Midday sports report

Times staff writer Tom Jones discusses the news of the day and tells you what stories we're working on this afternoon at tampabay.com in our latest "Midday sports report.''

24: Is Urban Meyer the Gators own Jack Bauer?

Florida Times-Union sports columnist Gene Frenette starts with that premise in discussing the 24 arrests of Florida Gators football players on coach Urban Meyer's watch. Frenette concludes that the Gators need to accept the criticism they've received as a byproduct of their success.

Florida Gators coach Billy Donovan on the Orlando Magic job, etc.

Florida Gators basketball coach Billy Donovan spoke over the weekend to boosters in Palm Beach County and discussed the Orlando Magic job, the Gators' recent struggles and other topics.

Gators finish third in Director's Cup standings

Florida's athletic department has finished third nationally in the Director's Cup all-sports standings, the Gators' best showing in six years and matching its second-highest ranking in the award's 16 years.

Football's national championship led the way, but 17 Gators teams earned points for NCAA postseason success, including 12 who earned top-10 finishes nationally: softball and men's indoor and outdoor track finished second in their sports, gymnastics took fourth, men's swimming fifth and women's swimming seventh. Sports in which the Gators earned ninth-place points were baseball, women's tennis, women's outdoor track, women's soccer and volleyball.

Only Stanford and North Carolina amassed more points than the Gators during the 2008-09 season. Florida's best finish was a tie for second with North Carolina in 1998, and the Gators also finished third in 1996, 2002 and 2003, with no years finishing lower than seventh since the standings started in 1994.

The only other schools from the state of Florida to finish in the top 100 nationally were Florida State (15th), Miami (43rd) and Central Florida (90th).

For a full breakdown of the standings and for past years, visit the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics website.

-- Greg Auman, Times staff writer

Midday sports report

Times staff writer Rodney Page discusses the news of the day and tells you what stories we're working on this afternoon at tampabay.com in our latest "Midday sports report.''

Tim Tebow, Dara Torres and Andre Debose nominated for ESPY Awards

Florida quarterback Tim Tebow has been nominated for two ESPY Awards. Former Gator All-American swimmer Dara Torres, and  incoming Gator, receiver Andre Debose are also nominated for ESPY Awards.

Tebow is nominated in the categories of Best Male College Athlete and Best Moment.

The senior quarterback and former Heisman Trophy winner won the Best Male College Athlete award last year. This year, he is nominated along with Sam Bradford (Oklahoma, football), Matt Gilroy (Boston University, hockey), Blake Griffin (Oklahoma, basketball) and Stephen Strasburg (San Diego State, baseball).

Tebow is nominated in the Best Moment category for the speech that gained him national attention last season following the Gators' loss to Ole Miss . He promised that the Gators would be the hardest working team in the nation for the rest of the season. Florida went on to win 10-straight games with an average margin of victory of 33.8 points per game and won the BCS National Championship with a 24-14 victory over Oklahoma. The other nominees for Best Moment are Helio Castroneves for winning the Indy 500 and the United States swim team winning the men’s 4x100-meter relay at last summer’s Olympic Games in Beijing.

Southeastern Conference concludes 2008-09 season with five national titles

With LSU's victory over Texas in the College World Series Wednesday night, the SEC concluded the 2008-09 sports season with five national championships - tying with the 2007-08 season.

SEC schools won national titles in football (Florida) men's swimming and diving (Auburn), women's indoor track and field (Tennessee), gymnastics (Georgia) and baseball (LSU).

In 10 of its 20 sponsored sports, the SEC had either the national champion or the national runners-up.

The SEC national runners-up were: men’s golf (Arkansas), gymnastics (Alabama), softball (Florida), women’s swimming & diving (Georgia) and men’s indoor track & field (Florida).

In its 76-year history, the SEC has won 179 team national championships, including 63 since 2000. In this decade, the SEC has won at least one national championship in 16 of its 20 sponsored sports with the exception of women’s cross country, volleyball, soccer and softball.

Midday sports report

Tom Jones discusses the news of the day and tells you what stories we're working on this afternoon at tampabay.com in our latest "Midday sports report.''

Former Gators in spotlight at Wimbledon

Former Gator tennis standouts Jill Craybas, Jesse Levine and Lisa Raymond are among the main draws at Wimbledon this week at The All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club.

Raymond, the veteran of the group, is attempting to win her 10th Grand Slam title, including a third Wimbledon title. The 1992 and 1993 NCAA singles champion has won five Ladies' Doubles Grand Slam titles and four Mixed Doubles championships. This year, Raymond pairs with Vera Zvonareva in the Ladies’ draw and Marcin Matkowski in the Mix Doubles event.

The 1996 NCAA Singles Champion, Craybas began her ninth Wimbledon singles appearance with a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Tsvetana Pironkova (BUL), before falling to No. 26-seeded Virginie Razzano (FRA), 6-3, 6-0 in the second round. Craybas also is competing in the Ladies Doubles draw with Carly Gullickson and the Mixed Doubles event with Jeff Coetzee. Craybas’ best Wimbledon singles showing came in 2005, when she marched into the fourth round. She reached the third round of the 2007 doubles draw.

Levine produced the biggest upset in the opening round of the men’s draw with his 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4 victory over tennis legend Marat Safin (RUS), who was playing in his final Wimbledon. Levine also reached Wimbledon’s second round last year. He will play Pablo Cuevas (URU) in the next round.

Midday sports report

Times staff writer Rodney Page discusses the news of the day and tells you what stories we're working on this afternoon at tampabay.com in our latest "Midday sports report.''