Alabama News

When Six Flags announced recently it would close two of its theme parks – one by the end of the year – fans of roller coasters suddenly faced a scary situation.

But although the company has been known to close rides with little warning, this time, instead of a sudden drop, riders and other theme park visitors get a little space to prepare.

Six Flags fans in Maryland and California are learning they’ll have to get their amusement somewhere else. Six Flags America and Six Flags California’s Great America are both shutting down.

Here is what you need to know about why Six Flags plans to close both parks.

When are Six Flags America and Six Flags California’s Great America closing?

Six Flags America, which is located in Bowie, Maryland, is expected to close at the end of the year the company said. And the water park Hurricane Harbor Maryland will also close at the end of the season. The company’s calendar online shows that both Six Flags America and Hurricane Harbor will stop full weekday operations on Friday, Aug. 22, with the exception of Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 1, when they will be open.

Both parks will remain open on weekends through the end of August. Six Flags America will keep operating into the fall for Fright Fest. Hurricane Harbor Maryland’s last weekend will be Sept. 6, while Six Flags America will remain open on weekends until Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025.

Santa Clara, California’s Six Flags California’s Great America, will stay open until at least the end of 2027.

Why are Six Flags America and Six Flags California’s Great America closing?

Turns out the land where Six Flags America is located is due for redevelopment, forcing the park’s closure.

“As part of our comprehensive review of our park portfolio, we have determined that Six Flags America and Hurricane Harbor are not a strategic fit with the company’s long-term growth plan,” Six Flags President & CEO Richard A. Zimmerman said in a statement.

“After reviewing a number of options, we believe that marketing the property for redevelopment will generate the highest value and return on investment,” the statement continued.

Six Flags California Great America is closing for a different reason: its lease is expiring. The company does not plan to extend the lease – at least for the forseeable future.

“Unless we decide to extend, and exercise one of our options to extend that lease, that park’s last year without that extension would be after the ‘27 season,” Six Flags chief financial officer Brian Witherow said. He made the statement at the company’s most recent Investor Day, according to People Magazine.

Witherow added that both parks were “very low on the ranking of margins.”

Now that we are less than six weeks from the start of the 2025 high school football season in Alabama, here are some intriguing trends and numbers entering another year.

1993 – The last time UMS-Wright missed the playoffs.

.828 – Best playoff winning percentage (Mars Hill Bible, 24-5).

784 – Most points scored in a season (Hueytown, 2021).

738 – T.R. Miller football wins (the most of any AHSAA team).

639 – Most wins without a state championship (Hamilton).

363 – Most all-time wins by a head coach (Danny Horn).

109 – Most playoff wins (Hoover/W.A. Berry).

108 – Combined coaching changes this offseason in the AHSAA and the AISA.

91 – The longest active losing streak (Columbia).

64 – Most consecutive games without a loss (Tuscaloosa, 1925-31, 61-0-3).

62 – Most consecutive region wins (Brantley, 2002-2010).

55 – Most consecutive wins (Clay County 1994-1997).

43 – Longest active regular-season win streak (Montgomery Catholic).

42 – Longest active consecutive playoff streak (Luverne).

33 – Longest active home winning streak (Saraland).

32 – Longest active streak of consecutive winning seasons (Gordo).

29 – The longest active winning streak (Montgomery Catholic).

29 – Most consecutive playoff wins (Hazlewood 1988-1993).

20 – Most appearances in a state championship game (Hoover/W.A. Berry).

13 – Most state championships by one team (Hoover/W.A. Berry).

8 – Most state championships by a coach (Central-Clay County’s Danny Horn, Retired UMS-Wright coach Terry Curtis).

6 – Most undefeated seasons including ties (Tuscaloosa, Auburn, Andalusia).

5 – Most consecutive state titles (Hazlewood 1988-92).

5 – Number of Class 7A state titles for Thompson. The Warriors have won five of the past six.

Data courtesy of the Alabama High School Athletic Association and the Alabama High School Football Historical Society.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Every day until Aug. 29, Creg Stephenson is counting down significant numbers in Alabama football history, both in the lead-up to the 2025 football season and in commemoration of the Crimson Tide’s first national championship 100 years ago. The number could be attached to a year, a uniform number or even a football-specific statistic. We hope you enjoy.

Alabama and Auburn first played a football game against each other in 1893 at Lakeside Park in Birmingham, but the Iron Bowl as we know it came into being on Dec. 4, 1948, at Legion Field.

That was the day the Crimson Tide and Tigers ended a four-decade cold war between the schools, meeting on the gridiron for the first time since 1907. Alabama won 55-0 in the first modern Iron Bowl, touching off the rivalry that would become the most-famous in the SEC.

