Florida

RON JAWORSKI treats opportunity like a Doberman treats prime rib. So when Tim Tebow was released by the New York Jets on April 29, Jaworski took a shot by reaching out to the unemployed quarterback and offered him a roster spot with the Soul. He's still waiting for a reply. "I haven't heard back from him and I'm not going to push it," said Jaworski, one of the Soul's owners. "If he decides he wants to play Arena Football, we'll make a spot for him. " Jaworski and Soul coach Clint Dolezel sent Tebow a list of plays they had in mind for him, most were around the goal line.

After myriad faxes, legal jousts, sharp words and a news conference or two, Philadelphia and Florida have ended their war over who will charge Berto Ordaz with murdering his girlfriend and driving the body to a Miami suburb. District Attorney Lynne M. Abraham threw in the towel and said Philadelphia would do it. She authorized city police to issue an arrest warrant for Ordaz, a North Philadelphia man who officials say drove his girlfriend's corpse south to Florida in January and left her body in his van in a Miami suburb.

OMAHA, Neb. - No big upset this time. Kenny Boynton and Florida were just too good for Norfolk State Boynton scored 20 points and the balanced Gators routed the 15th-seeded Spartans 84-50 yesterday to reach the Round of 16. Norfolk State shook up the West Regional when it upset No. 2 seed Missouri 86-84 Friday, and was trying to become the first 15 seed to reach the fourth round. Florida (25-10) put a quick end to that idea, making five three-pointers during a 25-0 run that made it 29-6 midway through the first half.

MIAMI - Cheered by new polls, Mitt Romney yesterday was all but predicting victory in today's Republican presidential primary. Newt Gingrich is looking past Florida to regroup. "With a turnout like this, I'm beginning to feel we might win tomorrow," an upbeat Romney told a crowd of several hundred at a stop in Dunedin as he and Gingrich zipped across the state making their final appeals. Gingrich, in turn, acknowledged that his momentum had been checked but promised not to back down.

PHOENIX - Bradley Beal scored 21 points to lead Florida to a 68-58 win over Marquette in a West Regional semifinal last night. The win sets up an Elite Eight matchup of Florida coach Billy Donovan against Louisville's Rick Pitino tomorrow. The seventh-seeded Gators (26-10), who led 36-30, at the half, were also led by Erving Walker and Kenny Boynton, who had 11 points each. Erik Murphy pulled down 10 rebounds. Third-seeded Marquette (27-8) was led by Jae Crowder, (15 points)

YOU'VE HEARD the term "snow birds," used to describe us Northerners who hightail it to Florida when temperatures drop. But there's a growing class of "gun birds" who, when thwarted in their attempt to get a Pennsylvania license to carry a concealed weapon, can exploit a loophole that allows them to get a license from Florida. According to a Daily News report last week, the cops and the District Attorney's Office in Philadelphia are getting increasingly frustrated with this loophole.

As with any group of migratory beasts, there are certain patterns to the migration of humans to Florida every year. In the early fall, the retired folks who make Florida their home start back after a summer-long visit up North. The next wave consists of those who live in the North but winter in Florida - they head south in October and November. License plates from Pennsylvania, Illinois, Connecticut can be tracked all the way down the East Coast. And then there are the vacationers, who are apt to head south at the first sign of a cold wave up north.

Too much sunshine can addle the brain. And that seems to be happening in Florida. Instead of feeling shame and guilt for their unseemly effort to steal the White Sox from Chicago, the folks in the Sunshine State are angry at me for trying to prevent this theft. I've been bombarded with calls from Florida talk-show babblers, news reporters and businessmen who are outraged that I've urged Chicagoans to fight back by not vacationing in Florida. Almost 2 million Illinoisans visit Florida each year, spending over a billion dollars.

ERIK MURPHY tied a career high with 24 points only days after dealing with an illness, and No. 10 Florida beat 22nd-ranked Wisconsin, 74-56, on Wednesday night. Murphy made all 10 of his shots, including two from three-point range, as the host Gators enjoyed a double-digit lead most of the night. He also had seven rebounds. Mike Rosario added 15 points, four rebounds and four assists for Florida (2-0). Sam Dekker and Jared Berggren had 11 points apiece for Wisconsin (1-1)

Each day, the shocking character defects of Florida keep mounting. I recently wrote about its venal efforts to steal the White Sox from Chicago. And I pointed out what ingrates Floridians are, considering how many billions of dollars people from Illinois spend in that state each year. And now I discover that besides piracy and ingratitude, Florida is guilty of insincerity. As far back as I can remember, I have seen TV commercials and other advertising that urges Northerners to visit Florida.

Enter to win a $100 Amazon gift card by picking the first round of the NFL Draft:  Play the Daily News' Draft Challenge.  (Use promo code F73W.) NEW YORK - E.J. Manuel met his idol, Donovan McNabb, 2 years ago through quarterback guru George Whitfield. McNabb, a versatile, star quarterback long ago at Syracuse, counseled Manuel on focusing on development at Florida State. Manuel dined with McNabb on Tuesday night in New York, 2 days before Manuel will be drafted.

