McClain a finalist for Butkus Award

A day after being snubbed in the finalist selections for the Bronko Nagurski Award, Rolando McClain made the final cut for the Butkus Award. The Decatur product has been considered a favorite to win the award presented to the nation's best linebacker pretty much all season.

The other finalists include Sergia Kindle (Texas), Eric Norwood (South Carolina), Brandon Spikes (Florida) and Sean Weatherspoon (Missouri).

That's an interesting group because if Alabama beats Florida in the SEC title game and Texas makes the BCS championship, Alabama would see all but Weatherspoon this season. Just a thought.

Cody a finalist for another award

Back to football, there is more postseason award news to report.

Nose tackle Terrence Cody landed on the list of finalists for the Bronko Nagurski Award released Friday.

He’s one of five still in the running for the honor presented to the nation’s top defensive player. Other finalists include Iowa linebacker Pat Angerer, Tennessee strong safety Eric Berry, TCU defensive end Jerry Hughes and Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh.

Rolando McClain was also considered, but fell short of the final cut.

Springsteen: Best show ever

Again, I apologize for the self-indulgence, but here goes. Let me just say Bruce Springsteen is one heckuva athlete. For three non-stop hours last night in Nashville, The Boss delivered. In my mind, it was iconic.

At 60 years young, Springsteen had the energy of an 8-year-old after plowing throw six bags of pure sugar. He just has a way of making each and every member of a 14,000-member audience feel like it's a one-on-one show. So many of these self-absorbed "rock stars" of today would never let a fan reach out and touch him, but Bruce (we're on a first-name level) actually crowd surfed his way from one stage to another. (See video of the act I show below).

In all honestly, I feel bad for those who don't appreciate his music and his concert domination. It is way too hard to explain, because if you don't understand already, it's almost impossible to put it into words. Just check out a few clips of last night's show here, here and here. And check out my video of the crowd surfing Springsteen below.

Springsteen-bound sports writer

I am sorry, but this will be the only posting on the blog today. This sports writer is Bruce Springsteen-bound. The Boss is playing tonight in Nashville, and I'm headed north to see the greatest band in the world.

Yeah, I said it and 100 percent believe it.

So, unless news breaks, this will be it from me today. Have a good one and expect a full report tomorrow.

Tide basketball player suspended

We're 17 minutes from tipoff in Coleman Coliseum and writers were just handed a news release from media relations. Starting guard Anthony Brock was suspended from the team "indefinitely" for a violation of team rules.

Coach Anthony Grant's statement: "While we are disappointed in the choices that Anthony made to warrant this suspension, we remain committed to instilling the discipline and commitment to do what is right and in the best interest of each our players and our program as a whole."

That leaves 10 players healthy and available to play tonight against Jackson State. Senario Hillman replaced him in the starting lineup.

Video: Quick clip from Tuesday practice

Here is a quick video captured on my point-and-shoot camera of the tight ends catching passes in Tuesday's practice. The excitement will overwhelm you.

Chattanooga coach speaks frankly

There is no denying the challenge FCS Chattanooga faces Saturday in Bryant-Denny Stadium is daunting. To be honest, it's almost cruel.

First-year Moc coach Russ Huesman said it best on today's Southern Conference teleconference. After running through the laundry list of Crimson Tide strengths and hurdles to overcome, he let out a sigh and said the following:

“This is going to be a hard one. We all know it. You know it. Everyone knows it. We’re playing a great football team."

If you want to hear the whole tape, click here.

McClain, Ingram among 15 alive for Camp Award

The Walter Camp Award just released a list of 15 "players to watch." Among the elite were Alabama's Mark Ingram and Rolando McClain. The five finalists will be named Dec. 2 and the winner's announcement will come on the 6 p.m. SportsCenter on Dec. 10.

