Making of a scribe

Jeopardy tryout..

2008-01-16T20:19:00.000-05:00

Gator Heismans..

2007-12-09T09:16:00.000-05:00

Let the madness begin..

2007-03-14T20:43:00.000-04:00

Here is my bracket for the 2007 NCAA Basketball tournament. As always Pal and Sudhan will challenge me here. But the newest addition to the list is THE gator-hater in my house. Yes, my wife. I will post all of their brackets tomorrow. BTW, I have Florida over Georgetown 67-62 in the title game.

Gators are Champs again !

2007-01-12T17:03:00.000-05:00

This time in football..Go Gators !

Congrats Pal on winning this year's pickoff. Amazing that it had to come down to the final game of the season. Great job by Sudhan to tie me up for the second spot after trailing by as much as 9 games in Mid-November. Here are the final standings of the 2006 pickoff:

Pal 98-48
Hariram/Sudhan 97-48

Adios until March Madness !

2006-Bowl pickoff

2006-12-23T20:06:00.000-05:00

Hawaii over Arizona State^
Florida State over UCLA
Oklahoma State over Alabama*^
Texas A&M over Cal^
Rutgers over Kansas State
Clemson over Kentucky
Oregon State over Missouri
South Carolina over Houston
Minnesota over Texas Tech*
Maryland over Purdue
Navy over Boston College*^
Cincinnati over Western Michigan
Southern Miss over Ohio^
Texas over Iowa
Georgia over Virginia Tech^
Miami over Nevada
Tennessee over Penn State^
Nebraska over Auburn*
West Virginia over Georgia Tech
Arkansas over Wisconsin
USC over Michigan
Oklahoma over Boise State^
Louisville over Wake Forest
LSU over Notre Dame

Ohio State 31 Florida 21
Ohio State 14 Florida 31*
Ohio State 27 Florida 30^

*Sudhan's pick
^Pal's pick

Last pickoff: 4-7 Overall: 81-39, 68%
Sudhan- Last pickoff: 8-3 Overall: 78-42, 65%
Pal- Last pickoff: 7-4 Overall: 81-39, 68%

2006-Week 12 pickoff

2006-11-16T20:08:00.000-05:00

West Virginia over Pittsburgh
Ohio State over Michigan^
Alabama over Auburn*^
California over USC*^
Oregon over Arizona
UCLA over Arizona State
Boston College over Maryland^
Wake Forest over Virginia Tech^
Iowa over Minnesota
Indiana over Purdue*^
Oklahoma State over Texas Tech*^

*Sudhan's pick
^Pal's pick

Last week: 4-5 Overall: 77-32, 71%
Sudhan- Last week: 6-3Overall: 70-39, 64%
Pal- Last week: 4-5 Overall: 74-35, 68%

2006-Week 11 pickoff

2006-11-10T14:15:00.000-05:00

LSU over Alabama^
Auburn over Georgia*
Tennessee over Arkansas*
Oklahoma over Texas Tech
Nebraska over Texas A&M
FSU over Wake Forest
Miami over Maryland*
Iowa over Wisconsin^
USC over Oregon*

GatorZone
Florida 24 South Carolina 27
Florida South Carolina *
Florida 24 South Carolina 21^
*no pick from Sudhan
^Pal's pick

Last week: 7-3 Overall: 73-27, 73%
Sudhan- Last week: 6-4 Overall: 64-36, 64%
Pal- Last week: 9-1 Overall: 70-30, 70%

2006-Week 10 pickoff

2006-11-01T13:05:00.000-05:00

West Virginia over Louisville^
Virginia Tech over Miami*
Boston College over Wake Forest
Florida State over Virginia
LSU over Tennessee
South Carolina over Arkansas*^
Oklahoma over Texas A&M
Nebraska over Missouri*
Wisconsin over Penn State
Oregon over Washington

GatorZone
Florida 27 Vandy 17
Florida 28 Vandy 14*
Florida 31 Vandy 17^
*Sudhan's pick
^Pal's pick

Last week: 6-4 Overall: 66-24, 73%
Sudhan- Last week: 4-6 Overall: 58-32, 64%
Pal- Last week: 5-5 Overall: 61-29, 68%

2006-Week 9 pickoff

2006-10-26T18:33:00.000-04:00

Oklahoma over Missouri*
Texas over Texas Tech
Penn State over Purdue^
Tennessee over South Carolina^
Clemson over Virginia Tech
Florida State over Maryland
NC State over Virginia^
Georgia Tech over Miami*^
Washington over Arizona State^

GatorZone
Florida 31 Georgia 17
Florida 34 Georgia 17^
Florida 31 Georgia 10*

*Sudhan's pick
^Pal's pick

Last week: 6-4 Overall: 60-20, 75%
Sudhan- Last week: 5-5 Overall: 54-26, 68%
Pal- Last week: 6-4 Overall: 56-24, 70%

2006-Week 8 pickoff

2006-10-19T20:17:00.000-04:00

Texas over Nebraska*
Michigan over Iowa
Rutgers over Pittsburgh*^
Florida State over Boston College
Georgia Tech over Clemson*^
NC State over Maryland^
South Carolina over Vandy
Tennessee over Alabama^
Notre Dame over UCLA
Oregon over Washington State

*Sudhan's pick
^Pal's pick

Last week: 8-2 Overall: 54-16, 77%
Sudhan- Last week: 5-5 Overall: 49-21, 70%
Pal- Last week: 6-4 Overall: 50-20, 71%

2006-Week 7 pickoff

2006-10-11T12:41:00.000-04:00

Michigan over Penn State
Ohio State over Michigan State
Wisconsin over Minnesota*
Boston College over Virginia Tech*^
NC State over Wake Forest
Missouri over Texas A&M
USC over Arizona State
Oregon over UCLA
California over Washington State

GatorZone
Florida 17 Auburn 20
Florida 21 Auburn 14*
Florida 21 Auburn 17^

*Sudhan's pick
^Pal's pick

Last week: 6-4 Overall: 46-14, 77%
Sudhan- Last week: 6-4 Overall: 44-16, 73%
Pal- Last week: 7-3 Overall: 44-16, 73%

Marcus Thomas..

