Girls' Sweet Sixteen, Saturday

Gameday, baby! Hopefully for our McCracken County High School Lady Mustangs: Gamesday!

— KHSAA RPI No. 4 Louisville Sacred Heart vs. No. 9 Winchester George Rogers Clark at 10 a.m. Central

— No. 3 McCracken County vs. No. 14 Henderson County at 12:30 p.m.

— State championship at 6 p.m. 

As you can see, it's going to be hard to maintain focus at West Area Workshops ...

Comments flow ...

Girls' Sweet Sixteen, Friday

Today's quarterfinals in Rupp Arena with KHSAA RPI rankings:

-- No. 34 Owensboro Catholic vs. No. 4 Louisville Sacred Heart at 10 a.m. Central
-- No. 9 Winchester George Rogers Clark vs. No. 7 London North Laurel at 12:30 p.m.

-- No. 19 Ashland Paul Blazer vs. No. 3 McCracken County at 5 p.m.

-- No. 24 Louisville Mercy vs. No. 14 Henderson County at 7:30 p.m.

Comments flow ...

On to KHSAA Basketball

Now that we've wrapped up the KHSAA football playoffs, we can start focusing on basketball.  Today the AP issued its first boys' basketball poll of the year, which gives us the following top ten:

1.  George Rogers Clark:  4-0

2.  Warren Cent:  4-0

3.  Cov. Catholic:  5-0

4.  Lou. Ballard:  4-0

5.  Lou. Trinity:  5-1

6.  Bowling Green:  5-0

7.  N. Laurel:  5-2

8.  Lou. Western:  5-1

9.  Mason Co:  4-0

10.  Harlan Co:  4-1

The King of the Bluegrass Tournament starts at Lou. Fairdale on Friday.  It will feature the following matchups in the first round:

Lou. Fairdale v. LaRue Co.

Lyon Co. v. Harlan Co.

Spencer Co. v. Great Crossing

(1) George Rogers Clark v. Lou. Male

(2) Warren Cent. v. Lou. DeSales

Woodford Co. v. Lou. Manual

(5) Lou. Trinity v. N. Oldham

Central Catholic (PA) v. Sagemont (FL)

KHSAA Boys' Basketball Is Under Way

In the first game of the KHSAA Boys' State Basketball Tournament, the Lincoln County Patriots defeated the Jeffersontown Chargers 45-41.  Next up, the Muhlenberg County Mustangs will play the North Oldham Mustangs.

Lincoln County High School opened in August 1974.  According to Wikipedia, it resulted from a merger of the the following schools:  Stanford, Crab Orchard, Hustonville, McKinney, and King Mountain.

March 16, 1975

I look at the Family Circus pretty much every day in 2022, and one thing I notice relative to seeing it from time to time in 1975 ...

16 Mar 1975, Sun The Miami Herald (Miami, Florida) Newspapers.com 

... is that the parents don't rage at their children nearly as often now as they did then.

KHSAA Polls

 On Tuesday, the AP released its poll for KHSAA boys' basketball, and the results looked like this:

1.  George Rogers Clark:  26-1

2.  Lou. Male:  22-4

3.  Cov. Catholic:  20-4

4.  Lou. Ballard:  21-6

5.  N. Laurel:  21-5

6.  Ashland Blazer:  19-5

7.  Bowling Green:  22-4

8.  Warren Central:  19-3

9.  Pikeville:  24-1

10.  Greenwood:  22-4

Remarkably, number-7 Bowling Green, number-8 Warren Central, and number-10 Greenwood are all in the 14th District, along with South Warren (13-15) and Warren East (9-16).  Only two of those teams can go to the 8th Region Tournament.  Next week, on February 23, Bowling Green will play Greenwood in the District Semi-Finals, and that will be an elimination game.

Today, MaxPreps released its new rankings, which look like this:

1.  Cov. Catholic:  21-4

2.  George Rogers Clark:  27-1

3.  Lou. Male:  22-4

4.  Lou. Ballard:  21-6

5.  N. Laurel:  22-5

6.  Pikeville:  25-2

7.  Warren Cent:  20-4

8.  Lex. Catholic:  22-5

9.  Bowling Green:  23-4

10.  Madison Cent:  19-9

Here's how MaxPreps rates the top of the First and Second Regions:

16.  McCracken County:  23-2 (on Monday, the Mustangs went to Murray and won 48-47)

39.  Murray:  20-5

42.  Lyon Co:  20-6 (on Friday, the Lyons beat Hoptown 82-56 in Eddyville)

49.  Paducah Tilghman:  17-6

59.  Madisonville-N. Hopkins:  16-7

67.  Hopkinsville:  18-6

Last year, Lyon County went all the way to State in baseball.  Can they now do the same in basketball?

