Knicks, Omar Pinzon, O’Connell Center, Ring Tennis Complex, swimming, tennis

**PLEASE NOTE: OGGOA is undergoing a server switch that began Friday night at 9 p.m. (EST). Should you have any errors, everything will be fixed and back to normal shortly. Thank you for your patience and for reading OGGOA!**

1 » Florida Gators basketball (11-5, 0-2 SEC) is looking to rebound from losing five of its last eight games as it takes on the LSU Tigers (9-7, 0-2 SEC) Saturday at 8 p.m. at home in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. The game will air live on FSN. Both teams are winless in Southeastern Conference action this season, and the Gators have not defeated the Tigers since March 11, 2006. Florida trails the all-time series 60-37.

2 » Two things must happen for the Gators to get back to prominence, the team must regain its swagger and redshirt junior center Vernon Macklin needs to stay out of foul trouble. If this was not obvious enough from watching the team play its last two games, both The Gainesville Sun and The Florida Times-Union are happy to break it down for you. “He’s just got to be smarter with what plays he puts himself into and what plays he doesn’t,” head coach Billy Donovan said. The Florida coach also expanded on some of the team’s recent difficulties to the Miami Herald‘s Joseph Goodman. “The loss of eight really, really good players over the last three years has probably been more of an impact on us,” Donovan said. “I think our team would look a little bit different with Nick out there right now; our team last year would have looked a little bit different even with Maurice out there.” Even so, Donovan is not opposed to bringing in one-and-done players in the future to give the team enough talent to make the March Madness run it so desperately has been waiting for since back-to-back National Championships. Donovan is also trying to give the team a much-needed wake-up call.

Four BITS on gymnastics, Tim Tebow and other Gators sports after the jump!
Continue Reading » SIX BITS: LSU, Macklin, gym, NCAA honors, Tebow

Tags: Arkansas Razorbacks, Billy Donovan, Deb Richard, diving, Focus on the Family, golf, gymnastics, LSU Tigers, March Madness, NCAA Honors Celebration, NCAA Silver Anniversary Award, NCAA Top VIII Award, O'Connell Center, Oklahoma Sooners, Pam Tebow, SEC, Super Bowl, swimming, tennis, Tim Tebow, track & field, Vernon Macklin

Florida Gators senior quarterback Tim Tebow has been named the 2009 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American® of the Year winner for the second year in a row. The first student-athlete to win the award for University Division Football in two consecutive years, Tebow’s 3.7 grade point average and accomplishments on the football field earned him this honor.

Tebow became the first Florida student-athlete to earn first-team Academic All-America® honors in three consecutive years and the first Southeastern Conference football player to be chosen to the first team on three straight occasions. In his college career, he has also won the Heisman Trophy (2007), Davey O’Brien Award (2007) and Maxwell Award (2007, 2008). No other Gators were named to the team, though tight end Colin Peek (Alabama) also represented the SEC.

In other news… The University of Florida tennis program signed seven commitments on Tuesday with five going to the men’s team and two nationally-ranked players joining the women. Five-star recruits Michael Alford (Tampa, FL) and Andrew Butz (Vero Beach, FL) signed National Letters of Intent to join the team in fall 2010 while Sekou Bangoura, Jr. (Bradenton, FL), Nassim Slilam (Paris, France) and Bob Van Overbeek (Boca Raton, FL) will compete with the team in the spring of 2010.

For the women, Alexandra Cercone (Seminole, FL) and Olivia Janowicz (Palm Bay, FL) also signed National Letters of Intent for the 2010-11 season. Cercone and Janowicz are the No. 4 and 24 recruits in the country, according to tennisrecruiting.net.

