“Lonely Blue Boy.”
It was a 1960 hit for Conway Twitty, and now, the apt description of the University of Kentucky athletics director that Wildcat fans love to hate, Mitch Barnhart. But his moment has arrived. Corral Billy the Kid and Mitch is the new Tom Jurich.
The latest name I heard.
Talk about a rep on the line, check this out. Years ago I had a source advise that Barnhart would be UK’s next AD, before his predecessor Larry Ivy was fired. I reported the eerily accurate info here. That same source called unsolicited Saturday morning. He teasingly asked if I wanted to know the next Kentucky coach? Duh! His words: “The deal was struck last weekend in Lexington during the sub-regional. Thad Matta will be UK’s next coach.” Makes no sense. Hey, I’m just the messenger. The rep on the line is that of my three-time SOY (Source of the Year).
Player of the Weekend.
Anthony Atkinson scored 10 points in the last 39 seconds to lead Barton to a 77-75 NCAA Div. II title win over Winona State.
Tourney on the Telly.
Whether CBS is to blame, or WLKY, or Insight, or all three, they still, with all the current resources, don’t get it right. During the opening rounds, people with the Insight digital cable and HD packages had four stations where games were showing: Channels 5, 515, 516 and 912. Forgetting the times when U of L, UK or IU were playing — those obviously call for a different scenario — there were slots when there were four games being contested simultaneously. Yet there were never more than three games available, and often, only two. I don’t get it. And riddle me this: Why, for regional telecasts, would CBS deny us the true new voice of college hoops, the irrepressible Gus Johnson? Before the Xavier-Ohio State overtime in Lexington, he was excited as a kid waiting for a soda jerk to finish his banana split.
Monday’s winner is …
I dunno. OK, for some reason, Ohio State has the look. Then again, so do UCLA, Florida and Georgetown.
By seedy k
seedyk@culturemaven.com
This article appears in March 27, 2007.