1978

Happy new year!

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Classic SEC Basketball Standings

Here are the Ken Pom rankings and records for the Classic SEC.  This is obviously the strongest year in history for the Classic SEC:

1.  Auburn:  15-1

5.  Florida:  15-1

6.  Tennessee:  15-1

8.  Alabama:  14-2

20.  Mississippi St:  14-2

21.  Kentucky:  13-3

24.  Mississippi:  14-2

35.  Georgia:  14-2

52.  Vanderbilt:  13-3

71.  Louisiana St:  11-5

Here's the Classic OVC:

106.  Murray St:  10-7

121.  Mid. Tenn. St:  12-5

128.  W. Kentucky:  11-6

224.  E. Kentucky:  8-9

273.  Morehead St:  10-7

301.  Tenn. Tech:  9-8

304.  Austin Peay:  6-11

And here's the Classic Metro Seven.  I love seeing Memphis, U of L, and Cincinnati all back together:

33.  Memphis St:  13-3

34.  Louisville:  12-5

38.  Cincinnati:  10-5

66.  Florida St:  11-5

117.  Saint Louis:  10-6

161.  Virginia Tech:  7-9

175.  Tulane:  9-8

A few more facts about the Big Blue.  Kentucky is ranked 3d in offensive efficiency, at 124.1, and ranked 87th in defensive efficiency, at 101.3.  The Cats are number 105 in luck.

Arkansas is number 49 on KenPom.  The Razorbacks are 75th in offensive efficiency (111.8) and 26th in defensive efficiency (96.0).  They are 197 in luck.

Kentuckians of the Years: 2022, 2023, and 2024

Here's the thing:  it's never easy to do these posts.  In the first place, it's usually not all that easy to pick Kentuckian of the Year.  In the second place, the end of the year is a hectic time filled with lots of other events to post about.  It's tempting to hold Kentuckian of the Year for a month like August where you don't have as much going on, but of course that wouldn't really work.  Anyway, here are the last three Kentuckians of the Year, along with an updated list going back to 2010:

The Kentuckian of the Year for 2022 was obviously Oscar Tschiebwe, the UK center who swept the honors as the National Player of the Year.  In the 2021-22 season, the Cats finished number 6 on Ken Pomeroy's rankings -- and that's the only time they have finished in the top 10 since 2019.  Oscar deserves a lot of credit for that.  He was also one of the most popular UK players of all time, and he came back to play for the Cats in 2022-23.  So he's the Kentuckian of the Year for 2022.

The Kentuckian of the Year for 2023 was Andy Beshear, who was re-elected as Governor over Daniel Cameron (the Republican) by a vote of 52.5 percent to 47.5 percent.  The total vote was 694,482 to 627,457.  Beshear's father -- Steve Beshear -- won in 2007 and 2011, so the Beshears have won four of the last five governor's races.  Their success is even more remarkable when you consider that the Beshears are Democrats.  Right now, Republicans hold 80 of 100 seats in the Kentucky House of Representatives, and 31 of 38 seats in the Kentucky Senate.  But the Beshears -- with their remarkable ability to balance the solid Democratic vote in Louisville and Lexington with just enough support in the rural parts of the Commonwealth -- have managed to maintain a stranglehold on the Governor's Mansion.  No wonder Governor Beshear is seen by many Democrats as a potential candidate at the National Level in 2026 or 2028.

So that brings us to 2024.  In many ways, the biggest story of the year for Kentuckians in 2024 was the re-election of Donald Trump.  Trump received 62.5 percent of Kentucky's vote in 2016, 62.1 percent of Kentucky's vote in 2020, and 64.8 percent of Kentucky's vote in 2024.  To put those figures in perspective, Reagan received 60.0 percent of Kentucky's vote in 1984, and FDR never received more than 58.5 percent of the vote in Kentucky.  There is a strong argument to be made that Trump is the most popular Presidential candidate in the history of the Commonwealth.  (Even Henry Clay only received 54.1 percent of the vote in 1844).  So Kentucky had an unusual stake in this election, and Trump's victory will undoubtedly resonate throughout the Commonwealth for years to come.  But interestingly enough, Kentuckians have also selected a team of officials who strongly disagree with President Trump.  Mitch McConnell's opposition to Trump is well-known, and as we just mentioned, Governor Beshear is a Democrat.  Even Sen. Rand Paul hews to a libertarian ideology that regularly conflicts with Trump's populism.  So who would be the Kentuckian of the Year from the perspective of a Trump voter?  The answer is probably Rep. James Comer, who used his position as a Representative from Kentucky's First District to investigate the Biden Administration and otherwise promote the Trump campaign.

But there was another story in Kentucky that was even bigger than the election.  Perhaps nothing captures the way Kentuckians see themselves better than the KHSAA basketball tournament.  The tournament is famous for the fact that Kentucky only has a single champion for the whole Commonwealth.  This fact captures Kentuckians' love of the underdog, and their belief that everyone -- regardless of background -- should have a chance.  On the other hand, Kentucky has always had a strong aristocracy, and that means that your chance is not always a fair chance.  The Commonwealth is a place where the little people certainly have the right to be heard, but where the big people usually have their way.  And so it is in high school basketball.  Yes, every school -- no matter how small -- is eligible for the title.  But we all know that most of the time, the champion will be one of the big schools.  That's life in the Commonwealth.

