Sports Talk - Tampa Bay Sports Blog

Sports Talk has a new location

dfrancois — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 18:11:00 GMT

So that it's easier to use and easier to read, we've moved the Sports Talk blog to our main site, abcactionnews.com.

Click here to visit the new and improved Sports Talk.

Is the Vinny Lecavalier trade rumors really over? No way.

gilkor — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 00:57:00 GMT

By now, the Lightning are ready to take the ice against Philadelphia. For a brief moment, the focus will

be on the team, not Vinny Lecavalier. For the first time since the rumor mill heated up about a

potential trade to Montreal involving Vinny, we had our chance to ask questions first hand.

The entire Tampa Bay media along with a couple of Canadian reporters fired away at Vinny and GM

Brian Lawton. I came away with the distinct feeling that all was not said today. For one, I was thoroughly

unconvinced that the Lightning are not at least thinking about moving forward without Vinny. Lawton

said the team was not shopping Lecavalier, nor are they looking to trade him, anytime soon. What does

anytime soon mean? I'll tell you. It was a statement for management to buy time as they explore and

discuss life without Vinny. The boys in the Ivory Tower have yet to come to a conclusion. Or perhaps,

all the hub-bub that has fired up since the rumors started is all the barometer Lightning owners will need.

Then again, there is this thing called the economy. It stinks. And the Lightning are feeling it, as is

every other franchise outside of baseball, which apparently is immune to such a thing. Listen, 10M a

year is a heck of a lot of money for this franchise, but then again, Vinny Lecavalier is the face of this

franchise. You would think by now that the NHL owners would get their senses in order. These long

term deals ( 11-years for Vinny) are idiotic. The league can't sustain those kind of numbers, and certainly

not this franchise. Remember, the Lightning only made money one year, the Stanley Cup year. That's

a recipe for bankrupcy, unless your billioniare Bill Davidson, who could sustain those losses for a time,

and then said, the hell with it.

Lawton also told us today that he sat down with Vinny and told him he was not on the market. When

Vinny was asked if he had spoke to Lawton about this, he said, "not really." There was a discussion,

but by Vinny's tone, not much was accomplished. That tells me Lecavalier is not exactly convinced he

won't be dealt, or he just didn't want to say anything.

This trade rumor will not go away until the Lightning come out and say Vincent will not be traded.

Lawton would not commit to that, saying ' who knows what will happen in 10 years." Fair enough. But

this decision will not be made in 7-8-9 years, it will be made soon, perhaps by season's end.

Here's where it gets dicey. Should the Lightning trade Vinny, my guess is the lockeroom will deflate

like a balloon, no matter who the Lightning get in return. V is well liked, but there is something he needs

to do to be the complete franchise player. He needs to take a more active leadership role. If all he

wants to do is play the game at the highest level he plays at, fine. But, if I was his owner, I want him to

be a guy like Dave Andreychuk. Andy was the single most reason why this franchise won a Cup. He

brought leadership, he brought a presence on the ice and in the room, and he taught the team how to

respect the crest. I would have thought Vinny would have developed into that guy by now, but he

hasn't. Marty St. Louis has, who at this given time, is the MVP of this team.

The one person who I'm am growing ever more impressed with is Interim Head Coach Rick Tocchet.

I like the way he is dealing with this situation. I like the way he teaches these players. I like the way

he delivers his message to the youth and vets alike. He's a keeper.

The question now - Is Vinny a keeper?

Tom Korun

TK's AFC Championship Game pick

gilkor — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 20:27:00 GMT

We know this much about the Baltimore-Pittsburgh matchup, it will likely not even be a contest. I have all the respect in the word for the Baltimore defense. In fact, they’re tops as far as I’m concerned. But I think the fairy-tale ride of a rookie Quarterback and rookie Head Coach ends in Pittsburgh.

What HC John Harbaugh has done this season, along with QB Joe Flacco has been nothing short of sensational.

Again, they will have to do it on the road, against a Mike Tomlin team well positioned for a trip to Tampa.

What concerns me is that the Steelers beat the Ravens twice in the regular season. Beating a team three times in one year is no easy feat. What the Steelers seem to have now is a running game with Willie Parker as the wheels. They did not have that earlier this season. QB Ben Roethlisberger was trying to do too much. He doesn’t need to now.

Baltimore’s defense will have plenty say about whether Parker is affective. The Ravens D allowed almost 400 yards of offense last week against Tennessee, but they did create three turnovers, which is the name of the game.

If Roethlisberger doesn’t screw this game up, and plays within himself, Steelers win easily. I’m banking on BR to manage the game, a low, low, low scoring game at that. One of these two teams might not even hit double digits……that would be Baltimore.

TK’s AFC Championship game prediction is: Pittsburgh 20 Baltimore 9

Tom Korun

TK's NFC Championship Game pick

gilkor — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 20:06:00 GMT

It took a little time to get over the shock of Arizona and Philadelphia in the NFC Championship game. After therapy, we are now ready to short out this matchup.

Let’s see, we have an Arizona Cardinals team that hasn’t been on NFL radar screen for at least five decades, maybe six. Oh, there were times the Arizona version had a defense that could carry them places, but an offense that held them back. Now, it appears they have both, and are not remotely listening to the experts who think they have little chance against Philly, even at home.

It’s hard to side with the Cardinals in this game. After all, Philadelphia has been to the NFC title game five times in the last eight years. Second, the Eagles spanked Arizona on Thanksgiving Day by 28 points. If this game was played in Philly, the Eagles could make their reservations for Tampa. But it not, which definitively gives Arizona an advantage. You are looking at a franchise that is starving to become a brother in the post-season fraternity. They have a seemingly ageless Quarterback in Kurt Warner who has experience, and has tasted the SB serum. To count on Warner making the same mistakes he did the last time these two teams played (three interceptions), would be a mistake. Their defense made a grown man cry (Jake Delhomme). You know Arizona will let it all hang out Sunday. Nothing to lose, but they have certainly gained plenty of respect lately.

Do I think Arizona has a chance to win this game? I do. Same goes for Philly. Personally, to make Philly a 3 ½ point road-favorite in this game was a mistake. If Philly wins, it will be by less than 3.

My NFC Championship Game prediction: Arizona 21 Philadelphia 20

Tom Korun

What Derrick Brooks and Warrick Dunn had to say about Tony Dungy's retirement

deassa — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 23:12:00 GMT

LB DERRICK BROOKS

“I'd first like to congratulate Coach Dungy on a great career and wish him well moving forward. I certainly look forward to partnering with him on various community projects in Tampa. He certainly meant a lot to me as a role model; displaying high character, great integrity and consistency as a man. We cannot ask for a better ambassador for the game of football than Coach Dungy as he has always lived his life by faith, family and football, in that order.”

RB WARRICK DUNN

“The good news is that Coach Dungy may leave football but what he's really doing is moving his extraordinary influence to other places. Just like he did for me and for countless other players - he will always be able to help teach young men how to be grown and able men. And we need this - not just in football but in the bigger game of life.”

Gator Talk....what Billy Donovan had to say about the state of his team.

deassa — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 21:29:00 GMT

On upcoming game versus Auburn:

"This is our first SEC road game for us against a team that is very quick and very athletic. Last year they played a good portion of the year without their center, Korvotney Barber, who is back and is having a great year. They have added some different pieces to their team and they are a team that shoots the ball from behind the line very well. They also are a team that changes defenses and tries to give you a bunch of different looks. Going on the road, I think us handling the ball will be critical. I think we will see some full court pressure and some changes in defense in the half court so our ability to continue to do a good job on assist to turnover ration will be very important. Another big key to the game will be those quickness plays and loose ball plays because they are so quick to the ball. They are a unique to team to defend because they do have the ability to play five guys in the perimeter and put five three-point shooters out there, so that will be a challenge!

. We have a lot to get ready for because they are a complex team that is consistent and somewhat experienced and older. They have guys that have been around for a couple of years."

On Gator's need for consistent play:

"You would always like to see the consistency get better. We have had some great shooting games and some awful shooting games. That is what you are always looking for in a young team, player development and growth."

