By Shane from Centerpoint
It’s June 21st, Father’s Day. In spite of the fact that I’m sitting on my deck protected by a roof and ceiling fan, it seems like one of the hottest days (to officially begin the summer) in Birmingham Alabama that I can remember. It’s so hot I can see the creosote boiling on the crossties that line my wife’s planter in the backyard. I’m sitting in my chair watching my Boxer Boom-r, who’s smart enough to be heading inside. I have no doubt that he’ll probably go stand over one of the outlet vents to super-cool himself. Anyway, heat like this mainly makes me think of two things: the beach and pre-season two-a-days.
Those of you who grew up in the South will fully understand the beach part. It’s a southern tradition that, at some point during the summer, Dad would reserve a week’s vacation to haul the family down for some “fun in the sun†on the Gulf Coast. To a young athlete like myself the greatest thing about the beach was the fact that, between the ocean and the pool, I was cool for an entire week.
The second thing that extremely hot temperatures like today remind me of is the fact that a very large group of young athletes across the south will be paying a tremendous price to prepare themselves mentally and physically to compete at college football’s highest level. Punishment of that type is a football player’s “right of passageâ€. The act itself is brutal, but the reward for paying the price comes in the form of victories on the gridiron.
In honor of Fathers Day, I raise my glass to all the fathers and sons out there who paid the price to play the game. That blazing inferno called a practice field has broken some of the best. After all is said and done, a summer afternoon practice in the Alabama sun will definitely separate the men from the boys.
While I’m on the subject of hot, I might as well turn up the heat on a few sports–related issues that have been on my mind.
Yes, Florida Gator head coach Urban Meyer has two national title belts around his waist, but it is beginning to look like the inmates are running the prison down in Gainesville. With a two-deep squad of arrestees, Meyer may be veering down a dangerous path. Parents of future players may become leery that Coach Meyer may be surrounding their young sons with a group of thugs. Along with extremely poor GPA’s, Urban’s perceived lack of team control may heavily damage the very thing that he does best – recruit.
Message to the entire SEC — enough of the whining and wailing about cheating! Everybody get a grip! There are enough great players for every team to be competitive. Besides, people outside the South are growing weary of the soap opera drama that goes with each story. Talk Radio loves it, but the man on the street wants to win it on the field. So do the coach and his players.
New Auburn Tiger head coach Gene Chizik has done a poor job of taking a leadership role since his arrival on the Plains. To this day the public face of the Auburn football program has been the Looper and Trooper Show – the one with the now–famous statewide “limo tour†and subsequent “toilet paper tossing eventâ€. Seriously, at times Chizik almost gives me the impression that he is subordinate to his two assistants. The scary part to the Auburn faithful should be that neither assistant is ready to take on Nick Saban. I’m not sure Chizik is either. Actually, I’m still waiting for Chizik to make a major move.
I wish Tennessee’s fearless young head coach Lane Kiffin would just say what’s on his mind. Actually that’s really the main problem with this absolute clown. I tell you what, he’d better have a great staff and he’d better win games on the field because he has made a total mockery of the University of Tennesse’s legendary football program. In my “football†mind, only something like an SEC crown or a big BCS win by year two or three could wash away all the classless, sometimes childish perception of Volunteer football that Lane has created for the nation to see. Parents of future players should love this guy. We already know he can teach their sons how to lead the SEC in breaking the rules. So far it’s been really difficult to take this man seriously, mostly because he’s done nothing so far to deserve my respect.
Well, I’m about out of opinions for now, yet my original topic, the heat, is always going to be in overdrive when the Alabama sun shines all day in June. I don’t know how many days there are until kick-off, but I can sense that there are young players everywhere fighting this oppressive heat while trying to gain the “edgeâ€. As for me personally, I’m going to follow my dog’s lead and step off this 94 degree porch into a 70 degree haven.
—Shane writes a weekly column for the Call News and the Capstone Report.
