Saturday, March 31, 2007
Friday, March 30, 2007
Video Fix - T O O L
Sober - 1993
Prison Sex - 1994
Stinkfist - 1996
AEnema - 1997
Schism - 2001
Parabola - 2002
Prison Sex - 1994
Stinkfist - 1996
AEnema - 1997
Schism - 2001
Parabola - 2002
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Monday, March 26, 2007
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Friday, March 23, 2007
Local Girl Done Good
Clarksville, TN Girl Wins Miss USA !!!
Ron Leath's good friends (& neighbors) daughter Rachel Smith just won Miss USA !
He has known her since she was a kid . . . pretty cool.
Swimsuit
Questions
Crowning
Click Click Click
http://www.misstennesseeusa.com/tnusa07_bio.html
http://www.missusa.com/delegates/2007/files/TN.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel_Smith
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
R I P
Calvert DeForest (Larry "Bud" Melman)
.jpg)
Letterman Regular Larry 'Bud' Melman Dies,
Known For Oddball Role On 'Late Show'
(AP) NEW YORK: Calvert DeForest, the white-haired, bespectacled nebbish who gained cult status as the oddball Larry "Bud" Melman on David Letterman's late night television shows, has died after a long illness.
The Brooklyn-born DeForest, who was 85, died Monday at a hospital on Long Island, Letterman's "Late Show" announced Wednesday.
He made dozens of appearances on Letterman's shows from 1982 through 2002, handling a variety of twisted duties: dueting with Sonny Bono on "I Got You, Babe," doing a Mary Tyler Moore impression during a visit to Minneapolis, handing out hot towels to arrivals at the Port Authority Bus Terminal.
"Everyone always wondered if Calvert was an actor playing a character, but in reality he was just himself -- a genuine, modest and nice man," Letterman said in a statement. "To our staff and to our viewers, he was a beloved and valued part of our show, and we will miss him."
The gnomish DeForest was working as a file clerk at a drug rehabilitation center when show producers, who had seen him in a New York University student's film, came calling.
He was the first face to greet viewers when Letterman's NBC show debuted on Feb. 1, 1982, offering a parody of the prologue to the Boris Karloff film "Frankenstein."
"It was the greatest thing that had happened in my life," he once said of his first Letterman appearance.
DeForest, given the nom de tube of Melman, became a program regular. The collaboration continued when the talk show host launched "Late Show with David Letterman" on CBS in 1993, though DeForest had to use his real name because of a dispute with NBC over "intellectual property."
Cue cards were often DeForest's television kryptonite, and his character inevitably appeared in an ill-fitting black suit behind thick black-rimmed glasses.
DeForest often drew laughs by his bizarre juxtaposition as a "Late Show" correspondent at events such as the 1994 Winter Olympics in Norway or the anniversary Woodstock concert that year.
His last appearance on "Late Show," celebrating his 81st birthday, came in 2002.
DeForest also appeared in an assortment of other television shows and films, including "Nothing Lasts Forever" with Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd.
At his request, there will be no funeral service for DeForest, who left no survivors.
(© 2007 The Associated Press.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Larry introduces Letterman's First "Late Night" on NBC
Handing out Hot Towels - Classic Larry
Larry in a Bear Suit
Viewer Mail
Larry as Johnny Carson (and then the Real Carson - RIP Johnny)
.jpg)
Letterman Regular Larry 'Bud' Melman Dies,
Known For Oddball Role On 'Late Show'
(AP) NEW YORK: Calvert DeForest, the white-haired, bespectacled nebbish who gained cult status as the oddball Larry "Bud" Melman on David Letterman's late night television shows, has died after a long illness.
The Brooklyn-born DeForest, who was 85, died Monday at a hospital on Long Island, Letterman's "Late Show" announced Wednesday.
He made dozens of appearances on Letterman's shows from 1982 through 2002, handling a variety of twisted duties: dueting with Sonny Bono on "I Got You, Babe," doing a Mary Tyler Moore impression during a visit to Minneapolis, handing out hot towels to arrivals at the Port Authority Bus Terminal.
