The Gators played in the semi-finals of the NIT Tuesday night, and as of the time I submitted this article, I was still trying to decide whether to find time in my busy schedule Tuesday night to watch the game.
It's somewhere in the middle of my list of priorities, just between waiting for fantasy baseball statistics to update on my computer screen and watching reruns of "Seinfeld."
At least the Marlins game is on TV, so I don't have to spend most of my night fiddling with Turkish proxy servers to try to bypass the blackout restrictions on MLB.TV. Hopefully, I can tune in before Pedro Martinez and the Mets open up a huge lead on Dutch sensation Rick VandenHurk and my Florida Marlins …
I doubt my Marlins will do much to ease my pain of the disaster that is the Miami Heat's '07-08 season. Maybe someone with deeper pockets can buy the Marlins. I'm looking at you, Mark Cuban. Maybe Cubs fans don't want you in Chicago, but where else is a Cuban more welcome than in Miami? …
If the Gators win the NIT, will they hang a banner in the O'Connell Center? I think it should read "2007-2008: Our bad." …
The Alligator sportswriters have been taking part in a weekly pickup basketball game, and after commenting recently that I was the Dan Werner of the sports staff, I was informed that I was the eighth person to make that claim. You see, while most people dream of being LeBron James or Kobe Bryant, we aim to score 9 points per game and shoot 30 percent from beyond the arc. That tells you all you need to know about the Alligator staff …
James Montgomery, who was the projected starter at tailback for Cal, wants to transfer to UF, but the Gators haven't offered him a scholarship yet. This news comes after Urban Meyer said that USC transfer Emmanuel Moody has failed to impress so far in the spring and is fourth on the depth chart at tailback. That puts him behind Kestahn Moore (who has yet to put together a memorable season after three years of solid playing time), Chris Rainey (who Meyer said last year was too small to ever be the primary tailback at UF) and Brandon James (who is 5 foot 6 and 180 pounds in high heels and a fat suit) …
My colleague Mike McCall recently participated in the University of Florida Fastest Student Contest, posting a piss-poor time of 5.53 seconds in the 40-yard dash. I would have run it, too, but I am not sure I have the stamina for it. Anyway, the winner was supposed to race some UF players, including Percy Harvin. Apparently, UF has reneged on Meyer's plan to offer a scholarship to any student who outruns the group of players. But with Harvin out for the rest of the spring and considering surgery for a heel injury, I say let him race anyway and give a scholarship to students who can't outrun him. They probably need it more …
I stumbled upon some UF-related gossip recently. While interviewing Cornelius Ingram after football practice recently, a woman and a little boy approached the UF receiver for a quick chat.
"Can you just tell him (the kid) that you played basketball with Matty?" the woman asked.
Ingram looked at her like she was nuts.
"You know, Matty. Matty Walsh," she said.
The woman, who identified herself as the sister of Lauren Anderson, Playboy centerfold model and Walsh's former girlfriend, told Ingram that Walsh and Anderson are back together and living in Belgium, where Walsh is playing basketball professionally. In other news, Walsh went from leaving school early for the NBA draft to now being the second most famous Matt Walsh in sports behind that New England Patriots video guy.
