Florida

NEW ORLEANS -- In the long and glorious history of the Southeastern Conference, only Herschel Walker and Bo Jackson ran for more yards than Errict Rhett.Emmitt Smith could become only the fourth man to lead the NFL in rushing in three straight seasons, but he lost another distinction last month, when Rhett supplanted him as Florida's all-time leading rusher.Rhett is the only player in NCAA Division I-A history to run for more than 4,100 yards and catch 140 passes in a career, and he is a prominent reason why Florida is a 6 1/2 -point favorite over West Virginia in the USF&G Sugar Bowl, New Year's Day at the Superdome.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The new Kentucky Derby champion was so bad in Florida in February it was a surprise they didn't turn him over to the Salvation Army.Sea Hero didn't run the Gulfstream track; he sort of toured it. They almost had to send out somebody with a map to give him directions to the wire.He did beat one horse in the Palm Beach at Gulfstream Feb. 7; unfortunately there were eight others in the race. He finished third in a turf allowance race Feb. 25; in first place was a girl.That filly, Icy Warning, was for sale soon thereafter.

Think it's tough being an Orioles fan in the wake of Davey Johnson's resignation?Think it's tough being a Ravens fan in the face of the team's remarkable propensity for blowing games?Life could be worse, a lot worse.You could be a fan of the Florida Marlins, a franchise in the midst of setting an all-time land-speed record for the disassembling of a World Series champ.Less than a month has passed since they won the Series in a thrilling Game 7 against the Indians, and they already have traded such cornerstones as Moises Alou, Devon White and Robb Nen, with Al Leiter, Kevin Brown, Bobby Bonilla and Gary Sheffield possibly to follow.

WASHINGTON - Is it too much to hope Terri Schiavo will finally be allowed to die in peace? Mrs. Schiavo, 40, has been in what doctors describe as a "persistent vegetative state" since she fell ill and suffered brain damage 14 years ago. Her body lives, but the medical consensus is that her mind does not and never will. Doctors want to disconnect her feeding tube and allow her to die. Mrs. Schiavo's husband agrees and gave permission for the doctors to proceed. Enter Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, acting on behalf of Mrs. Schiavo's parents, who have fought their son-in-law every step of the way. The result was "Terri's Law," passed in a rush by state lawmakers and signed in a fever by Mr. Bush in 2003.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida A&M (10-10, 7-4) shot 51 percent from the field for the final 20 minutes and beat Morgan State (4-18, 4-7) in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference contest last night, 95-84.

There's not much we miss about South Florida. For nearly five years, we put up with the traffic and the crowds, the tacky strip shopping centers and the constant sense of danger from sun-crazed criminals and 80-year-old drivers retired from Long Island.But there is one place we truly miss -- a little-known spit of sand and sea-grape trees called Hutchinson Island on Florida's Treasure Coast, a two-hour trip north from downtown Miami and about 45 minutes from Palm Beach International Airport.

So here's the trade -- 12 scholarships for a single bowl bid opportunity. Fewer players in the future for one immediate shot at greatness.Would you take it? The University of Florida hopes the NCAA Committee on Infractions does. Florida President John Lombardi sent a letter to the committee's five members yesterday, making a unique informal proposal rather than the standard formal appeal, that the Gators accept severe scholarship sanctions as a substitute for the 1990 bowl ban the committee hit Florida with six days ago.Football coach Steve Spurrier, the driving force behind the appeal, applauded Lombardi's letter: "He's fighting for this team.

He's here, he's there, he's everywhere. Urban planning guru and author Richard Florida has been to nearly 300 cities worldwide touting his theory of the creative class and how it might transform cities. "Richard isn't hemmed in by disciplines," says Oxford business professor Gordon Clark. "That allows him to see connections that people in a very narrow field of research might not see." But some detractors complain that Florida's theories aren't new and that his proposals ignore the crucial role that families play in economic development and holds out no help for the urban poor.

Time, site: Approximately 10 tonight, Miami ArenaTV: NoneOutlook: Connecticut, the No. 2 seed, hasn't advanced to a regional final since 1990, when it lost to Duke. Donyell Marshall scored a total of 37 in the Huskies' two NCAA wins. Florida, seeded third, has advanced to the Sweet 16 for the second time in school history. The first appearance was in 1987. The Gators should have a partisan crowd for this game.

NEW ORLEANS -- West Virginia's defense will be on alert when it faces Florida, which has one of the nation's premier passing attacks.Only two teams scored more than three touchdowns against West Virginia, and Florida was held to fewer than four touchdowns only three times. The Gators threw for more than 300 yards in eight of their 11 regular-season games. The Mountaineers gave up that many yards only twice.The Mountaineers' average of 230.9 passing yards allowed per game was inflated by the 471 racked up by Maryland, which in a comeback that fell short, scored 37 points, the most allowed by West Virginia.