Ted Cruz Alabama Crimson Tide football tweet stirs fans, critics
Texas U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz took to Twitter Wednesday night mocking the Ivy League with an Alabama Crimson Tide football team joke. On Wednesday, the New York Post tweeted an article titled, “The Ivy League is cancelling all fall sports, including football” due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To which Cruz tweeted, “Finally, Alabama has a chance,” in response as if a top team, like the Crimson Tide, would even be affected by the Ivy League losing their season. Finally, Alabama has a chance. https://t.co/rZ5f7e8V14 — Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) July 9, 2020 Ivy League schools, among the top academic institutions in the country, no longer participate in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). Their teams are never ranked in the top-25, nor do they go to bowl games, leaving some fans to questions the intent of his tweet — was he mocking the Ivy League or knocking the Crimson Tide. Did the Ivy League schools have a football team? — MacSloppy (@kdmc0932) July 9, 2020 A Texas senator with an Alabama football shoutout. I’m sure longhorn fans are hurt. #RollTide — LeeTown (@LeeTown8) July 9, 2020 They hate us cause they ain’t us! Roll Tide! Roll! — Peas ‘n Cheezus 😎🇺🇸 (@treefish827) July 9, 2020 Looks like there will be about 200 fans looking for something else to do on Saturday. — Rick Vasquez (@Rick5591Vasquez) July 9, 2020 A Texas senator with an Alabama football shoutout. I’m sure longhorn fans are hurt. #RollTide — LeeTown (@LeeTown8) July 9, 2020 Damn. Alabama burn. pic.twitter.com/johAEZ2JI9 — AJM (@Amalgham) July 9, 2020 Ummm Bama has how many national championships — jesse o’malley (@dragonram7924) July 9, 2020 Cruz is no stranger to the Ivy League or Alabama. He graduated cum laude from Princeton University in 1992 with a Bachelor of Arts in public policy, and the former presidential hopeful made several stops across the Yellowhammer State during his presidential run in 2016.
Donald Trump: NFL people thankful he signed criminal justice bill
President Donald Trump claimed that “a lot of people” from the NFL have been calling and thanking him for signing legislation addressing concerns with the criminal justice system. Trump also said during an interview broadcast Sunday that he and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell have set aside their differences over players kneeling during the national anthem. Trump relentlessly criticized the practice as being disrespectful to the American flag and he faulted Goodell for not doing enough to stop it. Players saw kneeling during the “Star-Spangled Banner” as a prime opportunity to heighten public awareness of how minorities are treated by the criminal justice system. The president pivoted to the new criminal justice law when he was asked if he thought the players who knelt had a point, and whether he was sensitive to their concerns that most victims of police violence are black. Trump said the legislation was the product of years of effort dating to before he took office. “And I got it done and I’ve been, you know, really, a lot of people in the NFL have been calling and thanking me for it,” Trump said in the interview broadcast during CBS’ Super Bowl pre-game show. “They have been calling and thanking, you know, that people have been trying to get that taken care of and it’s now signed into law.” The law gives judges more discretion when sentencing some drug offenders and will boost prisoner rehabilitation. Trump then segued to his stance on kneeling during the anthem, without addressing the original question. “I think that when you want to protest I think that’s great. But I don’t think you do it at the sake of our flag, at the sake of our national anthem. Absolutely,” he said. The White House did not respond to emailed requests for information on which NFL figures have reached out to the president. Asked whether he and Goodell had set aside their differences over kneeling, Trump said: “I think so … You have to respect our flag and our country. I want that as president. And I’d want that as a citizen and I have a very good relationship.” Trump viewed Sunday’s matchup between the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams from the comfort of his private golf club in West Palm Beach. Upon arrival, he and his wife, Melania, were treated to a mini-concert by the Florida Atlantic University Marching Band. Trump said in the interview that he expected the Patriots to win a sixth Lombardi Trophy — and they did, 13-3 — and visit the White House. The team is owned and coached by his friends, Bob Kraft and Bill Belichick, respectively. He credited “great chemistry” for the team’s success. Trump also complained in the interview about the New Orleans Saints’ loss to the Rams in January’s NFC title game. Game officials failed to call interference or roughness penalties when a Rams player delivered a helmet-to-helmet hit on a Saints receiver in the game’s crucial final minutes. The Rams won in overtime, advancing to meet the Patriots at the Super Bowl in Atlanta while the league acknowledged a blown “no-call.” A federal judge later rejected a legal challenge by two Saints ticketholders seeking a do-over playoff game. Trump blamed the outcome on a “bad call.” “It’s a shame that we couldn’t have seen that game finished out, because that was a beautiful pass. And it was a perfect pass. And he was not just interfered with, he was, he was really hit hard,” the president said. “So it’s a shame that that had to happen. Who really knows what would have happened in the end?” He said the Saints would have been in a good position to have won the conference title. “But it is what it is. It was a bad call. I don’t think anybody denies it was a bad call,” Trump said. “Maybe it was a terrible call.” … Follow Darlene Superville on Twitter:http://www.twitter.com/dsupervilleap Republished with permission from the Associated Press
