Opinion: Columns - The Independent Florida Alligator

NCAA athletes will be able to opt out of competition this fall citing medical reasons amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sports

Opting out from the high-risk perspective

By Payton Titus | Aug. 30, 2020

Wide shot. Pan left to a young girl in a Gators beanie on the pediatric oncology floor of her local children’s hospital.

Sports

How does Kyle Trask rank among returning quarterbacks?

By Brendan Farrell | Aug. 8, 2020

Saying that Kyle Trask is the Gators’ most important player in 2020 is obvious.

Tampa Bay Lightning center Brayden Point (21) scores past Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) during the first period of an exhibition NHL hockey game in Toronto, Wednesday, July 29, 2020. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)

Sports

A rooting guide for the NHL playoffs

By Brendan Farrell | July 31, 2020

I can’t believe hockey is actually back. I feel like Charlie Brown, just waiting for Lucy to pull the football away any time now.

Sports

Which dark horse can make a run in the NBA bubble?

By Noah Ram | July 30, 2020

It has been 141 days since the test “heard round the world” that shut down the NBA and the entire sports world.

Opinion

Looking out for one another — our shared responsibility

By D'Andra Mull | July 27, 2020

We are in this together.

Sports

How bad was the Gators' running game in 2019?

By Brendan Farrell | July 4, 2020

There weren’t many aspects to criticize about the 2019 Gators. A second-straight double-digit win season, a win in a New Year’s Six bowl for the second year in a row and blowout wins over rivals Tennessee and Florida State is usually enough to please a fanbase.

Sports

What We're Missing: The sports fan

By Dylan O'Shea | June 25, 2020

What’s your favorite sports moment?

Dortmund's goalkeeper Roman Buerki, right, saves as Leipzig's Timo Werner, center, tries to score past Dortmund's Lukasz Piszczek during the German Bundesliga soccer match between RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund in Leipzig, Germany, Saturday, June 20, 2020. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer, Pool)

Sports

What We’re Missing: UEFA Champions League

By Bryan Matamoros | June 23, 2020

The world’s most popular sport is gradually making its way back to TV screens across the globe.

Opinion

Dear administrators: Here are steps to fix UF Student Government

By Zachariah Chou | June 21, 2020

From reforms to committee selection, Senator Zachariah Chou discusses what he sees as ways to solve problems within SG

FILE - In this Oct. 16, 2019, file photo, Pittsburgh Penguins' Jake Guentzel celebrates after scoring during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Colorado Avalanche in Pittsburgh. Guentzel feared his season was over thanks to a shoulder injury in December. The "pause" caused by the pandemic has given him renewed optimism that he will be ready when the playoffs hopefully being this summer. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

Sports

What We're Missing: Stanley Cup Playoffs

By Brendan Farrell | June 20, 2020

April is usually one of the most exciting months of the sports calendar. The beginning of the MLB season, the NFL Draft, the start of the NBA Playoffs, the Masters and so much more. But, year in, year out, nothing grabs my attention more than the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Opinion

Abolish Student Government. Burn it all down.

June 15, 2020

Murphree Area Senator Zachariah Chou asks if UF cares about its minority students

FILE - In this Sunday, Dec. 22, 2019 file photo, Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) passes against the Baltimore Ravens during the second half of an NFL football game in Cleveland. Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield plans to kneel during the national anthem this upcoming season to support protests of social injustice, police brutality and racism, Saturday, June 13, 2020. (AP Photo/Ron Schwane, File)

Sports

Which is better: College football or the NFL?

By Noah Ram | June 15, 2020

Why the big league NFL reigns supreme over college football

FILE - In this Sept. 10, 2019, file photo, St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Paul DeJong (12) runs the bases in the ninth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals in Denver. Reporters from The Associated Press spoke to more than two dozen athletes from around the globe -- representing seven countries and 11 sports -- to get a sense of how concerned or confident they are about resuming competition. Some wondered whether they would agree to receive a COVID-19 vaccine if required by their sport eventually. “I think it would stop at some sort of vaccine to play,” St. Louis Cardinals All-Star shortstop Paul DeJong said. “There is a fine line between what (MLB) can do to protect us and some things they can do to kind of exert power over us.”(AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

Sports

An open letter to MLB players and owners

By Noah Ram | May 31, 2020

“The one constant through all the years has been baseball.”

FILE - In this Dec. 15, 2019 file photo Los Angeles Rams punter Johnny Hekker kicks an onside kick during an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington, Texas. The NFL is considering adding a “booth umpire” and a senior technology advisor to the referee to assist the officiating crew. The league also is looking at other rules changes, including an alternative to the onside kick. NFL clubs received a list of potential rules changes on Thursday, May 21, 2020. (AP Photo/Roger Steinman, file)

Sports

Should the NFL eliminate the kickoff?

By River Wells | May 27, 2020

The onside kick must stay as-is

Opinion

Dear Student Organizations: Help is on the way

May 18, 2020

Student Government’s system for funding student organizations is less functional than Florida’s unemployment system.

Sports

Observations from a sports writer from New Jersey

By Declan Walsh | May 17, 2020

Growing up in New Jersey, an April afternoon looks quite different than one around Gainesville. The temperature is probably going to peak at 50 degrees, the trees and the flora are bare for the most part, and a trip to watch a Rutgers baseball game leaves you in the company of maybe 100 people.