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Thanks for all the support. I hope you have enjoyed reading this blog as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Anyone with comments/questions/suggestions please email me at: bdfoxjr@chomptalk.com

  • Gators soccer outplays Florida Atlantic, wins 3-0

    Gainesville- The Florida Gators soccer team defeated the Florida Atlantic Owls by a score of 3-0 on Sunday afternoon at Pressly Stadium. 

    The Gators and Owls engaged in a sloppy first half with many turnovers. However, the Gators went into halftime with a 3-0 lead. 

    In the 24th minute Melanie Monteagudo scored to put the Gators on top. Monteagudo took a pass from senior Savannah Jordan, and after a miscue by the Owls’ defense, was able to get the goal. Monteagudo had just entered the game as a substitute on the previous dead ball, and scored on her first touch. This was the second goal of the season for the sophmore, and also the second of her career.

    In the 29th minute Florida was awarded a penalty kick after an FAU foul inside the 18-yard box. Meggie Doughtry Howard, capitalized on the kick, increasing the Gators lead to 2-0. 

    During the 10-second countdown to end the first half, Jordan managed a breakaway before a hard tackle by FAU goalkeeper Sydney Drinkwater, leading to another penalty kick. Drinkwater was served with a red card, and thus removed from the game. FAU backup keeper, Jennifer Ocampo actually stopped Jordan’s penalty kick, however Jordan responded quickly and sent a one-timer to the back of the net with two seconds left in the half, and giving Florida a 3-0 lead. 

    Florida had a 6-3 shot advantage in the first half. 

    The second half was a different story for the Gators, as they were playing a man up due to Drinkwater’s ejection. 

    The Gators controlled possession and managed to outshoot FAU 13-0 in the second half. Florida had many chances to score in the second half, but the post and strong goalkeeping wouldn’t allow it. Jordan hit the post twice and had a breakaway shot stopped by the keeper several times. 

    In the 80th minute frustration grew on the FAU players as junior forward Kelly Harris received a yellow card for her physical play. 

    For Jordan, her goal before half was her 67th career goal, moving her into solwpossession of third place on the Gators all-time scoring chart. 

    For Gators soccer, Sunday marked the 200th home win for the program. 

    Next up: The Gators will now embark on a six game road trip that includes some of the top competition in the country. On Friday (8/26), the Gators will take on Stanford at 11:00 PM EST. The Game will be shown on the Pac-12 Network and will be broadcast on WRUF, with Adam Schick taking the role of play by play broadcaster. 

    The Gators will return home on September 18 against UCF. That game is slated to start at 7:00 PM. 

  • Florida football ranked #25 in preseason AP poll

    Gainesville-  The 2016 preseason Associated Press poll was released Sunday morning. 
    The Florida Gators enter the poll ranked number 25, third among SEC East teams, behind Tennessee and Georgia. 

     Florida enters the season with a new quarterback and new starting running back on offense and lost star defensive players in lineman Jonathan Bullard, linebacker Antonio Morrison, and defensive backs Vernon Hargreaves III, and Keanu Neal. 

    Florida opens the season on September 3 against the Massachusetts Minutemen. 

    Here’s the full preseason AP Top 25:

    1. 1- Alabama
    2. 2- Clemson
    3. 3- Oklahoma
    4. 4- Florida State
    5. 5- LSU
    6. 6- Ohio State
    7. 7- Michigan
    8. 8- Stanford
    9. 9- Tennessee
    10. 10- Notre Dame
    11. 11- Ole Miss
    12. 12- Michigan State
    13. 13- TCU
    14. 14- Washington
    15. 15- Houston
    16. 16- UCLA
    17. 17- Iowa
    18. 18- Georgia
    19. 19- Louisville
    20. 20- USC
    21. 21- Oklahoma State
    22. 22- North Carolina
    23. 23- Baylor
    24. 24- Oregon
    25. 25- Florida


  • Gators soccer defeats Iowa State 5-2

    Gainesville-  The Florida Gators women’s soccer team defeated the Iowa State Cyclones by a score of 5-2 at Pressly Stadium on Friday night. 
    The Gators led the Cyclones 2-0 at halftime. The Gators opened scoring in the eighth minute when sophomore Mayra Pelayo pushed one past Iowa State junior keeper Lindsey Hendon. The Gators had several more opportunities including senior Savannah Jordan‘s shot off of the goalpost in the 24th minute. The Gators finally capitalized in the 42nd minute as Melanie Monteagudo pushed one through the goal. Jordan assisted on the first goal and Meggie Dougherty Howard assisted on Monteagudo’s. 

