Championship Saturday

A few years ago, the folks at the University of Kentucky decided to destroy their basketball program, and they are now well on their way to accomplishing that goal.  But college basketball continues, and (unless you're a Kentucky fan) it looks like we're in for a great season.  Today the Dukies went into East Lansing and beat Michigan State -- as they pretty much always do.  (Izzo is 3-14 against the Dukies).  That 66-60 defeat was Sparty's first of the year, and they drop to 11th on Ken Pom.  Duke is at Number 4.  (UK is now down to 20, so they still have a long way to fall before they reach their proper level).

Now we have a game from Indianapolis, where U of L is pounding Indiana 13-0.  It's a nice bounce back for the Cardinals, who lost at Arkansas earlier in the week.  It's worrying for the Hoosiers, who had been 7-0 before they lost at Minnesota on Wednesday night.  On the whole, it seems likely that we'll see a lot of long faces when IU rolls into Lexington next Saturday.

Meanwhile, Western Kentucky is 5-2 after their trip to the Bahamas, and they will be playing the Evansville Purple Aces in Bowling Green today in the Battle of Eric.  That game tips off at 3 P.M. Central, apparently because the Hilltoppers want to make certain that only folks willing to miss the SEC Football Championship will watch.

And that brings us to the main business of the day, deciding the remaining Conference Championships in football.  So far, in the Big XII, Texas Tech is beating BYU 31-7 with seven minutes.  That would be a huge outcome for Alabama, who would probably need to win the SEC Championship to make the playoffs if BYU gets an automatic bid by beating Texas Tech.  

The SEC Championship kicks off at 3 P.M. Central, followed by the Big Ten Championship (Ohio State v. IU) at 7 P.M. Central.  That game is also in Indianapolis, and it occurs to me that there must be a lot of IU fans at the basketball game who have tickets for the showdown with the Buckeyes tonight.  I'd like to say that I'll feel bad for IU fans if they get swept by U of L and OSU, but knowing me I probably won't.  For the record, OSU leads its series with IU 80-12-5, and the Buckeyes have beaten Indiana fourteen times in a row.

Alabama leads the all-time series with Georgia 45-26-4.  Since Nick Saban arrived in Tuscaloosa, this has been one of the most intense rivalries in America.  Alabama has won 10 of the last 11, but most of them have been very close, and Georgia got a huge win to capture the 2021 National Championship.

 (Home teams listed first unless otherwise noted):

09/22/07:  Alabama 23 - 26 Georgia

09/27/08:  Georgia 30 - 41 Alabama

12/01/12:  Alabama 32 - 28 Georgia (Atlanta) (SEC Championship Game)

10/03/15:  Georgia 10 - 38 Alabama

01/08/18:  Georgia 23 - 26 Alabama (OT) (Atlanta) (NCAA Championship Game)   

12/01/18:  Alabama 35 - 28 Georgia (SEC Championship Game)

10/17/20:  Alabama 41 - 24 Georgia

12/04/21:  Georgia 24 - 41 Alabama (Atlanta) (SEC Championship Game)

01/10/22:  Alabama 18 - 33 Georgia (Indianapolis, Ind.) (NCAA Championship Game)

12/02/23:  Alabama 27 - 24 Georgia (Atlanta) (SEC Championship Game)

09/28/24:  Alabama 41 - 34 Georgia

09/27/25:  Georgia 21 - 24 Alabama

Alabama won the National Championship in 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, and 2020.  Georgia won the National Championship in 2021 and 2022.  But the last two titles have gone to Michigan (2023) and Ohio State (2024).

Vegas likes Georgia to win by 2 1/2 points with a total over/under of 48 1/2.  That would work out to something like a 26-23 win for the Dawgs.

Vegas likes Ohio State to win by 4 with a total over/under of 46 1/2.  That would work out to something like a 25-21 win for the Buckeyes.  Personally, I will be stunned if the Hoosiers are within 10 points of OSU when this game ends.

