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Florida
‘Time to grow up’ UF basketball stays strong in second half to hold down No. 11 Auburn
Swampcast talks Florida Gators football and men’s basketball
The Sun’s Kevin Brockway and David Whitley talk Florida football and Mike White’s return to the O’Dome with Marc Weiszer of the ABH
With Florida basketball up by 16 points at home against No. 11 Auburn at halftime. head coach Todd Golden sent a simple message to his team at halftime.
“It’s time to grow up,” Golden said.
The Florida Gators (16-7. 6-4 SEC) stretched their 16-point lead to as many as 29 points in the second half and never let up in a 81-65 win over the Tigers at the O’Connell Center.
“Just start to finish, our best effort of the season,” Golden said.
Another statement win: Florida basketball makes another statement, routs No. 11 Auburn
Passing grades: Grading Florida basketball players, coaches at midpoint of SEC season
Florida had let second-half leads slip away in losses to Wake Forest, Kentucky and Texas A&M and failed to hold a 21-point, second half lead in an eventual 102-98 overtime win at home against Georgia.
“That’s something that we needed as a team,” Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr. said. “Obviously we know what we’re capable of, we kept on getting off to big leads and we let our confidence let up. As a team, the mentality of our team was to step on their neck, just kind of put them in the ground.”
Defense fuels UF to win
Florida played its best defensive game in SEC play, holding Auburn to 42.1 percent shooting from the floor and 17.6 percent shooting (3-17) from 3-point range.
The 65 points was the fewest UF allowed in SEC player and fewest since beating Grambing State.
“We made them miss,” Golden said. “They’re a team that hasn’t shot it great all the time on the road, I think that kind of went into our favor today, but again, you know, they’re a top-5 team in the country depending on where you look analytically, so for us to be able to control the game, get a 29-point lead in the second half, obviously it bled a little bit late but it was never in question. I thought it was a really big growth experience for a team.”
UF center Micah Handlogten set an early tone with his interior defense with 3 steals and a blocked shot in the first half and finished the game with a season-high 4 blocked shots.
“He was awesome,” Golden said. “We’ve been challenging him to play with more physicality, and transparently he wasn’t good enough against A&M that way. Today I thought he accepted that challenge and really delivered.”
As a team, Florida finished with 10 steals and six blocks.
“Definitely say it’s up there,” Florida guard Zyon Pullin said of UF’s defensive performance. “I think that’s something we’re still trying to lock in on. And I think that’s something we’re gonna need to rely on, our defense if the offense is not falling.”
Gators stay physical, make FTs down the stretch
After Auburn made 50 trips to the free throw line in a home win earlier in the week against Alabama, Florida was able to both play through contact and keep Auburn from taking the game over at the line. UF mixed it up well on the boards, holding a slim 43-41 rebounding margin.
The seven day layoff helped UF in that regard, as opposed to Auburn playing on Wednesday night. Florida also finished the game off at the free-throw line, going 20 of 26 (76.9 percent), compared to 14 of 26 (53.8 percent) for Auburn.
“Definitely something getting used to, that physicality, especially from a team like that,” Pullin said. “But you know just keep playing through it was the biggest thing. We knew they were gonna be a physical team. It’s kind of what they kind of pride themselves on, just staying the course and not getting caught up in it.”
Florida
Traffic stop goes viral after Florida deputy accuses driver missing right hand of holding phone
PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Video of a traffic stop in Palm Beach County is going viral over an awkward exchange between the driver and a deputy who accused her of holding a phone while driving.
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“You drove past me holding a phone with your right hand, manipulating that phone,” the deputy tells 36-year-old Kathleen “Katie” Thomas.
“Obviously not,” Thomas says while laughing and holding up her right arm, showing that she’s missing her right hand.
“So you wanna call this a day?” she asks.
“I don’t want to call this a day. You had a hand up, manipulating,” the deputy responds.
“You just said my right hand,” Thomas counters.
“Well, I thought I saw your right hand,” the deputy says.
“So you didn’t,” Thomas responds.
Thomas posted the bodycam footage on Instagram and TikTok where it gained millions of likes.
In the video, although she shows the deputy she doesn’t have a right hand, the deputy doubled down.
“I’m asking you now; did you or not have your phone in your hand?” the deputy asks.
“I did not,” Thomas responds.
“You did not have your phone in your hand?” the deputy asks again.
“I did not,” Thomas responds.
