Prior to tonight’s baseball game against Miami, Florida senior quarterback Tim Tebow threw out the ceremonial first pitch, plus a second pitch.

I guess when you’ve won the Heisman Trophy and two National Championships, you deserve a re-do.

He warmed up for while, I’m not sure whose glove he was using, with Riley Cooper. Tebow and Cooper are roommates and look to be the leading passing tandem for the Gators in the fall.

Tebow was an exceptional high school player at Nease. Tonight, he threw a few curve balls while warming up. Decent movement. He might be able to go back to baseball if the football thing doesn’t work out.

Sporting a blue Tommy Hilfiger polo shirt with white stripes, Tebow took the mound.

He looked in for a sign from Cooper, who served as the catcher in place of Teddy Foster or Buddy Munroe.

Tebow began a full windup, kicked his right leg forward, and threw a pitch from a very low arm slot, similiar to Dennis Eckersley.

The pitch bounced past Cooper (and me) and hit the backstop.
Cooper retreived the ball and threw it back to Tebow for another shot.

I don’t think it was a strike, but Cooper was able to catch the second “first” pitch.

Afterwards, Tebow hung out in the dugout before the game started, enjoying the tub of Double Bubble gum.

I couldn’t tell if Tebow stayed for the game, but coach Urban Meyer is watching the game from the UAA box.

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Probably the funniest moment of the game came in the sixth inning.

Jerico Weitzel had just come into the game to play second base.

EMU’s Jim Gulliver, who came into the game with nine hits in 17 at bats, lined a pitch to the right side of the infield. Weitzel lept in the air to snag the ball, catching it on his way down. In fact, his foot was on the ground when he caught the ball despite having just jumped as high as he could.

Florida third baseman Josh Adams remarked “nice jump,” at they threw the ball around the horn, prompting everyone in the infield to laugh at Weitzel.

In my last post, I forgot to mention what may have been the two best things from opening weekend.

First, before Sunday’s game children were invited to stand beside the Gator players on the field during the national anthem.

A herd of kids assembled down the left field line, then charged out towards the Gators. The vast majority of them elected to take the easiest route and gathered around left fielder Avery Barnes.

Two kids ran all the way to right field beside Riley Cooper. A couple of kids went beside Matt den Dekker in center field, and a couple other kinda hung out between center and right.

About ten kids went to the pitcher’s mound, two of the older kids stood by Brandon McArthur at first base while only one child stood with catcher Buddy Munroe and the umpires behind home plate.

That left Adams, shortstop Mike Mooney and Weitzel were left all alone.

After the anthem was over, the kids ran off of the field. All except for one little guy who was at the pitcher’s mound. He lost his right shoe and was hopping on one foot to retreive it. After he picked it up, he kept hopping along on one foot, as if scared to get his socks dirty.

The infielders waited to started warming up until the little kid got off the field, but it was taking a while.

Adams walked over to the kid, tossed his glove aside and knelt down to help him put his shoe on. The kid happily ran away as Adams picked up with his to start warming up.

Adams got a standing ovation from many of the fans, while the tripped and fell on his face in foul territory. Truly a priceless moment.

The other thing I really liked on Sunday was seeing the entire team, coaches including, wearing their socks up high in throwback fashion. They returned to having their pants down at their shoes for tonight’s game, so maybe that’s just when they are trying to complete a sweep. I’ll look into it.

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Those who know me can attest to the fact that baseball is my favorite sport. The Baseball Tonight theme song perks me up. Discovering that I get the MLB network at my apartment was one of the happiest days of the past two months. I read about baseball every day. One of my goals in life is to spend my retirement as an usher at Spring Training games. I wish I could get to more minor league, MLB and Spring Training games.

Opening Day is one of my favorite days of the year.

The UF baseball team opened the 2009 season on a cold Friday night against Louisville. Even though it was freezing, I didn’t mind getting numb fingers while photographing the game.

A few changes for the 2009 season:

• No names on the back of the jerseys. Nice.
• Railings and netting in front of the dugouts. When I first head about this, I was worried it would be I couldn’t get photos of the players and coaches in the dugouts. Instead, the railings have forced the players to stand on the top step with their arms hanging over the top rail. The players seem to be more focused on the game and the chatter is more lively that past years. Of course, that could just be due to opening night and three wins.
• The fans in the left field bleachers were loud on Friday night. This tends to happen only for big games, then they all disappear once the spring semester ends. I hope they stick around, they did a good job heckling the left fielder.
• Those same fans did a “roll call,” mimicking the fans in the right field bleachers at Yankee Stadium. The roll call is pretty simple. The fans chant the name of a player as the starting pitcher warms up before the top of the first inning. They keep chanting the player’s name until he acknowledges them with a wave, tip of the cap, etc. Apparently there aren’t too many UF players familiar with this tradition, as they failed to acknowledge the fans despite hearing their name numerous times. I walked past the Florida dugout while this was happening, and asking coach Kevin O’Sullivan if we were at Yankee Stadium. He’s a big Yankees fan, so he just laughed and said he wouldn’t mind it. As I got to the end of the dugout, I asked senior catcher Teddy Foster if the players knew to wave to the bleachers after their name was chanted. He didn’t think so, then explained what I was talking about to a couple of the freshman players.
• New public address announcer. Tom Collette isn’t doing the baseball games this year. The new guy sounds pretty good.
• I was very disappointed to learn that the special live action radio I bought for the football games doesn’t work at baseball. Lame.
• The BEST walk-up music is definitely for catcher Buddy Munroe. He went with Salt-n-Pepa’s 1987 hit, “Push It.”  Kinda funny, considering that Munroe was born in August of 1987. Either way, it’s a great song. I imagine he chose this song after seeing how Teddy Foster went from a career backup/bullpen catcher to a crowd favorite by having Rihanna’s “Don’t Stop the Music” as his walk-up song.

