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| 'Cross at your own risk' Lack of repair for decrepit bridges frustrates residents Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:56:00 CST SAND ISLAND -- Two rickety, one-way wooden bridges with protruding nails and rotting boards are all that connect this community of 200 to the "mainland." |
| Body may be missing woman's Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:36:00 CST MILLBROOK -- An autopsy will be conducted today to determine if a body discovered late Tuesday afternoon is that of a woman missing and believed murdered. |
| Board gives Dilworth high marks Wed, 23 Jul 2008 01:01:00 CST The Montgomery County Board of Education has rated Superintendent John Dilworth "commendable" in his first evaluation. |
| ASU trustee: Breach led to vote Wed, 23 Jul 2008 01:01:00 CST The chairman of Alabama State University's board of trustees said the trustees' decision Monday to reject an agreement that would have ended numerous legal and personal fights between board members was the result of someone breaching the confidentiality agreement the parties had in place. |
| Bright asks Love to sign campaign pledge Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:57:00 CST Democratic congressional candidate Bobby Bright has asked his opponent to join him in signing a pledge to run a positive campaign. |
| Students, parents speak out to board Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:54:00 CST Parents and students spoke out against the appeals process for magnet school enrollment at Tuesday night's Montgomery County Board of Education meeting. |
| Prisoner killed in vehicle wreck in Montgomery Wed, 23 Jul 2008 01:02:00 CST A prisoner was killed Tuesday evening when the transport van he was riding in crashed in east Montgomery. |
| Two Hornets on All-SWAC first team Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:37:00 CST BIRMINGHAM -- When Alabama State football coach Reggie Barlow began making preparations to attend this year's Southwestern Athletic Conference media day, he found himself facing a tough choice: Who would he take? |
| Green says U18 experience good preparation for UA season Tue, 22 Jul 2008 23:57:00 CST JaMychal Green was disappointed the USA Basketball U18 team didn't capture the gold medal in Argentina last week, but he said the experience prepared him for his upcoming freshman season at Alabama. |
| Fallen Falcons marketing hope in '08 Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:00:00 CST ATLANTA -- X's and O's that map strategy on the football field go only so far in the game plan to revive the Atlanta Falcons. Billboards, radio ads and TV commercials are also keys to the playbook. The Falcons -- stung by a disastrous 2007 that saw marquee quarterback Michael Vick exposed for criminal dogfighting, first-year coach Bobby Petrino bolt for a new job and the team finish last in the NFC South -- open camp Friday on the heels of a massive marketing blitz designed to restore the franchise's credibility as much as woo ticket-buyers. This is not an easy sell in a huge market that has dumbfounded experts by its inconsistent support for professional sports teams. Yet the Falcons, ranked next-to-last among the 32 NFL teams for franchise value last year by Forbes magazine ($796 million) despite playing in the nation's eighth-largest TV market, are cornered. The team purchased about 250 30-second slots on two Atlanta TV stations and 2,000 spots on local radio stations. Since April, 23 billboards have declared "Screamers Wanted." Translation: Tickets are still available. Then there are the mass e-mails. More than 600,000 recipients in the team's database have been spam-targeted for sales. "We need to get people understanding what we're about again," Falcons President Rich McKay said during a recent minicamp. "We need people feeling good about us again, to turn the page." NFL teams, which feed off the nation's most popular sport and benefit from extensive media coverage, typically don't push their product with such vigor. The Falcons have never engaged in a campaign so rich since Home Depot co-founder Arthur Blank purchased the team in 2002. But distressed times call for a fresh approach. The price tag for the marketing campaign, according to the team, was in the mid-six-figures. Although he won't reveal specific figures, McKay acknowledges a big loss in season ticket sales -- a year after the Falcons carried a waiting list of 50,000 and despite slashed prices for non-premium seats. With two non-sellouts in 2007 (and empty seats resulting from no-shows during other games at the Georgia Dome), the team failed to sell out every game in a season for the