And One

Here we go...

2010-08-02T23:40:00.003-05:00

While perusing the Associated Press' photo wire (which can truly be entertaining - some of those photographers get awesome shots. I always wish we had more room for photos, because there are millions of words in some), I found this nugget:

That's Austen Lane in the No. 92 jersey, participating in defensive drills with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Lane, a former defensive end for Murray State, is the highest drafted player from any Racer squad, being drafted in the fifth round.

Lane, from Iola, Wisc., never was thrilled about the western Kentucky heat and humidity. I wonder how he likes Jacksonville?

Hopefully we'll see a lot more of these photos in the upcoming years.

Emotions

2010-06-12T13:55:00.006-05:00

Reidland's state softball tournament semifinal game against Allen County-Scottsville in photographic form:

Let's call this one Joy. Well, her name is actually Hope Davidson, but Morgan Harrell's double getting Reidland back into the game Saturday was a cause for pure joy.

Futility. Mama Harbison is exasperated at her daughter's plate appearance, less having to do with her daughter's actual performance, but because of a call behind the plate. Shock, shown below Mama Harbison. She didn't like the call, either.

Anger. This Greyhound papa is more than angry, and based on observing him at other games, I believe the cause was the fellas in blue. ;)

Hope. Not Davidson. Mrs. Coach style. Not sure if she was praying or just too sick in the stomach and heart to look, but two outs in the bottom of the seventh with the game tied might've made me look away if I had a kiddo playing in the game.

Long, long long day

2010-06-11T23:24:00.002-05:00

It's 11:21 p.m. here in Owensboro, and I'm just now thinking about winding down from all of this hoopla at the Kentucky state softball tournament.

The day went a little something like this:

Wake up at 5:30 a.m. Out the door by 6:30 a.m.

Actually make not one, but two wrong turns out of my neighborhood on my way to O'Boro, I'm that disoriented (remember folks, I've been working vampire hours since the end of last August).

Get to Jack C. Fisher Park in time to settle in properly and unpack my portable office (which now includes a cooler and rain gear).

Watch Reidland's first round game begin at exactly 9:04 a.m. (Greyhounds win 2-1 over Green County)

Eat a lovely lunch courtesy of the KHSAA.

Watch Reidland's second round game begin late. Decide too late that I should have been taking pictures during the game. Endure a brief downpour and a lightning delay. (Greyhounds win 6-0 over Shelby County).

Bolt out of the park to check into the hotel and grab a shower.

Come back to ballpark at 6:15 p.m. in anticipation of Reidland's third-round game against Mercy, which was supposed to start at 6:30 p.m.

Eat a $2 hot dog (still not as good as Joe Morris' at Mayfield) and wait for about an hour for the field to clear for the big game.

Freak out a little bit at the showdown between the batters box and the circle as Reidland's batters challenged the lengthy wait presented by the Jaguars before nearly EVERY pitch.

At 8:37 p.m., head back to the upstairs pressbox to update notes on computer when Reidland's game against Mercy, along with the other games going on, is lightning delayed.

At 9:32, game is resumed.

At 10:43, game is finally ended, with a 11-1 Reidland win in six innings.

Interview Reidland catcher Morgan Harrell in light speed (yes, Morgan, I could read almost all of my notes when I got back up to the pressbox) and Reidland coach Tony Hayden.

Turn in last of two stories by 11:16 p.m., which is technically past my deadline.

Now, to head back to the hotel, and hope I can get up in time for the free buffet breakfast. Good night!

Reidland at State Softball Tournament

2010-06-11T10:59:00.004-05:00

In the first round game, Reidland beat Green County, 2-1, advancing to play Shelby County at 12:15 p.m. today at Owensboro's Jack C. Fisher Park.

Reidland hasn't won a first round game in the tournament since 2002, the last time the Greyhounds won a state title.

Cassee Layne gave up four hits to the power-hitting Dragons, allowing one run.

The Greyhounds had seven hits, scoring two runs during a crazy chain of events. Kalie Harbison, Hope Davidson, and pinch hitter Rachael Dodd all got on base with hits, with Dodd's single scoring pinch runner Kennedy Powers. Powers ran into the catcher at the plate, the catcher dropped the ball, and Powers scrambled in the dirt to touch the plate for Reidland's first run of the game. Dragons pitcher Kasey Estes hit pinch hitter Maegan Freeman to load the bases, and Miranda Mullen's fielder's choice brought in another run.

______

Has anyone seen I believe it was Jay Leno's show (pre the Conan fiasco), where they had the game, Make Betty White Flinch? And Betty White had to stand behind a thick sheet of plexi glass and try not to flinch while water balloons, watermelons, etc., were flung at the plexi glass?

I'd like to call this picture, Make Morgan Harrell Flinch, as Harrell tightly closes her eyes to catch the screaming pitch of Cassee Layne. I wish the ump's face was clearer, because I imagine he was just as flinchy, taking several painful foul balls to the face mask in the first game.

Postseason Accolades

2010-06-03T15:02:00.008-05:00

My choices for an All-First Region softball team are a little different than that voted on by the coaches for the actual awards. But, I went ahead and picked out some of the top players in the region based on what I have SEEN, not necessarily based on year-round statistics. I have not watched every team play, therefore I might be missing a stud here or there. But, again, based on the games I have watched, and the performances of the players during THOSE games, my picks for postseason accolades go a little like this:

Allee Moore, short stop, Marshall County: My jaw dropped when Moore told me she was just a sophomore playing in the infield. Once a catcher for Marshall, Moore was moved to short stop this season to fill holes left by graduation. Her arm is much needed on the left side of the field, and her glove is quick. Her bat is deceptively good, all the while batting in the seven-hole.

Lauren Benson, third base, Calloway County: Benson is active at the position, seems to have plenty of vocal leadership even as a sophomore, and has a nice bat, as well, for the Lakers.

Morgan Harrell, catcher, Reidland: Harrell doesn’t get to use her rocket arm too much since pitcher Cassee Layne tends to keep opposing players off base. But at last count, Harrell was batting over .400 and had six home runs this season. Late in the season, she seemed to be best in clutch situations.

Molly Hargrove, pitcher, Ballard Memorial: To barely pitch a varsity game before her senior year, Hargrove made sure not an ounce was missing in the circle after last year’s graduation of hard-thrower Alexis Rodgers. Hargrove threw every bit as hard it seemed, this season, and seemed to adore her transition from center field to the circle. The slap hitter was batting over .500 at the end of the season.

Karlee Wilson, sshort stop, Calloway County: Wilson, also just a sophomore, is a rising talent at the position with a rocket arm and quick feet. Just to watch her, you can tell she has plenty of softball savvy and enough sense at the plate to make things happen.

Brooke Yates, pitcher, Hickman County: Likely the most underrated player in the region the last few seasons, Yates had a tremendous senior season after sustaining a back injury her junior year. While her pitching was a big part of the Falcons’ success this season, her bat and base running abilities certainly didn’t hurt the cause, either.

Kelleigh Jones, pitcher, Heath: Jones has been a stalwart for the Pirates for the past three seasons, with plenty of pitches and a steady change up. Her real strength lies in her utilities: Her bat is just as trusty as any in the region, and the one time I watched her play in right field, she rolled on the ground for two catches.
At right, Emily Montgomery throws back to third base while Kelleigh Jones backs up the plate in Heath's First District championship loss. Photo by Sun photographer John Wright.

Emily Montgomery, catcher, Heath: Another one of the all-around best players in the region. Montgomery’s bat speaks every bit as loudly as her catching ability, which she does exceptionally.

Kendra Sanders, center field, Lone Oak: While her bat wasn’t quite “on” at the end of the season, Sanders has the capabilities to send the ball in the outfield (or at least just foul off dozens of pitches to tire out opposing pitchers until she gets what she likes) while possessing great speed and movement of her own in center field.

Pitcher of the Year: Cassee Layne, Reidland. While Layne is still a little bit from being back to her old self afterr multiple illnesses and injuries the past year, she’s still an impressive force in the circle. Her talent is most notable when she’s gone: In the few big games the Greyhounds played without her throwing pitches, things didn’t go so well, and the team generally seems to play better while she’s throwing. Her ability to bring the team together is more impressive than any one of her curving pitches.

Coach of the Year: Shane Bizzle. Not a bad season to get Hickman County it’s first fast pitch softball regional tournament victory, all the while dealing with late-in-the-season injuries and illnesses. Photo by Sun photographer John Wright.

The Honorable Mention list (which should probably just be lumped into the All-Region list, since there’s not much that separates the talented players in the region, anyway)

Brittany Fox, right field, Calloway County: Fox, a senior, has also been an anchor in the outfield for the Lakers the past few years, also carrying weight as a No. 5 hitter in the line up.

Kristen Boggess, catcher, Calloway County: With her senior season approaching, look for the dynamic hitter to be one of the best catchers in the region.

Buzz Ray, right field, Marshall County: Ray could easily be on the “first” team list with her powerful hitting and athleticism, but is just a freshman this season. She will be trouble for the next three seasons.

Taylor Sheerer, center field, Heath: Another likely “first” teamer, Sheerer’s offense seemed a little frustrated by the end of the season, but she still, without a doubt, possesses one of the strongest arms in the region.

Sarah Kreuter, short stop, Lone Oak: Only a freshman, Kreuter made great plays at her position this season, and had one of the biggest bats on the team.

Heather Hayden, center field, Reidland: Hayden doesn’t get enough credit, being stuck in the bottom of Reidland’s line up and often substituted for bigger hitters. But no one is better at putting down a more perfect bunt, and having enough speed to turn it into a hit rather than a sacrifice.

Amanda Wade and Casey Wade, pitchers, Graves County: OK, so it’s unfair to lump the sisters into one category, but their play is so similar, you can’t help it. Both pitch for the Eagles, though Amanda plays first and Casey plays short when each is not in the circle. Their bats are a little sporadic, but when they connect, they’ve got plenty of power.

Ashley Dailey, catcher, Mayfield: With Dailey behind the plate, expect to see Mayfield make it to the postseason in the next two seasons if she can get some company out in the field. Dailey comes up the plate ready to hit, and in the game and a half I watched her play, is completely confident in her own abilities.

We'll try this again...

2010-05-19T15:37:00.002-05:00

Here comes Dusty Luthy Shull, blogging, round two. I'll try updating this blog about once a week, maybe more, depending on what's going on. Comment if you'd like.

Racecar spelled backwards is racecar...

2009-06-29T13:49:00.011-05:00

A few of my shots from the UMP Summer Nationals stop this season at Paducah International Raceway.

All A Classic follow up

2009-05-12T15:37:00.006-05:00

Heath with All A championship trophy.

Teams from the First Region and Second Region played a total of 11 games this weekend in the All A Classic state championship tournament. Livingston Central bowed out Saturday night with its second loss coming late that night to Beth Haven. Heath won the whole thing coming through the loser's bracket.

A few thoughts:

Livingston Central could have gotten by into Sunday with a few more hits late Saturday night. The Cardinals got just one extra-base hit from Courtney Walker against Beth Haven and had just four hits. The Cardinals are a good extra-base hitting team, and with a few more strung together, the outcome might have been different than a 5-2 loss.

By Day 2, with teams getting tired, it quickly became evident the team with the best pitcher was going to win the tournament. Heath had the best pitcher in Kelleigh Jones and took the title. While other teams were substituting their aces one she got tired, Jones kept throwing, and throwing, and throwing. She had 80 strikeouts in eight games. No, that wasn't a typo. Eighty. That's an average of 10 a game.

While we're quick to report on the highlights of the top 5 in Heath's lineup, the Pirates also won the championship thanks to the bottom of their lineup. No. 6 batter Hailee Murphy's eight hits in two days were critical to the success of the team. Allison Garrett, Nikki Glisson and Sarai Holstein all had timely hits in the bottom of the line up. And DP Katelyn Collier was able to spell Jones for a break in the circle successfully enough.

Sarai Holstein sliding into home against Henry County on Sunday.

Heath's outfield also played a unique role. While the three didn't have to make many diving catches, Taylor Sheerer's long arm from centerfield to Emily Montgomery at home plate kept two teams from scoring runs with the successful tag.

Green County is going to be incredible in the next few years. The Dragons dispatched Livingston Central in the opening round quite easily, and beat Heath on an error in 10 innings Saturday night. While Heath came back to defeat the Dragons to continue on Sunday, it wasn't easy. The Dragons lose two seniors, including No. 4 batter and Murray State signee Brittany Estes, and other than two juniors, played all underclassmen this weekend, including two capable eighth graders and a freshman soon-to-be phenom pitcher in Kasey Estes.

Brittany Estes slides home against Livingston Central catcher Kayla Moore on Saturday in the opening round of the All A Classic state softball tournament.

Photos by Tim Webb. See more of his work at timwebbphotography.com .

All A Classic softball state tournament Day One

2009-05-09T23:45:00.002-05:00

The Sun covered Region 1 and Region 2 in the All A Classic softball state tournament today in Jeffersontown, Ky. By Sun, I mean me. :)

Heath, First Region, won the first two games, then lost the third to Green County 1-0 in 10 innings on an error. With the way Kelleigh Jones pitched today — 36 strikeouts in 21 innings — the Pirates might be good to make a run through the loser's bracket. The Pirates need a few more hitters to make it out of the loser's bracket for good, though.

Livingston Central, Second Region, lost its first game to Green County (the Dragons are good if you couldn't tell or hadn't heard), then rallied to beat Bracken County in the second game, only to fall to Beth Haven the third game.

It's unfortunate for the Cardinals, who have eight seniors on the team. Not only do they leave on a sour note, but they missed their senior prom, too!!! On the bright side, the Cardinals will have a full-out softball prom next weekend. Way cool. If I wasn't out of town next weekend, I might try to crash it... :)

And despite my best efforts to plan for the weather, it still got a little cold on me tonight, and I did go to bed with a sunburn. I poured on the sun lotion early and often, but missed a few places. Like a strip along the inside of the left arm, and a patch on the back of my right hand. Nothing painful or tan-line setting thankfully.

I would have posted more today, but it was a busy day. The 16 teams played 22 games at Skyview Park today since the All A got rid of its handy sub-sectional qualifier game. I watched six of them. I'll be following Heath at 10:30 your time tomorrow, and I'll post when I can.

All A Classic

2009-05-09T11:18:00.001-05:00

Looks like the All A Classic softball state tournament will start a few minutes before 1 p.m. Louisville time. Check back with my blog or tomorrow's Sun for more details.

