West Alabama Friday Briefing
Good Friday morning West Alabama!! It is September 27, 2024.
After all the hype and buildup with both Alabama and Georgia having an off week, the big game weekend is finally here. And what a weekend it is. It all got started last night with a hard sold-out performance by country star Koe Wetzel, it continued this morning with an ABC "Good Morning America' segment at the quad with Big Al, cheerleaders and some Million Dollar Band members.
That GMA segment was a surprise to West Alabama Food Bank’s Tucker Brown who was presented a pair of tickets to tomorrow night's game in recognition of her hard work for one of the most important organizations there is, the West Alabama Food Bank.
The busy weekend will speed on tonight with parties. Tomorrow bright and early ESPN brings their nationally popular "College Gameday" to campus. The show has two pretty well-known Alabama connections. Host Rece Davis is a Bama grad and former Crimson Tide Head Coach Nick Saban is probably the best-known analyst (no offense intended to the others on the panel).
With former President Trump scheduled to attend tomorrow night's game, the UA College Democrats have scheduled a protest tailgate.
After that it is finally the game itself. Tuscaloosa mayor Walt Maddox estimates the importance of the contest between #2 Georgia and #4 Alabama will bring about $25 million into Tuscaloosa coffers.
Before we move on, we need to send out a big thanks to Tuscaloosa, Northport and county first responders as well as Tuscaloosa City Employees who will have a long workday tomorrow.
Read More: Mother Nature is an Alabama Fan
-----
While we party in Alabama residents of Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and the Carolinas are dealing with the devastation left behind by Hurricane Helene. The storm came ashore around 10:00 last night with 137mph winds and pushed a 20-foot storm surge ashore. The center of Helene is in northeast Georgia this morning but impacts from the giant storm extend into Tennessee, the Carolinas and southwestern Virginia.
East Alabama recorded some 7,000 power outages from Gadsden south to Dothan due to downed trees and power lines from wind gusts in the 25-35 mph range. As predicted, West Alabama is experiencing no impact other than cloudy skies and breezy winds at time.
To our east, catastrophic storm surge flooding occurred along Florida’s Big Bend, with extensive wind damage and power outages stretching northward from the Florida coast to Tallahassee, Albany, Macon, Atlanta and the north Georgia mountains thanks to this strong, major category 4 storm.
There have been fatalities. Our heart goes out to those impacted.
The Forecast:
Topping the News:
Hale County Emergency Management Agency Director Russell Weeden has deployed with FEMA into the disaster areas of South Georgia and Florida Big Bend. He is part of a 100-vehicle ambulance strike team attempting rescue storm victims and transport them to medical facilities.
No sooner has Helene blown through than another tropical disturbance is developing in the same spot that spawned Helene. But ABC3340 Chief Meteorologist James Spann warns it is way too earlier to know if it is going to develop into anything and if it does, we won't know for days where it might go.
Spann advises to pay no attention to social media posts making wild guesses.
If the system does become a hurricane, it would be the 10th of the 2024 season.
53-year-old James R. Davis was killed in a single vehicle accident on River Road in Walker County yesterday according to Troopers. 49-year-old Joy Stillwell was injured when the pickup they were in left the road. Neither were wearing seatbelts.
GOP Presidential Nominee Donald Trump may not be traveling in his iconic "Trump Force One" Boeing 757 when he arrives in Tuscaloosa tomorrow. Secret Service, concerned about Iranian backed threats to assassinate Trum have advised the campaign to use smaller, unmarked planes to increase security.
Tomorrow night's UGA/Bama game at Bryant-Denny Stadium is a hard sell out and secondary sell tickets through legitimate brokers are expensive. That has prompted the Better Business Bureau to warn the thousands of fans seeking tickets to beware of scammers.
Tuscaloosa Businessman Stan Pate has purchased unused sections of former President Trump's border wall for what he says are "pennies on the dollar". He called the unused wall panels an example of how Kamala Harris (appointed border czar by President Biden) has waisted taxpayer money.
- Lamar County visits Berry
- Central hosts Gardendale
- Brookwood travels to Chilton County
- Demopolis welcomes Aliceville
- Jasper is on the road at Dora
- Hamilton hosts Sulligent
- Hillcrest is home to Hueytown
- Holy Spirit gets a visit from Hubbertville
- Sipsey Valley travels to Marbury
- Northridge hosts Bibb County
- Northside welcomes Lincoln
- Oakman is home to Carbon Hill
- Paul Bryant gets a visit from Chelsea
- Holt is at Pickens Academy
- Gordo travels across county to battle Pickens County
- Greensboro visits R.C. Hatch
- Sumter Central hosts Greene County
- Sweetwater is home to Georgiana
- University Charter travels to Marengo
The line of the Georgia at Alabama game tonight has continued to drop since it originally opened with Georgia favored by15.5. Wednesday it was down to UGA by 2.5 points, Thursday it had dropped to 2 points and this morning it is down to 1.5 points according to MGMBet.
It has been a while since Alabama has played Georgia without Nick Saban on the sideline. The pundits all crowed that with the GOAT gone, his disciple Kirby Smart would dominate the SEC. So, what was it like in the SEC before Saban departed for the "College Gameday" set?
Read More: What the World was Like the Last Time Alabama Played Georgia Without Former Head Coach Nick Saban
Click TuscaloosaThread.com to keep up with the latest West Alabama news, sports and weather. Better yet, download the app.
Have a wonderful weekend, keep those impacted by Hurricane Helene in your thoughts and prayers and ROLL TIDE!!
More From 95.3 The Bear
