Alabama officially adds Saban Field to stadium name in pre-game ceremony

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Alabama officially adds Saban Field to stadium name in pre-game ceremony

2024-09-08 09:08 Last Updated At：09:10

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Nick Saban made Alabama's traditional pre-game “Walk of Champions” through throngs of cheering fans one more time.

This time the coach who led the Crimson Tide to six national championships in 17 seasons went through doors underneath a sign declaring it “Saban Field.” He also made the short stroll with wife Terry and grandson James instead of his players and coaches.

Alabama officially unveiled a new sign bearing the new name “Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium” hours before the fourth-ranked Tide hosted South Florida, with an on-field celebration following at halftime surrounded by his family with ovations and fans chanting his name.

“This is a great honor to have the field named after the legacy that we’ve been able to create here,” Saban told the gathered fans, wearing his familiar gray suit and crimson tie.

“But I want this legacy to represent every player who played, who worked hard, every coach who helped those players develop, our administration who set a foundation where we had a chance to be successful.”

Successful is an understatement.

Saban, who announced his retirement from coaching in January, led Alabama to a 206-29 on-the-field record and nine SEC titles, holding the No. 1 ranking in the AP poll at some point in a record 15 consecutive seasons. The old record of seven was held by Miami.

Saban now works for ESPN and holds an office at the stadium, where he had previously been honored with a statue. He was replaced by former Washington coach Kalen DeBoer.

Bryant-Denny Stadium is named after longtime president George Denny, who took over in 1912, and late football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant.

Alabama's enrollment grew from 25,580 in Saban’s first year, 2007, to 39,623 in the latest academic year, the university has said. Saban noted that football and athletics in general are “the window that people look (through) at this university.”

“And the impact that we are able to have by having successful programs has elevated our university,” he said. “And I’m proud of the fact that we were able to contribute to that in so many ways.”

Saban and wife Terry spoke at the ceremony before making the brief walk toward the stadium.

“Their legacy will endure here at the University of Alabama for generations to come,” University President Stuart Bell said.

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A shy penguin wins New Zealand's bird election after campaign filled with memes and tattoos

2024-09-16 16:41 Last Updated At：16:50

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — It's noisy, smelly, shy — and New Zealand’s bird of the year.

The hoiho, or yellow-eyed penguin, won the country’s fiercely fought avian election on Monday, offering hope to supporters of the endangered bird that recognition from its victory might prompt a revival of the species.

It followed a campaign for the annual Bird of the Year vote that was without the foreign interference scandals and cheating controversies of past polls. Instead, campaigners in the long-running contest sought votes in the usual ways — launching meme wars, seeking celebrity endorsements and even getting tattoos to prove their loyalty.

More than 50,000 people voted in the poll, 300,000 fewer than last year, when British late night host John Oliver drove a humorous campaign for the pūteketeke -- a “deeply weird bird” which eats and vomits its own feathers – securing a landslide win.

This year, the number of votes cast represented 10% of the population of New Zealand — a country where nature is never far away and where a love of native birds is instilled in citizens from childhood.

“Birds are our heart and soul,” said Emma Rawson, who campaigned for the fourth-placed ruru, a small brown owl with a melancholic call. New Zealand's only native mammals are bats and marine species, putting the spotlight on its birds, which are beloved — and often rare.

This year's victor, the hoiho — its name means “noise shouter” in the Māori language — is a shy bird thought to be the world's rarest penguin. Only found on New Zealand's South and Chatham islands — and on subantarctic islands south of the country — numbers have dropped perilously by 78% in the past 15 years.

“This spotlight couldn’t have come at a better time. This iconic penguin is disappearing from mainland Aotearoa before our eyes,” Nicola Toki, chief executive of Forest & Bird — the organization that runs the poll — said in a press release, using the Māori name for New Zealand. Despite intensive conservation efforts on land, she said, the birds drown in nets and sea and can't find enough food.

“The campaign has raised awareness, but what we really hope is that it brings tangible support,” said Charlie Buchan, campaign manager for the hoiho. But while the bird is struggling, it attracted a star billing in the poll: celebrity endorsements flew in from English zoologist Jane Goodall, host of the Amazing Race Phil Keoghan, and two former New Zealand prime ministers.

Aspiring bird campaign managers — this year ranging from power companies to high school students — submit applications to Forest & Bird for the posts. The hoiho bid was run by a collective of wildlife groups, a museum, a brewery and a rugby team in the city of Dunedin, where the bird is found on mainland New Zealand, making it the highest-powered campaign of the 2024 vote.

“I do feel like we were the scrappy underdog,” said Emily Bull, a spokesperson for the runner-up campaign, for the karure — a small, “goth” black robin only found on New Zealand’s Chatham Island.

The karure's bid was directed by the students’ association at Victoria University of Wellington, prompting a fierce skirmish on the college campus when the student magazine staged an opposing campaign for the kororā, or little blue penguin.

The rivalry provoked a meme war and students in bird costumes. Several people got tattoos. When the magazine’s campaign secured endorsements of the city council and local zoo, Bull despaired for the black robin's bid.

But the karure — which has performed a real-life comeback since the 1980s, with conservation efforts increasing the species from five birds to 250 — took second place overall.

This weekend as Rawson wrapped up her campaign for the ruru, she took her efforts directly to the people, courting votes at a local dog park. The veteran campaign manager who has directed the bids for other birds in past years was rewarded by the ruru placing fourth in the poll, her best ever result.

“I have not been in human political campaigning before,” said Rawson, who is drawn to the competition because of the funds and awareness it generates. The campaign struck a more sedate tone this year, she added.

“There’s been no international interference, even though that was actually a lot of fun,” she said, referring to Oliver’s high-profile campaign.

It was not the only controversy the election has seen. While anyone in the world can vote, Forest & Bird now requires electors to verify their ballots after foreign interference plagued the contest before. In 2018, Australian pranksters cast hundreds of fraudulent votes in favor of the shag.

The following year, Forest & Bird was forced to clarify that a flurry of votes from Russia appeared to be from legitimate bird-lovers.

While campaigns are fiercely competitive, managers described tactics more akin to pro wrestling — in which fights are scripted — than divisive political contests.

“Sometimes people want to make posts that are kind of like beefy with you and they’ll always message you and be like, hey, is it okay if I post this?” Bull said. “There is a really sweet community. It's really wholesome.”