My sentiments exactly. I was shocked that a Florida newspaper would actually publish something like that.
Randy Lyons Sent from my Sprint Palm Prē [email protected] wrote: If I were king of the world I would fire the entire "sports depts" of the Miami Herald and the Palm Beach Post. This is shameful. Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry -----Original Message----- From: "Juno Gator" <[email protected]> Date: Fri, 1 Jan 2010 09:56:13 To: <[email protected]> Subject: [gatornews] Happy New Year Gatornews from Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post courtesy of JunoGator Commentary: Gators' Urban Meyer is lost and in denial, and his problems will only get worse By Dave <http://www.palmbeachpost.com/services/staff/dave-george-the-palm-beach-post -15326.html> George Palm Beach Post Staff Writer The well-turned alibi is an art form here in New Orleans. That's why the Sugar Bowl is the perfect setting for Urban Meyer, who would try to convince himself and convince his loved ones of almost anything right now just to stay the coach of the Florida Gators for one more day, and one more day after that, and so on and so forth. Who exactly are those loved ones? Meyer gave the answer Thursday morning during a press conference that, theoretically, almost ridiculously, was supposed to be about tonight's game with Cincinnati at the Louisiana Superdome and not about the coach's indecision on leaving the Gators forever or for just a short while. "I have three children," said Meyer, "that mean more to me than anything. I have a football team that means more to me than anything." Doesn't quite add up, right? Two "more than anythings" can't possibly add up to one tidy and logical "everything." For a man living two lives, however, it makes some kind of sense. A man with two families. A man who is totally devoted to and ultimately influenced by whichever family he happens to be with at the moment. Snipers are calling Meyer a liar in all of this, in part because it's such a convenient rhyme. I'll tone it down a bit and call it dishonesty on the part of a Type-A plus individual in the midst of a psychological and emotional freefall that's been a long time coming. More than anything, Meyer's not being honest with himself about the mess he's created or the reasons behind it. He's in denial. He's lost, and the carefully controlled order of a growing Gator dynasty is slipping through his fingers, too. Football won't fix it this time. Win or lose against the Bearcats and the problems continue to grow, for Meyer and for his placeholder Steve Addazio, whose job it is to prevent some new high-profile coach from coming to Gainesville and ripping out all the seams on the Meyer system before Urban can get back to it. Taking up meditation or giving himself a good talking-to about limiting his obsessions won't work, either. Tellingly, as Meyer shook hands Thursday with Cincinnati interim head coach Jeff Quinn at the obligatory press conference photo pose, a message signal buzzed on the Gator boss' cell phone. Without ending the handshake or pausing his broad smile, Meyer instantly pulled the device from his pants pocket, checked it and returned it in one smooth motion with his free hand. Might have been a recruit checking in. Might have been a report on a recruit getting away. A head coach never rests this time of year, or any other time of year, and a head coach is all Meyer knows how to be, no matter what the doctors and his better instincts are telling him. So now Meyer is telling his wife and kids that unexplained health reasons involving his heart and possibly his brain or both won't cause him to leave them prematurely. He'll make whatever changes are necessary and he'll always be there, even if it means quitting the Gators for good. Meanwhile, he's telling the Gators that his health, an issue to be discussed "at an appropriate time," need not separate the coach and the players, either. He'll make whatever changes are necessary and he'll stay close by, temporarily out of his office but not out of touch, planning all the while a grand reunion next football season. There's really nothing more he can say right now, because there's nothing worth believing. That really wasn't dehydration, after all, that sent Meyer on an ambulance ride in the dead of night following Florida's devastating loss to Alabama in the SEC Championship Game. "You've got to recheck yourself," Meyer said to all who fail to understand a father fibbing about the warning signs of a heart attack so as not to alarm his children. Recheck yourself. So says the mentor who resigned one night last week and on the next morning told his players he's taking an indefinite leave of absence but, hey, let's not let any outside distractions get to us as we prepare for Cincinnati. "I wanted to ease their minds," Meyer said Thursday. "There are so many young people, old people, everybody just worries about what's next, what's next, what's next, and I think I just wanted to ease their mind that 'Let's just go stick together and what happens in the future is to be determined.'" Tune in tonight, then, for Cincinnati vs. TBD. It's more than a football game. It's a drama about a mixed-up coach and the Florida team he's loving to death, for Meyer has no real idea where he stands. All things considered, New Orleans, a city shrouded in perpetual fog and neon-lit delusion, is as good a place as any. Tebow's finale, Meyer's status dominate spotlight for Sugar Bowl BY JOSEPH GOODMAN Urban Meyer hugs quarterback Tim Tebow after the Gators won the 2008 national championship. Urban Meyer hugs quarterback Tim Tebow after the Gators won the 2008 national championship. NEW ORLEANS -- For the Florida Gators, the beginning of the New Year is the end of an era. Friday will mark Tim Tebow's final game in orange and blue. For four years, he has been a constant source of strength and stability for UF's football team. Now, Tebow is leaving, and all that remains is uncertainty. No. 5 Florida (12-1) plays No. 4 Cincinnati (12-0) at 8:30 p.m. in the Sugar Bowl at the Louisiana Superdome. Tebow's final game also could be the final game for coach Urban Meyer and the unofficial end of the Gators' lordship over college football in the Sunshine State. >From beginning to end, this was a bizarre season for the Gators. On Thursday, there was room for one more twist when the 911 tape of Meyer's medical episode on Dec. 6 was released to the public. Officially, the university said that Meyer was admitted to a hospital around 4:40 a.m. because of dehydration. The transcript of the call to 911 made by Meyer's wife, Shelley, tells a different story. Shelley told an Alachua County dispatcher that her husband had awakened in the middle of the night complaining of chest pains and then collapsed on the floor of their bedroom. ``My husband is having chest pain,'' Shelley said. ``He's having chest pain -- 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
