Nick Saban's 5 Enemies of Greatness

Via

The Importance of Nothing

Some College Football Thoughts

Yesterday was a big day of upsets in college football starting with Vanderbilt defeating number 1 Alabama in Nashville and including number 4 Tennessee falling to the Razorbacks in Arkansas. The day also included number 9 Missouri getting easily handled by Texas A&M, number 10 Michigan losing to Washington, number 11 USC losing to Minnesota, and number 22 Louisville losing to ACC newbie SMU. Some more observations include:

- Not saying - just saying

- College football stat of the day

- If you were wondering what happened to Vanderbilt's goalpost after the 3-mile treck through Nashville to the river.

- We also have to include this crazy last play of the UConn-Temple game.

- Nick Saban with some good life advice that just apply to coaching

- Strange day for Notre Dame fans. They easily beat Texas A&M in their season opener and the Aggies handled Missouri but they beat Louisville last week and the Cardinals lost to SMU. Meanwhile the team to beat them - NIU was losing to UMass 13-7 at halftime. Imagine if that held up? What a day of rollercoaster finals.

- As good as the football was those suffering from Hurricane Helene were never far from people's minds.

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

Have a new Quotes for Today up on my Substack. As I've mentioned doing this as a way to thank those who have Subscribed. If you are a Subscriber - you should have received an email. Thanks!

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- The Daily Coach: Refuse to be satisfied. Trust the process not the attainment but it can also be a thin line between that and burnout.

- VDH on our Ukrainian war narrative.

- Why NFL bettors should study the 4th quarter.

- Auxiliary Cruisers: Now more than ever.

Top 5 Values Nick Saban Wants Players to Have

Here's the 5 values Nick Saban tried to instill in his football platers at Alabama. These 5 values could work in any competitive setting or your own daily life. 

1. Discipline

2. Commitment

3. Toughness

4. Effort

5. Pride 

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Tucker Carlson Episode 65 on the Iowa Primary results.

- Nick Saban's 4 essentials for improvement

- Legalizing marijuana has not worked out as advertised.

- How to get new nuclear built faster

Linky Links

 Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Mike Lombardi on what Bill Belichick and Nick Saban share in common.

- The state of the British Royal Navy.

- VDH on Lawfare against Trump is running out of gas. He's right - this has been the most transparent and inept political hitjob I can remember. And the timing was the most inept thing about it!

- Interesting: Here's how much 20 common appliances add to your electric bill each month.

More Linky Links

More stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- VDH on the incredible lightness of Barack Obama.

-  Who knew? Nick Saban is a car sales mogul who drives a Ferrari Portofino.

- The Free Press on Anthony Fauci's deceptions. He should be in jail.

- Is Intuition actually unconscious?

Top 5 - Nick Saban and the Values He Wants His Players to Have

Here's the 5 values Nick Saban tries to instill in his football program at Alabama. These 5 values could work in any competitive setting or your own daily life. 

1. Discipline

2. Commitment

3. Toughness

4. Effort

5. Pride

With Week Zero around the corned thought it would be a timely post.

Top 5 - Nick Saban and the 5 Values He Wants His Program to Have

Here's the 5 values Nick Saban tries to instill in his football program at Alabama. These 5 values could work in any competitive setting or your own daily life. 

1. Discipline

2. Commitment

3. Toughness

4. Effort

5. Pride

From this Daily Coach thread where they go into more detail on each of the values.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Nick Saban and the Management of Meaning

- Wait can this be true? Basically no difference between all-cause mortality taking a placebo or an mRNA jab? Shouldn't this be bigger news?

- Agree 100%.

- Niall Ferguson: Evergrande's Fall Shows How Xi has Created a China Crisis

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

So if the Capital Police will be expanding to the States to "protect" Congressmen and Senators does that mean if you run for Congress you not only get to pay yourself the same salary as a Congressman ($174,000) but also potentially get a free personal security detail? All you'd have to say that you were threatened when trying to perform your "duties." Good deal... Not available in the US or Canada (for some reason)... Have some Dolphins fans in my life and they keep wanting to compare themselves to the Patriots. That's not close to being right. Since 1999 the Jacksonville Jaguars have been to the AFC Championship  game twice while Miami hasn't sniffed that sort of success. Maybe the Dolphins fans should worry about being the best team in their own state before comparing themselves to a dynasty... Nick Saba on being the best you can be. The video gives insight into why Saban is so good at what he does...  

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

I don't ask for much but if someone could yell "FREEBIRD!" loud enough for all the microphones to pick it up during Joe Biden's Inaugural speech that would be great. Thanks in advance... A record that will never be broken (but may be added to)... Would love to see someone change the ending of the movie Chinatown from the quote, "Forget it Jake. It's Chinatown." To "Forget it Jake. The electoral college votes have already been counted." Or "Forget it Jake. They're a private business." This could be the new Hitler in the Bunker... Twitter stock has lost about 19% of its value in the last month going from $55 a share to $45 a share. I would expect it's descent to continue. I would also expect Google, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft or Apple to be standing by with a replacement app with all the same features just in case Twitter completely craters... The great Drew Brees may have played his last NFL game and I can't help but think of one of the great "What if's" in all of sports history. What if prior to the 2006 season the Miami Dolphins team doctors gave free agent Drew Brees a clean bill of health and he signed with the Dolphins coached by Nick Saban at the time instead of signing with the Saints. How different would NFL and college football have been if that happened?... 