Heading out to the field now.

Swinging for a Cure

2009-05-04T17:28:00.003-05:00

I know this is a little late, but I wanted to applaud these two softball programs for their efforts to create awareness about breast cancer.

Marshall County and Graves County played a softball game on April 21, titling the event "Swinging for a Cure". Through T-shirt sales and other fundraisers, the two schools raised more than $2,300 for the American Cancer Society.

Players, coaches, and fans all were asked to wear pink marking the ocassion.

A NASCAR writer is gone...

2009-04-28T15:55:00.004-05:00

David Poole, NASCAR writer for the Charlotte Observer, died today. He was 50.

I met Poole while freelancing the 2007 Nextel (now Sprint) Cup All Star race at Lowe's Motor Speedway. He was known all through the pits and the media room — famous, really. He was good friends with the reporter I was working for, and it was always interesting to look at his stories as they came over the wire here, and remember that I had once met the man.

At The Paducah Sun, if we run NASCAR stories, it's generally written by one of two people: Jenna Fryer for the Associated Press or Poole.

Poole, and his writing, will be missed.

A few additions:

2009-03-08T16:33:00.004-05:00

Murray State men's basketball coach, Billy Kennedy, on his seniors Tyler Holloway and Kevin Thomas after the Racers' loss to Austin Peay on Friday in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament semifinals.

“Both of these guys have been with me the last three years, and it’s disappointing they don’t get to continue playing. Tyler has probably gotten more out of his ability than just about any player I’ve ever coached. His mental preparation, his attitude, his character, and his work ethic has been better than anyone really in our program the last three years. Kevin, the last month or so, stepped up. He battled injury early in his career and really did a tremendous job the last few weeks and even in the last six minutes of the game, he didn’t want to let go, and I’m really thankful we had these two guys and their effort and their character was much appreciated.”

-----

Part of the Racers' problem Friday was the fact they couldn't get any breaks in play. The Racers were called for 22 personal fouls while the Governors were called for 15. Only a few of the Racers' fouls were desperation, strategical fouls. Whether the calls were legitimate or not really isn't my expertise, but in the last six games of the season, the Racers were called for an average of 14.6 fouls a game. Their opponents were called for 21.2 fouls a game. Granted, the Racers played five of those six games at home, but it's not like the Racers are a hack-and-shove team.

I cut this part of my story from Friday night because it simply made my story too long for publication:

Coach Kennedy’s frustration with the officiating was clearly evident, and he spent plenty of time stalking the sidelines, yelling at referees’ decision for a call or no call. With just less than four minutes left and the Racers called for another foul, Kennedy just threw his hands at the refs and walked back to his bench.

Even when Jeffery McClain hustled after a loose ball and collided with two other APSU players, it was McClain that went to the bench injured and with a foul.

“He’s OK,” Kennedy said about his sophomore. “He’s more disappointed than injured. We didn’t fly around with that kind of recklessness in the beginning of the game, and we tried to at the end but it was too late.”

Ohio Valley Conference Tournament - Racer men

2009-03-06T23:28:00.000-06:00

Murray State lost to Austin Peay, 67-50. Stay tuned for follow up matter either here or in The Paducah Sun.

Ohio Valley Conference Tournament - Racer men

2009-03-06T22:08:00.003-06:00

With 7:53 left and Austin Peay up 53-31, Murray State appears to have given up. A time out and the Racers come out somewhat renewed, but it appears to be over now and the Racers seem to know it.

Anyone know of the greatest comeback in basketball history? The Racers could use one.

Ohio Valley Conference Tournament - Racer men

2009-03-06T21:18:00.002-06:00

At the half, Austin Peay 33, Murray State 22.

Not looking good for the Racers right now. Defensively, the Racers aren't terrible, it just looks a lot worse when you're shooting 27 percent from the field and are 0-of-9 from the 3-point line.

No one is counting the Racers out yet, though. A few clutch 3-pointers and the Racers could be back in it.

If not, Racer nation has had a short trip to Nashville.

Ohio Valley Conference Tournament - Racer men

2009-03-06T20:53:00.001-06:00

Austin Peay 16, Murray State 8 with 11:03 left in the first half.

The Racers have effectively taken away Wes Channels and Drake Reed to start but the others are making some gutsy plays.

Ohio Valley Conference Tournament - Racer men

2009-03-06T20:26:00.002-06:00

One awesome feature at the Sommet Center is the mega-jumbo-largatron viewing score board. Yes, that appears to be high definition on those screens.

While gorgeous, they equal the only scoreboard in the arena and you got to cran your neck for the scores.

I'll be blogging periodically during the Murray State men's game against Austin Peay, too.

-----

Former Racers Charles Johnson and Bruce Carter showed up to the game in almost the front row to cheer on their former teammates. Both Johnson and Carter were wearing symbolic championship rings - Johnson's from the last OVC championship and Carter's from winning the national title at his former junior college.

OVC Tournament - Racer women

2009-03-06T13:30:00.002-06:00

Austin Peay 90, Murray State 84.

The Lady Govs advance to the championship game of the OVC Tournament.

The Racers are guaranteed a berth in the WNIT. More on that later.

The Racer men's team plays Austin Peay at 8 p.m. tonight.

Ohio Valley Conference Tournament - Racer women

2009-03-06T13:06:00.001-06:00

Austin Peay is not going way, leading 64-60 with 10:22 left in the second half. They're making just about everything they throw up, and if they don't make it the first time, an offensive rebound assures them of a second, and often a third chance. Murray State is going to have to step it up on the defensive end, or they're going to go home unhappy.

Ohio Valley Conference Tournament - Racer women

2009-03-06T12:41:00.003-06:00

Austin Peay came out hot, hitting almost 50 percent of their shots in the first half, but Murray State went into halftime up just 39-38.

Biggest weakness: The Lady Govs' speed and physical presence in the post. They outrebounded the Racers 22-16 in the first half.

----

A nice, healthy crowd of Racer fans showed up. I'm impressed.

----

Both mens' teams from the competing women's schools showed up in support of their female counterparts. That was a nice gesture.

MSU miscellaneous

2009-02-25T16:23:00.003-06:00

As of Monday, the Murray State football program has secured coaches for the offensive and defensive coordinator positions, Racer media relations assistant John Brush said. Other position(s) have yet to be filled, and the program is waiting to release information on the hirings until all are filled and final.

-----

In Thursday's Sun, I wrote a feature story on Racer senior guard Tyler Holloway. So as not to throw away quotes, I've included my leftovers here:

Holloway on MSU:
“Everybody told me once you go to the place you’re supposed to be at, it will just hit you. I probably never would have dreamed it would have been as awesome as it’s been. I knew it was going to be great but it’s been all that I could have imagined and more, and I feel very blessed to say that I’ve played for Murray State and been a part of the program here.”

Coach Billy Kennedy on Holloway's experience at this point in the season:
“Tyler has the best understanding of what’s at stake right now because he’s participated in the NCAA Tournament and won an OVC championship. Our younger guys, and even some of our returning guys, it hasn’t hit them yet. That’s the biggest thing he brings is his experience and the understanding of what it takes to be a champion.”

Kennedy on Holloway's "marketability" for the program:
“He’s just a good example of what our program wants to represent. Somebody who’s going to get his degree, somebody who’s going to work hard, somebody who’s going to make good choices on the court and off the court, and a guy who can play. Tyler has great confidence in his ability to shoot the ball and that’s something we need to continue to build on through the end.”

Holloway on moving the 3-point line back this season:
“If you look at it, especially guard, I was never toe-to-the-line anyways. The way the game is played, it’s pressured out so much that you’re three or four feet behind the line anyways. I think you’ve seen a difference in big men’s percentages, and not shooting as many, but as far as guards, if you talk to me or anybody else, we’re not seeing a big difference.”

Holloway on why he's a clutch shooter:
“I think it starts in high school. I’ve always wanted to take that big shot. A lot of your really good players want the ball in their hands, in a clutch time like that, starting in high school. I think I’ve hit big shots and even here in Murray, I look back at clutch shots in my career.”

Holloway on the end of his career at MSU:
“It’s really starting to sink in. When high school ended, I knew I had something bigger and better coming, and not saying I don’t now with what’s coming. Because life’s all about changes, but I’ve always kind of been known as that guy who plays basketball. To know it is about to be over it gives you a whole different mindset.”

Holloway on how coach Kennedy's style compares to coach Mick Cronin:
"He’s a lot more laid back, which is a lot easier, almost, to play for a coach like that because you know that if you make a mistake, yeah, you might come out, but he’s not the kind of guy that’s going to get up in your face and yell at you, and I think it brings a calming presence to everybody else.”

They do hear you...Part II

2009-02-23T21:08:00.002-06:00

The usually unruly fan that sits behind me did it again.

After being totally silent all game (based on later coughing and yelling, I presume he was under the weather), Mr. Unruly decides to heckle UT Martin's Lester Hudson during Murray State's game against the Skyhawks on Monday.

Hudson was called for his third foul late in the game, and spent Murray State's free throw time talking to the referees.

Mr. Unruly started yelling about diapers, insinuating he was a "cry baby." He caught Hudson's attention, and Hudson made a slight attempt to ignore him. Then he responded after Mr. Unruly began taunting him with his then field-goal ratio 3-for-15.

"Well you’re not out here are you," Hudson said, with other mild mumbles.

This fueled Mr. Unruly, who continued to heckle. "Hey Hudson, I've been watchin'!" until he grew hoarse.

Hudson, who averages 27.4 points a game, finished with 15 points.

They do hear you...

2009-02-16T12:41:00.003-06:00

Murray State basketball fans found most of their excitement Saturday jeering and booing Jacksonville State men's coach James Green when he received a technical with six minutes left in the game. Green irked fans all night with his sideline antics advocating for his team.

One usually unruly fan yelled loudly at the officials, saying “You got no guts, ref! I’d have throwed him out! You got no guts!”

The referee turned to him after Tyler Holloway’s technical free throws and responded, “You might be going out soon. I’ll have you going out in a hurry.”

The fan was mostly quiet after that, only muttering epithets to those around him.

Thoughts from the Marshall County-Murray doubleheader

2009-02-13T21:25:00.003-06:00

I have a problem.

I'll be walking in the mall, covering a game, grocery shopping, etc., and I'll come across someone with the above logo on a shirt or baseball cap.

My senses start beeping, and I scream in my head, "MIZZOU!" The University of Missouri fight song plays in my head, and I believe I've just found a kindred fellow alumnus to befriend.

Wrong. What I generally find is a Murray High School fan. The Murray Tigers have long ago adopted the same colors and logo as Mizzou (I am not insinuating a rip off here or copyright infringement), and it trips me up every time. In a closer glance at the logo on the jacket of Ron Greene, Murray's boy's basketball coach, it appears the only difference might be their Tiger has an actual eyeball. I can't really tell.

Anyway, no offense Murray Tiger fans, but it's always a bit of a disappointment to discover you're not a Mizzou Tiger fan.

-----

We picked the wrong game to cover.

The Marshall teams played in a boys-girls doubleheader tonight with Murray's teams, and I traveled to Draffenville to only cover the first game, the boys game.

The decision was made mostly because of time constraints. I'm technically an hourly employee, and because of the strapped economy, I'm not allowed to work overtime — on or off the clock. We opted to send me to one game to get me out of the office early and quickly.

But we picked the wrong game.

The boys game, my game, was a bona-fide rout. The Marshals won 73-47. The girls game, however, was a thriller, going into overtime as I write this. The Lady Marshals won.

In picking which high school games we cover in any sport, we always try to pick games where the competition level will be high or district/region standings are on the line. Yes, we usually follow winning teams. Sometimes our guesstimations are wrong, and a team has a bad night and things end up in a blow out and I end up typing crazy box scores. Sometimes, our guesstimations are wrong, and a team has a stellar night and things become a lot more exciting.

Anyway, our apologies for not staying for both games.

EIU observances

2009-02-09T21:31:00.000-06:00

Observances from Murray State’s men’s game at Eastern Illinois on Monday night.

Tyler Holloway had his own personal heckler Monday night in the Panthers’ student section. He was annoying, but at least couth and not too offensive.

The heckler may or may not have been aware that Holloway was just 15 points away from 1,000 career points. If he had any effect is debatable; Holloway was heavily guarded through the night and scored 11 points. He is on tap to break 1,000 when the Racers return home to play Tennessee Tech on Thursday.

----

Lantz Arena got a face lift since last season. The retaining walls behind the goals are now splashed with flashy, professional murals. It easily went from one of the ugliest arenas in the Ohio Valley Conference to one of the “prettiest.”

---
After a 12-day break where the Racers were able to heal and get healthy, they’re banged up again.

Holloway sustained a gash to his head during the game at Austin Peay, which needed two staples to mend. Danero Thomas limped slightly during halftime warm ups and walked with the trainer for a while when he was on the bench. Jeffery McClain was feeling under the weather with a stomach bug. Isacc Miles, who was ill for the Austin Peay game, was feeling better, Racer coach Billy Kennedy reported.

----
Kennedy continues to get more animated on the sidelines as the season progresses. Several times assistant coach Steve Prohm had to tug Kennedy’s jacket from behind, signaling he ought to lay off the referees a bit.

I’m waiting for him to go on record with his feelings on the officiating. I’ll probably be waiting a while.

Kennedy quotes from APSU

2009-02-08T15:04:00.002-06:00

Murray State’s whole camp was bummed after its 83-80 loss at Austin Peay on Saturday night. Racer head coach Billy Kennedy was just as bummed as the rest of them.

Because the Sun had an earlier-than-normal deadline still dealing with remnants of Ice-trina, I saved a few more quotes from Kennedy’s post-game interviews:

On part of the sense of heartbreak:
“We scored enough points to win, but just felt like defensively we didn’t do a very good job. And we didn’t get any breaks.”

On Danero Thomas’ 30-point career-high performance:
“He’s played well the last few games, and hopefully he’s coming into his own. I thought he did a good job of being aggressive when he needed to, and taking 3s when he needed to. His decision making is much better.”

On what overshadowed Thomas’ performance:
“He was good. He was very good. I thought that was good to see. Unfortunately in tonight’s game, Drake Reed and Wes Channels were very good. They scored 54 points and defensively, we didn’t do a very good job of guarding Channels, but I thought Reed was just awesome. The first half, the shots he was throwing in and making, was special. He had 23 at the half, and I haven’t seen a kid do that against our team in a long time."

