Overflow

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!

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

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

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

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

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!

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.