Heartbreak in Alabama

Heartbreak in Alabama

Alabama's Rashad Johnson (49) and Simeon Castille (2) tackle LSU's Matt Flynn (15) during the first half of the Alabama - LSU football game Saturday Nov. 3, 2007, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

Two weeks of hype have lead up to another nail biter in Tuscaloosa. We've all read the comparisons between Les Miles and Nick Saban. We've read about the questions of whether Miles has been winning with Saban's recruits or if he has been winning with his coaching prowess. Saturday's game left nothing but more questions for the LSU faithful and broken hearts all over Crimson Nation.

Watching LSU jump out to a 17-3 lead had me worried that the game would be a blowout. Since the UT game, I had known this game would be a good one, but doubt started to creep into my mind.

However, the Crimson Tide showed the scrappiness they been come to be known for and took a promising, yet perilous, 20-17 lead into half-time on the strength of a 67 yard bomb from John Parker Wilson to DJ Hall and another 29 yard touchdown strike from Wilson to Keith Brown.

At his half-time interview, Head Coach Nick Saban showed a poise Alabama's coach has missed since the days of Gene Stallings. When I was jumping around and celebrating what I wanted to be a wonderful lead going into the half, Nick Saban brought it all back to reality telling us the truth about our team. "We need to calm down and play more consistently" is what he said in so many words.

And he was right.

The team was playing well, but with too much emotion. He even mentioned that the team had got to caught up in the media hype of "Saban vs. Miles" and he could tell that from the pre-game warm-ups. He knew that to win, Alabama would have to play the way they came to play and not rely on the emotion that had been built up over the past two weeks.

The Crimson Tide came back in the second half with the composure needed to win the game. After non-scoring drives back and forth between both teams for most of the third quarter, Wilson completed another touchdown pass to one of the forgotten stars of the 2006 season. Keith Brown pulled down a 14 yard touchdown to make the score to 27-17 Bama.

After that catch, ALL the momentum was on the side of the Crimson Tide. Sitting outside watching the game on the porch with a Seven & Seven in hand, I made the star-crossed comment that LSU would need a deep shot down the field for a touchdown the equalize the momentum.

What a terrible thing to say. Should've knocked on wood, I guess.

On the second play of the subsequent LSU drive, Matt Flynn dropped a perfect pass into the hands of Demetrius Byrd for a 61 yard touchdown that did indeed equalize the momentum of the game to make the score 24-27 Bama.

After a LSU field goal by Colt David to tie the score, Javier Arenas showed why he the most feared return man in the SEC. A 61 yard return for a touchdown ignited the ire of the Bama fans in Bryant-Denny Stadium and gave Alabama a 7 point lead.

That lead didn't last long.

John Parker Wilson was sacked on the Alabama 16 and gave up a heart-breaking fumble recovered by LSU on the Alabama 3 yard line. Jacob Hester punched the ball in from the from the Alabama 1 yard line to give the LSU a 41-34 lead.

With about a minute and a half left, memories of the last minute drive against Arkansas fluttered through my mind. Would John Parker lead the 2 minute offense to another cardiac kid touchdown and an overtime showdown against number 3 LSU?

Well, you all know the answer to that question and I don't want to rehash it here. Overall, it was obvious that LSU has more raw talent than Alabama has had in years. But no matter who you are, you cannot argue that coaching on both sidelines kept Alabama in this game throughout.

If Les Miles had kept the LSU offense passing into the middle of the field in the soft underbelly of the Alabama secondary and rushed Hester up the gut all night, the Battle for The West likely would have been a blowout.

Inexplicably, Miles relied on trick plays all night much to the demise of the Bayou Bengals. Some trick plays, such as the reverse pass, worked out and burned Bama, but why try a trick shift on fourth and inches that caused a false start penalty followed by a personal foul that backed LSU up 20 yards and resulted in a Bama score?

Answer?

Les Miles is exactly what most people have made him out to be - a crazed idiot. This LSU teams has so much talent, they should be man-handling every team they play. Instead, Miles feels the need to call on trick plays to beat teams. I have no explanation for this, but I do have an opinion: Miles is actually winning with Saban's recruited talent and not with his coaching skill.