"Everyone always wondered if Calvert was an actor playing a character, but in reality he was just himself -- a genuine, modest and nice man," Letterman said in a statement. "To our staff and to our viewers, he was a beloved and valued part of our show, and we will miss him."
The gnomish DeForest was working as a file clerk at a drug rehabilitation center when show producers, who had seen him in a New York University student's film, came calling.
He was the first face to greet viewers when Letterman's NBC show debuted on Feb. 1, 1982, offering a parody of the prologue to the Boris Karloff film "Frankenstein."
"It was the greatest thing that had happened in my life," he once said of his first Letterman appearance.
DeForest, given the nom de tube of Melman, became a program regular. The collaboration continued when the talk show host launched "Late Show with David Letterman" on CBS in 1993, though DeForest had to use his real name because of a dispute with NBC over "intellectual property."
Cue cards were often DeForest's television kryptonite, and his character inevitably appeared in an ill-fitting black suit behind thick black-rimmed glasses.
DeForest often drew laughs by his bizarre juxtaposition as a "Late Show" correspondent at events such as the 1994 Winter Olympics in Norway or the anniversary Woodstock concert that year.
His last appearance on "Late Show," celebrating his 81st birthday, came in 2002.
DeForest also appeared in an assortment of other television shows and films, including "Nothing Lasts Forever" with Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd.
At his request, there will be no funeral service for DeForest, who left no survivors.
(© 2007 The Associated Press.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Larry introduces Letterman's First "Late Night" on NBC
Handing out Hot Towels - Classic Larry
Larry in a Bear Suit
Viewer Mail
Larry as Johnny Carson (and then the Real Carson - RIP Johnny)
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Video Fix - BRMC
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (BRMC)
Great Band - Check them out.
"Whatever Happened to My Rock n' Roll"
This song / video is the first time I heard them, Cool Video
"Stop"
"Ain't No Easy Way"
"Love Burns"
Great Band - Check them out.
"Whatever Happened to My Rock n' Roll"
This song / video is the first time I heard them, Cool Video
"Stop"
"Ain't No Easy Way"
"Love Burns"
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Stellar season
Stellar season
War of attrition ends poorly for Clarksville
By GEORGE ROBINSON
The Leaf-Chronicle
MURFREESBORO — In a season that saw Clarksville surpass most of the school's historic basketball legacy, the final push toward a state championship would be within its grasp.
But fate dealt the Wildcats the cruelest blow of all, as Maryville's Ryan Click drained a fade-away 3-pointer as time expired to dramatically capture the TSSAA State Basketball Championship 69-66 against Clarksville in double overtime Saturday night.
The Wildcats, who fought off Oakland in three overtimes during Friday's semifinal, found enough magic to rally from a 14-point, fourth-quarter deficit and snatch a breath of life after the first overtime.
But Clarksville (33-3) who earned its first lead of the game in the first extra period, couldn't find the magic as the second overtime period salted away.
The Wildcats held a 66-63 advantage with just under 2:00 left in the game when the tournament's Most Valuable Player, Jordan Damron, lifted the sixth of his six 3-pointers to tie the game at 66 with 1:50 left.
Clarksville tried to melt the clock looking for a last shot, but reserve forward Shawn Dowlen was caught in the backcourt with the ball as the Wildcat guards tried to relieve Dowlen of the ball. With the officials counting off the five-second rule, Dowlen made his move to the basket and was called for a charge.
Maryville followed with a shot that veered off its mark but Clarksville couldn't corral the rebound, leaving 2.2 seconds left. The Rebels took a quick look inside to 6-foot-6, 245-pound Aaron Douglas but Damron floated a pass to Click, instead, as the sophomore guard drained the game-winning shot.
"We're looking for a big man inside and Clarksville swallowed him up," Maryville coach Mark Eldridge said. "Our next option was our perimeter players and Click happened to be the one. What a shot."
The loss is the first for Clarksville since a December defeat at the hands of Independence and is the second state runner-up finish for the Wildcats.
In two days, the Wildcats played a total of 13 periods and 84 minutes.
