It has been a crazy week—and I’m not talking football. On Wednesday, just a few days over three months since my mom had an intracerebral hemorrhage (the worst kind of stroke) she returned home. She’s still functionally dependent. She can’t move or use her left side, but she’s alive and is glad to be home. Thanks to everyone for their prayers and notes—I appreciate it greatly.

On to the readings to kill time before the games begin.

One of my favorite blogs, Eight in the Box reports Alabama fans aren’t buying enough stuff. The Tide ranks eighth in sales of college licensed merchandise placing it below big programs like Texas, Georgia and Florida. Auburn ranks 12th just above Wisconsin.

Advertisement: Story continues below



Alabama linebacker Prince Hall could be available for action tonight. Saban revealed the information Thursday evening. Hall’s pending availability shows another example of Saban’s philosophy on discipline—he’s willing to show some level of mercy when a player does what he needs to be doing. It seems like a carrot added to the stick.

Apparently, Nick Saban has decided he’s tired of players not having the right attitude. He delivered a strongly worded commentary during his radio program. The Rap Sheet has the details.

One blog takes Saban’s comments from the radio program and explores a deeper meaning. Any blog that can plumb the depths of French defeat in World War 2 and apply those lessons to football should be read. The University of Alabama Football Report does a remarkable job talking about the attitudes behind the sport.

No, the problem of the Line was not a problem of ammunition or design or manpower, but of vision. The army still fighting the last war usually loses the next one. With the Line in place, France’s leaders had little incentive to ready their forces for the forthcoming assaults and little recourse when the Line, as stalwart in defeat as ever, proved useless.

Pride, not mortar or shells or firing pins, was the faulty component, and that’s a lesson applicable to endeavors less brutal than warfare.

Pride is usually the problem in any organization. When we rest on our laurels at work we are just as guilty of pride as football players who are satisfied with a victory over Clemson.

The Football Report also mentions a few good things about Alabama’s young season. One of the good things would be John Parker Wilson.

For the fans, there is progress on display. In seasons past, last week’s performance against the Green Wave was exactly the type of thing that would lead to an Alabama loss. This time, the Crimson Tide still won by two touchdowns.

Much of that is attributable to Javier Arenas, but an unknown—but welcome—factor is John Parker Wilson’s lack of miscues. Yes, he was pressured all night and even took a few sacks, but he did not turn the ball over or repeat any of his previously maddening improvisations.

The Crimson and White Roundtable is hosted this week by the Bama Sports Report. I haven’t participated in the roundtable the last couple of weeks. I promise I’ll jump in again soon.

For you basketball fans, the schedule is beginning to take shape. Who will be in Maui to enjoy the Tide’s basketball in this new season?

19 thoughts on “Saturday readings”

  1. Nick says the Fans need to be loud. Well Dammit – give us something to cheer for. Not this sorry ass Football we looked at with Tulane.

  2. First of all, I am glad your Mom is home. I hope that there is a blessing hidden in this for you. I told Mrs tmc1 and she passes on her best.

  3. Cap, thanks be to God for your Mom’s return home. Both she and your family will remain in our prayers for a further and steady recovery.

    Gotta talk a little smack about Saban aka “the enforcer” and Prince Hall. (Would you have it any other way?) You bammers can spin this all you want, but there would be legions of articles and posts on this site if Tubs did the same thing. Saban says 3 games, but it suddenly becomes 2 when Bama gets statistically whipped by a lower tier Tulane team. DJ Hall’s 1 game suspension becomes a half game suspension when getting whipped by a Sunbelt team at half time. (Why is it that Saban gets so scared about the lower tier non-SEC teams?) Kinda hard to establish discipline on a team when there’s no fear that the head coach will follow through with his punishment. Those of you with kids know it’s true.

  4. Julio, two words: CLIFTON ROBERTSON! Why on Earth would we need Prince Hall back when our defense, so far anyway, has done better WITHOUT him? Maybe Saban can borrow a page out of Tubs’ book and say, “after his incident, he’s flourished on the character front, and deserves to be rewarded by missing one more game of suspension.”

    As far as being loud is concerned, Tulane is the type of team that you just kick back and relax while enjoying a college football game. The Arkansas game last year was the loudest I had ever heard Bryant-Denny on TV. You could just barely hear the commentators during most of that game, especially in the beginning. I was amazed at that! We’re like every other stadium: we’re only loud in the big games and quiet against the high school opponents.

    Capstone, I’m thankful your mom is home now. God bless her and I wish her a well and speedy recovery!

