Sad news last week as word came of the demise of the Alabama (nee, Birmingham) Steeldogs, marking the end of the Magic City’s nine-year experiment with this anomalous niche sport known as arena football. There was a contest to name the team, and after a brief flirtation with one of the more controversial name submissions (the Bubbas, for God’s sake), the owners settled on Steeldogs as the moniker and local sports legend Bobby Humphrey as the first coach. My nine-year love affair with the Steeldogs, which included stints as a fan, a season-ticket holder, a beat writer, a team intern, a Media Relations Director and an outsider, has played a part in nearly all of the major events of my life from that April morning forward. Shaun was the ying to Dave’s yang — straight as an arrow, Southern by God’s good graces and an unabashed believer in the Good Lord, mom and dad, Alabama football and the Pittsburgh Steelers, in that order. Read More