Jumbo Package: An eclectic mix of hoops, ticket prices, football, recruiting, and death to false metal

#BuckleUp

The SEC schedule has been cobbled together piecemeal by the league office, and we have a great opener: Two teams with a mix of talented youngsters, old hands, an NBA lottery pick on each side, and that are expected to finished at the top of the SEC and have good tournament runs. No, not Florida and Kentucky. We mean, Texas A&M and Alabama, of course.

Ticket Note:

I was asked to pass along a message regarding Sugar Bowl/CFP Semifinal tickets: The Alabama allotment is “more than spoken for.” The school has none to offer you. Those with the points and donation who got in on the pre-order will see those fulfilled and mailed this week, via a cool old-fashioned paper ticket. Those who didn’t queue up early with Tide Pride will have to hit the secondary market.

And, mercy, it is not a cheap ticket either. Per TicketIQ, which tracks the market on such things, Alabama-Clemson III is more expensive than the 2015 Championship ducat, and is now the most expensive Sugar Bowl ticket ever....including GOTC II vs. LSU.

For those of you who wish to cheer “Ess Eee Cee” (for SOS purposes only, you understand?), then here’s your SEC Bowl slate and schedule via Team Speed Kills.

Despite Saban’s calm assurance after the fact on his his media appearances that Alabama absolutely belonged, the Ohio State-Alabama debate wasn’t an easy one -- until it was. Good story here.

The bad part of that really weird afternoon was that it greatly disrupted the basketball team, and affected them in a bad home loss to UCF. Predictably, Alabama went from 24th to the realm of the unranked.

Next year, perhaps no area is need of more critical rebuild than the defensive line. Saban has already started pounding the Juco circuits, and was in Philly yesterday on a target. Also yesterday, Alabama offered in-state DE Malik Langham. Langham is just a three-star, but he’s rising rapidly and is now considered one of the top prospects in a pretty thin 2018 class.

The other area of concern will of course be the secondary, where Alabama is expected to lose all five starters with significant playing experience. Well, thank you NCAA, Ole Miss’ Jarrion Street is looking for a way out of Oxford. He wants to go to a school where he can also #RTDB, but that’s likely not a major program if he keeps that demand intact. Reserve safety? Good-sized corner? Come on over.

Jimbo left FSU badly. He didn’t just burn bridges, he burned down their house on Christmas day and then peed on the ashes of all their presents. This guy is truly Exhibit A of insincere mercenary jackass. His intro presser at A&M was...shall we say...a final upper-decker to Tallahassee. Speaking of pressers. Man, Herm Edwards weirded everyone out yesterday. There’s no way the Sun Devils don’t lose elebenty games.

Mark Dantonio is a jerk. Jim Harbaugh is a jerk. So, of course these two are slap-fighting across the width and breadth of Michigan. It’s as funny as it is petty.

Finally, I’m sure you’ve seen the CFP Edition of the Meltdown by now. I should have added this one, but honestly, it’s probably good enough to stand alone:

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P.S. Hunter Renfrow loves false metal

I leave you with something random. If you’re not into metal, feel free to jump ahead to the comments. BUT, if you’re into metal, Cattle Decapitation’s “The Anthropocene Extinction” is simply one of the very best albums I’ve heard in years. With Stomach Earth, Myrkur, and Zeal & Ardor, it defies easy description, blending so many different genres into something as brutally bleak as it is technically brilliant. For instance, “Mammals in Babylon” is an admixture of tech-death, grindcore, a NWOBHM break and a smidge of black metal...and even tosses in a thrashy sing-a-long. And the entire album is that interesting.

I shouldn’t have slept on this one in 2016. Besides, it’s rare you find a socially conscious vegan death metal band, innit?

Check it out, and death to false metal (as well as Hunter Renfrow. We are at war with Hunter Renfrow. We have always been at war with Hunter Renfrow. Hunter Renfrow probably loves false metal)

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