I hate United Airlines

Let me tell you why -

So I use Student Universe when I book airfare. If you don't know about it, its amazing. If you have a student email address (even if you're an alumni) you can get really cheap airfare. With only two weeks notice I got round-trip tickets to NYC from Knoxville for $240. That is pretty solid.

Unfortunately I had to book it on United Airlines. I was supposed to fly out of Knoxville into D.C. (Dulles), then D.C. to Laguardia in NYC. I was leaving Thursday night at 7:22 and would be in NYC by 10:47. Not a bad gig really.

I checked-in online during class that day, because I was bored in class and thats what I do. I showed up at the airport about 50 minutes before my flight, ready to go. I couldn't print my boarding pass at home because I had no ink in my printer (of course) and I went to the counter to get a copy of my boarding pass. When I went to the E-Ticket check-in terminal, I was instructed to "proceed to the U.S. Airways ticket counter"...

What?

U.S. Airways?

For a minute I was afraid I was an idiot, that I was flying U.S. Air the whole time and I just wasn't paying attention...

I checked with the guy at the desk, and without hesitation (or explanation) he sends me to the U.S. Airways counter. I might add that, while the Knoxville airport isn't very large, United is at one end, and U.S. Airways at the other - So I get to carry my bags all the way across the lobby of the airport.

Let that be the worst of it!

When I get the U.S. Airways counter, someone finally gives me an explanation. The flight to D.C. is delayed to the point that I wouldn't make the NYC Connection. As a result, United has booked me to Charlotte with U.S. Airways, which will then get me to NYC only 45 minutes later than it was originally going to happen.

Whatever, not too bad. I got there, the weekend was great. Monday it was time to go...This is where things got messy.

I admit, the weather in the Midwest and Northeast wasn't so hot that day...

I get to Laguardia to checkin for my flight, and I get in the E-Ticket line again. I wait. I wait. 30 minutes later I get to the front, the woman directs me to a machine which promptly tells me to see an agent. I'm irritated, but I figure that there must be an agent ready to help me with such a problem...

Not so much - Back of the line...

You're kidding right? The woman was a bitch about it too. The two women in front of me had the same thing happen, they responded by calling United Airlines and talking to a manager. They got free tickets. I didn't feel like dealing with it. I figure its not big deal, I got to the airport like 100 minutes before my flight, I've got lots of time.

Aside: It is almost impossible to believe, but as I am standing in the second line, I hear "JMay?" and turn around to find Jenney Springer walking into Laguardia. I didn't know she was up in NYC, and she didn't know I was either.

So, my flight is supposed to be to D.C., then to Knoxville. Again the flight to DC is so delayed that I can't make my connection in D.C. - the only connection of the day, thus, I'd be stranded in D.C. - so they panic. This is the first flight I didn't get on...

Jenney was flying to Chicago O'Hare, then connecting to Knoxville. I suggest to the woman that maybe I can do that? Sure! We can make that work, there is a 2 o'clock...no, its full. There is a 3 o'clock...no, its full. Wait! I can get you on the 4 o'clock, you'll get into Chicago with 38 minutes to spare before your connection. Not ideal, but I take it. They put me on standby for the 2 o'clock flight. I have 10 minutes to clear security and be at the gate to be eligible for standby (so the woman says).

I run through Laguardia, hustle through security, and run to gate C 12. I find out when I get there that it doesn't matter, I was on the list, and only had to be there 15 minutes before take off. I catch my breath and wait. And wait. And wait. I didn't get on the flight. This is the second flight I didn't get on...My bags, if your curious, did make this flight.

I ask the guy at the counter, how do I make sure I'm on the standby list for the 3 o'clock? Just go down to C 10 and when the desk agent arrives, they can take care of it. I thought that he was telling me the desk agent would put me on the standby list. What he was really doing was telling me he didn't feel like dealing with my question, and that the next desk person would. I stood (literally stood) at the desk for 32 minutes before someone showed up at the desk, only to be told that I was automatically rolled to that list, and didn't need to wait to talk to her. I have 40 minutes until the flight leaves, and I have to be there 15 minutes before the doors close to see if I get on. I run out of the airport to smoke a cigarette as quickly as I can. I run down to the food court to get a bite to eat (fast-food Chinese...mmmmmm) and then run back through security.

I get back to the gate about 18 minutes before the door closes, and they are starting to re-assign seats. I listen as the call the people around me up for tickets. I listen as they call almost EVERYONE around me. As it turns out (of course) I was the first person on the list NOT to get a ticket, aka, I was next. This is the third flight I didn't get on...

