Hog Heaven

With Auburn's loss today and Arkansas walking all over Tennessee, I guess we'll all be watching the Razorbacks and Gators play for the SEC title this year (I know they have to win one more game, but they have Mississippi State next week). I couldn't be happier for the other UA. They came out of nowhere this year to become a powerhouse. Congrats to you guys!

I was reading a pretty good column today by Paul Finebaum (I think I'm one of the few Bama fans that don't hate him or what he has to say, but that's neither here nor there). He talks about how the Iron Bowl next week won't mean a hill of beans to the national audience like it used to. To make matters worse, Ohio State and Michigan face each other at the exact same time.

That especially rings true after Georgia's win over Auburn. Heck, I knew after Alabama's loss to MSU last week that I didn't even want to go back to Tuscaloosa for the Iron Bowl. Unfortunately, I have to work it, so I have to be there.

I never thought I would want to skip the Iron Bowl (and I've been to a few), but this one is worthless to me. The coaching staff has ruined it for me this year. I was talking to a friend who works across the hall from me, and he made some good points about the team being so young (half of the 100+ on the roster are freshmen).

He's not exactly ready to hang it up on Shula, but I just can't feel the same way. I remember being a student Shula's first year there. I remember the electricity and relief everyone had when he was hired in that town. We had just been through Dennis Franchiphoney and Mike Price, and he was a breath of fresh air.

Now, a lot of us don't want him there any longer. I don't need to go into all this again. I've written and vented enough. Heck, as I write this, Bama and LSU are 10 minutes away from the end of the game, and I'm emotionally numb. I knew LSU would kill them, so I'm not mad. I do hope, however, there's enough anger elsewhere that someone will finally make a change.

*snicker*

Georgia 37
Auburn 15

There will be, and have been, people who say I have no right to talk about AU since Bama's doing so poorly. Well, just let me know when I start bragging on my Tide again instead of sounding off. Maybe then I'll stop picking on AU, too.

Enough is enough

I just got home from shooting the Alabama game, and let me tell you one thing: Bama fans are sick and tired of Mike Shula. How in the blue blazes do you lose 24-16 to Mississippi State?

A friend, Brad Hood (see blog at right), and I were talking on the sidelines during the fourth quarter. He said something that almost everyone in Bryant-Denny Stadium was feeling this afternoon: "Boy, this team is just bad."

Paul Finebaum wrote a column Tuesday that hit the nail on the head. He talks about how Auburn is the new Alabama, and vice versa. Everyone expects AU to blow people out and how Bama is expected to eek by or not eek at all.

I've said it before this year, and I'll keep saying it (along with the majority of the Bama Nation). Something must be done to that coaching staff. Defensive Coordinator Joe Kines is welcome to stay in my opinion, but Dr. Witt (UA president) and Mal Moore (AD) need to either replace Mike Shula at the end of this season, or hire one heck of an offensive coordinator and tell Shula to stop calling the plays.

There's an AP picture of UA students in the stand today with paper bags on their heads (see above). They were all standing a few feet away from us, and they had a message on those bags: "Shula is a bum."

Mike, you're a great guy off the field, but you HAVE to make a change, or you need to go. Our beloved program and team are too important to us to let this slop continue. Our tradition is too great to just flush away.

We want OUR Alabama back.

First word!

Alyssa said her first word tonight! Amy had finished giving her a bath, and I walked in while she was drying off. She looked up at us, and said "Da-da." Then she got the biggest smile on her face!

She now says it whenever we say it to her. I'm not feeling well again today, so I stayed home. To think what I would have missed...

And yes, we got it on video!

We have a winner!

All I need to say is YO YO YO YO YO YO... Football!

Back in the mix

I did make it into work yesterday, but it was short-lived as I felt worse when I got there. I was there less than an hour, but had to give it up and come back home.

This morning, I feel better for the most part. My lips still hurt, but they're not as swollen. I will go back into work today, and I will stay.

It's been hard to eat the last couple of days, so I'm pretty hungry. Gotta make me a sammich!

Morning update

After a long night's sleep and being pumped up on medicine... I still feel like crap. To make it worse, my swollen bottom lip is sharing the wealth with my top lip (not as bad, though), and the infected areas have turned into ulcers. They are on fire this morning.

Whenever I get ulcers on my lip, they always wind up on the inside, but now they're showing as plain as day to the world. I hate taking sick days, but I'm no better today. I'll see how it goes over the next couple of hours before I make that call.

Priorities

First of all, I've been home sick today. I have felt bad ever since Friday morning, but Sunday the bottom fell out. I waited as long as I could today, but by noon I had to call it in.

I don't take sick days. I lose at least four or five every year just because I don't get sick often. Today was awful, and to top it off, half of my bottom lip is swollen and sore. I don't know what's causing it, but I'm sure as heck not posting a picture up here of it.

When I get sick, full of medicine and just plain down, I think about a lot of things. Tonight, I've been dwelling on my priorities. I may not have felt well, but I've enjoyed being at home with my family.

Football season is a really rough time for people in the news business, especially those of us who shoot the games and have families. For me, I'm shooting the high school games not only to get a little extra green in the pocket, but because I know my sports director needs help. I shoot the Alabama home games because... well, I'm a Bama graduate. Any chance I can get into the game for free (no matter how bad they're playing), it's a bonus.

My family realizes my job requires extra hours from time-to-time, but it's hard not being with them a couple of days out of the week. I mean, I see them, but we don't spend time doing things. It's a, "Hi, my day was...," type of deal.

I'm not complaining at all, but I've just wondered where my priorities are sometimes. Am I putting my relationship with God first? Am I giving Amy the security and care she requires? Am I watching Alyssa grow up every step of the way?

I'm not a perfect person by any stretch of the imagination, but am I doing the best I can with my life? I'd like to think I'm working hard in all that I do, but I'm also thinking I could slow down sometimes and enjoy the little moments.

I didn't mean to get all mental, but I just needed to pound the keys and clear my head. It's been a rough day fighting this mess in my body, and I needed a chance to unwind. I pray tomorrow will be a better day. :-)

Arkansas 27
Auburn 10

:-)

Lack of posts

I find it harder and harder to update this thing consistently. Work, both at home and the station, keeps me from saying as much as I'd like.

Alyssa has finally cut her first tooth. She's howling every waking moment right now. Even Amy is letting her sleep straight through her feeding time so we can have a few quiet moments in the house.

I'm still trying to get my personal web site the way I want. I haven't finished uploading all my pictures and stuff. I'm also formatting a page to put videos on.

I also want to rant about a couple of things at work, but I'm too nice to say it publicly or to anyone else. I'm quickly burning out again.

What I'd really like to do is go back to sleep. Here's to day number umpteenth-hundred of working with no vacation days since February. Please come soon, Christmas...