Whitley's Believe It Or Not: This Florida-flavored Final Four doesn't taste right to UF fans
Right now, it’s not great to be a Florida Gator. At least if you think the state’s flagship university should be the master of every sports domain.
“So two loser schools, FAU and Miami, are in the Final Four. We foolishly accepted a bid to the NIT and were immediately trounced by 20 points on home court to another loser school, UCF.”
That was the start of an email I got Sunday night. I’m confident the author was not alone in his dismay over how FIU and Miami are making UF look like a loser.
Did I say FIU?
I meant FAU, but we have bigger things to worry about in Gainesville. Like will Billy Napier find a quarterback who’s good enough to beat Vanderbilt this year?
Gators QB update:Mertz and UF hope a change of scenery does wonders at QB
Whitley on WBC:Whitley's Believe It Or Not: The world loves World Baseball Classic, even if America does not
Dusty May on Keyontae:FAU's Dusty May gets emotional about Kansas State forward, former Gator Keyontae Johnson
If you’re mired in such orange-and-blue dismay, my advice is to be magnanimous. Tip your plastic Gator snout caps to Miami and FAU, and hope their success further motivates Flagship U.
It’s not hard to like the Owls, who were bazillion-to-one longshots to get this far. It’s a bit tougher for UF fans to feel any love for Miami.
There are decades of football animosity. There’s super-booster John Ruiz, the one-man NIL/ATM machine. The Hurricanes' best players “work” for LifeWallet, Ruiz’s company that recovers fraudulent Medicare payments, or something like that.
Sure, every school has an NIL shoveling money to aspiring health-care investigators/athletes. But few have shoveled it as flamboyantly and successfully as Ruiz.
Besides, Jim Larranaga was winning NCAA tournament games before Ruiz ever wrote his first check. It’s just that nobody much noticed it because Miami football had dropped to FAU levels.
Gator fans still have that to feel good about, sort of. And UF just won another national championship in non-revenue sport (more on that in a minute).
So try to take the high road and cheer for an NCAA championship final between LifeWallet U. and FIU, err, FAU.
If you can’t bring yourself to do that, don’t be totally depressed. At least Georgia won’t be in it. …
Gators swimmer Joshua Linedo sets record
Stud of the Week: UF swimmer Joshua Linedo, who swam the fastest 100-meter butterfly in history as the Gators won the 400 medley relay at the NCAA championship meet. Ruiz will probably offer him $500,000 to transfer to Miami.
Stud II: Buchholz wrestlers CJ Liddie and Kason Nichols became the school’s first state champions in 27 years. If high schoolers could get NIL money in Florida, Ruiz might make them LifeWallet’s youngest employees.
Stud III: The floral blazer LSU women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey wore in the Tigers’ NCAA tournament win over Utah. It had a bright pink ostrich feather fringe running from down the sleeves and was nicely accessorized by a pair of shiny pink pumps.
I’m not saying Todd Golden should emulate the look, but it couldn’t hurt.
Special Championship Edition Stud: Florida’s men’s weightlifting team, for winning the National University Championship in Columbus, Ohio. The 19-member team trains at The Ark School of Fitness and was led by Jakobe Morgan, who won the 61 Kilogram Division.
Sure, it’s a club sport and the award won’t make it to UF’s NCAA trophy case. But the Liftin’ Gators beat Texas, Ohio State and Tennessee. LifeWallet U. didn’t make the top 10. …
The Empire State building was lit in FAU blue-and-red after the Owls won the East Regional. If LSU wins the women’s Final Four, they should cover the building in pink ostrich feathers. …
The Rays are offering standing-room-only tickets for the entire season for $249. The Mets are offering front-row seats in their new “Cadillac Club” that will cost $24,999. But fans will be allowed to stand in the club’s bathroom for $2,499, as long as they promise not to steal any toilet paper. …
Ken Griffey Jr. still on Reds payroll
Ken Griffey Jr. hasn’t played for Cincinnati in 15 years, but the Reds will pay him $3.59 million deferred salary this year. That would make him the third-highest paid player on the team, according to Spotrac.com.
In related news, Auburn boosters are paying Cam Newton $2.84 million in deferred payments this year, making him worth more than last year’s entire Auburn roster. …
Mulkey Redux: After LSU beat Ole Miss last month, she gave a fan the pink-sequined jacket stitched with multi-colored butterflies she wore during the game. Nick Saban has never given one of his pink-sequined jackets to a fan after a win. ...
For the record, FAU is in Boca Raton and plays its football games at Howard Schnellenberger Field. FIU is in Miami and plays its football games at FIU Stadium. UM is in Coral Gables and might as well play its football games on Mars. ...
IQ scores in the U.S. dropped during a recent 13-year period, according to a study just published in the academic journal Intelligence. Researchers said the decline was largely based on the number of people now willing to pay $25,000 a year to watch the Mets. …
That’s about all the space we have for this week’s Whitley’s Believe It or Not. Until next week, try to be happy for FAU and Miami. And if you can’t decide which ostrich feathers to wear, always go with pink.
David Whitley is The Gainesville Sun's sports columnist. Contact him at dwhitley@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @DavidEWhitley
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Florida Gators fans should give Miami and FAU respect for Final Four berths
