Bama fans show spirit at Independence Bowl

Here is the print story that ran this morning. -aj

By Andy Johns
Star Staff Writer

12-30-2007

SHREVEPORT, La. — One night earlier this week, Edna Daniels couldn't stand the wait any longer. She was ready to go at midnight, too excited to sleep. She forced herself to sleep a few more hours before getting up at 3 a.m.

She wasn't waiting for St. Nick. She was waiting for Coach Nick.

"We started to leave at midnight but we made ourselves sleep," said Daniels, a Munford resident who left for the Independence Bowl in the wee hours Friday morning. "We were so excited."

It was raining in Munford when they left at 5:20 a.m., and it rained on them all the way to Meridian, Miss. But she had faith that there was a bowl of gold at the end of the rainbow.

"We knew it would be sunny here, because Nick is here," she said Friday. "We're all Nick Chicks."

Full story

We made it

Busy night tonight. We are here at the media hotel. More tomorrow.

Take 1 tsp. salt, add to wound

For Alabama, the route to the Independence Bowl both literally and figuratively goes right through Louisiana-Monroe. And the fans in Monroe want Tide fans to remember. Below is a bad picture of a billboard along I-20 in Monroe.

It reads “Tide Rolled!” and then the score of Alabama’s loss. If Bama wins that game we’re on the way to Memphis or Nashville or Dallas or Atlanta. I don’t mean to rub it in, but I bet the Monroe fans do.

In Cajun Country ... well not really

We’ve crossed over the Mississippi River and are now in Louisiana. The part of the state we are in reminds me a lot of South Georgia or South Alabama. Shreveport is a long way from the bayous of New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

Everything was going smooth until we have run into this traffic jam about 80 miles from Shreveport.

While we’re stuck I’ll post some pictures from Louisiana. Below are pictures from crossing the Mississippi.

"Moving on to Mississippi" or "Chugging past Chunky"

We’ve crossed over to Mississippi now and stopped for free coffee at the Welcome Center. The parking lot had several cars with Alabama tags and more than a few UA flags, stickers and window paint.

One of the tags was from Talladega County and I talked to the driver, who was walking his dog. They were both wearing Alabama shirts—the man and the dog.

Anyway they are from Sylacauga and I gave them my cell number (256-310-3222) and they said they would call me once they got set up to tailgate.

A hundred miles back or so we saw an R.V. decked out in Georgia Bulldog gear with window paint saying they were Sugar Bowl-bound. Kevin and I sighed and thought about what other more glamorous locations we could be headed to if it wasn’t for a loss to La.-Monroe or Mississippi State. Oh well, no use crying over spilled bowls.

So far Mississippi looks a lot like Alabama. Just inside the state we saw a road sign for Chunky, Miss.

Shortly after, we saw this sign:

I’d like to hear how a real estate agent could sell land that borders the Chunky River. I don’t even want to know what chunks in the water gave it that name. -aj

On the road

Star photographer Kevin Qualls and I left Anniston about 9:30 this morning. We're through Birmingham and in Tuscaloosa now.

Mapquest said the route is around 500 miles and will take almost 8 hours. We're hoping to get to Shreveport in time for the Pep Rally on the Louisiana Boardwalk tonight at 6.

From here we stay on I-20 through Mississippi until just before Texas. The map I looked at said Shreveport was 18 minutes from the Texas line and 40 minutes from the Arkansas line.

I talked to a group yesterday who left Anniston at 5:30 a.m. bound for Shreveport. More on them later.

-aj

Backwoods Smoker

The Competition Hog Cooker by Backwoods Smoker

If you're going to the Independence Bowl and want to drop some serious change into your tailgating, help will only be about 15 miles away.

I saw an ad for Backwoods Smoker in a barbecue newsletter I get through the Kansas City Barbecue Society. The ad said the smokers run from $785 to $7,434 and are built in Shreveport.

When I called Mike McGowan, who runs the operation, and he said he's been building the smokers for 20 years about 14 miles north of downtown Shreveport in the backwoods. That's truth in advertising. He said most of his smokers are sold to caterers and professional barbecue teams, but there are plenty of normal residential folks who buy them. He said people stop by to see his handiwork from time to time.

He said he's never been to the Independence Bowl, but it's entirely possible some of his smokers have been. I'm hoping I can catch one in action in one of the tailgating areas. Anyone serious enough to drop that kind of money into a smoker, probably knows a thing or two about ribs.

-aj

Heading for Shreveport? The Star wants to talk with you

From staff reports

Updated 11:45 a.m.

Star staff writer and certified barbecue judge Andy Johns will be heading to Shreveport, La., Saturday to see Alabama and Colorado square off in the Independence Bowl. He’s looking for tailgaters and fans from northeast Alabama who are making the 500-mile trip.

If you are bowl-bound, call him at (256) 310-3222 or e-mail him at ajohns@annistonstar.com.

This beat blog will be updates before and after the game.

Saban cutting a rug

Here's some helpful hints on watching this video.

1. Cut the audio completely off. It's still funny wihout it. Plus, the sound quality is very, very bad, and probably of greater importance there's a couple of words (ones that wouldn't end up in the Anniston Star, but are commonly heard on a football field) used -- I think it's twice.

2. Either bear through the first part of it, or either jump ahead about midway through to the 0:58 mark. Otherwise you could get motion sickness from the poor camera work.

Independence Bowl poll

The Bama Beat blog now has a poll running about the Independence Bowl. It's over on the right side of the screen a few inches below Creg's lovely mug.
Be sure to vote.

Suspended five reinstated for Iron Bowl

Just released by the UA Media Relations office:

The University of Alabama was informed this morning by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) that five football student-athletes who have been serving suspensions imposed by the University have had their eligibility reinstated effective at the conclusion of today’s game against the University of Louisiana-Monroe.

The five student-athletes – Marlon Davis, Antoine Caldwell, Chris Rogers, Glen Coffee and Marquis Johnson – were suspended by the University on October 20 due to improper receipt of textbooks. Earlier this week, the University submitted to the NCAA a report on an ongoing inquiry by the school regarding this situation. Today’s ruling was the NCAA’s response to that report.

Don't know much other than that right now ...

Bowling Tide

It’s been overlooked given how much the Crimson Tide still has to play for, but the 41-17 victory over Tennessee on Oct. 20 made Alabama bowl-eligible for the fourth consecutive year.
Alabama hasn’t played in a bowl game four straight years since 1991-94, the tail end of a 10-year postseason streak for the team. NCAA sanctions kept the Crimson Tide out of the postseason in 1995 and 2002, while losing seasons kept Alabama home in 1997, 2000 and 2003.
“Bowl games are exciting times,” said guard Justin Britt, part of a senior class that will play in four straight bowl games. “It’s always a good thing to go to a bowl game. It means you’ve had a positive year. We want to go out there and whatever bowl game we go to at the end the year, end on a good note. That’s what we’re looking forward to right now.”
Various sports Web sites have been releasing bowl projections of late, but the Crimson Tide’s forecast is currently all over the board. Collegefootballnews.com has Alabama playing Kansas in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas Jan. 1, as does ESPN.com’s Mark Schlabach. ESPN.com’s Ivan Maisel has the Crimson Tide facing Clemson in the Dec. 31 Chick-fil-A bowl in Atlanta, while Sportsline.com pits Alabama against East Carolina in the Dec. 29 Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tenn.
All of the above projections are probably assuming an Alabama loss to LSU on Saturday. But a Crimson Tide win could push Alabama into a bigger (perhaps a BCS) bowl, not to mention the SEC championship game.

The Greatest SEC Game Ever

Alabama-LSU a 4 p.m. kickoff

Just announced by Alabama. CBS will televise.

Caldwell, Coffee, 3 others suspended

TUSCALOOSA --- Five Alabama football players, including All-SEC offensive lineman Antoine Caldwell and starting tailback Glen Coffee, were suspended for today’s game with Tennessee due to what has been termed “violation of institutional policy involving impermissable receipt of textbooks.”

Also suspended were starting offensive guard Marlon Davis and reserve defensive backs Marquis Johnson and Chris Rogers.

Doug Walker, Alabama’s associate athletic director for media relations said the infraction was discovered on Thursday, and that an inquiry into the matter is ongoing. The suspensions were announced in a news release issued approximately 30 minutes before Saturday’s kickoff with Tennessee at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

“We’re going strictly with what we know right now,” Walker said.

Walker said he was unsure if any other players were involved in the infraction, and did not specify exactly what the violation was, though it is believed the players received more books than they are entitled to under the terms of their athletic scholarships. The suspensions are for today’s game at least, and are considered indefinite until the matter is resolved.

“This is a situation that developed late this week and we are actively investigating,” Alabama athletics Mal Moore said in the statement issued by the school. “These suspensions are a measure aimed at dealing with the facts as we know them at this time. While I cannot discuss the situation in great detail, I can assure you we will address it fully when we have completed this inquiry.”

