Tag: news

Gators News: October 2, 2020

The weekend is nearly upon us, with the Gamecocks heading to Gainesville to take on the Florida Gators to kick off the SEC’s Week 2.

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Another game day weekend is nearly upon us on this Friday, with the South Carolina Gamecocks heading to Gainesville to take on the Florida Gators in The Swamp on Saturday to kick off the Southeastern Conference’s Week 2 of gridiron action.

Speaking of the SEC, USA TODAY Sports college polls editor Eddie Timanus took a look at the five Week 5 college football games with the biggest impact on the College Football Playoff. No. 7 Auburn Tigers at No. 4 Georgia Bulldogs leads the list of biggest games this weekend.

With the Bulldogs on the mind, Paul Myerberg and Erick Smith asked the five biggest questions surrounding Week 5, including Georgia’s quarterback conundrum. The situation at quarterback is the most interesting aspect of a key SEC rivalry typically reserved for the second half of the season.

In other news, the USA TODAY Sports staff made some bold predictions for Week 5 of the college football season. Surprise performances and unexpected outcomes are anticipated each weekend in the wild world of college football. Even if everyone knows they are coming, guessing when and where they will happen is difficult.

Finally, in some potentially fortuitous news for the Gators, the Clemson Tigers’ former five-star running back Demarkcus Bowman is transferring after just two games. Bowman’s second choice when he committed to Clemson was reportedly Florida and there is speculation that he will end with the Gators back in his home state.

Around the Swamp

It’s great to be a Florida Gator!

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With options available UFC 254’s Khabib Nurmagomedov not looking past Justin Gaethje

With options available UFC 254’s Khabib Nurmagomedov not looking past Justin Gaethje

With options available UFC 254’s Khabib Nurmagomedov not looking past Justin Gaethje

Justin Gaethje talks about the matchup with Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 254

Justin Gaethje talks about the matchup with Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 254

Justin Gaethje talks about the matchup with Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 254

Khabib Nurmagomedov breaks down his matchup with Justin Gaethje at UFC 254

Khabib Nurmagomedov breaks down his matchup with Justin Gaethje at UFC 254

Khabib Nurmagomedov breaks down his matchup with Justin Gaethje at UFC 254

Adrian Peterson has one big regret from his stint with the Saints

Detroit Lions running back Adrian Peterson misses one important thing from his time with the New Orleans Saints back in 2017: fresh beignets

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Adrian Peterson spent a summer and four regular season games with the New Orleans Saints before being quietly traded away to the Arizona Cardinals; Alvin Kamara’s breakout rookie season kind of pushed him out of the rotation behind Mark Ingram.

But there’s just one thing Peterson truly regrets from his time in New Orleans: not eating enough beignets when he had the chance.

And who can blame him? The powdered sugar-coated dessert is a New Orleans icon, served hot and fresh out of the deep fryer with a cup of simple black chicory coffee. When there isn’t a public health crisis slowing things down, the line of tourists at Cafe Du Monde runs deep at Jackson Square (though locals know better: Cafe Beignet’s spots at Decatur Street or Royal Street are the way to go near the French Quarter, but the New Orleans Coffee & Beignet Co. on St. Charles might be the best in the city).

Peterson only saw 27 carries in New Orleans, a result of the three-deep backfield, though his ability to stick around in the NFL three years later shows he still has something left in the tank. He took 22 attempts for 75 yards last week, and is expected to start against the Saints this Sunday. Peterson may not be able to threaten the Saints’ streak of 46 games played without allowing a 100-yard rusher, but you never know. He’s surprised people before.

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NFL broadcast coverage maps, Week 4: Saints at Lions

The New Orleans Saints and Detroit Lions game broadcast will be limited to their respective local markets for Week 4 of the 2020 NFL season.

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Will your local Fox affiliate be broadcasting the New Orleans Saints game this week? If you don’t live in the New Orleans or Detroit markets, probably not.

That’s illustrated in Week 4’s broadcast maps from 506sports, which has Saints-Lions coverage shown in yellow where we’ve embedded it below. Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and large swaths of Georgia and the Florida panhandle will be receiving the next Saints game, as will Michigan and most of its Upper Peninsula (though a few localities along the Minnesota border will be watching Vikings-Texans, denoted in green).

Additionally, this will be the first Saints game that Jonathan Vilma will be working for Fox Sports since leaving ESPN earlier this year. He’s teamed up with Kenny Albert on play-by-play in the booth, offering his input as an analyst. The Saints and Lions will be kicking off at noon.

This week’s map is hardly unanimous. With six different games to be shown on Fox Sports across the country, various affiliates will be splitting interests to a fairly wide degree. Most of America will be tuned in to Browns-Cowboys, marked in red:

The other games shown in the New Orleans market this week include a double-header on CBS, with the Buccaneers and Chargers playing early followed by Chiefs-Patriots. The Eagles and 49ers will continue their wars of attrition on “Sunday Night Football” while the Falcons and Packers prepare for Monday night’s game.

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Gators News: October 1, 2020

Today we flip the calendar over to a new month as the fall season slowly creeps over the Sunshine State.

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Today we flip the calendar over to a new month as the fall season slowly creeps over the Sunshine State. On this first day of October, the news presses are running slow — the calm before the weekend storm. Nonetheless, we have a couple of stories as we ride the downslope towards college football Saturday.

At the top of the news, the SEC approves a handful of intraconference transfer waivers due to “unique circumstances”. Commissioner Greg Sankey announced that exceptions would be made to the long-standing bylaw that requires intraconference transfers to sit out a year before gaining eligibility in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and eligibility relief provided by the NCAA.

Our other story for today is that Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott pushed for College Football Playoff expansion but was denied. Due to the league’s limited number of games compared to its Power Five peers, the Pac-12 would have stood to benefit most from increasing the number of teams in this year’s playoff.

Here is the news from the Gators Nation.

Around the Swamp

It’s great to be a Florida Gator!

https://twitter.com/FloridaGators/status/1311452838917279750

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Saints sign free agent WR Malik Henry to the practice squad

The New Orleans Saints signed former West Georgia WR Malik Henry to their practice squad, replacing second-year pro Lil’Jordan Humphrey.

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The New Orleans Saints practice squad exchanged one wide receiver for another by signing Malik Henry, a second-year pro out of West Georgia. He initially joined the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent in 2019, and stuck around on their practice squad until mid-October. The Indianapolis Colts signed him in early December, ultimately waiving him during their 2020 training camp after he spent 17 days on the COVID-19 reserve list.

Henry weighed in at 5-foot-11 and 183 pounds before timing the 40-yard dash in 4.41 seconds at his West Georgia pro day. He was credited with 30 receptions for 407 yards and seven touchdown catches in 2018, also fielding 14 punts for another 253 return yards. He’s also not to be confused with the “Last Chance U” star and former Nevada quarterback of the same name.

He’ll be replacing wide receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey on the 16-man practice squad. Humphrey, who is in his second year with the Saints after signing with them out of Texas, was designated to the practice squad injured list after missing practice on Monday and Friday (though he was not listed on the injury report, so it’s unclear what he’s dealing with). Humphrey, listed at 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds, appeared in 5 games last season while playing 52 snaps on offense. He was targeted just once on a 15-yard pass, which fell incomplete.

Other Saints-related moves reported on the daily NFL transactions wire include the activations of Eli Apple and Keith Kirkwood, two former Saints teammates now with the Carolina Panthers. Both of them ended up on injured reserve in Carolina but will get the opportunity to play again this season due to rules changes amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The Saints will host the Panthers on Oct. 25, after their Week 6 bye, so there might be some revenge game motivation in the works.

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