Alabama 49 - Arkansas 14

I've had a sense of foreboding ever since the Crimson Tide thoroughly dismantled Clemson on the first Saturday of this college football season. I imagine it's something akin to the feeling that Cubs fans get every year. Something along the lines of, "yeah, we look pretty good, but you just wait... we'll find some way to screw it up." After all, Alabama finished 7-6 last year. How on earth could they continue to win before shooting themselves in the foot?

All that to say, I had penciled this weekend's game as one of those potential Saturdays where Alabama would find a way to blow it. Arkansas always plays Alabama with some kind of indomitable will in Fayetteville, and I figured Alabama would have its focus set squarely on next week when they travel to Athens to take on the #3 Georgia Bulldogs. If you were looking for the textbook example for a  potential trap game, you'd be hard pressed to find a better one than the Alabama-Arkansas game.

As you can see, I was clearly nervous about this game. Then the most ominous of all omens occurs - Lee Corso picked Alabama to win during this morning's edition of College Gameday  (we all knew he would, but every week I pray against it). Bama fans are familiar with how Corso's prognostications usually turn out when he picks UA; the Crimson Tide usually lose big. 

My feelings of doom of course now being confirmed by Lee "let's kill Alabama's chances" Corso, I tried to remain outwardly cheery and confident lest Liss feel my now substantial doubts about our beloved Tide. Finally kickoff rolls around and Bama quickly appears to run its first drive straight into the ground. My sense of doom deepens. Then Arkansas proceeds to hand Bama the first of many gifts throughout the game... on 4th and 4 PJ Fitzgerald gets bumped while punting the ball and turns in an Oscar-worthy performance.

Flag.

On.

The.

Play.

Penalty - Arkansas. Running into the kicker - 5 yard penalty which results in a first down for Alabama. After that, there was no looking back. Alabama racked up more than 300 yards running the ball, and the defense intercepted Arkansas QB Casey Dick FOUR times. Two of which were returned for touchdowns. At the half Alabama led 35-7, and they looked like they could name the final score.

The rest of the game was 30 minutes of relishing the fact that maybe just this Crimson Tide football team is made of tougher, more spirited stuff than that of previous teams. Not only are they beating the teams that they are supposed to beat, they are beating them senseless. I can't wait for next week's game at Georgia.

Except I have this sneaking feeling....

A very happy birthday!

Is there anything more contagious than laughing (the common cold notwithstanding)? Over the Labor Day weekend, Liss and I went down to Jackson to hang out with family and go to Grandpa Harold's birthday party (G'pa Harold is my step-mom's dad, but he has always treated Liss and I like we have been in the family since we were born). I think the photos below may tell more about how much fun we had than I could possibly write.

I hope you smile :)

Wow that's a lot of white people

I'm watching the Republican National Convention, and it's frighteningly caucasian. Of course, you would expect that the vast majority of the delegates attending the RNC to be white folks, but I have seen very few non-white people.

I know that's a petty complaint, and it's certainly no reason to support or not support a political party (or is it?). However, considering how every single speaker, every single video, every single angle, every single breath is weighed, measured and produced it's shocking to see such a grossly unrepresentative crowd. Are the Republicans afraid to let minorities into their power structure? I doubt it, but you sure wouldn't know it by watching the convention coverage tonight.

Oh well, that's enough of politics...

Alabama 34 - Clemson 10

First of all, thank goodness football season is here.

Second of all, thank goodness I have a wife who is as crazy as I am about wanting to watch every single snap of every possible game.

Third of all, are you kidding me?? Bama made it look like they were playing the Tuscaloosa High School JV team when they took Clemson to the woodshed outback of the Georgia Dome. Full disclosure here: Liss and I were discreetly keeping tabs on the score while at Grandpa Harold's 80th birthday party, so we missed most of the first half. However, the part of the game I saw was unbelievable. Who took my beloved Crimson Tide that regularly blows first half leads and replaced them with this freak of a machine that completely dismantled the three-headed Clemson offensive attack?

The expectations are through the roof for me now. I mean, Clemson was supposedly the 9th best team in the country (according to the Associated Press), and Alabama beat them by 24 points. We'll find out more about Alabama when they face Georgia in Athens a few weeks from now, but the Clemson game leaves me feeling like there just might be a chance...

Roll Tide!