Caldwell, a fourth-year junior, had started 32 consecutive games at three different offensive line positions, and is considered one of the team’s senior leaders. He graduated with a diploma in human environmental sciences in August, the first player in recent school history to finish his degree in three academic years.

Coffee, a redshirt sophomore, is second on the Crimson Tide in rushing with 413 yards and four touchdowns. He has rotated with redshirt freshman Terry Grant at the position all season, but has seen his playing time increase each week.

Davis has started five of six games at right guard this season, and has 10 starts in his career. Johnson and Rogers are two of the team’s most-valuable special teams players.

Javy making history

Did a little historical stat research for my Javier Arenas story that ran in Thursday's paper, and I uncovered a stat that bears watching the rest of the year ...

At his current pace, Arenas' 16.06-yard punt return average would be the fourth highest in school history among players with 15 or more punt returns in a season. He would also be one of 10 players in school history to average 12-plus yards on at least 10 punt returns. The others ...

10 or more returns
Player, year--------------------------Att.-----Yards-----TD-----Avg.
Gordon Pettus, 1948------------------10-------200---------1-----20.00
Harry Gilmer, 1947-------------------21-------381---------2-----18.14
Cotton Clark, 1962-------------------15-------243---------0------16.20
David Palmer, 1991-------------------24------386---------3------16.08
Javier Arenas, 2007------------------16------257----------0------16.06
Bobby McKinney, 1971-----------------25------326----------1-----13.04
Willie Shelby, 1973-------------------15------191----------1------12.73
Deshea Townsend, 1994-----------------12------151---------0-------12.58
Tony Nathan, 1977--------------------18-------223--------0-------12.388
Harry Gilmer, 1944--------------------13-------161--------0--------12.384

15 or more returns
Player, year----------------------------Att.-----Yards-----TD-----Avg.
Harry Gilmer, 1947-------------------21-------381---------2-----18.14
Cotton Clark, 1962-------------------15-------243---------0------16.20
David Palmer, 1991-------------------24------386---------3------16.08
Javier Arenas, 2007------------------16------257----------0------16.06
Bobby McKinney, 1971------------------25------326----------1-----13.04
Willie Shelby, 1973-------------------15------191----------1------12.73
Tony Nathan, 1977--------------------18-------223--------0-------12.38

Obviously, the season's only half over, so Arenas has plenty of work to do to maintain his current pace. But based on what he's done so far this year --- and last year, when he averaged "only" 9.9 yards per return, but had two touchdowns --- I think it's safe to say that he's probably Alabama's best return man since Palmer, and could wind up one of the Tide's best ever.

And that's high praise indeed.

P.S. --- Sorry if those columns don't line up perfectly.

Britt stays home

One quick update some 20 minutes before kickoff of Alabama vs. Ole Miss:

Senior left guard Justin Britt did not make the trip on Saturday, instead staying with his family in Birmingham, where his mother Vera continues to recover from a serious head injury suffered in the hours after the Crimson Tide's game with Houston last Saturday.

For those of you who haven't heard the story, Britt's hometown paper, The Cullman Times, provided the most detailed account of the accident and Vera Britt's condition. Read that here

Vera Britt's condition has apparently improved in the last few days, though she remains in intensive care.

With Justin Britt absent, junior Antoine Caldwell will start at left guard today, with Evan Cardwell at center and Marlon Davis at right guard.

The Hoover report

The long-awaited Hoover High School Board of Education report on alleged academic fraud in the Hoover football program was released on Saturday by The Birmingham News, but did not implicate Alabama in any wrongdoing.

Alabama freshman defensive tackle Josh Chapman --- identified as “Student No. 1” in the report, had his Algebra II grade changed from an 89 to 90 over the summer, thus making his qualified to play for the Crimson Tide this fall (he has appeared in three games this season). But the board concluded that Chapman’s grade change came as the result of a “rounding error” and not at the behest of Hoover or Crimson Tide coaches.

“The incident that has attracted the most media attention --- that involving a change of (Chapman’s) Algebra II grade --- is also perhaps the least egregious,” the 71-page report read. “As we have noted, this grade change was simply the result of innocent human error, and was not a devious effort to inflate an athlete’s grade.”

The report also acknowledges a telephone call from Alabama assistant coach Kevin Steele to Terri Borie, the Hoover’s Peer Helping Coordinator. According to the report, however, Steele’s call was only to point out that Chapman had unexpectedly fallen “ seven 1,000ths” of a point shy of qualifying, and not to request that his Algebra II grade be changed.