KHSAA Boys' Basketball Poll (from the AP)

 This poll came out on Tuesday:

1.  George Rogers Clark:  17-1

2.  Lou. Male:  16-3

3.  Cov. Catholic:  17-3

4.  Lou. Ballard:  15-5

5.  Pulaski Co:  19-0

6.  N. Laurel:  15-4

T7.  Woodford Co:  19-2

T7.  Ashland Blazer:  14-4

9.  Warren Cent:  11-4

10.  Lex. Catholic

And here's the latest from MaxPreps, which came out today and thus includes a few games not counted above:

1.  Lou. Ballard:  15-5

2.  Cov. Catholic:  17-3

3.  George Rogers Clark:  18-1

4.  Lou. Male:  16-3

5.  N. Laurel:  16-4

6.  Cooper:  17-2

7.  Warren Cent:  12-4

8.  Pulaski Co:  20-0

9.  Pikeville:  15-1

10.  Lex. Catholic

MaxPreps has McCracken Co. (16-1) at number 12, Murray (16-2) at number 25, Lyon Co. (13-4) at number 43, Marshall Co. (13-7) at number 48, Tilghman (11-4) at number 56, and Madisonville (10-6) at number 71.  The tournaments in the First and Second Regions will be wild this year.

KHSAA Top 20 (Boys Basketball)

Here is MaxPreps' top 20 for Boys' Basketball in the KHSAA.  I'm not convinced that MaxPreps's algorithm has enough data yet.  For example, I wish Murray all the best, but I doubt that the Tigers should be ranked above every team in Louisville.

1.  George Rogers Clark:  11-1

2.  Cov. Catholic:  10-2

3.  Perry Co. Central:  10-1

4.  Pulaski Co:  10-0

5.  Bowling Green: 8-0

6.  N. Laurel:  8-3

7.  Murray:  10-0

8.  Pikeville:  8-0

9.  Lex. Catholic:  8-1

10.  Harlan Co:  10-3

11.  Warren Cent:  6-1

12.  Madison Cent:  6-2

13.  Lou. Manual:  9-0

14.  Lou. Ballard:  7-4

15.  Lex. Henry Clay:  9-0

16.  Erlanger Lloyd:  5-0

17.  Lou. Western:  9-1

18.  Cooper:  9-2

19.  N. Oldham:  7-3

20.  Greenwood:  7-1

12 Teams Left

A collection of mismatches at the Sweet 16 today, as three top-10 teams put on a show.  Madison Central, which beat two top-10 teams in the 11th Region, could not handle Ballard today.  And Friday's game between Ballard and Bowling Green should be a doozy:

(4) Elizabethtown 87, Knott Co. Cent. 59

George Rogers Clark 54, Oldham Co. 47

(5) Lou. Ballard 70, Madison Cent. 61

(8) Bowling Green 85, University Heights 57

Bowling Green had a pretty easy time in the Fourth Region, and had a pretty easy time today.  Ballard crushed everyone in the Seventh Region -- which isn't easy -- and handled Madison Central without too much trouble today.  That will be a very big game.  Bowling Green is on a 12-game winning streak -- but the last team to beat the Purples was Ballard, who beat them 61-45 back on February 26.  It will be interesting to see what BGHS has learned since then.

The winner won't be out of the woods, because Elizabethtown -- which beat Bowling Green 64-36 back on February 13 -- will probably be waiting in the semi-finals.  The Panthers have only lost two games all year, and only one since January 12.  They will probably be too much for GRC on Friday, and their game with Ballard or Bowling Green on Saturday morning will probably decide the title.  

Oh, Kentucky

Oh, Kentucky

Oh, Kentucky

It's (almost) a wrap for Mayfield's first Fairgrounds Festival of Lights, and we have until Oct. 1 to sponsor a 2020 display.

The I-65 Mile Marker 0 welcome center in Simpson County, opened in 1974, is closed until probably fall.