first time in Blank's era. With a new coach, new GM and new franchise quarterback in Matt Ryan, drafted third overall in April from Boston College, the Falcons have clearly instituted a plan adding distance from Vick, the erstwhile drawing card serving a 23-month federal prison sentence. They are selling hope, values and what has been described by Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist Jeff Schultz as an NFL version of the Marketing 101 concept of "new and improved." Mike Smith, 48, a low-profile hire for his first head coaching job after five years as the Jacksonville Jaguars' defensive coordinator, teams with GM Thomas Dimitroff to head the football operations. Dimitroff contributed to two Super Bowl championships as the New England Patriots' college scouting director but was virtually in the shadows of coach Bill Belichick and personnel director Scott Pioli. He gets power stripped from McKay, now concentrating on the business side. Meanwhile, several big-name players -- including running back Warrick Dunn, cornerback DeAngelo Hall and tight end Alge Crumpler -- were dumped. Whether fans will eagerly buy into changes that include a refurbished Georgia Dome is debatable. But the Falcons are undoubtedly trying to nudge them along. A TV ad contains draft-day footage of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell presenting Ryan with a Falcons jersey and ends with a plea outlined in bold, stenciled letters: Believe. "You definitely notice it," says Ryan Stewart, who co-hosts "2 Live Stews," a top-rated afternoon sports talk show on WQXI-AM, with his brother Doug. "But there's one commercial that makes me sick to my stomach. It's where Mr. Blank tells people, 'Come and meet my new regime.' Then he says how the GM came from the New England Patriots. How in the hell do you put another team's name in your ad? That's ridiculous." Still, it's a stark contrast from last year's images. Remember? PETA demonstrators at training camp. Hall's sideline tirade. Petrino's "Pig Sooey" chants at a December news conference at the University of Arkansas, hours after he walked out on his five-year Falcons contract. In their ads and interviews and public appearances, the Falcons are trying to re-brand themselves as a team with a renewed focus on character. "This tells me that Arthur Blank gets it," says sports consultant Marc Ganis, president of SportsCorp Ltd. "He's not going to let the fan base deteriorate to the point of no return. There are more instances of teams that should re-brand themselves that are not. They desperately need to connect and sell themselves. But they don't because of the big checks they receive from the NFL. The more proactive teams are in these cases, the better." Stewart, a former NFL safety, understands the Falcons' marketing challenge and agrees with the approach. But with training camp opening Friday, he doesn't sense the typical preseason buzz from callers to the show. "Blank is a marketing genius," he says. "But he's also desperate." McKay says a fundamental strategy is to rely less on the appeal of marketing individual players such as Vick, drafted No. 1 overall in 2001 and a man who led Atlanta to the 2004 NFC title game and was the undeniable draw. "The natural reaction is, 'Geez, you guys used to rely on just marketing Michael, and now you're going to market the team,' " McKay says. "No, we marketed the team before but had a player who was a magnet. He should have been, because of the athlete he is. He drew marketing -- with ad campaigns with Nike or other things -- that made it look like we were marketing one player. This campaign is more, 'This is what Arthur's franchise is about and why you should jump on the bandwagon.'" Quality obviously matters. Since their NFL expansion debut in 1966, the Falcons have never had back-to-back winning seasons. Now they rebuild after a 4-12 finish was their worst in eight years. "I'm leaving the ticket sales and the business side to Mr. Blank and Rich McKay," Dimitroff says. "There's enough on my plate. But if you win, people will come." The Falcons have season ticket packages for as little as $250. While the team is encouraged by suite leases and sponsorships, upper-deck seats most affordable for many fans have been the most difficult to sell. This, even after cutting the price of some upper-level seats by more than 50 percent. "Winning sells tickets. Period," says Keith Brooking, an 11th-year linebacker and the team's most-tenured player. Terence Moore, columnist for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution since 1985, considers the market's history and nuances and sees a Herculean task for the Falcons. In addition to hot-and-cold attendance