opinion - The Independent Florida Alligator

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

Opinion: Don’t let “Gator Bait” chant be excused because of tradition

By Zachary Lee | June 20, 2020

UF and Alligator alumnus Zachary Lee shares his thoughts on the removal of the university's "Gator Bait" game day cheer

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.

Sports

Why the 2012 Gator football team should be remembered more fondly

By Michael Knauff | May 14, 2020

There isn’t a game that epitomizes the 2012 Florida Gators football team more than its matchup with South Carolina.

Sports

Please don't tweet at recruits

By River Wells | May 10, 2020

Hey, you. Yeah, you.

FILE - In this Aug. 24, 2019, file photo, the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers play during the second half of an NFL preseason football game at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo. The Chiefs will open defense of their Super Bowl championship by hosting Houston on Sept. 10 in the NFL's annual kickoff game — pending developments in the coronavirus pandemic, of course. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

Sports

Your must-watch prime-time NFL games in 2020

By River Wells | May 7, 2020

The world may be wallowing in uncertainty, but as far as the National Football League is concerned, it’s business as usual on the gridiron.

Sports

Top 10 Recruiting Classes Won’t Cut It

By Zachary Huber | May 7, 2020

Coach Dan Mullen has preached to his team and the Florida faithful about living up to the Gator Standard since he set foot in Gainesville.

Stadium seats are empty as a part of precaution against the new coronavirus during a baseball game between Hanwha Eagles and SK Wyverns in Incheon, South Korea, Tuesday, May 5, 2020. With umpires fitted with masks and cheerleaders dancing beneath vast rows of empty seats, a new baseball season got underway in South Korea following a weeks-long delay because of the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Sports

I watched a Korean baseball game for the first time. Here’s what I learned.

By Brendan Farrell | May 7, 2020

I’ll admit that I’m not the biggest baseball guy.

FILE - In this Nov. 14, 1993, file photo, Miami Dolphins coach Don Shula is carried on his team's shoulders after his 325th victory, at Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium. Shula, who won the most games of any NFL coach and led the Miami Dolphins to the only perfect season in league history, died Monday, May 4, 2020, at his home in Indian Creek, Fla., the team said. He was 90. (AP Photo/Amy Sancetta, File)

Sports

Perfection: The legacy of a Don Shula, a South Florida icon

By Noah Ram | May 4, 2020

It was a sad but strange feeling for me to hear the news of the passing of Miami Dolphins coaching legend Don Shula Monday morning at age 90.

FILE - This is a March 12, 2020, file photo showing Capital One Arena, home of the Washington Capitals NHL hockey club in Washington. Get used to the concept of pods and pucks if the NHL is going to have any chance of completing its season, with the most likely scenarios calling for games in empty, air-conditioned arenas during the dog days of summer. (AP Photo/Nick Wass, File)

Sports

Still on standby

By Brendan Farrell | May 4, 2020

I was at the O’Connell Center a little early on Feb. 26 for Florida’s men’s basketball team’s matchup against LSU. After wolfing down some press box food, I was feeling a little sentimental.

In a photo provided by ESPN Images, the first six selections in the NFL draft are displayed during ESPN's coverage of the NFL football draft, Thursday, April 23, 2020, in Bristol, Conn. (Allen Kee/ESPN Images via AP)

Sports

The NFL Draft was great except for the part that wasn’t

By Kyle Wood | Apr. 29, 2020

I watched the NFL Draft this past weekend closer than I have ever before.

Alligator staff from the Spring 2020 semester pose for a photo during a Zoom meeting. The incoming Summer 2020 staff reports remotely and communicates using the video conferencing service.

Opinion

We’ve kept our promise. But we need your help.

Apr. 25, 2020

There’s a statement on the top left corner of The Alligator’s newspaper: We inform. You decide.