Unless, of course, you folks want to argue over the grade level at which his writing should be scored. I have a figure in mind.
Its sad isnt it ? The one thing b oth the Bama and Auburn fans can agree about is Shanes “journalistic” skills.
Ballplay, shut your whiny ass Aub mouth, you don’t come on the superior team in this state’s website and run your trap. . .boy. Are you so racist you think a black boy going to Bama can’t afford a freekin charger? You could probably even afford one with your welfare check, it is not like it is a Ferrari dumbass.
BLAH BLAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Injun, I was fixin to blast off on your a$$ but then this dip$hit jumps in calling you a racist and refers to the charger guy ‘black boy’, all in the same sentence. Dude, if you are going to be real don’t be a dam n hypocrite.
Now Aubo joe, get off of Shane. You are just mad because he tells the truth about that sick program they run down there in turd land. What about your boy Chette, the Chetster, chetterino the money man.
You idiots just loved the tubberchump until the board decided to stab him in the back. And guess what? All the good aubretards answered the call and jumped in on the slaughter. ET TU boody pirates!!
And for you Omni-sexual, you had better run punk!!!!!!
BLAH BLAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That’s what I thought!!!
BLAH BLAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YO, PEOPLE! No matter WHICH SCHOOL is hit by the NCAA, there WILL BE A CHALLENGE to the punch that has been thrown. Oklahoma challenged the NCAA concerning those victories that our “favorite governing body” ruled that should be forfeited/vacated by the Sooners and guess what? They had SUCCESS. You HAD TO EXPECT that Alabama would challenge the ruling. Now let’s look at the FACTS. IT WAS DISCOVERED that the textbook scandal was occuring. Alabama reacted with the internal investigation, suspended the players that were involved, SELF-REPORTED themselves and awaited the outcome. When the ruling came down, the NCAA PRAISED Alabama for their timeliness & forthrightness concerning their “taking care of business” attitude about the problem and their WILLINGNESS to rectify the situation. NOW, as for WHERE I STAND concerning the ruling, here it is. The additional 3 years of probation is slightly HARSH. 2 years would have been enough. I feel this business of “vacating wins” is complete BS. When this was discovered in 2007 Alabama did the right thing. The players were suspended and DID NOT PLAY until the NCAA said they could be reinstated. Sure, there was a failure to monitor but when it “came to light” what was going on the reaction was IMMEDIATE. As for all you AUBIES that “lump” us BAMMERS in one pile, I say this: YES, WE DESERVE TO BE PENILIZED but most of the time with “name” programs, the punishment DOES NOT FIT THE CRIME. When the Albert Means scandal occurred, YES, we deserved to be hit but ACCORDING TO THE EVIDENCE there were several other schools “placing bids” for his services and THOSE SCHOOLS WEREN’T TOUCHED. Where is the fairness in that? A governing body is supposed to apply the laws equally. YES, we NEED the NCAA, but we NEED to be able to RELY on them to enforce the rules FAIRLY so that everybody gets a “fair shake.” AUBIES, all of us BAMMERS aren’t alike. SOME OF US ARE REALISTS. I’m not so ARROGANT to think that Alabama is “above the law” and there are MANY OF US that see things similarly. ONE FINAL SUBJECT: GADSDEN. For some reason this continues to be a fascination. If something is going on in Gadsden, let’s see some PROOF. From what I’ve heard Saban & Company are just OUTWORKING your boys from the village but for SOME REASON this keeps coming up. WHERE’S THE PROOF? Later.
You didnt see the pic of “Dre Kirk”s Charger. but your right , there is no proof a booster bought it as of now. SO there is really no proof , just speculation.
You gat three years and had to vacate wins because of your “repeat offender” status, IMO………….
Lady BlahBlah You better ask somebody!
I dont run…. and you my friend better no half step because if you do??????
BLOWS TO THE NOSE
EVERYTIME YOU DOSE!