And now, the list of 15 to keep an eye on:

Toby Gerhart, Senior, RB, Stanford - 1,395 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns
Mardy Gilyard, Senior, WR, Cincinnati – Averaging over 180 all-purpose yardage a game
Jerry Hughes, Senior, DL, TCU – 13 tackles for loss and 10.5 sacks
Mark Ingram, Soph., RB, Alabama – 1,297 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns
Case Keenum, Junior, QB, Houston – Leads nation with 4,194 passing yards and 31 touchdowns
Dion Lewis, Freshman, RB, Pittsburgh – 1,291 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns
Rolando McClain, Junior, LB, Alabama – 77 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 3 sacks and 2 interceptions
Colt McCoy, Senior, QB, Texas – Completing 72.3% of passes for 2,792 yards and 19 touchdowns
Kellen Moore, Soph., QB, Boise State – Leads nation with 172.49 passing efficiency
Jacquizz Rodgers, Soph., RB, Oregon State – 1,545 rushing & receiving yards and 18 touchdowns
Jordan Shipley, Senior WR, Texas – 81 receptions for 1,096 yards and 8 touchdowns
C.J. Spiller, Senior, WR/KR, Clemson – Averaging 195.2 all-purpose yards a game
Ndamukong Suh, Senior, DT, Nebraska – 14 QB hurries, 11 tackles for loss, 8 pass breakups and 5 sacks
Golden Tate, Junior, WR, Notre Dame – 1,174 receiving yards and 14 total touchdowns
Tim Tebow, Senior, QB, Florida – Has passed for 10 touchdowns and rushed for 12 more

Cornell hoopster: 'Bama win big, crowd weak

The New York Times college sports blog "The Quad" features interesting reading for Alabama basketball fans. Cornell basketball player Jon Jaques does a player blog about the season and his most recent entry deals with the team's win at Alabama on Saturday.

In the posting that went up Monday, he called the 71-67 win "signature" since it came over a big-name program.

He has less praise for the game day atmosphere in Coleman Coliseum and is not the biggest fan of "Sweet Home Alabama" or at least its repetition.

To read all of his thoughts, follow this link to the blog.

Video and updated stadium expansion pictures

From Monday afternoon's practice, check out this video of linebacker's coach Sal Sunseri working with his players. It's always fun watching him operate.



And for updated pictures of the Bryant-Denny Stadium south end zone expansion taken this afternoon, check out the album dedicated to the project.

Track expansion progress here

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Nick Saban didn't speak for a full minute Monday afternoon before the word he'd go on to repeat several more times in his weekly news conference. Respect. He has it for FCS Chattanooga and he made it clear that was the only team he'd discuss.

Auburn? Florida? Both were off limits for now.

"There won't be anything that anybody remembers about this season if we didn't have success against a team like this," he said. "You can ask me all the questions about it, but that's the answer to the question right there."

For the record, nobody asked anything. He was still in the opening statement when those sentences came out.

Other highlights:

• Linebacker Eryk Anders has a sprained ankle and will take it easy in practice for the next few days.
• The team caught an early screening of "The Back Side" on Friday night and gave their head coach his fair share of ribbing for his cameo role. Read more later in the week.
• Also expect more about senior class later in the week as they prepare for final home game.
  

Ingram for Heisman (unofficial) campaign heats up

It doesn't appear as if the university is launching a Web site to push the Mark Ingram for Heisman Trophy movement. That's OK, though. A few fans have launched their own. Check them out.

endthedrought.com is rather professional looking for a non-profit site. The focus is on ending Alabama's streak without a Heisman winner that spans the entire history of the program. Not a bad looking site at all.

ingramforheisman.com appears to use the same publishing site the Bama Blog uses. It's not fancy, but it gets the point across. This guy likes Ingram, and he wants to see him strike a pose this December. See an interview he did here.

You could also buy stickers and t-shirts or a bumper sticker to support Ingram although none will do much to influence voters.

Check out YouTube videos made by fans here, here and here.