memphistider

Feelin' this.

2008-07-23T10:23:00.002-05:00

Days 'til Kickoff: 38

My original plan was to be in Atlanta for the Alabama / Clemson game on August 30th...but I got the itch and now have plans to be in Gulf Shores for Labor Day weekend. I'm taking a week's vacation and going out to catch some rays and watch the game on a 27" in a condo. Can't beat that, I don't guess. Haha. I'll be in Tuscaloosa for the Tulane game, so there's that too.

Alabama got 2 commitments last night after not having any for over a month. William Ming, a 4 star defensive end from Athens, committed to the Tide. This is the kind of kid you want on your team. Class act, and sporting a 4.0 GPA. Yup yup.

We also got a commitment from Gerald West, a 3-4 star (depending on the site) cornerback from Mobile who can run a 4.4 40. He had some academic issues, but has since gotten that figured out. He made a 20 on his last ACT, and his GPA currently stands at 2.5, so as long as he passes his senior year, he should be ok.

SEC Media Days starts today, and there looks to be over 800 media members present at the event. That's the most they've ever had. Read more here.

I could be wrong about this, but I don't think this Justin Graves guy has been around here very long. He doesn't think Nick Saban will be treated like a rock star again at SEC Media Days? Are you kidding? It's in Birmingham. Alabama coaches are ALWAYS treated like rock stars at media days. Read more here. He's got a good story about how good the coaching lineup is in this conference.

How bout them Mondeys?

2008-07-21T12:20:00.002-05:00

Days 'til Kickoff: 40

Well, we're getting ready for football, and now there's basketball news. And it's good news too. Antoine Pettway, hero of the '03-'04 NCAA Tourney Elite 8 run, and the guy that hit the layup to give us our first SEC Championship in basketball in forever, has been hired on as an assistant coach for Mark Gottfried's staff. I'll take it. This guy had some guts. He had a desire to win that I haven't seen in these players since he left. Now, maybe he'll be able to instill that into the kids on this team. With Steele, Gee, and Green on the team, we could be a force this year.

Les Miles has got a big mouth, man. At a recent Tiger Tour Stop in New Orleans, before the SEC Media Days, he had a quick jab to tell everyone that beating Alabama wasn't that big of a deal because "a lot of teams in Louisiana beat that team." You think Nick Saban won't be using that this year? Jeeez.

The Morning News from Northwest Arkansas has a list of things that you can expect at Media Days this week. He's dead on with every one of them. Great.

My PS3 NCAA '09 dynasty is currently 5-1 after a loss to Georgia, but a 38-0 whipping of Kentucky the following week. The game is absolutely incredible.

The Times Daily has a list of the big non-conference games in the SEC this year. App State and LSU has turned into a big one. And, of course, they tell the truth by saying that, if Alabama can upset Clemson in the first game of the year, expectations will be through the proverbial roof for the rest of season in Tuscaloosa.

Then, the Times Daily decides to look at the biggest conference games for this year. Alabama only gets one mention, and that's the Saban Bowl in Baton Rouge. Things could get ugly down there this year.

The Montgomery Advertiser takes a look at the preseason magazines and throws all the expectations together to get a good average. Pretty good read.

And finally, there will be mroe reservations on campus this fall for football games, so be sure and check out UAGameday.com to make sure that your favorite parking spot isn't one of the new pay lots, etc. Read more here.

Ahhh...the round table...

2008-07-17T09:49:00.003-05:00

Days 'til Kickoff: 44

The Third Saturday in Blogtober is hosting this week's roundtable...so I figured we'd play along.

What record would you consider "sufficient progress" in the coming season?

I would say 7-5 would be sufficient progress. I don't have my expectations too high, and 7 wins means we get a win somewhere either on the road, or against Auburn or Clemson. I'll take any of those things.

Does college football need a playoff? Why?

I say it needs a 4-team playoff. Basically just the plus-one format. I can see it happening, and relatively soon, where 3 or 4 teams will go undefeated in a season, and without the plus-one, there's no real way to determine who exactly is the best team. I don't think we need some long drawn-out 8 or 16 team playoff, but a plus one would be hella cool.

If you’re an Alabama fan and a native Alabamian, then more than likely you became a fan sometime between conception and the cutting of the cord, but what moment do you remember best as being "the moment" that you became an active participant in your fandom?

I remember when I was 6 years old, Alabama was playing at Ole Miss in a game that was moved to the Jackson Coliseum in Jackson, MS. This was in 1989. I was a huge Gary Hollingsworth fan because, of course, he had the same name as me (Gary). I remember the score being 21-0 Ole Miss in the first quarter before we really got comfortable in our seats, and then the Tide offense went on a rampage. Alabama ended up winning 62-27 that day. Ever since then, I've been fully active as a Tide supporter. I'm 25 now, so that should tell you something. I'm goin on 2 decades.

What rule change would you most like see implemented?

The one I wanted is being implemented this year. If you use your challenge, and you get it right, you get it back, but you can't challenge more than 2 plays a game. If you get the first challenge wrong, then you lose your challenge and a timeout. I like it.

If you follow gambling like me, you'll dig some of these early lines. Clemson -5 over Alabama, Ole Miss -10 over Memphis, and USC -18 at Virginia. If you wanna see some more early lines, read more here.

Hump day, yup yup.

2008-07-16T08:54:00.002-05:00

Days 'til Kickoff: 45

Ok. Somebody has to explain to me what the hell Zeke Knight is thinking. Transferring because he can't get cleared by the UA Medical Staff? And other smaller schools are going to let him play? That's a disaster waiting to happen. Football is, after all, just a game. This is a kid's life we're talking about, and he's willing to sacrifice that for a game? Incredible. Doesn't he graduate in August anyway? Am I missing something? Ian fills us in a lil more - read here. Anyone else find it kinda funny that Jacksonville State is one of the legitimate possibilities?

David Wasson's got a new magazine coming out, so go on over to AlabamaGameday.net and check out what's going on with it. Looks like it could be cool.

The players that Coach Saban is taking to media days next week have been set - offensive lineman Antoine Caldwell and safety Rashad Johnson. Seems like the perfect choice to me. Both were captains last year, and both are destined to be team leaders this year. They do things the right way.

