It's been an interesting week ...

For Monday, I wrote an article about how Alabama's opponents have done much worse after losing to Alabama. Specifically, the 12 opponents were a combined 23-17 (.600) before facing the Tide. After losing, those same teams went 31-39 (.442).

In reponse, "Every Day Should Be Saturday" has a little fun with the story (very funny), the link for which and the original story are below.

Tuesday, I received a host of emails, especially from Florida fans, calling me a homer and saying I was basically full of you-know-what. You have to love the SEC.

Wednesday, Tommy Tuberville "resigned," which makes me think that six-game winning streak Auburn recently had against Alabama might suddenly be matched by a losing streak.

Combined with thousands of my colleagues getting the axe from Gannett this week, and that's not an exaggeration, these kinds of things bother me, especially just couple of weeks before Christmas.

So I wrote the following for my newspaper blog:

Being the Alabama football beat writer for the Tuscaloosa News, my job usually requires me to be objective about the Crimson Tide. Part of that means I can't cheer for the team, one way or the other, and my focus is supposed to be on reporting.
However, since the following issue is about college football as a whole and Auburn, I think I can get away with expressing an opinion.
Although I can't help but remember that Saban replaced a coach who went 6-6 his final season, I think his comments Wednesday are dead on.
Here's the lead note in Thursday's paper:

TUSCALOOSA University of Alabama coach Nick Saban appeared to be clearly unhappy and disappointed, perhaps even borderline angry, about Tommy Tuberville no longer being the head football coach at Auburn.
Of the Crimson Tide's final five regular-season opponents, Tuberville's the third coach to be out of a job, joining former Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer and Mississippi State's Sylvester Croom.
"There have been several coaches who have been let go in our league who have a pretty good body of work behind them, who are really good coaches and are really good for the game," Saban said about all three coaches during his weekly Wednesday press conference. "They've been good for a lot of players, and they've had very, very good programs.
"Those guys are really good coaches. They've done a good job for a long tome and have a tremendous body of work. I really question some of the judgment relative to how it is for our game, that people who have those kinds of relationships and have done that kind of job, affecting so many people in such a positive way, and have had a reasonable amount of success relative to their circumstances, would not be given more respect and consideration.
"I guess we're 5-7 away from the same thing."
The initial reports of Tuberville's resignation broke while Saban was holding practice in preparation for Saturday's SEC Championship Game.
When asked if he thought his success at Alabama, both in terms of record and in recruiting, affected the decisions at the other schools, Saban said: "It shouldn't have.
"When you see a program start to lose toughness, discipline, those types of things, that's one thing. That's not the case. It wasn't the case at Tennessee, it wasn't the case at Mississippi State, it wasn't the case anywhere."
Tuberville was 85-40 over arguably the best 10-year span in Auburn history, including the 13-0 season of 2004 when the Tigers won their first SEC title in 15 years and finished No. 2.
"No one's ever satisfied," Saban said. "It happens all the time, and that's too bad."

http://www.tidesports.com/article/20081202/NEWS/812010216/1016/NEWS?Title=Wake_of_destruction

http://www.everydayshouldbesaturday.com/2008/12/02/alabamas-secret-radiation-poisoning/

I'm off to Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game. Hope you like the Christmas colors, and buy the people you love something nice.

I'm going to have to think about this ...

When I wrote “Who’s No. 1: 100-Plus Years of Controversial Champions in College Football,” one of the things that struck me was the number of different ways a title chase could be controversial. However, in true BCS form, the 2008 season found a completely new and different way of having things messed up.
Of course, I’m talking about the Big XII, which had a three-way tie atop the South Division standings, and used its fifth tiebreaker, best BCS rating, to determine which team will play North winner Missouri on Saturday in Kansas City.
To remind you, it all started with Texas beating No. 1 Oklahoma 45-35 at the neutral-site Cotton Bowl on Oct. 11. After jumping to No. 1, the Longhorns lost at Texas Tech 39-33 on Nov. 1. The Red Raiders, No. 2 at the time, in turn lost at Oklahoma 65-21 on Nov. 22.
All three teams finished 11-1, but Oklahoma has the inside track to the national championship. Considering Texas’ only loss came on Graham Harrell’s touchdown pass to Michael Crabtree with 1 second remaining, and it was the fourth of four consecutive games for the Longhorns against teams ranked in the top 11 of the Associated Press poll, Texas has a huge, and justifiable, beef (no pun intended ... Ok, maybe a little).
Making it worse was that the humans who participated in the polls that counted opted for Texas, and in combined voting of the USA Today coaches poll and the Harris poll the Longhorns went from 63 points behind the Sooners to five points ahead.
However, the BCS’s six computers sided with Oklahoma.
“Going into the last couple of weeks, we knew that a good team was going to be left out of the Big 12 championship,” Texas coach Mack Brown said in a statement. “Unfortunately, in this situation, it was us. It is what it is. We don’t like it, we don’t agree with it or think it’s fair, but, like anything else, we'll handle it and move forward.”
Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe said the conference will revisit its tiebreak procedure after the season, which is the same response we've heard every other time there’s been a major controversy, which has happened just about every other year (give or take).
We’ll all have to wait and see if this ends up being the catalyst to some sort of playoff, but in the meantime I’m going to have to start thinking about where this ranks in the top 10 most controversial titles.
It might be in the top five already no matter which team comes out on top.