"I'd like to see four more minutes on the clock just to see these young men play again," a dejected Ted Young said about his Clarksville team. "What a joy to watch them play."
Tyrone Caldwell took over the final period of regulation and saved his team from elimination in the first overtime period. He finished with 26 points and six assists and was 11-of-13 from the foul line.
"We weren't playing well in the first three quarters and I didn't score a point before halftime," Caldwell said. "I just didn't want that to be my last memory and I willed myself to play better."
Wildcats forward Shaun Merriweather figured out the mystery of playing against the larger Douglas — a University of Tennessee football signee — to collect 16 points and eight rebounds while Ryne Harper finished with 10 points.
"Tyrone carried us," said the senior shooting guard. "I'm going to miss playing with him."
Maryville dominated much of regulation, using a bruising half-court offense to lean on Clarksville's speed. Douglas, who had 17 points, changed the Wildcats'offensive attack by controlling the paint for eight blocks.
Meanwhile, the Wildcats couldn't find any rhythm and looked fatigued after that marathon triple-OT game the night before as well as playing one of the tournament's toughest teams in Memphis Ridgeway last Thursday.
But somehow, Young's crew found a way to scratch back into the contest. Clarksville trailed 41-27 with 7:26 left in regulation when it exploded on a 10-0 run led by Merriweather and Caldwell. The junior's foul shots with 4:54 left cut Maryville's lead to 41-39.
The Wildcats finally evened the game after forcing a 10-second violation with 39 seconds left. Caldwell drove to the basket, drawing the foul. He sank his two shots to tie the game at 50-50 as regulation ended.
Maryville looked to have Clarksville put away in the closing seconds of the first overtime with a 62-60 lead and the ball under Clarksville's basket. But the Rebels threw their inbound pass to Caldwell who drew another foul on Douglas and hit both foul shots with 1 second left to send it into the second overtime.
"All hope really looked lost," Young said. "And Tyrone makes the steal and gets clobbered and stepped up to hit his two free throws. Another overtime and we see another four minutes on the clock."
"Seeing another four minutes on the clock right now would be the most rewarding thing for me."
Caldwell, Merriweather and Harper were each named to the All-Tournament Team.
George Robinson is the prep writer for The Leaf-Chronicle. He can be reached at georgerobinson@theleafchronicle.com or by telephone at 245-0747.
War of attrition ends poorly for Clarksville
By GEORGE ROBINSON
The Leaf-Chronicle
MURFREESBORO — In a season that saw Clarksville surpass most of the school's historic basketball legacy, the final push toward a state championship would be within its grasp.
But fate dealt the Wildcats the cruelest blow of all, as Maryville's Ryan Click drained a fade-away 3-pointer as time expired to dramatically capture the TSSAA State Basketball Championship 69-66 against Clarksville in double overtime Saturday night.
The Wildcats, who fought off Oakland in three overtimes during Friday's semifinal, found enough magic to rally from a 14-point, fourth-quarter deficit and snatch a breath of life after the first overtime.
But Clarksville (33-3) who earned its first lead of the game in the first extra period, couldn't find the magic as the second overtime period salted away.
The Wildcats held a 66-63 advantage with just under 2:00 left in the game when the tournament's Most Valuable Player, Jordan Damron, lifted the sixth of his six 3-pointers to tie the game at 66 with 1:50 left.
Clarksville tried to melt the clock looking for a last shot, but reserve forward Shawn Dowlen was caught in the backcourt with the ball as the Wildcat guards tried to relieve Dowlen of the ball. With the officials counting off the five-second rule, Dowlen made his move to the basket and was called for a charge.
Maryville followed with a shot that veered off its mark but Clarksville couldn't corral the rebound, leaving 2.2 seconds left. The Rebels took a quick look inside to 6-foot-6, 245-pound Aaron Douglas but Damron floated a pass to Click, instead, as the sophomore guard drained the game-winning shot.
"We're looking for a big man inside and Clarksville swallowed him up," Maryville coach Mark Eldridge said. "Our next option was our perimeter players and Click happened to be the one. What a shot."
