Oh, Kentucky

Ninety-three and still counting, and one yet to go!

And, actually, we might be up to 94 parades, if this Daily Mail story--"Decline of the town that coal built ..."--is correct that Lynch was hosting one this month. But the town Facebook page that Ann Schmidt mentions appears to be on the fritz, and there is no specific date for the parade provided.

So, for now, I'm saying 93 confirmed Christmas19 parades: Sharpsburg, Nov. 9; Owensboro, Nov. 23; Central City, Nov. 24; Lebanon and Louisville, Nov. 29;  Greensburg, Guthrie and Pikeville, Nov. 30; Boyce, Dawson Springs, Murray, Salem and Sebree, Dec. 1; Bardstown, Dec. 5; Clay, Fredonia, Harrodsburg, Irvine/Ravenna, London, Maysville, Monticello, Pineville, Richmond, Smiths Grove, Stanton and Trenton, Dec. 6; Arlington, Barbourville, Beattyville, Berea, Bloomfield, Bowling Green, Bromley/Ludlow, Brownsville, Cadiz, Calvert City, Carlisle, Clinton, Columbia, Corbin, Cynthiana, Danville, East Bernstadt, Frankfort, Glasgow, Grayson, Greenville, Hawesville, Henderson, Horse Cave, Inez, Lawrenceburg, Leitchfield, Lexington, Madisonville, Marion, Middlesboro, Morgantown, Munfordville, Murray, Owingsville, Paducah, Paintsville, Prestonsburg, Rabbit Hash, Raceland, Russell Springs, Salyersville, Scottsville, Shelbyville, Somerset ("highlighted by football team's appearance"), Trenton, Versailles, Whitley City and Winchester, Dec. 7; Auburn, Georgetown and New Haven, Dec. 8; Augusta, Benton, Burkesville, Burnside, Campbellsville, Cave City, Edmonton, Elkton, Franklin, Hopkinsville, Louisa, Mayfield, Providence, Tollesboro, Williamsburg and Woodburn, Dec. 14, and Cerulean, Dec. 21!

In Prospect, they discovered gold--in a Salvation Army red kettle outside the Kroger.

Spreading Christmas "clipper love" in Paducah.

Meanwhile over in Harlan County, Hannah Reynolds from WYMT reports, there was no opposition voiced at the fiscal-court meeting when the Second Amendment-sanctuary deal came up (and quickly passed).

Curtains for curbside recycling in Warren County?

"Camp Restoration," a tiny-home community for homeless vets, is being planned off Dixie Highway in Louisville.

Quintessential American journalist Douglas White of Henderson's Gleaner delivers his typically stellar reporting and writing on local momentum toward large-scale solar-energy production. 

Elizabethtown's News-Enterprise weighs in on Vine Grove's city-hall crisis.

Cory Claxon in The Morehead News looks back on the busy first fourth months of the local Laughlin Health Building.

Oh, Kentucky

The state's fastest internet speeds are found in Jackson and Owsley counties. "It is a gamble that has paid off," writes Kim Kobersmith in The Daily Yonder. "Residents are harnessing the power of the network to improve their lives by accessing well-paying jobs, opening new educational doors, and virtually visiting their doctors for health consultations."

"What's Next EKY?"

And how about for Daviess County's old Airport Fire Station?

Kentucky’s housing market in October: 8.4 percent more homes sold than in October 2018 at a median closing price that was 8.3 percent greater.

Bad jobs news from Paducah.

Christmas parades: Sharpsburg, Nov. 9; Owensboro, Nov. 23; Central City, Nov. 24; Lebanon and Louisville, Nov. 29;  Greensburg, Guthrie and Pikeville, Nov. 30; Boyce, Dawson Springs, Murray, Salem and Sebree, Dec. 1; Bardstown, Dec. 5; Clay, Fredonia, Harrodsburg, Hopkinsville, London, Monticello, Pineville, Richmond, Smiths Grove and Trenton, Dec. 6; Arlington, Barbourville, Berea, Bloomfield, Bowling Green, Bromley/Ludlow, Brownsville, Cadiz, Calvert City, Clinton, Columbia, Corbin, Cynthiana, Danville, Frankfort, Glasgow, Grayson, Hawesville, Henderson, Horse Cave, Lawrenceburg, Leitchfield, Lexington, Madisonville, Marion, Middlesboro, Morgantown, Munfordville, Murray, Owingsville, Paducah, Rabbit Hash, Russell Springs, Salyersville, Scottsville, Shelbyville, Somerset, Trenton, Versailles, Whitley City and Winchester, Dec. 7; Auburn, Georgetown and New Haven, Dec. 8; Augusta, Burkesville, Burnside, Cave City, Elkton, Franklin, Mayfield, Providence, Williamsburg and Woodburn, Dec. 14, and Tollesboro, Dec. 15.