Being thankful during a down time

It's Thanksgiving Eve, and although I have a ton to be thankful for this past year, it's partially offset by the concern I have for what's going on in journalism, especially the newspaper business.

Here are some of the closing stock prices from today:
Tribune 16.09
Gannett 8.28
NYT 7.25
Scrips 2.88
Belo 1.93
Media General 1.95
McClatchy 2.02
Lee 1.00
Sun-Times 0.06
Gatehouse 0.04
JRC 0.008

To put it into perspective, after 13 years I left Gannett in 2003, when the stock was hovering somewhere around 90. Yes, 90. That's not a typo.

Which reminds me, I am SOOOOO thankful I cashed in my 401K, because a lot of it was in Gannett stock (yea me even with the huge tax hit, but I used the money to survive while beginning my book ventures).

Anyway, sometime over the next two weeks Gannett is going to lay off 3,000 employees, and I'm probably going to know more than a few of them. What a horrible way to go into the holidays, but my thoughts and prayers are with those who are stressing out about what December may bring.

What are the odds?

I'm going to backtrack a moment here because, well, I can, and because Steve Spurrier is one of my favorite people to quote in college football.

Remember this quote from last week's coaches teleconference?
“A lot of people don’t think it’s going to happen, but I sort of believe it will happen if President-elect Obama pushes it hard enough. It would be very interesting, but I think there’s a chance it could happen. Maybe it’ll take four years or so, but I think there’s a chance.”

So what are the odds? I'm glad you asked.

According to BetOnline.com, the chances of it actually happening during his presidency are 9-to-4.

Granted, I don't gamble, so I can't really get into how good that is, but if Vegas is taking odds, you have to admit there's something to all this.

“We have playoffs in every sport in the world, I think, except (FBS) college football,” Spurrier said. “I used to say, ’How can we be right and everybody else be wrong.” ’

Hey, that was my idea ...

So I walked into the office Thursday and one of my colleagues, Aaron Suttles, said, "Hey, did you see Stewart Mandel stole your idea about sending a book to the President-elect?"

What?
Really?

Here's what he wrote for the SI.com mailbag (the link is at the bottom):

I have requested that my publisher send you a copy of my 2007 book, "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls: Tackling the Chaos and Controversy That Reign Over College Football." (Incidentally, if anyone from the Obama staff is reading this, we could sure use your help with an appropriate mailing address.) The first chapter describes in detail the deeply entrenched stalemate that exists among college football's various power-brokers, resulting in the current, admittedly flawed BCS system. It is a situation with which you are presumably all too familiar.

In the book, I compare college football's eternal postseason debate to "... the political stalemates of Capitol Hill. You have your congressmen (the conference commissioners and athletic directors), your senators (university presidents and chancellors), your lobbyists (the bowl games, the smaller-conference schools), and your fundraisers (the television networks), each exercising their respective influence on the decision-making process while at the same time seeking to protect their own best interests."

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/stewart_mandel/11/19/cfb.mailbag/index.html

What can I say, great minds think alike.

Stewart, if any of your people are reading this, here's what you do: Send it to his Senate office, which will remain open for another month or so and aid with the transition. The address is: United States Senate, 713 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington DC 20510-1305.

I encourage you to mail it yourself if for no other reason the look you'll get at the post office for sending something addressed to "President-elect Barack Obama."

The pros and cons of a playoff

Anyone who doesn't think the debate over a playoff in college football isn't going heat up after President-elect Barack Obama's suggestion for a eight-team format may be fooling themselves.

"A lot of people don't think it's going to happen, but I believe it will happen if President-elect Obama pushes it hard enough," South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier said. "Those running college football will have to respond to, 'Why not? Why not an eight-team playoff?' It would be very interesting to see those top eight teams play it down.

"We have playoffs in every sport in the world but college football. How can we be right and everyone else is wrong?"

However, Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino doesn't see it that way.

"I think he ought to call us so the head coaches can figure out how to get the price of gas down," he said, adding that he was kidding.

"I think it's a good system now," Petrino said. "We play a lot of games and miss a lot of school and do a lot of extra things to make sure we keep our players eligible. It's not something I believe in."

Said Alabama coach Nick Saban, who is in favor of a plus-one format: "We certainly appreciate the President's interest, that's for sure, and it's nice to have someone that's leading the country that's interested in college football."

FYI, for those who care, I found out that the President-elect's Senate office will be open for 60 days after his resignation. A copy of the book will go out in Thursday's mail.

Anyone know how to get a book to the President-elect?