The Bayou Bengals proved why they are they are the most penalized team in the SEC. 14 LSU penalties for 149 yards and 3 Matt Flynn interceptions kept an over-powered Alabama team in the game all night and gave Alabama an opportunity to win a game that should never have been close.

All in all, this game lived up to the hype built up by the media over the 2 weeks since the Tennessee game. There were ups and downs and glimpses of greatness from Alabama like we have seen all season. The Crimson Tide showed the trademark "never give up" attitude that Coach Nick Saban has instilled in this team. They showed heart and grit and played tough for 4 quarters. I'm sure that Coach Saban will say this was not a complete game (and I would agree with him), but with a different coaching staff on the Alabama sidelines, this game likely would have been totally dominated by the Bayou Bengals.

The LSU fans will gloat and rub this win in our faces for the next twelve months, but don't forget what we saw in this game. We saw what we want this program to become. We saw a team that never gave up and played better than their talent should have allowed them to.

Like I said last weekend, the ride may be a bumpy one, but the light at the end of the tunnel is looking brighter and brighter. Let's remember the 24 hour rule and start looking forward to the tough matchup against Mississippi State next weekend. Roll Tide and tell all the Corndogs and the Barners to start numbering their days. The Tide is on the Rise.

The Crimson Tide is on The Rise

The Crimson Tide is on The Rise



As I have mentioned before, I have been an Alabama fan as long as I can remember. In that span, unfortunately, good memories have been few and far between. I remember the 1992 National Championship game, beating Michigan in the 1997 Outback Bowl, winning the 1999 SEC Championship and beating the snot out of Florida in 2005.

Those are some great memories no doubt, but there is something missing from all of them but one - recent relevance. The memories that are most fresh in my mind are the NCAA probation years, the losing streak to Auburn, the crappy bowl games and Alabama teams that never seem to improve over the course of a season. OK, so that does sound pretty dreary, doesn’t it?

Well, it is.

It’s sad those are the memories that most of us younger fans have. But dang if things haven’t changed dramatically over the course of a ten month period.

Ever since Nick Saban arrived in Tuscaloosa to a Crimson throng of well-wishers, there has been a new found sense of pride and hope in the University of Alabama football program and in Crimson Nation.

Beginning with the Fourth Quarter Conditioning program, this year has been an exciting preview into the future of Alabama Football. No longer is the fourth quarter a time to get nervous because the team is getting tired. No longer is the fourth quarter a time to worry because the team is starting to give up on themselves.

With already committed high school seniors like Tyler Love, Burton Scott, Star Jackson and possibilities of others like Julio Jones, we already have a recruiting class ranked in the Top 5 for the first time in many years. Based on recruiting alone, Bama fans have more to look forward to than we have since the Gene Stallings era.

Not only has our recruiting prowess increased exponentially in the course of ten months, but we’ve won some games that arguably would have been losses in years past. Not only that, but we have also won the games we were supposed to win in convincing fashion. No more trailing Duke at half-time. Without Coach Nick Saban and his coaching staff, I could see our record easily being 4-4. In fact, a close friend of mine who is a UGA fan and I were talking last night about the difference in Alabama from this year and last. He had essentially stumped himself trying to figure out what the difference is, and it came to me.

I said to him, “Fletcher, the difference is coaching, plain and simple. Saban is squeezing talent from those kids that they didn’t know they had. He’s getting them to believe in themselves.”

After what I’d said sunk in, he realized what I said was right. In the post UT game interview with Coach Saban, his emotion showed that he was proud of these guys and things were finally starting to sink in for him and for the players. He is beginning to understand Alabama Football and the players are beginning to understand Nick Saban football. It’s a beautiful thing, really.

This year has given me the good memories that I have missed over the past few years. The Arkansas game will be one that I am not likely to forget anytime soon and whipping Tennessee the way we did last weekend will be a sweet victory for years to come. John Parker Wilson and DJ Hall finally finding a rhythm is an improvement that I hope continues and it even looks like we have a good stable of running backs that the coaches know how to utilize to their best potential.

