Bricks
Just a reminder: Be kind to those who cross your path today.
There’s no telling what bricks they may be carrying around in their pockets.
Category: Sports
Now That’s Trickeration
I was in Jackson, Mississippi with Number Three Son on Saturday attending The Crossroads of the South Invitational sponsored by The Jackson Futbol Club. Kudos to the club and the city for putting on one of the best tournaments we’ve ever attended.
Number Three’s U-15 United squad played very well, winning their bracket by defeating a Chicago Fire junior team 3-1. Despite carrying the field in both possession and shots on goal in the semifinal, we fell 1-0 off a free kick from 35 yards out (one of only 3 shots on goal our opponents had all afternoon) that slipped past our keeper’s fingers and just under the crossbar.… Read the rest
Uh, Hey Vols
Uh, hey Vols. Uh, hey Vols. Uh, hey Vols.
We just beat the, well, you know, crap out of you.
Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer, give’em, well, you know, heck Alabama!
Roll Tide, Roll!
UPDATE 10/22: For those of you from other parts of the country and world who may be unsure of what I’m talking about, here’s the Full Monty version of the “Rammer Jammer” from field level. This is what it sounded like to Phil Fulmer.
Take a good listen, Tommy–you’re next.
It’s All About “The Process”
Now that the Crimson Nation has suffered through “The Recent Unpleasantness,” it’s time for a sobering return to earth via the good folks at RollBamaRoll and realfootball365.
Okay, Tiders, stop sucking on those Kool-Aid straws. I hate to say I told you so, but, well, I did. I predicted several losses and now I see us finishing 8-4 or maybe even 7-5 after the last two weeks have revealed significant chinks in the armor. Conference USA champ Houston will be coming to T-town this weekend for Homecoming (we have tickets–woo hoo!), and this test will be a real barometer of the direction of the rest of the season.… Read the rest
Pray for Lamar
I realize that very few of you know Lamar Jackson, but take my word for it: He’s a great guy. Lamar played club and high school soccer with Number One Son, and he is a sophomore pharmacy student at Ole Miss. Like many college kids in town, he had come back to Huntsville to rendezvous with friends at Big Spring Jam. On his way back to Oxford, he apparently fell asleep at the wheel and was injured badly in a single car accident near Tupelo Sunday evening.
Things were touch and go for a while and he was on a respirator, but he is now able to breathe on his own.… Read the rest
That’s the Way Soccer Should Be
Watching 16-year-old boys play soccer at a very high level is not for the faint of heart. They are insanely quick, closing down the available space in the blink of an eye; if you find yourself thinking about your next decision of what to do with the ball, it’s already too late. And the physical contact? Brace yourself, because it hurts just watching. They are young kamikazes in colorful kits who have no regard for their own bodies or the bodies of their opponents. They are young rams testing their mettle in head-to-head combat, guarding their turf as if it were a matter of life or death.… Read the rest
Eventually Saban Provides National Title
With the resurging Tide catapulting back into the Top 25 for the first time since 2005, ESPN College Gameday will be broadcasting live from Tuscaloosa tomorrow morning. That should give Number One Son a good reason to roll out of the sack long before his usual Saturday wake-up time of twelve noon. It’s my understanding that many will be camping out tonight in the hopes of getting some face time with Chris, Corso and Herbie, but Number One says he will not be among them. As a result, he will likely be more toward the back unless he gets up really early (highly unlikely), and that means he’s going to need a large-print, creative acronym sign in order to leave his mark on a national TV audience.… Read the rest
Video Angst
Apparently it’s not just baseball managers who fret over stolen signals and suffer video angst. In the wake of the New England Patriot/Bill Belichick imbroglio over sideline videotaping, the Georgia Bulldogs have closed their football practices for the first time in seven years.
Why now, you ask? Well, as the Atlanta Journal and Constitution reports, Crimson Tide HC Nick Saban used to work as (are you ready for this?) the defensive coordinator for Bill Belichick during his Cleveland Browns days. And to top it off, Saban and the Dolphins were accused of stealing signals last year from none other than the New England Patriots (the NFL investigated and found the accusation to be baseless).… Read the rest
I’m An Optimist–I Just Have to Work At It
In case you haven’t noticed, I try to remain fundamentally cheerful and optimistic on this blog. I figure that the world is full of enough overwrought, rant-filled, spiteful fare, so I aim to provide a little counterweight. Plus, it’s an exercise in self-discipline, for I am by nature fundamentally pessimistic and sometimes downright morose.
