Saturday, September 29, 2007

Some pre-game observations

Two quick notes some 20 minutes before kickoff of Alabama-FSU:

* Jacksonville Municipal Stadium is in the heart of an area called the Jacksonville Sports Complex, which also houses the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville (home of the Southern League's Suns, the L.A. Dodgers' Double-A affiliate) and Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum (which currently has no pro sports tenant since the ECHL's Lizard Kings folded). It's not a bad area, but you can tell it's not used to hosting events of this nature.

There just aren't an abundance of restaurants and bars within walking distance. That's kind of suprising, given that the Super Bowl was here a few years ago.

The NFL's Jaguars play 10 home games a year (eight regular season, two pre-season), then there is the annual Florida-Georgia game and the Gator Bowl. But it's a decent venue, certainly more festive than some I've visited in recent years (I'm looking at you, Georgia Dome).

* Three key injured players for the Crimson Tide --- linebacker Darren Mustin (neck stinger), defensive tackle Brian Motley (ankle) and wide receiver DJ Hall (quad) --- are all dressed out and participating at full speed.

Motley and Mustin in particular would be huge additions for Alabama's defense, which has been soft against the run the last two weeks. Motley, a redshirt freshman, has yet to play in a game in his Alabama career, missing the first four weeks after breaking an ankle on the Tuesday before the season-opener with Western Carolina.

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