spells for the Falcons, the NBA's Atlanta Hawks and Georgia Tech's football and basketball programs, Moore remembers the Atlanta Braves failing to sell out postseason games in the early 1990s. He says that epitomized the weak market support. Beginning in 1991, the Braves won a record 14 consecutive division titles. "This is clearly the worst sports town in America," Moore says. "In order to attract people in Atlanta, you've got to give them flash and a gimmick. In the Falcons' case, it begins and ends with Michael Vick." Moore isn't convinced that winning is an elixir. "I don't know that it makes a difference," he says. Atlanta's transient population is often cited as a factor. The region is a mecca for transplants perhaps unwilling to establish team loyalty. Jim Smith, the Falcons' marketing director, hears the doubts. "I'm not going to put it on the Atlanta market," Smith says. "If you give them a competitive product to respect, they are willing to support you. You saw it with the Hawks this season. You saw sellouts. It was about being an exciting team." Still, Smith says he can envision the Falcons as some local fans' second-favorite NFL team. He says he is "cautiously optimistic" the team will avoid local TV blackouts. "We knew there would be a hangover from last year," Smith says. "This is not a time when we can be complacent." Hardly. When NFL owners met at a Buckhead hotel in May, an event for sponsors that featured Commissioner Roger Goodell evolved into Ryan's official signing party. The quarterback penned his name on a faux contract -- hours after signing the real six-year, $72 million deal. McKay mentioned the idea for this to Ryan's agent two weeks before talks were completed. "It was a good opportunity," McKay says. McKay insists this isn't as tough a sell as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were in 1992, when he took over a team in the midst of 12 consecutive double-digit-loss seasons. "I know what lean looks like," McKay says. "But the beauty of the NFL is the ability to turn franchises around. You just have to stick to your plan." |
| BISCUITS BASEBALL: Eldridge keys Montgomery's win over Tennessee Tue, 22 Jul 2008 23:48:00 CST KODAK, Tenn. -- Rashad Eldridge hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning and joined two more Montgomery teammates who drove home a pair of runs Tuesday in the Biscuits' 9-6 win over the Tennessee Smokies. |
| LOCAL BRIEFS: SEC football media days kick off today Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:02:00 CST HOOVER -- The superstar quarterback and the reigning national championship team desperately seeking one -- any reasonable facsimile will do, really -- share the spotlight to start Southeastern Conference media days. |
| Lack of resources hinder security in rural areas Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:57:00 CST ANNISTON -- Emergency response in rural areas suffers from a lack of resources and manpower, according to officials in Fort McClellan this week. |
| 2 get prison for scams at 119 Wal-Mart stores Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:24:00 CST MOBILE -- A federal judge has imposed prison sentences on a self-styled "Bonnie and Clyde" who admitted recruiting homeless people to cash bogus checks at more than 100 Wal-Mart stores as they traveled the country. |
| Woman's death may be homicide Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:22:00 CST An elderly Tuskegee woman's death, initially thought to be fire related, now is being viewed as a possible homicide. |
| Mentors help state inmates' children Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:25:00 CST BRIGHTON -- Jamez McKenzie, a 12-year-old with an easy smile, reclines in a chair at Eades Barber and Style Shop in Brighton, watching as shop owner Roderick Eades cuts a customer's hair. |
| Decatur hospital reports $8M loss Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:20:00 CST DECATUR -- Decatur General, a hospital with about 1,100 employees, won't be able to fund its employee pension plan for a year after reporting a more than $8 million budget deficit. |
| 5 males charged in Dothan sex sting Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:24:00 CST DOTHAN -- Dothan police took five males into custody for alleged sex crimes following their arrests at a city park. |
| Man imprisoned for church arsons Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:20:00 CST PHENIX CITY -- An east Alabama man has started serving a 10-year prison sentence for a rash of church arsons in two counties earlier this year. |
