Alabama

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Maryland men's basketball coach Mark Turgeon said he talked to his players at halftime of their National Invitation Tournament quarterfinal against Alabama about Frazier-Ali, Michael Jackson and other great performances at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Now, Maryland will get a chance to end its season with one of its own. The No. 2-seeded Terps weathered a late surge from the No. 1-seeded Crimson Tide on Tuesday night, winning 58-57 in Coleman Coliseum and earning a trip to Madison Square Garden for next week's NIT semifinals.

Cam Newton threw for three touchdowns and ran for one, leading No. 2 Auburn back from a 24-point deficit Friday for a stunning 28-27 victory over No. 9 Alabama that kept the Tigers on course for a shot at the national championship. Auburn (12-0, 8-0 Southeastern Conference) trailed 21-0 before it even picked up a first down, and Alabama (9-3, 5-3) had a 314-2 lead in total yards at one point in the first half. But Newton, with the signature performance in what has become a season of controversy, rallied the Tigers for a victory that left the Tuscaloosa, Ala., crowd of more than 101,000 in stunned disbelief when it was over.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- It had happened all year, and evenyesterday, despite it being late in the fourth quarter, one knew Alabama's defense would make a play that would change the game.Call it Team Destiny, or simply call it luck, but No. 2 Alabama seems to have a New Year's Day date with No. 1 Miami in the Sugar Bowl to decide college football's national championship.Alabama cornerback Antonio Langham stepped in front of a Shane Matthews pass intended for receiver Monty Duncan and returned it 27 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown with 3:16 left in the game as the Crimson Tide defeated No. 12 Florida, 28-21, in the first Southeastern Conference championship game before 83,091 at Legion Field.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- At its optimum, the Arkansas Razorbacks' attack should resemble "The Pound and the Fury."That is to say, that the Hogs should maintain a furious defensive pressure that leads to turnovers and thus to easy baskets.As for the pound, well, that's left to Oliver Miller, Arkansas' 6-foot-9, 286-pound center.If Miller is hitting his shots inside, and he's leading the NCAA with a gaudy 70 percent shooting clip, then Todd Day, the Razorbacks' silky smooth swingman, can operate where he needs to.All that happened here at the Charlotte Coliseum last night, as top seed Arkansas knocked off fourth seed Alabama 93-70 to advance to tomorrow's Southeast Regional championship game against third-seeded Kansas.

If you're wondering why a new place that specializes in barbecue Memphis-style is called the Alabama BBQ Co. (4311 Harford Road, 410-254-1440), it's because co-owner Jay Belle is originally from Huntsville. To make things even more confusing, he's a member of the Kansas City Barbecue Society (as well as a certified pit master, event judge and event champion). Co-owner Louise Pantall makes the desserts. "We cook everything over charcoal with a dry rub," says Belle. "In the Memphis tradition, it's not sauced unless the customer wants it."

Louise Pantall, one of the owners of a tiny new barbecue restaurant in Lauraville called Alabama BBQ Company, seems very nice. She's a registered nurse, and when she's not busy healing people, she's behind the counter of the wood-floored, two-table establishment, a blur of motion as she answers phones, makes sure everybody has enough sauces and sides, offers menu suggestions (she likes the Alabama white sauce on the pulled chicken sandwich, and the raspberry...

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- For the second straight year, it was one and out for the Mount St. Mary's Mountainers in the women's NCAA tournament.The 13th-seeded Mountaineers couldn't keep up with fourth-seeded and 13th-ranked Alabama, falling to the Crimson Tide, 82-55, last night in the East subregional at Coleman Coliseum.Last year, the Mount was eliminated, 70-47, by Iowa in the first round.Alabama (21-8), which reached the Final Four last year, advances to the second round to play fifth-seeded and 20th-ranked Duke at 7 p.m. Saturday.

The game was run and chase, and for 38 minutes, Alabama stayed step-for-step with Oklahoma State's Randy Rutherford.But when his opening finally came -- and Alabama finally tired -- the Cowboys' sharpshooter ushered the Crimson Tide out of the NCAA tournament."

COLUMBUS, Ga. -- Bill Curry is a happy man.He is not satisfied with his 2-5 record in his first season as the head football coach at Kentucky, but he is smiling. Kentucky is not Alabama, not when it comes to football tradition, but Curry doesn't mind.Curry now is employed by what is regarded as a basketball school after leaving what is regarded as one of the most prestigious jobs in college football. Curry's 1989 Alabama team shared the Southeastern Conference championship and won a Sugar Bowl bid; his 1990 Wildcats are 1-2 in the conference and will be home for Christmas.

Alabama's faculty senate, citing the failure of Arizona voters to approve a holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr., urged the school's football team not to play in the Sunkist Fiesta Bowl if asked. University President Roger Sayers said it would be premature for him to take a stand on the Fiesta Bowl controversy."We have other constituencies we have to consider, including the football team, the coaches and the Southeastern Conference," he said. "And besides, I'm an incurable optimist, and I still want to go to the Sugar Bowl."