The loss is the first for Clarksville since a December defeat at the hands of Independence and is the second state runner-up finish for the Wildcats.
In two days, the Wildcats played a total of 13 periods and 84 minutes.
"I'd like to see four more minutes on the clock just to see these young men play again," a dejected Ted Young said about his Clarksville team. "What a joy to watch them play."
Tyrone Caldwell took over the final period of regulation and saved his team from elimination in the first overtime period. He finished with 26 points and six assists and was 11-of-13 from the foul line.
"We weren't playing well in the first three quarters and I didn't score a point before halftime," Caldwell said. "I just didn't want that to be my last memory and I willed myself to play better."
Wildcats forward Shaun Merriweather figured out the mystery of playing against the larger Douglas — a University of Tennessee football signee — to collect 16 points and eight rebounds while Ryne Harper finished with 10 points.
"Tyrone carried us," said the senior shooting guard. "I'm going to miss playing with him."
Maryville dominated much of regulation, using a bruising half-court offense to lean on Clarksville's speed. Douglas, who had 17 points, changed the Wildcats'offensive attack by controlling the paint for eight blocks.
Meanwhile, the Wildcats couldn't find any rhythm and looked fatigued after that marathon triple-OT game the night before as well as playing one of the tournament's toughest teams in Memphis Ridgeway last Thursday.
But somehow, Young's crew found a way to scratch back into the contest. Clarksville trailed 41-27 with 7:26 left in regulation when it exploded on a 10-0 run led by Merriweather and Caldwell. The junior's foul shots with 4:54 left cut Maryville's lead to 41-39.
The Wildcats finally evened the game after forcing a 10-second violation with 39 seconds left. Caldwell drove to the basket, drawing the foul. He sank his two shots to tie the game at 50-50 as regulation ended.
Maryville looked to have Clarksville put away in the closing seconds of the first overtime with a 62-60 lead and the ball under Clarksville's basket. But the Rebels threw their inbound pass to Caldwell who drew another foul on Douglas and hit both foul shots with 1 second left to send it into the second overtime.
"All hope really looked lost," Young said. "And Tyrone makes the steal and gets clobbered and stepped up to hit his two free throws. Another overtime and we see another four minutes on the clock."
"Seeing another four minutes on the clock right now would be the most rewarding thing for me."
Caldwell, Merriweather and Harper were each named to the All-Tournament Team.
George Robinson is the prep writer for The Leaf-Chronicle. He can be reached at georgerobinson@theleafchronicle.com or by telephone at 245-0747.
Heartbreaker
TSSAA BOYS STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
Heartbreaker
Clarksville fights to very end, losing in double OT 69-66
By JIMMY TRODGLEN
The Leaf-Chronicle
MURFREESBORO — Almost from the beginning, the intent was to carve out their chapter in Clarksville High basketball history.
Without a doubt this season's edition of Wildcats basketball accomplished nearly all of their goals along the way, although the ultimate goal was left on the floor Saturday night at Middle Tennessee's Murphy Center. Still, the Wildcats did more than most expected.
There have been some great basketball teams in county history, and the '06-7 Clarksville Wildcats will go down as one of them, even with their double-overtime 69-66 loss to Maryville in the Class AAA state championship game.
It was the second consecutive night Clarksville High went overtime. In the tournament semifinals against Oakland on Friday, the Wildcats won in triple-overtime. In the championship game against Maryville, the Wildcats trailed by 14 when it mounted an incredible comeback in the fourth quarter to force the overtime. Clarksville trailed the entire game, but tied the score 50-50 on two free throws from Tyrone Caldwell with 26.3 seconds left.
At the end of the first overtime period, Caldwell stole an inbounds pass with 1.5 seconds left and hit two free throws to force the second overtime. Caldwell finished with 26 points and was named to the all-tournament team, along with Ryne Harper and Shaun Merriweather.
Although it is an unofficial record, TSSAA officials said no other team in tournament history had played more minutes in a state tournament. In their three tournament games, the Wildcats played a total of 116 minutes.