Finally, the State Football Finals

As expected, we had a lot of blowouts in the state semi-finals last week.  Trinity beat North Hardin 54-7.  Male beat Tates Creek 48-18.  Covington Catholic beat Bowling Green 28-0.  Johnson Central beat Madisonville 52-14.  The only really good game was Belfry's 15-14 win over DeSales in double overtime.  None of the 11 other state semi-finals was closer than 11 points at the end of the game.  In eight of the 12 semi-finals, the final margin was greater than 24 points or greater.  As we have pointed out before, Kentucky does not have good high school football teams to support six classes of football.  But obviously the KHSAA has some goal that I don't understand, because they keep having these blowouts year after year.

Anyway, now there are only 12 teams left, and we may finally get some competitive games.  Here are your match-ups for this weekend at Kroger Field in Lexington, along with the MaxPreps ranking (all times Central) (private schools in italics):

Class 6A (1 P.M., Sunday, December 8):
(2) Lou. Male (14-0) v. (3) Lou. Trinity (12-2)

Now this should be a great game.  These teams met in the regular season, and Male won 20-17 in double overtime.  I always assume Trinity is going to win any sports contest, but Male is the only school in the state that would have a chance against the Shamrocks.

Class 5A (7 P.M., Saturday, December 7):
(1) Covington Catholic (14-0) v. (6) Lex. Douglass (14-0)

It's been a great year for Douglass, but Male is the only public school in the state that can really give Cov. Cath. a game.

Class 4A (3:30 P.M., Saturday, December 7):
(5) Boyle Co. (14-0) v. (4) Johnson Central (14-0)

On paper, this should be a great game.  Neither team has played a close game all year, and it's very difficult to pick between them.

Class 3A (6 P.M., Friday, December 6):
(10) Belfry (10-3) v. (18) Bell Co. (14-0)

Two mountain teams that did not meet in the regular season.  Belfry has more of a history in the state finals, and they just pulled out a huge win over DeSales, so they would be my pick.

Class 2A (Noon, Saturday, December 7):
(11) Somerset (13-1) v. (13) Mayfield (13-1)

This should be a very good game -- both teams have been dominant in the playoffs.  Mayfield is the only team west of Louisville that's still playing.

Class 1A (1 P.M., Friday, December 6):
(9) Pikeville (13-0) v. (34) Paintsville (11-3)

I give Paintsville a lot of credit for making it this far.  It's particularly impressive when you consider that Johnson Central also has a great team, and that Paintsville dominated a private school -- Kentucky Country Day -- in the semi-finals.  But Pikeville is just too good for anyone in Class 1A.  Pikeville beat Belfry 22-21 earlier in the season, and Belfry is favored to win the Class 3A title.  So it looks as though Pike County will get two state titles, which would be a spectacular accomplishment.

Oh, Kentucky

Catching up from the long weekend ...

Christmas parades: Sharpsburg, Nov. 9; Owensboro, Nov. 23; Central City, Nov. 24; Lebanon and Louisville, Nov. 29;  Greensburg, Guthrie and Pikeville, Nov. 30; Boyce, Dawson Springs, Murray, Salem and Sebree, Dec. 1; Bardstown, Dec. 5; Fredonia, Harrodsburg, Hopkinsville, London, Monticello, Pineville, Richmond and Trenton, Dec. 6; Barbourville, Berea, Bowling Green, Brownsville, Cadiz, Calvert City, Columbia, Corbin, Cynthiana, Danville, Frankfort, Glasgow, Grayson, Hawesville, Henderson, Lawrenceburg, Lexington, Madisonville, Marion, Middlesboro, Morgantown, Murray, Owingsville, Paducah, Rabbit Hash, Scottsville, Shelbyville, Somerset, Trenton, Versailles, Whitley City and Winchester, Dec. 7; Georgetown, Dec. 8; Cave City, Dec. 10; Burkesville, Burnside, Elkton, Mayfield, Providence, Williamsburg, Dec. 14, and Tollesboro, Dec. 15.

Oh, Kentucky

Catching up from the weekend ...

Christmas parades: Sharpsburg, Nov. 9; Owensboro, Nov. 23; Lebanon and Louisville, Nov. 29; Guthrie, Mayfield and Pikeville, Nov. 30; Boyce, Dawson Springs and Murray, Dec. 1; Bardstown, Dec. 5; Fredonia, Harrodsburg, Hopkinsville, London, Monticello, Pineville, Richmond and Trenton, Dec. 6; Barbourville, Berea, Bowling Green, Cadiz, Calvert City, Columbia, Corbin, Cynthiana, Danville, Frankfort, Glasgow, Grayson, Hawesville, Henderson, Lawrenceburg, Lexington, Madisonville, Marion, Middlesboro, Murray, Owingsville, Paducah, Rabbit Hash, Scottsville, Shelbyville, Somerset, Trenton, Versailles, Whitley City and Winchester, Dec. 7; Georgetown, Dec. 8; Cave City, Dec. 10; Burkesville, Burnside, Elkton, and Williamsburg, Dec. 14, and Tollesboro, Dec. 15.

Oh, Kentucky

Catching up from the weekend on Facebook ...

