OK, so no Alabama teams made it to the Big Dance. Heck, even Alabama flamed out in the first round of the NIT. That doesn’t mean the state’s post-season reign is over.

Enter the University of Alabama-Huntsville Chargers. They’re not headed to the Final Four — they’re playing for a shot at the Frozen Four. As in hockey. It’s the only university-sponsored team in the South.

The team claimed an automatic tourney berth by winning the College Hockey America championship over Robert Morris. The Chargers’ record? A lousy 13-19-3. But they’re in, and the selection show starts at 1:30 today on ESPN2.

Update: UAH will play top seed Notre Dame in the first round, 4 p.m. Friday in Grand Rapids, Mich.

(CSTV video highlights of the championship game after the jump.)
• Associated Press: Hockey in Alabama: There’s more to ice than cold drinks

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(more…)

Drink, drink drink, puke, drink.
Everyone’s a little bit
Irish. And stupid.

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The rules don’t apply,
except when you’re powerless
to create chaos.

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Essentially, you
start with eggs and somehow end
up with egg salad.

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ABC superhit “Grey’s Anatomy” isn’t just known for its on-camera hi-jinks and off-camera homophobia. It’s also a music machine, having helped The Fray (“How to Save a Life”) and Snow Patrol (“Chasing Cars”) climb the charts after integrating their songs into episodes.

Birmingham band Wild Sweet Orange checks into Seattle Grace Hospital tonight with its ballad, “Land of No Return” (free MP3 from I Rock Cleveland; streaming version: MySpace | KEXP-FM). Rumor has it the unsigned band, which plays a show Monday at WorkPlay, is in talks this weekend for a possible record deal.

Catch the episode “Scars and Souvenirs” at 8 p.m. on ABC-33/40, repeating at 7 p.m. Friday. Also available via broadband (free) and download ($1.99).
• Band’s blog: Wild Sweet Orange on Grey’s Anatomy TOMM. NIGHT!!!

Also:

• WBHM (90.3 FM): band interview and free MP3s
• The music of “Grey’s Anatomy”: ABC guide | fan guide | soundtrack site | soundtracks 1 and 2 (iTunes) | soundtracks 1 and 2 (Amazon)

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I scream, you scream, we all scream for … makeovers. Yay!

It’s time for the 11 finalists, including Montgomery’s Dionne Walters to receive hairdo-overs and manic makeup sprint on the latest episode of “America’s Next Top Model.” Will the ice cream shoot be a sweet surprise or a sticky situation for the gals?

All the photos, after the jump … (more…)

No more boundaries
between lives makes for such a
confusing mixture.

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The progressive young professional group known as Catalyst will progress without a leader.

Cherie Fields, executive director for the past 12 months, will step down Thursday. She plans to continue serving on the advisory board. Meanwhile, the organization plans to discontinue the position, with the executive board resuming leadership duties.

Under Fields’ watch, Catalyst’s biggest venture has been Sustain City Stages, a fund-raising effort to erase the downtown music festival’s $800,000 debt and establish a rainy day fund. She also led the group in establishing its six key pillars, including leadership development, political awareness and arts and culture.

The group also recently relaunched its Web site. (more…)

Producer: “We need you kids to do something to jazz up this week’s episode of ‘Two-a-Days.’ ”

Kids: “We could have a bake sale. Or spend time with the elderly. Or cheer on the Hoover Bucs, our favorite team.”

Producer: “No! I’ve got it! You’re going to (dramatic pause) a psychic.”

Kids: (gasp!) (more…)

When all goes as planned,
that’s actually something
that went wrong instead.

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Taylor the charitable: Hoover’s Taylor Hicks returned to town this weekend for a two-night sold-out performance at the Alabama Theater. The reigning American Idol used the opportunity to have the Red Cross on site to raise money for disaster relief in Enterprise, which was hit by a deadly tornado on March 1. Hicks donated a portion of proceeds from his first single, “Do I Make You Proud,” to the Red Cross in June. Also, Hicks’ Saturday performance earned praise from one reviewer.
• American Idol Champion Partners With Red Cross [press release]

Taylor the charity case: While his tour stops have been sellouts, his album sales have been underselling. “Taylor Hicks,” his first major-label release, has sold 640,000 copies in three months, but ranks 136th on the Billboard charts. Chris Daughtry, who finished fourth on the show last season, has already sold more than a million CDs. Hicks could end up being the first Idol who fails to hit the 1 million mark. So what’s most important: ticket sales, CD sales, radio airplay, song choice, “Idol” voting, music genre or artistry?
• ‘Idol’ winner Hicks says fans will rally behind slow-selling album [Associated Press]

The big P: We don’t typically trade in rumor around here, but a leading journalism industry site is good enough for us. The Birmingham News could be one of three finalists for this year’s Pulitzer Prizes in the Public Service category for its thorough — and thoroughly enraging — series on corruption in the state two-year college system. The newspaper was a finalist in 2006 for its reversed stance on the death penalty and a winner in 1991 for its editorials on inequities in the state tax system. We’ll know for sure April 16, when the winners are announced.
• Here We Go Again — Pulitzer Finalists Leaked! [Editor and Publisher]

Also:

• Green spaces threaten to wipe out urban blight, ground-level ozone
• County commission proposes burning large pile of cash, then loses large pile of cash
• Not-quite-spring forward: Time shift deflates helpful phrase

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When hitting on a
special someone, try not to
embellish, and smile.

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Moodiness consumes
my well-being as I fight
the darkness within.

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But has the daylight
accepted Jesus Christ as
its one true savior?

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If the servers are
hot, does that make up for the
bad service each time?

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