Rarely is the truth sexier than rumors
Everybody please calm down.
You are getting yourself all worked up when you don't know what is really going on with Billy Donovan.
There are more conspiracy theorists than there are love bugs in the air.
Billy hasn't signed his contract because he's holding the NBA over Florida's head for more money.
Billy's haggling with Jeremy Foley over tickets for home games and private jet flights.
Florida is dropping the ball on this. It should have been a done deal weeks ago.
Those two whales swam up the Sacramento River to offer Billy an NBA contract.
Sometimes, the simplest explanations are difficult for people to swallow.
Why can't anybody just accept that Donovan's contract extension has been worked out, he has agreed to it and there is a process that must be followed - including approval by the compensation committee next month - before it becomes official?
Because it makes too much sense?
This is no different than the extensions that have been awarded to other Florida coaches except that in this case there have been publicized overtures from NBA teams that make Florida fans nervous and columnists salivating at the chance to criticize Donovan for supposedly leaving Florida twisting in the wind.
It's just not true.
That twisting in the wind part.
Florida, Foley, Bernie Machen, they all know exactly what is going on and have a firm grip on the proceedings. It's like everybody else feels Donovan owes them an answer right now. This second.
He has already given Florida his answer. He gave it to them when he wouldn't even listen to Kentucky's offer and worked out a deal soon in between vacations to the Dominican Republic and Ireland.
Also know this - Florida doesn't write buyout clauses into its coaches' contracts. Donovan could sign his contract after it is approved and still walk out a day later to coach in Orlando or Golden State or Sloboda of the Adriatic League without penalty.
But he won't.
Trust me on this.
I know it's not as sexy as some of the rumors and innuendos that are out there, but the truth rarely is.
TV time: The Gator football team is already headed for plenty of prime-time appearances this season. The Tennessee game has been set for 3:30 p.m. on CBS and the FSU game with either be at noon or 3:30 p.m. on the same network.
And it appears to be all but a lock that the LSU game will be an 8 p.m. CBS game after the Georgia-Tennessee game at 3:30.
The SEC released its early television schedule and it already has me fired up. One problem - this darn job.
While I'll be covering Florida's 6 p.m. games the first two weeks, I'll be missing some dandies. On Sept. 1, Oklahoma State is at Georgia and Tennessee is at California in late games. The next week, while Florida is facing Troy, those of you watching at home will get South Carolina at Georgia and Virginia Tech at LSU.
Trade ya.
Big men: Here's the problem I have with the public uproar and media attention to the atrocities of dog fighting now that Michael Vick is in the middle of the controversy.
Where was the indignation before?
I guess I should be grateful to Vick for getting involved in the situation because at least America is more aware of this awful sport. Dog fighting is a form of organized crime, plain and simple. There have been reports of family pets - and I'm talking thousands per year - being stolen around the country to be used as bait for the fighting dogs.
In some areas of the country, they have "hot dog rodeos" which involved a dog attacking a feral pig in a pen. And people take their children to see this.
All of this has been going on for a long time but it's only now that you see it get media attention because it involved a high-profile athlete/punk. That's the media world we live in.
Can you imagine if Paris Hilton was involved?
"Our top story, more dog kennels found on property owned by Paris Hilton. In other news, the war in Iraq ended today."
Big Baby bust: According to NBADraft.net, Glen "Big Baby" Davis is projected as the 50th player taken in the draft, two spots ahead of Florida guard Taurean Green.
People will tell you that his stock has dropped dramatically, but I've never been high on Glen Davis as an NBA player. He's a 6-foot-6 power forward who can handle the ball but I've always felt he was overrated. Glen Davis is at his best when the game doesn't come through him and he has to go to the boards to fight for it.
I don't see him being anything special in the NBA. Of course, I said the same thing about Tayshaun Prince, so what do I know.
According to that Web site, there are 13 players expected to be drafted in the first two rounds that Florida has played against in the last two seasons. Add in the four Gators who should be drafted and it should be interesting.
Hopefully, it will make the NBA interesting next season. Watching these playoffs is like watching someone reading a book.
Hall of Famer: Once Jack Youngblood finally got into the Hall of Fame, we all figured the second Gator to make the trip to Canton, Ohio would be Emmitt Smith.
But I wouldn't rule out Lomas Brown.
Brown, who played 19 years on mostly bad teams, did play in a pair of Super Bowls late in his career and got a ring with the Bucs as a special teams player. He made seven Pro Bowls and the field of players who are eligible for candidacy starting next year is not exactly overwhelming.
But it's also difficult to get offensive linemen in and the quality of the teams you played on did matter. I wouldn't bet on Brown making it next year, but he's got a chance somewhere down the line.
He's a looper: Former Gator placekicker Jeff Chandler, who hasn't kicked in the NFL in almost three years, is still holding out hope that he'll get another shot at it. But in the meantime, he's a caddy on the Nationwide Tour for his buddy Jeff Klauk.
Klauk, the son of the superintendent at the TPC at Sawgrass, didn't go to Florida, but he's a big Gator fan.
Pat-pourri: Don't delay because the 13th Bob Dooley Invitational is filling up quickly. ... My daughter's best friend, Emma Rose, says she wouldn't watch the NBA playoffs even if they started before her bedtime. ... If Roger Clemens doesn't get it done with the Yankees will there be any major league city where he's a hero? Not Houston or Toronto or Boston, for gosh sakes, or anywhere else where they think what he's doing is anti-team. ... The Dolphins are set for 2007 now that they've signed Cleo Lemon. ... For all of you Heather Mitts fans, she tore an ACL against Canada and will miss the World Cup, which makes the World Cup a lot less watchable. ... Man, do we American men stink on clay courts or what? ... I won as many matches as the Americans who were actually there. ... I have a new set of irons but the same lousy swing ... Be safe.
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