Gators grind out their first SEC win of the season

Despite all the pre-game hype predicting another romp in The Swamp, our guys in the Orange and Blue actually had their work cut out for them this afternoon.

Several things conspired against them:

1. Though Vols QB Jonathan Crompton is woefully outclassed by Tim Tebow in the statistics department, he has some formidable teammates. Hats off to safety Eric Berry and runningback Montario Hardesty. They earned our respect.

2. Tebow was not himself. He turned over the ball in the red zone. He threw an interception. And, he failed for the first time in 30 games to throw a touchdown pass.

3. Brandon Spikes was forced to sit out the entire second half due to tendinitis.

4. The officiating crew was something less than impartial. They penalized the Gators for defensive tackle Jaye Howard's "unsportsmanlike conduct," a very debatable call. Then, just minutes later they not only failed to recognize similar conduct displayed by the Vols following an interception. They also failed to penalize Tennessee for an obvious intentional grounding by Crompton.

It was an actual relief to many Gator fans in the final moments of the game when safety Ahmad Black intercepted another Crompton pass to put this ugly game to bed. No style points will be awarded for this win.

Nonetheless, Florida adds to their record-breaking win streak, improving to 3-0 while the Vols drop to 1-2. Hopefully, Urban's crew learned a few more lessons they can apply to games further down the schedule . . .

It's still great to be a Florida Gator!

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!

Last full day in Mount Pleasant

And, it was a good one.

Not only was it Mom's birthday, we celebrated it by skipping cake in favor of a big steak dinner! I guess, you have to take you calories where you can get them after Thanksgiving . . . Actually, my brother-in-law and I were hoping for a big old rack of ribs, but Publix up here apparently doesn't carry such delicacies. So, he'll have to wait til his next trip to Florida for an education in Cracker grillology.

Of course, it wouldn't be a fall Saturday in the South without some college football. I was actually more than a little irritated by the quadruple overtime in the Tennessee-Kentucky game, because it delayed coverage of the annual Gator romp over the 'Noles. By the time they switched to The Swamp, it was already the second quarter and I missed Tebow's first big touchdown run.

The South Carolina-Clemson game was actually the most exciting game of the afternoon, and not just for the opportunity to watch The Evil Genius stalking the Gamecock sidelines. It was a real nail-biter, went down to the wire. Fortunately, it turned out the way Keith wanted it, so he can hold his head high in church tomorrow.

All in all, a good day. Kinda dreading the drive home tomorrow. But, all this makes all that worth it.