    The beginning of the second half saw a frantic pace as the Gators scored goals in the 48th and 49th minutes of play. Sarah Troccoli and Dougherty Howard were the scorers. 

    A couple of defensive breakdowns for the Gators wielded two Iowa State goals. ISU’s senior forward Koree Willer scored off a corner in the 54th minute and sophomore forward Klasey Medelberg put one past Florida sophomore goalkeeper Kaylan Marckese in the 61st minute. 

    Jordan then changed the momentum and put the final nail in the coffin as she score her 66th career goal in the 68th minute. Jordan is now tied with Danielle Fotopoulos for third in all-time goals in school history. 

    Jordan managed three assists on the day, which equals her total output as a freshman, and is only four off her total mark of seven last season. 

    Next up:  The Gators will play Florida Atlantic on Sunday at 1PM at Pressly Stadium. 

  • Gator great Kerron Clement wins gold in Rio

    Rio De Janeiro, Brazil-  Many former and current Florida Gators are competing in the 2016 Rio Olympics, thirty to be exact. 
    Kerron Clement is the latest former Gator to collect gold. 

    Clement won the men’s 400M hurdles in 47.73 seconds, barely beating Kenya’s Boniface Tumuti (by .05 seconds).  Turkey’s Yasmani Copello rounded out the medal winners by earning the bronze medal. 

    Clement was a Gator is 2004 and 2005. In 2005, Clement broke the indoor world record in the 400M sprint, clocking a time of 44.57. The previous record had been set ten years earlier by the former “fastest man in the world,” Michael Johnson. 

    When Clement is not running, he enjoys his time as a model and an actor. Clement appeared in the music video for “Run the World (Girls),” alongside Beyoncé. 

  • Gators name Del Rio starting QB

    Gainesville-  Florida football has a starting quarterback. 
    After a camp battle between redshirt sophomore Luke Del Rio and graduate transfer Austin Appleby, Del Rio has been given the nod as head coach Jim McElwain reported to the media today. 

    Del Rio has the benefit of being the only quarterback to have spent last season in McElwain and offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier‘s offense. 

    It has been expected that Del Rio would be the starter due to his understanding of the offense and his performance in the Orange and Blue Debut. Del Rio went 10-11 for 176 yards in the spring game. 

    Appleby transferred from Purdue and is expected to serve as the primary backup. 

  • Opinion: Lochte is a victim and Rio is the suspect

    I haven’t done an opinion piece on this site in our brief existence. I have also purposely stayed away from rumor in attempting to make this site as reliable and honest as possible. 

    Today, that streak ends. 

    On Sunday I reported about the alleged robbery that former Gator and current USA swimmer Ryan Lochte endured after a late night party. You can read my article on Lochte’s account of what happened here.  

    Unfortunately for everyone involved, the story didn’t end there. 

    On Wednesday it was widely reported that Brazilian government officials were seeking to speak with Lochte and fellow swimmer James Feigen and a Brazilian judge had ordered the two to stay in Brazil.

    Lochte, however was already home in the United States, and according to NBC’s Matt Lauer never changed his schedule as far as leaving Brazil. 

    Lauer went on to report that Lochte was actually scared to speak out about the incident because he thought he may be in trouble, but learned that because he is over 21 he is allowed to leave the Olympic Village as he desire. 

    Lauer even went as far as to ask Lochte about the rumors of the Americans making the report up to hide the fact that they had engaged in activity that would be frowned upon. Lochte denied those allegations. 

    On Wednesday night, the other two swimmers involved, Jack Conger and Gunnar Bentz, were reportedly pulled off an airplane destined home by Brazilian authorities. The USOC has confirmed those reports. 

    Lauer’s report mentioned that Feigen had checked into the flight online, but never showed up to the airport, leaving his whereabouts unknown. 

    Maybe Ryan Lochte is a liar. But, maybe he isn’t. I don’t know Lochte personally, therefore I don’t know what to believe. Obviously I’d love to believe that the greatest Gator Olympian is an honest person, but again, I just don’t know. 

    What the bigger issue is: Brazil should never have been the host site. It has been one issue after the next. From the Olympic water to the violence on the streets of Rio De Janeiro. 

    The day before the Opening Ceremonies a bus full of tourists was shot at, but fortunately no one was injured. There have been many videos (however unverified) of young people robbing tourists of cell phones and wallets. 

    This is a dangerous place for tourists and Olympic athletes. 

    In the last ten years Brazil has had more than 60,000 unsolved murders. Yet, two swimmers were pulled off an airplane for POSSIBLY falsifying a police report. 

