too many links to avoid

Some links to follow up on the video, and only because this coffee is outstanding:

-- Remember how I said Saban seems to go out of his way to antagonize reporters? Well, as Ian Rapaport repeatedly shows us, it cuts the other way, as well.
(Note: As a writer, I love reading stuff like this, and only because Ian takes us inside and attempts to give us an idea of what it's like to cover Saban on a daily basis. But as a fan? This kind of stuff gets tiresome -- Rap, dude, people read your blog to learn about Alabama football, not because they want to read about your bizarre, flirtatious relationship with the head coach. Come on.)
Also, since I forgot to link to Finebaum yesterday, he's here to drool over Saban again.

-- Want coaches going berserk at young reporters? Meet Bo Pellini, Nebraska head coach, who, it seems, is unhappy at his inability to control the campus newspaper.

"Pelini called our office and berated one of our board members so loudly that he was heard clearly from across the newsroom. There’s no real point in printing the choice phrases he used during that first phone call.
"But Pelini informed us the Daily Nebraskan’s relationship with the football program would be severed unless an exhaustive retraction was published on [Tuesday's] front page.
"Athletic Department personnel confirmed Pelini’s decision later in the day, and asked that our reporters and photographers not show up at Monday’s practice while politely asking the one writer who did to leave."

Does Bo work for the White House?

-- Speaking of strange, the odd saga of Harold Reynolds and ESPN apparently reached its conclusion yesterday. As Bama Hoops noted yesterday, the loss of Reynolds was the beginning of a decided downturn in ESPN's best show ("Baseball Tonight"), if only because they went out of their way to replace his informed analysis with no-talent homers like Steve Phillips and John Kruk.
It's actually part of an established pattern with ESPN -- replacing perfectly good programming with programming that isn't good. When I started listening to ESPN Radio in college, for example, the daily lineup featured Mike & Mike (back before they turned into females), Tony Kornheiser (Tony was born to do radio), followed by Dan Patrick (who would have Olbermann on, which was outstanding). Of course, Kornheiser left, to be replaced by the thoroughly loathsome Colin Cowherd; Patrick fled the premises -- I'm listening to him now on si.com -- and Mike Tirico & Co. (bland), along with Stephen A. (yikes) took his place. So ... yeah ... not listening so much to ESPN Radio anymore.
(For the record, it is very possible to follow sports without ESPN entirely, if you want. I'm able to do it almost every day.)

-- While we're talking about ESPN, I thought this was pretty funny: apparently Simmons' scheduled podcast with Barrack Obama got the hook -- not because of a scheduling conflict, mind you ... because ESPN squashed it. For the record, even though Obama seems like a cool guy, I have severe doubts about his ability to be the chief executive. But why would ESPN squash an interview with their best columnist and the country's hottest political name? Your guess is as good as mine.

-- Deep South has a few LSU-related videos and White House photos, which were both frightening and hilarious at the same time. Of course, I'm thrilled that Les Miles is still at LSU -- have I mentioned that lately?

wlh