Croquet in Kentucky

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

Oh, Kentucky

I've subsequently gone on my Thursday-night basketball league's IL with a knee issue (which is really heartbreaking, because it was widely held that I had been playing the best ball of my whole freaking career), but I am thrilled that I at least stayed healthy long enough to visit and play in the gym of the 1928-state-finalist Nebo Purple Aces (reports indispensable Bob "I Corinthians 10:31" Mays, "Nebo (district champ) beat LaFayette, Madisonville, and Cobb to win the 2nd region. At the state tournament, the Aces beat Russell 31-6, Munfordville 31-21, and Inez 21-18 before losing the championship game to Corbin & its 6’6 center Bob Cluggish 24-18."). 

"Louisville Parks and Recreation is seeking information from current and future pool users in an effort to provide alternative swimming options during the 2019 summer swim season. Metro’s four outdoor pools will not be opening due to budgetary challenges caused by an increase in our state pension bill and the council’s vote against new revenue. The goal is to use the feedback to create the most useful alternatives possible."

With 478 people going to work in April, Kentucky reached a record-breaking 1,982,330 people doing jobs across the state.

Best of luck to Mr. Richardson and Mrs. Spears on their coffee/coloring pages/art endeavor in Villa Hills.

On ambulance service in and around Pike County in the wake of recent M&A activity.

Latest turn in the recycling saga in and around Lexington.

Almost six years later and still no peace for the family, friends and colleagues of Ofc. Ellis.

Oh, Kentucky

A former Kuttawa city clerk is charged with stealing a bunch of town money and running off to Gatlinburg.

About the "squatters" in Hillview.

No library tax in Hardin County.

An Edgewood thoracic surgeon is to narrate a lung-cancer surgery he performed on a 34-year-old during a live Facebook broadcast Friday.

Good jobs news from Lexington and Pikeville.

"FARMERS NEEDED!" In Lyon County.

Christmas parades: Owensboro, Nov. 17; Ashland, Nov. 20; Brownsville, Nov. 24; Cumberland and Fredonia (grandly marshaled by the Faughns, wed 69 years), Nov. 30; Arlington, Berea, Cadiz ("WKDZ 106.5 will broadcast live, and will have live video stream if you just can't make it"), Calvert City (59th annual), Columbia, Jenkins, Lawrenceburg, Madisonville, Marion, Paducah, Salyersville, Somerset and Whitley City, Dec. 1; Bowling Green (rescheduled from the day before), Dawson Springs, Dec. 2; Lexington, Dec. 4; Greenup, Dec. 6; Frankfort, Monticello and Richmond, Dec. 7; Elkton, Eubank, Hopkinsville ("Get ready to text in your favorite float number for the PEOPLES CHOICE AWARD!"), Louisa and Stamping Ground (grandly marshaled by a Scott County sheriff's deputy paralyzed when shot responding to a suspected bank robbery in September), Dec. 8; Whitesburg, Dec. 14; Burnside, La Center and Neon, Dec. 15.

Oh, Kentucky

Shaun King of the New York Daily News and Woodford County High: "What I am doing is not enough, though. Police brutality, by every statistical measure is the worst it's ever been. Racial terror is real in this country. The deadliest hate crime against African Americans in the past 85 years didn't happen in 1955, 1965, or 1975, but happened LAST YEAR in Charleston. LAST YEAR. On our watch, in our lives. Police are murdering are sons and daughters, mothers and fathers with relative impunity all over this country."

Prayers for the flooded.

In Dunnville--and, apparently, across south-central Kentucky--"(l)ack of workers is now my No. 1 inhibiting growth factor, bar none."

An Owensboro Independence Day party never stops.

We've made the turn to the back nine toward Christmas, and early next week in Berea is the time to get your act together.

Good things ahead! An update on the upcoming expansion of the @BSCTC05 Pikeville Campus from Pres. @DevinStephenson: pic.twitter.com/QmYw6UwhxQ

— City of Pikeville (@PikevilleBuzz) July 6, 2016

Oh, Kentucky

Olympics update! "I grew up just like you. I worked on the farm. I rode the bus to school. I went to the old elementary school and the old high school. I played football against Carroll County and Trimble County."

