Missing My Friend...

For some reason Victor is on my mind tonight and I can't sleep... so I thought I'd write about him.

On March 25, 2008, the world lost a great person, the University of Alabama lost a great former-player, proud alumnus and prominent supporter, and I lost one of my dearest friends.

Victor Ellis had a smile that could light up the room and an attitude that would almost irritate you to death because it was just so positive about everything. Victor passed away after only 28 years of blessing those around him. But in his 28 years here, he made the most of every single second. I issue a challenge to find someone that Victor came in contact with, who is not better for the experience. Victor was a hard-fighting, head-strong leader for the Crimson Tide on the field, and he was a hard-fighting, head-strong, AMAZING person off the field.

While I am not usually a mourner or someone who gets caught up in sad situations... I have never in my life been more devastated than I was when my hero and my friend passed away almost a year and a half ago. Victor was not only someone that I looked up to but someone whom I aspire to be just like. He was never bitter and never angry about the hand he had been dealt, instead he encouraged everyone around him to just smile, make the best of it, and move on. It doesn't seem that easy to me... but it sure did to him.

My fondest memory with Victor and one that I will cherish forever, was being able to walk out to midfield with him for the coin-toss before a game in which he was named as a honorary captain. We walked out together and walked back... and even though you could tell his body was weak, he insisted that we keep going. I walked with him back up to the skybox where he was sitting for the game and as I turned to walk out and make my way back down to the field to work, he stopped me, gave me a big hug, thanked me for being with him, and told me he loved me. I cried my eyes out the whole way back to the field... it is amazing the impact that one person can have on your life and I am thankful to God for allowing Victor to be a part of mine.

I love him and I miss him... and I think about him everyday. On that day when it seemed like everyone was losing, someone else scored a touchdown. God received an ambassador, a role-model, and a great man.

God bless you Victor... thanks for the memories!

Counting Down to Kickoff: 61 Days...

As summer continues to heat up, the days until the start of the 2009 Alabama Football season continue to count down. We are now just 61 days from the kickoff of another year of Crimson Tide Football here at The Capstone.

This season will be Coach Saban's third in Tuscaloosa and the excitement from the Alabama fan-base is still as high as it was on January 3, 2007, when he first arrived. With each season comes another top-notch recruiting class, another year of experience in doing it the "Saban way" and more and more high expectations for the end result. I would challenge any one to find a coach in college football that is as intense and passionate about the game as Coach Saban. For example, take a look at this video, which is originally from www.coachsaban.net and features highlights of last year's dramatic 27-21 win over LSU in Baton Rouge in overtime to secure a spot in the SEC Championship game in Atlanta. The very beginning of this video is the pre-game speech from the lockerroom. The very beginning shows the intensity that is given 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year by the man who is putting Alabama Football back on the map. Watch the video and tell me you aren't fired up! ROLL TIDE!

The Day After...

Yesterday, June 25, 2009, was quite a day in the entertainment world... many have compared it to August 16,1977, the day that Elvis Presley... the "King of Rock and Roll", a dynamic trend-setter in the music world and a heartthrob worldwide, passed away. Time will tell if 6/25/09 is indeed as important as 8/16/77... 20 years from now, will your kids ask you, "Where were you when you heard that Michael Jackson died?" Twenty years ago, there was no one in the world that was more popular that the "King of Pop" but allegations regarding his personal life, which I don't need to remind anyone of what those are... tarnished, for some, the memories of "Thriller", "Billie Jean", and so many other hits that made fans young and old idolize him world-wide and literally faint in his presence. I am just a FEW (not many) years too young to truly appreciate what Michael Jackson did for music, so I asked a few people today who would know better than I would... and they, without a moments hesitation agreed with each other that today is every bit as big as that day in 1977.

The former Jackson 5 star was 18 years old and had almost a decade of music experience under his belt when the "King of Rock and Roll" died in 1977... Almost 22 years later, it seems almost ironic that both "Kings" suffered mightily from drug addictions and struggles in their personal lives. History has forgotten all the negatives surrounding the end of Elvis' life... and although they were not near as outlandish or astonishing as those that surrounded Michael Jackson in the final years of his life... I, for one, hope that history will be just as kind to the "King of Pop" and that 20 years from now, people will have moved on from the bad and remember the talent that so many people adored for so many years.

Kobe and the Lakers DOMINATE in Game 1...

Another stellar performance by the best player in the NBA... Kobe Bryant scores 40 points (a career NBA Finals high) as the Lakers defeat the Magic 100-75 and take Game 1 of the series. Los Angeles is playing in their 30th NBA Finals as a franchise and going for their 15th World Championship.
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Summer school is in full swing... it hasn't completely started kicking my ass, but I can feel it coming. Economics and Math aren't my strong suits... and taking them at the same time probably wasn't the wisest choice I've ever made. BUT I know I won't have time to deal with classes like that during the fall, and I am determined to get the hell out of school in December!

Goodnight, Go Lakers... and ROLL TIDE!!!

What a rollercoaster day...

I was able to be at the Tuscaloosa Airport when the softball team arrived home from Oklahoma City and it was probably one of the most emotional scenes I have ever seen. My best guess would be 100-150 fans came out and cheered for the girls as they stepped off the plane, many of them in tears. I had a chance to talk to Coach Murphy and Van for a few minutes and was able to tell them how proud EVERYONE is of what this team was able to accomplish.

The rest of the day was spent in the office. We did a few interviews of people who are going to be working with us in the summer and in the fall and brainstormed some ideas for sports in the fall semester.

I did catch some rays today!!! I left work about 4:30 and headed to the pool to soak up a little bit of sun and loved every minute of it!

Summer classes start tomorrow and it's going to be a sucky month for me... but I'm determined to stay focused and on track to make good grades. We'll see how that turns out!

Goodnight and ROLL TIDE!

BAMA Softball drops heartbreaker...

The University of Alabama Softball team was one out away from forcing and "if necessary" game to make their run to the WCWS Championship series. That out never came, the Tide up 5-2 in the bottom of the 7th fell to the Florida Gators on a walk-off grandslam by Ali Gardiner to give Florida the 6-5 victory over Alabama.

Hats off to Murph and the entire BAMA Softball organization for a fantastic season... ROLL TIDE ladies!

BAMA WINS!!!

Congratulations to Coach Patrick Murphy and the Alabama Softball team who came back out for a second game on Saturday night in Oklahoma City and knocked off the defending National Champion Arizona State Sun Devils 6-2. With the win the Crimson Tide advances to their first ever WCWS Semifinals and will face the Florida Gators in a 2:00pm first pitch. The Tide trailed 2-0 when Jaz Lunceford came in to pinch hit for Brittany Rogers with the bases loaded, and Jaz answered the call knocking a grandslam over the left field wall... and the Tide never looked back.

Make plans tomorrow afternoon to tune into ESPN at 2:00 and cheer on Murph and the Crimson Tide!

Goodnight and ROOOOOOOLL TIDE!!!!

BAMA Baseball season comes to an end...

The 2009 Alabama Baseball campaign came to an abrupt end on Saturday afternoon. The Crimson Tide was defeated by Tennessee Tech 6-2 in an elimination game at the NCAA Regionals in Clemson thus bringing the season to an end. Alabama finishes 2009 with a 37-21 record and dropped six of their last seven games. Just over two weeks ago the Tide found themselves 1/2 game behind LSU for first place in the SEC and was primed for a conference championship heading into their 3-game series against Auburn to close the regular season. Alabama needed some help from other teams that weekend and needed to take care of the Tigers who were one of the worst clubs in the SEC in 2009. Alabama dropped 2 of 3 to Auburn including a heartbreaking loss in 10 innings in the first game of the series and the Tide never really seemed to bounce back, despite their 13-3 win in game 3 of the series. With the SEC championship awarded to LSU and Ole Miss as co-champions, the Tide went into the SEC Tournament in Hoover as the 4-seed and what some considered a favorite to make a run deep into the tournament. After dropping into the loser's bracket with a 9-5 loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks in 11 innings and losing All-American third baseman Jake Smith to a season-ending injury on the last play of the game, the Tide had to make a less than 12 hour turnaround and face LSU in an elimination game and dropped that decision 9-6.

With hopes of hosting a NCAA Regional in Tuscaloosa depleted, Alabama was made a 2-seed at the Clemson regional. After dropping yesterday's game to Oklahoma State 10-6, the Crimson Tide was in a must-win situation today in their game vs. Tennessee Tech. Alabama's offensive woes continued on Saturday as they were only able to bring 2 runs across the plate in the 6-2 defeat to the Golden Eagles.

This season has been packed full of emotional highs and lows. Those of us who have spent time around the team have enjoyed the highs of this season but have also suffered the low points. Now the season is over, but the Crimson Tide did provide a lot of memories for me in 2009 that I'll never forget.
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The Alabama Softball team steamrolled over Arizona this afternoon 14-0, eliminating the Wildcats from the Women's College World Series. The Tide will square off against Arizona State tonight and if last night's lack of offense for the Sun Devils and this afternoon's domination at the plate for Alabama continue... the Crimson Tide should have no problem sending both teams from Arizona home early from Oklahoma City. It should be an exciting game to watch...
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Game 6 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals tips-off at 7:30 tonight in Orlando. The Magic have a 3-2 lead in the series over LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers. If the Magic win tonight's game they meet the Los Angeles in the NBA Finals next week with Game 1 being played at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. If Cleveland can pull off the win, they will force a Game 7 after being down 3-1 in the series.

