"They" say it's not summer yet, and I suppose they're right. But when the forecasted high is 99 degrees, it's close enough for me. Oppressive heat is forecast for Tuscaloosa (and all of Alabama, really) for the weekend. Be careful out there. 

Here's what's new today in the world of Bama sports:

It's a random, relatively slow Thursday in June... but lots of stuff happening with Bama sports today:

• Alabama Softball kicks off the Women's College World Series today in Oklahoma City. First pitch with Cal is at noon central on ESPN2.
• The Alabama Men's Golf Team is in their third round of competition in the NCAA Championships at Karsten Creek in Stillwater, Oklahoma (not far from Oklahoma City). They're currently in 5th place and the top eight advance to match play.
• And last, but certainly not least, it's the next to last day of the SEC Spring Meeting in Destin, Florida. It's been an interesting week. So far, football coaches have voted to keep the scholarship limit at 28 (likely to be overrided by the presidents) and the basketball coaches voted to eliminate divisions for the SEC tournament (likely to be approved by the presidents). Who knows what Thursday will bring...

That's your Thursday preview. Hopefully, we'll be following the softball and golf teams well into the weekend in Oklahoma. For more up to the moment news, follow me on Twitter!

I've been having a protracted debate on Twitter about oversigning. In essence, my gripe with the two most vocal opponents of oversigning is that they inevitably throw the baby out with the bathwater. They're unwilling to admit that their arguments are not perfect in every way, and that this attitude only causes their opponents to become less likely to acknowledge when they do have a good point. 

It's a vicous circle that really is more a symptom of modern life and culture than just this particular debate, but I digress. There's a ton of grey area here, and it's time we're honest about it.

I know we've been a little slow to get things going again after the storms of the 27th. I can put part of the blame for that on the fact that my internet has just now returned to reliability. But, to be totally honest, it's been a little tough to focus on things like football. If you haven't been to Tuscaloosa since the tornado, if you haven't driven down 15th Street or Hargrove Road, you just simply can't imagine it. I've been purposefully avoiding Alberta City and Holt. The city has begun its recovery thanks to the help of millions of folks donating and so many people volunteering that some had to be turned away. So I guess it's time to try to return to a little bit of the routine. And that means thinking about, and in my case, writing about Alabama sports.

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Tuscaloosa was hit hard by a huge tornado last night. This much you know.

I'm glad to say that the BSR family is doing well. Neither of us have power, but I'm squatting at a friend's house to post this, get showered, charge the phone and then head out to volunteer.

How can you help? See the information after the jump.

Alabama wide receiver Julio Jones has his body composition measured at the Gatorade Sports Science Institute (GSSI) in New York City.  Jones is one of 14 NFL prospects featured in the new web series "Everything To Prove." Photo Credit: Gatorade/Steve Boyle

We were pleasantly surprised late last week when we were contacted by a representative from Gatorade about talking with Julio Jones. Julio is participating in a series of videos presented by the NFL films and Gatorade entitled "Everything to Prove". The films are super well done (no surprise with NFL Films involved), and Gatorade is interested in getting the word out. So, they gave us a little time with Julio. That's a good old fashioned win/win as far as I'm concerned.

Realizing our good fortune, and not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, I jumped on it with both feet.

Jones was generous with his time, and we really appreciate that. We talked about topics from his position in the NFL Draft to his choices coming out of high school to his ability to play through pain. I'd hoped to post some audio here, but my technical skills failed me, so here's a summary of our chat with lots of quotes from Jones.

The Alabama football concluded its 2011 spring practice session on Saturday with the annual A-Day Game. Played in absolute perfect weather, the game was attended by 92,310 people. Add in the ESPN-U television broadcast, and chances are, most of you probably saw the game in one form or another.

If you didn't, here's what you need to know:

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The Alabama football team practiced on Thursday for the final time before Saturday's A-Day Game closes the spring practice period.

Here's what you need to know:

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Well, Saturday is A-Day. As usual, there's a veritable circus of other activities (and rules to go with them) for those who plan to attend in person. 

There are plenty of deviations from the normal gameday schedule and regulations. For the complete scoop, as always, you can visit UAGameday.com, but as someone we all know likes to say, here's what you need to know:
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This year's crop of signing day mudslinging is well under way. And, the latest and biggest target on the list is Alabama signee Brent Calloway.

In case you've not been following, the story of allegations against Brent Calloway and Alabama look like this. Calloway committed to Alabama, then committed to Auburn, then, on signing day signed with the Tide. 

Calloway's stepfather (and legal guardian) is Peaches Winston. I'm generally skeptical of grown men named Peaches or Juicy or the like, but whatever. Peaches is the long time friend of Darren Woodruff.  Woodruff is an Alabama fan, but has never owned season tickets, attended the University or given Tide Pride any money.

Winston officially adopted Calloway when he was a freshman in high school. At that point, he met Woodruff, and accoring to Calloway (paywalled), began to attend church and after church lunch with Winston and Calloway. 

What happens next depends on who you ask. no comments