NYT highlights Homewood coach with heart for football and philanthropy
A Homewood Middle School football coach and teacher recently found himself in the national spotlight as his efforts to make an impact on local youth were highlighted by the New York Times (NYT). Steve Sills, “an evangelist for the gospel of encouragement, which he’s been preaching for 13 years at this economically and demographically diverse middle school in suburban Birmingham,” works hard to teach the middle school students he works with the importance of giving it your all. “Don’t matter if you are big or small, if you are fast or slow. If you give us the very best of you, together we can do great things,” Sills told the Homewood Patriots football team during a recent Monday night game according to the NYT. Sills, who envisioned a career in football after receiving a scholarship to play at Tennessee Tech and later played in the indoor Arena Football League, didn’t follow his expected life path. Instead he found himself teaching and coaching at Homewood Middle School. There, he teaches his students career and character where he endeavors to pass along his “look good, feel good, do good” mantra. But Sills takes his work beyond the classroom. Nine years ago, the educator founded the Homewood Trendsetters, a school club that according to the NYT, “combines sharp dressing with dozens of service projects, like feeding the homeless at local shelters or cheering on special needs students at athletic events. It now numbers more than 300, including more than 100 girls, and has logged thousands of volunteer hours and raised tens of thousands of dollars for the community.” When they NYT asked him to reduce his teaching philosophy to its core, he paraphrased the poet Maya Angelou: “These kids will forget what I said and did, but I hope they never forget how I made them feel.”
Finally, the NFL takes a stand against the knee
The NFL announced new guidelines for players, in terms of how the respond to the National Anthem on Wednesday, and my reaction is (along with the rest of patriotic America): FINALLY. For the love of all that’s holy, the NFL is a business. Now granted the players are athletes (in some cases also entertainers), they still work for a larger organization. And that organization has a message and goals of its own: NFL AND THE COMMUNITY Football and community are the twin pillars of the NFL. Whether nationally at the league level, locally at the team level, or individually through the volunteerism and philanthropy of owners, players, coaches and club personnel, there exists a powerful NFL-wide commitment to giving back. This commitment is year-round-there is no offseason to the NFL’s multi-tiered, ongoing work to strengthen America’s communities. Through the active involvement of the 32 NFL teams, and long-standing partners, the league is able to make a positive difference in America’s communities and connect with millions of fans each year. That message has been hijacked by those few who wish to have their political agendas drive the message of an entire organization made up of 32 teams and nearly 1,700 players. Saturday, Aug. 26, 2016 was the first day 49ers player Colin Kaepernick chose not to rise to his feet for the playing of the national anthem. The outcry against Kaepernick, and other players following suit, came to a head during the 2017 NFL season, when even President Donald Trump got involved and weighed-in. It seems unheard of that it would take the organization this long to stand up to those defiant, unpatriotic players and say ‘it’s time to stop politicizing sports. You can’t make the game into something that it was never intended to be.’ A political spectacle. In the past year and a half, I’ve seen a lot of people defend the players’ actions as protected by the freedom of speech. Everybody has First Amendment rights, even these players — it’s a wonderful thing. As someone who is involved in both politics and the news business, I certainly appreciate all the aspects of the First Amendment. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. At the same time, players need to understand you can’t just walk into your workplace and have your personal and political beliefs override the mission statement of said company and what they’re trying to accomplish. You have to separate the two. Starting football games with controversial political messages has led the NFL to lose viewers and supporters. That’s a loss of profits for the NFL and the teams. That’s unacceptable. I know that I personally have been disheartened and frustrated by the vocal minority of players who have chosen to take a knee during the National Anthem and the a sideshow that has become. Kudos to the NFL for taking back control of organization. Inevitably there will be players who make a mockery of this decision and try and cash-in another 15 minutes of political fame. I hope that their teams, coaches and teammates come down on them hard and say it’s time to get back to point of the NFL: football. Use your free time to exercise your first amendment rights.
