The Crimson Tide will face Florida State in an exhibition game October 17 in Birmingham. This marks the second consecutive preseason in which Alabama has played at Boutwell Auditorium. In 2024, the Crimson Tide faced Wake Forest in an exhibition game.
Alabama women’s basketball will also face Florida State that week.
A season ago, it was called ‘Bama in Boutwell.’ Now, it will be ‘Ballin in Boutwell’ because other schools will be participating as well. That includes the Alabama women’s basketball program.
In attendance to announce the matchups Tuesday: Alabama men’s assistant coach Preston Murphy, Alabama women’s coach Kristy Curry, Auburn men’s basketball assistant coach Steven Peal, Birmingham mayor Randall Woodfin, Hibbett CEO Jared Briskin, Knight Eady president Michael Eady and Alabama A&M men’s coach Donte’ Jackson.
Nick Kelly is an Alabama beat writer for AL.com and the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X and Instagram.
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The shortest offseason in sports belongs to the NBA, as things move very quickly following the end of the season. The Oklahoma City Thunder just won the NBA Finals, with the draft taking place just three days later.
Another major milestone of the NBA offseason will be this weekend, as the Summer League will take place. A showcase for younger players to earn a place on the regular season roster, the Summer League is essential for any major NBA fan.
To continue the Salt Lake City League, the Memphis Grizzlies will take on the hometown Utah Jazz. For the Jazz, the talk has been about rookie Ace Bailey, who posted eight points, seven rebounds and an impressive block in their first Summer League win over the weekend against the Sixers.
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SweepNext is one of the most intriguing new sweepstakes casino to launch in the US. This modern sweeps casino is gaining major hype for its variety of slot games and an extremely generous welcome offer for new players.
Below, I highlight three of the best slots to play with our SweepNext promo code bonus, which includes 200,000 Gold Coins and 2 Sweeps Coins on signup. You’ll also get 150% extra coins on your first purchase of $9.99, including 250,000 GC and 25 free SC.
Each of these slots is fun, easy to play and provides some great payout opportunities.
Three top slots to play with your SweepNext promo code bonus
Sweepstakes casinos are growing more popular every day. With real money casinos legal in only seven states, more people around the country are turning to sweeps casinos to play their favorite slots online.
SweepNext is one of the newest online sweepstakes casinos. It’s quickly gaining a huge fan base, thanks in part to its wide variety of unique slot games.
I highlight three exciting slots available to play right now:
Majestic Wild Buffalo
A screenshot of the Majestic Wild Buffalo slot game.SweepNext
Spinomenal is a world-class online slot developer that’s well-known for creating a large variety of free and real money slots. One of this platform’s most exciting titles is Majestic Wild Buffalo, a five-reel online slot game with 25 paylines and an average RTP rate of 96.31%.
Buffalo-themed slot games are fairly common. This game shakes things up, focusing on a wide variety of animals in the Old West, including coyotes and bears.
This game is packed with fun bonus features, too. The free spins round is fun and comes with a double wheel to help players land some huge multipliers.
This game looks incredible, has a solid RTP and comes with enough bonus features to keep new and experienced players happy.
Northern Gold Rush
A screenshot of the Northern Gold Rush slot game.SweepNext
Fans of high RTP slots are sure to enjoy Northern Gold Rush. This game was developed by 1spin4win in 2023 and is one of the most popular games at SweepNext. It features five reels, 243 paylines and a great RTP rate of 97.20%.
This is another game that focuses on a specific area and time period in the US. It’s filled with common symbols of the Gold Rush, such as gold pans, wolves and more.
Score three or more scatter symbols to trigger the free spins round, in which 10 spins are automatically awarded. Lucky players can score 15 Golden Nugget symbols on the grid during this bonus round to earn the Mega Jackpot, offering an incredible 1,000x payout on their wager.
Catch the Leprechaun
A screenshot of the Catch the Leprechaun slot game.SweepNext
Another one of the best slots to play with your SweepNext promo code bonus is Catch the Leprechaun. This is another five-reel slot game that has been making big waves with players around the country. It features 20 paylines and a slightly below-average RTP rate of 95%.
As one might expect from the name, this game is leprechaun-themed. It’s filled with symbols such as pots of gold, four-leaf clovers and leprechaun hats. It even has a fun Irish folk song soundtrack that players are sure to enjoy.
Catch the Leprechaun offers more bonus features than many of the other slots provided by SweepNext. The most exciting is the Catch a Leprechaun bonus round, triggered when players land a jackpot symbol on reels one or four, along with a collector symbol on the fifth reel.
This round gives players access to three jackpots, the largest of which can offer a payout of 500x their wager.
SweepNext promo code: How to claim this offer
It’s incredible to see so many players already listing SweepNext as one of the best sweepstakes casinos in the US. Many of its players are praising the welcome bonus, offering a huge number of both Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins for one small purchase.