Dennis Dodd has coach Saban ranked as one of the top coaches in the country. Of course, he's also got Les Miles up there, so I don't exactly know what to make of it.

I went out and bought NCAA 09 for the PS3 and good lord was it worth it. Graphics actually got better, in my opinion, and it looks even more realistic. I've only played one game, against my friend Matt who's in town from Los Angeles. He went to Mississippi State, so, naturally, I beat the Dawgs at their place 21-3. Julio had a 62 yard touchdown reception on a slant across the middle to open the scoring and take the lead 7-3 in the 2nd quarter, then the defense did the rest, with Rashad Johnson getting a pick-6 with a minute left in the 2nd quarter, and Marquis Johnson getting an 80 yard pick-6 in the 3rd quarter. Good times, my friends.

And by the way, they really think our team is going to be pretty damn good this year. That's a good sign, cause our talent level is pretty far up there.

Awwww yeah. I'm feelin good dude.

2008-07-14T09:55:00.002-05:00

Days 'til Kickoff: 47

Got my Alabama / Tulane tickets this morning. Feeling pretty good about it. I've sat everywhere in that stadium except for the upper deck above "the zone" and now I get to do that. Should be fun.

The Bleacher Report goes over the top 10 SEC Defenses of the past 15 years. Guess who's number 1? Haha.

Not sure if you guys are as big into Lynyrd Skynyrd as I am, but I enjoy reading stories about Ronnie Van Zant and Allen Collins because those guys were real. They defined rock n roll. Anyway, here's a good one about Ronnie stepping on a snake when he got home from fishin' one day and here's another one about Allen, Gary, and Ronnie all goin huntin with their friend Gene. Good stuff.

More from the Bleacher Report - of course, this article is by a Bama fan. I like the way that he does the games in 4 different sets of 3. He does a rundown of the entire season here.

Antoine Caldwell will be one of 22 student athletes that will write a blog for the Sporting News this fall. It will begin July 23rd. Read more here.

Coach Saban talked about future non-conference games and how playing good teams will only make you better. Penn State is already on the schedule, and they're working with Virginia Tech and Florida State for other games in the future. Read more here.

What's goin down?

2008-07-11T11:14:00.002-05:00

Days 'til Kickoff: 50

I'm headed to Little Rock today to see Shinedown, Egypt Central, and a few other bands. Should be fun.

Will Vandervort, a sports writer over in South Carolina, thinks that Clemson will hammer Alabama 38-21. Read more here.

Don't know if you cats remember David Wasson, who used to run the tidesports.com forum and all that, but he's got a new website coming out August 8th. Keep an eye out at AlabamaFB.com.

Rich Rodriguez is a joke. And finally somebody at Michigan was embarrassed enough by the whole thing to just agree to pay the damn buyout. Read more about this piece of trash here.

Don't inflate expectations for the freshmen - says Coach Saban.

Playin in Tupelo tonight...

2008-07-10T09:30:00.004-05:00

Days 'til Kickoff: 51

If you live in Tupelo, come hang out with us tonight at Good Time Charlie's. We're playing at 7:30 tonight with Refuse the Fall, Allyria, and Egypt Central. Rawk.

Well. Mr. Farmer has left the football team. He was a late addition to the 2007 class from Houston, and he didn't play a snap at all last year, so I think that's ok. That puts us down to 62 scholarship players currently. Take out Zeke and Will Oakley and there's your numbers fix.

Bruce Arians will always be remembered as a bum, at least in this state, no matter what he does anywhere else. Go ahead - give him credit for helping build Peyton Manning into what he is today. Give him credit for helping the Steelers win a ring. But don't tell me he's not a bum, cause anybody that calls a screen pass, when you're trying to run out the clock, is a bona fide idiot. Pure and simple. Read the article about it here.

For some reason, this guy thinks that no SEC team will win the National Title this year, due to the depth of the league, etc. Well, my friend, LSU lost to Arkansas and Kentucky last year and still won it. I have a feeling something like that could happen again.

I just love how Coach Saban handled the media when talking about Jimmy Johns. "This guy did not play a significant role on our team last year and he had not solidified a significant role on the team we're about to have this season. So I don't know what the concern is." Damn right.

Mondays suck dude.

2008-07-07T09:33:00.002-05:00

Days 'til Kickoff: 54

It's getting closer and closer. 54 days ain't nothin.

Don't forget, you can go back and vote once a day for us to win the Next Big Thing contest at alternativeaddiction.com, so click here and go vote for Prosevere again!

Scarbinsky goes into why Tennessee gave Fulmer a new raise, and an extension through 2014 even though his record against Nick Saban is now 1-3 and his record against Urban Meyer is now 0-3. Interesting read here.

I didn't realize this, but Alabama having 10 players arrested since spring practice last year isn't even close to Iowa, who has had 14 arrests. Read more here.

The Arkansas-Alabama game this year is pretty big for both teams. Like it always is. Read more here.

Ohhh yeah.

2008-07-02T18:52:00.002-05:00

Well, Bolton and Lewis are appealing their ineligibility for the upcoming season.

Other than that, ain't much goin on today. Work's beginning to kill me.
But, I'll live, I figure.

Keep up the votes man...we need all the support we can get!

Vote for me!

2008-07-01T10:14:00.002-05:00

Days 'til Kickoff: 60

Can you believe it? We're under 2 months til kickoff. I'm freakin' ready, boss.

Time for my normal game of "shameless self promotion." If you're a music lover, and would like to help out my band in a competition, help us win AlternativeAddiction.com's "Next Big Thing!" competition. We were one of 6 bands that were chosen out of around 200 to be in this contest, and it can lead to some pretty big things for us, so head on over and vote for PROSEVERE. Thanks in advance!

http://www.alternativeaddiction.com/unknownbands/nextbigthing/

Next on the list would be our friend Ivan Matchett, who wasn't doing so well in his History class the last time we checked. Well, summer school does wonders, and he passed the course with an "A," so he'll be enrolling at the start of the next semester (next week, I believe). Read more here.

