Just got this in an e-mail from my dad. He's a smart guy, y'know? I would definitely take these credentials. Haha.
Here’s you a new one I haven’t seen mentioned. If you want a way to ease a legend back into the fold (Wimp Sanderson), what better way than to hire one of his great friends.
someone who has coached in the SEC.
someone who has won the SEC.
someone who has recruited the area you MUST win in order to compete at Alabama.
someone who has been to multiple NCAA tournaments.
someone who has been to multiple sweet 16’s.
someone who has been to the Final 4.
someone who currently lives within driving distance of campus.
Man. Has this been just a lifeless recruiting season? I mean, I know there's a lot of drama...but there's just not that much interesting stuff going on. Yeah yeah, recruiters going back and forth, joining different staffs, etc, and commitments decommiting, etc. It just feels weird this year for some reason.
With that said, Petey Smith, linebacker from Florida, has committed to Alabama. I think I'm down with that. This kid is a playmaker.
Tomorrow night is the start of the Phillip Pearson era at Alabama.
And I'm hearing rumblings here in Memphis about Calipari possibly going to T-Town. It's only a little bit...but it's people that are supposedly in the know. Not sure what to make of it, but with Coach Saban and Coach Cal being friends...well...let's just say that the athletic department would be in GREAT shape for years to come.
...we've crossed that thin line, don't try to hold us here.
After watching Saturday's game, is it not any more obvious that Gottfried has to go? I mean, really? It's just sad to know that you're going to lose games like that.
Recruiting appears to still be going as planned. No new commitments, but our visit from Greg Reid did "exceed his expectations." Not too shabby.
Other than that...there's not a lot going on. Still working on the new Bama on the Bluff site, so be looking for that soon.
In non-Bama related stuff, we had one helluva turnout at the New Daisy for the show with us and Sore Eyes, so thank you guys so much for coming out - if any of you were in attendance. Haha. The show was packed and we really do appreciate the support. If you're in any of the following cities, be sure to come hang out with us on these dates. We're working on some Alabama dates...I promise. Haha.
I mean, really? What kind of an idiot runs that play against the Pittsburgh Steelers? That was just stupid.
Mercer University is hosting a recruiting prediction site, complete with a formula, etc. Check it out here.
Lane Kiffin is a prick. Plain and simple. Read his comments on his coaching hires here.
So for anyone that thought that Thompson's move to Tennessee had something to do with Coach Saban or anything else, it was reported that Thompson's wife filed for divorce on Jan. 8th. Thompson accepted the UT position on Jan. 15th and was quoted as saying "it was kind of a family decision." From what I understand, his wife is staying in Tuscaloosa. Hmmmmm.
¶ 8:51 AM4 comments
Ok, so basketball was the prototypical Alabama basketball team we've seen for the past decade on Wednesday night. Played a fired up first half and took the lead into the break. Then, as always happens on the road, the home team came out and jacked up a buncha threes, hitting most of them (8 of 11 in the 2nd half, to be exact), and held off a late rally for the win. That, my friends, is why Gottfried is 20-61 on the road. Ridiculous.
And yeah, I know he didn't have Ronald Steele. Who cares. I'm sick of hearing that excuse.
So on to the big news....and I'm sure you've already heard it, but Lance Thompson is leaving Alabama to join the Tennessee coaching staff. Ian talked to AJ McCarron and discussed an incident where Lance interrupted a meeting between AJ, Lane Kiffin, and Ed Orgeron. I believe AJ said it best...
"After they left, (Thompson) started talking about them, saying, 'You better not go to Tennessee of all places,' " McCarron recalled. "Not Tennessee. And then he ends up at Tennessee. And he knows the history from his time here as a player, how Alabama hates Tennessee. But money talks, I guess."
Holy moly. Alabama beat LSU yesterday at Coleman Coliseum, and never trailed in the ballgame. Yowzas. That's what I like to see, man. Pretty good defense, and hitting "free" throws down the stretch. Good game, guys.
Ronald Steele had a minor injury that was bugging him, but according to Ian, it's not that big of a deal and he'll be ready to go in Starkville on Saturday night.
Dude. There's a play at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival called "Bear Country," and it's all about...you guessed it...Bear Bryant. Read up on it here. Pretty awesome sounding. Cheers to Ian to hinting me on this one.
Chris Smelley is transferring from South Carolina to Alabama to play baseball. And he may try to play football, too. Didn't see that one coming.
DJ Fluker is #1 on the Super Seniors list. And here's an article about how big he really is.
Mike Shula turned down the Miami Hurricanes OC job? Read more here. The latest rumblings I'm hearing are that he's on the short list to replace Dan Mullen at Florida. Ha. Seriously.
