Southern Illinois and Samford will both look to bounce back from season-opening losses when the Salukis visit the Bulldogs at Pete Hanna Stadium in Birmingham on Thursday night.
Salukis Chris Potter (82) punts to the Argos during the Southern Illinois vs West Florida opening D1 football game at the University of West Florida in Pensacola on Aug. 27, 2026.
Date: Thursday, September 3, 2026
Time: 7:00 PM ET
Channel: ESPN+

#southern #illinois #opening #samford

The semifinals of the U.S. Women's Amateur will carry into Sunday after another weather suspension halted play for roughly three hours on Saturday.
No. 1-ranked junior Asterisk Talley leads No. 5-ranked Lily Peng, 3 up through nine holes. Anna Iwanaga, this week's co-medalist, is also 3 up through nine over Samford senior Gabriella Nicastro.
Play will resume at 7 a.m. ET, followed by a 36-hole championship match.
Multiple weather suspensions this week at The Honors Course in Ooltewah, Tennessee, led to the Round of 16 spilling into Saturday morning. The quarterfinals went off without a hitch, but dangerous conditions against forced players off the course early in the semis.
Golf Channel will carry live coverage of the final, beginning at 3 p.m. ET Sunday.

#saturday #play #weather #ranked

A former Denver Broncos kick returner is attempting an NFL comeback after failing to catch on in the UFL this spring.
Montrell Washington worked out for the Houston Texans on Thursday, according to the NFL's transaction wire. Washington (5-10, 170 pounds) originally entered the league with the Broncos as a fifth-round pick out of Samford in 2022. He played in 15 games as a rookie, returning 32 punts and 18 kickoffs, but struggled with fumbles, putting the ball on the ground five times in his first season.
Washington was waived by Denver the following summer, and he spent the next two years with the Kansas City Chiefs, primarily on their practice squad. He has not appeared in a regular season NFL game since 2022. He had a stint with the New York Giants last summer, but didn't make the roster.
After that, Washington was picked by the DC Defenders in the United Football League draft in January, but he was cut coming out of training camp. Washington is now hoping to break back into the NFL.
Elsewhere on the ex-Broncos front, pass rusher Andrew Farmer reverted to the San Francisco 49ers' injured reserve list, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers waived international defensive lineman Haggai Chisom Ndubuisi with a failed physical designation, and wide receiver Jalen Virgil was waived by the Buffalo Bills.

#Broncos #denver

Alabama's men's and women's basketball teams will be in the historic Boutwell Auditorium once again this October to compete in preseason exhibitions.
The Ballin' in Boutwell tournament announced that both Crimson Tide squads will play on Thursday, Oct. 15. First-year coach Pauline Love's women's team will tip off at noon before Nate Oats and company take the floor in Birmingham that night at 7 p.m. CT.
Opponents for the games have yet to be announced and are due to be revealed on the morning of Thursday, July 16.
Auburn, Samford and Alabama A&M will also participate in the event, with Samford and Alabama A&M men facing off as Auburn men meet Florida State.
In the women's Ballin' in Boutwell debut last October, the Crimson Tide, then under head coach Kristy Curry, emerged with a 91-71 victory over Florida State. In last year's event, Alabama men also faced FSU and emerged with a 109-105 win.

An in-state opponent is reportedly on the docket for Alabama basketball's 2026-27 schedule.
The Crimson Tide will face Samford, according to a social media post by basketball insider Rocco Miller.
A date has yet to be announced. However, the Bulldogs are set to travel from Birmingham to Coleman Coliseum, where the two programs will meet for the first time since 2010.
When Alabama and Samford last faced off, the Crimson Tide won 79-60 in Tuscaloosa. Most recently, the Bulldogs finished the 2025-26 season with an 18-14 record to mark Lennie Acuff's first season as head coach.
REQUIRED READING: Alabama basketball Final Four member returns to state to play for Troy

The Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball program claimed two national championships, and nearly three straight, in the 1990s. They were some of the most memorable teams in school history, and produced some very good players. Those teams also produced some pretty good coaches, including current Wildcats head coach Mark Pope.
One of the other 90's Wildcats who went into coaching is Scott Padgett, and on Tuesday, he accepted a new position with Marshall, leaving Mississippi State, where he had been for the past four seasons.
As a player, Padgett developed into a key player for Kentucky. He helped lead them to a national championship in 1998, and would be named All-SEC in 1999. Over his final three seasons with the Wildcats, he averaged 11.3 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. He went on to be a first round draft pick and spent 8 years in the NBA before moving to the coaching ranks.
Padgett spent one season as an ******* istant at Kentucky. He also spent six years at Samford, four of which were as the head coach, and four years as an ******* istant at Mississippi State.
Marshall announced the hire with a release, saying: