Ole Miss' week in the national spotlight ended unceremoniously Saturday night with a 25-0 loss to No. 1 Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Georgia and LSU lived up to all the hype, South Carolina held on, Lane Kiffin didn't, the Major League Baseball playoffs are set and NBA teams opened training camps.
It was a wild weekend. Here are my 10 thoughts (plus a few leftovers) from the weekend that was:
1. At times Saturday night, it seemed Alabama knew what was coming against Ole Miss. When Ole Miss quarterback Bo Wallace threw to a receiver, often two or three Crimson Tide defenders were in the very close proximity. When the Rebels tried to run, Alabama defenders were everywhere. An offense that had been so prolific through the first three games of the season struggled to get anything going against Alabama.
Perhaps the Tide did know what was coming. After the game, former Ole Miss staffer Tyler Siskey's name came up repeatedly. Siskey was Freeze's wide receivers coach at Arkansas State and came with him to Oxford as the Rebels' director of recruiting. Nick Saban hired Siskey away last spring as the Crimson Tide's assistant director of football operations. On Saturday night in Tuscaloosa, Siskey was in the Alabama coaching box in the press box, binoculars in hand, apparently studying the Ole Miss bench as the Rebels' coaches signaled in plays.
ESPN's broadcasters noted Siskey's presence in the box. Ole Miss, according to sources inside the program, realized Siskey was watching its bench from the box in the second quarter. Siskey was on Alabama's sideline during the Crimson Tide's first three games this season, but in the box, according to program insiders, Siskey would be able to easily tell run or pass or even specific plays. Siskey was Freeze's signaler for two years, so even though Ole Miss changed signals from last season, it's not difficult to conceive a scenario where Siskey figured out what was coming, relayed it to the Tide sideline and got that message to the field prior to the snap.
Some have questioned the "legality" of Siskey's presence in the coaching box. According to rules, Siskey or anyone else could be in the box, though only designated coaches can actually "coach." Others can chart plays or perform other tasks. Bottom line: Nothing is coming of this, one way or the other.
Make no mistake, Siskey's impact _ however great or small _ didn't prevent Ole Miss from beating Alabama Saturday night. The Rebels aren't ready to walk into a hostile environment and beat the No. 1-ranked team when that team plays a solid game. However, here's betting Freeze views Saturday night as a lesson learned and will be more proactive (using a flip chart or wrist bands) in the future when circumstances warrant. Further, give Nick Saban credit. The man isn't a four-time national champion by accident. He crosses every T and dots every I, and having Siskey on his staff proved invaluable on Saturday night at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
2. Perhaps because I'm a Louisiana native and my late grandfather was a big fan and he gave me a yellow and purple stuffed football when I was really little, I've always been kind of intrigued by LSU. As a kid, I cheered against the Tigers, no matter who they played. As I got older, I found LSU intriguing. As an adult who covers sports for a living, I don't care one way or the other, but I will confess to loving the LSU game-day experience. I just love it. The people are nuts, the beer flows, the tailgates have an eclectic feel and you never really know if the people harassing you are being hateful or just playing their role. In short, I dig it.
Once inside Tiger Stadium, I love the pre-game. The students show up early. The opposing team arrives and walks on the field. I hate country music, but I get chills when Garth Brooks' version of "Calling Baton Rouge" is played. Mike the Tiger is arrives, the Golden Girls do their thing and I'm ready for football. I've always said if I could see one last game at any venue, I'd pick Baton Rouge.
I have to admit, however, that Tuscaloosa is pushing Tiger Stadium for No. 1 on my list. The stadium is a palace. Everything, from the team's arrival at the stadium to the Million Dollar Band's halftime show, is first-rate. For the longest time, Alabama seemed to lean so heavily on its past that it couldn't move forward. Now, however, the Tide has struck a perfect balance between the glory days of Bear Bryant and the current superpower Saban has built. In short, game day in Tuscaloosa is what college football is all about.
3. A segment of Alabama's fan base, however, remains as obnoxious and worthless as ever. For background, I worked in Alabama for a decade. I covered Auburn for the Birmingham Post-Herald for one season and the Mobile Register for five. I then covered the Southeastern Conference as a whole as a columnist for the next four years, which meant frequent visits to Alabama and Auburn games. I also hosted a radio show in Mobile from March 2002 through November 2007, a period in which Auburn won six straight Iron Bowls over the Crimson Tide.
By the end of my stint in the Heart of Dixie, Alabama fans hated me. It's a weird state when it comes to football. There's passion and then there's complete and utter obsession. I often made fun of said obsession. Some laughed. Some were offended. I could tell stories for days.
Anyway, on Saturday night, I had the unmitigated gall to question on Twitter a couple of calls in Alabama's win over Ole Miss, insinuating at one point that I believed the Crimson Tide got some preferential treatment from the guys in the striped shirts. That led to a renewal of several old acquaintances, a reunion of sorts with old friends I hadn't heard from in the almost six years since I left Alabama.
For example, my old pal majkzum@aol.com emailed me twice Saturday. His first message was warm and cordial.