One final point.  Today, in West Lafayette, the Purdue Boilermakers (who had been ranked Number One in Men's Basketball by the AP), were CRUSHED 81-58 by the Iowa State Cyclones, who are coached by T.J. Otzelberger.  The Cyclones are now 9-0, with wins over St. John's and Purdue, and they are ranked number two on Ken Pom.

Game Seven: Fourth Quarter

OKC outscores Indy 34-20 in the third quarter, and the Thunder lead 81 to 68 with one quarter left in the season.

NBA Update

This has been a pretty good series so far.  Indiana pulled off yet another amazing comeback on the road in Game One, storming back in the last two minutes to beat Oklahoma City 111 to 110.  Then the Pacers conceded Game Two, with OKC rolling to an easy 123-107 win.  But of course, the Pacers have no intention of conceding Game Three back in Indiana.  With 6:05 left in the second quarter, the Pacers and the Thunder are tied at 42.

Conference Tournament Weekend

Purdue and Michigan State tip things off at 11 A.M. in the Central Time Zone.  They're out there banging away at each other as usual.  K-Pom has the Boilers winning 75 to 69.

Apparently there's an uproar in Indiana over the IU basketball program.  The Hoosiers are 19-13 on the year, 10-10 in the Big Ten, and they are currently on a five-game winning streak.  They'll play Nebraska in the Big Ten Quarter-Finals today, and they are ranked 84 on Ken Pom.  Now in all seriousness, that seems like a pretty typical year for IU, so I don't really know what the outrage is about.  Anyway, the IU fans can be proud that Purdue is doing so well, right?  I know that UK fans were always supposed to be happy when U of L was good, so I assume it works the same way in Hoosier-land.

Month of MLB: Day 1

So I may go with a different format for my MLB playoff entries this year, because I've decided to approach everything in a different way.  Last year, I deliberately skipped the Wild Card Round because I thought it was a travesty.  But that didn't work -- I just spent the whole month of October being angry after the Wild Card teams in the National League -- the Phillies and the Padres -- knocked out the Braves and the Dodgers.

I'm not happy with MLB's new format, but I have to live with it -- I like baseball more than the folks at MLB dislike it.  So I'm going to watch the Wild Card Round, not because I think it's fair, but because this is the system we have.

OK, so here's how the Wild Card Round will work.  There are four series, each of which is played in one location, and each of which is best two out of three.  Both today and tomorrow, we have the exact same TV schedule (all times Central, with home teams listed first):

2:08 P.M.:  Tampa Bay v. Texas (ABC)

3:38 P.M.:  Minnesota v. Toronto (ESPN)

6:08 P.M.:  Milwaukee v. Arizona (ESPN2)

7:08 P.M.:  Philadelphia v. Miami (ESPN)

I don't know what they'll do on Thursday if they aren't still playing all four series, but we'll find out.

Naturally, since we are getting day baseball, the folks at MLB have decided to play the Tampa Bay home games in the afternoon, so that we get a dome instead of sunshine.  But again, I just have to let this sort of thing go.  To be fair, MLB attendance this year exceeded 70 million for the first time since 2018, so maybe they are doing something right.

Also, don't forget our new rules:  (1) no more shifts on defense, (2) a pitch clock, and (3) bigger bases to encourage more stealing.  Since it's the playoffs, we are finally done with the ghost runners in extra innings.

1976

There's way too much going on in 2023 to focus on 1976 now, but I just didn't want to miss the chance to share this picture from today 1976's Courier-Journal ...

16 Mar 1976, Tue The Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky) Newspapers.com

I'd never seen it. The headline for the story running with the picture is, "Wooden, the king, gives 'way to Knight, the wonderkid." I may or may not read it.

In the NIT tonight in 1976, we've got Kentucky vs. Kansas State and then Louisville vs. Providence, which is so weird. The winners are scheduled to play in the semifinals Thursday, March 18, in New York.

