On Monday night, after the four wild card round NFL tilts today and tomorrow and before the remaining seven (four slots, two conference title and one Super Bowl) other NFL games, defending national champion, top ranked, six plus point “fave” and this year, the undefeated team, (also a remarkable (11-2) vs the spread in “board” games), Alabama, hopes to complete what would be their coach Nick Saban’s second perfect season, by repeating last year’s college football title game triumph vs Clemson.

“Schtunk” as with the rest, the sadistic, three inheritances, “Bellman,” “Gar,” and the “Henpecked man,” who often, not always needed his wife’s permission to go to the bathroom, likely never to appear again, would mimic Lefty Dreisell’s pronunciation of “Clemmmson,” and call Saban (he did it, not me, yet I repeat it), “Sabano.”

The “by any other name” (is not it truly amazing how much in all the 500 years, is Shakespeare. “To be” of the heartbreak caused my parents and me by associating with those referenced above, “not to be” reading and learning Shakespeare.) applies as Saban, seeking a 6th national title, which with explanation would exceed Paul “Bear” Bryant and a 5th with Alabama, which again with explanation, would tie the legendary Mr. Bryant, is a fantastic college football coach.

Last year, favored, but lower ranked, (13-1) Alabama prevailed, “no covering” Clemson, which entered the tilt (14-0).

This season, Alabama is higher ranked, favored, and (14-0), while Clemson, sans a title since 1981, which is to date, their only one, enters the game with a (13-1) record.

I believe the certainly flawed (all of us are) Paul “Bear” Bryant pictured above, whose acquaintance I briefly gained, (repeating his “First thing I do in the morning is read the newspaper’s obituary section and if I am not in them, I go on with my day) at the 1977 National Invitational (Basketball) Tournament, was essentially a very good man, in addition to being a great football coach.

Of course not in the same stratosphere as Abraham Lincoln, Mr. Bryant and Mr. Lincoln were similar in that neither, at least initially had evolved to the point of being completely devoid of racial prejudice, to help in their own, largely practical way, help a move toward racial equality.

Certainly a fertile topic and while well done as most such ESPN specials (I think they are called 30 for 30), are, I did not need it to know Sam “Bam” Cunningham and USC routing Bryant and “Bama,” did, as some say, more to integrate the South than the great M.L. King.

Alas, there has never been a truly intelligent, real discussion of race in this country and one reason is that I who know it, feel it, assess it and most of all mourn its lack of real progress– has never been asked to any “panel.”

So go on elect (twice) a black president, oddly with “Bama” in his name, only to have so much of his effort distorted by what occurred, when next this country “voted”

Go ahead ‘commercial” an inter racial couple, after all the bean counters say it sells.

However, consider that if you are a black male, you must endure both the fact it is unlikely you can hail a cab and far worse, although and I have witnessed such, the preceding is pretty shameful, must be in utter fear of uniformed people,supposedly there to “serve and protect.”

When they fail to do so, it is horrible.

What also is shameful, is the utter hypocrisy, “head in the sand” denial regarding race and what people truly think and feel, denied true scrutiny, that has rocked this country downward and as you might expect when you enslave, “three fifths,” segregate, cast as and in undignified “Hollywood roles” and SURPRISE also bad, though not nearly as reprehensible, choose a few so undeserving, to be regaled with ridiculous wealth and fame.

This truly sad recurrence is epitomized in recent times (once it was someone named Simpson) by Michael Strahan, the gaping hole in his teeth (I should talk, as I better get to a dentist, but who can afford one, other than those such as Strahan) a symbol of how far “off” we are in honoring this “what sick, superficial form of idolatry made this person a god,”  who was first given a meaningless sack record in football via a Brett Favre (as Pat Cooper would say sardonically “another bargain”) bogus act and now, because he apparently “skews” so well, been given the keys to the kingdom.

Of course some day, I hope soon, Strahan will fall from his commercial appeal, as Favre did in his bogus fashion.

However, while that might help what I admit to be some level of “demon” in me, it will not and never (a long time) will alleviate this country’s “original sin,” bringing human beings in chains to work as slaves to get out the cash crop.

Imagine what some truly advanced society and/or God thinks of that!!