Luchabama: The Alabama Crimson Tide Are Your 2010 National Champions

Texas made this a dog fight, no dobut about that, and the game was a lot closer than the 37-21 final score will indicate, but in the end, the Alabama Crimson Tide are your BCS National Champions.

Nick Saban coached a simply deplorable game calling random fake punts in the beginning of the game, playing way too conservative in the 2nd half of the game, and yet, they still won. Why's that? Because Texas was stupider all season. They had a chance throughout the year in their blowout wins to put Garrett Gilbert in the game and give him a chance to work with the 1st team offense in case a crises would occur at the worst time for the Longhorns and they needed him. Well when Colt McCoy went down with a shoulder injury early in the 1st quarter of the National Championship game, they needed Garrett Gilbert. And make no mistake about it, the kid grew up before our eyes. But the Texas coaches, Mack Brown and Greg Davis were way too conservative when he first came in the game and it took all the momentum away that Texas had from building up an early 6-0 led.

Gilbert grew up in this game. He learned as he went along and had Texas within 3 with under 3 minutes left in the National Championship game after being down by 18. He played his heart out, but the Alabama defense, after being held to 0 sacks all game long by an O-Line that was holier than most churches in the Big XII championship game, exploded. They brought the blitz, it got to Giblert who was facing the other way, a fumble was forced, Bama recovered, and they were then well on their way to their first national championship since 1992.

Alabama played very conservative in the 2nd half. They allowed Texas to get back in the game. And Texas eventually took advantage of those opportunities, but when push came to shove at the end, it was Nick Saban, Alabama, and the Crimson Tide, that emerged victorious in a very odd National Championship game.

If ever there was a year of the favorite, this was it. Often times, it looked like a major underdog was on the verge of the upset only to have the favorite pull out in the end. This game, was a microcosm of the season. You had the ultimate underdog in Garrett Gilbert going for one of the most improbable comeback in college football history, and was one drive away from getting the job done.

Both sides made horrible mistakes during the game. Both coaches at times were conservative when they should have been aggressive and aggressive when they should have been conservative. Officials missed penalties on both sides of the ball and called nonexistent penalties on both sides of the ball. This was not the prettiest or most beautiful game of football that you will ever see, but it was oddly entertaining in the beginning and in the end with a slight lull in the middle and it was a national championship game. So like it or hate it, and believe me, I don't blame you at all if you hate it, but Nick Saban is once again a National Champion in college football and the Alabama Crimson Tide, for the first time since 1992, have taken college football's title.

BCS National Championship Game Live Blog

is over here. See you there!

Last Night Was Quite The Night For Ryan Howard And Austin Wood...

We were missing all of the action last night as we took in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals. That is not where the epic took place as that was reserved for Philadelphia and Austin, Texas where in Philly, Ryan Howard hit a triple decker grand slam and in Austin, well, if you have not heard about it already, you won't believe what happened there. First off, here's Ryan Howard being the 2nd person to ever hit a triple deck home run (and this a grand slam as well) in Citizens Bank Park (Howard was also the first).



But that video and that feat is easily topped by the performance by Austin Wood. Don't know who he is? Well, that should come as no surprise as he is a relief pitcher for the Texas Longhorns. So why am I documenting him here? Because last night he pitched 13 innings, which 12.5 of which he went without letting up a hit! Wait, he played 13 innings in relief??? Well that fact is easily explained by the fact that the Texas-BC game last night went 25 INNINGS!!!!! It was the longest game in NCAA history. The game started at 7:02 PM ET and ended at 2:05 in the morning. For those that are not math majors, that is 7 hours and 3 minutes! Wood's effort was not in vain, though, as in the top of the 25th inning, Travis Tucker hit an RBI single that would prove to be the difference in the game as the Longhorns would hold on in the bottom of the 25th and win it 3-2. Here's an interview with Austin Wood.



Just incredible. And if Boston College defeats Army later today (could you imagine playing one day after you played a 25-inning game) they would face Texas again tonight! Could you imagine that??? My best goes out to both teams for just an incredible effort and I have found the 2 horses I am pulling for in this year's College World Series. After the Syracuse-UConn 6 OT marathon,, I read a quote somewhere that I am about to paraphrase here as I don't recall where I read it was that I read it, but he said there are times amd games in sports where it is no longer just a game but more of a test of human will and endurance. And if that does not describe the performance of both teams, and in particular Austin Wood who had the night of his life and then some last night, then I don't know what can.

Texas tops Boston College in 25 innings (ESPN.com)