No basketball team from Montgomery County has won a state championship, although Clarksville High has come close twice, and Saturday's championship game will go down as a classic.
In their ninth state tournament appearance, the Wildcats reaped a chance to win the ultimate reward when they beat Franklin in the sectionals to reach state.
Clarksville finished state runner-up in 1964 and has a pair of third-place finishes, but no trophy or designation as state's best.
Clarksville came close to the state tournament field last season, losing to Hunters Lane in the regionals. This year the Wildcats wanted to take their season one step further, which they did with a win over Franklin.
Clarksville has had its share of greats to wear a Wildcats uniform, including the likes of current Wildcats coach Ted Young, along with Henry Thomas, Trenton Hassell and Shawn Marion. Now Caldwell can add his name to that list.
Clarksville rode a 23-game winning streak into the championship game and finished its season at 33-3. Along the way, the Wildcats blew out teams, with margins of victory exceeding 20 points during the regular season.
Once the postseason began, the margins of victory were trimmed dramatically, but each win moved the Wildcats closer to Saturday's climatic ending.
Along the way, Clarksville's fans grew, with the largest fan base in the three tournament rounds supporting the Wildcats.
Since the postseason began with a 65-52 win over Northeast in the District 10-AAA Tournament, the Wildcats had a flair for the dramatics. The Wildcats had to rally late in the fourth quarter to beat Springfield for the district tournament championship, then beat Gallatin, La Vergne and Mt. Juliet in the Region 5-AAA Tournament. A relentless and smothering defense stopped Franklin in the sectionals, sending Clarksville to its first state tournament since 1997.
To reach the championship game, Clarksville had to buck the odds. The Wildcats were placed in the toughest portion of the AAA bracket, opening with Memphis Ridgeway, then facing Oakland in the semifinals.
Ridgeway, which produced a state title two years ago — and three of its star players have played for Austin Peay in the past eight seasons — knocked off Raleigh-Egypt, ranked in USA Today's Top 25 national poll, to reach state.
The Wildcats trailed by 14 in the first quarter to Ridgeway, then took a nine-point lead with just over a minute remaining when Ridgeway mounted a furious rally, cutting the margin to one. Free throws from Harper sealed the win.
Against Oakland, the Wildcats again rallied from a big first-quarter deficit, then built a 10-point second-half lead before Oakland rallied to force overtime. The game went three overtimes, before the Wildcats eventually wore down the Patriots.
Jimmy Trodglen is sports editor of The Leaf-Chronicle and can be reached by e-mail at jimmytrodglen@theleafchronicle.com or by phone at 245-0261.
Heartbreaker
Clarksville fights to very end, losing in double OT 69-66
By JIMMY TRODGLEN
The Leaf-Chronicle
MURFREESBORO — Almost from the beginning, the intent was to carve out their chapter in Clarksville High basketball history.
Without a doubt this season's edition of Wildcats basketball accomplished nearly all of their goals along the way, although the ultimate goal was left on the floor Saturday night at Middle Tennessee's Murphy Center. Still, the Wildcats did more than most expected.
There have been some great basketball teams in county history, and the '06-7 Clarksville Wildcats will go down as one of them, even with their double-overtime 69-66 loss to Maryville in the Class AAA state championship game.
It was the second consecutive night Clarksville High went overtime. In the tournament semifinals against Oakland on Friday, the Wildcats won in triple-overtime. In the championship game against Maryville, the Wildcats trailed by 14 when it mounted an incredible comeback in the fourth quarter to force the overtime. Clarksville trailed the entire game, but tied the score 50-50 on two free throws from Tyrone Caldwell with 26.3 seconds left.
At the end of the first overtime period, Caldwell stole an inbounds pass with 1.5 seconds left and hit two free throws to force the second overtime. Caldwell finished with 26 points and was named to the all-tournament team, along with Ryne Harper and Shaun Merriweather.
Although it is an unofficial record, TSSAA officials said no other team in tournament history had played more minutes in a state tournament. In their three tournament games, the Wildcats played a total of 116 minutes.