Daniel Sutter: Pro football in the spring again
Spring professional football returns in 2019 with the Alliance of American Football (AAF). I am very excited about this and think that the league has an excellent chance to be successful. The AAF’s potential also illustrates one of economics’ most difficult challenges. The Alliance’s eight teams will play a ten game season beginning after the Super Bowl. The AAF’s founders have great sports backgrounds: Charlie Ebersol is the son of long-time NBC Sports President Dick Ebersol, while Bill Polian was General Manager of three NFL teams. The Alliance will offer a partnership with the players and features former NFL players Troy Polamalu, Hines Ward, and Jared Allen in executive positions. The Alliance will feature some innovative rules, like only two point conversions after touchdowns. In place of dangerous kickoffs, teams will take possession on their own 25-yard line. Instead of on-sides kicks, a team can take the ball with fourth and ten on their own 35-yard line. Fantasy football will be promoted extensively. Steve Spurrier and Brad Childress will coach the teams in Orlando and Atlanta. The league will own the teams, which should allow maintenance of salaries consistent with projected revenue. Salaries will be well below the NFL’s average of $1.9 million. But attracting players should not be a problem; Canadian Football League fills its rosters with an average salary of around $80,000. As only about 2 percent of college players make the NFL, many recognizable players will be available. Many football fans find themselves in withdrawal after the Super Bowl, with the next games seven months away. Add in fantasy players and sports bettors, and the market seems available. The Alliance gives football junkies something to talk about, but what does this have to do with economics? It illustrates a critical and controversial element of economic performance. Spring pro football sounds like a great and profitable idea. But if spring football is such a great idea, why hasn’t it been tried since the United States Football League’s last spring season nearly 35 years ago? If I am right about the AAF’s prospects, then investors have been missing out on profits, fans on entertainment, and players on opportunity. In other words, the market has failed to deliver something of value. The fundamental question in economics is whether free markets or activist government provides the better path to prosperity. And the potential inefficiency in markets arises from products and services not available. The items businesses provide every day almost certainly create value, because customers will only repeatedly buy products they find worth the price, while firms won’t continue to sell at a loss. But would products and services which are not available provide value for the economy? Establishing conclusively that any product not available would make us better off is extremely hard. To see why, consider spring football. The idea must have occurred to investors, since the USFL, Arena Football, and Vince McMahon’s XFL all played spring and summer games. Investors may have explored the idea and identified challenges I do not see. I have never started a business, so professional investors should be more likely to see potential problems than me. Given the potential challenges, the AAF’s success may be far less certain than I think. Everybody probably has an idea for a new product or service that would make a fortune. As criticisms of the market, most of these claims are really like Monday morning quarterbacking. Further, the claims also invite a challenge: if I were sure that spring football was a “can’t miss” deal, I could invest in the AAF. Yet this well-founded skepticism of great products not available easily bleeds into ideological certainty that markets always provide all valuable new products. Spring football is returning. As a football fan, I am bullish on the Alliance’s prospects, but the economist in me remains cautious. If the league is successful, then we should ask why this didn’t happen years ago. And that will be an important economic question. ••• Daniel Sutter is the Charles G. Koch Professor of Economics with the Manuel H. Johnson Center for Political Economy at Troy University and host of Econversations on TrojanVision. The opinions expressed in this column are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the views of Troy University.
Winning ways return to Birmingham high school
It was the 1960s and teenagers were rocking to the Beatles. In the governor’s office, George Wallace was promising “segregation today, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever.” And on the east side of Birmingham, head coach George O. “Shorty” White was winning the first of three state football championships at Banks High School. Jimmy Sidle, a tall, rangy fellow, was one of the first to earn a college scholarship. He chose Auburn and in 1963 became the first quarterback to lead the nation in rushing with 1,003 yards. Larry Willingham made his mark at Banks, Auburn and with the St. Louis Cardinals as an All-Pro defensive back. Mike Neal and his brother, Rick, were not far behind. Banks kept winning and the college scholarships kept coming. Alabama signed Bobby Johns, Johnny Musso, Gary and Jeff Rutledge, Donny and Johnny Johnston, Billy Strickland and Ronnie Roddam. But then, in 1989, the city transformed Banks High School into a middle school. It was a shocking development that still stings for some students and fans. Now, a school of winning in football as well as the classroom, is an unoccupied eyesore, and some nearby residents have urged the city to tear it down. Whether the city does or doesn’t knock it down, there is a something new to be proud of and respect. Through the efforts of Shorty White’s son, Darryl, and Banks graduates, including Mike Dutton, Steve Foster, Marilyn Davis Purdy, Cal Dodson and Randy Overstreet, a new Banks was born. Banks Academy, a private Christian high school, is carrying on the old Banks High School’s penchant for winning. The Jets won the recent Alabama Christian Athletic Association basketball championship by defeating Harvest Christian 82-58, then squeaking by Cornerstone Christian 86-84. The ACAA is an association of about 30 private Christian schools. Banks Academy finished the season with a 25-4 record and Chase Cornelius was voted Coach of the Year. “When I was offered the job as head coach, my dad enlightened me on what the name Banks meant,” Cornelius said. “It was a name that received national recognition and was a powerhouse, especially in football.” Dutton, a former varsity basketball player and later principal at Banks High School, is on the Banks Academy board of directors. He has a positive outlook about Banks Academy and the work of Darryl White. “He had the vision for this, and his leadership has been tremendous,” Dutton said. “Darryl is the catalyst.” Dutton is confident that Banks Academy students will latch onto the skills and opportunities to be successful in life. The school has 36 students, and that’s not many. But White said he expects enrollment to be 55-plus for the 2018 term, which starts in August. T-shirts acclaiming “Old Name New Tradition” were worn by students when they first enrolled at Banks Academy. “The old tradition is not dead,” said White, “this is just the beginning of a new Banks era.” And he offered a final word: “Football is on the horizon.” Rutledge and Nathan, a look back Banks vs. Woodlawn was a rivalry that split the schools apart in the Sixties, Seventies and Eighties, and there was no bigger game than Jets vs. Colonels in 1974. Traffic backed up for miles to get to Legion Field for the game that featured Banks quarterback Jeff Rutledge and Woodlawn running back Tony Nathan (and featured in the movie “Woodlawn” and a highlight from the book “Woodlawn” on which the movie is based). Tony Nathan (22) breaking away for a long run. (contributed) Traffic backed up for miles to get to Legion Field. And when fans got there, only four gates were open. With kickoff time near, fans had to squeeze their way through the gates and find seats. This was the largest crowd – an estimated 40,000 — to watch a high school game in Alabama. Police estimated that another 20,000 turned around and went home. But on the field it was Banks vs. Woodlawn, Rutledge vs. Nathan, Coach Shorty White vs. Coach Tandy Geralds. The results: White picked up his 100th victory. Rutledge completed nine of 10 passes for 188 yards and a touchdown. Nathan rushed for 112 yards in 31 carries. Banks 18, Woodlawn 7 Republished with permission from the Alabama NewsCenter.
