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Downtown Montgomery gets Main Street Alabama designation

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Downtown Montgomery gets Main Street Alabama designation


MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) – In a big win for the city, downtown Montgomery is the newest Main Street Alabama community.

The designation means that the city will have access to a new network of resources and expertise to promote job growth and create vibrant public spaces.

The process to apply to be a Main Street community was 18 months long, and Montgomery was the only city in the state to be awarded the title this year.

Public and private sectors had to come together to form a plan that would stand out to be selected.

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“We do our downtown action plan. You have to prove that you have a collective,” said Darryl Washington, Montgomery’s director of economic development. “Our application stood out because it’s the city, the Chamber, Landmarks Foundation and the Downtown Business Association.”

The news comes just a day after Mayor Steven Reed’s State of the City address. In that speech, he spoke on the economy and promoting business. Becoming a Main Street community seems to be a key step in that plan.

“I think when you have this and you’ve seen what’s happening in other cities, it shows just how much we can do here in our city as well, in particular downtown,” said Reed.

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College Football Playoff committee absolutely blew it

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College Football Playoff committee absolutely blew it


College football lost on Sunday. 

It lost because a team, Notre Dame, capable of winning a national championship was left out.

It lost because the College Football Playoff selection committee ignored the downward spiral of another team, Alabama.

It lost because of the committee’s inconsistencies in the ranking process, dropping one team (BYU) that was crushed in its conference tournament, but not treating the Crimson Tide the same way even though they performed in the exact same manner on Saturday night in a 28-7 drilling at the hands of Georgia. It lost because the committee ranked Notre Dame ahead of Miami all year, then flipped the two based on a head-to-head Week 1 result after ignoring the matchup in the previous five editions of the rankings.

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Florida man arrested in 2011 New York murders of Alabama veteran, toddler once linked to serial killer

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Florida man arrested in 2011 New York murders of Alabama veteran, toddler once linked to serial killer


The New York Times is reporting that a 66-year-old man from Florida has been charged in the death more than two decades ago of a woman born in Alabama and her two-year-old child.

Andrew Dykes of Ruskin, Fla., was indicted this week by a grand jury on charges of murdering Tanya Denise Jackson and her two-year-old, Tatiana Marie Dykes.

Tanya Jackson was known as Jane Doe No. 3, or “Peaches,” after a tattoo on her torso of a heart-shaped peach with a bite taken out of it. She was identified in April.

According to The New York Post, Jackson’s torso was discovered in 1997 stuffed in a container in a wooded section of Hempstead Lake State Park, along a remote stretch of Long Island oceanfront, several miles from the New York City border.

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In 2011, more of Jackson’s remains were found in the Gilgo area, along with the body of her daughter.

Tatiana was found in a thicket, wrapped in a blanket and wearing gold jewelry.

Tanya Jackson had been born in Alabama and served in the U.S. Army from 1993 through 1995, when Tatiana was born. Jackson later moved to Brooklyn, where she may have worked as a medical assistant, according to police.

Jackson had never been reported missing and was reportedly estranged from family members.

She and her daughter were buried at the Alabama State Veterans Memorial Cemetery at Spanish Fort.

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Dykes was the father of Tatiana Marie Dykes, according to police. He was arrested on Wednesday in Florida on a felony fugitive warrant.

Both Jackson and Tatiana Dykes had initially appeared to be possible victims of the Gilgo Beach serial killer, in part because of their proximity to where other victims were discovered, but investigators eventually ruled this out.

Rex Heuermann, a Massapequa Park, N.Y., architectural consultant, faces charges of killing seven women, six of whom were found in the Gilgo Beach area.



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Comparing Alabama Final CFP Resume Against Notre Dame, Miami

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Comparing Alabama Final CFP Resume Against Notre Dame,  Miami


It’s been said for years that teams playing in conference championship games won’t be penalized for losses when it comes to College Football Playoff rankings. That might be put to the test on Sunday when the 12-team 2025-26 tournament bracket is set and announced (11 a.m. CT, ESPN)

Following Saturday’s results, when just about everything didn’t go the Crimson Tide’s way, chances are the committee will end up picking two just teams between Alabama, Notre Dame and Miami for the final at-large spots.

Did Alabama do enough to get in after being the first team out last year? Will the committee switch it and Notre Dame in the rankings after moving the Crimson Tide ahead of the Fighting Irish last week? Might Miami leapfrog one or both despite not playing this week?