Finebaum is still all over the Jimmy Johns thing, even calling out Montgomery Sports Attorney Donald Maurice Jackson to help him with his latest article. Read more here. This story died last week, so leave it alone, brah.

If you think our linebacking corps has no depth this year, have no fear, because Coach Saban and his staff think the same thing. Hence, they're going after a lot more linebackers for the '09 class.

Also, we here at MemphisTider.com would like to pay our respects to UGA VI. RIP ol' buddy.

Dead issue.

2008-06-26T16:39:00.003-05:00

Days 'til Kickoff: 65

I'm pretty much done with the Jimmy Johns thing. I heard some idiots on Sports56 here in Memphis this morning talking about "Johns sold coke in the parking lot of the football building. If that's not lack of institutional control, I don't know what is!" Give me a break, morons.

In basketball news, Richard Hendrix could end a drought of Alabama having no players drafted in the first round since 2001, when Gerald Wallace was taken with a high pick by the Kings. I've got a feeling Hendrix will drop to the 2nd round, but make a roster like Big Baby Davis from LSU last year, who now has a World Championship ring on his finger with Boston.

Since I'm a Grizzlies fan, I gotta let everyone know that I have jumped on the Kevin Love train, and it's full speed ahead. I don't wanna make any moves - I just wanna draft Love, pick up J-Will in free agency, and somehow get Jamont Gordon, cause that kid is mean. Seriously, he's as tough as they come, and the Grizz need that.

Not much else today. I'm sure we'll have more tomorrow.

Goodbye, so long...

2008-06-25T09:49:00.002-05:00

Days 'til Kickoff: 66

So long Jimmy. We hardly knew ye. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

Are you serious? I'm just as in shock as everyone else. But, I can't say that I'm really that surprised either. The kid was always trouble. He had a shitty attitude, never did things the way they were supposed to be done, and now has people talking about the coach - the same guy that's given him chance after chance to clean up - as somebody that maybe doesn't have control over his program. What a complete joke. I do know that most of the fans are happy with what Coach Saban is doing - myself included - and think that this will, eventually, blow over. For example...check out the poll from Tidesports.com's forum.

I think that says quite a bit.

Regardless, it's interesting, to say the least, that Johns was very open about his extracurricular activities to anyone on campus except the football team, at least according to the investigators that promptly arrested him yesterday. This was something Johns did in private and he kept the football team out of it, so he knew what he was getting into at least. Read up on more from Ian here.

The thing that bothers me is how supportive his family is. Read Gentry's article about it here. Are you kidding? Dealing cocaine is a lot more than "he just got mixed up with the wrong crowd." That's the most ridiculous thing I've read. Until I read this...

"He'll be back," Thomas said. "I have that much belief in him. He's a good kid. He's in real good spirits. He knows he messed up. He's not sad at all. He wasn't crying or anything like that.

"He made a mistake, like all young people do. He's young. Everybody makes mistakes. I've made mistakes and I've come back to lead a nice life. He's a young boy and he's going to come back. Knowing Jimmy like I know him, he knows he made a mistake. When you pick the wrong crowd to be around, that happens. Everybody goes through that." What the hell is wrong with people nowadays? No, not everybody goes through this. Yes, people make mistakes. People don't normally make felony mistakes that can cost him maybe 25 years in the slammer. This is the kind of thing that ruins lives. It's not something that's just no big deal. Everybody makes mistakes. This is a joke.

Finebaum's latest article is pretty interesting. It talks about how much people loved Shula up until that last loss to Auburn, and how everybody support Coach Saban right now. It still seems a bit strange to even be talking about this.

BamaSportsReport.com points out quite a bit of information about what we actually have at linebacker, and how frightening it really is. Read up on it here. Could you imagine if Rolando's motorcycle accident had been worse? Yikes.

So, after the dismissal of Jimmy Johns, that puts us down another scholarship. My father and I sat down the other night and went over the numbers as best we could. Remember yesterday when I said the number of 5th year seniors on this team would be very very very small? Yeah, still is headed that way. Here's how this is shaking out. In September of '07 we had 85 guys on the roster. You can count them. Exactly 85. We had two guys transfer in the middle of the season (Alex Stadler and... I can't remember - if you know, hit me up). Then, in January, we had two signees enroll early, so we're back to 85.

We had 14 seniors graduate. 85 - 14 = 71. So now we're at 71 players. We had 22 incoming freshmen enroll in June. 71 + 22 = 93. So in June, without counting casualties yet, we're at 93. The roster has to be trimmed down to 85 by August.

We lost BJ Stabler (medical), Charles Hoke (medical), Cody Davis (medical), Chris Lett (medical), Tremayne Coger (personal), Lionel Mitchell (medical), and Jimmy Johns (dismissed). That's 7 kids right there. 93 - 7 = 86. So currently, we're down to 86.

Here's my guess on what's going to happen. The 6 signees that we have left that haven't enrolled are Matchett, Murphy, Ingram, Hood, Ray, and Lewis. Hood and Ray are playing professional baseball. Lewis has enrolled in community college. Murphy is still at Hargrave trying to get his grades up. So that leaves Matchett and Ingram.

I believe that Will Oakley will end up taking a medical scholarship. They tried to use him as a playmaker in the spring, and he didn't get done what they needed. He's basically worthless to the coaching staff (and that's not supposed to be mean) as a playmaker, and with his broken foot, he'll be off the roster. So now we're down to 85. Then Zeke Knight, as much as I hate it, will go on medical scholarship. I just don't see doctors clearing him to play with his heart condition. So that puts us down to 84. I'm not sure who else might drop, but it could be one of the freshmen - either Matchett or Ingram. I can't remember which one is currently in summer school, but there's definitely work to be done.

So, if only one of those kids gets into school, then we're sitting at 85 scholarship players. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, because this was drawn up from a Lindy's book and our collective brains.

More on Stallings' 93 season later.

Another one bites the dust...

2008-06-24T16:04:00.003-05:00

Go ahead and count off one more on the scholarship front.

I'll get into more detail about the Jimmy Johns arrest situation later. Probably tonight. I'm going to go into detail about the numbers game as well. Hopefully we'll figure out what's up with everything.