Alabama Crimson Tide celebrates national championship with ‘best fans in the world’
An estimated 40,000 Crimson Tide fans turned out to celebrate the Alabama Crimson Tide football team’s 17th national championship with a parade and trophy presentation in Tuscaloosa Saturday. On a day in which the weather seemed custom-made for the celebration, the team paraded by in position groups from Denny Chimes down the Walk of Champions to the steps of Bryant-Denny Stadium. They tossed beads Mardi Gras-style and lobbed footballs emblazoned with the 17th national championship logo. The team’s coaches passed by in Mercedes-Benz convertibles and the Million Dollar Band played and marched. Crimson Tide cheerleaders also marched as did trainers, staff and representatives of Nick’s Kids, the foundation started by head coach Nick Saban and his wife, Terry. Even before the parade started, fans lined University Boulevard and began yelling “Ala” on one side of the street with the fans on the other side replying “Bama” until both sides unified in a hearty “Roooollll Tide!” The parade ended at the stadium where this year’s team captains spoke along with Saban, Director of Athletics Greg Byrne, Executive Director of the College Football Playoff Bill Hancock, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey and AFCA Associate Executive Director Gary Darnell. “What you do, the passion that you have is what makes being a coach at the University of Alabama and a player at the University of Alabama something that’s extremely, extremely special – beyond words for me to really explain,” Saban told the fans. “We have the best fans in the world,” Saban said. “You all are the best fans in the country. Today, we have the best team in the country and I think your support in coming out today makes this one of the best days and the best memories that each one of these young men can have and makes all of the hard work that they did worthwhile.” Saban praised the resiliency of this championship team having overcome multiple injuries, a late-season loss to Auburn and trailing after the first half of the National Championship Game. He said he wants those seniors and those leaving early for the NFL draft to take away lessons learned during their time at Alabama, especially in the adversity they overcame this past season. “And to the players that are coming back, get ready for the challenges of the future and let everybody know that we’re not finished yet,” Saban said, with the players joining him in emphasizing the “yet.” Republished with permission from the Alabama NewsCenter.
Not all college football programs can afford to compete with Alabama Crimson Tide, others
University of Idaho President Chuck Staben was home with his family in Boise on New Year’s Day when he got an angry message from an alumnus. “Are you watching the Rose Bowl?” it read. “That’s the sort of experience Idaho had before you made your awful decision.” Almost two years after Staben announced that the Vandals would no longer compete in college football’s top division and a month after the school won its final Football Bowl Subdivision game, the angry messages haven’t disappeared. Neither has Staben’s conviction that lower-stakes football is the right thing for his school. “There is this hyper-polarization between the haves and the have-nots,” said Staben, whose team will compete next year in the Football Championship Subdivision. “We’re not deciding between the Rose Bowl and FCS. We’re deciding between being a marginal FBS program and FCS.” The University of Alabama will play the University of Georgia tonight for college football’s national championship, a matchup fueled by rabid fans, talented players and hundreds of millions of dollars. Both schools are among the 15 highest-earning university athletic programs. Alabama athletics, which has won four of the past eight football championships, generated $161 million in revenue in 2015-16; Georgia took in $120 million. Idaho, meanwhile, brought in $10 million across all of its sports, enough to cover less than half of its budget. The rest came from the broader university and student fees. The Rose Bowl experience was a fantasy, and Staben knew it, even if some alumni didn’t. “That isn’t by any means the kind of thing the University of Idaho is likely going to attain,” Staben said. “It’s a totally different league, and you and I and all reasonable people understand that.” Though no university has copied Staben’s move, schools across the country are closely following Idaho’s transition. Staben said presidents at other schools have called to say they admire his courage. Some would love to do the same, they tell him, but they’re too worried about the outcry from alumni. The backlash is real. Angry fans