Thought some of y'all might get a kick out of this.  Yesterday after the basketball game, I took one of my coworkers and my youngest stepbrother-in-law to the shooting range down in Duncanville, since it was such a nice afternoon.  We pulled up in the parking lot and saw a few guys in the gray BCSCG windsuits.  They were immediately recognizable: Julio Jones, Mark Ingram, Javier Arenas and (I 'm 90% sure) Robert Lester.  The only available lanes were right next to them, so of course we jumped right in.

I'd brought along my Mosin-Nagant M44 carbine (a Soviet-era infantry rifle; mine was made in 1944).  It's always the loudest gun at the range, and it has a muzzle flash about 2 feet long.  It's an attention-getter, so of course I loaded it right up and fired off a couple of rounds.  As usual, everybody in the vicinity stopped firing and started staring in my direction.  Julio wondered what in the world it was, so I told them about the gun and offered to let them fire it.  Julio was eager to shoot it, and he fired off five rounds.  I offered it to Javy, but he wasn't sure what to think--"Nah, man, that's cool."  Ingram didn't want to shoot it either.  The recoil's not bad--about like a 30-30.  It fires 7.62x54R ("Rimmed Russian") rounds, which are huge, but I think the weight of the weapon is what keeps the felt recoil down.  Still, I guess the noise and the flash are enough to discourage some folks from firing it.

The guys were shooting some Javy's guns, as well as anyone else's they were curious about.  As expected, there were quite a few photo- and autograph-seekers, and the players were all very friendly and gracious toward their fans.  I didn't have anything to sign, and I'd left my phone at home, although I did get my brother-in-law's picture with each of the players, which really made his day.  For myself, I guess having worked for the football team several years ago has made me a little less starstruck when seeing these guys in public.  I just enjoy talking with them for a few minutes.

Incidentally, I asked Javy about his hamstring, and he said he'd torn it.  I didn't ask anything further, but I sure hope it's not bad enough to hurt him in the draft.

on the Quarterbacks this coming year! If your not to busy i say check this article out...the guys over at Bama Sports Report did it good!!!

This is the beginning of a new day.
God has given me this day to use as I will.
I can waste it or use it for good.
What I do today is very important because I am Exchanging a day of my life for it.
When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever.
Leaving something in its place I have traded for it.
I want it to be a gain, not loss - good, not evil.
Success, not failure in order that I shall not forget the price I paid for it.

Paul "Bear" Bryant

No, it's not the Weezer song, though I like that one a lot too. I figured I'd go way back for this week's classic track. Here's Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away" which came out in 1957...

Hello, everybody.

Every month at CrimsonReplay.com, our Keeping Score department offers a list concerning Alabama football history.

This week, we examine Ten Great Players Who Never Made All-America.

Some of the names might surprise you.

One of them averaged 7.2 yards per carry but never made All-American.

Here's the link:

http://www.crimsonreplay.com/ks.php

Also, be sure to check out our in-depth video interview with Jerry Duncan (http://www.crimsonreplay.com/tv.php), our audio interview with former play-by-play man Paul Kennedy (http://www.crimsonreplay.com/ra.php), and our Going Deep feature about the struggles of the late Charley Pell (http://www.crimsonreplay.com/gd.php).

Coming next week: Our audio interview with the late Fred Sington, an All-American tackle for Wallace Wade's 1930 national champions.

Bama bloggers agree... parting is such sweet sorrow.

Alabama blogdom's bipolar stalwart Third Saturday in Blogtober have joined into this crazy smorgasborg of off-season fun. You should all reward Will Heath with heaps of gold krugerrands (or, if you can't afford that, a ton of hits to his site) for single handedly resuscitating this great feature.

Because I used to hate playing hide and seek with the links to track down the responses of all the different blogs, I whipped up a little blog to be a hub for the reborn roundtable. If you guys keep on 'em to keep it going and I'll keep on keeping track of it for us all.

And, lastly, it seems that 3SIB has become the home for Kurtz whose previous blog of residence was the late great Eight in the Box. Good to have you back, sir.