Time for the round table...

2008-06-24T10:07:00.002-05:00

Days 'til Kickoff: 67

To start off - Cheers to AJ McCarron for making the final roster for the Elite 11 camp. That's big time right there, dude. All the big time quarterbacks make it to that thing. Vince Young, JaMarcus Russell, Troy Smith, Matthew Stafford, Tim Tebow, Matt Leinart....blah blah blah. All the big names have been there, done that. Now, one of our boys gets to.

Oh yeah...make sure you go pick up the new Shinedown record today. It's available EVERYWHERE, so go to Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Target, wherever, and get your copy. It's worth it.

The other blogs have already done it, so I figure I'll throw in my 2 cents. Time for the Crimson & White Roundtable.

1. what team will be the biggest surprise in the sec in ’08? the biggest disappointment?
I may be a homer, but I'm noticing that not a lot of people are expecting Alabama to do much this year. I think a 9-3 season is definitely not out of the question, and I'm sure that will be an absolute shock to most of the so-called "experts." The biggest disappointment will, no doubt, be Georgia. Everybody wants them to go on this tear to the national title game this year, but their schedule is absolutely brutal. There's no way they'll go undefeated, and if I had to wager, I'd think they'll suffer at least two losses.

2. we appear to know who our qb is going to be for the season barring something crazy, but not all offensive skill positions are so certain. as the season progresses, who do you see stepping up to be this squad's most productive rb? and wr?
The most productive running back will be Glen Coffee. He'll get the bulk of the carries this year because he's a tough nosed, between-the-tackles kinda guy. Terry Grant will be a scat-back, and will catch a lot of screen passes, etc, but he won't be our every down back. I have a feeling that Nikita Stover will be our best wide receiver this year. Julio will make some big plays, as will Darius Hanks and Marquis Maze, but Stover's been there before and knows how to come up big. He'll be a good senior leader this year.

3. obviously "the saban" is lord and savior, and created the heavens and the earth, but if you were forced to trade saban for another active coach, who would it be and why?
I'd have to go with Pete Carroll. Yeah, I hate the guy, but at the same time, you can't mess with his record. He understands how important defense is, how important talent is, and he loves to have fun with his players. He's the "coolest" coach in America, but he's about as focused as they come.

4. some people view bama fans as insane. while "insane" is an awfully strong word, many bama fans have a disturbing obsession with their team. what is the most significant/unique/valuable/weird piece of bama paraphernalia you have and why?
Wow. I don't feel like I have anything that weird. I guess I can claim my elephant tattoo with the red shading outside of it. Very much Bama influenced (also because my daughter loves elephants, but that could be from my Bama obsession as well). We'll stick with that - I have a tattoo for my favorite team.

COACH STALLINGS: game #38 - Tulane 17 at Alabama 31 - Birmingham, AL - 9/4/93

The only thing I remember about this game is that we were supposed to destroy this team and we didn't. Kinda scared a few people off the bandwagon early.

Overall Stallings record: 32-6

Long time comin...

2008-06-23T10:24:00.002-05:00

Days 'til Kickoff: 68

Wow. 68 days? Really? I'm down with that. Not too far off. Only 3 weeks until single game tickets go onsale. I think I'm gonna go to a simple game this year. Possible Western Kentucky. Something easy, where there's not just a miserable amount of people. We shall see though.

George Carlin passed away yesterday at the age of 71. It's a cruel world, and he was one of the few that could make you forget about how cruel it really is. Rest in peace, Mr. Carlin.

There's been a lot of stuff happen over the past few days. We'll try and knock out as much of it as possible.

Finebaum, who is a huge Nick Saban fan, bought into the ESPN hoopla and wrote an article on Saturday that has no real point - complete with quotes from the hypocrite Tom Luginbill. The article, "No. 1 Class loses players and its luster" is ridiculous for several reasons. If you look at the kids that Alabama has gotten into school already, the ones that have already enrolled, they would still be considered the #1 class in the country, regardless of whether or not Brandon Lewis, Kerry Murphy, or the baseballers ever arrived on campus. I'm pretty sure that our '08 class will more than match up with any others in the country. To think that this class has lost any of its luster due to a few kids not qualifying is just asinine.

Mike Marrow, a 6'2" 240lbs power running back from Toledo, committed to the University of Alabama over the weekend. He will likely play multiple positions - linebacker, fullback, and tailback in some sets. Coach Saban really likes him as a power running back, so I would assume that's where he'll spend the bulk of his time. Short yardage, my friend.

Lionel Mitchell, another 5th year senior, will go on medical scholarship and his career is over at the Capstone due to chronic back pain. If I had to wager, I would bet there's nothing wrong with his back. I think Saban gave him the option of either playing hurt or just getting cut. Now, don't get mad at me for thinking this, but when we signed this recruiting class, we only had room for about 16 or 17 incoming kids. My father and I talked for a while about how most of the 5th year seniors left over from Shula's days would be gone. Especially a cornerback that gave up the game winning touchdown pass in overtime to Georgia (there's a reason he didn't play the next week against Florida State). If you look at the roster, there's not many of them left, and there could be more casualties before August (look for Will Oakley and Zeke Knight to go on medical scholarship as well). If you had any questions as to how to play the numbers game, Coach Saban gave you your answer.

The New York Times really knows what they're talking about when it comes to Tennessee football. Check out their football blog "The Quad." The link will take you to their preview of Arkansas State's season - read the "Tidbit" section. Haha.

AJ McCarron showed out and ESPN took notice. Read more here and watch the videos here.

I have successfully slacked for 8 business days. I haven't put up any Stallings games in that long, which means, of course, that we get to finish up the entire 1992 National Championship season today. I'll only put up small bios for each game, so you won't have to spend all day reading. Haha.

COACH STALLINGS: game #30 - Alabama 37 at Tulane 0 - New Orleans, LA - 10/10/92

Whipping boys from the Bayou. Yeah.

