Ever since the infamous Billy Donovan “I’m leaving…just kidding” debacle of a few years ago, I really wonder what game the coach is watching…this year gave me flashbacks to the teams featuring Anthony Roberson and Matt Walsh…selfish teams with guards who seemed to only care about their own stats. The exception to this was David Lee who played hard and has gone on to be a great Pro…while Roberson and Walsh are playing in the Turkish 3rd League or something.

So…in my humble opinion, what was wrong with this years team?

1) Most glaring problem…point guard. What made the the Championship Teams so special? What makes many great teams great? A TRUE point guard. Taurean Green knew his job was to put the other players in scoring position and only took shots when absolutely needed. He played within himself…a point guard.

Erving Walker is a scoring guard who does not use his abilities for the good of the team…instead he is content to jack up ill advised 3′s from 5 feet behind the line. Sure the occasional shot that goes in with 2 players in his face look good…but that isn’t a consistent good play. The kid has incredible speed and is a great free throw shooter but he rarely penetrates…in the NCAA tournament loss to BYU this year he recorded his first assist of the game with like 2 minutes to play. How the hell does a point guard only have one assist in the game? Donovan needs to recruit a pass first point guard and in the meantime tell Walker that you have to drive 8 times for every 3 you take or else you get benched.

2) Shoot guard…Kenny Boynton is undersized at shoot guard but is a very good defender. He’s a streaky shooter but hopefully there will be a big jump in consistency for him next year. He has promise…jury is still out.

3) Parsons…I can’t decide if he is a little too mellow in letting the game come to him or if he just plays that much within the flow of the game. Needs to be a little less three happy but by far the best all around player UF has.

4) PF Alex Tyus…hard worker…over achieves…but would probably achieve more with a pass first point guard.

5) Macklin…Center…the first 2/3 of the year I thought this guy was horrible. He started to come on late and I got a better feel for him. The kid really is an astounding athlete…he doesn’t pass very well…especially out of the double team…but he is incredibly quick for his size and goes hard to the rim. My question about him is despite his athleticism it still seems like he is uncoordinated…I haven’t figured out if it is poor foot work or if he still really hasn’t grown into his body or like Greg Oden is always going to be a little awkward and goofy. If he ever puts it together though…he could be pretty awesome.

6) Subs…Shipman is a great defender who doesn’t look like he can shoot…maybe slash? Murphy may turn into a decent college center…I think next year will be interesting for him and I’d like to see Murphy at center and Macklin at PF for a “big” lineup.

I still have no idea why I’m writing this and I’m not trying to knock 18-22 year old kids. However you have to wonder what the coaching staff is watching when game after game you see the same mistakes being made. Are we really that shallow in depth that you can’t say, “Erving if you jack up another 3 your ass is sitting?”. End of shot clock and game execution seems a bit poor as well.

I’d also like to add that UF didn’t belong in the NCAA this year, however I’m happy they managed to get in. Hopefully next years team will improve on some of their issues and have a strong year.

We started practicing about four weeks out and I have to admit, the muscles used in kickball aren’t muscles I normally use…I’d be sore for days. Teams needed to have at least 7 players with 3 of them being female and could have up to 15 on a roster. We supposedly had our roster set but 48 hours before Tournament Day, we lost one of our female players and thankfully my sisters Karen stepped in. My team didn’t know it but Karen was about 100x better than the girl she replaced.

On Tournament Day, Karen showed up at 9AM and promptly went and ran 5 miles…silly triathletes. We had a first round bye and were able to watch the two teams play before us…of whom we would play the winner of. We were feeling pretty confident after watching them play. Our first opponent ended up being the Tutoring Zone team who were a great group of girls and guys…we really enjoyed playing them. We started off the game strong when I drove in our first run of the game with a big kick to the outfield. The TZ team was calling me sleeveless because I had cut the sleeves off my shirt and were just giving me a hard time. Unfortunately for the TZ team they didn’t read the rules and received out calls for a bunt and for using an improper lineup.

In the history of the tournament, there had never been a tie…well guess what? We ended up tied 1-1 with the TZ team. Games were 30 minutes long and after 75 minutes the ref forced us to play rock, scissors, paper to determine a winner…which sucked ass. I was totally against this and sure enough we lost. The tournament is double elimination but still…why leave a win to luck?

Speaking of luck, the second team we played had it…just all bad. In their first game they lost a player to a broken arm and in our game, about ten minutes in, one of their players fractured their tibula and blew out their ACL while kicking! Horrible, horrible circumstances and I hope their player recovers ok. They decided to forfeit the game.

