You can't be dissapointed with our loss to MSU...

OK,

For all you naysayers, Bama-bashers, and paranoid-theorists, you can't be disappointed with our performance against MSU. The amount of bright spots out-number the amount of yards that MSU gained against us. Here are just 10 of the reasons why the Neil Callaway era has been kicked off with a bang.

[b]10) No cocky-crotch grabbing[/b] - And it's about time. There's a discipline on the UAB sideline that has been vacant for quite a while. No celebrations, just great football. Ok, maybe not great...but you get my drift

[b]9) One penalty ALL game[/b] - That may change as I write this, but a HUGE change from a penalty a minute. Just a reflection of the coaching, and we have some good coaching (Two intentional groundings on Hunt are bad decision making)

[b]8) Field Goals[/b] - Swayze Waters may not be the best punter, but he has NAILED his field goals. Good sign of the future.

[b]7) Callaway vs the official[/b] - Was I the only one who was cheering for Coach Callaway when he was going after the official. It's nice to see a little emotion (besides disbelief) from a HC

[b]6) Callaway's sideline manner[/b] - And while we're on the subject, am I the only one who noticed, no sweater vest, no hands on the hips, just a general barking orders...I could get used to that...

[b]5) No stupid mistakes[/b] - As bad as we looked, it was because MSU was just better than us, it was not about us beating ourselves. Sam did make a few bad choices, but nothing that can't be fixed.

[b]4) Adjustments[/b] - Wow. What a difference adjustments make. I see some hope for CUSA. I'll say we win 4-5 games, at least 2-3 because of second-half adjustments. Mark it down.

[b]3) Joe Webb[/b] - We all knew the wide-out core was thin. If Webb is our best WR, then so be it. Just please don't let Sam and Joe hurt on the same play...

[b]2) Work-ethic, Work-ethic, Work-ethic[/b] - Hard game against a physical team and no one was carried off the field. That says volumes about the work-ethic that our coaches (and especially our strength-and-conditioning coach) have instilled in our players. We're much better off than we were a year ago.

[b]1) No names, just one team[/b] - I don't care if you like it or not. I don't care if you think it's a mind-game, it looks like BamarU, or you just want to remember who is who, it works. It reminds every guy on that team that it takes 11 guys on offense and 11 guys on defense to win a game. That's something that's been missing on the Southside for a long time.

Two UAB basketball players arrested...

Birmingham's South Precinct has confirmed that 2 UAB basketball players were arrested at 1:30am. outside Club Red. They were arrested for disorderly conduct. The two basketball players were Freshman Keenan Ellis and Junior Robert Vaden.

More as the story develops...

Live-Blogging the Coaches Show

5:55pm - CNC came around and welcomed everyone. Shaking hands and small talk all around. Big difference from years past...a coach who's on time, I could get used to this...

6pm - Announcement and recap of the week's athletic events. I really like David, he's doing an excellent job!!!

First Break

Another observation - I really like the Hoover location of Full Moon. Lot's of space for the show and the fans, but not nearly as many people here as their were last week from what people are saying...

6:05pm - Hard practice Tuesday, ~70 plays, Backed off Wednesday and normal practice today - Says team should be fresh and ready to go - Gave the team two days rather than one (Sunday and Monday) - Coach could feel the excitement during and after practice - CNC's Opinion of the Big Ten - Big and Physical, MSU is no exception, using Power O and Zone Lead - Secondary - Dunbar will not play, others will have to step up - Carlie and Sanders will get the job done for us

Second Break

6:13pm - Joe from Alabaster - What's the defence? - Base out of the 4-3, may change to 3-4, depending on the flow, Cover 2 in the secondary - Pressure on the QB? - 2 DE, Brian Turn? and Brandon Jefferies are speedy, two others I missed their names - Defenseive Line? - Play 2 deep at each spot on defense Tim Davis at Nose Guard

How much Subbing, how may are playing - Front 4 will rotate constantly - Keep them fresh, everyone who plays is excited, play young guys early and grow them early

3-4 vs 4-3 and the differences, how do you decide - Have to have 2 linebackers that are fast are needed for the 3-4 as well as a big physical nose guard, 4-3 need more down linemen, less linebackers - 3rd downs will bring nickle/dime packages

Eric Shue on defense, blitz? Certain situations will bring pressure, but not always. 3rd down is a big decision for that - Blitzes leave people open, QB/RB will have to make plays

Break

Another observation - Lot's more Football Talk from CNC than from other coaches in the past...