Piecing together the story of Mrs. Davis and "Elizabeth" around Finchville, Clayvillage and Shelbyville.

How the terrorists got to Bowling Green.

4 tornadoes confirmed from long-track supercell that devastated Brookport, IL and includes three EF3 tracks. Map: pic.twitter.com/ONQToDNNGd
— WPSD Weather (@WPSDWeather) November 20, 2013

Stanford's Christmas-tree lighting is Friday night. Simpsonville is already twinkling.

Christmas parades: Hazard and Owensboro (new route announced), Nov. 23; Ashland, Nov. 26; Lebanon and Loretto, Nov. 29; Inez, Nov. 30; Nortonville, Dec. 1; Glasgow, Dec. 5, 1960; Elkton, Lebanon and Maysville, Dec. 6; Bradfordville, Columbia, Lawrenceburg, Marion, Middlesboro, Paducah, Shelbyville and Somerset, Dec. 7; Evarts, Dec. 8, and Stamping Ground, Dec. 14.

Rest in peace, Mrs. Lafoon. "Why can't we all be happy and content as she"?

Oh, Kentucky

I totally plan to get back into stamp collecting at some point in my life. Who's with me?

Be prepared.

Now what, in Winchester?

"Interactive white boards in every classroom in the world, huge highway and airport signs, antibacterial countertops in hospitals, computer displays you can roll up like a poster" ... from, in part, Harrodsburg?

Obamacare in Glasgow.

Good jobs news from Maysville and from near Fulton County (!).

Rest in peace, Mr. Wise, Stamping Ground native; former KIAC, OVC, SEC and Continental Football League official, and ex-KHSAA administrator who was "instrumental in getting the rules changed to many of today’s provisions, including standardization of football blocking techniques and the adoption of the three point shot at the high school level." 

@JimWKYT hazard walmart sunset today pic.twitter.com/BnZyzxAfTY
— Bigdaddy01 (@bigoledaddy01) October 22, 2013

Oh, Kentucky

The boys on the Christmas-parade desk never take their eye off the ball (Owensboro, Nov. 17), but they manage to squeeze in a little Labor Day duty, too (Paducah).

The 56th-annual Channel 6 Telethon of Stars is coming together.

Community gardening in Madisonville and Maysville.

The Kentucky Historical Society looks back in Stamping Ground. The guv pushes ahead the in Ledbetter.

The KHS might need to do a little maintenance in Princeton, by the way, given this discovery in our scrap-metal-recycling place in Madisonville yesterday:

A Cecilia author pens his third Kentucky-oriented Civil War book.

"Apocolypse Meow" and more winners.

"Miracle at West Liberty?"

Fulton County no longer has the state's highest unemployment rate.

Archery, bass fishing and competitive cheer are new to the KHSAA championship docket. As the future founder of the Kentucky Olympic Committee, I especially applaud the sanctioning of archery.

Kenny Perry this weekend continues his Champions Tour Charles Schwab Cup chase--and his career discernment. "So I still haven't quite figured it out, you know, which direction I'm leaning towards."

This Week's Games (continued)

Band boosters are going to be making some mad hay on sales of Styrofoam cups of coffee at this evening's round-of-eight games in the Kentucky high school football playoffs. It's going to be a chilly night for game day ... low 40s forecasted from Mayfield to Louisville, low 30s down in Somerset and 23 out east in old Westwood.

Continuing GoHeath's preview ...

Class 6A

Louisville Butler at Henderson County. @D_Train55 of Butler Tweets: "I will not lose to Henderson county." @Chosen_One_7 adds: "And after we upset Henderson County I want TRINITY next."

Louisville Saint Xavier vs. Louisville Trinity at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. It's been fun following the Twitter smack this week. For example, Tennessee Titans kicker @RobBironas, a Trinity boy, predicts, "It cld get ugly! rocks #WIN big 52-17."

Scott County at Middletown Eastern. Scott Brown (@scottbrown) with WKDZ of Cadiz, meanwhile, was dropping all kinds of KHSAA football knowledge this week, including the fact that Eastern is the only surviving 6A team that has never won a regional title.