2006-10-06T07:28:00.000-04:00

This is ridiculous. I am just reading that Marcus Thomas will be back in lineup for the LSU game. The same committee that suspended him for 5 games after his second failed drug test now thinks he has a valid appeal and has reduced its suspension to 2 games.

"The committee has heard an appeal from Marcus Thomas and made a recommendation to amend his sanctions," Meyer said in the statement. "The appeal process followed the proper procedures of the committee, which included a recommendation that is made independently by the committee and then approved by the athletics director and president of the university. Marcus still has some work ahead of him, but he has been granted the opportunity to play in the LSU game."

Wow, what a coincidence that it took until the LSU week for the committee to reinstate him. I am not naive enough to believe Urban didn't have a say on this and it sadly goes to prove that winning comes first even for a coach who claims to be a tough disciplinarian.

2006-Week 6 pickoff

2006-10-05T16:13:00.000-04:00

Oklahoma over Texas*^
Tennessee over Georgia*^
California over Oregon
Florida State over NC State
Auburn over Arkansas
Michigan over Michigan State
Penn State over Minnesota
Missouri over Texas Tech*
USC over Washington

GatorZone
Florida 13 LSU 20
Florida 21 LSU 7 *
Florida 13 LSU 10^

*Sudhan's pick
^Pal's pick

Last week: 9-1 Overall: 40-10, 80%
Sudhan- Last week: 8-2 Overall: 38-12, 76%
Pal- Last week: 7-3 Overall: 37-13, 74%

2006-Week 5 pickoff

2006-09-29T13:02:00.000-04:00

Ohio State over Iowa^
Oregon over Arizona State*
Texas Tech over Texas A&M
Georgia Tech over Virginia Tech*^
Notre Dame over Purdue
Michigan over Minnesota
Colorado over Missouri*^
Rutgers over South Florida^
Washington over Arizona

GatorZone
Florida 31 Alabama 20
Florida 35 Alabama 10*
Florida 27 Alabama 21^

*Sudhan's pick
^Pal's pick

Last week: 8-2 Overall: 31-9, 78%
Sudhan- Last week: 8-2 Overall: 30-10, 75%
Pal- Last week: 8-2 Overall: 30-10, 75%

Onion on Reggie Bush

2006-09-22T20:38:00.000-04:00

Onion has a pretty funny read on Reggie Bush.."Reggie Bush Claims He Made $100,000 Through USC Work-Study Program"

Swamp now and then..

2006-09-22T20:20:00.000-04:00

Recently came across some great pictures of the Florida field and Gator football dating all the way back to 1910. Thanks to Howard !

Florida Field in the 60's

2006-Week 4 pickoff

2006-09-21T12:55:00.000-04:00

Separation Saturday helped me separate from Sudhan and Pal who make their weekly picks here..With special thanks to PAC-10 officiating crew, I had a +4 game swing against them in my overall record. Hopefully this lead stays on..

Onto Week 4 picks..

Ohio State over Penn State
Alabama over Arkansas^
Georgia over Colorado
Michigan over Wisconsin
Notre Dame over Michigan State^
Boston College over NC State
Georgia Tech over Virginia
Texas over Iowa State
California over Arizona State

GatorZone
Florida 42 Kentucky 21
Florida 35 Kentucky 1o*
Florida 35 Kentucky 21^

*Sudhan's pick
^Pal's pick

Last week: 8-2 Overall: 23-7, 77%
Sudhan- Last week: 4-6 Overall: 22-8, 73%
Pal- Last week: 5-5 Overall: 22-8, 73%

2006-Week 3 pickoff

2006-09-15T12:27:00.000-04:00

Auburn over LSU^*
USC over Nebraska
Notre Dame over Michigan
FSU over Clemson
Louisville over Miami*
Oregon over Oklahoma^*
Michigan State over Pittsburgh^*
Arizona State over Colorado
Iowa over Iowa State

GatorZone
Florida 30 Tennessee 27
Florida 32 Tennessee 21*
Florida 27 Tennessee 17^

*Sudhan's pick
^Pal's pick

Last week: 8-2 Overall: 15-5, 75%
Sudhan- Last week: 8-2 Overall: 18-2, 90%
Pal- Last week: 9-1 Overall: 17-3, 85%

2006-Week 2 pickoff

2006-09-09T08:17:00.000-04:00

Ohio State over Texas
Notre Dame over Penn State
California over Minnesota
Oregon over Fresno State
Oklahoma over Washington
Clemson over Boston College^
Virginia Tech over North Carolina
Missouri over Ole Miss*^

Upset special
South Carolina over Georgia*^

GatorZone
Fla 37 UCF 20
Fla 35 UCF 14*
Fla 42 UCF 14^

*Sudhan's pick
^Pal's pick

Last week: 7-3 Overall: 7-3, 70%
Sudhan- Last week: 10-0 Overall: 10-0, 100%
Pal- Last week: 8-2 Overall: 8-2, 80%

2006-Week 1 pickoff

2006-08-31T20:04:00.000-04:00

South Carolina over Miss State
California over Tennessee*^
Notre Dame over Georgia Tech^
Pittsburgh over Virginia^
Miami over Florida State*^
USC over Arkansas
Auburn over Washington State
Ole Miss over Memphis

Upset special
Utah over UCLA*^

GatorZone
Fla 34 So. Miss 13
Fla 52 So. Miss 10*
Fla 38 So. Miss 14^

*Sudhan's pick
^Pal's pick

College Football is back..

2006-08-31T19:24:00.000-04:00

College football kickoff is a few hours away as I renew my blogging for the 2006 season. I initially thought about taking a medical redshirt from blogging this year as I am rehabbing from a torn right ACL, but decided against it due to the popular demand. More on my ACL in a few weeks. But before that, here are my quickfire thoughts on the upcoming season:-

-I really dont see any BCS team going undefeated this season (maybe USC if they get past Notre Dame). So this could be the year when a 1 loss team finally gets into the National championship game after a while.

-I hope West Virginia loses to Louisville and spares us of the debate on its exclusion from the National championship game.

-In spite of its excellent supporting cast, I feel Texas will struggle to replace Vince Young.

-Notre Dame and Ohio State could be really good, but their schedule will not leave them unscathed.

-Despite Drew Weatherford's improvement, FSU will find a way to lose atleast 3 games.

