OFFICIALS AND DEFENSE GET THE JOB DONE FOR FLORIDA ...

      I don't want to take anything away from Florida. They played well in spots, and great in others. They also had that hidden ace up their sleeve. One again the visiting team got jobbed by the officials. I'm not sure if this game or LSU was more blatant. Despite the many horrible calls against the Tide, it was 2 bad calls for charges that really killed the Crimson. Both would have been possible three point plays. I just got through watching replay of those 2 calls. They were beyond bad. Two clear blocks take away to made baskets.  I've said before and I'll say it again. College officials cheat. They know that a 26-10 free throw differential is impossible. Billy Donovan knows it, Grant knows it, and we all know it. The beat goes on. Will anyone ever have the guts to put it to an end. You can say I'll overly biased. That might be true. But none of what I said was a lie.

      In the last two games where the Tide was on the road the home team shot 63 free throws and Alabama shot 29. In the second half  of the  LSU game we shoot 3 and they shoot 21?Despite the inequity of these games had the Tide made the ones they got to shoot they might have won both games. No doubt the LSU game would have been different. I was thinking about Alabama missing 6 free throws in today's game and thought when the Florida led 56-50 how much those misses meant. I'm not saying Florida wasn't a better team. They clearly are better on the inside. All I'm saying is that two defensive minded teams cannot have a foul differential that far apart. It probably cost us a ticket to the NCAA Tournament. Perhaps not, but the odd are getting slim. The shame of today's game and a lot of games is that the SEC allows it to happen. There should be not rule that will not allow a coach to say  "we got cheated by the refs today." That is freedom of speech. The reason that rule exists is because officials and conferences don't want any of this to change. It's all about revenue and television. It is about turning a blind eye to an open wound that hurts the integrity of the sport.

      I have to admire the way we played today. There is no better point guard in American than Trevor Releford. He is one of a kind. His body control around the baskets on contested shots around the hoop is the best I've ever seen at any level. He should be a First Team All-American. He might be lucky enough to make second team All-SEC. His late season surge might bump him to the top in the conference. I hope you all noticed what I saw today. As long as Alabama was able to cobble together an inside game we had a chance win, and were in fact winning. All of these droughts in scoring are caused by the defenses which can overplay the passing lanes. That's because the Tide's inside game can be  disregarded. Man, I love the heart and competitiveness of this team. People can criticise them and and the coach. They aren't beyond criticism, but if you sit in the O Dome and see the differnce in their bigs and our bigs you have to admire both the players and our coach. Next season, assuming we get a decent inside player, and this team wins over 25 games I won't be surprised. Not one small bit. Now let's go to Oxford and hope the third road game is a charm. I'll bet you my last dollar that Grant is all over Slive's office about the crap that has gone on in the last two games. My bet is we get a fairer shake in Oxford. Now we can all stand together in our desire to beat Johnny Reb, and keep Henderson's neo-nazi mouth shut. Roll Tide.