"Congratulations Neal on your moral victory article.when you have a stupid high school coach who doesn't even know that a field goal is a viable play in college football,what do you expect .So you guys going to catch up with Saban 25 recruits at a time?Actually (expletive) Neal,Saban was competing for a national championship in year 2 at Bama,check your facts Neal while you go on (complaining) about SEC conspiracies.Cry like the baby you are Neal and go buy you some more players while you are at it"
It was so nice to hear from him/her. What a blessing when the second correspondence arrived.
"SUCK IT NEAL,SUCK IT good.HAS ALABAMA BEEN PASSED YET NEAL?WELL HAVE THEY NEAL?Go cry on twitter about that Eddie Jackson penalty NEAL and suck all 12 while you are on twitter.Does your stupid high school coach know that the field goal is even an option in college football.Maybe he should just stick to buying players in South Panola.
Hey NEAL,sock on this one last fact:IT AINT A RIVALRY WHEN ONE TEAM HAS BEATEN ANOTHER 21 OUT OF 23 TIMES!"
So perhaps English isn't a priority in the Alabama public school system. That's OK.
My Twitter account allowed me to catch up with some other old friends from my days in the Heart of Dixie. Oh, how I miss those days. My buddy Josh Boutwell (@BamaBayJosh) reminded me to "change your diaper old man " My pal Joel (@PKbama) read my column on RebelGrove.com and sent me two tweets. One, he informed me that "Saban actually did build this juggernaut overnight. Yr 2 he went 12-0," and then "one day you'll realize, your ole miss. Just like vandy is vandy."
Compelling, insightful stuff.
Then, in case I need legal advice, my old Mobile pal Alabama Attorney (@Ala_Attorney) asked me, "Wait how many points did @NealMcCready say #OleMiss would score v. Bama? #sadpanda"
I do love pandas. Beautiful, powerful creatures.
Then there was my buddy Todd Lee (@jtlee68), who apparently found my tweets humorous. Mr. Lee said, "hahaha! Your bitterness warms my heart. Cries of favoritism are the last grasp for haters that can't compete."
On and on and on it went. I'm forever grateful that I had an opportunity to catch up with so many old friends. Ole Miss plays at Auburn Saturday night, so perhaps I'll get to reunite with more. However, more of the Auburn fans, I've learned, actually graduated from junior high school, so they have at least a little reading comprehension skill ? and a life.
4. I'm not the first person to make this observation, and until the rule changes, I won't be the last. On Saturday, South Carolina safety Brison Williams was flagged for a targeting infraction as a result of his hit on Central Florida wide receiver Jeff Godfrey. Initially, Williams was disqualified from the game. Upon review, replays showed Williams led with his shoulder and hit Godfrey in the shoulder, breaking up Blake Bortles' pass. Williams was allowed to return to the game, but the 15-yard penalty stood.
Later in the day, Alabama's Eddie Jackson was flagged and ejected for his hit on Ole Miss' Evan Engram in the second half of the Tide's win. Again, a review ultimately led to the reversal of the ejection but the upholding of the 15-yard penalty.
I hate the call. It's either a penalty or it isn't. I'm all for eliminating targeting and protecting defenseless players, and helmet-first hits to the head must be eliminated. However, when reviews show the hit was perfectly legal, not only should the disqualification be reversed but the penalty should be also.
I suspect the rule will be changed after the season. It should be changed now, before it impacts a game, a team's bowl hopes or a championship.
5. I got back to my hotel in Birmingham around 12:30 a.m. Sunday, just in time to see most of the fourth quarter of Arizona State's 62-41 shellacking of USC. The Sun Devils were gaining chunks of yardage on virtually every play, and while USC kept fighting on offense, it was obvious Kiffin's tenure with the Trojans was nearing an end.
So I wasn't shocked to learn Sunday morning that USC athletics director Pat Haden met the team's charter flight when it returned to Los Angeles, met with Kiffin for 45 minutes and then relieved him of his duties.
A few thoughts: 1. Once the decision to make a change has been made, one should make it. It's what Ole Miss should have done in 2011 in the hours following the Rebels' embarrassing loss at Vanderbilt. Multiple sources told me late that afternoon that the decision to fire Houston Nutt was made in the waning minutes of that game. By getting the firing out of the way, that distraction is eliminated. Former Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron (more on this in a bit) will serve as USC's head coach on an interim basis for the remainder of the season, but he has as much of a chance at the permanent gig as I. 2. Haden can now get a head start on other schools (hello, Texas) that might be searching for head coaches t the end of the season. Some early names that have popped up include ESPN analyst Jon Gruden, Boise State's Chris Petersen, Washington's Steve Sarkisian, Texas A&M's Kevin Sumlin, Vanderbilt's James Franklin, Northwestern's Pat Fitzgerald and Fresno State's Tim DeRuyter. 3. Southern Cal should be an elite job, but the loss of 30 scholarships is serious stuff. All of those Heismans, the Song Girls, Traveler, the cool fight song, the recognizable uniforms and the Coliseum give the program an aura, but football games are won with football players. Whoever takes the USC job is rebuilding in a tough league with less than a stacked deck.
6. Orgeron met the media Sunday, hours after taking over for Kiffin. Among the things he addressed was what he learned during his miserable tenure at Ole Miss.
"Things like today," Orgeron said. "Speaking to the media. How to handle a team ? some good, some bad. How to react to adverse situations. How to go play LSU and Alabama, at LSU and Alabama in a hostile environment. How to react with the players on the team as a head football coach, not just as a defensive line coach. How to interact and organize recruiting. I feel like I'm prepared for it."
