The End Of Football, Maybe

The 2006 college football season ended, finally, at roughly 2:30pm on Friday, January 19th, 2007.

At that moment, I wrapped up the final on-camera taping of the studio introductions to Sun Sports' Gator Championship Saturday, an unprecedented back-to-back airing of the Florida Gators' two most recent championship games -- the NCAA basketball final vs. UCLA from last spring, followed by the BCS National Championship Game vs. Ohio State. We're putting those up on Sun Sports this weekend. Set your TiVo's accordingly.

During that same studio session, I also taped the introductions to "Gator Glory: Celebration In The Desert," a one-hour Sun Sports special that chronicled Florida's trip to Arizona from the inside: locker room footage, on-field footage, scenes from the Valley of the Sun that you didn't get on the game broadcast. It was, to put it mildly, a heroic effort on the part of our producers and editors to get this puppy on the air (remember this name, Gator fans: Mike Wargo. You owe him one).

When I walked out of the Sun Sports studio on that Friday afternoon, college football was done. D-U-N done. Finally. I think. I hope. Enough already.

Look, I'm happy for the Gators. Really. Winning teams are good for business here at Sun Sports, whether it's the Lightning, the Magic, the Seminoles, or any of our broadcast partners, including Florida. But I'm flat worn-out. Time to move on.

In the words of President Josiah "Jed" Bartlet: What's next?

Fishing. Specifically, the Chevy Florida Fishing Report, which is just around the corner.

Basketball. On Tuesday, I'm back at the Amway Arena to do the pregame and sidelines for the Orlando Magic home game against Dallas (6:30pm, Sun Sports). Somewhere between the SEC Championship Game and the BCS Championship Game, the Magic won five in a row, then lost five in a row. I was finally able to catch up with the Boys in Blue on Monday night, when they conveniently smoked Cleveland on the road. I'm not sure what the fuss was all about -- they looked pretty sharp from my couch. Passes were zipping, threes were falling, Brian Hill was three shades less red than normal. Perhaps they just needed my full attention. They've got it, finally.

Finally.

What else? My golf game, long neglected, is in shambles. My kids are taller. I need a haircut. It's been a long freaking football season.

Time to close the book, and move on. Thanks for all the response to our UF coverage. A few final notes on football before I shut 'er down for a while:

--There's a note in the Miami Herald about Robert Marve, the splendid senior quarterback at Plant High School in Tampa, who has re-opened his recruiting process to include Miami and new head coach Randy Shannon. Marve was a verbal commit to Alabama until Mike Shula was fired. Note to Hurricane fans: cross your fingers. I did the play-by-play of Plant's state championship game vs. Ponte Vedra Nease for FSN Florida, and Marve is the real deal. Poise and confidence well beyond his years. He's a winner, and you'd be well-served to get him. I like your chances.

--Florida State is in Stealth Mode, and I like their chances, too. Jimbo Fisher is a brilliant hire. Couple him with the other new blood on the coaching staff -- Lawrence Dawsey, Dexter Carter, Chuck Amato -- and I see Bobby Bowden stockpiling coaching talent the way he used to stockpile players (and perhaps still does). The FSU message board vibe since New Year's Day has been "we're back, baby." You watch. They're right.

--But until FSU or Miami delivers on the field, USF is still the second-best team in the state. It's worth noting that Sports Illustrated named the Bulls as a top-25 sleeper in their college football recap issue. Welcome to the party, guys. We've been selling this team all along.

--UCF fans should note an intriguing recruiting class for the fall of 2007, one that includes Joe Weatherford (younger brother of FSU quarterback Drew) and Nate Tice (son of former Vikings head coach Mike, who played for current UCF head coach George O'Leary in high school). Both are quarterbacks. Somewhere, in our Sun Sports vault, we have interview tapes from the O'Leary "Under The Lights" special wherein Mike Tice says that he'd be honored if his son ended up playing college football for O'Leary. Lo and behold.

Okay, seriously, I'm done. You get nothing but NBA, golf, and the occasional soccer rant from me from this point forward. It's over.

Until Signing Day. Stay tuned.