Free Republic

Call University of Florida football players a bunch of classless trash talkers if you want. Call them dirty if you want. But racist? For using the term "cracker"? That seems a stretch.

Tim Stroh of Hobe Sound has been hunting alligators with his mom and dad for five years. Over the weekend he reeled in the catch of a lifetime. Stroh and his family and a friend were boating in the St. Lucie County Canal when they saw a huge gator just before a bridge. "I've just never seen a gator that big and so close," said Tim. "When I saw how big it was it even intimidated me," added Tim's dad, Steve. With his bass fishing rod he tossed his line and the 800 pound alligator chomped down. Tim has a...

The residents of Fairview Estates in Citrus Hills are on edge. "I'm not frightened, but I'm concerned," said John Hoagland, a homeowner in this Hernando neighborhood. Pat Lisotta, who lives nearby, echoed the tension, "This is very upsetting, it is," she said. "Everybody's just being cautious," said John Littnan. It's all because of what got out of an enclosure in a wooded area nearby. There are eight alligators still on the loose. As Littnan points over the fence near his property, he said, "They came from right here, where you can see the pit that's been made. And they dug...

Football Star Tim Tebow talks pro-life in new book by Rebecca Millette June 3, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Twenty-three-year-old former college football legend and 2010 first-round draft pick as quarterback for the Denver Broncos, Tim Tebow, may be an up-and- coming NFL football star, but according to his mom, he is first and foremost her “miracle baby.” In his new autobiography, “Through My Eyes,” Tebow writes about his miraculous birth, his home schooled upbringing, the impact of faith and family on his life, and his determination to succeed, which led him to two NCAA National Football Championships with the Florida Gators...

How much did it cost Notre Dame to get rid of Charlie Weis? Start with $6,638,403. And keep counting until December 2015. Notre Dame made an initial "termination payment" to Weis of more than $6.6 million and will continue to cut smaller checks to its former football coach for the foreseeable future, according to federal tax documents obtained by the Tribune on Thursday. Weis' apparent buyout is revealed on the Form 990 Notre Dame must submit to the Internal Revenue Service. It was made available to the Tribune upon request. Weis' total severance pay — which was subject to debate...

Urban Meyer has stepped down as coach of the University of Florida football team. Meyer resigned one year ago but changed his mind and came back to coach the 2010 season

Well, it looks like the New Black Panther Party is finally back in the news once again. A couple of months ago, as many of you will remember, Attorney General Eric Holder dropped the voter intimidation case against the Philadelphia chapter after they were caught on video carrying batons at a polling station in ’08, which led to a firestorm of videos being released against the group. Now, a new video has surfaced showing King Samir saying that whites use black babies as ‘alligator bait’, while lambasting Fox News for the coverage after it was found the case was dropped....

Mary Ellen Mara-Christian is only five feet, five inches tall, weighing in at 115 pounds. She's looks small, but this week she proved she can take on a lot. Mara-Christian killed a 13-foot, six-inch, 1,025-pound alligator during South Carolina's alligator hunting season. How did she do it? In an exclusive interview on "The Early Show on Saturday Morning," Mara-Christian explained she was out on a boat on Lake Moultrie with her husband and a few friends when she hooked the alligator with her heavy-duty fishing pole. "We stuck him with a harpoon," she said. "We had two lines on him,...

CLINCH COUNTY, Ga. -- A crazy gator frenzy was caught on camera in Clinch County. Fishermen in Stephen C. Foster State Park came across hundreds of alligators in the water. Biologists say it can happen when a large population of fish is available to eat. The animals somehow signal to each other to join in on the hunt. The video is posted on YouTube.

Remember JagGator, the annoying marriage of Jaguars and Gators that some enterprising fans came up with shortly after the Jaguars were born? Now there's BroncoGator. Someone has done the same thing, combining the Denver Broncos horse logo with the University of Florida Gator head logo. The end result looks something like a dragon, but it's sure to catch on with Gators fans that are not quite yet ready to let go of Tim Tebow.

