Alabama
Alabama lost one of its superfans, and I lost a great friend, in Mike Parker | Goodbread
I’ll call Mike Parker a superfan only in the purest, most rudimentary sense of the term.
He was, no doubt, the biggest Alabama fan I’ve ever known, so it’s a fitting way to describe him, although he had zero interest in launching a personal brand around his fandom. That he started Crimson Cover, a local radio and television show covering Alabama athletics, might sound contradictory to the notion of a humble superfan. But for Mike, Crimson Cover was never about him, only about the school he loved. Which is to say that he was nothing like the typical sports superfan who seeks to draw attention to self, go viral at any cost, and feed off any scrap of notoriety.
I said goodbye to Mike at a memorial service on Saturday morning — he was 42 — and he would’ve been glad to know that as the church gathering paid its respects, his Crimson Tide basketball team was putting the finishing touches on a 93-91 overtime win over Auburn.
Life dealt Mike the toughest of hands, but he played it with the toughest resolve.
He became quadriplegic in the summer of 2004 after a diving accident in Destin, Fla., while celebrating the Fourth of July. He was confined to a wheelchair for roughly half his life, but his personality refused to be confined to anything. In 2008, he convinced me to co-host Crimson Cover radio with him, having secured a small loan from a relative to pay for the airtime, because he had no advertisers. Within a year, he’d recruited former Alabama All-American defensive end John Copeland as a third co-host, and the three of us would become the best of friends. Soon after, he willed it into existence in its current form, a weekly television show on WVUA.
Among the myriad of health issues related to Mike’s paralysis was a relatively constant battle with nausea, and back when Crimson Cover was strictly on radio, he’d arrive at the station most Saturday mornings with a large plastic bowl in his lap and looking a bit pale. He would warn us and apologize for what he was sure would happen during the show. But the moment the red “on the air” light came on, his nausea would vanish until the show ended, and he’d take the bowl home clean enough to put right back in the cabinet. I always likened it to the “clutch gene” that great athletes have when the game is on the line. Mike mentally locked out his nausea for the show the way Michael Jordan locked out distractions for game-winning shots. His parents saw it more as an indicator of how much he loved talking about Alabama sports. Either way, Crimson Cover broadcasts made him feel better than any prescription ever could.
So did watching Alabama football or basketball games. He never missed one on television, but I know he would’ve been to many more in person were it not for his paralysis. He hated his wheelchair about like how he hated Alabama’s rivals; not shy to curse either. At the visitation following his memorial service, the wheelchair he hated was appropriately turned upside down.
But that wheelchair also got him around to make Crimson Cover a reality.
In an era when growing an audience demanded savvy social media promotion, Mike — who cared so little about social media that he barely kept a Facebook page — did it the hard way. And for someone in a wheelchair, it was the extra-hard way. He went all over Tuscaloosa to grow the show’s audience by taking the brand to the streets. He secured deals for remote broadcasts of Crimson Cover radio and TV at local businesses all over town. BamaLand. Archibald’s BBQ. The Bear Trap. Northport Pharmacy. Wings U. The Purse Man. The Booth. Crimson Carpet and Flooring. Corks & Tops. Even BabyTalk in Northport, an infant/toddler emporium. Yep, Mike could talk Alabama football while pitching onesies and rattles.
On Saturday mornings in the fall, the radio show broadcast live from the Holiday Inn Express lobby on Veterans Memorial Parkway. That’s where the CBS broadcast crew used to stay when it was in town, and its announcing team of Gary Danielson and Verne Lundquist would often come down for the breakfast buffet, then sit in for a segment with Mike on the radio show.
Eventually, as the show transitioned from radio to TV at Mike’s behest, he maintained an integral role in planning its content, piloting its fun, off-the-cuff style on air, securing title sponsors, and more. Now, after 15 years and roughly 750 episodes on WVUA, Copeland and I will continue hosting Crimson Cover in Mike’s memory. But it won’t ever be the same.
Mike was a force of nature, and I wish I’d met him before his diving accident.
But I’m lucky to have met him at all.
Tuscaloosa News columnist Chase Goodbread is also the weekly co-host of Crimson Cover TV on WVUA-23. Reach him at cgoodbread@gannett.com. Follow on X.com @chasegoodbread.
Alabama baseball cruised to a win over Alabama State on Wednesday night, beating the Hornets 13-4 to complete the season sweep. The Crimson Tide tied a program record with nine stolen bases in one of the stranger contests that will be played this season.
The tone was set for a tumultuous night on the basepaths in the opening minutes of the game. Leadoff batter Bryce Fowler, who exited Tuesday’s game after getting beaned in the head, was walked, and promptly took second base. He advanced to third on a wild pitch in Justin Lebron’s at-bat, paving the way for Lebron to steal second when he was ultimately walked as well.
The successful baserunning instantly paid off, as Brady Neal drove both in with a double to left-center field before John Lemm walked two at-bats later. Both runners stole their respective bases on the same pitch in Jason Torres’ plate appearance, meaning that four of the first five batters of the game stole a base.
Alabama has been exceptional on the basepaths, sitting at 30-for-30 on the season. Lebron, who swiped two bags on Wednesday, leads the team with 12. The junior had an up-and-down night, hitting his eighth home run of the season, but also committing an error at shortstop for the fourth consecutive game.
“Get those things out of there now, baby. The dude is unbelievable,” an unconcerned Rob Vaughn said on Tuesday of Lebron’s errors. “We’re going to look up at the end of the year, and that guy is going to have five or six errors, which one he’s got right now, and we’ll be like, ‘Man, that guy is the best of all time to do it.’”