Official Observer

2009-02-05T16:29:00.003-06:00

When you spend as many hours on the road and as many nights in different high school and college gymnasiums as I do, you get to meet some pretty interesting people.

Like Tynes Hildebrand.

I met Mr. Hildebrand on Wednesday night at Murray State's basketball games against Tennessee State. Hildrebrand was on an official visit to observe the referees of the men's game, essentially grading their performance and reporting it back to the NCAA for the officials' files and records.

We chatted and exchanged pleasantries during the women's game. Turns out, Hildrebrand coached at Northwestern State in Louisiana before becoming the school's athletic director for many years. He said he recruited a player from Paducah a long time ago.

He was very excited to see Racer head coach Billy Kennedy. Hildrebrand gave Kennedy his FIRST JOB as an assistant coach in 1988. Kennedy actually SMILED when Hildebrand caught his attention before the national anthem. Kennedy doesn't smile much around a court.

Anyway, back to officiating. Hildebrand shared that he sees anywhere from four to six games a week on the road as the South's regional advisor. Today he was heading to Austin Peay to observe more officials, and would travel to Columbia, Mo., Monday, to my alma mater, to observe the officials in the heated Missouri-Kansas rivalry game (very jealous of him).

I asked Hildebrand about officiating during intense rivalry games, and he said that players get away with more fouls/referees don't call as many in the more heated games. The games naturally take on a more aggressive, physical format than other not-so-important games.

As for the officials at Murray State's game at TSU, Hildebrand methodically made his marks and notes during the game. While he responded to the quality of officiating in the first half off the record, my personal thoughts were that it was a rare, relatively well-called game.

Of the three officials, Hildebrand had observed Bret Smith in other games, and said he was a very excellent official.

We did agree on two bad calls, discovered because of my jokingly prodding for information.

If I get table-mates half as interesting as Mr. Hildebrand at a game, you know it's going to be a good night.

Record breaking

2009-02-04T19:43:00.002-06:00

Murray State senior forward Ashley Hayes just broke the Racers' single game scoring record with 46 points against Tennessee State in a 97-93 win at the Gentry Center in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday night.

The previous record was set by Joi Scott on Feb. 16, 2006 with 43 points at Tennessee State.

Tennessee Tech is ...

2009-01-17T20:30:00.004-06:00

... the only place I've ever, ever, ever in my entire life, seen "The Wave" go around an arena three straight times. And not just a scant few waving up, I mean the whole Eblen Center.

Nice job Golden Eagles. Nice job.

Midseason Racer Report Card

2009-01-15T21:36:00.002-06:00

(This was written pre-Jacksonville State)

It’s almost halfway through the men’s college basketball regular season (sadness, I know) and college teams around America have had about 15 games to prove themselves. Or not.

The Murray State men’s basketball team (7-8, 2-3 Ohio Valley Conference) is currently in need of a dose of confidence and a helping or two of victories. But the Racers are doing some things right midway through the season.

The Racers could make a run to the OVC Tournament championship game, but things might be a little hairy until then.

Take a look at my midseason report card:

Offense: C
Since the Racers have lost six of their last eight games, clearly they aren’t scoring enough points. They’re getting enough shots but those shots just aren’t going in. Chalk it up to inexperience (three of the starting five are newbies, and five of the available 10 are new) and playing eight of the last 10 away from home.

Defense: A-
The Racers are the best defensive team in the league, holding teams to just 42.7 percent shooting. However, when the Racers shut the top scorers down, someone off the bench always goes off for a career night.

Post production: B
The Racers have more post production depth than in the past, but starters Jeffery McClain and Ivan Aska are still undersized compared to their counterparts in the post. They’re also young. The Racers’ post players however, provide the most excitement and energy than anyone else on the team. Georges Fotso’s minutes off the bench against Austin Peay were some of the best in terms of defensive effort. His assignment, former Player of the Year Drake Reed, may have only gotten one pass in Fotso’s eight minutes on the court.

Point guard: A-
Kevin Thomas has the ability to be a go-to guy (think 21 points against UT Martin), but is so far inconsistent. His 1.7 turnover-to-assist ratio isn’t shabby, and he pushes the ball and sees players on the court just like a senior point guard should.

Shooting guards: B-
No one is making shots, but depth and talent overall are very good for being so young. Sophomore transfer Isacc Miles is oftentimes the only one keeping the Racers in games (his role as back up point guard I believe prevents breakout scoring). Preseason all-OVC pick Danero Thomas is fickle. He’s capable of lighting up for 20+ points, but we’ve only seen that once this season.

Bench: B
With two players injured (Tony Easley and Jewuan Long) and one player down already from departure, the Racers’ bench is likely the deepest of any other OVC school. No player on the team averages more than 28 minutes a game.

Coach: B
Coach Billy Kennedy and staff have brought in fabulous talent and navigate a tight ship with character kids. But while it can be hard to sort through a talented bench, the Racers may operate on too many line ups, preventing players from finding an offensive rhythm before they are taken out of a game. Kennedy’s quiet court demeanor serves him as both a gift and curse right now while the Racers struggle.

Leadership: C
When three of your few elder statesmen play off the bench and your lone starting senior isn’t vocal, leadership is going to lack. Sometimes I think the Racers are too nice on the court and to each other.

Toughness: B
The bodies of the Racers are built to run, not to battle. When they’re forced to battle, they get out-toughed. But McClain, Aska, and Miles give the Racers muscle and it’s staggering to think Aska, a freshman, is playing as well as he is with the OVC’s veterans.

Swagger: D+
To me, last year’s seniors not only took a lot of scoring with them when they left, they took all the braggadocio. This is a temperate team when things go wrong and when things go right. If the Racers find good leadership soon, they might find some swagger, too.

Fans: B -
Racer fans show up in good number, they just don’t do much once they arrive. The last two home games, I’ve listened to hearty cheering in only the last minutes of the games, fans negatively yelling at their own players and criticism of the officials. That’s a great atmosphere to come home to. When your team’s struggling, fans, that’s the time you’ve got to be the loudest.

Murray State's Saturday VIP

2009-01-09T18:37:00.004-06:00

At Saturday's televised game against Austin Peay, the Murray State Racers will host a very important person.

Rosalyn Durant, the vice president of ESPNU, will be in attendance for her very first Ohio Valley Conference game.

Also in attendance will be OVC commissioner Dr. Jon A. Steinbrecher.

"What better way to expose that individual to the OVC and OVC basketball than to attend really one of the most passionate rivalries that we have."

Stay tuned for my story on the impact of televised basketball games on Murray State in Sunday's news section.

This year, the OVC's contract with ESPN and its platforms gives the conference 14 exposures. Murray State received two of those. I asked the commissioner Friday if MSU's storied tradition and atmosphere during games played into his decision in handing out the games.

"At the end of the day, if you would track where our exposures are," Steinbrecher said, "we probably end up at certain schools more than others and it has to do with the fact their programs are more successful and their attendance patterns are stronger. So of course that filters in when you are creating your schedule."

Paint the Town Pink

2009-01-09T17:58:00.006-06:00

The Murray and Calloway County girls basketball teams warming up for the rivalry game at Calloway County.

If there is a "Pink" theme going in somewhere in the country, you know I'm a supporter.

Some of you know my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer when I was in junior high. Anytime I can support a breast cancer awareness night, I'll go out of my way to help.

Friday night's cross-town rivalry between Murray and Calloway County high schools was no different.

Seeing the men, women and youngsters wearing pink almost made me cry tonight. I wish there were more folks wearing pink, but the rivalry took over the need to wear school colors. The Calloway student section was clad in it, though.

Although in the picture, they look red, I did have sparkly pink shoes. And a fuzzy pink sweater. And a sparkly pink ring. Oh, and earrings, too. I did my part.

Thoughts on the Racers' game against Tennessee State

2009-01-08T20:58:00.004-06:00

1. The Murray State men's basketball team collectively lacks swagger, which is a problem. However, newcomers Isacc Miles, Ivan Aska and Jeffery McClain are likely to show glimpses of swagger every now and then.

2. Removing freshman Donte Poole's redshirt was a good thing. In seven games played, he's averaging just over five points a game. Against Tennessee State he had six. By the time he hangs up his jersey for good, he'll be quite the basketball player.

3. The Lone Oak elementary students present for the game were emphatically more excited and better fans than the rest of the Racer faithful. After 40 days away from the Regional Special Events Center, no one but the Flash kids seemed really excited to see them.

4. It's a shame Georges Fotso didn't play basketball sooner in his life (he began play late in high school). He's got more heart for the game than anyone on the team. His post defense late in the game may just have bought the Racers a win.

5. Ohio Valley Conference officiating is, well, not so good lately. This makes four OVC games in four days that I have watched and the amount of no calls has been questionable. Then the make-up calls have been embarrassing. I'm no expert, but the referees set the tone for the physicality of a game based on what they will call and won't. In two men's games and two women's, the games have been very, very physical. I'm a big fan of letting the teams play it out on the court, but some one is going to get hurt soon.

6. The new pennants on the music stands of the Racer Band are a nice touch. But I do love the Racer Band at all times.

7. The Racers' two main weaknesses right now? Inbounding the ball and consistent offense. Their two main strengths? Post play and Kevin Thomas (almost five assists a game). Agree or disagree as you will.

Fan Night

2008-12-27T22:05:00.003-06:00

Last year, I wrote a column about going to a football game and being lost because I forgot how to be a fan.

Tonight, I remembered.

I'm on my last vacation day in Missouri and I managed my schedule so that I stayed in town long enough to watch my nephew, Russell, play basketball in his school's holiday tournament.

Russell is a 6-0 sophomore forward, who starts for the Bears, and was born when I was just in second grade. Since I've been away to college and now working in Kentucky, I've missed a lot of his growing-up time and games.

Anyway, it wasn't hard for me to start cheering for Russell and gasping in suspense as his first shot of the night tip-toed around and out of the basket. It was easy to scream like a mad woman when his first shot went in for an and-one (he made it).

From there, I evolved to yell at the referees (they were letting No. 20 from the other team get too feisty). Then I started yelling for Russell to start blocking out, and started yelling for his team to "get your arms up, get big and play good defense."

My sister (who is 18 years older than I) was ready to have a fit at my vocalness. The gym was relatively quiet, therefore, everything I said at a mild volume came out much louder than it was. My sister is also the junior high principal and was the working administrator of the game.

I told her if she had a problem with my cheering, she could go to the other side of the gym. Should she still hear me over there, then she could rail on me.

Part of me wanted to keep stats for the whole game, but then that would take the fun out of it, and I would be working on my vacation. So I compromised and just kept stats for Russell.

He finished with four fouls, five points, five rebounds, and three deflections.

After a close game, the Bears won, despite being short two starters who were suspended for five games for violating team rules.

Because I wasn't in my element, I'm not sure the exact score, but they won by four points.

After watching a plethora of Kentucky basketball lately, it was interesting to compare the style of play of western Kentucky and south-central Missouri.

My assessment: Kentucky basketball is by far, much, much, much more aggressive and physical. But it seemed like in the Missouri basketball I watched, the teams executed more plays.

Rerun: Time to Shine

2008-12-18T15:08:00.006-06:00

*I attempted to post this earlier in the year, but had troubles. See today's story on Mallory Luckett in The Paducah Sun for more details on Time to Shine.*

In preparing for the post season, including the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament, Murray State guard Mallory Luckett wrote 'A Time to Shine' as a way to inspire the Racer women's basketball team. This is the video the women's basketball staff created to show before the NCAA Tournament selection show.

'A Time to Shine' is performed by members of the team.

Donte Poole update

2008-12-10T21:18:00.004-06:00

After the season-ending injury for Murray State reserve guard Jewuan Long, coach Billy Kennedy answered questions this afternoon to the Racers' depth.

With Long gone, B.J. Jenkins sitting out for transfer rules and forward Marvin Williams off the team, the Racers only have 10 scholarship players left, making it a necessity to seriously consider removing the redshirt from freshman Donte Poole, Kennedy said.

Whether Poole plays Saturday against Missouri will be a game-time decision.

“In the best case scenario, it would have been good to redshirt him," Kennedy said, "but our team has changed and we haven’t been getting good performance out of our perimeter guys. If it’s in the best interest of our team, that’s what we’ll do.”

See more questions and Kennedy's answers in Friday's preview of the Racers' game against Missouri.

----

After playing Mississippi State for their "money game" last season, the Racers have stepped up the competition level when they play Missouri on Saturday at 6 p.m.

The program will be paid $64,000 for the trip to Columbia, Mo. Morehead State's 1-6 record was partly due to playing so many money games on the road — money that they can save up to build the program and the athletic budget.

"The bigger schools buy games so they can have a bunch of home games so they build up their resume," Kennedy said. "We’re fortunate we only have to play one (money game).”

Death Valley wrap-up

2008-12-07T15:56:00.003-06:00

A Death Valley trip, by the numbers:

850 miles traveled in three days

5 game stories

2 blog posts

4 basketball games

1 football game

2 sets of Hot Hands (two for the feet because the toe warmers didn't work)

2 McChickens

3 medium McDonalds' fries

1 GPS unit

-------

After making the Death Valley trip last year (following Murray State basketball to Eastern Kentucky University and Morehead State), I must say, this one was much better than the first, although neither was bad.

This year, I had the gift of my Garmin nuvi GPS unit, and for this I am quite thankful. I just punched a few buttons, and the Garmin did the rest. I didn't have to worry about glancing at my pre-researched Mapquest.com directions, I just had to listen to the voice of my unit lady. The GPS came in especially handy for navigating through Lexington.

I thoroughly recommend a GPS if you do not have one already. It's not flawless, but it will get you closer to where you need to go than an atlas will.

-------

While the Death Valley trip resulted in a split for the Murray State men's basketball team, normally a feat in itself, the loss to Morehead State has slightly bigger implications than sticking a 1 in MSU's Ohio Valley Conference loss column.

Morehead State is now 2-0 in the conference, at the top with Austin Peay. The Eagles celebrated like they had won a trip to the NCAA Tournament after beating Murray State. Not only did they break an 11-game losing streak with the Racers, in one weekend, they beat the No. 1 and No. 2 team (UT Martin). Quite a feat after coming into the conference games 1-6.

Seeing that it is so early in the season, the one loss isn't going to deter the Racers for too long. But starting the conference 2-0 is big for Morehead. How big remains to be seen.