Now its on to the 4 o'clock, but at least my flight is guaranteed. 38 minutes won't be much time to cross O'Hare (a very large airport), but I'll get it done. Then the flight status updates. Its going to be 10 minutes late leaving...Oh shit. Well, 28 minutes won't be much time to cross O'Hare, but I'll get it done. Then the flight updates again...90 minutes late leaving. FUCK!!!!! Are you kidding? Is this a joke? Am I on TV? This is the fourth flight I didn't get on...

I call United Airlines from the terminal, and tell them that they MUST get me to Knoxville. I add (after a second to ponder who I'm dealing with) that It needs to be TODAY. After sitting on hold for almost 25 minutes, the nice Indian man tells me that he has a seat for me on U.S. Airways. NO SHIT, all four flights I was supposed to be on were United, and as it turns out, all 4 flights I took were U.S. Airways. (THIS IS WHY I FLY DELTA). I have 1 hour to change terminals. If you've ever had a chance to go from the United terminal to the U.S. Airways terminal at LGA you know they are in separate buildings, about two city blocks from each other. I walked. It was cold, rainy, and I had no choice.

Once I reached the U.S. Airways desk, the woman spent about 10 minutes cursing the folks at United for "sending this crap over here without taking time to clean up the record, I don't know where you're even going!" So after a few more minutes of her silent, passive aggressive typing she says, Okay, you're all set, your flight leaves in 40 minutes, and you'll have 30 minutes to change terminals in Charlotte.

So I head to the security checkpoint, they ask for the boarding pass and ID, as always. "I'm sorry sir, this is not your ticket" WHAT?!? Sure enough, this ticket is for May, Jessica Rose. I don't know anyone by that name. I immediatly storm back to the U.S. Airways counter and insist they put MY NAME on MY BOARDING PASS. 15 minutes later I'm back on my way through security. Now, because I've changed airlines, my ticket looks like a one-way ticket out of NYC. I don't know if you know this, but a one-way ticket into or out of NYC will get you the SSSS tag on your boarding pass. That means Super Special Security Screening I think...You get to take off your shoes and belt, and they swab you for TNT, and pat you down, and scan your shoes and such...very exciting, and again something I didn't have time for. I finally get through security, grab a drink as fast as I can, and its onto the plane. This is the fifth flight I am supposed to get on, and at last, I take off from Laguardia, 3 hours later than planned.

It took about 20 minutes longer than it was supposed to take for us to get off the ground, and no joke, i was in the VERY LAST SEAT on the plane. Back right corner. There is NO FURTHER I COULD BE from the door. We landed in Charlotte and I had 17 minutes to move from the end of the C terminal to the end of the E terminal. I had a 24.5 lb. backpack in haul (I know because in my boredom at the ticket counter, I weighed everything I could get my hands on). I made it with 3 minutes to spare. As I ran up to the gate, they were in the process of re-assigning our seats to standby patrons. I made it though, and my flight took off, and a mere 41 minutes later I was in Knoxville.

My bags however, were in Chicago with Jenney Springer (not actually with her, but, supposed to be on her flight). That flight didn't leave Chicago that night. I guess I'm glad I didn't get on standby on the other flights, I got home almost 15 hours sooner than Jenney, and only 4 hours later than planned. Thank god U.S. Airways was there to clean up United's mess.

My bags didn't arrive for 2.5 days - by the way.

Stay Tuned...

This is priceless -

So, the Miami Dolphins need a head coach right?

How about Mike Shula!

This would be the perfect ending to this story...

Mike Shula enters the Dolphins coaching hunt

BY ARMANDO SALGUERO

asalguero@MiamiHerald.com

The Dolphins' search for a coach may be making a bold and nostalgic reach toward the past with the team interviewing Mike Shula, son of Don Shula, over the weekend.

Shula spent Saturday talking with Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga and his staff about the possibility of succeeding Nick Saban.

Ironically, Saban left the Dolphins to become coach at Alabama after Shula was fired by the Crimson Tide.

The idea of bringing Shula back to the franchise has been kept under wraps because the team wanted to gauge if he was indeed a legitimate candidate for the job. Having had two interviews, he apparently is.

The Dolphins have also interviewed Jim Mora and Chan Gailey twice.

People familiar with the search told The Miami Herald today that no decision has been made on a coach and no offer has been made.

Shula posted a 26-23 record during four seasons at Alabama, taking the team to a bowl each of his final three seasons. He spent three seasons as the offensive coordinator with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1996-99.

Shula, 41, grew up around the Dolphins. He was a ball boy during his youth and returned later to serve as an assistant coach under his father before heading briefly to the Chicago Bears as an assistant.

Shula is close friends with Dolphins president Bryan Wiedmeier.

Reaching out to Shula might be a good move for the Dolphins as the franchise is seeking someone with head coaching experience but also someone who will invigorate the fan base after five seasons without a playoff appearance.

