Before the real college football season starts in late August, fans were able to get the virtual season underway on Monday.
It was the early release date for EA Sports’ College Football 26, the second year in a row EA Sports has produced a college football game after a 10-year hiatus.
Last year’s game became one of the most popular video games of the year, resulting in another title in 2026. The most recent edition has even more features than last year, including real life coaches coming into the game.
The players are back too, and Auburn has a few more highly rated players than in the previous game. Junior defensive end Keldric Faulk leads the way at a 93 overall, with wide receiver Eric Singleton Jr. joining him in the 90s club at a 92 overall.
Here are the top 10 highest-rated Auburn players in the game:
DE Keldric Faulk, 93 overall
WR Eric Singleton Jr. 92 overall
WR Cam Coleman, 89 overall
C Connor Lew, 88 overall
CB Raion Strader, 87 overall
CB Kayin Lee, 85 overall
S Kaleb Harris, 84 overall
QB Jackson Arnold, 84 overall
OL Dillon Wade, 83 overall
RB Damari Alston, 83 overall
Others tied at 83: RB Durell Robinson, RB Jeremiah Cobb
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McDonald’s is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the McMuffin with three new versions.
Starting today, the breakfast chain will release three versions of the egg breakfast sandwiches: a Spicy Egg McMuffin, a Spicy Sausage McMuffin, and a Spicy Sausage McMuffin with Egg.
Each sandwich will be topped with McDonald’s signature Spicy Pepper Sauce, reports Food & Wine.
According to McDonald’s Menu Spotter, the Spicy Egg McMuffin recipe features an egg on a toasted English Muffin topped with butter, Canadian bacon, American cheese and a spicy pepper sauce.
This week also marks the return date for McDonald’s Snack Wrap. The cult favorite– packed with lettuce, cheese, chicken, and signature sauce inside a flour tortilla– returns to the McDonald’s menu on July 10.
Restaurants in non-traditional locations like airports and shopping malls will likely not extend hours, the company said. Franchise owners will decide which menu items will be available during the late-night hours.
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But the Boston Red Sox did not win any of those games during Fitts’ September 2024 callup.
But on Monday night, the Red Sox did win with Fitts on the mound, and Boston’s 9-3 victory over the Colorado Rockies at Fenway Park gave Fitts his first MLB pitching win.
The right-hander got the first 17 outs before leaving with two on and two out in the sixth with the Red Sox leading 5-1. The two runners scored before reliever Chris Murphy got out of the inning.
Fitts yielded three runs (two earned) on five hits and one walk while striking out six.
“This is a big accomplishment for me,” Fitts said, “but, hopefully, it’s the first of many.”
Fitts won in his 12th big-league outing. All were starts, and Boston lost the first 10 of those games. In Fitts’ previous outing, the Red Sox defeated the Cincinnati Reds 5-3. Fitts had worked the first three innings when the game was suspended due to rain. The contest was completed the next day with reliever Brayan Bello getting the pitching win with five innings of one-hit relief.
Fitts became the second Red Sox pitcher to go without a pitching victory across the first 11 starts of his career. The first was Jack Russell, who made 12 starts during the 1926 and 1927 seasons before getting the win in No. 13. But Russell also pitched out of the Boston bullpen and already had a victory in relief by that time. Russell would go on to represent the Washington Senators at the second MLB All-Star Game in 1934.
In his first 11 starts, Fitts had an 0-4 record with a 3.33 earned-run average. In 48.2 innings, he yielded 45 hits and 16 walks and struck out 31.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Fitts had pitched well enough to win before Monday night.
“He’s been good for us, really,” Cora said after Monday night’s game. “I mean, he gives us a chance to win almost every time. I remember two bad ones – the last one last year and one against Anaheim. The rest solid. Good velocity, mixing up the offspeed pitches. He’s good. He’s a good pitcher, and he gave us a chance to win tonight.”
After his four-game audition in September, Fitts opened the 2025 season in Boston’s rotation. Three starts in, a right pectoral strain kept him out of the lineup between April 12 and May 27, and Fitts returned without taking a rehab assignment.