No teeth to gator sighting in South Bay A lost gator in Los Gatos? That’s how the call came in Tuesday morning to CHP. A driver called 911 to report an alligator on the left hand shoulder of the Northbound 85 on ramp off northbound Highway 17. Other news outlets relayed the traffic hazard info from CHP, even called it a "loose animal" in the roadway. Yes, at 50 miles an hour, it looked very much like a dead gator on its back. Our photographer Rob Hughes even risked life and limb along the busy roadway to investigate. Then he...

A Boston sports-radio host yesterday likened former Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow’s NFL draft party to a “Nazi rally,” a remark one media observer called an “amazing double standard.” Fred “Toucher” Toettcher said yesterday on 98.5 The Sports Hub, “It looked like some kind of Nazi rally. . . . So lily-white is what I’m trying to say. Yeah, Stepford Wives.” Station spokesman Cha-Chi Loprete said the station “received no inquiries regarding” the morning drive-time show and declined further comment. Efforts to reach Toettcher for comment were unsuccessful.

Blood trickles from a gash below Paul Bedard’s left ear, a wound that could have been worse considering that he incurred it while kissing an 8ft (2.5m) alligator under water. In the viewing stands overlooking the pool where he is performing, a crowd of 800 people cheers and gasps as he dives to wrangle the reptile, anxious to impress the panel of judges who are assessing his moves. He resurfaces holding the alligator over his head before hauling it to the side of the pool, staggering on to the adjoining sandy beach and flopping it on to its back, a...

Florida redshirt freshman defensive tackle Gary Brown has been suspended from all team activities following his Sunday arrest for allegedly striking two women at an off-campus party. According to Alachua County Jail records, Brown has been charged with two counts of misdemeanor battery. He was released on his own recognizance on Monday morning. The 19-year-old Brown is accused of striking a woman in the face with an open hand as she tried to get people to leave a party at a Gainesville apartment complex. When another woman tried to intervene, Brown allegedly slapped her arm away and caused several scratches....

Super Bowl ad turns Tebow from football player to political figure. Two games into Tim Tebow's tenure as a starting quarterback in college, I predicted he would win Heisman Trophies plus national championships and go down as one of the greatest college football players ever. Now that his college career is officially over following his performance in Saturday's Senior Bowl, it's time to make another bold prediction: Tim Tebow will be the President of the United States someday. Go ahead and laugh if you want. They used to laugh, too, at the notion that another charismatic, conservative former college football...

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Chandler Parsons' 75-foot 3-pointer at the overtime buzzer lifted Florida past North Carolina State 62-61 on Sunday. Vernon Macklin scored 14 points and Erving Walker added 13 for the Gators (11-3). Florida appeared headed for a loss after Farnold Degand's free throw with 2.6 seconds put N.C. State up 61-59. But Degand missed his second free throw. Parsons grabbed the rebound, took two dribbles and uncorked a shot from roughly three-quarter court that swished through, sending the Gators pouring onto the court to mob him. Watch here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CE6x1GdfLY&feature=related

BLOW OUT THE GATORS!!!!

Florida coach Urban Meyer, who announced Saturday night that he would step down after coaching the Gators in the Sugar Bowl on New Year's Day, is having second thoughts about retirement and will instead take an indefinite leave of absence following the bowl game, a source with knowledge of the situation told ESPN on Sunday.

Urban Meyer is stepping down as coach at Florida because of health concerns that came to light when he was admitted to a hospital because of chest pains following the Southeastern Conference championship game. The 45-year-old Meyer resigned Saturday, calling it quits after five seasons in Gainesville and two national titles. He leaves Florida with a 56-10 record that includes a 32-8 mark in league play and a school-record 22-game winning streak snapped early this month against Alabama. "I have given my heart and soul to coaching college football and mentoring young men for the last 24-plus years and I...

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida coach Urban Meyer, who was admitted to a hospital because of chest pains following the Southeastern Conference championship game, is stepping down because of health concerns. Meyer resigned Saturday, calling it quits after five seasons in Gainesville and two national titles. He leaves Florida with a 56-10 record that includes a 32-8 mark in league play and a school-record 22-game winning streak snapped early this month against Alabama. HISTORIC RUN Urban Meyer is stepping down at Florida after the Allstate Sugar Bowl, and he goes out on top among current FBS coaches. His win percentage is...