published Staben’s home address online, and he said his car and his wife’s were vandalized. Two major donors to the athletic department withdrew their support. Overall donations dropped around 50 percent, and Staben estimates that the department will lose more than $1 million this year. Longer term, however, he’s betting the school comes out ahead. His department can now offer fewer sports, spend less on travel and award fewer scholarships. There’s less pressure to spend lavishly on football coaching staffs and state-of-the-art practice facilities. “We’re now considering whether we can offer student athletes the chance to study abroad. Can you give them time off from sports to pursue other interests?” Staben said. “I don’t think you’ll see people doing that at the FBS level.” Staben sees an opportunity in basketball, a cheaper sport with its own national stage in the NCAA Tournament. The school is raising money to build a $45 million arena and this week announced a $10 million naming-rights agreement with Idaho Central Credit Union. Funds now stand at $34 million, and despite anger over his football decision, Staben believes the donors will fully fund the project. “Our future is really, really bright,” Athletic Director Rob Spear said at the announcement. So far, Idaho remains an outlier. The FBS continues to grow, creating a glut of schools at the bottom of the division. Of the 112 public universities in the FBS last year, 45 generated less than $20 million directly from athletics. The average Southeastern Conference school generated $131 million. All but a handful of athletic departments need money from the institution to balance their budgets. Those numbers are jarring to Russell Wright, founder and managing director of Atlanta-based Collegiate Consulting, which advised Idaho on its decision. Wright’s company is now gently reaching out to some schools at the bottom of FBS, asking if they might be interested in research on what life would look like in a lower division. “Some of these athletic directors have their heads in sand a bit, but I guarantee that presidents at some of these schools are watching,” Wright said. “When you’ve got a $30 million budget, and your football program goes 4-8 every year, and attendance is 5,000 a game, that’s unsustainable.” Republished with permission from the Alabama NewsCenter.
Alabama beats Clemson, will take on Georgia in the National Championship game
Monday night Alabama’s Crimson Tide beat the Clemson Tigers 24-6 in the Sugar Bowl just hours after the Georgia Bulldogs bested the Oklahoma Sooners 54-48 in an exciting double-overtime in the Rose Bowl, advancing both teams to the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship next Monday night. For the second time in seven seasons, two teams from the Southeastern Conference (SEC) will go head-to-head for a national title. Alabama will be playing in its sixth championship game in nine seasons, while Georgia is aiming for its first title since 1980. Here’s what you need to know: Who: Alabama vs. Georgia What: College Football Playoff championship When: Monday, Jan. 8, 2018 Where: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta Time: 7 p.m. CT TV: ESPN Livestream: WatchESPN
Tennessee taps Alabama assistant Jeremy Pruitt as new head coach
The Tennessee Volunteers finally have their new football coach – Alabama Crimson Tide assistant coach Jeremy Pruitt. The school announced Thursday morning the Alabama defensive coordinator will be the 26th coach in program history. Pruitt, 43, takes the helm of the Volunteers program after cementing himself as the nation’s top defensive coordinator during stints at Alabama (2016-17), Georgia (2014-15) and Florida State (2013). Tennessee athletic director and former Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer said Pruitt meets all the criteria he was looking for in a head coach. “Six days ago, I mentioned several attributes that I sought to find in the next leader of our football program, and Coach Pruitt meets all criteria” Fulmer said in a statement. “I’m certain he appreciates the unique opportunity to lead a program of Tennessee’s caliber. He’s driven to win at the highest level. He will honor our university’s values, operate with integrity and be a role model for our student-athletes. “I know Coach Pruitt will hit the ground running and go to work restoring our program to a championship level.” As an assistant coach, the Rainsville, Ala. native has been a part of four national championship teams — 2009, 2011, 2012 on the staff of the Crimson Tide. And in 2013 as the defensive coordinator during the Seminoles’ undefeated national championship season. The Vols will introduce Pruitt as their head coach at a news conference Thursday evening.