If this first part of the season is any indication of what the Nick Saban era will bring over the next few years, we have some great things to look forward to. Hang around and enjoy the ride Crimson Nation. It may be a bumpy one, but the light at the end of the tunnel is looking brighter and brighter. For the rest of you in the SEC, don’t get used to being on top of Alabama - The Crimson Tide is on the rise.

State Rep Shows Nude Pictures in School Presentation

From BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7028389.stm?lsm

Nude images shown in school talk

Mr Barrett was elected in 2006

Schoolchildren in the US state of Ohio were left bemused after images of nude women were shown in a politician's lecture on the legislative process.

State representative Matthew Barrett was giving a computerized presentation at Norwalk High School when the images flashed up on the screen.

He said he had no idea where the images came from, adding that he took them down after a few seconds.

Mr Barrett was "embarrassed and apologetic", police said.

"I believe this was an unfortunate and unintended incident,'' Superintendent Wayne Babcanec told local media.

Mr Barrett, a Democrat elected to the state house of representatives last year, was giving a lecture on the US government.

It took me probably a second or so to look at it and say: 'That's not the Power Point' Matthew Barrett Ohio state representative

He inserted a memory stick into his computer which he thought contained graphics showing how legislative bills became law.

Instead, a series of pictures of topless women appeared on the screen, although Mr Barrett said he shut down the computer within seconds.

He said several students chuckled when the images went up.

"It took me probably a second or so to look at it and say: 'That's not the Power Point,'" Ohio's Morning Journal newspaper quoted Mr Barrett as saying.

"It was extremely embarrassing and we had no clue that anything like that was on there."

School staff and police later examined the memory stick, which was found to contain a directory of nude images as well as the presentation.

Democrat spokesman Phil Saken said it had been a present to Mr Barrett from the state library.

It is not clear how or when the images were added.



Not clear how they were added? Come on now.

Respecting the Process

The Crimson Tide came in to this past weekend ranked in the national polls for the first time since the 2005 campaign. Making the jump from unranked to 16^th is quite a feat and I’m not sure that we really deserved the ranking to begin with, but it still feels pretty damned good to be recognized on the national scene again, huh?

At my humble abode this weekend, we did College Football Saturday Night in the best way possible. We smoked ribs, hung up a queen sized sheet on the back patio, hooked up the projector, cracked open a cold one (or twelve) and watched the game in real South Georgia redneck style. I even invited my saner UGA friends over to watch the game and I have to compliment them because we were all very civil to one another for the entire time. I think I even got a hug or two in comfort following the game - though that was probably just the brews acting their emotions out. Don’t tell them, but cold brews tend to get extremely emotional during and after football games.

Alabama came out flat in the first half and I can’t say that I was particularly surprised. Disappointed? Yes, but not surprised. After such an emotionally and physically draining game last weekend against Arkansas, I knew there was going to be some hangover. Couple that with the fact that Bama was ranked 6 spots higher than UGA and a 3.5 point favorite to win the game and I imagine those young men had a harder time getting pumped up than normal. Granted, Coach Saban is responsible for getting the team ready, but he admitted he didn’t have them ready and accepting responsibility makes me feel better. And not to be superstitious or anything, but ESPN Gameday is apparently not good for the Crimson Tide. Coming into the game, Alabama was 0-4 when Gameday was in Tuscaloosa. Thanks to Mark Richt and Co., we can now move that record to 0-5. Thanks again to the guys from Athens!

Even in the face of a loss, there was a silver lining or two this weekend for all of Crimson Nation. Keith Brown made a real difference for the first time this season. After being suspended for the opener against Western Carolina, not catching a pass against Vandy and then only accumulating 18 yards in the Arkansas game, Brown caught 3 balls for 73 yards Saturday against the Bulldogs. He showed his big play capability with a 43 yard bomb on Alabama’s final touchdown drive and hopefully redeemed himself in the eyes of the coaching staff.

Though the box score won’t show it, the offensive line actually looked pretty good in pass protection and allowed the running backs to accumulate 164 yards. John Parker Wilson had plenty of time to make throws and if memory serves, we didn’t give up a sack all night. (Correct me if I’m wrong on that).