The Shula name remains the standard by which coaching excellence is measured. Don Shula won 347 games during his career, the most by any NFL coach.

Some reaction from the message boards?

• ...and people said we (alabama) were desperate.
• classic
• I wish Shula the best of luck...
• MAN how ironic would that be?????? I do wish CMS luck though.
• I am speechless. Actually I am not but I am too busy laughing my ASS off. RTR
• He was horrible at Bama, may be as good as mediocre in the pro's where the players need an organizer and not necessarily a motivator.
• prob just Wayne H giving daddy Don some respect..."give my boy a look"
• But, MS does have something that other coaches don't have...... The ability to let the players tell him what to do which is what players do in the NFL. ;-)

I do wish CMS the best. But I hope his father broke his hip today when Jeremy Clark from Alabama chased down Idaho State's Matt Gutierrez for what would have been a sack. Gutierrez stumbled out of bounds and knocked Don Shula to the turf. This was during the Shrine Bowl practice. How fitting huh?

Stay Tuned...

No Conference Championship Game? Need not apply!

I've had enough of the Big Ten and the Pac 10.

I've yet to see a team from either conference that I though could survive the season in the SEC with less than 2 losses.

USC '05 may be the lone example.

Even if they got through with only one loss, they still have to play the best team from the other side of the conference one more time to get the chance to claim a national title.

Consider Michigan. The 4 biggest games on their schedule: Ohio St. (no doubt, big game), Notre Dame (no big deal, ND won't show up against big time teams anyways, but for some reason on "name recognition" alone they make this list); Penn St. and Wisconsin. But wait, they do have the single SEC opponent. Vandy. Ha.

Consider USC. The 4 biggest games on their schedule: Notre Dame (see above), Cal, UCLA and Nebraska. They do have the single SEC opponent. Arkansas, before they were Arkansas. Hell for their three biggest games, they had to go out of the conference!

Consider Ohio St.. The 4 biggest games on their schedule: Texas (no doubt, big game), Michigan (see above), Penn St. and...um...wow...really...I guess you give it to the 'Illini for putting up a fight? Thats just a pathetic schedule. No doubt the Michigan and Texas wins were big, and impressive, but the rest of the schedule is a joke.

Now, conversly, consider Tennessee. The 4 biggest games on their schedule: California (big game to open with, even at home), Florida, LSU, Arkansas (after they became Arkansas). This doesn't include the games played at UGA, and South Carolina, and against Alabama. Even if you look at USC, UGA, and Alabama as being in off years, they still would kick the shit out of Oregon St., Washington, or Indiana.

Look at Florida for gods sake! The 4 biggest games on their schedule: Tennessee, LSU, at Florida St, at Auburn. This again does not include a visit from Alabama, a trip to UGA, and THE CONFERENCE CHAMPIOSHIP AGAINST ARKANSAS!

Really, its no comparison.

The SEC is a far superior league, and the Big Ten and Pac 10 need to put up or shut up. Schedule two real SEC teams into one years schedule. See how you fare. Then, at the end, I want you to play the best team in your league for what may be the second time that season. If you're not interested in doing it, then get out of the BCS way and let teams like Boise St. in.

You know the Big Ten commish is one of the most outspoken opponents of College Football playoffs. The reason? I think its because he knows the teams in his league couldn't win 3 straight games against the best in the country to claim a title.

Florida's last three? Florida St., Arkansas, and Ohio State. Pretty impressive.

We may have seen the birth of a dynstay in Gainsville tonight. That team will be even better next year. Meyer isn't playing with Zooks team. This is is baby, those kids were his. He won it on talent, and they are loaded with it. Even more amazingly, the kids are just going to sign up to play there now. This is what USC looked like in 2002 from a recruiting standpoint, only the talent on the roster is already two years ahead of that.

I'll have some more to say tomorrow, but I'm happy to see the Gators put a beating on Ohio State. In two years when Georgia, Florida, or Alabama (or whoever it is) has 1 loss coming out of SEC play, this game will be the reminder about what kind of team that is. This game will set a tone when the voters have to decide between a "Michigan" or "Florida" as the #2 team in the nation.

Stay Tuned...

A New Semester

So its time to start all over again.

Its both overwhelmingly pleasant and awful at the same time.

We all work so hard for 5 months, take 1 test, sweat for a month, and then get grades.

Its so anticlimactic. Its also a rush. There are few times in the year that are more individually heart-stopping than the hour before grades get posted.

At the same time, starting new subjects is always exciting. I like to look down the syllabus at all the things I know nothing about and think about how lucky I am to be learning about the "dormant commerce clause" instead of cleaning toilets (though there is nothing wrong with that job, and I am glad someone does it).

Sure beats selling insurance for $30,000/year and hoping to get to move up that ladder (that job, on the other hand, sucks and I have no regard for those who do it).