Rockin' Rockets

2008-12-05T23:14:00.004-06:00

Crittenden County's three captains, Gage Courtney, Rodney Robertson and J.D. Gray, greet Beechwood's captains before the cointoss of the their Class A state semifinal football game Friday night in Fort Mitchell.

----

The outcome of Crittenden County's Class A state semifinal game against Beechwood wasn't just a David vs. Goliath matchup on paper. The differences between the two programs stood out in the stands, too.

According to city-data.com, the two school's corresponding cities, Marion and Fort Mitchell, have vastly different characteristics, despite being the homes to Class A schools.

Population:
Marion 3,069, Fort Mitchell 7,556.

Median household income:
Marion $27,411, Fort Mitchell $53,112.

Residents with income below poverty level:
Marion 24.3 percent, Fort Mitchell 3.4 percent.

Folks with a bachelor's degree or higher:
Marion 9.3 percent, Fort Mitchell 37.6 percent.

Little wonder then, how Beechwood gathered up the funds to play on a turf field.

Rocket fans, donned in Carhardts and camouflage (one Rocket football player actually had a camouflage muff around his waist), were juxtaposed by their calmer counterparts to their right — a few sporting actual fur coats.

While Beechwood's fans huddled together in the cold air reaching temperatures in the teens, Crittenden fans stormed the field before the game to cheer the Rockets as they took the field.

Rocket fans stayed and they cheered through the 34-0 loss and they hugged their football players and cried with them after the game, all the more proud to have Crittenden reach the semifinals for just the second time in school history.

But ask someone who really knows, really cares, who were the best fans at the game Friday night. Ask Rockets coach Al Starnes, who just completed his 18th year with the Rockets.

"You can't beat that," Starnes said about the support. "We had a great send off yesterday. The community did a great job of that, and I looked up here one time and we had more fans in the stands than they did. It just shows the support that we have. It’s a five-hour trip and to have as many as we had — the fans are great."

Maybe money can't buy true support.

Leftovers from Eastern Kentucky

2008-12-05T09:41:00.003-06:00

In lieu of practicing in a high school gym or traveling on to Morehead, the Murray State men’s basketball team will practice today in historic Rupp Arena in Lexington.

For Racer Danero Thomas, the allure of Rupp wasn’t quite there after making friends with the Wildcats’ Ramon Harris when Thomas played in Africa with Harris on a summer team. Harris took Thomas on a tour, allowing him to get acquainted with tradition.

But for Racers Kevin Thomas and Isacc Miles, the rafters of Rupp are still impressive.

"It will be a good experience, because I’ve never been there," Miles said. "I mean, I’m not a Kentucky fan, but I can respect that."

-----

Miles, a sophomore transfer from Creighton, is finally finding his offensive groove. Thursday night against Eastern Kentucky, Miles had 11 points, two assists, two turnovers, three rebounds and a steal. Due to transfer rules, Miles sat out all of last season.

"When you sit out a year, it’s tough to get back right way," Miles explained. "So the first couple games we’ve been winning, so I haven't been complaining about trying to score. I'm just doing the little things, defensively and getting ready to play conference basketball."

Miles' defensive effort held EKU's leading scorer, Mike Rose, to just two points.

-----

EKU coach Jeff Neubauer was asked to compare this Racer team to the last OVC Championship Racer team, the 2005-2006 team coached by Mick Cronin that fell by three points to North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament.

"It’s yet to be determined," Neubauer said. "This team does compare to that team, and the next three months will tell if their defense is as good as Mick's last team, the 2005 tournament team."

Turkey and giblets, giblets and turkey

2008-11-29T20:14:00.004-06:00

Murray State University men's basketball fans were apparently still hung over from their Thanksgiving feasts Saturday night when the Racers played St. Catharine.

Either that or the noisy ones went on vacation.

The 0-9 Patriots were supposed to be a tune up on the way to the Racers' Ohio Valley Conference opener Death Valley trip, a three-day swing to play at Eastern Kentucky and Morehead State this coming weekend. It was supposed to be the kind of game where the end of the bench could achieve career highs.

The Racers struggled to pull away in the first half, leading just 39-35. When the first-year NAIA program (last year a junior college), took the lead, Racer fans had nothing to say. A steal or a basket were met with light-hearted golf claps. Hearty yells didn't come to the game until eight minutes into the second quarter, and hearty could be an understatement and certainly short lived.

Against Western Kentucky, a rout against an admitted arch rival, fans were rabid. But playing a team, at home, where a loss would mean certain embarrassment and a big L, Racer fans had little to say. Even coach Billy Kennedy, who is never very animated, sat quiet until about 10 minutes left.

While the Racers' performance wasn't exactly noteworthy, the game, a 76-66 win, was the last home game for the Racers until January. The Racers have a hard enough road schedule this season without making home a neutral court.

The no-win former JUCO just scored the most points in the Regional Special Events Center. That's certainly not something to cheer about.

Extras from MSU's two-win weekend

2008-11-24T15:01:00.003-06:00

Murray State football coach Matt Griffin mentioned in his 11-17 press conference that a win against Tennessee State that following Saturday would be great not only for morale but give them a springboard into the final weeks of recruiting.

The bowels of Roy Stewart Stadium welcomed several recruits after Saturday's 24-17 win over TSU in colorful letter jackets flanked by hopeful parents.

MSU coach Matt Griffin said he's already had some soft commitments out of some players, but isn't ready count them as signed. He's said some of the targets also have had offers from other top OVC schools.

But. The eight weeks that remain before signing date are plenty to get things accomplished.

Outgoing senior Quinton Hankins had some thoughts for the possible recruits.

"I’d tell them don’t look at the record," Hankins said. "When it all boils down, it’s all about family and coming together and playing together. Once you can do that and build team cohesiveness, the sky’s the limit.

"If you want to be a part of a good team, Murray State is a place to be."

-----

Amidst near turmoil and heartbreak at Western Kentucky, coach Ken McDonald had good things to say about Murray State's team.

"I think they have really good focus on offense, too," McDonald said. "They run their sets with really good precision, and they don’t beat themselves, and that's a sign of a good team and well-coached team. They defend well. They don't have a ton of turnovers. The fact they have 18 assists in a game with almost six guys playing going into double figures says a lot. They share the ball."

----

It seemed like the Racer fans had endless things to cheer about Saturday. Dale Beach, of Graves County, made a half-court shot worth $10,000 sponsored by Perkins Motor Plex out of Mayfield. It was the first time a contestant had made the shot offered at every game.

“I’ll use it to pay bills,” Beach said. “We’ll have a better Christmas. I’m thinking I might need a new car.”

Be the coach...

2008-11-12T13:54:00.004-06:00

In my near daily perusing of the Murray State sports message board (racerfans.com), someone posted a link to a basketball simulation game on the Internet.

The point is that you get to be the coach and manage a team throughout the season. Really, the only thing you manage is recruiting and tryouts, which is by far the most exciting part of the game.

So, for the past 45 minutes, I played as coach Pineapple McGee, coach of the University of Missouri, where in three seasons, I was 26-18.

My second and third seasons, my team was conference champion, and received a ticket to the Big Dance. My first year I was knocked out by Maryland Eastern Shore (who?), and the second year, I made it to the second round before getting beat by Florida A&M. The NCAA tournament was devoid of perrenial favorites North Carolina, Duke, Kansas and UCLA. Kansas was left out, partly because I whooped them in the regular season. Take that.

Overall, the game was fun. Obviously, or I wouldn't have just played it for nearly an hour. I gave up when my All-American senior graduated, leaving me with some mediocre talent. I just didn't think I could recruit well enough to win another conference championship. So I retired.

One of the messageboard posters just typed in to say he played the game until he went to "basketball heaven." That was over 50 seasons. Incredible.

Anyway, give it a try on this rainy day. The game could be loads better, but is still good for a relatively amateur setup.

http://www.bethecoachbasketball.com/

Common Denominators

2008-11-11T22:05:00.003-06:00

Even before the regular season begins, the Murray State men's basketball team got a good measure of how the Ohio Valley Conference season could go.

The Racers faced Bethel in their exhibition match Tuesday, an 82-45 win. OVC opponent UT Martin also played the Wildcats in an exhibition, a 90-71 win.

So. If Martin beat Bethel by 19 points, and the Racers beat Bethel by 37, that means the Racers will beat Martin by 18 points in January.

Right?

Ha.

Wildcat coach Jeff Britt, a Sedalia, Ky., native, had the privilege of comparing the two teams for the small media panel present after the game. He provided a very diplomatic analysis.

"I think with Murray, overall, much better defensive team, than UTM. I think probably a little bigger inside. I think they're a little crisper on the offensive side of it, to compare the two. I think they're both two good basketball teams, I think you're going to see them battling for your top two or three spots in the conference, maybe both for then No. 1 spot. They both got depth and good size, and both blessed with some good quickness. I'm going to give Martin just a tad bit of edge on the shooters I think Murray's probably got one or two guys that can shoot. I think Martin's got several that can shoot."

The OVC picked the Racers to finish first in the league, but other publications and outlets predicted UT Martin right up there with them, sometimes picked as high as first.

Britt said the Racers obviously put in a lot of time on the defensive end of the ball. Compared to last season, the Racers seemed to have more of a sense of a mission, Britt said, as if they were trying to achieve a conference championship.

"It appears they know they're batter and it appears they're confident in their play and they feel like they can win the regular season and the conference."

Jan. 5, 2009 and Jan. 31. That's when you can find out how well Britt pegged the two teams.

Who's excited?

2008-11-10T13:53:00.003-06:00

Murray State men's basketball opens up its season Tuesday night against Bethel College in an exhibition game.

I'm excited for two reasons.

1.) It's the start of basketball season which, other than dirt track racing, is God's sport.

2.) I briefly thought of going to Bethel College because of family and religious relations. Bethel is supported by my church denomination, Cumberland Presbyterian, and I have a slew of family to graduate from there. My dad, who I seem to be talking a lot about lately, attended for one year in the late 1950s and played basketball for them as a freshman.

His thoughts on Bethel? "I couldn't play on the B team in high school, but I started at Bethel."

Take that as you will.

It's a 7 p.m. tipoff. Totally pumped to be hitting the hardwood.

Post-election day thoughts:

2008-11-05T13:24:00.004-06:00

In 2004, my first year being old enough to vote for president, my first ballot was special. That was the year my dad ran for a seat on the county commission back home.

That was his fourth time running for office. The previous three times he was unsuccessful. We were and still are members of the minority party in that county. The majority doesn't much vote outside party lines. In 2004, Dad lost again.

I was heartbroken. That year, I was his "campaign manager," designing newspaper ads and recording radio ads. That was the first and only year I had ever and will ever cast a vote when my last name was on the ballot. I will never forget the pride I felt choosing my dad over his opponent.

What a year.

This year, my dad got to the polls long before the 6 a.m. opening. He was the first voter at his precinct. That's my dad.

And this year, we witnessed the most historic election in the history of our country.

What a year.

-----

I love the assumption that sports writers and sports folks don't care much about "real news." I get a chuckle and sometimes get rankled when the other side of the building makes an offhanded comment about what we know or don't know.

All I've got to say is I've had some of the best political conversations with Joey Fosko these past few months than I have with other "newsy" folks I've met.

I originally started my journalistic career with the thought of pursuing a political or health-related beat. I eventually chose sports because this is where all the fun happens, not because my mind is incapable of wrapping itself around charged topics.

We might know stats and figures and game histories, but don't ever think we're out of the loop.

Same for athletes. Check out this story written for the Columbia Missourian about Mizzou's football political discussions:

http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2008/11/04/missouri-football-team-talks-politics/

-----

Good reporting by The Associated Press. Athletes going professional in something other than sports:

By The Associated Press
Winners
—Kevin Johnson, NBA, Sacramento mayor.
—Heath Shuler, NFL, North Carolina congressional seat.
—Sam Wyche, NFL, Pickens County Council in South Carolina.
—Baron Hill, college basketball, Indiana congressional seat.
—Norm Dicks, college football, Washington congressional seat.
—Jason Chaffetz, college football, Utah congressional seat.
—Todd Thomsen, college football, Oklahoma Legislature.
—Tad Jones, college football, Oklahoma Legislature.
—Anton Gunn, college football, South Carolina Legislature.
—Mufi Hannemann, college basketball, Honolulu mayor.
———
Losers
—Joe Mesi, boxing, New York Legislature.
—Joey Browner, NFL, Eagan (Minn.) City Council.
—Bob Heaton, college basketball, Indiana Legislature.
—Greg Hopkins, Arena Football League, Pennsylvania Legislature.
———
Race Undecided
—Peter Boulware, NFL, Florida Legislature.

It's baaaaaaaaaaaack!

2008-10-23T17:12:00.003-05:00

The Lone Oak Purple Flash mascot was seen again at the First Region volleyball tournament held in Lone Oak. The photo is not nearly as funny as real life, so my next task is getting live cell phone footage of the creature.....stay tuned!

OVC officials taken out of the mix last weekend

2008-10-06T15:34:00.003-05:00

One of the Ohio Valley Conference's football officiating crews was absent from the games this past weekend.

Jim Jackson, coordinator of league officials for the OVC, confirmed he "took them out of a game in the best interest of the OVC."

The officiating crew was not suspended, Jackson said, and he would not comment as to which crew sat the weekend out. Murray State sources say the crew not working this weekend was the crew that officiated MSU's loss to UT Martin two weeks ago.

Racer coach Matt Griffin has been extremely outspoken in regards to OVC officiating, saying he sends tape to Jackson regularly. Griffin was suspended for Western Kentucky game by the OVC for his unsportsmanlike comments made against the officials, an OVC crew, after the Racers' home loss to Illinois State.

MSU football notes

2008-09-30T14:39:00.003-05:00

Additions to Tuesday's Murray State football follow up:

Offensive operator: Jeff Ehrhardt, the 2007 OVC Freshman of the Year, returned from standing on the sidelines after healing from an injury to his throwing shoulder. He said after the game he felt better about his mechanics than ever, and coach Matt Griffin said Ehrhardt should be good to practice all week.

His 375 yards passing was the sophomore’s fourth 300-yard game of his career. The Racers’ 539 yards of total offense was the most since 2004’s season opener against Glenville State.

First quarter fits: Saturday’s game was the first time the Racers scored a touchdown in the first quarter this season. The Racers have been outscored 66-10 in the first quarter alone against five opponents.

Double-digit defense: Sixth-year senior linebacker Nathan Williams had 16 tackles against the UT Martin, his third double-digit tackle performance this season. Williams is the leading tackler in the OVC and in the FCS with 73 total tackles, a 14.6 per game average.

