Category Archives: Sports

Are 3,000 Twitter followers (& growing) enough for the NBA?

Posted on June 19, 2012 | Leave a comment

older skyline photo of BirminghamFive days ago a Twitter account was born – and with it rekindled hopes of Birmingham, AL landing a professional sports franchise. Last night’s push to garner 3,000 followers for @NBABirmingham on the social network seems to have worked. This morning’s column by Kevin Scarbinsky in The Birmingham News should push it well over that mark by lunchtime.

The folks cheering for its success (this site included) aren’t the only ones wanting to hear positive news from NBA commissioner David Stern. Ever since news of the potential sales of the New Orleans Hornets (a recently completed sale keeps them in NOLA with talk of a name change being floated) and the Sacramento Kings (a team technically still in play due to talks for a new arena taking several twists and turns – and Stern’s recent comments about their once proposed move to Anaheim) were floated, Anaheim, CA; Columbus, OH (a recent entrant); Kansas City, MO; and Las Vegas, NV (they’re already hosting the NBA Summer League) have made pitches to be the next home for an NBA franchise. That’s a pretty impressive list – especially when you haven’t included the folks in Seattle, WA who still want a replacement for their Sonics (who incidentally are in the NBA Finals this year as the Oklahoma City Thunder).

Despite the long odds, the enthusiasm of the account’s operator, 15 year old George Chamoun, can be infectious:

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/NBABirmingham/status/215063624530665473″]

Then there’s the fact that Stern doesn’t seem himself as commissioner past 2018, based on comments made at the end of the interview he participated in during halftime of Game 3 of this year’s NBA Finals. It could be the opening many fans are hoping gives us a better chance. You could argue they’re just laying the groundwork for when it’s finally time.

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What’s all this talk about the USFL being back?

Posted on May 15, 2012 | 3 comments

USFL Logo 2012There have been posts written about the All-American Football League and the United Football League wanting to bring football back to Birmingham (and, as a result, to historic Legion Field) during the early days of the sites existence. For some reason there were not posts talking about the potential launch of the American Football League in 2011 and our potential franchise, the Birmingham Yellowhammers (though that one never got off the ground either).

For some reason though, there’s a little more hope tied to the most recent effort to bring back professional football to Birmingham – especially since its tied to the return of the USFL – sort of. Who knows, it could even mean a return of the Birmingham Stallions.

The Washington Post filed a report late last week about the pending return of the league next spring as a developmental league – an announcement originally made by EndZone Sports Management, LLC, the league’s owners, during the Vegas Unwrapped show (and the company’s website) back on February 15. It was also reported by NBC Sports in April, though considering what day the story ran, we could see why folks wouldn’t necessarily believe it.

Something adding to the increased attention in recent days may be the fact that the cities selected for the relaunch are expected to be announced this summer. Considering that according to the WP story (as well as the pieces from the Birmingham Business Journal and The Birmingham News) there were only 10 cities being looked at for eight slots, the Magic City’s chances are looking pretty good so far.

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How did Birmingham fare on National Signing Day?

Posted on February 1, 2012 | Leave a comment

While much of the attention today was on who signed at Alabama and Auburn, it’d be silly to forget that there were colleges and universities in the immediate Birmingham metro area that got some commitments as well.

UAB Blazers logoUAB – The first national signing day of the Garrick McGee era seems to have Blazer fans excited. McGee seems committed to his pledge made shortly after he arrived that he’d focus on recruiting in-state; 18 of the 25 student-athletes that signed today are from Alabama. Nine of them are from metro Birmingham.

samford bulldogsSamford – Pat Sullivan’s program signed 18 student-athletes today. The school signed six players from the state of Alabama (and just as many from Florida), with three of them (Ben Tamburello, IIII – Hoover; Jake Wilks – Trussville; Denzel Williams – Columbiana) hailing from the metro area.

Miles College Golden BearsMiles – While the Golden Bears hadn’t officially posted their Signing Day list as of yet (the post will be updated with the link once they do), they did just so happen to share their 2012 football schedule yesterday. This year’s games include a meeting with the University of North Alabama at Legion Field for the sixth annual Golden Labor Day Classic and a homecoming match against Clark Atlanta.