Our third game was against Rebuild Gainesville and we got destroyed. I had warned our Team Captain that they had some big kickers and that fear along with my strategy fear were both realized. The smart teams were kicking down the third base line often getting players to first, second, and sometimes third before driving in runs. Our players just kicked the ball for the most part with only a couple of us actually getting on base. My other concern was in having female players in the outfield for fear of balls going over their head…and this is what happened leading to two scores. We eventually lost the game 3-0.

Despite being super competitive, I had a fantastic time…it was so fun! I stayed after our games to watch other teams play and to help the organizing committee clean up Diamond Sports Park which had kindly donated their playing fields for the day.

One of the more amusing things to me was how mad some of the teams got at times…the refs were volunteers and a little spotty at times but when it comes down to it, this is a charity event. The biggest consistent whiners in my opinion were on the 352 Media team. Maybe they had a legit argument…I don’t know…but once again it is a charity tournament so chill out.

The winner of the tournament was Frankel Media Group which came out of the Losers Bracket to win two games in a row over and undefeated Charles Perry Construction team to win the event. Frankel Media Group had some bad ass female athletes on their team…including two ex-UF soccer players and an ex-UCF basketball player. The women were really the keys to that team winning.

I can’t wait until next year when I plan on sponsoring my own team, using my strategies, and stacking it with athletes that I know.

To begin with, 75% of the game view was from some “backboard camera” which was obviously under control of a Monkey on an eight ball as multiple times action was missed from this vantage point. I shudder to think that anyone with vertigo saw this game as they would have been throwing up 30 seconds into it.

The announcers were college kids “moderated” by a ESPN Broadcaster. These guys were actually amusing and a bit insightful into both campuses. In particular their bit on the ugliest girls in the SEC being at Mississippi State was pretty good. After about a half, the banter become boring and too much…more game information, less small talk.

Several times the game cut to telecommunication students in the stands doing in game broadcasts…which were all pretty bad…I couldn’t believe these people were representing UF. Ouch.

All I can say is ESPNU = Never Again!

When I arrived, my clients were a bit annoyed. The company in charge of setting up the building for the event had done a shit ass job. However, they made the best of it and slowly but surely players, retired players, and their wives began filtering into the event.

It was quite and interesting scene and I jumped in to help promote the line.

After returning to Karen’s house, I took the time to re-attach my speedo cable and then took a nap as I have a conference call and other business to deal with tonight. Tomorrow I’m hitting the Hard Rock at 10AM for some blackjack with my buddy Tory and some of the other RX7 guys. Should be a good time!

We had a good turn out of about 15 people. Pop Fleming brought his usual awesome cooking…30 pounds of homemade wings, there was also spinach dip, pulled pork sandwiches, meatballs, and more. I of course brought plenty of grenadine and cherry coke!

The game itself started out remarkably slow with both teams making mistakes. I couldn’t believe that UF managed to hold Oklahoma on the goal line twice. The 7-7 score at 1/2 time was unexpected! In the 2nd half, I believe the Gators conditioning and experience were what ended up cementing the win. I believe the OU defense started to wear down and the INT by Ahmad Black was the beginning of the end for OU.

The only aspect of this game that worried me was how spoiled Gator fans are. Everyone loves to see their team win but UF has been a one in a million place for athletics over the last few years. Back to back basketball National Champions and football National Champions 2 out of 3 years. Most schools are lucky to pull one National Championship every 10 years and here UF has won so many in such a short time.

I hope fans can enjoy the Championships but not expect them.

That being said…a brief list of things dealt with over the last week or two…barbecue with Shannon and Jay, barbecue with the Wilsons, first attempt at painting a car hood (fail), business picking up again, and College Football Season.

At this point in time, I’d like to mention once again how much I hate baseball. Thank God for the Olympics this year breaking up the monotony of that sport.

So now it is the most wonderful time of year, College Football Season. Tailgates, highs and lows, and time spent with friends. This is most likely my favorite time of year now.

That being said, nothing makes me laugh like the whiners, complainers, and conspiracy theorists on College Football boards hiding behind the anonyminity of the intarwebs. Reading the posts on ESPN makes me laugh…hard to believe the majority of these people are “adults”.

UF vs UM this weekend….UF wins by 17 (sorry Rush).

The story is so incredible…big trades bring in hungry superstars who have never won a Championship before and may be on the decline of their careers (Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen). The player who has been with the Celtics his entire career and was their only star plays the series of his life (Paul Pierce). A group of young unknowns such as Rajon Rondo, Eddie House, Leon Powe, and a few veterans brought in late such as PJ Brown contribute at needed times.

This was a great example of team basketball and it was wonderful to be able to watch.

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Now playing: Rob Thomas – Now Comes the Night
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Now playing: DJ Sammy – Heaven (Remix)
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