1 » According to The Gainesville Sun’s Pat Dooley, Florida Gators defensive coordinator Dan Quinn interviewed for but turned down the same position with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Quinn, who has been at Florida for just one season, was a NFL assistant with four different teams from 2001-10.

2 » The 2011-12 season may now be in the books but that does not mean Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow‘s name is out of the news. Tebow, who sat down for a 30-minute interview with ESPN’s Hannah Storm last week, will be featured on ESPN2 in “SportsCenter Special: Face to Face with Tim Tebow” on Tuesday, Feb. 7 at 10:30 p.m. Tebow’s recent ESPN rounds included an interview with Scott Van Pelt and Ryen Russillo, which you can view below.

Four more BITS on Crowder, Demps, the Oh Fours and Wambach after the break!
Continue Reading » SIX BITS: Quinn, Tebow, Crowder, Demps, Green’s new team, Brewer’s dad, Wambach’s idea

Tags: Abby Wambach, Atlanta Falcons, Channing Crowder, Corey Brewer, Dan Quinn, Denver Broncos, Denver Nuggets, Jeff Demps, Miami Dolphins, Mike Holloway, Mike Peterson, MLS, NBA, NCAA, NCAA Indoor Championships, NFL, Olympics, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Taurean Green, Tim Tebow, Tofaş, Virginia Tech Elite Meet, World Cup, WPS

For as much as the Florida Gators were in the news off the field in 2011 (check out Friday’s post), the Gator Nation was making plenty of headlines on it as well. From breathtaking moments, game-changing and game-winning plays to winning championships and setting world records, Florida accomplished some unique athletic feats in 2011. Below are OGGOA‘s Top 11 On the Field Moments of the Year.

11 » JOHNSON, BRANTLEY, KITCHENS SUFFER SCARY INJURIES
Plenty of Florida student-athletes suffered injuries in 2011 but three in particular caused fans to gasp and remain worried about the future of said player. Participating in the semifinals of the 2011 SEC Tournament, Gators baseball wound up dropping a close game 4-3 to Georgia, a loss that forced an elimination game which Florida would later win. However, UF sophomore right-handed pitcher Brian Johnson was taken off a stretcher in the top of the first inning after giving up two earned runs and accidentally being beaned in the back of the head with the baseball by sophomore catcher Mike Zunino. Trying to pick off a runner stealing second, Zunino got his leg tangled with the batter, tripped and flung the ball into the head of a crouching Johnson. He was quickly stabilized, brought to the hospital and deemed responsive though he had a massive headache and was diagnosed with a minor three concussion (no skull fractures or bleeding). Johnson missed the entire Gainesville Regional but returned to action in the Super Regional after being sidelined for more than two weeks.

Redshirt senior quarterback John Brantley was in the middle of playing the best game of his collegiate career (despite throwing a costly pick-six) when he went down with an ugly lower leg injury at the end of the first half against Alabama. Brantley had thrown a pretty 65-yard touchdown pass to redshirt sophomore wide receiver Andre Debose on the first play of the game and was in the middle of driving Florida in for another score before being sacked twice and having his lower leg contorted the second time. Brantley was nearly immediately ruled out of the team’s next game against powerhouse LSU with a high-ankle sprain, and UF was forced to start a true freshman who had not even taken a snap in the team’s first five games in consecutive road contests against LSU and Auburn. Needless to say, the Gators lost both of those contests.

Brantley was never the same after the injury. He nearly helped Florida beat Georgia but was pretty much immobilized in the pocket and threw three interceptions in the team’s first five possessions against Florida State before being knocked out of the game with a head injury that was equally painful to watch. However, that was not the Gators’ only major injury in that game. Perhaps the scariest incident of the year came on kickoff coverage when sophomore linebacker Darrin Kitchens was hit hard from his blindside and laid motionless on the field while trainers attended to him. To this day Kitchens does not remember anything about being hit. Lucky for him, he was cleared that evening with “just” a concussion, released from the hospital and allowed to return to practice with the team just before Christmas. He is expected to play in the 2012 Gator Bowl.