On Billy Donovan inching in on 300 Gator victories:

"In today's day and age of coaching, it is really hard to stay at a place for a long period of time. I appreciate everyone in the administration for the opportunity they provided for me. In 13 years here going back to Greg Stolt and Eddie Shannon to Mike Miller and Udonis Haslem to Matt Walsh, David Lee and Anthony Roberson, and then to this last group, I have been very fortunate to have had some really good players to coach. I think when you see that number there, it takes me back to when it first started and believing in those guys that changed me as a coach."

On Billy Donovan's first year coaching at UF:

"We were not the most talented group but they played really hard and gave me everything they had. Certainly there were some frustrating games but I give that team a lot of respect. Because they really overachieved. It is always special when you get a chance to be apart of something, impact from the ground floor and be a part of the building process. There is definitely an appreciation for when it all started and everything that went into it."

On being out-rebounded against Ole Miss:

"It is always bad when you get out-rebounded by 24. It is no question a challenge for our frontcourt because they are not physically imposing. We have some guys like Allan Chaney , Kenny Kadji and Eloy Vargas that could help in that department but are deficient and behind in some other areas. Sometimes our players are very much consumed with trying to block out and in trying to do so physically, when the ball comes off the rim, a lot of times, we are not a great team at reacting to the ball. Those are plays that we have to get better in, where a shot is getting ready to go up and you see our guys trying to block out and are under contact and when the ball comes off and they are tangled up. That is one area that we have to try to get better in. The other area is what I call rotational block outs. Our guards sometimes on the perimeter get hammered way too much off the dribble and what happens is the ball enters the paint and we get caught with a big man providing help and the!

shot goes up and our guards have got to do a better job in rotating down to rebounders that are left open in the middle lane or on the weak side. Our guards contribute to being out-rebounded by 24 as much as our frontcourt did. Nick Calathes ended up having seven rebounds in the game and that is great for a point guard but in retrospect, he probably should have had 12 to 15. He needs to get down inside and rotationally block out. A problem is that our guys don't quite see the play developing in the middle of the play. They react after the play, and that is something they need to get better in. Hopefully through practice, we can try to put them in those situations where we can expose it to them and make them address it."

On Freshman guard Ray Shipman:

"Ray did a pretty good job while he was in there (Ole Miss game). More than anything else, when we play a team that plays zone like they did, Ray still needs to understand his niche on offense. In time, I think that he can be a very good three-point shooter. Most freshmen that come and play in the backcourt, we are not relying on their shooting but on their defense. His understanding in the game on Saturday on how we could utilize his skill set against a zone and be effective is something that will be important to him going in to the rest of the season. He is a guy that could help on the boards but I would not classify him as a great rebounder. He is an active rebounder, especially on the offensive glass, but Ray needs to be the type of player we can put on someone where he can play a defense and put pressure on his opponent and slow somebody down."

On this year's team compared to last year's:

"Last year, they did not know really how to practice. I don't know if Dan Werner, Marreese Speights, and Jonathan Mitchell, who were sophomores, saw the beginning product. To go all the way back to losing to Manhattan in the NCAA tournament and really being dominated in that game and the work that went in to becoming better defensively and getting better, there was a lot of hard work that went in there. Last year on our team, our players just did not know and we didn't have anybody who could really show them the way. At the end of last season, they started to see some of the areas where they needed to get better and saw the correlation between practicing well and having consistency in practice. The next step that comes from practice is the level of commitment on things that we need to get better at as a team. They have gotten better in a lot of different areas. I think we are a better transition defensive team than we were a year ago. There is definitely some deficiency in t!

he things we have and I think every team has it. There is no pure team but the good teams identify what their problems are and what they have to do then find a way to overcome them or really confront them. Some of those things on our team have been exposed to us and now we have to see if can confront them."

On Auburn's Junior guard Tay Waller:

"He is a deep three-point shooter. He has had games where he has taken over 10 three-point shots. He has the green light to shoot and has great range, which is going to be a real challenge for us. This team has a lot of great three-point shooters and we have to be able to block out against this team. We also do not want to give them open, uncontested threes as they really thrive on that."

On Alex Tyus's recent production:

"We have got to understand his game and how to get him the ball and identify where he needs to get the ball. In his first few games, a lot of his points came on transition and in the open court. He did start the Ole Miss game that way as he got a dunk in transition and then Nick (Calathes) made a nice pass behind the defense and he got a layup. He got off to a good offensive start but in the SEC now, he is not going to be able to out run or sneak behind players and get those baskets he had early on. There were some times however, where we could have thrown him the ball and used his quickness and we missed him. I don't think that is anything other than the fact that I have to point that out to the team. Alex has got to find a way to get rebounds and be much more aggressive when he is posting up. I don't think he is ever going to be the smash mouth, post-up, physical guy but there are sometimes when we are coming down in transition and the ball gets past out to the wing and in!

stead of passing it to the top, the guy on the wing should pass be able to pass the ball to him, even if he has a man on him, and let Tyus use his quickness."

Seattle hires Bucs Linebacker Coach

gilkor — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 13:13:00 GMT

Reports out of Seattle say that Gus Bradley has been hired by Seattle as Defensive Coordinator. So, the Bucs defensive staff continues to deplete beginning with the exit of Monte Kiffin. There is also a report that former Bucs linebackers coach Joe Barry is headed to the Seahawks in the same capacity. Barry was thought to be up for the linebackers job in Tampa if Bradley moved on. I never got that logic. Why would Barry want to come back to a franchise that ticked him off before his departure in the first place.

Now we wait and see if Raheem Morris is in play as Denver's Head Coach. We should hear something there soon.

Oh, by the way, Former Lions Head Coach Rod Marinelli was hired by the Bears as their Defensive Line coach.

Tom Korun

Does Tim Tebow go pro? If so, will Marve head to Florida

gilkor — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 03:13:00 GMT

After listening to Gators Head Coach Urban Meyer today, Tim Tebow will defintely be surrounded by people who will help the lefty make the right decision. Tebow will get input from several people around the NFL who Meyer trusts, including Jaguars Head Coach Jack Del Rio.

I noticed something today when Tebow disembarked the plane upon the teams arrival in Gainesville. He looked like a man in deep thought, almost anguished with something, and that might be the decision he faces. Or could it be Tebow is leaning towards the NFL already and felt the effects of his final trip with the Gators. I don't think I've ever seen Tebow look so serious, especially after coming off another national championship.

If Tebow does go pro, I would not be surprised in the least if former Miami QB Robert Marve from Tampa heads to Florida. Of course, he'll have to enroll as a regular student, and pay tuition, and walk-on. I am convinced that Florida is Marve's first choice, and may opt for this move to work around Miami's hard stance to not allow the former Plant High QB to play for Florida. Keep in mind, tuition to Florida for in-state students is not that expensive, likely within the affordability of his family. If his intent to play for Urban Meyer, I think this move is a slam-dunk. But it all looms on Tebow's decision. I ask you - would Marve be a good fit for the Gators?

Tom Korun

Q&A with Bucs General Manager Bruce Allen

gilkor — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 21:50:00 GMT

Bruce Allen opening statement.

"We are evaluating the season. When I am talking about the season it is really starting February 15 last year through the end of the Raider game. We are very pleased with some of the accomplishments this year. We are awfully disappointed in the end, and it makes it a very interesting project.

"It is a 9-3 team that put itself in position to make a strong run in the playoffs. It has players that you all were recognizing as potential Pro Bowl players. It is a team that finished 0-4. All in one, all in one locker room, same coaches and same players. It makes it very important that we do an honest assessment of what took place this season and that is what we are doing right now."

The Buccaneers have struggled in December in the past few seasons and Allen was asked about the late season woes.

"It is really hard to compare one season to another. You have a different cast of players and coaches from year to year. There are different circumstances. We are analyzing the way we practice, and everything, from the medical health of our players to what we can do. Although we are pleased that 9-7 is not a poor record. We are not satisfied with where we ended up this season. It is disappointing, and we are going to correct it."

Tampa Bay had over $20 million under the cap during last season, and Allen was asked if that money could have been spent to give the team better depth to withstand the injuries that impacted the Bucs down the stretch.

