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Scarbinsky: To even the score, Alabama has to believe it’s a better team than Oklahoma

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Scarbinsky: To even the score, Alabama has to believe it’s a better team than Oklahoma


This is an opinion column.

Alabama has been here before.

Not this Alabama quarterback or this Alabama coach or this Alabama team, but that script “A” brand. Those crimson helmets. That championship DNA.

Questioned. Doubted. Defeated in the regular season in its own sandbox by a team it would be forced to meet again in the postseason in that team’s back yard.

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Except the players and coaches who made up the 2011 Alabama football team didn’t question or doubt themselves after the Game of the Century went the wrong way. They didn’t feel defeated by LSU 9, Alabama 6 in Bryant-Denny Stadium.

When the polls and computers combined to put them in the BCS Championship Game in New Orleans, they didn’t look at it as if they were forced to play LSU again even though pundits were already talking about those Tigers as one of the greatest teams in college football history.

Just the opposite. Alabama felt fortunate. Confident. Almost arrogant. AJ McCarron, Trent Richardson and the rest learned something about themselves and their opponent on Nov. 5, 2011. The scoreboard said Alabama was the loser in that No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown. Their hearts and minds told them they were the better team.

Given a second chance, they proved it. They shut down LSU, shut up the critics and locked down another national championship. Alabama 21, LSU 0 told the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. The better team lived in Tuscaloosa.

That team believed it but needed a second chance to validate it. This team should feel the same way when it gets on the plane to kick off the 2025 College Football Playoff on Friday night.

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Round 2 of Alabama vs. Oklahoma is not the second coming of the Jan. 9, 2012 Game of the Century Part Deaux, but it is a reasonable facsimile. When their heads hit the pillow on the night of Nov. 15, after Oklahoma 23, Alabama 21, Kalen DeBoer and company had every reason to believe the scoreboard showed some facts without telling the truth.

Alabama ran 24 more plays and gained 194 more yards that day. Alabama possessed the ball 8 minutes and 56 seconds longer. Each team faced 13 third downs. Alabama converted five of them, two more than Oklahoma. Alabama committed three fewer penalties.

There was a serious disconnect between the box score and the final score until you looked at the turnovers. Alabama committed three of them, Oklahoma not one. The Sooners turned those turnovers into 17 points. Ballgame.

It’s one thing to feel like you gave your best effort but lost to a better team. It’s far more maddening to know in your gut that you were your own worst enemy.

Ty Simpson was better than John Mateer that day except for the killer interception that turned a promising drive into an 87-yard pick-six. Alabama’s underappreciated defense was better than Oklahoma’s celebrated unit except for the sudden change after Ryan Williams fumbled a punt and OU scored a touchdown two plays later.

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The field tilted decisively toward the Sooners only on special teams, but it was more than enough to give them the signature victory they lacked.

To supplement the punt coverage punchout, the nation’s best kicker, OU’s Tate Sandell, went 3 for 3 on field goals, including a 52-yard laser. Alabama’s Conor Talty had his only attempt partially blocked but it might not have mattered, and rather than writing his name in crimson flame, he torched his rep by berating his snapper in plain sight.

One play made here or there or a single mistake erased, and Alabama wins the game. Will the Crimson Tide make the same mistakes twice? They didn’t in January of 2012, the last time an Alabama team got a do-over after a defeat against the same opponent in the same season.

Don’t misunderstand. This 2025 Alabama team is not that 2011 team, but there is one striking similarity. This team is better than it showed on that unseasonably warm Tuscaloosa afternoon in mid-November. This team, pound for pound and player for player, is better than Oklahoma.

All this team has to do now is prove it, in the box score and on the scoreboard. Kadyn Proctor, Bray Hubbard and the rest have to get in OU’s face in OU’s house, make their mark and leave no doubt.

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No one has to believe it but them.



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Alabama

Top-30 overall recruit Jaxon Richardson commits to Alabama

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Top-30 overall recruit Jaxon Richardson commits to Alabama


Jaxon Richardson, the No. 27 overall recruit in the 2026 class per the Rivals Industry Ranking, has committed to Alabama.

The 6-foot-6 four-star small forward out of Southeastern Prep (FL) ultimately chose the Crimson Tide over USC, Creighton, and Ole Miss. He also received offers from Miami, Cincinnati, Michigan, Florida, Villanova, and others.

Richardson, a McDonald’s All-American, becomes the Crimson Tide’s third commitment of the 2026 cycle. He joins four-star shooting guard Qayden Samuels (No. 28 NATL) and four-star small forward Tarris Bouie (No. 54 NATL).

He’s the son of NBA veteran and two-time NBA Dunk Contest champion Jason Richardson. His older brother, Jase, played for Michigan State last season before being selected 25th overall in the 2025 NBA Draft by the Orlando Magic.

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More on Richardson

Rivals’ National Recruiting Analyst Jamie Shaw says Richardson is one of the most explosive players in the 2026 class:

Jaxon Richardson is able to combine fluid athleticism with explosive burst in a way no other player in this class can. He uses his athleticism to his advantage on the floor. He fills the outside channels with a purpose in transition, he is aggressive in the passing lanes, and he plays as a vertical floor spacer in the dunker spots and lob plays. Last summer, playing with the Florida Rebels on Nike’s EYBL Circuit, the 6-foot-6 wing averaged 12.8 points on 54.0 percent shooting and 10.5 attempts per game. Last high school season, he averaged 12.9 points on 61.0 percent shooting on 8.9 attempts per game. He is a highly efficient player, as 84.4 percent of his makes last high school season were at the rim.



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Alabama Baseball Ties Stolen Base Record In Win Over Hornets

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Alabama Baseball Ties Stolen Base Record In Win Over Hornets


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.

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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.

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“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.

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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.



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Alabama

New Alabama law to set screen time limits for kids in day care, pre-K and kindergarten

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New Alabama law to set screen time limits for kids in day care, pre-K and kindergarten


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.

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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.

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