I'm not going to lie; I'm now fascinated by USC football for the next several weeks, in large part because I expect a train wreck to ensue. I want to hear the parodies, giggle at the antics and shake my head in amused bewilderment at the confusion. Then again, a part of me cheers for the guy. It wasn't his fault he got hired at Ole Miss. He took a job he wasn't qualified for and did his best, which wasn't close to enough. I said it in Mobile and got vilified in Oxford at the time, but the people who hired Orgeron were the ones who failed the Ole Miss program.
Orgeron now has an eight-game audition to prove he learned from his errors at Ole Miss. That audition, even if it goes swimmingly, won't land him the permanent gig in Tinseltown but it just might put him on the radar as a head coaching candidate at a mid-major.
7. Sunday marked the end of the Major League Baseball regular season, one that will likely be remembered for Mariano Rivera's emotional retirement as much as anything else. Rookie Yasiel Puig dominated the sport for a couple of months, Ryan Braun was suspended for the final months of the season and Alex Rodriguez's legacy was further tarnished.
There were plenty of bright spots, too, so as baseball prepares for the playoffs, here are my awards:
AL MVP ? Miguel Cabrera, Detroit (I thought about Los Angeles' Mike Trout and Baltimore's Chris Davis, but Carbrera's numbers are historic, and I don't care that his defense is limited.)
AL Cy Young ? Max Scherzer, Detroit (No pitcher has been more dominant in the past two years that Scherzer.)
AL Rookie of the Year ? Wil Myers, Tampa Bay (Without Myers, the Rays wouldn't have made such a strong second-half playoff run.
NL MVP ? Andrew McCutcheon, Pittsburgh (I thought about St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina, but McCutcheon carried the Pirates to their first playoff appearance in two decades.)
NL Cy Young ? Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles (No one else is close.)
NL Rookie of the Year ? Jose Fernandez, Miami (For the longest time, it appeared Puig would walk away with this award. Then Fernandez went 10-6 with a 2.33 earned run average and led the league in hit and strikeout rates.
Some random MLB thoughts:
A. I'm actually excited about Tuesday night's wildcard game between Cincinnati and Pittsburgh at PNC Park. I have a soft spot for the Pirates for reasons I don't completely understand. I love that ballpark, am a big fan of McCutcheon and Pedro Alvarez and think Neal Huntington and Co. have built a winner the right way.
B. The Cleveland Indians will host a wildcard game on Wednesday night. Some say a manager's role is overrated. I'm not sure I agree. I submit Terry Francona as evident to my contrarian argument. The former Red Sox boss took a year off to recharge, resurfaced in Cleveland and led the Indians to the postseason.
C. Congratulations, Atlanta. Before you can get to the NLCS, you have to get through Kershaw, Zack Greinke and Co. in a five-game series. Have fun.
D. The Detroit-Oakland first-round series should be fascinating. The A's lineup just wears down starters, and that's the only way to beat Detroit in a playoff series.
E. I expect the Chicago Cubs will fire Dale Sveum today, a day after published reports out of Chicago said some of the Wrigley Field expansion projects could be put on hold and the team likely won't be aggressive in the free agent market or trade for a veteran starter such as David Price in the offseason. Next season figures to be a rough one on the north side, making me wonder if perhaps the Cubs let Sveum hang around one more season unless Joe Girardi is willing to change the color of his pinstripes from navy to Cubbie blue.
8. NFL observations from Sunday:
A. Poor Eli Manning. The Giants are pitiful, 0-4 after a 31-7 undressing in Kansas City. There's no reason to believe things will get better any time soon. The Giants' offensive line is inept, David Wilson is not the running back the franchise thought he'd be, and the once dominant defensive line is no longer a consistent threat to get to the quarterback.
B. The Giants' Victor Cruz must not be a popular guy around the league. Both Dexter McCluster and Dwayne Bowe mocked Cruz' salsa dance celebration after touchdowns against New York on Sunday.
C. The Houston Texans will remember Sunday. A team with Super Bowl aspirations simply had to defeat Seattle at Reliant Stadium Sunday. Instead, the Seahawks came back from a 20-3 deficit to force overtime and remain undefeated. Pete Carroll's bunch are vulnerable away from Seattle, and the Texans had them on the ropes. Houston couldn't finish the deal, however, and that loss will Gary Kubiak and Co. moving forward.
D. The Pittsburgh Steelers are 0-4. The end of the Mike Tomlin era in the Steel City feels imminent. Tomlin might simply need a change of scenery. A new environment certainly seems to have suited longtime Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid quite well. Reid, now in Kansas
City, has led the Chiefs to a 4-0 start.
E. I love the job the Tennessee Titans had done with quarterback Jake Locker. They had put the former Washington star in position to make plays, simplified things and let him utilize his considerable athleticism. It was a lesson to coaches at all levels. Sometimes less is more. Then Locker went down with a hip injury Sunday, and now his future and the Titans' season is in doubt.