16 Mar 1976, Tue The Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky) Newspapers.com

Back to Bloomington?

There are reports that UK is in talks to play IU again in basketball, as part of a series that would feature neutral court games and on-campus games.  This strikes me as bad news, as I don't see Calipari returning to Bloomington for another riot.  I hope this doesn't mean that he's planning to retire soon.

By the way, here's how the traditional Big 10 programs -- I'm not counting Maryland -- rank from 1997 to 2022, according to Ken Pomeroy.  The number next to each program is its ranking among all D-1 programs.  Duke is number 1.  Kentucky is number 2.  Here's the Big 10:

5.  Michigan St.

10.  Ohio St.

13.  Michigan

15.  Illinois

18.  Wisconsin

21.  Purdue

22.  Indiana

40.  Iowa

54.  Minnesota

85.  Northwestern

Over the last 25 years, Indiana is the seventh-best program in the Big 10.  Why do we want a long series with them?  Here are the other non-conference schools that we play on a regular basis (now including Gonzaga):

1.  Duke

3.  Kansas

4.  N. Carolina

5.  Michigan St.

6.  Gonzaga

10.  Ohio St.

12.  Louisville

14.  UCLA

Again, IU just isn't at the same level as these other programs.  Playing the Hoosiers simply feeds the nostalgia of people who remember Bobby Knight, and there are fewer of those people every year.  Let's move on.

March 23, 1975

Before we all settle in to watch Boston Bruins-vs.-New York Rangers game-of-the-week NHL Action on Channel 6 at 3 this Sunday afternoon, March 23, 1975, let us bask in the afterglow of UK's big win over IU as captured in the pages of Lexington's Herald-Leader ...

23 Mar 1975, Sun The Lexington Herald (Lexington, Kentucky) Newspapers.com 23 Mar 1975, Sun The Lexington Herald (Lexington, Kentucky) Newspapers.com 23 Mar 1975, Sun The Lexington Herald (Lexington, Kentucky) Newspapers.com 23 Mar 1975, Sun The Lexington Herald (Lexington, Kentucky) Newspapers.com 23 Mar 1975, Sun The Lexington Herald (Lexington, Kentucky) Newspapers.com 23 Mar 1975, Sun The Lexington Herald (Lexington, Kentucky) Newspapers.com 

I absolutely would've put this picture on Page A-1 ...

23 Mar 1975, Sun The Lexington Herald (Lexington, Kentucky) Newspapers.com

Also, the Sunday Herald-Leader has the Parade insert, which this week includes the fun of its boys' high-school all-American team ...

23 Mar 1975, Sun The Lexington Herald (Lexington, Kentucky) Newspapers.com

March 22, 1975

I'm behind on a bunch of work stuff, and I'm off college basketball for now, anyway, but I did want to make sure to get this stuff put on the HP, scrapbookstyle ...

22 Mar 1975, Sat The Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky) Newspapers.com

22 Mar 1975, Sat The Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky) Newspapers.com

1975

It's Sunday, April 13, 1975, and everyone's just mad about Harry. Even Bobby Knight ...

What's (Not) On TV Tonight (1973)?

The Indianapolis 500, that's what:

I'm not sure what Channel 3 is going to show now that the race is delayed, but the great news is this frees up my Memorial Day May 28, 1973, Monday evening to watch baseball on Channel 6. In some markets at least, that game is scheduled to be the Oakland A's at the Detroit Tigers.

And if that doesn't happen--the A's-Tigers game was rained out Sunday--I will settle for the Channel 12 sitcom reruns. Per the Paducah, Kentucky, Sun-Democrat, here's what we can look forward to at 8 and 8:30 Central:

Here's Lucy. Lucy lands the job when singer Petula Clark contacts the agency for a secretary who can also act as her companion.