Crimson Tide in the college football playoffs; Auburn faces another unbeaten in Peach Bowl
A really imaginative tweet went out Saturday night. “With the noon (Eastern) time college football playoff show, will there even be church services in Alabama, or just all morning prayer vigils? Houndstooth blazers required.” With the noon time college football playoff show, will there even be church services in Alabama, or just all morning prayer vigils? Houndstooth blazers required. — drgraves-UGA Adm. (@drgravesUGA) December 3, 2017 Those prayers of Crimson Tide fans were answered Sunday morning as Alabama was awarded the fourth and final slot in the college football playoffs. Coach Nick Saban’s squad will face CFP No. 1-ranked Clemson in a national semifinal at 7:45 p.m. CST on New Year’s Day in the Allstate Sugar Bowl at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans. “Dabo (Swinney) has done a fantastic job with that program,” Saban said of the Clemson coach. “They’ve been consistently successful and this will be the third year we’ve played them in the playoff. I know our guys will be ready to play and will have a tremendous amount of respect for Clemson. We’ll have to play our best game of the year to have a chance to be successful against them.” The No. 2 Oklahoma Sooners and No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs will play in the other semifinal game at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, at 4 p.m. in the Rose Bowl. Georgia punched its ticket into the playoffs by beating Auburn 28-7 in a rematch of the Tigers’ 40-17 victory three weeks prior. The national championship game is at 7 p.m. on Jan. 8 in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium. All three games are on ESPN. Alabama Athletic Communications reported Sunday that Tide Pride members have until 5 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 4, to submit requests for playoff semifinal and championship game tickets. Each participating school will receive 13,000 tickets for the semifinal and 20,000 tickets to the championship. Other than the tickets allotted to the schools, the game is sold out. All requests made by University of Alabama constituency groups (Tide Pride, lettermen and faculty/staff) will be evaluated for all games following the request deadline. For the Allstate Sugar Bowl, all confirmed ticket requests will be shipped to customers via UPS, with a planned shipment date of Friday, Dec. 15. For the championship game in Atlanta, all confirmed requests are planned to be sent via mobile ticket (email and Ticketmaster app download) delivery with a planned send date of Thursday, Jan. 4. Ticket prices are as follows: semifinal Allstate Sugar Bowl: $275 club and $175 reserved; national championship: $675 (club), $575 (100- and 200-level seats) and $475 (300-level seats). The ability to request tickets does not guarantee tickets. If demand is greater than the allotment of tickets received, refunds will be given based on Tide Totals priority points. Lettermen should note that, if requests received exceed the lettermen allotment, requests will be filled based on last year lettered. UA faculty/staff should note that, if requests received exceed the faculty/staff allotment, requests will be filled based on years of service. “We’re extremely pleased for our team, our players, our coaches and all the people who work hard here for us,” Saban said. “I’d like to congratulate the other teams that will have the opportunity to participate in the playoff as well as the teams who were considered and had potential to be selected. We are really pleased and happy to be a part of the college football playoff again this year.” Since its inception in 2014, Alabama is the only team to appear in all four playoffs, and has appeared in the top five of every poll put out by the selection committee over the past four seasons. The Crimson Tide and Clemson will meet for the 18th time in the history of the series that dates back to 1900. Alabama owns the series advantage, 13-4. The two most recent matchups came in the 2016 and 2017 national championship games. Alabama rallied to defeat the No. 1 Tigers, 45-40, to capture the Tide’s 16th national championship in the 2016 game in Glendale, Arizona. The Tigers returned the favor with a come-from-behind 35-31 win in the 2017 championship in Tampa, Florida. No. 7 Auburn faces American Athletic Conference Champion and CFP No. 12 Central Florida in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl’s 50th anniversary game. That contest is set for the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta and will be nationally televised by ESPN at 11:30 a.m. UCF is making its first trip to the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, while Auburn will make its sixth appearance. Auburn has a 4-1 record in the game, with its most recent appearance resulting in a 43-24 victory over Virginia in 2011. “We couldn’t have asked for a better matchup to celebrate our 50th anniversary,” said Gary Stokan, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl CEO and president. “To have college football’s only undefeated team