10 » LACROSSE WINS FIRST CONFERENCE TITLE, REACHES ELITE EIGHT

The Florida lacrosse program has been making history since the day it signed the nation’s No. 1 ranked recruiting class prior to the team’s inaugural season in 2010. The Gators were a young but talented group and won over the school even if falling short of some of their goals one year ago. Florida took the next step in 2011, ending the regular season with an 11-0 record at home and on a 13-game winning streak. The Gators capped their stellar regular season by defeating Northwestern for the 2011 ALC Championship just 419 days after the team played its first game in school history. Florida would fall to Northwestern just over three weeks later in the finals of the 2011 ALC Tournament, splitting the season’s conference title down the middle, but took home a number of awards from the league. Sophomore midfielder Kitty Cullen won Player of the Year honors while head coach Amanda O’Leary was named Coach of the Year in just her second season. Two more players were All-ALC first team selections and three others earned spots on the second team. The ladies made it all the way to the Elite Eight of the 2011 NCAA Tournament as well before being taken down 13-9 by Duke, their only loss at home on the season. The Gators were the first program in the history of the sport to earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament in only their second year of existence and defeated some of the top teams in the country on the way to an unforgettable season that sets Florida up as a favorite heading into 2012.

Continue Reading » Top 11 for 2011: On the Field Moments of the Year

Tags: Abby Wambach, Ahmad Black, ALC, ALC Championship, ALC Tournament, Alex Tyus, All-ALC, All-Defensive, All-Freshman, All-SEC, baseball, Billy Donovan, Brian Johnson, Chandler Parsons, Christian Taylor, Coach of the Year, College World Series, Daniel Pigott, Darrin Kitchens, Denver Broncos, Dumisane Hlaselo, Erving Walker, ESPY, field, Gainesville Regional, Gator Bowl, Gray Horn, Heather Mitts, Heisman Trophy, Ian Lockwood, Jeff Demps, John Brantley, Kelsey Bruder, Kenny Boynton, lacrosse, Lauren Embree, Marrit Boonstra, Miami Dolphins, Mike Zunino, Most Valuable Player, MVP, NCAA, NCAA Indoor Championship, NCAA Tournament, NFL, Olivia Janowicz, Outback Bowl, Player of the Year, Ryan Lochte, SEC, SEC Championship, SEC Tournament, Shands Hospital, soccer, softball, Stephanie Brombacher, Sun Life Stadium, Super Regional, tennis, Tim Tebow, Tim Walton, track, Urban Meyer, USA, USA Swimming, Vernon Macklin, Women's College World Series, World Cup

Former Florida Gators striker Abby Wambach, who captained and led the U.S. Women’s National Team to exhilarating victories and a second-place finish in the 2011 Women’s World Cup over the summer in Germany, has been named the 2011 Female Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press.

Wambach dominated the balloting, receiving 65 of 214 first-place votes, and became the first individual soccer player in the country’s history to win the award.

She scored four goals for the United States in the World Cup, leading the Americans to the final match where they eventually lost to Japan on penalty kicks. Wambach received the Silver Ball and Bronze Boot awards by FIFA for her efforts during the event.

In addition to her soccer awards, she was also named Sportswoman of the Year by the Women’s Sports Foundation in October and was announced in September as one of eight former letter winners who will be inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as part of the 2012 class. She was also a late entry and eventual winner of the ESPY award for Best Play in July.

Wambach’s heroic efforts over the summer included a game-tying goal two minutes into injury time during extra time against Brazil in the quarterfinals, what became a game-winning goal against France in the semifinals, and a near game-winning goal 14 minutes into extra time against Japan in the finals.

Photo Credit: Martin Meissner/Associated Press

Tags: Abby Wambach, Athlete of the Year, ESPY, FIFA, Hall of Fame, soccer, United States, University of Florida, World Cup

1 » Former Florida Gators student-athlete Ryan Lochte, a six-time Olympic medalist who is arguably the best male swimmer in the United States, received Kelly Anderson’s nomination for Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year award, which will be announced by the publication on Dec. 6. “Lochte may soon leave a mark on the sport that’s far more permanent than fading footprints on the pool deck,” Anderson wrote about her nomination. Lochte is the second former Florida athlete to receive a nomination for Sportsman of the Year. Former Gators striker Abby Wambach, the leader of the U.S. in the 2011 Women’s World Cup was touted by SI’s Chris Mahr on Nov. 1.