"The reason we have cap room is we've been able to carry over cap room from the 2006 season to the 2007 season, and from the 2007 season to the 2008 season, and we are going to that again this year for the 2009 season. We did that because our intention is to spend the cap room. We never want it to go to waste and we are allowed to do that according to the collective bargaining agreement.

"As far as depth, when we went out into free agency last year we looked at the players that were going to be available. We looked at the draft obviously to build some depth on the football team. Our free agents class has some really good success when you compare it to the other free agents that were available. Antonio Bryant as you all know had a spectacular season. He was better then any other free agent production wise at wide receiver. [Defensive lineman Jimmy] Wilkerson was third or fourth in sacks among the free agents available. Jerramy Stevens was second I believe in receptions among free agent tight ends. [Center Jeff] Faine was a Pro Bowl alternate, so we addressed a lot of the needs in free agency.

"At the end of training camp you have to cut your team to 53 players. You are allowed to put guys on your practice squad. Your depth has to come from within there. If there was a great free agent available December 15th who demanded or commanded a high salary, yes we would have signed him. The players available December 15th are not the players that command that type of salary, so our depth is based on where you are at the beginning of the year. I am not going to just bury by any means injuries, but everybody has to manage their injuries any way they can during the season. I don't think there was a player that we felt could really help this team in December that we didn't go after, or would not have gone after. If the trading deadline was December 15th, we would have tried to trade for someone immediately to sure up some of the holes."

With the Buccaneers owners, the Glazer family, taking on a big purchase of the English soccer club Manchester United, some have theorized that as a reason why the Bucs have not spent as much money on player salaries. Allen was asked if Tampa Bay has the money available to sign any player that he and the front office would want for the Buccaneers.

"Oh yeah, that has never even been a question," Allen said. "What I want to do is make sure that we spend on it on people who are going to be apart of the Buccaneers for the 2009 season and beyond. It doesn't make sense to bring in some of the players that will be available in free agency and have them play next to players that are more worthy of them then their reward. When you talk about the cap room understand that where we spend is different then the cap. The fact that we utilize the collective bargaining agreement to our benefit, and some teams don't do that. We carry over to make sure that every cap dollar we have is never wasted."

Allen was asked again if he feels limited in what he can spend in free agency because of Glazer's pouring millions of dollars into Manchester United.

"No. Manchester United, there's a reason why it's the most valuable sports franchise in the world," said Allen. "It's very successful. That has nothing to do with us. The Glazers have given us every opportunity to sign anybody that we elect to sign. In fact, they very much would like us to make sure we do improve the football team. It's never once been brought up. First of all, they are two totally separate companies completely, but the Glazers have been very strong in wanting us to be aggressive, but picking the right people. We've signed a few free agents I'm not real proud of, and I probably feel worse about it. You aren't going to hit 100 percent in free agency or the draft. We have been aggressive and we plan to be aggressive. A player like Jimmy Wilkerson, I'm sure he didn't get the headlines when we signed him, but his production was very good. His special teams contributions were outstanding and he showed up in the sack department. He's part of the reason why we were 9-3 at one point. We will continue to be aggressive."

Allen was asked about the departure of defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, and how that affected the team. After the rumors of Kiffin leaving became public the Bucs defense struggled mightily in the final four games, and Kiffin confirmed his leaving the organization with two games remaining in the season.

"Obviously that has been discussed and bantered around," said Allen. "When I think of Monte, I think of someone who has had a tremendous career here, and going into this season we had a conversation that if Lane Kiffin (Monte's son) got fired by Raiders, and if Lane did ‘x' what he was going to do, and he has earned the right to make that decision. To say that is the reason why we missed a tackle in the Oakland game I think that would be shallow. I don't think we are going to face that situation again, so I don't know what I can learn from last year that will help us in the future. I am certain we won't face that situation. All the other (coaches') kids are too young and won't be coaching for along time."

Kiffin is not the only coach that is leaving Tampa Bay. Allen discussed the changes and potential changes in the staff.

"[Tight ends coach] Bob Casullo and [assistant head coach] Larry Coyer are looking at other opportunities. [Linebackers coach] Gus Bradley has interviewed for the defensive coordinator job in Seattle. When I came down here there was no decision yet from Seattle in terms of who they are going to hire. I'm not aware of how many people they're going to interview. [Defensive coordinator] Raheem [Morris] has interviewed with the Denver Broncos for their head-coaching job. He has not had any conversations with the Rams."

Allen was asked about who is accountable for the Bucs missing the playoffs in 2008.

"First of all, we are all in this," said Allen. "We win as a team and we lose as a team. Do I share the responsibility? I do more then share the responsibility. I wish there was something I could have done different. I don't know what we would have done differently at the time. Once again we were in a very unique and enviable position of being ahead at home. In our stadium with our fans, going nuts, after Sabby's (Piscitelli) interception there was electricity running through everybody's bones, but we didn't finish.

"To feel the fans pain, we feel it. We are fans we are big fans. We want to see the Bucs win also. Not to steal anybody's line but ‘I feel their pain' is easy because it has been tough. It is tough to watch the playoffs. You had an opportunity. It is not like we were 8-8, we had put ourselves from the hard work of our players and our coaches in good position after 12 games. To be in a strong position for the playoffs, and for that to be taken away is hard."

Allen answered what direction has the Glazers instructed him and Gruden to go in for the season ahead, and how has that changed from years in the past.

"No different than the feelings of the fans. There was hurt at the end of the season. We're going to make sure we correct it for them, and we have to correct it for them. We just have to come up with the right plan, and catch some breaks in free agency and the draft. They feel confident that this team is going to be better next year and better in the future because we do have a core that is quite exciting for us of young players. They're going to be better in '09, better in '10 and even better in '11. That's what we have to build around because that's what we have."

Allen was asked if the Glazers have mandated that organization go in a different direction or have they put any extra pressure on you to get that done quicker?

"They live in championship world, and they want us competing, but that hasn't changed since the first time I met them."

Allen also took a question about the fans that want Gruden fired. Gruden is Tampa Bay's all-time winningest head coach, yet there are fans that want him fired.

"I'm happy people care. I love the passion that the Buccaneers bring on from our fans. They want us to do well and they want the Bucs to win. The fans that want to second guess us or second guess Jon as a coach want us to win. That's the most important part of it. This season as it sits in our stomachs doesn't taste very good. It's a very sour taste. I love that we are in a results-based business. I love that we keep score every week, and I love the win-loss record. That's what makes this so great and that's what creates the passion. Our job is to do better than we did last year, and that's what we're going to work at."

Allen was asked if he feels that he is on the hot seat after what developed over the past season.

"I don't look at it that way. I know it doesn't make sense to some people, but there's nothing that drives me more than the desire to win. The end was disappointing, but it is also what gives you motivation. We also know a lot of what went wrong is correctable. We're going to work within to make sure it's corrected.

"I've seen my father fired enough to understand what the business is. He got fired for being 10-4. He got fired for winning. I understand the business, and I love the business. I love the game."

One of the final questions to Allen pointed out that the Bucs have the best practice facility in the league, and what Allen has called the best coaching staff in the league and now a favorable salary cap situation. But looking back at the past five years this team hasn't won a playoff game and is under .500. Allen was asked how does that sit with him.

"Unsatisfied. We've had opportunities. You fight to get yourself in position in November and December. We have had opportunities, but we haven't closed. It's not acceptable, and we've got to figure out a way to get this team better."

What Urban Meyer had to say the on Friday about winning the National Championship

deassa — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 16:45:00 GMT

JOHN HUMENIK: The first trophy

presentation we have this morning with Coach

Meyer, representing the Bowl Championship

Series, is the administrator of the Bowl

Championship Series, Mr. Bill Hancock.

BILL HANCOCK: Good morning,

everybody. I want to thank the Orange Bowl crew,

Danny and Larry and Eric for a great job, and on

behalf of the 11 conference commissioners and

the AFCA, we want to present the Coaches'

Trophy to Coach Urban Meyer and the Florida

Gators.

JOHN HUMENIK: Now we have the

Football Writers Association Grantland Rice

National Championship trophy, which is being

presented by George Schroeder, who's the

president for 2009 of the Football Writers'

Association for the Eugene Register Guard.