Tear me open and see….
Hell it only took you 2 days to respond and the best you could come up with was
OMNIsexual????? REALLY!?!?!…
WOW
Blah Blah…………..What the heck is going through your pea brain ? Crystal Meth is not doing you any good. Clean up your mouth when talking to me, or ELSE !!! You need to recognize when you are talking to your mental and physical superior.
Bammers, is this the example of Bama “class” that you all brag on so much ? I dont know about class…..But he is definately the status quo for your fanbase.
Hey Indiana Vol; aka SUXVOL, where you been sux boy? Haven’t heard from you in some time. If you think for a moment that the Tide program is on the verge of being shut down, you are a total idiot.
Shane I’m down here on the Gulf Coast for one of our visits each year and it is HOT HOT HOT. Been here since last Saturday and a couple of times its been 103. I’m sorry I didn’t read your post until today, but to all you real DADS out there, I wish you a belated Happy Fathers Day. You brought up alot of old memories with this post about me and my dad and I hope I’m creating some now with my kids.
To All, have a great hot summer until we all once again feel that little breeze in a couple months that will signal its football time.
Get a life SUXVOL, your team has always suxed and always will. Team Kifin? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Think I’ll have a glass of wine and a cigar as I laugh about you and your sux team and enjoy the view of the babes on the beach!
# Auburn is a joke formerly the fan known as Ballplay Indian Says:
June 26th, 2009 at 9:55 am
Blah Blah…………..What the heck is going through your pea brain ? Crystal Meth is not doing you any good. Clean up your mouth when talking to me, or ELSE !!! You need to recognize when you are talking to your mental and physical superior.
Bammers, is this the example of Bama “class†that you all brag on so much ? I dont know about class…..But he is definately the status quo for your fanbase.
_____________________________
OR ELSE!!
Look Punks get up put your sisters pantys back in the drawers, take the puhbs out of your mouths and LISTEN!!!!!!
You hide real good behind a computer so that is how i know you are sissies. Finebaum just named your coach as the seventh best coach in the state and he was right only he was talking about the wrong guy. I have to say that the real coach, Pat Dye, is the fifth best coach and the worst cheater of them all. He is also the most ignorant sounding fool that i have ever heard. He is painful to listen to and you know it, don’t deny.
Another good point that needs to be made is the biching of Auburt fans who insist that the only true fan of a program is someone who attended the respective university. That is just like a cow crap smelling arrogant Aubretard. The only reason the aubos have a disproportionate number of former students as fans is that only a dipcrap fool who went there would be so foolish cheer for such a turd.
Now i know that you will not address the points of this post and will go off with some douche-bag rant about something else because you don’t have the guts to face your own teams retardedness!!
Hey, get off of that cow, NOW!!!!!!
Dang boy thats nasty.
BLAH BLAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YO! “Ballplay,” our friend known as “Blah Blah” is a PERFECT EXAMPLE of an “UNREALISTIC BLABBERPOSTER!” Sure, we have our share of smacktalkers who probably don’t have a CLUE. Anyway, I have to LAUGH at “Blah Blah!” Guys like that are the main reason why I check this site out. If you don’t have people like that, its a VERY BORING DIATRIBE. I’d LOVE to see a game coached by characters like “Blah-Blah,” “Indiana Vol,” “Reality” and Shane. I used to work with a guy (a fellow BAMMER) who only knew 2 plays, one on offense and one on defense. The forward pass and the blitz. What a lot of these guys DON’T UNDERSTAND is that football is A LOT LIKE a game of chess; you find the weakness and you MAKE YOUR MOVE. RTR! Later.
bamslapper, u thikn your so smarty dont u. whatsw that ther chess ur talkin bout. i think your tennessee!
