By Rubin E. GrantCousins John Stephens and Matthew Rainer are so close it would take something like a photo-finish to separate them.And that’s exactly what happened earlier this year during the Alabama High School Athletic Association state indoor track and field meet at the Birmingham CrossPlex.The two just-graduated Vestavia Hills track athletes competed against … [Read more...]

 By Rubin E. GrantMountain Brook soccer players Isabel “Izzy” Smith and Jack Heaps trained together often before and after school in the spring.“It was super fun to get together to train,” Smith said. “Jack is one of the hardest workers I’ve ever been around.”The two challenged each other to see who would score the most goals during the 2022 … [Read more...]

By Rubin E. GrantNorman Jetmundsen wasn’t planning on producing a documentary film.Several years ago, he had gone to see a documentary about former Mississippi Gov. William Winter and suggested to his good friend David Crews, who was the executive producer of the film, that he do a documentary about the 1899 Sewanee football team.Crews responded by telling … [Read more...]

By Rubin E. GrantKatie Flannery is something of a perfectionist.So, when she discusses her just-completed junior softball season at Spain Park, it comes from that perspective, especially considering the numbers she put at the plate. Flannery had a .451 batting average, a .541 on-base percentage, a .778 slugging percentage and a ridiculous 1.381 OPS (on-base … [Read more...]

By Rubin E. GrantDerek Irons has been a high school baseball head coach for 14 years, has won more than 400 games and has captured two state championships, so he knows a thing or two about players.And when Irons, who just completed his seventh season as head coach at Oak Mountain, talks about Eagles infielder-pitcher Davis Gillespie, his words carry extra … [Read more...]