mid-week and links

Many apologies for Monday's blog entry, which bounced all over the place and made very little sense. Note to you young bloggers out there: never post anything when you're tired and can't move your neck because "I've got to get SOMETHING up and this is the only thing I can think of." We should do better in the near future.

Anyway, here are some links to tide you over through the remainder of your Wednesday:
— Big news of the past 2 days: Va. Tech's top tailback, Darren Evans, is apparently out for the season with a torn ACL. I, along with my brother Whit, feel his pain immensely (UPDATE: Dr. Saturday has a post up about how this might affect them in '09). If it helps, here's a video of him running over a safety from Maryland.



Just for the record: I never, never, never, NEVER root for the other team's best player to be seriously injured. Never. Never. You would always, always, ALWAYS rather beat the other team at full strength. That's just the way it is.
(I have, however, rooted for something very heavy to fall on Phillip Fulmer from a great distance. I don't think it's the same.)
— As the first step in ESPN's blowout coverage of the SEC in upcoming years, here's Chris Low's visit with Alabama. Predictably, the main topic is the level of "back"-ness the Tide has reached, complete with this hair-raising quote from Don'ta Hightower.

"It feels like it's supposed to be. Alabama is supposed to be one of the powerhouses. It's Alabama's time now. Florida had their time. It's our time now. We're recruiting great recruits and great players. I think it's about time."

OTS has some early fall observations, as well, and Tommy Deas takes a look at the Tide up front and 3SiB covers the QB spot.
— Speaking of ESPN, its sticky evil fingerprints were all over the new media policies released earlier this week, which were (rightfully) excoriated and then retracted. It was more than a little short-sighted on the part of the conference to think it could control everything, but that's the way things are in the ESPN world: either we break the story or no one does, and damn the rest of you.
— RBR has indulged my dweeb-ish curiosity here recently with a series of historical posts, including this post covering historic game programs, and this one about Alabama's 1978 trip to Missouri. While we're on that subject, this post from Smart Football also caught my eye.



Always enjoyed watching this one, and not just because my parents were there on their honeymoon (yes, their honeymoon).
— Elsewhere around the 'sphere: Mr. CFB looks at some of the SEC's "trap" games for this fall; si.com releases its 1-120 rankings for 2009; Jerry takes a look at Auburn's QB situation; and Mr. SEC looks at the attrition rates around the conference.
— Finally, apropos of nothing, here's a picture of Nick Saban apparently signing a baby.



Roll Tide Roll.