Good morning, and with apologies to our boss, Roll Tide…

Weather: Here comes the rain again. After a mostly sunny day today, we’ll see clouds roll in tonight with rain possible after midnight. Highs will be in the middle 50s with lows in the middle 40s. Chance of rain late tonight is 40 percent. Rain picks up a bit Wednesday and lingers through the rest of the week.

It’s a dynasty. Stacy Long of The Montgomery Advertiser said it best, and we’re happy to give him credit: “4-Leaf Clobber.” The Alabama Crimson Tide made short work of top-rated Notre Dame in the BCS Championship Game Monday night with a 42-14 victory at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. Quarterback A.J. McCarron threw for four touchdowns, and had the game wrapped up so early that ESPN cameras spent more time focusing on his girlfriend, Miss Alabama Katherine Webb, watching from the stands. Amari Cooper caught two scoring passes, while Eddie Lacy caught one and then ran for another touchdown. It’s the third national championship for the Tide in the last four seasons and the 15th overall.

Line up, folks. And Tide fans did, at retailers such as Hibbett Sports in Fultondale and Gardendale just minutes after the end of the title game. Local stores reported good business as T-shirts and other Alabama-adorned merchandise moved briskly. Elsewhere in the metro area, some stores had lines more than a block long, and stores stayed open well into the wee hours.

Kimberly church proposal meets roadblock. Last week, a request by Church 29:11 to use the vacant former IGA supermarket as a new church was turned down by the Kimberly Planning and Zoning Board, before a packed meeting room. Tonight, the City Council has the final say, and a full chamber is expected for the meeting starting at 6:30. We’ll have full coverage afterward.

Taking a stand for gun rights. The Gardendale City Council passed on Monday a special resolution expressing its support for the Second Amendment of the Constitution and the right to bear arms. The resolution came in the face of increased calls for tighter gun controls, in the wake of the massacre at a school in Newtown, Conn. In other business, the council gave the Gardendale Historical Society a new home — a building next to the Civic Center that for many years was the home of The North Jefferson News.

Sports: Meanwhile, back at home... High school sports gets back into swing tonight with a full slate of prep basketball action. Gardendale plays at Carver, Mortimer Jordan heads to Walker, Corner hosts Cordova, Fultondale is at nearby Tarrant, Pinson Valley welcomes Moody, Hayden makes the short drive to Cleveland, Locust Fork travels to St. Clair County and Tabernacle Christian hosts Cullman Christian. In wrestling, Gardendale hosts a tri-match with Hewitt-Trussville and Buckhorn, Pinson Valley and Thompson are in a tri-match at Clay-Chalkville, Fultondale and American Christian contest a tri-match at Calera, and Mortimer Jordan holds a tri-match with Hueytown and J.B. Pennington.