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Wow. I’ve been to Stegeman Coliseum twice before and both times it was packed. Can’t say that tonight. Other than the student section, this place is half-empty (it’s not like the fans here have a reason to take the half-full point of view.)

The students haven’t been deterred by the Bulldogs’ 0-9 SEC record or 0-for-2009 streak. They are just as animated as when Florida brought National Championship teams to the building. I get the feeling that they are trying to put on a show because the game is being nationally televised on ABC and they want to make Bobby Knight think this is a good place to be.

Several fans have signs asking Knight to be their Valentine, or coach.

The Gators energy level seems to be muted. They went through the motions during the pre-game introductions, hardly leaving the floor to do their usual jumping chest bumps.

Who knows if Georgia can hold this halftime lead. The hometown fans don’t seem very optimistic it will happen. Here are some quotes overheard from the student section:

“Holy crap! We’re passing!”

“Nick Calathes looks like Beavis!”

“Nick Calathes looks like a pedophile.”

“Ladies and gentleman, this is what happens when you don’t turn the ball over 18 million times a game.”

“This is not Jacksonville!”

(I’m not sure what they mean by that last one. Does it mean that since it’s not Jacksonville that Georgia has a chance to win?)

While typing this post, I missed seeing a woman juggling plates with her feet while riding a unicycle or something crazy like that. Great.

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The No. 1-ranked UF softball team opened the 2009 season against the Baylor Bears this weekend. The Gators have picked up where they left off last season. Florida won on Friday 3-0, and 8-0 on Saturday.

I really hope to be covering the team in the Women’s College World Series again in Oklahoma as they attempt to complete what they began last season.

Some things never change… Stacey Nelson is still a dominating pitcher, especially with runners on base. Francesca Enea continues to have the sweetest swing on campus, blasting her first home run of the season on Saturday. Only 16 HRs to go and she will match last year’s total.

The first home run of the season came on Friday night when sophomore Kelsey Bruder launched one over the right field fence.

As she crossed home plate she was greeted to another team ritual: a wedgie. I don’t know when this began, but as a player crossed the plate, the team encircles her and someone, usually senior catcher Kristina Hilberth, grabs her belt and lifts. It’s always funny to see the players wiggling around as they walk back to the dugout, concealing what just happened.

It’s important to look good, afterall.

Baylor catcher Jordan Vannatta went into the bullpen, out of the view of the crowd, in order to adjust her headband. She asked a teammate “does this look better”" as she walked back to the dugout. I guess she figured that the other people in the photo well and I saw her, so she turned to us and said “I can’t be lookin’ all nappy for y’all” in a great Texal drawl.

She’s right though.

But maybe she should have been more focused on the ball instead of not looking nappy. A couple innings later, a runner scored from third base on a passed ball — during an intentional walk

That’s pretty nappy.

Stay tuned to Gator Country for a complete photo gallery wrapping up all three games against Baylor, plus a gallery from the No. 11-ranked women’s basketball team’s game agains the Lady Vols on Sunday evening!

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I’m covering the final home swimming and diving meet of the year. The Gators are hosting Florida Gulf Coast University and Indian River State College.

During one of the early events, a Florida swimmer had his cell phone out and one of the coaches caught him. He said, “put that phone away, you have all day for text sex!”

I’ve never heard that term before, so I laughed out loud and the other swimmers looked over at me and laughed along after the coach walked away.

From what I can tell, Florida is killing the competition. They recognized the seniors before the meet in front of a packed house. The stands were completely full, very impressive considering how nice it is outside.

Another first for me: I photographed the 3M diving from the HIGH platform. I have to admit, it was kinda scary.

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If you haven’t been to a gymnastics meet at the O’Connell Center, you are missing out. More than 8,000 fans were there tonight as the No. 5-ranked Gators defeated Kentucky.

Florida is still having trouble with the balance beam, but it’s not like any of us watching can be critical. I’d probably injure myself if I even tried to WALK across the beam. It’s scary to watch the gymnasts compete. The boyfriend of a former gymnast once told me that he couldn’t watch when his girlfriend compete on the beam.

These young women are every bit the athlete that their male counterparts at UF are, even if they are only 4′10″ tall.

Melanie Sinclair earned her third career perfect 10 on the uneven bars, but the real story of the night was the team’s fourth-annual “Link to Pink” event, held to raise awareness for breast cancer.