-Dont know if John Booty can do a Leinart in taking USC all the way without any prior experience.

-I dont think Florida can duplicate the other Urban Meyer teams in terms of improving their offensive production in Year 2, until Meyer abandons the spread with Leak at the helm. Also, I dont want to hear about how bad our offensive line/running game is from the media and our coach after every loss. With the talent we got, we should be able to do a good job.

-Florida can easily go 9-3 despite being improved on all the areas. But I think we go 10-2 with back to back losses against Auburn and LSU, and advance to Sugar Bowl by beating one of these teams in the SEC championship game. First BCS bowl appearance post Spurrier era would definitely make a lot of Gator fans happy after a string of dummy bowls.

GATORS WIN..GATORS WIN !!

2006-04-04T01:14:00.000-04:00

My Rose bowl pick

2006-01-04T08:36:00.000-05:00

Week 12 pickoff !

2005-11-18T10:29:00.000-05:00

USC over Fresno State
Oregon over Oregon State
Texas Tech over Oklahoma
Virginia Tech over Virginia
Miami over Ga.Tech
Penn State over Michigan State
Northwestern over Illinois
LSU over Ole Miss
Tennessee over Vandy
South Carolina over Clemson
Alabama over Auburn

Upset Special
Michigan over Ohio State

Week 11 pickoff !

2005-11-12T10:03:00.000-05:00

USC over California
Texas Tech over Oklahoma State
Oklahoma over Texas A&M
Iowa over Wisconsin
Michigan State over Minnesota
Ohio State over Northwestern
FSU over Clemson
Boston College over NC State
Georgia Tech over Virginia
Alabama over LSU
Georgia over Auburn
Florida over South Carolina

GatorZone
Florida 35 South Carolina 28
Manson 100+ yards

*Sudhan's pick
Last week: 5-7 Overall: 77-43, 64%
Sudhan- Last week: 7-5 Overall: 84-36, 70%

Week 10 pickoff !

2005-11-05T11:53:00.000-05:00

Wisconsin over Penn State*
Iowa over Northwestern
Michigan State over Purdue
Miami over Virginia Tech*
Florida State over NC State
Arkansas over South Carolina*
Texas Tech over Texas A&M
Iowa State over Kansas State
California over Oregon
USC over Stanford
Florida over Vandy

Upset special
Tennessee over Notre Dame*

GatorZone
Florida 24 Vandy 13

*Sudhan's pick
Last week: 7-5 Overall: 72-36, 67%
Sudhan- Last week: 9-3 Overall: 77-31, 72%

Georgia Game Notes

2005-11-05T11:19:00.000-05:00

Meyer had to change something. Either his QB or his offense. Wisely, he did the latter. Leak was a better QB with a couple of extra blockers in Latsko and Casey. But I still feel that his shoulder isnt 100% which makes his passes get to the receivers a tad late. I've seen him throw better than that.

I always felt that the OL was criticized unfairly for the stagnant offense. They can protect the QB only so much. They gave Leak ample time in this game atleast. But then again, Georgia rarely blitzed (who knows why) and lets reserve the judgement until we meet a team that blitzes effectively.

Georgia game, to me, is like a stereotypical Indian movie. There are certain things that never change in these games such as weird fumbles, field goals hitting the goal posts etc. And oh yeah, good guys win at the end even here :-)

Finally, we saw Mason in action and boy he didn't disappoint. He has that burst when he hits the hole. I think it helps him even more when he alternates with Wynn. Im pretty sure he's going to catch the defense napping and break a long TD run in one of these games. But now I know why Meyer had him in his doghouse. I saw him holding the ball so much away from the body several times in this game and wouldn't suprise me if he fumbles soon.

Overheard on the headsets Saturday night (Thanks to Pat Dooley)
Randy Sanders: Coach, I'm going to run a screen pass.
Phil Fulmer: Have you noticed how Steve Spurrier's hair never grays? Why isn't he wearing a visor?
Sanders: Phil, we've got to get a play in. How about a sweep right?
Fulmer: I wonder if he uses any products in his hair. Do you think he uses a conditioner? You know, they say he works out every day and you can tell.
Sanders: That's it. I'm outta here. You call the plays.
Fulmer: I never thought I'd see Steve wearing glasses. Somebody wave and see if he waves back.

Week 9 pickoff !

2005-10-29T09:18:00.000-04:00

Northwestern over Michigan
Penn State over Purdue
Ohio State over Minnesota
Texas over Oklahoma State
Nebraska over Oklahoma*
Texas A&M over Iowa State
Florida State over Maryland
Georgia Tech over Clemson
Miami over North Carolina
Miss. State over Kentucky*
Tennessee over South Carolina
Florida over Georgia

*Sudhan's pick
Last week: 8-4 Overall: 65-31, 68%
Sudhan- Last week: 8-4 Overall: 68-28, 71%

GatorZone
Florida 16 Gawja 13

Keys to the game

Leonard Pope- We struggled last year to tackle this guy. We have to do a better job this year. I expect him to be the go-to guy in critical 3rd downs.

Florida's Special Teams-Even though the D can create turnovers, I have no confidence in our offense to turn them into scores which puts the onus on the special teams. Punting looks good, but punt return looks atrocious. Hetland is going to kick 3-4 fields goals and win this one for us.

Post Wilma

2005-10-29T08:02:00.000-04:00

Well, finally power is back in my place. After spending the most part of this week as a vagabond around North/Central Florida, Im back in South Fla.

Wilma woke me up around 530AM Monday with a loud knock on my balcony door and kept me on my toes pretty much during its entirety. I under-estimated the storm bigtime and started panicking as the storm began to unravel. We lost power within an hour and things went downhill quickly from there. Yeah, literally downhill, as my satellite dishes followed by the roof shingles started flying. Wilma picked up more pace after her eye passed over us. But in spite of the higher wind speeds, it felt much better as the winds were uni-directional and were parallel to my apartment.

After Wilma had her way with South Florida, I went around looking for my satellite dishes. I found one of them right underneath my apartment and the other 3 blocks away, floating in the nearby lake. Fortunately, no other damage to report from my side.

In spite of being a lucky few to have the power restored, Im not sure where I will be able to watch the Cocktail party. Comcast is down and most of my buddies dont have their dishes in the right direction. If Bestbuy is open, probably I would buy an antenna. If that doesn't work out, Mick Hubert is the only option out there for me.

