The Daily Dose/January 12, 2024
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™
Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.
HUT, HUT HIKE: Nick Saban announced his retirement as head football coach at Alabama this week. His seven national championships are a record for a modern-era coach and you do not have to be one of the Four Horsemen to know that kind of sustained excellence – in any era and in any sport – doesn’t grow on trees.
Dry, Technical, Matter: While his career didn’t have a fairy tale, national championship ending, his last season produced his twelfth conference championship – a figure that includes an SEC title with LSU and a MAC title with Toledo – and a berth in the CFP national semifinals, where they lost to Michigan.
It will, of course, be interesting, to see who replaces him. Even more interesting to see will be the success he has because History has shown following all-time greats is not easy.
Here We Go: We did some research into this, our list of all-time great, retired college coaches consisting of John Wooden (UCLA basketball), Red Deadeaux (USC baseball), Bear Bryant (Alabama football), Pat Summit (Tennessee women’s basketball), and Dan Gable (Iowa wrestling).
Running The Numbers: Of these illustrious programs, only Iowa has come close to replicating the success of their legendary coach, having won seven national titles since Gable’s retirement in 1995 after 15 national championships. Of the others, UCLA and USC have each won one national title, Alabama managed one between the Bryant and Saban eras, while Tennesse has yet to return to the Final Four.
The Bottom Line: Our reckoning is the Son of Man would have a tough time making a go of it replacing Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide’s recent success has been so great that there will probably be a very short honeymoon for whoever is hired. And between transfers and NIL, not to mention whatever future changes invariably come down the pike, the new coach will have to have skills unheard of when Saban was hired. Good luck. Both History and current times will ensure you need no small measure of it.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow stared down the prospect of a clean house. Today’s Diary.
The big news is we finally heard from that housekeeper who came by a couple of weeks ago to get acquainted and scope out exactly what in the hell awaited her…
———
Would you like 4Ever & Ever access to Gaylon’s crap?
Of course you would.
Click here. It’s only $24.99.
Click here for complimentary chapters of all of Gaylon’s books.
It’s easy reading on any device.
———
On This Date
Extra, extra, read all about it.
Due to time constraints, today’s entries also ran in 2020.
In 1962 – The United States begins major combat operations in Vietnam, conducting Operation Chopper. 82 US Army helicopters transported 1,000 South Vietnamese paratroopers to a battle 10 miles west of Saigon. They defeated North Vietnamese Army troops, captured a radio transmitter and suffered no casualties. The US would not leave Vietnam until April 1975.
1946 & 2016 – The Rams NFL team is permitted to move to Los Angeles in both of these years. In 1946 the Cleveland Rams were given permission to move to LA and in 2016 the St Louis Rams were given permission to move back to LA, as were the San Diego Chargers. The Rams had played in St Louis from 1995-2015, while the Chargers had left LA for San Diego in 1962.
In 1974 – The Steve Miller Band is at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the only week with The Joker. It was the first Top 40 hit for the band, their first of five Top 10 hits and the first of three #1 songs. In 1992, after being used in a Levis commercial, the song went to #1 in Great Britain, Holland, Ireland and New Zealand. The 16 years remains a record for the longest gap between hitting #1 in the US and then in Great Britain.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
[Charles V] was not mentally keen, except in judging men – which is half the battle…
Will Durant
The Story of Civilization, Vol VI: The Reformation
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.
Billboard’s #1 soul song of 1975 was Fight the Power (Part 1) by the Isley Brothers.
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
Who holds the NCAA all-division record for most NCAA team national championships won by a coach in one sport? – Answer next time!
