Jumping the...surfer?

OK, everybody and their mother has posted this video, but I couldn't resist...

Ever heard of "jumping the shark?" Well, an Orlando Sentinel photojournalist captured a spinner shark "jumping the surfer."

Enjoy.



Brother J-Dub

So Much For That Whole Stress Thing...

((HT: WCJB-TV Gainesville))

Urban Meyer was supposed to take it easy from now on, right...???

The HQ guesses this is the new Urban Meyer taking it easy...

The Orlando Sentinel's Jeremy Fowler quoted Gator wideout Deonte Thompson as saying it weas nice having a "real quarterback" in John Brantley instead of Tim Tebow.

Here's the quote in full- from Fowler's blog with the Sentinel...

"You never know with Tim,” Thompson said. “You can bolt, you think he’s running but he’ll come up and pass it to you. You just have to be ready at all times. With Brantley, everything’s with rhythm, time. You know what I mean, a real quarterback.”

Meyer took every angle of umbrage you could think of with Fowler at practice...
WCJB-TV caught part of the exchange...


Apparently, Meyer thinks Fowler is a "bad guy..." for all of this and singled him out for his quoting. Fowler is also on Meyer's version of double-secret probation.

If he steps out of line one more time...
Well, you know...

Running Out Of Magic In O-Town

Before the NBA Playoffs began the Orlando Magic really liked the chances to win the NBA championship this season. The team even went so far to talk about it boldly.

Everything looked great for Orlando up by 18 points on the Philadelphia 76ers after 3 quarters but then.... you know what happened.

I doubt the Sixers thought they had the Magic where they wanted heading into the 4th quarter but Philly filled the nets and stole game one of that NBA Playoff series 100-98.

Here's the final few seconds of the game. Thanks NBA/TNT/Youtube.com



Now some post game comments from Dwight Howard. Thanks Orlando Sentinel



And here's a not so happy Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy. Thanks Orlando Sentinel.

Questions...We've got Questions!

More Trouble at UCF...

It appears as though the Fighting O'Leary's of Central Florida may have a problem. Another football player, freshman Running Back Brandon Davis collapsed last week during a workout where it was reported that he was severely dehydrated. Thankfully, Davis is recovering at Florida Hospital.

((photo courtesy UCF Media Guide))

This isn't something new, the program is still dealing with the loss of Ereck Plancher who collapsed and died earlier this summer.

The Orlando Sentinel as usual is all over this story...read about it here

Also the story from WESH-TV here

Changes?

There are several interesting questions that the Sentinel reporter posed in her story. Yeah, that is great the the President of the University is investigating the matter...he said that the last time this happened. And yeah, its great the workout was supposedly supervised by the Trainer and fit under NCAA rules.

If you keep reading, it's the quotes from Davis' mother which are remarkable. "He had no water in his body, due to lack of breaks and not being given water or fluids" said Donna Davis, Brandon's mother.

It sounds an awful lot like somebody's got some 'splainin' to do, but if it is anything like the Plancher investigation (please read the vaunted OSG archives for more on that), Coach George O'Leary will blame a vast media conspiracy and not talk to anyone about it.

We will keep monitoring this story as it continues.

Plancher Family Looking Into Previous Collapses

Iliana Limon's coverage of the death of University of Central Florida football player Ereck Plancher continues in the Orlando Sentinel.

The attorney for the Plancher family, J.D. Dowell, is looking in to filing a wrongful-death lawsuit against the school. Word out of Orlando this weekend is that the family is reinforcing their opinion that Ereck never told his parents or any oither family members that he knew of, or had, sickle-cell trait- the diagnosed cause of his death during a practice in March.

Plancher collapsed during an off-season workout under the supervision of UCF coaches, including Knights Head Coach George O'Leary.

Limon also divulges that the family knew of two other times Plancher collapsed during his practices on the UCF campus. UCF officials maintain that Plancher tested positive for sickle-cell trait during an examination, but privacy laws keep the university from telling anyone, family included, those results at any time.