Christmas parades: Sharpsburg, Nov. 9; Owensboro, Nov. 23; Lebanon and Louisville, Nov. 29; Pikeville, Nov. 30; Boyce, Dawson Springs and Murray, Dec. 1; Bardstown, Dec. 5; Harrodsburg, Hopkinsville and Monticello, Dec. 6; Berea, Bowling Green, Cadiz, Calvert City, Columbia, Danville, Frankfort, Glasgow, Henderson, Lawrenceburg, Lexington, Madisonville, Owingsville, Paducah, Scottsville, Shelbyville, Trenton, Versailles and Whitley City, Dec. 7; Georgetown, Dec. 8; Cave City, Dec. 10; Burnside, Elkton and Williamsburg, Dec. 14, and Tollesboro, Dec. 15.

Oh, Kentucky

On the Babies 'R Us transformation in Florence.

On the Patti's comeback in Grand Rivers.

On the Christmas-decor redo debut in Columbia.

Fiber to the (Princeton) home.

Good jobs news from Berea, Erlanger, Hopkinsville and Maysville. Bad from Ashland and Shelbyville. False hope in Inez.

Turning to sports, Franklin County High's Benny Watkins Field will be under scrutiny Friday night; Martha Layne Collins High celebrates its first Division I hoops signees, and Season 4 for the SoKY Ice Rink is afoot.

Christmas parades: Sharpsburg, Nov. 9; Owensboro, Nov. 23; Boyce, Dawson Springs and Murray, Dec. 1; Bardstown, Dec. 5; Harrodsburg, Hopkinsville and Monticello, Dec. 6; Berea, Bowling Green, Calvert City, Danville, Frankfort, Glasgow, Henderson, Lawrenceburg, Lexington, Madisonville, Paducah, Scottsville, Shelbyville, Trenton, Versailles and Whitley City, Dec. 7; Georgetown, Dec. 8; Cave City, Dec. 10, and Burnside, Elkton and Williamsburg, Dec. 14.

The Highway 45 Trophy

I've never been happy with the KHSAA's decision to award six state football trophies.  It's too many trophies for a state as small as Kentucky, and it leads to dynasties and walkovers all over the Commonwealth.  Plus it has created a bunch of districts that are hopelessly lopsided.  Furthermore, the endless rounds of playoffs means that you have to sit through a bunch of blowouts in the early rounds.  Furthermore, McCracken County is stuck in 6A, which means their best-case scenario is being blown out by one of the big powers in Louisville.

So these days, I'm really interested in two aspects of high school football in Western Kentucky.  Obviously, I'm interested in the playoffs -- but only once we get down to the quarterfinals, and only for the classes below 6A.  (The annual struggle between Trinity and St. X does nothing for me.)  The games before then usually aren't very good.  Second, I'm interested in the three-way contests between Paducah Tilghman, McCracken County, and Mayfield -- the battle for what I call the Highway 45 Trophy.  For reasons I don't really understand, these games -- which are usually some of the best of the year -- are played at the beginning of the season, before the teams are at their best.  But anyway, here is a history of the Highway 45 Trophy, including last night's thriller.  (As usual, home teams are listed first).

2013
08/24/13:  McCracken Co. 23 - 24 Paducah Tilghman
08/30/13:  Mayfield 35 - 34 McCracken Co.
09/07/13:  Paducah Tilghman 21 - 28 Mayfield
Winner:  Mayfield

2014
08/23/14:  Paducah Tilghman 21 - 49 McCracken Co.
08/29/14:  McCracken Co. 38 - 37 Mayfield
09/05/14:  Mayfield 47 - 21 Paducah Tilghman
Winner:  McCracken Co.

2015
08/22/15:  McCracken Co. 7 - 21 Paducah Tilghman
09/04/15:  Paducah Tilghman 14 - 37 Mayfield
09/11/15:  Mayfield 31 - 37 McCracken Co. (OT)
Winner:  None (McCracken Co. retains trophy)

2016
08/21/16:  Paducah Tilghman 6 - 41 McCracken Co.
09/02/16:  Mayfield 48 - 26 Paducah Tilghman
09/09/16:  McCracken Co. 41 - 46 Mayfield
Winner:  Mayfield (2)

2017
08/19/17:  McCracken Co. 20 - 19 Paducah Tilghman
09/01/17:  Paducah Tilghman 14 - 47 Mayfield
09/08/17:  Mayfield 49 - 27 McCracken Co.
Winner:  Mayfield (3)

2018
08/18/18:  Paducah Tilghman 35 - 6 McCracken Co.
08/31/18:  Mayfield 51 - 27 Paducah Tilghman
09/07/18:  McCracken Co. 21 - 51 Mayfield
Winner:  Mayfield (4)

2019
08/24/19:  McCracken Co. 43 - 47 Paducah Tilghman

All-time records:
Mayfield:  10-2 (4 titles)
McCracken Co.:  5-8 (1 title, 1 retained title)
Paducah Tilghman:  4-9 (0 titles)