GEORGE SCHROEDER: On behalf of the

Football Writers' Association of America this has

been awarded since 1954, and it's the second time

in three years for Florida, third straight time for the

SEC. That's the second time that's happened -

1978 to '80 Georgia did that. I'd like to present you

with the Grantland Rice Award from the Football

Writers Association of America.

JOHN HUMENIK: The next trophy

presentation is being made by Steve Hatchell,

who's the president and CEO of the National

Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame.

STEVE HATCHELL: On behalf of the

National Football Foundation, our 12,000

members, our chairman Archie Manning and our

board of directors, vice-chairman George Weiss,

we are really proud to present this trophy to Urban

Meyer, second time in three years, which is really

special. This trophy has been awarded since

1959. It was started by General Douglas Mac

Arthur, Grantland Rice, the great sports writer and

legendary coach red Blake, and etched on the side

of this replica of the stadium in all silver are all of

the champions since 1959. And as the keepers of

the history and the legacy of the sport of football,

we are really proud to give this to Urban, who not

only is a super coach and a great job, but the

wonderful things he does for the sport. So we're

very honored to be able to give this to you today,

Urban.

JOHN HUMENIK: Our final trophy

presentation this morning is from the Associated

Press, John Affleck, who's the sports enterprise

editor of the Associated Press, is here to present

that trophy.

JOHN AFFLECK: The AP Poll has been

around since 1936, and this is the third time we've

stood on a podium with the University of Florida's

coach, and on behalf of the Associated Press and

our 65 media writers who voted late last night, I

want to offer a hearty congratulations to the

University of Florida as our 2008 national

champion.

JOHN HUMENIK: Coach, I know you

didn't sleep last night but just some general

comments on the evening and this morning, and

then we'll turn the floor over to questions.

COACH URBAN MEYER: I said this last

night. I'd like to thank Danny Ponce and Eric

Poms for the hospitality. I can't imagine a better

week as far as the hospitality and the people in

south Florida taking care of us, Howard

Snellenberg at FAU did a tremendous job. A team

that prepares like we do and take the seriousness

of our practice routine, he went above and beyond

what we asked him to do to make sure the fields

were right. A lot of people to thank, but most

importantly I'd like to thank our players, and this is

all about them. I want to make sure that our

players, this team goes down as one of the great

teams in Florida football history. It's one of the

greatest group of young people I've ever been

around, and I'm starting to get a little bit of

experience behind me now, 20-something years,

and that's saying a lot because I've been around

some great young guys.

Everything they have coming to them, they

January 9, 2009

visit our archives at asapsports.com
$ASQ921-6206 2

deserve it. The team fought through our last two

ballgames, was the epitome of college football.

They fought through adversity, played two

excellent teams coached by -- I'm going to go back

to the Alabama game, by Nick Saban and a

tremendously talented team and then to go against

Coach Stoops, who's one of the best coaches in

the business, and have a great group of very

experienced -- I saw today in the paper how

experienced, just the offensive line and the

veterans they had. My heart is out to our plays. I

know our coaching staff feels the same way, but

this is as good a group of young people as I've

ever been around, and I want to thank them for

that.

Q. How much sleep did you get? And

also, as you hear those names called out over

there on the trophies, people like red Blake and

Grantland Rice, you're a historian of the game.

How does it make you feel to know you have a

secure place in history?

COACH URBAN MEYER: It's very

humbling, and two years ago when it all happened,

I really can't remember much about it. But I just

asked the gentleman that gave us the Mac Arthur

trophy, I said, I'd like to read about this because

our name is on it twice. I think I owe that to them

and I'm going to read it to our team. I am a fan of

college football. I think college football is the

greatest venue going, and to think that our name is

forever etched on that great trophy, it's my

responsibility to learn more about it and make sure

our players learn it because they're on it.

That's why we did that. If you ever come

to Florida, our administration was good enough to

put a lot of money into a front door window to let

people see the history of Florida football when it

was never there before. You walk in there now

and it's legitimate. It's one of the great programs in

college football history. We're going to continue to

make sure that thing grows and grows and grows,

so it is the best place in college football.

Q. Last night Tim said after the game

that fans were chanting "one more year" in

celebration. He said if were to go to the NFL,

one of the things preventing him are

relationships that he's built with teammates

and with you. What will you advise him on

those two things? Will you advise him to take

the emotion from that standpoint out of it, or

deep down in your own heart do you think that

those things will help out?

COACH URBAN MEYER: This is going to

be a little harder. There's not much difference than

Nathan, my son. Nate, my son, and Tim. I love

Tim. He's family. He's everything. At some point

I'll get blasted for it, but I think he's one of the best

players to ever put on a helmet. I don't know if

he's the best quarterback, that's all relative and in

people's eyes they can choose whoever they want.

Tim will make a very well educated decision. I'm

going to put him on the phone with people I trust. I

did that with Alex Smith, I've done that with some

other players; they've made some great decisions.

So rest assured, and Gator Nation needs to know

Tim will make the right decision. I have no idea

what it is, and out of respect to Tim and his family it

hasn't even been discussed. I'm sure over the

next few days it will.

Q. Will Jack Del Rio be one of those

people?

COACH URBAN MEYER: Yeah, I have

great respect for Coach Del Rio and he has

opened his program to us and we have opened

ours to him. I have great respect for his opinion,

and I'm hoping Tim will talk to him.

Q. Your team is built on great

recruiting, obviously. I know you're expecting

a recruiting bounce. Have you had contacts

with recruits and have they been emailing you

already this morning? And what kind of

bounce do you expect out of this?

COACH URBAN MEYER: Well, we only

have about four left, five left, so we expect to close

this thing. Be we just want to make sure it's the

right four because usually recruiting classes are

made with your last four or five that you pick up.

The last week has been really good for Florida and

recruiting. Yes, we were on the phone actually the

day of the game, had many phone calls with top

recruits, and then I've heard from several today.

So this will be a tremendous boost, and obviously

the celebration on Sunday -- I made a comment

yesterday, what Florida has to offer a young man,

let's compare us against any other school,

academically, lifestyle, the location, and it's going

to be good. We're going to have a very good

recruiting class.

Q. If I recall correctly, when you won it

two years ago, you felt like you had a great

team, not necessarily a great program. I think

visit our archives at asapsports.com
$ASQ921-6206 3

you might feel a little bit differently now, and

what I'm curious about, although I don't want to

put the "dynasty" word in your mouth, do you

feel Florida is poised to make that kind of a

statement?

COACH URBAN MEYER: I'm not sure

what the word "dynasty" means. I'm very confident

now. I wasn't two years ago, that's why I made

that comment. We all saw what was coming. Our

coaching staff knew exactly if those young players

decided to come out early, the four guys on

defense, that means we lost basically our entire

defense. We knew the backups were not ready to

play. Deep in my heart when I knew Brandon Siler

came in to see me two days after the

championship, "I want to go to the NFL," Ryan

Smith, I had that feeling in my stomach, oh, boy,

we're going to have a hard time stopping anybody.

I don't feel that way this year. I see some

good players, I see a program that's set now.

We're good. I didn't feel that way two years ago. I

felt that was just an unbelievable effort by some

very good players and a 21-group senior class.

This is a 13-member senior class. Next year is

going to be a very good senior class, but behind

them is another group, another group. We don't

have that void is my point. Two years ago we had

a void in recruiting and it showed. Certainly it

showed last year in the Bowl game.

Q. Thinking back to the day you were

introduced as coach you came out and were

looking at the stadium and smiling, can you

envision what's been going on? Has there

been a lot of reflection for you in the 12 hours

since the game has been over?

COACH URBAN MEYER: There's more

this time than two years ago because two years

ago was just running from here to there, and once

again, I knew what was coming. Do we take junior

college players to fill this void? And the panic that

our program was in.

