Brent Amacker's

Brent Amacker's
A Slightly Different Perspective

Sunday, September 28, 2008

The TIDE is ROLLING IN...!

That's right, Georgia. Black makes you look sexy. Assume the position. Accept your fate. Now, go clean yourself up and fix Big Al a drink and some dinner, bitch! The SEC, as well as the rest of the nation, has been served notice.
The following photo was sent to me by Scottie Willis, fellow Tide fan and purveyor of All Fine Things Crimson:

Thank you, Scottie!

After last nights destruction of the Georgia Bulldogs, The University of Alabama Crimson Tide can no longer fly under the radar or be overlooked. After yet another dismantling of a pre-season top-10 team, folks are paying attention. And wondering just what to think.
To upcoming opponents, I offer a word of advice: Take some pain medication. At least a half hour before kickoff. Maybe it will ease the oncoming trauma.
Until, that is, YOU REALIZE 'THE PROCESS' IS AHEAD OF SCHEDULE! In other words, get used to it. All the haters and naysayers, please shut your pie-holes. You'll get your turn.
Roll Tide.

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Today's S.E.C. PICKS

Now it REALLY starts. After a surprisingly easy win over Arkansas, The Crimson Tide rolls into Athens for a big game on ESPN on the national stage for the second time this season. ESPN's Gameday crew will be on hand for the Georgia game to hype/promote/report/jump on the bandwagon. (As an aside, to see some of the best ESPN Gameday signs held up behind the set go to http://www.bustedcoverage.com/?p=7340 . And yes, I suggest you look up the meaning to any words about Corso style reference!)

Last year, an under-manned heavy underdog Alabama took a young Bulldog squad to the wire, losing in overtime. The young squad of Saban recruits this year have kicked it up a notch, and are seemingly putting it together earlier than anticipated. We match up pretty well on both sides, and this looks to be a great contest with several great matchups all over. It will be exciting, but I think The Tide will be ready. The Dawgs will be unable to top Mount Cody, and I think we will see some different offensive looks from Bama. We should be able to pressure their quarterback enough to make up for the height advantage they have over our speedy defensive backs. Again, we should see something different. Tide rolls, moves into Top 5.
ALABAMA 31, Georgia 20

Okay, now to the rest of the Conference:

auburn faces tennessee in a freakish orange clash which the tigers/plainsmen/war-eagles (MAKE UP YOUR F*****G MIND!) should prevail. Another nail-biter. cow college 14, vols 7

KENTUCKY 34, Western Kentucky 10 Kentucky should break into the Top 25.

Gamecocks get much-needed practice. Spurrier may finally get to see his offense play close to what he envisions. SOUTH CAROLINA 31, UAB 14

LSU 45, Mississippi State 14 Tigers are too much for these Bulldogs.

In a make-up game from a hurricane delay, the Arkansas Razorbacks travel to take on the Texas Longhorns. I don't think the Hogs are as bad as Bama made them look last week, and some of their mistakes will be corrected. This one, surprisingly, will be closer than many people think. Texas 21, Arkansas 20

Ole Miss IS steadily improving and Nutt has a few tricks up his sleeve, but I don't think the Rebels will be able to sneak up on Florida this time. They always play the Gators tough and took them to the wire last year, but I believe it will end up Florida 45, Mississipi 17

Nationally, Penn State should top Illinois 28-10. They say Joe Paterno has one foot in the grave, but if that's the case he has the other one on somebody's throat!

On a side note, I was shocked--SHOCKED-- that once again the highly-touted 'possibly-the-greatest-team-in-college-football-history-EVER' USC Trojans were upset by the OREGON STATE BEAVERS. I was honestly surprised, but it has happened before. And it is quite satisfying after hearing the hype annually about how invincible Southern Cal is.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Drummer for "Flintstones" Theme Passes

