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AJ McCarron sustains ankle injury in return to Alabama

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AJ McCarron sustains ankle injury in return to Alabama


With 40 seconds to play on Saturday, St. Louis outside linebacker Chris Garrett blocked a punt by Birmingham’s Drue Chrisman to give the Battlehawks the football at the Stallions 47-yard line trailing by four points.

That set the stage for the kind of comeback victory that St. Louis quarterback AJ McCarron has become accustomed to delivering since joining the Battlehawks last season.

And adding electricity to the storyline was the United Football League game’s location – Protective Stadium in Birmingham. A former All-American and national-championship quarterback at Alabama, McCarron also was a prep star at St. Paul’s Episcopal in Mobile, and Saturday’s United Football League game was his first action in his home state since the Kick Six Iron Bowl in 2013.

But about seven minutes of game time before the blocked punt, McCarron had walked to the sideline and told the St. Louis coaches: “Hey, my ankle’s broken.”

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Despite his injury proclamation, McCarron did not miss a snap. But he couldn’t deliver the dramatic game-winning drive either as Birmingham stayed undefeated 30-26 victory.

McCarron did not speak at St. Louis’ postgame press conference, as he usually does, as the Battlehawks said he was receiving treatment. Coach Anthony Becht did not provide an update on the quarterback during his postgame remarks.

“I know he wanted to deliver today,” Becht said, “and we just came up short. …

“He’s been doing it his whole life. He’s played in front of 100-plus thousand fans. He can deal with 10 or 12 (thousand), and most of them were cheering for him. That’s good, you know? I know he wanted this one. I know he wanted to bring this one home.”

McCarron’s return to Alabama was used as a marketing tool by the UFL, and with a reported attendance of 14,056, Birmingham had its biggest crowd of the season.

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About two hours after the game ended, a statement from St. Louis said McCarron had sustained a left ankle injury and would undergo further evaluation.

McCarron had just completed a third-and-8 pass to wide receiver Hakeem Butler for a 15-yard gain to the Birmingham 22-yard line when he was taken down by Stallions nose tackle Carlos Davis on an incompletion.

Davis hit McCarron in the shins, then rolled the QB over holding his legs and got a roughing-the-passer penalty. St. Louis running back Jacob Saylors scored on a 7-yard run on the next snap to give the Battlehawks a 26-23 lead with 7:43 to play.

McCarron made his ankle announcement after the conversion try and went into the sideline medical tent.

After a 40-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Adrian Martinez to wide receiver Kelvin Austin Jr. allowed Birmingham to take a 4-point lead with 5:23 remaining, an 8-yard loss on a sack, an 8-yard run by Saylors and an incompletion on a long pass gave the Battlehawks their first three-and-out since the opening possession. St. Louis punted with 3:10 remaining.

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But Garrett’s blocked punt gave the Battlehawks an opportunity to pin the first loss of the season on Birmingham. A 7-yard completion to Saylors was followed by a run for 1 gain by McCarron as the quarterback somehow eluded a sack. But with St. Louis out of timeouts, the next snap had to be a spike to stop the clock.

A fourth-down throw to wide receiver Jahcour Person was broken up by linebacker Kyahva Tezino with 11 seconds left to seal the Stallions’ victory.

McCarron finished the game 19-of-32 passing for 161 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He ran for 24 yards on two carries, and his scrambling allowed him to throw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Saylors as the Battlehawks took a 20-17 lead with 6:17 left in the third quarter.

The Battlehawks face the D.C. Defenders at 11 a.m. May 19 at the Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis. ABC will televise the game.

At 5-2, St. Louis will be at least tied for the XFL Conference lead after the United Football League’s Week 7 games are completed. But it remains to be seen if the Battlehawks will have their starting quarterback against D.C.

