What's going on in Alabama
Welcome back. The answers/results of Friday's quiz are below. Thanks for reading, Ike |
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The Alabama football team's 40-35 loss to Vanderbilt on Saturday came with a very small consolation prize: a $100,000 payment from Vanderbilt University for its fans rushing the field afterward, reports AL.com's Matt Stahl. That's the current SEC fine for a first offense to the league's field-entry rule. It's Vanderbilt's "first offense" because the league increased the fines and reset its count last year. Commodores fans also rushed the field in 2022 after a win over the University of Florida (or maybe they were celebrating because the Florida fans were leaving the stadium. We can't be sure.) The current scale is this: For a first offense you are fined $100,000; for a second offense, $250,000; after that, $500,000 for each offense. If the opponent is a non-conference team, the money goes to the SEC's post-graduate scholarship fund. If the opponent is a fellow SEC team, the money goes to the opponent. Which is why Alabama is coming away with an extra $100,000. Arkansas fans also earned its school an SEC fine this past weekend by rushing the field after the Razorbacks' win over Tennessee. That one cost $250,000 because Arkansas fans also stormed the court after a men's basketball win over Duke last November. |
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We haven't had a story lately about Huntsville being awesome, so here's one that follows a recent update about our state ranking high on a list of business-friendly states: A new ranking of entrepreneurship potential ranked Huntsville 10th among 136 metro areas, reports AL.com's John R. Roby. The market study was by CoworkingCafe. They took a look at GDP, labor costs and the number of business applications. No. 1 was Scottsdale, Ariz., No. 2 was Miami and No. 3 was Atlanta. Other Alabama cities making the Top 100 were Montgomery at 76, Mobile at 80 and Birmingham at 94. |
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Eric Esch of Jasper, who's now 57 years old, is making noise about wanting to fight Mike Tyson. That's according to a story veteran TV sports journalist Rick Karle wrote for AL.com. Eric Esch became a bit of a sensation a few decades ago as a portly boxer fighting four-round bouts. If you remember him, you probably know him as Butterbean. Karle writes that a couple years ago Butterbean weighed over 500 pounds and couldn't even stand up. He's dropped 220 pounds (that's like losing a fullback), weighs in under 300 pounds and wants a piece of Tyson. Butterbean apparently is already in promotion mode. Of Tyson he said: “I saw Mike about three weeks ago, and he looked pregnant. I would knock him out. He has no chin.” That's right, Butterbean is fat-shaming the 58-year-old former champ. Tyson, for what it's worth, fought Roy Jones Jr. to an eight-round draw in 2020. |
It's our favorite way to review a week's worth of news. Here are the answers everyone selected (and which ones were correct): What are the competitors in the Great Alabama 650 racing on? The state's waterways (CORRECT) 60.9% Talladega Superspeedway 22.7% Dirt tracks 12.9% I-65 South 3.6% There was an election to fill a vacant Alabama State House seat to represent parts of Birmingham, Fairfield, Homewood and Mountain Brook. What was the estimated turnout? Five percent (CORRECT) 64.0% Ten percent 18.2% Twenty five percent 14.7% Forty five percent 3.1% What web site blocked access to Alabama users because of a law that would've required it to verify users' ages? Pornhub (CORRECT) 68.0% DraftKings 16.9% OnlineLiquor 11.6% AL.com 3.6% Of the toilet paper used in the U.S., the vast majority is produced where? United States (CORRECT) 74.7% Canada 11.6% China 7.1% Mexico 6.7% Who was NOT in the box seats with President Trump at the Alabama-Georgia game? Randy Quaid (CORRECT) 62.2% John Daly 20.9% Tommy Tuberville 8.9% Kid Rock 8.0% |
“The General Conference never went to the cross for your sins, and it is now time that we start looking to the cross, and not to some other thing.” |
In 1952, actress Mary Badham of Birmingham (she played Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird). In 1976, singer-songwriter Taylor Hicks of Birmingham and Hoover. |
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