Alabama legislators plan to hold a meeting Wednesday on a proposed gambling package that has divided the House and Senate. 

Three members of a conference committee assigned to resolve differences between the chambers over the package said in separate interviews Tuesday that they held a meeting on the bill on Monday. 

The House version, passed in February, included a lottery and authorized up to seven casinos and sports betting around the state. It also directed the governor to enter a compact with the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, a federally-recognized tribe that runs casinos in Atmore, Montgomery and Wetumpka.  

The Senate version, passed last month, stripped out everything but the compact and the lottery. The House and Senate also differed on disbursement of revenues and the date of the election on an amendment authorizing gambling. 

The Senate conferees are Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Atmore; Senate Minority Leader Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro; and Sen. Garlan Gudger, R-Cullman. The House conferees are Sam Jones, D-Mobile; Rep. Chris Blackshear, R-Smiths Station; and Rep. Andy Whitt, R-Harvest.

Singleton and Albritton are longtime proponents of gambling legislation. Whitt and Blackshear developed the original House legislation.

Gudger, Albritton and Whitt said there was a meeting of some members on Monday and that they plan to have a public meeting Wednesday. As of mid-Tuesday afternoon, it had not been publicly announced on the Legislature’s website.

In separate interviews, Gudger and Albritton declined to share who was present at the Monday meeting.

“I’m only accountable for myself,” said Albritton. “I’m not going to snitch.” 

Albritton said he was not sure if everyone was invited to the Monday meeting.

Singleton said, if there was a meeting Monday, he was not invited.

“If they’ve been meeting without me, I’m going to get on somebody but– I don’t like that,” he said. 

There also seem to be disagreement over the level of agreement.

Gudger said there was more common ground than expected. Whitt said the conferees are “working through the process.”

Albritton said there was very little agreement.

“Not much, no, I don’t think so,” he said. “There’s trying to do a Venn diagram on what is and what isn’t. Every time you get those balloons, they bounce off each other.”

Alander Rocha contributed to this report.

The Unpacking Future Packers Countdown is a countdown of 100 prospects that could be selected by the Green Bay Packers in the 2024 NFL draft.

On paper, the Green Bay Packers appear to have a solid group of cornerbacks. Jaire Alexander is an all-pro caliber player. Carrington Valentine showed promise last season as a seventh-round rookie. Keisean Nixon is back to man the nickel position. If Eric Stokes can rediscover his rookie form, the Packers could be cooking with gas.

Can Alexander and Stokes stay healthy? Are the Packers willing to put all their eggs in the Valentine basket? On top of the injury concerns, Alexander, Nixon and Valentine are the only ones under contract after next season. 

There is no denying that the room has talent, but clouds are approaching, ready to damper expectations.

Considering all those factors it would not be shocking to see Brian Gutekunst add a cornerback early in the 2024 NFL Draft. A potential target with the 25th overall pick is Kool-Aid McKinstry. The Alabama cornerback checks in at No. 10 in the Unpacking Future Packers Countdown.

A five-star recruit, McKinstry started in six games during his first season on campus and recorded 26 tackles, one sack and one interception. The following season the Alabama native recorded two tackles for loss, one sack, one interception and 15 pass deflections. This past season McKinstry recorded two tackles for loss and seven pass deflections. 

“Despite his outlandish name, Kool-Aid was a quiet personality with sticky coverage abilities, leading to him rarely being noticed whatsoever on any given broadcast,” Brent Taylor, the editor for Roll Bama Roll said. “Going back, he was thrust into a starting role as a true freshman when both starting corners got hurt in the playoffs back in 2021 and played admirably, though he did give up one long completion to a veteran George Pickens. He then took the full-time starting job as a sophomore, and I’m not sure he gave up another big play the next two years.”

Calm, cool and collected. That’s McKinstry. The Alabama cornerback never looks panicked out on the gridiron and has only given up two receptions of 30-plus yards over the past two seasons. He’s a lockdown, boundary cornerback who smothers wide receivers. 

He’s a well-balanced athlete with coordinated feet to mirror. The former five-star recruit has the oily hips to open up and stay hitched to the wide receiver’s hip pockets downfield. McKinstry has the length to choke passing lanes and is disruptive at the catch point.

“He’s calm, patient, and balanced,” Taylor said. “No matter where a receiver goes or what they do, Kool-Aid knows how to stay with them and never panic. He’s the kind of player who’s just always a step ahead and has a feel for a receiver’s routes before they run them. He’s also fairly impressive at pressing off the snap to start.”

McKinstry isn’t a fighter against the run. There are times when he explodes downhill to disrupt a bubble screen and when he can fly downhill uncontested he’ll make the tackle behind or near the line of scrimmage. He’s a reliable tackler, it’s just the fight isn’t always there, sort of like Alexander. Turn on the game against Kentucky and you’ll see McKinstry impacting the run. Throughout his career, he was tagged with just nine missed tackles. 

“This is his biggest hangup, in my opinion,” Taylor said. “Kool-Aid will get washed by perimeter blocks, and he’s prone to poor efforts on tackling, which can lead to his arm tackles getting blown by.”

Along with being a lockdown cornerback, McKinstry provides special teams value as a punt returner. In 2022, McKinstry averaged 15.8 yards per return and finished his career with 35 punt return attempts and an 11.9 yards per return average. 

