Saban opens up at media day; ND’s pair of 5s

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DECISIONS, DECISION: Being a quarterback is always about making the right call at the right time.

That’s why Alabama’s AJ McCarron brought so many pairs of shoes _ about 30 _ to the BCS championship. Surely there’s a penalty for going out in black sneakers and brown pants, right?

“Back at home, I’ve got a bunch of shoes. I’ve got at least 130 pair,” McCarron said. “I brought like 30 here. At nighttime, I never know what I’m going to wear so I change and try to match. I’ve got a bunch of bow ties too. I don’t even know.

“My mom does that whole thing.”

McCarron typically wears a suit, bow tie and all, to games.

Tailback Eddie Lacy just shakes his head and points to the only pair of shoes _ red and white sneakers _ that he brought to Florida.

“That’s all I need,” he says, grinning. “I’ve only got two feet. I don’t know what’s up with him (McCarron) and his shoe fetish.”

Wide receiver Kenny Bell says McCarron is just “playing catch-up” with him. Bell said he brings 40 pairs of shoes even on a weekend trip and left 100 more at home. “I’m a very big sneakerhead,” he said.

More importantly for the game, Bell is being coy about his status for the game. He had surgery to repair a broken leg sustained against Auburn on Nov. 24, and was expected to be out 5-6 weeks.

His status for the game is uncertain.

“I don’t know just like the world doesn’t know,” said Bell, one of the team’s better deep threats.

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A PAIR OF 5’s: Whether Notre Dame is on offense or defense, the leader of the Fighting Irish is number 5, quarterback Everett Golson or All-American linebacker Manti Te'o.

Te'o, a senior, explained that the reason he wears 5 is not for some former Irish great like Paul Hornung _ who also had the number _ but because, when Te'o was a young boy, he and his dad were in the car and his father asked him, “When you play football, what number would like?”

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