University of Alabama softball wins national title
Tuscaloosa News – June 7
The odyssey finally came to a conclusion Wednesday night for the University of Alabama softball team, and the Crimson Tide finished it in style. Alabama defeated Oklahoma 5-4 in the decisive game at the Women’s College World Series best-of-three championship series to claim the national title. UA became the first Southeastern Conference team to win college softball’s biggest prize, and joined Alabama football, gymnastics and women’s golf teams in winning national championships in the 2011-12 school year. Alabama softball seniors chose “Finish It” as the team’s theme, putting up signs with those words in the dugout, on T-shirts and in the team’s practice facility. Those six seniors — Amanda Locke, Jennifer Fenton, Kendall Dawson, Cassie Reilly-Boccia and local products Jazlyn Lunceford and Olivia Gibson — led UA to its greatest softball season.
CBS 42 (Birmingham) – June 6
UA research looks at detecting autism in rural areas
Tuscaloosa News – June 6
Although one out of every 110 children in the United States has autism — with more than 30,000 people diagnosed with the disorder in Alabama — much remains unknown about it, and symptoms are often confused with other developmental disorders. Current knowledge about autism spectrum disorders (ASD) allows doctors to identify patients with autism as early as 18 to 24 months old, but in places like rural West Alabama those diagnoses might not take place until children are 5 or 6. Dr. Dan Albertson and his colleagues at the University of Alabama are in the midst of a study that they hope will shorten the amount of time it takes to recognize cases of autism at the rural Carrollton Primary Care Clinic in Pickens County. In the study, children who show signs of autism at the Carrollton clinic will be asked to participate in a follow-up play session that is videotaped. The videos are then sent to the Autism Spectrum Disorder Clinic in Tuscaloosa for further analysis, and doctors at the Carrollton clinic are then given feedback on any red flags for the disorder.
Smokey Joe’s Cafe
Fox 10 (Mobile) – June 6
SummerTide Theatre, the professional summer theatre of The University of Alabama, returns for its ninth year to the George C. Meyer Performing Arts Center (home of the South Baldwin Community Theatre) with an electrifying entertainment revue that illuminates the golden age of American culture – Smokey Joe’s Café – the Songs of Leiber and Stoller. Performances run through Friday, June 29, 2012, performances are Tuesday to Sunday evenings at 8:00 p.m. Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, as much as anyone, virtually invented rock ‘n’ roll, and now their songs come alive on stage in this Tony Award-nominated production. In an idealized 50’s setting, the classic themes of love won and love lost blend with nostalgia and emotions. Featuring nearly 40 of the greatest songs ever recorded, including “Hound Dog”, “On Broadway”, “Charlie Brown”, “Love Potion #9”, “Jailhouse Rock”, “There Goes My Baby”, “Yakety Yak”, “Spanish Harlem”, “Poison Ivy”, and “Stand By Me”, Smokey Joe’s Café isn’t just great pop music — it’s compelling musical theatre. Directed by Professor of Theatre and Founding Chairman of the UA Department of Theatre and Dance Dr. Edmond Williams, the cast, in alphabetical order, include Alyssa Grubbs (from Atlanta, GA), Allie Jones (Memphis, TN), Drey Mitchell (Florence, AL), Renee Reinicke (Houston, TX), Corey Rives (Huntsville, AL), Caroline Schmidt (Mandeville, LA), Will Travis (Birmingham, AL), and Adam Vanek (Mandeville, LA).
VH1 draws eyes, but a chorus of nays too
Los Angeles Times – June 6
…”Basketball Wives” is just one of several increasingly controversial reality shows that has transformed the once-demure sister channel of MTV – known for “Pop Up Video” and “Behind the Music” – into an unlikely venue for provocative programs slanted toward a demographic it previously ignored: African Americans. “They tapped into an audience that is very faithful,” said Robin Boylorn, a professor at the University of Alabama who focuses on race studies. “It’s smart in terms of marketing and money because in this moment they have the ear of a particular public. I think that they took advantage of that – we see it with all the spinoff shows for ‘Basketball Wives’ and ‘Love (ampersand) Hip Hop.'” VH1 executives maintain they are merely evolving the network into a more realistic reflection of the world – an alternative to the largely white, middle-class world of much of network TV.
Charlotte Observer – June 6