BLAH BLAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YO, “BLAH-BLAH,” you IGNORANT SLUT! You’re just a smacktalker that makes the rest of us BAMMERS look bad. What’s this about Tennessee? If you’re a true BAMMER, then YOU SHOULD KNOW that us BAMMERS TOLERATE AUBIES because we LIVE IN THE SAME STATE! We HAVE TO PUT UP WITH THEM! We simply HATE Tennessee! Since you have shown your mentality let me ENLIGHTEN you to what I meant with the “chess statement.” ITS A SIMPLE ANALOGY. Keep up the ranting! It makes us laugh! Later!
Blah blah has dropped too many hints…..I bet you are about 12 years old. I remember thinking it was “cool” to say “retard” and “turd”. You rarely even spell out a real curse word…..your mommy must have it blocked it from your computer.
Come back and join the mens conversation when you grow some pubes.
Actually I have dropped an inordinate number of hints, however you idiots are way too caught up in your own diatribe to decipher them. Or maybe you are just too stupid. I tend to go with the latter.
BLAH BLAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yea Look BlahBlah Im thru dude …
Shane, Shane, Shane…you ignorant slut.
re: Florida and Urban Meyer – jealousy is a terrible thing. They whipped Bama’s a$$ and burst your bubble. Deal with it.
re: Rest of SEC – if there are enough players to go around, why do you have to cheat to get them? Hmmmmm…
re: Chizik – you wouldn’t know leadership if it slapped you in that ugly, nicotine stained mug of yours.
re: Lane Kiffen – beware of the Vols…
Now can you write something about Bammer now? How is that appeal going? Have you filed a FOIA request yet so you can see what their response is? Get to it crack reporter!
Good for you Omni,just like some good old ignorant, illiterate union official once wrote on a promotion grievance that I had written; “Go get yourself some book lernin and you might be good at this job some day!!” I told the dumbass redneck to pull his head out of his a$$ and figure out how to spell the word ‘learning.’ He wasn’t amused but I sure as heck was. The self inflicted lower tier, you just have to love them, even though getting a valid point across to them is like pulling teeth.
Crimson Turd Moron Carl is really talking about watching the men on the beach because they are his preference!
Hey Moron Carl,
How many times did the Crimson Turd lose to the Vols during the Fulmer era???
Get ready for more butt-kickings from Lane ad the boys!
Or getting your brother off of your sister assboy! NOW THATS HARD!!
I dont beleive I will EVER be thru with your ass… theres no learning you is it?
Well, well, well SUX VOL, it is you now living in the past. Speaking of, I believe Bama has whipped the SUX VOLS past, present, and now with the future looking as it does that number is certain to increase. If FAT ASS PHIL was so great why is now selling tomatoes on the road side somewhere in that SUX STATE!
Prepare yourself SUX BOY, the SUX VOLS will take several beat downs this year and the years following until you all figure out you can’t put a boy in a mans job. One thing I will say for tomato Phil, is that he was a man in a mans game, something the little boy you have at the helm now has no clue of.
The SUX VOLS are right back where they belong. The song does say “down on rocky top” doesn’t it?
Get a life BOY, I mean SUX VOL, this season is going to be great.
Hey SUX VOL!
I actually think I may have saw your mom on the beach. Real funny how a 600 pound mom of a SUX VOL looks like dressed in a SUX orange two piece.
You are the only person on this site I would think would be looking at boys.
But the more I think about it, that’s probably why ya’ll hired a boy for the SUX VOL coach.
I hope you stick around after the season starts and don’t run and hide like you usually do, it is going to be sooooo funny watching your SUX VOLS with SUX BOY coach. Your kind of guy though, huh?
Come on SUX VOL, yell ROLL TIDE, you SUX FACE! Wish that I was down on rocky top watching those SUX VOLS lose, corn won’t grow, but tomatoes in a can will. Don’t rhyme, but it sounds about as good as that stupid song the SUX VOL fans sing.
HEY SUX VOLS!!!
BAMAS GONNA BEAT THE HELL OUT OF YOU!!!!