Classics are better than nothing, unless we lose

As I noted last week, both CBS and the Kentucky Big Blue Radio network, are filling some air time slots with classic basketball games from past NCAA tournament years.

Of course the Big Blue Radio network’s choices involve wins that saw the Wildcats advance to the next round or win a national championship.

CBS, on the other hand, is not always so kind to us Kentucky fans, showing a few of the painful Cat losses among its lineup.

On the BBR airwaves last weekend was the replay of the 1978 Kentucky championship win over Duke in a 94-88 thriller that came behind the step-out game from Jack “Goose” Givens, who poured in 41 points without a three-point line.

Of course reliving that game and the championship claim was an enjoyable evening in itself, but the highlight of that game was the broadcast itself, and getting to once again listen to the golden voice of the late Cawood Ledford.

The legendary broadcaster seldom raised his voice, kept a constant cadence with the pace of the game, and was quick with his matter of fact criticisms of officials and their missed calls.

With no live games on TV through this COVID-19 crisis, sitting on the back porch with a radio turned up loud was a nice treat.

So, coming up in the series, get ready for a run of Kentucky wins.

The BBR radio will feature a pair of UK championship games this weekend, with a replay of the UK. vs. UTAH championship game of 1998 Saturday (2:00 p.m. local tip time, 1:00 p.m. pre-game) and then on Monday you can enjoy a replay of the 2012 67-59 win over Kansas, the Cats’ last NCAA title run (7:00 p.m. tip, 6:00 p.m. pre-game).

As for the CBS line-up, well it’s almost as much fun with a Sunday replay of the TV broadcast of that same 2012 UK win over Kansas, with a 3:00 p.m. tip.

Clinton County on some lists

I had a phone call from a former Clinton County resident now living over in Glasgow, Don Burchett, who told me of some “all time great” lists that Glasgow Daily Times sports editor John Reecer had recently published in light of sports topics getting a little thin during this COVID-19 pandemic.

I reached out to Reecer Monday and he confirmed that there were, in fact, Clinton County mentions in his all time great lists.

“In basketball, I included Keifer Dalton and Jackson Harlan in the top 10 boys’ basketball players of the decade list, and then I ranked the 2018-19 boys’ team as one of the top 10 teams of the decade,” Reecer told me Monday. “In football, I put Clinton County winning their first-ever playoff game as the No. 3 best football moment of the decade.”

Reecer went on to explain that the rankings/lists come from a pool of nine schools which spans the 15th District, the 16th District and Caverna High School and from a time period starting in the 2010-11 school year to the 2019-20 school year.

In the meantime – no sport at all stinks!