More articles as the countdown begins in earnest

It's hard to believe but college football season is just around the corner. Here are a few articles to help get you psyched up!

Alabama linebacker Ezekial Knight who has medical problems is shopping around for a college willing to clear him medically. According to his former high school coach, he has officially requested a transfer from Alabama. "He asked to be released at Alabama and he's going to try to go to a smaller school," Randy Boyd, his former coach at Randolph County High, told me today. - Birmingham News

Get to Know the 50 States (Alabama) - Sporting News

Flashback: Alabama vs Florida 2005

Most lopsided rivalries:
12) Alabama-Mississippi State (Roll Tide!!!), 92 games, .788 They say that the states of Alabama and Mississippi rank near the bottom nationally with virtually any comparison. However, we didn't know that the drop-off from 49th was this great...
11) Michigan-Wisconsin, 61 games, .795 This is pretty sad for Wisconsin, one of my favorite Big 10(11) teams. Being dominated like this costs big bucks at your local B & D parlor...
10) Oklahoma-Oklahoma State, 102 games, .799 The only intrastate rivalry to make the list. Oklahoma wasn't even a state yet and OU-Ron was still a young man when the Cowboys started getting owned by OU. A decent record against the Sooners is apparently something that T. Boone Pickens can't buy...
9) Ohio State-Northwestern, 73 games, .801 Nothing really earth-shattering here. Private Northwestern is the Vanderbilt of the Rust Belt. The 2nd worst team in the Big 10(11) has been dominated by Michigan, too.
8) Georgia-Kentucky, 61 games, .803 For decades, Georgia fattened up on Kentucky and Vandy every year before being mandated to play other Appalachian team Tennessee annually in 1992...
7) Alabama-Ole Miss (Roll Tide!!!), 55 games, .818 Curiously, Miss State has a better record against the Tide than the cross-state Rebels do. Can you call that being Croomed? Eh, maybe not...
6) Nebraska-Kansas State, 89 games, .826 K-State is also seriously owned by old Big Two, Little Six rival Oklahoma. With the Huskers dominating the Jayhawks, too, it's not unfair to say that the state of Nebraska should just move their entire border 200 miles south...
5) USC-Oregon State, 71 games, .845 They get a lot of rain up in the Pacific northwest. Forecast for the Beavers: Cloudy and bleak, with chance of heavy Trojans downpour...
4) Michigan-Indiana, 59 games, .847 Big 10(11) celler-dweller Indiana also gets clobbered by Ohio State, but who's counting? Is it round-ball season yet?
3) USC-Washington State, 67 games, .851 The Pacific bully feasts on yet another victim. If you're wondering why the Arizona teams haven't been included in the Trojan's feast, it's because they've only been in the conference for 30 years and haven't qualified for them--yet.
2) Notre-Dame--Navy, 81 games, .870 You guys thought this one would be number one. Hell, I did, too. Notre Dame only keeps this one alive to repay some eternal debt that they owe Navy. Here's a novel idea, perfect for military men: administer the coup de grace to the midshipmen and let this one die! However, Navy does currently have a one-game winning streak. Hmmm....
1) Oklahoma-Iowa State, 75 games, .919 Okay, I had to look it up, but Iowa State WAS a member of the old Big 8 conference. They decided to continue the despair and moved over to the Big 12, where they are also the designated beat-down'ees of Nebraska and Colorado. Too bad the Cyclones can't match that F-5 tornado that comes out of Oklahoma--they are indeed the drubbing kings in all of BCS Division 1-A.

Roberts to fill in for Stabler - Crimson White
Former Alabama quarterback and Crimson Tide Sports Network color analyst for Alabama football games Kenny Stabler has asked to take a leave of absence for the 2008 season. Stabler has been a member of the Alabama football broadcast crew for the last ten years. "We regret that Kenny will not be part of our broadcast team during the upcoming season, but accept and understand his decision," said Jim Carabin, general manager of Crimson Tide Sports Marketing.

Alabama's Lawrence is one to watch
Alonzo Lawrence, a 6-foot-1, 187-pound cornerback from George County High School in Lucedale, Miss., who runs the 40-yard dash in a speedy 4.43 seconds. Lawrence also possesses a 36-inch vertical leap, speaking to his sheer athleticism. In fact, Rivals says he is the best athlete of all the cornerbacks in the 2008 class and the second-best overall CB.

Alabama sells out football tickets - Montgomery Advertiser

You'd better sit down: Price of SEC football seats soars - Birmingham News
Ten years ago, a face-value ticket to the Iron Bowl cost $30. Today, $30 can't get you into any Alabama or Auburn game, even against the nonconference bottom feeders. The price to watch college football has skyrocketed. The average SEC ticket price - including the minimum donations required for the right to purchase season tickets - has increased 80 percent since 1998, from $61.07 to $110.05, according to an analysis by The Birmingham News. Combined with escalating gas and food costs in a slumping economy, some fans and athletics administrators worry the average college football fan is being priced out of stadiums in favor of wealthier clientele.

UA flag finds new home in Alabama
A University of Alabama flag that greeted millions of hungry troops in a dining facility in Kuwait has been retired -- a new one, signed by football coach Nick Saban and Crimson Tide players, has taken its place.

Let's see the football team pull this off

UA gymnasts excel in the classroom - TideSports.com

TUSCALOOSA | Five Alabama gymnasts [That's a third of the team. JS] earned a 3.9 or better grade point average for the spring semester, including three who earned perfect 4.0s. As a team, the Crimson Tide earned a 3.62 GPA in the spring which followed a 3.515 average last fall.