6:22pm - Talking about the trip and week for Coach, first time as a HC? Busy preparing, hoping to contemplate that tonight or tomorrow, sure it will hit him soon - Long process to become HC, what are some of the things he's picked up from people - Being Organized, if not, you create confusion, likes to plan ahead, make sure you're doing is correct - communicate with the players

Email from TMCarty - How has Matt McCans progressed? Was told his story, watched the film, was very impressed, very young, lot's of potential to grow - OLine is physically and mentally demanding - very impressed watching him grow - Tuba to Starting left tackle

Toughest position on Oline - Center, snapping and against the nose guard attack, most exposed position is left tackle - Helton does good job with the game-plan

Eight guys on the defensive front, what about the OL? 7-8 guys on the line, 5 starters on the OL and 3 subs, individual subs, not line subs

Pre-season workouts, most confidence? Least Confidence? Most - secondary, corners especially, safeties as well - Least:receivers, big improvement, but not bearly where we need to be

Break

I love this live blogging thing...tons of fun!!!

6:35pm - Mark from Birmingham - Brandon Thorton - Injured? Ready? How many Years does he have? On campus Stadium? Hardship waver, so he will get 2 years - Shoulder, will not play this weeek, week-to-week after that - very fine young man, good attitude - Would love to see on campus stadium, but have work to do before that can be done.

Week ahead in Conference USA - Skipping this one to let my fingers rest...

Break

6:42pm - Weather High in the 80s - Spartan Stadium can get loud - Loco's doing free chips and wings for Gang Green (UAB Students) - Like road games, team building experience, not a lot of distractions, play good people - We will be ready for them

Picking up the blitz - QB - Senior gets the nod - Feels good about both, both will make a lot of good things happen - Running backs? Experience short? R. Slaughter, Dexter Barnett, Derell Norman, not a lot of experience, but lots of talent and energy

Physical and Multiple? can't be one-dementional offense, but have to play to your strenghts - always want to be physical, but will move the ball around and create confusion

Porn Star Waters - Done a great job, has a strong leg - Field Goals have been inconsistant, but has worked on them all summer and become much more reliable

Special Teams - Coverage? made a lot of improvement - good job of getting people who can run and can make a play - Special teams overall has been very good - very important to the team

Kickoffs on the 30 yrd line? 25 avg then, now starting from the 30-35 yrd line.

Clock Change - welcomes the return to the old, found other ways to shorten the game

Ask for 1-2 guys that fans should keep an eye on Tight end and Hb - Siglar and Amos

Break

Sense of relief? Happy it's here, relief may not be the word, though...

List of events this weekend and close...

it was fun, preview and preditions coming later tonight/tomorrow morning.
--DW

Coaches Show and Preview tomorrow, 11am @ BWW

Just a quick reminder, I'm putting on the finishing touches on my preview for our Blazers vs The Sparties.

I want to invite everyone out to Full Moon BBQ in Hoover for the UAB Coaches Show, which starts at 6pm. Take a break from rush hour traffic and have some good BBQ with tons of other Blazer Fans.

Also, we're going to be meeting up at the 150 location of Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the big game on ESPN!!! COme out and watch the game with about 50+ of your closest Blazer Fans!!!

That's all for now,
--BN

Since the gubna' said so...

From al.com - Linkage

Riley designates Friday as 'College Colors Day'
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
From staff reports
Huntsville Times

MONTGOMERY - With college football scheduled to kick off Saturday, Gov. Bob Riley urged Alabamians to wear their school colors to work Friday, which he designated "College Colors Day."

The governor said more than $5 million is generated annually from royalties collected from the sale of merchandise bearing the colors and logos of Alabama colleges and universities, according to Atlanta-based Collegiate Licensing Co.

That money is used directly for academic and athletic scholarships for students.

