Crystal Palace defender Chris Richards voted US Soccer Male Player of Year for 1st time
FORECAST WITH METEOROLOGIST JORDAN WEST. JORDAN SUN GOING DOWN. OF COURSE, IF THERE WAS ANY SIGN OF THE SUN OUT THERE. BUT WE DO KNOW WE HAVE SOME RAIN. THAT’S RIGHT. TRACKING SOME SHOWERS RIGHT NOW ACROSS THE METRO AREA. AND A LOT OF THAT IS ALREADY STARTING TO MOVE EAST. AND TEMPERATURES ARE ALSO GETTING READY TO DROP BEHIND ALL THIS RAIN. IT’S 47 RIGHT NOW IN BIRMINGHAM. IT’S VERY CLOUDY OUT THERE AND WET FROM THE RAIN. WE’RE TRACKING THOSE SHOWERS AT LEAST THROUGH 9:00 TONIGHT. THEN WE DROP TO THE NEAR 20S BY EARLY TOMORROW MORNING BEFORE ANOTHER FRONT TRIES TO WORK ITS WAY IN FRIDAY NIGHT INTO SATURDAY. LET’S START WITH THE RAIN THAT’S OUT THERE AT THE MOMENT. A LOT OF IT ALREADY STARTING TO FADE AWAY. SOME SHOWERS OVER ONEONTA AND ASHVILLE. SOME SHOWERS JUST NORTH OF GARDENDALE. THERE RAIN HEADED OUT OF TALLADEGA INTO MUNFORD INTO MILLERSVILLE AND ASHLAND AND DOWN TO 80 TOWARDS CHELSEA. CALERA DOWN I-65 SEEING SOME SHOWERS. JEMISON CLANTON. LOOKING AT WEST ALABAMA, WE HAVE A STRIP OF RAIN ROLLING THROUGH LAMAR INTO MARION AND WINSTON COUNTY THAT’S MOVING DOWN THE I-22 CORRIDOR, MOVING SOUTH, AND THAT’S MOVING INTO NAUVOO SPRINGVILLE NEAR HIGHWAY 118 AND CARBON HILL SOON. AND LIKE I SAID, THE METRO AREA REALLY STARTING TO DRY OUT. THE ONLY REAL RAIN WE SEE IS JUST ALONG AND NORTH OF GARDENDALE NOW, RIGHT ALONG THE INTERSTATE NEAR SNOW ROGERS ROAD, EXIT 275 NEAR NEW CASTLE ROAD. BUT THAT’S ALL JUST LIGHT SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS AND SEVERE WEATHER IN THE FORECAST. TEMPERATURES IN THE MID TO UPPER 40S AS WE SPEAK, AND THAT’S GOING TO DROP EVEN QUICKER ONCE ALL THIS RAIN GETS ON OUT OF HERE. THE RAIN IS ASSOCIATED WITH A COLD FRONT AND IT’S BRINGING THE COOLER WEATHER INTO THE METRO AREA AS EARLY AS 10:00. SOME SPOTS ALREADY BELOW FREEZING FROM GADSDEN, IN COLEMAN ASHLAND HAMILTON UP TO HUNTSVILLE TWO, AND THEN BY TOMORROW MORNING, TEMPERATURES DROP ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE MID TO UPPER 20S. AND THAT’S NOT COLD FOR YOU. IT’S GOING TO FEEL A LOT COLDER THAN THAT. WE’RE TALKING ABOUT WIND CHILLS IN THE TEENS, THE WIND FACTORING IN THE TEMPERATURE MAKES IT FEEL A WHOLE LOT COLDER OUTSIDE AND THE WIND CHILL BY THE AFTERNOON. ONLY IN THE MID TO UPPER 30S, THOUGH, IT’S GOING TO FEEL NEAR OR BELOW FREEZING. MOST OF THE DAY TOMORROW. THAT’S THE FIRST FRONT TONIGHT, BUT THEN WE GOT ANOTHER FRONT ROLLING IN FRIDAY NIGHT INTO SATURDAY. LET’S LOOK AT THAT ONE. TEMPERATURES CLIMBING TO THE 50S BY FRIDAY AFTERNOON. HERE COMES THE COLD FRONT. FRIDAY 8 P.M. SOME SHOWERS NORTH AND WEST OF THE I-20 I-59 CORRIDOR. SOME HEAVIER DOWNPOURS RIGHT OVER THE I-20 I-59 CORRIDOR AROUND MIDNIGHT INTO SATURDAY MORNING, AND THEN SOUTH OF THAT CORRIDOR BY 3 A.M. SATURDAY, AND THEN BY SATURDAY MORNING. AS YOU CAN SEE, TEMPERATURES DROP TO THE MID TO LOW 30S YET AGAIN. SO ANOTHER ROUND OF RAIN. BUT MOST OF SATURDAY WILL BE DRY. SAME THING FOR SUNDAY. AND I KNOW WE’VE BEEN TRACKING MULTIPLE SHOTS OF POTENTIAL SNOW OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS, SOME POTENTIALLY TONIGHT AND SOME SATURDAY NIGHT. WE’VE SEEN A LOT OF DIFFERENT MODELS, A LOT OF DIFFERENT POSTS ON SOCIAL MEDIA. I THINK THE MOST REALISTIC VIEW OF THINGS AT THE MOMENT IS MAYBE A FEW FLURRIES CLOSE TO MIDNIGHT TONIGHT, AND PRETTY MUCH SAME THING SATURDAY
Crystal Palace defender Chris Richards voted US Soccer Male Player of Year for 1st time
Updated: 9:47 PM CST Jan 14, 2026
Defender Chris Richards was voted the U.S. Soccer Federation Male Player of the Year for the first time on Wednesday.Richards played in 12 U.S. matches in 2025, starting 11 of them. The 25-year-old from Birmingham, Alabama, scored twice in the CONCACAF Gold Cup.He also helped the Premier League’s Crystal Palace win its first FA Cup in 2025.He is the second straight defender to earn the award following Fulham’s Antonee Robinson, marking the first time defenders won in consecutive years since Marcelo Balboa in 1994 and Alexi Lalas in 1995.Richards received 48.6% of the weighted voting from U.S. coaches and players, former players, professional league coaches and sporting directors, administrators, USSF directors and athletes council members, media and fans. Midfielder Malik Tillman was second at 21.7% and Alex Freeman third at 13%.Stay updated on the latest sports stories with the WVTM 13 app. You can download it here.
Defender Chris Richards was voted the U.S. Soccer Federation Male Player of the Year for the first time on Wednesday.
Richards played in 12 U.S. matches in 2025, starting 11 of them. The 25-year-old from Birmingham, Alabama, scored twice in the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
He also helped the Premier League’s Crystal Palace win its first FA Cup in 2025.
He is the second straight defender to earn the award following Fulham’s Antonee Robinson, marking the first time defenders won in consecutive years since Marcelo Balboa in 1994 and Alexi Lalas in 1995.
Richards received 48.6% of the weighted voting from U.S. coaches and players, former players, professional league coaches and sporting directors, administrators, USSF directors and athletes council members, media and fans. Midfielder Malik Tillman was second at 21.7% and Alex Freeman third at 13%.
Stay updated on the latest sports stories with the WVTM 13 app. You can download it here.