I'm not about to turn this blog into a political forum (we have enough of those), but President-elect Barack Obama isn't backing down at all about his statement that he would like a college football playoff.

"If you've got a bunch of teams who play throughout the season, and many of them have one loss or two losses, there's no clear decisive winner. We should be creating a playoff system," he told 60 Minutes reporter Steve Kroft.

Obama would like an eight-team playoff, four more than what the SEC is plugging.

"It would add three extra weeks to the season," he said at the conclusion of a wide-ranging interview. "You could trim back on the regular season. I don't know any serious fan of college football who has disagreed with me on this. So, I'm going to throw my weight around a little bit. I think it's the right thing to do."

The BCS' response was predictable.

BCS coordinator John Swofford said in a statement: "First of all I want to congratulate newly elected President Obama and I am glad he has a passion for college football like so many other Americans.

"For now, our constituencies -- and I know he understands constituencies -- have settled on the current BCS system, which the majority believe is the best system yet to determine a national champion while also maintaining the college football regular season as the best and most meaningful in sports."

Swofford added: "We certainly respect the opinions of president-elect Obama and welcome dialogue on what's best for college football."

Book signings

This photo kills me. It's from Gump 4 Heisman, http://www.gump4heisman.com/my_weblog/, in regards to a mock 70s-style ad campaign for Alabama football. Too funny.

Last night I had a book signing at Waldenbooks in Jasper, and want to thank everyone there for having me. Saturday I'm doing two signings before the Mississippi State game, 1 p.m. at the Bryant Museum, and 3 p.m. on the Quad.

I'll also be at the "Pep Rally" signing at the Barnes & Noble in Huntsville on Dec. 12.

If you can't make it, today I'm heading to Birmingham and signing every book I can find. Seriously.

A controversy that just won't end

With the college football season entering the home stretch, the topic of titles is obviously on everyone’s mind.
That’s titles, as in both conference and the big one.

We’ll go in order.
Unless either team falls apart, Alabama will be facing Florida in the SEC Championship game, which will likely remind many people of the conference’s inaugural title game at legion Field in 1992.
“It would be an interesting matchup,” Georgia coach Mark Richt said Wednesday. “Certainly a contrast of styles offensively. One is more predicated on a power running game and play-action and the other is predicated off speed. Defensively, both teams are very fast, very solid in what they do. They play very hard. Both teams’ special teams are outstanding.
“I’d flip a coin on it right now.”
As for the national championship, many high-profile coaches are aligning themselves with the SEC, which actively supports a four-team playoff.
“I haven’t got the slightest idea what the BCS … is it the BCS or the BSC? I don’t know,” Penn State coach Joe Paterno said during a press conference this week. “They are going to do what they are going to do and it won’t make any difference what I say or comment on.”
Southern California’s Pete Carroll took it another step, saying the BCS “stinks” after the Trojans (7-1) dropped from fifth to seventh in the BCS standings after crushing Washington 56-0 for their third shutout in four games.
“What is the criteria of the process?” he asked reporters Tuesday. “Is it to pick the team that has the best season, that has the season that you like the most and feel best about voting for? Or is it the best team at the end of the year, the team that would win a playoff system if you did have it?”
For those who don’t know, here’s a quick look at how the five BCS bowls are aligning, featuring the champions of the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10 and SEC conferences, along with four other selections, with no conference getting more than two teams.
Unless teams qualify to play in the national championship game, the champions of various conferences are contractually obligated to play in the following games:
Orange Bowl: ACC;
Rose Bowl: Big Ten and Pac-10;
Fiesta Bowl: Big XII;
Sugar Bowl: SEC.
For each bowl that loses a team to the national championship game, they get to select a replacement before the other bowls. The bowl losing the No. 1 team selects first.
Afterward, the bowl played on the date nearest to the national championship game, this year that’s the Fiesta Bowl, has the next selection, followed by the Sugar Bowl and the Orange Bowl.

By the way, the person who really put the spotlight on the national championship again was none other than Barack Obama, who had a pretty big week.

“I think it is about time that we had playoffs in college football,” Obama said Monday on ESPN. “I’m fed up with these computer rankings and this and that and the other. Get eight teams – the top eight teams right at the end. You got a playoff. Decide on a national champion.”

Yes, another one done

Obama in, Fulmer out, and the Crimson Tide No. 1. It's been an interesting couple of days, with me in Baton Rouge early for Saturday's game between Alabama at LSU.

More Cajun food for me, so no complaints.

While watching the election results I finished all the preliminary work on the Ohio State handbook, which will be coming out next summer. All that's left is a week updating and editing at season's end, and then it's off to my publisher.

That leaves Oklahoma and Texas. Funny, I was thinking the Longhorns might make a serious run here for the national championship, and still might, so I decided to hold off on that edition until next month. So it's Sooner time for me. Hopefully I can get it done in November despite the distractions that come with covering the top college football team in the land.

At least this week.