"I hope everyone shows their support for our colleges and universities this Friday," Riley said Monday. "Whether it is on the field or in the classroom, Alabama's institutions of higher learning make us truly proud year after year.

"I urge all Alabamians to wear their favorite school's colors on Friday."

The University of Alabama opens its 2007 season Saturday at home against Western Carolina and Auburn University hosts Kansas State.

Alabama A&M University opens on the road against Tennessee State in the John Merritt Classic in Nashville.

Three universities open their season Thursday when Birmingham-Southern hosts Mississippi College JV and West Alabama visits Samford.

Other Saturday openers are UAB at Michigan State, Troy at Arkansas, Huntingdon hosting McMurry, Faulkner at Pikeville, Ky., Jacksonville State at Alabama State and Concordia-Selma at Belhaven.

BlazerNation Meet-up: BWW on 150 - 11am this Saturday!!!

BlazerNotebook, in conjunction with BlazerTalk.com and the fine folks at the Hoover location of Buffalo Wild Wings, We'll be having a BlazerNation meet-up to watch our mighty Blazers take on the skirt-wearing Spartins of East Lansing!

Make sure to tell your friends! I'll try to get there about 10:30ish. Look for me to be in Forest Green and a jester's cap!!!

BE SEEN! WEAR GREEN!!!

There's hope in the Southside, once again...

After nearly 11 years of "self-imposed" sanctions, shall we say...there's hope in Birmingham's Southside once again. Less than one week to go before the anticipated match-up against Sparty and his skirt-wearing fans, there's a buzz that's spreading like Gang Green through-out Blazernation.

Coach Callaway, or CNC for short, has quite literally whipped the players into shape, running off those who needed to run off, and instilling the values of teamwork, leadership, and discipline that haven't grace the sidelines of Legion Field in years.

But let's focus on the fans to start. The coach's show last week, though I missed it and shame on me for it. But those who attended spoke of a record crowd, standing room only. Full Moon in Hoover was literally packed with hungry Blazer Fans who had been chomping at the bit to hear CNC and David Crane, the new "Voice of the Blazers", replacing Cory Provus, who took his dream job with the Chicago Cubs.

Now, I did get the chance to head over to Bartow Arena Saturday for "Breakfast with the Blazers". A sweet, new twist on the old favorite Fan Day, it featured the coaches and seniors serving breakfast and drinks to the fans. Now that's something that wouldn't have happened in the past. Imagine a coach actually realizing that the fans are important and should be treated with respect. That's a novel thought in the Southside.

But, as the world does, things have changed on the Southside. And for the first time in a long time, there's a buzz about football. Not the buzz there probably could have been, but that's another blog for another day.

Next up on Thursday...UAB vs MSU: What's going down

Early Monday Blues...

As I sit here and type, I am desperately looking for something...ANYTHING...sports related on my regular message board. The best thing I can come up with is a guy from my high school and UAB grad is being named Public Relations Manager to Talladega Superspeedway. Not huge news. But it's a small victory. And that's what you have to live off of in a state with two SEC powerhouses, who were both recently named CBS Sportsline's top 2 cheating schools IN THE NATION...

And people wonder why after only 11 years in D-1A football UAB has only come so far.

But we do have a few certainties in life. A football win over Memphis, a football loss to Southern Miss, and hope lying in basketball season. After all, UAB has the most successful basketball program through 500 games, three consecutive years on the most season in D-1A. We only missed our fourth by one place thanks to conference-mate Houston and Topple-down Tom Penders.

So, I'll head to bed with dreams of LSU in '01, Memphis in '05, and Kentucky in '04 dancing in my head...waiting for what comes next. I just hope one big win happens this year. I'd love to cover something very special. Nevermind, I already do.

--B4L

BlazerTalk.com is reporting that Senior Associate Athletics Director/External Affairs Brian Mackin will be named Athletics Director sometime today.

Brian has been Senior Athletics Director since June 2002. Brian will take over the AD position from Interim Athletics Director Richard Margison who has held the Interim position since taking over from Watson Brown in December 2005.
Brian is a native of Birmingham and a graduate of UAB. Mackin was also a four year letter winner for the UAB baseball team. Brian also won the Fund Raiser of the Year in the University Division from the NAADD for 2005-06 school year.