Fit with the Packers

With question marks both in the short and long term surrounding the cornerback room at 1265 Lombardi Avenue, Gutekunst may opt to add a player of McKinstry’s skill set. 

The Alabama cornerback has the ability to take half the field away and at times looks like a 10-year veteran. Terrion Arnold had the eye-popping production, while McKinstry just quietly went about his business, getting targeted 39 times, and locking down the man across from him. 

“Kool-Aid has a few flaws that I think keep him from being an elite, All-Pro type of corner,” Taylor said. “He’s a poor tackler, he struggles to make interceptions, and he just doesn’t really make game-changing plays. Still, he’s about as good as you can get at mirroring receivers and covering, and you’ll pretty much always have nothing to worry about on one side of the field. Any team that needs that kind of stability at one corner position would/should be more than happy to grab him in the first round.”

McKinstry checks all the boxes. He doesn’t give up the big play and when he was targeted regularly he led the SEC in pass deflections. He’s only 21 years old and brings special teams value as a punt returner. If he’s on the board when the Packers are on the clock, the Packers could have a new cornerback to pair with Alexander for the foreseeable future. 

United Methodist delegates from Alabama will be in Charlotte on Tuesday for the start of the United Methodist General Conference, the denomination’s worldwide policy-making meeting that continues through May 3.

Delegates say the big issues are best summed up as the three R’s: Removal of harmful language regarding homosexuality; regionalization allowing more self-governing in different parts of the world; and revising the Social Principles.

“Those are the three big ones, and they’re big,” said the Rev. Kelly Clem, a retired minister for the North Alabama Conference and one of 862 voting delegates.

See also:

• Alabama Supreme Court denies United Methodist request to dismiss lawsuit: Dothan megachurch says it owes no money
• What is the Global Methodist Church? Splinter group formed as United Methodist split continues

More than half of United Methodist churches have departed in Alabama, and a quarter nationwide in a denominational split. Most assume that the General Conference will have less conservative resistance to issues such as changing the denomination’s bans on same-sex marriage and ordaining openly gay clergy.

Clem says she believes this denominational meeting will be smoother than past ones she has attended, since those who didn’t want to be in the denomination any longer have mostly left.

“I feel very hopeful about General Conference this time,” Clem said. “I think there’s a lot of unity and hopefulness about our moving forward as the United Methodist Church, as a denomination. The temperature has been significantly lowered.”

Lisa Keys-Mathews, lay leader of the North Alabama Conference and a reserve delegate at the General Conference, said she believes there are enough conservative activists left in the denomination to strongly resist all the progressive proposals.

“There are some super negative voices coming out that are still part of the United Methodist Church,” Keys-Mathews said. “I find that sad, and hurtful.”

On the issue of removing language such as calling homosexuality “incompatible with Christian teaching,” there is still contention, she said.

“There are loud voices on both ends,” Keys-Mathews said. “There are people intent on causing chaos at General Conference. That disturbs me. That saddens me.”

The Rev. Brian Erickson, senior pastor of Trinity United Methodist Church of Homewood and a reserve clergy delegate, thinks there’s an opportunity for change.

“I think the proposal to remove the language around homosexuality is the most fair and balanced and frankly moderate approach going forward because it leaves the most space for our differences,” he said.

The General Conference begins with an opening service Tuesday at 2 p.m. and closes on May 3. The first week is full of committee meetings, with 17 legislative committees sorting through more than 1,000 proposals.

One of the proposals came from the North Alabama Conference, sponsored by Erickson. It recommends that the denomination remove language against homosexuality.

“The effort is to let go of some words that are offensive and put people in a box,” Clem said. “I feel like it’s better for us to remove language that separates people or that confines people to a category.”

Clem serves on the committee on financial administration, which will handle budget-cutting measures in the wake of the large exodus from the denomination.

“There will be a reduction of the budget for the general church, but also it will come down in a smaller percentage that will be asked of the members when it comes down to the local church,” Clem said.

“Overall, a big reduction, but also a little more sensitivity to the local church’s fragility after Covid, after losing members,” Clem said. “There will not be as much asked of each member to give to the General apportionments. That’s a good thing too.”

This will be the first General Conference since 2019, a special called meeting to discuss human sexuality. The 2020 meeting was postponed by Covid-19. The United Methodists traditionally meet every four years to do business.

“There’s always been controversy and especially on the homosexuality issue,” Clem said.

“Within the body, there will be harmony because these are people who have made intentional choices to stay United Methodist for reasons of really believing in who we are, our mission, our purpose, and wanting to be a part of it. There’s a lot of energy toward Let’s come together, let’s be together, let’s move forward.”

The North Alabama Conference has four clergy delegates, four lay delegates, and four reserve delegates. The Alabama-West Florida Conference has the same.

“We’re here because we want to be here; we’re not going to keep fighting,” Clem said.

“The ones who wanted to leave, who felt so strongly, especially about human sexuality issues, they’ve gone. We’re going to move forward. There’s just a real rallying of those who want to help the church move forward with its mission and stop getting bogged down in some of these controversial matters and just move forward. There will be dissent. I just think there will be a much more positive vibe.”

See also: United Methodists urge repeal of ban on same-sex marriage, openly gay clergy