Alabama
How to Watch: Alabama Basketball at the Players Era Festival
On June 12, it was announced that the Alabama men’s basketball team would be competing in the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas during Thanksgiving week this coming basketball season. The Players Era Festival is the first-ever NIL-based multi-team event for college basketball.
No. 8 Alabama joins No. 7 Houston, No. 24 Rutgers, Notre Dame, San Diego State, No. 14 Creighton, Oregon and No. 23 Texas A&M as the schools participating in the inaugural event. Each team will play two games and the head-to-head record, point differential, points scored and points allowed will all be factored in creating the seeding for a seventh place, fifth place, third place and of course championship game.
Total NIL Activities and Compensation:
The Crimson Tide’s two initial games will be against Houston on Nov. 26 and then Rutgers on Nov. 27.
Who: No. 8 Alabama (4-1, 0-0 SEC) vs. No. 7 Houston (2-1, 0-0 Big 12)
Who: No. 8 Alabama (3-1, 0-0 SEC) vs. No. 24 Rutgers (4-0, 0-0 Big Ten)
When vs. Houston: Tuesday, Nov. 26 at 8 p.m. CT.
When vs. Rutgers: Wednesday, Nov. 27 at 10 p.m. CT
Where (Both Games): MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nev.
Radio (Both Games): Crimson Tide Sports Network (Play-By-Play: Chris Stewart, Color: Bryan Passink). The pregame show will begin one hour prior to tipoff.
TV (Both Games): TBS
Series vs. Houston: Tied 3-3 with the first matchup occurring on Dec. 28, 1956
Series vs. Rutgers: 0-0
Last meeting with Houston: The Crimson Tide outlasted Houston with a 71-65 victory. Future No. 2 overall NBA Draft pick Brandon Miller went 0-of-8 from the field, but future No. 21 overall pick Brandon Clowney saved the day with 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting while also recording team-highs in rebounds (11) and blocks (2).
Last meeting with Rutgers: Never
Last time out, Alabama: Following its first loss of the season on the road against then-No. 13 Purdue, the Crimson Tide brushed it off against No. 25 Illinois on Wednesday night by defeating the Fighting Illini 100-87. Preseason All-American point guard Mark Sears didn’t score a single point but the renowned Alabama depth more than made up for it as forward Grant Nelson tallied 23 points and guards Labaron Philon, Aden Holloway and Latrell Wrightsell Jr. each put up 16-plus points.
Last time out, Houston: Like Alabama, the Cougars also stormed back from its first loss of the season with a dominant 91-45 win over Louisiana. Terrance Arceneaux (14 points), Milos Uzan (13), Mercy Miller (12), Emanuel Sharp (11) and J’Wan Roberts (11) each putting up double figures. Sharp and Miller each logged four steals boosting the team total to 17.
Last time out, Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights extended their undefeated start to the season with a 74-63 win over Merrimack. Rutgers’ top-tier freshmen duo of Ace Bailey (23 points) and Dylan Harper (14) combined for nearly half of the team’s points. They also led in the rebounding category as Bailey grabbed 10 while Harper had eight and Harper’s six assists were also a Rutgers-best.
Alabama residents will make their choice for U.S. Congress during the May 19 primary, and officials are urging people to vote despite an ever-evolving situation surrounding the state’s congressional maps.
Currently, there are legal disputes surrounding the Congressional districts map in use in Alabama. Following the Supreme Court’s ruling in late April on a redistricting case in Louisiana, Alabama asked for the preliminary injunction which barred them from redrawing their maps until 2030 to be lifted, which the courts have granted as of May 11.
Though there’s been some confusion in the face of ongoing legal motions regarding the maps, what is certain is that primary elections will go on as planned despite Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey calling for a special election in August for the affected congressional districts — Districts 1, 2, 6 and 7.
The Northern District Court of Alabama, which originally issued the injunction, still has to reconsider the case. The court asked state officials in a May 12 order to explain the plan for the 2026 elections and to explain how they plan to “ensure that all Alabamians may timely and efficaciously exercise their constitutional right to vote.”
There are two more elections after the primaries this month. On June 16, the state will hold primary runoff elections, and on Nov. 3, the state will host the general election. Additional candidates could come up after the primaries conclude, so once the names are finalized, the ballots may appear differently in November.
The special election in races affected by new congressional maps is currently planned for Aug. 11, though officials — including Ivey — have encouraged all voters to cast their ballots in the regular May 19 primary.
Who’s running for U.S. Senate?
The seat currently held by U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville is up for election. Tuberville, who has thrown his hat in the governor’s race, will not be returning to the position, so all candidates listed would be new to the Senate. The other seat is held by U.S. Sen. Katie Britt and won’t be open until her term expires in 2028.
Republican candidates
- Seth Burton
- Dale Shelton Deas Jr.
- Jared Hudson
- Steve Marshall
- Barry Moore
- Rodney Walker
Some names on this list are already serving in federal and Alabama state government positions, with Marshall currently serving as the state’s Attorney General, and Moore currently representing Alabama’s 1st District in the House of Representatives and previously representing the 2nd District. Of the candidates, President Donald Trump has endorsed only one, which is Moore.