However, after Fitts gave up five earned runs in one inning against the Los Angeles Angels on June 2, the Red Sox sent him to the minors for one start with the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs and three with the Triple-A Worcester Red Sox. Fitts rejoined the Red Sox rotation on June 25.
“It’s felt like a roller coaster,” Fitts said. “I feel like I’m on an uphill climb and then all of a sudden hit an obstacle. But I feel like I’m in a good spot right now. And all the work I’ve been putting in this year, I think, is building. And it’s just going to get better as we keep going.”
Boston’s fourth consecutive win lifted the Red Sox to 47-45 in the 2025 season. Boston trails the Toronto Blue Jays at the top of the AL East standings by 6.5 games and is two games behind the Seattle Mariners for the American League’s final wild-card spot.
At Helena, Fitts was a member of the Huskies’ AHSAA Class 6A baseball championship team in 2017, although he missed most of that season with an injury. In 2018, Fitts struck out 102 while posting a 1.68 ERA, and Helena returned to the state-championship series. But Hazel Green took the 6A title for that season.
In three seasons at Auburn, Fitts had a 6-6 record with a 5.54 ERA in 40 games, including 14 starts. In 117 innings, he struck out 104 batters.
Fitts left Auburn after the New York Yankees selected him in the sixth round of the 2021 MLB draft. The Yankees traded Fitts and two other players to the Red Sox on Dec. 5, 2023, to obtain outfielder Alex Verdugo.
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AMarkG1.
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If there was a field or a court, Gerritt Griggs was probably going to be playing on it.
Even better, she was probably filling up a stat sheet.
The three-sport star from Central-Phenix City was voted by AL.com voters as Alabama’s overall female athlete of the year for the 2024-25 athletics season.
Lauderdale County’s Shila Marks finished second with 29% of the vote, while Wenonah’s Samarian Franklin garnered 18% of the fan vote.
An Alabama softball signee, Griggs once again shined on the diamond for the Red Devils to lead them back to the Class 7A state softball tournament in Oxford.
Central-Phenix quarterback Gerritt Griggs throws a pass during a preps flag football game, Wednesday, November 20, 2024, in Irvington, Ala. (Scott Donaldson/al.com)Scott Donaldson/al.com
In the fall, she keyed Central-Phenix City to a Class 6A-7A state championship and a defacto national championship in flag football at quarterback, claiming AL.com’s first Miss Football award.
“She is just a special athlete, a special kid,” Central head softball and flag football coach Mitchell Holt previously said. “There’s not anything she can’t do. Really, you wouldn’t know by talking to her that she is as an accomplished athlete as she is. If you watch her, it wouldn’t take you long to figure it out.”
In the past two seasons, Griggs and Central’s flag football team went 37-0, including a 19-0 year last season to claim back-to-back state championships.
The Red Devils averaged 44.4 points a game and allowed just 2.6 per game with 13 shutouts on defense last season.
Central-Phenix City’s Gerritt Griggs drives the ball against Hoover’s Aaliyah Blanchard (right) during the AHSAA 7A girls basketball semifinal at BJCC Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Ala., Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025. (Will McLelland | [email protected])Will McLelland
Griggs also helped lead her school to an appearance in the Class 7A basketball state semifinals as she averaged 8.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.6 steals per game, according to MaxPreps.
Central-Phenix City was the only school in the state to advance to the state finals in flag football, AHSAA final four in basketball and the state tournament in softball; Moody advanced to the state finals in flag football and state tournament in softball.
She will be a part of an Alabama softball signing class that includes in-state standouts Vic Moten (Daphne), Holly Beth Brooks (Tuscaloosa County) and Ambrey Taylor (Curry).
“Gerritt might be one of the best athletes we have brought to campus in recent years,” Alabama softball coach Patrick Murphy said when Griggs signed. “She could play six different spots on the field and look great at all of them. She will be a green-light baserunner with great speed from the left side. She is also the quarterback for the nation’s top high school flag football team!”
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Alabama marine police are investigating the jet ski accident that killed a 17-year-old girl Monday afternoon.
According to Limestone County Coroner Mike West, a 911 call came in at 1:43 p.m. for the girl who was run over by a jet ski on the Elk River near Bream Bluff Road in Athens.
