GAINESVILLE -- Florida was a triple winner on Saturday. Let's review before we question former Florida offensive lineman Jason Watkins' fashion sense.
1. The Gators men's basketball team played its best game of the season (just my opinion) on Saturday, defeating Vanderbilt 82-68. Check Sunday's Herald for my game story. A few highlights:
-- Freshman center Kenny Kadji appears to be breaking out of his shell. He had four blocks on Saturday, including two consecutive blocks on Vandy sophomore center A.J. Ogilvy. Then, later in the game when Kadji checked back into the line-up, one of the Rowdy Reptiles standing behind me offered Ogilvy this colorful reminder: "Hey, Ogilvy. It's your buddy. He's going to stuff your junk on you ... twice!" Love those Rowdies.
--Five Gators scored in double figures including this fan fav. That's right. He didn't miss a shot. Made 4 of 4 from the field, including three 3-pointers.
--What impressed me most with Saturday's win was the fact that Nick Calathes wasn't at his best and the Gators still won convincingly. Calathes scored 14 points, his lowest scoring total in 15 games. After the game, coach Billy Donovan said Calathes played ill. And I don't mean ill'n like this!
--Nick Calathes complimented my haircut during post-game interviews. Seriously, he did. And so did Jeremy Foley. Two thoughts: Either it's a good haircut or my last one was really bad. Hmmmmm? Anyway, my beautiful wife shaved my head the other day (man she's going to kill me after she reads this) and the funniest thing happened. My dogs freaked out. Then one of them, Cahaba, started eating my hair. The ultimate tribute!
--Alex Tyus is the hardest working man in the game. Just wait until next year when this guy is surrounded by some qualities bigs. Tyus gonna _______! (OK, OK. No more corny links.)
--Florida plays at LSU on Tuesday. Thoughts? I'm sticking by my earlier prediction on this one. At the time, I thought Florida needed five wins to insure an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. Two wins later, the magic number is at three. Either three wins before the SEC Tournament in Tampa or two wins in the next four games and one win in Tampa.
--Gator great Jack Youngblood was at the game. He's looking good. Some weirdo was later arrested after giving Jack Youngblood the ultimate tribute!
BASEBALL
2. The Gators' baseball team defeated Louisville 10-4 on Saturday to clinch their weekend series with the Cards. Freshman left-hander Alex Penteliodis pitched six innings, allowing two runs, to earn a win in his collegiate debut. UF senior Brandon McArthur had a three-run double in the fourth, giving him five RBI in two days. Sophomore Riley Cooper went 2-for-4 with two doubles.
SWIMMING
3. The Gators' women's swimming team won its 17th SEC crown on Saturday. Read all about it right here. CLICK ME!
NFL DRAFT HOORAY!
OK, now to the NFL Combine. Televised workouts began on Saturday with offensive linemen and tight ends running 40-yard dashes and shuttle runs and all that fun stuff. Florida was represented by offensive tackle Jason Watkins and tight end Cornelius. A few thoughts:
--Most importantly, what exactly was Jason Watkins thinking with those neon lime green track shoes? Seriously, I wanted to crack open a Corona just watching the guy run. Mmmmmm, Corona! Actually, as Mexican beer goes, I'm a much bigger fan of Pacifico! Anyway, if you think of beer while watching Jason Watkins run the 40, then you're probably an alcoholic.
--Jason Watkins ran a 5.53 in the 40-yard dash. But who cares how fast an offensive lineman runs the 40, right? In the bench press workout, Watkins did the up-down 18 times. Is 18 reps a lot for an offensive lineman? Who knows? Who cares? The guy wore neon lime green track shoes. Give that man a fat NFL contract!
--Saturday was a big day for Cornelius Ingram, who missed his senior year with a knee injury. Ingram clocked a great time in the 40 (4.62 seconds) and also showed off his vertical leaping ability (33 inches). Congrats, C.I., on the comeback!
--Cornelius Ingram apparently spent about six hours with NFL doctors during his NFL medical examination. Percy Harvin got the special treatment, too. According to one article, Harvin missed the interview portion of his NFL Combine because he was busy with NFL doctors.
-jo-
Comments