FOUR BITS: Tebow, Meyer, Richard, free agency

By Adam Silverstein
July 1, 2010

1 » Former Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow will have plenty of doubters to prove on throughout his career with the Denver Broncos, but he is most concerned with making his new head coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Brian Xanders feel confident in their decision to select him with the No. 25 overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. “I definitely take pride in the coaches picking me and take pride in the fact that I want to prove them right,” Tebow told NFL.com. “That’ll be a goal of mine in playing in the National Football League – to prove coach McDaniels right and to prove Brian Xanders right and to prove the people that supported me right. That’s something that I’ll take pride in trying to do.” As to him playing as a rookie? “I don’t even think about it like that,” Tebow added. “I think about every day I have to get better, and if I do that, then I’ll be satisfied with myself and going in and getting better every day. Because that’s all I can control and that’s what I’m going to worry about.”

2 » Just one year ago, amid speculation that he might be headed elsewhere, Urban Meyer agreed to a six-year, $24 million contract to remain head coach at Florida. According to ESPN’s Mike Fish, who spoke with Gators athletic director Jeremy Foley, Meyer is on the verge of finally signing his new deal, the terms of which were finalized way back on Aug. 3, 2009. “It’ll get signed sometime in the next month or so, if not sooner,” Foley said. “There are no hang-ups. Bottom line, he has a [previously signed] contract that has four years left to run on it. It’s not like he doesn’t have a contract. And he is getting compensated at the new rate. We have an agreement with Urban Meyer at the new rate, and the contract will get signed here shortly.” Regarding Meyer’s health, Foley remains unfazed. “It’s going to be fine,” he said. “It’s not like I have to worry about him having those issues day-to-day. He is a high-energy guy. He is a guy who has total commitment to what he does. I don’t think that has changed.”

3 » Former Gators forward/center Chris Richard, who appeared in 18 games for the Chicago Bulls last season, was waived by the team on Wednesday. Richard averaged 2.1 points and 3.3 rebounds in 12.4 minutes of action per game and was signed after fellow Florida F/C Joakim Noah was injured during the season. He will likely be signed to Chicago’s summer league roster and may find himself back on the team next year.

4 » With NBA free agency beginning literally as this is typed, some former Gators are available to be signed and others may factor into potential sign-and-trade scenarios. Former New York Knicks F/C David Lee, former Washington Wizards guard Mike Miller and former Miami Heat power forward Udonis Haslem are three of the most prominent “second tier” free agents available. Lee also has the possibility of being involved in a sign-and-trade situation, and Noah could always be moved off of the Bulls in an effort to get a bigger-name free agent under a long-term contract.

Extra BIT » Squidbillies is the name of a cartoon aired during Cartoon Network‘s Adult Swim programming block. Tom Treebow is the name of its new character, a parody of Tebow. He will debut on the show on July 11, but you can catch a glimpse right here.

Photo Credit: Richard Graulich/The Palm Beach Post

Join The
Discussion

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Top
WordPress Appliance - Powered by TurnKey Linux