The Daily Bama Blog

This is another set of Facebook cover photos for use in the new timeline profile pages. I still credit the Orlando Sentinel from whom I borrowed the idea for this.

So, below, you’ll see a few photos I took over the past few years. They are self-proclaimed Daily Bama Blog classics and sized just right for use as Facebook cover photos.

Just click on the photo to enlarge it, then right click (for Windows users) and save the image. We’ll be updating the library over time. Enjoy.

New for May 22:

The Walk of Champions on game day.

Marching band on game day.

Tailgating on The Quad before Nov. 5 game with LSU.

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New for May 17:

Gene Stallings statue on Walk of Champions.

BCS celebration from the field.

Scoreboard after 2011 Iron Bowl.

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New for May 14:

Walk of Champions Outside Bryant-Denny StadiumLSU at Alabama, Nov. 5, 2011.

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New for May 11:

Two more for your Friday …

Gymnastics in Coleman Coliseum.

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New for May 10:

A-Day 2011. Coleman ColiseumMillion Dollar Band before football game.

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Original post …

BCS championship Coleman ColiseumESPN GameDay before LSU game.

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New for May 9

Here are two more for the collection. More to come. Stay tuned.

Baseball game.Foster Auditorium.

Check back every day this week for additions to the collection. There are a bunch still to come.

The run of football commitments continued for Alabama this Monday morning. ESPN was the first to report defensive end Jonathan Allen gave his word to the Crimson Tide.

Allen is a 4-star prospect according to recruiting services Scout.com and Rivals.com and a 5-star according to 247sports.com.

Allen, of Ashburn, Va.,  was reportedly being pursued by others including Florida, Boston College, Maryland among others.

He is the 14th public commitment to Alabama’s Class of 2013 and the third in the past week. Quarterback Cooper Bateman gave his word May 16 as did defensive lineman Darius Paige on Saturday.

See a few videos of Allen here. The first appears to be from his freshman year.

Next, a longer look at his sophomore highlights.

It’s an exciting new world. And since it’s May and not October, we have time to bring The Daily Bama Blog a little deeper into the 21st century.

The first change is obvious if you’re reading this on a mobile device. The blog will now detect how you’re reading the post (computer, iPhone, iPad, Android, etc.) and configure the display to fit it. This should increase speed and performance on your mobile device.

The other makes it easier to join the conversation. You’ve always had a voice in the comments section. Now you can use it without hassle.

Anyone with a Facebook account can respond quickly when reading a post. The comments won’t show up on the homepage, so click on the individual stories on which you’d like to comment.

There’s a level of accountability in the new way. If you have an opinion, why hide your name and face behind an ambiguous net handle? Be heard, but do it responsibly.

Let me know how you feel about changes or suggest upgrades for the future. Just leave a comment.

The Crimson Tide added another commitment to the Class of 2013, 247sports.com first reported Saturday afternoon.

Darius Paige, a defensive lineman from Pensacola, Fla., gave his non-binding verbal pledge, the recruiting service reported. He’s the 33rd best defensive tackle in the nation, according the 247sports rankings.

Check out his long list of offers and interest by clicking here for Rivals.com. Paige would be the 13th public commitment for the 2013 class for Alabama.

Quarterback Cooper Bateman made headlines with his commitment earlier this week.

Call it the golf equivalent to a 21-0 win in the BCS title game.

The Alabama men’s golf team destroyed the field in the NCAA’s Athens Regional to win by 25 strokes. It easily qualified for the NCAA championships to be played in two weeks.

Alabama was the only team under par for the three-day event — shooting a combined 24-under. East Carolina was second at 1-over.

Individually, the Tide finished 1-2-3. Justin Thomas (-9), Bobby Wyatt (-8), and Cory Whitsett (-5) swept the top three spots.  Scott Strohmeyer’s 21st place finish was the lowest for Alabama.

Update for Saturday: The teams are on the course and Alabama’s lead appears safe as of 11 a.m. The Tide is 18 strokes better than second-place East Carolina.

Click here for the live scoreboard.

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Update for Friday evening: Alabama extended its lead at the Athens Regional after another huge day on the course.

The Tide leads the field by 12 strokes heading into the final day of competition at the University of Georgia Golf Course. As a team, Alabama was eight strokes better than par Friday and 23-under after two days.

The top five teams advance to the NCAA championships May 29-June 3 in Pacific Palisades, Calif.

Tide sophomore Bobby Wyatt leads the individual leaderboard at 9-under followed by teammate Justin Thomas. The freshman is second at 8-under par.