Hoptown's Pennyroyal Area Museum targets Feb. 27 for its reopening.

Floyd County is optimistic the resurrection of Wheelwright's prison will take place, even with turnover in Frankfort.

Inez will be down to one grocery after the IGA's Monday closing.

Several Peebles, Goody's and other department stores around Kentucky are converting to Gordmanses this year, such as in Leitchfield and Winchester.

Paducah Police also is hiring.

World Trade Center Kentucky has named an interim executive director.

Kathie Stamps at Smiley Pete Publishing has an interesting report on a married-physicians couple's launch of "membership-based concierge medicine" in Lexington. Excellent name for the new biz: Downtown Drs. Brown. 

Jerry Sparks kicks off a three-part Jackson County Sun series on three people from McKee who were pardoned by former Gov. Bevin: "(M)ost of the pardons issued by the former Governor were not controversial at all. A great deal of the pardons issued were earned by the recipients through years of hard work and dedication toward turning their lives around. Unfortunately, the news cycle tends to focus on the sensational and the negative. In fairness, time should be spent addressing those people that honestly turned their lives around and earned themselves a second chance."

Huge in Kenton County: Liane Moriarity, James Patterson, Mario, the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, Alvin Schwartz, Lego, Game of Thrones and a bunch of Now That's What I Call Musics.

Oh, Kentucky

Happy new year (from Calvert City)!

Good jobs news from Florence, Newman and Owensboro.

Marshall County is considering whether to declare itself a sanctuary county, but it's not what you would think. (Or, in other words, gunsgunsguns. And maybe it is what you would think.)

Holiday open houses: ACLU of Kentucky, today.

There's a darkness on the edge of Floyd County.

Fish management: Asian carp in Lyon County, shad and sunfish in Henry County.

Here's a solid WDRB report on Kentucky's back and forth on marijuana legalization, with interesting perspectives from Jackson, Russell and Winchester legislators.

Who is Paducah's mystery Park Avenue pine-tree planter?

What's next for Lexington's old Romany Road Kroger?

Turning to sports, "the state of Kentucky and high school basketball have always been intertwined and can’t really be separated."

Oh, Kentucky

You got the wrong DJ's.

In Frankfort, Wilkinson Street School will be no more.

To Taylor Mill, Dunkin' is comin'.

I'm surprised Little League wasn't already in Paducah.

I love deadline extensions.

On the pardons ...

Henderson Police gets creative in how to cost-effectively address its officer shortages.

Turning to sports, our old friend Elijah Sindelar appears to be calling it a career. 

Ninety-one 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, Prestonsburg, Rabbit Hash, Raceland, Russell Springs, Salyersville, Scottsville, Shelbyville, Somerset, Trenton, Versailles, Whitley City and Winchester, Dec. 7; Auburn, Georgetown and New Haven, Dec. 8, and Augusta, Benton, Burkesville, Burnside, Campbellsville, Cave City, Edmonton, Elkton, Franklin, Hopkinsville, Louisa, Mayfield, Providence, Tollesboro, Williamsburg and Woodburn, Dec. 14!

Oh, Kentucky

Tonight's the night to get our Lone Oak on at the McCracken County Public Library. (Pipe down, Reidland--you'll get your chance.)

I'm going to have to come up with a custom hashtag for my rock-solid, recurring observation about how great the meeting coverage is in contemporary newspaper journalism. Anyway, here's another perfect example, from Anthony Cloud in the Middlesboro Daily News from the Bell County Fiscal Court: "That tells me if there is a needle exchange in Middlesboro, a minimum of 100 people are going to drive through the tunnel out of Tennessee that wouldn’t have otherwise. They either, a. are high, (or) b. going to get high. To ignore that would be being naive."

And here's another, from Richard Burkard, in Madisonville's Messenger, on the Historic Planning Commission and the owner of a 90-year-old Chevy dealership and other downtown buildings and his desire to have those properties excluded from the town's historic district: "They take care of their own." (Maybe it'll be #RockSolidJournalismObservations.)

Auburn's fantastic Federal Grove is expanding. So's Kentucky State Police Post 4 - Elizabethtown.

Etown's Kentucky Cardinal Inn on U.S. 31W (East Dixie Avenue) is no more, however. It was nice (I almost forgot about #KentuckyForSale!) ...