And the best referee jab goes to...

2008-09-25T22:57:00.002-05:00

... the Heath student section cheering at the Pirates' boys soccer game against visiting Paducah Tilghman on Thursday night.

"Check your answering machine, you missed a call."

**Disclaimer: In no way does Dusty Luthy or The Paducah Sun condone unsportsmanlike conduct. However, creativity and uniqueness should be rewarded.

WKU vs. MSU and The Red Belt

2008-09-22T15:32:00.005-05:00

There really is a "red belt" involved in the Battle for the Red Belt between Murray State and Western Kentucky University.

According to WKU game notes: The two teams have played for the Belt on 22 occasions since 1978, with WKU winning the trophy 14 times (there was one tie). It currently resides in the WKU training room for almost nine years since the Toppers took back the trophy with a 21-15 win on Oct. 2, 1999. The history of "The Red Belt" originated in 1978 when WKU athletic trainer Bill Edwards attended a district trainers' meeting with Murray State trainer Tom Simmons. As Edwards tells the story, Simmons forgot to bring a belt, and borrowed a red one from Edwards. After the meeting, when Edwards asked about his belt, Simmons responded that WKU would have to bat Murray State in football to get it back. Simmons had the belt mounted on a large plaque, complete with brass plates to keep WKU-Murray scores etched in history for years to come.

The Hilltoppers played for the first time in newly renovated Houchens Industries-L.T. Smith Stadium and featured a true sporting-event atmosphere.

Fireworks cracked with every score and during the National Anthem. Hawkers sold cotton candy and peanuts through the stands. The video scoreboard also broadcast a marriage proposal to a Margaret Tichenor, who appeared to say "Yes" to her intended.

P.S. for Dynamic Dynasties

2008-09-18T13:32:00.013-05:00

Photo of Mayfield's football trophy case, highlighting a leather helmet from ye olden days.

The Dynamic Dynasties series that ran this week in The Paducah Sun was not an easy task. The idea came to me over a month ago after listening to story after timeless story from Joey Fosko and Steve Millizer about different sporting programs through the area and their rise and fall.

I was not "in" on any of these stories because I am not a lifelong resident of the state. Being still a newbie from Missouri, it was important for me to learn these stories on a more personal level.

The five programs I chose to profile — Reidland softball, Mayfield football, Lone Oak tennis, Marshall County girls soccer and Paducah Tilghman track and field — cannot be disputed in their status as a dynasty. The facts, trophies, championships and alumni that these programs have contributed to western Kentucky are fathomless.

The 26 schools The Sun routinely covers in Kentucky and southern Illinois each have histories with plenty of stories to tell. Other programs have been successful over the years, but may have fallen short of reaching dynasty status or may have reached it at one time, but fallen off in recent years. The five programs are still considered tops in their sports.

One program I especially was pressed to mention was Marshall County girls basketball. The Lady Marshals clearly are one of the top girls basketball programs in the region year after year, but their dominance has been challenged lately, especially outside of the First Region. The Marshals have won nine of the last 18 regional championships after winning nine-of-10 in the 1980s. In 1982 and 1984, the Marshals won state championships, but the last win for the Marshals in the state tournament came in 1990.

In researching these stories, statistics and records were vital. The Kentucky High School Athletic Association Web site, khsaa.org, was immensely helpful in compiling information. The Sun's own sports history file has been kept impeccably over the years, and I was delighted to find nearly everything I needed, and more, in our own system.

We actually have a single file dedicated to the Mayfield-Tilghman football series, that dates back to the first game in 1911.

The many, many coaches I contacted were also very helpful in providing statistics and information that we didn't have at our disposal. And thanks to whomever took over Stacey Bradley's bus duty the day I went to talk to him about Marshall County soccer.

Thank you for reading, and thank you coaches and players for helping me understand western Kentucky athletics a little better.

Headlines with the word "Flash" always stand out

2008-09-18T13:32:00.012-05:00

Cassee Layne, Reidland's phenom pitcher, verbally committed to Michigan State on Wednesday night. See the story in Friday's Paducah Sun.

-----

With Murray State football coach Matt Griffin staying in Murray on Saturday to serve his one-game suspension issued by the OVC, it looks like defensive coordinator Rich Nagy will be taking the reins against Western Kentucky.

Nagy is one of few veterans left on a Racers staff that saw great turnover on the offensive side of the ball after last season.

-----

I am enchanted by the nuances outside the athletes that make up sporting events. This is no exception.

Previously, I've stated my favorite mascot I've found since coming to Kentucky has been the Madisonville Maroon, which looks more like a pompom than a mascot.

But Tuesday at Lone Oak, I found the Maroon's rival. In this rare sighting, the Lone Oak Purple Flash Boy/Girl was hamming it up during the Lone Oak vs. Marshall County volleyball game. He/she was utterly hilarious and worth the price of admission.

This and that

2008-09-09T11:09:00.005-05:00

Missouri tight end Chase Coffman leaps over a Southeast Missouri defensive player. photo from The Columbia Missourian.

One of my favorite sports photos right now. That's also my alma mater hurdling the competition. Missouri is a solid No. 6 right now in the national polls.

----

Murray State's football game at Western Kentucky will begin at 6 p.m. in Bowling Green, Ky.

----

Lone Oak wide receiver Jamarielle Brown has received scholarship offers from Murray State, UT Martin and Troy, he said after Friday night's win against Crittenden County. Brown, who holds three state receiving records after last year's season, is also talking with Purdue.

----

Lone Oak coach Jack Haskins became the school's all-time winningest head coach after Friday's win against the Rockets. His 32-16 record in just four years (plus two games of this, the fifth season), beats Tom Pandolfi's 31-32 record from 1979-1984.

MSU vs. Lambuth - LIVE

2008-08-28T21:39:00.002-05:00

13:57 4th quarter
MSU - 41
Lambuth - 17

Nico Yantko is still leading the offense. Jeff Ehrhardt is out of his pads, arm tucked against his chest under a gold shirt and jacket.

MSU vs. Lambuth - LIVE

2008-08-28T20:16:00.002-05:00

HALFTIME

Murray State 17
Lambuth 14

Nico Yantko went in late for injured quarterback Jeff Ehrhardt. Ehrhardt looked to get banged up on a running attempt earlier, and went into the locker room where remained. The injury looked to be to his throwing arm.

Yantko's stats are impressive for never playing a collegiate football game at quarterback. His bio jumps from UT Martin to Iowa Central Community College where he did not play football. He is listed as a junior and has seen time in six games, but has no stats, according to the MSU Media Guide.

Yantko's drive resulted in a field goal for the Racers.

He passed for 23 yards completing 3-4 passes and ran for 11 yards. Ehrhardt was 6-13 with 122 yards and one touchdown. His longest pass was a 50 yard toss to DeAngelo Nelson.

The Racer Band is rocking with a rendition of Turn the Beat Around.

MSU vs. Lambuth - LIVE

2008-08-28T19:40:00.003-05:00

9:56 second quarter
MSU -7
Lambuth - 7

The Eagles scored on a 6-yard run from tailback Edward Robinson after the Eagles received good field position on a Racer penalty with 6:44 left in the first quarter.

Racer senior safety Will Werner interceped Lambuth quarterback Josh Garza with 11 minutes left in the second quarter for the Racers first score. Werner ran for 66 yards, the first time since 2004 the Racers have returned an interception for a touchdown.

Statwise, there's not much difference. The Racer offense looks scrapped together. The defense looks as if it hasn't seen a live play since spring. Except for Werner.

But it's the first quarter. Last season, the Racers allowed Lambuth two touchdowns before responding with five straight. Everyone needs some time to get the kinks out.

MSU vs. Lambuth - LIVE

2008-08-28T18:52:00.003-05:00

The jockey for Racer One just got thrown from her horse after taking an entry lap during the preshow. She is up and walking.

Murray State vs. Lambuth begins in 6 minutes and 20 seconds. Check back for more.

Class 6a extras

2008-08-27T02:00:00.000-05:00

The way a lot of the Class 6a football coaches talk in the first district, the district champion could just as likely be determined by way of lottery as way of on-field performance.

Daviess County coach Marcus Kimbrell reports that 100 kids grades 9-12 have come out for the season. If the Panthers can keep 3/4 of those players in the system, the future looks bright.

The Panthers lost just seven players, the fewest of any District 1 team. They also start two Governor's Scholars in Joey Kramer and Hunter Jagoe.

---Clay Clevenger at Henderson County is moving his returners around, experimenting at the positions to find the right fit. The Colonels won't be very deep, but will return running back Mondo Theus, a physical kid, and quarterback Jeremiah Coursey.

--- Graves County probably took the biggest hit of all the teams, losing 22 seniors. The Eagles don't return a lot and have small junior and senior classes, therefore relying on some inexperienced underclassmen. While that won't be a bad thing in the future, this season the Eagles will need plenty of crowd support with a tough schedule on the docket, coach Mike Rogers said.

Cassidy McAlpin will play both ways at linebacker and tight end, but will likely find himself in other roles throughout the season.

Coach Rogers was the only coach I talked to in these two weeks who mentioned his kickers, Isaac Sims and Tyler Willett. Both will be counted on for their experience.

---Marshall County will only be as good as its 17 seniors - four of whom saw significant time at the varsity level. Coach Scott Shelton stopped short of calling his team young, just a tad inexperienced.

Senior Denver Seay will take over the quarterback spot after playing defensive end last season. At 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, Seay will be able to withstand a few knocks and knicks.

Wide receiver Josh Madding returns as one of the Marshals best and most experienced players. Madding was invaluable on both sides of the ball last season and looks to be a playmaker again.

Scott Williams will work into the starting line up, as well, as a receiver and safety. Williams is the younger brother of running back Alan Williams, who set state records as a junior before graduating last season.

---Madisonville-North Hopkins is another team to look out for this season. The Maroons (best mascot ever, btw), started off last season a strong 4-1 until quarterback Matt Levin went down with a broken ankle against Marshall County. The Maroons finished last year 5-5.

If the Maroons can get the ranks up to speed and truly start 22 different players, they will be a mess to tangle with.

Class 3A football extras....

2008-08-26T02:00:00.001-05:00

I'm still no Joey Fosko when it comes to area football, but give me some time. I believe I've figured out where every school in the region is located, so now I can concentrate on Xs and Os and the names in the game. Right? Let's hope so.

Today I profiled Class 3A District 1 football where Paducah Tilghman is the only local team on the docket. There's no doubt the Tornado will once again be at the top, but who takes the runner-up spot is in question.

Union County looks to be strong once again after finishing second in the district last year. Webster County could be strong; I couldn't get a hold of coach Andy Corbin to find out.

Coach Nick Eckert at Union County hopes the coaching change will benefit the competition, not the Tornado. The district knows little of new Tornado coach Randy Wyatt, but remembers Perry Thomas well.

"I think the new coaching situation is going to help them a little bit," Eckert said. "Perry was an outstanding coach there. He’s going to be hard to replace. He did a lot with their kids."

Thomas was 76-35 for the Tornado in seven years, leading last year's team to the Final Four, falling to eventual champion Louisville Central on a last second field goal. Thomas is now the head coach at Campbellsville University.

Wyatt spent time under Thomas as the offensive coordinator, but most recently focused his attention on the duties of head boys track coach. He was also a standout athlete at Tilghman as a youngster.

With Wyatt's characteristic swagger unchecked, teams in the district will at least find the Tornado motivated and excited to play.

---Marshall Enoch at McLean County is trying to build the program, one step at a time. Numbers are improving and the program now has freshmen and junior varsity teams. Enoch also went down to the elementary teams, begging coaches to teach the basic fundamentals of blocking, tackling and hitting. The strategy paid off with the elementary teams competing for championships in Owensboro, something that has never happened before.

---Josh Staples is now the head coach at Muhlenberg South after serving as the team's offensive coordinator. Staples is trying to bring a community buzz back to the program and is working on building. The team just wants to make it to the playoffs, which hasn't happened since 1995.

Tidbits

2008-08-15T15:51:00.003-05:00

Associated Press photo, Nadia Liukin

I got teary-eyed when Shawn Johnson was nearly perfect on her floor routine last night. That meant Nastia Liukin won the all-around gold medal in women's gymnastics. She is one of three Americans to win the all-around gold — Carly Patterson did it the last Olympics and only Mary Lou Retton had done it before.

Johnson got second place, meaning the U.S. was one and two on the medal stand.

----
Update: My softball team lost Tuesday night. It was disheartening. We just fell apart after our third baseman was injured with a ball to her foot. Tonight though, my church can redeem itself if the men's team wins all three of its games to win the championship through the loser's bracket.

So not only did I lose Tuesday, but I missed Michael Phelps win another two gold medals. Sadness on all accounts.

---
Murray State's football game against Indiana will be shown on the Big 10 Network. Don't get too excited, though. Very few people will get the channel, and I doubt cable subcribers even have a chance at it.

---
After close analysis of Murray State's football media guide, it should be noted that defensive end Austen Lane has quite an impressive achievement under his name.

Lane recorded his first collegiate sack when playing as a true freshman at Missouri in 2006. He sacked Chase Daniel, last season's fourth-place Heisman trophy finalist. That's pretty awesome.

Blissfully ignoring you

2008-08-12T15:01:00.003-05:00

I feel like the little girl, above, in this Associated Press photo. lalalalalala! I can't hear you!

I get the majority of my sporting news from espn.com. Since the Olympics have started, I care about only one thing. The Olympics.

While espn.com has good coverage of the events, they're also having to report on the other left-behind sports. College football. Pro football. Major league baseball.

Sorry sportscasters and sportswriters of our country, unless their colors are red, white and blue and are competing for medals, I don't care.

*Inserting fingers in ears. Lalalalalalalalalala!*

I bypass Sportscenter on my TV and head right back to NBC. Even the newscasts I watch are China-focused, which I can't get enough of. Bring me more of Brian Williams' culture pieces!

It's ridiculous. I watched three hours of swimming and men's gymnastics last night. Those are not typical revenue, viewer-producing sports. Yet, I was entranced.

On yahoo.com, I've read nearly every snippet of Olympics news and columns the Web juggernaut puts on my homepage.

It kills me to think I'll miss even a fragment of tonight's events. My church league softball team will be taking the field for playoffs. I can't miss out on playing right-center field, but I might miss Michael Phelps!

Red, white, blue and gold. That's what I'm talking about.

