Jun 21, 2024

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The MLB at Rickwood ballgame is in the books, and seemingly successfully so. The Negro leagues were honored during most of the telecast on Fox, with a highlight being some storytelling from Bob Kendrick of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Birmingham.

And a big memorial was displayed in honor of Willie Mays, the baseball legend who died Tuesday and began his career roaming the Rickwood Field outfield for the Birmingham Black Barons.

Fans of vintage baseball were treated to a televised ballgame from Birmingham's Rickwood Field, the oldest operating ballpark in America. Fox even aired the fifth inning with a vintage look to its telecast -- the screen was in black and white with dated graphics and even that old-school crackle in the announcers' voices. If nothing else, it reminds us how far we've come to today's high-definition color and graphics full of so many stats you feel like you could evaluate the Space Launch System in flight.

As for the ballgame, the St. Louis Cardinals beat the San Francisco Giants 6-5. And it was the only player in the game from Alabama who was the hero.

Brendan Donovan had a home run, double, single, four RBIs and one run scored for the Cards.

Donovan played at Enterprise High and the University of South Alabama.

Birmingham's Rickwood Field during Thursday's MLB at Rickwood game between the St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants. (AP photo)

U.S. Sen. Katie Britt took to the Senate Floor to push the Biden Administration to help ministers who are imprisoned in Nicaragua, reports AL.com's William Thornton.

Alabamian Britt Hancock founded Mountain Gateway, an evangelical church that's based in Texas. Mountain Gateway has planted 10 churches in Nicaragua.

Christianity Today reported that, in December, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega ordered all of those churches closed and had 11 pastors arrested and accused of money laundering. They were found guilty and received sentences between 12 and 15 years and fined a combined $1 billion.

Yes, that was with a "B": $1 billion.

Mountain Gateway leaders deny the charges and say they haven't so much as seen charging documents. 

Sen. Tommy Tuberville and U.S. Reps. Robert Aderholt, Gary Palmer, Dale Strong, Jerry Carl, Barry Moore and Terri Sewell have already lent voices of support for the ministers.

From Britt's speech: “Any options that are in the toolbox should be used to force Nicaragua to remedy this situation.”

The founder of the Carver High School marching band and the man who brought back the band program at Miles College has passed away, reports AL.com's Joseph D. Bryant.

Arthur Means Jr. became Carver's director of music when the school opened in 1959.

Similar to Nick Saban's college football coaching tree, Means' influence on high school band didn't stop at the edge of Carver's campus. Bobby Benton, himself a Carver alum who spent three decades teaching band at Birmingham schools, said there was a time when 10 of the Birmingham school district's band directors and music directors had been students of Means.

Means remained at Carver for 37 years. Then he revived the full-time band program at Miles, growing The Purple Marching Machine from 32 players wearing sweats to a 200-strong unit.

Arthur Means Jr. was 87 years old.

“It’s a wonderful thing what the (Louisiana) governor is doing.”

Roy Moore, former Alabama Chief Justice, on Louisiana's new law recruiting the Ten Commandments to be posted inside public school classrooms.

In 1941, gospel and R&B singer Mitty Collier of Birmingham.

In 1953, former Milwaukee Brewers catcher and outfielder Charlie Moore Jr. of Birmingham.

In 1967, former NBA forward Derrick Coleman of Mobile.

In 1972, singer Allison Moorer of Frankville and Monroeville.

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