The TIDE Racks Up In Recruiting-- Again!

The University of Alabama Crimson Tide completed another stellar recruiting season, and although they weren't a consensus recruiting champ again, most rankings had them in various top-5 spots. ESPN ranked them at #3, behind Florida & Texas. Rivals has us 5th, behind USC, Florida, Texas & auburn. Scout has us rated 4th, behind Florida, Oklahoma & Texas.

By the way, did I mention that BAMA beat Florida, Texas and auburn on the field this year...? Coach Saban has a process and a thoroughly-prepared menu of what he's looking for, so I am pretty sure he got what he wanted, with one exception.

As the success continues, and the winning and championships pile up, look for The TIDE to continue to pull in top talent.

ROLL TIDE!

Rolling TIDE Domination! ON To Pasadena!

ROLL TIDE! Wow! What else can you say? THE University of Alabama Crimson Tide pounded on the Florida Gators to the tune of 32-13 last night in The SEC Championship game on national television.

With a relentless, ball-control offense and a very efficient defense, The Tide pretty much shut the Gators down and sent Tim Tebow out crying like a little girl.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not gloating. I'm just happy. This is the way we were raised. This is the way things are supposed to be. BAMA on top, everyone else looking up.

Not to take anything away from the BCS Title game in Pasadena, but I don't think there's a tougher game out there than last night. The beauty is that Coach Saban won't allow the team to let up until they finish. Last year was great, with an undefeated regular season. This year will be considered by the players and coaches a success only if they finish.

I would like to thank auburn for lighting the fire to make this possible. And now that Mark Ingram had a banner 3-td game (and both Tebow and McCoy were basically shut down), he is squarely back in the middle of the Heisman picture.

I LOVE college football. I love it even more when BAMA wins.

ROLL TIDE!

Congratulations to Over-Achieving BAMA

The University of ALABAMA Crimson Tide was defeated on last night's SEC Championship Game in a gritty, hard-fought contest by the FLORIDA GATORS 31-20. Congratulations to The Gators, and good luck against whover you will beat in The BCS.
The Game was tabbed by everyone correctly as a National Championship Playoff. Most people (including myself) didn't realistically expect BAMA to get this far this year. We were cautiously optimistic early on in the season, and pleasantly surprised by our surge in the opener against Clemson. Confidence built as the year wore on and the victories piled up. No chance against Clemson. WRONG. Georgia would destroy us. WRONG. Sure to be upset by Tennessee. WRONG. (What I also find funny is that all of these were supposedly superior teams, but after ALABAMA beat them they "must not have been that good anyway..!")
The TIDE showed class and character the entire season, showing up to work every day and silencing the critics, many of whom had written BAMA off. Most of the knowledgeable pundits and fans, along with Coach Saban, figured they were still a year away from really competing for the SEC title, much less being a win away for playing for ALL THE MARBLES...!

With a likely trip to the Sugar Bowl coming up, ALABAMA showed what can happen when they play as a team-- something that was lacking last year from some hold-overs of the previous Shula regime. Having another potentially top-ranked recruiting class will only add the energy and excitement surrounding the Program-- AND "The PROCESS".
CONGRATULATIONS, AND ROLL TIDE!

SABAN Domination Drives SEC Coaches Out

Okay. I know this picture is from last year, but now it's relevent. Coach Nick Saban is a 'coach-killer'. Just ask all the guys currently job-hunting. Bowden. Fulmer. Croom. Tuberville.
Ah..... Poor Tubby...! I actually kinda felt bad for the guy...for about a minute! I wanted both him and Fil Phulmer to stick around and take their come-uppance like men!

Could Les Miles be next....? Those crazy bayou cajuns are hollering for HIS head, just one year removed from the BCS Championship.

By the way, here's a good read from a disgruntled LSU fan:

http://batonrouge.craigslist.org/spo/940244949.html

It's great... to BE..... from ALABAMA...!

The Crimson Tide Is Making Me FAT!

Okay, here's the deal. I have three truths that I have realized:

1. College Football needs a playoff
   
2. NOBODY in Virginia can EVER say ANYTHING about people in Alabama being rednecks or hicks, or make a tobacco-chewing or hunting joke


3. The University of Alabama Crimson Tide is making me FAT.

The first truth can easily be proven and summarized by simply watching the games and endless ESPN reviews this season. Of course, if ALABAMA wins out I say screw a playoff! Roll Tide! If we lose a game, we will join an ever-growing list of one-loss teams crying for a chance to earn some respect on the field!

