Can Gottfried Turn Our Tide?

It took me hours to think of that title.

Our Crimson Tide basketball team currently sits at 14-12 overall, and 3-8 in SEC play. Even though this is uncharted territory for Gottfried and staff, I still get the feeling that he is capable of pulling off his usual magical turnaround (the Gottfried Rebound). Think about it: the season is a mess, fans are upset, and Gottfried is feeling the heat. Yet, some how…. some way, he always seems to have the ability to rise up like a phoenix from the ashes to win games you weren’t expecting. Could it happen this season? Or, will it have to happen in the 2008-09 season? We’ll have to wait for everything to play out before we know, but my guess would be on next year.

Speaking of next year, it is starting to look like a heck of a year on paper. Steele will be back, Hendrix wants to play with Steele again so he’ll be back, McDonald’s All-American JaMychal Green will be in Tuscaloosa, and Alabama will probably have a somewhat decent bench. If Gottfried can’t win with this amount of talent on the court, then all hope is lost for Mark Gottfried and staff.

Of course, talk of next year could be a total waste of time if we are blown out in the next few games. If that happens, then next year might not matter, because the fans will almost certainly give up on Alabama Basketball. Oh sure, we’ll have some good crowds for the interesting games, but the energy and excitement will fade away forever. That’s an ugly horror only comparable to the Hobbs nightmare.

How horrible that must’ve been

What’s that? You’re wondering if Gottfried will be fired this year? Unless there is just an apocalyptic collapse, I don’t see that happening. Cecil Hurt and others are hinting that Gottfried’s $3 million buyout is just too much to spend on a basketball coach at Alabama in the minds of those in charge, which means Mark gets at least one more year. So just sit tight, enjoy the games we have left, and try to imagine Julio Jones jumping over defenders when we’re down 9 with 2 minutes to go.

Brief Update

Just wanted to say thanks for the folks who have visited my site during my past 11 9 months of blogging. This place will turn 1 (uno) come March May, and hit the 100,000 view mark today. I’m not one for celebrating blog milestones, but I figured I should thank those who have commented and read my posts. I also want to thank those who have linked to my blog. I guess this isn’t too bad of a deal for a one man blog. Thanks!

-EDIT NOTE-

It should be noted that about 10% of the views came from Clemson fans googling the 2008 Clemson football schedule. That would explain the Clemson-Bama war going on in the comments section of a previous post (LINK). Thanks Clemson.

Off To Work

When something important comes up I will provide you with a link or two. But for now, just enjoy some musical humor…

There Goes One Scholarship…

Jeremy Elder was arrested Sunday night (Tuscaloosa News) for something so stupid it feels almost unreal:

University of Alabama football player Jeremy Elder was arrested Sunday and charged with two counts of first-degree robbery, The Tuscaloosa News has learned.

Elder was still being held Monday morning at the Tuscaloosa County Jail on $120,000 bond. He was arrested by the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Department, with a University of Alabama Police Department investigator serving the warrants.

According to state law, first-degree robbery involves either a “deadly weapon or dangerous instrument” or someone causing “serious physical injury to another.” Both charges are Class A felonies.

No ifs, ands, or buts about this one; this guy needs to be kicked off the team… now. I don’t try to jump the gun too often, but when you have Class a felony charges brought up, there is usually very little wiggle room. Let’s hope Saban’s policy of “evaluate everyone in year 1″ is over. I just don’t see how you let him stick around.

-UPDATE-

There are more details out at The Rap Sheet. It appears Elder walked up to two students in their car with a gun. He took their cash, and ran off without hurting anyone (so at least there are no battery charges I suppose). Still, why in the world would you rob somebody when you’ve got a good thing going as a football player? I have no clue, but I want his butt off the team as soon as you can spell G-O-N-E!

-UPDATE 2-

From the PR department and Nick Saban (already linked above):

“He is indefinitely suspended from all football-related activities,” Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban said via a press release. “I won’t have an announcement on his future status until I have had a chance to review all of the information. The University and football program have strict guidelines regarding legal issues of this magnitude.”

