Against all odds Orlando came up victorious

During his senior year at Parkway West High School in Ballwin, Mo., where he took over the starting duties from his older brother in 2008, Gabbert threw for 965 yards, eight touchdowns, and four interceptions.He also rushed for 228 yards and two scores on 70 carries.It's not known why Gabbert wavered on his pledge to the Huskers, but Chuck Gabbert did say his son thought it was necessary to decommit in order to justify considering other programs.It has not been reported whether he will take visits to other schools."He didn't think he could evaluate other options without being decommitted," Chuck Gabbert said. "He didn't believe that would have been fair to anybody."Despite Nebraska's noteworthy success this season, which included nine wins, a Big 12 North title, and a near miss at a BCS appearance, Tyler Gabbert is not the only recruit to spurn the Cornhusker program.Curtis Carter , a four-star athlete from Stonewall, La., recently withdrew his pledge after committing to the Huskers in late October. Carter, who now counts Missouri and TCU among his top two schools, is expected to join Gabbert in an official visit to Columbia this weekend.If Gabbert ends up officially committing to MU, he'll join James Franklin (Corinth, Tx.) to give the Tigers a pair of highly regarded quarterback prospects for next season. Missouri has already received an oral commitment from nationally touted 2011 quarterback recruit Corbin Berkstresser (Lee's Summit, Mo.).Find this article and more at my page at Examiner .Photo credit: St Louis Post-Dispatch. Earlier this season, the foundation successful raffled a 2006 Gator Football SEC Championship ring as well as a 2006 UF BCS National Championship ring.Because of the demand and success of the previous raffles, it is now offering Seminole and Hurricane fans the same chance.

By choosing to raffle the ring, the foundation can offer the average fan an opportunity to obtain a priceless, sentimental piece of football history versus an auction used only to secure the highest bidder."I saw how the Boston Red Sox, Boston Celtics and others had organized similar raffles to help raise awareness for a good cause," said the charity's founder, Alecia Pynn. We had tremendous feedback and interest from Gator fans, and the Seminole and Hurricane fans wanted their shot as well."Raffle entries are $5 each or seven for $25 and can be purchased through Jan 7 at midnight at the foundation's official Web site The winner will be announced on Jan. 8 at Noon.The FSU ACC Championship ring belonged to an anonymous former player and was produced by Intergold. It is 10k gold, size 11, and is decorated with several cubic zirconias, weighing over 40 grams.

It is made of gold and can be re-sized within two sizes of its original design without compromising the integrity of the ring.The foundation is also partnering with three of the elite NFL wide receivers representing the state of Florida in their Yards for Youth campaign with Anquan Boldin, Percy Harvin and Andre Johnson.Through the campaign, fans can pledge any amount (10 cents, $1, $100) per touchdown, reception or yard for the 2009 season, combining the fantasy football obsession with an old-fashioned jog-a-thon. Floridas Harvin will be playing for youth programs of Gainesville and Minnesota. Miamis Johnson will be playing for youth programs of Miami and Houston.A portion of the proceeds will also benefit the Make a Play Foundations academic and recreational youth programs in Florida.Since its inception, the foundation has partnered with several other former players and their foundations, including legends as Neal Anderson (UF), Lomas Brown (UF), Chris Doering (UF), Warrick Dunn (FSU), Kevin Everett (UM), Terry Jackson (UF), Willie Jackson, Jr (UF), Marvin Jones (FSU), Shane Matthews (UF), Willis McGahee (UM), Myron Rolle (FSU), Samari Rolle (FSU), Ed Reed (UM), Fred Weary (UF), and Lawrence Wright (UF).The foundation has organized campaigns during head-to-head rivalry games, including the Thanksgiving Food Fight held during the week of the 2008 FSU-UF game and Trash Talk for Charity during the week of this years FSU-UM game.Through the food drive, nearly 22,000 pounds of food was collected for Gainesville and Tallahassee food banks. Click here to get sent to the full article at NBAPrimetime !For a team that surpassed Paul Pierce and the Boston Celtics and LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in last year's postseason, the Orlando Magic oddly enough seem to not receive as much credit and respect as they're due.Lets take a look back to the 2009 Eastern Conference Finals where each and every ESPN NBA Analyst predicted the Cavaliers to win .Against all odds, Orlando came up victorious. After a dominant series performance by Dwight Howard (25.8 PPG, 13 RPG, and 1.1 BPG), including a Game Six 40-point extravaganza, the Magic were able to simply create havoc on both ends of the floor. Orlando caused extreme mismatch problems on the offensive end and prevented the entire Cavaliers team, with the exception of James, from playing their game.Once it was digested that Orlando was about to make an appearance in the NBA Finals for the first time since the '94-'95 season, analysts and commentators, Charles Barkley in particular, began to hop onto the Magic bandwagon.But after a quick five-game series, the high talks about the Magic began to digress and they entered the offseason just like every other team.During the offseason Orlando managed to pull off an incredible deal that sent superstar Vince Carter and unknown forward Ryan Anderson to the Magic. Inaddition GM Otis Smith signed young gun Brandon Bass, versatile Matt Barnes, and veteran point guard Jason Williams.With five new players on the roster many believed that Orlando would lose their team chemistry and ultimately disinegrate as a team.Since tip-off on October 28, Orlando has won 17 of the 20 total games played, ranking with the top record in the NBA.