I want to make sure, most importantly, our

players enjoy this and our coaching staff. I have

the best coaching staff in America and I want to

make sure they enjoy this. I'm in awe of Florida, I

really am. I was in the '90s when I watched them

play. Now that it's our program and we're playing

and we're doing -- our players are doing what

they've executed the last two or three years. I walk

in that stadium, and I told Jeremy last night, every

once in a while when I'm having a bad day I'll walk

in and stare at that wall. It's got to be one of the

great walls in college football history, and to know

that our team is forever a part of that.

It's a little bit like those bricks we put in

there for the All-Americans. We're not done with

that stadium. We're going to make that the kind of

place where everybody walks in and you kind of

take it in and you're in awe of that place. We're

going to make sure that we do that right, from the

Emmitt Smiths to the Jack Youngbloods to the

Chris Leaks to the Tim Tebows, those players are

going to be treated like they're supposed to be

treated.

Q. Can you tell what happened in

retrospect between last year's team and this

year's team since you have spoken of this

year's team with so much affection, how much

more they've bought in and how that

happened?

COACH URBAN MEYER: Just great

people. It's a people business, college football, it's

not Xs and Os. I actually get a kick out of it when I

hear about the gurus, west coast versus the

spread, and that has absolutely zero to do with

winning football games. I love when I hear that.

It's a people business, and this team -- I

don't want to get too much into last year's team,

but this year's team was far superior than most

teams we've been blessed to have in the last

several years. The '04 Utah team, the way the '06

team finished, and really pretty went much the way

this season went with this outfit, that that's as good

group a group of young people as I've ever been

around.

It comes from maturity. I like to credit Mick

Marotti, our OSL staff and certainly our assistant

coaches.

In our big pre-game talk we show a

highlight video on basically Saturday morning --

whatever, Thursday morning, or Thursday right

before we get on the bus, and I'll address the

team. The discussion we had right before the

game, before we got on the bus, was this is not,

boy, this is kind of neat, good fortune, how the ball

bounced your way and the stars aligned right. This

has been a work in process for many years. When

our staff got together we had a vision what our

offensive line is supposed to look like, act like and

play like, and we got it. We had a vision of what a

quarterback should look like, act like and run the

offense, a group of receivers, a running back

position. You look on defense, two corners, that in

visit our archives at asapsports.com
$ASQ921-6206 4

my opinion are the two best corners maybe in

college football. That's a strong statement. But

my point is then you also flip and it and return to a

punter and a kicker and a long snapper.

So this is not one of those, boy, this is kind

of neat; it's good fortune the way you guys are

playing. It's not, and I want our guys to

understand, everybody is going to go their own

ways like the Reggie Nelsons of the world. You

might not ever get a chance to play with guys like

this again, make it count. And they certainly did.

Q. You mentioned last night that you

really didn't enjoy the first time two years ago,

and you mentioned rebuilding and all that kind

of stuff. Were there any other ways that you

didn't enjoy two years ago that you're going to

enjoy this one? And also another question, as

far as your players that might go to the NFL,

might go pro, do you think they might be

influenced as to what they saw Billy Donovan's

kids do, want to come back and defend their

championship?

COACH URBAN MEYER: That's a good

spin; I might use that (laughter). I'm glad you

brought that up.

The first part about enjoyment, I'm a big

family guy and I'm a big coaching staff person and

a player person, so I want to make sure our guys --

I've already met with our strength coach and I'm

not sure how we're going to do that. It just felt like

two years ago, I mean, the game was over, bang,

classes started. That's all going on now, as well.

But I'm going to force myself and our staff to really

get some time with their families and do some stuff

together so we really enjoy this thing.

As far as the guys coming back, that's

going to happen here in the next few days. In all

honesty I'm not going to start using angles

because I don't want to ever influence a guy to

make a decision. Whenever you make a

life-changing decision, place of employment,

having a family, getting married, all those big

decisions you have to make, you put it all on the

table and you make sure you're doing it for the

right reason.

The good thing is, I couldn't say this four

years ago, guys were making decisions without my

input, and some uncle told me to do this and my

peoples can get me in the second round. I look at

him going what peoples are you talking about?

Peoples they're going to be talking to really can

advise them. I love this team because they're very

professional. Brandon Spikes, Percy Harvin, Tim

Tebow, Brandon James, those guys all make that

decision. I don't have any idea what the decision

is yet. But they'll make it the right way, and that's

family, coaches, people that know what they're

talking about, not some guru or some peoples.

That will not be part of the discussion.

Q. What moments from the third and

fourth quarter of Tim's play will you always

remember?

COACH URBAN MEYER: Well, I saw it

last night, just parked myself in front of ESPN for,

what was it, four hours I had, right? The 3rd down

and 11 where he pulled it down and he hit and I

saw his leg drive and get that extra two yards, I

mean, how many guys could do this? He got hit,

made a guy miss, hit two people, and his eyes and

he looked over he knew exactly where that yard

marker was. The other play was when he

scrambled and hit Riley Cooper. Those were the

two plays on offense.

On defense the two interceptions - the one

by Ahmad Black that just completely took it right

away from the guy. Up by three and we were

driving the ball, obviously a prolific offense. And

then the one down in the red zone where the ball is

tipped and Major Wright made the play. Those are

the plays I'll never forget. On highlights it was a

phenomenal effort.

Q. You've won two national titles in

three years now. I'm just wondering, do you

think that sort of thing could ever get old to

you, that you might look for a new challenge?

And you know a lot of NFL coaches like Bill

Belichick. Could that ever be in your future?

COACH URBAN MEYER: I don't think so.

I think the task at hand is to -- I made a comment

earlier that I really have a dream of what Florida

should look like, and it's getting real close. There's

still a lot of work to be done. The minute you start

worrying about other things, you miss a recruiting

class, you miss this great recruit, and that's not

going to happen. I'm committed to Florida. I love

Florida. More importantly, though, I love these

players, and these players are going to get our

best effort for a long time.

Q. What does it mean to you that Brian

Johnson rooted for you last night to the

detriment of himself and Utah? And number

two, now that it's over and everything is

visit our archives at asapsports.com
$ASQ921-6206 5

decided, what kind of claim do they have and

would you like a shot at them?

COACH URBAN MEYER: Kyle

Whittingham is one of my closest friends, and I do

believe Kyle is the best coach in the business,

what he does. He's the best assistant coach.

Brian Johnson, we actually recruited Brian. Brian

was unrecruited out of Texas and Dan Mullen and

myself went down there, and you knew when you

sat at home with his family, he wasn't big enough,

wasn't fast enough and didn't have a strong

enough arm, but he's a lot like the quarterback we

have. Brian Johnson when he said his team

deserves to be number one, he should say that.

When Brian Johnson cheers for Florida because of

his relationship with coaches on our staff, that's

good people. I'm not really a betting person, but if

I want to bet on a guy that's going to have an

unbelievable future, whether it's in football or not,

Brian Johnson is going to be an executive or --

he's going to have a great opportunity to do

whatever he wants to do outside of football, and

more importantly than that he'll be a great husband

and great father because that's the quality kid he

is.

I have not talked to Brian but I'm sure I'll

talk to him again soon.

Q. What does it mean to have your last

two programs leading in the AP Poll?

COACH URBAN MEYER: It's

unbelievable. What does it mean? It just means

that it's just fantastic people associated with those

programs, and the resources you have at Utah and

the resources you have at Florida. Everybody is in

a hurry to take a new job, I'm going to go to this

job, this job, it's great. Just make sure the

foundation behind you has some success, and

Utah certainly has that.

Utah is not going away now. If you just go

evaluate that program -- I'm selling Utah, but if you

go evaluate that program, you keep hearing the

word "BCS conferences," I can't think of many

schools that are better than Utah, just the toys that

you have as far as facilities, and the resources and

alumni and everything, and a recruiting base as far

as the Polynesian culture. When you hear "BCS

conference" that means nothing to a lot of coaches

like myself. To say "BCS," you get your brains

kicked in every year and you finish 3-8, you're not

BCS. You might get a little bigger check at the end

of the year because you're in a nice conference,

but Utah is a much better program than most BCS

programs. That's most.

Q. Last night Percy said the victory

was particularly enjoyable because "no one

gave us a chance." Considering you were

four-and-a-half-point favorites, what talk did

you give those guys to convince them that they

were not respected?