Week 8 pickoff !

2005-10-22T11:43:00.000-04:00

Georgia over Arkansas
Wisconsin over Purdue
Iowa over Michigan
Michigan State over Northwestern
Texas A&M over Kansas State*
Nebraska over Missouri*
Iowa State over Oklahoma State
Pittsburgh over Syracuse*
California over Washington State

Squeakers of the week
Texas over Texas Tech
LSU over Auburn

Upset special
Tennessee over Alabama*

*Sudhan's pick

Last week: 9-3 Overall: 57-27, 68%
Sudhan- Last week: 8-4 Overall: 60-24, 71%

Week 7 pickoff !

2005-10-15T11:46:00.000-04:00

USC over Notre Dame*
Ohio State over Michigan State
Minnesota over Wisconsin
Texas over Colorado
Texas A&M over Oklahoma State
UCLA over Washington State
Texas Tech over Kansas State
Florida State over Virginia
Auburn over Arkansas
South Florida over Pittsburgh*
LSU over Florida*

Upset Special
Michigan over Penn State

Gatorzone
LSU 20 Florida 17

Last week: 7-5 Overall: 48-24, 67%
Sudhan- Last week: 6-6 Overall: 52-20, 72%
*Sudhan's pick

Miss State Game notes

2005-10-15T11:31:00.000-04:00

Things I liked-
Dallas Baker finally overcoming his 'Spring King' title.

Things I didnt like-
-Sputtering offense
-Lack of playing time for Manson. Maybe Urban is keeping him under the wraps for the big game at Bayou.

This and That-
-Will Ray McD play just like Crowder making a suprise start in 2003 against LSU ?

-This game, am thinking, will be decided by Jamarcus Russell more than anyone else. If he can limit his mistakes, LSU wins. If Gators force him to make mistakes and turn them into scores, Gators win. If the offense continues to play like the past few weeks, defense and special teams are our best (only?) chances to score. Look for Dee Webb to help us out here.

-If Leak's shoulder feels better, its time to take some shots downfield with Chad Jackson.

Week 6 pickoff !

2005-10-08T10:54:00.000-04:00

Texas over Oklahoma
Ohio State over Penn State
Georgia over Tennessee*
Arizona State over Oregon
Boston College over Virginia
Texas Tech over Nebraska
Michigan over Minnesota
Purdue over Iowa*
Texas A&M over Colorado
Missouri over Oklahoma State
Florida over Miss.State

Upset Special
UCLA over California*
*Sudhan's pick

Gatorzone
Florida 34 Miss State 17
Manson-80 yards, Portis 70 yards rushing

Last week: 9-3 Overall: 41-19, 68%
Sudhan- Last week: 7-5 Overall: 46-14, 77%

Alabama Game Notes

2005-10-08T10:10:00.000-04:00

Well it seems the Gators wanted to answer some of the questions I had in my last post.

-Can Leak throw when he's under constant pressure ?

Big NO

-When's Manson going to start ?

He better be starting today against Miss.State. After watching him in the Orange & Blue games, I have always believed that he should be our starting RB. Too bad we found this out the hard way. A good running game, as everybody knows, goes a long way in helping to setup the passing game. This would have definitely taken the pressure off Leak and allow him settle down, particularly in such hostile road games.

Other things that doomed us-
-Numerous missed tackles
-On top of his inaccuracy, Leak clearly wasn't zipping his passes sometimes. It took an eternity sometimes for the receiver to catch the ball. I have never seen him throw like that.

Things I liked-
Eric Hetland nailing his only FG attempt. When most of the team was in panic mode, this guy gets it done as always. Coach-Time to give him a scholarship.

This and that-
I cant believe I overlooked my own 'October Jinx' theory. I really thought maybe this is the year we break em. Anyways Coach Im warning you an year in advance. Please watch out for next year's game against LSU which falls on Oct 7th.

Week 5 pickoff !

2005-10-01T10:22:00.000-04:00

USC over Arizona State*
Notre Dame over Purdue
Iowa State over Nebraska
Oklahoma over Kansas State
Minnesota over Penn State
Miami over South Florida
Auburn over South Carolina
Florida over Alabama

Squeakers of the week
Va.Tech over West Virginia
Iowa over Illinois
Texas over Missouri

Upset Special
Michigan over Michigan State*

Gatorzone
Florida 20 Alabama 17

Last week:9-3 Overall: 32-16, 67%
Sudhan-Last week: 9-3, Overall: 39-9, 81%

Kentucky Game notes

2005-10-01T09:52:00.000-04:00

Things I liked
Leak's third-down conversions

Things of concern
Special Teams

Suprises
Leak starting to run the option quite effectively.

This and That
-I see Casey in motion all the time before the snap. Here's wishing he gets to run more north and south.

-Is this is the year we break all the jinxes? We kind of broke the 'night game' jinx against the Vols. Hey, but how about the 'October jinx' where we lose a road game in the first week of October to a mediocre SEC west team? Maybe Bama is not a mediocre team and this wont happen this week. Lets wait and see.

-Cornelius showed he has better hands than Caldwell. But can he be the guy who takes those misdirectional plays to the house ?

-Finally we got to see Harvey and Jarvis Moss out there making some plays.

-I really don't know when Manson is going to get on the field.

-If Dee Webb catches all those balls that slip through his fingers, he would have more receptions than Chad Jackson

-We know Leak can throw darts when he has ample time in the pocket. But can he do so against a pressure defense like Alabama? We will find out today.

Week 4 pickoff !

2005-09-24T09:20:00.000-04:00

Just when I was thinking I figured this out, Week 3 brought me back to earth in a hurry. If Whitehurst had thrown the pass to his receiver instead of the sideline reporter, I would have been under .500. Anyways here I am trying to improve my record in Week 4..