While at this point the Magic are probably the favorite to win, if you are a sports fan and have caught even just a minute of NBA action, you have to respect LeBron James and his ability to take complete control of a game and guide his team to some wins where their backs were up against the wall. Right now, this is the biggest game of his career in my opinion, and if the Cavs secure the victory... I would have to bet on them to win Game 7 as well. The Magic can't afford to let Cleveland tie the series and erase their commanding lead.

I am looking forward to catching BAMA Softball and some intense NBA action tonight...

It's "do or die" time for the Crimson Tide...

Looking for something to do on this beautiful Saturday afternoon? Well I had to make a big decision, which in reality I knew what I'd decide the whole time. I really wanted to spend the first sunny Saturday we've had in almost a month lying by the pool soaking up the sun, but instead I will spend it in the company of some good friends taking in two games of incredible importance for the Crimson Tide Softball and Baseball teams.

This afternoon in Oklahoma City, the Crimson Tide Softball team will be playing to fight their way out of the Loser's Bracket, taking on Arizona at 1:00pm. I suggest EVERYONE tune in your sets to ESPN and watch what the ladies. They are indeed one of the most talented teams in the country and are a lot of fun to watch. If Alabama is able to beat Arizona, the Tide will play again later tonight at 8pm facing Arizona State who fell 1-0 to Washington in 8 innings on Friday night. There is little doubt in my mind that Coach Murphy will have the Tide pumped up and ready to roll this afternoon. They had yesterday off so they will be rested and focused on the task at hand. They realize the importance of today's game and should come out firing away against the Wildcats. My best guess is Charlotte Morgan will pitch against Arizona... but to be honest with you, I really have no idea.

After what many termed a "shocking upset" yesterday in Clemson, the upset being the Oklahoma State Cowboys who have been at the receiving end this week of a lot of criticism (many think that the Cowboys don't even belong in the NCAA Tournament, mainly because they did not even make the BIG XII Tournament), Alabama head coach Jim Wells recognized (and I wrote this yesterday before he was interviewed) that today is a "do or die situation" for the BAMA Baseball team. The Tide faces Tennessee Tech today, and in all reality, if the the Alabama Baseball team who won 17 of their last 20 ballgames in the regular season, the Alabama team who swept Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Arkansas during the regular season, the Alabama team that was oh so close to winning the school's 15th SEC Championship going into the last weekend of the season, if THAT Alabama team takes the field today... then I don't think Tennessee Tech stands a chance. All signs point to Adam Morgan, who although is a Freshman, and been a tremendous asset to the Tide pitching staff to shut down the Golden Eagles who lost to Clemson last night 5-4 on a two-run double in the bottom of the ninth inning by the Tigers.

Today is a very important day for both clubs... like I said yesterday, win and you live to play another day, lose and you pack the bags and head home. Personally, I don't want to see the players of either of these teams back in Tuscaloosa until sometime next week.

Take the time today to enjoy an afternoon of Alabama Athletics from the comfort of your own home... and let's home BAMA can get it done.

More later... until then, as always, ROLL TIDE!!!!

Crimson Tide falls 10-6...

The Alabama Baseball team dropped a 10-6 decision to the Oklahoma State Cowboys on Friday afternoon at the NCAA Clemson Regional. Tom Belza who had hit only two homeruns in the first 52 games of the season, connected with the long ball three times against the Tide, including a grand slam in the top of the first inning. Alabama fell behind quickly down 8-0 before going through their batting order once.

The Crimson Tide mounted a comeback cutting the lead to 8-5 at one point in the game, but could not stop the Cowboys offense who seemed to always have an answer, either with their bats or forcing Alabama to leave runners on. The Tide's seventh inning rally was halted when Ross Wilson grounded into a 5-4-3 double-play to end the inning leaving two runners on and Kent Matthes in the on-deck circle. It should be noted that Wilson had only grounded into two double-plays in his previous 254 at-bats (as the announcer bragged just moments before).

Alabama, now in the loser's bracket, will return to the diamond tomorrow afternoon in an elimination game against Tennessee Tech. The Tide is expected to send Freshman RHP Adam Morgan to the mound in tomorrow's game. Facing elimination, the Tide must and will play their hearts out to keep the 2009 season alive. Once the bats got going today, Alabama really had no problem making contact with the baseball. Unfortunately, Oklahoma State had already done enough damage to keep them ahead of what was a surging Tide in the middle innings of the contest.

Tomorrow afternoon is when you get to see how a team responds when their backs are up against the wall... win and you live to play another day, lose and it's time to pack the bags and head back to Tuscaloosa. My guess is Coach Wells' and the boys will come out and play like the BAMA team we have enjoyed for much of this season and put a pounding on Tennessee Tech.

In non-Alabama news and thoughts for today... I bought tickets this afternoon to the New York Yankees vs. Atlanta Braves game on June 24th... and I'm pretty pumped about getting to see my Yanks.