Epitome of Olympic greatness

2008-08-11T11:17:00.003-05:00

It was late and I wonder how many Americans actually watched the race live.

Those who didn't watch it live I am sure have read about it in today's morning papers or seen it replayed over and over again on TV.

The 4X100m was amazing. I watched the first three American swimmers, Michael Phelps, Cullen Jones and Garrett Weber-Gale with interest. The big story line was the French, and how they vowed to 'smash' the Americans. Countless times I've heard epithets like that and seen them blown to smithereens.

It looked like the French might come away with a gold medal.

And then Jason Lezak was swimming the last leg for Americans. I gave up hope, and resigned myself to seeing Phelps' dash for eight gold medals die. But Lezak didn't give up.

He won.

I was screaming and high-fiving my fiance. Then I started laughing at Phelps' supremo screaming, taut muscles and all.

This weekend was filled with little other than Olympic watching. The opening ceremonies can't be topped. I watched the gymnastics preliminaries and remembered the fantastic performance of Keri Strugg from years past.

Tonight, I'll be back on the couch, waiting for more.

Schwag

2008-07-29T16:21:00.003-05:00

I wasn't even expecting to walk into the World of Outlaws trailer last night at Paducah International Raceway and walk out with something other than a driver roster. It's dirt track racing. What PR guy Tony Veneziano handed me was infinitely cool: four reporter notebooks and three World of Outlaws pens.

Total score.

Reporters on various beats are invariably offered some sort of work-perk schwag from their sources. In my contract, it says something like I'm not supposed to take it if it is worth $50 or more, but politely refuse or donate it to charity. Sadly, I haven't even been tempted with something so valuable. But, I have been offered other little things here and there that make my job pretty cool.

At the Missouri School of Journalism, we're told not to take anything from any source. By doing so, our credibily is skewed and we become "beholden" to our sources to write a positive story. This was after I freely accepted a basket of ribbon fries at a Lion's Club festival. I've learned there is a balance when accepting the schwag.

I learned best the perspective of ethical gift acceptance from a NASCAR reporter I met through my journeys. I was freelancing the 2007 NASCAR All-Star race for his paper when I was confronted with a line of tables chock full of free goodies in the press room. These ranged from then-Nextel Cup schedules to an actual free jug of Junior Johnson's moonshine. People in the media room were going nuts for the shine.

I told the reporter about my misgivings about taking free things from sources. His response was cheeky, but good: "If NASCAR thinks they can buy my allegiance with a free baseball cap, then more power to them."

NASCAR was, after all, giving out the goods to everyone in the room. Home Depot even sponsored pens, notebooks and Post-It notes. I came out of there with a cap I gave my dad and a small Craftsman Truck notebook I'm still using.

And if grandma offers me a cookie while I'm interviewing her son, I'll take it if I am hungry. Debbie Keeling offered me some sweet tea while I talked to her husband Gary. Turned out to be some of the best tea I've ever had and Debbie likely felt more like a proper hostess since I accepted.

At college sporting events, reporters typically eat for free and partake in some sort of low maintenance meal. Am I beholden? No. I, and other reporters, have likely just traveled a good distance to cover the event. The meal is more of a thank-you, please-come-again, token.

I come again.

For Ohio Valley Conference media days, the organization is kind enough to hand out guest gifts. I now have two thumb drives and a super travel mug. They are tastefully covered with the OVC logo, but since I'm not boasting the colors of a single team, I'll use them.

Lately I've been offered racing T-shirts. These I sadly must turn down. I adore racing T-shirts. The day-glo neon and angular cars spread across my shoulders make up some of my favorite garb. But to wear one shirt from one driver is to appear to favor that driver and not another. Sandy Mason, mom of Street Stock driver J.R. Mason, was crushed when I wouldn't even tell her what size I wear.

Trust me, I was crushed too that you offered to give me a really well-designed free racing T-shirt that I had to decline because of any perceived bias.

But Veneziano's schwag was appreciated. I had already been at the track more than two hours, had sweated myself smelly and was fixing to spend the rest of the night collecting dust with a bit of an attitude. I'm glad it was just pens and notebooks he offered me; had it been a WoO T-shirt, I don't know if I could have stood the temptation.

Racers tabbed 8th in OVC

2008-07-24T11:50:00.003-05:00

I was a little shocked that the Murray State football team was picked to finish the conference in eighth place out of nine teams. Head coach Matt Griffin said the Racers deserved it after their 2-9 performance last season.

Personally, I feel the start of the season will be rough — likely a 1-3 start — but if the Racers can avenge last season's rout against Tennessee-Martin, I think they'll be OK for the rest of the season. I predict at least five wins, although a .500 season could be possible.

Remember, the games against this season's top three — Eastern Illinois, Eastern Kentucky and Jacksonville State — the Racers showed progress. The Racers were a touchdown away from a win against EIU and had some lapses on defense and special teams for unanswered scores with the other two. A win on the road against any of those three and they're looking good.

Jacksonville State was picked to finish the conference first, but that doesn't mean anything right now in the OVC. No team picked to finish first in the pre-season has done it since EIU did it in 2002. The championship prediction in 29 years has only been right 41.4 percent of the time.

So my question is, who has the best chance this season to get the title? Check out the poll to your right.

New NCAA football rules

2008-07-24T10:43:00.004-05:00

At the Ohio Valley Conference football media day held at LP Field in Nashville, Tenn., on Tuesday, OVC coordinator of officials outlined some of the rule changes made in the offseason for NCAA football.

Jackson, who was an official for nearly 20 years in the Sunbelt and Southern conferences, is in his second year as coordinator.

Also, because Samford switched conferences, only nine teams remain that play OVC football, which allowed the number of OVC officials to decrease. The OVC will now have five crews of officials instead of six. No officials were fired, Jackson said; attrition took care of the seven.

Changes:

Play clock —
The 15 second play clock has been eliminated. A 40-second play clock has been instituted to begin the instant the ball is dead on every play, just like in NFL games. The theory is that the pace of play will be faster and games won't last an eon. A play clock of 25 seconds will be administered under these conditions: penalty administration, charged team time out, media time out, injury time out, measurement, change of possession, following a kick, following a score, start of each period, instant replay review, and any other administrative stoppage.

Kicking — When a kickoff goes out of bounds, the receiving team has the option of taking the ball to the 40 yard line as opposed to the previous 35.

"Bill Belichick" rule — You can't film opponents play signals.

Chop block — The chop block has been defined and made into a penalty. The chop block has been defined as either a high-low or low-high combination block by any two players against an opponent (not the runner) anywhere on the field. Intent is key here as accidental grazes on the way to another player are not a problem.

Example: http://youtube.com/watch?v=vqiLlOybz9s

"Horse collar" tackle — It is now illegal to grab inside the collor or shoulder pad from the back and shoulders to institute a tackle. A 15 yard penalty will ensue. The tackle must be immediate and it is not a foul if it happens inside the tackle box. Tackling a quarterback by horse collar method while in the pocket is OK.

Face mask — Incidental face mask touching is no longer a 5-yard penalty. But it is illegal to twist, turn or pull the face mask and is a 15-yard penalty.

Head contact —It is illegal to initiate contact and target an opponent with the crown of the helmet. It is illegal to target and initiate contact with a defenseless opponent above the shoulders. When in question, the act will be a foul. Intent is all a key to the call here. Basically, this is a helmet punch to the head and neck area.

Sideline interference — Referees were spending too much time delaying the game to issue non-penalty sideline warnings. Officials will now only call sideline interference when they are actually impeded by a sideline member in their officiating duties. This will be a delay-of-game 5-yard penalty. No more warnings.
Also, if a school's marching band is playing while there is a live ball and it is preventing a team from hearing the play calls, the official can give a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct to the band.

Thanks to Jim Jackson for explaining the changes to everyone.

More on MSU softball

2008-07-08T12:41:00.002-05:00

If you read Sunday's news centerpiece of The Paducah Sun and still want more information about Murray State's incoming softball program, I've got you covered.

Field No. 6 at Murray's Chestnutt Park will be the home of MSU softball.

-----
All about Title IX

In 2004, Murray State invited Lamar Daniel to come to campus and evaluate its athletic Title IX compliance. Daniel found several problems that have kept officials busy making corrections and changes.

One of the biggest and most prominent changes has been the restructuring of the women’s sports programs with the addition of softball and the discontinuation of rowing.

Daniel is one of the leading experts on Title IX compliance, having worked with the Office for Civil Rights in his home state of Georgia for 20 years, in addition to conducting investigations into school compliance and writing manuals and literature used by the government. Just six months away from a second retirement, Daniel operates a consulting firm used by colleges all over the U.S.

A final evaluation of Murray State in December will be Daniel’s last official gig.

Title IX, a portion of educational amendments originally made in 1972 that prohibits gender discrimination in any program under any educational institution receiving federal aid, requires that school comply in three categories.

A school must accommodate female athletes based on interests and abilities, which schools comply with by meeting one of a “three-prong” test:

n Provide opportunities that are proportional to the gender's enrollment.
n Show continued growth in opportunity for the under-represented gender.
n Meet the interests and abilities of the student population.

Many schools choose the proportionality prong because of its visibility to inspectors.

“It’s not the easiest to me because you have to have a higher number of women’s sports and participants,” Daniel said.

Daniel sees schools all across the country cutting several sports programs from their lists because of budget cuts. For a school to choose to reach the proportionality portion of compliance, a football school can find compliance typically with six male sports and 10 for women. MSU has seven sports for men and nine for women.

The large number of scholarship football athletes skews the number of sports in a Division I program.

According to the roster on goracers.com, MSU will lose 20 athletes with the discontinuation of rowing, while softball will add 12 scholarship athletes, plus walk-ons. Equestrian could have as many as 50 athletes.

For the second category the awards of athletic financial assistance must comply with Title IX rules. Daniel called the third category a “laundry list” that is more subjective than quantifiable. Travel, housing, dining, and facilities are judged to be equal in affect to those offered to male athletes.

“That’s why you have consultants,” Daniel said. “You have to know how every sport operates and how they compare to others.”

----

A listing of local softball players who have gone on to play on the college level in the past four years:

Name, high school, college, college location

Division I
Brittany Scheer, St. Mary, Morehead State University, Morehead, Ky.
Sam Butts, Calloway County, Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, Tenn.
Kayla Fox, Calloway County, Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, Ky.

NAIA
April Carter, Ballard Memorial, Mid-Continent University, Mayfield, Ky.
Brittany Edmonds, Marshall County, Bethel College, McKenzie, Tenn.
Ashley Simmons, Heath, Bethel College, McKenzie, Tenn.
Bristyn Prowell, Caldwell County, Brescia University, Owensboro, Ky.
Laura Slack, Marshall County, Campbellsville College, Campbellsville, Ky.
Dria Moore, Paducah Tilghman, Lindsey Wilson College, Columbia, Ky.

Junior college
Ambur Frizzell, Carlisle County, Shawnee Community College, Ullin, Ill.
Jordan Huston, Murray, Shawnee Community College, Ullin, Ill.
Megan Snow, Murray, Shawnee Community College, Ullin, Ill.
Kelsie Beardsley, Ballard Memorial, Shawnee Community College, Ullin, Ill.
Kortney Rose, Heath, Shawnee Community College, Ullin, Ill.
Jessica Pickard, Marshall County, Shawnee Community College, Ullin, Ill.

Overflow

2008-06-20T14:39:00.004-05:00

Here are a few more photos from the June 20, 2008 front-page feature on Sherri Heckenast, owner and promoter of Kentucky Lake Motor Speedway.

Sherri Heckenast and her dad, Frank Sr., watch a heat race from her office on June 12 at Kentucky Lake Motor Speedway. Frank Heckenast bought the race track for his daughter to run under stipulation that she quit racing.

Sherri Heckenast checks the books in her office between races at Kentucky Lake Motor Speedway on June 12.

Sherri Heckenast and Late Model driver Jason Feger, Bloomington, Ill., share a quick hello before the Summernationals race on June 12 at Kentucky Lake Motor Speedway.

It's June for crying out loud!

2008-06-18T14:43:00.005-05:00

Less than 24 hours after the NBA Finals Championship game, I'm being entertained with college basketball bracketology.

College basketball!

Don't get me wrong, I love the hardwood probably just as much as anyone else in Kentucky. But it is June. It's officially summer. I'm ready for dirt track racing, NASCAR, golf and sunny vacations. Basketball is such a consuming sport, so I can't help but enjoy my vacation from it.

Talk about football season isn't even going as hot fired as it should be. Camps open up in late July/early August and I've heard nary a word about the teams.

I'm just not to a mental state where I can contemplate hoops hoopla.

Anybody else not ready for basketball?

Summernationals at KLMS 6/12

2008-06-13T19:07:00.011-05:00

Kentucky Lake Motor Speedway opened up the UMP Summernationals tour Thursday night with one of the best races I've seen in a long time. There were lead changes, crazy driving (by Jason Feger who led about 25 of the 30 laps) and big names. And the racing in both the Modified division and Crate Late Models was great, too. KLMS got Thursday night right.

The Summernationals tour will swing through six states in 31 days giving fans 27 chances to check it out. The tour will be at Paducah International Raceway on June 26.

Here's a few photos from the event:

An example of the types of "rides" you can have. Big, bigger, biggest.

Christopher, Ill., driver Kevin Cole as he gears up for hot laps.

You won't see these two in the same room much. That's Bill Roth, PIR's track manager, and Sherri Heckenast, owner and promoter of KLMS.

Sunburns and softball

2008-06-07T19:27:00.003-05:00

After spending the weekend covering Reidland's trip to the Kentucky state fastpitch softball tournament, here are a few of my musings:

Owensboro is exactly like Paducah, only not. Things seemed bigger (like the riverfront development), the soon-to-be closed Executive Inn was decked out in red neon lights, and the town had a mall, but also had a TARGET.

Oklahoma signee Kirsten Allen was more impressive because of her stature rather than her fastball. Allen, Ryle's pitcher, is 5-foot-11 and looks like a giant in the circle. Her fastball is clocked at 67 mph. She's worth her scholarship.

While it takes a good pitcher to get a team to the state tournament, it takes good hitters to win the tournament.

A 16-team, double-elimination high school softball tournament is too much to be held in just two days. One, it's a mouthful for me to work into my stories. Two, it's physically draining for all involved. Count in mid-90s temperatures this weekend, and we're talking a safety concern. I don't pitch, I don't bat, and I don't run, but I felt beaten by the time I made it to my hotel Friday after covering three softball games. I'd like to see something similar to baseball's eight-team tournament and semi-state series. I could go on, but I'll cease my rant for a year or two.

