Afternoon update: Tide merchandise flying off shelves

Published 4:08 pm Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Here’s an update on our area and our world for Tuesday afternoon…

Sold Tide Sold: As expected, merchandise celebrating the Alabama Crimson Tide’s BCS national championship win was flying off store shelves Tuesday. Some stores in metro Birmingham had T-shirts in stock last night after the game an stayed open late, but most waited until this morning. Brisk sales were reported across the state.

Another Crystal Football appearance? When the Tide won their last championship two years ago, the championship trophy and the famous crystal football toured the state, with its first appearance at the Gardendale Walmart. That appearance came largely because the store sold more Dr. Pepper, the trophy’s sponsor, than any other store in the state. Will that hapen again? No word yet from the company, at least as of Tuesday afternoon, but expect that to change quickly as the 2010 appearance was announced rather quickly.

Oh, by the way: The Tide were also selected as the No. 1 team by The Associated Press, which votes separately and is not bound by the results of the BCS games. It’s the eighth national AP title for Alabama, tying it with Notre Dame.

Lots of viewers. Monday’s BCS Championship drew 16 million viewers on ESPN, making it the second-highest rated show in cable television’s history. (Records only go back to 1987, according to The Hollywood Reporter.)

Meanwhile, back in the real world: The first-in-the-naiton New Hampshire Presidential Primary is under way today. The first results are in from tiny Dixville Notch, which traditionall votes at midnight. Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman each received two votes, while Newt Ginrich and Ron Paul got one each for the GOP. President Obama got all three votes in the Democratic primary. At Hart’s Location in the White Mountains, Romney got five of the 13 midnight votes on the Republican side.

Markets: The Dow ended the day up almost 70 points, the Nasdaq up 26 and the S&P 500 up more than 11.

Sports: There’s a full slate of high school basketball action tonight, featuring Corner at Hayden.

Weather: Still a chance of severe storms later tonight, with damage from straight-line winds possible, so stay alert. Tonight’s low will be around 55. Temperatures on Wednesday will fall slowly from the overnight, dropping to around 45 Wednesday night. Temps start to fall Thursday.