| Men in hoodies plead guilty to robbery Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:22:00 CST MOBILE -- Three men who police say wore hooded sweatshirts to conceal their identities during a string of armed robberies in the Mobile area have pleaded guilty to robbing a local credit union in April. |
| ALABAMA HISTORY Yancey's death brought city to halt Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:23:00 CST One of the South's most famous "fire eaters," the group that helped convince Southern state to embrace secession from the Union, died 145 years ago, bring the city of Montgomery to a standstill. |
| Business owners go against the grain Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:38:00 CST NEW YORK -- It's one of the rare occasions when it's OK to gawk at the flaws of the very old. Designers and architects are plucking wood from old barns and other structures to give new projects a dose of character that can otherwise be hard to come by. |
| Nissan celebrates new HQ and 25 years in the South Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:40:00 CST FRANKLIN, Tenn. -- Twenty-five years after Nissan Motor Co. became the first foreign automaker in the South, its chief executive dedicated a new $100 million North America headquarters and said the company's future on the road will be "electric." |
| Honda to cut Alabama production Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:41:00 CST LINCOLN -- Honda Manufacturing of Alabama will reduce production at its Lincoln plant, but the company said no layoffs are planned. |
| King's pay too high for Alabama Tue, 22 Jul 2008 18:56:00 CST Alabama Attorney General Troy King is the second highest paid state attorney general in the nation, which is outrageous in a state that historically and currently ranks among the bottom 10 in per capita income. |
| Measure Iraq oil bids in lives of American troops Mon, 21 Jul 2008 23:00:00 CST I read recently where Iraq is ready to accept bids on oil field contracts. These are to come from the world's major oil companies. |
| Utilize approaches of both parties Mon, 21 Jul 2008 23:00:00 CST The political bickering between the Democratic and Republican parties over what to do to solve the energy problem has now come to a frustrating point for most Americans. |
| Singer performed anthem beautifully Mon, 21 Jul 2008 23:00:00 CST It was a supreme pleasure to hear our national anthem sung as it was meant to be sung. There was no extra fancy trill of notes to disguise the inability to carry a tune properly. |
| Pre-emptive strikes remain immoral Mon, 21 Jul 2008 23:00:00 CST I was taught that the guy who hits first is the bad guy. I was taught that the country that attacks, invades or occupies another country first is the aggressor and that aggression is evil. |
| New downtown tradition offers Southern buffet, gospel concert Tue, 22 Jul 2008 19:02:00 CST The Montgomery Performing Arts Centre is cooking up a new Sunday tradition, its take on an old-fashioned church homecoming with plenty of good food and gospel music. |
| Family has faith music makes a difference Tue, 22 Jul 2008 19:00:00 CST Jeff and Sheri Easter want the audiences at their shows to have a great time smiling, laughing, crying and healing. |
| Now ServingIt's worth it to go the extra mile for fresh okra Tue, 22 Jul 2008 19:00:00 CST Driving toward Lowndesboro on Saturday morning, I noticed a pickup packed with tomatoes, melons and other fresh produce on the side of the road. |
| U.S. House subcommittee examines needs of rural first responders Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:11:24 CDT First responders and U.S. congressmen gathered around a video screen in anticipation Tuesday as a big, sloppy tongue came into focus. Then they heard a beep, and the tongue whisked to the side and the bomb detecting dog fitted with the camera and a transmitter took off running to inspect a building for explosives. |
| Alabama legislators begin writing water plan Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:11:24 CDT SELMA — Alabama businesses, farmers and water systems continue to struggle with the effects of two years of drought despite recent rains that have brought some relief. |
| Ambassador: Al-Qaida leaving Iraq for Afghanistan Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:11:24 CDT WASHINGTON — Al-Qaida's foreign fighters who have for years bedeviled Iraq are increasingly going to Afghanistan to fight instead, the Iraqi ambassador to the United States said Wednesday. |
| Sudan's president pays defiant visit to Darfur Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:11:24 CDT NYALA, Sudan — Sudan's president made a defiant visit to Darfur just a week after being charged with genocide in the war-ravaged region, vowing not to be intimidated by the indictment and then breaking into a tribal dance on a parched field to the delight of cheering supporters. |
