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The Back Nine comes at you after a busy weekend but that’s going to be the norm around here for a while. Good thing we have the weather for it.
- We’ll start with basketball, which is staring down the barrel of extinction despite the win over Georgia Saturday. Of course, not as badly as Tom Crean. But the win over the hapless Bulldogs, who set a school record for losses Saturday, did little to help the cause but a loss would have effectively ended the season. Florida is at 51 in the NET, still out of the tournament, but the Gators did pick up a third road win. I’m sticking by my guns, win out and you are in. Don’t and you have to win at least twice in the tournament. Sometimes I wonder how much Gator fans want this team in the tournament because it has been exhausting to watch. But you can’t win it if you are not in it.
- Still, what happened Saturday was pretty cool with Phlan Fleming putting on a show in front of friends and family. They key is to get that kind of performance out of him more often instead of him being the whipping boy for fans after a couple of losses. The question is this – how much of it was a young man performing at a different level because of his family being in the stands and how much was because Georgia can’t play dead? If it’s the former, maybe Billy Napier can slide some extra budget money over to basketball and have that family at all the games.
- Then, there was women’s basketball. We didn’t see this incredible season and we certainly didn’t see this three-game slide coming. Might it have something to do with discussions between the head coach and the administration about working out a permanent deal? Understand that Kelly Rae Finley is being courted by several schools who will hire her right now. So, there is a lot going on in her mind. Florida will now be the N0. 5 seed in next week’s SEC Tournament, which means no Tailgate Show on Thursday or Friday. Sorry, but give the ladies a listen.
- Speaking of ladies playing at an elite level this season, the softball team rolled through another tournament and is now 16-0 on the season with two wins over top 20 teams. The Gators host the Bubly Invitational this weekend and will do so with a .367 team batting average. SEC weekends are around the corner, but Tim Walton has his team getting ready for the SEC, where you really find out what you have. Interesting to note, when Florida won its back-to-back national titles those teams went 22-0 (2014) and 28-0 (2015) out of the gate and – not surprisingly — the first loss was to an SEC team.
- Florida’s baseball team received the lift it needed from the bats this weekend against Georgia State outscoring the Panthers 29-6. After a pair of midweek games, the Gators travel to Miami this weekend for a big series. I am looking forward to seeing how Hunter Barco pitches when the competition gets better, but he has been lights out so far in two starts. Kevin O’Sullivan is slowly putting together a staff he hopes to count on once SEC play begins.
- Florida’s gymnastics win over Oklahoma on Friday could not have been scripted any better with Trinity Thomas recording a 10 on the floor to win it. It feels like this team is primed and ready for the postseason but there are still two more Friday away meets before SECs in Birmingham March 19. Cross your fingers because if this team stays healthy there could be a lot more hardware coming to Gainesville.
- The 27th Bob Dooley Invitational is so full it needs a stomach pump, but we are certainly still looking for people who want to get involved with donations, whether they be raffle prizes or gift certificates for hole prizes. I’ll be bugging a lot of you soon. You know who you are. If you are interested in donating to the tourney, which benefits Stop Children’s Cancer, send me a note to patrickdooley54@gmail.com. And, no, the 54 isn’t my IQ.
- It was nice to see the PGA Tour start its Florida swing but the news continues to be the fallout over the Phil Mickelson attempted coup. I wonder if Philly Mick knew how much the other players on the Tour were not big fans of him. The latest fallout was a PGA event disassociating with him. It’s crazy to think that we live in a world where the guy who cheated on his wife with multiple partners, got arrested for DWI and nearly killed himself in a car he shouldn’t have been driving is the good guy and Michelson has turned out to be the bad guy. Maybe that’s why he is always wearing a black hat.
- Really enjoyed my Sunday with a beautiful breakfast (and wife), perfect weather, a little bit of golf and this playlist:
* “All These Things I’ve Done” by The Killers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZTpLvsYYHw
* “Wake Up” by Arcade Fire (you’ll be singing it on the way to work.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJRPPUr1yic
* ”Mamunia” by Paul McCartney, one of my faves off Band On The Run.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UAKKR_Mr4o