There are also several pages in the report regarding the academic record of former Hoover defensive tackle Kerry Murphy, who signed with Alabama in February. Murphy was several points short of qualifying to play with the Crimson Tide, however, and enrolled at a Virginia prep school (Alabama was never accused of any wrongdoing in Murphy’s case).

Read the entire report here.

Line-up changes for Houston

A few notable changes to Alabama's starting lineup for today's game with Houston, at least according to the pre-game notes and player introductions on the Jumbotron:

* Antoine Caldwell will shift from center to right guard, with Evan Cardwell sliding in at center. Regular right guard Marlon Davis missed two days of practice this week due to a death in the family, but Caldwell has also has had problems with shotgun snaps the last few weeks (at least partially due to a bad right thumb). Shotgun formations might be a major part of the Crimson TIde's game plan today.

* Glen Coffee was announced as the starting tailback ahead of Terry Grant. Not a big deal since those two guys have rotated all year, but Grant has started all five games before today. Coffee has been a bit more consistent this year.

* Bobby Greenwood was still announced as the starting right defensive end, but Brandon Deaderick was listed as the starter in the pre-game notes. Greenwood sprained his ankle pretty badly last week against Florida State, and is not expected to play much today, if at all.

* Darren Mustin will once again start at weak inside linebacker, and looked to be working at full speed in pre-game warm-ups. Prince Hall was working alongside him at sam linebacker, and is expected to make his first start of the season.

* Kareem Jackson was working as the No. 1 right cornerback opposite Simeon Castille. Alabama will likely work a lot out of the nickel and dime today, so look for a lot of Marquis Johnson at corner (with Castille at nickel) and Ali Sharrief at dime back.

* Every scholarship seems to be dressed out other than freshman running back Demetrius Goode, who is out for the season after knee surgery.

Saban had reason for his shot at USF

A somewhat innocuous question to Alabama coach Nick Saban in his Monday press conference has set off a war of words regarding one of college football's most contentious issues.

Saban singled out South Florida, undefeated and ranked No. 6 in the country this week, as one example of schools who are able to take advantage of looser admissions policies within their conferences. The Bulls' starting tailback is Mike Ford, who signed with Alabama twice but did not qualify, then enrolled at South Florida in January after spending one semester at a Mississippi junior college.

Saban argued that the admission requirements should be uniform for all NCAA Division I schools:

“I think that the distribution of players is not the same for everyone. We can’t take Props (partial qualifiers) in the SEC. They can’t take them in the ACC. And there’s a significant amount of players who don’t qualify. And they end up being pretty good players at some of these schools. I think there are six guys starting on South Florida’s defense who probably could have gone to Florida or Florida State but Florida and Florida State couldn’t take them. And if you do a good job of recruiting that way—now the Big East has passed a rule that they aren’t going to take Props at some time in the future. I don’t know if it’s next year or the year after or whenever. Now, will that affect their league? It shrinks the pool of players that they can recruit from. I’m not saying it’s not a good rule by the NCAA that we have NCAA eligibility requirements. I think that’s a good rule. I’m not saying that. But it’s not the same for everyone and it does create a lot of parity when you’re playing those schools, you’re playing against guys you couldn’t recruit.”

South Florida coach Leavitt fired back today in this story published on the Tampa Tribune's Web site, saying:

"It's not right [what Saban said], we've done what we've done because we've worked extremely hard. ... Of 110 players, we have two nonqualifiers, one starts, one doesn't," Leavitt said. "The Big East doesn't allow nonqualifiers. For a guy to make a mistake like that is not right."

Leavitt has every right to defend his players and his program, but he's clearly talking out of both sides of his mouth on this issue. Does the Big East allow non-qualifiers or doesn't it? If it doesn't, how does he have two on his team, including one (Ford) who starts?

It's pretty obvious that certain programs, and not just South Florida, are able to take advantage of lower admissions standards. The Big East seems to be among the biggest beneficiaries in recent years.

Remember Deantwan "Peanut" Whitehead, the defensive end out of Birmingham two years ago who is now at Louisville? He'd have been at Alabama or Auburn if he had been able to get in either school.

Running back Noel Devine, a five-star Florida prospect in 2006, seemed ticketed for either Florida or Florida State until he stunned the nation by signing with West Virginia. The reason? He couldn't qualify for his home-state schools.

Saban, who always chooses his words carefully, might have been better served by not mentioning South Florida by name, or at least by citing other examples like those listed above. But he rarely says anything without a purpose, and he's probably trying to send a message to the NCAA that something needs to be done about the academic disparity between programs that are supposed to be playing by the same rules.