Sweat-proof sunscreen really does work! But when you miss a spot or have the strap of your messenger bag rub it off your shoulders, the point ceases to be relevant. I've been burnt worse, but I will never have tan lines as ugly.

I've never seen a worse omen for the outcome of a ball game than when Christian County's Allie Blauser sent Cassee Layne's opening pitch to the outfield for a single. Wait. Nope. Felt the same thing when Kasey York hit a home run off Layne for Lawrence County. Both 9 a.m. games were losses for Reidland.

Just because a hotel or media event has wireless Internet, doesn't mean a Mac can access it. It also doesn't mean I can use the newspaper's server with the open wireless connection once it works on my laptop. Just a few small challenges we Mac users face as we relish in the beauty and excellence of our svelte machines.

Getting hot and dusty at the tournament made me think of dirt track racing and how much I can't wait to get back to the tracks.

I got a GPS unit for my birthday, and so far it's been very helpful (finding schools and ball fields in Kentucky is not an easy feat). But is not infallible. It did not list the Panera Bread Co. as a possible food option to take me to, so I had to improvise and drive down Frederica until I found it. And it was good, as usual.

The tournament marked my one-year anniversary in Kentucky and with The Paducah Sun. I have now officially experienced nearly everything sports-related pertaining to my job. Things from here will be old hat (I hope). My favorite events this year? I've got to say, the regional volleyball tournament rocked my face off — one of the best post-season atmospheres I saw. And accompanying the Murray State women's basketball team to Maryland for the first round of the NCAA tournament was one of the most fun things I've done all year.

Softball's Best of 2008

2008-05-31T06:00:00.000-05:00

I haven't been to every ball field or seen every team play, but I think I can give you a good idea of the Best of Western Kentucky softball. photos by Lance Dennee

My picks for a Fantasy Team:

Samantha Gillum, third base, Graves County — This kid's got a heck of an arm and she'll use it, as exemplifed in the First Region tournament.

Jordan Gilland, second base, Marshall County — Not sure I've seen her make but one routine play. The rest of her outs have been fly-through-the-air, dive-in-the-dirt. She's a hitter, too.

Sam Butts, shortstop, Calloway County — Butts was responsible for at least eight defensive outs against Reidland in the First Region championship game. She's hot at the bat, and definitely deserving of the Austin Peay softball scholarship.

Lindsey Bridges, first base, Lyon County — Softball savvy, Bridges lives up to her cleanup batter status.

Karson Canup, right field, Reidland — Canup loves to play softball and it shows when she runs into the dugout with a huge smile on her face after a third out. Canup's two shoestring catches helped seal pitcher Cassee Layne's no-hitter in the First Region championship win. She's a clutch hitter, too.

Lauren Elder, centerfield, Graves County — All-around good player who helped keep the Eagles alive in the opening round of the First Region tournament against Reidland with big catches in the outfield.

Brittany Fox, left field, Calloway County — Fox can hit the ball as evidenced with a 2-for-3, 2 RBI performance against Ballard Memorial in the semifinal game.

Emily Montgomery, catcher, Heath — Still a young one, Montgomery goes well with Heath pitcher Kelleigh Jones and everytime I've seen her, she's a hitter. Honorable mention: Morgan Harrell, Reidland.

Cassee Layne, pitcher, Reidland — Layne has a pocket full of tricks and she can hit nearly any spot in the strikezone at will. She's fast, accurate, and has a "baffling" changeup, as more than one opposing coach has reported. Honorable mentions: Kelleigh Jones, Heath, and Alexis Rodgers, Ballard Memorial. Both pitchers are fast, and hit the ball well. Rodgers could be the best batter in the region.

Best warm-up music: Calloway County. The only school to play Old Crowe Medicine Show's song 'Wagon Wheel' as a peppy tune. Also, not even the radio stations play Taylor Swift's fun, alternate version of 'Picture to Burn'. Props to you, Lakers.

Best food: Heath. Grilled chicken and the occassional barbecue keeps Dusty from punching into McDonald's. Honorable mention goes to Ballard Memorial. The Bombers are the only school I've found to serve french fries. Way to go.

Quotable coach: Jennifer Burnham, Marshall County. She insists her best stuff be off record, but she doesn't lack for words.

Best uniforms: Calloway County. A nice blend of navy and red, without being too busy, shiny or plain.

Best 2008 surprise: Graves County. Going 8 innings with Reidland is an accomplishment. Beating Ballard Memorial for the Third District championship is admirable. And with only two seniors lost, look for the Eagles to be a competitor next season.

Third District tournament softball pitchers

2008-05-19T22:16:00.007-05:00

Pictures from the Third District tournament I covered tonight.

Alexis Rodgers, Ballard Memorial

Samantha Mullins, Graves County

Jaclyn McCuiston, Mayfield

Carli Cummins, St. Mary

Run, Oscar! Run!

2008-05-16T11:09:00.003-05:00

Oscar Pistorious was earlier denied the right to attempt to qualify for the Olympics.

The 21-year-old South African sprinter wasn't a druggie and had no record of steroid use. His apparent flaw was that he didn't have feet.

Pistorious, a double-amputee, runs with carbon fiber blades that connect to his knees. He has competed in the Paralympics and holds the 400-meter world record of 46.56 seconds. The International Association of Athletics Federations originally ruled that the blades would give him a competitive advantage against able-bodied athletes.

He appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which ruled that no proof of an advantage existed. A team at MIT proved that the Cheetah Flex Foot he wears do not give him an advantage.

Now, he has the opportunity to qualify for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. If he doesn't qualify this year, he has a chance of being selected as a member of the South African 1,600 meter relay team, or he can still work to qualify for the 2012 Olympics.

I'm just shocked this was ever an issue. Pistorious' time of 46.56 in the 400 is just a second off the Olympic minimum standard, despite being without feet and fibulae.

Do his J-shaped legs give him an advantage? Absolutely not. The only way he would have an advantage is if they were strapped on to turbo boosters or jet engines.

So run, Oscar, run. Show the world what you can do.

A thousand words

2008-05-10T22:52:00.006-05:00

For the third year in a row, the Reidland softball team won the All A Classic on Saturday in Jeffersontown, Ky.

Reidland pitcher Cassee Layne was horrified at the thought these photos could make it into the paper product of The Paducah Sun. I somewhat appeased her fear by telling her they would wind up on my blog, which is on the WORLD Wide Web.

In what I would like to call a freak accident, Layne stretched a ligament in her foot the day before leaving for the All A Classic state tournament (which Reidland won). She was still needed to pitch, so she decided to tread lightly and hold back Saturday. All 51 strikeouts worth (26 innings).

Reidland's road thus far...

2008-05-10T13:09:00.003-05:00

In Jeffersontown —

Reidland has won its first two games — against Walton-Verona, 8-1, and against Model, 4-0.

Against Model, Reidland pitcher Cassee Layne struck out 16, taking her total to 24 for the day. Against WV, junior varsity pitcher Jasmine Matchen threw the last two innings of the game in only her second varsity outing. After working out the nerves, she retired four batters, issued two walks and allowed one run with one hit.

What was supposed to be a two-day tournament has now turned into a one-day marathon, with the championship game slated to begin at 9 p.m. The tournament was reorganized due to impending doom and rain on Sunday. Reidland plays next at 5:30 p.m. (All times Eastern).

Non-softball related....There is a Moe's a mere mile away from my hotel that I found after scouting the locations on the Internet. Moe's Southwest Grill is my all-time favorite fastfood joint — a healthy option and a unique spin on Subway, only TexMex. I've already eaten there once today, and a second time is a strong possibility unless I can find a Panera Bread Co.

If I ever become independently wealthy, you can bet one of the two franchises will be coming to Paducah. If you are independently wealthy and want to bring one or both of the franchises to Paducah, my daily proceeds will likely meet your profit quota.

-Cheers.

A design mind

2008-05-02T14:44:00.003-05:00

Designing is not my forté. I do it, however, to make myself marketable in a highly competitive job market.

At The Sun, when I am on "slot" (another name for the sports design desk), it usually means someone is on vacation. In this case, editor Steve Millizer took his week-long break, so I had to substitute Wednesday and Thursday for page designer Greg Stark's days off.

Wednesday nights for a designer are usually smooth sailing. Since Wednesday nights are historically reserved for church and religious times, high school athletics have largely taken the night off. We do get call-ins for some games, but the night is normally not too hectic.

Thursday night, I was ready, but it still wasn't enough. I had five pages to take care of, which is more than I usually have been asked to design. And then, as per the editor's request, I had to try and find photos to go with all of the stories.

If you are not a design person, or interested in the process, then you probably already stopped reading ages ago, and that's OK. You're not reading this.

But for those of you who have some design experience, you know the more items you need to include on a page means more time.

I had 12 photos, one logo and one graphic to place on the pages. This means tweaking sizes of the boxes and the photos, making sure the subject will appear as we want it to in the morning. Then we have to tweak the cutline, or caption, information. I have to change the fonts and resize the boxes. It's tedious, especially when all the boxes have to fit together in one rectangular page.

Then, for the local sports roundups, I had extra work to do. We had plenty of call-ins and lots of information to put together. Those little agate lines, the teeny, tiny lines for scores, don't just happen that way magically. Each box score must be formatted upon its arrival on my page. We do as much as we can to prepare for the boxes, but you always have to line things up once the scores come in. And for that part of the paper, you are most always up against deadline. Games end late, and we wait for the calls. And with our extra-early 10:30 p.m. deadline because of the new press, things get dicey.

While you are designing, you are taking these calls. Jon Futrell helps with the calls, but the designer inevitably has to answer some. And while you are designing, you must keep up with sending the pages down to the press room so they can take care of that operation. You write headlines and edit the stories. It's tough.

I spent the night glued to my chair, eyes never leaving the screen, to get things done on time. I had a bottle of Tums by my side, ready to battle the stress that was boiling up.

And then I made what I consider a very gross error: I spelled a guy's name wrong.

It was my fault, my story. The one I had written earlier that day.

I discovered the error this afternoon and about vomited. I thought an "i" was supposed to be a "y". It wasn't. I even put the name in the headline.

Reporters, editors and designers don't like mistakes. When we make mistakes, we look like idiots, and you the reader lose trust. That's why we edit things before they go into the paper and ask good questions.

I just didn't ask the right question.

So Friday afternoon, instead of furiously checking my photos to make sure tiny black lines bordered every one of them, or if I got in all the scores, I had to bemoan my mistake.

I feel awful. I apologize. I'll never spell his name wrong again.

I'll remember to always ask how you spell your name, even if it's the simple "Smith" or "Jones". Twice. Three times.

And I won't have to design for another six months!

Bonjour!

2008-04-23T23:34:00.002-05:00

I ate my Pop-Tarts while watching SportsCenter yesterday morning.

This is a far cry from how last week’s mornings were spent.

Last week I was eating fresh baked brioche and croissants covered in fresh butter and preserves for breakfast while conversing with friends in a foreign country that had never heard of SportsCenter, let alone broadcast it.

Last week, I was in France on a dream vacation (hence the absence of my byline from The Sun). One that included about three minutes of anything sports related.

My three minutes of sports included a drive by the Stade de France, an 80,000 capacity stadium that houses the French rugby and football (soccer) teams. Then I caught about 20 seconds of football clips on the French-speaking news station.

And I wasn’t even trying to isolate myself from sports.

The French culture does not put such a high value on sports like the U.S. does. The papers might have a page, at most, of sports coverage, not entire sections like we do.

For the most part, schools don’t put an emphasis on athletic extra-curricular activity. There are no basketball teams competing for district titles, no baseball teams running bases and certainly no dirt track racing.

A French native I spent a good deal of time with this week said her high school, which is considerably different than one in the U.S., had a fairly prestigious rugby team., which, again, was unusual for French schools. Her focus growing up had been spent on learning: She knows three languages, and is studying to become a journalist, which I understand to be a prestigious and hard-to-achieve status in France.

I did come to know that the French football team in Marseille, the Olympique de Marseille, is a pretty big deal. Say one word against it in a bistro and you might get knifed.

But other than the world fetish of football that the U.S. still has yet to grasp, I was without sports (which wasn’t a bad thing at all for me while on vacation).

Now that I am back in the U.S., I am amazed to see how much of sports consume my life, despite being the main theme behind my profession. I can’t drive five miles in any direction without coming into contact with it in any way.

Rolling into Reidland, Lone Oak, and Calloway County are highway signs proclaiming state champions of some sort. In France, signs like that might say, “Aix en Provence: Home of Paul Cézanne.” (He’s a famous Impressionist painter for the curious)

I’m not complaining, and I’m not praising. It’s just one of many cultural differences between the U.S. and other countries.

****

One of the highlights of my trip was touring the principality of Monaco, which just happened to be setting up for the 79th Monaco Grand Prix.

Monaco is an affluent “country” surrounded by France and the Mediterranean Sea that speaks French, is defended by the French and whose football team competes in the French National Championship. But it’s not in France.

Anyway, traipsing along the streets of Monte Carlo, we discovered all sorts of barriers being put up and construction. Upon further inspection, the barriers were for safety and the sides of the streets were painted with red and white stripes for boundaries. The grandstands were being built on top of store fronts and banners were everywhere advertising for the May 25 race.

The famous Grand Prix snakes through the city and is thought to be one of the most dangerous courses in the world. The streets are narrow, the course has a tunnel and two drivers have lost their lives when they tumbled off the course and into the sea.

Formula 1 might not be my kind of racing, but even I can salivate over one of the coolest events in motorsports history.

Media's madness about women's athletics

2008-04-09T14:17:00.003-05:00

As of 1:00 p.m. on the front page of espn.com, there is nothing about the National Championship game that was played on Tuesday night.

If you got all of your sports news from espn.com, you would likely have missed the women’s NCAA National Championship game entirely last night.

I’m more than mad with what our media has done to help the cause of women’s basketball and women’s sports in general.

For the men’s NCAA National Championship game, days were spent giving credence to the two teams involved: Kansas and Memphis. Espn.com designed a whole new top to its front page, involving cutout pictures of players and coaches as a preview to Monday night’s game.

The next day, Tuesday, the day of the women’s NCAA National Championship game, a feature story on Tiger Woods’ caddie took up the main story spot nearly all day on the Web site. The women’s game preview didn’t show up prominently until about three hours before game time. No fancy headlines. No fancy cutout photos. No extra fanfare.

