This week, Phil on the Hill will be taking a slightly different approach.
In blistering fashion - basically, nothing like an actual baseball game - nine names or games from the wide world of UF sports will get their flipping facts finagled from the Phil point of view.
Hold on to your hat - sort of.
Batting leadoff this week, the ever-popular Tim Tebow. Great guy, great team leader, great "manager of the game," as he's now commonly called. But no Heisman in 2008. At this point last year, the indestructible man had 13 touchdowns. So far he has only five, all of them passing. Yes, the No. 4 Gators are better off because of it. Will he have a huge Heisman-esque moment at some point this year? Probably. (Ahem, Georgia and LSU, look out). But one game won't make the difference.
Numbers two through four are Hawaii, Miami and Tennessee. Thanks for showing us nearly nothing about the Gators. It's hard for the defense not to look better when it's coming off a dismal season. And yes, the Warriors, Hurricanes and Volunteers of 2008 as a whole are better than last year's opening opponents, which UF beat by a combined score of 167-54. But remember how good UF fans felt after a 59-20 drubbing of Tennessee a year ago?
In the No. 5 spot, the mystery of the Gators offense. All the explaining is becoming tiresome. Yes, the clock rules affect the number of plays and possessions. The Gators had 17 plays of 20 yards or more through the first three games last season. This season? Eleven. Not a big difference, and certainly the 3-0 record is all Urban Meyer is worried about. But UF's offense strikes fear into defensive coordinators right now because of its potential, not recent results.
Our No. 6 hitter is Les Miles. This man is an example of the great, crazy passions of college football. Love him or hate him, he rolls the dice more than any sane man would. Will the time come when the odds catch up to him? Most likely. Still, LSU is one of the most exciting teams to watch recently, and Miles has a lot to do with it. Anything is possible when you show your team you believe nothing is impossible for them.
Hitting seventh is another passion-fueling part of college football - trash talk. Coaches and school media officials hate it. Media thrive on it. Fans love it. Everyone will agree rivalries are a much bigger deal at the college level. Coaches will never like giving the other team bulletin-board material. But Louis Murphy and Brandon Spikes made the weeks leading up to the Miami and Tennessee games interesting (certainly more interesting than the games themselves were).
Now, moving the spotlight to some smaller sports, the eighth spot goes to the No. 16 Gators soccer team, which opens up Southeastern Conference play this weekend. Praise goes to coach Becky Burleigh for her tough nonconference scheduling. You have to think UF will be ready for anything the league presents after having already scuffled with No. 4 Florida State, No. 5 Portland, No. 18 Illinois and No. 25 Kansas. Maybe the SEC isn't as tough in soccer as football, but imagine if the football team had to push through a slate of games like that.
Coming up here near the end in the ninth spot, the No. 11 UF volleyball team. Rest assured, all you volleyball nuts - the Gators will take home their 18th consecutive conference title this season. Yeah, the term "volleyball nut" probably doesn't refer to most of you, but this is definitely one of the most consistent teams on campus. But the past precedent will also continue in the postseason as well - expect a second-round exit for these young Gators in the NCAA Tournament.