More from the press conference as soon as it happends.

USGA Elections: Presidential Problems...

It looks as if the "president-elect" is not elegable to run uncontested in today and tomorrow's elections...

The USGA Student Court ruled that Wilton Trigg was not elegible to run for the position because he did not serve an entire semester as an intern for the USGA. The Student Court's full opinion will not be known till Thursday when they meet and are required to have a write-up of their decision.

Andrew Braisher, Current USGA President is sad that Wilton's been disqualified, but respects the power of the student court and cannot change their decision.

More on this story as it develops. Discussion on this topic is encouraged @ the USGA message board

Basketball Entry 4 - You can't blame Coach Mike Davis...

You can't blame Mike Davis for this loss.

Well, at least not the end-game.

A nameless SMU player was shooting free-throws with 13.7 left. Mo Gibbs looked to Paul and Wen with a telling look. It said "I'm sneaking down court, give me the long pass so I can tie this game up."

Cue the second of three misses from the charity stripe for the Mustangs.

Paul's the playmaker. Paul looks to make things happen. Paul was looking to drive in during the last 13.7 seconds, make the bucket, and draw the stupid foul from SMU. SMU didn't bite. Paul was so surprised they left him alone that he actually missed the bucket. Paul reacted. Paul played on instinct, something he's been doing for the last two years under Anderson.

But instinct will only get you so far in Davis's system. Davis's system depends on recognition, stratagy, and opportunity. None of those things depend on instinct.

BlazerNoteBook Report: Support Dr. Garrison!!!!

Supposedly, DCG (Dr. Carol Garrison) went to the BOT's with a signed contract from a coach other than CPS (Coach Pat Sullivan) first. A large influentual rich booster, said WB (Watson Brown) will be AD and PS will be HC. In agreement, The booster will kick start the facilities with a large $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ sum of money (believed in the ballpark ov $5 mill. The BOT's all got behind this influential man and agreed.

DCG called a meeting (Thursday morning) with PS and struct a deal with him, which we all know about because that is what the BOT's wanted. It was the best thing for UAB. The meeting with WB and PS turned very ugly with both walking out of the meeting.

WB refused to work with PS as head coach. DCG thought everything was done, like reported earlier, only to have the BOT turn on here and make the deal doa with PS. PS goes to Samford and we all know the story.

Now certain members of the BOT are very upset over how this whole thing has come about. Our President (DCG) is in bad situation. Nobody knows what to do because she doesn't have very much control with 2 contracts being veto'd by the BOT. Everything is in Limbo and a huge cluster fuck.

Right now, everything is status quo. UAB is pushing for the big booster to come forward and tell the story about how everything went down. So everything is on the table and clears DCG and UAB's name in this whole mess. And expose the BOT member (Paul Bryant Jr., Yes the bear's baby boy) and buddy (Watson Brown) who have been sabotaging the whole firing of WB and hiring of the new coach.

Also, the person said that some BOT members want to fire DCG over this mess, placing the blame on her. Which is why they are trying to get this booster to come forward and explain the whole situation in total.

Show your support for her with signs, words, and whatever you can think of at the UAB vs. Minnasota game this Tuesday. She's on of UAB's own and has HER neck on the line...make sure she stays at UAB to be UAB's best president in the history of athletics @ UAB!!!

BlazerAlert: Watson to AD; Going after Rick Neuheisel, Jimbo Fisher

I have VERY good reason to believe that UAB will announce by Wednesday that Coach Watson Brown will finally be stepping into the AD position at UAB.

Also, multiple sources are saying that UAB is currently pursuing Rick Neuheisel to be UAB's third head football coach.

More as info becomes avalible.

BlazerRant 2 - Another Missed Opportunity...

50 miles southwest, the bomb goes off...

Now UAB needs to wait for the fall-out to clear. Too bad that never happends. Doug Secrest said it best last night on "The Zone".

"UAB seems to be happy to just be a football program. Nothing more."

