April 17, 2008
krogers
I’m all for playing up the Iron Bowl rivalry whenever possible. I tell friends and relatives from other parts of the country that the single greatest matchup in sports is an Auburn-Alabama football game.
When players from those schools tangle in basketball, baseball and other sports they bring the best out of each other, which is how I define a great rivalry.
Until yesterday, I never really thought the rivalry could be overhyped. Until an email was brought to my attention. It was flagged with a red exclamation point and the importance, of course, was “high.”
Did JPW break his arm? Did Tubs tell a Southern Cal booster group he would replace Pete Carroll? Nope.
Turns out, knitters and crocheters on both sides of the Alabama-Auburn rivalry will be competing for a charity event. The 2008 Ultimate Knit to Win Challenge is a contest to see which team’s supporters can produce the largest number of hand-knitted and crocheted caps for premature and high-risk infants. The contest will run through Nov. 20. Caps will be presented to local hospitals in Tuscaloosa and Auburn/Opelika, as well as Children’s Hospital in Birmingham for their neonatal intensive care units.
Serendipity Needleworks out of Tuscaloosa issued this challenge. For details, check out their web site at http://www.serendipityneedleworks.com
So what, you say? Sew what? It’s for a good cause, but I’m not sure it warranted the red flag on the email.
Still, bringing nine-inch needles into the Iron Bowl debate could be irresistible, like bring a gun and knife show to an international soccer friendly.
Posted in by Ken Rogers on 04/17 at 10:21 PM
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April 12, 2008
krogers
TUSCALOOSA—Nick Saban liked the format for Saturday’s A-Day game, but said it could change in the future.
The team used a first-team offense and second-team defense vs. second-team offense and first-team defense format to keep it competitive, build continuity and put first- and second-teamers head-to-head.
Ideally, however, Saban said he’d like to see the players hold a draft and pick their own teams.
“I just think it’s fun for the players,” Saban said. “I think the way we’re playing the game is probably the best way for the coaches. I think it really makes it a lot of fun for the players when they can choose up sides, take more pride in the team that they pick.
“I always did it that way (with a draft) in the past, but I felt like I made a mistake my second year at LSU, the same spring we’re in right now. We had some good players, but we didn’t have a lot of depth.
“Rohan Davey ends up being the quarterback on one team, and the left tackle ends up being a walk-on. And then Marcus Spears ends up being the right end on the other team, and we can’t block him, and we end up getting sacked nine times in the first half, and everybody thinks we’ve got a horrible team. Well, we won the SEC championship the next year, but it wasn’t a very good spring game because of some of the inequities that were created by allowing the players to draft.
“Now, past that, we always had those kinds of games (with a draft) and it never occurred because we had a little more depth. Hopefully, when we get to that point here, in terms of numbers, we’ll be able to do the same thing.”
Posted in by Ken Rogers on 04/12 at 12:58 PM
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April 07, 2008
krogers
Alabama senior point guard Ronald Steele is the second Crimson Tide player to announce he’ll enter the NBA draft in June.
Steele, who missed all of last season and the second half of the 2006-07 campaign with a devastating knee injury, has not retained an agent and could come back for his senior season next fall.
Steele and junior Richard Hendrix have joined many players with college eligibility remaining in this exploratory step.
Frankly, I don’t know why every junior in college basketball doesn’t take this route. You get feedback from the NBA — even if it’s laughter and ridicule — and, as long as you steer clear of an agent, you get to come back to school.
In Steele’s case, from this vantage point, it’s pretty unlikely that an NBA team would draft a player who hasn’t seen the floor in a year and a half due to injury. His chances are even slimmer since Isiah Thomas isn’t running the New York Knicks’ front office. So it’s likely Steele will be back.
Which should be good news for the Tide, considering freshman point guard Rico Pickett is reported to be transferring.
Pickett has been suspended indefinitely. Coach Mark Gottfried said it’s because the freshman hasn’t complied with team rules.
“We have standards and levels academically as well as athletically that our student-athletes need to meet, and there are consequences when they fail to do that,” Gottfried said.