Another year of Tebow? Argh. Orson always has the best spin on anything Florida related, so read up on it here. That's ridiculous.
Tony Dungy is retiring as coach of the Colts. Interesting. I figured it was coming soon enough. Read more here.
And finally... CHEERS TO THE PITTSBURGH STEELERS! If you're a fan of this blog, you know I'm a Steelers fan. I try not to talk too much about them on here, since it is a Tider blog, but I'm super excited about the guys playing in the AFC Championship game again after a nice performance against the San Diego Chargers. If you wanna read about Willie Parker tearin it up, check that out here. Later!
Yessir, there's a LOT of stuff going on this weekend in T-Town. The biggest of which, of course, is the recruiting visits from some of the top prospects. Like, for example, Trent Richardson, Dre Kirkpatrick, Tana Patrick, Fletcher Cox, Darren Myles, and a ton of others. Hopefully we can pull a commitment or two out of this thing. :-)
The next would be the opening of the conference schedule in basketball. We get to host LSU on Sunday at 12:30 on Raycom, so that game should be an indicator of what both teams may look like for the rest of the season. If LSU can come in here and get a road win, and we lose our home opener, it could be a loooong season for us.
Florida handled Oklahoma relatively easy last night, I thought. Yeah, it was a hard fought game, blah blah blah, but did you ever really have a doubt that Florida was the better team? They just owned Oklahoma at basically every position on the field. Kinda scary that about 85% of that team is coming back to make a run for another one next year.
Other than that, I still don't have internet at home until next Tuesday, so not many updates until Monday when I'm back at work. Saturday I'm in my best friend's wedding, and Sunday is my 26th birthday, so I'm sure I'm going to get in some kinda trouble somewhere. You'll hear all about it, of course.
¶ 8:52 AM0 comments
Jermaine Preyear, Chase Warmack, and James Carpenter have all enrolled in classes and will be participating in spring drills, so that's good news. I'm excited to see what James Carpenter's going to bring to the table.
The basketball team lost to Clemson, and it was never really in doubt that they were going to lose. It still amazes me how Steele, Gee, and Hillman can just disappear from time to time against teams. I don't think it's the other team's defense - I think it's our coaching staff not finding ways for them to score.
Tonight's MNC game should be interesting, one would hope. The Texas-Ohio St game the other night was pretty awesome, the Rose Bowl was boring, the Sugar Bowl sucked (unless you're not a Bama fan), which means the BCS (for the most part) was a disaster again this year. The fact that Texas, Utah, and USC all have just as much claim to the national title this year as whoever wins the game tonight, so that kinda takes away from the luster of the "national championship" game.
I haven't touched on the irony that Mike Shula will be coaching the qbs for the South in the Senior Bowl. Does JPW actually have a shot in the NFL? I mean, I wouldn't imagine so, but I've seen weirder things happen, y'know? He's built up a bigger frame than I thought he would, and Coach Saban has quite a bit of pull in the League. I guess we'll just have to see.
¶ 2:29 PM0 comments
I guess it's finally time to talk about what I'd like to term "the Disaster in the Dome."
It was miserable. A train wreck.
Anyway, so we got our butts handed to us. Which begs the question "how did this happen?" Well, my father brought up a conspiracy theory last night that I had not thought about.
He asked me "what's the downside of winning the sugar bowl?" I replied that there is never a downside to winning. Period. He responded with "who is the favorite now to win the West next year?" And I replied "Ole Miss." He said "who's the favorite to be 2nd in the West?" I said Alabama, and he replied that it would probably be LSU for how well they handled Georgia Tech. Basically, he was telling me that losing to Utah lowered expectations for the program again, and that they can use it as motivation while breaking in a new quarterback and a new offensive line. Not sure if I'm buying it, but it's a nice theory.
The quarterback race is going to be open next year, but you can bet your ass it'll come down to two guys - Star Jackson and Greg McElroy. AJ McCarron will redshirt while trying to put about 25 more lbs on. And if it was so easy for him to do it, he would have done it already. He still looks scrawny. So G-Mac and S-Jack will be playing it out during the spring this year. Could be an interesting looking offense, if you ask me.
Offensive line's gonna need some rebuilding. With Smitty, Antoine, and Marlong all leaving, that leaves some pretty big holes to fill. That left tackle spot is SOOO important...but maybe not so much if Star is the qb, since he's a lefty.
I'll have a rundown for next season, etc, soon enough. We'll also get into some basketball talk. I don't forsee a good season, but hell, we're 10-3 with a big game tonight at Clemson, so something may come of it.
¶ 9:45 AM5 comments