The reason the two in-state schools didn’t play each other for 41 years depends upon whom you ask (or asked, as all of the complainants are long deceased). At one point, Auburn alleged that Alabama had used “ringers” (players who were not students) during the 1905 and 1906 games, which the Crimson Tide won by a combined score of 40-0.

Other complaints included illegal “tactics” (pre-snap shifting, among others things), per diem amounts for travel and how officials would be chosen. It was not until the state legislature got involved after World War II by threatening to withhold funding that Alabama and Auburn finally agreed to play again.

A banner headline in the May 20, 1948, edition of The Birmingham News read “Alabama-Auburn Game Booked Here.” The story reported that both the 1948 and 1949 Alabama-Auburn games would be played at Legion Field (a tradition that continued through 1988).

Student body presidents from the two schools literally buried a hatchet in Birmingham’s Woodrow Wilson Park to celebrate the rivalry’s renewal. Auburn’s Gillis Cammack and Alabama’s Willie Johns dug the hole together and Cammack dropped the hatchet in, he told AL.com in 2010, when he was 86 years old.

“The idea was we bury the hatchet and we’d forget about all the bad things between the schools,” said Cammack, who died in 2013. “I threw the hatchet in. Just dropped it in a hole is all. I don’t imagine it stayed there long. Someone probably dug it up before we left.”

In addition, the Omicron Delta Kappa honor society created the ODK Sportsmanship Trophy, which would be awarded to the winning school. Captains Ray Richeson of Alabama and Russ Inman of Auburn were photographed with the trophy prior to the 1948 game.

Alabama had slipped a bit from the Wallace Wade/Frank Thomas glory years by 1948, and carried a 5-4-1 record into its first meeting with Auburn since the first decade of the 20th century. Do-everything halfback Harry Gilmer had graduated the year before, and coach Harold “Red” Drew’s Crimson Tide had suffered decisive losses to Tennessee, Georgia and LSU during the season, as well as a seven-point defeat to Tulane and a tie with Vanderbilt.

Auburn, though, was at one of its lower ebbs in its football history in the late 1940s, having not had a winning season since before the war. Coach Earl Brown’s Tigers beat Southern Miss 20-14 in their 1948 opener, then tied Louisiana Tech before losing seven consecutive games heading into their meeting with Auburn on the first Saturday in December.

On an afternoon “as bright as a ’39-model blue serge suit,” as Henry Vance of the Birmingham News wrote, Alabama wholly throttled Auburn before a crowd of 46,000. The Crimson Tide’s Ed Salem was the hero of the day, accounting for four touchdowns and 28 of his team’s 55 points.

Salem, who had starred at Birmingham’s Ramsay High School, completed eight of 10 passes for 159 yards and three touchdowns and also ran for a score. In addition, the sophomore halfback connected on seven of eight extra-point attempts.

Auburn never advanced beyond the Alabama 40-yard line, though the Tigers’ offense was hamstrung by the loss of star halfback Travis Tidwell to injury in the first half. But there was no stopping the Crimson Tide, which rang up 404 yards of offense and limited Auburn to three net rushing yards while intercepting four passes.

The loss was Auburn’s worst since a 68-7 defeat to Georgia Tech in 1917, and remains the most-decisive score for either team in the Iron Bowl. Alabama equaled the 55-point output against Auburn in 2014, but the Tigers scored 44 points in that game.

Despite the decisiveness of that first meeting in 41 years, the Iron Bowl proved to be a hit. It’s been played every year since, of course, with Alabama holding a 47-30 edge since 1948 (a 14-13 upset win by Auburn in 1949 probably went a long way toward validating the rivalry’s renewal).

But back on that December Saturday 78 years ago, Vance was among those who thought he’d never see the Crimson Tide and Tigers face off again.

“I don’t know what Nostradamus predicted about Saturday,” Vance wrote in The Birmingham News, “but I will say that the Auburn Tigers and the Crimson Tide have met in a football game, after shrinking away from such a contest for near a half century, here I am sitting in the press box writing this story, and if the end of the world has come, it hasn’t hit Legion Field as yet.”

Coming Monday: Our countdown to kickoff continues with No. 47, a last-second field goal hands Alabama an upset victory.

DEAR ABBY: I have been seeing my partner, “Gil,” for five years. After my husband passed, Gil came into my life again. We had been colleagues about 10 years prior. We always had a spark but never acted on it, as I was deeply committed to my late husband.

