Dear (New) Mayor, Let's talk sports...

Whoever emerges from the special election in December holding my city’s mantle of leadership inherits a sports scene that is in the direst of straits.

So I guess this means we’re not getting that Major League Soccer team, are we? Well, shoot. Yet another casualty of Larry Langford’s corrupt bargaining and the 60-count conviction that resulted

Sports & Leisure

Is the NFL too dangerous?

Pro football's safety issue reaches critical mass

By Matt Hooper

April, 2005. I’m at work, which at the time meant I was slummin’ it for Arena Football League’s former Birmingham Steeldogs. It was game night. I cannot recall the opponent. There was a kickoff return

Sports & Leisure

No Fun League, Part I

This season, the NFL seems eager to shrink it's fan base.

By Matt Hooper

I've spent years trying to convince football fans in the South to put aside their differences with the NFL and give the pro game a chance. If this is the year I finally convinced you to do that, I'm t

Sports & Leisure

Mid-Season Football Review!

By Matt Hooper

It seems almost incomprehensible that half of college football's regular season is over, but with game six in the books for two of our state's Big Three teams (UAB was idle last weekend), our glass is

Sports & Leisure

Commemorating The Catch

Artist Thom Ross has recreated the most famous Willie Mays play — perhaps the most famous catch in baseball history.

By Allen Barra

It has been said that baseball is the only thread that ties America together over three centuries. If so, as artist Thom Ross has discovered, it is a slender and fragile thread. Ross, who lives in

Sports & Leisure

Meet me in Birmingham, 2020, and other sports stories

Weekly sports columnist Matt Hooper takes sports to a place it's never been... improv theatre.

By Matt Hooper

Second City? Actually, it was fourth. The scene: The decision room at the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee. Friday, Oct. 2, 2009. The issue at hand: Which city will host the game

Sports & Leisure

UAB/Southern Miss (Not-so) Live Blog!

Follow along with tonight's Blazers-Eagles game live from Legion Field! We promise not to break any NCAA rules this time!!

By Matt Hooper

UAB-Southern Miss Live Blog

Sports & Leisure

Ramblings of a football-addled mind

Alone with my thoughts, with no game to cover...

By Matt Hooper

I found myself alone last Saturday, watching football in my apartment. An uncommon occurrence, just me and the cat and my giant television. In the afterglow of my wondrous trip back home to Florenc

Sports & Leisure

Corner of Stadium and Royal: The Story of the Greatest Game I Ever Saw

Florence, Alabama. Corner of Stadium and Royal. December 11, 1993. The most cherished memory of my childhood. The greatest football game I ever saw...

By Matt Hooper

Florence, Alabama. Corner of Stadium and Royal. December 11, 1993. The most cherished memory of my childhood. The greatest football game I ever saw. Sixteen years ago. My dad trying to find a place

Sports & Leisure

Live-blogging is not a crime

The NCAA should be far more concerned about graduation rates, fiscal responsibility and rogue boosters rather than whether live-bloggers are giving you too much analysis too quickly.

By Matt Hooper

In the eyes of the NCAA, I’m a felon. I’m rule-breaker. I’m a flaunter of by-laws. I’m no better than Antonio Langham or Albert Means, Gene Jelks or the 1986 SMU Mustangs. What did I do, you ask