I'm off topic.

Its exciting for more than academic reasons.

New friendships inevitably form over the exam period and the break, and its always fun to hang out with new people.

Each semester has a distinct social "theme" and you never know what it will be until you find yourself in the throws of it.

Spring 2006 was a strange, "off the beaten path" kind of semester. We actively sought out random things to do. UFO store, Gatlinburg, Applebarn, Abe's birthday card...general madness.

Fall 2006 was all about the bars. Every night we knew where to find the group, and though each night the makeup was different, you always knew generally who'd be around. It was nice, but my body felt the efects of it.

Spring 2007 is an unwritten book. A blank canvas. A clean slate. Insert additional cliche here.

Its also a time for great College and Pro basketball. Soon it will be a new baseball season. Throw in football recruiting and spring practice, and you've got yourself a prime distraction from studying.

They say spring is full of new love. That makes AJK roll his eyes. But who knows what lies ahead for any of us? Thats part of the fun isn't it.

This all sounds cheesy, and you know, it is. Thats how I roll, if you don't like it, then don't read my blog.

That was a bit much. Read it.

What is your spring going to be? How much of it do you control? What do you want to achieve? What do you want to learn? Who do you want to meet?

So...

As I set out into a new semester, I leave old baggage behind. The weight was too much, I got tired of carrying it, and I realized that when I finally get where I'm going, I don't even really want it there.

That is freedom.

That is liberation.

That is exactly what new years...new semesters...new, is all about.

Stay Tuned...

Scarbinsky: How 'Bama Got its Coach

This article is from the Birmingham News today, and tells the story of Saban's hiring.

Here is a link for you.

Chasing Nick Saban

Sunday, January 07, 2007

KEVIN SCARBINSKY and IAN R. RAPOPORT

News staff writers

When he first heard it, Nick Saban didn't want to hear it.

He didn't want to hear that the University of Alabama might have a job opening and that Alabama might want him to fill the void.

Saban was troubled enough at the time. His Miami Dolphins had started 1-6. Midway through his second season, his big step up to football's mountaintop, the NFL, had brought him down to a personal and professional valley.

He knew he'd made a mistake in leaving LSU and college football for Miami and the NFL, and he had an exit strategy in mind. He was all but convinced he would leave the Dolphins when the season ended and take a year off to renew his enthusiasm and review his options.

Much as Steve Spurrier did, Saban would come back a year later rested and ready to look for a big-time college job, much like the one he'd left at LSU.

And then came Alabama.

Both the Saban camp and the Alabama camp say the other side made the initial contact between them, but they do agree on two key points: The initial contact was an inquiry to see if the other side would be interested, and the initial contact came about the time of Alabama's embarrassing Nov. 4 home loss to Mississippi State.

Whoever made first contact, it apparently was not initiated by Saban himself. When his agent, Jimmy Sexton, first mentioned the Alabama job to him, Saban shot him down with a blast of four-letter words. The coach told the agent he didn't want to hear it. Saban's reaction was so over the top, he later called Sexton back and apologized.

"When he called me the first time, I said, `I'm not interested,'" Saban told Florida reporters Thursday. "`It's the season. I'm not interested.'"

So how did Saban get here from there? How did a coaching search that began with an angry private denunciation from the primary target end with a delirious public celebration when he deplaned Wednesday afternoon at the Tuscaloosa Airport?

The Birmingham News interviewed sources close to both sides of the search over a six-week period, beginning two days after Alabama lost its fifth straight game to Auburn and six days before Alabama fired Mike Shula. Those interviews reveal a roller coaster of a ride.

The search for Nick Saban truly wasn't over till it was over, but it took its first baby steps before the Shula Era ended.

Top of the list

Alabama fired Shula late on Sunday night Nov. 26. The next day, Alabama AD Mal Moore held a press conference and said he wanted to hire a proven winner as the new head coach.

When Moore made that standard public, he had a private short list of eight names that fit it. Saban was atop that list.

"Without question," Moore said. "At that time, I didn't know where the interest would be. I didn't realize that Nick was interested in getting back into the college ranks. Once that came to my knowledge, we focused more on him."

The list also included South Carolina's Spurrier, West Virginia's Rich Rodriguez, Louisville's Bobby Petrino, Wake Forest's Jim Grobe and Navy's Paul Johnson.

Within a day or two of Shula's dismissal, Moore himself called Sexton to let him know Saban was Moore's top choice.

According to Moore, from the first time that Alabama sent word to the Saban camp that the school was interested in him, word never came back that the coach wasn't interested in the school.

The biggest hurdle was timing. Early in the process, Saban's camp made one thing clear to Alabama: Saban himself would not talk to anyone from the school until after Miami's season ended.

