1978: Period of MLB

I liked Toni Tennille from the "Love Will Keep Us Together" start, and I have absolutely loved her once we saw her in "The Rainmaker" at Westport Playhouse in St. Louis, and now I am thrilled to discover again that she was on the mic for the national anthem on last night 1978's Game 1 of the World Series from beautiful Los Angeles ...

1982

Spoiler alert: Love does, in fact, turn Kenny Rogers around in this movie from 1982.

Adult Language

 I'd be so proud of myself if I ever wrote even a little bit of something that 804 people liked on YouTube.

Hot 'n' Heavy

In the second semester of my eighth-grade year at Heath Middle School, I wrote a smooth-jazz song, “Hot ’n’ Heavy.” I still have the handprinted sheet music somewhere. I’ve been working a lot to smooth jazz recently, and we have an electric keyboard, and my wife for Christmas gave me a big pile of how-to-play-the-piano books. So what I’m saying is, look out--you never know.

Croquet in Kentucky

A fascinating article in Deadspin about how two farmers from Kentucky conquered the world of croquet back in 1982.

Oh, Kentucky

"As was the case in 1983, the whole state of Kentucky shold be watching Carlisle County and its neighbors."

"When we're at our best, the Colonel is at the center of everything."

Burger Queen!

Cville's 1st parade commemorating the US bicentennial celebration. 7/4/1976 #happy4thofjuly pic.twitter.com/wqG0ShAJC0

— Druther's Restaurant (@Druthers_Cville) July 4, 2016

One hundred comments in the first eight hours after West Kentucky Star posted this one one on Facebook: "‪#‎BREAKING‬: The fireworks display in Paducah came to an abrupt end just 15 minutes after they started, due to technical issues with the fireworks. An announcement on stage was made that the fireworks themselves were damaged during rain earlier today, and would not detonate. The music was faded down and the announcer explained what happened and wished everyone a good night."

The new Miss Kentucky advanced out of the Danville bracket.

A bunch of new state laws go into effect this month.

The Western Kentucky State Fair rolls on (I hope someone wears an old Jeannie C. Riley tour T-shirt).

The Williamstown Noah's Ark park opens Thursday.

"Morehead State's Man With the Golden Voice" tunes up for Season 28.

Kentucky for sale ... would Ricky Skaggs have been HP Kentuckian of the Year in 1982? 

Lexington's Morris Book Shop is for sale, too.

Toyota is funding 63 new early-learning academies around the state.

Kentucky Power's Louisa plant has converted to natural gas.

Bad jobs news for miners. Good jobs news from Ferguson and Henderson:

NFL15: Week 1

The NFL 2015 regular season kicks off today! I'm very excited to see which of 31 NFL teams end up winning the league championship. I'll be rooting for the Miami Dolphins, the NFL72 and NFL73 champions and NFL85* co-champions.

Thirty of the 31 legitimate NFL teams play games today; the Pittsburgh Steelers begin their real regular season in Week 2. It's not necessary to publish these standings today, given that all of the teams are 0-0--I just wanted to have the fun of typing each of their names because, even though I am a Dolphins guy, I really do just love the whole, legitimate NFL. I've listed the teams by conference, in the order of their NFL14 finish. Teams with the little "-z" won their divisions; teams with the little "-y" earned wild-card berths to the playoffs. The Buffalo Bills, with the little "-x," had the best record in the AFC East, but their division championship was awarded to a team that I no longer recognize as a legitimate member of the league. 

AFC (five or six teams will qualify for the playoffs)

Indianapolis Colts-z (NFL70, NFL06 champ; NFL03*, NFL14* co-champ) 0-0

Baltimore Ravens-y (NFL00, NFL12 champ; NFL11* co-champ) 0-0

Denver Broncos-z (NFL97, NFL98 champs) 0-0

Pittsburgh Steelers-z (NFL74, 75, 78, 79, 05, 08 champ; 01*, 04* co-champ) 0-0

Cincinnati Bengals-y 0-0

---

Houston Texans 0-0

Kansas City Chiefs (NFL69 champ) 0-0 

San Diego Chargers (NFL07* co-champ) 0-0

Buffalo Bills-x 0-0

Miami Dolphins (NFL72, NFL73 champ; NFL85* co-champ) 0-0

Cleveland Browns 0-0

New York Jets (NFL68 champ) 0-0 

Jacksonville Jaguars (NFL97* c0-champ) 0-0

Oakland Raiders (NFL76, NFL80, NFL83 champ) 0-0

Tennessee Titans 0-0

NFC (six teams will qualify for the playoffs)

Seattle Seahawks-z (NFL13 champ, NFL14* co-champ) 0-0

Green Bay Packers-z 0-0 (NFL66, NFL67, NFL10 champ; NFL97* co-champ)