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This is to put the team resumes next to each other to make them easier to compare, but before doing so we’re going to make two assumptions:

  • That No. 11 Brigham Young (12-2) is out of the mix after getting routed in the Big 12 Championship Game to Texas Tech. Why? Their only win against a ranked opponent this season was 24-21 over then-No. 24 Utah.

  • Unranked Duke won’t be seriously considered by the selection committee despite winning the ACC Championship Game in overtime against Virginia. Even with the win, the Blue Devils finished 8-5.

That means the ACC will be out of the playoff if Miami doesn’t get in.

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To fill in a couple of details, one of the changes from last year was that only the top five conference champions in the rankings secure the automatic bids. Consequently, James Madison will squeeze in instead. In case you missed, it, Duke played in the ACC title game in Charlotte after a five-way tie for second place in the league standings, which was finally broken by the sixth tiebreaker.

Tulane, No. 20 in last week’s CFP rankings, will be the No. 11 seed.

Two of these teams will be in the top 10 and still alive for the national championship. Unless the selection committee makes a change with the teams that were idle this week (Ole Miss without Lane Kiffin?) the No. 9 team will visit Oklahoma, and the No. 10 team will draw Texas A&M.

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SEE ALSO: Kalen DeBoer Makes Final Pitch to CFP Committee After SEC Championship Loss

Alabama Crimson Tide

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CFP Ranking Last Week: 9
Record: 10-3
Did it play in conference championship: Yes, but not well, losing to No. 3 Georgia.
Wins over ranked teams: at then-No. 5 Georgia 24-21; No. 16 Vanderbilt 30-14; No. 14 Missouri 27-24; No. 11 Tennessee 37-20
Losses: at Florida State in season opener, 31-17; No. 11 Oklahoma 23-21; No. 3 Georgia in SEC Championship Game 28-7.  
Note: First team in SEC history to beat four ranked opponents on four subsequent Saturdays. Went 2-2 over final four games.

Strength of schedule last week: 11
Strength of record last week (ESPN): 8
BCS computers last week: 8

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

CFP Ranking Last Week: 10
Record: 10-2
Did it play in conference championship: No.
Wins over ranked teams: Then-No. 20 USC 34-24; at No. 22 Pitt 37-15
Losses: 27-24 at then No. 10 Miami in season opener, 41-40 to No. 16 Texas A&M
Note: Won 10 straight, but didn’t beat a top-15 team.

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Strength of schedule last week: 42
Strength of record last week (ESPN): 13
BCS computers last week: 10

Miami Hurricanes

CFP Ranking Last Week: 12
Record: 10-2
Did it play in conference championship: No.
Wins over ranked teams: Then-No. 6 Notre Dame 27-24 in season opener; No. 18 South Florida 49-12; at No. Florida State 28-22; at No. 22 Pitt 38-7
Losses: Louisville 24-21; at SMU 26-20 OT
Note: Beat Notre Dame, and a team that defeated Alabama, Florida State.

Strength of schedule last week: 44
Strength of record last week (ESPN): 14
BCS computers last week: 13

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Texas Longhorns

CFP Ranking Last Week: 13
Record: 9-3
Did it play in conference championship: No.
Wins over ranked teams: Then-No. 6 Oklahoma 23-6; No. 9 Vanderbilt 34-31; No. 3 Texas A&M 27-17
Losses: at then-No. 3 Ohio State 14-7; at Florida 29-21; at No. 5 Georgia 35-10
Note: It had three regular-season losses, which was the difference for the Crimson Tide not making it last year. Texas is arguing that it shouldn’t be penalized for its season-opening loss against Ohio State. You could say the same then for Alabama and Notre Dame.

Strength of schedule last week: 8
Strength of record last week (ESPN): 12
BCS computers last week: 15

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Vanderbilt Commodores

CFP Ranking Last Week: 14
Record: 10-2
Did it play in conference championship: No.
Wins over ranked teams:  Then-No. 11 South Carolina 31-7; No. 10 LSU 31-24; No. 15 Missouri 17-10; at No. 19 Tennessee 35-24
Losses: at then-No. 10 Alabama 30-14; at No. 20 Texas 34-31
Note: Best team in Vanderbilt history? The problem is the Commodores lost to two other teams in this group, Alabama and the one directly ahead of it, Texas.

Strength of schedule last week: 22
Strength of record last week (ESPN): 11
BCS computers last week: 12



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