USC over Oregon
Purdue over Minnesota
Miami over Colorado
Michigan over Wisconsin
Notre Dame over Washington
Arizona State over Oregon State
Michigan State over Illinois
Clemson over Boston College*
Florida over Kentucky

Squeakers of the week
Ohio State over Iowa
Virginia over Georgia in the battle of Techs

Upset special
Tennessee over LSU*

*Sudhan's pick

Gatorzone
Florida 38 Kentucky 13
Leak 300+ yards, Wynn+Manson-150 yards

Last week: 6-6 Overall: 23-13, 63.8%

Sudhan: Last week: 9-3, Overall: 30-6, 83.3%

Tennessee Game notes

2005-09-24T08:48:00.000-04:00

Things I liked:
*D---E---F---E---N---S---E
*Hetland continues his FG streak. Why didnt we see this guy last year when Leach was so inconsistent?

Things I didnt like:
*Our offensive playcalling at times. I felt that we should have called for more running plays in the 1st down. Except for the lone TD drive, I felt that we were not commited to running.

*Penalties-This frustrated me the most in this game. Most of our 3rd and longs were due to this. We cant afford to have these at our upcoming road games at Tuscaloosa/Baton Rouge.

Things of concern:
Somebody needs to step in for Mac'D. Perfect time for Harvey to show us something.

Suprises:
Urban trying to run(b) it up late in the game.

Things I expect to see against UK:
Mason, Portis and Boetang to get handful of plays

Week 3 pickoff !

2005-09-17T08:00:00.000-04:00

USC over Arkansas
Notre Dame over Michigan State
Ole Miss over Vandy
California over Illi'noize'
Louisville over Oregon State*
West Virginia over Maryland
Florida over Tennessee

Squeakers of the week:
Oklahoma over UCLA*
Miami over Clemson

Upset specials:
Boston College over FSU
South Carolina over Alabama
Pittsburgh over Nebraska*

*Sudhan disagrees
Gatorzone
Florida 31 Tennessee 24
Leak 300+ yards, Wynn 70 yards-2TD, Jackson 100 yards-1TD, Baker-1TD

Last week: 9-3, Sudhan:11-1, Overall: 17-7 (Upset specials: 2-2), Sudhan-21-3

La.Tech Game notes

2005-09-17T07:14:00.000-04:00

Things I liked:

Wynn's speed. Shedding some extra pounds this summer sure has helped. If Wynn stays healthy, I expect to him to get the ball several times when we are in the red zone.

Things I didnt like:

*Special teams. This is something that hasn't changed from the Zook era. I wudnt worry about the missed extra points. I think Nappy would take care of that this week. But punt/kickoff coverage has continued to be bad.

*I must have jinx'd this. Last week's penalties:9-85

Things of concern:

*Webb has to catch those interceptions.
*Wilbur's kickoff- Im not sure about this, but did we have a touchback at all in the last 2 games ?

Suprises:

Wynn's TD reception. He caught that ball pretty darn good.

Things I expect to see against UT:

*Handful of trick plays. Caldwell throwing a pass could be one of them
*Portis in more option plays
*Hetland would continue to kick the FGs but Nappy would take over for PATs
*Clausen/Ainge would be smothered by our D

Week 2 pickoff

2005-09-10T10:23:00.000-04:00

Georgia over South Carolina
Clemson over Maryland
Iowa over Iowa State
Auburn over Mississippi State
Boise State over Oregon State*
Nebraska over Wake Forest
Florida over La.Tech

Squeakers of the week:
LSU over Arizona State
Texas over Ohio State

Upset specials:
Notre Dame over Michigan
Washington over California*
Oklahoma over Tulsa

Gatorzone
Florida 41 La.Tech 10
Wynn-100yards-2TD, C.Jackson-2TD

Last week: 8-4, Sudhan:10-2

*Sudhan's pick

Wyoming Game Notes..

2005-09-10T09:35:00.000-04:00

Things I liked:
*Defense blitzing at every oppurtunity unlike last season
*Portis' 15 yard run in the 4th quarter
*Chad's one-handed grab for his 3rd TD
*Hetland converting 40 and 47 yard FGs
*Wilbur's 44.5 yards punting average

Things of concern:
*Kickoff/Punt coverage team
*Leak's ability to take hits during the option plays

Things I didnt like:
Portis in no hurry to recover the botched snap

Suprises:
Markus Mason not getting enough carries..When its all said and done, I expect Mason to be the primary ball carrier for the gators..

No surprises here:
Chad Jackson establishing himself as the #1 receiver

Stat of the game:
If you are thinking about Chris Leak's 17 straight completions or Chad Jackson's 4TDs, am sorry..To me, stat of the game was gators getting penalized just 4 times for 30 yards..and oh yeah there were no personal fouls among those..

Week 1 pickoff !

2005-09-03T10:05:00.000-04:00

College football season has finally dawned upon us. Here are my predictions for Week 1:

Texas A&M over Clemson*
Miami over FSU
Georgia over Boise state
Auburn over Georgia Tech
Ole Miss over Memphis
Wisconsin over Bowling Green
Ohio State over Miami(Ohio)
Viriginia Tech over NC State
Louisville over Kentucky
Florida over Wyoming

'Not so big' Upset special 1: Notre Dame over Pittsburgh
'Not so big' Upset special 2: Rutgers over Illinois*

Gatorzone
Florida 45 Wyoming 20
Kestahn Moore will start
Chris Leak 3 TD, Chad Jackson 1 TD, Manson 1 TD

*Sudhan's pick

Rants of 2004

2005-09-03T09:36:00.000-04:00

9/24/04-Week after UT loss

Guys, after a week of mourning, Im back into college football..I am not going to talk abt the Kentucky game here, but i have a feeling that we are going to lose against Arkansas..

Here are the reasons why i think we wudnt win next week..most of these are stupid and i want my predictions/comments to remain that way, even after the game on Oct 2nd..I sincerely hope Zook will make me look like an Idiot with wins over Arkansas and LSU.

1. We got to lose to a SEC west team that plays us just for 2 years. Usually this happens on the road, and we shud have lost to Arkansas last year. Now its time for us to make amends. But there is a chance that this theory might be proved wrong. Since we lost to Ole Miss twice, we might beat Arkansas twice, in which case WE WILL DEFINITELY LOSE TO MISSISSIPPI STATE.

2. Teams I support usually dont fare well on the first saturday of Cctober.

3. Florida hasnt fared well in the noon-kickoff games covered by official SEC networks (CBS/Jefferson pilot)

4. Cmon, we have to lost twice in the Swamp. Arkansas and LSU set up so well for this..and there has to be a point where Zook's team will have to hit an all-time low before coming up with a nice 5 game winning streak which would include a win over Georgia..

