Sen. Rick Scott continued his crusade against Kanye West’s upcoming Tampa concerts with a fiery press conference at the Florida Holocaust Museum on Monday morning.
Florida
Florida Gymnastics Falls to No. 1 Oklahoma After Scary Injuries – ESPN 98.1 FM / 850 AM WRUF
It was a heartbreaking Friday night in Norman as the No. 5 Florida Gators gymnastics team fell to the No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners 198.075-196.625. Two pillars of the Florida program went down with scary injuries – Anya Pilgrim and Sloane Blakely.
The Gators tried to bounce back, but the injuries cast a shadow. Resultant lineup changes saw Ly Bui and Riley McCusker competing on beam. Unfortunately, they both fell, resulting in Florida matching its lowest team score of the season.
Meanwhile, the Sooners had their best meet of the season, breaking 198 for the first time. The No.2 all-arounder in the country Faith Torrez capped off the night with a perfect 10.0 on the floor – Oklahoma’s first perfect score of the season.
Heartbreak for Florida
Instead of Florida’s performance being headlined by perfect 10.0s like last week, Friday’s meet saw scary injuries for the Gators.
In Florida’s first routine of the night, Anya Pilgrim peeled right off the bars and laid on the ground for several minutes while her coaches checked on her. The sophomore eventually finished her routine with the audience’s encouragement. However, she did not return to the competition.
Then, in the third rotation, reigning SEC Specialist of the Week Sloane Blakely suffered a lower leg injury on her first tumbling pass on floor. She immediately hopped off into the locker room, and her younger sister Skye was seen crying to the side before joining Sloane. Floor was the very event Sloane scored her second career perfect 10.0 on last week.
She eventually rejoined her teammates on crutches and in a boot. She appeared to be holding back tears as she hugged associate head coach Adrian Burde.
The Bright Side
Before her sister’s injury, Skye Blakely redeemed herself on bars after a fall last week with a stuck landing, matching her career-high with a 9.900. SEC Co-Gymnast of the Week Leanne Wong then followed with a 9.9 of her own.
GO OFF @skyeblakely_ 🤩
◼️ Skye earns a 9.900 on bars! pic.twitter.com/5GmQmcGgxr
— Gators Gymnastics (@GatorsGym) February 22, 2025
The Gators also proved their resiliency on floor, bouncing back from Sloane’s injury. Wong posted a 9.925 before a 9.9 from the other SEC Co-Gymnast of the Week, Selena Harris-Miranda.
Sooner Success
Starting on vault, the Sooners proved why they are ranked No. 2 in the country on the apparatus. They counted three scores at 9.9 or above, highlighted by a stick and a 9.950 from Torrez.
Oklahoma also counted three scores at 9.9 or above on bars. Senior Jordan Bowers anchored with a 9.925 after 9.9s from Torrez and Audrey Davis. The three veterans helped the Sooners extend their lead 98.900-98.650 halfway through the meet.
They lost a little momentum on beam, their only score above 9.9 coming from Torrez (9.925). But that didn’t matter because Oklahoma came back lights out in the final rotation on floor. The Sooners didn’t see a single score under 9.925. They ended with perfection from Torrez, helping Oklahoma break 198 for the first time this season.
FAITH TORREZ IS PERFECTION ON FLOOR 🤩
She scored the first 10 for Oklahoma this season 👏 pic.twitter.com/QHbLlM6Noj
— espnW (@espnW) February 22, 2025
This was the first meet this season the Gators didn’t take at least a share of a single event title. Oklahoma’s Faith Torrez won every event except for bars, which went to Jordan Bowers.
Looking Ahead
The Gators will return home and try to bounce back next week as they host No. 8 Missouri for Equality Night. The status of Pilgrim and Blakely will likely be the storyline, but new faces may have to step up in their absence. On the bright side, Florida has immense depth, something the Gators will have to use to their advantage in the coming weeks.
Joined by Holocaust survivors, Jewish leaders, fellow Sen. Ashley Moody, and former Republican governor turned Democratic St. Petersburg mayoral candidate Charlie Crist, Scott stood behind a lectern bearing the slogan “Don’t. Fund. Antisemitism.” He gestured to the boxcar on his right, which once transported humans to death camps during the Holocaust.
“Many suffocated in boxcars like these before they even made it,” Scott said. “It all started with questions like the one before us today: Are we going to tolerate this?”
Kanye West’s schedule in Florida
West, who now goes by Ye, has Raymond James Stadium concerts scheduled on June 26 and 28, prompting an outcry from the Tampa Jewish Federation and the Florida chapter of the National Organization for Women. Last week, the Florida Holocaust Museum announced it would offer free admission that weekend.
On June 4, Scott wrote a scathing open letter to the Tampa Sports Authority, which operates Raymond James Stadium. He argued that taxpayer money shouldn’t be used to fund events for West, who sold swastika merchandise and posted a song titled “Heil Hitler” last year.
“People say, ‘Oh, it’s just a concert. Oh, the Tampa Bay Sports Authority is going to make some money, let people have their fun,’” he said. “Some of the worst sins in human history begin with the words, ‘I was just’: ‘I was just going to a concert with my friends,’ ‘I was just trying to make money,’ ‘I was just following orders.’ No, you can’t do that. None of us should be let off the hook for hatred and antisemitism.”
