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Gators News: July 14, 2020

It looks like it is going to be a little longer before we know the fate of the Southeastern Conference’s 2020 fall season.

Back when I was in elementary school, we used to sing this song in music class called “Today is Tuesday”. The chorus of the song went like this.

Today is Tuesday

Today is Tuesday

What a wonderful day!

To tell the truth, I never really agreed with that sentiment.

Personal anecdotes aside, we have taken the second step into another week and today things are not too much different than yesterday. While the Southeastern Conference’s athletic directors’ meeting took place yesterday, nothing definitive came as a result yet.

SEC Commissioner @GregSankey joined us after meeting with conference ADs today, offering a frank assessment of the current state of covid-19 and college football: pic.twitter.com/knfx1BlUtO

— Paul Finebaum (@finebaum) July 13, 2020

It looks like it is going to be a little longer before we know the fate of the SEC’s 2020 fall season.

Around the Swamp

All-Time Gators Men’s Basketball Bio: Scottie Wilbekin 2010-14: Wilbekin was a part of four-straight Elite Eight teams and went from being a defense-first role player as a freshman to the premier player in the conference as a senior.
2020 Gators Football Recruiting Profile: Antwaun Powell: Powell is the seventh-highest rated of Florida’s 21 enrollees in the 2020 cycle and the fifth-highest on the defensive side of the football.

It’s great to be a Florida Gator!

😷 pic.twitter.com/KVnUEDm4Ui

— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) July 13, 2020

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Gators News: July 13, 2020

A new week is upon us and given the events that preceded the weekend we are in for one heckuva few days as we roll into the middle of July.

A new week is upon us and given the events that preceded the weekend we are in for one heck of a few days as we roll into the middle of July.

It is expected that sometime later today the Southeastern Conference will make its announcement concerning the shift to conference-only schedules already taken by the Big 10 and PAC-12, as well as the Ivy League’s decision to cancel all fall athletics. The Patriot League is also canceling its 2020 fall athletics season, according to a source.

The Patriot League is canceling fall competition (for fall sports), @TheAthleticCFB has confirmed. Will make a decision on winter sports at a later date. League will explore possibility of fall football in spring. @MattBrownEP had it first.

— Nicole Auerbach 😷 (@NicoleAuerbach) July 13, 2020

In other news, Major League Baseball is currently struggling with its restart due to numerous reports of positive COVID-19 cases while the National Basketball Association is trying its hardest to keep its bubble from being burst.

Around the Swamp

Expect the SEC and other collegiate conferences to follow the Big 10’s lead: Not only does this alter the schedules of Big 10 teams, but also every team that was scheduled to play a Big 10 team in non-conference play. As a result, it’s just a matter of time until the rest of the FBS makes the same call.
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey’s concern for the season is ‘high to very high’: In light of rising COVID-19 cases across the south and decisions made by the Big 10 and PAC 12 over the last several days to move to conference-only football schedules this fall, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said he is concerned about the prospect of playing football in the fall during an interview on the ESPN Radio show Marty & McGee on Saturday morning.

It’s great to be a Florida Gator!

Coming soon…#GatorsROH #GoGators pic.twitter.com/0TxtC01ab8

— Florida Gators (@FloridaGators) July 13, 2020

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Gators News: July 9, 2020

The number of positive coronavirus cases continues to increase steeply leaving the nation and sports wondering how to move forward.

As we head into the downslope of another week, the number of positive coronavirus cases continues to increase steeply, leaving the nation — much less the sports world — wondering how to take its next steps forward.

Yesterday, the Ivy League announced that it will cancel all fall sports and will not resume athletics no sooner than January 1, 2021. The decision affects football as well as men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s cross country, and women’s field hockey and volleyball. Stanford also announced that it is cutting 11 of its 36 varsity sports programs, including field hockey, wrestling and men’s volleyball.

Additionally, Ohio State decided to hit the pause switch on all voluntary workouts after an unconfirmed number of athletes tested positive for COVID-19; the exact number was not released in order to protect the identity of those infected.

Here is the rest of our stories from yesterday.

Around the Swamp

All-Time Gators Men’s Basketball Bio: Chandler Parsons (2007-2011): Chandler Parsons was one of the best players from the late Billy Donovan era, leading the Gators to an Elite Eight his senior year for the first time since the back-to-back national championship seasons.

It’s great to be a Florida Gator!

As part two of the "Listen, Learn & Act" initiative, we asked some of our head coaches to share their experiences with racism & social injustice. https://t.co/1cyq394dke

— Florida Gators (@FloridaGators) July 9, 2020

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Gators News: July 8, 2020

Not a whole lot has changed over the past 24 hours as the summer spike of coronavirus cases continues to threatened organized sports.

Welcome to another humpday edition of Gators News!

Not a whole lot has changed over the past 24 hours as the summer spike of coronavirus cases continues to threatened organized sports at all levels here in North America.

Meanwhile, the show goes on in Korea and Japan, where live baseball is being played on a daily basis despite the COVID-19 outbreak, which has been kept mostly in check in the eastern Asian nations thanks to citizen compliance in using face masks and practicing social distancing.

Here is the news from the Gator Nation.

