Good morning, Gator Nation:
Whew, a pretty busy Saturday for the Gators – a baseball game, two softball games, two golf championships, two tennis matches, a beach volleyball tournament and a big track meet. Which begs us to ask Florida Athletics Director Jeremy Foley: Why not hockey? Anyway, take the time to check them out in the GatorCountry.com “Other Sports” category.
1. BOOK IT, DANO: Last season there wasn’t any question who the SEC’s top freshman hitter was in baseball – Florida’s Preston Tucker. In fact, he was the National College Baseball Writers Association’s Freshman Hitter of the Year for winning the Gators’ Triple Crown with his .364 batting average, school-record 85 runs batted in and 15 home runs (Oh, did we happen to mention that the 6-0, 215-pound Tucker also had team-leading .628 slugging percentage. Well, freshman Austin Maddox is practically a lock for such honors this season. Through 34 games for 25-9 Florida, the 6-3, 230-pound Eagle’s View (Jacksonville) graduate leads the Gators in batting (.370), home runs (11) and RBI (41) with a slugging percentage of .685. Maddox has 16 games in which he has two or more hits. If he doesn’t duplicate Tucker’s post-season honors, then they shouldn’t award them.
2. ROAD-WEARY? Florida, which goes for a three-game sweep at Kentucky today, is currently 4-2 on its 8-game “road trip” (it’s not like Kevin O’Sullivan’s Gators haven’t been on campus since their last game at McKethan Stadium, a 12-2 victory over Jacksonville on April 6) that ends Wednesday night with a visit to South Florida. Following that 7 p.m. with the Bulls, Florida plays seven in a row at home, starting Friday night with the first of three games with SEC Western Division leader Arkansas. Then on April 30, defending NCAA champion Louisiana State shows up for a three-game series before Bethune-Cookman closes it all out on May 4. Those first six games, against annually two of college baseball’s best, should tell us a lot about this Florida baseball team and how far it could go.
3. TITLETOWN: Let’s see – Florida already has won the NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championship and the NCAA Men’s Track & Field Indoors Championship titles, giving the school 23 in its athletic program’s history. And the Gators might not be finished in this 2009-2010 school year. You have to like coach Rhonda Faehn’s team’s chances to win the NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championship considering the Gators will host the event beginning this Thursday at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. Florida is seeded second in the competition. Then there’s Roland Thornqvist’s No. 3 women’s tennis team, which went 11-0 in SEC play to earn the top seed in the SEC Tournament beginning Friday morning in Athens, Ga., which is also the site of the NCAA Women’s Tennis Championship May 14-31. And what about coach Andy Jackson’s No. 6 men’s tennis team, which begins its post-season? Or Mike Holloway’s track teams, ranked first (men) and fifth (women)?
4. DIAMOND DANDIES? Nor can you ignore the chances of O’Sullivan’s baseball team or coach Tim Walton’s softball team, both of which are ranked in their respective sports’ Top 10. The Gators will be seeking their first trip to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb., since 2006 this postseaosn while the softball team has twice in a row been to the Women’s World Series in Oklahoma City, reaching last season’s best-of-three series before losing to Washington.
5. OPEN MOUTH, INSERT HOOK: Let’s make it 24 national championships for the Gators. Florida recently won the inaugural FLW College Fishing National Championship. Jake Gipson and Matt Wercinski captured the $100,000 first-place prize after three days of bass fishing at Fort Loudon Lake in Tennessee.
6. WITH THE NEXT PICK IN THE NFL DRAFT …: The National Football League’s new three-day draft (for television, of course) begins Thursday night at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall with the first round (rounds 2 and 3 are Friday; the last four on Saturday) and most mock drafts show only two Gators in the first round – cornerback Joe Haden and center Maurkice Pouncey. At one point, both defensive end Carlos Dunlap and middle linebacker Brandon Spikes were listed as first-round prospects by various draftniks. Dunlap and Spikes both have fallen out of the first round, but among those making a rise are quarterback Tim Tebow, whose work ethic (he’s revamped his throwing motion) and heart have never been questioned. Indeed, the recent support of former NFL coaches Tony Dungy and Jon Gruden may have catapulted Tebow into the first round, despite what ESPN’s Todd McShay may think he knows. Buffalo? Jacksonville? New England? Indianapolis? I expect Haden, Pouncey, Tebow, Dunlap, Spikes, Major Wright, Aaron Hernandez, Riley Cooper and Jermaine Cunningham will be drafted in the first two days.
7. OUT OF WHACK? Next month, the school district of Allen, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, will break ground on a $59.6 million football stadium. The 18,000-seat stadium will have two decks, a video scoreboard, four concession stands and 12 restrooms. According to reports, the stadium was part of a larger $120 million bond package that included almost as much money for a top-shelf performing arts auditorium. In November 2008, the town approved a bond package of $219 million to build two elementary schools and to buy buses as well as make repairs and improvements to existing schools. In Texas, educational funds are separate from capital projects. What’s next, a retractable dome?
8. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Today is the 18th birthday of the outfielder who wears No. 8 on the North Port High School baseball team – Matthew Sean Fineran. I had a lot of fond memories about Matt’s birthday when Fred Couples grabbed the first-round lead of the Masters earlier this month. Between 1985 and ’95, I missed one Masters – in 1992 when Fred Couples won and Matthew was still six days away from being born. One thing he didn’t inherit from the old man was his speed – Matthew actually has stolen home. Me? I can only imagine doing it. Happy Birthday, Matthew – Mom and Dad say take two and go to right.
9. CHECK IT OUT: When I think of the No. 9, I think of Roger Maris, whose 61st home run in 1961 for the New York Yankees I was privileged to see. You can say what you want, but I believe Roger belongs in the Baseball Hall of Fame. He’s already in God’s Hall of Fame for being the good husband and father, a good teammate and an involved businessman who cared for others. If you want a good read, may I suggest “Roger Maris: Baseball’s Reluctant Hero,” by Tom Clavin and Danny Peary (Touchstone Books, $26.99).
10. ANYBODY? Can you tell me what the Tampa Bay Rays’ magic number is to win the AL East?
That’s it for today’s thoughts. Sorry for the tardiness. Hope you enjoy.
Later, Gators.
John Fineran