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Wake-Up Call: Great expectations for Gators

Associated Press file photo

Preaseason magazines expect Tim Tebow and Urban Meyer to have reason to smile again after the 2009 season.

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By JOEY JOHNSTON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 3, 2009

Updated: 06/04/2009 09:27 am

The Wake-Up Call greets you each weekday with news, views and a few Tampa Bay area sports offerings to anticipate for the day and night. We encourage suggestions and contributions.

Good morning!

College football's 2009 kickoff might be more than 13 weeks away, but early returns have surfaced on America's newsstands.

Once again, it's great to be the Florida Gators. In fact, it's difficult to find anyone who isn't picking the Gators to finish No. 1.

Florida's program looks like the new Southern Cal - dominance of the home state, the acquiring of blue-chip players with a strategy that is more selection than recruitment and a schedule that suggests UF as an ultra-heavy favorite to play in the BCS Championship Game on Jan. 7 at Pasadena, Calif.

Maybe against USC?

Winner takes "Team of the Decade" status?

Here's a look at what three of the major preseason magazines are saying about the Gators, along with their preseason top 10 rankings:

The Sporting News

1. Florida

2. Texas

3. Oklahoma

4. USC

5. Ole Miss

6. Virginia Tech

7. Oregon

8. LSU

9. Ohio State

10. Oklahoma State

Gator synopsis: "Good isn't just Pasadena, site of this year's BCS Championship Game. The Gators want more. They want to be remembered and celebrated as the first undefeated team in school history, and the third program since 1980 to repeat as champs.

"Anything less will feel like unfinished work and, yes, a failure. [Tim] Tebow didn't return for his senior season to go to the Outback Bowl. A second Heisman Trophy would pale in comparison to culminating his career with a title-game masterpiece in the Rose Bowl."

Athlon Sports

1. Florida

2. Oklahoma

3. Texas

4. USC

5. Ohio State

6. Alabama

7. Penn State

8. Virginia Tech

9. Oklahoma State

10. Ole Miss

Gator synopsis: "With so much talent back, a good incoming freshman class and a schedule that is workable, Florida has a real chance of repeating as not only SEC champ, but also national champ.

"The Gators are loaded. If they can solve the issues at the offensive tackle spots and find receivers who will step up, there isn't a glaring weakness on the team. … The biggest concern will be the wild and crazy expectations in Gator Nation and around the college football world."

Lindy's

1. Florida

2. Texas

3. Oklahoma

4. USC

5. Virginia Tech

6. LSU

7. Alabama

8. Ohio State

9. Ole Miss

10. Oklahoma State

Gator synopsis: "This one is easy. Some years, you flip a coin for No. 1. This year, we flipped a coin for No. 2. Well, not really, but it was that kind of close.

"It wasn't close at No. 1. You didn't have to be Lee Corso to see this one coming. This one was decided the moment quarterback Tim Tebow declared he was coming back for his senior season. We expect that for 14 more games - from Sept. 5 against Charleston Southern to the BCS title game on Jan. 7 - we won't see any player in the entire country play as hard as Tebow, and that we won't see a team play harder than the Gators.

"You can't ignore scheduling factors in the national championship race. And while you never want to call a walk through the SEC a breeze, the Gators don't play cross-division games against Alabama or Ole Miss. That's a break. State rival Florida State - not much a rival lately, actually - plays in Gainesville. This schedule is just so dang do-able."

Former UT Spartan dies at 54

Mike Woods, a former University of Tampa football player who transferred to Cincinnati when UT dropped its program following the 1974 season, recently died in Cleveland at the age of 54.

The name might seem vaguely familiar for longtime Tampa Bay area sports followers. But the fact is Woods, a Cleveland native, only played one season for Coach Dennis Fryzel's Spartans before UT administrators pulled the plug on football, sending the remaining players and recruits scurrying for a home.

That's when Woods' story really began. And it's a story worth retelling.

He became Cincinnati's first consensus football All-American in 1977, when he led the Bearcats in tackles and was the catalyst of the nation's No. 11-ranked defense.

Professionally, he was a second-round pick of the Baltimore Colts and started 36 games in three seasons. But that's where the football stopped.

On May 21, 1982, Woods was the victim of a random shooting. Wrong place, wrong time. According to a report in the Baltimore Sun, Woods took a bullet in the neck from a 17-year-old, running from a robbery gone bad. Woods was paralyzed and spent the final 27 years of his life as a quadriplegic.

After the shooting, Woods finished his degree at Cincinnati. He and his wife, Milyn, raised four children (one son, Shaun, attended Bowie State on a football scholarship). In 2006, Woods was in the inaugural class of players enshrined in the Bearcats' Ring of Honor at Cincinnati's Nippert Stadium.

Fort Meade product makes big leagues

Outfielder Andrew McCutchen (Fort Meade), the 11th overall selection in the 2005 baseball draft, has been promoted to the Pittsburgh Pirates. McCutchen, 22, is expected to make his MLB debut today in center field against the New York Mets.

The path was cleared for McCutchen after Nate McLouth was traded to the Atlanta Braves. At Triple-A Indianapolis, McCutchen batted .303 with four home runs, 20 RBIs, eight triples and 10 stolen bases.

Figgins above .300 mark

Los Angeles Angels infielder Chone Figgins (Brandon) was 3-for-5 in Wednesday night's 8-1 victory against the Toronto Blue Jays. Figgins, who recently had a career-best 15-game hitting streak, raised his batting average to .303, his highest mark since April 18.

Wade Davis strikes out 13

Despite a career-best 13 strikeouts, right-hander Wade Davis (Lake Wales) of Triple-A Durham lost 5-2 to the Toledo Mud Hens on Wednesday night. Davis (5-3, 3.51 ERA) is considered one of the Rays' prime pitching prospects.

USF's Blackmon makes nationals

University of South Florida senior high-jumper Errol Blackmon was selected for the NCAA track and field championships, set for June 10-14 at Fayetteville, Ark. Blackmon placed ninth at the regional meet, jumping 6 feet, 10 1/4 inches, but he made the final field because other competitors could not attend. Earlier this season, Blackmon cleared 7-1.

Birthday wishes

Happy belated birthday to former Hillsborough High School outfielder Carl Everett, who was the 10th overall pick of the 1990 draft (Yankees). He was traded six times and played for eight major-league teams (Marlins, Mets, Astros, Red Sox, Rangers, White Sox, Expos, Mariners), batting .271 for his career and hitting 202 home runs. Everett turned 38 Wednesday.

The Answer Man

Here's the answer to Wednesday's trivia question:

Relief pitchers J.P. Howell and Joe Nelson are the two members of the 25-man Rays roster who once played for the Kansas City Royals. Reliever Brian Shouse, currently on the disabled list, also played for the Royals.

Thursday trivia

Here's our daily sports trivia question, featuring a Tampa Bay/Florida spin. Try your luck by commenting below.

The Florida Gators have twice been ranked No. 1 in The Associated Press preseason top 25 poll. Which seasons? Extra credit: Where did they rank at the finish of those seasons?

Check for the answer in Friday's Wake-Up Call.

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