Now this balance is extremely difficult to maintain.  The difference between having a small (but real) chance, and having practically no chance, is very hard to measure.  If a small school never wins, then it becomes harder to convince everyone that they have a genuine chance.  But Kentucky has been lucky so far -- every so often, from Earlington to Edmonson County to Shelby Valley -- one of the smaller schools breaks through and gives hope to the rest of them.  And this year, that school was Lyon County.  Not only did the Lyons represent a small school -- Lyon County H.S. doesn't even have a football team -- but they come from the far Western end of the Commonwealth, which traditionally struggles in basketball.  2024 was the first time since 1967 that the State Champion came from a school west of Hopkinsville.

So score one for the populists.  But also don't forget the aristocrats.  Lyon County's success resulted from the fact that the best player in the Commonwealth and the Coach of the Year were both members of the same family.  Ryan Perry coached the team.  Travis Perry was the Star who set the all-time record for points scored and won a scholarship to UK.  So yes, the little guys had their day.  But only because they had some Big-Time talent.  And therefore, our Kentuckian of the Year for 2024 is Travis Perry.

Here is the list of all Kentuckians of the Year since the HP began:

2010:  Rand Paul (Bowling Green)

2011:  John Calipari (Lexington)

2012:  Darius Miller (Maysville)

2013:  Jennifer Lawrence (Louisville)

2014:  Mitch McConnell (Louisville)

2015:  Matt Bevin (Louisville)

2016:  Mitch McConnell (Louisville)

2017:  Justin Thomas (Louisville)

2018:  Stephanie Winkler (Richmond)

2019:  Andy Beshear (Louisville)

2020:  Andy Beshear (Louisville)

2021:  Chris Smiley (Dawson Springs)

2022:  Oscar Tschiebwe (Lexington)

2023:  Andy Beshear (Louisville)

2024:  Travis Perry (Eddyville)

Tree Today

Best of 1988 Mix

 

Ah 1988. What an interesting year when I look at the music.  I would say for me the album of the year was and is Idlewild by Everything But the Girl.  Some fun albums in 1988 that I still often listen to today.  

20. One by Metallica

     I was never a big Metallica fan, but I love the idea of the song and how they paired it with some old strange movie.  

19. Illegal Business by Boogie Down Productions

     This album was the first rap album I ever bought, and it still holds up extremely well.    

18. Out of Blue Comes Green by a-ha 

     This would be the last a-ha album I would by on its release.  A solid album that had a good month long run where it was with me every day in my Walkman.  

17. These Early Days by Everything But the Girl

     A great song.  Not much else to say about it, but lyrically it has always really hit home with me.  

16. If Not Now by Tracy Chapman

     I got into this album a few years later, but I do love this album and this song.  She is such an incredible vocal performer, I think.  

15. Where Is My Mind? by Pixies

     I wouldn't discover the pixies for another 8 years or so.  

14. Paradise by Sade

     A very underrated album from Sade.  Just a fantastic song and it really does not sound like it is from the 80's.  

13. Everyday Is Like Sunday by Morrissey

     This song and this album were big plays for me in 1988.  

12. Under the Milky Way by The Church

     I saw them live at UK and then the next night at WKU on this tour.  

11. Fisherman's Blues by The Waterboys

     Great album.  Highly recommend listening to it now, it's a fun listen.  

10. Chrysalis by The Railway Children

     A band that I really do like and still listen to quite a bit.  

9. My Philosophy by Boogie Down Productions

     The first rap song I ever played for my daughter when she was in 2nd grade, I think.  I mean played in the terms of, listen to this song and the lyrics.    

8. Dixie Flyer by Randy Newman

     I absolutely love the sound of this song.  It's the best thing he ever did, though this is a very good album.  

7. Haunt Me by Sade

     This song has grown and grown on me.  

6. A Pleasure by The Railway Children

     For a long time when I would go onto Spotify and want to hear the Railway Children they didn't have their first album but this one, their second album.  I've listened to these songs a lot more now then I did back in 1988 when I first bought it.  

5. Fast Car by Tracy Chapman

     I loved this song in 1988 still love it today.  

4. Air of December by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians

     I had a friend in college who absolutely loved this album, but this song really connected with me around 1992.  

3. Don't You Need by Melissa Etheridge

     So this song and Air of December were on the same mix tape that someone made for me in 1992, that's all I'll say about that.  But they have both stuck with me ever since.  

2. Tears All Over Town by Everything But the Girl

     Over the years different songs from this album have been my favorite, but this song has consistently been right there for me.  

1. Suedehead by Morrissey

     This is 1988 to me.  I think about working in a green house and picking lettuce and listening to this album or talk radio and that is 1988 to me.