Tampa Gator Club to host Swine Flu lecture

The Tampa Gator Club, in conjunction with the University of Florida Alumni Association and Hillsborough Regional Council, is hosting an outreach event on Swine Flu and other infectious diseases, on Tuesday, Oct. 6,

The event, entitled "Swine Flu, Food Safety and You: What You Need to Know Now", is part of UFAA's Outreach program, which shares UF researchers’ expertise with alumni and guests.

Guest speaker will be Dr. Glenn Morris, Director, Emerging Pathogens Institute (EPI). Dr. Morris
is a nationally recognized expert on Swine Flu and other infectious diseases.

The event will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the University Club of Tampa, One Tampa City Center, #3800. Complimentary hors d'oeuvres will be served and there will be a cash bar.

It is free to UFAA members and guests, but to attend you must RSVP with Wilma Rogers at wrogers@uff.ufl.edu or (352) 392-7634.

Gator Boosters embark on campaign to raise $50 million for scholarships

Despite the economic downtown, the support of Florida athletics through Gator Boosters, Inc. continues to increase.

Gator Boosters, the fundraising arm of the University Athletic Association, is expectedto provide $30.2 million to the Florida athletic department in the upcoming year - one-third of the UAA's budget.

But it won't stop there. Last week, the organization agreed to begin a fundraising effort which will attempt to raise $50 million for Florida's scholarship endowment fund.

"We are trying to raise this money so this way our scholarships will be taken care of,'' said Chris Bryan, past president of Gator Boosters, Inc. "And that will raise us upto approximately $100 million in our endowment. We need approximately $200 million to take care of all our athletes. If you have $200 million in there, we believe the interest you get off that wold take care of those scholarships every year. That would be guaranteed for our athletic program.''

In Florida's projected 2009-10 budget, which was approved on Monday, an additional $1.6 million was allocated for men's and women's scholarships. Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley said that represents an increase in tuition, room and board, and fees now being administered to all students by the university. It will also cover 12 scholarships for the new women's lacrosse team. The purpose of the endowment is to try and ensure that there's never a shortfall, even as tuition continues to rise.

"We know it will be a little harder right now (because of the economy), but we feel like we have some people out there that can commit to this,'' Bryan said. "This is going to be a long-range goal. We've worked on our facilities, we're in good shape now. Now we want to work on this endowment.''

Gator legend Scot Brantley “on the mend” after heart surgery

Scot Brantley, a former Buc and Florida Gator standout linebacker, said Wednesday he is on the mend and in good spirits following recent heart surgery in Ocala to repair damage caused by a “mini-stroke” he suffered last fall.

A second mini-stroke, sustained this January, caused severe harm to Brantley’s left eye.

“I’ve lost 90 to 95 percent of my vision,” said Brantley, a longtime Tampa resident. “My right eye now has to work twice as hard. I might not ever regain vision in the left eye.”

Brantley (left in photo from 1978), 51, played eight seasons with the Bucs (1980-87). He was the team’s third-round draft pick in 1980.

At Florida, the one-time Ocala Forest star’s play was legendary. After leaving school, his No. 55 jersey was retired by the program until Steve Spurrier un-retired it – along with his own -- in the early 1990s.

Since his retirement from football, Brantley has worked radio broadcasts of both Tampa Bay and Florida games. At one time, he was the color commentator for each. Today, he hosts pre-game, halftime and postgame radio shows for the Gator Radio Network.

The mini-strokes aren’t Brantley’s only recent physical setback. Last year, he had hip replacement surgery.

“It seems like everything happens at 50,” Brantley said.

The surgery, performed two weeks ago, will help fix a small hole in Brantley's heart.

Brantley’s brother, John Brantley (right in photo), also aformer Gator player, has kept a close watch on Scot and is confident he has a positive longterm prognosis.

“The only thing is, in one eye he only has partial vision due to this,” John Brantley said. "Of all the things, that’s really what’s bothering him.

Spurrier comments about Reaves arrest

In today's issue of The State (Columbia, S.C.), South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier commented on the Monday arrest of former Gator great and Robinson High legend John Reaves. Spurrier not only coached Reaves in the USFL but was his boss with the Gators. Reaves' son, David, is the Gamecocks’ quarterbacks coach. Said Spurrier: “It’s sad. We knew he had some problems, but it’s very sad, disappointing. But it’s no reflection on his children. They’re all good people.”

Gator legend arrested

The Times' Thomas Kaplan is reporting today that John Reaves, a former University of Florida star quarterback who graduated as the all-time passing leader in NCAA history, has been arrested on a cocaine possession charge. Details of his arrest were not immediately available, but jail records show the 58-year-old was taken into custody by the Tampa Police Department on Wednesday night.

Reaves, a former first-round NFL draft pick who went to Robinson High School and was an All-American at UF from 1969 to 1971, has battled drug problems in the past. By the time he was in the NFL, his life, he once recalled to Sports Illustrated, "was literally saturated with drugs and alcohol."

But the former standout would turn his life around, getting treatment and counseling and embracing religion.  He found life beyond football, too, building a successful real estate business in Tampa.

Reaves, a former Florida high school player of the year, was a first-round draft pick of the Philadelphia Eagles in 1972.  But while he would play professionally for more than a decade, including a three-year stint in the United States Football League with the Tampa Bay Bandits, Reaves would never achieve the stardom he gained in high school and college play.

Reaves coached under Steve Spurrier at UF in the 1990s and also worked at South Carolina and Cornell.  His son David is now the quarterbacks coach under Spurrier at South Carolina, and his daughter Layla is the wife of Oakland Raiders coach Lane Kiffin.

The flag of the Gator Nation

Former Gator QB and starting Super Bowl QB Rex Grossman shows off a Florida Gators national champions flag during Super Bowl week in Miami.

[AP photo]

Who's the greatest Gator of them all?

Who's the greatest of all Gators? Hard to say. But on and off the the playing field, there are many to consider. Here are our favorites.

Top 5 greatest Gators:

5. Wilber Marshall: All-America and finalist for Lombardi Award in 1982 and 1983. Also a first-team selection in 1999 to UF's Team of the Century. Selected in 1999 as UF's Defensive Player of the Century.

4. Jack Youngblood: Thought by many to be the best defensive end in school history. Youngblood was enshrined into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1992; also the first player from Florida to be inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame (2001).

3. Emmit Smith: One of the most highly recruited high school players of his generation, Smith went on to break 58 school records en route to rushing for 3,928 yards and  36 touchdowns -- while playing just three seasons in Gainesville.

2. Steve Spurrier: As a player, he won the Heisman Trophy. In 12 seasons as coach, he led Florida to a national title, six SEC championships and six SEC East titles. He also coached a Heisman winner (Danny Wuerffel), a Heisman runnerup (Rex Grossman) and 20 first-team All Americans.

1. Danny Wuerffel: 1996 Heisman Tropy winner. Completed his career in 1996 as one of the most efficient and productive quarterbacks in college football history. Two-time recipient of the O'Brien National Quarterback of the Year Award (1995-96). Won more SEC titles than any other Florida QB.