    Even without knowing if Lochte and the other swimmers are lying, the games being in Rio De Janeiro make doubting this story unfair to the accusers. 

    UPDATE (11:55PM EST): James Feigen is safe in Brazil:

    “I’m just trying to give Brazil what they need or what they want and get out of here,” Feigen told USA TODAY Sports during a telephone interview. “It’s a hassle. But I’m safe, everything’s fine.”

  • Jalen Tabor and C’yontai Lewis suspended for opener

    Gainesville-  Florida Gators football head coach Jim McElwain made the following statement on the team website regarding star junior CB Jalen “Teez” Tabor and redshirt sophomore C’yontai Lewis:

    “Both C’yontai and Jalen will not be involved with the team or practice due to behavior that is not acceptable,” McElwain said. “By no means are these bad guys and yet consequences have been handed down. We will not look the other way when it comes to breaking of team policies. I want to echo what I said earlier, these are both fine young men who will learn and be stronger from their actions. They will also be suspended for the first game. There are life lessons in everything we do. We will be better because of it and no one person is bigger than the Florida Gators.”

    It is not immediately known what the two did, and it is unlikely we will ever hear Coach Mac provide an explanation, given how he has handled discipline in the past. 

    Both Tabor and Lewis will be suspended for the UMASS game on Sept. 3 and are unable to participate in practice.  

    UPDATE (1:13PM EST): Per the Atlanta Journal Constitution’s Zach Abolverdi, both players are suspended for role in a serious altercation. Nothing drug related. Apparently the fight started during practice and escalated after practice in the locker room. 

  • Gators on top in Olympic triple jump (again)

    Rio De Janeiro-  For the second consecutive Olympiad, former Florida Gators athletes dominated the triple jump. 

    Christian Taylor, a 2011 UF graduate, has become the first person since the 1900 and 1904 games to win gold in back to back Olympic triple jump events. 

    Will Claye, also a 2011 UF graduate, has earned the silver medal in back to back events. Caye becomes only the fifth American to medal in back to back Olympics. 

    Taylor bested his college teammate by one-tenth of a meter as he finished with a jump of 17.86 meters, compared to the 17.76 meter jump of Claye. 

    Taylor and Claye have long been rivals, but also share a genuine friendship away from the track. Claye transferred to the University of Florida from Oklahoma to train with legendary coach Dick Booth, in part thanks to the success of Taylor. 

    After the event, both athletes posed for pictures together, even doing the Gator Chomp in many of those photos. 

  • Linebacker Matt Rolin leaves football program

    Gainesville-  The Florida Gators football depth chart appears to be shortening by the day. 

    Florida football announced via Twitter that linebacker Matt Rolin is no longer with the team. 

    Rolin, a redshirt junior from Virginia, came to UF as a highly touted four-star recruit. Rolin tore his ACL in his senior year of high school, and just days after arriving in Gainesville, sustained another torn ACL. Rolin didn’t play in a single game in 2013 or 2014 as a result of injuries. 

    Rolin had eleven tackles in his Gators career. 

    The departure of Rolins leaves the Gators linebacker corps very thin with only three players with any live game experience; Jarrad Davis, Alex Anzalone, and seldom used Daniel McMillian. 

    Coach McElwain has stated during fall camp that the younger linebackers have looked very good. For the sake of the Gators defense, lets hope he is correct. 

  • Lochte provides account of hold up in Rio

    Rio De Janeiro-  It was reported Sunday morning that former Gator swimmer and current USA Olympian, Ryan Lochte had been held up at gun point at a gas station in Brazil.

    In the hours since the initial report the International Olympic Committee has gone so far as to deny the incident even happened.

    Despite the IOC claims that it didn’t happen, Lochte and the USOC have confirmed the reports.

    Lochte was with fellow Olympians; Gunner Bentz, Jack Conger, and Jimmy Feigen when the incident occurred.

    Lochte did a one-on-one interview with NBC’s Today Show and provided his account as to what happened.  The interview will air Monday morning. NBC has provided a quote from the interview:

    “We got pulled over, in the taxi, and these guys came out with a badge, a police badge, no lights, no nothing just a police badge and they pulled us over,” Lochte said. “They pulled out their guns, they told the other swimmers to get down on the ground — they got down on the ground. I refused, I was like we didn’t do anything wrong, so — I’m not getting down on the ground. “And then the guy pulled out his gun, he cocked it, put it to my forehead and he said, “Get down,” and I put my hands up, I was like ‘whatever.’ He took our money, he took my wallet — he left my cell phone, he left my credentials.”