"Flintstones" theme drummer Earl Palmer dead at 84

Hugely prolific New Orleans drummer Earl Palmer, whose powerful backbeat was heard on the fast, percussion-heavy theme song of "The Flintstones," died Friday in Los Angeles after a long illness. He was 84. Possibly the most recorded drummer in the history of popular music, Palmer helped create the beat of rock 'n roll. He was heard on thousands of recordings, starting in the late 1940s. "He was my right hand," Dave Bartholomew, the producer and co-writer of Fat Domino's catalog, told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "He was a professor of music. [With Palmer's death,] it's like I died myself." "If any single musician can be credited with defining rock & roll as a rhythmic idiom distinct from the jump, R&B, and all else that preceded it, that musician is surely Earl Palmer," wrote Robert Palmer (no relation) in Rolling Stone.
Born Earl C. Palmer in New Orleans on October 25, 1924, he grew up in the city's Treme neighborhood. As a young boy, he entered show business as a tap dancer with his mother and aunt on the black vaudeville circuit. Later, he moved to Los Angeles, impacting the music scenes in both cities as a first-call session drummer. From 1950 to 1957, Palmer's powerful backbeat and mastery of second-line shuffle rhythms made him a much in-demand percussionist in his hometown. He was hired by bandleader Dave Bartholomew in 1947 after a stint in the army and recorded extensively with Bartholomew protege Domino, Lloyd Price, Smiley Lewis and other New Orleans artists at Cosimo Matassa's legendary J&M Studios. He also played on the seminal rock and roll recordings of Little Richard, who wrote in his autobiography that Palmer "is probably the greatest session drummer of all time." In 1949, Palmer played drums on Domino's debut hit "The Fat Man," a reported million-seller that reached #2 on the R&B chart early the following year.
Lured to California to work for Aladdin Records in 1957, he played on literally thousands of rock, jazz, R&B and soundtrack sessions over the years. From his home base in Los Angeles, Palmer drummed for producer Phil Spector and for Motown. His list of session credits included artists as diverse as Ritchie Valens, Eddie Cochran, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Duane Eddy, Frank Sinatra, the Monkees, Bonnie Raitt, Johnny Otis, Neil Young and Elvis Costello. Though Palmer's first love was jazz -- "I lived in a jazz world," he allowed in his biography Backbeat: Earl Palmer's Story -- he laid the foundation for rock and roll drumming with his solid stickwork and feverish backbeat. He was heard on such classics as Little Richard's "Tutti Frutti" and The Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin.'"
In 1961, he recorded the solo album Drumsville for the Liberty label, followed a year later by "Percolator Twist." Among other projects in 1968, he played on albums by the Monkees, Taj Mahal, Roy Brown and Van Dyke Parks. The year 1972 was typically prolific and varied. He played on albums by B.B. King, Randy Newman and Professor Longhair. Backbeat: Earl Palmer's Story, by music journalist and historian Tony Scherman, was published by the Smithsonian Institution Press in 1999. A companion CD, Backbeat: The World's Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Drummer (Ace Records), collected 30 of the strongest tracks that he played on. On March 6, 2000, Palmer was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the fifteenth annual induction dinner. Mike Leiber and Jerry Stoller were his presenters.
Palmer could be heard on scores of Fats Domino singles, including his hits "I'm In Love Again," "I'm Walkin" and "My Blue Heaven." He backed Little Richard on "Long Tall Sally," Lewis on "I Hear You Knocking," Price on "Lawdy Miss Clawdy," Shirley & Lee on "Let the Good Times Roll," and Ritchie Valens on "La Bamba." "Earl was a complete musician, a complete drummer," Bartholomew said. "In the studio, I didn't have to tell him (anything). He would tell me. If it was a sweet song, he knew how to approach it. If it was rock 'n roll, he knew how to approach that." He contributed to the soundtracks of dozens of 1960s and 1970s movie classics. These included It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World, Cool Hand Luke, In the Heat of the Night, Valley of the Dolls, Rosemary's Baby, Kelly's Heroes, Harold and Maude, Lady Sings the Blues, What's Up, Doc?, Walking Tall, The Longest Yard and The Rose. Movie work in the 1980s included Gremlins, Top Gun, Predator, Cocktail and The Fabulous Baker Boys. Palmer played the theme song or incidental music on such TV series as I Dream of Jeannie, Green Acres, Ironside, The Brady Bunch, The Partridge Family, The Odd Couple and M.A.S.H. He continued working even through the 1990s. His influence was recognized by drummers ranging from the Rolling Stones' Charlie Watts to the E Street Band's Max Weinberg. Earl Palmer was married four times. His survivors include seven children, 18 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Funeral arrangements are incomplete.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Tide Cooks up Hogs in Fayetteville: This Week's Picks

