Alabama

3 Million May Flood Washington For President Inauguration

admin — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 17:48:52 +0000

Obama may draw 3 to 5 million visitors says the Washington DC mayor. The previous record was LBJ 1.2 million.

Wireless Mobile in Mobile Excites Mobile Reader

admin — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 17:46:14 +0000

This CATV reader email was received from the Press Register:
Free downtown Mobile wireless eyed
Tuesday, November 18, 2008 By DAN MURTAUGHStaff Reporter
The future of downtown Mobile could include people sitting on benches in
Bienville Square, in a bar on Dauphin Street or in a condominium on St.
Louis Street, all opening their laptops to use free, wireless In ternet.Part of a new plan for downtown Mobile is a proposal for the city to
provide a seamless zone of free, broadband-speed wireless Internet access
throughout downtown Mobile.Mobile Mayor Sam Jones said he’s already directed the city’s
telecommunications and technology departments to explore the matter.”That’s something we consider a priority,” Jones said. “A lot of people are
interested in having broadband access. … It would be a selling point for
Mobile.”Officials have not decided whether the city would do it on its own or work
with a private company, Jones said. The city’s network doesn’t currently
have the capacity to simply offer access through it, he said.That’s how a free wireless service began in downtown Houston.A few years ago, Houston built a wireless network to allow parking meters
to accept credit card payments, said Janis Benton, the deputy director for
the city’s Information Technology Department.Earlier this year, officials decided to secure the part of the network thatdealt with the parking meters and open up the rest of the bandwidth to
anyone who wanted to hook on, she said.It cost the city about $25,000 to make the upgrades, she said, and there’sno operating cost because the network needs to be maintained for the
parking meters anyway.The network covers about a 4-square-mile area, and about 200 unique users
connect every day, Benton said.People can buy a piece of equipment called an extender for less than $200
to get a stronger signal indoors, Benton said. That’s less than it would
cost for five months of high-speed Internet from Comcast in Mobile.The program has also had the ancillary benefit of making Houston more
“hip,” Benton said.”It’s legitimized us with young people in a way that nothing else has,” she
said. “Of all the things we do in government services, this is the one thing
they connect with.”Computer users can find free wireless hotspots in downtown Mobile now.
Southern Light, a fiber-optic company headquartered on St. Anthony Street,
started beaming a free wireless signal into Cathedral Square several years
ago.

Coastal Alabama Freeze Tonight: 28 Degrees

admin — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 17:41:39 +0000

North wind and clear dry skies leave an earthen chill on the ground tonight around 28 degrees.

Poarch Creek Indian Pow Wow Atmore Tradition

admin — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 17:36:11 +0000

Nov. 27 and 28 see the real thing as part of a unique Thanksgiving tradition at 9am all day.

Alabama’s First Casino Hotel to Open in January

admin — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 17:33:34 +0000

The fancy high rise Wind Creek Casino and Hotel on coastal Alabama’s I-65 in Atmore may be just electronic bingo, but you wont know it at first glance as Mississippi gambling and Florida lottery get their first real challenge from the inbetween state of Alabama.

Nick Saban addresses the Thursday night altercation …

admin — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 17:27:27 +0000

Nick Saban was asked after tonight's 32-7 victory over Mississippi State about linebacker Rolando McClain's role in the Thursday night altercation that UA police said yesterday it is investigating.

Here is Saban's response ...

"I want you to know that what he did and what he was involved in will be handled internally as a family. I'm not going to talk about it. We're still getting information about it. You all don't have all the facts or you wouldn't even ask me the question the way you asked it."

"He played well, and I'm proud of him. I'm proud of the way he played, and I'm proud of the way he represents our team. I think he's one the best guys on our team, and I think he's a great person. And if he made a mistake because somebody else did something, we all make them, OK."

"And I'm not going to penalize and punish him. We will discipline him and change his behavior so he does better, but that's about it, because he's done a lot for this university and a lot for our team. he's a great representative and he's a great leader. And I'm proud that he's on the team, and I'm proud to have him on the team."

Roy Upchurch in uniform for pregame warmups

admin — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 17:23:46 +0000

A few pregame updates from a chilly, windy Bryant-Denny Stadium …

Tailback Roy Upchurch is dressed and going through a few warmup drills with Alabama’s offense. Upchurch was considered questionable for today’s game with painful spasms in his neck.

It’s a good sign for Alabama that Upchurch ran routes and caught passes, but however, he does NOT look to be going through contact drills. That’s not quite so positive. Regardless, guess we’ll wait and see on that.

In case you’re wondering, all other Alabama starters appear to be present and accounted for at this point.

Enjoy the game while we try to stay warm here in Tuscaloosa.

Obama says he’ll push for a playoff in college football

admin — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 17:21:01 +0000

Getty ImagesYes he can? While it’s a bit off topic from Alabama’s football team, I wanted to pass along some interesting news I have received from CBS’ Jennifer Sabatelle while enduring this long wait before heading over to Bryant-Denny Stadium. President-elect Barack Obama and wife Michelle will appear on 60 Minutes on Sunday night to give an interview during which he repeats his earlier thoughts that, “We should be creating a playoff system” in college football. The interview begins at 6 p.m. “Eight teams,” Obama says. “That would be three rounds to determine a national champion. It would add three extra weeks to the season. You could trim back on the regular season. (Read the full post about ‘Obama says he’ll push for a playoff in college football’…)

Countdown to Mississippi State …

admin — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 17:15:43 +0000

MISSISSIPPI STATE (3-6, 1-4 SEC) at
No. 1 ALABAMA (10-0, 6-0)

6:45 p.m. Saturday
Bryant-Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa
TV: ESPN

Reuters Looking for 11-0 ...

My, these are exciting times for Alabama's football program.

There is the big showdown with Florida in a few weeks that analysts can't help but talk about already. No matter what, the bowl trip will be top-notch. There is first a very good opportunity to ease that Iron Bowl drought against Auburn.

And very quietly, here comes Mississippi State.

In accumulating a meek 3-6 record, the Bulldogs have honestly done little this season (a 34-3 loss in Knoxville!?!) to suggest they have the goods to hang with a Crimson Tide team in top form, hince a 22-point spread for Saturday's game.

But ... what if Alabama is not in top form?

This could be why Nick Saban went off and gave fans a fiery, personalized pep talk during Thursday night's radio show. You can be critical of the language, but not the idea. If Saban's goal was for as many fans as possible to hear that rant, as always, he succeeded by choosing to blow a gasket. The clip was played again and again online and by radio talk shows Friday.

More details on the UA police investigation …

admin — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 17:13:47 +0000

Four misdemeanor charges could be brought against the suspect in a Thursday night altercation being investigated by the University of Alabama Police Department.

The university confirmed today that a football player and two members of Delta Tau Delta fraternity were involved in "a verbal exchange ... that escalated into a fight" near Bryant Hall on the UA campus. One student sustained minor injuries and refused medical treatment, according to the statement released by UA media relations.

UA officials declined to name the football player or fraternity members, citing federal privacy laws. No charges have been filed and no arrests have been made as of this afternoon.

Charges of third-degree assault, harassment and two counts of reckless endangerment could be brought against the suspect in an incident that occurred around 9:25 p.m. Thursday, according to four incident reports filed by the UAPD and viewed today by the Press-Register.