What happens if the stick breaks?

Florida got the win they absolutely had to have last night. Beating Auburn won't get them into the NCAA Tournament, but a loss would have made it exceedingly difficult to make it in. Besides, Florida losing the game might have made Stickman sad. (Does that guy have a relative working at UAA who brings him back every year?) Now they have the most critical game of the season to this point, at Ole Miss in another ridiculous Thursday-Saturday combo. At least the Rebels also played last night. These two teams are going to be very close in the selection process - having a win against them on their court would be a major boost for Florida's chances.

If you're looking for a way to jazz up the Tiger Woods press release reading today, CNBC's Darren Rovell has gotten a set of betting lines for it you could use to get a little action going in your office. For the record, I'll go with the following picks: Elin not present, under on 5.5 uses of the word sorry, apologize for the most used word over sorry and family, no tears shed by Tiger, and yes on an announcement for his return tournament. I wish Tiger would step up to the mic and say rehab has taught him that he needs to upgrade his flings to a better class of woman, give out the number 888-TIGER4U and invite every female on earth to leave a message if they're looking for a hot time. It would be the greatest press conference moment ever, and as an added bonus Jay Mariotti's head would explode.

Perhaps the New York Knicks already have some kind of secret commitment from a superstar's agent that the player will sign with them this summer. Otherwise, I think their front office is completely insane for having traded for Tracy McGrady as part of their continued tanking in pursuit of LeBron James or someone like him in free agency. New York will have tons of money to throw around as a lure for free agents, but we've seen teams try this same trick before. The Chicago Bulls have never fully recovered from their failure to lure someone significant post-Jordan. Orlando got Grant Hill and Tracy McGrady - not exactly a smashing success. Thanks to inept trading, should the Knicks win the 2010 draft lottery, finish with the number 2 pick in 2011, and the sixth pick in 2012 they would wind up with none of those choices. If they don't get LeBron, Dwyane Wade and/or Chris Bosh to sign with them, it will all have been for nothing. Does that make any sense to you?

When I was a kid, my favorite two animals were always penguins and zebras. (I guess the black and white thing worked for me.) I've seen zebras running in their habitat area at Busch Gardens, but that's as close as I've gotten to one. Too bad I wasn't in downtown Atlanta yesterday. Fortunately no one hit the zebra when he got on the Interstate. Can you imagine having to try and explain to your insurance company that the damage to your Honda Civic was caused by a zebra? I'm headed for Tampa today, and maybe I'll stop by Gainesville on the way to see how many more familiar things have disappeared - the Publix by my old house is apparently among them. Have a great weekend and I'll see you back here Monday.