Charles Barkley = Real American Hero

Hello! This is future Governor Charles Barkley at yo service! Well, I’m at yo service when I’m not talking about Nate Robinson on TNT, because I need me some of that green y’all. Hey, a gambalan’ (gambling) addiction can’t pay for itself ya know.

Anyway, I plan to run for da office of Governor of Alabama in the year 2014. My home needs me….. no, not Arizona, the proud state of Alabama! So what if I turned my back on my home state ever since I joined the NBA? I’m coming back to save all you ignorant hicks aren’t I?! I’m NBA royalty, and I have the fire and will power needed to make Alabama great!

Fine, fine, fine. If you want me to offer up a few more issues about my path towards the 2014 Gubernatorial race, then listen to my 3 point presentation of points:

Point #1: I can throw down with the best of ‘em

Those pansies that run the other states don’t know how real politics need to be worked out. But the folks in the Alabama state government sure do know how to work things out Sir Charles style. Take Charles Bishop as an example:

That’s what I’m talking about guys! A political debate should be all about emotion and letting that other guy know where you stand. If they don’t like you, tough nuts! They’ll have to answer to the largest governor since Big Jim Folsom (what kinda a redneck white dude name is that?!). I might not have the knees required for a fight, but I’ve got size baby.

Point #2: I know how to appeal to the key demographics of the voting public

This is all you need to know:

Christians are turrible. They so turrible, they ridiculous. Not real Christians, but those fakes ones called the evangelical Christians who vote Republican. You now, the ones that pray, attend church regularly, don’t gamble, go to Bible study, etc. They the ones messing up the state of Alabama. I can’t wait to keep the conservative Christians out of the Alabama political game, because goodness knows they are only a small part of the voting block.

Point #3: It’s all about the childrens

Those childrens are our future. They can hardly tie their own shoes, much less read. With my helps, your children will grow up to be the people you want them to be. No, not overweight loudmouths, but productive members of the American work force (overweight loudmouths with union power!). I promise you I will do what is necessary to prove myself to be a positive influence on your kids. After all, I’m the perfect role model as a with the policy I bring to the table as a potential Democratic nominee: we raise em so you don’t have to. I’ve believed in this policy my entire life.

So vote for Barkley in 2014. I promise you this won’t be like 2006 or 2010, where I talked a big game, but ultimately backed down. How can you be sure of this? Well…. you can’t. But I’m Charles Barkley, and I think I might want to possibly be your Governor. Peace!

Pick A Title…. Any Title

I’m sure you’ve heard this entire “Saban is the the anti-Christ because he signed more than 25 players” business. There have been a number of people discussing the Brain Cook blog post on AOL FanHouse this past week (Pete Holiday, Roll Bama Roll, Capstone Report, Joe Cribbs Car Wash, Third Saturday in Blogtober, etc.), and honestly I’m just hoping it’ll go away soon so we can focus on other matters.

The issues of whether or not Saban can fit the 30+ recruits, will Saban kick off deserving players, and the medical redshirts are some things that has been tossed around a lot, so I won’t waste your time by crunching numbers until it can be deteremined wether or not it is possbile (honestly, it’s starting to feel like a requirement to talk about this if you are an Alabama blogger. When did the club rules change?!). Brain Cook has another blog titled “MGoBlog“; I suggest you go enjoy the subtle maize & blue goodness of it all.

You have to understand the average Michigan fan’s mindset right now. A year ago, Nick Saban was media enemy #1 when he changed his mind 2 weeks after emphatically stating “I”m not going to be the Alabama coach” (I admit, it wasn’t the proper thing to do. How one over-hyped lie makes you a lifetime liar, I’ll never know). Now, the only coach who is being attacked is Rich Rodriguez for shredding documents, leaving for more money, and claiming everyone else lied to him. They think to themselves, “Sure, Rich isn’t perfect, but he’s not an evil guy. He’s our coach, so leave him be!”

When you’ve been fed the ESPN spin that Saban is worse than Bobby Knight himself, it is probably a natural urge to take a pot shot at Saban to make your new coach look better. Of course, it could just be due to the fact that Saban used to coach at Michigan State.