She was pulled out of the water and responders attempted to resuscitate her at the scene, West said.
She was transported to Athens Limestone hospital by Athens EMS but did not respond to the resuscitative measures and was pronounced dead at the ER at 2:48 p.m., he continued.
Marine police continue to investigate.
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Sen. Ted Cruz toured one of Greece’s historic sites a day after the Guadalupe River flooded its banks and killed dozens of people in Texas.
While the Texas senator’s spokesperson said Cruz returned home “as fast as humanly possible,” flight data contradicts the claim, according to a Daily Beast report published Monday night.
Cruz landed in Athens on Thursday.
On Friday, more than 24 hours after the river flooded in Texas, the senator, his family and their bodyguard were seen at the Parthenon.
“As he walked past us, I simply said, ‘20 kids dead in Texas and you take a vacation?’” the unnamed observer told the Daily Beast.
“He sort of grunted and walked on,” the witness continued. “His wife shot me a dirty look. Then they continued on with their tour guide.”
Cruz’s communications team claimed the senator got back to Texas “as fast as humanly possible.”
But the Daily Beast reported there were multiple flights from Athens to San Antonio, Texas, on Friday and Saturday.
“While it is not known how many seats were available on each flight, possible options included flights leaving Athens on Saturday morning and landing in San Antonio that evening via Chicago, Atlanta, or Washington, D.C.,” the website reported.
That’s without including chartered flights and other private options available to Cruz.
Flash floods in Texas killed more than 100 people over the Fourth of July holiday weekend and left others still missing, including girls attending a summer camp.
The devastation along the Guadalupe River, outside of San Antonio, has drawn a massive search effort as officials face questions over their preparedness and the speed of their initial actions, the Associated Press reported.
In Kerr County, home to youth camps in the Texas Hill Country, searchers have found the bodies of 84 people, including 28 children, Sheriff Larry Leitha said Monday afternoon. Fatalities in nearby counties brought the total number of deaths as of Monday afternoon to at least 104.
Ten girls and a counselor were still unaccounted for at Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp along the river.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Gonna spare you the listicle-intro jazz. Below are the 30 essential Huntsville restaurants right now, in my opinion. No chains, just brick-and-mortars located in Huntsville, listed in no particular order. They aren’t the only great local spots, just a start.
Niyah’s Southern Grill in Huntsville, Alabama. (Matt Wake/[email protected])Matt Wake
Niyah’s Southern Grill
Soul food with clever twists.
We like: fried chicken (crispy, succulent), half chicken (smokey without smog), queso mac and cheese (Southern side gone Tex-Mex), gumbo greens (kicked-up collards)
Chicken wings from Bo’s Best Wings, with “Bo’s special sauce” and seasoned fries. (Matt Wake/[email protected])Matt Wake
Bo’s Best Wings
If it’s good enough for football legend Deion Sanders, it’s good enough for us, too.
We like: Chicken wings with either “Bo’s Special Sauce” (crushable sweet-hot concoction) or lemon pepper (a favorite among regulars), fried green tomatoes (served with remoulade), “peachade” (tastes like summer through a straw)
Tacos at Cocina Cinco de Mayo. (Matt Wake/[email protected])Matt Wake
Cocina Cinco De Mayo
Salt-of-the-earth taqueria open late night.
We like: Pastor taco (aromatic sliced pork shoulder punctuated with pineapple), enchiladas de mole (shredded chicken smothered in gravy-ish sauce), nachos (choice of protein over house-made chips)
Huntsville’s most musical pizzas (whole pies and slices) made by Trevar Akins, bassist with popular local Beastie Boys cover band the Beastie Goys.
We like: Red Rocket (red sauce, pepperoni, Conecuh sausage, pepperoni, jalapenos, house cheese blend and siracha), Mean Green (pesto, house cheese blend, artichoke hearts, feta, fresh basil, jalapeno, pecorino romano)
A plate from the lunch buffet at The Curry Modern Indian in Huntsville. (Matt Wake/[email protected])Matt Wake
The Curry Modern Indian
An Indian buffet done right: Mainstream stars, like tandoori chicken, tiki masala and naan, supported by a rotating cast of vibrant less American-famous dishes, like aloo jeera, cheera thoran and chana masala.