The second truth can be seen first-hand by simply taking a drive through the region. Once you get out of metropolitan D.C., it's a hillbilly hoe-down waiting to happen! Don't get me wrong... I admit there ARE plenty of red neckerson's in the South. They just are not solely restricted to the Dixie region.

The third truth will require some elaboration and back-story. (For those of you unfamiliar with the term 'back-story', it relates to what goes on before or leading up to an event or episode. Usually for a fictional literary or Hollywood character.) Every football season, my lovely wife Alice and I host gatherings to watch Crimson Tide Football. Usually this involves a couple of televisions-- inside big-screen, outside 27 or 31-inch set up on the carport for space purposes and for rowdier, outdoorsy types. I typically have my little beer fridge stocked. Everyone who attends usually also brings beer or some other alcohol. Navigation through a sea of beer-filled ice-chests and coolers is routine.

I normally will have the grill going, or the smoker. If a large crowd is to be expected, more food is cooked and the neighbors even haul over their gas grill for optimum cook-time efficiency. In other words, we throw down. This just generally has become accepted as the norm, and with the arrival of Cole & Wade Ellis, aka "The NEW Bama Twins", camping at the house is now an integral part of our gameday experience.

So, anyway, Alice and I are travelling with The New BAMA Twins and their family to Virginia and Washington, D.C. to visit family for Thanksgiving. As with any two-day drive, conversational subject matter can be very diverse. Topics range from the best route, the weather, the kids, politics, traffic, and (of course) Alabama football. As Wendell and I were discussing our appropriate attire for the week, we were both lamenting our inability to schedule sufficient exercise and our expanding waist-lines. His work schedule, along with coaching his 9-year-old son Jared's football team and helping Tina with the twins makes it hard to run or to work out. I, on the other hand, work my regular job at the tire distribution center, then draw Mardi Gras designs and commission work usually well into the night. Being 44 years old with an occasional back-pain or sciatic nerve issue tends to thwart any real effort on my part, as well.

He made the statement that college football was making his jeans tight, and we both had an epiphany: ALABAMA Football is making us fat.

There's really no argument. We cook. We drink beer. We eat. We watch football. If it's an exciting game, the beer tends to go down easier. If Bama's winning, even moreso. If there are other good games on, which this year has unusually been the case.... well, you get the picture. This year has been a cardiologist's dream. Sausage. Beer. Chips & Salsa. Steak. Wine. Cheese Dip. Crackers. Barbecue. Taco Soup. Venison. Hamburgers. Hot Dogs. Chili. Potato Chips. Gumbo. Shrimp. You name it, we probably ate it.

But here's the catch. It's a formula that has worked well so far. ALABAMA is undefeated and ranked Number One. Who are we to argue with success...? Our routine has bourn fruits of which three months ago we could only have hoped. Sure, it seems a bit superstitious. 11-0 speaks volumes. As long as The TIDE is feasting, so are we. We can diet and exercise after the season. ROLL TIDE.

By the way, on our way up, we saw a white "Hazzard County Sheriff" car up on a rollback. Yep. From "Dukes of Hazzard". Looked authentic. We figured someone probably got it at an auction. Again, the camera was packed away, so I didn't have the brains to snap a pic with my cel phone. Genius.

RETRO-BAMA BLOG KICKS ASS!

Click on the title of this post to see a HILARIOUS Blog entry on "Gump4heisman". It's dead-on, and pretty darn funny!
The 70's are BACK!!
ROLL TIDE!!

BAMA Ranked #1 in AP After Win, BRENTOONS Picks PERFECT

THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE claimed the #1 spot in both the AP and Coaches Polls, and should be tops in the BCS rankings later today as well. After handling Arkansas State 35-0 for homecoming, The Tide sat back and watched as the Florida Gators, our likely opponent in the SEC Championship game, dismembered and devoured the Georgia Bulldogs (as a possibility I predicted! See below!). Then, as a not-entirely-unexpected bonus, Texas Tech up-ended the Texas Longhorns to boost ALABAMA to the top position.
To top it all off, THE CRIMSON TIDE and Coach Saban rumble into Baton Rouge (Do you smell corn-dogs?) ranked #1 to face the angry LSU Tigers(defending National Champs), whose fans are still bitter about Saban's departure. They'll REALLY hate him-- and us-- after next week's game! I LOVE college football...!
BTW, my game picks were perfect.... for a change!
ROLL TIDE!