square off against the first-ever team to defeat two College Football Playoff No. 1-ranked teams in a season makes for an extremely compelling game.” Auburn’s Gus Malzahn will coach in the bowl game with a new contract. He has agreed to a seven-year deal to remain at the school after a strong late-season rebound, The Associated Press reported on Sunday. Complete financial details were not immediately available but the AP reported Malzahn will make more than $7 million in the final year of the contract. Other Southeastern Conference teams headed to bowl games are: Citrus Bowl presented by Overton (Orlando) – LSU vs. Notre Dame at noon on Jan. 1 on ABC. Academy Sports & Outdoors Texas Bowl (Houston): Missouri vs. Texas at 8 p.m. Dec. 27 on ESPN. Belk Bowl (Charlotte): Texas A&M vs. Wake Forest at noon on Dec. 29 on ESPN. Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl (Nashville): Kentucky vs. CFP No. 20-ranked Northwestern at 3:30 p.m. on Dec. 29 on ESPN TaxSlayer Bowl (Jacksonville): Mississippi State vs. Louisville at 11 a.m. on Dec. 30 on ESPN. Outback Bowl (Tampa): South Carolina vs. Michigan at 11 a.m. on Jan. 1 on ABC. UAB got a jump on Selection Sunday. The Blazers released their postseason plans last week, announcing that they’ll play Ohio in the Bahamas Bowl at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 22 on ESPN. In other state-connected bowls: R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl: Troy is the other state team that is
Donald Trump to NFL owners: Fire players who kneel during anthem
President Donald Trump has some advice for National Football League owners: Fire players who kneel during the national anthem. He’s also encouraging fans to walk out in protest. And the president is bemoaning what he describes as a decline in violence in the sport. “They’re ruining the game,” he said during a political rally in Alabama on Friday night that veered beyond politics. Several athletes, including a handful of NFL players, have refused to stand during “The Star-Spangled Banner” to protest of the treatment of blacks by police. Quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who started the trend last year when he played for the San Francisco 49ers, hasn’t been signed by an NFL team for this season. Trump, who once owned the New Jersey Generals of the U.S. Football League, says those players are disrespecting the American flag and deserve to lose their jobs. “That’s a total disrespect of our heritage. That’s a total disrespect of everything that we stand for,” Trump said, encouraging owners to act. “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, you’d say, ’Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. Out! He’s fired,” Trump said to loud applause. Trump also predicted that any owner who followed the presidential encouragement would become “the most popular person in this country” — at least for a week. Trump, who was in Alabama campaigning for Sen. Luther Strange, also blamed a drop in NFL ratings on the nation’s interest in “yours truly” as well as what he contended was a decline in violence in the game. He said players are being thrown out for aggressive tackles, and it’s “not the same game.” Over the past several seasons, the NFL and college football have increased penalties and enforcement for illegal hits to the head and for hitting defenseless players. A July report on 202 former football players found evidence of a debilitating brain disease linked to repeated head blows in nearly all of them. The league has agreed to pay $1 billion to retired players who claimed it misled them about the concussion dangers of playing football. During his campaign, Trump often expressed nostalgia for the “old days” — claiming, for example, that protesters at his rallies would have been carried out on stretchers back then. He recently suggested police officers should be rougher with criminals and shouldn’t protect their heads when pushing them into squad cars. It’s also not the first time he’s raised the kneeling issue. Earlier this year he took credit for the fact that Kaepernick hadn’t been signed. Television ratings for the NFL have been slipping since the beginning of the 2016 season. The league and observers have blamed a combination of factors, including competing coverage of last year’s presidential election, more viewers dropping cable television, fans’ discomfort with the reports of head trauma and the anthem protests. Ratings have been down even more in the early 2017 season, though broadcasters and the league have blamed the hurricanes that hit Florida and Texas. Still, the NFL remains by far the most popular televised sport in the United States. Trump said the anthem protest was the top reason NFL viewership had waned. “You know what’s hurting the game?” he asked. “When people like yourselves turn on television and you see those people taking the knee when they’re playing our great national anthem,” he said. Trump encouraged his supporters to pick up and leave the stadium next time they spot a player failing to stand. “I guarantee things will stop,” he said. Republished with permission from the Associated Press.
