Mal Moore [1939 – 2013]

by Travis Normand

Mal Moore, Alabama’s former Director of Athletics (and quarterback under Bear Bryant), passed away on Saturday March 30, 2013.

Moore resigned as A.D. on March 20, 2013 citing health issues.

MAL M. MOORE

Born: Dec. 19, 1939

Died: March 30, 2013

Playing career: 1955-58, Dozier High, QB-DB; 1959-62, University of Alabama, QB

Education: Bachelor’s degree in sociology, Alabama, 1963; Master’s degree in secondary education, Alabama, 1964

Coaching career: Graduate assistant, Montana State, 1963; Graduate assistant, Alabama, 1964; Assistant coach (secondary), Alabama, 1965-70; Assistant coach (quarterbacks), Alabama, 1971-82; Offensive coordinator, Alabama, 1975-82; Assistant coach, Notre Dame, 1983-85; Assistant coach, St. Louis-Phoenix Cardinals, 1986-89; Assistant head coach, quarterbacks coach, Alabama, 1990-93

Administrative career: Associate director of athletics for external affairs, Alabama, Jan. 15, 1994-Nov. 22, 1999; Athletics director, Alabama, Nov. 23, 1999-March 20, 2013; Special assistant to president, athletics director emeritus, Alabama, March 21-March 30, 2013

From article at USAToday.com

Below are several links to stories on Mal Moore’s passing:

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Thank you, Captain Obvious!

by Travis Normand

“I say, ‘Ok, but who should we hire? [Alabama coach] [Nick] Saban? Well, Saban isn’t going to come here.’”

- DeLoss Dodds, Feb. 26, 2013 (asking rhetorically who the Longhorns would hire if Mack Brown was let go) – Link

Did we really need Dodds to tell us this before we knew it was the case?  Did anyone think that Saban would be coaching the Longhorns in the near future?

I would answer these questions with a “no,” but I have to place an asterisk next to it.  Why an asterisk?  Because I am sure that every Longhorn fan is convinced that if they went after Saban, he would leave Alabama for the University of Texas.

I guess it doesn’t hurt to dream (or fantasize), as long as it doesn’t turn into arrogance….too late!

“Following Mack will not be easy,” Dodds said. “You’re always thinking what you would do if that happens. That’s what we get paid to do. But if we went looking for somebody, I would look for Mack. That’s who I’d want to hire … He would be who I’d want if I had to start all over again. If there’s another Mack Brown out there, that’s who we’d go after.”

- DeLoss Dodds, Feb. 27, 2013 – Link

Is Dodds saying that if he was in the market for a new coach, he would hire Mack Brown? He would fire one coach, only to hire his identical twin?  Interesting concept.

Texas Aggies are the early preseason No. 1

English: Texas A&M University "aTm" ...

by Travis Normand

You read the headline correctly, the Texas Aggies are considered the No. 1 overall team — in a very early preseason poll – for the 2013 season.

While I personally couldn’t be more excited and flattered by the ranking, I take it with a grain of salt.  Why?  Because there are a lot of reasons for ranking the Aggies number one, however, none of these reasons really matter as it is currently January 16, 2013.

On the other hand, the person that gave A&M the top spot in this early poll is none other than Dennis Dodd (senior college football columnist for CBSSports.com).  In other words, the number one spot was not given by some “hack” with a blog by the name of OnePointSafety.com.  It was given by one of the most well-respected national college football writers.

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Keith Arnold interview on SolidVerbal.com

SolidVerbal - 61Kby Travis Normand

If you love college football and you are not listening to the SolidVerbal.com podcast, you are missing out.

As readers of this blog know, I post random items and thoughts as I find them.  This means I post a lot of stuff that is anything but “timely.”  As it works out, I tend to find things later than most, which means I post about them later as well.  However, this isn’t always a bad thing.

For example, Ty and Dan (co-hosts of SolidVerbal.com) interviewed Keith Arnold of the NBCSports.com blog “Inside the Irish” on January 4, 2013.  Had I listened to the interview that very same day, I may not have found it as interesting as I did.  Instead, I listened to the interview today (Jan. 14), a week after the national title game.

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BCS Standings – Week 7 [Nov. 25, 2012]

by Travis Normand

Click HERE to see the BCS standings as of November 25, 2012. This is the seventh BCS ranking of the 2012 season.

A few of my observations from this week’s BCS standings:

  • Alabama is ranked number two overall and only needs to win the SEC Championship game this weekend to presumably reach the BCS National Title game.

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Andy Staples talks Alabama football after hearing Nick Saban

by Travis Normand

I am posting this article a little late, however I just found it and could not have posted it earlier (or I would have).

The article is written by Andy Staples and I found it via SmartFootball.com.  It is an excellent read and touches upon some of the very distinct and subtle dynamics that make the Southeastern Conference so great.

Staples’ article gives his thoughts as he attends and listens to Nick Saban’s interview at Saban’s weekly radio show.

Read the full article HERE.

Here is one of my favorite quotes from the article, which was written on October 9, 2012 (the day before Texas A&M upset Alabama in Tuscaloosa).

Someone will eventually create a way to beat Alabama and LSU, and, looking down the road a few years, it just might be the Aggies.

Alabama thinks Texas A&M is not good enough

Alabama v Texas A&M T-shirtby Travis Normand

Before Alabama and Texas A&M faced off on November 10, 2012, someone in Alabama decided they needed t-shirts made specifically for that game. I have no clue why the nation’s number one ranked team, or anyone affiliated with it, would feel the need to make a special t-shirt for that particular game but they did.

Alabama was ranked number one in the country at the time of kick-off, and they were also the defending national champions. Alabama had also won the national title as recently as 2009 as well.

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Alabama Awards Candidates: QB AJ McCarron, C Barrett Jones, OL Chance Warmack, and OL D.J. Fluker

by Travis Normand

I just received these via email from the University of Alabama.  Despite the Tide’s loss to Texas A&M this past weekend, Alabama is still loaded with amazing talent and deserves all of the awards that these guys will be picking up this season.

Alabama Awards Candidates: QB AJ McCarron and C Barrett Jones

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Hosts at ESPNU are not familiar with Texas A&M’s yells

by Travis Normand


[CFB Daily Week 11 #AwesomeBoard Nominees]

The two hosts of this segment on ESPNU make a pretty big deal out of Texas A&M WR Ryan Swope saying that the Aggies just “beat the hell outta [Alabama].”  After hearing their comments I thought I would share my thoughts about what they said.

  1. A&M did beat the hell outta Alabama, so whats the problem?
  2. Beat the hell outta __[fill in name of opponent]__” — This is a standard yell that is used constantly by Aggies at games, midnight yell practice, etc.  No one, including Alabama, should think that they are getting singled out by the use of this phrase.  This next weekend you will surely hear the Aggies yelling “Beat the hell outta Sam Houston State!