Below, I explain how to claim the welcome offer, along with the free sign-up bonus:
Click any of our promo code links or banners shown on this page. No promo code is needed if you use our link.
Click the Register button on the SweepNext homepage.
Create a new account with SweepNext by entering your name, date of birth and agreeing to the terms and conditions.
Receive the signup offer of 200,000 Gold Coins and 2 free Sweeps Coins with no purchase required.
Make a Gold Coins purchase of $9.99 and earn a 150% bonus, offering 250,000 Gold Coins and 25 free Sweeps Coins.
The SweepNext promo code bonus can be described as one of the best being offered by any sweeps casino operating today. For only $9.99, players will earn 250,000 Gold Coins and 25 free Sweeps Coins.
Each Sweeps Coin has a value of $1, meaning players are earning a major boost on their initial purchase.
It’s important to note that SweepNext attaches a 1x playthrough requirement to its Sweeps Coins. This means players will need to wager each of these coins at least once in order to redeem them for prizes.
SweepsNext is growing quickly and is available to players above the age of 21 in every state except Connecticut, Idaho, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York and Washington.
Check it out today and discover all of the other exciting slots this platform has to offer.
If you or a loved one has questions or needs to talk to a professional about gambling, call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit 1800gambler.net for more information.
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“Mr. Gipson was a dedicated public servant whose impact on this agency and the State of Alabama will be felt for years to come,” Curtis Stewart, who succeeded Gipson as administrator of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, said in a statement.
“During his 12 years as the Administrator for the ABC Board he oversaw operations with over 800 employees and 168 stores, and he also served as a member of the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association (NABCA) in a variety of capacities.”
Gov. Robert Bentley appointed Gipson as ABC Board administrator in 2011. Gov. Kay Ivey kept Gipson on the job when she became governor in 2017.
Gipson stayed on the job until December 2022, when he retired at age 87. Gipson, who had started working at age 13 at his father’s Standard Oil station in downtown Prattville, said he would have continued if not for health problems.
“Along the line I’ve tried golf,” Gipson said. “Tried hunting. I just didn’t have any hobbies. I enjoyed working.”
Gipson was born in Camden in 1935 and served in the Army.
He started a tire business in Prattville in 1981, Gipson Tire Pros, that he later sold to his sons.
Gipson was elected to the Alabama House of Representatives in 1994 and served four terms.
“Our deepest sympathies go out to his family, friends, and all those who had the pleasure of getting to know him,” Stewart said.
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A month after he claimed President Donald Trump is in the so-called Epstein files, Elon Musk alleged on Tuesday that a key architect of the MAGA movement is also in the files.
Musk leveled the allegation while responding to Trump ally Roger Stone’s strongly implying that Steve Bannon, who was White House chief strategist at the start of Trump’s first term, was in the files.
“Bannon is in the Epstein files,” Musk tweeted Tuesday afternoon.
Musk, the world’s richest man and the largest donor to Trump’s 2024 election effort, did not offer any evidence linking Bannon to the files.
Musk was responding to a series of Stone’s tweets that included a Business Insider story alleging Bannon, a friend of Epstein, filmed the financier for 15 hours — supposedly for a documentary — but the film was never released.
“Why would Bannon meet with Jeffrey Epstein both at his New York home and in Paris after Epstein was convicted on sex crimes in Florida?” Stone tweeted. “Why would he coach Epstein for his 60 minutes appearance?”
Musk formed a third party over the weekend after falling out with Trump, ostensibly over the “Big Beautiful Bill” that passed Congress last week.
During their feud, Musk claimed the Epstein files have not been released because the president is in them.
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Commercial space launches hit an all-time high last year, with one blasting off every two to three days.
And that pace is ramping up fasts as U.S. regulators predict the country could see more-than-daily launches by 2034.
A new report by the Federal Aviation Administration – which licenses U.S.-based commercial space launches and re-entries, counted 142 operations in 2024 by seven companies. SpaceX accounted for 83% of the total, or 118 launches.
The remaining 17% were conducted by:
Rocket Lab (12 launches)
Virgin Galactic (four launches)
Blue Origin (three launches)
United Launch Alliance (two launches)
Firefly Aerospace (two launches)
Stratolaunch (one launch)
The report did not include six National Security Space Launches conducted by the Defense Department last year.
Why does all of this matter to Alabama?
North Alabama – where United Launch Alliance and Blue Origin have significant manufacturing and integration operations – stands to gain with a rise in both commercial and national security launches.
Besides being an annual record, the 142 licensed commercial launches of 2024 account for 17% of all 824 commercial launches and re-entries conducted by U.S. companies since 1989.
And the pace is increasing. In June, there were 21 licensed launches, which broke the previous monthly record of 20 set in November. Four operators — Blue Origin, Rocket Lab, SpaceX and United Launch Alliance — send up payloads last month.