“To earn a team GPA of 3.62 is an extraordinary accomplishment, and it makes us very proud,” Alabama head coach Sarah Patterson said. “Alabama Gymnastics enjoys an outstanding academic standing and this year’s team certainly built on that reputation, helping take it to new heights.” More >

For the past ten years, UA has finished in the top ten in team GPA among NCAA Division I gymnastics squads while also finishing in the top 10 in the sport nearly every year. That's a hard-working bunch of ladies. Hats off!

Jimmy Johns busted for selling cocaine

Tide LB Jimmy Johns arrested for possession, distribution (AP)
Alabama linebacker Jimmy Johns was arrested on felony drug charges Tuesday and kicked off the team, the latest in a string of off-the-field problems for coach Nick Saban’s squad. More >

Jimmy Johns arrested, dismissed from team (Tuscaloosa News)
Narcotics investigators have charged University of Alabama linebacker Jimmy Johns with selling cocaine. More >

Recent Tide news

From making tackles to saving souls Tuscaloosa News
"When Wayne Davis was a linebacker for the University of Alabama, he was a silent leader. Now, he's taken the pulpit of his hometown church in a much more outspoken role for the congregation and the larger community. 'One of the first things I thought when I saw the Lord leading me to do this, is that I had to begin to teach and establish the fact that leaders are very vital as far as the church is concerned,' Davis said. 'Spiritual leaders are very important as it pertains to carrying out the mission of the church. Our desire is to win the lost. We have to do that through evangelizing. I'm a real big advocate of sound and solid leadership.'"

Bama signee Ray drafted by Dodgers, mulls decision - Mobile Press Register
"Alabama football signee Melvin Ray is considering a professional baseball career instead of playing for the Crimson Tide, according to his father Melvin Sr. The Los Angeles Dodgers presented Ray, a standout receiver and outfielder from Tallahassee, Fla., with the additional option by taking him in the 33rd round today during Major League Baseball's first-year player draft. "We're not sure yet," said Melvin Sr., a former pitcher in the Detroit Tigers' organization. "He's contemplating over this thing tonight or tomorrow. I'm going to call the (Alabama) coaches and everything once he makes that decision."

Self remembered for his integrity - Florence Times Daily
"Hal Self, who started the modern-day football program at North Alabama in 1949 and served as the Lions' head coach through 1969, died Friday after an extended illness. He was 86."

Destin Hood goes No. 55 to the Washington Nats Mobile Press Register
"Alabama football signee Destin Hood was the first prospect with Crimson Tide ties selected in today's Major League Baseball first-year player draft. Hood, a receiver and shortstop/outfielder from St. Paul's in Mobile, was selected No. 55 by the Washington Nationals."

New Birmingham station for Saban's show - Birmingham News
"The Nick Saban Show" will move to CBS 42 in Birmingham when the Alabama football season kicks off this fall, the station announced today."

Who knows? Preseason sports annuals rank Tide 20th... and 30th.

The two leading sports annuals in our market, Athlon and Lindy's, have somewhat divergent ideas on the Tide's prospects this year. Both rave over the team's recruiting efforts, the nation's best, and agree Saban will produce a championship down the line. But one feels this will still be a major rebuilding year while the other is a little more optimistic.

Athlon cites heavy losses of starters on defense as cause for concern. The shifting of several players to new positions in the offseason (some have even switched sides of the ball) and the installation of yet another new offense will produce an early learning curve. Athlon also believes John Parker Wilson's stellar numbers are too riddled with inconsistency (and turnovers) in the clutch to allow him to carry the team. With Bama meeting virtually all their toughest SEC opponents on the road this year, they foresee status quo or a one win improvement at best. They give the Tide 6 likely wins, 5 probable losses, and 1 toss-up.

Final ranking: Nationally, 30th. SEC West, 3rd

Lindy's (published in Alabama, btw) grants a few of those points but believe there is potential for a breakout season for many freshman in Saban's merciless meritocracy. They believe JPW may finally shed his lingering insecurities. And they point to a tendency for new coaches to have a major spike in quality in their second season. None of these are as objective as Athlon's reasons, in my book, but I sure hope they are right.

Final ranking: Nationally, 20th. SEC West, 3rd

New fan

Just like Ashley Judd at basketball games and car races, we may have our own celebrity fan drawing the attention of television cameras during Alabama football broadcasts this fall. Jay Barker's fiancee, Sara Evans, has converted wholeheartedly to the Tide and appeared in left field during the City of Hope Celebrity Softball Challenge sporting a Bama ballcap.

For you softball fans, Sara's team won 8-1, led by the pitching of the game's MVP JoDee Messina. Her shutout was spoiled in the ninth inning on a run scored by Carrie Underwood, who was helped by her experience with Louisville Sluggers. And a few "errors" by a gracious infield. Video

Sharp reviews...

Check out Sharp's review of "The Missing Ring" by Keith Dunnavant.

"This book's subtitle is "How Bear Bryant and the 1966 Alabama Crimson Tide Were Denied College Football's Most Elusive Prize." The Tide were the defending back-to-back national champions in 1966. They were ranked first in both polls as the season began. They finished the season undefeated and untied - yet managed to finish third behind Notre Dame and Michigan State, who had played each other to a 10-10 tie in midseason. This book was intended to explore why that took place...."