GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Born and raised in Mississippi, and with stops at Auburn and Kentucky on his resume, Scott Stricklin has spent more than two decades in the Southeastern Conference.He knows the league inside and out, and has witnessed pretty much everything during his career. So he understands the daunting task of following Jeremy Foley. He also welcomes the opportunity.Florida hired Stricklin as its athletic director Tuesday, giving him a six-year deal worth $1.076 million annually to succeed Foley. Stricklin is leaving his alma mater, Mississippi State, and taking on a massive facilities upgrade in Gainesville. The bigger challenge just might be replacing Foley, one of the most successful college sports leaders in the country.I admire so much what has happened here, Stricklin said. So it was much more excitement than it was trepidation. Its much better starting off from a position of a place thats accustomed to success, knows how to exhibit that success, have the right people in place. ... Im going to benefit from all the work hes done. So I see it as nothing but a positive.Foley had been scheduled to retire Saturday after 40 years with the Gators, including the last 25 as athletic director. During Foleys tenure, the Gators won 27 national championships in 10 sports and 130 SEC titles. He now will remain in place until Nov. 1, creating a little extra transition time.Foley has the option of serving as emeritus AD and senior adviser to the university president for five years after his retirement, either full or part time. He also can choose to be an adviser to Stricklin.Ill be very respectful, Foley said. Im not trying to be the AD behind the curtain. ... Hes not going to fail. All of us are going to do everything we can to make him not fail, and Im going to do my part in that. Ill respect him, respect the decision hes made and I want to do all I can to help him. Thats going to determine where he wants me.Stricklin has been the Bulldogs AD since 2010. He has a background in fundraising, which will serve him well at Florida.Foley unveiled plans two weeks ago to spend $100 million to bring Floridas athletics program up to date, including building a 100,000-square-foot, stand-alone football facility.Stricklin spearheaded more than $140 million in facility improvements during his time at Mississippi State. He also oversaw significant increases in booster club membership and donations.Florida first contacted Stricklin about the opening in June. They talked on and off for a couple of months before negotiations heated up in August. The sides agreed to the deal last week, and it became official when the University Athletic Associations board of trustees unanimously approved the hire Tuesday.For Stricklin, the decision was a no-brainer. He said repeatedly that Florida is the only job he would have left Mississippi State to take.The only constant in life is change, Stricklin said. So we have two choices, right? We can either sit back, kind of let everything move around us, or we can keep pushing forward and making sure Florida maintains its position as the pre-eminent athletic department in the country.To do that, we have to be innovative. We have to be creative. We have to be progressive. We have to continue to push the envelope in all the right ways to make sure Florida maintains its advantage that its had for so many years.Florida has built a reputation as a strong academic institution and has a winning tradition few schools can match. Stricklin can earn up to $200,000 a year in performance bonuses tied to academic and athletic success.Its the best job in college athletics, said Stricklin, who also spent time at Tulane and Baylor.Its certainly in the conversation. The Gators have won the SECs All-Sports Trophy 24 of the last 25 years.Stricklins wife and two daughters, Abby and Sophie, joined him at the introductory news conference. One was born in Waco, Texas; the other in Lexington, Kentucky. They have moved with their father and switched allegiances a few times already. Not surprisingly then, they seemed comfortable decked out in orange and blue.You finally got the best colors in the SEC, Foley told them.---AP college football website: www.collegefootball.ap.org Cheap Jordan 6 Free Shipping . PETERSBURG, Fla. Cheap Jordan 6 Online . McCarthy, a player who played some games in the second tier for Wigan at the start of this season, would go on to shine inside Evertons midfield, outplaying the man he was brought in to replace, on one of the grandest stages in English football. On Saturday, it was fitting that Manchester Uniteds most recent dagger into the chest was delivered by Frenchman Yohan Cabaye, a wonderfully gifted central midfielder who put on an outstanding effort for Newcastle at Old Trafford. http://www.airjordan6cheap.com/ . Pettersen, winner of last years Evian Championships, had nine birdies and three bogeys, holding off a series of challengers led by Marion Ricordeau of France. The second-ranked Norwegian made her season debut after missing the LPGA Tours opening event last month in the Bahamas because of a shoulder injury. Cheap Air Jordan 6 . Hargreaves began his career in 2008 with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and has played with the Edmonton Eskimos and last season with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Wholeale Jordan 6 China . -- Three close looks at the bucket, three misses.LONDON -- Spurred on by Steffi Graf and inspired by an array of other sporting greats, Sabine Lisicki pulled herself out of a big hole and climbed right into the Wimbledon final. The 23rd-seeded German, a Wimbledon semifinalist two years ago, overcame a 3-0 deficit in the third set to beat Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4, 2-6, 9-7 on Thursday and advance to her first Grand Slam final. On Saturday, she will face Marion Bartoli, a 6-1, 6-2 winner over Kirsten Flipkens in the other semifinal. "Its another challenge, and Im looking forward to it," said Lisicki, who beat defending champion Serena Williams in the fourth round. The mens semifinals are set for Friday, with top-seeded Novak Djokovic playing Juan Martin del Potro and 2012 finalist Andy Murray up against surprising 24th-seeded Jerzy Janowicz. Saturdays final will be just the second at Wimbledon in the 45-year Open era between two women who have never won a Grand Slam title. Although Bartoli has the edge in experience after reaching the 2007 final at the All England Club, Lisicki may have the bigger advantage with a 3-1 record against the Frenchwoman, including a quarterfinal win at Wimbledon in 2011 in their most recent match. Lisicki started off Thursday playing aggressive tennis on Centre Court, and it yielded immediate results. She won 22 of her 30 points on serve and broke Radwanska once. But soon after, Lisickis serve deserted her, and so did her lead. Lisicki lost all four of her service games in the second set, with the lowlight coming in the final game. Leading 30-0, she lost four straight points, including two double-faults. "She made some really good points. I made a few errors too many," said Lisicki, the first German to reach the Wimbledon final since Graf in 1999. "But I regained my focus and game in the third set, and thats the main part." Graf made have played a small role in the comeback.ddddddddddddThe seven-time Wimbledon champion sent Lisicki a text message before the match to wish her luck. "She told me to go for it, and Im just so happy," Lisicki said. "I was just fighting for every single point out there. Fought my heart out there." Besides Graf, Lisicki also named a few others who have helped inspire her to come back from a serious left ankle injury in 2010, including ski great Hermann Maier and NFL quarterback Drew Brees. "I read his book while I was injured," Lisicki said of Maier, an Austrian who won several Olympic and world championship medals. "Almost losing his leg and then to come back and be the world champion in his sport; was an unbelievable story. "Also Drew Brees ... He has torn everything there was in the shoulder, and he still came back and was one of the best." Bartoli needed no such motivation, making quick work of Flipkens with her two-handed backhands and forehands, mixed with little hops between points, as is her custom. "I played great. I executed very well. I hit lobs, passing shots, winners, returns, everything worked out perfectly," said Bartoli, who won in 62 minutes. "When I fell on the grass after match point, it was just so emotional. I dreamed about that moment, about returning to the Wimbledon final." The last time she made it this far, it didnt turn out so well. She lost to Venus Williams 6-4, 6-1. But this time is different, or at least Bartoli will hope it is. "Im serving better," Bartoli said. "I do just everything a bit better than what I was doing six years ago. If I would play myself now, with my game six years ago compared with my game today, I would probably be beating myself quite easily because Im just doing everything better." 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