Good afternoon, Gator Nation:
‘Twas the day before Christmas, when all through Gatorland
Not a creature was stirring, not even Lane Kiffin.
TOP USA ALL-AMERICANS: USA Today released its All-USA high school team and two players who should be familiar to Florida recruiting fans were announced as players of the year. The Defensive Player of the Year is cornerback Lamarcus Joyner of St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale. The Offensive Player of the Year is tackle Seantrel Henderson of Cretin-Derham Hall of St. Paul, Minn. The 5-9, 175-pound Joyner was recruited by Florida but has given a verbal to Florida State that he will sign on Feb. 3. The 6-8, 301-pound Henderson recently paid an official visit to Florida (he’s also made official visits to Ohio State, Southern California and Notre Dame and unofficial visits to Minnesota and Iowa) and plans to announce his choice on Feb. 3.
OTHER FLORIDA TIES: Gators verbal commitment Matt Elam, whose monster game last Saturday helped Dwyer (Palm Beach Gardens) to the Class 4A title over Niceville, was named to USA Today’s first-team offense. Several players who have Florida among their final teams made the first-team defense – linemen Sharrif Floyd (Washington H.S. in Philadelphia) and Ronald Powell (Rancho Verde H.S., Moreno Valley, Calif.) and linebacker Jordan Hicks (Lakota West H.S., West Chester, Ohio) – as well as offensive lineman Matt James (St. Xavier H.S., Cincinnati). The second-team units included verbal commitments Ian Silberman (OL, Fleming Island H.S., Orange Park, Fla.), Cody Riggs (DB, St. Thomas Aquinas H.S., Fort Lauderdale) and Demar Dorsey (DB, Boyd Anderson H.S., Lauderdale Lakes, Fla.). Also on the second team are wide receiver Chris Dunkley (Pahokee H.S.) and defensive lineman Owamagbe Odighizuwa (David Douglas H.S., Portland, Ore.).
HEADACHES IN NORTHLANDS: The Minnesota Vikings seem to be limping toward the NFL playoffs, even if quarterback Brett Favre and head coach Brad Childress can put their pettiness aside. Rookie wide receiver Percy Harvin, the team’s No. 1 draft choice out of Florida, is suffering from migraines, the same ailment that bothered him at Florida, and the team has sent him to the nearby Mayo Clinic to get them checked out. Harvin has a long history of the headaches dating back to his youth. The headaches have caused Harvin to miss one game and limited him to one reception and two kickoff returns in a loss to Carolina last week. Harvin has 49 receptions for 691 yards (14.1 average) and six touchdowns, has carried the ball 13 times for 113 yards (8.7 average) and returned 36 kickoffs for an average of 28.3 yards with two touchdowns.
THE LOS ANGELES JAGUARS? First, Jacksonville Jaguars owner Wayne Weaver professed his interest in drafting hometown hero Tim Tebow, the Florida quarterback. Next, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist – a Florida State alumnus – threw his support behind Weaver’s idea as a way to create more interest in the NFL franchise, which has had trouble attracting fans the last couple of seasons. Now former Gator and Jaguars great Fred Taylor, whose current team, the New England Patriots, plays host to Jacksonville this Sunday, is saying that the Jaguars could be close to moving to Los Angeles. “Sometimes, the truth hurts,” Taylor said. “It can be played either way in that (if) the fans want the team to stay there, they have to show that they want the team to stay there.” Only Detroit (48,355/65,000) and Oakland (45,125/63,026) are averaging worse than Jacksonville (49,651/67,164) in the 32-team NFL. The Jaguars are down almost 16,000 fans a game from 2008’s average of 65,167 in Jacksonville Municipal Stadium, which was renovated for $134 million, $60 million of which was paid by the city of Jacksonville.
WAY DOWN YONDER IN NEW ORLEANS: According to Gator Country.com staff meteorologist Franz Beard, here’s the extended outlook for weather on Bourbon Street. “The high temperature between now and Jan. 1 will be 58 degrees. Lows will be somewhere from freezing to the high 30s.” Of course, weather in the Superdome will be clear and 70 degrees with no wind. Thanks, Franz. (Memo to Stephanie Abrams: Your job is safe!)
TEAM ARRIVALS: The charter carrying the University of Cincinnati football team and official party will be arriving at Louis Armstrong International Airport Saturday at 6:20 p.m. local time, while the Gators’ charter will arrive Sunday at 3 p.m. That means the first Bourbon Street confrontation could be sometime Sunday night.
LAST VISIT: The last time I visited New Orleans was for the 1987 Final Four that featured Indiana (coached by Bob Knight), UNLV (Jerry Tarkanian), Syracuse (Jim Boeheim) and Providence (Rick Pitino). The Hoosiers knocked off the Runnin’ Rebels 97-93 after Syracuse had beaten Providence 77-63. Then Indiana beat Syracuse 74-73 when Keith Smart hit a jumper in the final seconds. Providence had a gutty little guard … oh, what was his name … Anyway, it was a great trip except that I had a bad case of stomach flu and never got to Bourbon Street.
BEST CHRISTMAS GIFTS: Aside from my Christmases with the lovely Mrs. Fineran and our two children, Katie and Matthew, it would have to be the one in 1967 when I got a Victoriaville hockey stick (just like the ones the Montreal Canadiens used) and the one in 1973 which was a round-trip plane ticket to New Orleans plus $200 in travelers checks so I could attend the New Year’s Eve Super Bowl between No. 1 Alabama and No. 3 Notre Dame at the old Tulane Stadium. My ticket for that game, which was in the open end zone on that wet and cool evening, cost $12.50. Tickets for this year’s game are $125 and I’m guessing $200 in travelers checks would last about a half hour on Bourbon Street.
COAL: Tiger Woods, Woods’ advisors and friends who looked the other way, the aforementioned Kiffin, the University of Southern California athletic department, Washington Redskins GM Vinny Cerrato, Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig, the B(C)S, Congress for trying to get involved in the mess the B(C)S has created, whoever came up with those ridiculous Florida uniforms and whoever decided to wear them in the SEC Championship.
MY GIFT TO YOU AND YOURS: Wishes and prayers for good health, good happiness and peace. And this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icMTVV5Lwaw
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.
Later Gators,
John Fineran