Random Notes from a Crank

After watching the Alabama men's basketball game Tuesday night, I'm encouraged. Avery Johnson has been building his program for a couple of years now, and with this crop of freshmen, the Crimson Tide could be a player at the national level. The freshmen backcourt of Sexton and Petty played well along with the fellow (Giddens I think) who transferred from Ohio State. 

The team is young and talented with key freshmen: Sexton, Petty, Reese, Jones, and Smith. Those guys added to the key players of Avery Jr. (sophomore), Hall (junior), Norris (senior), Giddens (sophomore), Ingram (sophomore), and Key (sophomore) create a heck of lot of depth. 

And Tuesday the team played without two of its starters from last year, Riley Norris and Braxton Key. It'll be interesting to how they gel once those guys get healthy. I'm cautiously optimistic about the Tide basketballers (not a word but whatever). 

Some nutty guy shot up a neighborhood and tried to get into an elementary school the other day, and that isn't even a major headline in the papers. America has to do something about gun violence. We've grown immune to these weekly horrors. 

Jeff Sessions testimony about not "recalling" certain meetings or conversations reminds me of Ollie North's testimony. They're both liars. 

As related on both Trevor Noah and Stephen Colbert's show last night, since people knew about Roy Moore's penchant for hitting on high school girls, he was apparently banned from the Gadsden Mall. Disgusting. 

Random Notes from a Crank

I'm not a huge fan of mixed drinks or cocktails, but one of the simplest and best out there is an Old Fashioned made with a good bourbon like Maker's Mark, Old Grand Dad, Wild Turkey, et al. 

It's unfortunate that boxing isn't as big as it used to be or that there aren't any boxers that have the drawing power like they did. I have fond memories of watching boxing on TV with my Dad. 

As I've written about before, this is a dead season of sports for me. I can't get into college basketball anymore. I usually only watch Crimson Tide basketball games and want them to do well and I like Anthony Grant as a coach, but I don't know about their chances of getting into the tournament.   

Check this out: Mindfulness & Marines. 

Don't Worry Mizzou Fans.

Mike Davis is safe. Despite the persistent Web-based rumors, I doubt Davis had any interest in the Alabama job. 

Instead, the Crimson Tide inked the much heralded coach from VCU, Anthony Grant. 

Click HERE for a column about Grant and his first press conference by the esteemed sports journalist Cecil Hurt.

Ten Years of the High-Post

It's official.

Coach Mark Gottfried, the head basketball coach at Alabama, resigned today. After taking over a program pretty much in ruins in 1998 when I started school at the Capstone, Gottfried coached the Tide to a number of NCAA appearances and once got them to the "Great Eight," a feat Wimp Sanderson never achieved. 

Although I think Gottfried has always seemed like a good guy, his teams did underachieve quite often, especially the past few years. Alabama played a style of offense that was outdated and stale--that damn high-post offense of John Wooden's teams at UCLA. 

I wouldn't say I'm particularly sad about this resignation. Although for the past seven years I've lived in an area where Alabama basketball games are rarely televised, I watched some Alabama games from time to time. But watching that methodical, awful offense drove me crazy.

I do remember one of the best moments I've had as a fan though. In '02 my wife and I were at the game where the Tide clinched the SEC regular season title by a last second lay-in by Antoine Pettaway. That was a heck of a game and a hell of an ending.