F. Peyton Manning is playing the best football of his career. Right now, he's unstoppable. It's amazing.
G. His replacement in Indianapolis, Andrew Luck, continues to just win. Luck lit up Jacksonville Sunday (I know, I know, Chase Parham could light up the Jaguars), pushing the Colts to 4-0. That Denver-Indianapolis AFC Championship Game is going to be high drama. I'm already planning my menu for that day.
H. I can't wait for tonight's Miami-New Orleans game at the Superdome. A battle of unbeatens on a Monday night in the drunken city? Yes, thank you.
9. Kevin Durant turned 25 on Sunday, a multi-millionaire with three NBA scoring titles, an Olympic gold medal and a new restaurant in along the Bricktown Canal on the way. However, the Oklahoma City Thunder star hasn't been in a celebratory mood recently.
In fact, Durant has been a bit edgy. He got into a feud of sorts with Miami Heat star Dwayne Wade when he said former teammate James Harden and not Wade belonged on a list of the top 10 players in the NBA. Durant and the Thunder opened camp Saturday, drawing precious little respect and attention on the heels of a 60-win season that ended prematurely when all-star point guard Russell Westbrook tore his meniscus in Game 2 of the first round of the playoffs against Houston.
The Thunder are younger this season. Kevin Martin is gone, replaced by Reggie Jackson and Jeremy Lamb. While other teams added via free agency _ Memphis picked up Mike Miller, the Clippers signed J.J. Reddick and Houston signed a big guy named Dwight Howard _ the Thunder sat still.
Durant said he's "really confident" Oklahoma City can win a title anyway.
"We're not going to come in and say, 'We can't win it all. We don't have enough,'" Durant told The Oklahoman. "We're a confident group of guys. We're an experienced group of guys. So, yeah, I think we can."
Durant got bullied in the Thunder's postseason series against Memphis, one the Grizzlies won, 4-1. He responded by adding some bulk and working on his post game. He showed up two hours early for the Thunder's first day of work, another sign he's not content with his spot in hoops' hierarchy. His ability _ or lack thereof _ to put the Thunder on his broader shoulders and carry them to the pinnacle of professional basketball is one of the more interesting storylines of the upcoming NBA season. Some others I'm eager to follow:
A. Lebron James can opt out of his deal with the Miami Heat after this season. Will he? Can he win a third consecutive title? Would he consider returning to Cleveland? Would he move to Los Angeles and become the next face of the Lakers? All of those options are on the table.
B. Doc Rivers has moved from Boston to the Clippers. Can he keep Chris Paul happy? Can he finally get Blake Griffin to remain healthy for the playoffs?
C. Rivers' former players _ Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry _ are joining Darren Williams, Joe Johnson and Co. in Brooklyn under the direction of first-year coach Jason Kidd. Can they stay healthy long enough to knock off the Heat? Can Kidd go straight from the floor to the bench? Can all of those egos get along?
D. Derrick Rose is back from the knee injury that forced him to miss all of last season. Does his presence immediately make the Bulls a contender in the East? There's a common thread here: The Heat's road to the Eastern Conference title is difficult. The Indiana Pacers, who pushed them to a seventh game last season, remain a threat.
E. Can Dwight Howard get along with James Harden? Can the Rockets pick up where they left off a year ago? Can Kevin McHale keep Jeremy Lin and Omar Asik happy? If the answers to the above are yes, the Rockets are a real threat in the West.
F. Is this the end for Kobe Bryant? Can he bounce back from an Achilles injury and the loss of Dwight Howard and will the Lakers into contention or is it time for the Lakers to bid him adieu and search for a new face?
G. Can Golden State build on its playoff run of a year ago?
H. How will Brad Stevens do in his first year in the NBA? Will he do too well? Can he learn the ropes while losing enough to put the Celtics in position to win the lottery and the rights to Kansas star Andrew Wiggins, widely considered to be the next Lebron James-type impact player in the NBA.
I. Demarco Cousins got a big deal in Sacramento recently, leading many NBA insiders to scratch their heads. Will the enigmatic Cousins he play like a franchise player now?
J. Can Kyrie Irving make Cleveland attractive? And when I say attractive, I mean to people such as, I don't know, Lebron James?
10. Two of the most important people in my life celebrate birthdays this week. My mom, Judy McCready, turns 39 again Monday. She's been a supportive, loving presence throughout my life, and one of the real blessings of my return to Oxford has been the chance to spend time with her and for her to get to know my children on a different level than she would've had I remained in south Alabama or elsewhere.
My son, Carson, turns seven Friday. It's almost impossible for me to believe the little man is already seven. Our first two children are girls, and when we found out a third was on the way, I assumed it would be another girl. I was fine with that, too; there are few things in life for a man than being daddy to little girls.
We were at the doctor's office at the Mobile Infirmary getting an ultrasound when the nurse asked if we wanted to know the sex of the baby. I told her I already knew it was a girl.
"I make girls," I told her, and I had no doubt I was right. She said nothing for the next few minutes as she recorded data from the ultrasound. Then the nurse looked me in the eye, smiled and said, "Are you sure?"
I knew immediately it was a boy. My heart literally leapt in my chest. I'm not sure I've ever been more excited. I had dreamed of a boy for years, wondered what he'd look and act like and daydreamed about things we'd do one together one day.
Carson was born early on a Wednesday morning and he's surpassed my every expectation every day since. He's a walking, talking ray of sunshine, always encouraging others, always excited about something, always eager to learn something new.