After the funeral, Gil came into my life with guns blazing. We struck up a friendship, and it wasn’t long before it became more. I have come to care deeply for him, and I want to be there for him, as he is older and facing some health issues.

My problem is Gil and his youngest daughter, “Nicole,” are very close. I initially wanted a warm relationship with her and went out of my way to orchestrate vacations and time together.

Fast-forward to now: I dislike Nicole immensely because she takes advantage of her dad. She’s rude, inconsiderate and holier than everyone, even though she would have nothing if not for her father’s generosity. I hesitate to call her out, because I’ll become the “bad guy,” which she has already tried to make me out to be.

Nicole is in her late 20s with kids of her own. I’m younger than Gil, and I know she sees me as a threat. I know there is some jealousy there, but I’m concerned for his well-being. His health isn’t great, and Nicole is never around for doctor appointments, etc. I want to be gracious because she can do no wrong in his eyes. Your input would be greatly appreciated. — CARING ABOUT HIM

DEAR CARING: Continue to be gracious to Nicole. As I see it, you have little choice. Because she can do no wrong in her daddy’s eyes, if you try to point out otherwise, it won’t endear you to either of them. What you must decide is which is more important to you — calling out Nicole’s glaring flaws or a relationship with her father.

Read more Dear Abby and other advice columns.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

Dear Eric: I am a middle-aged woman, who, for most of her life was the center of the social scene. I entertained in my home, organized outings and helped my friends out whenever I could. A lot of this was not reciprocated, but I was fine with it, because I enjoyed it, and deep down, I always suspected that if I did not make the fun, the fun would not come to me.

I kept this up long after I felt like doing it, but for the past couple of years, illness has kept me from organizing and participating in activities I used to enjoy. And I was right. No one thinks to include me very often anymore.

I can’t blame them – I’m ashamed to admit that I have dropped friends, too, when they could no longer keep up with me. And I’m mostly OK with not being included, anyway. I’m good at entertaining myself.

Here’s my problem: the people in the group I used to hang out with tend to discuss their plans for fun when I’m right there in the room. I try to leave when I can, but it’s not always possible. It is a sad reminder of how much of myself I’ve lost and how many people I’ve lost to my illness. This is not their fault, but I also think they’re being inconsiderate. I was taught not to discuss any events other people weren’t included in in front of them. Am I just being too thin-skinned? If so, what can I do to toughen myself up? I am already in therapy to deal with my grief over my losses, but it doesn’t help on days I’m feeling especially vulnerable.

– Want to Be Included

Dear Included: Your skin is just fine. As hard or, perhaps awkward, as it may initially feel to ask for what you need, I’d encourage you to do it.

Sometimes, yes, we can feel hurt in situations where we just need to change our perspective or, as you wrote, toughen up. But at other times, it’s helpful to say to friends, “Hey, my skin is a little thinner here. Handle with care.”

In your case, that might mean having one-on-one conversations with a few friends wherein you acknowledge the ways your capacity has changed and ask them to invite you to things they think you might enjoy. The curse of the social butterfly is that people assume you can always take flight without assistance. And so, they also assume if you’re not joining in an activity, it’s because you’re off doing something else or you don’t want to. This can be painful because it feels like being forgotten. But I’d encourage you to reframe it if you can.

It’s healthy that you’re working on accepting the ways your life has changed, but if your friends are still discussing their plans in front of you, they can be nudged to think more creatively about those plans so that everyone can be involved. Talking one-on-one, as well as using concrete examples, can help get your friends thinking in different ways about how to show up for you.

Read more Asking Eric and other advice columns.

Send questions to R. Eric Thomas at [email protected] or P.O. Box 22474, Philadelphia, PA 19110. Follow him on Instagram and sign up for his weekly newsletter at rericthomas.com.

No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz plays against No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon Final today. The match is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. CT on ESPN. Fans can watch this match for free online by using the free trials offered by DirecTV and Fubo TV. Alternatively, Sling offers a first-month discount to new users.

Alcaraz enters this matchup with a 6-0 record at Wimbledon this year, and he is coming off an impressive four-set victory against No. 5 Taylor Fritz. During the victory, Alcaraz was able to win the final set via tiebreakers.

Notably, Alcaraz is looking to win Wimbledon for the second-straight year this morning.

Sinner also enters this matchup with a 6-0 record at Wimbledon this year, and he is coming off back-to-back wins against top 10 opponents. In his last two matches, Sinner has not lost a single set. With this in mind, he will try to continue his great play this morning.

In his most recent game, Sinner defeated No. 6 Novak Djokovic. During the victory, Sinner did not concede more than four games in a single set.