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Tuesday is opening day for another Chick-fil-A in Phenix City.
The new restaurant, at 1132 Highway 280 Bypass, is open for dine-in, drive-thru, mobile orders, carryout, curbside and third-party delivery.
It employs about 100.
Anyone visiting the restaurant today dressed in cow attire can redeem one free entrée or kid’s meal inside the restaurant or at the drive-thru.
Todd Morgan, a 23-year owner-operator in the company, runs the location, his second in the community.
“Phenix City has been my home for over 20 years, and I’m deeply thankful for the support of this incredible community,” Morgan said. “It’s a joy to keep mentoring future leaders and we look forward to welcoming new guests with the genuine care and signature hospitality that defines who we are.”
Morgan also owns and operates Chick-fil-A Phenix City North, which has been a part of the community since 2005.
His younger siblings, Kyle and Katie, are local owner-operators of Chick-fil-A restaurants in Colorado.
Chick-fil-A has more than 3,000 restaurants, with more than 60 in Alabama.
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The 2025 WNBA season nears the All-Star Game break in just over a week, but there’s still plenty of games to be played until then. Teams are looking to make a strong push before the short break. On Wednesday, the Golden State Valkyries will head to Indiana to take on the Fever.
The Fever have been an interesting team this season. They recently won the 2025 Commissioner’s Cup. However, superstar Caitlin Clark has missed numerous games with multiple injuries. Without her on the floor, they’ve failed to close out a few games.
The Valkyries are 7-3 over their last 10 games and have been rolling. They were able to take down the Fever 88-77 two weeks ago in a gritty effort.
Fans looking to tune into the Valkyries vs Fever game can do so on Fubo, who’s offering a free trial to new subscribers.
Here’s everything you need to know before the Valkyries and Fever tipoff:
When: Wednesday, July 9, 2025
Where: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
Time: 12 p.m. E.T.
Fans looking to tune into the Valkyries vs Fever game can do so on Fubo, who’s offering a free trial to new subscribers.
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The first time I saw Frank Morse doing his thing, he was grilling for a few friends on the side of the road before a Dauphin Island Mardi Gras parade. And by “a few,” I mean 30 or 40.
His industrial-grade mobile smoker was made from a length of pipe that a friend had scavenged from a derrick barge serving the offshore petroleum industry. It was loaded with several kinds of sausage, bacon-wrapped chicken breasts and pork loin, ribs, beef tenderloin and more.
It turned out that the former commercial captain was no amateur: He was the proprietor of Capt. Frank’s Smoke Shack in Bayou La Batre. I was too early to sample the mouth-watering meat cornucopia slow-cooking before the Krew de la Dauphine rolled out, so I made a mental note to visit the Smoke Shack at first opportunity.
“Capt. Frank” Morse tends his massive trailer grill in a lot on Bienville Boulevard ahead of the 2025 Krewe de la Dauphine parade.Lawrence Specker | [email protected]
Capt. Frank’s Smoke Shack turned out to be just about everything a barbecue lover hopes for when seeking out a new place. Let’s tick off the boxes.
Box one: Is it a destination? Yes. You can’t exactly say that that the Smoke Shack is off the beaten path, because it’s right on Ala. 188, a connector that, among other traffic, carries vacationers from I-10 in Grand Bay down to Dauphin Island. But it’s also within easy walking distance of Bayou La Batre’s working waterfront. That means that no matter which way you come, you’re going to see things that give you a sense of place unlike anywhere else in Alabama. Shrimp boats at the dock. Glimpses of the Mississippi Sound.
While in the parking lot, I saw a young man walking past with a couple of takeout containers in hand, looking like he was on the way home after a shift at a local processor. He sported shoulder-length-plus hair worthy of a rock star, a heavy dark work jacket and pants that suggested he’d spent time in a freezer, and white shrimp boots. That’s just not a look you’re going to see anywhere else.
