Sports - The Independent Florida Alligator

SPORTS | SOFTBALL

To the Class of 2024, with love

By Kendyl Lindaman | May 20, 2020

I knew something wasn’t right.

SPORTS | FOOTBALL

What if: Will Grier never got suspended?

By Noah Ram | May 18, 2020

It felt like a renaissance, a return to glory for the Gators.

SPORTS | GYMNASTICS

What If: The gymnastics season wasn’t cancelled in 2020?

By River Wells | May 18, 2020

Perfection.

SPORTS | COLUMNS

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 | FOOTBALL

What If: The Gators hired Mullen instead of McElwain?

By Brendan Farrell | May 17, 2020

The year is 2014. The Gators have just finished a 6-5 regular season where their defense was one of the best in the country and their offense was, well, it’s better left unsaid. In other words, it was a typical Will Muschamp team.

Leipzig's Angelino gestures before taking a corner during the German Bundesliga soccer match between RB Leipzig and SC Freiburg in Leipzig, Germany, Saturday, May 16, 2020. The German Bundesliga becomes the world's first major soccer league to resume after a two-month suspension because of the coronavirus pandemic. (Jan Woitas/dpa via AP)

SPORTS

Coronavirus roundup: Professional sports leagues making a slow return

By Noah Ram | May 16, 2020

Last weekend, for the first time in nearly two months, American sports fans witnessed a live sporting event in the U.S. with UFC 249 taking place in Jacksonville without fans.

SPORTS | MEN'S BASKETBALL

What If: John Egbunu Never Got Injured?

By Zachary Huber | May 16, 2020

Many Florida fans remember the 2016-2017 men’s basketball season for three reasons: Chris Chiozza’s game-winner against Wisconsin in the Sweet 16, Canyon Barry’s underhanded free throws and the opening of a renovated O’Connell Center.

SPORTS | SOFTBALL

What If: Kelly Barnhill didn’t give up that home run in the 2017 Women’s College World Series?

By Dylan O'Shea | May 15, 2020

Oklahoma first baseman Shay Knighten crushed a series-defining homerun and the chances of Kelly Barnhill and Amanda Lorenz capturing a Women’s College World Series title in one swing.

SPORTS | COLUMNS

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 | COLUMNS

Please don't tweet at recruits

By River Wells | May 10, 2020

Hey, you. Yeah, you.

Stadiums across teh country have been left empty with sporting events canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

SPORTS

Coronavirus Roundup: A return to sports is promising

By Bryan Matamoros | May 10, 2020

It’s been nearly two months since COVID-19 brought the world of sports to a complete stop.

SPORTS | FOOTBALL

Issiah Walker Jr. transfers to Miami

By Dylan O'Shea | May 9, 2020

Offensive lineman Issiah Walker Jr. spent one semester at UF.

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 | COLUMNS

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 | COLUMNS

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 | COLUMNS

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 | COLUMNS

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.

SPORTS | FOOTBALL

Freshman Issiah Walker enters transfer portal

By Zachary Huber | May 4, 2020

Florida’s offensive line depth for the 2020 season took a hit Monday evening.

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 | COLUMNS

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.

SPORTS

The State of Sports

By Kyle Wood | Apr. 29, 2020

The Florida-Eastern Washington football game scheduled for Sep. 5 is a testament to how quickly things can change.

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 | COLUMNS

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.