COACH URBAN MEYER: Who said that,

Percy? (Smiling). The last couple days were real

intense, just getting these guys ready to go. I

thought Coach Strong addressed the team. I'm

very cautious who we allow to talk to our team.

Those guys were ready to play. I don't want to get

too much into it because that's our business.

You know what the good thing is, guys

listen. This outfit, I made the comment before,

Charlie Strong, Mickey Marotti, Steve Addazios of

the world, we're really focused on it, and I think a

lot of it had to do with we didn't have a chance to

stop this team. Statistically it will tell you it would

be a hard deal to stop them. So I'm sure that's

where he was headed.

Q. Did you see anything from

Oklahoma's offense during the game or in

watching film that might show up in Florida's

playbook?

COACH URBAN MEYER: I've been really

intrigued by the no-huddle, by the up-tempo, and

we actually went to that the whole first week of

spring ball a year ago. I sent Dan Mullen to

Missouri and came back with the mechanics of it. I

hired Scot Loeffler. He's had some of that in his

background. I think the tempo of the game, that's

a pain in the butt, and if you only have two days to

prepare -- we did well because we had a whole

month and Coach Strong and his staff and our

players really worked hard. I'm going to really

study it because I love their offense.

Kevin Wilson, the coordinator on their

team, we played against him one other time when

he was at Northern Western and he was at

Bowling Green and the score was 43-42 at the end

of the day. Both teams had about 650 yards of

offense and my D coordinator looked at me in the

fourth quarter and said, we can't stop them

because of the tempo of the game, and I've never

had a defense feel completely paralyzed by an

offense. I'm glad we got to play them and we're

going to research what they do because I think

they're really good.

visit our archives at asapsports.com
$ASQ921-6206 6

Q. Can you talk about Percy Harvin's

performance with that injury?

COACH URBAN MEYER: Right now he's

got to be one of the best players in America. He's

got the best first step. You saw that yesterday. I

think he played at about 80 percent. I saw him on

the sideline and I kept talking to him and he looked

at me right in the eye and said, I'm ready, Coach,

I'm ready. A couple of those runs he got out of

there, when he's 100 percent I'm not sure they

catch him.

But that was a tremendous effort. Very

unselfish effort. What he did to prepare for that

game is what legends are made of. Not many

guys I've ever seen do what he did as far as

preparing himself for that game.

Q. Everyone talks about Percy Harvin

and Tim Tebow. Can you talk about calling a

number for Riley Cooper and David Nelson at

crunch time?

COACH URBAN MEYER: Isn't that

something? David Nelson continues to amaze,

and Riley Cooper -- they're program players,

actually very talented program players. Usually

when people say "program players," they're guys

that aren't good enough to kind of step up. Very

talented guys that were influenced by outside

forces. David Nelson had kind of the attitude that

I'm not getting my fair share, and I should be

treated a little different, and that goes back to the

third uncle comment where people were

influencing his practice, and the fact was he was

not very good. He didn't practice very good, and

he didn't play very well. And now he's playing at

an extremely high level.

Billy Gonzales has done a great job with

him and it was his call. The jump pass, Percy was

able to do it, but Louis Murphy is a guy we trust but

he had a knee injury and didn't practice the first

two and a half weeks, and David Nelson has

earned the trust. I think we threw the pass, David

Nelson shows you the confidence that our

coaching staff put in that player. He knows it and

I'm sure that's why he made that play.

That was probably a two-hour discussion

on who was going to catch it, who would be open.

The technique, if you saw that play, just to build on

David Nelson, that wasn't go kind of run around

and run inside. He goes out and stock block, Tim

is going to jump pass, to leave your feet and tie

that up, that's not easy.

Q. How do you choose him to get that

play?

COACH URBAN MEYER: That because

he's extremely disciplined and practices his tail off.

That was a two-hour discussion about who's going

to get that play because you only get one shot at it,

and if you cut it short, go too deep, don't sell it,

you're wasting a play. We knew we were going to

call it at a critical time.

Q. If you learned at Bowling Green how

to organize a staff and instill discipline and you

learned at Utah how to break down the wall so

the diversity took place on your team, what

have you learned at four years in Florida? And

after that would you elaborate on the plan to

win?

COACH URBAN MEYER: What I've

learned at Florida is when you take over a program

that's kind of bigger than life in some people's

eyes, it still comes down to a bunch of young guys

playing football, and I kind of got caught up in the

Gator clubs and signing autographs, and it still

comes down to David Nelson going four yards,

selling the stop clock, showing his hands and

doing the right thing, and that's no different than

Bowling Green, Utah or Florida. I graded myself

probably a C my first year because it was -- Florida

is big time now. But I've got news, there's a lot of

other big time places, and if you start to sleep,

you'll fall behind.

It still comes down to getting guys to go as

hard as they can, it all comes down to getting guys

to graduate, to live right. At the end of the day you

want a bunch of players that are committed to the

right thing. And it's not easy to get that. It's not

easy. In 20-something years of coaching, on one

hand I can hold the amount of teams that I've been

around the kids that do it the right way. I'm not

talking about a few, I'm talking about the core of

your team if you do it the right way, and we've got

it here at Florida.

Q. Playing to win?

COACH URBAN MEYER: Playing to win.

Play great defense. I thought it was a fine effort by

Charlie Strong, and he continues to prove he's one

of the greatest football coaches in the country right

now, excellent recruiter, even a better husband

and father, and my right-hand man. There's no

better coach in the country than Coach Strong,

what he did and what that staff did, I think Chuck

visit our archives at asapsports.com
$ASQ921-6206 7

Heater and Vance Bedford and Dan McCarney,

that's as good as defensive staff, I keep hearing

about these defensive staffs and they don't have

the success. Charlie has done a fabulous job with

that group.

Turnovers, we had a couple. We were

tight with the ball. Usually fumbles are an issue in

Bowl games because you haven't been hit in a

while. Our guys did a good job with two

interceptions where one was a mistake by Tim,

one was a great defensive call where they dropped

the nose out in blitz package -- but we did, we won

the turnover battle.

Scoring in the red zone is where we won

the game. We were 4 for 4 in the red zone I think

on the year. We were No. 1 in America, and we

should be. For the amount of time spent for the

few plays you get in the red zone, we're way over

as far as the amount of time spent. But that's the

money; that's payday for our players, 3rd downs,

the red zone.

And then the last one, kicking game. I'm

not sure we dominated the kicking game. I'm a

little disappointed actually in some of the returns,

and then we ran into the darn kicker. We had a

chance to block that kick. But the defensive

turnovers in the red zone, that's how we won this

game.

Q. In talking about Utah, you made the

point that you can be in a BCS conference and

not be a top-level program. So I'm making the

leap to Mississippi State and Dan. What's the

best piece of advice you would give him to get

that thing turned around?

COACH URBAN MEYER: Recruit, and

hire a tremendous strength coach. Dan knows, a

lot of times I'll hear about these coaches or I'll talk

to some young coaches and put their staff together

and I'll ask the question about the strength staff,

about the discipline in your program and those

things. He hired our former strength coach who

was at Virginia and now he's at Mississippi State,

so he just hit a home run. He's got a chance now,

and I would say Dan had zero chance if he couldn't

hire an ace strength staff that can keep that thing

together.

The strength staff in college football

nowadays, if you're -- you guys should watch this.

If a guy gets hired and puts that, I'm going to hire a

strength coach later, that's a guy that has no clue

what's going on, and he'll fail. Dan Mullen has got

a chance because he knows the value of the

strength staff, so he hit a home run.

And then obviously recruiting, he's got to

get out and get quality players and hire a staff to

recruit. I think Dan is going to do fine. Dan is a

very intelligent coach and he'll surround himself --

all great coaches know how to surround

themselves with great coaches, and we had great

discussions, long discussions about it, and he feels

very comfortable with the people he's putting

together on his coaching staff.

Q. Davis made the big play on the goal

line and the interceptions, but what specifically

did your defensive staff do to stop this offense

that nobody else has been able to stop?

