Naming names: The University of Florida didn’t bring Steve Spurrier back as its football coach, but someone wants him to be hired as the next university president. The Gainesville Sun reports three dozen candidates have thus far been nominated by third parties to be considered as a possible successor to retiring UF President Bernie Machen. Among them is former LSU System President John Lombardi, who was fired in May. Lombardi was the president of UF from 1990 to 1999. Read the full story here.
What went where? A chemical storage facility that flooded during Hurricane Isaac told state officials days after the storm that no more than about 38,700 gallons of chemicals leaked from two tanks damaged by storm surge, and it’s not clear how much of what leaked flowed off the facility’s grounds. In the report filed Tuesday, the company says it notified state police on Sept. 4 about the release of no more than 36,161 gallons of a paraffin-based oil product called Ultra-S4 and 2,546 gallons of a product called Vivatec from its Braithwaite terminal in Plaquemines Parish. The Associated Press obtained the report through a public records request today. Read the full story here.
A fan’s perspective: Suspended New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton had to watch Sunday’s disappointing 40-32 loss to the Washington Redskins game from his couch—and he may have come away from it a little heavier. As Payton tells The Times-Picayune: “I sat down with a pad of paper and watched the game. Just started eating a bunch of junk food in the fourth quarter when they were losing. You feel like you’re watching your own family members, so when they experience a loss, it’s frustrating. I think it’s more frustrating when you’re just sitting back afar from a couch watching.” Read the full story here.
