Area Sports

    ____________________ If the bill is pushed again in 2026, the Legislature should snuff it out faster than a marijuana blunt at a police roadblock. ____________________       It is a damning indictment of the Alabama Legislature that it refuses to let us vote on a state lottery, which will help public schools,…

  By JIMMY WIGFIELD Coal Battle won’t race in the Preakness on May 17, partly to protect the horse and partly to make some money in races he has a better chance of winning, owner Robbie Norman said Wednesday. “We’re not going to the Preakness,” said Norman, who also owns a chain of grocery stores,…

      By JIMMY WIGFIELD Jason Massey, who led Leroy to the Class 1A state championship in 2022, has been hired as Clarke County High’s new head football coach and Superintendent Ashlie Flowers said she is looking forward to the influence he will have on and off the field. “He has a proven record…

    By JIMMY WIGFIELD Hall of Famer Stu Fuller, who has 816 career victories and developed more than 100 college players, has been named Mobile Christian’s new baseball coach, Head of School Clint Mitchell said Tuesday. Fuller, 60, who left Fairhope as its head coach in 2022 and served as an assistant at Saraland…

      By JIMMY WIGFIELD Coal Battle did precisely what he was supposed to do until absorbing an unexpected jolt from heavily favored Journalism in the backstretch of Saturday’s 151st Kentucky Derby but the colt with Clarke County ties may race in the Preakness. Coal Battle surged cleanly out of the starting gate from…

    By JIMMY WIGFIELD Coal Battle did precisely what he was supposed to do in Saturday’s 151st Kentucky Derby. He surged cleanly out of the starting gate from the 16th post and jockey Juan Vargas promptly nudged him into the middle of the muddy track, stalked the leaders and even had the colt ahead…

    By JIMMY WIGFIELD Thomasville grocery store owner Robbie Norman never envisioned he’d be as interested in thoroughbred horses as he is in making sure there are enough heads of lettuce, bunches of bananas and ground chuck at Super Foods. “I’m just an accounting nerd,” he said, “so I sit up here and look…

    By JIMMY WIGFIELD Talley Haines, who coached Mobile Christian to five baseball state championships between 2015 and 2022, has resigned to return to Missouri. “Some situations came up and it just seemed like a good time to get back with family back home,” Haines said Monday. “My wife’s mom lives back that way,…

  Staff Report Here are the local pairings for the first round of the Alabama High School Athletic Association baseball playoffs. Each is a best-of-three series with a doubleheader on Friday and a deciding game Saturday if needed: CLASS 6A Wetumpka at Saraland Friday 4:30 p.m., Saturday 1 p.m. if needed     CLASS 5A…