National Champs
The Crimson Tide of the University of Alabama won the 2015 National College Football Championship Monday night with a 45-40 victory over the Clemson Tigers in Glendale, Arizona. This is the fifth national title for coach Nick Saban and his fourth coaching at Alabama. The Tide went 14-1 this season, with only a 43-37 loss to Ole Miss against their record. The game was a high scoring shoot-out with the Tigers being led by sophomore quarterback sensation Deshaun Waters. The Tide was led offensively by Heisman Trophy winning runningback Derrick Henry. The turning point of the game was a successful onside kick by Alabama which took Clemson by surprise and led to the go-ahead score. Coach Saban has always been a fanatic about special teams and it paid off for the Tide in this instance. Alabama currently has possibly the greatest stockpile of talented players in the country.
Nick Saban is 64 years old and has been a football coach since 1974 when he served as a graduate assistant for his alma mater, Kent State. He has coached both college and pro and became a close friend of Bill Belichick while working for him as a defensive coordinator with the Cleveland Browns. He has had five coaching jobs n the NCAA with Toledo, Michigan State, LSU, and Alabama. In the pros, he had a two year term as the Miami Dolphins head coach. Because of his recent success, some media types are now making the claim that Saban is the “greatest college football coach ever.” That’s a really subjective claim. Many sports historians call Alabama Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant the greatest coach ever. Oklahoma Coach Charles “Bud” Wilkinson is another that often comes up. Ohio State’s Woody Hayes is on the list as well. I will give Coach Saban this: He certainly is the greatest college recruiter of his generation. Alabama is a football player factory that turns out NFL playing prospects right and left. Don’t figure Saban to retire anytime soon. He could be coaching for another decade.
Los Angeles Gets an NFL Team
For the first time in over two decades, the football fans of Los Angeles will have a professional football team — perhaps two. The nation’s second largest television market has not had an NFL franchise since 1994 when both the Rams and the Raiders left for what was at the time greener pastures and then new stadiums. The Rams came from Cleveland in 1945 and played at the Los Angeles Colosseum. The Raiders came from Oakland in 1982 and alternated with the Rams at the Colosseum. For 22 years, LA sports have cried and moaned for a team, but the cost to acquire one and build a stadium was cost prohibitive and the proper financial backing couldn’t be found. But this year, all of a sudden, three teams are petitioning to move to the Los Angeles area. The Chargers, the Raiders, and the Rams. The total cost of the move would be about $1.6 billion. Yeah, that figure is right. Stan Kroenke, the real estate tycoon and billionaire owner of the Rams, has been making the most noise and has the bucks to push his initiative, but he may not have the votes from the owners to get the franchise. He also hurt himself with a statement about what a poor sports town St. Louis is. The fans are supportive, but the city doesn’t care about the team. According to him, the city is willing to build a new stadium but not the one that Kroenke wants.
Meanwhile Dean Spanos, who owns the Chargers, has been trying to either get a new stadium in San Diego or move north to LA. He supposedly has the Disney people helping him financially with his team at the center of a new sports entertainment complex that the are planning to build. Spanos has some friends among the owners.
The Raiders, who have fallen on hard times in Oakland, are a team that needs the increased revenue that the City of Los Angeles will provide. The financial plan is a bit vague — along the lines of “if they build it, we will come.” It takes nine votes to pass the necessary amendments to move an NFL franchise. It may happen that nobody has the proper amount of votes. However, the word is that the owners and the television and satellite networks want a deal done. Look for a an NFL team in LA in 2016. With a billion and a half bucks or so.
snicewanger@yahoo.com