Monthly Archives: May 2021
Tropical Outlook – 5/20
Tropical Weather Outlook NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL 800 AM EDT Thu May 20 2021 For the North Atlantic...Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico: 1. A non-tropical low pressure system is located about 800 miles east of Bermuda. The low is expected to develop gale-force winds later today while it moves generally northward. The low is then forecast to move westward and southwestward over warmer waters tonight and Friday, and it will likely become a subtropical cyclone near and to the northeast of Bermuda on Friday. The system is expected to move toward the north and northeast into a more hostile environment by late Sunday into Monday. For more information on this developing low pressure area, please see High Seas forecasts issued by the NOAA Ocean Prediction Center and forecast products issued by the Bermuda Weather Service. * Formation chance through 48 hours...high...70 percent. * Formation chance through 5 days...high...90 percent. High Seas Forecasts for this system can be found under AWIPS header NFDHSFAT1, WMO header FZNT01 KWBC, and online at ocean.weather.gov/shtml/NFDHSFAT1.php
Tropical Update – 5/19
Tropical Weather Outlook NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL 200 PM EDT Wed May 19 2021 For the North Atlantic...Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico: 1. A non-tropical low pressure system is forecast to develop a few hundred miles northeast of Bermuda by tomorrow afternoon and produce gale-force winds. The low is then forecast to move west-southwestward over warmer waters on Friday and could become a short-lived subtropical cyclone over the weekend to the northeast of Bermuda. The system is expected to move toward the north and northeast into a more hostile environment by Monday. For more information on this system, please see High Seas forecasts issued by the Ocean Prediction Center. * Formation chance through 48 hours...low...10 percent. * Formation chance through 5 days...medium...40 percent. High Seas Forecasts for this system can be found under AWIPS header NFDHSFAT1, WMO header FZNT01 KWBC, and online at ocean.weather.gov/shtml/NFDHSFAT1.php
Great News
Florida Gators announce The Swamp will return to full capacity
Part of what makes Ben Hill Griffin Stadium the electrifying atmosphere that often causes opponents to buckle under pressure is the crowd. With 90,000 people screaming their lungs out for the Florida Gators, the sound decibels can be overbearing for opponents. And, well, a joy for Gator fans to be a part of.
After an absence of this in 2020 due to the pandemic that’s wreaked so much havoc, it looks like the 2021 season will see its return.
The Florida Gators’ official football twitter account made this announcement to boisterous e-cheers from fans this afternoon. In the statement, the University declared:
We will resume full in-person participation in athletic and other activities on our campuses, including fan participation in THE SWAMP!
Can you tell by the UAA’s complete capitalization of the last two words that they’re just as excited as the fans?
Of course, some individual fans are likely to be leery of this. But the seats that may be vacated by those in this group will be more than happily snatched up. Even if the Gators had a relatively unappealing home schedule, it would be difficult to imagine that the Swamp would not return to at least 95% capacity for home games (nosebleed seats are never easy to sell for the likes of Towson or Charleston Southern).
But with the appearances of Alabama, FSU and Tennessee in the Swamp, it’s impossible to imagine that the stadium won’t be overflowing for at least two, maybe three games in 2021. Sure, Florida did lose Heisman Trophy finalist Kyle Trask, a bevy of his pass catchers and a couple of offensive linemen. But with the emergence of Emory Jones and the flashiness he brings on the ground, it’s difficult to think that this team wouldn’t be appealing to watch in a normal year.
Then you throw in the starvation for a return to normalcy that’s settled into fans’ souls, and, well, it’s going to be a year to remember in Gainesville- if for no other reason than that we as fans will get a live reminder that we should never take something as special as packing this cathedral of the sport for granted.
Thin Line Tribute
State Attorney General Ashley Moodyannounced on Wednesday that she is launching a new initiative recognizing the work of frontline law enforcement officers.
Moody created the “Thin Line Tribute” to recognize and thank frontline law enforcement officers for their service to the citizens of Florida.
“I am excited to launch Thin Line Tribute, a new initiative through my office designed to recognize the hard work and dedication of our brave frontline law enforcement officers. As the wife of a law enforcement officer, I know personally the amount of care and commitment that goes into this profession. As the dangers surrounding this job seem to increase by the day, I believe it is imperative that we show our law enforcement community just how thankful we are for their service,” Moody said.
In December, Moody issued a report that showed that officers killed in the line of duty nationwide more than doubled in 2020, compared to the previous year—totaling more than 360 officers lost at year’s end. While line-of-duty deaths are still on the rise in 2021, COVID-19 is no longer the main culprit. An increasing number of officer deaths in Florida are at the hands of violent attacks. Additionally, Florida is currently the deadliest state in the nation for felonious attacks against law enforcement officers this year.