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A fan cheers for quarterback AJ McCarron and the St. Louis Battlehawks during a United Football League game against the Birmingham Stallions on May 11, 2024, at Protective Stadium in Birmingham.(Photo by Butch Dill/UFL/Getty Images)

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.





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Alabama community rallies to save Ringo, an injured dog looking for a home: ‘Full of hope’

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Alabama community rallies to save Ringo, an injured dog looking for a home: ‘Full of hope’


Ringo, an abandoned puppy that was dropped off at the Madison Police Department earlier this week, will get the surgery he needs thanks to an outpouring of donations from the city’s residents.

On Dec. 9, the Madison Police Department said in a Facebook post it was trying to raise $2,000 so Ringo could get an injured leg amputated.

“Citizens of Madison, we need your help. Recently, an abandoned and abused puppy was brought to us—sweet, loving, and still full of hope despite what he’s been through,” the post said.

“To give him the chance at a healthy, happy life, he needs a surgery to amputate an injured leg. Once he recovers, he’ll be ready for adoption and would make an incredible addition to a loving Madison family—just in time for Christmas.”

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Just three days later, the department said in an update that they’d raised the money they needed, and Ringo would get his surgery in the middle of January.

During a vet visit, the pup was given a clean bill of health and all his required shots.

“We completely met the goal and could not have done it without the help of all our citizens here so we greatly appreciate everything you guys donated for him,” an update video said.

Now the police department is asking for the community to step up again and help get Ringo adopted before his surgery.

“Our next thing we can do is have him adopted. He is ready to go into somebody’s home so he can get acclimated and ready to go before his surgery,” the post said.

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Anyone interested in adopting Ringo is asked to call Madison’s Animal Control at 256-772-5694.



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BamaCentral Courtside From Arizona’s 96-75 Win Over Alabama

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BamaCentral Courtside From Arizona’s 96-75 Win Over Alabama


BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — No. 12 Alabama fell to No. 1 Arizona in Legacy Arena in the fifth annual C.M. Newton Classic. The Crimson Tide held a 2-point halftime lead, but got decimated in the second half, opening the first six minutes of the second frame with just two field goals made.

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The top-ranked Wildcats went on to claim a 96-75 victory and dropped the Crimson Tide’s record in the event to 2-3.

“They’re obviously a really good team,” Nate Oats said. “There’s a reason they’re number one in the country. I thought the first half we played pretty well. We were down five on the glass and needed to clean it up a little bit, and then the second half we had this issue where we just haven’t had very good starts to the second half. We came out and didn’t have a very good start, and it got progressively worse. I think they scored, shoot 39 the entire first half. They had 39 in less than 12 minutes to start the second half.

“Start of the second half was bad. Obviously, they came out of halftime ready to play; we didn’t. The toughness factor was a problem. It’s impossible – I shouldn’t say impossible. It’s nearly impossible to win a game when your opponent gets 28 more field goal attempts than you. If you look, we outshot them from the field and from the free throw line, both percentage-wise. Free throws, they made one more free throw than we did and they got 28 more field goal attempts. You can’t win games giving your opponent 28 more field goal attempts. Offensive glass we had three the whole game, they had 22. We lost the rebounds by 20 again. This has been a recurring issue for us.”

Alabama History in C.M. Newton Classic

  • 2021 – Davidson 79, Alabama 78
  • 2022 – Gonzaga 100, Alabama 90
  • 2023 – Alabama 101, Liberty 56
  • 2024 – Alabama 100, Illinois 87
  • 2025 – Arizona 96, Alabama 75

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Watch the above video as BamaCentral writers Katie Windham, Hunter De Siver, and Will Miller, provide thoughts and takeaways from the Alabama men’s basketball team’s 96-75 loss against the Arizona Wildcats on Saturday. The trio discusses the performance of the No. 12 Crimson Tide and the rebounding issues that continue to plague the program.




