5 Days Until Kickoff

And we are 5....5 Andrew Zow days away from the kickoff of college football. And in a continued effort to get your hearts & minds ready for Alabama football, I present to you today's video of Andrew Zow's crowning achievement at Bama: The 2001 Iron Bowl. The Tide's 31-7 upset victory was it's 2nd straight at Jordan Hare. In the first quarter QB Andrew Zow took a leveling shot at the Auburn goal line while attempting a reception. Many QB's would have been ruined by this and the fact that 90,000 Auburn fans smelled blood. The blood was Crimson alright, pouring from gaping Auburn wounds opened up by a fierce Bama attack on offense as well as defense. ENJOY!!



UPDATE: For those of you who don't/can't understand the stakes in the Bama/Auburn rivalry, check the number of current NFL players who were on the roster during this game.

Alabama
Brodie Croyle, Charlie Peprah, Anthony Madison, Roman Harper, Mark Anderson, Evan Mathis, Wesley Britt , Justin Smiley, Anthony Bryant, Antwan Odom, Jarrett Johnson

Auburn
Jason Campbell, Carnell Williams, Ronnie Brown, Tim Carter, Karlos Dansby, Carlos Rogers, Roderick Hood, Kendall Simmons, Reggie Torbor, Courtney Taylor, Jay Ratliff

Coonin For Stacks

OK..So the performance (read:cooning) that you see below....well...I'm not sure if they're shooting a commercial for McDonald's or if they're trying to enter some contest for McDonald's or what. But I guarantee you this has made its way to some McDonald's exec's email inbox and MARK MY WORDS, within a year's time, these kids (or their voices) will be on a McDonald's commercial, specifically on especially for BET McDonald's commercials aimed at the "Urban" community or on "Black" radio stations across the country.

In any event, I'm not made at these kids for (purposely or by sheer chance) trying to get their hustle on. I hope they get paid out the wazoo. Check the vid below.

8 Days Until Kickoff!!

Julio Jones (#8), WR, Alabama

And we are 8.....8 Julio Jones days from the kickoff of Alabama football. And in my continued effort to get your hearts & minds ready for Alabama football, I present to you a package of Julio Jones highlights. I will say this now, there are only two other people that I've seen in my lifetime to have so much hype coming out of high school, and not only deliver on that hype, but exceed it by leaps & bounds. Those two people: LeBron James and Tim Tebow. Pretty good coming for Mr. Jones. Enjoy!!

SIDEBAR: Ummm...in case you're wondering why Bama plays so hard, look no further than the pic below......just sayin...ROLL TIDE!!!

9 Days Until Kickoff!!

Victor Ellis (#9), LB, Alabama (Miss you,Bruh...RIP)

And we are 9...9 Victor Ellis days away from the kickoff of college football season in Alabama. For those uninformed about the man that and ballplayer that Vic was, google it. If you're too lazy for that, you can click here to read a quick synopsis about his valiant battle against a rare form of cancer that took his life last year at the age of 28. We're not saddened by losing Vic. We're thanking God for the time that we had with him. As Vic himself said before transitioning to the next level, he wanted people to "smile and go on". And in our efforts to get your heart & minds ready for kickoff, I present to you today's video of Bama's 1998 win against LSU. Enjoy.

Joke of the Day

WHEN I SAY I'M BROKE---I'M BROKE

A little old lady answered a knock on the door one day, only to be confronted by a well-dressed young man carrying a vacuum cleaner. 'Good morning,' said the young man. 'If I could take a couple of minutes of your time, I would like to demonstrate the very latest in high-powered vacuum cleaners.'

'Go away!' said the old lady. 'I'm broke and haven't got any money!' and she proceeded to close the door. Quick as a flash, the young man wedged his foot in the door and pushed it wide open.
'Don't be too hasty!' he said..'Not until you have at least seen my demonstration.' And with that, he emptied a bucket of horse manure onto her hallway carpet. 'If this vacuum cleaner does not remove all traces of this horse manure from your carpet, Madam, I will personally eat the remainder.'
The old lady stepped back and said, 'Well let me get you a fork, 'cause they cut off my electricity this morning.'

