For the first time in years, I’m not pulling for the University of Florida Gators. Oh sure, I still love them, and support them, but there’s a new star in town, baby! The University of South Florida Bulls, out of Tampa, are kicking ass and taking names. They’re currently ranked #2, and their football program is only 10 years old. It’s amazing!

With University of South Florida football exploding, it’s only a matter of time before fans can come up with great sports trivia questions about the team and players. I’m great with trivia, but not so good with the sports category. In fact, when I play trivial pursuit, I leave that category until the very end, and collect all of my other colored pie wedges first. My husband on the other hand, knows all sorts of useless bits of sports trivia, like who won the Super Bowl in 1976, or who the first golfer to win the Masters Tournament was. He’d do great at TriviaFix, which is a sports trivia website full of questions from sports nuts like him. You can even organize trivia teams and complete in online competition…and you can win monthly prizes! I’ve seen a lot of trivia websites, but not any that are specifically just for sports junkies. You can even chose your sport, so if you’re a rabid football fan, but not up on baseball, you won’t be bored by seeing question after question about baseball.

Jim does so well with his fantasy football and the other sports things he’s involved in online…I should get him hooked on TriviaFix so that he can be rewarded for his useless knowledge!

The big news in Florida sports this week? I’ll give you a hint - it’s doesn’t involve any of our professional sports teams.

In fact, it involves a university, that up to a few years ago, didn’t even HAVE a football program. The University of South Florida Bulls are having a fabulous season, and when they play the West Virginia Mountaineers (#5) this weekend, it will be the first time we’ve had such a highly ranked opponent here in Tampa. USF is ranked #18 currently, and the game will be a sell out, with the last of the tickets becoming available tomorrow afternoon at 5pm. (Students can line up south of the Sun Dome starting at noon on Thursday.)

My son has been playing hockey for the past 2 years, and my husband and I have been watching hockey, both on TV and in person for 4 now. I’ve only JUST gotten a handle on the rules and regulations for the game, and guess what happened? Yep, my son has decided to take a season off from hockey, and he’s taking up baseball in the meantime. Fabulous - another sport for me to learn! I know the basics, of course, having been forced to play baseball and softball during P.E. in my school years. I even know that because I’m a leftie, I face the opposite direction when it’s my turn at bat! I get a little fuzzy on the rules though, because it’s been a LONG time since I’ve played. I found a great sports instruction website that has online instructional videos for baseball, hockey, football, tennis, and other sports. All in all, there are 500 free videos on this site, all designed to help parents like me help our kids have fun and learn how to play the game. I’ve got no idea what the proper batting stance is, so this is exactly what I need. If you’re a clueless sports mom (or dad) like me, I’m betting it will help you out too!

We’ve got a lot of golfers in Florida, my husband included! With beautiful courses stretching from Walt Disney World Resort Golf Courses in Orlando, south to Miami, and north to the panhandle, you can play on flat greens, or gentle rolling hills. We even have water hazards with alligators! Maybe you LOVE golf and have always wanted your very own USGA golf handicap, but couldn’t get one? This golf handicap software can help you achieve that goal. Just join a local golf club (there are several in Florida: West Palm Beach, Orlando, Miami, and Tampa) input your scores into the software, and play with your club. Easy peasy!

For the 2nd time in 100 years, the University of Florida Gators are the national champs, after beating Ohio State in the BCS National Championship. Congratulations to Uruban Meyer and the entire team - GO GATORS!!