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Arizona vs Alabama Prediction, Picks & Odds for Tonight’s College Basketball Game

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Arizona vs Alabama Prediction, Picks & Odds for Tonight’s College Basketball Game


Even on a neutral floor, Alabama should feel plenty of support from the Birmingham crowd at Legacy Arena — enough to keep No. 1 Arizona on its toes.

Dec 13, 2025 • 12:25 ET

• 4 min read

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Photo By – Imagn Images. Alabama Crimson Tide guard Aden Holloway (2) drives to the basket.

The Arizona Wildcats are regarded as the best team in the land once again and will put that moniker to the test when they hit the road to face Alabama in Birmingham.

Both of these teams will come into this matchup off strong wins. The Wildcats beat Tide rival Auburn by nearly 30 points, while Alabama blew out UTSA by 42.

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I break down the matchup in my Alabama vs. Arizona predictions & college basketball picks for Saturday, December 13.

Arizona vs Alabama prediction

Arizona vs Alabama best betAlabama +1.5 (-110)

In name only, this will be a neutral site game but given the geography between the two teams and the fact that this game will be played in Birmingham, this is certainly going to be a very pro Tide crowd.

With that at the forefront, it’s enough to shift things and make Alabama my best bet to cover. I projected this number closer to three.

The Tide have the best unit on the floor: It’s offense. The Nate Oats math-ball shot profile led by Labaron Philon and Aden Holloway is kinda exactly what you want here.

Arizona’s defensive profile is more conducive to slowing down your traditional post and big to big actions, not exactly this one. What’s particularly concerning is allowing an above average scoring rate (.93 points per possession) on attacks + kicks along with 1.02 points per possession on big cuts and rolls.

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These are two items that are a foundation of the Alabama offense. Their clearest edge is in transition and on the offensive glass, areas Alabama can at least partially control by taking care of the ball and keeping the floor spaced.

In a game that should be played in the 80s possession-wise with huge three-point volume, I’d rather have the side with more proven perimeter shot-making and multiple paths to scoring efficiently.

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Arizona vs Alabama same-game parlay

I started things off here with Holloway to go over his assists number. He’s the primary facilitator on the big cut-and-rolls, meaning he should benefit the most from these sets with an increase in assist volume.

This doesn’t even begin to mention how he’ll likely find some easy ones in transition.

Speaking of transition, I’ll finish our same-game parlay off with Jaden Bradley to go over his points total because of it. Alabama, somewhat a product of how they play, has one of the worst transition defenses in the country, and Bradley may be the best transition scoring option on the floor.

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Arizona vs Alabama SGP

  • Aden Holloway Over 4.5 assists
  • Jaden Bradley Over 16.5 points
  • Alabama +1.5

Our beyond the arc SGP: Wrightsell shoots from deep

Latrell Wrightsell should get plenty of clean looks from deep given how Arizona is likely to defend Alabama, so I paired his over 1.5 threes with the game Over. 

I’m close to market on the number, but with two awful transition defenses, the pace and easy-runout points make me lean higher.

Arizona vs Alabama SGP

  • Alabama +1.5
  • Aden Holloway Over 4.5 assists 
  • Jaden Bradley Over 16.5 points
  • Over 178
  • Latrell Wrightsell Over 1.5 threes

Arizona vs Alabama odds

  • Spread: Arizona -1.5 (-110) | Alabama +1.5 (-110)
  • Moneyline: Arizona -130 | Alabama +110
  • Over/Under: Over 178 (-110) | Under 178 (-110)

Arizona vs Alabama betting trend to know

Arizona has hit the 1H Moneyline in 29 of their last 37 games (+21.10 Units / 1% ROI). Find more college basketball betting trends for Arizona vs. Alabama.

How to watch Arizona vs Alabama

Location Legacy Arena at BJCC, Birmingham, AL
Date Saturday, December 13, 2025
Tip-off 9:30 p.m. ET
TV ESPN

Arizona vs Alabama key injuries

Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change.
Not intended for use in MA.
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