As Gilda Radner's Emily Latella character on the original Saturday Night Live TV show in the 1970s used to say:
"Never mind."
Today in Tuscaloosa, our hero Jim Wells recanted his retirement. He will be the Alabama baseball coach for more seasons to come. Last Thursday, he stunned the college baseball world with his announcement that he was retiring at the age of 52, after 13 great years with Alabama following five sensational seasons as head coach at his alma mater, Northwestern State.
Today, he essentially quoted Emily Latella.
Knowing Jim, who has a zany sense of humor and was one of the campus clowns during his days as an undergraduate at NSU in the late '70s, it wouldn't surprise me if he actually did quote Radner's character when he met with the Alabama media Wednesday afternoon.
In a statement earlier in the day, Wells said as he got away from the job, he began to realize he really had rushed into a decision and wasn't ready to step away. Good for baseball, good for Alabama, good for NSU to have one of our own remaining among the most prominent and successful college baseball coaches in the country.
More than one former Demon who played for Wells has made the same comment to me this afternoon: look out, world, the Tide will be rollin' next year. It's not like Jim Wells to be anything less than firm in his decisions. He will be at his all-time best and any Tide player not ready to work harder than he ever has before, might as well check out other options prior to September.
Also, the unanimous view from this corner of Wells' world is expect Alabama to be a serious College World Series contender in 2008. He said as much to one returning pitcher in the weeks following the season, according to one newspaper report.
Jim Wells isn't one to make such statements casually.
Doug Ireland, SID
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