Alabama Football Practices In Shells For Day Three
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| Practice Continues For Tide Photo Credit: RollTide.com |
The University of Alabama Crimson Tide football team completed Day 3 of camp yesterday. The team practiced in shells for the first time on the Thomas-Drew Practice Fields. So far the Tide has been holding up well in the summer heat, with yesterday managing right at 100 degrees.
Quarterback David Cornwell was again somewhat limited in his workout due to recovering from his foot injury. He did practice, however.
Alabama has 28 practice sessions scheduled prior to the start of the 2016 football season. There are 25 more to come. The Crimson Tide opens the season in Arlington, Texas with the Trojans of USC on September 3rd at AT&T Stadium for the AdvoCare Classic. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. CT on ABC.
The Tide's practice session yesterday began at the usual 2:30 p.m. CT start, with the team opening with drills for the two-hour practice. Today's 4th practice gets underway at the same time, but will be held in Bryant-Denny Stadium for Fan Day. Practice will be from 2:30-4:30 p.m., followed by an autograph session with the players and coaches scheduled for a 4:45 p.m. start and lasting approximately 45 minutes.
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Ken "Snake" Stabler Inducted Into Pro Football Hall Of Fame
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| Bust Of Hall Of Famer Ken "Snake" Stabler Fred Biletnikoff (left) & Ken's Grandson Justin Moyes (right) Photo Credit: AP |
Stabler's 15-season NFL career came to an end in 1984 when he retired, and had been a finalist for the Hall of Fame three times before earning election in February as a nominee of the Veterans Committee.
But 32-years? Come on. Absolutely ridiculous that someone of his caliber should be waiting for so long. His talent, his charisma and his raw courage alone should have had him in the HOF almost immediately. Names have even been given to numerous of his performances on the field...the Holy Roller, Sea of Hands and Ghost to the Post, for instance.
You're there now, Kenny. Where you've always belonged.
Stabler succumbed to colon cancer on July 8, 2015.
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Alabama Crimson Tide Well-Represented At Olympics
These are the 12 representing the Alabama Crimson Tide:
- Kristian Gkolomeev – 50 & 100m freestyle & relays/Swimming & Diving – Greece
- Christopher Reid – 100m backstroke & relays/Swimming & Diving - South Africa
- Abbas Qali – 100m butterfly/Swimming & Diving – Kuwait
- Anton McKee – 100 & 200m breaststroke/Swimming & Diving – Iceland
- Jack Hadjiconstantinou – 400m freestyle/Swimming & Diving – Greece
- BJ Hornikel – 100m freestyle & relays/Swimming & Diving – Germany
- Kristel Vourna – 100m butterfly/Swimming & Diving – Greece
- Kirani James - 400 Meters/Track and Field - Grenada
- Ahmed Ali - 200 Meters/Track and Field - Sudan
- Alex Amankwah - 800 Meters/Track and Field - Ghana
- Jereem Richards - 4x400-Meter relay/Track and Field - Trinidad & Tobago
- Stephanie Meadow - Golf - Ireland
DAY ONE - August 6th
Here is a look at yesterday's first results in which current or former University of Alabama student-athletes participated.
SWIMMING AND DIVING Competition - UA 2015 senior swimmer Kristel Vourna opened Alabama's Olympic schedule in the women's 100-meter butterfly swimming for the country of Greece in her second Olympics. She posted a time of 58.59, finishing 23rd. Swimming for Cyrus and taking 47th place in the 400-meter freestyle swimming event was Jack Hadjiconstantinou, who will be a senior at Alabama in 2016-17. He posted a time of 4:03.53. Swimming for his home country of Iceland in the 100-meter breaststroke, 2016-17 senior Anton McKee came in 35th place with a time of 1:01.84 in his second Olympiad.
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Kirby Smart Fires Opening Shot
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| Kirby Smart Photo Credit: SaturdayDownSouth.com |
Everyone pretty much knew that the day would come when some sort of "beef" occurred between Georgia head coach Kirby Smart and Alabama head football coach Nick Saban. The honeymoon is over.
Though Smart didn't actually call Saban by name, it was clear that this was a shot over the bow of the U.S.S. Nick Saban when Smart said that he will "absolutely" let graduate transfers leave Georgia in order to attend any school they want, even a Southeastern Conference school.
Of course this is in reference to the fact that UA and Saban are blocking the transfer of defensive back Maurice Smith to Georgia as a graduate transfer.
What happened Kirby? Was that not you, just back in March, when your own policy was that "we will release kids to SEC schools unless it's a special situation."
Hmm.
So earlier, when Smart had voiced support for the rules as written, and what Saban is doing, in preventing a player from following a former coach. Remember, there are two coaches at Georgia for whom Smith has played...Kirby Smart and the new Georgia defensive coordinator Mel Tucker. Smart was the defensive coordinator at Alabama, and Tucker just departed the Tide to work for Smart as his DC.
Seems hypocrisy is alive and well at Georgia.
Now Smart is telling everyone how, after receiving your degree at your particular school, you should be allowed to leave and play for anyone you want. Even though allowing coaches, by the rules, to keep it from happening. Two schools of thought there...that the rules are in place because actually was a commitment by a player to play his eligible years at that particular school, and then there's the adage that "rules were made to be broken."
So, it's okay to stop a player from going outside the conference, say to a mythological school named Miami, but not okay to stop a player from transferring in conference.
Good one, Kirby.