If you missed the NBA Western Conference Finals Game 6 tonight... then you didn't miss much competition. Kobe and the Lakers came to the Pepsi Center tonight and took care of business against Carmello Anthony and the Denver Nuggets to advance to their 30th NBA Finals... which being a big Kobe and Phil Jackson fan, I'm excited about! Unless LeBron (which never count him out) can pull off a miracle in the Eastern Conference Finals... the mighty Lakers will meet the Orlando Magic in the Finals. If that's the case, I'm calling it NOW... Lakers in 5 games!

Until tomorrow... Goodnight and ROLL TIDE!

Alabama Softball falls...

The Crimson Tide Softball team fell 6-1 to the Michigan Wolverines tonight in Game 1 at the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City. The Tide will play again on Saturday in an elimination game. I spent the evening at Buffalo Wild Wings here in Tuscaloosa watching the game with some people from work... while we were all frustrated, I believe Coach Murphy will have the girls ready to come out and play hard on Saturday.

Alabama is due for a national championship in a sport (the last was 2002 when the Gymnastics team won the National Title), and Coach Murphy and the Alabama Softball team are more than deserving to make a run for one in Oklahoma City this week.

The other Crimson Tide team looking to bring home some hardware is Coach Wells' baseball team who will play their opening game in the NCAA Clemson Regional tomorrow afternoon against Oklahoma State. The Tide and Cowboys are set to begin at 2:00pm and the game will be carried by CSS as well as Chris Stewart and the Crimson Tide Sports Network. Alabama is expected to start Senior RHP Austin Hyatt who will be coming off of 8 days rest and is considered the Tide's ace on the mound. I will be interested to see how Alabama plays in the absence of Junior 3rd baseman Jake Smith, who was injured on the last play of the game against South Carolina in the SEC Tournament last week in Hoover. Jake had 18 homeruns on the year, second only to Kent Matthes who leads the team with 28, and set the all-time UA record last week in Hoover for most homeruns in a season, breaking Doug Duke's record of 27 set in 1986.

After my morning in the office, I plan to come home and watch BAMA Baseball tomorrow afternoon and hopefully see the Tide roll against Oklahoma State. While I am passionate about the Crimson Tide as a whole... I am a huge fan of Coach Wells and the BAMA Baseball program. It is the sport that I have become really close to in my 3 years of working in the athletic department. They have always made me feel as part of the team... and I celebrate the wins and suffer the losses just like a true member of the team. I'm pretty excited about seeing them play tomorrow and see how they respond...

I'll write tomorrow about my thoughts and recap the baseball game. Until then "ROLL TIDE!" and goodnight!

The Countdown to Kickoff: 100 DAYS!

184 Days until a repeat of this... ON THE PLAINS!

Now that the clock has struck midnight... we are 100 Days until kickoff of the 2009 Alabama Football season. The Crimson Tide opens the season on September 5th in Atlanta against Virginia Tech in the Georgia Dome.

The Iron Bowl is 184 days away... until then, why not just watch the video above and enjoy this 365-day period of TOTAL DOMINATION over Auburn... 36-0!

For real this time... "Roll Tide!" and Goodnight!

Just an intro...

Well this whole "blog" thing started out as a requirement for a class. I had to show I could set one up... but then I decided once I was here, what the hell? Why not write in it... as if Facebook and Twitter weren't enough? I know that I'll most likely forget to write in this thing, but I'll make every effort not to. We'll just have to wait and see how this goes.

Let's see... I think this is that part where I tell a little about myself. I am in what feels like my 100th year of college (insert wise crack from the peanut gallery here), but my days as a college student are winding down (THANK GOD!) I have been in college at the University of Alabama since June 2003 and I think it's about time to stop going to class, but this time because I'm done... not because I have had an A.D.D. moment and found something better to do for the day.

I have been a student intern in the Marketing Department in the Athletic Department since December 2006... and other than the occasional "burn-out mode" that everyone that works in sports 365 days a year experiences, I have loved every minute of it! I have been fortunate enough to meet some of the All-time Alabama greats... many of which were heroes of mine growing up... I've also made some friends that I otherwise probably never would have.

If I post on this thing as planned... it won't take you long to notice that I truly do look at life through "crimson-colored glasses"... maybe it's an obsession, most seem to think so... I just look at it as an undying passion for something that I fell in love with when I was 7 years old. Either way, the Crimson Tide has made a major impact on my life... for good or for bad, I've celebrated some of the best of times, and suffered some of the worst all over "just a game" but I wouldn't change any of it.

OK... off to do something else, after all... I can't tell you EVERYTHING about me all at once! Alabama Softball will be playing Michigan tomorrow night in the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City... 6PM on ESPN!

I'll try to get back to this tomorrow. Until then "ROLL TIDE!" and goodnight...