Good Fred Petke feature in The Winchester Sun about a homegrown local police officer: "My dad always said if you need help, find a cop." (Mine, too.)

Kentucky's jail population climbed 76 percent from 2000 to 2015.

In The Advocate-Messenger--home of the Class 4A #khsfb19 state runners-up Boyle County High Rebels--a Centre College professor cites an economist from Duke University in arguing on behalf of the U.S. racial wealth gap as more of a focus in conversation about slavery reparations. (He convinced me.)

The Democrats are coming to take the guns (well, "assault weapons" and "large-capacity ammunition-feeding devices") (and flavored vape products) away.

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, Irvine/Ravenna, London, Maysville, Monticello, Pineville, Richmond, Smiths Grove, Stanton and Trenton, Dec. 6; Arlington, Barbourville, Beattyville, Berea, Bloomfield, Bowling Green,  romley/Ludlow, Brownsville, Cadiz, Calvert City, Carlisle, Clinton, Columbia, Corbin, Cynthiana, Danville, Frankfort, Glasgow, Grayson, Greenville, Hawesville, Henderson, Horse Cave, Inez, Lawrenceburg, Leitchfield, Lexington, Madisonville, Marion, Middlesboro, Morgantown, Munfordville, Murray, Owingsville, Paducah, Prestonsburg, Rabbit Hash, Raceland, Russell Springs, Salyersville, Scottsville, Shelbyville, Somerset, Trenton, Versailles, Whitley City and Winchester, Dec. 7; Auburn, Georgetown and New Haven, Dec. 8; Augusta, Burkesville, Burnside, Campbellsville, Cave City, Elkton, Franklin, Louisa, Mayfield, Providence, Williamsburg and Woodburn, Dec. 14, and Tollesboro, Dec. 15.

Oh, Kentucky

There's a lot of stuff going on--wars and refugees, churches and cities, the 1970s and Vietnam, the 1980s and Japan, etc.--in this fascinating Georgetown News-Graphic article by Jackie Anders on the sale of the Cardome to the Catholic Diocese of Lexington. I had to read it a couple of times to take it all in, and I'm glad I did.

Bath County High has a (beautiful) new fine-arts wing. 

The NWSL is coming to Louisville.

"With forward-thinking public officials and involved volunteer groups, the rebirth of downtown Winchester will continue unabated."

"The report brings up many good questions for Danville and Boyle County. How are we doing on being a rural development hub? Are we setting our community up to succeed long-term in a world where everyone thinks rural communities are dying? How are we doing on improving quality of life, particularly for our most vulnerable populations? Are we resisting changes that could have huge impacts because we are risk-averse? Are we putting too much emphasis on old economic development methods and measuring sticks? How well are we working regionally?"

"Too big of a challenge to focus on our differences."

Free Thanksgiving dinner, in Ashland. (And Whitesburg.) (And Wurtland.)

Free Christmas trees, at LBL.

Christmas parades: Sharpsburg, Nov. 9; Owensboro, Nov. 23; Central City, Nov. 24; Lebanon and Louisville, Nov. 29; Brownsville, Greensburg, 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, 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, Providence, Williamsburg, Dec. 14, and Tollesboro, Dec. 15.

Oh, Kentucky

Unemployment as of October: highest in Magoffin, lowest in Fayette and Oldham.

The governor-elect is getting a lot of his AG squad back together again.

Lake Barkley State Resort Park has landed another "Restoring the Finest" round.

Thanks, Jeff Bezos!

Rest in peace, Owensboro's Gabe Tower (1963-TBD)?

What's Kentucky's top export industry? Wrong. It's aerospace.

Eating local on campus, at UK.

Classical music on WEKU's 102.1 FM, signing off.

At Grayson County High School in Leitchfield, twin seniors notched perfect ACT-reading scores. One is headed to Kentucky Wesleyan, but it appears from this WKHG dispatch that WKU might be in the running for the other!

At First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Winchester, “Take what you need. Leave what you can. Little becomes much in the Maker’s hand.”

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 and Trenton, Dec. 6; Barbourville, Berea, Bowling Green, Cadiz, Calvert City, Columbia, Corbin, Cynthiana, Danville, Frankfort, Glasgow, Grayson, Henderson, Lawrenceburg, Lexington, Madisonville, Middlesboro, Murray, Owingsville, Paducah, Rabbit Hash, Scottsville, Shelbyville, 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

Not the old, old Whaler's Catch, but Paducah's old Whaler's Catch appears headed for new life next year.