The athletes wore pink uniforms instead of orange and blue. The judges’ tables were pink. The words “Hope” and  “Cure” were hanging at opposite ends of the floor, cut from 8′ sheets of plywood. A large portion of the crowd were young girls who idolize the gymnasts on the floor.

Hundreds of cancer survivors formed a tunnel for the gymnasts to run through before the meet and the daughter of a cancer survivor was the awards presenter after the meet, which did the most to promote awareness of breast cancer.

Florida has two home gymnastics meets remaining, Feb. 20 vs. Alabama and March 6 vs. Michigan. Do yourself a favor and make it to one of them!

Florida junior Melanie Sinclair earns a 10.0 on the uneven bars during the Gators' 195.925-193.850 win against Kentucky on Friday at the O'Connell Center / Gator Country photo by Tim Casey

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The Florida men’s basketball team confirmed why the St. Johns River continues to flow north… because Georgia sucks. It cost Dennis Felton his job, but the Gators improved to 18-3 overall and 5-1 in the Southeastern Conference on the strength of a 83-57 win.

In the victory, Nick Calathes recorded the third triple-double in UF history. He had a triple-double in the NIT last season too.

When he checked out of the game with 4:17 remaining and the Gators holding a 76-45 lead, the entire O’Connell Center crowd standing and cheering, Calathes didn’t even crack a smile as his teammates and coaches congratulated him.

It looked like he had just fouled out of a game in which the Gators were losing.

Smile, Nick. It’s supposed to be fun!

It’s not just him though. The whole men’s basketball team, despite leading the conference, doesn’t appear to be excited or enjoying themselves. Their body language would indicate a nervous, dejected team, not the team that is exceeding expectations and paving a route back to the NCAA tournament.

Billy Donovan has to be the Coach of the Year in the SEC for what he’s doing with this team. Without a dominant inside scoring threat, undersized players all over the court and a lack of upperclassmen to lead, Donovan is showing that he’s one of the best in the business.

The Gators look like a tough team that isn’t intimidated and will continue to win, but I feel as if they could be even better if they would release the enthusiasm and energy that are keeping bottled up. They will hit bumps in the road, there will be nights when the shots aren’t falling. To keep negative body language from becoming contagious, players need to be the spark that picks their teammates up. Whether it’s chest-pounding like Joakim Noah or jumping jacks like Tim Tebow, that kind of energy motivates others and distracts from negative feelings.

For an example of the opposite end of the spectrum, a fan doesn’t even need to leave the O-dome. Amanda Butler’s UF women’s basketball team is ranked No. 12 in the nation and second in the SEC.

The Gator women are also exceeding expectations. They are starting to draw crowds of more than 4,500 fans. The energy is spreading like electricity, which leads to fans cheering to give them a true home-court advantage that hasn’t been seen in Gainesville in recent history.

Players like Marshae Dotson, Sharielle Smith, Steffi Sorensen, Lonnika Thompson and Trumae Lucas aren’t afraid to show their emotions on the court. High-fives, hugs, smiles, laughs, yelling, clapping, pointing to each other or the crowd and confident strolls are all part of the body language repetoire on the women’s team.

With a little bit of positive body language, the O’Connell Center could be a lot more fun for the men’s games too.

Stay tuned to GatorCountry.com for a photo gallery from the men’s basketball game vs. Georgia, and tonight’s women’s game vs. Kentucky!

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Ray asked me if I’d like to keep a blog to share my observation and thoughts from covering UF sporting events.

Being down on the sideline, baseline, photo well, etc. gives me a unique perspective on the games. I get to see things close-up and overhear conversations and things that might not be suitable for television. I don’t describe myself as a Gators fan, even though I went to school at UF. I have to remain as calm and neutral as possible or I will miss capturing the moment. Of course, I want to see the Gators win because it’s good for my job, but also because I have built relationships with many of the people I photograph.

As the Photography Editor of Gator Country Magazine and GatorCountry.com, I cover all of the sports at UF, plus football and basketball recruiting. Over the past five years I have witnessed a wide variety of events and the emotions that those student-athletes experience. I covered the 2006 and 2008 BCS Championships and the 2007 Final Four, which were joyous moments for those teams, coaches, families and fans. I also covered the 2005 College World Series and 2008 Women’s College World Series where Gator teams exceeded expectations all season before falling short so close to a championship. I can’t help but empathize for the players and coaches in those moments as well.

On this blog, I will share what I see and hear during games, try to explain the process of covering games and answer questions about photography, sports or anything else. For now, I can be reached via email at tim@gatorcountry.com.

To kick things off, here’s the latest photo gallery from Gator Country. I covered the women’s tennis match against Stetson yesterday.

Photo Gallery: UF Women’s Tennis vs. Stetson, 1/27/09

The Gators destroyed Stetson 6-1. The one loss was Jessica Alexander, who had to retire due to injury while leading her singles match.

I truly enjoy covering the “non-revenue” sports every bit as covering the big football and basketball games. I get better access, so the photos are often better. It also helps to break up the routine of covering a string of many basketball games!

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