Pickett’s father said grades had nothing to do with this. The freshman from Decatur said when Pickett informed the team he was leaving, he was suspended.
Pickett got schooled for much of his freshman year, although he returned to the starting lineup and directed the team down the stretch.
If he doesn’t come back and Steele doesn’t return, Alabama will be under the gun to find a point guard. A number of weapons are coming back, but each will be limited without someone getting the ball to the right people in the right spots on the floor.
Even if Steele comes back, he will shoulder a greater burden without Pickett’s presence. The beating and banging, wear and tear of an SEC season takes a toll on the healthiest of players — let alone one coming back from rehab with so much to prove.
Posted in by Ken Rogers on 04/07 at 10:43 PM
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April 02, 2008
krogers
Nick Saban’s Alabama Football 2008 Coaching Clinic runs April 3 through April 5.
“We’re really looking forward to it,” Saban said Wednesday. “This is a great opportunity for us to host and welcome the high school coaches of our state and surrounding states who do so much to help develop the players that we have the opportunity to recruit. And they do so much to teach and develop and promote our game. This is the one opportunity a year we have to host these gentlemen, try to share some knowledge and information from a professional standpoint so that they can grow and develop. We’d love to get as many high school coaches here as we possibly can. I really enjoy this.”
Thursday’s chalk talk sessions with the Alabama coaching staff kick off the event.
Friday, Saban has arranged a full day of presentations. His good friend, Bill Belichick, will be one of the featured speakers. The clinic concludes Saturday with guests having an opportunity to see Alabama’s second scrimmage of the spring.
“We have many great speakers. It’s important to us to have a quality clinic for these guys. It’s something that we’re really looking forward to,” Saban said.
Belichick, of course, will command a lot of attention.
“Bill’s a good friend. We worked together, been friends for a long time,” Saban said. “I worked with his dad. I met him years and years ago in 1982, I think, when I worked with his dad.
“He’s a family friend as well as a coaching colleague. Certainly have a tremendous amount of respect for him and he’s been able to accomplish professionally, but also I’m looking forward to seeing him as a friend, see how he’s doing, how his family and kids and everybody else are doing.
“I really appreciate the fact that he would take the time to come here and be a part of our clinic and help us promote our game to the people that we’re trying to create a positive experience for from a professional standpoint in terms of them being part of our clinic. So we really appreciate that.”
Posted in by Ken Rogers on 04/02 at 09:00 PM
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March 26, 2008
krogers
TUSCALOOSA — Richard Hendrix, the 6-foot-9 junior power forward who led Alabama in scoring and rebounding this year, on Wednesday announced he would enter the NBA Draft this June.
That doesn’t mean he will be in the NBA this fall. Hendrix said he will not sign with an agent and will seek feedback from league evaluators in the months leading up to the draft. If those evaluations urge him to stay in school, he can change his mind before June 16 — 10 days before the draft — and return to Alabama for his senior season.
Still, Hendrix sounded committed to the NBA and said his focus will be earning a place in the draft.
“I’m going into this procedure with the highest hopes and best expectations,” said Hendrix, who was dressed in a blazer and tie. “… It’s always been a goal of mine to play at the next level. If the opportunity presents itself then I’ll give it a try.”
Hendrix has NBA-type credentials. He was the only player in the Southeastern Conference to average a double-double this season — at 17.8 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. The junior from Athens, Ala., the SEC in rebounds with Ole Miss’ Dwayne Curtis. He made the first team all-SEC in coaches and media ratings in both preseason and postseason voting.
Asked if he had a draft number in mind as determining factor in whether he returns, Hendrix said, “Mainly, that’s a decision I’ll have to make as I get more feedback. I’m hoping for the best. I think I have a good opportunity to become a pretty good draft pick, hopefully, and I’m going to work as hard as I can to make it happen.
“You don’t want to make a decision you wind up regretting. It’s all on me. I just have to make good choices from here on out.”
Posted in by Ken Rogers on 03/26 at 01:37 PM
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