Dein erstes Forum » As I leave the ground, I see the Austra

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Born and raised in Mississippi, and with stops at Auburn and Kentucky on his resume, Scott Stricklin has spent more than two decades in the Southeastern Conference.He knows the league inside and out, and has witnessed pretty much everything during his career. So he understands the daunting task of following Jeremy Foley. He also welcomes the opportunity.Florida hired Stricklin as its athletic director Tuesday, giving him a six-year deal worth $1.076 million annually to succeed Foley. Stricklin is leaving his alma mater, Mississippi State, and taking on a massive facilities upgrade in Gainesville. The bigger challenge just might be replacing Foley, one of the most successful college sports leaders in the country.I admire so much what has happened here, Stricklin said. So it was much more excitement than it was trepidation. Its much better starting off from a position of a place thats accustomed to success, knows how to exhibit that success, have the right people in place. ... Im going to benefit from all the work hes done. So I see it as nothing but a positive.Foley had been scheduled to retire Saturday after 40 years with the Gators, including the last 25 as athletic director. During Foleys tenure, the Gators won 27 national championships in 10 sports and 130 SEC titles. He now will remain in place until Nov. 1, creating a little extra transition time.Foley has the option of serving as emeritus AD and senior adviser to the university president for five years after his retirement, either full or part time. He also can choose to be an adviser to Stricklin.Ill be very respectful, Foley said. Im not trying to be the AD behind the curtain. ... Hes not going to fail. All of us are going to do everything we can to make him not fail, and Im going to do my part in that. Ill respect him, respect the decision hes made and I want to do all I can to help him. Thats going to determine where he wants me.Stricklin has been the Bulldogs AD since 2010. He has a background in fundraising, which will serve him well at Florida.Foley unveiled plans two weeks ago to spend $100 million to bring Floridas athletics program up to date, including building a 100,000-square-foot, stand-alone football facility.Stricklin spearheaded more than $140 million in facility improvements during his time at Mississippi State. He also oversaw significant increases in booster club membership and donations.Florida first contacted Stricklin about the opening in June. They talked on and off for a couple of months before negotiations heated up in August. The sides agreed to the deal last week, and it became official when the University Athletic Associations board of trustees unanimously approved the hire Tuesday.For Stricklin, the decision was a no-brainer. He said repeatedly that Florida is the only job he would have left Mississippi State to take.The only constant in life is change, Stricklin said. So we have two choices, right? We can either sit back, kind of let everything move around us, or we can keep pushing forward and making sure Florida maintains its position as the pre-eminent athletic department in the country.To do that, we have to be innovative. We have to be creative. We have to be progressive. We have to continue to push the envelope in all the right ways to make sure Florida maintains its advantage that its had for so many years.Florida has built a reputation as a strong academic institution and has a winning tradition few schools can match. Stricklin can earn up to $200,000 a year in performance bonuses tied to academic and athletic success.Its the best job in college athletics, said Stricklin, who also spent time at Tulane and Baylor.Its certainly in the conversation. The Gators have won the SECs All-Sports Trophy 24 of the last 25 years.Stricklins wife and two daughters, Abby and Sophie, joined him at the introductory news conference. One was born in Waco, Texas; the other in Lexington, Kentucky. They have moved with their father and switched allegiances a few times already. Not surprisingly then, they seemed comfortable decked out in orange and blue.You finally got the best colors in the SEC, Foley told them.---AP college football website: www.collegefootball.ap.orgJack Tatum Raiders Jersey . The Swede became the first golfer to win the PGA Tours FedEx Cup and European Tours Race to Dubai in the same season. "It is still taking a little time to sink in what Ive achieved this week as was the case when I won the FedEx Cup but then it just kept getting better and better as the days went on and I am sure this will be the same," he said. 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On a map, it seems the best way to get from one to the other is along a straight line through the southern hemisphere. On an airline schedule, thats not possible. Instead, I will spend nine and a half hours going up to Dubai and then ten and a half hours going down. Add the changeover in Dubai and it means a full 24 hours of travel, and with the time differences, I will arrive two days after I left. Say what?October 29 I think today is Saturday but Im not really sure. I feel trapped in a time warp I dont understand.October 30 Touch down in Perth around 2am. Decide to normalise by sleeping and then force myself to get to the series launch around midday. Its a public event, at Elizabeth Quay, which is also set-up for Diwali festivities. A decent-sized group of people has come to see the Australian and South African teams, and the players are introduced individually. Most get a cheer - David Warner and Dale Steyn louder than the others - but when Dane Vilas walks out, there is complete silence. Poor guy.October 31 Welcome to the world of modern sports media, where the press conference is the most common method of communication. We have no fewer than nine interviews here. Australia put up six players in an open media session, South Africa three. Our heads are swimming with quotes. The most interesting things to come out of the day are Usman Khawajas views on diversity and the Australian fascination with Temba Bavuma. At 1.61 metres, Bavuma is among the shorter sportsmen around and has to field several questions about how he has adapted his technique to his height. Bavuma seems a bit bewildered by the attention but answers the questions as carefully as he can.November 1 The race that stops Australia will be run today, and though Im not in Melbourne, its still a big deal. Im