10 Days Until Kickoff!!

And we are 10….10 Walter Lewis days away from the kickoff of college football. And today I present to you your fix of Alabama football, I offer a throwback article on Alabama football from the September 3, 1982 edition of Sports Illustrated. ENJOY

Now that it has been duly confirmed that 68-year-old Bear Bryant is in a category all his own—the Alabama legislature passed a special law not long ago waiving mandatory retirement at age 70 for him, which presumably will allow him to continue coaching the Crimson Tide well into the next century—Bryant can get back to the business of producing championship football teams.
And Bryant, who made his name wrestling beasts of every stripe into line, from the bear that in fact got him his moniker to Ken Stabler and Joe Namath, has a feisty bunch this year. Still, this season ought to be a breeze after the turmoil of 1981, which included the distraction of Bryant's run to outstrip Amos Alonzo Stagg as college football's winningest coach, an embarrassing loss to lowly Georgia Tech, a stunning tie with Southern Mississippi and a 14-12 defeat at the hands of Texas in the Cotton Bowl, after three 'Bama starters had been left back in Tuscaloosa for disciplinary reasons. This season will be a piece of cake—if Bryant can get his charges back on their good behavior, that is. To that end, the folks across the state at Auburn are suggesting that the legions in Legion Field change their cry from "Roll Tide!" to "Parole Tide!"
Bryant acted like a tough probation officer during spring practice, constantly making examples of last year's offenders. Running Back Linnie Patrick, Offensive Tackle Bob Cayavec and Guard Gary Bramblett. "We have a chance to be a good team if we use our intelligence," says Bryant. "Last year some of the boys forgot how to be smart. Anybody with a bad attitude won't be around here long."
And Bryant isn't just talking through his checked hat. He has the people—17 of 22 starters back from last year's 9-2-1 outfit, plus Malcolm Simmons, the nation's 10th-best punter in 1981, and Placekicker Peter Kim, who last year tied the Alabama record for field goals in a season (15) and set the career mark (27). The only loss on offense is at tight end—something of a liability for a wishbone team that had the nation's seventh-best rushing offense in '81. Freshman Larry Roberts, who's 6'5" and 230 pounds, may end up with the job. The middle guard, a linebacker and two backs are the only absentees from a defense that allowed just 12.6 points per game. The heart of that unit is two-time All-America Safety Tommy Wilcox, and Bryant has ample replacements.
Moreover, for the first time in several years Alabama will begin a season knowing who its quarterback will be. Senior Walter Lewis, who has started off and on since his freshman year, is it. "I've matured a lot since I was a freshman," says Lewis, an electrical engineering major who worked last summer calculating energy-consumption patterns for the Gulf Power Company in Pensacola, Fla. "There were a lot of situations I had trouble with, but now I'm able to recognize them. It takes time to learn how to run the Alabama offense. I'm still learning. Experience is what's important."
Says Bryant, "He still waits too long sometimes before passing off on the option and often decides too early to keep the ball. And he still throws it up for grabs too much...but then some of the pros do too, I guess."
Despite such quibbles, Bryant has such confidence in Lewis and his backup, Paul Fields, that he spent much of the spring teaching the Tide the I-formation, the better to utilize the passing skills of Lewis and Fields and the outside speed of wide receivers Jesse Bendross and Joey Jones. But 'Bama's bread and butter will still be running out of the Wishbone, and much of its success will depend upon Patrick, an extraordinarily gifted junior who is the best of the 10 returning running backs. Alas, Patrick was AWOL the first day of practice last summer, was suspended from the team before the Vanderbilt game last September for missing a prepractice training-room treatment and made matters worse by going home—a no-no in Bryant's eyes—during his suspension. Then, before the Cotton Bowl, he was in a car that was stopped in which marijuana was being used, although Patrick was not smoking it himself and was not charged. This spring his trouble was his grades; his eligibility teetered in the balance until he passed the semester's courses. "I'm glad Coach Bryant gave me second, third and fourth chances to get myself together," says Patrick. "I can't accuse anybody but myself of causing problems."
With Patrick apparently straightened out, the problems won't be Alabama's. Instead, it will be poor Georgia Tech, which will have to play a revenge-motivated 'Bama in the season opener, and Penn State, which comes to Birmingham on Oct. 9, that will have to do the worrying. After that Alabama will spell trouble for the rest of the SEC, except for defending co-champion Georgia. Another problem 'Bama won't have is playing the Bulldogs; owing to the rotation of the conference schedule, the Tide will go through the third of four straight years without having to play Georgia—and Herschel Walker.

11 Days Until Kickoff!!

Steve Spurrier (#11), QB, Florida

And we are 11.....11 Steve Spurrier days away from the kickoff of college football. Before he was the Ol' Ball Coach, he was the Ol' Ball Player...Heisman winner, actually. But in any event, to get your hearts & minds ready for the kickoff of Alabama football, I present to you today, highlights from last year's Alabama vs. Ole Miss game, since I'm stuck in Rebel country working for the week. Their fans seem pretty excited about the upcoming season, and rightfully so. But I want to share this with you (and them) to give them a reminder of the pecking order. ENJOY!!