There were no 100 yard rushers this week, but Terry Grant had 80 yards on 11 carries (7.3 yard average) and Glen Coffee had 62 yards on 16 carries (3.9 yard average). Although Wilson overthrew many a pass that could have made for a much different game, he threw no interceptions over 35 attempts.

Our own defense picked off two of Matthew “Keg-Totin” Stafford’s passes, and that’s also a promising stat. He’s a good quarterback and even though we didn’t sack him, the d-line put enough pressure on him to cause a few mistakes, and that’s what a good d-line in the making will do. By the way, Leigh Tiffin seems to have exercised some demons as he was 3 for 3 from field goal range (pardon the b-ball reference) and booted one from 42 yards out! Way to go Leigh!

Sunday and Monday, I perused the various message boards I frequent. Overall, I was satisfied with the game. I hate to lose, but I know that UGA has a more talented team and has a coaching staff that has been in place for six years. I also know that Coach Saban is squeezing everything he can from his team and probably getting the Tide to play over their collective heads by simply getting them to believe in themselves.

I knew there would be some “doom and gloomers” and Chicken Littles out ranting about the various reasons why we lost and how the world was coming to an end, but I have to say that I am a bit surprised and very disappointed in what I actually saw from Tide fans as they cried over their keyboards.

Seeing people comparing this offense to Coach Mike Shula’s offense (there were some runs up the middle on first down, but anyone that complains about that fact obviously knows very little about football) and reading other posts slamming John Parker Wilson truly made me ashamed to be associated with some of our fellow Bama fans.

Don’t get me wrong here, Major Applewhite’s play call to pass on 4^th and 1 wasn’t the best idea in the world and Wilson clearly has some issues to work out at the quarterback position, but we have to remember as fans that this is a process of rebuilding a program that once was the mightiest in the nation.

If there was ever a task-master who could whip this sleeping giant into shape that we all like to scream and yell about - and spend way too much time on the internet talking about - it is Coach Nick Saban. I guarantee you this man and his staff know more about football than any fan forum football flunky could hope to ever know. That statement may or may not have been true of the former coaching staff, but there’s no question about this one. So, don't pick up your cell phone and call an assistant after the game or throw cups on opposing players. If you do Coach Saban may karate chop you.

Coach Saban has been to the top and knows how to get back there. His LSU teams and Les Miles’ teams that have followed were no fluke. Major Applewhite’s offense at Rice was no fluke and Wilson’s 2 minute drills are no fluke. So, let’s get behind The Tide, respect the process, don’t dump on 22 year old amateur athletes and let’s kick Free Shoes University right into the St. Mary’s River this weekend!!

Roll Tide!!

Back in The Saddle Again

So, it's been a while since I've written anything here. I have to admit that I feel pretty guilty about it, but I'm not sure why. I'm pretty sure no one reads this thing, but I still feel like I should be posting. I hate to give up on anything you know.

I've been pretty busy with Chimneyfish Jones and Fat Jackson lately. Both bands have had some shows in the past few weeks and I have to say that I am pretty pleased with them overall. We got some good crowds and put together some damned good sets. Of course, it rains at some point whenever any band that I'm in has a show. Fat Jackson even got rained out last Friday at Rivers Rock, but it's still fun to get out there and give it a shot. Like Josh said, I've got a rain magnet in my pocket. Hmmm, that could be a good line for a song. I'll have to get to work on that.

Alabama is off to a rip-roaring start to begin the Nick Saban era. 3-0 with a helluva win over the Razorbacks isn't a bad way to begin for Saban. I would even say that it truly couldn't get much better. Even the media who ripped him so hard all year are seeming to take a softer approach to Bama and Saban. Hell, even the AP voter from San Jose, CA ranked Bama in his top 10. I don't know if we're that good, but seeing some love from the Left Coast is a refreshing change.

Personally, I am tempering my jubilation with a little common sense. I hope all of Bama Nation is too, but I have a feeling that there will be some that will lose their minds when we drop that first game. It could easily come this weekend against UGA if they come in clicking on all cylinders offensively. If that happens, I'm sure the message boards will be on fire with the Chicken Littles of the world. There will be claims that JPW isn't good enough and rival fans will start with the $4 Million jokes. I love Alabama football just as much or more (probably more) than the next Crimson Tide Fan, but some people amaze me at how bent out of shape they get over a loss. Everyone has an idol they worship I guess, some people just make poor choices.