Happy birthday, big boy. May you have many, many, many more. It's the honor of a lifetime to be your dad.
It was a wild weekend. Here are my 10 thoughts (plus a few leftovers) from the weekend that was:
1. At times Saturday night, it seemed Alabama knew what was coming against Ole Miss. When Ole Miss quarterback Bo Wallace threw to a receiver, often two or three Crimson Tide defenders were in the very close proximity. When the Rebels tried to run, Alabama defenders were everywhere. An offense that had been so prolific through the first three games of the season struggled to get anything going against Alabama.
Perhaps the Tide did know what was coming. After the game, former Ole Miss staffer Tyler Siskey's name came up repeatedly. Siskey was Freeze's wide receivers coach at Arkansas State and came with him to Oxford as the Rebels' director of recruiting. Nick Saban hired Siskey away last spring as the Crimson Tide's assistant director of football operations. On Saturday night in Tuscaloosa, Siskey was in the Alabama coaching box in the press box, binoculars in hand, apparently studying the Ole Miss bench as the Rebels' coaches signaled in plays.
ESPN's broadcasters noted Siskey's presence in the box. Ole Miss, according to sources inside the program, realized Siskey was watching its bench from the box in the second quarter. Siskey was on Alabama's sideline during the Crimson Tide's first three games this season, but in the box, according to program insiders, Siskey would be able to easily tell run or pass or even specific plays. Siskey was Freeze's signaler for two years, so even though Ole Miss changed signals from last season, it's not difficult to conceive a scenario where Siskey figured out what was coming, relayed it to the Tide sideline and got that message to the field prior to the snap.
Some have questioned the "legality" of Siskey's presence in the coaching box. According to rules, Siskey or anyone else could be in the box, though only designated coaches can actually "coach." Others can chart plays or perform other tasks. Bottom line: Nothing is coming of this, one way or the other.
Make no mistake, Siskey's impact _ however great or small _ didn't prevent Ole Miss from beating Alabama Saturday night. The Rebels aren't ready to walk into a hostile environment and beat the No. 1-ranked team when that team plays a solid game. However, here's betting Freeze views Saturday night as a lesson learned and will be more proactive (using a flip chart or wrist bands) in the future when circumstances warrant. Further, give Nick Saban credit. The man isn't a four-time national champion by accident. He crosses every T and dots every I, and having Siskey on his staff proved invaluable on Saturday night at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
2. Perhaps because I'm a Louisiana native and my late grandfather was a big fan and he gave me a yellow and purple stuffed football when I was really little, I've always been kind of intrigued by LSU. As a kid, I cheered against the Tigers, no matter who they played. As I got older, I found LSU intriguing. As an adult who covers sports for a living, I don't care one way or the other, but I will confess to loving the LSU game-day experience. I just love it. The people are nuts, the beer flows, the tailgates have an eclectic feel and you never really know if the people harassing you are being hateful or just playing their role. In short, I dig it.
Once inside Tiger Stadium, I love the pre-game. The students show up early. The opposing team arrives and walks on the field. I hate country music, but I get chills when Garth Brooks' version of "Calling Baton Rouge" is played. Mike the Tiger is arrives, the Golden Girls do their thing and I'm ready for football. I've always said if I could see one last game at any venue, I'd pick Baton Rouge.
I have to admit, however, that Tuscaloosa is pushing Tiger Stadium for No. 1 on my list. The stadium is a palace. Everything, from the team's arrival at the stadium to the Million Dollar Band's halftime show, is first-rate. For the longest time, Alabama seemed to lean so heavily on its past that it couldn't move forward. Now, however, the Tide has struck a perfect balance between the glory days of Bear Bryant and the current superpower Saban has built. In short, game day in Tuscaloosa is what college football is all about.
3. A segment of Alabama's fan base, however, remains as obnoxious and worthless as ever. For background, I worked in Alabama for a decade. I covered Auburn for the Birmingham Post-Herald for one season and the Mobile Register for five. I then covered the Southeastern Conference as a whole as a columnist for the next four years, which meant frequent visits to Alabama and Auburn games. I also hosted a radio show in Mobile from March 2002 through November 2007, a period in which Auburn won six straight Iron Bowls over the Crimson Tide.
By the end of my stint in the Heart of Dixie, Alabama fans hated me. It's a weird state when it comes to football. There's passion and then there's complete and utter obsession. I often made fun of said obsession. Some laughed. Some were offended. I could tell stories for days.
Anyway, on Saturday night, I had the unmitigated gall to question on Twitter a couple of calls in Alabama's win over Ole Miss, insinuating at one point that I believed the Crimson Tide got some preferential treatment from the guys in the striped shirts. That led to a renewal of several old acquaintances, a reunion of sorts with old friends I hadn't heard from in the almost six years since I left Alabama.
For example, my old pal majkzum@aol.com emailed me twice Saturday. His first message was warm and cordial.
"Congratulations Neal on your moral victory article.when you have a stupid high school coach who doesn't even know that a field goal is a viable play in college football,what do you expect .So you guys going to catch up with Saban 25 recruits at a time?Actually (expletive) Neal,Saban was competing for a national championship in year 2 at Bama,check your facts Neal while you go on (complaining) about SEC conspiracies.Cry like the baby you are Neal and go buy you some more players while you are at it"
It was so nice to hear from him/her. What a blessing when the second correspondence arrived.
