Turning to sports, the Kentucky High School Athletic Association boys' basketball state tournament got going yesterday. This and the girls' tournament have turned into an annual exercise in fun with Google Maps for me. Seriously, I'm not denying all of the privacy, surveillance, security fears that Google Maps casts light on, but--man, oh, man--is it ever fun to be able to draw maps of the routes between two competing high schools to Rupp Arena!
I got a late start on doing these yesterday, and, by the time I did, Saint Matthews Trinity had already swamped over Paintsville Johnson Central, 70-28. Jason Frakes with The Courier-Journal seems pretty convinced that this tournament is going to end up Trinity against Scott County, and Jason certainly knows what he’s talking about. And this would be my best guess, anyway, and I know almost nothing about what I'm talking about. But, whatever, Wednesday and Thursday is no time to be get all no fun and smart about foregone conclusions at the Sweet Sixteen.
Wednesday’s other winners were Walton-Verona, 76-54, over Knox Central; Campbell County, 61-60 over Elizabethtown John Hardin, and Ashland Paul Blazer, 58-50, over Owensboro. John Hardin was undefeated, and that game apparently came down to a deal where the coach had called a timeout right before his own player hit what would’ve been a game-winning shot. And I read that Owensboro had been several points ahead in its game before losing. (Like I said, I know next to nothing about what’s going on.)
So, today, we have Louisville Butler vs. Perry County Central at 11 a.m. Central, …
… Covington Catholic vs. Scott County at 12:30 p.m., …
… Madisonville-North Hopkins vs. Lincoln County at 5:30 (GO! BIG! M!) …
… and Warren Central vs. Mayfield at 7 p.m. ...
Here's where you can get links to everything official at the KHSAA. Have fun. Comments flow!
Incidentally, I have an exclusive report that, during the "GO! BIG! M!" cheer outside Pride Elementary, one heavy-coated-but-still-cold girl instead quietly chanted, "Let. Us. Inside." "Not loud enough for anyone else to hear, though," said my source.
ReplyDeleteI've tuned in to Marsville's WFTM "Soft 96" to hear Danny Weddle's wildcat telecast of the 11 a.m. Central game. I figured it to be a mostly retro station, and, indeed, the first thing I heard was one of the old Billy Joel hits. But the next song is a contemporary hit, "Stay," by Alicia Kara (sp?). "It's not hip," my home-from-school source informs me. "It was on, like, Kids Bop 25, and we're up to, like, Kids Bop 39."
ReplyDeleteHalftime: Butler 37, Perry County Central 31.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, back in Madisonville, I just finished third in a three-player hand of Exploding Kittens over lunch. Thank you, hooping Maroons, for your regional championship, which is responsible for our third Exploding Kittens player's being at home today.
ReplyDeleteAbout 30 seconds to go in the third quarter, and Perry County Central has moved ahead, 47-46.
ReplyDeletePerry holds for the final shot, and it's a made three. The Commodores from Hazard lead the Bears from Shively, 50-46, with eight minutes to play.
ReplyDeleteWell, this is interesting. I just caught the tail end of what WFTM was saying here (I don't think this is Danny Weddle), but I think the deal is that Perry County Central has a player who transferred from Cordia High and became eligible to compete on the basketball team only today. Commodores now up, 59-48, with less than six minutes to go.
ReplyDeleteSorry ... 58-49, not 59-48.
DeleteI've never visited one of the Gold Star chili eateries, but I am intrigued with the various fried-potato offerings advertised on WFTM by the Maysville franchise.
ReplyDeleteFour minutes to go ... 60-51, Perry County Central ...
ReplyDeleteOh, my word ... Butler goes on a 10-0 run to take a one-point lead, and then the Cordia transfer in his first Perry County Central game hits one of two free throws to tie things back up at 61 with 21.6 seconds to play! This is something else.
ReplyDeleteThe Gold Star salads sound good, too.
Perry County Central steals! With 1.9 seconds to play, the Commodores take timeout, and they'll be inbounding from under their own goal.
ReplyDeleteThe Cordia transfer will trigger the play.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, back in Madisonville, there developed a hairbrushing crisis, and I don't know what happened at the end of regulation. But Butler is now ahead by two, 63-61, with 2:31 to go in overtime ... timeout, Perry County Central ...
ReplyDelete39 seconds to go ... Perry County Central misses first of one-plus-one ... still 63-61 ... Butler ball ...
ReplyDeleteBears to the line ... two shots coming ... 24.3 seconds ...
ReplyDeleteMiss ...
ReplyDeleteMiss ... Perry County Central rebound ...
ReplyDeleteCommodores fouled! Two shots coming, down two points ... 9.8 seconds to play ...
ReplyDeleteGood!
ReplyDelete63-62 ... miss ... rebound, Perry County Central, but the rebounder comes down out of bounds! ...
ReplyDeleteButler fouled ... 3.7 seconds ... two shots ...
