Its hard to believe that  just three years ago, the Alabama program was floundering under Mike Shula and the idea that Nick Saban would come to Tuscaloosa was laughable. Saban is doing what he loves to do, and that's build winners. Last years 12-0 regular season was better than anyone could have hoped and I think even Saban would say that he wasn't expecting it. Once again the Tide is poised to compete for a national championship...in 2010. They will likely have the kind of season this year that was expected last year. About 9 wins. The Crimson Tide are very very good, but Virginia Tech, Mississippi, and LSU are at least as good, if not better, and Florida will be waiting in the wings for  the SEC championship should the Tide roll that far. Not saying each of those will be a loss, but you also have to factor in the games against  opponents you're supposed to beat that get out of hand.(Sugar Bowl last year). So it looks like a 2 or 3 loss season. But not in 2010, with Sabans recruits coming of age and Tebow gone. Watch out SEC and watch out BCS The Tide will be rolling. Then when Saban leaves for a new challenge, it will be up to Alabama's shaky  leadership to keep the train going.

Acknowledging that the natural inclination on this site is to rehash games and seasons from Forty, Fifty and Sixty years ago,  how about some forward looking discussion?  Want to give it a try? For example, can Bama get past Virginia Tech in the first  game? What happens if they lose? Its a non conference game, and they could probably recover right?  May even help them focus  in the long run. Get the butterfly's out of the system early and not have to worry, like last year, when that inevitable first loss would come.

If you were a child of the seventies. You remember Bear Bryant and his famous championship teams. You probably graduated High School around the year Coach Bryant retired. You "experienced" Alabama's Glory days. You lived them, loved them and thought they would never end.

Nick Saban now leads the Crimson Tide. It is 30 years later, and with only one non-Bear Championship during that time, the grainy images of those aged victories still look just as clear in your forty-something minds as if they occured yesterday. There is much hope and optimism that Coach Saban can return Alabama football to its once lofty perch. He probably will. Will he win as many as Bryant? Probably not. That was a different era. One you will never see again. You will be proud nonetheless and tell your children and grandchildren the old stories. Sure, it won't be the same as it was back then, but for you, thats okay, because you remember.

Your children no doubt are Tide fans and worship the Bear's memory, however ghostly and faded it may be. But as one generation gives way to the next, has the once vivid image yellowed slightly? After all, children of this decade will have Mike Price, Shula, and Dubose to remember. It has been 17 years since Coach Stallings brought home the last championship. Alabama football isn't the same for your kids as it was you and your fathers. As your generation slips into the golden years and eventually into the great beyond, will the memories of those great years slip away as well? Those who follow will have great memories to be sure, but it will be different won't it?

To face the prospect of it being forgotten is scary indeed. And to hear it vocalized, to see it in writing, will likely stir up emotions. Anger, indignation, denial, and maybe even pride. What about desperation? Are you desperate? As you cling tightly to what once was, knowing it is already slipping from your tightly clenched fists, do you worry that, when you are forced to let go of the burden, that there will be no one there to carry it on? Will anyone even try? Go ahead, let it go now. Make room for the new memories..... It's alright. You can do it. Roll tide.

When I hear the morning sports radio guys in the biscuit eating town, my mind is invaded by unwelcome images of bad karaoke singers and old school pirates. Not so much because they sing like William Hung or look at all like Johnny Depp, but because they (or one of them, anyway) shamelessly copy, and parrot from the big boys. (national shows) The lack of originality is kind of embarrassing. Folks can listen to the real Jim Rome if they want to. Also, its beyond me, why Paul Finebaum's show is referred to as "our afternoon program"Are the listeners to believe that "Sandpaper" had any part in that? Maybe expecting creativity is a little too much, but at least there is one area where Sandpaper stands alone, and that's the brazen promotion of gambling that is done on the air. I'm surprised the radio station allows such reckless, destructive, and irresponsible behavior. I've noticed that neither "Silk", the midday guys, nor the "Afternoon program" feel the need to promote it. Realistically speaking, the only guy in bed with Sandpaper on this issue seems to be the caller with the slightly feminine voice. What's his name again? Now "I'm not saying anything" but, if Sandpaper would do a little soul searching and just be himself the show would improve. Nothing Personal...