If Alabama wanted Saban, Alabama would have to wait to get him.

That made some members of Alabama's inner circle nervous. As did a Miami winning streak that started Nov. 5 and reached four games and put the Dolphins in playoff contention, potentially extending their season beyond the Dec. 31 regular-season finale.

Elephants have long memories, and some key decision-makers remembered being led on and then turned down by the likes of Butch Davis and Mike Riley in previous coaching searches.

They worried that, without hearing from Saban himself, they could wait for him until January and then get jilted by him.

So, on Nov. 29 and 30, UA representatives made their most fervent push to land Spurrier. On the night of the 29th, Spurrier told close associates he was not taking the Alabama job, which was not officially offered. By midday on the 30th, however, UA officials felt confident the former Florida coach was going to say yes. He didn't. Later on the 30th, Spurrier met with his team and told them, "You're stuck with me." A day later, he received a raise and a contract extension.

Following Spurrier's decision, Moore and Alabama President Robert Witt favored waiting for Saban. But, about a week after Shula was fired, the school's internal debate about Saban coincided with word that Alabama's interest in another coach on its short list, West Virginia's Rich Rodriguez, was not a one-way street.

"Rich was a championship-caliber coach, one of the top coaches on our list," Moore said. "I felt, at that time, I was trying to make it happen a little quicker. I maybe lost a little contact with my contact or source of information with Coach Saban.

"I wasn't sure where I was there, so I made the move to Rodriguez."

Moore made that move at the urging of others within Alabama's inner circle.

On Tuesday Dec. 5, in New York for the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame banquet, Moore interviewed Rodriguez and his wife, Rita, for about 90 minutes. It wasn't the AD's only meeting there that day related to the coaching search.

Moore also met with Sexton, showing him a large portfolio of diagrams and layouts of Alabama's new and improved football facilities.

On Thursday morning, Dec. 7, the Saban camp sent word to Alabama reaffirming the coach's interest in the job, but it appeared to be too late. Later that day, Alabama and Mike Brown, the agent for Rodriguez, reached an agreement in principle for Rodriguez to become the Alabama coach. Alabama was told to anticipate acceptance of the job.

That afternoon, after practice with the Dolphins, Saban acknowledged to the media for the first time that Alabama had contacted Sexton to gauge Saban's interest in the job. Saban also said that he'd told Sexton "on several occasions" that he wasn't interested.

It wasn't the first or last time that Saban's public comments about the Alabama job didn't square with the message his camp was sending to Alabama behind the scenes.

The next morning, as West Virginia boosters were meeting with Rodriguez and offering him inducements to stay, Alabama wasted no time in moving back to Saban.

Before Rodriguez gave Alabama his final answer that he would stay at West Virginia, a friend of Moore's called Sexton to see if Saban still had interest in the Alabama job. Saban was at practice with the Dolphins at the time.

Afterward, the coach talked to his agent by phone and sent a message as strong as his initial refusal. The message: If Alabama could wait, Alabama would have a real shot to hire him.

That message was relayed to Moore.

"Once I realized that was a genuine feeling (on Saban's part)," Moore said, "I really zeroed in on this coach."

Ignored denials

For the next four weeks, Moore continued to consider other candidates as a backup plan - Louisville's Petrino was Plan B in the end - but he never again moved away from Saban as his top choice. Meanwhile, Saban continued to issue denials. The most specific one came on Dec. 21, when Saban told South Florida reporters, "I guess I have to say it: I'm not going to be the Alabama coach."

Moore was not dissuaded by any of Saban's public words, since they differed so drastically from the private messages he sent.

"I know, and had to know, that his focus was that team there (at Miami), and he had to stay there (to finish the season)," Moore said. "I also knew that, in other moves he's made, that he did not communicate (directly) with other teams until his season was over.

"I felt like that would be the case here, and I just wanted to be in position."

By the time Saban's first losing season as a head coach ended with Miami's loss at Indianapolis on New Year's Eve, the coach's camp and the Alabama camp had agreed on the basic financial arrangements it would take for him to leave Miami for Tuscaloosa.

It would take more than making Saban the highest-paid coach in the SEC. Alabama would have to make his contract the richest of any college coach in the country. But both sides were still uncertain what Saban's final answer to Alabama would be.

Last Monday, Saban conducted a regularly scheduled end-of-season team meeting and press conference, where he again dodged questions about Alabama. He also met twice with Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga, and after the second meeting, Sexton called Huizenga. As a courtesy, the agent asked for permission for Saban to speak with Alabama, and it was granted.

That day, a private plane owned by R & G Aviation LLC out of Huntsville flew to Tuscaloosa, picked up Moore, and flew him to south Florida, even though he did not have a face-to-face meeting set up with Saban.