UAB Administration may be happy to have one. But this is Alabama. Football is king here. It has been for years and will be for years to come. This should have been a time where UAB make a big splash by hiring a big name, like Rick Neuheisel, Jimbo Fisher, or even David Cutcliffe. But, alas, everyone at UAB has dragged their feet YET AGAIN and allowed "The Evil Empire" to overshadow what should have been a monumental turning point in UAB history.

Too bad, now we're a sidenote, once again.

Basketball Entry 3 - Big Names Set Up Bigger Expectations

UAB is a basketball school who dreams of having a football addiction. Once Watson Brown is gone, we may actually have a football addiction. Until that happens, let's stick to the bread and butter.

Keenan Ellis, a 6-11 forward from Indianapolis, Ind., and Aaron Johnson, a 5-7 point guard from Chicago, Ill., have just signed with UAB and coach Mike Davis for the 2007-08 season. A season that will already feature Robert Vaden, Walter Sharpe, Jeremy Mayfield, Taurus Dortch, etc. as well as current UAB standouts like Paul Delaney, Lawrence Kinnard, and Frank Holmes.

"These two signees are huge for us," Davis said. "Keenan is a monster inside and a great athletic player who can shoot and post. Aaron is a super quick point guard and exciting player to watch. Our coaching staff did a great job recruiting both of these guys and we are excited for them to join the UAB program."

He's excited. Just think of the hundreds of thousands of fans who are itching for basketball season to start. It's all well and good to listen to Cory Provus and Steve Mitchell call the game. But these fans want to see it in person. These fans want to live it themselves. These fans have expectations. BIG Expectations.

Our opening loss to Washington State was sobering to me. I thought for sure we have an Tourney-bound team after the Bahama's practices. The loss jerked me back down to earth. But everyday I see them practice ali-oops, dunks, free throws, and three's in the corner, I can't help but hope that maybe I wasn't too far off.

After all, there's only one other coach that has started out at UAB with a losing record. Too early to be drawing comparison just yet, but if we make the tourney this year and go deep, look for expectations to go up.

And who knows, we might even top Memphis a couple times this year.

BlazerAlert - PapaJohns.com Bowl

Per al.com's Breaking News Section

Papa John’s signs on as sponsor of Birmingham Bowl
A sponsor has delivered for Birmingham’s college football bowl game.

Birmingham’s bowl game will be called the Papa John’s.com Bowl after the pizza chain’s online service, sources close to the bowl told The Birmingham News today.

Papa John’s will be introduced as the title sponsor Thursday at a noon news conference from the company’s restaurant on Chalkville Road in Trussville. The game was previously branded the Birmingham Bowl until sponsorship was found.

The deal with Papa John’s is believed to be for two years with the option for an extension. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The Papa John’s.com Bowl will be Dec. 23 at noon at Legion Field, pairing teams from Conference USA and the Big East. The Mid-American Conference serves as an alternative if the Big East fails to have enough eligible teams.

Basketball Entry 2 - 5 Things To Watch For This Season

It's that time of year. Time to give thanks for the things we love the most. Family, friends, and basketball.

BASKETBALL

Having not attended the John Thompson Foundation Classic in person, I'd only be recapping the stats. But I did listen to one or two of the games and stats can be very telling.

5 things to watch for:

1) The team's rhythm - Friday's loss was VERY deceiving. The second half, UAB found it's rhythem. I don't expect them to lose it any time soon.

2) Wen's shooting percentage - It's gone up 12% in each game (54.5% for the season). His hard work during the off season is paying off.

3) Freshman vs Senior - Rounds 1-3 go to the freshman, Taurus Dortch. Mo Gibbs will have to step it up to get his time on the court.

4) Paul - Racking up 2 double-doubles this weekend and 2 assists away from UAB's second triple-double. He's no Squeaky. But then again, Squeaky can't dunk.

5) The "Young Guns" - Mayfield, Dortch, and Crawford are all contributing early. One has even taken a starting position away from a senior. The future is getting brighter by the day.

BlazerRant 1 - The Silent Bell Needs to Ring...

Rumors.

That's all that Blazer Fans have right now.

Decisions.

That's all that Blazer Fans are asking for.