Hudson is the only candidate who has attempted to run for another position, albeit unsuccessfully — he ran for sheriff of Jefferson County in 2022, but lost to incumbent Sheriff Mark Pettway.
Democratic candidates
- Dakarai Larriett
- Kyle Sweetser
- Everett Wess
- Mark S. Wheeler II
Who’s running for House of Representatives?
U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell is running unopposed in District 7. Voters in every district have candidates from both sides of the aisle to consider.
Considering the special election that is now on the horizon, candidate names may appear differently on ballots in August if different maps are approved. For the May 19 primaries, the following is how candidate names will appear.
District 1 Republican Candidates
- Jerry Carl
- James (Jimmy) Dees
- Rhett Marques
- Joshua McKee
- John Mills
- James Richardson
- Austin Sidwell
District 1 Democratic Candidates
Senate candidate Moore currently holds the District 1 position, so no candidates are incumbents. A few of the candidates in this race have previous political experience. Carl is a former member of the U.S. House and used to represent District 1, with his tenure in office lasting from 2021-25. Marques is a current Alabama State House representative.
District 2 Republican Candidates
District 2 Democratic Candidates
U.S. Rep. Figures currently holds the District 2 position.
District 3 Republican Candidates
District 3 Democratic Candidates
U.S. Rep. Rogers currently holds the District 3 position.
District 4 Republican Candidates
- Robert B. Aderholt
- Tommy Barnes
District 4 Democratic Candidates
- Amanda N. Pusczek
- Shane Weaver
U.S. Rep. Aderholt currently holds the District 4 position. His one Republican opponent, Barnes, has a history in public service, serving as a Colbert County Commissioner.
District 5 Republican Candidates
District 5 Democratic Candidates
- Jeremy Devito
- Candice Dollar Duvieilh
- Andrew Sneed
U.S. Rep. Strong currently holds the District 5 position.
District 6 Republican candidates
District 6 Democratic candidates
U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer currently holds the District 6 position.
How do I check my voter registration status?
To vote in the primary election, voters need to have been registered to vote in Alabama for 15 days before the election is scheduled to happen.
To check your registration status, visit vote.gov.
Sarah Clifton covers business for the Montgomery Advertiser. You can reach her at sclifton@montgome.gannett.com or follow her on X @sarahgclifton and TikTok @sarahgclifton. To support her work, please subscribe to the Montgomery Advertiser.
PENSACOLA, Fla. — A bipartisan bill is making its way through Washington that would preserve and possibly restore a famous piece of naval aviation history.
The F-14 Tomcat was in service with the Navy for more than 30 years and was famously used in the original “Top Gun” movie.
But when the aircraft retired in 2005, the U.S. government destroyed a majority of the airplanes that were here in the U.S. This made the prospects of the jet returning to the skies next to impossible.
The “Maverick Act” hopes to bring a jet that inspired a generation back to life.
“The Maverick Act got a lot of support,” “It passed the Senate unanimously. It now heads to Congress for a final vote.”
Pensacola Navy veteran Dan McCort can still feel the raw power the F-14 Tomcat brought to naval aviation.
“It was a blast to fly. I gotta tell you I got it,” McCort said. “I love the airplane. I love the missions because it came with a huge mission set.”
The only country in the world flying the jet was Iran. The jets were given to Iran in 1979. But when the government was overthrown, the jets fell into the hands of an anti-American government.
Because of that, when the jet retired in 2006, the U.S. ordered most of the aircraft and its parts be destroyed.
During Operation Epic Fury, American and Israeli pilots destroyed Iran’s entire Air Force, including all the remaining flyable F-14s.
“We had to take them out, but boy that was hard for me to watch,” McCort said.
A bill dubbed the “Maverick Act” was introduced through a bipartisan effort. The legislation would preserve and restore three F-14s sitting in our nation’s boneyard.
“That airplane inspired an entire nation, partly because of the movie, partly because of the times it was hard Cold War, and it represented frankly American air power,” said McCort.
“A fantastic piece of equipment that served our country well,” Congressman Jimmy Patronis said. “But I can’t help but poke fun at it simply because of what Tom Cruise has done with the most recent ‘Top Gun’ movies.”
The bill calls for the Navy to donate the Tomcats to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, where they will be restored. If there’s enough spare parts, the bill calls for one of them to be restored to flight status to be flown at airshows across the country.
All of this would be funded by private donors, and not American taxpayers.
“If there’s no taxpayer dollars being used to restore these things then put it on the table,” said Patronis.
McCort says restoring the airplane will cost millions of dollars.
“A foundation that could generate some donations to defer the costs of making this thing fly because it will not be inexpensive,” said McCort. “I believe we’ll pay dividends down the road, both for the museum as well as a recruiting opportunity… as well as a recruiting opportunity for the country in general, and for the Navy frankly.”
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