Overall Stallings record: 24-6

COACH STALLINGS: game #31 - Alabama 17 at Tennessee 10 - Knoxville, TN - 10/17/92

I remember this one well. Just a team on a mission. That's all you can say. I remembered Heath Shuler getting knocked silly several times in this game. At one instance he tried to stand up after getting hit, and his knees buckled, and he came crashing back to the ground. Classic.

Overall Stallings record: 25-6

COACH STALLINGS: game #32 - Ole Miss 10 at Alabama 37 - Tuscaloosa, AL - 10/24/92

Whipping boys from the Bayou. Yeah.

Overall Stallings record: 26-6

COACH STALLINGS: game #33 - Alabama 31 at LSU 11 - Baton Rouge, LA - 11/7/92

Whipping boys from the Bayou. Again.

Overall Stallings record: 27-6

COACH STALLINGS: game #34 - Alabama 30 at Mississippi State 21 - Starkville, MS - 11/14/92

Jackie Sherrill had the Bulldogs ready to play in this one. It was a tough ballgame, and was actually a pretty good defensive battle (aside from all the scoring), but in the end, the Tide did what they needed to win.

Overall Stallings record: 28-6

COACH STALLINGS: game #35 - Auburn 0 at Alabama 17 - Birmingham, AL - 11/26/92

This game was a 0-0 tie at the half and it looked like Auburn might be the ones to finally knock off the Tide, but Antonio Langham's interception return down the sideline for a touchdown finally broke it open and allowed Alabama some breathing room to execute. The final score was closer than you would think.

Overall Stallings record: 29-6

COACH STALLINGS: game #36 - Alabama 28 at Florida 21 - Birmingham, AL - 12/5/92

Florida had the ball with just a few minutes left with the game tied at 21. The most memorable moment of that entire season, for me, was watching Shane Matthews grab his head after throwing that pass, and watching Langham return the pick for a touchdown and a 28-21 victory and a berth in the national title game.

Overall Stallings record: 30-6

COACH STALLINGS: game #37 - Alabama 34 vs Miami 13 - New Orleans, LA - 1/1/93

You remember this game. You've seen the plays. Tommy Johnson for a touchdown. George Teague interception for a touchdown. Sherman Williams duck dance after running for a touchdown. Teague running down Miami's wideout and then taking the ball from him. Copeland and Curry sacking Torreta like he was a freakin' stuffed doll. Then, the team carrying Coach Stallings off of the field. This was a beatdown of epic proportions. And it was perfect.

Overall Stallings record: 31-6

Might I suggest...

2008-06-17T11:09:00.002-05:00

Days 'til Kickoff: 74

Might I suggest going to pick up the new Shinedown record next Tuesday when it comes out. If you like your rock n roll a lil on the heavy side, it'll be right up your alley. These guys are bad ass, my friends.

Interesting story from Ron Higgins a few days ago. The Discovery Channel is going to do a show on Logan Young and his mysterious accidental death. There was always something fishy with that. It'll be interesting to hear what they pull up. They're doing an interview with his former attorney, Phillip Shanks, which should be must-see TV. It'll air in September or October.

Finebaum takes a look at a question that a lot of people would really like to know about - is Alabama a coaching jinx? If you look at all of our past 7 coaches since Bear left, they've all gone on to nothing. Yeah. Complete failures. Not one of them is really successful in the coaching ranks. So what will happen with Coach Saban after his time at Alabama?

The bad news came down yesterday that Richard Hendrix is staying in the NBA draft. It didn't make much sense because the draft next year is much weaker and he'd have a much better chance at being taken in the first round. Regardless, he's gone. But...we are getting Ronald Steele and Alonzo Gee. Melick takes a look at how Gottfried and Steele might be able to save each others' careers with this season at Bama. Read more here.

Mondays are evil.

2008-06-16T16:27:00.002-05:00

Days 'til Kickoff: 75

Sorry about the lack of updates. Again, by now I'm sure you know the reasons. Yeah, work sucks.

Regardless, this weekend I spent a good bit of time down at Jubilee Jam in Jackson, MS with my friends in Egypt Central and Shinedown. It's been a while since I've seen them. They're out doin the damn thing...which is touring their balls off. Wish I was man. Desk jobs suck. Regardless, we had a blast. If you wanna check out the pictures and the commentary from who all we saw (like ZZ Top, etc), then head on over to Prosevere's myspace blog.

I was reading an article from the Press-Register today about Auburn picking up 3 commitments this weekend. One of the kids had offers from Louisiana Tech, Arkansas State, Louisiana-Monroe and Southern Mississippi. Another had one offer from Tulsa. The 3rd looked a lil better, picking Auburn over offers from Georgia Tech, Mississippi State, N.C. State, Rutgers and Tennessee. This state only has two things man...men and boys. Right now, Auburn's getting the boys.

Jay Barker married hottie Sara Evans this weekend. Yeah, she's in her late 30s, but damn. She's smokin.

Gentry points out some of the kids that look to have delayed their enrollment at Bama for one reason or another, while taking a look at Coach Saban's numbers crunch for this fall.

Josh Moon, the newest sucker for Auburn football, predicts AU and UGA in the SEC championship. Check them out here.

Updates on the '92 season tomorrow. For now...holla!

Only 2 more days...

2008-06-11T11:48:00.002-05:00

Days 'til Kickoff: 80

This is ridiculous. Seriously. I hate working so much that I get headaches every single day I come in here. It's been like going through hell lately. Hopefully it'll ease up pretty soon.

Anyway, I've got 2 days til I head down to Jackson, MS to check out the Jubilee Jam down there. It's turning back into a big deal. Good names. ZZ Top, Shinedown, Robert Randolph, Egypt Central, Lucero. Eric Church, Hurt, Saving Abel, Tantric, etc. Good lineup. I'm gonna hang out backstage all weekend. Hell yeah, dude.

Phil Steele has ranked Clemson #5 in his rankings. Check them out here.

I'm hearing something crazy could come out of this whole Stabler DUI arrest. The latest comments from Kenny Stabler suggest that he wasn't drunk, that he was just tired and trying to get back home. Read his statements here. This could be a VERY interesting date in court.