Boone County at Lexington Lafayette. Eliciting good quotes is a skill. So is knowing which quotes actually are good ones that accurately illustrate the true tenor of the story. Mike Fields of Lexington's Herald-Leader has both of these skills. "Some people have lost faith in football in Fayette County."

Class 5A

Warren Central at Bowling Green. Purples coach Kevin Wallace, @kwallacebg, getting psyched this morning: "In 16 hours, only four will remain."

Jeffersontown at Elizabethtown John Hardin. The home team's quarterback is a big Craig Krenzel fan.

Anderson County at Hebron Connor. In beating Franklin County, 84-48, last Friday, Connor's football team scored more points than did either of the school's basketball teams in a game last season.

Harlan County at Somerset Pulaski Southwestern. The home team has been on an eight-game win streak since an abrupt, still-mysterious coaching change.

Class 4A

Franklin-Simpson at Lone Oak. The Wildcats' defensive coordinator is a former Western Kentucky University head coach.

Louisville Western at Shelbyville Martha Layne Collins. A few more things about Collins ... it's actually "Martha Layne Collins Hill High School;" Martha Layne Collins is a grad of old Shelbyville High, and the new school includes grades 8 through 12.

Boyle County at Lexington Catholic. Will Begley, principal at Boyle County (@BigRebelNation): "Let's turn this into a home game! Hit me back if you are going! Bring a friend! Get out and support your REBELS! #PackTheHouse." Kyle Bolin, quarterback at Lexington Catholic (@KyleBolin14): "Boyle County @ Lexington Catholic This Friday! Kickoff at 7:30. Going to be a great game, everybody needs to come out! Pack the house!."

Covington Catholic at Fort Thomas Highlands. Get there early.

Class 3A

Fort Campbell at Paducah Tilghman. The Blue Tornadoes won, 31-7, won when these two teams met Sept. 30. Since that game, Fort Campbell has won five straight--all by shutout.

Bell County at Louisville Central. Fired up on Log Mountain ... "It's the greatest game on Earth, guys." ... "Bell Football always gts shafted on recognition!!!" ... "It's a Bell County thing."

Powell County at Garrard County. I plan to tune in for at least some of this game, as both teams are amid historic seasons for their programs. Either WKDZ or Oldies1480.com will likely have Fort Campbell-Tilghman, so I'll check out that one, too. And then there will be the Mayfield-Louisville Holy Cross game, on WYMC. Meanwhile, Bowling Green-Warren Central is part of the ihigh.com slate of scheduled broadcasts.

Breathitt County at Belfry. MacKenzie Bates with WYMT of Hazard (@mbateswymt) dopes: "Did you know.... Since 1989... Breathitt County Coach Mike Holcomb is 8-3 against Belfry?"

Class 2A

Owensboro Catholic at Murray. No. Instead, Aces fans, leave at 3, and plan on stopping in Marion for dinner. Either the Main Street Italian Grill or 88 Dip will do you right. You're welcome.

Christian Academy of Louisville at Glasgow. The running back for the visiting Centurions reminds the home team's coach of Mark Higgs, who almost certainly would've been one of my two or three favorite Miami Dolphins of all time if we had had cable from 1990 through '93 and didn't have to depend on rabbit ears and snowy CBS and NBC feeds from Nashville when I lived in Bowling Green.

Covington Holy Cross at Newport Central Catholic. Holy Cross must hate NewCath.

Lexington Christian at Somerset. More Mike Fields good quoting: "Look, boys, we've gotta keep working, keep getting better, keep encouraging one another."

Class A

Louisville Holy Cross at Mayfield. Great, thorough preview from Joey Fosko in The Paducah Sun: "This is a final eight game. It’s not supposed to be easy.”

Fort Mitchell Beechwood at Frankfort. Another great preview from Dan Clasgens of TriStateFootball.com, via WXIX of Newport. Beechwood engineered a quarterback switch amid its current eight-game win streak, and the home team rallied from 21-6 down in the fourth quarter to survive Bellevue last Friday.

Hazard at Williamsburg. "I have the ultimate faith in Coach Herron, Hatcher, and Thomas. I will be there to support my Jackets."

Pikeville at Westwood Fairview. I'm officially rooting for the visitors here. Per the Tweets of Coach Chris McNamee (@PHS_CoachMac), the Panthers had a pep rally at Pikeville Elementary School this week; plus, high-school students who sign up for the fan bus get a free ride, free meal and free ticket to the game. Now that's a deal!

Stamping Ground Back on the Food Network

It's time for another shout-out to Heather Priest of Stamping Ground, Kentucky. The last time we checked on Heather (a private chef and cooking instructor in Connecticut), she had won $10,000 on SmartGirl's favorite TV show, Chopped. In case you don't recall, the set-up here is that four chefs battle against each other. First, they get a basket of ingredients from which they make an appetizer -- after which the three judges eliminate one chef. Then, they get another basket of ingredients for use in an entree -- after which a second chef is eliminated. Finally, the two remaining chefs get a third basket and make dessert -- after which the judges pick a winner. The baskets are always full of goofy ingredients like "antelope" or weird vegetables and fish that most folks have never heard of.

Since Heather won in her last appearance, she was invited to participate in Chopped Champions; a special series in which former winners compete with each other. If she had won the episode that aired last night, she would have advanced to the final with a chance to win $50,000.

We thought she did very well. She had little trouble getting through the appetizer -- especially since one of the other competitors ran out of time before he could put all of the required ingredients on the plates he served the judges. So he was eliminated. In the entree section (which involved antelope), the judges thought Heather's meal was quite tasty, but they also liked the meals prepared by the other two competitors. Ultimately, the judges decided that Heather should have prepared a sauce for her dish, and so they chopped her. The two remaining contestants then made a complete hash of the dessert portion of the show, which vindicated my view (shared by SmartGirl) that Heather should have been chosen to keep going after the entree. I still think she was the strongest competitor of the four. It should also be pointed out that while her male competitors were wasting their time in ludicrous trash-talking -- and even getting into arguments with the judges -- Heather's behavior on-screen was beyond reproach.

But life is not always fair. All you can do is give it your best shot, produce work worthy of your talents, and behave yourself. So we salute Heather Priest again, and we hope her business flourishes.

Stamping Ground on the Food Network

I want to give a shout-out to Heather Priest of Stamping Ground, Kentucky. She is a personal chef in Connecticut, and last night she was the big winner on SmartGirl's favorite TV show, Chopped. The premise of Chopped is that four chefs battle against each other for $10,000. First, they get a basket of ingredients from which they make an appetizer -- after which the three judges eliminate one person. Then, they get another basket of ingredients for use in an entree -- after which a second person is eliminated. Then the two finalists get a third basket and make a dessert -- after which the judges pick the winner. The ingredients are always really goofy stuff -- meats and vegetables you've never heard of, along with things like mayonnaise or fruit cocktail.

Anyway, Heather Priest really represented for the Commonwealth last night. She wore her Kentucky shirt in the little segment where the chefs introduce herself, and she relied on deep-frying to get through the appetizer and entree challenges. (When she was forced to use an Asian fish called uni that she had never heard of, she simply turned it into fried uni.) And after she won, she toasted her victory with bourbon. It's unusual to see the Commonwealth get so much attention on the Food Network, and SmartGirl was thrilled with the whole episode. Besides, having done it myself, I have sympathy for any Kentuckian who lives in Connecticut.

Oh, Kentucky

Topix.com, whose Internet message boards just astound me, gave in to Kentucky's and 33 other state attorneys general in agreeing to more quickly review and remove abusive or inappropriate posts (and do so for free).

The U of L football team is sequestering itself.

Former Fort Campbell HS Falcon Micah Johnson is a "big-bodied player that plays thick," Dolphins coach Tony Sparano beamed after practice Tuesday.

More jobs for Bowling Green.

Sparta is officially NASCAR's first new market since 2001.

The FFA final four includes two Kentuckians.

Lone Oak's high-powered "Air Raid" offense will be piloted by a different quarterback for the fourth time in four seasons, and Coach Jack Haskins's Purple Flash will be trying to return to the Class 4A state-championship game for the third straight season.