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The Alabama men’s golf team, ranked second in the nation, began NCAA tournament play yesterday at the Athens Regional.

As of early Friday afternoon, the Crimson Tide held a nine-stroke lead over second-place East Carolina. The lead was two strokes after Thursday’s first-round that saw Alabama shoot a combined 15-under par.

Alabama just needs to finish in the top five to advance to the NCAA championships. The three-day regional concludes Saturday on the home course of the Georgia Bulldogs.

Alabama’s Justin Thomas was tied for the individual lead Friday afternoon by shooting 7-under so far.

Click here to follow the leader board from your office as you wrap up another work week. Click here for individual scores.

Decatur Daily photo by John Godbey

Oakland Raider Rolando McClain was sentenced to 180 days in jail and fined $2,000 this afternoon, but more punishment could come from his employer.

The NFL is reviewing the case under the league’s personal conduct policy, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said in an email response to The Decatur Daily.

The policy, issued in 2010, was drafted after a number of high-profile players were convicted of violent crimes.

The first point under the “Standards of Conduct” heading would apply to McClain’s case:

“The use or threat of violence; domestic violence and other forms of partner abuse; theft and other property crimes; sex offenses; obstruction or resisting arrest; disorderly conduct; fraud; racketeering; and money laundering.”

The burden of proof for discipline through personal conduct policy doesn’t require legal action.

“Persons who fail to live up to this standard of conduct are guilty of conduct detrimental and subject to discipline, even where the conduct itself does not result in conviction of a crime,” the policy states.

The Raiders also released a statement to The Daily Thursday evening.

“The Raiders are well aware of the proceedings in the Alabama courts today. The team will continue to closely monitor the legal process, understanding that when appropriate the NFL will review the situation under its personal conduct policy.”

McClain was convicted this afternoon of third-degree assault, wrongful discharge of a firearm inside Decatur city limits, menacing and reckless endangerment.

After McClain bonded out following the conviction, defense attorney Harvey Steinberg promised there will be an appeal.

Former Alabama linebacker Rolando McClain was found guilty today on four charges stemming from a November fight in Decatur.

He was sentenced to 180 days in jail.

Charges included third-degree assault, menacing, discharging a handgun in city limits, reckless endangerment.

McClain’s defense lawyers said they will appeal the convictions.

More soon.

All the speculation can end now. Alabama made it official this afternoon.

The Crimson Tide will open the 2014 football season with the school coach Nick Saban grew up following. Alabama and West Virginia will meet in Atlanta on Aug. 30, 2014.

It will be Alabama’s fourth Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game appearance. The Tide beat Clemson and Virginia Tech in the Georgia Dome to open the 2008 and 2009 seasons, respectively.

Alabama is scheduled to face the Hokies again in the same event kicking off the 2013 season.

If you are reading this, you’re on the sorta new version of The Daily Bama Blog. Congratulations.

What changed? Almost nothing.

After three years of floating around cyberspace on blogger.com, then wordpress.com, the site is now hosted by the parent company. So the url you see in the address bar is different and you’ll see an ad at the top.

Don’t complain about the advertising, though. You have yourself to blame for that. The traffic numbers grew too much in the past year and my company is still in the business of revenue creation.

Nothing else will change. You can still type “www.dailybamablog.com” into your browser and the site will appear just as it did before. Nothing else changes. The look remains along with all the features.

Welcome to the new Daily Bama Blog that’s really no different than the old one.

A statement from highly-recruited quarterback Cooper Bateman just arrived in my email. It sounds like the rising high school senior be attending Alabama, according to the message delivered by his offensive coordinator at Cottonwood (Utah) High, Scott Cate.

“This has been a great time in my life, I have had the rare opportunity to be able to choose from many great schools that would allow me to get a college degree and continue to play the game that I love.This has been a very difficult decision only because I was able to meet and get to know so many wonderful coaches at so many great universities.

“I have chosen to attend the University of Alabama. I am honored that I will get to learn from Coach Saban and Coach Nussmeier and will get to represent Alabama, the state and the University. I want to thank my coaches at Cottonwood for all they have done for me and mostly to my parents who have made this all possible.”

Bateman is a 4-star prospect according to both Scout.com and Rivals.com. The statement also says he plans on enrolling in January and would be available for 2013 spring practices.

Check out video from his junior season.

Next, watch Bateman throw a game-winning hail mary that travels about 60 yards in the air.

Much more to come soon.