Wednesday’s game was a very prototypical midweek contest with no shortage of quirks and oddities throughout its nearly four-hour runtime. Fifteen Alabama batters were walked, falling just one shy of the program record, and the hit by pitch record was tied as seven batters were plunked.
The game was never competitive from an on-field standpoint. After barely escaping with a 2-1 win in the first matchup with the Hornets two weeks ago, this was a far more accurate representation of what these games typically look like, as Alabama now leads the all-time series 15-0.
Freshman Joe Chiarodo made his first career start, allowing two hits and one walk over two scoreless innings. He was named the winning pitcher. Luke Smyers, Connor Lehman, Anthony Pesci and Tate Robertson were the other pitchers to take the mound. Lehman allowed a three-run blast in the sixth inning, and those were the only runs until the incredibly-named Skywalker Mann drove in a run off Robertson in the ninth.
Perhaps the most shocking figure from the game was that Alabama had 19 runners left on base. The Crimson Tide left the bases loaded in four different innings. As stated, this was just a bizarre baseball game across the board. With the midweeks out of the way, the Crimson Tide gets to prepare for its final weekend tune-up before SEC play as North Florida heads into Tuscaloosa on Friday.
The Healthy Early Development and Screen Time Act was signed on Wednesday, March 4, by Governor Kay Ivey to introduce limits on children’s screen time access in Alabama.
The Act is one of Ivey’s 2026 legislative priorities.
“Video screen access in classrooms can boost learning skills among our young children, but too much screen exposure can also be detrimental, harming critical social and cognitive development,” Ivey said. “The Healthy Early Development and Screen Time Act ensures our youngest students are provided a healthy balance of screen time and traditional learning in order to protect social and emotional development.”
Under the Healthy Early Development and Screen Time Act, the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education will be required to work with the Department of Human Resources and the State Department of Education to develop guidelines for screen-based media.
Guidelines will be implemented in early childhood education programs like day care centers, day care homes, night care facilities, pre-kindergarten, kindergarten and group day care homes. The Act was sponsored by Representative Jeana Ross and Senator Donnie Chesteen.
“House Bill 78 establishes clear, research-based expectations for how technology is used in early childhood settings,” said Ross. “The goal is not to eliminate technology, but to ensure its use is developmentally appropriate and never replaces the hands-on learning and human interaction young children need most. By setting thoughtful guardrails and aligning classroom practices with the best available research on early brain development, this legislation supports educators, protects the quality of early learning and reinforces our commitment to giving Alabama’s youngest students the strongest possible start.”
A training program will also be created by the Department of Early Childhood Education to create a baseline for the appropriate use of child screentime for teachers and staff members supervising children.
“The Healthy Early Development and Screen Time Act represents another important step in ensuring Alabama’s youngest children grow and learn in environments that prioritize human interaction, exploration and healthy development,” said Chesteen. “Building on the progress made with last year’s FOCUS Act, this legislation continues our commitment to protecting the most formative years of childhood. I am grateful to Governor Kay Ivey and my colleagues in the Legislature for recognizing the importance of this issue and working together to support Alabama families.”
The Healthy Early Development and Screen Time Act will become effective on January 1, 2027.
The Alabama State Conference of the NAACP has announced its official schedule for the 2026 NAACP-sponsored Selma Jubilee Bridge Crossing Weekend, set for March 6–8 in Montgomery and Selma.
Held under the theme “A Time for Standing,” the annual commemoration honors the Foot Soldiers of the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery marches and recognizes the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., John Lewis and Rev. Jesse Jackson for their roles in advancing civil rights and voting access.
The three-day event will bring together national, state and local leaders, along with youth and college chapters, faith partners and community members for activities focused on reflection, education and civic engagement.
Scheduled events include a civic discussion titled “The New Civic Path” on March 6 at the Montgomery Interpretive Center at Alabama State University, followed by a Jubilee Gala that evening at Embassy Suites in Montgomery. On March 7, the Birmingham Metro Branch will host a bus trip to Selma, while a statewide civic engagement training will take place in Montgomery.
SEE ALSO: Bridge Crossing Jubilee to honor Rev. Jesse Jackson’s legacy in Selma
SEE ALSO: 16th Street Baptist Church: Keeping a Legacy Alive 63 Years Later
On March 8, participants will take part in the Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee Parade, voter activation efforts, worship services at Brown Chapel AME Church and Tabernacle Baptist Church, and the traditional bridge crossing at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge.
Organizers say the weekend will emphasize continued civic participation and community engagement across Alabama.
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March 6 — Alabama NAACP Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee Gala 5:30PM Embassy Suites by Hilton, 300 Tallapoosa St, Montgomery, AL 36104
March 7 — NAACP Birmingham Metro Branch Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee Bus Trip 8AM–5PM Broad Street and Water Avenue in Selma Alabama
March 7 — Alabama State NAACP Statewide Civic Engagement Training 8–4:15PM Homewood Suites, 7800 EastChase Pkwy, Montgomery, AL 36117
March 8 — Alabama State NAACP in the Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee Parade 8AM–10AM Begins at 1722 Broad St and concludes at the National Voting Rights Museum
March 8 — Alabama NAACP Statewide Bridge Crossing Jubilee Bus Trip 8AM–5PM Alabama State University, Untenese and Mobile Branch and University of Alabama, Oakwood University, Broad Street and Water Avenue, Selma
March 8 — Alabama NAACP Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee Participation in Worship Services 10AM–2PM Brown Chapel AME Church and Tabernacle Baptist Church, Selma
March 8 — Alabama NAACP Youth and College Civic Engagement Voter Activation 8AM–2PM Broad Street and Water Ave, Selma
March 8 — Alabama NAACP Statewide Bridge Crossing 11:15PM – Line up Alabama NAACP Tent on Waters Ave or at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge, Selma
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