Christmas

As everyone is aware, Christmas is just a few days around the corner now. The Cotton Bowl isn't too far off either. As this year winds down, let's spend these holidays with the ones we love, and cherish the good times that we have. There just aren't enough of them. Be sure to keep it locked on TideBlog.com, because coming very soon, some big changes are going to be made. From TideBlog.com, Have a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!

TideBlog

Well, the regular season is officially over. We've got the bowl games to watch, and then it'll be another long, dreadful wait until next year's season kicks back off.

Well, you may be asking, what is TideBlog.com going to do during the off-season when there's no football? Are the TideBlog.com bloggers going to sit on their lazy butts and do nothing? Yes. We are going to sit on our lazy butts. But we'll still be posting, and the high quality content you've come to expect from TideBlog.com will still be here. We'll be talking Alabama basketball, Alabama baseball, and yes, those lovely ladies of the Alabama gymnastics team. So be sure to keep clicking TideBlog.com for our thoughts on these and other subjects, all throughout the off-season, until Crimson Tide football returns.

All of us here at TideBlog.com have been working feverishly behind the scenes to bring you a HUGE, yes, HUGE, surprise come January. I'm not at liberty to say just what that surprise is yet, so you'll have to stay tuned into TideBlog.com for updates. I promise, it'll be worth the wait.

Championship

Here we are again, time for another SEC championship game. At this time a few weeks ago, we were all wishing and waiting for it to come, because we all thought that ALabama was surely going to be the representative from the SEC West. Well, maybe next year. The game should be a close one, as most all SEC games have been so far this season, except for the first quarter of the Iron Bowl. I think LSU pulls this one off, but barely. 17-14 LSU.

Thanksgiving

Well, us 'Bama fans have a lot to be thankful for this year. Here's a list of the many things that we have to be thankful for.

1. A 9-2 outing, so far, means that the Tide have shown that our team will no longer have to be ridiculed by the nation. Just by AllBarn fans.
2. slUT will be going to a very famous bowl game. Yes, you heard me right. The StayAtHome.com bowl.
3. Going back to number 2, we can finally stop being ridiculed by slUT fans. In fact, I had a blast over Thanksgiving making fun of Tennessee fans. The only problem was when I reminded them that they weren't even the best team in their state. They had issues with that one.
4. The Crimson Tide basketball team will again be strong this year. Look for the blowout loss to Memphis to be the worst loss all year. From here on, I think we'll see a lot better play by these guys. I look forward to SEC play, and will be attending many out of conference games, so be sure to tune in to TideBlog.com for my insights.
5. A 9-2 season thus far. I mean, come on, if someone asked you before the season if you'd take 9-2, would you have? Of course you would've!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and is having no problems getting back to the grind. Be sure to check out the poll on TideBlog.com's forum.

Awful

The loss to AllBarn was just as my post title suggests, awful. When you come out of the gate down by 21 points, it's hard to resurrect any semblance of a game after that. The usual suspects contributed to the loss, and once again, Alabama was ill-prepared for the game. This is beginning to be a week-after-week routine for the Crimson Tide. Offensive offensive line play, passing the ball on short downs, and bad coaching decisions have become an everyday part of Alabama football. The best thing that can come from this loss is that the coaching errors of Dave Rader and crew are now more than obvious. I know he's your friend, Shula, but it's time to bring in some new (or old) blood. I know of one man, who would be more than qualified for the job, who is hanging around T-town in his retirement. Hire Homer Smith, Mal!

One other point of glad tidings: Tennessee is not going bowling! Go Vandy!

AllBarn

The big game is upon us once again. Will it turn out like Florida? Will it turn out to be like Tennessee? Will it turn out to be like LSU? We'll all find out this Saturday in AllBarn as the Tide and Tigers clash in another Iron Bowl. While the wondrous things that have been accomplished this season by Alabama will not be lessened by a loss, a win would go a long way toward quieting that sinking feeling in every Tide fan's stomach that came after the loss to LSU. As every Alabama or AllBarn fan knows, you can throw out the records in this one, so the fact that the Tigers lost to lowly Georgia Tech does not factor into my prediction for this week. What does, however, figure in is that AllBarn and Alabama both lost to the Tigers from Baton Rouge. The Tigers played LSU better, and I think that their win over Georgia last week will propel them through a win against Alabama this week, unless Alabama can finally show some offense.

My Prediction: The Tide's offense will be offensive as usual, and the defense will have to score for the Tide. This game will be close, but AllBarn will prevail. Tigers 13 - Tide 10. Let's hope I'm wrong.

Loss...

Some keys to the Tide's loss...

1. Not changing up the offense to match LSU's defensive scheme. (Do I hear FireDaveRader.com?)
2. Going into overtime. (I hate "FREE FOOTBALL FOR EVERYBODY!")
3. An awful offensive showing during the second half. (Come on Brodie, we know your bones snap like twigs, but quit going down before you ever get hit!)
4. Botched calls by referrees. (We're used to this by now. That pass interference call on Madison was clearly incidental.)
5. Dropped balls by recievers. Same as usual.
6. Our offensive line is just that. Offensive.

The Tide played their collective heart out, and couldn't come up with the win. I feel bad for the seniors, but let's face it, it's been a long time since Crimson Tide fans have been able to be ticked off about not being in the national title picture. Let's regroup and take it to the other Tigers this weekend. Roll Tide!