So, this morning, I pause to take in a lungful of crisp, autumn-tinged air and give thanks for the following:
- My wife, who rather than committing me to the local mental hospital, playfully joined in my craziness last night and helped me track down and destroy that nasty wood roach (the mere sight of which caused me to go apopleptic) which managed to slip inside when I opened the door to the garage
- Number One, who, despite being involved in two, count’em, TWO car wrecks (plus a close encounter as a pedestrian with another car which he has not seen fit to tell me about yet–I have my sources) since arriving in Tuscaloosa, is nonetheless in good health.
Fire. At. Will.
JRB and I recently found ourselves in a discussion over the willingness of Alabama Coach Nick Saban to go for two points during the Vanderbilt game a couple weeks ago. He felt like St. Nick was “piling on” the points, and I felt that he wasn’t. One of the points I brought up was my memory of Alabama’s thrashing of the Virginia Tech Hokies when they came to Blacksburg in 1973. That final was 77-6 even after The Bear had gone through the entire 3rd string, the waterboys and a couple of tuba players.
As I pointed to JRB, 77-6 is something to complain about, not a measly 2-point conversion in a relatively low-scoring game in which your QB has had trouble finding his mark inside the Red Zone and simply needs the practice.… Read the rest
Stars Fell on Alabama
“Stars Fell on Alabama” late Saturday night under the Tuscaloosa lights. Just in case you missed it the first time, here it is again. If you’re a Razorback fan, that one may not be safe for work.
Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer! And here’s a sight for sore eyes if there ever was one. Meanwhile, back at The Barn, the smell of smoke lingered in the air.
In Montgomery, the Faulkner Eagles made their home debut, and JRB was there, passing on his love of Southern Game Day Tradition to his young daughter. And by the way, congrats to the Montgomery Biscuits who came through in dramatic fashion.… Read the rest
As the Hawg Squeals
I know some of you may have been expecting Mike the Redneck to weigh in on tomorrow’s Alabama-Arkansas match-up. Sorry to disappoint, but he went to the dentist yesterday (he actually still has two teeth left) and got one of those numbing shots and just isn’t able to talk very well right now. Nevertheless, he sends his “REE-guards.”
I spent four years of my life dwelling in The Natural State and have more readers there than in any other state besides Alabama. I hold no grudge against the Hogs. In fact, I rather like the Razorback Nation.
Why, you ask? It’s really very simple.… Read the rest
It’s a Good Weekend When…
It’s a good weekend when…
- The two soccer teams that your sons play for go a combined 4-1 for the weekend…
- When you oldest son manages to travel from Tuscaloosa to Huntsville for a brief visit, then on to Atlanta for a Dave Matthews/Allman Brothers concert and then back to Tuscaloosa without getting into yet another wreck…
- The Crimson Tide beats the so-called “experts'” 3 1/2 point spread against Vanderbilt and wins by a margin much closer to what you predicted…
- You become a full-fledged convert to the Crimson Way by staying up late watching Auburn lose in OT to South Florida and then high-fiving it with Number Two Son, the former Vols fan…
- You step on the scales and learn that you’ve actually lost 2 lbs over the past week and a half despite the fact that you haven’t run a single step…
- You get to teach a class at church that you’re actually excited about (Richard Foster’s Celebration of Discipline)
- Your friend who moved to Egypt shows up unexpectedly for a visit bringing with him his friend Akhmed who is visiting a Christian church for the first time in his life…
- Akhmed enjoys your class and you get to visit with him for a while and make a new friend from a faraway place…
- You get to teach Akhmed the all-purpose, always-appropriate phrase, “Roll Tide, Roll!”
Listening to My Body
I’ve been listening to my body lately, and this is what it’s been telling me:
Stop, Eyeguy, stop!
That’s right, an inflamed left Achilles tendon and a flare-up of my sciatica have knocked me out of marathon contention for this fall and left me wincing anytime I try to take a step over 4 miles per hour or so. Most of you can imagine how important an Achilles tendon is to running (as in, not optional), and for those of you who have never experienced sciatica, picture a 6-inch ice pick in the small of your back and the resulting pain which radiates from your buttocks down to your ankle.… Read the rest
The Greatest Alabama Fan in the World
She might as well have been sent straight from central casting.
She was fifty-something, a beautician or some kind of county court clerk if I had to guess, five foot two and 110 lbs if she was an ounce. Her nails were painted a glossy Crimson, her skin was leathery brown, probably from a few too many sessions in the tanning bed. Her hair was bleach-blond, her brown dirt, brunette roots proudly showing through. She wore a Bama tank top, grey sweatshorts and Roll Tide flip-flops. She was loud, salty and full of sass, in a Steel Magnolias, Ouiser Boudreaux sort of way (although I can assure you, she was no Cajun).… Read the rest