December 23rd, 2007 11:29pm
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The colors from Ohio State are scarlet and gray. I can see why. Everything here is gray ” gray skies, gray buildings and people walking
around in gray-and-scarlet Ohio State windbreakers.
Nationwide
Insurance is big here. There’s the skyscraper downtown which serves as
company headquarters. Across the street is Nationwide Arena,
where the Columbus Blue Jackets played the Los Angeles Kings last night.
Saw a few fans in Blue Jacket jerseys following the game at the arena
district downtown.
Saturday, I took a walk …
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December 21st, 2007 04:09pm
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Florida coach Billy Donovan turned to an old stand-by when the Gators beat Charleston Southern 89-64 Wednesday night at the O’Connell Center.
With some help from the press, Florida forced 23 turnovers and made a season-high 12 steals.
Still, I wouldn’t expect to see Florida press as much Saturday against Ohio State. Donovan expressed his concerns about pressing following Wednesday’s win, which mainly centers around depth (just nine scholarship players) and the lack of a bona fide shot-blocker …
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December 20th, 2007 08:10pm
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Saturday’s game at Ohio State is a homecoming of sorts for Florida associate coach Larry Shyatt.
Shyatt was born outside Cleveland and attended the College of Wooster inOhio before earning his graduate degree at Akron University.
Shyatt also spent six seasons (from 1976-82) as an assistant coach at Cleveland State.
Shyatt said he was unsure if his mother, Doris, would be able to attend Saturday’s game in Columbus, but said he expects close friend Bob DiBiasio to make it. …
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December 18th, 2007 06:36pm
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Dick Vitale will be sidelined from calling college basketball games until early February after recently undergoing surgery to remove lesions in his throat.
Some critics regard Vitale as a caricature, always sticking up for coaches and promoting the positives of college basketball.
But from my experiences, you would be hard-pressed to find a public figure of his magnitude that is more generous with his time to the media.
Dick has been enormously helpful …
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December 17th, 2007 11:46pm
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Former Gator, now Atlanta Hawks rookie center Al Horford faced his first NBA controversy last week when he committed a flagrant foul against Toronto Raptors guard T.J. Ford.
Horford received consolation and support from his former coach, Billy Donovan, who didn’t speak to Horford directly but sent him a text message the morning after the foul occurred.
The digital message? Keep your head up.
“I sent him a text message saying, ‘Hey listen, you have to move past …
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December 13th, 2007 12:14pm
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Florida coach Billy Donovan thought the 10-day break from games during final exams would give his young team a chance to improve because of the increased practice time.
So far, it hasn’t worked out that way.
Guard Walter Hodge (back spasms) and forward Alex Tyus (bruised tailbone) have been forced to sit out practices the last three days. Both are expected back in time for Saturday’s game in Jacksonville against Georgia Southern, but …
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December 10th, 2007 08:00pm
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Here’s an excerpt from an interview I did with former Florida forward Al Horford prior to the Atlanta Hawks game against the Orlando Magic at Amway Arena in Orlando. The complete story on Horford will appear in Wednesday’s Gainesville Sun.
KB ” What’s been the biggest adjustment from college life to NBA life?
AH ” “Just probably the traveling, even though we did traveling in college, in the NBA it’s always something to do basketball-wise every …
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December 5th, 2007 06:53pm
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The Orlando Magic lead the NBA’s Southeastern Division with a 16-4 record and hold the second best record in the Eastern Conference behind the Boston Celtics.
Which begs the question, would the team have gotten off to the same start with Billy Donovan than it did with Stan Van Gundy?
Donovan held the Magic coaching job for six days in June before returning to Florida after a change of heart. Orlando then turned to Van Gundy, who …
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December 3rd, 2007 05:27pm
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It appears that Atlanta Hawks forward Al Horford continues to adapt quickly to the pro game. This afternoon, the NBA just named the former Gator as its rookie of the month in the Eastern Conference.
Horford averaged 8.7 points and 10.2 rebounds per game in the month of November for the Hawks. He leads all rookies in rebounds and ranks second in steals and minutes.
The 6-foot-9 Horford helped lead Florida to back-to-back national titles in …
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