The Alabama football team held its final "open" practice of the week on Wednesday afternoon. The full pads practice was held in perfect 70 degree weather; a nice preview of what the forcast is for Saturday afternoon's game with LSU.

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This weekend, Nissan is bringing the Heisman Trophy someplace you'll rarely find it - Tuscaloosa. The trophy that will be awarded in New York this December will be on display Saturday at Buffalo Phil's and the Bear Trap.

The trophy will arrive around 10:30 in the morning, and according to the press release, you'll be able to have your photo taken with the venerable statute. Hopefully, that very trophy will make another appearance in Tuscaloosa - right after Mark Ingram collects it.

A bonus trivia tidbit this morning - there is a Heisman Trophy on display at the Bryant Museum - and it was awarded to John David Crow from Texas A&M on Bryant's last team in College Station.

Thanks to reader Lindsey for pointing out my misspelling on John David Crow's last name (I had an "e" on the end).

I considered (briefly) dropping Alabama to 15th in my latest poll, if only to show people how ridiculous it is to plunge a team whose only fault is having the week off. But alas, I did not. That's the sort of thing that will take care of itself either this weekend or the first weekend in December. If it matters, it'll be handled.

I still don't have Notre Dame in there, and I still don't trust Houston. Thanks for making me look stupid Ole Miss and South Carolina. I've learned my lesson.

Full poll after the jump:

It was back into full pads on Tuesday afternoon for the Alabama football team as it continues to progress towards the LSU game on Saturday.

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After a wonderfully long weekend off, the Alabama football team went back to work on Monday afternoon in preparation for the LSU Tigers. As is typically the case on Monday, the team worked in shells.

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Well, the SEC did exactly as I expected... they turned a blind eye to Brandon Spikes and allowed Urban Meyer to handle the punishment.

And unfortunately, the punishment doesn't fit the crime. The first half of the Vanderbilt game? Really?

If he had actually taken Washaun Ealey's eye out, would he have gotten suspended for the third quarter, also?

One week after the SEC "laid down the law" by announcing new rules governing the public criticism of officials, the league will have another controversy on its hands.

In case you missed it, SEC coaches have gotten a little loose in the lips when criticising football officials. Bobby Petrino, Dan Mullen, and Lane Kiffin have all been publicly reprimanded in the last few weeks. Kiffin added fuel to the fire by suggesting that the SEC was involved in a conspiracy to get Alabama and Florida into the SEC Championship game.

The Bama Sports Report has been voted as Bloguin's Best College Sports Blog.

It's extremely gratifying to win the award just a hanful of months after we launched on the Bloguin platform. We have you guys to thank - our readers voted us as their favorite.

If you guys were willing to vote for us, we must be doing something right. Thanks - we couldn't have done this without you.

With full approval from the league's presidents and athletic directors, the Southeastern Conference this morning announced that coaches who publicly complain about refereeing will face stiff penalties.  The move comes the week after Dan Mullen of Mississippi State, Ed Orgeron of Tennessee, and most notably, Tennessee's Head Coach Lane Kiffin, all complained about the refereeing in their games last Saturday.

The reason I say "most notably" about Kiffin is that he went way way overboard. Let me explain why I think that way.

The Alabama football team held its final practice of the week on Thursday afternoon. The full pads practice was held inside the Thomas Drew Indoor Facility, and appeared to be quite spirited and intense.

Here's what you need to know: