- Florida gymnastics finished third nationally but fell short at the championship meet in Fort Worth despite a strong season.
- Florida Gators baseball has committed 44 errors in 41 games causing 32 unearned runs, hindering consistent success this season.
The Front Nine comes at you after a weekend that could not have been better weather-wise but could have been a lot better results-wise.
1. It starts with Florida gymnastics, and there are those of you who are proud of your team for finishing third in the nation, those who are mad that Florida hasn’t won a national title in the 11 years under Jenny Rowland, and those who think the judges had pigeon poop in their eyes. It is what it is, this subjective scoring sport where we may see a bobble or a misstep and hope the judges did not. When you get to the finals, you can’t count on the other team falling off the beam or stepping out of bounds on the floor exercise. It’s the national championship. It’s the best four teams in America. You have to be great. Florida was great all year but not Saturday in Fort Worth. “We could have the same meet tomorrow and it could be a different outcome,” UF gymnast Riley McCusker said. I agree. But the season is over.
2. It could be worse. You could be a Gator baseball fan. The big series against Auburn started with Florida getting another win against a ranked team and ended with Florida making brutal errors that cost it two games. That’s 44 errors in 41 games and those have led to 32 unearned runs. Kevin O’Sullivan’s teams usually sacrifice hitting for defense. This one can’t get either one going on a consistent basis. “If you have a crooked number in the errors column,” he said, “you’re not going to win many games.”
3. FOMO Game of the Week
Jocelyn Erickson has been a beast for Florida’s softball team, and you are running out of time to see the senior catcher play in person. The Gators have only two home games left, Friday against UCF at 6 p.m. and next Tuesday against FSU at 7 p.m. Of course, the Gators will host a regional, but that’s for a different Front 9.
4. The Front 9 brings you a foursome of questions for Gator great and Renaissance man James Bates:
- Which of your portraits of a national champion coach are you most proud of?
Bates: That’s a tough one. I would probably answer differently if you asked me tomorrow, but today I’m going with the two swim coaches, Randy Reese and Gregg Troy. I like their mustaches and I’ve always been drawn to those old-school swimmers. Prior to meeting [my wife] Tina, I knew nothing about swimming, but when I met her and her friends, as freshmen in ‘92, I became a big fan. Those old school swimmers were all loco, ‘cause they kind of had to be, just to survive. - Which interception made you happier, at Tennessee or at home against Georgia?
Bates: I love that I returned the Georgia pick — second of the game by the way, ain’t bragging if it’s true — and scored a touchdown in the Swamp. But to go up to Neyland, a place that is really special … My dad played linebacker at UT, and I went to high school 30 minutes from there, and [to] have that interception against Peyton [Manning] in such a big game, with so much on the line, and to go 4-0 against The Vols … That was a great day. - Do you miss being on TV all the time?
Bates: Don’t you ever eat at Spurrier’s? I am on TV all of the time, in there. The first time that they started looping that interview in there, I didn’t know that they were going to do that. I went to eat dinner there. I looked up and saw the show on all of the TVs in the place. And I had on the same freaking shirt that I wore in the show. I felt like it looked as if I wore that shirt so people would recognize me on the TV. Ugh. - What do you think about Jon Sumrall?
Bates: I’m a big fan of Sumrall. He had me at [being a] linebacker [who also wore] number 44 [at Kentucky]. I’ve been around him a few times and I love his energy. I’m really stoked for the Gators that get to play under him. Can’t wait to watch our guys fly around in the fall.
5. The List: My five favorite Gator interviews all-time
- Steve Spurrier: I can’t believe I get him on my podcast every Monday.
- Joakim Noah: That back-to-back run was even better because of his quotes.
- Bridget Sloan: She had some Spurrier in her as a competitor in that she would say what she was thinking.
- Zach Piller: You never knew what he was going to say next.
- Stacey Nelson: Might be one of the five most interesting people I have met as a sportswriter.
6. This will happen this week
The talking heads on multiple networks will rip a selection made in Thursday’s NFL Draft because they didn’t see it coming and will call it a “horrendous pick.”
7. Hot take of the week
Gymnastics will never be as popular as it could be if the sport would simply make the scoring more uniform and easier to follow without a math degree from MIT.
8. Tweet of the week
This from Jonathan Arnholz: “Sometimes I wonder how umpires have the brain capacity to do things like drive cars and breathe.” They must Uber.
9. Movie recommendation
I am amazed when I talk to young people who have never seen “Best in Show”. It should be required viewing for anybody who has a sense of humor. Just brilliant. “She looks like a cocktail waitress on an oil rig.”