RollBamaRoll.com seems to have some readers that are thinking Prince Hall is back. I would definitely like to have him back...but Coach Saban has already said he'll be suspended for at least a few games, if not more.

Ross Johnson, from the Alexander City Outlook, take a look at the best SEC non-conference games coming up this fall.

COACH STALLINGS: game #29 - South Carolina 7 at Alabama 48 - Tuscaloosa, AL - 10/3/92

The offense definitely showed up in this one, capitalizing big time on a weak South Carolina defensive front, and running all over the place. They also gained some points on SC turnovers. This was, all in all, a beatdown.

Overall Stallings record: 22-6

Awww yeah.

2008-06-10T09:08:00.003-05:00

Days 'til Kickoff: 81

That's right, my friends. Quinton Dial committed on Sunday. He actually showed up on campus to commit to Kevin Steele in person. Now that's committed, man. The kid is a beast. 6'6" 307lbs defensive tackle who still has room to grow. Scary thought. Read more on him here and here.

Kenny Stabler was arrested early Sunday morning and was charged with driving under the influence. The University of Alabama released a short statement from athletic director Mal Moore, who took the classy route and decided that, since he doesn't know everything about what happened, he can't comment on it. However, Kevin Scarbinsky declares that, if he's guilty, the University should go ahead and fire Snake from the booth. I don't exactly agree with that.

Melvin Ray has opted to play professional baseball instead of football for the immediate future, which puts our numbers way down from the 33 that signed initially. Sounds good to me. And anybody that didn't think Coach Saban knew what he was doing...you can wipe the egg off your face now.

Finebaum looks to the message boards to figure out what everyone thinks about Coach Saban giving a $1M donation to the scholarship fund at Alabama. And boy did he find some crazy stuff. Read more here.

COACH STALLINGS: game #27 - Alabama 38 at Arkansas 11 - Little Rock, AR - 9/19/92

Soon to be President Bill Clinton was on hand for this beat down. There isn't much else to say about it. It was humiliating. Kinda cool that Joe Kines was coaching though.

Overall Stallings record: 21-6

COACH STALLINGS: game #28 - Louisiana Tech 0 at Alabama 13 - Birmingham, AL - 9/26/92

This was another one of those games where the offense just didn't feel like showing up. Our only touchdown on the day was from David Palmer's punt return in the 2nd half, which gave us a good cushion for the rest of the ballgame.

Overall Stallings record: 22-6

Damn the internet...

2008-06-06T09:02:00.002-05:00

Days 'til Kickoff: 85

Hell yeah, my frynds. Tonight's the night...

That's right. Bocephus. Skynyrd. Same night on the same stage. It's gonna be ridiculously awesome. My pops and I are going. I grew up listening to Lynyrd Skynyrd. Every Saturday when we'd take the trip down to Tuscaloosa or Birmingham for Tide games, we'd always have 1974's Second Helping blasting in the car, with Sweet Home Alabama, the Needle and the Spoon, Workin' for MCA, Don't ask me no Questions, etc. Even though it's not the original band, it's still close enough for me. I'm gonna have a blast.

Yeah, yesterday....again...we had issues with updating. POS blogger server. But, I guess it's done ok for almost 2 years now...no need bashing it now.

Destin Hood went #55 to the Washington Nationals yesterday, which is a contract worth about $300k-$500k, and a signing bonus of around $2M. I'm thinkin he's probably gone. Haven't heard anything about Melvin Ray though, so that's cool.

Under the Lights was AWESOME on Wednesday. Definitely got me hyped up to be a fan of this team. The direction we're headed is definitely a good one. They'll be reshowing it quite a bit, so check it out if you haven't. According to Ian, you can watch it online now - Go to Foxsports.com, then click on the more videos to the right, then click on the spring cfb tab and the segments will be there. Should be in 4 parts.

COACH STALLINGS: game #25 - Vanderbilt 8 @ Alabama 25 - Tuscaloosa, AL - 9/5/92

David Palmer was held out of this one for disciplinary reasons, but the team got the job done anyway. Michael Proctor, starting as a freshman, kicked 4 field goals on the afternoon and a late interception return for a touchdown sealed the deal against the 'Dores.

Overall Stallings record: 19-6

COACH STALLINGS: game #26 - Southern Miss 10 at Alabama 17 - Birmingham, AL - 9/12/92

The Tide basically gave Southern Miss their points in this one, through turnovers, etc, but they dominated the game (everywhere but the scoreboard). Alabama had 383 yards of total offense to USM's only 54, along with 19 first downs to USM's 3. Alabama more than doubled Southern Miss's time of possession, but couldn't find ways to turn it into points. Either way, they snuck by a stingy Southern Miss team that didn't quit.

Overall Stallings record: 20-6

Hump Day baby...2 days 'til Skynyrd.

2008-06-04T12:33:00.002-05:00

Days 'til Kickoff: 87

Tommy Tuberville has always gotten under my skin. He's like a sleazy greasy politician, and he's at it again. Now, after saying he's for the so-called "Saban rule," he came out last week, after a lot of other coaches said they hate it, and stated that he didn't like it either. Talkin' outta both sides of his mouth again. CapstoneReport highlights it.

Tonight at 7pm CST on Fox SportSouth, you can watch the behind-the-scenes documentary about Alabama's spring practice. It's good stuff. Here's the teaser --

Ian brings up the best part about it already - on every players' locker, there's a laminated poster reminding the players that they lost to Mississippi State and La-Monroe last year. Ouch. :-)

I've been slacking on the Coach Stallings game line. We've got a long ways to go...but we finished up the 11-1 1991 season today, so that's cool.

COACH STALLINGS: game #22 - Alabama 10 @ Memphis 7 - Memphis, TN - 11/16/91

Memphis State was driving deep in Alabama territory and had a chance to at least tie the ballgame, but John Copeland recovered a fumble with 3:39 that sealed the 3 point victory at the Liberty Bowl. Talk about a non-conference scare.

Overall Stallings record: 16-6

COACH STALLINGS: game #23 - Auburn 6 @ Alabama 13 - Birmingham, AL - 11/30/91

David Palmer helped make sure that Auburn had a losing season (at one time, that was a rare occurance) by doing everything from playing flanker, to kick returning, to scoring the game's only touchdown on a 10-yard, break-your-freakin-ankles type of run into the endzone.