Tags: Academic All-America, Alex Cercone, Andrew Butz, Davey O'Brien Award, Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award, Michael Alford, Olivia Janowicz, SEC, tennis, Tim Tebow, University of Florida

Florida Gators basketball (3-0) got back on track Friday night, using a team-high 23 points from freshman guard Kenny Boynton to defeat the Troy Trojans (2-1) 80-50 in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. After starting 0-for-5 from the floor and finishing the last game 0-10, sophomore point guard Erving Walker rebounded with 13 points in the second half along with three assists and six rebounds. Boynton also added four assists and six rebounds of his own.

Other double-digit scorers for the Gators included forwards junior Chandler Parsons and senior Dan Werner, who contributed 15 and 12, respectively. Parsons led Florida with seven rebounds while Werner found his touch, going 4-for-5 from three-point range.

Junior F Alex Tyus contributed two blocks and nine points but left the game with a sprained right ankle as time ticked away in the second half. “I am concerned about Tyus’ ankle,” head coach Billy Donovan said after the game. “I don’t know where that’s at.”

The Gators remain home for their next game against the in-state rival Florida State Seminoles. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 24 at the O’Connell Center. The game will air live on Sun Sports – check your local listings.

In other news… No. 13/13 Florida volleyball (20-5, 14-4 SEC) dropped a 3-1 heartbreaker (22-25, 25-23, 25-25, 25-22) to the Tennessee Volunteers (21-7, 14-4 SEC) on the road Friday. Sophomore right-side/setter Kelly Murphy recorded her nation-leading ninth triple-double of the season and the 15th of her career, while sophomore outside hitter Kristy Jaeckel contributed her eighth double-double of the year. Tennessee’s Nikki Fowler turned in a match-high 19 kills and was one of four Lady Vols to reach double figures in the victory. The Gators return to action on Sunday against the No. 10 Kentucky Wildcats in Lexington, KY. Opening serve is set for 2 p.m.

Tags: Alex Tyus, Billy Donovan, Chandler Parsons, Dan Werner, Erving Walker, Kelly Murphy, Kenny Boynton, Kristy Jaeckel, Nikki Fowler, Tennessee Volunteers, tennis, Troy Trojans, volleyball

1 » Florida Gators head basketball coach Billy Donovan is doing his best to keep the pressure off five-star freshman guard Kenny Boynton. “He’s one guy on the team and I hope that our other players want to step up and provide more for him,” Donovan said. “But we are not going into this putting a lot of emphasis on him to make us productive. He’s going to be a good player here, but I think that the expectation that he’s going to be this total impact player is unfair to him.” Boynton has already been impressive in Florida’s two exhibition games and will certainly play a large role when the Gators open the 2009-10 season on Sunday.

2 » OGGOA makes it a point to not direct you to many of Orlando Sentinel columnist Mike Bianchi’s columns. Why? Well, our mothers always told us that if you do not have something nice to say, don’t say anything. That being said, when he decides to write a column proclaiming loudly that South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Steve Spurrier is “still a greater Gator” than head coach Urban Meyer, we feel like it is something you should check out and decide for yourself.

3 » On Wednesday, Spurrier told the media that injured defensive end Cliff Matthews, who had previously been ruled out with a shoulder injury, could return to face Florida on Saturday. Matthews ran around at practice on Monday and has been cleared by doctors, yet coaches are still calling him a game-time decision. “Even if he does play, [defensive coordinator Ellis] Johnson said there will be small, specialized packages for him. In other words, don’t expect a fully healthy, ready-to-go Matthews,” The Post and Courier reported Friday.

Three more BITS on Henry and a bunch of new UF commitments after the jump…
Continue Reading » SIX BITS: Donovan on Boynton. Spurrier > Meyer? Johnson to play? Henry honored. More commits.

Tags: Alaina Johnson, Andre Butz, baseball, Billy Donovan, Brittney Noble, Chas Henry, Cliff Matthews, Ellis Johnson, gymnastics, Jonathon Crawford, Kenny Boynton, Kytra Hunter, Liz Green, MacKenzie Caquatto, Marisa King, Ray Guy Award, Rhonda Faehn, South Carolina Gamecocks, Steve Spurrier, tennis, University of Florida, Urban Meyer