Real life like a mutha'

So, my kiddo has flown in from da' Deep South to spend a week with the "lawya' puma", as she so lovingly refers to me. Which means, I suppose, that my mental fantasy world is on hiatus for a few days...Not to mention, I still have to move, finish up stuff at this job, and begin my new one :P Thinking that Sunday will be my first chance to drool blindly on the 'webs. Until then, enjoy this You Tube compilation of people being hit in the balls :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnS4pWBJHAs

But, the good news is Alabama Practice has begun

Ironic that this man would choose Friday the 13th to begin practice in full pads, eh?

What's the encore for a wildly successful 12-2 season (#6 overall), whereby we were the #1 team for over a month before getting whacked by Florida for the SEC and falling flat against the Utes? Well, our main man -per his usual singular focus- has his sites set on one thing: Domination.

“Finishing plays, finishing games, it’s very, very important...The purpose of spring ball, first of all, is to give every player on the team every chance to be successful. That’s probably the No. 1 goal. Knowledge, technique, what to do, how to do it, why it’s important to do it that way, for every individual player is critical.

“Working to finish, working to dominate are our goals as a team.”

While I don't think 12 wins are in our future this year, the schedule shakes out a little nicer. The main issues to address are 1) depth on the defensive front (where we need some pass rush to help our back seven) 2) getting Fluker up to speed at LT and3) figuring out if this is the year where a game manager QB (McElroy) gets overtaken by raw talent (Star Jackson). Besides keeping your eyes on Trent Richardson, who will play from day number one, watch A) Dre Kirkpatrick take over the corner position, badly in need of an upgrade from Marquis Johnson, B) what we do without Rashad Johnson at the safety spot. That kid will be missed for his big play making and leadership, and C) young WR's Bell, Bowman or Kelly give us a much-needed #2 to free up Julio Jones

Wanted: Good Sense

Excuse us, have you seen where we mislaid our judgment? Image via Tuscaloosa News.

Brandon Fanney, last year's third-leading tackler, and Doghouse King, Prince Hall (All-American Freshman, all-world knucklehead since then) have been suspended for Spring. In the case of the latter, it's indefinite.

Since Saban's arrival, Hall has seen less and less of the field and more and more of the pine and suspension time...for issues usually related to "violation of unspecified team rules, despite his talent. This time is no different. This kid is a headcase, I fear.

Your Country is Fucked: Cyprus

Cyprus is, and has always been, fucked. Don't believe me? I submit the following evidence:

1. The ethnic Hellenic-Cypriot and Turkic-Cypriot civil war (one that has raged roughly since there were Greeks and Turks), but really picked up steam after the leftist Greek militants attempted to annex the whole damned place.
2. The island is subdivided into four parts; one of which only Turkey recognizes (in the North); the Southern portion, which is in control of the true Republic of Cyprus; a UN controlled zone and a British controlled zone. And, don't forget the entirety of the island is a member of the EU and EC. Who votes?
3. The economy is -to say the least- erratic. Nearly 80% of Cyprus's fortune relies on Western visitors. When you've got a 35 year civil war, needless to say, you don't want tourism (followed by seawater desalination) to be your main income.
4. Cyprus has, as to be expected given its prime location in the Mediterranean, always been a ping pong in the game of imperialism. First Greek, then Phoenician, then Assyrian, then Greek again (sorta' --it was Macedonian), then Ptolemaic Greek, then Roman, then Byzantine, then Venetian, then Ottoman, then British. Then, and only then, independent in 1960. But in 1963 the Turk-Hellene violence broke out, and you know the rest since then.

This font of violence, upheavals and overlords, does lay claim to the birthplace of Aphrodite, Adonis and the king Pygmalion, and is among the most beautiful destinations in the Mediterranean, but nevertheless remains (and likely will always remain) fucked.