  5. Ballplay, this is for you per your request:
    Sou Miss 27 Ark St 24
    East Carolina 28 Tulane 24
    Aub 3 Miss St 2
    Al 41 W Ken 7

    Ballplay I am changing my LSU prediction to LSU by 3 touchdowns, Miss St has 0 offense and so does Aub against any decent defense. Is this the Au team that yall think will win the SEC West? Paaallleeesseeeee, yall sux, seriously.

  6. Julio, you’re suggesting Nick Saban should be canned just for allowing Prince Hall to play two snaps in the fourth quarter after already serving two of his three game suspension?

  7. I appreciate all the kind thoughts. I know my mom wouldn’t have made it without the prayers—you can’t imagine how grateful I am to all of you.

  8. Julio, why is it that Trey Blackmon is even on the team after three strikes, running thru the woods to elude police? But I bet you forgot about that one, you better spend your time worrying about how your going to beat Vandy and Ol Miss not to mention Ga, LSU, W Vir, and Alabama with that high powered offense you got

  9. Bamaman…Thanks for the score. Southern Miss. won it huh. Oh weel, I guess I can gloat. Not really. LSU wont beat us by 3 TDs. They are a running team this year, as they have no QB. We are good against the run. If we cant have any sustained drives then we lose. I we get about 20 first downs, I think we win it. The spread is not going well right now. Hopefully it will start to come around. I think youll see Burns in a loot of 3rd down situations. Could be wrong though.

  10. Bamaman…Thanks for the score. Southern Miss. won it huh. Oh well, I guess I can gloat. Not really. LSU wont beat us by 3 TDs. They are a running team this year, as they have no QB. We are good against the run. If we cant have any sustained drives then we lose. I we get about 20 first downs, I think we win it. The spread is not going well right now. Hopefully it will start to come around. I think youll see Burns in a lot of 3rd down situations. Could be wrong though.

  11. Bama, not sure what you’re talking about with 3 strikes on Blackmon. He got arrested for minor in poss. of alcohol, and Tubs suspended him for the half the season. He broke a team rule, (common belief is that he missed some classes), and he got suspended for the Cotton Bowl. All the bammers want to think that Blackmon was suspended a 3rd time when he went home last summer, but that’s BS. All Tubs would say is that he went home to deal with personal issues. Are you aware that Blackmon’s girlfriend gave birth to his son that summer? Gee, ya think that might qualify as a reason for hime to go home for the summer to deal with personal issues? No, you would rather rely on baseless b.s. and innuendo posted in articles written on a blog by a guy named “Shane” who sells ice for a living rather than credible journalists who stake their first and LAST name as well as reputations on what they write. (btw, spare me the fake righteous indignation about Blackmon having a child out wedlock. I guarantee you that Bama and every other team in the SEC have unmarried players on the roster that have kids.)

  12. Where in the hell did all that come up about Blackmon, I never even mentioned all that shit you just brought up, I just said he was suspended three times and one he was running thru the woods trying to elude police, that is a fact, I only said this because yall always want to worry about Saban’s discipline policy, worry about your own shit

  13. Bama, that is fact. Even though it was 3 years ago, it is still fact. Even though he was suspended for six games for that one issue , it is fact. I could care less if Prince Hall is supended for 3 games or 2.

  14. Thanks Ballplay, I only brought it up because Julio started in on Saban’s discipline, like I have said THIS IS A BAMA WEBSITE SO DON’T EXPECT US TO SIT BACK WHILE AUB’S TRY TO DOWNGRADE OUR COACH OR TEAM

    RTR!

  15. No Bama, my point is that Blackmon was suspended twice, not 3 times as you say is a “fact”. He wasn’t suspended when he went home for the summer to deal with personal issues. You think he was simply because Shane said so. The two suspensions he did serve were severe punishments, and Tubs did not go back on his word as to what the punishment would be.

  16. OK, I ‘ll buy that, but how do you even know what Prince Hall did? You don’t, because it wasn’t made public, it could be something very trivial, so two games could have been severe for the issue. The fact I was pointing out was he was running thru the woods to avoid the cops, not the three times although that is what I remembered. I did not read one single thing Shane wrote about this and that is the God’s honest truth, I’m just saying this is a Bama website, expect some rebuttal of some sort, it’s college rivalry.

  17. Fair enough, Bama. I have no idea what Prince Hall did, and a 2 game suspension might have been stiff. My only point was that Saban didn’t follow through with the imposed sentence. I understand the point that Hall may have done extra work to warrant getting off suspension early. If Tubs had done the same thing, there would be a 3 column article posted here about what a hypocrite he was. That’s ok, it’s just the smack that gets passed back and forth between AU and UA fans.

Comments are closed.