Dallas Cowboys-z 0-0 (NFL71, NFL77, NFL92, NFL93, NFL95 champ)

Carolina Panthers-z (NFL03* co-champ) 0-0

Arizona Cardinals-y 0-0

Detroit Lions-y 0-0

---

Philadelphia Eagles (NFL04* co-champ) 0-0

San Francisco 49ers (NFL81, NFL84, NFL88, NFL89, NFL94 champ) 0-0

New Orleans Saints (NFL09 champ) 0-0

Minnesota Vikings 0-0

New York Giants (NFL86, NFL90 champ; NFL07*, NFL11* co-champ) 0-0

Atlanta Falcons 0-0

St. Louis Rams (NFL99 champ) 0-0

Chicago Bears (NFL85* co-champ) 0-0

Washington Redskins (NFL82, NFL87, NFL91 champ) 0-0

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (NFL02 champ) 0-0

(*In NFL85, the Chicago Bears won the Super Bowl and the Miami Dolphins lost the AFC championship against a team that I no longer recognize as a legitimate member of the NFL. The Dolphins beat the Bears in the regular season, so I do now privately consider the Dolphins the NFL85 champions--but because the Bears actually did win the Super Bowl and I am a fair person, I am willing to officially declare the Dolphins and Bears as co-champions of NFL85. Anyway, there are similar problems with the NFL97, NFL01, NFL03, NFL04, NFL07, NFL11 and NFL14 seasons, and you can look up those stories. I may do so some day, but I'm not going to today. Today is the first day of the legitimate, 31-team NFL15 regular season, and I'm ready to move forward and sweep away all of that unfortunate history.)

Oh, Kentucky

Bon Appétit Appalachia!

Good jobs news from Henderson, London and Louisville.

Hiring in downtown Marion.

Ominous Christmas news from Shelbyville.

Starting bid is $1.99: "'The 'Broadway Mall' is the new look of Paducah. It presents a comfortable and relaxing atmosphere for downtown shoppers:"

The state police says traffic fatalities around the state were at their lowest since 1947 last year--and that they're projecting downward again for 2014.

TIME says Hopkins is the 631st most dangerous U.S. county in terms of safety from natural disaster.

CNN celebrates the entrepreneurship surge in Kentucky.

NPR investigates the pie-crust controversy at the state fair.

Estately assesses the commonwealth's love of Dallas, Dirty Dancing and Ronald Reagan.

Oh, Kentucky

Breathitt County was the hotbed of election fraud in Kentucky last night--or at least of election-fraud whistleblowing.

Scott County went for Matt Bevin.

Every vote really did count in the Barren County judge-executive race.

"I guess everyone is aware, especially in particular parts of our city, we have an odor problem."

Good jobs news from Louisville, Owensboro, Paducah and Pikeville.

Radcliff is giving a pre-owned fire truck to West Point.

Kentucky's longest trail appears headed for rerouting through downtown Morehead.

The expansion of Madisonville Hobbies and Raceway continues.

Springfield appears ready to allow motorcycles back in its parades--but wheelies would be a no-no, and don't go all craycray with the vroomvroom.

The state's new apiarist is a Harlan County native whose books include Bees in America: How the Honey Bee Shaped a Nation and Beeconomy: What Women and Bees Can Teach Us About Local Trade and Global Markets.

The next "Paducah Day at Busch Stadium" is scheduled for Sept. 21. We had one in 1982, too:

Super Bowl XVI

High School Baseball Update

It's an all-Calloway County showdown for the First Region Title. Here were the results from yesterday's semi-finals:

Calloway Co. 10, St. Mary 4
Murray 11, Hickman Co. 3

So the Lakers and Tigers get to make one more trip to Paducah for the Regional Championship today. Good luck to both teams.

Here are the other regional finals set for today:

2d Region: Caldwell Co. v. Henderson Co.
3d Region: Muhlenberg Co. v. Meade Co.
4th Region: South Warren v. Bowling Green
11th Region: Lex. Bryan Station v. Woodford Co.
14th Region: Powell Co. v. Estill Co.

Oh, Kentucky

This Murray State Racer is No. 5 in the nation and gearing up for tourney time.

State champs!

District champs!

County champs (sound good!)

It's always Christmas-parade season on the Kentucky desk.

Good jobs news from Bowling Green, bad for Sen. McConnell.

Opening in Cadiz, Oak Grove and Hoptown. Lagging in Etown.

Sprucing up in Somerset. Tuning up in Glasgow.

Reading in Bardstown. Rigging in Paducah?

KET news quiz!

Rest in peace, Rev. Huff, "a leader politically, a leader spiritually and a leader personally."