GATORS NOTEBOOK

Noah's Blocks Set Tourney Record

Published: Mar 4, 2007

INDIANAPOLIS - Florida sophomore C Joakim Noah set an NCAA Tournament record by blocking at least four shots in a sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament game.

Noah entered the NCAA Tournament averaging two blocks a game. But he had blocked 23 in UF's first five NCAA Tournament games. He added five more blocks in the first half of UF's national championship victory against UCLA Monday night at the RCA Dome.

Noah's streak of six consecutive NCAA games with at least four blocks surpassed the previous mark of five by LSU's Shaquille O'Neal (1990-92) and USC's Sam Clancy (2001-02) in the past 20 years.

UF PICKS UP FAMOUS FAN: Jason McElwain, an autistic teen who made national headlines when he made six 3-pointers for his high-school basketball team in February, was spotted doing the Gator Chomp from a front-row seat at the RCA Dome.

McElwain, from Rochester, N.Y., scored 20 points in the closing minutes of Greece-Athena High's season finale. McElwain had served as the team's manager prior to his hot shooting night.

PRACTICE CAN WAIT: Florida football coach Urban Meyer postponed Monday's spring football practice until today so he could attend Monday night's championship. Also, former Gator David Lee, a rookie with the New York Knicks, was at the game.

Among those sitting in the UCLA section were former Bruin greats Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Walton.

WOODEN HOSPITALIZED: Former UCLA coach John Wooden planned to watch from a hospital room Monday night, surrounded by family members.

The 95-year-old Hall of Fame coach was admitted to a Los Angeles-area hospital Sunday for an undisclosed condition that was not considered serious. He is expected to be released in a day or two, the school's sports information office reported.

PILLOW TALK: Florida G Lee Humphrey never leaves his sleep schedule to chance when he goes on the road.

Humphrey brings his own pillow - hand stitched by the grandmother he calls his "Nana" - on every trip. Humphrey said that as a boy, he used to steal his father's hand-stitched pillow. After one too many thefts, Humphrey said his father, Tony, asked his mother to make a new pillow for her grandson.

Humphrey said hotel clerks have mailed the pillows back to the family on several occasions. Leaving the pillow behind, Humphrey said, is not an option.

"That doesn't bring me good luck," Humphrey said, "but it does bring me a good night's sleep."

A HOUSE DIVIDED: Outside the Westchase home of Kevin and Cris Kwan, a UCLA and Florida flag share the same flagpole.

Kevin is a 1994 UCLA graduate, his wife, Cris, is a 1990 Florida graduate.

"I think we'll probably start watching the game together," Kevin said before the game, "but by the end of the night we may be watching it separately."

Cris won bragging rights as the Gators won their first national title.

WELCOME HOME: Gator fans are invited to the Gainesville Raceway this afternoon to greet the team. The Raceway is on U.S. 441 and 53rd Avenue. Fans should not go to the Gainesville Regional Airport.

Fans can arrive beginning at 11 a.m. and seating will be on a first-come, first-serve basis. The Gators caravan is expected to arrive between 12:15-12:30 p.m.

ODDS AND ENDS: University of South Florida assistant athletic director John Gerdes worked his 10th consecutive Final Four as the moderator for all the Final Four news conferences. ... This is the 20th anniversary of "One Shining Moment," the song written by David Barrett that's been played at the close of every CBS telecast of the NCAA Championship since 1987. The first player shown in the inaugural "One Shining Moment" video montage in 1987? None other than former Florida and Brandon High center Dwayne Schintzius.

Brett McMurphy, Andy Staples