Florida Gators

The Associated Press

An audio-animatronic figure of President Barack Obama is ready to make its debut at Walt Disney World.

By Anthony Clark Staff writer

Sixteen-year-old Brandon Lee is spending his summer preparing for a career as a chef. He talked of his passion for cooking during a break from chopping and sauteing onions during his internship at Tapas 12 West in downtown Gainesville on Thursday afternoon.

News and events from around the region and state for June 4, 2009.

Brady Ackerman and Franz Beard host this week's edition of The Gator Country Television Show, which can be seen nightly on Cox Cable Channel 15 nightly at 6:30. In this week's edition, we feature Buddy Martin's exclusive interview with Gator strength and conditioning coach Mickey Marotti along with Brady's Blackboard, which gives you an up close look at what Tim Tebow sees when he's standing in the pocket, and our campus chatter and recruiting segments with Laura McKeeman and Justin Wells. The Gator Country Television Show on Cox Cable is a weekly feature of Gator Country Television and can also be viewed here at http://www.gatorcountry.com.

Howard Schnellenberger dubbed it "the State of Miami" when he drew an imaginary line in the dirt and let it be known that the Miami Hurricanes would get first choice of any player from Miami-Dade County to the northern Palm Beach County and everyone else would have to fight over the leftovers. Those outstanding players from south Florida were the foundation of an incredible run by the Hurricanes, whose fortunes have fallen off in recent years. It's not because there's a lack of talent down south. Far from it, there is as much talent as there ever has been and the Florida Gators are doing their best to elbow their way in to get their share of it.

There isn’t a proven go-to guy in the bunch, but there is no lack of talent among Florida’s receivers this fall. It is a unique blend of veterans who have been contributors their entire careers and young, fast kids capable of stretching the field that the Gators will send out this season.

Gator fans can re-live Florida's run to the 2008 BCS National Championship on Sun Sports' popular Breakfast with the Gators program every Sunday morning through the end of August.

Two new Daktronics high-density technology video boards are being installed at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium this summer and will be fully-operational during the 2009 football season.

Senior football player Tim Tebow is a nominee in two categories, while incoming freshman football player Andre Debose is a nominee for the Under Armour All-America Moment. Former UF swimmer Dara Torres will be awarded the 2009 Best Comeback Award.

Corey Lemonier is one of the top defensive prospects in the nation. He holds over 20 offers from top programs all around the country, including UCF. He is currently in the middle of narrowing down his list.

One of the first signs college football season is getting close is when the people ESPN's Lee Corso refer to as "the experts in the desert" begin to make games available for wagering. This week the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas issued advance lines for 130 of the 2009 college football season's biggest matchups.

Gensen Scott, a 6-3, 275-pound offensive lineman from Lithonia (GA) King, holds six offers, including two from BCS programs. One of Scott’s BCS offers is from Louisville. Is the talented Georgia lineman interested in the Cardinals?

Forecasting the SEC

Is there anything lamer than vacating past victories?From the Birmingham News.My favorite part – “The ruling, which will be announced at 2 p.m., also includes the NCAA placing Alabama on three more years of probation, and Alabama will pay a fine. “Three MORE years probation. What’s next, double-secret probation?You see Alabama football was already in the midst of five probation period for past

Vol's quarterback Jonathan Crompton received death threats last season.Take heart Jonathan there are plenty of SEC schools that love you! I think I can speak for Brandon Spikes and the entire defense that we look forward to seeing you on September 19th.