And now, at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, there is not even one headline link to a story about last night’s game. That was not the case yesterday reporting on the men’s game.

The women’s game was shown on ESPN. The men’s game was shown on the CBS network. My parents, along with countless other people in the world, still don’t have cable or satellite and were barely aware the game was even going on.

I watched the game, and also watched all the promos for ESPN. The cable network actually split-screened for a moment, coming out of a timeout, to highlight Manny Ramirez as he ran the bases to score for the Red Sox on a Placido Polanco error.

Millions of people would have killed CBS had they split-screened to highlight a promo for the nightly news. But apparently since it’s a women’s game, it’s OK to show some disrespect.

Best plays of the day that night on ESPN’s highlights did not include a single play from the women’s championship game. Instead, we watched two highlights for foreign soccer.

And it’s not just this Web site that has me mad, it’s the whole media and pop culture surrounding the sport. It’s the people who still come at me saying they’d rather watch “paint dry” than a women’s or girls’ basketball game.

Sports Illustrated has a link for Tennessee’s title game, as the third in a list of the top stories. An NFL mock draft and NHL previews headline the top feature spot.

Do we have office pools fixed on the women’s bracket? Of course not.

Where is all the fanfare for Tennessee coach Pat Summitt’s eighth National Championship? She is only two away from tying John Wooden’s collection of 10 while at UCLA. The program is one of a handful that has won back-to-back titles.

I’m more than bitter. I’m mad. The disparity has gotten better with time, no doubt, and I applaud that. And when you think of other women’s sports that get no media coverage on any level, that bristles my feathers, too.

It starts with the fans, people. Start buying tickets and going to games. Please prove to the media that women’s basketball is something to get behind. Because when the people want it, the media generally responds.

Rain, rain, more of the same...

2008-04-03T13:59:00.001-05:00

As of lunchtime, the rain seems to be over for a little bit today.

But the rain we did get is a big downer for me and my plans for the day, and the radars predict more coming.

I was going to head to the Calloway County at St. Mary softball game this afternoon. While likely not a region showdown, the game had promises of being close since both teams played earlier in the season with Calloway coming out with an 8-6 win. But now with the rain and the cruddy weather, fields are going to be too wet for play.

So I’ve been left to handle other responsibilities around the office. I’m working ahead on sports previews and using the telephone to conduct interviews instead of face-to-face. I’m glued to my chair and forced into staring at my computer screen all day when I could be out filling my lungs with spring air.

I’ve worked in the office basically for two weeks now, and I am ready to get back out to games. I’m like a caged animal who is locked in at The Paducah Sun, baring my teeth and scratching at the door. Although baseball and softball are in full swing, we in the sports department are sitting in between seasons, trying to round up information on baseball, softball, tennis, golf, and track and field before we get back out to the events.

It also stinks because when we have no games at night to cover, we nocturnal-leaning sports writers have to work dayside. That means I get up before the early hour of 9 a.m. to try and get to work before 11 a.m.

I’ll just sit at my desk, wait for my phone calls and hope for better weather this weekend.

Hair today, gone tomorrow?

2008-04-01T15:06:00.002-05:00

The buzzword in the NFL is hair — long hair, copious amounts of bushy thatch — and whether it should be allowed in the league.

Herm Edwards, the Kansas City Chiefs’ head coach, leads the way in suggesting that long hair on NFL football players either be cut or somehow tucked away from the names plastered on the back of their jerseys.

The proposal will be reviewed in May at the next NFL owner’s meeting, after hearing feedback from the players. See the full story here at espn.com http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3323895

Hair has nothing to do with X’s and O’s, first downs or spying. But it does have to do with taste and dress code, according to Edwards.

For me, it seems unsafe and just gross. Watching it on high definition TV just magnifies the effeminate locks.

Imagine running around on a field with Troy Polamalu (pictured, No. 43), and getting your hand tangled in his unruly mass. Polamalu receives instant whiplash or paralysis in my eyes, similar consequences from grabbing the face mask of a player.

Not to mention that hair on anybody else’s head other than mine kind of gives me the willies. Especially long man-hair.

So the proposal is out there.

I don’t think the NFL can mandate a league-wide hair cut, nor should it. While not in the NFL, half of Hawaii’s lineup would send a barber into retirement if the NCAA adopted the same scheme. But putting your ponytail into a bun can’t be that troublesome. Girls do it all the time.

To me, it wouldn’t be any different than issuing school uniforms or dictating that TV reporters be freakishly well-groomed.

Is it a big deal, or not? What do you think?

2008-03-28T16:16:00.006-05:00

The question a lot of Murray State women’s basketball fans are asking this weekend is “What about Rob Cross?”

Cross is the assistant coach for the Racers and has been for 13 years, joining the program with Eddie Fields, then Joi Felton, and finally spending a year at Jody Adams side before she left for Wichita State on Wednesday.

Should he be considered for the coaching position?

Since I’ve only covered Racer basketball for a year, I’m not going to pretend I have all the answers. I really haven’t spent enough time with Cross to judge his ability to be the head coach for the Racers.

He’s got a great knowledge of the area for recruiting. His familiarity to the program and the players is incredible. He is articulate in his speech and thought, which is a plus for the media.

Adams also credited Cross with the development of post players Angela Brown and Pam Bell. Brown, who came in for her last year of eligibility after sitting out a year, was a force by the end of the season.

I think Cross is more than ready and able to be a successful head coach, I just am not sure if he’s ready to lead the Racers. While he’s a stable force in the community, he’s had the fortune of studying under three Ohio Valley Conference coaches. To win conference championships and be more than a one-and-done program in the NCAA Tournament, I think you need a little more experience than what those three head coaches can give in 13 years.

Racer women’s basketball isn’t just an afterthought to MSU’s athletic department anymore. The program is capable now of competing for and winning championships in the future. The program is very capable of attracting well-groomed applicants for the head coaching position, i.e. Jody Adams.

Whomever the MSU athletic department brings in for a head coach, Cross will be a key asset, just like he was in Adams’ transition, and needs to be rewarded in some way for his loyalty to the program if he chooses to stay on and not as the head coach.

Good-bye

2008-03-27T16:42:00.003-05:00

Cliché as it sounds, I, too, was shocked by the departure of Murray State’s women’s basketball coach, Jody Adams.

For five months, I’ve talked to Jody at least twice a week (She had insisted her players call her Jody, thus nearly everyone did.). At the end of the season, as I worked on a story about her performance and achievements in only her first year as a head coach, I joked about how she would be a hot commodity to other schools. She just humbly blushed and said, “No.”

At the end of those five months, I’d like to say we’d established a good rapport. Jody let me tag around with the team in College Park, Md., at the NCAA Tournament to avoid boredom in a hotel. In return, I kept a professional distance and made sure not to bug anyone until it was my turn to ask questions.

In my time reporting, it turned out we knew a lot of the same people. I spent last season covering the Missouri women’s basketball team, and coach Cindy Stein is one of Jody’s best friends. Murray assistant coach Kerensa Barr also came out of Missouri.

During interviews, Jody always made sure to ask about me and seemed interested in getting to know me not only as a professional, but as a person. I appreciated that. A lot.

Jody’s brown eyes would constantly twinkle with mirth, especially when teasing reporters in a press conference. She could still stare a reporter down with the best of hard-nosed coaches, but she would straight talk. I appreciated that. A lot.

I figured she’d give Murray State at least three years. I think she did, too. Either way, I’ve said good-bye to a coach that I genuinely liked as a person, and that hurts a bit. I wish her the best of luck, and hope the reporters out in Kansas appreciate their new source just as much as I did.

----

On a side note, I got a chuckle out of the poster on racerfans.com suggesting that Calloway County girls basketball coach Scott Sivills be considered for MSU’s newest opening.

As much as I enjoy talking with Sivills and understand what he’s done for Calloway basketball, he’s no Division I head coach. Although his dark-rimmed glasses and brightly colored blazers would be great story fodder.

And while Sheri Coale at Oklahoma came straight out of high school to D-I, Oklahoma was a nod away from dismantling the women’s basketball program — it was that pitiful at the time. The Racers are at a crucial point of building a reputable program. Big difference.

Day 3: Game Day - Racers lose

2008-03-23T21:47:00.002-05:00

The Murray State women's basketball team lost to Duke, 78-57, in the first round of the women's NCAA Tournament.

Check out The Paducah Sun on Monday for the full story. Tuesday should have a follow up.

Come back and check out And One, just because the tourney ended, doesn't mean I'll stop blogging.

Day 3: Game Day - 3:21 to go

2008-03-23T19:54:00.001-05:00

Duke 68, Murray State 46.

Chances of a comeback are slim. Ashley Hayes has 19 points.

Day 3: Game Day - 12:15 to go

2008-03-23T19:35:00.003-05:00

The Racers were within five points of Duke after a spin move lay up by Amber Guffey. In punishment, the Blue Devils rained a barrage of baskets.

Duke 54, Murray State 34.

Day 3: Game Day - Halftime

2008-03-23T19:18:00.001-05:00

Duke 35, Murray State 23

Day 3: Game Day - 3:07 left in 1st Half

2008-03-23T18:53:00.002-05:00

Game is paused when Karima Christmas hit the ground hard on a rebound. She is able to walk away, but is dazed.

Murray State's Ashley Hayes found her stroke after sitting out for a few minutes with two fouls, coming back to score five points. The Racers are down 32-18.

Day 3: Game Day - 8:52 left in 1st Half

2008-03-23T18:39:00.003-05:00

Duke's assistant coach Al Brown decided to salute The Cosby Show with a number straight out of Bill Cosby's closet.

Murray State is finding itself outmuscled in the first half, down 22-8. The Racers have had plenty of open shots on Duke's stifling defense, but few of those shots could fall.

Day 3: Game Day

2008-03-23T17:44:00.003-05:00

Duke's mascot, the Blue Devil, wants to know, 'Who's Murray State?'

Leaving the team hotel, the air was thick with anticipation and tension. As the Murray State women's basketball team loaded the bus to head to its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament, the Racer Band and cheerleaders sent them off with music and pom-poms.

The daughter of MSU athletic director Alan Ward added some excitement when she ran shrieking back to her room in terror at the sight of MSU equine mascot, Dunker. She's afraid of all mascots, Ward said. That's why the family sits at the top of the stands at all games — to be as far from the cheering bunches of fake fur as they can.

Traveling, the bus TVs were off, no radios and riders were quiet and focused.

The Duke Blue Devils were waiting at the Comcast Center for the 6 p.m. (CDT) game, and the Racers were in game mode.

---

The team met a mostly empty arena, since it was cleared for the second round of Sunday's games. The team quickly headed to the floor to stretch and warm up and the bands quickly took up their posts.

As the officials let the fans in for the game, it was easy to see Duke brought the most fans. But the 30 or so Racer fans already in attendance were bolstered by a sea of red. Maryland fans, who watched their team to victory over Coppin State just an hour before, stayed to cheer on Racers. No Dookies for the Terps, who are Atlantic Coast Conference rivals.

Methinks the Terp fans could make or break the game....

Check back for updates through the game as I have time. The NCAA mandates no more than five updates a game for bloggers, just to let you know.

'A Time to Shine'

2008-03-23T15:24:00.002-05:00

In preparing for the post season, including the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament, Murray State guard Mallory Luckett wrote 'A Time to Shine' as a way to inspire the Racer women's basketball team. This is the video the women's basketball staff created to show before the NCAA Tournament selection show.

'A Time to Shine' is performed by members of the team.

Day 2: Practice at the Comcast Center

2008-03-22T22:22:00.006-05:00

Click here to watch a quick video of the Murray State women's basketball team in practice at the Comcast Center.

Day 2: Sightseeing

2008-03-22T12:54:00.010-05:00

When getting off the team bus to explore the National Historic Seaport of Baltimore, Murray State assistant coach Carlai Moore instructed players to meet the bus on Light Street to leave by 1 p.m.

The bus only had to wait for three scragglers and left to go back to the team hotel by 1:05. Not bad.

An hour and a half was all we got in Baltimore, but it was still enough to walk around and take

plenty of photos. We tried to eat at The Cheesecake Factory and ESPN Zone, but since Baltimore was experiencing plenty of March Madness traffic, the waits were too long. So I bought souvenirs at ESPN Zone and dined delectably at Panera Bread (which Paducah should get, pronto).

Northeastern crab cakes were no where to be found in fast food form.

While walking on the pier, a gull also decided to splay on me. For those not familiar with bird terminology, "to splay" means a bird released its excrement, which landed on my camera and pant leg while flying above me.

Check back later tonight after I attend the team press conference and open practice at the Comcast Center later this afternoon.

Day 1: Travel Day

2008-03-21T21:04:00.004-05:00

*Photo: The Racer Band and cheerleaders load the charter plane on their way to Maryland at Barkley Regional Airport in Paducah, Ky. on Friday afternoon.

The Murray State women's basketball entourage left campus at about 2 p.m. Friday to head to College Park, Md., where they will play Duke on Sunday in the first round of the women's NCAA Tournament.

I had the opportunity to travel with the entourage, and will until the journey is over.

Some musings from the day:

- Filtering a pep band, cheerleaders, support staff, media and entire basketball team through Barkley Regional Airport in Paducah, Ky., went surprisingly well.

- Well-wishers who couldn't make the trip to the East Coast waved from behind the fences at Barkley Regional at the plane taxied off.

- Takeoff in Paducah's high winds was memorable, especially for first-time flyers. The group collectively yelled as the plane seemed to "drop" when it hit a hard wind gust.

- Box stores and strip malls are easily recognized even from hundreds of feet in the air thanks to massive amounts of neon signs (think Hardees and Big Lots).

- Sunsets look most impressive above the horizon line.

- According to a gaming magazine tucked into the seat in front of me, all gambling winnings should be declared to the IRS. No exceptions.

- Pace Airlines offers real-size bags of Pepperidge Farm Goldfish snacks, rather than a mini bag of five pretzels other commercial airlines offer.

- Maryland in the dark looks a lot like everywhere else in the dark.

Saturday morning will entail a visit to nearby Washington D.C., for the band and cheerleaders. The Racer women's basketball team will head to more-nearby Baltimore for less sight-seeing. The afternoon holds a press conference with the teams and open practices at the Comcast Center in College Park, Md.

Check back this weekend for more updates. The more I experience, the more I will share.

Cheers,

Dusty