Apr 01, 2024

Today is April 1. You'll see fake stories floating around the Internet that are hilarious, satirical, over-the-top and/or downright inappropriate. Everywhere. So be careful what you buy into. As a matter of fact, this newsletter may be the only thing you can believe for the next 24 hours.

And we ain't foolin', either.

Ike Morgan

Looking for the podcast? Click here or check other options below.

Chris Smelley shared some famous last words last week.

"It was really calm on the shore when I went out," he told AL.com's Ben Thomas in a follow-up to the story about his day on the Gulf of Mexico in a kayak.

Smelley -- a former South Carolina quarterback who's now Sylacauga High School's head football coach -- was vacationing in Grayton Beach. That's South Walton County in the Florida Panhandle.

He said he didn't have a life jacket or a cell phone when he launched a kayak Thursday morning to try to hook up with a Spanish mackerel. But he said he found himself a half-mile out pretty quickly and realized he was being blown out faster than he was able to paddle toward the beach.

He had launched around 7:30 a.m. By midday, friends, the Walton County Sheriff's Department and the Coast Guard were on the lookout.

When he was spotted by a helicopter and picked up by a boat a few miles out and a few miles east of where he started, it was around 7:15 p.m.

Nearly 12 hours is a long time on a kayak.

The rescue timing was clutch -- and not just because it was getting dark.

Smelley said he'd used up his energy and had caught a remora and was about to clean it and eat it raw.

Alabama fans get another weekend of basketball, thanks to the Tide's 89-82 win over Clemson in the NCAA Tournament's round of eight on Saturday.

This is the first time Alabama has ever advanced in the Final Four. The Tide will play top-seeded, top-ranked and defending champ UConn in a semifinal game at 7:49 p.m. Alabama time on Saturday.

Purdue and North Carolina State will play in the other semifinal, scheduled for 5:09 p.m.

The championship game will be next Monday. All Final Four games are at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.

Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said baseball officials are planning to have Willie Mays attend the June 20 Rickwood Field game between the Giants and Cardinals, reports AL.com's Howard Koplowitz.

The game is being marketed as "MLB at Rickwood Field: A Tribute to the Negro Leagues."

Manfred said he hopes Mays is healthy enough to make the trip. Mays is 92. He's from the Birmingham area and roamed the outfield for the Birmingham Black Barons during Negro Leagues games at Rickwood.

Of course, he went on to a lengthy MLB career and is considered one of the greatest players in the history of the game.

In other words, of all the big names that might be at the ballgame, Mays would likely be the man of the hour.

“If urging adults to keep their own children safe is ‘berating parents,’ well, I’m going to keep berating parents."

Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin, in the wake of his pleading with parents following distribution of a flyer that he says promotes illegal activity.

1

That's the ranking of the Central-Phenix City baseball team on Baseball America's national poll that came out last week. The Red Devils are 21-1 and are also atop the Alabama Sports Writers Association Class 7A poll.

If you've been traveling for Spring Break, as some families do, and checked out on the news, no worries. Our weekly Week in Review Quiz is back to hit on some of what we covered last week.

We appreciate you for taking the time to read today. Hope you're able to check back soon. Meantime, reply to this email with any suggestions you might have.

If you're so inclined, we'd love it if you'd forward to friends who might be interested in reading. (And if you're someone who's been forwarded this newsletter, we encourage you to subscribe and get this in your inbox every day.)

The “Down in Alabama” podcast is short and free. Listen to it by clicking on the player above or subscribe by looking for “Down in Alabama” on the device of your choosing.

You can find “Down in Alabama” wherever you get your podcasts, including these places: