Morning Kickoff: Crimson Tide News 12/7 (SEC Champs Edition)
By Chris Hale
Roll Tide!
Get your day started with the Morning Kickoff. All your Crimson Tide news in one place.
Blake Sims finally earns spot among Bama beloved with heart, example, storybook season
"When he was asked after the LSU game how he managed those third-down miracles, he answered this way:“We always feel good about third down because that’s what we work the most on in practice, and Coach Kiffin prepares us so great during the week that we know we’re going to convert on third down.”Not me. Us.Not I. We.Blake Sims is the quarterback Alabama has always claimed to want. Loyal and patient, respected and respectful, first and foremost a part of a team. He won Alabama fan’s respect on the field.He accomplished the improbable by winning their hearts. He did that simply by being Blake Sims."
This is a few days old but deserves posting after our quarterback went out and threw 23-27 to lead the Tide to the SEC Title. Roll Blake. You make us all proud.
The game changed, and so did Alabama and Nick Saban
"Darkness was approaching in Oxford, Miss., thousands of fans had flooded the field and goalposts were about to be carried away at Alabama’s expense. Nick Saban retreated into a small media room that night in early October and told anyone who would listen what mattered was responding the right way, the way Alabama did in 2011 and 2012 when it lost a game but won the national title anyway.As good as it sounded, though, the college football world was in a hurry to push Alabama aside, to declare the dynasty over, to find a new power to carry the banner for the SEC in the College Football Playoff era.Whether it was Lane Kiffin’s playcalling, Blake Sims’ quarterbacking or the way their defensive backs were covering, the critics tried so hard to pick apart the Crimson Tide while Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Auburn all took turns as the flavor of the week."
Best coach in the business along with the best staff. No matter what happens with the game, they figure out ways to stay in competition in each game.
Alabama back in familiar championship waters
"The hardest part for Alabama was just making it out of the SEC West.It’s a division that will send all seven teams to bowl games this season, a division sporting five ranked teams in the College Football Playoff committee’s most recent poll, and a division that generally ate its own.But after all of the different flavors of the week this season in college football’s most rugged division, turns out it’s business as usual. Alabama is on its way to play for yet another national championship as part of the playoff after pounding Missouri into submission Saturday in a 42-13 SEC championship victory that had a familiar ring to it.This has become the West’s show. The last time the Eastern Division champion walked out of the Georgia Dome victorious was 2008 when Florida beat Alabama in a No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown. Only once in the West’s six-game winning streak has the East champ made it closer than a 17-point game."
We are right back where we belong and on top of the SEC. Two games left to go but no matter what happens, I am proud of what they have accomplished.
New philosophy, same result: How Alabama claimed the SEC title again
"In many ways, this was the same. On Saturday Alabama’s players and coaches celebrated in a mosh pit at the 50-yard line of the Georgia Dome. They grabbed iPhones and took selfies and tackled each other, all while buckets of blue and yellow confetti sprinkled down from sky. Those rooting for the Crimson Tide had seen this movie before, not that they minded a re-run. It was just the latest chapter in one of the most successful team stretches in SEC history.Saturday’s 42-13 win over Missouri gave Alabama its third conference crown under coach Nick Saban and delivered the program’s 24th league title overall. So, it’s easy to understand why this scene looked familiar: A Saban-coached team rolled behind a roster of Saban-recruited players using the Saban-preached process. Rinse and repeat.That’s right, once again. Saban can change up things from one season to the next and can do more than he did the season before the current one. It’s a never ending process. Where have I heard that word before?"
Women’s Basketball Hosts No. 12/15 Nebraska on Sunday
"The women’s basketball team (7-3) welcomes No. 12/15 Nebraska (7-0) to Foster Auditorium on Sunday. The game, which is the Crimson Tide’s third of the week and 11th of the season, is slated to tip off at 2 p.m. CT.BROADCASTSunday’s game will be televised on SEC Network + with Chris Stewart (play-by-play) and former Crimson Tide head coach Rick Moody (analyst) on the call. The game can also be heard on the Crimson Tide Sports Network with Roger Hoover announcing the action"
Alexa Guarachi Claims Fifth Professional Title of the Year
"Former Crimson Tide standout Alexa Guarachi clinched the doubles title in her most recent tournament in Santiago, Chile, from Dec. 1-6, 2014, as she wrapped up her first year of the women’s tennis professional circuit.Guarachi, pairing with fellow American Lauren Albanese of Parkland, Fla., earned the 6-4, 6-1, victory over the doubles team of Fernanda Brito of Chile and Eduarda Piai of Brazil. The victory marked Guarachi’s fourth doubles championship of the season and fifth overall victory.“I’ve enjoyed my first year on the tour so much,” Guarachi said. “I have managed to keep increasing my level of play throughout the year, which has made the biggest difference.”"