Western Kentucky and Kentucky?

• The start set the tone. The Hilltoppers opened at their 25, then, with efficiency, confidence and mid-season poise, they marched 75 yards on nine plays to score. Next, three touchdowns on four possessions. Never trailed, was never really threatened.

• Point of efficiency? WKU’s offensive line cratored run lanes for Antonio Andrews and pals, let quarterback Brandon Doughty stand and deliver – complete 27 of 34 passes for 271 yards and a touchdown.

• Early success made WKUlinebacker Andrew Jackson’s yap … redundant.

• Point spread, Kentucky favored by four-and-half was for fellow who fell off the turnip truck. The handicapper for this one must’ve been living in Bob Petrino’s pocket since summer, (don’t pick us to win.). Ignored were last year’s Hilltopper win in Lexington, neutral site this time, Petrino’s record in season openers (8-0) and record against Kentucky (4-1). A game that begged for a NO-line, was handicapped to order for the Petrinos. Let us hope the spread-set guy lost his shirt. But we doubt it.

• Shirts? Hilltoppers stylin’: Love the new-age helmets, but jersey numerals are straight out of Mrs. Wilder’s second grade.

• Intersectional marquee game this Saturday? Knoxville, Tennessee – Tennessee and Western Kentucky.

• First internet item following the WKU win: Close-up photo of Bobby Petrino smiling over a cutline: “How do you like me now?”

• Kentucky? Tackling reminded us of the movie Groundhog Day. Again and again and again. Atrocious.

• Other sideline. The rude sounds of car doors slamming were not the end of a spoiled tailgate party. Was end of coach Mark Stoops’s honeymoon.

“(Western) controlled us at the line of scrimmage,” Kentucky’s coach said, “created some good run plays, different looks. … Simple things, you know, leverage on the football, I thought we were very poor.”

• Stoops best postgame remark: Told his players “… to tip their caps to a WKU squad that was better on this night and move on to what’s next.”

• Most alarming reality for UK fans? In a sport where speed is as essential as drawing breath, the Wildcats looked slow moving, slow reacting, slow-slow.

• Reasons for optimism?

√ Kentucky’s opening lineup included 11 who had never started a college game, five on offense, six on defense.

√ This week’s foe, Miami of Ohio led Marshall 7-0 and lost 52-14.

PARALLELING NIGHTMARE

A multi-task nightmare Saturday night for one man (blush) holding the teevee remote. Western Kentucky and Kentucky on ESPN (207) kicked off at 7:15. On Direct TV 659 St. Louis Cardinals-Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park stared at 7:10, playing for lead in National League Central.

Flashing between first down snaps and first batter pitches was a recurring nightmare in paralleling.

Early going was a severe challenge. In Nashville, Western Kentucky and Kentucky scored 21 and 10 points early, while in pennant-fevered Pittsburgh, the Pirates put up two runs in the second inning, five more in the third.

Back and forth, muddled by a passing thunderstorm that whipped at the satellite signal. The confused teevee remote searched for this channel and that one frantically..

Football … baseball and back again. When both games hit on commercials at the same instant, was time to check 202, see if Wolf Blitzer had started firing cruise missiles at Syria yet.

Tough night.

America. I love this place.

BASKETBALL PRIMA DONNA FACTOR

This week’s prima donna notables …

No. 3. Louisville Ballard’s Quentin Snider, one time pledge for Louisville, now has more than a dozen colleges on his list. The kid ‘cut’ Indiana and Memphis recently. His father Scott keeps media abreast of all ‘breaking news.’

No. 2. Dick Vitale. On point guard prospect Emmanuel Mudiay commit to SMU, Voice of ESPN added a pointless tweet: “Congratulations time for SMU. Who would ever believe that SMU would beat Kentucky in recruiting?”

No. 1. 13th rated prospect, Theo Pinson, a North Carolina commit, gets this week’s best prima donna move for stupidity. At the Under Armor Slam Dunk contest Pinson scored a flying for a dunk shot over his mother.

CHALLENGE DEPT.

Al Starnes, head coach at Crittenden County more than two decades, chose a moment before his team’s season opener last month to reveal to his players a routine colonoscopy three weeks before had revealed a tumor. His surgery was scheduled for before game one.

His Rockets won their opener at Fulton City, then beat Hopkins County Central the week after. Starnes’ straight-to-the-point remarks to his players was as good as education gets. As in, tough times, how ya gonna handle it?

Starnes seized a moment, reminded his players and us, “In life we have to deal with things outside our control and this is just one of those things.”

The 52-year-old coach is recovering. His experience, how he handled it, is a coming-at-you-live experience in everyday humanity.

WORTH REVISIT DEPT.

Gene Keady will be inducted in College Basketball’s Hall of Fame this year.

Formerly coach at Western Kentucky, Keady once said: “… would be the best thing in the world for freshmen not to play (college basketball) their first year. I don’t know if it’s realistic or not, but if they put it to a vote, I’d vote for it.”

Keady’s remark was made in February, 2004.

PARTING SHOT

From Kentucky coach Mark Stoops after Western’s win over his team Saturday, best understatement: “We looked out of place.”

And so it goes.