It’s Great To Be...

By: Jimbo Brown

            Sports as a whole have had something jaw dropping each month. Every time you tuned in to watch your favorite sports channel, a story on there made your heart stop. From Golden State blowing a 3-1 lead, Kevin Durant going to Golden State and Lionel Messi receiving 21 months for Tax Evasion. No matter what part of the world you live in the industry has turned your life upside down for the good/bad. Today we will quickly discuss matters that I want to revisit.

UF Men Track & Field Team: Back on Top

            "It means so much," Hall said. "We won my freshman year, and the past couple of years we've been all over the place. And we've had a great team. Just coming in here, people counted us out from the get go, and we came out on top.”

            After winning the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field national championship in 2012, the Gators had a plethora of talent that couldn’t figure it out. The team lacked belief that it could accomplish the mission once again. After the conference finals, where UF placed 7^th, Coach Holloway (Mouse) challenged himself, staff and athletes to believe that they will make amends at nationals. UF became just the third team since 1992 to win the NCAA Outdoor Championships after finishing outside the top five at the NCAA Indoor Championships.

Arman Hall accomplished his goal of winning a title in the 400m. He is the first gator to accomplish this feat since Tony McQuay. 4000-meter hurdles Eric Futch and Tj Holmes finished 1-2 gathering 18 points for the team. They are second pair of teammates to take first and second place in the 400-meter hurdles since Kamani and Michael Smith of Baylor (2001).

This National Championship extends the universities streak of winning one to 7 years. Even when the expected sports, baseball and softball, didn’t live up to the hype.

Gators Olympic Run

Rachel Longfors- Women’s Discus Throw

Darrielle McQueen- Women’s Long Jump & Triple Jump

Najee Glass- Men’s 400-Meter Dash

Arman Hall- Men’s 400-Meter Dash

Tony McQuay- Men’s 400-Meter Dash

Ebony Eutsey- Women’s 400-Meter Dash

Robin Reynolds- Women’s 400-Meter Dash

Shayla Sanders- Women’s 100-Meter Dash

Jeff Demps- Men’s 100-Meter Dash

Noah Lyles- Men’s 100-Meter Dash & 200-Meter Dash

KeAndre Bates- Men’s Long Jump & Triple Jump

Marquis Dendy- Men’s Long Jump

Ciarra Brewer- Women’s Triple Jump

Mark Parrish- Men’s 3,000- Meter Steeplechase

Fawn Miller- Women’s Javelin Throw

Will Claye- Men’s Triple Jump

Omar Craddock- Men’s Triple Jump

Christian Taylor- Men’s Triple Jump

Bridgette Owens- Women’s 100-Meter Dash

Dedric Dukes- Men’s 200-Meter Dash

Ryan Clark- Men’s 200-Meter Dash

Claudia Francis- Women’s 400-Meter Hurdles

Cory McGee- Women’s 1,500 Meters

Kerron Clement- Men’s 400-Meter Hurdles

Eric Futch- Men’s 400-Meter Hurdles

TJ Holmes- Men’s 400-Meter Hurdles

Kyra Jefferson- Women’s 200-Meter Dash

To see which Gators made it to Rio click here. 

Steph Curry Edition

          Had to dedicate this post to Stephen Curry. That’s how he good he was last night when he had the NBA community and all of twitter talking about him. After missing a part of the game with a tweaked ankle & Golden State down 12 points in the fourth quarter against OKC, Steph pulled his team back into the game & won it in overtime with a 3-pointer from 32 feet out. He ended up finishing with 46 points, including 12-16 from 3-point range, 3 rebounds, 6 assists & 2 steals.

At this point, what Curry is doing right now, nobody else in the history of this game has done. When we think about the greatest 3-point shooters, we think about Ray Allen & Reggie Miller. But I don’t think either of them can touch Stephen Curry. I’ve been debating it in my head but this season has showed me Curry is the best shooter we’ve ever seen & the best player in the game today. I just finished watching him bury the Heat on Wednesday with 42 points. He then comes back the next day and puts up 51 points in Orlando, with 30 of those coming from 3-point range. And Saturday night, with his team down for most of the game, he goes hammertime with 46 points and 12 3’s. Since coming back from the All-Star break, he’s averaging 38 points a game. The numbers are amazing in their own right, but watching this man pull up from anywhere inside half court and drain a 3 with ease is amazing. Even beyond half court, his range is lethal. That’s the thing that separates him from other 3-point shooters. Others can only shoot 3’s consistently at center court, in the wing or corner, off the pass, off the dribble, or walk into their 3 with a pullup. Steph, on the other hand, can create his own shot & score from an assist, after pulling a crossover between 2 opponents, pullup after dribbling the ball in from back court, step back or fadeaway, while at the same time, shooting at high percentage from anywhere on the court.

Curry Game Winner

Going back to the game last night, Curry hit many accomplishments. Not only did he break his own record for most 3’s in a season with 24 games still left to play, he also tied the record for most 3’s in a single game with 12. He’s the first player in NBA history to score 10 3-point field goals in back-to-back games and is in the midst of a 3 game streak of scoring 40 or more points. Last but not least, he scored the game winning shot from just inside half court to give Golden State the game over OKC, 121-118. Crazy. The Warriors are now 53-5 and must (will?) go 20-4 in the next 24 games to beat the 72-10 record held by the 95-96 Bulls.