The Alabama football team went on the annual pilgrimage for national champions to the White House. Like the last time the Crimson Tide went to DC, the team was received by a first-term Democrat. Like we’ve said before, we blame George W. Bush for the recent travails (probation, probation again, losses to LSU and Auburn (2005), loss to Florida (2008). Is it any wonder Texas won its first national championship in years during the Bush era? (Conspiracy!)

President Barack Obama congratulated coach Nick Saban, Heisman Trophy-winning running back Mark Ingram and star linebacker Rolando McClain. The team presented him with a helmet featuring the number 13 (for the number of Bama national championships), a ceremonial football and the requisite custom jersey.

Also, Twitter.

We’ve got one thing to ask for, for our upcoming birthday (that is, beside tickets to the Alabama-South Carolina game this fall and a case of Ketel One). Famed sports painter Daniel Moore did it. It’s out and available, like a debutant. It’s “Maximum Block,” the artist’s depiction of Terrence Cody putting his massive paw in the air and blocking another of Tennessee kicker Daniel Lincoln’s attempts, this time to win the game.

BIRMINGHAM — “Maximum Block,” the Daniel Moore painting that commemorates the game-saving play in the closest game of Alabama’s undefeated 2009 national championship season, was unveiled tonight during a reception at the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.

[...]

A steady stream of people stood in line to get free prints of the painting autographed by Moore, a Birmingham artist whose paintings have captured big moments in Alabama football history.

Ah, beating Tennessee at the last second. That never gets old. Or coronary-inducing.

I can has?

Roundly recognized as the best Alabama sports blog, Roll Bama Roll, is committed to providing solid coverage of the 2010 Crimson Tide softball season. Not everybody out there is a fan of collegiate softball, or knowledgeable about the sport. That’s where we come in. After covering Carolina softball and consistently covering two high school softball squads in Texas — including a 4A state champion — and three teams in Virginia, we’re ready to step into the void.

That’s why we’ve decided to do our best David Addison impression and agreed to take on the responsibility of covering the Tide for this season for RBR. It should be fun. Last year, Bama made a run at the national championship, and should be set up to do it again this season. The team is preseason No. 2 in the USA Today/NFCA and ESPN.com/USA Softball polls. Alabama’s the odds-on favorite to win the Southeastern Conference and challenge for the Women’s College World Series title again.

That’s not to say it’ll be easy. There are five SEC teams that are ranked, with Florida and Georgia perceived to be the biggest challenges to the Tide in conference. Also, Bama is leading off the season with a series against Missouri, another Top 10 team.

Washington, which won it all last year, starts out the season at No. 1.

We told you we were going to milk this bastard. For Carolina fans — try a 10-win season, you might like it. For Clemson fans — try getting into the national championship hunt in an era when white belts weren’t in style. In the words of the best of the Southeastern Conference (winners of the last four national championships), “Don’t worry. We got this.”

If you’re born in the South, your last name is Presley and your parents decide to name you Elvis, the odds are even-up that you’ll probably be on the run from the cops one day. Just don’t take down your mom and your girlfriend while you’re at it. That’s what happened to Elvis Presley of Russellville, Ala., who was found by deputies in one of the most obvious places to look.

A man who left the Franklin County Community Corrections Program without approval is back in jail after he was found hiding in a closet at his mother’s apartment Tuesday, officials said.

Elvis Adam Presley, 24, 100 Ridgecrest Apartments, Russellville, was arrested along with his girlfriend and his mother Tuesday after officers executed a search warrant at the Russellville residence, according to officials with the Franklin County Sheriff’s office.

Presley is charged with violation of community corrections program and second-degree escape.

We think that guy just may have pulled off living a Drive-By Truckers song.

The U.S. House passed H.R. 1007, congratulating Alabama on winning the national championship. We don’t know exactly how this went down, but U.S. Rep. Spencer Bachus was joined in speaking on the resolution by Mazie Hirono of Hawai’i and Brett Guthrie of Kentucky. We’re imagining there’s some sort of informal college football roundtable going on among the representatives. Or they could just have been roped in because of membership on the House Education and Labor Committee.

Also, U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby collected on his turkey from fellow senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson.

Hirono:

The extraordinary achievement of this year’s team is a tribute to the skill and dedication of all the players, as well as coaches, students, alumni, families, and fans that have helped to make the University of Alabama a premier football program. Winning the national championship, finishing the season with a 14-0 overall record, and leading the Southeastern Conference to another championship has brought national acclaim to the University of Alabama and great pride to those that care for the school. I know the fans of the university will revel in this great triumph as they look forward to the 2010 season.

Guthrie:

I congratulate the University of Alabama, the team, and Head Coach Nick Saban on winning this BCS championship. And I congratulate Mark Ingram and the team for winning the 2009 Heisman Trophy. After Alabama won the 1978 national championship in a very famous and legendary college game against Penn State in the Sugar Bowl on December 31, 1978, just the previous spring the University of Kentucky had won the national championship in basketball; so immediately the next weekend or so they played each other in basketball, and I will never forget the University of Kentucky fans unfolding a banner that said “Congratulations from one champion to another.’”

