Catchin' Up

Hello there, boys and girls.

After a loooooonnngggg absence here on the blog, I am back. Apologies to you all, but I had some other matters to address that limited my time for posting. Those are now out of the way for the time being, so I'm back to handle business.

First up: The Beat My Dog Bracket Contest.

You people, and that includes me, should all be ashamed. Oscar, my genius yellow Lab, finished ahead of most of the field, landing in sixth place. He was the only participant to have Butler in the finals.

So, like I have long maintained, picking the NCAA Tournament is nothing more than a crap shoot. So much so that a dog who has no idea he's making picks can manage to do better than most people.

Second up: Dont'a Hightower

I had a nice chat by phone with the Alabama junior-to-be linebacker on Tuesday afternoon. He's what you might refer to as a "no-nonsense" kind of guy. He's not mean or nasty -- in fact, just the opposite. But he doesn't doddle, either. His answers are quick and concise, as you saw in the story which ran in today's Montgomery Advertiser.

One of my main reasons for talking with Hightower, however, wasn't covered in that story. There seems to be a feeling that the 2010 UA defense won't miss a beat, even after losing 10 starters from a national championship team. While it's true that many of the backups got good playing time last year, it seems absurd to think there won't be some fall off from losing so many quality players. I wanted to ask Hightower about that. His answers, most of which will appear in a story on Friday, were bit different from the fan perspective.

"It's going to be a different defense," Hightower said. "It's not going to be the same."

You can find more from Mr. Hightower on Friday.