5. ZERO pass rush

10/8/04-LSU week

Alrite guys, Im happy that Zook has proved me 50% wrong, but I doubt if he can prove me wrong this week.

Signs pointing to a loss:
1. Last good chance to lose at home.

2. 745 game. When did we last win a night game ? If am right, from the year I have started following college football we have won only twice, both when HBC was here..2001 at USC, Orange bowl vs Maryland. On contrast, look at the losses we had accumulated under our head recruiter: AT FSU-2002, LSU-2002, AT MIAMI-2003, AT TENNESSEE-2004. We almost lost another game, but that was a 645 kickoff. Thanks to Bobby McCray Zook's record stands 4/5.

3.If we win this game, Georgia will be the only team standing our way and we might meet FSU with a 9-1 record considering the dogs' track record. No way that can happen with Zook at the helm.

4. LSU is in Florida's position this year- A must-win game

5. My "October first week" theory might still prove right, since I have always experienced disappointments around Oct4-5 which is sandwiched between Arkansas and LSU games.

6. Man, I cant starve till 11pm with just the breakfast. Sorry coach, you are on your own this time !

7. Gosh, where did the pass rush go ? I guess my grandma can play QB against the gators.

Around the media after Zook's team gave us one more "exciting" game against Arkansas..

Closing comments abt gator nation by a Sun-sentinel columnist: Zook told his players to enjoy the victory, not to obsess over nearly losing such a big lead. That's the way it is here now, where you celebrate the ability to hold on for dear life.

Mike Bianchi:It's much more entertaining to see the Gators go up 38-7 as they did Saturday and then watch the fans absolutely freak out as Arkansas scores 23 unanswered points to pull within 38-30 with 6:47 left in the game.

"What the #$%! are you guys doing out there," one exasperated fan yelled.
"Come on, Zook, can't you manage the clock?" screamed another.
"Why can't we make anything easy?" lamented another.

Why are you people so angry? You should be thrilled to have a team filled with so much talent -- and tumult. The Gators are the biggest teases I've seen since Becky Rivers in the 11th grade. They win games they're supposed to lose; they lose games they're supposed to win.

Al Michaels

2005-06-24T21:24:00.000-04:00

Now that the NBA finals are over, I hope NBC talks to Al Michaels about joining John Madden in the booth for Sunday night football starting 2007. I have always enjoyed the duo and I wish they stay together.

Back from hibernation..

2005-06-18T15:43:00.000-04:00

Well, been a while since I posted something..its tough to get motivated in the off-season..but now that the season is approaching, I have decided to start writing again.. too many storylines to touch on..

Lets start with Billy Ball..

Gators finally beat Kentucky and went on to win the SEC tournament. Gators were more than a finesse team this year with the addition of defensive specialist in Larry Shyatt. I really loved the way the team played D, with the exception of Roberson. Cory Brewer and Al Horford were really good in the defensive side of the ball, but if Florida were to be successful next year they need some offensive production from both of them.

Talking about offensive production, Florida is all set to lose its top 3 scorers to the NBA draft, who averaged 46 points among themselves this year. Everybody knew that Lee and Roberson were going to the NBA, but Walsh suprised many by declaring early..Now that he has had good workouts, he's projected to go ahead of Lee and Roberson..Some of the mock drafts have Walsh going to Miami and Lee to Detroit in the first round..The sad part here is Walsh shaving his head prior to the workouts..Lets hope Walsh gets his curlies back once he gets into a team...

Go Gators !

2005-04-05T21:52:00.000-04:00

In Urban we trust !

2005-02-19T13:00:00.000-05:00

Thanks CentralILGatorFan for the poster !

Pats will win it all..

2005-02-05T15:43:00.000-05:00

I guess this is a no-brainer...Though they proved me wrong last week, I still think Philly's offense is too inconsistent to beat the Pats..To me, Pats have won the Super Bowl already by beating the Steelers...Nevertheless, I wish Kearse and Lito good luck !

Last week: 1-1 Overall: 6-4

Divisional Championship games..

2005-01-22T19:17:00.000-05:00

Mike O'Hara makes a lot of sense now. Out of 48 voters, this Detroit News columnist is the only guy who didnt vote for Peyton Manning in this year's MVP voting. Instead, he chose Mike Vick.

AFC:

Patriots over Steelers

Pats sure missed Corey Dillon on that halloween weekend, when their 21 game win streak came to a screeching halt. New England had a total of 5 rushing yards in that game..Yes, that's pretty much the same number of yards that Corey Dillon has averaged per carry this season. Dillon in the backfield eases the pressure on Brady, who turned the ball over thrice in that loss to the Steelers.

NFC:

Falcons over Eagles

The defense which puts more pressure on the opposing QB wins this game. Eagles would have a tough time doing that with Vick, whereas Falcons should be able to do it when Eagles' WRs struggle to separate themselves.

Last week:3-1, Overall: 5-3

Sania Mania

2005-01-21T18:22:00.000-05:00

Well, the Sania Mania finally got hold of me as well. I was so curious to see her in action against Serena that I was up until 3am EST on Friday. Man she didnt disappoint, though the match was a route. She was understandably nervous in the first set, but once she got her feet wet, she clearly matched Serena shot for shot on most occasions.

With a stronger first serve and less unforced errors, Sania should be a force to reckon in the WTA circuit come 2006.

NFL Post-season: Week 2 pickoff

2005-01-11T22:05:00.000-05:00

AFC:
Colts over Patriots
If Peyton cant beat the Pats this time, he never might...Pats will keep it close though, inspite of their injury riddled secondary..

Steelers over Jets
Jets somehow beat the Chargers, inspite of their attempts to gift the game..But Steelers are way tougher than the Chargers..I know its easy to second-guess, but what in the world were the Chargers thinking, when they made no attempt to gain yards in those last 3 downs before settling for a 40 yards FG?

NFC:
Eagles over Vikings
Seems no team has won a playoff game after losing its last two regular season games. Hmm.. Eagles are poised to break this, now that Moss isn't 100%.

Falcons over Rams
Falcons D more than Vick will decide this game.

