I am doing BHM-ATL-AUS-LAX coming up in 2 weeks.....it was cheaper than BHM-ATL-LAX so I took the extra connection..........when I booked it there was also BHM-ATL-DFW-LAX as well as BHM-ATL-CVG-LAX that were available.

Interesting to note that none of the strange ones (except BHM-ATL-CVG-LAX) are still even showing as possible.