Day 81 - Keep Helping / Brooks is Clueless

 

Hey Everybody, I’ve been on a bit of hiatus with the website for a couple of weeks. Various reasons have kept me from inflicting my opinions upon the world. The storms of April 27^th, 2011 have wreaked such havoc across the Great State of Alabama and the rest of the South that I have been a bit busy with things outside of this site. I’ll talk a bit more about those storms and some of my opinions regarding the support this state has received. I’ll touch on a few Alabama and Auburn related things. I’ll laugh out loud at @banditref (www.banditref.com) and I might even weigh in on my good buddy, Brooks. And….We’re Off…..

The storms of April 27^th have decimated my state. As everyone is well aware of by now, Tuscaloosa was nailed as well as Birmingham, Huntsville and numerous smaller communities and towns throughout North and Central Alabama. I’ve mentioned the devastation in Phil Campbell, AL in a previous entry, but since that time I have had the opportunity (or should I say bad luck) to see the complete and total destruction of people’s lives first hand. There are children without parents, parents without children and both without homes. There are environmental concerns that could cause the chore of rebuilding some of these areas to be further complicated. There are con artists taking advantage of the good nature of the people that have already had so much taken from them. The situation in Alabama is still dire and I do not want the rest of this country to forget it. 

While I have witnessed so many bad things over the last couple of weeks, I have also seen some wonderful, wonderful people jump at the chance to help. My buddy @banditref has made a couple of trips to Tuscaloosa with his local church from Jacksonville, Florida  to help begin the rebuilding of that wonderful place that I hold so dear to my heart. Some friends of mine from an online gaming community (www.renegadesclan.com) have taken it upon themselves to aid people that they do not even know. The leader of the community (Ski) has taken up donations and sent them to Alabama to help individual families. He has also taken it upon himself to gather donations to help from people he knows outside of the gaming  community. The great thing about it all is Ski lives in Wisconsin and I assume he has never even been to Alabama. Furthermore the members of The Renegades community are from all over this country and even overseas. These people who do not know a soul in Alabama (other than me) have all given their thoughts, prayers and dollars to aid the rebuilding of people’s lives. That, in itself, is amazing. So, I want to personally thank @Banditref, Ski and the Renegades Gaming Clan for what they are doing for the people of my state. 

Then you also have thousands of other people who have consistently done every little thing they can to make sure the need for help stays at the forefront of everyone’s mind. There are people like @dbldeeisme who I know only through twitter (I’ve never even spoken with her). I can tell you this about her though… If there is a tweet out there about someone needing something to aid the victims of these storms, then she is all over re-tweeting it to make sure the information gets to as many people as possible. She spends a lot of time making sure these tweets get around and thus is contributing to the overall effectiveness of the entire relief effort. It’s because of people like her that “Name Your Foundation Here” that was out of water 1 hour ago, has more than they need now. I want to thank you for your continued efforts Ms. @dbldeeisme , it hasn’t gone unnoticed. 

I have to also mention Toomer’s for Tuscaloosa, an Auburn University based relief effort that has been a huge factor in helping the people of Tuscaloosa through this dark, dark time. I don’t know what the most recent dollar figure is that Toomer’s has raised is, but I want to point out that these Auburn fans have contributed much more than a few dollars here and there. They sent crew after crew to Tuscaloosa to help with the cleanup. They’ve sent truckload after truckload of medical supplies, toiletries, shoes and clothing to the very heart of the Alabama campus. It really is sad that the disaster of April 27^th, 2011 was needed to get many of us to understand that there is a lot more to life than the Alabama verses Auburn rivalry. These Auburn fans have been wonderful at loving their fellow man and after all, isn’t THAT what it is all about?

