15 Thoughts Following an Unbelievable Weekend in Sports: All Things CW

Even though the Alabama football team has barely opened practices for the Sugar Bowl, it's been a wild few days.

The All Things CW notes column by Christopher Walsh will appear in five parts this week, one each day. This is ...

Take 1

Initially, this space was going to offer some reflection on the death of Mississippi State coach Mike Leach, but somehow I think he would have really enjoyed what's been going in sports over the past few days. So we'll postpone the "Swing your sword" talk for one more day except with the item at the end. 

After all, this was the person who when asked, "How do you want to be remembered?” answered to ESPN: "What do I care? I’m dead."

With that, here are 15 things we're thinking just two days before the Early Signing Period in football recruiting, and the beginning of Christmas week: 

1) Yes, like most Crimson Tide fans I'm stunned that Alabama hasn't had any opt-outs for the Kansas State game. The last two times the Crimson Tide played in a Sugar Bowl that didn't have anything to do with the national title picture, the team didn't exactly play like it wanted to be there facing either Oklahoma or Utah. It speaks volumes about Bryce Young and Will Anderson Jr. especially, as they could potentially go 1-2 in the 2023 NFL Draft. 

2) Here's how important bowl games can be: That 2014 loss to the Sooners was when the light went on with a freshman running back named Derrick Henry. After being plugged in, Henry led the team in rushing, rushing for 100 yards on eight carries and a 43-yard touchdown, and also turned a short pass into a 61-yard touchdown. 

3) That the Crimson Tide's team leaders are all playing in the Sugar Bowl, and Alabama has had 15 players transfer out, makes it obvious that there was either a division on the team, or just not everyone was on board. History will be the judge, but we already know which way they'll be judged.   

4) Say what you will about Qatar, and how it never should have hosted the World Cup, the final was nothing short of phenomenal. I've never seen a game in which both sides simply shed tears after it was over. 

5) Someday I hope I get the chance to ask former Crimson Tide defensive lineman Dalvin Tomlinson about what it was like to be part of the biggest comeback in NFL history. 

6) Someday I hope Patriots quarterback Mac Jones can laugh about this. 

And finally... potentially the most unbelievable ending to a game ever.

MADNESS IN LAS VEGAS. @Raiders pic.twitter.com/cmKNUuab1k

— NFL (@NFL) December 19, 2022

7) If I'm running back Brian Robinson Jr., I'm flat-out mad about this:

Just seeing this for the first time and it's jaw-dropping.

Making it worse is it literally changed the outcome of a game. https://t.co/4xSeIbkmNI

— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) December 19, 2022

8) A mark of a good team is when it takes something extreme to happen for it to lose. Alabama football has been that way for years, and now it's true of men's basketball this season. Gonzaga shot 74 percent in the second half, and 57 percent against the Crimson Tide, which even after giving up 100 points in the game is still No. 21st defensively according to KenPom.

9) Coaches never like to talk about a "good loss," but they know how to use it to their advantage. Think Nate Oats is talking a lot about turnovers this week? Even if Alabama only gets a little better in this area it'll be in the running for the SEC title. 

10) Alabama's going to have to make some adjustments after losing guard Nimari Burnett to a wrist injury, but here are three points of optimism about the Crimson Tide heading into league play next week: guard Jahvon Quinerly has only played nine games with his new teammates after coming off a knee injury, forward Brandon Miller's 36 points are the most by a Division I freshman this season, and the roster is deep, including players like Charles Bediako and Noah Clowney.

Alabama became the first team since the 1965-66 season to beat two teams ranked No. 1 (North Carolina on Nov. 27 and Houston on Dec. 10) before New Year’s Day, and yet is still coming together. In short, this young team's potential is enormous. 

11) Alabama's biggest moment over the weekend may have happened behind the scenes. Prize offensive line prospect Kadyn Proctor made an unofficial visit to Tuscaloosa and there's a lot of speculation that he might flip his commitment at the last moment from Iowa. 

One has to wonder if all the offensive line transfers inadvertently made Proctor think twice about the Crimson Tide.  

12) Let there be no doubt what the NCAA considers its top priority, and to the surprise of no one it's not the students. By naming Charlie Baker, the former Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (yes, like Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, it calls itself a commonwealth and not a state. The distinction is in name alone), as the organization's president, it's to lobby Congress for an antitrust exemption. He's in for a very tough fight. 

14) Opendorse has compiled an “NIL Book” that has earning expectations for college athletes. It's also a guide for collectives on how much a player will cost. 

Here's what Ohio State coach Ryan Day had to say about NIL last week: “It was never part of the conversation, then it became part of the conversation, and it's trending towards being the conversation for a lot of folks. So just as time has gone on, it's become more and more of a priority for folks. And so navigating those times and adapting is important. [...] But I will say, there are times where you ask that question, ‘What are we doing?’ I'll just leave it at that right now.” 

Day had previously stated that he thought the Buckeyes needed $13 million to compete at the highest level: "That's the goal. I mean, that has to be it. And, you know, we're all in." 

Regardless, athletes have already been reduced to essentially 'blue book" value, and recruiting to a price tag. 

14) Speaking of price tags, on Friday it was revealed that Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts gave his entire offensive line (including Landon Dickerson), reserves and even those on the practice squad, Louis Vuitton travel bags as holiday gifts.

We're a long ways away from Dan Marino doing ads for Isotoner gloves and saying "Protect the hands that protect you" in the late 1980s. They go for $20-$60 nowadays. If he got the Keepall Bandoulière 45 model, they go for $3,700 each.

Dickerson, you may remember, once bolted a block of wood to the front of his truck. We can't wait to hear what he uses the bag for.  

15) Leach Tribute: The Mississippi State coach passed away one week ago today, at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Mississippi, following complications from a heart condition. He was 61.

Mississippi State will host a public memorial service honoring his life at 1 p.m. CT on Tuesday, inside Humphrey Coliseum. It will be streamed live on SEC Network and on SECN+.

See Also: 

Why Alabama's Two-Highest Rated Draft Prospects Aren't Worrying About Injuries in Sugar Bowl

Young, Anderson Jr. Playing in Sugar Bowl is Important to Saban, College Football

What Nick Saban Said After Alabama's First Sugar Bowl Practice

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