Moore boarded the plane by himself, carrying only a briefcase and no overnight luggage. He arrived at Opa-locka Executive Airport near Hialeah, Fla., which is 20 minutes from Miami.

"I just wanted to be in position," Moore said. "I felt like I needed to be close by and on hand, and was. It was just a feeling that I had."

Moore didn't conduct this search alone. He consulted with an inner circle of school officials, trustees and personal confidantes along the way, but he was the only Alabama official who made the trip to south Florida.

This was unusual. Most colleges send a small team to meet a prospective coach. When LSU hired Saban from Michigan State, a handful of LSU people, including a few boosters, visited with the coach in advance.

Alabama, despite its reputation as a program with too many cooks in the kitchen, sent Moore as its lone official headhunter.

Once in Florida, Moore spoke with Saban and his wife by phone Monday night. It was a long conversation, during which Moore formally offered Saban the job. The AD didn't get an answer that night, but he was encouraged, especially by what he heard from Terry Saban.

It was the first of two long phone conversations Moore had with the Sabans while in south Florida.

"Once I did talk to his wife, I felt like I really had a chance," Moore said. "I will always tightly hug her because she gave me encouragement not to give up because she wanted back in a college community. And so did he. I knew he did, but I wasn't aware of how strong his wife was for this move."

As strongly as the coach's wife was encouraging Moore, Huizenga was encouraging the coach to stay and finish the job. Saban felt an intense loyalty to Huizenga, and Huizenga played the loyalty card hard Tuesday.

The two men met three times that day. The meetings got heated as Saban expressed his desire to leave Miami for Alabama.

At mid-day, an emotionally spent Saban phoned an old friend from LSU and said he was going to take the Alabama job. About that time, Moore said it looked good for Alabama but the deal was not yet done.

At 2 p.m. CST, the plane on which Moore arrived in Florida was running, with the pilot and the crew on board, ready to take Saban to Tuscaloosa. There was even a call to a caterer to bring food for the Saban family. But the plane never left that day.

Sleepless night

Later in the day, Huizenga told the media that Saban had requested more time to decide and that the two men would meet again Wednesday morning at the Dolphins office. A source familiar with the process said it was Huizenga who asked Saban to sleep on his decision.

Instead, the Sabans said they spent a sleepless Tuesday night. Alabama officials, meanwhile, were growing anxious.

Saban said he and Huizenga spoke by phone early Wednesday morning, "which was another confusing moment."

Huizenga then visited Saban's house. Saban said he didn't make his final decision until Huizenga got there.

Huizenga left alone for the Dolphins headquarters, where he told the media that Saban was leaving for Alabama. Saban gave Moore the news by phone.

Moore and Saban did not meet face-to-face for the first time until about three hours later, when Moore arrived at Saban's house to drive the coach and his family to the Opa-locka Executive Airport. Moore's private plane whisked everyone to Alabama, where the Sabans were greeted like Elvis and Priscilla Presley.

It was the end of the longest coaching search in Alabama history. Thirty-eight days after Alabama fired Shula, Saban arrived to take his place.

Moore admitted that going after an NFL coach "was a real stretch," that waiting for Saban till January "was a gamble."

"But I wanted to hire a championship coach. I didn't want to cut it short and give up on it, so we stuck with it. It happened in the end."

E-mail: kscarbinsky@bhamnews.com irapoport@bhamnews.com

Stay Tuned...

Coach Nick Saban - Alabama Crimson Tide

*Doing the celebration dance*

This is what it felt like in 1957 when Paul Bryant said that momma called, and he came running.

Well 'Bama may not be CNS's "momma", but he will be their next coach.

And I'll tell you what, Bill Curry is still one BITTER BASTARD!

A new day and a new era is upon Alabama. The roster has tons of talent, and now we have one of the best recruiters in the country.

Any minue you can expect to hear good things from Murphy, Corley, Brown, McNeil, etc.

And hopefully this afternoon we will hear from The University of Alabama's head coach, Nick Saban.

Roll Tide!

You can hear the collective "fuck!" echoing from Auburn, Knoxville, Baton Rouge, and Fayetville.

Its going to be fun again everyone, get ready.

Stay Tuned...

This article was good. It does a decent job of explaining why Coach Nick Saban might really be considering taking the Alabama job.

Not to say that he will.

In fact, I don't feel like he will.

The later it gets...

I think he would have given a "yes" today, and the longer he thinks about it, the less likely he is to take the job.

Sadly, it will all depend on what the media says in the next 8.5 hours.

Thats what happened with Rodriguez. The press got ahold of it, and he spent an evening with his wife, seeing how the decision played in the media before he "made" it.

It didn't play well in WV. That is for sure. And CRR is still the WVU coach as a result.

I think that may have had as much to do with how frenzied the Alabama fans got. I think it scared him a little.

