the stringers

So it's no secret......I LOVE Coach Croom. He is a great football coach AND a great man. He is just a good ole guy from the South with a genuine heart and a grounded faith. I consider it a blessing to know him and thank God each day that Reed has the opportunity to learn from such an amazing man.

Keven Scarbinky is a columnist in Birmingham that wrote a column about OUR coach after the victory this weekend. It is an article that will make you PROUD to be a BULLDOG. I hope you take a second an read this. ENJOY!

OK, class. We're only going to go over this one more time. Open your dictionaries. Now look up the word "Croom." Go ahead. I'll wait. All right, all right, we don't have all day. This isn't a play under review.
What's that? The word "Croom" isn't in the dictionary? You know why? Because it's not a verb. Or a four-letter word. Not anymore. You do not lose to Mississippi State these days and lose your job. At least Tommy Tuberville, Rich Brooks and Nick Saban hope that's the case. Tuberville, Brooks and Saban are good football coaches, but that's not all they have in common. They all coach teams that will play in bowl games this season. They all coach teams that have been ranked this season.
They all coach teams that were ranked this season when they lost to Mississippi State. And not one of them would trade rosters with Sylvester Croom for all the cowbells in Starkville.
Beat one ranked team as an underdog, and it could be a fluke. Beat a second ranked team as an underdog, and it could be an extraordinary run of good fortune.
Beat three ranked teams in the same season, two of them away from home, and there's no explanation beyond hard work against long odds.
That's why today, more than ever, "Croom" is nothing more and nothing less than a proper noun. It's the proper name of a proud head football coach in the Southeastern Conference.
In a few weeks, it'll be the name of the 2007 SEC coach of the year.
Croom has come a long way in four long years at Mississippi State. He's gone from making Alabama look bad by not hiring him to making Alabama look bad by playing him.
The Crimson Tide can't use probation and sanctions as an excuse after a second straight loss to the Bulldogs. Croom inherited probation and sanctions himself in Starkville, without a rich tradition to help overcome those problems.
Consider that his alma mater can boast of 12 national championships. His employer can boast of 12 bowl teams.
Don't laugh. Six of State's bowl teams actually won their bowl games.
Unlike its 24-16 loss to Mississippi State last year, Alabama can't blame Saturday's 17-12 defeat on Mike Shula. In some ways, this loss under Saban was worse.
Last year, Alabama lost with a first-year starter at quarterback to a State team with a second-year starter under center.
This year, Alabama lost with a second-year starter at quarterback - who's regressing under the new regime - to a true freshman at the wheel.
Not to mention, after losing to State last year, Alabama should've had all the motivation it needed to even the score, especially for a master psychologist like Saban. Instead, the Tide now has active multi-year losing streaks to three of its five SEC West rivals.
Four years of grinding across the state line have made one thing more obvious than ever. Alabama hired the wrong man in 2003.
The Bullies have lost a lot of games the last four seasons without losing their way, without losing faith and hope in their head coach.
In that way, Mississippi State is the school that got Croomed.
Lucky Dogs.

Kevin Scarbinsky's column appears Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Write him at kscarbinsky@bhamnews.com.