Last week: 2-2

BCS model

2005-01-09T18:51:00.000-05:00

Now that the current BCS system has failed for the second consecutive year, I guess we should look at some better alternatives.

Here are the proposed BCS scenarios :-

1. Five BCS bowls
Current system + an extra bowl, two more at-large bids. Not much of an upgrade from the current one..

2.Plus one model
Current system + NC game that matches the No.1 vs No.2 after the 4 bowl games..I guess this complicates the situation a step further..

3.Eight-team playoff
Typical playoff system and lots of fun..When convincing the ADs for an extra bowl game remains tough, getting three more is going to be impossible...

Hence I suggest the following model which encapsulates all the above, but comes with a bit of tweaking.. (pretty much the NFL playoff model)

Christmas Eve/Christmas Day
BCS BOWL A - BCS # 4 vs BCS # 5
BCS BOWL B - BCS # 3 vs BCS # 6

New Year Day
BCS BOWL C - BCS # 1 vs Winner of Bowl A
BCS BOWL D - BCS # 2 vs Winner of Bowl B

Week after the New Year day
NC GAME - Winner of Bowl C vs Winner of Bowl D

This system would have yielded the following matchups this year:

Orange-I: Auburn vs Utah
Rose: Cal vs Texas

Fiesta: USC vs Cal/Texas
Sugar: Oklahoma vs Auburn/Utah

Orange-II: USC/Cal/Texas vs Oklahoma/Auburn/Utah

Am not saying that this would be the perfect model, but a good trade-off considering what we have at present..

Just my 2¢ !

Wild card weekend pickoff..

2005-01-07T18:39:00.000-05:00

NFC:
Green Bay over Minnesota
St.Louis over Seattle

AFC:
Indy over Denver
San Diego over NY Jets

So long 2004..

2005-01-05T21:25:00.000-05:00

Saturdays just got longer, now that the football season has ended...2004 ended just the way it started for the gators..But 2005 as I see looks good if not "Rose-y". Lets see what Meyer General can do with this talented team..

Talking about talent, USC Trojans are in a different level altogether in the college football world. Its one thing to have talent, but showing it on the field and executing plays to perfection needs a lot of focus and tremendous work ethic both from the players and the coaches. Hats off to the Trojans ! Apart from Leinart, the credit should also goto those awesome playmakers they have around him. It was great to see those receivers catching everything thrown at them, not to mention Bush and White's running.

They simply annihilated the Sooners..I would have loved to see USC playing Auburn as well..Its time BCS comes up with a decent system..More on this topic soon..

But its kind of crazy that a few ESPN experts are rating Leinart ahead of Big Ben...I guess its too early to say that..

On a side note, I was a miserable 14-14 on my bowl pickoff..but i can take solace from the fact that I was 7-1 picking the BCS and other New Year bowl games..

Starbucks with Shelley

2005-01-05T21:02:00.000-05:00

Even though I dont agree on a few things with this writer, its worth reading if you are a gator fan..

-------------------------------------

Starbucks with Shelley -- looking into a bright Gator future

For Gators everywhere (please feel free to forward to any of your Gator friends throughout the Gator Nation) ---

Because (no matter how diverse our everyday lives) we all bleed orange and blue, I want to share with all of you an hour I was privileged (there's no other word for it) to share with Shelley Meyer just after noon on New Year's Eve.

For any non-Gator fan on earth, it would have been no big deal, just a couple of serendipitous acquaintances, new friends, going to Starbucks and doing that girl-talk thing about our families, jobs and the events and challenges of everyday life.

But for Gator fans, that family, job, events and challenges are those of our new coach's wife, and they shed a LOT of light on the future that's in store for all of us. And in spite of some stupid snarking on the part of a local self-aggrandizing sports columnist in the paper this morning, I'm here to tell you that the Meyers will brighten our collective future, bringing desperately needed dignity, discipline, competence and confidence back to Florida Field.

First, the nutshell. These people are really smart. Intellectually and personably. Good with ideas, good with people. They have both strength of character and depth of decency, and they're totally down to earth and vibrantly enthusiastic about the opportunities life presents (ranging from ensuring the Utes' perfect 12-0 season to becoming heart-and-soul Gators).

You all may have read about Coach Meyer's ability to put his strategic and tactical vision into action and his ability to mix the Marine-quality demands of his tough, no-nonsense discipline with depthless compassion and support for the individual development of players battling their personal demons. And you may have read about his brilliant introductory press conference a few weeks ago in Gainesville where he won over both the fans who yearned for the return of Steve and those who ached for Zook with a few insightful tributes to the accomplishments of each and some well-chosen words forecasting the future of the Gators.

But a man's choice of life partner says even more. Shelley is a Master's trained psychiatric nurse who -- in addition to being a world-class mom of their three kids -- does intake and evaluation of developmentally disabled kids (autistic and others) at Utah's University Medical Center as well as teaching in their College of Nursing. (Note: The moment Shands and the UF College of Nursing got wind of her credentials, they wisely started recruiting her with the kind of intensity Jeremy was investing in Urban.) Shelley also runs and works out in the gym, teaching spinning (that's sort of like an exercise bike, not a textile production device) as the current activity of choice. She's down-to-earth, direct, strong and doesn't miss anything.

Except, much to her chagrin, any telltale signs a few weeks ago that her husband was plotting a surprise 40th birthday for her; for the first time ever, they caught her utterly unaware -- it was a massive success. (I told her it wasn't her fault; it was ours: that all of the distractions about UF recruiting Coach Meyer, the hassles of planning to move, etc., were just a diabolical Gator plot to re-direct her attention, to help her husband pull off the deception.)

But think for a moment what kind of man, intensely embroiled in the last quarter of his icon-shattering team's so-far perfect season and unprecedented march on the BCS, would take time out to plan a huge surprise party for his wife, and who could successfully do so without missing a beat in his performance on the job. It was a preview of his grasp of what's truly important in life, as well as his ability to guide the Utes to their final victory while making effective inroads into Gator Country. This is multi-tasking at its best, an ability any Gator coach will need desperately in order to reverse the disasters portrayed so painfully in the Peach Bowl.

