Alabama
Sculptor unveils model of Helen Keller statue for Alabama State Capitol • Alabama Reflector
A sculptor Tuesday unveiled a working model of a statue of disability rights advocate Helen Keller planned for the grounds of the Alabama State Capitol.
Jay Warren, an Oregon-based sculptor, showed the statue at a meeting of the Women’s Tribute Statue Commission. The life-size monument features Keller sitting on a bench, holding a book written in Braille with one hand while reaching out with the other, as if feeling something.
Warren said he’ll add clay to the foam armature next, allowing details to be fleshed out.
“Next time I have something to show you, it will all be the same color. All the details will be put in the dress and on the book also,” Warren said.
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Warren has designed statues of historical figures around the country, including Rosa Parks; Martin Luther King, Jr.; Congressman John Lewis and Medgar Evers in Mississippi. Warren also designed the Emancipation and Freedom Monument in Virginia.
The commission members said they were impressed by the proposal.
“I mean- wow,” said Rep. Laura Hall, D-Huntsville, who chairs the commission.
“Very inspiring,” said Annie Butrus, a Birmingham artist and member of the commission.
Rev. Agnes Lover, a member of the commission, said that she loved that she could see the Braille as well read the inscription on the other side in the book Keller is holding.
The committee also got an update on the plaque that will go on each statue. The commission is considering the other plaques currently on the James Marion Sims, the John Allan Wyeth and the Jefferson Davis sculptures as well as historical language that has been used to describe both women.
The Rosa Parks statue’s plaque was initially envisioned to have her name along with date of birth and death, but the other statues have at least one sentence describing the individual.
“This is definitely the important piece to get right: the language that will be on both signs needs to take into account all the other language that’s been published,” Butrus said.
The commission last year approved a statue of Parks, which will be installed on the steps of the Alabama State Capitol. The statue has been designed by Georgia-based Julia Knight and is in the final stages of construction. Both Parks and Keller’s statues could go up in Montgomery early next year. The commission is currently reviewing bids for the Keller and Parks statue site development.
The statues are expected to cost about $611,000, according to previous projections. The commission has raised about $700,000 for the statues. The remaining amount will be used for site maintenance.
The Alabama Legislature in 2019 approved the installation of statues of Keller and Parks on the Alabama State Capitol grounds, the first women to be so honored.
Parks’ arrest on a segregated Montgomery bus in 1955 sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, considered the beginning of the modern Civil Rights Movement. Keller, a Tuscumbia native who lost her sight and hearing before her second birthday, became a world-renowned author and advocate for the rights of the disabled.
Alabama
Southern 88-85 Alabama A&M (Mar 5, 2026) Game Recap – ESPN
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — — Terrance Dixon Jr.’s 19 points helped Southern defeat Alabama A&M 88-85 on Thursday.
Dixon shot 7 of 10 from the field and 5 of 6 from the free-throw line for the Jaguars (15-16, 11-7 Southwestern Athletic Conference). Michael Jacobs scored 15 points while going 4 of 11 and 7 of 9 from the free-throw line, and added five rebounds. AJ Barnes shot 3 for 7 (1 for 3 from 3-point range) and 7 of 8 from the free-throw line to finish with 14 points, while adding six rebounds.
Koron Davis finished with 23 points for the Bulldogs (17-14, 10-8). James Graham added 19 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and two steals for Alabama A&M. Kintavious Dozier also had 12 points.
The Jaguars led by 10 points with 59 seconds to go, before the Bulldogs executed a three-point play from Bilal Abdur-Rahim then got a 3-pointer from Dozier in the span of nine seconds, cutting the deficit to four. A free throw battle closed out the result for the Jaguars.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Alabama
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.
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.
Alabama
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.
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.
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