Hiring in Dawson Springs, Dixon, Graham, Madisonville, Sebree, etc. Closed for good in Lawrenceburg, Radcliff and Winchester.

Hail to the bus-driver woman, Miss J.

The Kentucky Teachers' Retirement System was in better position again in fiscal 2019, says the state auditor.

It appears it'll be back to biz for Kentucky's apparently former New Hampshire vice-presidential hopeful.

Turning to sports, in Murray, it's rodeo time again. In Elkton, they had "the annual Meet the Rebels. YSE was there and got some of the first pics of the season of this year's team." And rest in peace, Mr. Terrell--he "loved the City of Corbin, he loved the Redhounds and most of all he loved people."

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; Fredonia, Harrodsburg, Hopkinsville, London, Monticello and Pineville, Dec. 6; Barbourville, Berea, Bowling Green, Cadiz, Calvert City, Columbia, Corbin, Cynthiana, 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

Catching up ...

Good jobs news from Benton, Bowling Green, Crittenden, Eddyville, Erlanger, Lexington, Louisville (and Louisville), Maysville and Paducah.

Bad from Clay and Hopkinsville.

The governor before the Paducah Rotary, per Channel 6: "Not rules that 'take away this or stop access to that.'"

Pete Koutoulas in The Winchester Sun: "I am not advocating taking away people’s guns. Nor am I advocating a free-for-all in which everyone walks around packing. I’m not supporting any particular new laws. What I am urging my fellow Americans to do is start taking this issue seriously. I am a gun owner. I own a pistol, a shotgun and a .22 rifle. I taught my sons how to shoot and how to be safe, responsible gun owners. It is absurd that we require higher standards of those seeking to operate a motor vehicle than we do of those who wish to own a firearm. It is absurd that we refuse to consider all possible solutions when dealing with a problem that has become a national health crisis. It is beyond absurd that we allow one organization to control the narrative — an organization that represents not the majority of gun owners, but gun manufacturers. Meanwhile, we allow our elected leaders to stifle attempts to conduct serious research into the causes of the epidemic of gun violence that has seized our nation. No other nation experiences the level of gun violence that America does. No other country would tolerate it. What makes us different?"

Oh, Kentucky

Winchester Sun columnist/Lexington IT-professional Pete Koutoulas: "As long as we have families living in our streets, hungry and sick, there are battles to be won. As long as there are people among us who lack access to health care, there are battles to be won. As long as we continue to treat families seeking refuge within our borders as criminals, there are battles to be won. As long as there are any in this land who are not sharing in the blessings of liberty, there are battles to be won."

"Chant for Peace," etc., for free, in Louisville.

The co-convener of the Northern Kentucky Poor People's Campaign reports in from the Moral Action Congress.

It's almost back-to-school time, and that means grind time for the Kentucky Refugees Ministries Summer Youth Program. 

Madisonville's 75-year-old bed-building, football-and-cheerleading-boosting and scholarship-providing Rotary Club is on the grow.

Two-year state study ending last year: Heroin, opioids and cocaine, down; methamphetamine and fentanyl, up.

Meanwhile, in Floyd County, "the drugs have took over." And, in Martin County, it'll be a sheriff's office of one, starting next month.

Jennifer P. Brown reports in The Hoptown Chronicle on an Iraq war veteran has opened a barber shop in downtown Hopkinsville. He plans to put in a putting green, and, in addition to $24 per, he's offering two years of once-every-three-weeks haircuts for $1,000.

Julianna Leach in the Grayson Journal-Enquirer has a feature on a Carter County native who studied dance at Morehead State, got a gig on a Carnival Cruise and then felt an urge to come home and open her own studio. "If there is a girl or boy that wants to dance, I want to make sure they can."

Keith Lawrence in The Messenger-Inquirer tells the story of "Chef Red," who as a single mom at age 20 learned healthcare wasn't for her, moved off to go to culinary school and has come back to Owensboro to open a healthy-meals-to-go provider. "The reason we eat fast food is because it's convenient. So, healthy food should be too."

The spirit(s) of the Graham Nighthawks live on.

And the animal-rendering stench in Metcalfe County ...?