In a new statement following Monday’s press conference, the Tampa Sports Authority pushed back against Scott’s claims.
“We condemn antisemitism from any source. However, we also respect free speech rights guaranteed under the US Constitution, even when we disagree with that speech,” it said. “In addition, no taxpayer money is being used for staging the Ye concerts. To suggest otherwise is false.”
Ye has a long history of antisemitism
This spring, Ye published an apology for his antisemitism in the Wall Street Journal, attributing his behavior to his bipolar disorder and brain damage caused by a car accident. Despite this, his behavior prompted European officials to block him from entering the UK, effectively canceling some concerts there.
“Why is it that other countries can tell him no, and we don’t do that? We’ve accepted him,” said Toni Rinde, an 85-year-old Holocaust survivor who traveled from Clearwater to speak at the press conference. “Why? Why is this person being so hateful, trying to destroy people?”
Janet Hammer, a volunteer at the Jewish Federation of Florida’s Gulf Coast, spoke out against the concerts at last week’s Tampa City Council meeting and sent letters to her elected officials.
“There are people who have not been educated to understand what Nazis represent. He is glamorizing hatred,” she said. “We should have a ticket buyback program. Because to me, it’s not just the profit that’s going to be made. It’s how many individuals are going to be hearing this person, and who knows what the messaging is that he’s going to share?”
After the press conference, Hammer said she is still looking for ways to fight back against the concert.
“It’s like a done deal. That’s unacceptable in my eyes,” she said. “I left there asking, ’What more can I do?’”
🏆 Residential: The top home sale to hit records in South Florida was in Miami, where the 4,400-square-foot at 733 Belle Meade Boulevard changed hands for $9.2 million. The seller was an LLC tied to entrepreneur Andrew Sieja and his wife, philanthropist Jessica Sieja. The buyer was Joshua Keller. The waterfront property has five bedrooms and five and a half bathrooms. It last sold in 2021 for $8.3 million. It went on the market in January for $10 million. Miltiadis Kastanis with Compass had the listing, and Dan Hechtkopf, also with Compass, brought the buyer.
🏆 Commercial: The priciest commercial deal was in Hollywood, where the hotel known as the Rooftop Resort at 1215 North Ocean Drive sold for $6.9 million. Built in the 1970s, the property spans 16,500 square feet and has 34 rooms. The seller was an LLC tied to Pamela Riccio and the buyer was an LLC managed by Michael Delouya, Thierry Cohen and Daniel Benhamou. The Rotella Group had the listing.
📊 Residential: In Miami Beach, a 4,500-square-foot condo at 1011 West 48th Street sold for $8 million or roughly $1,800 per square foot. The seller was a company managed by Ansir Junaid, founder of the Junaid Group, which operates business across a range of industries from real estate to healthcare, and the buyer was an entity led by Robert Curran. The unit, which has four bedrooms and four and a half bathrooms, previously sold in 2023 for $8.3 million. Its most recent asking price was $9.5 million. One Sotheby’s International Realty’s Chelsea Werner had the listing, and Ximetta Mires with Global Luxury Realty represented the buyer.
By the Numbers: Number of underwater homes in the US reached 2M
The number of underwater homes in the U.S. is rapidly growing.
For the first time since 2021, the number of homes where loan balances sit at least 25 percent higher than a property’s estimated market value passed the 2 million mark. The figure represents a 15 percent year-over-year increase, according to a new report from real estate analytics firm Attom.
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SARASOTA, Fla. (WFLA)—Around 22,000 juvenile snook will be released in Southwest Florida to advance Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium’s fisheries enhancement efforts in 2026.
According to Mote Marine Laboratory, for nearly three decades, Mote scientists have worked to develop, refine, and evaluate responsible marine stock enhancement strategies for snook and other native species.
“These releases reflect the continued growth and refinement of Mote’s fisheries enhancement capabilities,” said Dr. Ryan Schloesser, Manager of Mote’s Fisheries Ecology & Enhancement Program. “Our focus remains on producing healthy fish, releasing them strategically, and collecting the scientific data needed to better understand how stock enhancement can support resilient wild populations.”
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Credit: Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium -
Credit: Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium
The releases in 2026 represent another step forward in Mote’s science-based efforts to support Florida’s recreational fisheries.
Mote Marine Laboratory strategically selects release locations based on environmental conditions and habitat characteristics that provide favorable conditions and structure essential for juvenile snook survival and growth.
According to Mote, the stock enhancement program is guided by research objectives that examine post-release survival, movement patterns, habitat use, and the overall contribution of stocked fish to wild populations.
Before the fish are released, they go through comprehensive health assessments to ensure they are well-suited for release.
According to Mote, in addition to physical tags, Mote scientists are working to utilize advanced genetic tagging techniques using known genetic profiles of parental broodstock.
Researchers can identify individual fish and trace their lineages from small tissue samples, such as fin clips, collected after release through genotyping.
“We have the genetic profiles of the parents and are developing the tools needed to match offspring recovered in the wild back to their source,” said Dr. Schloesser. “This approach will allow us to evaluate stocking success while minimizing handling and stress associated with traditional tagging methods.”
According to Mote, snook remains one of Florida’s most sought-after recreational sportfish, and they contribute significantly to Florida’s coastal economy.
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