Dale Murphy's Take on Barry Bonds

This is directly from the Atlanta Journal Constitution, but I think that it deserves posting.

AJC Original Article

Dale Murphy: Bonds 'terrible example for our kids'

The Associated Press
Published on: 08/08/07

Salt Lake City — Two-time NL MVP Dale Murphy thinks Barry Bonds is a "terrible example for our kids" and that the San Francisco Giants used performance-enhancing drugs "without a doubt."

"Barry's a great player, there's no question about it, but he put an asterisk by his name on his own," Murphy said Monday on AM radio 1280 The Show. "He's deserved all the negative publicity that he's getting. I mean, people are calling up and complaining, I've heard the last few weeks, that that he's being treated unfairly. You know, life just usually isn't like that. You don't usually get treated unfairly. You usually get what you deserve. This is what Barry deserves. He's a hard guy to like. He's a hard teammate to have and, you know, he's set a terrible example for our kids."

Murphy, who hit 398 homers in 18 major league seasons before retiring in 1993, said he refuses to watch Bonds' games.

"That's what you say to your kids. You say, 'This is what happens when you take steroids. Your dad doesn't want to watch this, because this is stuff that's drug abuse, basically, as we know," he said.

Bonds, who broke Hank Aaron's record Tuesday night by hitting his 756th home run, has denied knowingly using performance-enhancing drugs. A federal grand jury in California has been investigating Bonds on possible perjury and tax charges.

"Even in a court of law you can have ... a preponderance of circumstantial evidence to convict somebody," Murphy said. "Now, maybe I'm wrong, but when you get enough stuff on a guy, you can make a decision and it's just really a no-brainer. The guy would have become one of the great ones, anyway. ... But now, he sucked the fun and the life right out of it. I mean, there is enough evidence to me to say without a doubt he used performance-enhancing drugs. He hit 73 home runs when he was 37. I mean, Hank would have hit 855 if he had the same advantage."

Popular Rock Disgusts Me

Alright, this is my problem with most new rock music of today. Popular rock (and I stress popular) music has become a product of the corporate money-making machine. Everything that rolls out is some sort of copy of what Nickelback has been doing for the last 5 years. That would be OK, except that there is really no shining musicianship that come from these bands. There are no great singers, no great guitarists, no great drummers or anything of the like. That Daughtry guy is one exception. He can sing, but that's about all that band has going for it. But, that's what happens when you just throw some people together to sell records and don't actually have any band chemistry or innovative minds.

When was the last time you heard a screaming guitar solo on the radio that wasn't 20 or 30 years old? None of these punks putting music on the radio today seem to have a grasp on what making real music is all about. Why can't someone put together a song that doesn't consist of someone chugging away on a distorted guitar the entire 3 minutes with a bass line that just follows the chugging guitar around? They can make a hook and a 3 minute song, but where are the "Strangleholds" and the "In Memory of Elizabeth Reeds" of today?

I'll tell you exactly where they are. They are toiling away on the live music circuit playing small time gigs and festivals. Bands like Drive By Truckers, Gov't Mule, North Mississippi Allstars, Rose Hill Drive, Perpetual Groove and others are making some incredible music, but they aren't getting any radio play and I guarantee you they would blow Hinder, Nickelback or Shinedown out of the water just by tuning up their guitars.

I will say that Incubus and Red Hot Chili Peppers are putting out some music that is pretty damned good that gets radio play, but that's about it. Audioslave was doing some good stuff, but they couldn't keep the group together.

Maybe what it all boils down to is the fact that the big record labels are in bed with the radio conglomerates that seem to be taking over the airwaves. The suits in their big record label offices know they can sign these bands that all sound the same and sell records. I understand they want to make as much money as they can, but why is the majority of the American public eating these records up? Is it because MTV has numbed our brains to what good music is really all about?

Maybe The Buggles were right when they said "Video killed the radio star." It just makes me sick that people today are so focused on image and "sexuality" (as defined by the media, btw) that we'll settle for a lesser product.

Does anyone see where I am coming from here?