An early lead for Miami

Those of you who have followed this blog know that every year I do a ranking of the best college football programs featuring 10 categories, half all-time and half based on the previous season. Well, the first category for next year's rankings are in, NFL players on opening day.

Here's the Top 25, according to the NFL:

1. Miami 44
2. Florida State 37
3. Georgia 36
(tie) Michigan 36
(tie) Ohio State 36
6. Louisiana State 35
7. Tennessee 34
(tie) Texas 34
9. Southern California 32
10. Florida 30
11. Notre Dame 28
12. Auburn 27
(tie) California 27
14. Virginia Tech 25
15. Nebraska 24
16. Maryland 23
17. Boston College 22
(tie) Michigan State 22
(tie) Penn State 22
20. North Carolina 21
(tie) Purdue 21
22. Iowa 20
23. Arizona State 19
(tie) Georgia Tech 19
(tie) Louisville 19
(tie) Texas A&M 19

Just out of the Top 25 with 18 were Alabama, Kansas State, North Carolina State, Oklahoma, UCLA and Virginia.

Another handbook finished (sort of)

Week 1 of the college football is over, and I have to admit that I'm already tired. Granted, a night game in Atlanta is a little unusual, not to mention Alabama destroying Clemson (it's been a while, you know?), but I shouldn't be this fatigued already, should I?

Regardless, I finally got the Notre Dame handbook done, at least until I need to add all the 2008 updates in about four months. The Fighting Irish open their season this week against San Diego State, which quite honestly shouldn't be much of a challenge, but you never know.

Ok, with five handbooks to finish by the end of the year, that works out to roughly one every three weeks. So this month I'm going with a different plan, work on Ohio State for two weeks and then finish Georgia by the end of the month. I did a ton of preliminary work on Georgia and with road trips at the end of September (at Arkansas, at Georgia) it shouldn't be a problem.

Of course, the bad part of that is I probably will be spending very little time in Athens, one of my favorite college towns.

It's up!

As I posted on here a few days ago, The Tuscaloosa News is going to do a video series based on the book, and the first one is up. It's on No. 73: Own Something Bearing No. 12.

(Bearing, get it)?

Links are at the bottom of this post.

I also have my first book signing to announce, Saturday, Sept. 6 (that's when Alabama plays Tulane) I'll be at the Bryant Museum from 1-3. There's a chance I could get moved to the Quad on campus, but I'll post it if that's the case.

I also did a phone interview on ESPN SportsCenter on Wednesday morning, and I do a regular appearance on 1420 The Tusk in Tuscaloosa at 5 p.m. Wednesdays.

p://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1620670543/bclid431782885/bctid1759768814 or tidesports.com.

Now this could be pretty neat ...

For those who don't know, my day job is covering Alabama football for the Tuscaloosa News. Well yesterday, I was asked if it would be ok if the paper did the 100 Things in "100 Things Crimson Tide Fans Need to Know or Do Before They Die" as an Internet series.

Would it be ok? It would be more than ok, it would be great.

Not only could this be a huge plug for the book, but also a lot of fun.

I'm not sure which one we're going to do first (we're thinking of going in random order), but I'll let you all know and post a link.

P.S. Thanks to training camp I've fallen way behind schedule on the Notre Dame handbook. Time to pick up the pace.

August update ...

Greetings all, from the press box at Bryant-Denny Stadium, where I'm watching practice for Fan Day. We're not supposed to report on anything that actually happens, so I thought I would take a moment and give an update.

Unfortunately, I'm behind where I want to be on the Notre Dame handbook. After playing in a weeklong tennis tournament in 100-degree heat for work (yes, you read that correctly), there was SEC Media Days followed by a trip to River Falls, Wisconsin, where I spent a couple of days with the Kansas City Chiefs for a short series. The day I returned, Alabama reported for fall practices. So it's been a busy couple of weeks.

Things look good on the "100 Things" front. The marketing should kick in by the end of the month, and although I generally don't look much at the rankings on amazon.com, they've been higher than any of my other books. No signings scheduled yet, although I did turn one down in Mobile because of a scheduling conflict, but I did a radio show in Tulsa last week and my weekly appearances on a Tuscaloosa station (1420) will begin Wednesday.

Yes, football season is here.

See? I told you it was out

This is a photo taken today from my local Barnes & Noble, and yes, there it is, my new book. I also like how you can see two other books of mine on the shelf below (Hey B&N, how about my own shelf! - just kidding). I then signed every copy they had in the store.

FYI, I had to be careful taking this picture because I didn't want anyone thinking I was weird or an ego-maniac. I have enough problems as it is.

Today is the day

My understanding is that the book "100 Things Crimson Tide Fans Need to Know & Do Before They Die," will start hitting stores today (July 15th - I'm posting this at 1 a.m. and the date at the top hasn't switched over yet) as this is the official release date.

When I called to check the local B&N, I was told that they have "a whole lot of copies" on order.

We're off and running. Excellent.

Also, the Giants handbook is done, except for updates from the upcoming season. Whew. It took a little longer than expected, but I really like the way it looks.

We're getting SOOOOOOOO close ...

Two things of note today before I get a rare weekend off away from work:

1) I'm putting the final touches on the Giants handbook, the lone pro edition we'll be doing in the initial year of the series. I'm very pleased with how it looks, and it'll probably be the best of the initial nine, which is great because if it does well we'll likely do some other pro teams the following season. That leaves six more to do in roughly six months. Next up, Notre Dame.

2) I received my copies of "100 Things Crimson Tide Fans Need to Know or Do Before They Die," which means we're just days away from seeing it in stories. With so many fans starving for anything football-related, the timing couldn't be better. The book looks good, people seem interested and we're about to kick the marketing into high gear. Fun stuff.

... and then there were five

Ta da! Look at what arrived over the holiday weekend. My publisher was nice enough to send two early copies of the book, one of which I'll be hand-delivering to my mom at the end of the month (don't tell, but the book is dedicated to her).

I took one of the copies to a wine-tasting and dropped it on the counter to see the reaction. Just about ever person was, "Hey, what's that?" Very cool. Look for it to start hitting stores in a couple of weeks.

Every time I have a new book I always take a picture with the other covers. What on earth am I going to do next year when there nine new additions to squeeze into the frame?

Book update

There's good news on the book front. I finished the first handbook (well, except for everything I'll be updating from the upcoming season) on schedule, Michigan. Why Michigan? Simple, I figured it would be the most difficult to complete, and I was right. Next up, the New York Giants, which will be the lone pro team we'll do for next year while trying to gauge interest, followed by Notre Dame. Why Notre Dame? Why not?

Just as a reminder, the handbook series will debut this time next year, assuming I get all nine of them done in time. Two down, seven to go.

As for "100 Things Crimson Tide Fans Need to Know & Do Before They Die," I hear they should arrive from the printer any day now. I'll then get my copies, and shortly thereafter start seeing it in stores. Always fun.