COACH URBAN MEYER: We really put in

two packages that our defense did a great job, and

one was bare defense, and they did a great job,

and then a lot of odd. We played much more three

down than we've ever played. Basically the whole

game was four down against Alabama and then

this game played three down and they call it bare

defense where they kicked down to stop the inside

run. Chuck Heater and I were talking a couple

nights before the game, we do everything an

offense doesn't like to see, and a lot of it was new.

So they did a great job, and Torrey Davis actually

made a great play. I saw that on the highlights last

night, as well.

Q. You talked about your guy back at

Utah, too slow, too whatever. You've got

another guy like that on this team who plays

safety for you, too small, too slow, can't do

anything but does everything. Would you talk

about him?

COACH URBAN MEYER: Yeah, he's

talking about Ahmad Black and he's too small, too

slow, can't jump high enough, he's just in great

football position and he's a mini-Chuck Heater.

That's Chuck's adopted son. I always give Chuck

a lot of credit because he deserves it. Every year

he pulls one out. First year was Brown, second

year was Ryan Smith and Reggie Lewis. Last year

we had Major Wright as a freshman back there,

Joe Haden, and this year he pulled out Ahmad

Black. He wasn't -- he was almost getting his

movement to a 1AA somewhere and saying it was

time to move on. He wasn't allowed to be on

special teams because we couldn't trust him, and

now he's one of the most trustworthy guys. He

comes from a great high school program. He's got

a chance because he's got a great family, and we

visit our archives at asapsports.com
$ASQ921-6206 8

knew that. It was just a matter of time. Chuck did

a great job with him.

Q. Those of us who have known

Charlie for a lot of years, the hurt and the

frustration when he talks about head coaching,

why do you think he's not a head coach, hasn't

gotten any phone calls this off-season? Do

you think race and an interracial marriage is

playing into that? That's not fun to ask, but

this guy is doing a great job and he's not

getting any consideration?

COACH URBAN MEYER: I'm not going to

get into that right now and spoil a great day. I'm

going to tell you again that that's one of the finest

coaches in America. Just how important that is,

put that right up there, and I'm going to say

something else: A great husband and a great

father and a great person, as good a guy as I've

ever been around. He was my neighbor in South

Bend, Indiana. I trust him with everything, I trust

him with my family, I trust him with everything.

So that's a great question to ask. I can't

certainly answer it, and I don't want to push too

hard because I don't want to lose him. He's that

good, though. He's that good. Just once again,

there's a lot of good football guys out there that

can draw Xs and look real neat on the board. He's

good at that, obviously. But as far as a role model

and making sure these guys do the right thing -- I

mentioned Torrey Davis. When you said Torrey

Davis I say Charlie Strong. You say Ahmad Black,

I say Charlie Strong. That's how good he is.

Q. As a follow-up to that, would you

ever put a bug in somebody else's ear, another

school's ear who has an opening, about Charlie

Strong, or would you feel uncomfortable about

doing that unless you had some specific

relationship with the people in the hiring

process?

COACH URBAN MEYER: I've put a lot of

bugs. I've shot it at people and made it real clear.

I'm not sure they listen. I think Charlie fell a little

bit when he got that interview because he's Charlie

Strong. He'd get very upset and I'd get very upset.

Search firms, I'm not into that because

guys have called me and talked to me and athletic

director is supposed to go hire a football coach.

Do your homework, go hire a coach. Yeah, that's

a good question. It kind of angers me sometimes.

I've been involved in those phone calls, and I can

tell on the other end, talking to a deaf ear. I'm

busy and I don't have time to talk to you unless

you're interested. Don't play people. I need to be

careful. I'm going to get very angry here in a

minute and I shouldn't be here. That's how much I

care about Charlie Strong.

Q. Was Percy's injury a hairline

fracture? And can you give us an update on

Chris Rainey?

COACH URBAN MEYER: Yeah, I didn't

know that until a later day that they said regardless

it's the same healing time. Actually a hairline

fracture heals a little quicker than a high ankle

sprain, so there was a small fracture. But the

injury, the time delay and the thing that still

bothered him yesterday wasn't the actual fracture.

I had the same question, what does it mean? A

high ankle sprain, that's a separation -- I'm like a

doctor now with the high ankle sprains. That's a

bad injury especially on a skilled athlete. You look

at a guy like Percy, they've got the real skinny

ankles, and the time off, the healing time was for

the high ankle sprain.

Q. Rainey?

COACH URBAN MEYER: Chris Rainey

has ankle sprain. I texted him last night. He said

he was real sore. It was right in front of me and I

was worried about it. But I think it's an ankle

sprain and he should be fine.

Q. Even if you do lose a couple guys to

the NFL how good can this team be next

season?

COACH URBAN MEYER: Well, we play a

tough schedule, we play in the Southeastern

Conference and you saw a couple other teams

with high rankings. We've got to go back to work.

Our guys have had some real physical games, and

so if -- speculating, I'm not going to do that, but

we'll see who comes back. Regardless, this team,

it's not going to be like last year. It will not be like

that. I don't know our record because we've got to

stay healthy and most other things. But as far as

the program, it's much better than it was two years

ago as far as the group of young players coming

up. So how good? We could be very good next

year.

JOHN HUMENIK: That will conclude

today's Q & A, Coach. Thank you for your time.

Congratulations again.

News and Notes from Halftime of the BCS Title Game

deassa — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 03:01:00 GMT

wFlorida was first to score in the game, as junior quarterback Tim Tebow connected on a 20-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Louis Murphy with 14:02 to play in the second quarter. It marked Murphy’s 27th consecutive game with a catch and his seventh touchdown of the season.

wThe Gators are the first team to score on the Sooners this season and they are 12-1 when getting on the board first.

wWith the Sooners threatening on first-and-goal, Major Wright made his fourth interception of the season and fourth of his career. The Gators have recorded at least one interception in 13 of the 14 games this year.

wThe Gators shutout Oklahoma in the first quarter, marking the first time this season the Sooners did not score in the first quarter.

Meanwhile, the Gators went 4-for-4 on third downs in the period.

wUF has allowed just five first-half touchdowns all season and are outscoring opponents, 328-58, before the half. They have also forced opponents to punt 45 times in the first half in 2008.

wWith the game scoreless at the end of the first quarter, it marked the first time two teams did not score in the first quarter of a BCS National Championship Game since 1999 (Florida State 23, Tennessee 16, Fiesta Bowl). The last time the Gators did not score in the first quarter was in the 31-30 loss to Ole Miss on Sept. 27.

wThe half ended tied at seven, marking the lowest scoring BCS National Championship Game since Oklahoma led Florida State, 6-0, heading into halftime in 2001.

wTebow recorded his third interception of the season with 9:20 to play in the first quarter. It marked the first time he was picked off since Oct. 25 in the 63-5 win over Kentucky. Tebow made 117 consecutive attempts without throwing an INT. He threw his second interception of the game with 7:29 to play in the half. It marked the first time in Tebow’s career he threw two interceptions in the same game.

wThe Gator defense made a crucial stop as OU had a fourth-and-goal on the one-yard line. Sophomore defensive lineman Torrey Davis recorded his season tackle-for-loss this season on the play.

wWith 12:44 remaining in the first quarter, sophomore linebacker Brandon Hicks recorded his second sack on the season for a 14 yard loss. The Sooners have only allowed 11 sacks in 13 games this season.

wBack in Gainesville, 9,700 Gator fans are watching the BCS National Championship Game in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.

wGame Captains: Cornelius Ingram, Louis Murphy, Brandon Spikes, Ryan Stamper and Phil Trautwein

wWeather: 68ºF clear skies, winds out of the NW 2 mph, humidity: 58% wFormer Florida Gators at tonight’s game: Trace Armstrong,James Bates, Alex Brown, Lomas Brown, Kevin Carter, Joe Cohen, Cris Collinsworth, Chris Doering, Jack Jackson, Chris Leak, Reggie Lewis, Ray McDonald, Drew Miller, Jeremy Mincey, Jarvis Moss, Reggie Nelson, Jesse Palmer, Steve Rissler, Tommy Shannon, Larry Smith, Max Starks, Fred Taylor, Lawrence Wright and Danny Wuerffel.

wGator Men’s Basketball coach Billy Donovan and former UF Gator Al Horford were also in attendance. Other UF coaches: Buddy Alexander (Men’s Golf); Jill Briles-Hinton (Women’s Golf); Tim Walton (Softball); Roland Thornqvist (Women’s Tennis); Becky Burleigh (Soccer), Andy Jackson (Men’s Tennis) and Amanda O’Leary (Lacrosse).

wOther celebrities in attendance: Michael Connelly (best-selling author), A.J. Pierzynski (Major league baseball player) and Earle Bruce (former Ohio State coach) wThere are 23 players on Florida’s roster who played in the 2007 Tostitos BCS National Championship Game in Glendale, Ariz., including four who started. The starters include Percy Harvin, Cornelius Ingram, Phil Trautwein and Jim Tartt. The other Gators appearing in their second BCS Championship Game are Markihe Anderson, Tate Casey, Riley Cooper , John Curtis, Dustin Doe, Andrew Fritze, Cade HJames, A.J. Jones, Kestahn Moore, Dorian Munroe, Louis Murphy, David Nelson, Kyle Newell, Wondy Pierre-Louis, Butch Rowley, James Smith, Brandon Spikes and Tim Tebow.