BSC PanthersBSC – It just didn’t feel right to talk about the other institutions today and not mention Birmingham-Southern. Luckily they did have some good news to share with their fans – D3hoops.com has the men’s basketball team ranked No. 11 in the nation. Nice jobs, guys!

Now it’s only a matter of time… until the start of the 2012 college football season.

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UAB is going dancing on Tuesday

Posted on March 14, 2011 | Leave a comment

Congrats to the UAB Blazers mens basketball team for making it into this year’s NCAA Tournament! As you can tell from this video shared on CBS 42’s website last night, they were pretty excited about it themselves.

Last night UAB learned they’d be playing fellow No. 12 seed Clemson on Tuesday evening as one of the First Four games. Tip-off will be at 8 p.m. CT; the game will be played in Dayton, OH and aired on TruTV. They are one of two Conference USA teams in this year’s tournament, down from four last year. UAB brought home conference hardware last week, with Coach Mike Davis being named Conference USA coach of the year and guard Aaron Johnson garnering player of the year honors.

It will be the Blazers’ first trip to “The Dance” since the departure of former head coach Mike Anderson in 2006 and their 14th appearance overall.

Last night’s selection didn’t come without some folks questioning the choice (cue ESPN).

Video: CBS 42.

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There’s watching the BCS Championship on a big screen…

Posted on January 6, 2011 | 1 comment

2011 BCS Championship logoFrom what we’ve been hearing via various digital outposts, there are no known tickets left for next Monday’s BCS national championship game in Glendale, AZ between Auburn and Oregon. The official word at least is that StubHub doesn’t have any left (or couldn’t guarantee any that are).

What to do? Well, the folks at al.com’s Montgomery bureau have made the best suggestion yet for Auburn or Oregon fans in the region. Those willing to drive over to the Carmike Cinemas Summit 16 at the popular shopping destination on Highway 280 will get a chance to watch the game for free – provided they purchase a concession area combo.

Those who choose to watch the game there should not be complaining about someone blocking their view…

Where do you plan to watch the game (provided the weather cooperates)?

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Your nose will be red on Saturday morning…

Posted on January 3, 2011 | Leave a comment

Red Nose Run logoSince your nose will be red anyway if you head out this coming Saturday morning (the current forecast is calling for lows near 30°), maybe you should sign up for this year’s Red Nose Run benefiting the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Alabama.

The 7th edition of the race will double as the Southern Region RRCA 10 Mile Championship (but don’t worry – you have the option of just doing the 5K route).

We’re thinking the long-sleeve t-shirts and the earwarmers provided to participants should be enough to get folks out for this worthy cause. These tips on how to approach running in the cold should be helpful too. Or you could just sleep in and donate and not go out (but it probably wouldn’t be as much fun).

OK, how about the discount rate for registering via active.com before Friday evening? There’s always being one of the volunteers on race day too…

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UPDATE: Joe Webb wins his first NFL start

Posted on December 28, 2010 | 1 comment

Joe Webb. Courtesy of Minnesota Vikings website.UPDATE: Joe Webb won his first NFL start this evening, beating the Philadelphia Eagles 24-14.

He threw for 195 yards and ran for 31 yards and a touchdown (and yes, he did the Birmingham Walk afterwards).

-#-

If you missed UAB adjunct professor Alice Jackson’s appearance on Jeopardy this evening (we’re still trying to figure out how she did), don’t worry…

There’s another chance to see a member of the UAB alumni community in action on television tonight.

Joe Webb will follow up his performance last week – including his first NFL regular season touchdown – with his first career start. Incidentally, that touchdown last week made Webb the first UAB Blazer to score an NFL touchdown at quarterback. The start will be against the Eagles in Philadelphia after it was postponed on Sunday night due to concern for public safety.

It’s going to be historic in another way too; this will be the first NFL regular season game played on a Tuesday since 1946.

Photo: Joe Webb. Courtesy of Minnesota Vikings website.

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