Unfortunately, no ONE seems to be doing anything but sitting back and letting the train wreck pile up. That same someONE is the ONE who has seen a football program, much like our own, grow into the (at one point this season) #3 team in the nation. ONE person holds the keys to the fate of our football program. The past says that this ONE knows how to make the big hire. Just look at Mike Davis. But the hand was forced in that situation, and no one was being forced out. This is not the time to worry about feelings. We're long past that. Bridges have been burns. Lines have been drawn. It's time for someONE to break the silence. It's time to put an end to this madness that is within UAB Athletics and Administration.

It's time for the change to be made.

Basketball Entry 1 - The Davis Era Begins...

Ok, so it really began back in September when Coach Davis took the team to the Bahamas, but you know what I mean.

I've had a couple of chances to see practice and my first reaction is knee-jerk. Coach Anderson used to say his style of play was "Run and Execute". Coach Davis seems to run the exact opposite style, "Execute and Run". And we're not talking execute well enough to score. We're talking there is a correct way to breathe, walk, yell, turn, shoot, step, and rebound on the court.

And yes, I did say rebound. Something the southside hasn't seen much of in the last 4 years. Heck, I've even seen the practice free throw shooting, something you never saw in a Coach Anderson practice.

Player Notes:

1 - Maurice Gibbs - Guard - 6-2, 200 - SR - Carbondale, Ill./Moberly Area (Mo.) CC
Coach Davis has been riding him from Day 1. I've even heard him say a time or two "That's why a freshman will be starting over you". And it's very noticeable that Moe has had trouble picking up on Coach Davis's style of play. Not quite sure where he'll end up in the rotation, but I just don't see him starting much, if at all.

2 - Thurston Rawls - Guard - 5-7, 165 - FR - Huntsville, Ala./Huntsville
Can't say enough about him. He's worked hard to just walk on and may even get a little playtime throughout the year. Don't let his height fool you, he gets after it just as hard and fast as anyone else on the court. It will be a blast seeing him play in years to come.

4 - Paul Delaney III -Guard - 6-2, 200 - JR - Decatur, Ga./Chamblee
Expect Paul to do what Paul does best. Slash, Slash, Slash. He's already creating matchup problems in practice. The only person who can come even close to stopping him consistently is Vaden. Speaking of which, can we jump ahead a year for a second. With those two on the court at the same time, look for UAB to have one of the best backcourts in the nation.

11 - Andre White - Guard - 5-11, 180 - SO - Zion, Ill./Highland CC
Fast enough to give defenses trouble and picking up very quickly on Coach Davis' system. Look for him to come in and put up some big minutes early.

12 - Tyler Marsh - Guard - 5-10, 171 - FR - Miami, Fla./Bridgton (Maine) Academy
Being son of a coach won't get you any slack around here. Tyler's learning that everyday in practice. I don't see him getting many minutes this year, but he's definiately on my watch list to contribute in 2 years.

15 - Frank Holmes - Forward - 6-9, 210 - JR - Somerville, Tenn./Fayett-Ware
Frank is back and he's got a brand new bag. Slimmer, quicker, and making more shots than ever. But don't look for Frank to be jumping for many tipoffs. As a matter of fact, Frank may have to put up a pretty good fight to keep his starting position.

20 - Robert Vaden - Guard/Forward - 6-5, 225 - JR - Indianapolis, Ind./Indiana University
NCAA, how do I loath thee, let me count the ways. Sitting out for a year is possibly the most talented man in the NCAA. No kidding. He runs, jumps, shoots and plays like he knows exactly what's about to happen. Not only does he play, he makes others around him better. It will be terrible to see him on the sideline. But, just know that every day he sits is a day closer to having him play in green and gold for two years.

21 - Lawrence Kinnard - Forward - 6-8, 210 - SO - Memphis, Tenn./Raleigh-Egypt
Hard to imagine Lawrence being better? Don't worry, you won't have to imagine much longer. Still playing longer than he looks and still can hit that bank shot. And this year he'll get the start at the 3, which is where he's ment to play

22 - Mike Davis, Jr. - Guard - 6-3, 185 - JR - Bloomington, Ind./Blackhawk CC
If you're looking for a walk-on who can contribute right away, Mike Jr is your guy. But he'll have to earn his playtime just like everyone else. Asa matter of fact, he'll have to work twice as hard considering who the coach is.

23 - Taurus Dortch - Guard - 6-2, 185 - FR - Birmingham, Ala./Ramsay
Taurus "TD" Dortch has been outstanding thus far, much better than anyone had imagined coming out of high school. Look for him to challenge for playing time, if not a possible starting position.

24 - Wen Mukubu - Guard/Forward - 6-6, 205 - SR - Miami, Fla./Arkansas
Elevation is key. Wen could elevate whenever he wanted to under Coach Anderson. Now, he'll have to elevate consistantly to live up to Coach Davis' expectations. Look for him to step up and be the leader this year.

31 - Jeremy Mayfield - Forward - 6-10, 240 - FR - Irving, Texas/God's Academy
Mayfield is a force in the boards and plays much longer than his already lengthy 6-10 stature. When he rebounds, he just seems to pick it up. He's nearly unstoppable under the net. The only problem? Someone needs to remind him of that.

33 - Curtis Nickson - Center - 6-9, 245 - FR - Eutaw, Ala./Greene Country
Curtis is the typical center. Too bad he's acedemically inelegible to play. Hope he gets his act together soon.

35 - Howard Crawford - Forward - 6-8, 200 - FR - Eutaw, Ala./Greene Country
As I said earlier, the freshman look better than anyone anticpiated. Crawford is no exception. Again, look for him to come off the bench and give quality minutes for other players.

42 - Walter Sharpe - Forward - 6-9, 235 - SO - Birmingham, Ala./Mississippi State
Remember I said Vaden was possibly one of the most talented men in the NCAA. Well, Sharpe is right there with him. Unfortunatly, his puntuality still leaves much to be desired. On the court, he's the best player on the team. Especially when he wants to be. Now, if he could only keep himself out of trouble.

45 - Roderick Ollie - Forward - 6-5, 220 - SO - Moorhead, Miss./Indianola Gentry
Not the Ollie of last year, that's for sure. Much leaner, much quicker, and MUCH better around the bucket, look for him to step into the rollplayer postition early.

Football Entry 1 - Thundered by the Herd of Fans...

I wasn't looking forward to it. I didn't even buy my usual Sunday morning paper trying to avoid it. But as fate would have it, I sat down right next to the dreaded 'Snews. And wouldn't you know Section 13c stared my straight in the face, bearing the dreaded news from last night.

Somedays fate is a creul fellow.

I must commend SI (Steve Irvine) on the great job he's been doing covering the Blazers. I'm sure it's hard having to say the same things over and over about a program that's seems to lose it excitement at exactly the same time every year. But the first number on the page does set the tone of the game from Saturday.

O = Zero = Zip = Nada = Nothing

There was no excitement at Legion. There was no feeling. There were no casual fans.

There was the exact opposite of what so many Blazers have been working for for so long. And there's no one person to blame. Just like in the loss to Marshall. Coach Brown can't take all the responsibility, no matter how much he wants to protect his coaches and players from the tounge-lashings of upset fans. You win as a team, and you lose as a team.

Several fans would do good to remember that.

It's like those signs I see going to work saying it's "your team". Well, there are a lot of fans who seem to forget that it's their team too. Or at least they claim it to be their team. Maybe that's why 10 minutes into the game every week hundreds of fans seem to appear from nowhere. Suspiciously, it usualy just around the time that the Bama game ends. Makes you wonder how a program as young as our has survived.

And let's not forget the ones that harp on the fact that they want Coach Brown gone to the point it makes you sick. I, too, am not the biggest fan of Coach Brown at the moment. I'm just as tired of the mid-season collapses as the next person. But, on the other hand, I'm just as sick of all the Watson bashing that's been going on on-line. We all know that he's going to be here till at least the end of the season. Why not give it a rest? Is that just too much to ask? The man has busted his ass for a decade to get UAB Football to where it is today. He deserves better than fans trying to hang him out to dry. And he's earned his chance to be know as just coach and not coach and AD. And, at the end of this season, he deserves a shot at being UAB's next AD, dispite what others may think.