Friday Tidbits (Mostly Sports News)

Just a few things I'm thinking about right now:

* Shout out to my friends Andy and Laurie who survived taking the Virginia State Bar Exam earlier this week. I am incredibly proud of both of them. Results won't be announced for several months, but surviving taking the exam is half the battle.

*I can't seem to get that song "This World Is Not My Home" out of my head. I'm on day 2 of it being stuck on repeat in my brain.

* Wake Forest Basketball Coach, Skip Prosser, Dies
by UNC Athletic Comm.
Posted Jul 26, 2007
University of North Carolina basketball coach Roy Williams comments on the death of Wake Forest Coach Skip Prosser ...
"I am absolutely shocked and deeply saddened. Today the world has lost not just an outstanding basketball coach, but a great person and great friend. I was fortunate to be friends with him even before I came back to Carolina. Over these last four seasons there have been several occasions on which he was the first coach to call and offer his heartfelt congratulations. I'll always remember him calling after the 2006 season to say what a great job we had done after losing all the players from the championship team. That call meant so much to have come from another coach. This April, I heard from a hundred or so coaches after the Hall of Fame announcement, and Skip was the first to call. But Skip was someone who will be measured in terms of his actions, not just words. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family. The world has lost a great person and great family man."

*Michael Vick barred from training camp until further notice
I'm not going to make the headline "Michael Vick pleads not guilty" because seriously...who expected him not to do that? But I am pleased thus far with the NFL and Falcons' decisions. The Falcons' owner, Arthur Blank (God bless him) was prepared to go so far as to cut Vick, but settled on suspending him for the maximum 4 games allowed by teams under the collective bargaining agreement, but Roger Goodell, being the smart guy that he is, asked them to hold off on that until his independent review by his hired outside investigators and lawyers could be completed. This was two fold actually. If the Falcons hand down the 4 game suspension, Vick still gets to go to training camp and the suspension can be appealed and go before an arbitrator. But with Goodell banning him from training camp, that creates a temporary fix where one was needed. Then after the review is completed, Goodell may choose to hand down a heftier suspension based on the results of the review. When the Commissioner hands down a suspension, any appeal goes directly to the Commissioner and is not sent before an arbitrator effectually creating a dead end and making the suspension STICK. And that's what I want. I want whatever the NFL chooses to do to STICK and not have the benefit of an arbitrators decision. I was pleased that both Goodell and Blank stated that these charges were heinous and that neither of them would tolerate such actions by an NFL player, but I'm also pleased that they're going about this the right way by looking as deeply into the charges, the investigation, and the evidence before making a final decision. What I was not pleased with was this smirk on Vick's face when he entered the courthouse yesterday. You can tell he still doesn't get it. You can tell he still thinks he's above the law. And whether he did this or not, he shouldn't believe he is above the law EVER.

*SEC Media Days make a circus out of Nick Saban
I'm cautiously optimistic. I want desperately for Alabama to do well this season, but I'm concerned about the people who have reserved Nick's ticket for the National Championship already. Good grief. Let's give the man some time. Nick Saban makes the 6th head coach at Alabama since my freshman year in 1996 (7 if you count Joe Kines as acting head coach). Since 1892, Alabama has had 27 head coaches, and only 4 of them have won National Championships for us. What makes people think that Nick will be the 5th? I hope he is, but the head coach to championships ratio is seriously against him. That said, I'm excited about the 2007 Alabama football season even if we do fall flat on our faces. I'm still excited as I always am every year.

*Colts Set To Open Training Camp 7/29
...And Anthony Gonzalez, their 1st round pick, will be reporting on time because he signed his contract yesterday. I think it's kind of a low dollar amount, but I wasn't part of the negotiations, so I don't know what was discussed. There are still 6 of the 9 draft picks left to sign, but there's always today and tomorrow. I'm about a 3rd of the way through Tony Dungy's new book, Quiet Strength, and so far it's really great. I've laughed, I've cried, and I've underlined statements. It's not preachy at all, but just lays out one example of how to lead a life for Christ. He never says this is the only way, just that this is his way of being a faithful Christian. I'll give a better, more detailed review of the book once I've completed it.