Central Florida officials initially said that there were no issues where Plancher was concerned. They changed those statements when the autopsy results revealed the sickle cell issue.

"I haven't seen anything that would indicate Ereck knew he had sickle-cell trait," Dowell said in the Sentinel article. "I'm not suggesting UCF or someone else did not tell him. The forms that he filled out when a student-athlete first arrives at UCF actually had that question. He was asked if he had sickle-cell trait and he checked no when he first entered the school."

Dowell said he does not have Plancher's complete medical records from UCF and there may be other documentation indicating the school told Plancher about the trait.

"I am hopeful that we can find the person who actually told Ereck he had sickle-cell trait and find exactly what he was told about it," Dowell said.

In independent interviews during the past seven months, Plancher's former high school coach, two of his cousins and five friends told the Sentinel that the 19-year-old collapsed twice during workouts at UCF in the year before his death.

They said one severe episode required him to be transported to a hospital by ambulance for treatment.

Several people close to Ereck Plancher and the Plancher family have been interviewed by Mark Fainaru-Wada and the TV types at the four-letter.

The Fainaru-Wada "Outside The Lines" piece is below...
((HT: ESPN/ESPN.com))

UCF Claims They Notified Plancher of Condition

In a statement released on their university athletics website , University of Central Florida Athletic Director Keith Tribble claims that the Knights administration relayed their medical information on sickle cell trait to 19-year-old Ereck Plancher ((pictured left from Orlando Sentinel and Plancher's Facebook profile)) as he continued to participate with the UCF football program.

The Medical Examiner's report on Plancher's death was released and revealed Plancher had sickle cell trait as a pre-existing condition. He died during an off-season workout on March 18.

From Kyle Hightower's article in the Orlando Sentinel ((thanks orlandosentinel.com)):

"The analysis conducted by the Wuesthoff Reference Laboratory in Melbourne found Plancher's collapsed and died because of the "sickling" of his cells in the heart, lungs, liver, spleen, pancreas, kidneys, adrenal glands and thymus.

The toxicology analysis as well as the internal examination of all his systems showed no defects or irregularities."

Points of view on the circumstances surrounding Plancher's collapse, death, and treatment that day at practice differed from players to coaching staff. The "mat drill" Plancher and others participated in was initially reported to be 10-and-a-half minutes long, but later it was revealed to be twice that length. Players came forward telling the media that coaches yelled at Plancher since he was running last in his drill. Head Coach George O'Leary said he did not see Plancher fall at any time, but did see him get up from the ground. Offensive Coordinator Tim Salem said he did not see Plancher have any difficulty. UCF performed an internal review of the events surrounding Plancher's death and, according to Tribble:

"...we have acted compassionately toward Ereck's family and with a thorough review of the facts."

The National Athletic Trainer's Association release on sickle cell trait can be found hyah

Ereck Plancher's Report of Autopsy from Orlando is hyah

The Orlando Sentinel's full coverage of Plancher's death is hyah

David Whitley's column on the new findings is hyah

The call to UCF Police and Orange County (FL) 911

UPDATE 19 JULY: A family member tells the Sentinel that no one was aware of Ereck Plancher's medical condition. Cousin Wood Faugue says the release of information in the autopsy was a surprise to everyone close...

"None of us had any idea, and I'm sure if they did inform him of that he would have told at least one of us."

Ereck Plancher's parents are currently visiting relatives in Haiti. They have not been notified of the Medical Examiner's report. Word is they also have retained counsel and are set to return to their Florida home in the town of Naples next week.

UCF Head Coach George O'Leary released a statement Friday:

"The health of our student-athletes is our top priority, and we provide superb medical care at UCF," he said. "I am confident our medical staff will evaluate this report in detail as part of our ongoing review."

The weekend update from Iliana Limon and Kyle Hightower at the Orlando Sentinel is hyah