Quote of the Week...from Nick Saban

If you want to talk s___ to the other team, join the g-- d---- debate team.       ---Nick Saban

You can fill in the appropriate blanks to get what Alabama head football coach Nick Saban really said in a comment about some of his players to an Alabama website to get the full impact of his barely-repressed anger about competitive athletes...especially those under his authority...who are completely into trash talking their opponents, rivals, and critics.  In the age of Twitter and Facebook, a player no longer needs to wait for an interview in order to make his or her views known, and often on a very immature and insult-laden level.  When I heard of Saban's comment this morning on my MSN newsfeed, I was immediately reminded of how last Saturday our own University of Florida quarterback Feleipe Franks, already in his junior year, couldn't resist turning around on his sideline bench and shouting down some Miami fans.  Franks has a problem about perceiving disrespect, and it seems to pervade every aspect of his game...he's been known to verbally go at it with officials when a call goes against him.  But when players conduct themselves with dignity and focus on what the chain of command on their team is communicating to them instead of distractions from the outside, then they will automatically engender not only a greater sense of personal dignity but also resistance to worrying about being "dissed".  It's a vicious cycle, demanding that others respect you while you retaliate against perceived sleights...real or imagined...by going after others.  It's the complete reversal of the Biblical "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" mantra...unfortunately, our president seems to be suffering from the same problem and is only encouraging others to emulate him through his poor example. Then again, Saban himself could probably benefit by pausing and reflecting on his own sometimes bellicose and undignified behavior toward his perceived adversaries...