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Probably not a popular opinion but I think President Trump should veto the $900 billion stimulus package. He should insist on $1,200 cash relief for citizens on a single page bill... John Heisman - the man for whom the Heisman Trophy is named - used to supplement his income when he was coach of Georgia Tech by being a Shakespearean actor in the offseason. I just find that an interesting tidbit of history. Can you picture Nick Saban doing Hamlet after the bowl games are over?... I knew it!...  With Jacksonville now in line for the 1st pick in the draft I wonder if Gardner Minshew is now on the Patriots radar as a potential QB for next season... The term of the day is "hapax legomenon." That is something that is only mentioned once. An example would be Gopher wood which is mentioned just once in the Bible (Genesis 6:14). That was the wood Noah was told by God to use to build his ark... Editing My Reality would be a good name for a blog... I wouldn't be surprised if that next Christmas the hottest gifts of the season are AI/Deep Fake Hogwarts-style moving portraits. The technology is not too far away from making this a reality... 

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Surprised the nickname "Canadian Beto" never stuck for Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau... "The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." - Marcus Aurelius... Jack Dempsey said the only man he ducked fighting when he was heavyweight champion of the world was Ernest Hemingway. Dempsey didn't want to hurt the great writer who was insistent on proving his manhood... Nick Saban on the 5 choices we all have in life... Can you imagine how different the history of the Knicks and the entire NBA would have been if Pat Riley was given full control of the franchise instead of being allowed to bolt for Miami all those years ago?... "It's only physics if it comes from the Physique region of France. Otherwise it's just sparkling math." - Anna Hughes...

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- The story behind Dylan Thomas's "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night" and the poet's own reading of his masterpiece. Though for my money - this is the best recital of that poem of all time!

- It's the weekend!

- This is pretty cool technology. But I can't help but think that just having more natural plants and trees around would provide the same (or better) results.

- Science says that the "Impossible Burger" may not be safe to eat. Good - I never planned on trying fake meat anyway but now I have science on my side.

- Nick Saban on the 5 choices we have in life

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Excellent Roger Moore story

- IT basics - why you sometimes need to reset a router

- Seriously - has anyone seen this guy and Nick Saban in the same room? How cool would it be if there was a drummer who looked just like Bill Belichick?

- The next generation of free over-the-air TV

- Myron Rolle is the man!

- Interesting interview with Jim Al-Khahili about Quantum Physics and Quantum Biology

Scorched Earth Football

William Tecumseh Sherman was the first superintendent of LSU (at the time named Louisiana State Seminary of Learning and Military Academy). By all accounts he was the best man for the job and did a tremendous job as head of the University. He was only there for a brief period of time but made a lasting contribution. Less than 5 years after leaving LSU - Sherman's name was hated in the state.

Nick Saban was the head football coach at LSU for about the same period of time as it took to wage the Civil War. He took over the program in November of 1999 and stayed on the job for 5 years. In 2003 he led the school to a BCS Championship. The program has been a top program ever since.

Now Nick Saban is the head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide a program he led to a National Championship in 2009. I can't help but think that Saban and Sherman are somehow kindred. Both are probably held in similar regard by the people of Louisiana.

As a further Civil War connection - the LSU team name is the Tigers. This comes from the Civil War where Robert E. Lee started calling all soldiers from Louisiana "Tigers" after a New Orleans infantry company called the "Tiger Rifles" fought so well for him and his Army of Northern Virginia.

I can't believe I have to wait another week for this game.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

I hope Nick Saban sells his Gatorade soaked shirt from last night on eBay and gives the money to charity. Just the same as what Doc Rivers did after the Celtics won the NBA championship. Face it - Saban will never wear that shirt again - why not put it to some good?... The Big Lebowski rewritten as a work of Shakespeare... If you wanted to see what the "streaker" "idiot" from last night's game looked like click here... On this day in 1835 the US national debt was reduced to $0 for the one and only time in history... Wow! What Britain would look like without the Gulf Stream... On this day in 1821 James Longstreet was born. Many people know him as a famous Confederate General. I remember him best for a line attributed to him in the great book The Killer Angels. Longstreet was considered something of an expert on poker and when asked "How often should one draw at an inside straight?" He answered "Never!" That piece of advice has stuck with me and saved me some money over the years... I've admitted to being a geek and a Doctor Who fan - so I found this amusing... It's a shame! Wikipedia lists many famous people born on this day including Elvis, David Bowie and Larry Storch but they don't list the great sports writer Joe Posnanski. Another example why you can't always trust Wikipedia...