The commercial launch landscape is becoming increasingly competitive, according to the report, with two operators – ABL Space Systems and Virgin Orbit — withdrawing from the sector since 2023.
“The list of firms intending to launch is dynamic, with smaller launch providers struggling in an increasingly competitive market,” the report stated. “New arrivals to the industry face steep barriers to entry, including high development costs and intense competition from their established counterparts.”
Despite that, the advent of larger launch vehicles like Blue Origin’s New Glenn, ULA’s Vulcan, SpaceX’s Starship and Relativity Space’s Terran R – most of which are at least partly reusable – is driving down launch costs. That in turn is leading to more frequent launches.
The FAA report predicts authorized space operations could range from 2,067 to 4,010 over the next 10 years. The high range of the forecast would mean up to 566 launch operations in 2034 – well over one per day.
Satellite deployments, including SpaceX’s Starlink and Amazon’s Kuiper constellations, account for the majority of missions in the FAA forecast.
One of the ULA launches in June lifted the second batch of Kuiper high-speed broadband satellites. The company expects full deployment of 3,232 satellites by 2031.
Starlink, meanwhile, already consists of over 7,000 satellites in orbit.
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The unofficial start to the 2025 season is next week’s SEC Media Days, and Auburn football has its list of attendees set.
In addition to coach Hugh Freeze, the Tigers will bring quarterback Jackson Arnold, defensive lineman Keldric Faulk and offensive lineman Connor Lew to Atlanta, the SEC announced.
SEC Media Days will take place at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta this season for the first time since 2022. It starts Monday, July 14 and runs through Thursday, July 17. Auburn is set to take part on the second day, as will Georgia, Tennessee and Texas.
Faulk is making his second straight trip to SEC Media Days. He was joined last year by quarterback Payton Thorne and linebacker Eugene Asante at the event in Dallas.
Auburn’s season is set to start at 7 p.m. CT on Friday, Aug. 29, against Baylor at McLane Stadium in Waco, Texas. Freeze is entering his third season leading the Tigers.
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During Target Circle Week, members can grab the best-selling Beats Solo 4 wireless headphones for the lowest price we’ve ever seen.
While normally $200, those who sign in to the Target Circle rewards account can snag a pair of Beats Solo 4 headphones for only $97. Thankfully, anyone with an email and phone number can sign up for the loyalty program and take advantage of this limited time tech deal.
Beats Solo 4 Bluetooth Wireless On-Ear Headphones
$199.99 $97.99
The Beats Solo 4 Bluetooth Wireless Headphones are on sale during Target Circle Week.
The Beats brand claims that the Beats Solo 4 bluetooth headphones come with upgraded drivers, rebalanced acoustics, improved frequency response, custom-built 40 mm transducers to minimize electronic artifacts and latency and distortion for extraordinary clarity and range. Not to mention it comes with a whopping 50 hours of battery life.
“The original go-to headphones for active music lovers are back and better than ever,” the Beats Solo 4 product description states. “The ergonomic design was developed with comfort in mind, starting with how light they are — at just 217 grams, you can almost forget you’re wearing them.”
Beats also states that wearing these headphones feels like “being surrounded by 64 speakers at once.”
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The Mobile County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a retired deputy for the possession and dissemination of child pornography.
In May 2025, MCSO’s ICAC Unit began investigating former deputy David Frederickson, according to a recent release.
ICAC is a national network of 61 coordinated task forces, representing over 5,400 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.
According to the release, ICAC is “dedicated to investigating, prosecuting and developing effective responses to internet crimes against children.”
Through the course of ICAC’s investigation, officials said they were able to obtain enough evidence to arrest Frederickson on five counts of unlawful possession of child pornography and five counts of unlawful dissemination of child pornography.
MCSO’s Special Operations Unit on Monday took him into custody “without incident,” according to the release.
Frederickson was a deputy with MCSO from 1980 to 2003 before he retired.
“It is my duty to protect the citizens of Mobile County and especially our children,” Sheriff Paul Burch said in the release.
“I do not care who you are, if you are found guilty, then you will pay for your actions just like everyone else.”
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In addition to coach Kalen DeBoer, the Crimson Tide will bring Dontae Lawson, Tim Keenan, and Kadyn Proctor, the SEC announced.
SEC Media Days will take place at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta this season for the first time since 2022. It starts Monday, July 14 and runs through Thursday, July 17. Alabama is set to take part on the third day, as will Florida, Mississippi State and Oklahoma.
A year ago, the Crimson Tide brought quarterback Jalen Milroe, offensive lineman Tyler Booker and safety Malachi Moore to the event in Dallas.
Alabama’s season is set to start at 2:30 p.m. CT on Aug. 30 at Doak Campbell Stadium against Florida State. DeBoer is entering his second season leading the Crimson Tide.
Nick Kelly is an Alabama beat writer for AL.com and the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X and Instagram.
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