Overall Stallings record: 17-6

COACH STALLINGS: game #24 - Alabama 30 vs. Colorado 25 - Blockbuster Bowl - 12/28/91

Jay Barker had a coming out party in the bowl game by leading Alabama to three scoring drives in the 2nd half and beating Colorado 30-25. All of the scoring drives were capped off with passing touchdowns to Siran Stacy, David Palmer, and Kevin Lee. Things didn't look good early, as Colorado blocked a punt early in the game and scored a quick touchdown. After that miserable first half, Alabama took control of the game, and won it from there on out.

Overall Stallings record: 18-6

Blogger sucked yesterday.

2008-06-03T09:20:00.003-05:00

Days 'til Kickoff: 88

Sorry for the no-post yesterday. Blogger was down everytime I tried to update. Ridiculous.

Of course, there wasn't anything major from yesterday morning. Alabama baseball gave up 23 runs in their last 11 innings of the season, so that ended their hopes at a super regional. The Alabama women got beat 3-1 by Arizona State, again, after a magical Saturday where they beat Arizona and La-Lafayette. And then golf finished #13 out of 15 in the NCAA Championships. So, all other sports seasons are done. Now it's time to focus on football.

And it couldn't happen any sooner. With all the bad feelings about everything ending prematurely, we got a commitment yesterday from a 4-star running back that many are praising as the next big thing to come through Tuscaloosa. He's easily the best we'll have had since Shaun Alexander. His name is Trent Richardson, and he's a 5'11, 210lb running back from Pensacola, FL who runs a 4.5 and is a bruiser. This kid is just ridiculous. Everyone assumed he would be attending Florida or Florida State, but Coach Saban sold him on how he would fit into the offense, and he's headed to Tuscaloosa next year. I'm down.

RollBamaRoll.com hosted the Crimson & White Roundtable yesterday, so I get to post my answers today --

1. There is a poll up at RBR about what was the biggest SEC upset from last season. What is your pick and why?

I'm gonna have to go with Vanderbilt over South Carolina, in Columbia. That just isn't supposed to happen, especially with South Carolina having beaten Georgia in Athens earlier in the year. Only scoring 3 points on Vanderbilt? At home? And people still say Spurrier is one of the best coaches in the league? Yeah, ok.

2. Looking ahead to this season's schedule, what games do you see as being the deciding factors in who will win the SEC?

In the West, it's the same as always. LSU @ Auburn, Auburn @ Alabama, Alabama @ LSU. In the East, you can go ahead and count Tennessee out. I would imagine we'll have to see what Georgia does against Alabama, Auburn and LSU, since Florida only has to play LSU out of those three. Then, of course, there's the Not-a-Cocktail Party, of course.

3. Phil Steele and Athlon have Florida ranked #1 in the country with UGA coming in at #9 and #5, respectively, while Lindy's likes the Dawgs at #1 and Florida at #6. Obviously both teams can't represent the East in Atlanta, so which team do you think will wind up playing for the title and a berth in the Sugar Bowl (or National Championship Game), or do you think it's possible neither team will be there at the end of the season?

I think Florida still has too many questions on defense, and I'm still not sold on Tebow, even after a Heisman campaign. He hasn't proven that he can win when he needs to. The Michigan game really opened up my eyes and showed that if you get pressure on him, and don't allow him to scramble around, he's just like John Parker Wilson, only a good bit bigger. I figure Florida will probably win 9 or 10 ballgames again, but I don't think they'll be a title contender.

Now Georgia, on the other hand, has everything in place, except for the schedule. If they get through this thing unscathed, they may be the best team of all time. And, it is definitely possible that they could do it, but not likely. I think Georgia will probably win the East, and probably the SEC. Depending on what everyone else does, they could easily be representing the SEC in the Title game, even with 2 losses.

4. It's a little early for a "traitor's draft" since we don't know who the starters are going to be until the fall, but since football is a year long affair let's go ahead and have one. If you could trade two Alabama spring starters, one offensive and one defensive, for their counterpart on any other SEC team, who would you trade and why?

I know my two right off the bat. I'll take Jasper Brinkley from South Carolina at linebacker, to put alongside Rolando McClain in place of Jimmy Johns (or whatever freshman takes the spot), and I'll take Matt Stafford at quarterback from Georgia, in place of John Parker Wilson. Stafford grew up in the middle of last season and started making good decisions. JPW is known for making bad decisions, and not having the arm to pull them off. And Jasper...well, he's experienced and has a really good head for the game. And he's a lot better than anybody we've got coming back.

5. Finally, and just for fun, give me one non-Alabama game you'd love to attend this season (there's a list of the "Top 40" non-con games of the season here if you need a little help).

I don't think I'll go with non-conference games. I think I'll go with the Georgia / Florida game. I've never been, and I hear that it's absolutely ridiculous how good the tailgating can be. Not to mention it should be a helluva game this year, and those two teams hate each other almost as much as Alabama and Tennessee.

I'll be posting the games from Coach Stallings's tenure later on today. For now though...work calls!

Dude. It's the weekend.

2008-05-30T12:02:00.003-05:00

Days 'til Kickoff: 92

92. Man, that was a good year. Gave up 8 touchdowns total that year. Defense scored 4, so, in all, the defense gave up a net of 4 touchdowns the entire season. Yup.

Goin to see comedian Craig Gass tonight at the comedy club here in Memphis. This guy is awesome. His Pacino, Walken, Tracy Morgan, and Gene Simmons impressions are flawless. Seriously. Check him out on youtube.

The women's softball coach, again, choked under pressure. The girls were up 1-0 going into the 7th inning, and promptly intentionally walked the tying run in the first at-bat, then gave up 3 runs total to lose the game in the last inning, 3-1. Now we get to try and fight our way out of the elimination bracket. Read more here.

