SEC Sports Fan

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

The Best Sports Blog

Check out this awesome site --- The Best Sports Blog. The latest post is interesting if you are into the NFL. It lists the Top Projected Tight Ends in the 2011 NFL Draft.

# posted by Mo Johnson @ 5:55 PM 0 comments

Thursday, February 04, 2010

peyton manning best football player ever?

with the super bowl in 3 days, check out Peyton Manning Best Pro Football Player in History for your answer.

Former Tennessee QB -- so, what's good for Peyton manning is great for UT and the SEC. Go Colts!!

Labels: best all time football player, peyton manning, super bowl

# posted by Mo Johnson @ 9:28 AM 2 comments

New SEC Sports Fan Twitter and Facebook Pages

Check out the new SEC Sports Fan Twitter and Facebook pages:

Twitter SEC Sports Fan

SEC Sports Fan Facebook.

You also might be interested in a great new sports website. The url is Best All Time Sports. The name says it all. Fans talking about who they think is the best all time player, team, conference, coach, etc -- in every sport! Cool site, check it out.

Also, Best All Time has twitter and facebook pages at:

Twitter: Best Sports Ever and
Facebook: Best All Time Sports.

Labels: NCAA sports, olympic sports, pro sports, SEC sports

# posted by Mo Johnson @ 9:18 AM 0 comments

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Alabama vs Texas

Check out this Alabama vs Texas Preview.

Great picture of 1926 National Championship Game -- bama's first!

# posted by Mo Johnson @ 7:38 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

new sec fan store

If looking for fan merchandise or gear for an SEC school, check out SEC Merchandise and Fan Gear at SEC Talk.

# posted by Mo Johnson @ 6:22 AM 0 comments

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

Best All-Time NCAA Football Team

As the calendar page turns to August, the thoughts of sports fans across the country turn to College Football.

And, why not. With the scandals rocking pretty much every other sport – College Football stands out for its good, clean competition. It’s epitomizes what sports should be all about.

Of course, the various National Polls are coming out with their opinions of who is the Number 1 college football team in the land. And that controversial issue will be debated around thousands of water coolers for the next five months at least.

Before we get into the frenzy of the college football season (I can’t wait), this might be a good time to take a step back and dispassionately explore the topic of which was the best college football team in history.

Certainly, which was the best team ever is a debatable issue. But, as an SEC fan, I have a strong opinion. And, I think the answer is easy:

The 1961 Alabama Crimson Tide was the best college football team ever.

The team was led by the legendary coach Paul “Bear” Bryant. Of course the “Bear” ultimately became, perhaps, the best college football coach ever. Among many accomplishments, his teams won fifteen Southeastern Conference (SEC) championships and six National Championships.

But, his 1961 team was the first. Five more National Championship teams would follow in its footsteps. But, the 1961 team blazed the trail for the rest.

The 1961 Alabama Crimson Tide went an undefeated (11-0) and was crowned the undisputed National Champion. With the numerous national polls, at the time, it was very unusual to finish the season as the “undisputed” National Champ. The ’61 Crimson Tide did it.

But, the really amazing thing about that team was its defense. It outscored its opponents 297 – 25! No one scored more than 7 points against the ’61 Crimson Tide defense and, in fact, six opponents failed to score at all. They beat Tennessee 34-3 and ended the season by beating Arkansas 10-3 in the Sugar Bowl.

The team was led by offensive lineman Billy Neighbors and linebacker Lee Roy Jordan (both in the College Football Hall of Fame); as well as QB Pat Trammell (Heisman Trophy finalist).

Considering the legend of Bear Bryant; the undefeated record; the undisputed national championship; the amazing defense; the fact they were “the first” in a long line of Alabama champions – it’s easy to see why the 1961 Alabama Crimson Tide was the best team in college football history.

See you at the water cooler.

For more about this check out Best All-Time NCAA College Football Team. You might also be interested in reading about the Best All-Time NCAA College Football Coach.

# posted by Mo Johnson @ 2:52 PM 4 comments

Sunday, July 22, 2007

# posted by Mo Johnson @ 6:48 PM 0 comments

Monday, May 21, 2007

SEC Softball -- Moving Up!

The PAC-10 has long been the dominant conference the world of college softball. PAC-10 schools have won the Division I College Softball Championship 7 of the past 10 years and 16 of the past 20. In fact, PAC-10 schools won it all ten straight years between 1988 and 1997! Since 1982, either UCLA (11) or Arizona (7) has won the NCAA tournament 18 times. Arizona was the 2006 NCAA Softball Champion. And, Arizona is the top ranked team going into this years' NCAA tournament.

But, college softball is not what it used to be. The SEC only started fielding Division I softball teams ten years ago. Yet, two weeks ago, SEC teams were the top three ranked teams in the nation. The national rankings were:

Tennessee Volunteers (53-4)
Alabama Crimson Tide (50-6)
LSU Tigers (49-10)

Rankings shuffled a bit after LSU won the SEC tournament (and Tennessee and Alabama lost). In any event, it is clear that SEC Softball has arrived!

The SEC had seven teams selected for the NCAA tournament this year. This was second only to the PAC-10's eight. It will be interesting to see how the tournament plays out.

The reason the SEC has become a softball power is the same reason it succeeds in most sports. The reason is that SEC schools have committed serious resources to the sport. By "resources" I mostly mean money.

Tennessee, Alabama, LSU (and other SEC schools) have poured millions into new softball facilities, coaches, recruiting and scholarships. The SEC plays to win and it has the money to make sure it wins.

Many of the SEC's top softball coaches and players are transplants from California. This includes, for instance, Tennessee softball coaches Ralph and Karen Weekly and star pitcher Monica Abbott. Abbott leads the NCAA in career strikeouts, shutouts and wins.

The commitment of SEC schools is particularly impressive because none of the softball programs in the SEC makes money. They are all money losers. In the end, it is the profit from SEC football, that provides the money so SEC schools can invest in sports like softball.

Certainly there is real value in having winning athletic programs – even if they don't make money. That winning image translates in many other areas to make each SEC school a better place for students, alumni, and fans.

In the end, of course, it is the fans who are really responsible for the greatness of SEC sports – including softball. Why? It is the fans who contribute money to athletic departments; buy tickets and merchandise; watch the games on TV and radio; and, read articles in various media, etc. All of this results in revenue for SEC athletic programs as well as increased exposure. The result is a circular process of better facilities, more scholarships, better recruits; resulting in more wins, more fans, more money, and round and round we go….

To read more about SEC softball, go to SEC Softball. To find out why the SEC is the best college sports conference in America, check out Best College Sports Conference.

Labels: College Softball, NCAA sports, Pac 10 vs SEC Softball, SEC sports, Southeastern Conference Football

# posted by Mo Johnson @ 8:13 AM 0 comments