| Alabama Power benefits from Katrina relief bonds Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:11:24 CDT MOBILE — Alabama Power Co. is in line to be the biggest beneficiary in its home state of a federal program to spur recovery from Hurricane Katrina, records show. |
| FEMA seeks immunity from suits over trailer fumes Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:11:24 CDT NEW ORLEANS -- The Federal Emergency Management Agency asked a federal judge Wednesday for immunity from lawsuits over potentially dangerous fumes in government-issued trailers that have housed tens of thousands of Gulf Coast hurricane victims. |
| Obama defends plans for direct talks with Iran Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:11:24 CDT SDEROT, Israel — Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama defended his proposal to negotiate with Iran Wednesday and said he would use 'big sticks and big carrots' to persuade the country's leaders not to develop nuclear weapons. |
| Congress moves to help homeowners avoid foreclosures Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:11:24 CDT WASHINGTON — Congress is moving quickly to pass a housing package that aims to help 400,000 strapped homeowners avoid foreclosures and prevent Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from collapsing. |
| State Farm raises rates for coastal Alabama Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:11:24 CDT MOBILE — Citing coastal growth and hurricane threats, State Farm will boost its homeowners insurance rates by 12 percent to 18 percent in Mobile and Baldwin counties. |
| Rice pushes top North Korean diplomat on nukes Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:11:24 CDT SINGAPORE -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice pushed North Korea on Wednesday to accept terms to verify the dismantling of its nuclear weapons program, as the two countries held cabinet-level talks for the first time in four years. |
| Beijing to set up Olympic protest zones Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:11:24 CDT BEIJING -- Beijing will set up specially designated zones for protesters during next month's Olympics, a security official said Wednesday, in a sign China's authoritarian government may allow some demonstrations during the games. |
| Electronics giants to create wireless HD standard Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:11:24 CDT NEW YORK -- Sony, Samsung and other consumer-electronics heavyweights are uniting to support a technology that could send high-definition video signals wirelessly from a single set-top box to screens around the home. |
| Banks in 3 Alabama cities targeted by robbers Tuesday Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:11:24 CDT BIRMINGHAM -- Banks were targeted by robbers in Birmingham, Albertville and Madison on Tuesday. |
| Judge will not remove four Alabama A&M trustees Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:11:24 CDT MONTGOMERY -- A judge has refused to block four Alabama A&M University trustees from serving on the board. |
| JPA hires new CEO: Heflin resident Robin Scott to fill position Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:11:24 CDT The McClellan Joint Powers Authority on Tuesday named Heflin resident Robin Scott its new chief executive. Scott is a retired major general in the U.S. Air Force. While in the Air Force, he served as deputy commander of the NATO Air Operations Center in Greece. |
| David Reddick to run for City Council Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:11:24 CDT Anniston native David Reddick said he's running for a City Council seat because he has a vision for Anniston. Reddick is seeking the council's Ward 2 seat. His opponents are incumbent Herbert Palmore and former local NAACP president Roosevelt Parker. |
| City Council discusses financial reports: $13.5 million contract awarded for sports complex Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:11:24 CDT At Oxford City Council's regular Tuesday meeting, city finance director Alton Craft gave the City Council financial data and accused the council of going on a 'witch hunt' when it requested the financial reports that he and Mayor Leon Smith say usually would cost $2 a page to produce. |
| Schools receive grant to improve distance learning Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:11:24 CDT Oxford schools have received a $50,000 grant to improve distance learning programs at Oxford High. The money will purchase more equipment, particularly computers, to help students use the system. |
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