There's a lil more info about the possible SEC network here. From everything that I've heard from my "sources," ESPN wants to start picking up some of the 11:30 games after this season when then contracts are up. They want to become a bigger part of the SEC's networking, partly because the SEC games on ESPN (which is on basic cable) did better than ABC's primetime broadcasts this year, just because people are more interested in the SEC's games. Ratings mean everything, folks.

Coach Saban talked about wanting the Iron Bowl to return to national prominence. It's been almost a decade since the game meant anything on a national scale, which shouldn't be the case. This should be the game that everybody's interested in seeing, rather than all these other rivalries. Read more about the banquet in Mobile last night here.

COACH STALLINGS: game #21 - Alabama 20 @ LSU 17 - Baton Rouge, LA - 11/9/91

This was Jay Barker's first career start, and boy did he almost blow it. He was 7 of 14 for 81 yards, which shows how conservative the game plan was. The biggest mistake of the night was him throwing an interception late in the 4th quarter at the 45 yard line. Alabama only led 20-17, but after LSU drove down, they attempted a 28-yard field goal, with was blocked by Antonio London to preserve the victory. This was the 7th straight Alabama win, which moved them to 8-1 overall.

Overall Stallings record: 15-6

Bada-friggin-bing, dude.

2008-05-29T11:24:00.003-05:00

Days 'til Kickoff: 93

Yup. Only 93 days. Feels like an eternity. We did find out some interesting news though...

TiderInsider.com is reporting that Alonzo Lawrence has been cleared by the NCAA, which is huge news. I agree with OTS over at RollBamaRoll.com - this kid will start immediately, opposite Kareemawheat. :-)

We also have found out that ESPN has picked up the September 27th matchup between Georgia and Alabama in Athens as one of their 3 premiere SEC games this season. So you can bet it's gonna be a night game between the hedges. Should be a looong day of tailgating.

The SEC coaches voted yesterday 9-3 in support of the conference supporting an early signing date for football. They're in favor of not having to 'babysit' the commitments they get early, so they can spend more time going to get others without other programs sneaking in late to steal them away. Read more here.

Saban's kinda laughing about the trip to Baton Rouge this year. He had a coach tell him that none of the assistants are going to be riding on the bus with him on the way down there. Haha. Read more here.

Fox Sports has ranked the top 10 impact freshmen for next season, and the #1 ranking went to Julio Jones. Check it out.

I used to think Phil Steele was a pretty smart dude. And then, today, he ranked Notre Dame #19 in the country. Bogus.

COACH STALLINGS: game #20 - Miss St 7 @ Alabama 13 - Tuscaloosa, AL - 11/2/91

Alabama was leading late in the ballgame, 13-7, and Mississippi State had just gotten a first down at the Alabama three with less than 3 minutes left in the game. The Bulldogs ran to the 1 on the next play, then were stuffed on 2nd down. On 3rd down, they tried to run again from the 6, and got to the 3 yard line. On 4th down, Sleepy Robinson dropped back to pass and was picked off by Stacy Harrison. That pick sealed the game, and Alabama's 6th straight victory.

Overall Stallings record: 14-6

All the colors in it....

2008-05-28T08:30:00.003-05:00

Days 'til Kickoff: 94

Well, I'll go ahead and tell you. I'm a fanatic. Always have been. And once my daughter was able to tell me that her favorite color was red and her favorite animal is an elephant...well, that helped me realize exactly what tattoo I wanted to get.

So, I went last night and had that done. I've wanted an elephant for a long time, and I really liked how this one was drawn out. I've had the design since last September. I'm pretty sure nobody's going to question my fanhood anymore. Haha.

Michael Hicks, a new writer for BleacherReport.com, has posted his ranking of the SEC Coaches. It starts out ok, with Richt and Meyer, and then he loses all credibility by placing Les Miles at #3. Regardless of the rest of it, anybody that has Miles that high in their rankings is an idiot.

A big topic at the SEC Meetings in Destin was Nick Saban's use of video-conferencing. Some coaches called it "ahead of the curve" and others called it "silly." Regardless, it's just another reason why Saban's the best at what he does. Read more here.

The Alabama coaches were in a pretty good mood yesterday when they arrived in Destin, according to Cecil Hurt. Even Gottfried was cheerful, though the latest rumors (even according to his agent) say that this will be his last year in Tuscaloosa.

Ian, and several other reporters, talked to coach Saban about numerous things, including Rolando McClain's motorcycle accident, videoconferencing, and more. Read up here.

Finebaum's article yesterday shed some light on something that not many people have been talking about - motivation. Saban is a big fan of a guy named Kevin Elko, who basically teaches people how to win. That's something this team has needed for 5 years now. They were coached to be losers. What's the saying that Herm Edwards always shouted? Oh yeah - "You play to WIN the game." This guy should help us do that. Read more here.

I was excited at first when I read that NFL.com projected 3 Alabama players going in the NFL draft next season - until I realized one of them was John Parker Wilson. Anybody that thinks this kid will get drafted has got to be smoking something pretty good. Now, that doesn't mean I don't think he can be successful here at the Capstone, but the kid's 6-foot nothin' and weighs 215 lbs soaking wet. He's little, dude.

We have now suffered the first two academic casualties of the class, as mentioned by our boys over at RollBamaRoll.com. Brandon Lewis and Kerry Murphy will both be attending Hargrave Military Academy to try and get their grades up to par. How Murphy didn't qualify after already spending a year there is beyond me. I think we can go ahead and write him off for the future. I couldn't imagine Saban giving him another chance. So, with those two gone, the class is down to 27, and with Melvin Ray and Destin Hood still likely opting to go towards Major League Baseball, that will cut the class to the allotted 25 spots. So, there won't be any greyshirts. Hallelujah.

COACH STALLINGS: game #19 - Tennessee 19 @ Alabama 24 - Birmingham, AL - 10/19/91

This game was a little bit crazy. Dating back to the game in 1990, the Tide and Vols had played 7 touchdown-less quarters before going crazy in the 4th quarter of this game. The Vols led 6-3 before Siran Stacy scored from the one-yard line, giving Bama the lead. The Tide went on to win a thrilling game, 24-19 - the 6th in a row against the Vols, and the 5th straight in 1991 after the loss to Florida.

Overall Stallings record: 13-6