2 » Former Florida forward Udonis Haslem, one of two ex-Gators on the Miami Heat last season, told reporters Thursday that teammate guard Mike Miller had hernia surgery a few days ago and will miss at least two months of action. “I know Mike. He’s a strong guy, he’s going to stay positive and he’s going to get back as soon as he can,” Haslem said, according to the Associated Press. “The key with Mike is, we’ve got to fight him not to get back too fast. He’s going to want to be out there. He’s going to want to play. He’s got to just pace himself and get healthy.” Miller, who was supposed to be a key part of Miami’s team but only saw action in 41 regular season games last season due to a number of injuries, may have sealed his fate with the Heat. He could be a victim of the NBA’s new amnesty clause, which allows each team to waive one player and not have his contract count against their salary cap.

Click to expand and read two more BITS on Tebow and Cooper.

Tags: Abby Wambach, Denver Broncos, John Fox, Miami Heat, Mike Miller, NBA, NFL, Philadelphia Eagles, Riley Cooper, Ryan Lochte, soccer, swimming, Tim Tebow, Udonis Haslem, World Cup

1 » Former Florida Gators striker Abby Wambach, who served as captain of the U.S. Women’s National Team that competed for the 2011 World Cup this summer in Germany, was named Sportswoman of the Year this week by the Women’s Sports Foundation. Wambach scored four goals for the United States in the World Cup and led the Americans all the way to the final match where they eventually lost to Japan on penalty kicks. She was awarded the Silver Ball and Bronze Boot awards by FIFA for her efforts over the course of the event.

2 » With the immense amount of coverage Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow has received this week, some appear to believe that he will be starting his first career NFL game on Sunday. That would be incorrect. Tebow actually started the final three games of the 2010 season and led Denver to a 1-2 record including a come-from-behind victory and near come-from-behind win in the final two contests. Stepping on the field against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, Tebow will actually be making his fourth career start, though this one is without a coaching change and with the season still very young.

3 » The hype may be surrounding Tebow on Sunday, but Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Earnest Graham is probably the bigger story. Graham, who has not rushed for 100 yards in a season since 2008, accomplished that feat last week filling in as the team’s starter for the injured LeGarrette Blount. After serving as a reserve rusher for Tampa Bay from 2004-06, Graham became the team’s primary starter from 2007-08 when he ran the ball a combined 354 times for 1,461 yards and 10 touchdowns. He has returned to a backup role since but continued to be productive carrying the ball; this year he’s averaging 5.5 yards per carry – the best mark of his career.

4 » Florida is looking to the junior college ranks for some help up front, targeting three linemen from the state of Mississippi according to the Orlando Sentinel’s Chris Hays. Their primary target, he reports, is East Mississippi Community College defensive tackle Brandon Moore, though they are also looking at DT Damien Jacobs and Northwest Mississippi Community College offensive tackleDonald Dawkins. With the other two players already committed to Tennessee and Oklahoma State, respectively, Moore is undecided and is looking to make his choice after this season is over. “I’ve had interest in Florida since high school,” Moore told the Sentinel. “Right now I’m just focused on getting my schoolwork right and this football season. We’re 7-0 and we want to keep that going.”

Tags: Abby Wambach, Brandon Moore, Denver Broncos, Earnest Graham, FIFA, Miami Dolphins, NFL, soccer, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tim Tebow, United States, World Cup

From time to time, OGGOA will come across a plethora of news and notes that we wish to share with our readers – too much to fit into one of our truncated BITS segments. In these instances, we present a special post: Gator Bites. Enjoy.

» With the NFL lockout now in the books, the Florida Gators four selections in the 2011 NFL Draft will be reporting to work for the first time on Thursday. Miami Dolphins center Mike Pouncey (first round, No. 15), Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman Marcus Gilbert (second round, No. 63), Tampa Bay Buccaneers strong safety Ahmad Black (fifth round, No. 151 and Washington Redskins guard Maurice Hurt (seventh round, No. 217 are all on teams who will be eligible to workout immediately.

» While that foursome is ready and raring to go, Florida also has a number of undrafted free agents hoping to be picked up by teams looking to supplement their roster. Among those available are defensive linemen Terron Sanders and Justin Trattou, running back Emmanuel Moody and wide receiver Carl Moore. OGGOA will update you if and when these players are picked up by teams.

» The WNBA held its 2011 All-Star game over the weekend and also announced its Top 15 Players of All Time at the event. Though she was nominated and up for selection to the list, former Gators forward DeLisha Milton-Jones was not picked by fans for the honor. The six-time champion (two Olympic gold medals, two WNBA titles, two Euroleague titles) is currently averaging 12.5 points and 5.1 rebounds in 26.6 minutes per game with the Los Angeles Sparks.

