A new digitally focused media company — the Alabama Media Group, which will include The Birmingham News, the Press-Register of Mobile, The Huntsville Times and al.com — will launch this fall to serve readers and advertisers across the state, according to Cindy Martin, who will become president of the new organization.The change is designed to reshape how Alabama's leading media companies deliver award-winning local news, sports and entertainment coverage in an increasingly digital age. The Alabama Media Group will dramatically expand its news-gathering efforts around the clock, seven days a week, while offering enhanced printed newspapers on a schedule of three days a week. The newspapers will be home-delivered and sold in stores on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays only.A second company, Advance Central Services Alabama, ... Continue reading →

LSU catcher Tyler Moore looks to the dugout for a pitch Wednesday at the SEC Tournament. (Linda Stelter/The Birmingham News)HOOVER, Alabama -- The pattern repeats itself pitch after pitch this week at the SEC Tournament.Catchers go into their crouch and glance toward the dugout for a coach's sign. Sometimes the coach will provide signals indicating the pitch and location; other times the coach may point to the catcher and tell him it's his call.In the high-pressure world of SEC baseball, where one wrong pitch can ruin seasons and a coach's six-figure salary, the decision of who calls the game varies based on personnel and philosophies. There's not even a consensus on whether calling pitches from the dugout is increasing or decreasing in the SEC."It really ... Continue reading →

ACC expansion has been a complete dud in football due largely to underachieving by Florida State and Miami.BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Here's how quickly conference expansion speculation travels these days. On Wednesday, TCU Athletics Director Chris Del Conte was quoted by a radio host in Lubbock, Texas, as telling a breakfast crowd that the once-dead Big 12 now has "schools like FSU, Clemson and Miami trying to get in."That raised eyebrows that perhaps Del Conte was confirming what many people already believe. Del Conte later said his comments were misconstrued and that he was referring to the rumor mill associated with the Big 12."If you listen to the radio interview my comments were in reference to where (the Big 12) was a year ago, and now ... Continue reading →