Nick Saban knows damned well what he is getting into. He coached at LSU for god's sake, and while LSU doesn't have shit on Alabama in meaningful way, their fans are classless enough to scare any coach.

And you thought the frightened look on Les Miles face was because he was overwhelmed with SEC football...

It was the fans burning out the cars in the parking lot.

Anyways, enough rambling...here is the article.

Celizic: Saban's decision is a no-brainer

Coach bungling process, but can't reject rich offer with marquee school
OPINION
By Mike Celizic
Updated: 6:03 p.m. CT Jan 2, 2007
If I’m Nick Saban, I take the Alabama job. It’s not a tough call, either, not for someone like Saban who is confident of his ability to produce a winner. He can either deal with the ebb and flow of fortune in the salary-capped NFL, or he can be the man who restored a great football program to the glory it last knew under the legend that was Bear Bryant.

The only real downside, now that the loyal alumni and faithful boosters have promised to come up with as much as $40 million to insure the prosperity of the Saban clan for now and the foreseeable future, is that if Saban takes the job, he’ll have to endure being known as a lying weasel, a condition that will pass nationally in a couple of weeks but will endure for as long as he lives in Miami.

The charge will be true, and there’s no sense trying to sugar-coat it. Saban spent the last two months of the NFL season telling Miami and the world that coaching the Dolphins was the only job he wanted and he intended to be there for as long as the team kept sending him paychecks.

This is what coaches always say just before they take another job somewhere else. It’s stupid of them, especially as there’s no need for it. No one really cares that much any more whether they break contracts that they said fulfilled all of their dreams when they negotiated and signed them. In sports, contracts, like records, are made to be broken. I don’t like that, but I’m not going to fight it; I may as well try to bail water with a pitchfork.

What drives fans nuts, though, is when a coach says he’s never going anywhere and then leaves on the next flight out of town. A coach’s promise to stay has so little value, no one believes it when he says it, so why bother saying it at all?

You’d think people as intelligent as coaches are held to be would recognize that just because someone with a spiral notebook asks them a question, they’ve no obligation to answer it. If they know the answer could come back to bite them, they should treat the question like one fired at them by a prosecutor in court. Just say you can’t answer it and move on.

All Saban had to do when people asked him about the possibility of taking the Alabama job was say, “I’m not going to talk about anything other than the Miami Dolphins and our next game.” No matter how many times and in how many ways the question came up, that answer would have taken care of everything. This is good advice, and all coaches should write it down and look at it daily.

But regardless of whether Saban was lying, the Alabama job is still as good as it gets -– at least it would be to me. This is one of the premier football school’s in the country, the alma mater of Joe Namath and Forrest Gump, a school that’s been waiting with growing impatience to return to the glory days that began to fade with the departure of Bear Bryant 24 years ago.

You don’t want to have to follow Bryant, but Saban’s not doing that. He’s already showed when he was at LSU that he can recruit and he can coach the college game, and he’s got the national championship to prove it.

He decided to go to the pros because that’s supposedly a higher level of coaching. I’m not sure that’s true. The level of play may be higher, but coaching is coaching no matter where you do it. The real difference is that in the pros, the job never ends and a coach’s hands are tied by the draft and the salary cap, while in college, there’s plenty of time for golf outings and vacations and the family.

The guys who should stay in the pros are those who don’t like schmoozing the alumni and boosters, and have no stomach for recruiting. Can you picture Bill Belichick making nice to the parents of a hotshot quarterback prospect? Sucking up to the president and athletic director? I can’t, either.

But guys like Saban who are outgoing and personable and people-oriented are made for college. When they succeed in the pros, they’re heroes and can even become legends. When they succeed in college, they’re gods.

That’s why I’ve never understood why any great college coach in either football or basketball would want to go to a pro league, especially the NFL. Assemble a great team in the NFL and within a couple of years big and important pieces of it go floating off into free-agency, and there’s nothing you can do to stop it. If the personnel guys draft a quarterback who doesn’t work out, you can’t run out and recruit another one; you’re stuck with the bum and whatever retread you can pick off another team’s scrap heap.

In college, if one guy doesn’t work, you go out and recruit another. Sure, there’s constant turnover, with players staying four years and moving on, but the kids coming in are as good as your salesmanship skills. Get a good program going, and it becomes self-sustaining.

That’s what can happen in Alabama under Saban. It would be great for the school, great for college football, which needs its historically great programs to thrive, and great for him.

As for Miami, given the offensive deficiencies, I’m sure the Dolphins can find somebody else who can finish third in the AFC East just as well as Saban can.

© 2006 MSNBC Interactive

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16440949/page/2/

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Just another week on the "JOB"

A “fun with the bible production”

Brought to you by J. Louis May, et al.

