• Clang! Clang! Clang! Bama's still unbeaten
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Hello... hello ... hello ...

• Love, faith weather storm
Their memories of the day are little different from most. They recall how the sky had grown an ominous black. Rain was falling in sheets. There was an eerie feeling.

• Hawkeye Herron:Big Ten still lags
But Iowa grad turned Vipers assistant says facilities catching up

• SEC ref rises above the fray
The way it started, Marc Curles' sister's college roommate at Mercer was the daughter of Ned Wilford, a Southeastern Conference football official. Wilford got them tickets for the 1987 Auburn-Georgia game.

• College replay should go NFL's way
A disclaimer: I am a retired football official.

• Riding 'Highway 8' to victory
TUSCALOOSA - Come on down to the sideline. Let's take a stroll.

• Saban's winning formula starts with being the ultimate salesman
TUSCALOOSA - The man in the life-sized cutout in the convenience story window implores you to buy a certain soft drink.

• This much more than Saban Bowl
TUSCALOOSA - Javier Arenas, always the most irrepressible of the Alabama football players, was surrounded by a huddle of sports writers on Monday.

• SEC too soft on Spikes 'suspension'
Oregon running back LeGarrette Blount sucker-punched a Boise State player after a tough loss, then he tried to attack taunting fans. Chip Kelly, Oregon's rookie head coach, immediately suspended Blount for the season.

• A problem with 'Dega
TALLADEGA - It wasn't The Big One.

• Secret plan works to perfection
BIRMINGHAM - Now here's a guy who can keep a secret. It's Alabama A&M coach Anthony Jones.

• 'Old man' a bum rap for Martin
TALLADEGA - The small, wrinkled old man sat in a folding chair under a hat with a "Pop Tarts" logo. A banner behind him kicked up its heels in the mid-day wind.

• This Kurt Busch guy is all right
Once controversial, NASCAR driver now bettering his reputation

• A truly Classic rivalry
Anthony Jones has played in the Super Bowl. But even something of that magnitude, it's nothing like the Magic City Classic.

• Ending proceeds straight to legend
TUSCALOOSA - This wasn't a game. It was another chapter.

• Who knew Martians could play basketball?
SEC's three new hoops coaches enter new world with new players

• Chargers' ' No. 1 fan'? That's a slam dunk
Oh, how she hated to lose. It just tore her up. She had as much invested emotionally as the players and coaches.