WAR-MATT 2 Posted August 26, 2007 Share Posted August 26, 2007 Isn't this exactly what we've been trying to explain to BG and his Bama brethren? MA COMMENTARY: Saban missing opportunity to send messageBy Josh Moon If you've been wondering lately just how far the Uni versity of Alabama football program has fallen, last weekÂÂend's events paint a rather clear picture. A Crimson Tide football player was arrested for yelling. On the street. Outside a bar. At 2 a.m. You think that sort of thing would've happened when Bear Bryant was around? Pfft. No chance. Heck, that probably wouldn't have happened when Bill Curry was around. Now, after a few not-so-great seasons, the players are treated like everyone else, if not worse. For anyone who has asked over the past few months why UA is paying Nick Saban $4 million per year, it's to correct these sorts of issues. He's the guy who is supposed to be returnÂÂing the relationship between the football program and the loÂÂcal police back to what it once was. He's supposed to be makÂÂing sure these players aren't treated like everyone else. Don't get me wrong, I'm not condoning the fact that athletes are often treated differently or that they often are allowed to get away with a little more than the average Joe. I'm just saying that that's what's exÂÂpected here, because it happens around other big-time proÂÂgrams. What, you thought MauÂÂrice Clarett was only a screw up after he left Ohio State? At the same time, Saban's also expected to clean the proÂÂgram up and ensure that his players have a minimum numÂÂber of run-ins with police. So far, he's failing miseraÂÂbly at that task. Talk about a surprise. You know, I wrote a few weeks ago that the three Tide players who were arrested and were having to wait on Saban to return from vacation before learning of their punishments must have felt like they were on death row. And then Saban returned, and it was like there was a last-minute call from the governor. Whatever he did, it certainÂÂly didn't send a clear message to the team, since numerous other players were on the Strip last weekend when Castille was arrested at 2 a.m. Far more telling, however, were Castille's words to offiÂÂcers, when he asked if they had to "notify" Saban before taking him in, as if a call to Saban might've gotten him off the hook. If things were running propÂÂerly within that UA program, those words would've never been uttered. In fact, the reÂÂsponse would've been exactly the opposite, something along the lines of "Please, don't tell coach Saban." I understand completely here that Saban's facing a diffiÂÂcult task. He's taking over a program that was completely lacking discipline for the past four years. There's serious work to be done to get the ship righted. I'm also not blaming Saban for the actions of these young men. These guys are old enough to know better. Guys their age are fighting and dying and taking responsibility for the lives of dozens of people evÂÂery day. Asking them to go home at a decent hour, not drink too much and not curse in public aren't exactly unreaÂÂsonable requests. The point, though, is that Saban's missing a golden opÂÂportunity to send a message -- one that will clean this proÂÂgram up in a hurry. He's created this peer-interÂÂvention group that's supposed to make sure the players sort things out among themselves. It's supposed to ensure that the team leaders, since there are far more of them than coaches, are keeping a watchful eye over their teammates. It's a good idea. Unless, of course, the guys on the interÂÂvention group are the ones getÂÂting arrested. Then you've got problems. Call me crazy, but this group approach seems like a good second step for cleaning up a program. The first step would be stiff, memorable punÂÂishment. Like, say, if a key player was arrested for underage drinking, you might suspend him for six or seven games. Yeah, that's harsh. And yeah, it hurts everyone else on the team. But at the same time, it sends a message: This is what happens when you don't handle your business. No one outside of the team knows how Saban has decided to punish any of the four playÂÂers who have been arrested reÂÂcently. We do know that none of them have been removed from the team and that none of them have missed practices. We also received a strong hint from Saban that no one will miss a game, when he said this week: "I don't think it's fair to take away what guys actually came to college for, what they worked hard to try to accomÂÂplish as players in terms of deÂÂveloping a career." (One thing real quick here. You don't want to take away what they "came to college for?" You're planning to susÂÂpend them from class? How would that work?) What we also know about Saban's discipline decisions, at least where the first three playÂÂers are concerned, is that those decisions didn't exactly strike fear in the hearts of the playÂÂers. If this nonsense is going to stop anytime soon, he better figure out how to spread a little fear around. Josh Moon is a sports writÂÂer for the Montgomery AdverÂÂtiser. He can be reached at jmoon@gannett.com. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin5 20 Posted August 26, 2007 Share Posted August 26, 2007 Bingo. Its the same premise teams like the Patriots and Eagles use for contract negotiations. Sure, a player may hold out and miss the season, but the rest of the team sees that the team will not cave - therefore its less likely to happen again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAMMERPERRY 0 Posted August 26, 2007 Share Posted August 26, 2007 I don't think this toenail polish goes with my outfit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Prowler 1 Posted August 26, 2007 Share Posted August 26, 2007 Are you that Stupid BP to not see that Moon is Exactly Right in Everything he is talking about here? I mean, it's not like you haven't heard it before, you've heard it here everyday... You need to open your eyes and your mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BamaGrad03 0 Posted August 26, 2007 Share Posted August 26, 2007 So an article in Montgomery that is critical of Alabama...groundbreaking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AuburnChopper1 0 Posted August 26, 2007 Share Posted August 26, 2007 So an article in Montgomery that is critical of Alabama...groundbreaking. Did you read the Scarbinsky article? I hear ya man. BLOW right past the context, meaning, subject matter, mood, facts, opinions, and everything in between and point out that the article is from Montgomery. ....exactly.... "groundbreaking". You DO know that if Moon and other writers for ANY newspaper just wrote meaningless, pointless drivel, with no facts or reasoning, that they'd be fired...right? Maybe the fact that these articles are continuously popping up should tell you that maybe it isn't a fragment of our AUNation imagination.... You and BP keep them crimson shades on though budro! No offense of course...not wanting to hurt any feelings here.... just my opinion... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin5 20 Posted August 26, 2007 Share Posted August 26, 2007 I dont live in Mont. or Birm. but from what I have gathered (and please correct me if I'm wrong) but the news bias that is spoken of is in the presentation of articles. By this I mean a negative Auburn article may be on the front page of the sports section, while a negative bama article tends to be buried on page 15. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKW 86 7,424 Posted August 26, 2007 Share Posted August 26, 2007 So an article in Montgomery that is critical of Alabama...groundbreaking. No bg. Nothing is breaking ground and that is the whole point. Shula lacks the stomache for discipline, and loses and gets kicked to the curb. Saban seems to lack the stomache for discipline and hasnt even won a game, yet he is the Savior of the Free World? IRT (In regards to) Discipline, uat seems to have moved only sideways, if not backwards. We will see how the wins go soon. Secretly, I think yall are quite envious of CTT and his firm (Unrelenting discipline) but caring hands (Bro. Chette and the FCA) for the kids at I cant say enough good about the guy and his program. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasTiger 12,876 Posted August 26, 2007 Share Posted August 26, 2007 So an article in Montgomery that is critical of Alabama...groundbreaking. No bg. Nothing is breaking ground and that is the whole point. Shula lacks the stomache for discipline, and loses and gets kicked to the curb. Saban seems to lack the stomache for discipline and hasnt even won a game, yet he is the Savior of the Free World? IRT (In regards to) Discipline, uat seems to have moved only sideways, if not backwards. We will see how the wins go soon. Secretly, I think yall are quite envious of CTT and his firm (Unrelenting discipline) but caring hands (Bro. Chette and the FCA) for the kids at I cant say enough good about the guy and his program. Shula lacked the cajones-- Saban lacks the character. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKW 86 7,424 Posted August 26, 2007 Share Posted August 26, 2007 So an article in Montgomery that is critical of Alabama...groundbreaking. No bg. Nothing is breaking ground and that is the whole point. Shula lacks the stomache for discipline, and loses and gets kicked to the curb. Saban seems to lack the stomache for discipline and hasnt even won a game, yet he is the Savior of the Free World? IRT (In regards to) Discipline, uat seems to have moved only sideways, if not backwards. We will see how the wins go soon. Secretly, I think yall are quite envious of CTT and his firm (Unrelenting discipline) but caring hands (Bro. Chette and the FCA) for the kids at I cant say enough good about the guy and his program. Shula lacked the cajones-- Saban lacks the character. Tex, when you swing for the fences, sometimes you just nail it. That was a very good take... Sban's slip in another article about players going to college to further their PLAYING CAREER could be very telling. It seems he has been hired to win and only win. He seems to have embraced that very clearly. Going to classes and grades be damned. maybe the whole team can enroill in General studies courses over in the Home Ec building. The tutoring scandals while at were pretty scary for them. Lets just let this one run its course. I want to save this topic for the next two years and sees what happens... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAMMERPERRY 0 Posted August 26, 2007 Share Posted August 26, 2007 You don't know anything about Sabans discipline program, and don't HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW! Besides, he's dreamy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKW 86 7,424 Posted August 26, 2007 Share Posted August 26, 2007 You don't know anything about Sabans discipline program, and don't HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW! Besides, he's dreamy. Sincerely, Ex-Coach Mike Shula Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AuburnChopper1 0 Posted August 26, 2007 Share Posted August 26, 2007 You don't know anything about Sabans discipline program, and don't HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW! Besides, he's dreamy. We don't even have to ask though BP! We can clearly see that it sucks. Thanks for playing though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TitanTiger 20,482 Posted August 26, 2007 Share Posted August 26, 2007 So an article in Montgomery that is critical of Alabama...groundbreaking. Yeah, so much bias they made the Sports page headline about Saban, had a smaller article on AU WR James Swinton under the fold at the bottom of the page and Josh Moon's article was buried on page six. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAMMERPERRY 0 Posted August 26, 2007 Share Posted August 26, 2007 So an article in Montgomery that is critical of Alabama...groundbreaking. Yeah, so much bias they made the Sports page headline about Saban, had a smaller article on AU WR James Swinton under the fold at the bottom of the page and Josh Moon's article was buried on page six. Simple Supply and Demand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quietfan 233 Posted August 26, 2007 Share Posted August 26, 2007 You don't know anything about Sabans discipline program...You are correct--in fact, I didn't even know he had one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TitanTiger 20,482 Posted August 26, 2007 Share Posted August 26, 2007 So an article in Montgomery that is critical of Alabama...groundbreaking. Yeah, so much bias they made the Sports page headline about Saban, had a smaller article on AU WR James Swinton under the fold at the bottom of the page and Josh Moon's article was buried on page six. Simple Supply and Demand. Yes. An endless supply of delusional groupies with unquenchable demand for more pin-ups of their mancrush. In fact, I've come to the conclusion that UAT no longer has "fans" per se. They have groupies. Just like a bunch of squealing little girls at a Beatles concert or trashy skanks backstage at a Motley Crue show, they are obsessed and borderline psycho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auburnu008 4 Posted August 27, 2007 Share Posted August 27, 2007 In fact, I've come to the conclusion that UAT no longer has "fans" per se. They have groupies. Just like a bunch of squealing little girls at a Beatles concert or trashy skanks backstage at a Motley Crue show, they are obsessed and borderline psycho. Borderline? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AU alum 2 Posted August 27, 2007 Share Posted August 27, 2007 So an article in Montgomery that is critical of Alabama...groundbreaking. I think the word you are looking for is honest, not critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FootballFanatic 4 Posted August 27, 2007 Share Posted August 27, 2007 I found the 2007 season cap for sale at Alabama official merchandise stores all across the state. You too can look like an alabama football player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Prowler 1 Posted August 27, 2007 Share Posted August 27, 2007 I found the 2007 season cap for sale at Alabama official merchandise stores all across the state. You too can look like an alabama football player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BamaGrad03 0 Posted August 28, 2007 Share Posted August 28, 2007 Ya'll better do better than that...otherwise, you may have your smack liscense revoked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCBusPilot 72 Posted August 28, 2007 Share Posted August 28, 2007 Ya'll better do better than that...otherwise, you may have your smack liscense revoked. I heard that this year instead of yelling "ROLL TIDE!" , the cheer is going to be "PAROLE TIDE!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TitanTiger 20,482 Posted August 28, 2007 Share Posted August 28, 2007 Ya'll better do better than that...otherwise, you may have your smack liscense revoked. Sir, I'm gonna have to issue you a warning. Please get your spelling up to par before busting on others. Signed, The Spelling Police Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AuburnChopper1 0 Posted August 28, 2007 Share Posted August 28, 2007 Ya'll better do better than that...otherwise, you may have your smack liscense revoked. Sir, I'm gonna have to issue you a warning. Please get your spelling up to par before busting on others. Signed, The Spelling Police ..and have at least the equivalent of a smack learner's permit yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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