"SUCK IT NEAL,SUCK IT good.HAS ALABAMA BEEN PASSED YET NEAL?WELL HAVE THEY NEAL?Go cry on twitter about that Eddie Jackson penalty NEAL and suck all 12 while you are on twitter.Does your stupid high school coach know that the field goal is even an option in college football.Maybe he should just stick to buying players in South Panola.
Hey NEAL,sock on this one last fact:IT AINT A RIVALRY WHEN ONE TEAM HAS BEATEN ANOTHER 21 OUT OF 23 TIMES!"
So perhaps English isn't a priority in the Alabama public school system. That's OK.
My Twitter account allowed me to catch up with some other old friends from my days in the Heart of Dixie. Oh, how I miss those days. My buddy Josh Boutwell (@BamaBayJosh) reminded me to "change your diaper old man " My pal Joel (@PKbama) read my column on RebelGrove.com and sent me two tweets. One, he informed me that "Saban actually did build this juggernaut overnight. Yr 2 he went 12-0," and then "one day you'll realize, your ole miss. Just like vandy is vandy."
Compelling, insightful stuff.
Then, in case I need legal advice, my old Mobile pal Alabama Attorney (@Ala_Attorney) asked me, "Wait how many points did @NealMcCready say #OleMiss would score v. Bama? #sadpanda"
I do love pandas. Beautiful, powerful creatures.
Then there was my buddy Todd Lee (@jtlee68), who apparently found my tweets humorous. Mr. Lee said, "hahaha! Your bitterness warms my heart. Cries of favoritism are the last grasp for haters that can't compete."
On and on and on it went. I'm forever grateful that I had an opportunity to catch up with so many old friends. Ole Miss plays at Auburn Saturday night, so perhaps I'll get to reunite with more. However, more of the Auburn fans, I've learned, actually graduated from junior high school, so they have at least a little reading comprehension skill ? and a life.
4. I'm not the first person to make this observation, and until the rule changes, I won't be the last. On Saturday, South Carolina safety Brison Williams was flagged for a targeting infraction as a result of his hit on Central Florida wide receiver Jeff Godfrey. Initially, Williams was disqualified from the game. Upon review, replays showed Williams led with his shoulder and hit Godfrey in the shoulder, breaking up Blake Bortles' pass. Williams was allowed to return to the game, but the 15-yard penalty stood.
Later in the day, Alabama's Eddie Jackson was flagged and ejected for his hit on Ole Miss' Evan Engram in the second half of the Tide's win. Again, a review ultimately led to the reversal of the ejection but the upholding of the 15-yard penalty.
I hate the call. It's either a penalty or it isn't. I'm all for eliminating targeting and protecting defenseless players, and helmet-first hits to the head must be eliminated. However, when reviews show the hit was perfectly legal, not only should the disqualification be reversed but the penalty should be also.
I suspect the rule will be changed after the season. It should be changed now, before it impacts a game, a team's bowl hopes or a championship.
5. I got back to my hotel in Birmingham around 12:30 a.m. Sunday, just in time to see most of the fourth quarter of Arizona State's 62-41 shellacking of USC. The Sun Devils were gaining chunks of yardage on virtually every play, and while USC kept fighting on offense, it was obvious Kiffin's tenure with the Trojans was nearing an end.
So I wasn't shocked to learn Sunday morning that USC athletics director Pat Haden met the team's charter flight when it returned to Los Angeles, met with Kiffin for 45 minutes and then relieved him of his duties.
A few thoughts: 1. Once the decision to make a change has been made, one should make it. It's what Ole Miss should have done in 2011 in the hours following the Rebels' embarrassing loss at Vanderbilt. Multiple sources told me late that afternoon that the decision to fire Houston Nutt was made in the waning minutes of that game. By getting the firing out of the way, that distraction is eliminated. Former Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron (more on this in a bit) will serve as USC's head coach on an interim basis for the remainder of the season, but he has as much of a chance at the permanent gig as I. 2. Haden can now get a head start on other schools (hello, Texas) that might be searching for head coaches t the end of the season. Some early names that have popped up include ESPN analyst Jon Gruden, Boise State's Chris Petersen, Washington's Steve Sarkisian, Texas A&M's Kevin Sumlin, Vanderbilt's James Franklin, Northwestern's Pat Fitzgerald and Fresno State's Tim DeRuyter. 3. Southern Cal should be an elite job, but the loss of 30 scholarships is serious stuff. All of those Heismans, the Song Girls, Traveler, the cool fight song, the recognizable uniforms and the Coliseum give the program an aura, but football games are won with football players. Whoever takes the USC job is rebuilding in a tough league with less than a stacked deck.
6. Orgeron met the media Sunday, hours after taking over for Kiffin. Among the things he addressed was what he learned during his miserable tenure at Ole Miss.
"Things like today," Orgeron said. "Speaking to the media. How to handle a team ? some good, some bad. How to react to adverse situations. How to go play LSU and Alabama, at LSU and Alabama in a hostile environment. How to react with the players on the team as a head football coach, not just as a defensive line coach. How to interact and organize recruiting. I feel like I'm prepared for it."