Job 1 = Day 1
Job 2 = Day 2
E t c.

At the end of 5 days, the “winner” as chosen by the group will get their bar tab picked up that night.

Each day you should try to incorporate either true language or “the message” from the text.
He/She who is most devout wins, as judged by their peers.

Points for: sincere, sarcastic, cheesy, dirty, philosophical, political, satire, and style. Don’t worry Kandel, no points for Attendance.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE ENTERED, PLEASE SUMBIT AN EMAIL REFLECTING INTEREST NO LATER THAN JAN 8.
COMPETITION WILL BEGIN January 6, and the winner will collect their tab at Half-Priced win night the 10th.

Job 1 -
There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil. 2And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters. 3His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east. 4And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. 5And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually. 6Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. 7And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. 8And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? 9Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? 10Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. 11But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. 12And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD. 13And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house: 14And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them: 15And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. 16While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. 17While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. 18While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house: 19And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. 20Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, 21And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. 22In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.

Job 2 -

1Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD. 2And the LORD said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. 3And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause. 4And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life. 5But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face. 6And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life. 7So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown. 8And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes. 9Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die. 10But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips. 11Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him. 12And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven. 13So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great.

Job 3 -

1After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day. 2And Job spake, and said, 3Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived. 4Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it. 5Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it. 6As for that night, let darkness seize upon it; let it not be joined unto the days of the year, let it not come into the number of the months. 7Lo, let that night be solitary, let no joyful voice come therein. 8Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to raise up their mourning. 9Let the stars of the twilight thereof be dark; let it look for light, but have none; neither let it see the dawning of the day: 10Because it shut not up the doors of my mother's womb, nor hid sorrow from mine eyes. 11Why died I not from the womb? why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly? 12Why did the knees prevent me? or why the breasts that I should suck? 13For now should I have lain still and been quiet, I should have slept: then had I been at rest, 14With kings and counsellors of the earth, which build desolate places for themselves; 15Or with princes that had gold, who filled their houses with silver: 16Or as an hidden untimely birth I had not been; as infants which never saw light. 17There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest. 18There the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the oppressor. 19The small and great are there; and the servant is free from his master. 20Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul; 21Which long for death, but it cometh not; and dig for it more than for hid treasures; 22Which rejoice exceedingly, and are glad, when they can find the grave? 23Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, and whom God hath hedged in? 24For my sighing cometh before I eat, and my roarings are poured out like the waters. 25For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me. 26I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; yet trouble came.

Job 4 -

1Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said, 2If we assay to commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved? but who can withhold himself from speaking? 3Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands. 4Thy words have upholden him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees. 5But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled. 6Is not this thy fear, thy confidence, thy hope, and the uprightness of thy ways? 7Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off? 8Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same. 9By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed. 10The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth of the young lions, are broken. 11The old lion perisheth for lack of prey, and the stout lion's whelps are scattered abroad. 12Now a thing was secretly brought to me, and mine ear received a little thereof. 13In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men, 14Fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones to shake. 15Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up: 16It stood still, but I could not discern the form thereof: an image was before mine eyes, there was silence, and I heard a voice, saying, 17Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his maker? 18Behold, he put no trust in his servants; and his angels he charged with folly: 19How much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, which are crushed before the moth? 20They are destroyed from morning to evening: they perish for ever without any regarding it. 21Doth not their excellency which is in them go away? they die, even without wisdom.

Job 5 -

1Call now, if there be any that will answer thee; and to which of the saints wilt thou turn? 2For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one. 3I have seen the foolish taking root: but suddenly I cursed his habitation. 4His children are far from safety, and they are crushed in the gate, neither is there any to deliver them. 5Whose harvest the hungry eateth up, and taketh it even out of the thorns, and the robber swalloweth up their substance. 6Although affliction cometh not forth of the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground; 7Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward. 8I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause: 9Which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things without number: 10Who giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth waters upon the fields: 11To set up on high those that be low; that those which mourn may be exalted to safety. 12He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise. 13He taketh the wise in their own craftiness: and the counsel of the froward is carried headlong. 14They meet with darkness in the day time, and grope in the noonday as in the night. 15But he saveth the poor from the sword, from their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty. 16So the poor hath hope, and iniquity stoppeth her mouth. 17Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty: 18For he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole. 19He shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee. 20In famine he shall redeem thee from death: and in war from the power of the sword. 21Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue: neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh. 22At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh: neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth. 23For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field: and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee. 24And thou shalt know that thy tabernacle shall be in peace; and thou shalt visit thy habitation, and shalt not sin. 25Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be great, and thine offspring as the grass of the earth. 26Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, like as a shock of corn cometh in in his season. 27Lo this, we have searched it, so it is; hear it, and know thou it for thy good.


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