West Alabama Friday Briefing

Good TGIF West Alabama. It is September 6, 2024, and another big football weekend is upon us.

The big event for tomorrow night's Crimson Tide home game with South Florida will be dedication of the playing surface at Bryant-Denny Stadium as Nick Saban Field. The event will come in two installments, one at 2:30pm at the Walk of Champions outside the stadium's north endzone and the other after the Million Dollar Band performance at halftime.

Speaking of the Million Dollar Band tomorrow will be the annual performance for alumni of the storied musical aggregation. They will rehearse and then perform at halftime of tomorrow night's game. Welcome back these men and women who are truly a major part of Crimson Tide lore.

It should be a near perfect night for the game. It should be mostly clear at gametime with temperatures falling from the low 80s at kickoff, into the upper 60s by the end of the game. Now we are talking about some real football weather!

The Forecast:

Today

Showers likely, mainly between 10am and 1pm. Cloudy, with a high near 80. East wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Tonight

A 20 percent chance of showers before 10pm. Cloudy, then gradually becoming partly cloudy, with a low around 65. Northeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.

Saturday

A slight chance of showers between 1pm and 4pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 85. North wind 5 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Saturday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 58. North wind 10 to 15 mph.

Sunday

Sunny, with a high near 85. Northeast wind 5 to 10 mph.

Sunday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 62.

Next Week

Get our free mobile app

Topping the News:

Some members of the Tuscaloosa Riverfront Advisory Committee have some concerns about the development of the planned Sports Illustrated Resort on Rice Mine Road. Those concerns were raised yesterday when developers presented their plans for the project that would begin early next year.

First phase of the development would include a 9-story hotel and restaurant. The second phase would include retail, condos and time shares. The developers from the Lamar Johnson Collaborative, Travel & Leisure and TTL, Inc. shared renderings of the proposed resort. They told the committee great care has been taken to reflect the community.

Members of the committee voiced concern about the second phase and the impact condos and timeshares would have on traffic and congestion.

The proposed property tax increase in the City of Tuscaloosa is bringing out the usual opponents to any type of tax increase. Meanwhile proponents warn failure to approve the 22% hike would damage the future for city schools.

Last year Tuscaloosa County voters rejected a proposed property tax for schools in the county only. TCSS Superintendent Dr. Keri Johnson told news partner ABC3340 that rejection is making it difficult for county schools to improve.

The ad valorem tax vote is set for September 24^th within the City of Tuscaloosa only.

28 wildfires continue to burn across the state this morning. Four of the fires are in West Alabama. One in Pickens and Sumter with two in Walker County. The fire just off I22 south of Cordova is 510 acres. That makes it the largest in the state.

All but two wildfires are listed as contained by the Alabama Forestry Commission. One in Shelby and other in Chilton County are listed as controlled.

A realistic driving simulator has been unveiled at UA. It is a mock-up of a Mercedes 35 GLE and it measure driving behavior. Powered by super computers and high-tech cameras, the simulator measures driving behavior in specified environments.

Gov. Ivey has removed John Kilpatrick from the board of the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs Board and is asking for the resignation of Commissioner Kent Davis. Davis has refused.

The squabble comes amid accusations made in a release by the governor's office claiming mishandling of American Rescue Plan Act by the Veteran's Affairs Board.

Ivey's letter follows Davis filing an ethics complaint against Mental Health Commissioner Kimberly Boswell, accusing Boswell of working with lobbyists and staff at Mental Health to kill an inter-agency agreement for veterans' mental health care.

The Veterans Affairs board has the authority to hire and fire the agency’s commissioner, but Ivey does not.

Next Wednesday is the anniversary of the 9-11 terror attacks in New York City and Washington D.C. To honor the first responders who died in the event the Tuscaloosa Fire and Rescue Service is hosting a blood drive next week.

The Tuscaloosa firefighters, TPD, TCSO, Alabama Fire College and Northstar paramedics hope to draw in 110 blood donors - one for each story of the World Trade Center towers, which firefighters climbed without concern for their own safety to save lives.

The blood drive will run September 11- 13th, next Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Donations can be made at Tuscaloosa Fire Rescue's Administrative Office at 3200 Greensboro Avenue.

Topping Sports News:

Alabama is a 31-point favorite to beat South Florida tomorrow night at Bryant-Denny Stadium at Nick Saban Field. The over/under in the contest is set at 63.5 points, so the odds makers believe USF's fast paced offense will put some points on the board.

However, an online SEC publication called Southbound & Down is going a step further, they are warning Alabama fans to not be surprised if the Bulls upset the Crimson Tide. They are basing their prediction on last year's lacklustre performance by Bama in a torrential downpour in Tampa.

Sorry S&D, using past history is not always a sound predictor. Last year's game as UA was looking for a starting quarterback and before Jalen Milroe seized control of the position. This is not the same Tide that USF took to the wire last season.

Friday Night High School Football:

Marengo visits Fruitdale
Sweetwater is home Millry
Choctaw County is at Francis Marion
Linden visits Pickens Academy
Lynn travels to Brilliant
Pickens County welcomes Sumiton Christian
South Lamar hosts Hubbertville
Greene County travels to Lamar County
Sulligent hosts Isabella
Tuscaloosa Academy is home to Aliceville
Sumter Central travels to Thorsby
Hale County visits Wilcox Central
Gordo hosts Hanceville
Carbon Hill plays at Oakman
Winfield welcomes Midfield
American Christian hosts West Blocton
Bibb County is home to Tarrant
Holt hosts Oak Grove
Dora visits Fayette County
Northside travels to Montevallo
Sipsey Valley entertains Shelby County
Central welcomes Paul Bryant
Northridge hits the road to McAdory

For those DirecTV and U-verse subscribers who are wondering, the dispute between Disney Company and DirecTV/U-verse continues. So, that means ESPN networks, SEC, ACC and other networks remain blacked out on DirecTV/U-verse. However, there are alternatives to keep you from missing a whole weekend of college and NFL football and the U.S. Open finals.

Here are some of your options:

Keep up with the latest West Alabama news, sports and weather updates throughout the day on TuscaloosaThread.com. Better yet, download the app.

Have a fantastic weekend and ROLL TIDE!!