I'm not going to lie; I'm now fascinated by USC football for the next several weeks, in large part because I expect a train wreck to ensue. I want to hear the parodies, giggle at the antics and shake my head in amused bewilderment at the confusion. Then again, a part of me cheers for the guy. It wasn't his fault he got hired at Ole Miss. He took a job he wasn't qualified for and did his best, which wasn't close to enough. I said it in Mobile and got vilified in Oxford at the time, but the people who hired Orgeron were the ones who failed the Ole Miss program.
Orgeron now has an eight-game audition to prove he learned from his errors at Ole Miss. That audition, even if it goes swimmingly, won't land him the permanent gig in Tinseltown but it just might put him on the radar as a head coaching candidate at a mid-major.
7. Sunday marked the end of the Major League Baseball regular season, one that will likely be remembered for Mariano Rivera's emotional retirement as much as anything else. Rookie Yasiel Puig dominated the sport for a couple of months, Ryan Braun was suspended for the final months of the season and Alex Rodriguez's legacy was further tarnished.
There were plenty of bright spots, too, so as baseball prepares for the playoffs, here are my awards:
AL MVP ? Miguel Cabrera, Detroit (I thought about Los Angeles' Mike Trout and Baltimore's Chris Davis, but Carbrera's numbers are historic, and I don't care that his defense is limited.)
AL Cy Young ? Max Scherzer, Detroit (No pitcher has been more dominant in the past two years that Scherzer.)
AL Rookie of the Year ? Wil Myers, Tampa Bay (Without Myers, the Rays wouldn't have made such a strong second-half playoff run.
NL MVP ? Andrew McCutcheon, Pittsburgh (I thought about St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina, but McCutcheon carried the Pirates to their first playoff appearance in two decades.)
NL Cy Young ? Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles (No one else is close.)
NL Rookie of the Year ? Jose Fernandez, Miami (For the longest time, it appeared Puig would walk away with this award. Then Fernandez went 10-6 with a 2.33 earned run average and led the league in hit and strikeout rates.
Some random MLB thoughts:
A. I'm actually excited about Tuesday night's wildcard game between Cincinnati and Pittsburgh at PNC Park. I have a soft spot for the Pirates for reasons I don't completely understand. I love that ballpark, am a big fan of McCutcheon and Pedro Alvarez and think Neal Huntington and Co. have built a winner the right way.
B. The Cleveland Indians will host a wildcard game on Wednesday night. Some say a manager's role is overrated. I'm not sure I agree. I submit Terry Francona as evident to my contrarian argument. The former Red Sox boss took a year off to recharge, resurfaced in Cleveland and led the Indians to the postseason.
C. Congratulations, Atlanta. Before you can get to the NLCS, you have to get through Kershaw, Zack Greinke and Co. in a five-game series. Have fun.
D. The Detroit-Oakland first-round series should be fascinating. The A's lineup just wears down starters, and that's the only way to beat Detroit in a playoff series.
E. I expect the Chicago Cubs will fire Dale Sveum today, a day after published reports out of Chicago said some of the Wrigley Field expansion projects could be put on hold and the team likely won't be aggressive in the free agent market or trade for a veteran starter such as David Price in the offseason. Next season figures to be a rough one on the north side, making me wonder if perhaps the Cubs let Sveum hang around one more season unless Joe Girardi is willing to change the color of his pinstripes from navy to Cubbie blue.
8. NFL observations from Sunday:
A. Poor Eli Manning. The Giants are pitiful, 0-4 after a 31-7 undressing in Kansas City. There's no reason to believe things will get better any time soon. The Giants' offensive line is inept, David Wilson is not the running back the franchise thought he'd be, and the once dominant defensive line is no longer a consistent threat to get to the quarterback.
B. The Giants' Victor Cruz must not be a popular guy around the league. Both Dexter McCluster and Dwayne Bowe mocked Cruz' salsa dance celebration after touchdowns against New York on Sunday.
C. The Houston Texans will remember Sunday. A team with Super Bowl aspirations simply had to defeat Seattle at Reliant Stadium Sunday. Instead, the Seahawks came back from a 20-3 deficit to force overtime and remain undefeated. Pete Carroll's bunch are vulnerable away from Seattle, and the Texans had them on the ropes. Houston couldn't finish the deal, however, and that loss will Gary Kubiak and Co. moving forward.
D. The Pittsburgh Steelers are 0-4. The end of the Mike Tomlin era in the Steel City feels imminent. Tomlin might simply need a change of scenery. A new environment certainly seems to have suited longtime Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid quite well. Reid, now in Kansas
City, has led the Chiefs to a 4-0 start.
E. I love the job the Tennessee Titans had done with quarterback Jake Locker. They had put the former Washington star in position to make plays, simplified things and let him utilize his considerable athleticism. It was a lesson to coaches at all levels. Sometimes less is more. Then Locker went down with a hip injury Sunday, and now his future and the Titans' season is in doubt.
F. Peyton Manning is playing the best football of his career. Right now, he's unstoppable. It's amazing.
G. His replacement in Indianapolis, Andrew Luck, continues to just win. Luck lit up Jacksonville Sunday (I know, I know, Chase Parham could light up the Jaguars), pushing the Colts to 4-0. That Denver-Indianapolis AFC Championship Game is going to be high drama. I'm already planning my menu for that day.
