Back to work for the Iron Bowl
Alabama returned to the practice field Tuesday for its first session of the bye week as it ramps up preparation for Auburn. Alabama will practice Wednesday and Thursday to end the bye week. The players have the weekend off. Tuesday’s practice was in helmets and shoulder pads. According to the players, practice is going well.

“Today was a real good day and up tempo,” said Alabama senior center Antoine Caldwell. “This week is going to be about getting us better. Just like the last bye week, working on fundamentals and getting us better out there, and that’s what we did a lot today. We worked on pass protection things, getting the timing down with the receivers and better protection for J.P. (senior quarterback John Parker Wilson).”
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Firemarkricht.net
Georgia has sucked this year. I’m not going to sugarcoat it; the Bulldogs have underperformed due to a complete lack of discipline, and that blame rests squarely on the coaching staff.

While the staff is obviously at fault, they don’t deserve to be fired. However, someone has setup FireMarkRicht.net. I’m not going to lob bombs at the Georgia fans over this. I don’t even know if a real Georgia fan created it. (I remember how a Tennessee fan created a fire Nick Saban website last year, so I’ll give Bulldog fans the benefit of the doubt.)

Richt has failed this season. He doesn’t deserve to be fired. Yet. What has to disturb any fan is how the Bulldogs lost this year. Injuries clearly could have cost the Bulldogs the Alabama and Florida games. But Georgia wasn’t in those games, and have played bad football against most teams due to penalties.

Richt is a good coach and a good man. Those facts won’t save him. He must fix the discipline issues (read excessive penalties) and improve the team’s focus. If he can’t do that, FireMarkRicht.net will hit overdrive.

Vitale picks Florida over Alabama
The Rap Sheet caught Dick Vitale picking the Florida Gators over Alabama in the SEC Championship Game. You can read the entire quote over at al.com. What should we take form Vitale’s expert prognostication?

Clearly, Alabama has no shot. Can we just forfeit and skip to the Sugar Bowl? Because if Vitale says we have no shot then we have no shot. I don’t know anyone who could understand college football better than ESPN’s basketball analyst.

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Speaking of basketball
Alabama’s basketball program has already disappointed its fans. Usually fans make it to December or January before realizing the futility of supporting basketball at the Capstone. The days of Wimp Sanderson are gone. Will the success of that era ever return?

I’m not sure it can return as long as Mark Gottfried continues on the Alabama sideline.
All that comes to mind is what Oliver Cromwell would say to Gottfried: “Is there a single virtue now remaining amongst you? Is there one vice you do not possess? …Ye are grown intolerably odious to the whole nation…In the name of God, go!”

Erin Andrews not leaving sports
We can all let out a sigh of relief, Erin Andrews won’t be leaving sports for Hollywood. Crisis averted, as Awful Announcing wrote.