The Doris Day Show. Doris spends so much time interviewing a rock music star that word spreads that the young singer and Doris are seriously involved.

I actually saw both of these episodes when they originally ran during the fake 1972/73 TV season that I've been enjoying, and I would be happy to watch them both again.

CFB53 Update

Hey, my dad went to this game. Here's a picture of his ticket.

It's fun to imagine his parking somewhere near West Drive, entering Gate F (passing through the future Terry Donahue Pavilion) and settling in to his seat and view of the game.

Dad and Mom had moved out to California from Indiana for him to start a university course of study in computerized engineering, but the school turned out to be a sham. Here's what Dad wrote about the aftermath of that experience before he died in 1999:

I dropped out and found an office job with a local heavy construction firm in Alhambra. It was there I met A.G. 

Born in Tennessee and a graduate of Vanderbilt University, A.G. was without doubt the most intelligent, honest and informative person I have ever been associated with then or now. A chemical engineer by profession, he also had earned a degree in business and finance.  It was in finance that he excelled. He was 66 years old when I first met him.

The company at which I had been hired as an assistant bookkeeper contracted with A.G. to assist them to work out some of their difficulties. A.G., having little faith in those responsible for records, promptly called a stockholder meeting and, at days end, I had been appointed comptroller. Within hours everything was pad-locked, and I had the only keys.

Quickly I learned of A.G.'s background. Back during the middle and late 1920s, A.G. thrived in the stock market. Foreseeing the coming crash of 1929, A.G. sold all his stock, gathered his wife, Tilly, and his belongings and went to France. Due to exchange value between the dollar and franc, A. G. was worth even more in France. He remained there until middle 1938 when, fearing World War II and the Nazis, A.G. sold his interest in France and returned to the United States.

By then, the United States was booming, so A.G. invested in those businesses he believed would serve a war effort and forthright earned more wealth. After the war, in 1946, A.G. once again returned to France as agent for a large American air compressor manufacturing plant and there established their sales organization. In 1948, A.G. came home again, established a small plastic manufacturing plant and produced and sold small ladles for dipping ground coffee from sealed cans and small plastic caps for soda bottles once metal caps had been removed. In addition, he contracted his talents to bonding companies, banks and other investment interests to investigate conditions of troubled corporations. He also sidelined as an agent for various universities to seek endowments for which he received 5 percent for his efforts. ...

... I found myself resented by others at the company. Hired only as an assistant bookkeeper, I now was untouchable. They also resented my work schedule, and I couldn't blame them. A.G. was more of a 9-until-noon-type person than 9 to 5. We worked maybe two hours in the morning and spent the afternoon in the club room at Santa Anita race track. During afternoons I was driver, valet and bet maker. Mornings, I gathered what information he needed and sat with him in our conference room while he scrutinized everything in detail. By noon, we were off to the races again.

New Year’s Day 1954, A.G. and I watched Michigan State play UCLA in the Rose Bowl. Jinny spent that same day with Tilly watching the Rose Parade and doing what women do.

Comments flow!

Merry Christmas 1975

NFL72 Update

There are three things I want to say about this Associated Press video.

One, Larry Seiple's fake-punt run (at about 18 seconds in) has to be the best play of its kind ever--15, 20 yards downfield, Seiple is still running by Steelers and teammates who have no idea what is happening around them. I really do believe this might be the first football play I remember actually seeing on TV. I'm pretty sure I remember a lot of hullabaloo among my family, who almost all would've been rooting madly for the Dolphins on this Dec. 31, 1972.

Two, Al Young's one-handed stab of the high Terry Bradshaw slant pass (at about 1:30) is really impressive, considering the short range and how hard a thrower Bradshaw famously was. I don't believe I had ever even heard of Al Young before following NFL72 this fall. He was a 13th-round draft choice in 1971, and he never played in the NFL again after this game. This catch is a heck of a way to cap a short career.

