Give me an ‘A’ ... for Alabama!

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The state of Arizona’s inexplicable infatuation with Alabama football continued over the weekend when former Arizona State drill instructor Frank Kush cast the lone first-place vote for the Crimson Tide in the coaching Legends’ poll.

Seventeen other former coaches voted Texas at No.1

What is it with Arizona and Alabama. Is it because both states begin with the letter ‘A’?

Or maybe Kush just wants to ride in a parade.

In 1992, sportswriter Corky Simpson of the Tucson Citizen made national news when he was the only voter in the Associated Press poll to vote Alabama No.1 in the preseason poll. Simpson kept the Crimson Tide there all season.

Alabama, of course, won the national title under Gene Stallings, and Simpson became a hero in the state where ‘stars fell.’ Simpson even agreed to be grand marshal in the Tide’s championship parade.

Sixteen years later, Simpson is retired, but Arizona is still hard at work for Alabama. What Kush sees in these guys we don’t know. The Crimson Tide has won its last two games, at home against unranked teams, by a total of seven points.

Texas, the real McCoy, most recently defeated No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 11 Missouri.

If a player pulled this kind of stunt when Kush was coaching at Arizona State, the no-nonsense coach might have made the kid do bear crawls from Tempe to Scottsdale and back.

So what’s next for Arizona? Will Sen. John McCain move campaign headquarters to Dreamland, the famous rib joint in Tuscaloosa?

-- Chris Dufresne