Gators fail to rebound

Did any of ye socks notice last Saturday how yours truly posted some boring endorsement for a state supreme court merit retention instead of commenting on his beloved Gators?

Well, there was a reason for that.

I mean, I had a sinking feeling for several days leading up to the big match-up against Alabama.

That's right, I'll admit it retroactively. I kinda knew they were going to clean our clocks.

But, I had high hopes of a rebound this week against LSU.

Even in the sports world, the whole hopey changey thing ain't working out very well . . .

Geaux Gators!

The excitement was palpable tonight, and not just in this little corner of heaven.

As the beloved boys in Orange and Blue returned from their bye week to confront the LSU Tigers, everyone in the Gator Nation was sitting on the edge of their seats to see how our star quarterback Tim Tebow would look following his recent concussion.

We were not alone.

Some 90,000-plus obnoxious Cajuns showed up to demonstrate their collective lung capacity within the reverberating confines of Death Valley.

If the Nielsen's are accurate, some 10 million more were glued to their boob-tubes to catch the CBS broadcast.

Truth be told, the Gator O looked about as trepidatious as yours truly has ever seen them . . . at least since the Era of Meyer began. They made so many dive plays that the commentators were speculating about Greg Lougainis having drawn up the game plan.

That being said, though, Florida controlled the game from kick-off to the bitter end--much more so than the 13-3 final score reveals. In my humble (!) opinion, the majority of the credit for said control belongs to Brandon Spikes and the Gator D.

A win is a win.

A win over the #4 team in the nation is much more than that.

How sweet it is!

THE MIGHTY GATORS 51, lsu kitty-cats 21

How great did that victory in The Swamp feel for ye Gator fans tonight?!

After suffering the heart-breaking 1 point loss to Ole Miss and the lackluster follow-up against Arkansas, it seems the guys in Orange and Blue are back to their winning ways!

They shut down the #3 team in the nation in their most convincing performance since the '06 national championship game against Ohio State.

LSU's big "star" Charles Scott was held to only 35 yards in 12 carries. In fact, their total rushing only amounted to 80 yards.

The real heroes of the gridiron were the home team, especially:

1. Tim Tebow (of course), who threw for 210 yards including 3 touchdowns.

2. Jeff Demps, the pint-sized power-packed true freshman who accounted for 179 of the teams 265 rushing yards.

3. Brandon Spikes, who returned an interception for a 52-yard touchdown run.

Now, Urban Meyer's crew is headed into a bye week. We fans will be lost next Saturday with no worthwhile match-ups to watch. Hopefully, though, the ascendant Gators will use the break to chart out their path to the SEC championship . . . and beyond. It would seem they are once again the masters of their own destiny.

Defying the polls

What is it about yours truly that just loves to see a "Number 1" fall to a pugnacious southern challenger?!

Well, for ye socks who follow college football, that's just what happened out in New Orleans last night: LSU beat Ohio State!

And, perhaps the same thing can happen in politics this year . . .

Football & Housewarming Party

Well, today was the big day at the Jenks Mansion with Howard and Valda hosting throngs of their closest friends in a fashion that would have made P-Diddy jealous.

Of course, it's still Fall Football season here in the South, so there was much pigskin discussed over Lil Smokey's & BBQ sauce. Yeah, we ARE that fancy.

The big news was Apopka's win over Spruce Creek last night, which catapults them into a state semi-final against the highly-overated Boone Braves this Friday.

One of the outstanding young varsity men in Darter Blue was on hand to give us all the inside scoop. The Braves should be quaking in their mocassins, according to what he tells us.

Sidelight entertainment was provided by LSU whooping-up on the Vols in the SEC championship game up in Atlanta; Pitt surprising the West Virginia Mountaineers in the backyard brawl; and Oklahoma beating up on "number one" Mizzou.

I love this time of year, and the mansion proved an awesome venue for a lot of folks down here to indulge the twin southern passions of sports and grub.

Congrats to the Jenkses, and thanks for playing host!

Dare we suggest a Heisman for Tebow?!

I think so.



In this afternoon's trouncing of the Not-so-wild cats of Kentucky, he was 18 for 26, throwing for 254 yards and 4 touchdowns . . . PLUS he rushed for 73 more yards and 1 more touchdown.



This guy is amazing. And, I'm glad to see he and the rest of the Gators have bounced back from the Auburn and LSU games.



His numbers have got to be putting him on the short list for the Heisman, even if he is just a sophomore!



GOOOOOOOO GATORS!

12 Action Steps to Stop Cheating our Children

Ok, I'm not even going to acknowledge what transpired in Baton Rouge last night. Rather, I am going to continue telling you socks how great Mike Huckabee is. Polls out today, show that he has finally broken into the "top tier" . . . at least in Iowa. He's edged past both John McCain and Rudy Giuliani in that state, and is definitely on a "vertical" trajectory!

Anyway, here are today's action steps for your socks with kids:

1. If you are a parent, attend PTA and parent-teacher conferences.

2. Never miss a musical performance or shool play your child is involved in.

3. Volunteer to help out in at least one school activity a year.

4. Attend a school board meeting, but be careful! You might be tempted to run for a seat on the board!!

5. Know how your child's school test scores compare to other schools in your community, state, and nation.

6. Know how much your district spends per pupil in education.

7. Know how much teachers, coaches, principals, and superintendents are paid.

8. Ask the local school district for a breakdown of the school budget: administration, athletics, academics, and the arts.

9. Find out how serious your school is about the arts.

10. Ask for test scores of a class over a five year period--stagnant, declining, or improving?

11. Visit a private/parochial school and ask how their expenditures compare to public school spending.

12. Talk to your state legislator and express your interst in their voting record on education.

Laissez les bons temps rouler!

Yes, sport socks, tonight we witnessed the kick-off of the '08 college football season.

I know, I know, it's Thursday. And, traditionally, games are played on Saturday. But, you have to do something special to get things started, right?!

Well, LSU certainly did something special tonight. They TOTALLY obliterated Mississippi State. Blanked em. A shut-out.

But, I think even the losers would have to concede that some southern fried football is exactly what we need right now, if only to distract us from all the depressing stuff the media has been using for fodder lately. "Let them resume reporting football scores!" I say!

Oh, and a special side note to Urban Meyer: I hope you watched what LSU was serving last night. The race for the SEC championship is NOT going to be a cake walk this year. Please prepare accordingly.

Orange and blue!