TATTLE WONDERED if Beyonce and Jay-Z would get any pushback regarding their anniversary trip to Cuba, and sure enough . . . U.S. Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Mario Diaz-Balart , of Florida, have written to the U.S. Department of Treasury expressing concern about the trip. In the letter, both said that they represent a community that has been "deeply and personally harmed by the Castro regime's atrocities. " "The restrictions on tourism travel are commonsense measures meant to prevent U.S. dollars from supporting a murderous regime that opposes U.S. security interests at every turn and which ruthlessly suppresses the most basic liberties of speech, assembly and belief," the Republican lawmakers wrote.

The postseason roll of the Drexel women's basketball team has taken the Dragons all the way to the championship game of the Women's National Invitation Tournament. Coach Denise Dillon's squad took the lead early Wednesday night and never relinquished it on the way to a 67-57 victory over Florida in front of a lively crowd of 1,412 at the Daskalakis Athletic Center. "The Auburn game was our biggest win, and now the Florida game is our biggest win, and if we win the next one and the championship, that will be our biggest," Dillon said.

Drexel has made it to the semifinals of the WNIT on the strength of its defense. The Dragons have compiled a 19-1 record in games in which they have limited their opponents to 50 points or fewer. Florida has done the opposite thanks to a potent offense. The Gators have averaged 70.9 points overall and 78.0 points in four WNIT victories. The two styles will clash Wednesday night at the Daskalakis Athletic Center when the Dragons (26-10) and the Gators (22-14) meet with a trip to the WNIT championship game on the line.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - The kitchen features a hutch with lovely antique blue-and-white plates. One bathroom has a walk-in shower. And lounge chairs surround a good-sized shaded pool in the back. So what makes this seven-bedroom property different from other large homes nearby? It's South Florida's first gay retirement home. Tom Duffy, a retired catering business owner, converted what once was a small Wilton Manors assisted-living facility to create his dream: Secret Garden, an independent living center where gay men can be themselves as they age. "I want it to be like a family, more like a commune, I guess," said Duffy, 61, who lives on the property and has been interviewing prospective residents in recent weeks.

ARLINGTON, Texas - Another fabulous group of young players has Michigan headed back to the Final Four. Led by Big Ten player of the year Trey Burke and sharp-shooting guard Nik Stauskas, one of three freshman starters, the Wolverines dominated Florida right from tipoff, scoring the game's first 13 points and routing the Gators, 79-59, in the South Regional final Sunday. "A lot of guys said we were really young and that we couldn't get here," said Burke, a sophomore and the South Region's most outstanding player.

ARLINGTON, Texas - A week ago, Florida Gulf Coast University was just another overlooked No. 15 seed - a long shot at best to nearly everyone eyeballing their NCAA tournament brackets. Now the Eagles are the high-flying show from "Dunk City" in the Round of 16, the darlings of the South Regional, and a bracket-busting team everybody is talking about even when surrounded by former national champions Michigan, Kansas, and Florida. "Things have changed dramatically," FGCU coach Andy Enfield said.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Less than an hour before the Phillies' final Florida exhibition, Ruben Amaro Jr. found Delmon Young eating lunch in the clubhouse. The general manager shook the outfielder's hand, wished him luck, and patted him on the back. While everyone else packed, Young faced the likelihood of another month here to recover from ankle surgery. It does not bother him. "They can have April," he said. "I want October. " The Phillies have not assigned a hard timetable to Young's return and Young said he does not have a date in mind.

A WEEK AGO, Florida Gulf Coast University was just another overlooked No. 15 seed - a longshot in the NCAA Tournament. Now the Eagles are the first 15 to advance to the Sweet 16, the darlings of the South Regional. "The way we looked at it, we did make history . . . We feel like we shocked the world," said Brett Comer, the FGCU guard with 22 points and 24 assists in two NCAA games. "Nobody picked us to beat Georgetown, or San Diego State [both in Philadelphia], for sure. We're going to prepare for Florida the same way. We're going to try to win again.

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court, in an usual alignment of justices, ruled Tuesday that police cannot take drug-sniffing police dogs onto a suspect's property to look for evidence without first getting a warrant for a search. The court split 5-4 on the decision to uphold the Florida Supreme Court's ruling throwing out evidence seized in the search of Joelis Jardines' Miami-area house. That search was based on an alert by Franky the drug dog from outside the closed front door. Justice Antonin Scalia said in Florida v. Jardines that people have a Fourth Amendment right to be free from the government's gaze inside their home and in the area surrounding it. "The police cannot, without a warrant based on probable cause, hang around on the lawn or in the side garden, trawling for evidence and perhaps peering into the windows of the home," Justice Antonin Scalia said for the majority.