We have heard a lot of chatter from Gator fans who hadn't absorbed the significance of Coach Meyer's consistently stunning track record, fans who thought he was not ready for the big leagues. I'm hoping that the Fiesta Bowl has silenced those concerns, or at the very least, given those naysayers reason to open their minds to possibilities that others of us have long perceived as probability.

But we've also heard chatter from the other end of the spectrum, fans who say Coach Meyer is only using Florida Field as a jumping off point to go to the pros. One final reassurance from my meeting with Shelley -- that's not an issue. The Meyer family is tired of moving: they really feel they've earned the ideal location for a career. They're coming to Gainesville for good.

So Gator fans out there everywhere: Reacquaint yourselves with the idea of Gator supremacy, first in the SEC, then the nation -- If you thought life with Steve Spurrier was good (and I did ! ) you "ain't seen nuthin' yet." It won't happen overnight; as every one of us who suffered through the Peach Bowl knows, we have a long row to hoe before we get where we want to go. Thank God that Coach Meyer likes a challenge, because he sure has one to deal with. (After seeing that game film, any lesser coach would be u-turning back to the Wasatch Mountains at mach 4.) But these folks are serious about teaching the Gators to be winners, so our road is only rising before us.

Happy New Year -- and Goooooooooooo GATORS ! ! !

-Desert Gator

Bowl Pickoff

2004-12-29T16:33:00.000-05:00

Well its time for the bowl games in college football...Here are my picks for this year:

NEW ORLEANS BOWL
North Texas (7-4) vs. Southern Miss (6-5)
I sure can recall So Miss beating quite a few good teams the past few years.

NEW CHAMPS SPORTS BOWL
Georgia Tech (6-5) vs. Syracuse (6-5)
I like Reggie ball to be one of the top QBs next year.

GMAC BOWL
Bowling Green (8-3) vs. Memphis (8-3)

FORT WORTH BOWL
Marshall (6-5) vs. Cincinnati (6-5)
Marshall has proved to be a good team even after Leftwich's departure..

LAS VEGAS BOWL
UCLA (6-5) vs. Wyoming (6-5)

HAWAII BOWL
UAB (7-4) vs. Hawaii (7-5)
I picked UAB initially, but after seeing that the game is going be to played in Hawaii and this being Timmy chang's last game, am leaning towards the warriors.

MPC COMPUTERS BOWL
No. 18 Virginia (8-3) vs. Fresno State (8-3)
I know Virginia is over-rated, but picking bulldogs here is going to be tough. But these non-BCS teams have consistently screwed up my picks. They win if I pick them to lose and they lose if I favor them. Lets see..

MOTOR CITY BOWL
Connecticut (7-4) vs. Toledo (9-3)
Reason for this pick-Bruce Gradkowski..Dont know if he's a great QB..but have been hearing a lot abt him of late..

INDEPENDENCE BOWL
Miami of Ohio (8-4) vs. Iowa State (6-5)
My love for MAC continues...

INSIGHT BOWL
Notre Dame (6-5) vs. Oregon State (6-5)
Beavers' 6-5 record doesnt reflect how good the team is...They are a good pick to play against the gators in "If only.."Bowl.

HOUSTON BOWL
UTEP (8-3) vs. Colorado (7-5)
I need to get past my buddy Sudhan in the SI Bowl pickoff..He chose the buffs...

ALAMO BOWL
Oklahoma State (7-4) vs. No. 24 Ohio State (7-4)
Without Troy Smith, Buckeyes' offensive MVP is its kicker Mike Nugent.

CONTINENTAL TIRE BOWL
No. 25 Boston College (8-3) vs. North Carolina (6-5)
I know the Miami win is big, but...

EMERALD BOWL
New Mexico (7-4) vs. Navy (9-2)

HOLIDAY BOWL
Texas Tech (7-4) vs. No. 4 Cal (10-1)
Not a great time to play Cal..Having Texas in the name doesnt help either..

SILICON VALLEY CLASSIC
Northern Illinois (8-3) vs. Troy (7-4)
I guess this would be one of the toughest picks of the season.

MUSIC CITY BOWL
Minnesota (6-5) vs. Alabama (6-5)
Even without Brodie Croyle, I guess the Tide can beat the Gophers.

SUN BOWL
No. 21 Arizona State (8-3) vs. Purdue (7-4)
I say Purdue has played better teams and its schedule helps win this one..

LIBERTY BOWL
No. 10 Boise State (11-0) vs. No. 7 Louisville (10-1)
Its tough to pick against the cards, but the LSU coaching vacancy couldnt have come at a worst time. I think Petrino would be the next coach at Baton Rouge.

PEACH BOWL
No. 14 Miami (8-3) vs. No. 20 Florida (7-4)
How can I pick against my beloved Gators ? Go gators, beat the canes..I would be doing the gator chomps on Berlin's face when he throws that 4th quarter interception..

OUTBACK BOWL
No. 8 Georgia (9-2) vs. No. 16 Wisconsin (9-2)
Easy pick here..

COTTON BOWL
No. 15 Tennessee (9-3) vs. No. 22 Texas A&M (7-4)
Sorry Vols.. fortune can carry a team only to a certain extent..

GATOR BOWL
No. 17 Florida State (8-3) vs. West Virginia (8-3)
Unless Rix plays, this is a safe pick.

CAPITAL ONE BOWL
No. 12 LSU (9-2) vs. No. 11 Iowa (9-2)
I love the way Kirk Ferentz does his job..Am surprised he's not among the most sought after coaches' list..

ROSE BOWL
No. 6 Texas (10-1) vs. No. 13 Michigan (9-2)
I guess Mack Brown proves his worth here..

FIESTA BOWL
No. 5 Utah (11-0) vs. No. 19 Pittsburgh (8-3)
Im wondering when the Big East would lose its automatic BCS bid.

SUGAR BOWL
No. 3 Auburn (12-0) vs. No. 9 Virginia Tech (10-2)
Alrite tigers..time to show the ACC what SEC is all about..

ORANGE BOWL
No. 1 USC (12-0) vs. No. 2 Oklahoma (12-0)
I initially picked the Sooners thinking they wont lose two back to back NC games..but after seeing the trash talk from their camp, I guess Leinart & Co. would have enough motivation to make it two in a row for both the teams...

What to expect

2004-12-29T16:14:00.000-05:00

Florida Gators, College Football, Pro Football, Cricket..