Box two: Is it small? As in, tiny? Yes indeed. Capt. Frank’s is a weather-worn wooden building barely the size of a shotgun house, always a good sign when it comes to barbecue. Inside, accommodations are tight. On your side of the counter, there are two small tables, augmented by two picnic tables on the porch. There’s not a lot of room behind the counter, either, so you can see a lot of the magic happening. He may be the captain, but if you order a baked potato, he’s probably going to be the one who slices it open and loads it up for you.
From left: Capt. Frank Morse, his wife Ann, and employee Josette Clarke. Morse opened Capt. Frank’s Smoke Shack in Bayou La Batre in November 2005.Lawrence Specker | [email protected]
Box three: Is it a family affair? Again, yes. You’ll find Ann Morse taking orders, sharing updates on local happenings and keeping her husband company.
Box four: Is the décor, shall we say, organic? Absolutely. It’s just as it should be: Family photos, old newspaper clippings, nautical knick-knacks and an impressive collection of awards won over the years at the Blessing of the Fleet Gumbo Cook-Off: First place, second place, people’s choice. He earned his most recent No. 1 in May, so you know he’s not just resting on his laurels.
Box five: But how’s the food? Another yes.
We didn’t come here for gumbo, so what to order first? Well, there’s something on the menu called the Bayou Pig sandwich ($8.50), so the choice is pretty much made for you. I mean, knowing there’s something called a Bayou Pig, how can you not order that? It’s a deluxe take on the common pulled pork sandwich: a big heap of pulled pork topped with house-made sauce and slaw, and an unusual garnish of olives. It is a mess, in the best possible way.
The Bayou Pig at Capt. Frank’s Smoke Shack is a big, loaded, sloppy take on the common pulled pork sandwich.Lawrence Specker | [email protected]
The full menu includes pulled pork, chicken quarters, half-chickens, ribs and brisket. You can get plates ($10.99 for pulled pork, up to $16.33 for the jumbo rib plate), sandwiches ($5.75-$8.50) or loaded potatoes ($11.90). Sides include potato salad, slaw and chips. Root beer aficionados will be glad to hear that the soda case includes not just Barq’s but cane-sugar IBC in glass bottles.
On another visit, I tried the brisket plate. Spoiler alert: It’s fabulous. Although no barbecue wizard is going to share all his secrets, Morse said his approach to brisket has evolved over the years, and he pays special attention to the second stage of the process, where the meat is wrapped and cooked at higher (but still not very high) temperatures. That and the final resting stage are essential to getting a tender, juicy brisket, he said.
Ann Morse said that evolution reflects her husband’s general approach to barbecue. He’s not stuck in his ways, she said: He’s always on the lookout for tips and tricks that he can incorporate into what he does.
“He has a lot of practice,” she said. “He has learned new tricks all along the way. He always says that some of the best tips come from the least likely of people.” (Another example: Somewhere along the line, he decided to try keeping his whole chickens breast-down as he smoked them. Somehow the bird seems to hold more moisture that way, he said.)
The brisket plate at Capt. Frank’s Smoke Shack: No frills, but plenty of ambiance.Lawrence Specker | [email protected]
His willingness to try something new says a lot, considering that he’ll soon mark his 20th anniversary in the business.
Morse said his career as an offshore captain took a one-two punch in 2005: Hurricane Katrina shut down the work he was doing in Mississippi that August. After that, he worked Cameron, La., but Hurricane Rita wiped that out in September 2005. “So that put me out of the boat business,” he said.
He opened the Smoke Shack that November. Business was slow that Thanksgiving, he said, but since then smoked turkeys have become a seasonal staple.
He appreciates the balance he gets. He’s well known to locals, but 188 brings a steady stream of first-timers.
“There’s a lot of people passing through,” he said. “You can tell tourists when they come. A lot of people from Texas. A lot more Texas plates around.”
Whether you’re a traveler or a local, if you see an Alabama barbecue joint with Texas plates in the parking lot, that’s a good sign.
Capt. Frank’s Smoke Shack is at 13876 S. Wintzell Ave. in Bayou La Batre. It’s open for lunch Monday-Friday. For updates, visit www.facebook.com/capt.franksinc.
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