XXXIII Olympic Summer Games, Paris 2024 (Day 11)

Paris 2024 medals leaders:

1. United States 21 gold, 30 silver, 28 bronze (79 total)

2. China 21, 18, 14 (53)

3. France 13, 16, 19 (48)

4. Australia 13, 12, 8 (33)

5. Great Britain 12, 13, 17 (42)

6. South Korea 11, 8, 7 (26)

7. Japan 10, 5, 11 (26)

8. Italy 9, 10, 6 (25)

9. Netherlands 7, 5, 5 (17)

10. Germany 7, 5, 4 (16)

Previous reports:

-- I Olympic Summer Games, Athens 1896

-- XXX Olympic Summer Games, London 2012 

-- XXXI Olympic Summer Games, Rio 2016 

-- XXXII Olympic Summer Games, Tokyo 2020

-- XXXIII Olympic Summer Games, Paris 2024 (Day -2-Day 8)

-- XXXIII Olympic Summer Games, Paris 2024 (Day 9)

-- XXXIII Olympic Summer Games, Paris 2024 (Day 10)

CFB23: Week 2

The Louisville Cardinals on Thursday improved to 2-0 on the college-football season by beating the visiting Murray State Racers, 56-0, in a game at L&N Stadium. 

I had no idea that Louisville’s home field is now called "L&N Stadium." That's short for "L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium," and it's the same place off I-65 that previously had been called "Cardinal Stadium" and "Papa John's Cardinal Stadium." "The stadium site of the former South Louisville Rail Yard is also the original site of the credit union, founded in 1954 to serve L&N Railroad workers ...," says Wikipedia.

That page lists a number of traditions associated with the stadium--my favorite of which being, "Prior to the game, the Cardinals exit the Howard Schnellenberger Complex and each member touches the Johnny Unitas Statue before running onto the field."

Murray State is now 1-1.

So now we turn to Saturday's action, highlighted by the undefeated Western Kentucky Hilltoppers' hosting of the Houston Christian Huskies at 6 p.m. Central in Bowling Green's Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium. Here are some of tomorrow's other CFB23 games that interest me:

• Vanderbilt Commodores at Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C., at 10 a.m.
• Ball State Cardinals at Georgia Bulldogs (No. 1 in the AP poll) at Sanford Stadium in Athens at 11 a.m.
• Nebraska Cornhuskers at Colorado Buffaloes at Folsom Field in Boulder at 11 a.m.
• Notre Dame Fighting Irish at North Carolina State Wolfpack at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh at 11 a.m.
• Purdue Boilermakers at Virginia Tech Hokies at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg at 11 a.m.
• Eastern Kentucky Colonels at Kentucky Wildcats at Kroger Field in Lexington at 2 p.m. 
• Portland State Vikings at Wyoming Cowboys at War Memorial Stadium in Laramie at 3 p.m.
• North Texas Mean Green at Florida International Panthers at Riccardo Silva Stadium in Miami at 4:30 p.m.
• Morgan State Bears at Akron Zips at InfoCision Stadium-Summa Field in Akron at 5 p.m.
• Texas Longhorns at Alabama Crimson Tide in the Allstate Crossbar Classic at Bryant–Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa at 6 p.m.
• UCLA Bruins at San Diego State Aztecs at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, California, at 6:30 p.m.
• Nicholls Colonels at Texas Christian Horned Frogs at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth at 7 p.m.

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

Oh, Kentucky

Catching up ...

Christmas20 parades: Versailles, Dec. 5.

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

Kentucky's local "Lights for Liberty" vigils to end family separation and human concentration camps are scheduled to take place Friday at 9 p.m. locally in Danville, Florence, Frankfort, Lexington, Louisville and Paris so far.

$477 million in federal grant money for airport infrastructure is rolling in to Campbellsville, Falmouth, Greenville, London, Owensboro and Sparta, announced U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao (McConnell).

Spoiler alert: Probably not, surmises FiveThirtyEight.

At the Northpoint Training Center in Burgin, the state is piloting a program designed to help inmates not return to using illegal drugs after their release.

Shelby County's volunteer fire departments are shorthanded.

Southern Living is all about the free Kentucky River water-quality knowledge that Kentucky State University is dropping on us this summer.

I think the Chemical Coaters Association Intl. (CCAI) of Independence made an outstanding choice for its James F. & David J. Wright Lifetime Achievement Award winner.

A man shot and killed Monday in southwest Louisville is being remembered as a "great" youth football coach: https://t.co/WqtZSZ2WcQ | @FallonGlick pic.twitter.com/tNZAJpd1Ls

— WDRB News (@WDRBNews) July 10, 2019

Rest in peace, ex-UK Wildcat Jared Lorenzen, and way to go, former U of L Cardinals Deion Branch, Jamon Brown and Chris Redman.

Oh, Kentucky

Kentucky for sale:

I'm pretty certain I'm not as effective or diligent of a disciple of Christ's as this Hardin County fellow is for what he's discipling.

Ashland revisits the curbside-recycling question, with input from nearby Russell and less-so Paducah.

Prayers for Mr. Howard, and way to go, Benham Schoolhouse Inn.

Turning to sports, hooray for Reggie Warford and the rest of this year's Dawahares/KHSAA Hall of Fame class.

Oh, Kentucky

Godspeed, 101st Airborne.

Good for Bob White's brother-in-law. Good for Billy Reed. Good for Hurstbourne Christian. Good for the Hoptown assistant coach. Good for the old friend's widow. Good for PRP's state-champ baseball coach. Good for the Mattress Firm dude and the TV people. Good for Mike Fields.

Courier-Journal after Rick Pitino is fired at Louisville pic.twitter.com/QczdLvMp3X

— Sports Front Pages (@SportsFrontPage) September 28, 2017

Oldham County's first brewery looks beautiful.

Good jobs news from Danville.

Doesn't sound like Clark County's coyotes are going anywhere anytime soon.

Beth Smith in Henderson's Gleaner: "No one was injured in the hold-up which occurred when an armed man dressed as a Coca-Cola bottle entered Rally's and demanded money."

I am embarrassed to realize just how little I understand about how the U.S. court system works.

Rest in peace, Ms. Wiley-Mitchell, whom you may have known "as the friendliest cafeteria employee, or simply the fastest swiper at the counter" at WKU. (Good for Noah Moore.)

Oh, Kentucky

Paragraph 2 and the rest of the story behind the Bardstown Kentucky Standard subscriber-login portal must be a doozy.

OK, no conclusions drawn.

None.

#SellOutDiddle campaign in full swing as @WKUBasketball takes over @wbkotv today.

Special pricing of $99 begins now! Call 1-800-5-BIGRED! pic.twitter.com/nqxtCsgfMV

— WKU Sports (@WKUSports) September 27, 2017

More bars for Lake Barkley.

More park for Technology Park, in honor of the CSI guy.

The editor-in-chief of Travel + Leisure in Paducah, per WKMS: “What we see with our travelers is that they have been to so many of their bucket list destinations that increasingly what they do when they’re thinking about planning their trip is they say to themselves, 'What do I want to do?' and then they say, 'Where should I go to do that?' And I think that’s a very important mindset shift that we’re seeing with this kind of traveler."

If what you wanted to do was eat country ham, well, it's just too bad/so sad for you, bub--you missed the Marion County Country Ham Days Festival.

The menu at Friday's Farm to Fork to Film in Woodstock includes Wildcat Mountain cheese; kale, cucumber and apple salad, and Wendell Berry.

Island is sharpening its game.

Georgetown got the largest share of investment in its U.S. manufacturing facilities that Toyota announced yesterday.

Hiring in Benton ($13.50 per hour).

Oh, Kentucky

Rick Pitino ends press conference by saying the NCAA will not break him and that he still expects to win multiple championships at UofL. pic.twitter.com/9amBsD1rqU

— Spectrum Sports KY (@SpecSportsKY) June 15, 2017

GO, MUSTANGS!

"3 Days, 6 Distilleries, Beautiful Back Roads, Uniquely Kentucky. REGISTER NOW! Limited to the first 500 riders."

TAKE THAT, HOPTOWN!

The world's largest (remote-control) jet show comes to Lebanon next month.

Backyard chickens in Beaver Dam? Tabled.

The evening before Gov. Bevin traveled out to western Kentucky, he was praying and walking in Louisville's West End.

Rest in peace, Roy Jack "Todd" Preston, "a good friend, as good a friend as any man could have this side of Heaven." (And welcome to the HP, Burton Fork in Magoffin County.)

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

No. 1! (And Nos. 7 and 73.)

There are two Kentucky companies among Brand Finance's new annual list of the top 500 brands, and Humana is the higher ranked between those.

Kentucky for sale:

MCC is getting back into the HVAC biz.

Good jobs news from Franklin, Henderson, Louisville, Sebree and maybe eastern Kentucky.

Gov Bevin chats with ex Gov and Sen Julian Carroll after thanking Senate for "phenomenal" session. ^JB pic.twitter.com/ewNgPee9Nq

— Bluegrass Politics (@BGPolitics) March 31, 2017

Least joblessness: Woodford. Most: Magoffin. Healthiest: Oldham. Least healthy: Breathitt.

Big Rivers Electric Corp. is ramping up solar in western Kentucky.

"You just wait ... a completely different landscape" to downtown Paducah is on its way.

Sam Neace in The Hazard Herald on the closing of A.B. Combs Elementary School: "Years ago, the A.B. Combs gymnasium served as a popular venue for entertainment events. 'The Macho Man' Randy Savage wrestled there several times in the early 1980s. According to the accounts of folks who attended those bouts, The Macho Man interacted with the audience in Combs… because he had no other choice. During that era in pro wrestling, fans were known to give passionate displays of disapproval for the bad guy in each match. Folks say, when The Macho Man left Combs, he knew exactly what all the little, old ladies there thought of him. Savage must have enjoyed the experience because he returned to A.B. Combs for many appearances."

Farewell to the Hilltoppers, Colonels, Eagles and Racers

Western Kentucky just lost the opening game of the Conference USA tournament to the Texas-San Antonio ... I'll give you three guesses ... no ... no ... no, it's "Roadrunners," 56-52, in a performance artfully reminiscent of when the football players used to play basketball on the chain-net courts outside the dorms at the bottom of the hill in the middle 1980s. Rick Stansbury's first season in Bowling Green was the first losing season (15-17) for WKU since 2011-12. #Stansdawg reportedly has a bunch of stud recruits joining the Hilltoppers for next season, so I remain optimistic. And though there wasn't much standing or cheering to be done this season, it was fun to go back and catch up today on Rick Stansbury history at the HP. 

Last week, it was the Eastern Kentucky Colonels (12-19), Morehead State Eagles (14-16) and Murray State Racers (16-17) flaming out in the Ohio Valley Conference tournament and ending their seasons. But do you know what Kentuckian did navigate the OVC and is still dancing?

A year to remember for Ray Harper and Jacksonville State https://t.co/Dv0pDnrs0M pic.twitter.com/FRStC9h4mB

— AL.com Mobile (@ALcomMobile) March 8, 2017

So, anyway, four teams from the Commonwealth have been eliminated from the national-championship race. The Northern Kentucky Norse and two other Kentucky schools are still competing.

#GoHeath
#neverforget

Oh, Kentucky

Owensboro, KY 🌉 pic.twitter.com/viYyppCNay

— RT Your City (@City_Reppin) June 28, 2016

Kenlake, Kentucky Dam Village, Lake Barkley and Pennyrile state resort parks are all beneficiaries of "Refreshing" expenditures that Gov. Bevin announced a few weeks ago.

Meanwhile, John Clay reports in the Lexington Herald-Leader that one of Gov. Bevin's appointees to his refreshed University of Louisville board of trustees had a Twitter history of Rick Pitino hate--but has subsequently deleted the account.

And, in other news, the Lexington Herald-Leader is going to be printed in Louisville.

#STANSDAWG!

Morehead re-upped with Sean Woods.

This week's bear at the Manchester Walmart does not appear to be last week's bear at the Kentucky School for the Deaf in Danville.

Rest in peace, Scooter Davis of "Beaver 96.7," an FM radio station in Bowling Green. Per a very moving tribute by Glasgow's WCLU 1490 AM, Mr. Davis "died last week after an exhaustive battle with esophageal cancer. Radio is a very personal medium, and Scooter was a very personal friend to have on and off the air. Which is why so many of his audience truly loved him. Many classmates at Metcalfe County High School have followed his career, as have countless couples whom Scooter did their wedding reception, high school reunion dance, played a song that resulted in a couple hooking up or breaking up. Or just made the day start off in a normal way."

Oh, Kentucky

Rowan County is issuing no marriage licenses at the moment.

Bring the noise, Paducah Cooperative Ministry! I'm all about the PCM, baby.

Good jobs news from Bowling Green. And Lexington:

Experienced Baker Needed.  We haven't had a baker position available in over two decades.  Baking experience should...
Posted by Donut Days Bakery on Saturday, June 27, 2015

Speaking of jobs in Lexington, the superintendent of schools in Portland, Maine, just got one--with a big raise.

The new field is getting its final touches and it is beautiful! Thanks to Nick Heineke for the photo. #GoBirds pic.twitter.com/v3mLlsSvbe

— Highlands Football (@HighlandsFB) June 30, 2015

Tom Jurich is amazing.

Jerry Tipton figured you've probably been wondering about where Coach Cal comes down on the Confederate flags.

No, really, what was the deal with Coach Bryant and Coach Rupp?

March Madness (1969)

As you can clearly see from the following, EXCLUSIVE Heath Post graphic (!), the NCAA men's basketball tournament starts Saturday, March 8, 1969. 

UCLA is the two-time defending champion, but I will be rooting for Kentucky, ...

 

... Murray State ...

... and, provided the Cardinals beat Drake on March 10, Louisville.

Breaking ...

Disappointed to hear that after a great ten year run, the Joe B and Denny Show will end next week. Two legends and wonderful men
— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) October 23, 2014

Oh, Kentucky

Controversy comes to Gethsemane.

Louisville's getting a bunch more trees.

Madisonville's narrowing down to just one.

Owensboro is showing off its new riverfront at this weekend's International Barbecue Festival.

They're coming to your town (Glasgow and Morgantown); they're help you party down; they're the Kentucky Historical Society.

The @sports_cj front today after a historic #NFLDraft by Louisville football. pic.twitter.com/3VFgWNOQhL
— Creig Ewing (@acewing) May 9, 2014

Oh, Kentucky

Here's what's playing at the Columbia, in 1928.

And here's what's up on the riverfront.

And here they go to Rupp ...

Mustang Nation. McCracken County Mustangs send off to Rupp Arena. pic.twitter.com/DSJ7zhL7cC
— Eric Chumbler (@EricChumbler) March 18, 2014

Good jobs news from London. Bad from Corbin. Kentucky's unemployment rate remained 8.3 percent from 2012 to 2013, but the number of employed people declined.

Christian County Public Schools is changing its approach to student discipline in the wake of a federal Office for Civil Rights investigation that showed black kids from 2008 through 2012 were more disproportionately and, in some cases, more harshly disciplined than their white counterparts.

U of L's medical school is on probation.

Revenuers have shut down the Bardstown HoJo's.

Shoney's fans in Henderson and Owensboro received a rough one-two punch Tuesday afternoon.

Amber Averitt at SurfKy.com gives the 411 on Hopkins County's first-ever dedicated funeral home. 

Regime change at the Murray Ledger & Times.

Nashville is coming to Fort Campbell.

The Internet Is Amazing™--“that is unless you live in Southeastern Kentucky.”

Kentuckian of the Year: Honorable Mention

2013 was an extraordinary year in the Commonwealth.  A few years ago -- I'm pretty sure this happened during a game where a UK team coached by Billy Gillispie was getting blown out by UNC -- I was yelling at Matthew on the grounds that Kentucky wasn't "punching its weight" compared to other states with similar resources.  But that has not been the case for several years now.  As you will see from the names below, Kentuckians did some amazing things in 2013:

Wendell Berry (Henry County):  One of the greatest writers in Kentucky history, Mr. Berry should probably be mentioned almost every year in honor of his legendary career.  We should have said something last year, when he gave the annual Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities, an honor described by the National Endowment of the Humanities as "the most prestigious honor the federal government bestows for distinguished intellectual achievement in the humanities."  But this year, Mr. Berry won the Richard C. Holbrooke Distinguished Achievement Award for his efforts to promote peace, and we are happy to take the opportunity to celebrate his long effort to promote sustainable communities.

Jeff Walz (Louisville):  2013 was the Year of the Cardinal, and one of the high points of that year was the run by the Louisville Lady Cardinals to the National Championship game in the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament.  The Lady Cardinals were beaten in the title game, but their stunning 82-81 upset of defending champion Baylor in the Sweet 16 should be remembered as a historic moment in the women's game.  Coach Walz has built one of the nation's best programs at Louisville, and has now taken it to two national title games.  The Commonwealth has not yet won a women's title, but Louisville may yet get there.

Kenny Perry (Franklin):  One of Kentucky's greatest-ever golfers, Kenny Perry was not able to win a major tournament during his years on the PGA Tour -- he suffered two heartbreaking losses in playoffs instead.  But in 2013, he won two majors on the Senior Tour:  the Senior Players Championship and the U.S. Senior Open.  At the U.S. Senior Open, he played the last 36 holes in only 127 shots -- which would be an amazing performance at your local public course, much less at the most prestigious Senior Tournament of all.  For Kentucky sports fans, his five-shot victory was one of the high points of the year.

Emma Talley (Princeton):  At the Heath Post, we are extremely fond of all types of Kentuckians -- but we admit being particularly supportive of folks from small towns in western Kentucky.  This year, we enjoyed watching Caldwell County's own Emma Talley win the U.S. Women's Amateur Championship -- the top prize of all for women amateur golfers.  We also enjoyed all the stories about how, like Kenny Perry, she is a great ambassador for the game.  We wish her the best of luck going forward.

Rick Pitino (Louisville):  As I've written before, most Kentucky fans my age have too much of a history with Pitino to fully appreciate what he's accomplished at Louisville.  But I am still stunned that he took the players he had in 2012 and 2013 to back-to-back Final Fours, and to the 2013 National Championship.  All year, I thought Louisville would probably fall short because I just didn't think they could hit enough three-point shots in the big games.  But in the National Championship game, with Louisville down to Michigan, Pitino brought in Luke Hancock from off the bench -- and Hancock goes 5-5 from behind the arc to save the day.  I thought Peyton Siva would blow it -- and against Michigan, Siva had 18 points, 5 assists, 6 rebounds, and only two turnovers.  I thought Louisville's defense-first approach would break down against a hot team -- and Louisville outscored a red-hot Michigan team 82-76 to win the title.  I don't think any other coach could have gotten those results from those players.  It was an extraordinary accomplishment, and Pitino deserves every bit of the acclaim he got for winning that tournament.

Tom Jurich (Louisville):  Last year, Louisville -- Louisville! -- won the Sugar Bowl, won the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship, went to the final game in the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament, and went to the NCAA College World Series.  Oh, and Louisville also got the invitation to the Atlantic Coast Conference that so many other schools had coveted.  It would have been an amazing year for any program; that all of this happened at U of L -- which has a small (though fervent) fan base by comparison to many other programs -- was particularly impressive.  Tom Jurich, the Athletic Director at Louisville, should probably be on this list every year, because he is probably the best AD in the country.