As for others jumping on the bandwagon and attacking Saban’s recruiting, that’s really just par for the course that this point. Non-Alabama fans have been finding ways to discount Saban’s recruiting ability from day one. The early sentiment was, “Oh, he recruited well at LSU because it’s a one school state and all the talent there plays for LSU. He’ll never do nearly as well at Alabama because Tuberville, Fulmer, Spurrier, and Richt are all such great recruiters. Besides, the top talents want a sexy name, and Alabama is ancient.” Now that Saban has achieved similar recruiting success at Alabama, people are starting to say “Well, when you can offer immediate playing time, recruits are bound to go there. We’re already stacked for 2008.” and, “We don’t want a flashy 5 or 4 star when we could have a sold 2 or 3 who wants to be at our school.” Of course, there are Tide fans who talk too much as well, which annoys me greatly.

All in all, getting worked up over this won’t do anybody any good. Now, you can certainly express your thoughts and opinions on this topic, but don’t go all angry message board nerd on us…. please. I’ll always respect somebody who actually writes out an opinion driven thought instead of sensationalism.

Besides, it’s time to start proving our worth on the field this year and years on, which means bragging or bashing doesn’t amount to much in the end. Talk is ok for now, but doesn’t really mean much in November.

We Play Hockey?!

When did this happen? Oh yeah, 2 years ago if I remember correctly. It’s a club team (I think), so it’s not like we’re playing agianst whoever the NCAA hockey powerhouses are these days.

The reason I bring this up is because the “Frozen Tide” is ranked 9th in some poll.

The ACHA has released its final standings and the Frozen Tide is ranked number 9 (out of 31 teams). This happening after only the second full season of play is a remarkable feat and a true testament to hard work and true dedication from the team, coaches and all of those involved with Bama Hockey. 

In a year of total letdowns in Football and Basketball, I figured I might as well try to cheer up the fans somehow. Roll Tide! (how can we actually roll if we’re frozen?)

Good Night, Sweet Prince

The unthinkable has happened……. Joe Kines will be the new Texas A&M Defensive Coordinator. I…..I…….. am getting a bit choked up here. I will always remember Joe Kines as a great individual who never asked for anything he didn’t get 110% for when it came to football. Let’s be thankful that a personality like this is back in CFB.

BTW, how many coaches have let the state of Alabama for the state of Texas this decade?

Let’s remember the good times Joe…. let’s remember the good times:

The Final Stretch

Although Mark Gottfried’s Alabama basketball squad has yet to achieve anything noteworthy on the basketball court (other than beating the two teams that are somehow worse than us), these next few games will have a great impact on his future in Tuscaloosa. The Ole Miss Rebels come to town, which should hopefully mean win for Alabama since them Rebs can’t seem to put it together on the road in conference. If we lose to the Rebels in TUSCALOOSA, then all hope will be lost. Gottfried’s squad shouldn’t be run out of town by Kennedy’s squad in Coleman (even though Kennedy is the better coach).

It’s do or die verses the Toddy’s

Gottfried really needs this game. The firing of John Brady has put the heat on Mark, and I imagine Kentucky’s pathetic effort last night won’t be helpful as well, considering we were the last time to play UK before their implosion. (11 points?! Really?!). Gottfried needs to at least get to about 6 wins if he wants to feel semi-comfortable about his job security.Why? Well, Gottfried just needs to avoid a total meltdown since Mal Moore probably doesn’t want to dish out $3 million for MG’s buyout. If Alabama fails in 2009, then all hope is lost for Mark Gottfried and his staff.

Not even Ashley Judd could find a positive in that Nashville debacle

I’m Failing You As A Blogger

I’m not afraid to admit this. I could have something hilarious, inspiring, etc., up for you today. But, I let my night get away from me with school and work related items. I promise I’ll have something better up later today. But for now, I’ll just let you see how my feelings almost mirror those of Bear Bryant in this video. (ok, not entirely, but this is as good a time as any to show this clip).