It showed a lot of class for my fellow Kentuckians to do that to another school. But it showed a lot of spirit in the SEC and the pride we have in each other. And of course after last night, and we expect this weekend, the University of Kentucky’s basketball team will be ranked number one. So hopefully, after this spring, the University of Alabama fans, like my friend from Birmingham here with me today, will be able to congratulate our team, the University of Kentucky, on winning the national championship following Alabama this year. That is our hope. And I endorse this resolution. I urge my colleagues to support it, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Bachus:

The game itself had inspiring personal stories. The quarterback for Texas, Colt McCoy, is a fine young man. When he was injured, his team took from his example and never gave up, fighting until the end. Alabama’s quarterback, Greg McElroy, quietly played with two broken ribs. Alabama running back Mark Ingram, the MVP of the game and the first Heisman Trophy winner in school history, is a student-athlete of outstanding character and spirit. But it was a team effort. In the end, Alabama came out on top, and finished the season with a perfect 14-0 record, and its first national championship season since 1992, under Coach Gene Stallings.

There was another undefeated team, and that was Boise State University. And I congratulate coach Chris Peterson of Boise State. When someone said they should be invited to the White House together with the University of Alabama, he graciously said there is only one national champion, that is the University of Alabama, and they should be invited. So I congratulate Boise State University on their successful undefeated year, as do all citizens of Alabama.

The resolution:

Whereas, on January 7, 2010, the University of Alabama Crimson Tide defeated the University of Texas Longhorns, 37-21, in the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) National Championship Game in Pasadena, California;

Whereas the University of Alabama located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, has become one of the premier athletic and academic institutions in the country;

Whereas the University of Alabama has been the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Football Champion a record-setting 22 times;

Whereas the University of Alabama has made an NCAA-record 57 bowl appearances;

Whereas the Crimson Tide players won many individual accomplishments throughout the season including, Mark Ingram as the first player from the University of Alabama to win the Heisman Trophy, Rolando McClain as the Butkus Award Winner, and 6 players selected as Associated Press First Team All Americans;

Whereas Mark Ingram rushed for 116 yards and 2 touchdowns to be named the Offensive Most Valuable Player of the BCS National Championship Game;

Whereas Marcell Dareus returned an interception for a touchdown and was named the Defensive Most Valuable Player of the BCS National Championship Game;

Whereas the Crimson Tide defense held the University of Texas to 276 offensive yards and forced 5 turnovers during the BCS National Championship Game;

Whereas Nick Saban in his third year as head coach led the University of Alabama to its first National Championship since 1992; and

Whereas residents of Alabama and Crimson Tide fans worldwide are to be commended for their longstanding support, perseverance, and pride in the team: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives–

(1) commends the University of Alabama for winning the Bowl Championship Series National Championship;

(2) recognizes the achievements of the players, coaches, students, and support staff who were instrumental in the victory; and

(3) directs the Clerk of the House of Representatives to transmit a copy of this resolution to University of Alabama President Dr. Robert E. Witt and head coach Nick Saban for appropriate display.

We continue to maintain the position that U.S. Rep. Parker Griffith was being completely opportunist by switching from being a Democrat to being a Republican. It was better to be a Democrat in 2008, and it’s better to be a Republican this year. One begins to wonder that when the pendulum swings back the other way, whether he’ll flip again, or just go independent.

Republicans in Madison County, a northern Alabama county in Griffith’s district and home to Huntsville, are not believing the first-term representative either. A resolution was put forward at the county GOP meeting on Monday to ask Alabama Republican leaders to bar Griffith from the party’s primary ballot. It failed, 41-9, but that doesn’t mean there’s strong support of the man.

Les Phillip, a Republican candidate for Griffith’s seat, voted not to bar Griffith from the ballot. Madison County Commissioner Mo Brooks, the other candidate in the primary, abstained.

“Just whoop him fair and square at the ballot box,” urged Madison County Commissioner Faye Dyer. “The people are smart enough to pick the right person.”

“I think for Mo and Les, it’s easy pickings,” said state Sen. Paul Sanford, R-Huntsville.

Party-switching is an entrenched part of American politics. The issue with Griffith isn’t about that. It’s about a guy who will put whatever letter next to his name to get uninformed people to vote for him.

If you’ve thought we’ve moved on from Alabama winning the national championship, you’ve got another thing coming. After 17 years in the wilderness, we’re enjoying the hell out of this one, and will milk it for as long as possible. Hopefully, that will only be until next year’s BCS National Championship Game, considering that the Crimson Tide has a wealth of talent returning.

The Alabama delegation in the U.S. House of Representatives is ready to do what is de rigueur these days when a team wins the national championship, submitting a resolution to honor the winning team. We’re totally down with that, because, hell, if you can’t enjoy being a homer for your team and your conference, then what good is it being a fan?

Each representative from the state’s seven districts gave their own statements, but the best, by far, came from AL-01 representative Jo Bonner.

All Alabamians can take pride in the Crimson Tide’s victory over Texas in the BCS National Championship Game. This crowning achievement is a fitting testament to what a motivated team inspired by exceptional leadership can accomplish. In three short years, Coach Nick Saban and his players have restored the University of Alabama to its rightful place among the best in college football. The young men of Alabama have demonstrated a toughness, resolve, and commitment to each other that will serve them well throughout life. As a representative, an alumnus and a fan, I couldn’t be happier with the Tide’s triumph over the talented and determined Longhorns – Roll Tide!

Ever since Alabama defensive end Marcell Dareus was pressed into service for Dont’a Hightower, who had his ACL blown out by the dirty pool of Arkansas, we’ve liked him. Hard not to, since he went to Wolfe mère’s high school alma mater. He’s from our old neighborhood. Got to give it up for the local kid.

Then he did the amazing against Texas, garnering the defensive most valuable player honors. In case you forgot how badass this guy from north Birmingham is, our drinking buddy Brent Musburger can remind you.