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BIRMINGHAM - Kevin Scarbinsky of The Birmingham News received the Alabama Sports Writers Association's highest writing award for the second time at the association's 38th annual convention Sunday in Birmingham. The Birmingham News, which won its second straight and state-high tying ninth Herby Kirby Award, won 10 of the 22 awards presented.

Scarbinsky won the Herby Kirby Award for his columns on "Auburn's search and hiring of a new football coach." The column was also judged best column. Scarbinsky won a convention-high three awards along with Jon Solomon of The Birmingham News and Mark McCarter of The Huntsville Times.

The Birmingham News won its ninth Herby Kirby Award, which is given in memory of longtime Birmingham Post-Herald sports writer Herby Kirby, who died in the press box after covering Notre Dame's 24-23 national football championship win over Alabama in the 1973 Sugar Bowl.

The Huntsville Times won three awards while three papers had two first-place finishers including The Mobile Press-Register, Anniston Star and Tuscaloosa News followed by The Decatur Daily, Madison County Record, Over the Mountain Journal and Hartselle Enquirer with one each.

For The Birmingham News, Scarbinsky also won a first-place award along with Doug Segrest, Ray Melick, Charles Goldberg, Ian R. Rapoport, Steve Irvine, Wesley Hallman, Mike Perrin and Jon Solomon for Best Football Feature Without a Deadline; Solomon won Best Baseball Feature Without a Deadline; Melick won Best Tennis Feature Without a Deadline; Mike Bolton won Best Outdoors Feature Without a Deadline; Solomon, Perrin, Segrest, Melick and Irvine won Best Enterprise Story; Solomon and Erin Stock won Best Investigative Story; and The Birmingham News staff won two more, Best Sports Layout and Best Supplement/Special Edition.

The three first-place awards for The Huntsville Times were all by Mark McCarter for Best General Sports Feature Without a Deadline, Best Track and Field/Cross Country Feature Without a Deadline and for Best Swimming/Diving Feature Without a Deadline.

The two first-place awards for The Mobile Press-Register included one for Gareth Clary for Best Sports Story Writing on a Deadline, Pro or College Event and for Mark Inabinett for Best Auto Racing Feature Without a Deadline. The Anniston Star winners were Joe Medley for Best Basketball Feature Without a Deadline while Bran Strickland and Christa Turner won Best Headlines.

The Tuscaloosa News garnered a pair of awards both by Chris Walsh for Best Golf Feature and Best Wrestling/Boxing Feature Without a Deadline.

Ross Dellenger of The Decatur Daily won Best Sports Story, Writing on a Deadline, Prep or Other Amateur Event, and Todd Thompson of the Hartselle Enquirer won Best Story or Series Writing for a non-daily.
Co-winners for Best Story or Series Writing for a non-daily were Todd Thompson of the Madison County Record and David White of Over the Mountain Journal.