Tense in Discourse: Samples from the Alligator (Feb 14, 2005) Front Page:

A.  Gainesville is not the only place in Florida with higher than average traffic-related deaths this year--the fatality rate has risen by 40 percent statewide for the first month of the year compared ot 2004, according to a Florida Highway Patrol report. Last year, 198 people perished on Florida's roadways throughout the month of January. This year's total rose to 278. Agressive driving, including speeding, illegal lane-changing, and tailgating, has also contributed to the elevated number of fatalities so far this year, the report stated.

B.  Clergy-backed Shiites and independence-minded Kurds swept to victory in Iraq's landmark elections, propelling to power the groups that suffered the most under Saddam Hussein and forcing Sunni Arabs to the margins for the first time in modern history. But the Shiites' 48 percent of the vote is far short of the two-thirds majority needed to control the 275 member National Assembly. The results threw immediate focus on Iraqi leaders' backdoor deal making to create a new coalition government.

Opinion:

C.  Lately, a lot of political speech has been offending me, but the offensive speech is not coming from a Colorado professor. It is coming from a governor, a house representative, conservative commentators and a bunch of College Republicans. In case you haven't heard the latest Rocky Mountain uproar, here is a quick synopsis: Ward Churchill, a professor and head of the ethnic studies department at the University of Colorado, was scheduled to give a lecture at Hamilton College. That was until a professor did a background check.....

Sports:

D.  Watch out for Urban Meyer. You may be seeing him a bit more in the coming months. Starting today, he'll be seemingly everywhere. From baseball games to fraternity and sorority houses, he'll be there.

E.  When the Gators returned to the friendlier confines of Gainesville following their Tuesday loss to No. 5 Kentucky, something about the 3 point defeat stung slight worse than any in years past. Frustrated with late-game turnovers and miscommunication against the Wildcates, the Gator's called for a players only team meeting.