H. I can't wait for tonight's Miami-New Orleans game at the Superdome. A battle of unbeatens on a Monday night in the drunken city? Yes, thank you.
9. Kevin Durant turned 25 on Sunday, a multi-millionaire with three NBA scoring titles, an Olympic gold medal and a new restaurant in along the Bricktown Canal on the way. However, the Oklahoma City Thunder star hasn't been in a celebratory mood recently.
In fact, Durant has been a bit edgy. He got into a feud of sorts with Miami Heat star Dwayne Wade when he said former teammate James Harden and not Wade belonged on a list of the top 10 players in the NBA. Durant and the Thunder opened camp Saturday, drawing precious little respect and attention on the heels of a 60-win season that ended prematurely when all-star point guard Russell Westbrook tore his meniscus in Game 2 of the first round of the playoffs against Houston.
The Thunder are younger this season. Kevin Martin is gone, replaced by Reggie Jackson and Jeremy Lamb. While other teams added via free agency _ Memphis picked up Mike Miller, the Clippers signed J.J. Reddick and Houston signed a big guy named Dwight Howard _ the Thunder sat still.
Durant said he's "really confident" Oklahoma City can win a title anyway.
"We're not going to come in and say, 'We can't win it all. We don't have enough,'" Durant told The Oklahoman. "We're a confident group of guys. We're an experienced group of guys. So, yeah, I think we can."
Durant got bullied in the Thunder's postseason series against Memphis, one the Grizzlies won, 4-1. He responded by adding some bulk and working on his post game. He showed up two hours early for the Thunder's first day of work, another sign he's not content with his spot in hoops' hierarchy. His ability _ or lack thereof _ to put the Thunder on his broader shoulders and carry them to the pinnacle of professional basketball is one of the more interesting storylines of the upcoming NBA season. Some others I'm eager to follow:
A. Lebron James can opt out of his deal with the Miami Heat after this season. Will he? Can he win a third consecutive title? Would he consider returning to Cleveland? Would he move to Los Angeles and become the next face of the Lakers? All of those options are on the table.
B. Doc Rivers has moved from Boston to the Clippers. Can he keep Chris Paul happy? Can he finally get Blake Griffin to remain healthy for the playoffs?
C. Rivers' former players _ Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry _ are joining Darren Williams, Joe Johnson and Co. in Brooklyn under the direction of first-year coach Jason Kidd. Can they stay healthy long enough to knock off the Heat? Can Kidd go straight from the floor to the bench? Can all of those egos get along?
D. Derrick Rose is back from the knee injury that forced him to miss all of last season. Does his presence immediately make the Bulls a contender in the East? There's a common thread here: The Heat's road to the Eastern Conference title is difficult. The Indiana Pacers, who pushed them to a seventh game last season, remain a threat.
E. Can Dwight Howard get along with James Harden? Can the Rockets pick up where they left off a year ago? Can Kevin McHale keep Jeremy Lin and Omar Asik happy? If the answers to the above are yes, the Rockets are a real threat in the West.
F. Is this the end for Kobe Bryant? Can he bounce back from an Achilles injury and the loss of Dwight Howard and will the Lakers into contention or is it time for the Lakers to bid him adieu and search for a new face?
G. Can Golden State build on its playoff run of a year ago?
H. How will Brad Stevens do in his first year in the NBA? Will he do too well? Can he learn the ropes while losing enough to put the Celtics in position to win the lottery and the rights to Kansas star Andrew Wiggins, widely considered to be the next Lebron James-type impact player in the NBA.
I. Demarco Cousins got a big deal in Sacramento recently, leading many NBA insiders to scratch their heads. Will the enigmatic Cousins he play like a franchise player now?
J. Can Kyrie Irving make Cleveland attractive? And when I say attractive, I mean to people such as, I don't know, Lebron James?
10. Two of the most important people in my life celebrate birthdays this week. My mom, Judy McCready, turns 39 again Monday. She's been a supportive, loving presence throughout my life, and one of the real blessings of my return to Oxford has been the chance to spend time with her and for her to get to know my children on a different level than she would've had I remained in south Alabama or elsewhere.
My son, Carson, turns seven Friday. It's almost impossible for me to believe the little man is already seven. Our first two children are girls, and when we found out a third was on the way, I assumed it would be another girl. I was fine with that, too; there are few things in life for a man than being daddy to little girls.
We were at the doctor's office at the Mobile Infirmary getting an ultrasound when the nurse asked if we wanted to know the sex of the baby. I told her I already knew it was a girl.
"I make girls," I told her, and I had no doubt I was right. She said nothing for the next few minutes as she recorded data from the ultrasound. Then the nurse looked me in the eye, smiled and said, "Are you sure?"
I knew immediately it was a boy. My heart literally leapt in my chest. I'm not sure I've ever been more excited. I had dreamed of a boy for years, wondered what he'd look and act like and daydreamed about things we'd do one together one day.
Carson was born early on a Wednesday morning and he's surpassed my every expectation every day since. He's a walking, talking ray of sunshine, always encouraging others, always excited about something, always eager to learn something new.
Happy birthday, big boy. May you have many, many, many more. It's the honor of a lifetime to be your dad.
