Game on Saturday?

I realize I'm a little late in posting this. I went 3-3 last week, and am now 69-25. I won't go game-by-game this week.

So yeah, I picked Bama to beat Auburn. I just had a bad feeling last week. It wasn't a lack of faith, or a reverse-mojo ploy for good luck...just a bad feeling. I'm certainly glad I was wrong! I hope to have a dedicated post about the game later on this week.

So what's with the talk radio this week? No one wants to talk about the game. No one really wants to talk about bowl bids either. It's all about where Tuberville, Muschamp, Borgess, hell, everyone down to Auburn's waterboy will end up.

Sheldon Haygood's talk more about Tuberville leaving the other night than the actual game. His laughable prediction was LSU. I guess he had to come up with something after TAMU was out of the picture.

On my drive home yesterday, Finebaum was interviewing someone and all they talked about was about Auburn coaches leaving. I changed stations and Dunaway and Brown were talking about the same thing. I went to the show with Stabler thinking that they would surely be talking about the game. Nope, Auburn's coaching situation.

Every Monday this year, people have talked about the previous Saturday's games, particularly the Bama games. After all, Birmingham is still a Bama town, though not by as much as it used to be. But yesterday? Nada. No strategy talk, bowl projection talk, or "what if" talk. No throwing SJPW under the bus, or talks of, "if Saban had his own players." It was all talk of Auburn's coaching staff.

This morning, what were they talking about on the Opening Drive? Possible positions that could be filled by Auburn's current coaching staff.

Honestly, this game seems to have disappeared like a fart in the wind. And why? Because the Bama nation wants Coach Tuberville out of town. They aren't used to losing six in a row, so they're panicking like never before.

I will give credit to the many wonderful Bama blogs (check my links) out there that actually have talked about the game. Sure, many have also talked about the coaching situation. After all, it's big news (though, no news). But they haven't completely ignored the fact that there was a game played on Saturday. Why not the "legitimate" media?

Well, shit sells these days. And by shit, I mean a) tabloid "news", and b) stuff that panders to the target audience. That's exactly what the local sports media is doing now.

We all know the ringleader. He's been extremely successful pedaling the tabloid junk. The rest of the local sports media are just following suit. Either that, or they're just drooling Bama fanboys (see Melick/Gattis). I don't know if I should, but I'm giving most of them the benefit of the doubt.

Actions Speak Louder Than Words - Part 2

Remember when FSU coaches hid their signal caller from the Bama sideline? Aside from a few bloggers, not that many people talked about it. At the time, I found this very odd because it was one of the most bazaar things I'd ever seen at any level of football. I never even heard Finebaum mention it, which is surprising considering Gary Danielson's comment.

It turns out that not that many people saw this part of the game. Perhaps fans changed the channel after the first half snooze-fest. Or perhaps people just didn't care about it. Whatever the case may be, here's the video.

Is that Verne Lundquist, or Ed McMahon doing the play-by-play? "Yes!"

* Update — According to scalpem.com, using a towel/blanket is now a part of FSU's signaling. Thank you NoleCC for the update!

It's Like Clockwork

Paul Finebaum is about as predictable as Al Borges's play calling this year. When Auburn does poorly, their trusties are looking to give Tuberville the boot. When Auburn is doing well, Tuberville is looking to take another coaching job.

After losing to USF and MSU, Finebaum repeatedly called Tuberville a bad coach. He constantly talked about the droves of Auburn fans that wanted him fired, though I never heard any of these fans. After the MSU loss, Finebaum wrote this in his column:

Tuberville has the security of a $6 million price tag on his head. However, if things don't change quickly, will it be enough to keep him in the good graces of the Auburn family?

That week, he told the guys on the Opening Drive that he didn't think Tuberville was going anywhere. The question was asked whether or not Finebaum thought Tuberville might leave on his own. His answer was no, because Tuberville and his family are happy in Auburn and he just had a large house built down there.

Let's fast forward two weeks. Auburn just upset the number three team in the nation. Finebaum has now changed his tune. Tuberville, the horrible coach that he is, is now on everyone's wish list. Finebaum blabs,

Tuberville would emerge at or near the top of anyone's list of top contenders for the job. He might also be hotly pursed by Arkansas after the expected removal of Houston Nutt.

Not bad for a horrible coach that none of the Auburn fans or trustees want, right?

Finebaum adds,

Tubs knows the terrain in Aggieland, having spent a brief period of time out there as R.C. Slocum's defensive coordinator.

I guess coaching at a school for one year means he's going to take the job and run. I probably shouldn't mention that Tuberville didn't even consider leaving Auburn for Miami like Finebaum was trying to push last year. I shouldn't mention that Tuberville coached there for eight years either.

And what about the fact that Tuberville and his family are happy in Auburn, and just moved into a 9,000-square foot house? Well, Paul's changed his opinion on that as well.

So, would Tuberville take the money and run? Are you kidding me? Tuberville may have stopped the hemorrhaging with the Florida upset but he's not stupid.

No, he's not stupid. But Finebaum's predictable routine is.