Time to remember…..
A Night to Honor.
A Lifetime to Remember.
2021 VIRTUAL CANDLELIGHT VIGIL
This year, 394 men and women lost in the line of duty are now among the 22,611 names on the Memorial.
Remembering Tim Paulk
Remembering Former Gators Linebacker Tim Paulk
Posted: Tuesday, May 11, 2021
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Tim Paulk was the kind of player others tried to avoid when he had his helmet and pads on.
“When Tim hits people, it sounds like lightning,” his former Gators teammate, Ephesians Bartley, once told the Tampa Tribune. “He’s scary, because he doesn’t just try to run into guys. He tries to run through people.”
A 6-foot-1, 229-pound linebacker from Miami’s Carol City High, “take-it-easy” was not an expression in Paulk’s personal vocabulary.
“Tim Paulk is a very intense player who is in his own little world out there,” former Gators linebacker Carlton Miles told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel in 1991, Paulk’s final season at Florida. “Sometimes he loses control.”
Paulk was a key member of Florida’s defense in head coach Steve Spurrier‘s first two seasons as UF head coach, earning first-team All-Southeastern Conference honors in 1990 (UPI) and 1991 (SEC coaches). Paulk was more than a tackling machine, though.
He had a knack for making splash plays and was a semifinalist for the Butkus Award — honoring the nation’s top linebacker — his senior season.
According to then-Gators defensive coordinator Ron Zook during Paulk’s senior season, Paulk was involved in more than 20 turnovers in his career. He had six career interceptions, averaged 25.3 yards per return and returned two of them for a touchdown. Paulk racked up 257 tackles in 42 career games, including 19 1/2 tackles for loss.
“Tim’s such a big-play guy,” Zook said at the time. “With his size and speed, I tell you, there’s not a lot of them like Tim.”
Paulk was a seventh-round pick of the Atlanta Falcons in the 1992 NFL Draft but never stuck in the NFL. He later spent a short stint in preseason camp with the Bears and another brief fling with the Falcons. However, Paulk never played in an NFL regular-season game, his best days on the field coming with the Gators.
Paulk’s reputation as an aggressive, fearless player was not by accident.
“I love to hit people,” he said in 1991. “That’s what keeps me playing this game. If a play goes by where I don’t hit somebody, I get angry.”
Paulk’s time at Florida was shared by teammate, roommate and good friend Godfrey Myles. Paulk wore No. 99. Myles wore No. 98. The two met in eighth grade and were teammates at Carol City and then at Florida.
Myles was a third-round pick by the Dallas Cowboys in 1991 and won three Super Bowl rings. He roomed with Paulk in college and the two remained friends until Myles’ untimely death from a stroke in 2011.
Ten years later, Paulk’s family shared the news of his death from leukemia on social media. Tim Paulk was 53 and one of the hardest hitters to pull on a Gators uniform.
🏈 Homecoming Set for October 9th 🏈
The University of Florida announced on Thursday that its annual homecoming game will take place on Saturday, Oct. 9, against the Vanderbilt Commodores in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium — if everything goes as planned.
The Gators are 69-26-2 all-time in their homecoming games, notching a 27-5 mark since 1989. Florida faced the South Carolina Gamecocks last year and prevailed, 38-24, while upsetting then-No. 7-ranked Auburn Tigers in 2019, 24-13. The last time UF hosted Vandy for the annual affair, it snuck away with a 9-7 victory in 2015.
Historically, Florida holds a 42-10-2 edge over Vanderbilt, having won the last seven and 29 of the last 30 — the Commodores’ only win during that stretch came on a 34-17 gut punch in The Swamp back in 2013. Last season, UF left Nashville with a 38-17 victory, and the year prior, the Gators posted a 56-0 blowout win at home.
Suffice to say, the Gators have owned this overall series throughout the years.
More specific details regarding the homecoming game and surrounding events will be released at a later date.
Blessed are the Peacemakers
Tebow to join the Jags!
Tim Tebow looks to be getting his chance at an NFL comeback, after all.
The Jacksonville Jaguars plan to sign the former quarterback as a tight end, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported Monday, after Tebow worked out for the team in April.
A deal between the two sides was not complete and is not imminent, a person with knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports’ Mike Jones. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because talks remained ongoing.
The signing serves as reunion between Tebow and Jaguars coach Urban Meyer, under whom the former star signal-caller won a Heisman Trophy in 2007 at Florida and led the Gators to a national championship in 2008. He also won a title with the Gators in 2006 as a backup.