Three, I'm stunned that Bob Griese (at about 2 minutes in) tried that weaving-backward scramble so deep in his own territory so soon after the same tactic played out so disastrously in Super Bowl VI.

Now here are some more photographs from my memorabilia utility room/River's bedroom. Thanks again to Rob for the autographed picture of Seiple's big play against his team (that's a class gift right there, boy), and thanks again to my brother for the autographed picture of Griese (for which he stood in line back in the day when Griese appeared at an apartment complex's grand opening in Evansville).

Previous and future NFL72 reports:

• Jan. 13, 1968, NFL67 wrap
• Jan. 11, 1969, NFL68 wrap
• Jan. 11, 1970, NFL69 wrap
• Jan. 15, 1971, NFL70 wrap
• Jan. 16, 1972, NFL71 wrap
• Feb. 1, 1972, Draft party
• Aug. 18, 1972, Plimpton! The Great Quarterback Sneak
• Aug. 20, 1972, Dolphins over Bengals
• Aug. 21, 1972, Rest in peace, Ray Jamieson
• Aug. 22, 1972, The GOP comes to Miami
• Aug. 23, 1972, Del Gaizo vs. Morrall
• Aug. 25, 1972, Atlanta Falcons preview (with original Dick Shiner artwork)
• Aug. 29, 1972, Week 1 ("Larry Little and Larry Csonka ... are the symbol of football")
• Sept. 24, 1972, Week 2 (Welcome to Philly)
• Oct. 2, 1972, Week 3
• Oct. 8, 1972, Week 4
• Oct. 9, 1972, Are the Steelers ever going to get better?
• Oct. 23, 1972, Week 6 (with the Hartleys tuning in for Monday Night Football)
• Oct. 29, 1972, Week 7 (Lou Saban, O.J. Simpson and the Bills)
• Nov. 11, 1972, Week 9 (with NFL Strategy innovation)
• Nov. 23, 1972, Steve Owens's little brother against Nebraska
• Nov. 26, 1972, The Raiders close in
• Dec. 7, 1972, "Pete Rozelle had it blacked out"
• Dec. 9, 1972, Week 13
• Dec. 14, 1972, Bruce Dern is a Rams fan
• Dec. 16, 1972, Week 14 (with prayer)
• Dec. 29, 1972, Divisional playoffs (featuring Partridge Family #freakinweekend kickoff)
• Dec. 31, 1972, Conference championships (thank you, Rob and Sam)
• Jan. 17, 1973, Bob Hope and the Rams
• April 30, 2014, Rest in peace, Earl Morrall and Dotty Shula
• April 16, 2015, Super Bowl VII revisited
• July 27, 2015, Rest in peace, Bill Arnsparger
• Sept. 13, 2015, NFL15 preview (justice)
• Jan. 8, 2017, NFL16 review (perspective)
• Sept. 1, 2018, I love to write

NFL72 Update

OK, here's where things stand through eight weeks of NFL72 ...

That's per Pro!, the official NFL game program for games of Sunday, Nov. 12, and Monday, Nov. 13, 1972 ...

At some point, I picked up a bound volume of all the Pro!s published for Washington Redskins home games in 1972 ...

I love game programs ...

I'm excited about working on my Football Crossword Puzzle all week ...

And I'll want to be sure to enter the Taster's Choice Super Bowl contest ...

Of course, I don't need all week to discern how I'm going to fill out my Vitalis NFL Man of the Year ballot ...

Tomorrow's game at RFK is Giants at Redskins ...

And, as you can see, I've got pretty big plans for it ...

