Dance lessons? A. Leon Polhill FlaNative1845 330 NW 45th Street Gainesville, FL 32607 (352) 367-4642
> -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On > Behalf Of Rick > Sent: Sunday, November 02, 2008 8:47 AM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: [gatornews] Daytona Beach News Journal: Why the timeouts, Urban? > > > November 02, 2008 > > Gators back in title picture > By KEN WILLIS > MY TWO CENTS > > JACKSONVILLE -- Heading into Georgia week, most onlookers talked about > a Florida team that appeared to be peaking at the right time. But > we've seen enough upsets in recent years to know you don't put much > stock in peaks or momentum. > > Except maybe now. Everyone who's ever been shorted by the BCS > computers knows there's no tried and true method to determine the best > teams in the land, but it's really tough to imagine anyone playing > better, wall-to-wall, than the current Florida Gators. > > Sure, there were some big breaks for Florida in the first half, but by > nightfall there was no mistaking which team was better --- or, at > least, hottest at this given time. In fact, only one question remained > at the end of the Gators' 49-10 romp. > > Why the timeouts, Urban? > > Thank goodness for them, of course, because rivalries like > Florida-Georgia don't survive on blocks and tackles alone. You need > sub-plots, hurt feelings and the accompanying anger. > > Make no mistake about it, Urban Meyer has already poured the > groundwork for Georgia's 2009 motivation. Up by 39 with 44 seconds > left, Meyer called a timeout after a 14-yard run by backup tailback > Emmanuel Moody. The Gator fans --- by that time, they made up 90 > percent of the remaining fans --- loved it. > > Another Moody run, for 17 yards, was followed by another timeout with > 30 seconds remaining. The fans roared again, and by now, it was > obvious that this was Meyer's answer to Georgia's massive TD > celebration of a year ago. > > FANNING THE FLAMES > > For the record, the UF coach will half-heartedly concoct a wholesome > reason for those timeouts, saying Moody was running well and hard and > should get another carry or two: "He deserved it." > > Also for the record, Georgia coach Mark Richt will pretend to be OK > with it. His acting job seemed even more forced, especially > considering the "drive-by" handshake he gave Meyer at game's end. > > "To me the rules say you've got three timeouts per half," said Richt. > "They can use as many as they want. It's in the rules. They used their > timeouts and they have the right to do that. I'm still very proud to > be a Bulldog; I'll tell you that." > > When he arrived in Gainesville nearly four years ago, Meyer promised > to make the rivalry games special. He's managed to get Florida-Georgia > revving to a level even Steve Spurrier would envy. > > As for the bigger picture, two items are now in play. One is hard to > control: Those BCS polls and computers, which will eventually > determine who goes to Miami in early January to play for a > championship. > > That doesn't really matter if the other item goes undone. Florida goes > to Nashville next week, and wouldn't be the first to leave Music City > heartbroken. Normally it's a record producer who provides the upset, > not Vanderbilt, but the Commodores can be troublesome for anyone > overlooking them --- and, this year, even for some who aren't. > > "It's gonna be hard for our team to overlook anybody," promised Meyer. > > It'll also be hard for Meyer to overlook one other potential > big-picture issue. Earlier in the week, Meyer claimed to be unaware > Tim Tebow had been playing with an ailing knee. But he's taking it to > a new level if he pretends to miss the protective boot his quarterback > had covering his left foot Saturday night. > > No big deal, said Tebow, who turned his ankle in the third quarter but > never missed a beat. Probably true, but even if he's slowed slightly, > the UF supporting cast is looking more capable all the time. > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > QUESTIONS & ATTITUDE > > The two timeouts in the final minute . . . what was Urban Meyer thinking? > > There should be no doubt what he was thinking: He was rubbing it in > and sending a truly less-than-subtle message to Georgia coach Mark > Richt that he didn't appreciate last year's TD celebration. > > But was it smart? Maybe not. Meyer and his players talked Saturday > night about how much last year's Georgia game motivated them all > spring and summer. All he did was give Georgia a little extra > motivation, which you know they'll try using to their advantage. > > Is that a good thing or bad? > > Don't know about the teams, but it's great for us, because these games > are much more fun if you know the two coaches don't like each other. > > Was Richt silly to try that onside kick in the first half? > > Sure, but only because it didn't work. If it had worked, they might've > renegotiated a new contract then and there. > > How did the annual clash of cultures go? > > This year there was a whole new twist. It's not enough that you have > Bulldogs and Gators wandering the streets together in the surrounding > neighborhood outside Jacksonville Municipal Stadium. This year, for > apparently no good reason, local officials allowed the Duval County > Fair to open during Florida-Georgia weekend, therefore giving over a > big chunk of the stadium parking are to Ferris Wheels and funnel > cakes. > > Many of the game attendees were left to wonder where all the parking > spots went. As for reaction from fair officials, the Bearded Lady was > unavailable for comment. > > The attendance was announced at 84,649. How could that be, when the > Jacksonville Jaguars only draw 60,000 or so for an NFL game in that > stadium? > > Here's the numbers deal for Municipal Stadium: The stadium holds > 72,000, but for Jags games they cover 8,000 seats, making the capacity > 64,000. The city's contract with the Florida-Georgia series guarantees > 82,000 seats, minimum, so an additional section of portable bleachers > is added above the west end zone. > > The attendance in the fourth quarter appeared to be much smaller. > > Given that about 75 percent of those wearing red and black had made > their way toward I-95, the attendance had dwindled dramatically. No, > no one expected a rout, by the way. It was enough to remind you of the > Steve Spurrier days at UF, when the Gators once won three straight > (1994-96) by scores of 52-14, 52-17 and 47-7. > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
