Great article, Randy. Thanks for putting it all in perspective. Cee
----- Original Message ----- From: "Randy Platt" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, November 03, 2009 6:00 PM Subject: [gatortalk] Re: [gatornews] [SUN]: Gators suspend Spikes a half gamefor eye gouge [Barlis] > > > Okay, just for a moment everybody take off their orange and blue glasses > and > relax. First, IMHO, what Spikes did was wrong and before you start with > the > justification routine, I ain't buying that either. If the shoe were on > the > other foot we would be screaming bloody murder about the injustice. Oh > wait, we did, Darnell Dockett come to mind. Fans of other schools and the > media are going to play this up, so remember your Gator hide and nut up. > Arguing with these people is a waste of your time. Spikes lost his cool > and > for that he has to pay a price, a half game suspension. Meyer knows what > he > is doing, he realizes that it doesn't matter what he does, some folks will > find the punishment insufficient, but better to send some message than no > message at all. But so you don't think everyone in the country thinks > this > a big deal here is another article that appeared in today's Tampa Tribune. > which pretty much sums up my thoughts on the whole affair. > > > > JAFO > > > > > > Randy Platt > > aka "PCGator" > > aka "The Armchair Quarterback" > > aka "The Other Randy" > > > > Later Gators! Afterwhile the Rest! > > > > > > > > By JOE <mailto:[email protected]> HENDERSON | The Tampa Tribune > > Published: November 2, 2009 > > Updated: 11/03/2009 07:52 am > > I 'm sure by now you've seen the video clip of Florida Gators > <http://www2.tbo.com/topic/k/florida-gators/> linebacker > <http://www2.tbo.com/topic/k/linebacker/> and defensive captain Brandon > Spikes <http://www2.tbo.com/topic/k/spikes/> poking his fingers inside > the > helmet of Georgia running back Washaun Ealey during a scrum > <http://www2.tbo.com/topic/k/scrum/> Saturday. It is "must-click TV" in > cyberspace. > > To the casual observer <http://www2.tbo.com/topic/k/casual-observer/> it > looks like Spikes <http://www2.tbo.com/topic/k/spikes/> was trying to rip > Ealey's eyeballs out of their sockets, which I suppose he probably was. > > Bad Brandon. > > Bad, bad Brandon. > > He shouldn't have done that. His head coach, Urban Meyer, didn't think he > should have done that either. You can't go around trying to poke out the > eye > of another player, even if he is from Georgia. On Monday, Meyer suspended > Spikes <http://www2.tbo.com/topic/k/spikes/> for the first half of > Saturday's game against Vanderbilt. > > Thus ends Florida's chance to repeat as national champion. > > I'm just kidding. > > Back away from the e-mail program. Remove your hand from the "send" > button. > Meyer gave a proportional response. It's a two-bit punishment for a > two-bit > offense, and that's just as it should be. Given the same situation, no > coach > in America would have been any tougher. I understand not everyone will > agree > with that. > > For those who want to take this as the latest evidence that Meyer is soft > on > crime, though, consider this: If you suspend every player who gouged, > pulled, poked or otherwise did things they aren't supposed to during > pileups, there would be no games played. We'd all have to spend Saturdays > raking leaves. > > That doesn't make what Spikes <http://www2.tbo.com/topic/k/spikes/> did > right, but it's also the way the game is played. > > Earlier in the game, Georgia got one of its three personal fouls > <http://www2.tbo.com/topic/k/personal-fouls/> when a player ripped > Spikes' > helmet off. Meyer said Spikes <http://www2.tbo.com/topic/k/spikes/> > complained that his eye was poked during the exchange, which it probably > was. Spikes' biggest mistake was forgetting that when you play for a > program > like Florida, nothing goes unnoticed on the football > <http://www2.tbo.com/topic/k/football-field/> field and people are always > going to talk. > > Once the chatter started, Meyer had to do something. Spikes > <http://www2.tbo.com/topic/k/spikes/> seems to understand that. > > "I accept responsibility for my actions and I accept the consequences of > my > actions. I would like to apologize to my team and the coaching staff and > Washaun Ealey," he said in a statement. "Football is a very physical and > emotional game, but there is no excuse for my actions." > > Old-timers would laugh at the notion of Spikes > <http://www2.tbo.com/topic/k/spikes/> being docked even a half-game for > something like this. The stories of biting, punching and gouging at the > bottom of a pile are a standard part of football lore and it has been that > way since the first guys put on a pair of shoulder pads. > > I suspect Meyer didn't want to do anything, to tell you the truth, but > once > the cameras caught Spikes <http://www2.tbo.com/topic/k/spikes/> in the > act > he probably didn't have a choice. > > "We understand the game of football," Meyer told reporters in Gainesville. > "Some of us have played it. Very emotional things happened in that game in > particular that were not good for either side, but the bottom line is > we're > Florida and he's Brandon Spikes <http://www2.tbo.com/topic/k/spikes/> and > we expect certain things. He understands." > > That's the right perspective. I love rushing to judgment as much as > anyone, > but I just can't get worked up about this. I certainly can't come close to > agreeing with ESPN talking head (and former NFL player) Mike Golic, who > called it a "classless, unsportsmanlike move." > > That's a bit harsh. > > It certainly wasn't sportsmanlike, but very little that goes on during a > Florida-Georgia game would fit that description. It wasn't sportsmanlike > when Georgia rushed the field after scoring a touchdown two years ago. It > wasn't sportsmanlike when Meyer retaliated last year by calling a pair of > timeouts in the final minute of a lopsided win. > > But classless? Please. > > It was just football. > > Brandon Spikes <http://www2.tbo.com/topic/k/spikes/> got caught. He pays > the price. > > Move on. > > > > > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ 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 2008 National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
