"His name is Coach Saban. Not Nick. Not Saban."

I used to throw coach around to people I actually knew well and heard them use the term with their assistant coaches. Just became part of the vernacular. It just sort of depended on the situation. Would never get on my high horse and correct anyone.

The only one that bothered me—but never corrected—was when a coach would call me coach. I'm just some nerd who covers your games, I don't coach anyone. I think there was only one or two guys who would do it.

 

What would happen if we got this guy and Vick The Brick Jacobs in a room and asked them which is the greater team: Bama or Lakers? And how much of the South would be left from the ensuing explosion?

 

Maybe that's an MLB thing. A long time ago, I was a terrified intern who referred to Mike Hargrove as "Coach." The press availability stopped and I got a quick "Don't call me Coach" lecture. Another reporter later pulled me aside and said that managers hate being called "Coach" because there are only 32 managers as opposed to the hundreds and hundreds of coaches out there.

 

I'd actually argue the opposite. I think more people find it acceptable/convenient to refer to coaches in high school as "Coach" than at the college/pro level.

 

The formal way to do it is Nicholas Nikolaevich.
(His dad is Nick Saban Sr.)

 

After seeing some of those tweets from Sports Broadcaster Karle, I'm convinced that if Coach Saban ever mysteriously disappears, we all know who the authorities should go see first.

 

Of course. He’s up on the rooftop with a click, click, click.

 

Oh Lord, Rick Karle. Where do I even begin?

The thing to know about Karle is he’s been in Birmingham forever (started at WBRC in 1989) and he’s always been a clown. But the type of clownishness has evolved over the years.

During the 90s he went all the way in trying to cop the SportsCenter anchor hyperbole, catch phrase bombastic style because that’s what he thought would make him cool and hip. Instead he came across like the public address announcer from a Hanna Barbera cartoon.

A couple of years ago he and the local Fox affiliate finally parted ways, and while he was serving out his non-compete clause off air he reinvented himself via social media as sort of a cornpone Mitch Albom wannabe with schmaltzy stories and a “common sense” truth teller standing up for good ole middle class values. He’s kept it up now after joining the news desk at the local NBC affiliate.

He will not care one whit about the public dragging he’s taking in the national sports media (or from people closer to home actively working the college football beats) because that’s just more grievance porn that his target audience will eat up. It ultimately has very little to do with Saban.

 

Bingo.

 

He was?

 

Wasn't that based mostly on a running joke w/him and Dan Roche?

 

This makes sense. Baseball people are the biggest hardos.