While I would like nothing more than to put all of this Tornado talk to bed for good, I’m afraid that I can’t promise that. Seeing what I have seen and hearing the firsthand accounts that I am hearing lets me know that Alabama will be under this dark cloud for some time to come. I’ll try to lighten things up by talking about some different topics, but this event has impacted me severely which will compel me to make sure that the need for help stays at the forefront. The national media did a phenomenal job covering the events that occurred for about 30 seconds….then poof, it’s like we all magically healed. Not a word mentioned on any television station outside of the South. Initially they reported that the devastation was on par with what Katrina brought to the Gulf Coast, yet I have seen nothing that even resembles the outpouring of national media attention that was garnered from that storm. Why is this? Any valid answer would be appreciated. CNN…you’re based in Atlanta…DO SOMETHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On to some Crimson Tide related stuff. Once again, my buddy, my friend, my pal….Brooks from the sportsbybrooks website has decided to beat on a dead horse. Once again, from the sunny skies of California, Brooks has his stethoscope on the very heartbeat of SEC sports. Amazing how he only posts the side that supports his claims, yet completely ignores the facts surrounding the story. If he can get some clicks on his site, that’s all he is worried about. It doesn’t matter who it hurts, if the information is correct or if it has already been proven to be a moot point; if Brooks can get you to click on his website, he will. 

This week’s latest tirade by Brooks is in regard to Alabama’s Nick Saban and his supposed penchant for a practice in the college football recruiting world referred to as “Over signing”. The practice is referring to signing more potential college athlete’s than will be allowed to be on a team’s roster when the actual season starts. Every team is allowed to have 85 scholarship athletes on the roster per season. Saban has been accused of signing kids, having them work with the strength coaches over the summer and then (depending on their performance) either telling them there wasn’t room on the roster and asking them to leave campus and come back the following January or kicking another existing, less productive player off of the roster to make room for the new talent. This story has been hit 1000 times, yet Brooks feels the need to bring up quotes from Saban as far back as 2008. Ok Brooks, I’ll try to put this into terms you can understand. The great thing about posting it here is that I don’t have to worry about you censoring the post.

Brooks, instead of picking on Nick Saban, why don’t you check the facts elsewhere around the SEC and see exactly who is “over signing” these kids? While Saban is guilty of “over signing”, he by no means is the only one doing it. He isn’t even the one doing it the most. I guess the consistent underachieving by your favorite (UGA Coach Mark Richt) has put you on the war path. Are you taking classes from Au’s 3D (deflect, deny, deter) Department? Why don’t you write about how UGA has been poised at least 3 times in recent years to make a run for the SEC Championship only to be lucky to pull off winning seasons? Don’t get me wrong, I like Richt and I think he is a class act. It’s YOU that I can’t say the same about.

Below are the numbers to once again prove you are a dimwit:

From the years 2007 through 2011, Nick Saban signed the following number(s) of athletes:

2007 – 25

2008 – 32

2009 – 28

2010 – 26

2011 – 23

That is an average of 26.8 signees per year. You failed to mention in your article the normal average numbers of players lost to attrition, career ending injuries, academic casualties and willing transfers. You also failed to mention this next set of numbers:

Ole Miss Signees from 2007-2011:

2007 – 22

2008 – 31

2009 – 37

2010 – 26

2011 – 28

That is a yearly average of 28.8. Ole Miss is the school guiltiest of “over signing” in the SEC West. Alabama didn’t even win the West, so why exactly is Saban on the receiving end of your cheap shot? Let’s dig a little further (for the sake of saving space, I’m just going to give averages from here on out).

1.) Ole Miss – 28.8 players per year

2.) Auburn – 28.6 players per year

3.) Arkansas – 28.2 players per year

4.) Miss. State – 27.00 players per year

5.) Alabama – 26.8 players per year

6.) LSU – 25.6 players per year

Uh Oh Brooks, did I just put Alabama in 5^th place in the rankings of the SEC West? OOOPS again for you man. Come on Brooks, if you’re going to enter into a battle of wits, at least have some.

You did quote Saban as saying that it wasn’t fair to label him as a chronic “over signer” without knowing the history and details of these cases. He is correct, you don’t have a clue. Star Jackson (QB) transferred from Alabama. Was he asked to leave, no he wasn’t. He was told that the chances of him beating out those in front of him were slim and Jackson made the decision on his own. That was the truth. I guess you are insinuating that Saban pushes these kids off the team to favor the new, younger talent. The problem I have is that you do not know what he is doing and to make the insinuation is sub par for a (and I use this term very, very loosely) “journalist. “ Even if your insinuation proved to be true, why are singling Saban out and not Nutt? I eagerly await your reply Brooks (but be careful, I have the power to censor you here).

Guys, if you want to laugh, go check out www.banditref.com . @banditref  ‘s latest flow chart regarding Au’s 3D effect is sure to get at least a chuckle…even out of the Auburn fans.

RTR

BamaSon25