NBA Update (1971)

Here were the players who participated in the 1971 NBA All-Star Game back on Jan. 12 at the San Diego International Sports Arena:

-- Lew Alcindor and Oscar Robertson of the Milwaukee Bucks;

-- Jerry Lucas and (Lexington Lafayette High's) Jeff Mullins of the San Francisco Warriors;

-- Bob Love and Chet Walker of the Chicago Bulls;

-- Lenny Wilkens of the Seattle Supersonics;

-- Wilt Chamberlain and Jerry West of the Los Angeles Lakers;

-- Elvin Hayes of the San Diego Rockets;

-- Dave Bing of the Detroit Pistons;

-- Connie Hawkins and Dick Van Arsdale of the Phoenix Suns;

-- Geoff Petrie of the Portland Trail Blazers;

-- Dave DeBusschere, Walt Frazier and Willis Reed of the New York Knicks;

-- John Havlicek and Jo Jo White of the Boston Celtics;

-- Gus Johnson, Earl Monroe and (Louisville Seneca High's) Wes Unseld of the Baltimore Bullets;

-- Billy Cunningham of the Philadelphia 76ers;

-- Lou Hudson of the Atlanta Hawks;

-- Johnny Green and Tom Van Arsdale of the Cincinnati Royals;

-- Bob Kauffman of the Buffalo Braves, and

-- John Johnson of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The names that most surprise me here are the Van Arsdales (and the other Royal, Green). I knew that those guys were good players, but I wouldn't've guessed that the Van Arsdales had ever played in an All-Star Game together. It's really excellent that the uniform makers stitched "Dick" and "Tom" on the back of their jerseys for the game. Their parents must've been so proud!

A couple of months later, here's how the NBA round-robin qualifying round had worked itself out ...

And if you think that I'm being overly dismissive of the league's regular season, I would just point out that the episode of Action Highlights NBA covering the entire 1970-71 season wraps up its discussion of the regular season (and training camp) within the first 42 seconds of the 23-minute, 21-second program.

I can't believe I had never heard of "Alex the Bullet" (1957-1975, rest in peace):

Legally named “Von Brauhof,” a Baltimore Civic Center fixture affectionately known as “Alex the Bullet” entertained Baltimore Bullets fans not with thunderous slam dunks, but with cute canine tricks during timeouts. … ”Alex the Bullet” was a Baltimore Bullets team mascot from the 1968-69 through 1972-73 seasons. The energetic canine was joined by a dog named “Buckshot” to do intermission antics. When “Buckshot” died from allegedly eating too many acorns, “Tiny BB” was his able replacement. But all the while, “Alex the Bullet” was the headliner, outlasting human exhibitionist “Dancing Harry,” who paced the sidelines, casting an imaginary “hex” on opponents. When “Harry” followed Earl Monroe to New York during the 1971-72 season, “Alex” remained, loyal like a dog. ...

Each of the division champions and runnersup advanced to the playoffs, and--though Philadelphia and Chicago, as previously reported, gave it a real go--there were no upset series winners in the conference semifinals: Knicks over Hawks, Bullets over 76ers, Bucks over Warriors and Lakers over Bulls.

So, with Charlie Jones having taken over from Chick Hearn on the Action Highlights NBA mike, it's the Knicks and the Bullets squaring off in the Eastern Conference finals for the second straight year. My word, what a series this was for Baltimore! The Bullets played pretty much all of it without two of their starters, All-Star Johnson and fellow forward Kevin Loughery. They lost the opening two games, and then, after evening the series, they lost to slip behind, three games to two. But they extended it back to Madison Square Garden for Game 7, and, with about three minutes to go, the game is tied! A backup guard, Fred "Mad Dog" Carter, who was a second-year guy out of Mount Saint Mary's in Emmitsburg, Maryland, pushes the Bullets ahead, 93-91, in the late moments. With 11 seconds to play, the defending champs call time out:

(T)he Knicks … cluster around their coach, Red Holzman, who outlines the play he hopes will result in the tying basket. Holzman wants guard Dick Barnett to throw the ball in bounds to guard Walt Frazier. Center Willis Reed will set a solid pick, around which Frazier will drive to the hoop.