Around the Swamp

Florida Gators fall two spots in ESPN 2021 football recruiting rankings: Despite this run on talented players in the defensive backfield, the Gators were jumped by the Oregon Ducks, who moved up two spots in ESPN’s rankings to No. 5, and LSU, who saw a whopping five-spot increase to No. 6.
Gators guard Tre Mann will return to Florida for sophomore year: Mann joins a loaded backcourt and will likely compete for the starting point guard job with Cleveland State transfer Tyree Appleby.
Injured Beal won’t participate in NBA restart, Wizards announce: Former Florida and current Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal won’t be joining his team in Orlando when the 2019-20 NBA season restarts later this month.

It’s great to be a Florida Gator!

The four-year old 🐊⚽️ program winning 1⃣9⃣9⃣8⃣ #NCAASoccer national title 🏆 is No. 3⃣ on @pat_dooley Top 2⃣0⃣ 🐊 teams in today's @GainesvilleSun

➡️ https://t.co/XMMRTLEv9K #GoGators
📷 by Jason Howey pic.twitter.com/WFfR1zbWJc

— Gators Soccer (@GatorsSoccer) July 6, 2020

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Gators News: July 7, 2020

Continuing to delve deeper into the summer doldrums the ugly head of COVID-19 continues to pervade areas of our society, including sports.

As we continue to delve deeper into the summer doldrums, the ugly head of COVID-19 continues to pervade all areas of our society, including sports.

For the time being, the powers that be have every intent on moving forward with a college football season this fall, but many are becoming more and more skeptical. Some believe that time is running out for the season to begin as scheduled and others just do not think the season is going to happen — not for a lack of trying, however.

Professional sports have also been struggling to get their protocols perfectly implemented as well as dealing with the “human factor” with some among the game who may not be reliable in complying with safety measures or may pose potential threats themselves. For Major League Baseball, once such example appears to be umpire Joe West.

MLB considers Joe West a high-risk individual. He plans to return for this season despite that.

"I don’t believe in my heart that all these deaths have been from the coronavirus." https://t.co/PuWfDq1OQC

— Lindsey Adler (@lindseyadler) July 7, 2020

However, alluding back to the earlier topic: if you want college football (or any sports), please wear your masks and practice social distancing. If we all work together as a team, we can get through this pandemic and have our sports again.

Around the Swamp

Which game is Florida football’s most important in 2020? Find out here: For the Gators, Andrea Adelson wrote about what she thinks is the key matchup this season if Florida is going to get over the hump in Year 3 of Dan Mullen’s tenure and compete for a spot in the College Football Playoff.
The Athletic ranks Florida football as the ninth-most dominant program of the last 50 years: Unveiled on July 2, The Athletic staff writer Matt Brown released his rankings of the 25 most dominant programs in this time frame (subscription required), with the Alabama Crimson Tide, who have captured nine national championships since 1973, leading the way.

It’s great to be a Florida Gator!

#GatorsWearMasks #FaceMasks4FallSports #GoGators pic.twitter.com/Fu0FePYG2T

— Florida Gators (@FloridaGators) July 6, 2020

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Gators News: July 6, 2020

A new week is once again upon us with concerns over the reopening of sports growing by the day as MLB conducts its “summer camp”.

A new week is once again upon us with concerns over the reopening of sports growing by the day.

Currently, Major League Baseball is conducting its “summer camp” in hopes of getting in a 60-game schedule over the next few months, though that process has gone anything but smoothly so far. Long story short, some players are opting out and teams have suspended their practices until the results of Friday’s testing come in — which were delayed due to the holiday weekend. So far overall, MLB’s testing regime has been incomplete and certainly has a ways to go before it reached mid-season form.

In other sports news, Louisville Courier-Journal published an opinion piece this morning explaining the virtues of pushing the college football season back into the spring of 2021. Given the sharp rebound of the virus after the accelerated re-opening, this is very good advice.

Here is the rest of the news from the weekend.

Around the Swamp

There is no better time than now to expand the College Football Playoff: The fact is, many fans perceive college football to have an egalitarianism problem. And that’s because, largely, it does have an egalitarianism problem.
Kaiir Elam among ESPN’s second-year college football players to make an impact in 2020: With the departure of C.J. Henderson to the professional ranks, Elam will have an opportunity to shine in his second season with the Gators.
2021 four-star running back Byron Cardwell gets an offer from Florida: On Thursday, the staff took a step toward strengthening this group further by offering San Diego, California four-star running back Byron Cardwell.
All-Time Gators Men’s Basketball Bio: Neal Walk: During his time in Gainesville from 1966-69, Walk set multitudes of team records that still stand, including career rebounds (1,181), points per game (20.8), and rebounds in a single game (31), while also leaving school as the all-time leading scorer.
All-Time Gators Men’s Basketball Bio: Tony Miller: Miller’s tenure at Florida came just after legendary Neal Walk had left Gainesville in 1969 and the guard from Indiana filled those massive shoes admirably, leading the Gators in scoring all three years he played.

It’s great to be a Florida Gator!

Happy Independence Day, Gator Nation! #GoGators pic.twitter.com/ZpZh6Nj9mq

— Florida Gators (@FloridaGators) July 4, 2020

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