ReplyDeleteGood, 64-62, Butler ...
ReplyDeleteGood! Butler calls timeout with a 65-62 lead. Perry County Central will have to go the floor length ...
ReplyDelete3.7 seconds ... Butler is not guarding the inbounds passer, WFTM reports ...
ReplyDeleteThree-pointer attempt falls short off the front rim! The Suda E. Butler Bears advance to Round 2.
ReplyDeleteJason Frakes @kyhighs
ReplyDeleteAlso, Butler had to cancel 10 buses of students, including one for the band, because of the teacher strike. The kids that are here had to find their own rides.
10:38 AM · Mar 7, 2019
Jason Hack @Kyfan15
All about the kids huh teachers
10:55 AM · Mar 7, 2019
Cat @BabyCatZ16
Yes, this one basketball game that the players still get to play in outweighs the importance of the students having textbooks and competent teachers in the future. Awesome trade off.
11:00 AM · Mar 7, 2019
Karen Guess Eversole @KyKatMomKaren
You are absolutely right and I’m TeamTeachers all the way. Believe me. It’s still sad and disappointing, for the kids, that it came to this. There are no winners. Unfortunately, too many politicians were left in office that are working against our teachers. ☹️
11:00 AM · Mar 7, 2019
Pirata PSC @pirata_psc
Wishing them the best in the game! Teachers could have struck another day. They're in the wrong on this one. They torpedoed all public school teams in Sweet 16.
12:47 PM · Mar 7, 2019
Here's a picture of the Butler student section in Rupp today, courtesy of the sports editor of Maysville's Ledger-Independent, Evan Dennison.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, here's NKyTribune.com's Terry Boehmker on Campbell County's win last night over top-ranked John Hardin:
ReplyDeleteLEXINGTON — Fate finally smiled on the Campbell County boys basketball team. After game-winning shots in the final seconds ended their season the last three years, the Camels got a few breaks with the game on the line and defeated John Hardin, 61-60, in the first round of the Whitaker Bank/KHSAA Sweet 16 state tournament on Wednesday at Rupp Arena.
John Hardin center Preston Murrell made a short jumper with five seconds left, but the field goal didn’t count because his coach had called a timeout. Then Murrrell and one of his teammates both missed shots close to the basket just before the final horn sounded. ...
With Rupp on break between games, Berlin's "Take My Breath Away" takes over the Maysville airwaves.
ReplyDeleteJason Frakes @kyhighs
ReplyDeleteSo, after that, we get a rematch of last year's state final with Scott County facing Covington Catholic. Folks, this job is pretty good!
12:53 PM · Mar 7, 2019
Oh, my ... crazy last couple of sessions at the Sweet Sixteen ...
ReplyDeleteKHSAA Main @KHSAA
Defending state champ CovCath mounts one of the most remarkable Sweet Sixteen comebacks I've ever seen, but Scott County escapes 64-61. Scott County led 60-41 with 94 seconds left before CovCath went on a stunning 18-0 run to make it 60-59. But the top-ranked Cardinals survived.
3:15 PM · Mar 7, 2019
Jason Frakes @kyhighs
DeleteShould be noted that Scott County's top ballhandler Diablo Stewart fouled out with 2:45 left. Cardinals were pretty much helpless against the CovCath press the rest of the way.
3:51 PM · Mar 7, 2019
OK, I'm on to Madisonville's WFMW, AM 730, for the rest of the day. I don't mean to big-time everybody, but I have become buddies with the WFMW local DJs. Just the other day, I had a very nice, extended conversation with Danny Koeber, who was just telling us about a blood drive going on until Maroons' tipoff at 5:30, about Ronnie Milsap.
ReplyDelete"Jolene"!
Dave and Sugar is an act I've heard of for years, and, seriously, I don't know that I've ever known I was listening to a Dave and Sugar song. Well, my main man from WFMW, Danny Koeber, just spun "My World Begins and Ends With You." It was OK. I tend to like layering a bed of late '70s/early '80s pop country under work more than I like any of the particular songs.
ReplyDeleteTurns out Dave & Sugar, which was (rest in peace) Dave Rowland and various Sugars, had a Charley Pride background, as does Ronnie Milsap. Makes me wonder whether my main man might be reading the HP here.
ReplyDeleteProbably not. More likely just "thought waves," as my mom used to call them.
"They've shut the lights down here in Rupp Arena, and there are spotlights all over the place." OK, WFMW is now live from Lexington ...
ReplyDeleteOur boys will shine tonight; our boys will shine!
ReplyDeleteOur boys will shine tonight, right down the line!
Our boys will shine tonight; our boys will shine!
When the sun goes down and the moon comes up, our boys will shine!
Final: Madisonville-North Hopkins 57, Lincoln County 49. TWENTY-THREE straight wins!
ReplyDeleteDoes the tournament still bounce between Louisville and Lexington or is it always in Lexington? Or am I thinking of something that never existed?
ReplyDelete