Fans can watch the Wimbledon Final for free online by using the free trials offered by DirecTV and Fubo TV. Alternatively, Sling offers a first-month discount to new users.

The days of the media are almost upon us. The back-to-school event is about to begin.

Starting Monday, all of the SEC coaches and players from each squad will descend upon Atlanta and the College Football Hall of Fame to take part in SEC Media Days. Alabama football won’t go until Wednesday, however. The four-day event will wrap Thursday.

The Crimson Tide will bring coach Kalen DeBoer, defensive tackle Tim Keenan III, linebacker Deontae Lawson and left tackle Kadyn Proctor.

Here are three of the biggest questions for Alabama heading into SEC Media Days.

When will we get the quarterback answer?

Ty Simpson is the frontrunner entering preseason camp at quarterback. That much has been made clear by the coaching staff. But will we get an answer soon on if he will be the starter against Florida State? Maybe. Maybe not.

Past history says no. DeBoer didn’t name Michael Penix Jr. the starter at Washington until 10 days before the first game. DeBoer didn’t name Jake Haener the starter at Fresno State until four days before the first game.

That indicates the answer is going to take several weeks, but could DeBoer depart from that path with the Alabama quarterback decision? Time will tell. But no official decision has been announced publicly heading into media days.

Can the pass rush be elite?

Alabama brings back most of its defense from a season ago, a group that finished 10th in the nation in points per game allowed (17.4).

It’s not a big leap to think the defense can take an even bigger step forward in 2025. But the pass rush lacked at times in 2024. Defensive coordinator Kane Wommack often had to get creative to dial up pressure in his first season running the defense. Alabama finished with 25 sacks, nowhere near the top 10 in college football. Boise State tallied the most with 55. Sacks aren’t everything, but it’s still a stat worth improving for Alabama.

LT Overton figures to be the top pass rusher. He was a season ago. Overton taking the next step in his game (and getting sacks) could go a long way in improving the pass rush. But Alabama will need someone to pair with him so offenses can’t focus on blocking only Overton.

Qua Russaw has the potential to be that guy opposite Overton creating havoc for offenses. Or perhaps, someone else can step up.

Either way, Alabama needs players chasing the quarterback to step up in 2025. That will be the difference in another good defense and an elite one.

Can Ryan Williams take the next step in his game?

Williams is an exceptional talent. He proved that against Georgia. But he never had another 100-yard game again the rest of the season. Quarterback play impacted Williams some no doubt, but the freshman receiver from Saraland didn’t have the same impact the rest of the season as he did against the Bulldogs.

If Williams can continue to improve and sustain playing at a high-level, it can make a big difference for the offense.

But focus will be key. Williams has always, and will always, have all kinds of attention and eyeballs on him. Such is the nature of being on the cover of EA College Football 26 video game after only his freshman season. He has shown to be mature beyond his years, but even people much older than 18 would struggle balancing all of the attention and NIL deals with taking care of business on the football field. Williams will need to make sure to have elite focus on his work related to football in order to grow into the player he can become.

Nick Kelly is an Alabama beat writer for AL.com and the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X and Instagram.

Dear Eric: My Mom is planning our Dad’s 90th birthday party. My adult children and their adult children are super excited. Unfortunately, I found out that my mom will not be inviting my grandchildren or my stepdaughters’ families. I have been married to their father for more than 23 years.

My mom said it’s just too much for our dad to have the extra daughters and their families.

She says we’re family, but I guess not. I just don’t know if I can attend knowing that all my kids can’t come. They will all be very hurt, as they think of them as grandparents.

There’s time for me to figure this out as I haven’t said anything to the other kids. But I’m so disappointed and have to really decide if I’ll attend or not.

– Split Family

Dear Family: This is unfair, but I don’t think you should let it prevent you from going to the party. This is a once-in-a-lifetime celebration for your father, and you’d be sorry you missed it. Plus, your presence will be meaningful to him, which is the most important thing.

You should, however, circle back with your mother to get more information about her decision. Planning a party is a taxing affair for someone of any age, so see if there are ways that you can lighten her load or help her think through space or food or costs. It’s possible that she is thinking less about emotional bonds and more about logistics.

If she’s set on it, however, you can also have your own little get together with your stepdaughters and their families and your dad. Better to over-celebrate than under celebrate.

Read more Asking Eric and other advice columns.

Send questions to R. Eric Thomas at [email protected] or P.O. Box 22474, Philadelphia, PA 19110. Follow him on Instagram and sign up for his weekly newsletter at rericthomas.com.