I posted about this awhile ago but just in case anyone missed it. The web page I help run www.wellthatscool.com is putting on Beer Fest to benefit Free the Hops. Its the first  Saturday of spring break  so navigation around Tuscaloosa will be a breeze and if you have not made it down it would be a good day to check out the new stadium expansion, The NC trophy above the football offices (you can see it from the street) and just get a Tuscaloosa fix to hold you over till aday or next season. Here is a snippet from the press release: 

  "wellthatscool.com is proud to bring Tuscaloosa "The Suds of The South Beer Fest". This event will highlight the fine craft breweries of the south. The fest will feature Lazy Magnolia Brewing Co. from Kiln MS., Terrapin Beer Co. from Athens GA., Sweetwater Brewery from Atlanta GA., Good People Brewing Co. from Birmingham AL., Back Forty Beer Co. from Birmingham AL., Olde Towne Brewing Co.from Huntsville AL. Abita From Abita Springs LA and Yazoo Brewing Co. from Nashville TN. Each brewery will have a table set up with reps to explain what makes the south rival any other beer region in the world. All proceeds will benefit Free the Hops to help in the fight to continue modernizing Alabama's beer laws. The cost of the event is $10.00 and will cover unlimited samples, a 5oz sample glass and special discount on Southern Beers at the after party. The fest runs from 4pm to 6pm. We want everyone to have a good time designated drivers will be let in free of charge and Taxis will be on standby. Tickets will sell out quick so go here to get your ticket today. "

The event is from 4pm -6pm so it won't keep you out very late. The link in the above quote will take you to the ticket page. Please come if you can its Tuscaloosa's first Beerfest. The event is limted to 200 people so it will not be over crowded and it is being held at Little willies / Wilhagans.

For the complete article, click here.

Following the bye week, the Tigers play what will be the biggest game of the regular season as they host the defending National Champion Alabama Crimson Tide.

This has the potential to be a game for the ages with dozens of story lines for the fans and media to blow out of proportion.

As always, Nick Saban is a major story line. The Saban hatred has been getting more intense for Tiger fans year after year rather than fading away. To diehard Tiger fans, Saban coming into Baton Rouge is like Satan walking through the pearly gates of Heaven.

There is also the controversial "toe on the line" call from 2009 that should motivate Tiger players and fans to step up their levels of intensity even higher. I would watch for Patrick Peterson to come out throwing haymakers in the defense’s first couple of drives.

With the extra week to prepare, the Tigers should be able to move the ball on a depleted (but still very good) Alabama defense and win this game, propelling themselves into the National Championship picture.

ed. by Todd - bumped from the fanposts.

I read an article about the speed scores for the current crop of players at the combine here.  For those who aren't familiar with the way it works, the nerds at FO (and I mean that as a compliment) determined that if you combine a RB's speed in the 40 and his size, you can get a better picture of his future success in the NFL.  The formula is (Weight (lbs) X 200 / 40 yd dash time ^4) Anything 100 or better is good.  110 or more is great.  The average 1st round draft pick is about 112.

For lack of anything better to do, I decided to calculate the speed scores for our 2 main back, Ingram and Richardson.  Keep in mind that 1) the 40 times are from Rivals recruiting, which means they are probably total BS, and 2) their growth in college means they probably don't run the same time, even if they really did then.  Their sizes are from the Bama homepage, which also probably means they aren't any good.

Anyway, here's the pertinent info:

Ingram - 215 lbs - 40 yd time - 4.4 = speed score = 114

Richardson - 220 lbs - 40 yd time - 4.5 = speed score = 107

Of course, anyone with eyes will tell you Richardson is way faster than Ingram, but that's what Rivals said, so it must be true!!!

By the way, Cody 365 lbs, 40 yard time = 5.5 speed score = 79 - his chances of being drafted as a RB are slim.  Which, I suppose, is progress....

I was thinking about this a while back, and rugman11's post about Duke season tickets reminded me: How long has it been since Alabama played at a venue that small?  Wallace Wade Stadium seats roughly 34,000.  I did a cursory search and the best answer I could find was 1990, UL-Lafayette (Cajun Field).  The catch, though, is that Wikipedia lists the attendance at that game as 36,133.  The following season, Bama played Memphis at Liberty Bowl Stadium in front of 34,632, but that was obviously not the stadium's capacity.  Anybody have a better answer?