At center for the Bullets stands Westley Unseld. Mrs. Dickerson wouldn’t know him now. At 25, he is no longer clumsy and unsure. He stands six feet, seven inches tall and weighs 245 pounds.  

Barnett flips the ball in to Frazier as Reed comes out to set his key block. Willis is closely guarded by Unseld. So closely that the pick-off cannot be executed properly. In fact, as Frazier dribbles by, Unseld switches off to guard Walt—completing the move with a grace that belies his bulk. 

Thinking fast, Frazier knows he would not be able to shoot over Unseld, four inches taller than he is. So the Knick guard passes the ball to New York’s sharpshooting forward, Bill Bradley, in the far left-hand corner of the forecourt. Given any sort of time and room, Bradley is as deadly a shoter as there is in basketball.

But Bradley gets neither time nor room. Westley Unseld makes yet another mangificent switch. Almost as Frazier passes the ball, Unseld flows with it toward Bradley. As Bradley shoots from the baseline, Unseld leaps high, stretches higher, and deflects the ball away from the basket. Seconds later, time runs out and the Bullets have won the game. 

Jerry Sachs, executive vice president of the Baltimore team, still cannot quite believe what he saw. “We had to look at the films to make sure there wasn’t some mistake. It was that fantastic. Unseld took three men on one play—Willis, Frazier, and then Bradley.”

That’s all from a January 1972 Boys’ Life cover story by Dick Kaplan, “The Many Faces of Wes Unseld,” and the Mrs. Dickerson in Paragraph 2 is Unseld’s fifth-grade teacher in Louisville. We were a big Boy Scouts family, so my parents had a Boys’ Life subscription coming into the house for probably 25 consecutive years. I remember being thrilled to find that old Wes Unseld issue when I started collecting basketball cards and learning about the NBA later in the 1970s. But I don’t remember ever actually reading the story, which is quite good. It’s a lot about Unseld and his new wife having bought a house in Baltimore, volunteering in a local hospital and running a summer basketball league there. Also, the Unselds were sponsoring a child in Hong Kong. I love Wes Unseld, and I’m so happy he built such a fantastic, meaningful life for himself in Baltimore and Washington—but I can’t help but wish it had all been invested in Louisville instead. Kentucky could’ve benefitted from the presence of such a successful and remarkable man over the last five decades or so.

In the Western Conference finals, the Lakers, like the Bullets in the East, were injury-saddled. But the two guys that Los Angeles was missing were Elgin Baylor and Jerry West, and Milwaukee won the series in five games. The leading scorer in the Bucks' 116-98 victory in Game 5 was Greg Smith ("Captain Marvel with adrenaline in reserve") of Princeton Dotson High and Western Kentucky University!

So, with "Knicks Nixed, Bullets Ready To Buck Bucks," as the Baltimore Afro-American put it. Game 1 is today (April 21) 1971 at the Milwaukee Arena.

But, having typed that previous bit about Greg Smith, I realize that it's almost impossible that Hoptown 1971 me would've been rooting against the Bucks in these finals. Greg Smith grew up just to my west, and he went to my college just to my east--it figures that I'd totally be in the tank for him and probably the Bucks, no matter how long I've been rooting for the Tall Men of Baltimore. This is going to be an emotionally challenging series.

Oh, Kentucky (1969)

And more from the April, May and June 1969 editions of Hopkinsville's Kentucky New Era ...

Good jobs news for Hoptown ... American Snuff is out, and English candy is in ... Volt sporting goods ... a new mall ...

Turning to sports, ...

Maybe it was George McGinnis's extra motivation, or maybe it was Dick Lugar's pep talk, but this is not going to end well for the Kentuckians ...

When Tom Payne of Louisville Shawnee signed on with UK, it made A1 in Hoptown ...

No, he's not ...

This Tilghman grad ended up with a laudable career record of 31-21 and 3.89 ERA in five minor-league seasons ...

Finally, tonight, from Calvert City, ...