Our brains treat unresolved tasks like open browser tabs — each consuming a little RAM that when multiplied becomes background stress, even if you’re “doing nothing.” The Saturn retrograde suggests a restart to help you clear the “tabs,” get organized, dump the trash and maybe even close the screen for a minute for the breath you need before reembarking once more — this time backward.

ARIES (March 21-April 19). Getting more sleep is one of the most effective steps to becoming healthier. Bonus: It’s free. With your busy life, the timing and rituals around rest will require some planning, which will pay off for you in better energy for the week ahead.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20). You’ll handle what’s yours, and it will feel good to be in control. And if you notice that you are not in control, consider that maybe this is not yours to deal with after all. To whom can you give it over? Or is it appropriate to simply drop it?

GEMINI (May 21-June 21). There are people around who can show you how a thing is done. They’ll help you skip over a lot of potentially embarrassing trial-and-error. You won’t know what you might have invented through failing on your own.

CANCER (June 22-July 22). What one person won’t take on because it’s too “weird,” you don’t find weird at all. You may even call it a fantastic challenge. You break it into parts. You give it structure without killing the magic. You carry it all the way to done.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). You’re sensitive in the best kind of way. Keep that tenderness even when others move carelessly. That vulnerable part of you deserves to be cradled, studied and kept safe. Stay close to yourself — that’s the bond that steadies everything else.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). You’re still on a quest, but often the quest doesn’t look like movement. Sometimes it’s sitting still while the chaos of the world swirls on by, knowing that the weather of the world will come and go. In stillness, you can observe the problem, sort your feelings and prepare your strategy.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). You decide, and it’s decided. That’s the end of guessing, of hesitation, of testing and experiments and related whimsy. You do what you say you will do. Life gets simple. The way becomes clear, the execution inevitable.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). In some way, the well-being of others will be affected by your choices. Remember that the most beloved leaders are the ones who serve and care for the others, knowing that when the highest position is also the humblest, the mark of great leadership is alive.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Society mixes a lot of things up. For instance, people often conflate wealth with good taste, authority with virtue, or beauty with sameness. Recognizing these patterns lets you think outside the machinery. Instead of reacting or following the crowd, you observe, assess and choose deliberately.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). You can accept the way things are now and build from here in any direction. You’re not denying the past but you’re also not identifying too strongly with it. The past is only the architect of your future if you make it so. Instead, you make it a new day.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Even the most demanding roles benefit from empathy, emotional regulation and clear communication. A lot of people can do certain kinds of work and processes and even thinking. But you also do the connecting, and that’s a very special talent.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Resist the urge to explain yourself. There are several reasons why you don’t need to. First of all, it would lower your status. Secondly, you’re likely to change your mind, your stance, your tactics or all three. Let the journey be fully yours for now.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (July 13). This year, it’s as much about what you do as what you don’t do. You don’t lose heart. You don’t lose vision. And you don’t lose the connection between the two, which is you, in motion. The work goes on because the dream goes on. Because it’s alive in you, it’s alive indeed. More highlights: You’ll make money doing something simple and offering it to many. You’ll cultivate calm. Love is easy and bright. Gemini and Pisces adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 5, 11, 20, 3 and 13.

CELEBRITY PROFILES: Harrison Ford has captivated generations with his steady intensity, dry wit and rugged charisma. Whether playing Han Solo or Indiana Jones, Ford makes his characters feel lived-in and loyal beneath the bravado. Cancers are tied to legacy, and Ford’s filmography feels like a cornerstone of modern mythology. Off-screen, he’s a devoted environmentalist and pilot, still flying and filming into his 80s. Ford has natal sun, moon, Mercury and Jupiter all in the sign of the crab.

Holiday Mathis’ debut novel, “How To Fail Epically in Hollywood,” is out now! This fast-paced romp about achieving Hollywood stardom is available as a paperback and e-book. Visit creatorspublishing.com for more information. Write Holiday Mathis at HolidayMathis.com.

A 43-year-old man found unresponsive in his Birmingham home one week ago has died.

Police identified the victim as Mardrecus Hardy.

East Precinct officers were dispatched at 2:40 p.m. Saturday, July 5, to a report of a person down inside a residence in the 6900 block of Division Avenue.

Family members made the discovery during a welfare check, said Officer Truman Fitzgerald, and believed Hardy was dead.

Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service arrived, and Hardy was still alive but unresponsive. Officers later learned he had been shot.

Hardy was taken to UAB Hospital where he remained until his death on Saturday, July 12.

No arrests have been made.

Hardy is Birmingham’s 39th homicide this year.

Anyone with information is asked to call detectives at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.