Season openers.

Kentucky and Louisville. Last Thursday’s performances was evidence enough the Wildcats and Cardinals have no business opening a season against each other.

Reviews from Thursday were, to be kind, a mixed bag. For Western Kentucky and Murray State … let’s play two … next one at our place.

Ditto, Eastern Kentucky. The Colonels led Kansas State into the fourth quarter at Manhattan before losing 10-7.

The sunny preseason propaganda poured on Kentucky fans and capped by Joker Phillips’ assertion his Wildcats were “really sharp” in a final prep for Western Kentucky, one wondered, “really what?”

Preseason hype dispensed with, reality showed up.

For Kentucky, put aside kicker Ryan Tydlacka’s brilliant 47 yard average on seven punts, along with a handful of defensive stops, the Wildcats were, in a word, awful. Need two words? Morgan Newton.

Awful on offense – 11 first downs, four by penalties. UK’s much praised veteran offensive line made way for 74 rushing yards by feature backs Raymond Sanders and Josh Clemons. Bobby Rainey, Western’s little dynamo, posted 105.

Willie Taggart’s Hilltoppers kept the football more than Kentucky in every quarter. The Tops ran 69 plays, the Wildcats 51.

Newton completed seven of 18 passes with three interceptions, fell on his rump once, recovered a fumble (his own) and, pardon me saying so, “generally tried to roller skate in a buffalo herd.”

Decision-making? The light inside Newton’s head still has not come on.

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Best that can be said about Thursday night openers involving Commonwealth college teams are these:

• For Kentucky and Louisville, their night(mares) showed neither was ready for prime time on ESPN-anything.

• Murray State won. The Racers spotted Louisville 21 first half points and lots of bravado and chest bumps. Then they won the second half, 6-0. Looking ahead, quarterback Casey Brockman must be better than his show in Louisville. If so, the Racers will contend in the OVC.

• Western Kentucky won too. Sent an SEC foe home with cleat marks on its collective red face and took Big Mo home to Bowling Green. The Hilltoppers are bigger, tougher and more aggressive than advertised and should be 60 minutes of tough sledding for Navy in front of a packed house at home (and ESPN3).

• Individuals. Kentucky linebacker Danny Travathan is clearly an All-American, but the second coming of Andrew Jackson was quite the surprise. The Hilltoppers Old Hickory linebacker had a dozen tackles and, in the vernacular, ‘brung’ the havoc and then some.

If Jackson is an example of talent Taggart can attract to Western, tickets to home games will be at a premium sooner rather than later.

More bits from Thursday’s bad …

• Four coaching staffs took home an omelet – game film with good stuff scrambled into a batch of bad stuff. Who is best able to detect then preach best to eager ears, satisfactory execution will follow.

• The Las Vegas man who made Kentucky a 19.5-points favorite over Western apparently set his betting line after doing one.

• Las Vegas man who decided to offer No Line on Louisville-Murray State saved his bosses a headache and large pay out.

• Note to ESPN’s Dan Neal and Andre Ware: Send $5 to your favorite charity, please, for each time you told viewers Randall Cobb, Derek Locke and Mike Hartline are gone from UK’s offense.

Best moves from Thursday’s openers?

1. Josh Clemons cut-back on the way to his first touchdown at Kentucky.

2. Jack Doyle’s cut-back that left Western’s tight end so open broadcaster Andre Ware almost jumped out of the booth to throw a touchdown pass. Excited Tops quarterback Kawaun Jakes, overthrew Doyle by .. well, alot.

3. ESPNU managed its telecast carefully to avoid letting its audience see a half empty stadium. Official attendance: 24,599.

4. Best of best moves? Congratulations to Mitch Barnhart. Kentucky’s director of athletics was savvy enough to schedule this opener five hours from campus, in another time zone, outside the state, on a week night aired by ESPN so late most recruiting prospects had gone to bed or fallen asleep listening to Neal and Ware remind us again, Randall Cobb and Derek Locke and Mike Hartline don’t play here anymore.

Finally, best thing about season openers? Game Two.

NEWS & VIEWS

NEWS. In Baton Rouge a week before LSU’s season opener, quarterback Jordan Jefferson was arrested and charged with felony second degree battery for his alleged involvement in a bar fight.

VIEW. If proven that Jefferson kicked a man in the face as he lay on the ground, it is cowardice at its worst no matter who the victim is. LSU should expel Jefferson immediately and prosecutors should ask that the felon’s attorney be called before the state’s bar association to explain why he said of the incident “this was a case of college kids doing what college kids do.”

NEWS. A Kentucky Kernel sports reporter was banned from a UK basketball event last week after he interviewed a pair of potential walk-ons to John Calipari’s team. A violation of athletic department policy, Dewayne Peevy declared. Contacting a student-athlete without athletic department approval is not permitted at Kentucky.

VIEW. Context. In defense of Peevy’s stand, history tells us once upon a time unmonitored contact with UK basketball players was a first step that led to a point shaving scandal. Conversely, Peevy’s way to punish a tuition-paying student reporter was petty and arrogant.

And so it goes.

Sports In Kentucky appears in community newspapers across Kentucky. You can reach bob Watkins at Sprtsinky@aol.com