St. Pete Grand Prix to open 2009 IRL season

gilkor — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 19:58:00 GMT

St. Petersburg Awarded Opener for 2009 Indy Car Series

For the first time in the history of the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, the event will be the opening race of the IndyCar Series. The 17-race IndyCar schedule also includes stops in Long Beach, Toronto and Chicago before closing out the season back in Florida at Homestead-Miami Speedway in October. The Acura Sports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg, the American Le Mans Series feature race, which will be run on Saturday, April 4, will be the second stop on the 2009 ALMS schedule. Both races will be carried live, with the ALMS event on ABC and the Honda Indy St. Pete race broadcast on Versus.

No Changes Planned to St. Petersburg Track

There are no planned changes to the 1.8-mile, 14-turn track through the streets of St. Petersburg for the 2009 event. Even with the construction of the Salvador Dali Museum, the vast majority of the event footprint will remain unchanged and fans attending the fifth annual event will be greeted by minimal changes inside the race circuit. Post-race ceremonies and concerts will once again be held on the Honda Plaza, adjacent to the Mahaffey Theater complex and the Bright House Networks Speed Zone will be in action near Progress Energy Park.

Ticket Prices Remain Unchanged for 2009 Event

Ticket prices for the 2009 event have not changed from last year’s pricing. General Admission ticket start at $25 and reserved seat tickets begin at $60. In addition to reserved seat and general admission ticket sales, the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is offering a free IndyCar Series paddock pass to groups purchasing 10 or more 3-day reserved tickets. Group purchases are only available through the HGPSP box office. Corporate hospitality and sponsorship packages are also still available. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Honda Grand Prix box office at (727) 898-INDY (extension 225), by visiting the event's website at www.gpstpete.com or through Ticketmaster.

Vinny LeCavalier named NHL All-Star

gilkor — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 19:55:00 GMT

TAMPA BAY – Tampa Bay Lightning center Vincent Lecavalier has been named to his fourth career NHL All-Star Game today, the National Hockey League has announced. Lecavalier leads the Lightning in goals with 16, power-play goals with five, game-winning goals with four and shots on goal with 144. He served as the captain of the Eastern Conference team at the 2008 NHL All-Star Game in Atlanta and also appeared in the 2007 and 2003 games.

Reigning NHL MVP Alex Ovechkin, whose recent offensive surge has propelled him to a share of the League goal-scoring lead and the Washington Capitals to first place in the Southeast Division, headlines the 15 players named today to the Eastern Conference roster for the 57th NHL All-Star Game, Sunday, Jan. 25 at Bell Centre in Montreal (6 p.m. ET, CBC, RDS, VERSUS, NHL Radio).

The potent Eastern Conference lineup also will feature the two players tied with Ovechkin for the League's goal-scoring lead with 27 -- Thomas Vanek of the Buffalo Sabres and Jeff Carter of the Philadelphia Flyers. Each will be making his All-Star debut.

Reflecting their 29-7-4 record and the franchise's best start to a season since 1929-30, three members of the Boston Bruins have been selected to the Eastern Conference team, goaltender Tim Thomas, defenseman Zdeno Chara and center Marc Savard. Each played a key role in last season's 8-7 East victory at Atlanta, as Savard scored the winning goal at 19:39 of the third period, Thomas stopped 14 of 18 shots in the third period to record the victory and Chara registered one assist and a +3 rating.

The Eastern squad also will boast two former winners of the NHL All-Star Game's Most Valuable Player Award: Ottawa Senators left wing Dany Heatley and Carolina Hurricanes center Eric Staal. Heatley tied an All-Star Game record by tallying four goals for the Eastern

GAME ON! FSU/USF set home-and-home series

gilkor — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 21:03:00 GMT

TAMPA -- GoUSFBulls.com reports The University of South Florida football program officially announced a home-and-home agreement with Florida State that will begin in Tallahassee during the 2009 season.

The first meeting in the series will take place at Doak Campbell Stadium on Sept.26 of the upcoming season. USF will host the Seminoles at Raymond James on Sept. 29, 2012.

The addition of the Seminoles completes the 2009 non-conference schedule, which also includes in-state foes FIU (Sept. 19) and Miami (Nov. 28), plus Western Kentucky (Sept. 12) and Wofford (Sept. 5). USF will also play West Virginia, Cincinnati and Louisville at home during the 2009 season. The dates and times for BIG EAST opponets will not be announced until the Spring.

“This is a milestone moment for our program and a tremendous opportunity for our players,” said USF head coach Jim Leavitt. “Florida State has a great football tradition and we have a tremendous amount of respect for them. They will present our team with a great challenge and we embrace that.”

The Bulls and Seminoles have never played each other in football. USF does have a six-game winning streak against teams that hail from the state of Florida, dating back to a 2005 loss to Miami.

The trend of playing Florida-based schools will continue with additional games against Miami, Florida and FAU in the coming years. The 2009 home game with Miami is the beginning of a six-game agreement with the Hurricanes. The Bulls will travel to Florida in 2010 and 2015 and also have two games remaining with FAU (2010 and 2013).

The addition of FSU shifts the Indiana game, which was previously scheduled for 2012, to 2015. USF will now play Indiana in Tampa on 2015 and at IU in 2016. Also, the Michigan State game, previously scheduled for 2012, has been moved to 2017.

"Scheduling can be a complex endeavor due to the ramifications one change initiates, so I appreciate the cooperation I've received from my colleagues," said Director of Athletics Doug Woolard. "This is another series our loyal fans will appreciate and will provide another national platform for football program."

All schedules are tentative. Game times and television coverage for the 2009 season will be announced at a later date.

Tom Korun

More Urban Legend

alkeck — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 20:50:00 GMT

I made the mistake of listening to sports radio -- again.

And the host was promising that there really was something to "his" rumor that if the Gators beat Oklahoma, Urban Meyer would leave to become the new head coach of the Denver Broncos.

My God...they let anybody on radio these days.

But I will say this...even though Meyer has Florida rolling like no other program in college football, there are two schools that would turn Meyer's head.

One job...Notre Dame. When Charlie Weis finally does self-destruct, the Irish would be stupid not to pull out all the stops to get Meyer. Even though Meyer said no thanks the last time around, Notre Dame is close to having the facilities to grab Meyer's attention. The challenge might interest Meyer.

But if Ohio State ever comes open...look out!!

Meyer is from Ohio. Meyer is a former OSU assistant. Meyer's eyes light up when anybody talks about Ohio State.

That is the only job that would lure Meyer away from Gainesville.

And it makes you wonder how much rope Buckeye fans are willing to give Jim Tressel. Yes, he's 83-20. Yes, he's taken OSU to 3 national title games. But he has led the Buckeyes to only one championship. Tressel has lost his last 3 bowl games. Is that good enough for the Buckeye Nation?

These days, even Jim Tressel can feel the heat. A loss to Michigan could turn that nuclear. When will the Buckeye Nation cast an eye to Meyer?

It has all the makings of an Urban Legend.

Al Keck