[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 10858]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           FLORIDA GATORS 2007 MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

  (Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute.)
  Ms. CORINNE BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise first of all to 
thank the 415 ``yes'' votes for the Florida Gators, and we will 
continue to work on the four present, teaching them good sportsmanship.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate my University of Florida 
basketball team for winning back-to-back NCAA basketball championships. 
The Gators basketball team is the first to successfully defend their 
basketball championship since 1992. Go Gators.
  The Florida Gators teams that won those championships exhibit 
teamwork and sportsmanship rarely seen in college sports. This is the 
first time in the history that the exact same starting five was able to 
repeat the championship. No one left to be stars in the NBA. They came 
back to prove to the world that the University of Florida's win was no 
fluke, and the Florida Gators are a championship team that have made 
history.
  Let's talk history. The Gators' win was the first time in college 
sports history that identical match ups and the results were the same. 
Florida's Lee Humphrey also set the all-time NCAA tournament record for 
three-point field goals made with 47, and Florida's Corey Brewer was 
the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Coach Billy Donovan became 
the third-youngest coach at the age of 41 to win two titles. The Gators 
finished with a 10-game winning streak and haven't lost a post-season 
game in 18 tries, including sweeping the Southeastern Conference 
tournaments the last 2 years.
  Coach Billy Donovan should deserve credit for building the team from 
scratch and teaching the players how to win and how to act like 
champions. This success at Florida opens other opportunities, but he 
has chosen to remain a Florida Gator. Coach Donovan is truly a great 
coach and a great leader. To close, I would just like to say, it's 
great to be a Florida gator.

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