Normally, you could say this would be an old-fashioned, grind-it-out-up-the-middle contest, but now real life ain't that way. Sure, you'll see Ingram and Coffee and Upchurch and Grant get some carries, but look for this to be an aerial affair. Heck, if the Arkansas passing game is as good as they say, this could look like a flea circus with JP Wilson linging to Julio, BJ Scott, Stover and the gang! The guess here is that our "D", with Cody whipping their All-American center and friends all day, will keep the Razorbacks off their rhythm.
ALABAMA 28, Arkansas 17

Is the offense of the Plainsmen playing opossum...? tubby better hope not, and the chant will be "Whoa, eagle...!" If the tigers from this state aren't saving up, and the offense is as sluggish here as it was last week, this could get ugly fast. I look for it to be closer than what many expect:
LSU 24, auburn 20

The Gators ARE this much better....
Florida 48, Tennessee 14

The Bulldogs should stroll into next week undefeated and ripe for pickin'....
Georgia 28, Arizona State 17

The Jackets aren't nearly as good as auburn.....
Mississippi State 10, Georgia Tech 7

Although Spurrier will want more points, this is just what the 'Cocks need:
South Carolina 35, Wofford 7

This could be the most interesting SEC game this weekend!
Ole Miss & Vandy= Toss-up!




Saturday, September 13, 2008

THIS WEEK'S PICKS (A Little Late...!)



Okay, I'm pushing for time, so I'll get right to my picks of this week's SEC football games and other contests of note or interest:

Coach Saban only had to point to last week's lackluster performance as a prime example of a let-down, and hopefully the message hit home. Look for more faces to pop up in the rotation- some new, some familiar- as more folks get game-time experience before the start of the conference slate. The Tide rolls:

ALABAMA 45, Western Kentucky 10

tennessee 35, UAB 10

Spurrier seems to be inside Richt's head, but I think this time Georgia is a touch more loaded, and the 'Cocks are playing scared: Georgia 31, S. Carolina 14

Kentucky 28, Middle Tennessee 17

Vanderbilt (On a Roll!) 27, Rice 14

Ole Miss 38, Samford 3 (Nutt is instilling confidence and everyone will get to play!)

LSU 64, North Texas 7 (Tigers feel they have something to prove with long layoff and early patsies on schedule...!)

auburn travels to Starkville to meet a confident Mississippi State, who has been successful as of late against Alabama teams. The guess here is the tigers will be ready.

auburn 34, MSU 17

Arkansas & Texas postponed due to Hurricane Ike, and Florida is idle.

In non-SEC action, look for the Trojans to shut the Buckeyes up as Southern Cal will probably roll over Ohio State. USC 41, OSU 21

Penn State 28, Syracuse 14

Clemson 21, NC State 10

Oklahoma 38, Washington 28

Michigan 14, Notre Dame 13

UCLA 21, BYU 20

Friday, September 5, 2008

This Week's College Football Picks



Okay, I had a pretty good opening weekend, with only Mississipi State and tennessee messing up my record! I didn't get to see the Bulldogs play since they were on opposite Our Guys, so hopefully they can pull it together. I had mixed emotions about the vols' trip to LA, as it's always hard to root for anything orange. I had hoped the SEC would make a strong showing, but they bellied-up and stunk up the joint. I must admit it IS satisfying to watch fulmer squirm.

On to this week's picks:

Georgia will whip Central Michigan (and they better win big or they could drop even further in the biased liberal-media polls): 45-14

Ole Miss should handle Wake Forest on the road: 21-7

Kentucky lights it up against Norfolk State: 48-17

Arkansas improves against Louisiana-Monroe: 24-14

Mississippi State edges SE Louisiana: 10-3

Florida will embarass the over-rated Miami: 44-24

auburn wins over Southern Miss: 34-10

This brings me to this week's game: We'll see how Coach Saban keeps the players grounded and focused after last week. If my guess is correct, The Tide should continue to roll, and more players will see action this week and next as Bama prepares for the brutal SEC slate starting in two weeks.

ALABAMA 45, Tulane 7

LSU's home game with Troy has been postponed until November 15

tennessee is luckily idle

COOL BAMA SPORTS ILLUSTRATED ALTERNATE COVERS


Click on the title of this post to see some cool alternate BAMA Sports Illustrated Covers....!

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