There are 11 more Gator Bites including updates on Calathes, UF-FSU, Beal, Alvarez, Wambach, LeCount, ultimate Frisbee and Bostic…after the break!
Continue Reading » Eleven Gator Bites for Monday, July 25th

Tags: Abby Wambach, Ahmad Black, Billy Donovan, Brad Beal, Brodie Smith, Carl Moore, Carlos Alvarez, Cory McGee, Dan Cross, DeLisha Milton-Jones, Draft, Ebony Eutsey, Eddie Lovett, Emmanuel Moody, FIBA, FiBA European Championship, field, Florida State Seminoles, Hall of Fame, Jimbo Fisher, John Reaves, Jon Bostic, Justin Trattou, Los Angeles Sparks, magicJack, Marcus Gilbert, Maurice Hurt, Miami Dolphins, Mike Pouncey, Minnesota Vikings, NFL, Nick Calathes, Panathinaikos, Pittsburgh Steelers, soccer, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Terron Sanders, Terry LeCount, track, ultimate Frisbee, Will Yeguete, WNBA, women's basketball, World Cup, WPS, Wsahington Redskins

Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow and United States striker Abby Wambach – two former Florida Gators – were featured prominently on the air Tuesday, with the former’s ESPN/Make-A-Wish Foundation segment and the latter’s guest spot on the Late Show with David Letterman as their primary appearances.

My Wish: Tim Tebow:

Wambach, alongside goalkeeper Hope Solo, on Letterman:

Wambach on ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike in the Morning: Listen

Earlier in the day, Wambach and teammate Lauren Cheney stopped by the Early Show for an interview. CBS has decided not to post it online but instead provided the following quotes from the appearance:

Wambach on the fans: “The outpouring of support that we’ve gotten here since we’ve gotten home to the States has been unbelievable. Times Square, I mean I went for a walk last night, and I must have gotten stopped 100 times. Just congratulating us. People appreciate what we did. Hopefully, we inspired a country. The Olympics are just around the corner. Hopefully, we can bring home that gold.”

Wambach on not bringing home the World Cup: “This country was so supportive. We got so many great e-mails, text messages. Obviously, the people came out and supported us through this whole thing. We’re just so sorry not to have brought home the World Cup. But you know, we do a lot of things over there. We inspired people, and I think in the end those are the positives that we’re going to really take away from this.”

Tags: Abby Wambach, Denver Broncos, Hope Solo, Lauren Cheney, NFL, soccer, Tim Tebow, USA, USA Soccer, World Cup

It nearly happened again.

For the third time in as many matches, former Florida Gators striker Abby Wambach appeared to be the savior for the 2011 U.S. Women’s National Team, heading in a goal 14 minutes into extra time to give her squad a 2-1 lead. Unfortunately, for the second time in the match, the United States squandered its lead, allowed their opponent to score an equalizer and eventually fell 3-1 in a highly-contested penalty kick finish, losing the 2011 Women’s World Cup to Japan on Sunday in Germany.

After a first half in which the USA squandered a number of scoring chances, a beautiful floating pass downfield from Megan Rapinoe to 22-year-old striker Alex Morgan at 69’ put the Americans on the board. The U.S. began playing defensively from that point forward but, just minutes later, the Japanese took advantage of poor defensive play in front of the net and scored an equalizer at 81’.

Heading into extra time, the United States got aggressive once again. Wambach took advantage of a brilliant cross and headed it into the net at 104’, giving the Americans a 2-1 lead with just over 15 minutes of regulation to play.

The second half of extra time began with the USA once again just looking to hold on, but the Japanese would have none of it, scoring just three minutes before the end of extra time to force a penalty kick finish.

The United States missed its first three penalty kicks; the first and third were blocked while the third sailed over the crossbar. Japan’s 2-0 lead was reduced briefly as Wambach struck one into the net, but a Japanese goal on the next try ended the Americans’ dream.

Should the United States have won, they would have captured a world-leading third Women’s World Cup title. The USA, which previously won in 1991 and 1999, lost in the World Cup finals for the first time in team history.

American goalkeeper Hope Solo went home with the Golden Glove Award, while Wambach was named both the Bronze Boot and Silver Ball Award winner.

Tags: Abby Wambach, Alex Morgan, Hope Solo, Megan Rapinoe, USA, USA Soccer, World Cup