familiar with showstoppers like this - we in South Africa have the Met in January and the Durban July (you know when) - but the Melbourne Cup is a little different. Across Australia, people dress up as though they are at the venue itself, and at 3pm Australian Eastern Standard Time, time stands still. I havent quite got used to the time zone yet, and around noon Im heading to the WACA, wondering why the streets are deserted. When I realise the gun is about to go, I get a move on and get there just in time to pop my head into the guards hut and see the end of the race.November 2 The day before a big Test series is a usually a frenzy of last-minute previews. We wind down with a traditional barbeque at a local journalists home. Our hosts daughter is doing a project on the Democratic Republic of Congo and I offer to help. How often do you go back to Africa? she asks me. I live there, I tell her, as her eyes widen in disbelief.November 3 South Africa stumble through the first day on a pitch with better bounce and carry than I have seen in months. Later we all stumble around on a walking tour, organised by Tourism Western Australia. The idea is to roam the laneways to discover how Perth is Melbournising, and stop at bars along the way. Our guide has the remarkable ability to talk to us while walking backwards. She doesnt lose her step once, not even on St Georges Terrace, said to be the windiest street in the southern hemisphere. At our second and last stop, our holiday-making UK colleague Andrew McGlashan joins us.November 4 Theres an awful feeling when Steyn goes down, clutching his shoulder, with a look on his face worse than when he left the field against India and England last summer. I suspect its serious but first need to turn attention to the remarkable comeback the rest of South Africas attack are staging. At the end of the day we discover Steyn will be out of action for at least six months.November 5 It is due to be 37 degrees today, so I choose a simple T-shirt-style dress to wear. When I arrive at the WACA, at the gate the media use (which is also the members gate), security staff stop me. My dress is too short. The members dress code dictates that dresses must sit no more than 5cm above the knee. Im quite sure mine is not shorter than that, but they disagree. After a protracted discussion - during which one woman is told shee isnt allowed in because the straps on her top are too thin - I am admitted but told not to leave the press box through the day.dddddddddddd Inevitably I have to and am warned a second time. Another journalist tweets about it and a social-media storm erupts.That evening I see Steyn waiting for an Uber in the city centre. He has just got off a train from visiting his uncle in a suburb about 40 minutes away. He admits his shoulder is very sore and says he is resigned to a lengthy period on the sidelines and that he is not going to try and rush back. He will leave Perth tomorrow night, so wont see the result, which looks headed South Africas way.November 6 I pick a dress that extends to my ankles today, but my colleague Melinda Farrell doesnt. She also bares her shoulders. She is reprimanded at the gate, and now that the rest of the press pack know about the issue, another social-media storm erupts. To the WACAs credit, their stadium manager visits us and apologises profusely. He assures us we both look fine.November 7 I wear pants today but am stopped at the gate yet again. No thongs allowed, says the staff member. I present the media argument again. I am let in. This time, both Melinda and I receive an email apology from the WACA CEO. She says the members code will be reviewed and the ground wants to bring about change. We didnt enjoy the attention over our choice of clothing but were pleased weve achieved something. South Africa have too - the series lead. Given how far they had fallen last summer, their dominance is unexpected.November 8 Hobart is the only destination on this tour that Ive not been to before, so I am particularly looking forward to being there. Its Australias second oldest city and one with an extensive convict history. Ive just finished reading Alex Haleys Roots, and I want to find something similar but Australian. Ive been recommended For the Term of his Natural Life by Marcus Clarke and I make it my mission to track it down - if I can ever feel my fingers again; its cold in Hobart. November 9 I was warned to expect less than summery conditions in Hobart but I didnt anticipate a wind so icy it threatens to freeze the blood in my veins. Not to make this all about my wardrobe but I need more clothes. Cricket Tasmanias digital-media manager, Michelle Cooling, offers to lend me some. Among them is a Hobart Hurricanes hoodie. Shes got a fan for life.November 10 Still havent managed to get to a bookshop but I am enjoying learning about the local food. Melinda takes me to Mures, a seafood establishment on the harbour, where we splash out on all the regions delicacies. Oysters done four ways, scallops, white fish, even a dessert of chocolate tarts. Its definitely among the best meals Ive ever eaten.November 11 A cannon being towed by a Ute rolls past on my morning run, headed to the Anzac Parade. Its Remembrance Day. The colonial history is more marked here than anywhere else in Australia Ive seen, especially in the architecture. The Queen Victoria Clock Tower, now home to the General Post Office, was built by public subscription and has become one of my favourite landmarks.November 12 Theres no rain yet but Australia are drowned anyway. Vernon Philander rolls back the years and takes 5 for 21. Its an even better performance than on his debut. After suffering torn ankle ligaments last season, he seems to have regained confidence and become even better than what we thought was his best. As I leave the ground, I see the Australian team bus, driven by Nathan Lyon, pull up next to Philander, who is walking to the South African bus. Lyon rolls down the window and congratulates Philander. Sportsmanship is still alive.November 13 The expected rain is finally here, and as the day progresses, it only gets heavier. When we arrive at the ground, the teams have not even turned up. We know its only a matter of time before play is called off. It happens at 2pm. I squeeze in a trip to the Hobart Book Shop and pick up a copy of Clarkes book. Im reminded that this time last year I was in Bangalore, covering the washout that was AB de Villiers 100th Test. Nothing lasts forever, even cold November rain. ' ' '