How embarassing ...

It seems Alabama fans united that Grant should go...

      I cannot tell you how saddened and surprised I am at Anthony's Grant failure to elevate the program at Alabama. No one fought harder to get this man to Alabama. I did radio shows with Paul Finebaum, talked with Coach Moore, and lobbied in anyway I could to try to convince fans and UA officials to consider Grant. When we hired him I thought we had found another Wimp. This would be the man who might take us to the promised land. I was wrong. I am very sadly wrong. There might be many of you that love Alabama basketball as much as me. None of you love it more. I doubt that any of you have seen as many games I have have or enjoyed the close contact with the program afforded to me for my loyalty. Last night was the absolute worst showing I've ever seen a Tide team play. David Hobbs got beat like a dog at Auburn, but that was a great AU team.  We got beat by a bunch who might be named the most likely not to succeed in the SEC. Not only did we get beat but we got our manhood taken away. We played as bad as we could play and Auburn played good basketball. But they didn't play great. That is what bothers me most. We got blasted by a bad team. The term humiliated comes to mind. I was even more upset by Grant's explanation of what happened. If you can't get your team ready to play their arch rival it's the fault of the coach. Period. I think that Releford and Hale were ready. No one else was. So it is with those feelings I express the following.

     Anthony, its time to leave. You don't deserve another season.  Enough is enough. I'd really like for you to not coach to the end of the year. I don't want you coaching the next tip-off. I want you to apologize and leave. We held up our end of the bargain. You were unable to hold up your part. That happens to all of us. But please, please, don't hang around and destroy what is left of our program. Take your money and leave. Negotiate a realistic buyout based on your history as coach and go quietly into that good night. I'm not asking you to whimper as the poet said, but please don't rage about your failure. You might win a national championship at another school. Take that good character, immaculate good taste in dressing, and turn in your resignation. Don't hang around for your a final fling. No one hates you. You are well liked and no ones thinks you have done anything more than not being able to succeed. No one thinks you have one bit of quit in you. A lot of us think that it is time to recognize that this hasn't worked. We are not asking you to be a quitter. You can still coach and you can get a good job somewhere else if you don't drag this out. You are a fine man and good coach, but not good for Alabama. 

     What happened at Auburn is just too much to endure as a fan. You can talk about Auburn's energy. I want to talk about our energy. You can talk about the Tiger's focus. I want you to talk about your focus and our team's focus. You owe this fan base an apology. Apology is good for the soul. It might be good for your future as well. I've seen a lot more basketball games at Alabama than you ever will see. What has happened to this program is a crying shame. I just don't think you can sell our program in the future. You might be guaranteed another year, and you might even have a little more success, but it is what it is, and it isn't pretty. Last night in Auburn we quit. We played a zone until the Tigers got so far ahead we couldn't catch up. We have stopped playing defense with any intensity. We have recruited no inside players, we have recruited no pure shooters in an era when great shooting is important. I'm not talking about next season. I'm talking about the here and now. You know that if you get another season I'll be there cheering on our team. You've lost control of the ship. The rudder is broken. The longer you stay the possibility of more damage occurs. The only way we can go to the NCAA tournament is through ticketmaster. I've had enough. I've seen well over a thousand Alabama games. It has never been this bad. It wasn't this bad when David Hobbs had AntonioMcDyess to expectantly go pro. We have had losing seasons but we have not had any truly embarrassing season. 

    I don't really expect you to leave right now. But how about we find some middle ground. How about taking those 2000 dollar Armani suits and wear a sweater. How about talking with the kids who come rain or shine to support their fellow students. How about acting like a man who cares about his team, his school, and his fan base. If you are going to stay at least care like you have some passing interest in the entire program. I didn't think we'd win last night, and I thought it might be pretty bad, but I never deamed it would be what we saw. You said in the press conference you have to accept what happened and move on. Are you serious? I understand what you meant, but I also think you dodged personal reponsiblity once again. 

The views expressed in this column are not necessarily the views of any web site or individual. I want to make that clear. These are my views.