“Hand to God, you didn’t have a phone in your hand?” the deputy asks.
“Hand to God,” Thomas says.
Court records show Thomas was given a $116 citation despite the presented evidence, but it was later dismissed at the request of the deputy involved.
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Florida
Blue Origin New Glenn rocket explodes on launch pad in Florida
A Blue Origin New Glenn rocket exploded Thursday night on a launch pad at Cape Canaveral in Florida.
The explosion occurred at about 9 p.m. ET. Blue Origin said there were no injuries from the incident.
“We experienced an anomaly during today’s hotfire test,” Blue Origin said in a statement. “All personnel have been accounted for. We will provide updates as we learn more.”
Cape Canaveral Space Force Station also confirmed in a separate statement that “all personnel have been accounted for and there were no injuries/fatalities.”
Blue Origin was scheduled to fuel the rocket Thursday evening ahead of a planned test firing of the rocket’s engines.
Blue Origin, which is owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, successfully launched its third New Glenn rocket last month.
This rocket was being prepared for the fourth New Glenn mission as soon as June 4 to launch 48 satellites for Amazon’s Leo internet service, which competes with Elon Musk’s Starlink.
The 48 satellites were not aboard the rocket during the test. It was not immediately clear how much damage the launch pad and ground equipment sustained, or how long it might take to repair it.
Space Launch Complex 36, where the explosion occurred, is the only launch pad equipped to launch New Glenn rockets.
The New Glenn rocket is key to Blue Origin’s and NASA’s moon base plans, and the explosion will likely be a setback. Next year, the New Glenn is supposed to launch another Blue Moon lander as part of the Artemis III mission in low Earth orbit.
In a social media post, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman wrote, “Spaceflight is unforgiving, and developing new heavy-lift launch capability is extraordinarily difficult. We will work with our partners to support a thorough investigation of this anomaly, assess near-term mission impacts, and get back to launching rockets.”
The New Glenn rocket had just been cleared on May 22 to return to flight after being grounded by the Federal Aviation Administration after an anomaly with the second stage during an April 19 launch.
In a statement Thursday, the FAA said it was aware that the rocket had “experienced an anomaly during a static fire test on the pad in Cape Canaveral, Florida,” adding that the “test was not within the scope of FAA licensed activities.”
The FAA also noted that “there was no impact to air traffic” from the explosion.
Bezos wrote on X Thursday night, “It’s too early to know the root cause but we’re already working to find it. Very rough day, but we’ll rebuild whatever needs rebuilding and get back to flying. It’s worth it.”
Musk wrote: “Sorry to see this, I hope you recover quickly.”
Florida
Florida to pay Sumrall’s assistants a combined $11.2M in 2026
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida coach Jon Sumrall’s assistants will make a combined $11.2 million in 2026, a significant investment for a program desperate to win more often.
Offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner tops the list after signing a three-year, $6.6 million contract to leave Georgia Tech and join Sumrall in Gainesville. Faulker will get $2.1 million in 2026 – the first $2 million coordinator in school history – and has a $100,000 raise set for each of the next two years.
Only six college offensive coordinators were paid $2 million or more in 2025, according to CBS Sports. Fifteen defensive coordinators topped $2 million.
Florida defensive coordinator Brad White signed a three-year, $5.85 million deal that starts at $1.85 million and also includes a $100,000 raise in 2027 and 2028.
The Gators released the contracts Thursday in response to a public records request.
Sumrall signed a six-year, $44.7 million contract last year that averages $7.45 million annually. The Gators will dole out more than $20 million to Sumrall, his staff of 15 assistants and a front office led by new general manager Dave Caldwell.
Four of the assistants are scheduled to earn at least $1 million during their deals.
Defensive line coach Gerald Chapman and offensive line coach Phil Trautwine will join Faulker and White in the seven-figure club. Chapman, the lone holdover from former Florida coach Billy Napier’s staff, will make $950,000 this year and $1 million in 2027. Trautwine, meanwhile, starts at $750,000 and jumps to $1 million. Both signed two-year deals.
Their salaries show Sumrall’s commitment to rebuilding the team along both lines of scrimmage in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference.
Napier’s 12-man coaching staff was paid a combined $7.5 million in 2025. The Gators posted three losing seasons in Napier’s four years.
The rest of Sumrall’s staff range between making $350,000 and $600,000 annually, all of them on two-year contracts.
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