In the first person singular, for a reason.

Anybody that knows me knows that I talk about my mom all the time. I can’t help it. She’s really fucking cool, and because when I was a kid, my dad was getting transferred hither and yon, she did a lot in the child-raising department. She and I went through Hurricane Hugo together (with our dogs, a Newfoundland mix, a dachshund and a high-strung Labrador), watched “Crossfire” together when I was a 10-year-old political nerd — the whole nine. She’s been my big sister at times — that is, since I got older, but she can pull on the mom cap and put me in my place like few other people. I know everybody loves their parents, but I think my mom’s the bee’s knees. In that vein, here’s a commercial from Bear Bryant for South Central Bell. It always hits me like a ton of bricks. That man loved his momma too, and he scored three touchdowns against Tennessee with a broken leg. Just goes to show, you can be a momma’s boy and still kick some ass.

If you’re like us, and you’re likely not, you were watching Alabama‘s spring game on Saturday afternoon, known as “A-Day.” The national champions drew a crowd of more than 91,000 people to watch a glorified scrimmage, which shows that we Crimson Tide fans simply care more about the pigskin. Once the north end zone addition is put up, and Bama wins its 14th national title this year, there will likely be about 100,000 people at next year’s A-Day. This one was carried live on ESPN, and they cut away when the clock ran out with the Crimson and White teams tied at 17. But coach Nick Saban is not one for ties, and he gave the team a sudden-death overtime.

That was when backup quarterback A.J. McCarron showed what the SEC has to be scared of when starter Greg McElroy graduates. He slung a 39-yard touchdown pass to win the game for the White, which was the second-team offense and first-team defense. We’re not yet ready to say that this will be like the ’70s, when the Tide won three national championships and generally dominated college football, but the depth is, as Jim Rome would say, sick. The video below was posted at Roll Bama Roll to show the people who weren’t apart of the 91,000 what went down. And by the way, if you don’t know, the A-Day winners get steak, while the losers get franks and beans. That was a steak-worthy throw and catch.

It’s just impossible for us not to channel our internal Falco when thinking about Republican superintendent of education candidate Mick Zais. And, oh, this “Simpsons” clip doesn’t help.

We just — oh, lordy. “Governoer?” Whomever on Lt. Gov. André Bauer‘s staff that is charged with directing new media obviously needs a copy editor in the worst way.

Everyone knows how hard Carolina coach Steve Spurrier is on his quarterbacks. Considering how mediocre many of them were after college (OK, we’re just talking about Florida here), it seems to lend credence to the idea that Spurrier’s unorthodox — perhaps even dickish — treatment of his signal callers worked when it was needed.

But like other championship coaches (Paul Dietzel, Lou Holtz) who arrived in Columbia, Spurrier isn’t happy with what’s going down on the field. Especially the play of ’09 starter and presumed ’10 starting quarterback Stephen Garcia. What, with quarterbacks transferring (one to play baseball at Alabama), The Head Ball Coach didn’t have much in the bullpen.

So, Spurrier let his opinion be known when asked about it at ESPN The Weekend.

(via EDSBS)

The attack sheep of former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina‘s U.S. Senate campaign, Demon Sheep, isn’t content to just hang around and be a joke in the Republican primary campaign. No, it’s looking at the big time. That is, MTV, VH1 and a guest appearance on “Project Runway.”

You can’t stop Demon Sheep, you can only hope to contain it.

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.

As we sit here, watching the Fiesta Bowl between two undefeated teams, that’s not the national championship game, a gentleman’s thoughts turn to playoffs for major college football. How interesting those playoffs would be is debatable. We lose all interest in the NCAA basketball tournament before the Elite Eight, unless we have a team in the mix. In 2004, when Alabama went to the round of eight and UAB made the Sweet 16 was the last time we cared after the second round. Why? It’s the reason any casual fan watches — upsets and tournament pools.

A 16-team football playoff will not generate the same amount of upset drama. Sure, they could happen, but by this point in the season, you would be less likely to see Troy knock off Alabama. Big upsets are more likely to occur early in the season, when the talent-rich teams are still figuring themselves out. The 1999 Crimson Tide team that won the SEC and went to the Orange Bowl was bested by Louisiana Tech. These things happen.

But, the Playoff PAC is working to get the big boys in a playoff system, and is running commercials now to sway opinion. It features none other than an interview taken from the brilliant “Dan Patrick Show.” Which you can watch on DirecTV channel 101 (inside jokes).

As anyone will tell you, the legacy of Paul W. “Bear” Bryant looms large over the Alabama program. Those who make jokes don’t understand, though. After all, the Founders loom large over our nation. In the way it would be nuts to ignore the Founders when discussing our government, one cannot dismiss Bryant when it comes to Crimson Tide football. Thankfully, in the YouTube age, there are plenty of videos archived of Bryant’s time at The Capstone.

The speech to freshmen

Speech to the state after the 1961 national championship

The halftime speech

Intro to the 1979 Sugar Bowl

Commercial for South Central Bell

Alabama running back Mark Ingram shot to the top of the Heisman Trophy watch lists after his 249-yard performance against Carolina, but until now, the university has laid off promoting him. Coach Nick Saban really doesn’t want to deal with that distraction, and pulled Ingram halfway through the second quarter on Saturday after the back picked up over 100 yards and two touchdowns.

Now, though, the UA creative media people have put together one of their fabulous Web videos to throw in a little home support.