No basketball team from Montgomery County has won a state championship, although Clarksville High has come close twice, and Saturday's championship game will go down as a classic.
In their ninth state tournament appearance, the Wildcats reaped a chance to win the ultimate reward when they beat Franklin in the sectionals to reach state.
Clarksville finished state runner-up in 1964 and has a pair of third-place finishes, but no trophy or designation as state's best.
Clarksville came close to the state tournament field last season, losing to Hunters Lane in the regionals. This year the Wildcats wanted to take their season one step further, which they did with a win over Franklin.
Clarksville has had its share of greats to wear a Wildcats uniform, including the likes of current Wildcats coach Ted Young, along with Henry Thomas, Trenton Hassell and Shawn Marion. Now Caldwell can add his name to that list.
Clarksville rode a 23-game winning streak into the championship game and finished its season at 33-3. Along the way, the Wildcats blew out teams, with margins of victory exceeding 20 points during the regular season.
Once the postseason began, the margins of victory were trimmed dramatically, but each win moved the Wildcats closer to Saturday's climatic ending.
Along the way, Clarksville's fans grew, with the largest fan base in the three tournament rounds supporting the Wildcats.
Since the postseason began with a 65-52 win over Northeast in the District 10-AAA Tournament, the Wildcats had a flair for the dramatics. The Wildcats had to rally late in the fourth quarter to beat Springfield for the district tournament championship, then beat Gallatin, La Vergne and Mt. Juliet in the Region 5-AAA Tournament. A relentless and smothering defense stopped Franklin in the sectionals, sending Clarksville to its first state tournament since 1997.
To reach the championship game, Clarksville had to buck the odds. The Wildcats were placed in the toughest portion of the AAA bracket, opening with Memphis Ridgeway, then facing Oakland in the semifinals.
Ridgeway, which produced a state title two years ago — and three of its star players have played for Austin Peay in the past eight seasons — knocked off Raleigh-Egypt, ranked in USA Today's Top 25 national poll, to reach state.
The Wildcats trailed by 14 in the first quarter to Ridgeway, then took a nine-point lead with just over a minute remaining when Ridgeway mounted a furious rally, cutting the margin to one. Free throws from Harper sealed the win.
Against Oakland, the Wildcats again rallied from a big first-quarter deficit, then built a 10-point second-half lead before Oakland rallied to force overtime. The game went three overtimes, before the Wildcats eventually wore down the Patriots.
Jimmy Trodglen is sports editor of The Leaf-Chronicle and can be reached by e-mail at jimmytrodglen@theleafchronicle.com or by phone at 245-0261.
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Tourney has been a roller coaster
Tourney has been a roller coaster
By JIMMY TRODGLEN
The Leaf-Chronicle
MURFREESBORO — For the first 32 minutes, the noise echoing around the Murphy Center came from the Clarksville High and Oakland fans hanging on to every bounce of the ball, while collectively holding their breath with each shot taken.
By the beginning of the third overtime, those neutral fans watching the semifinals of Friday's TSSAA Class AAA boys state tournament, were drawn into the intensity and emotion of what some called afterwards the greatest game played in tournament history.
Clarksville High will play for its first state championship since 1964 when it meets Maryville today at 7 p.m. for the Class AAA title. Maryville is making its first appearance in the title game after shocking Whites Creek 65-55 in Friday's other semifinal game.
For the players and fans living on each possession, the ebb-and-flow was enough to keep fans standing for the three overtime periods, and they stayed around long enough to see the Wildcats jump into the stands to celebrate the win with their fans.
Oakland's Chaisson Allen scored 36 points, hitting seven 3-pointers. He hit a 3-pointer and added two free throws to force overtime, then converted a four-point play in double overtime to force a third overtime.
"I thought we were playing great defense all the time, it was just No. 12 (Chaisson Allen) was ridiculously good and kept hitting all these pull-up 3s," said Clarksville guard Ryne Harper, who has 10 3-pointers in Clarksville's two state tournament games. "The guy was amazing."
For the second time in as many nights, Harper had his share of dramatics, finishing with 20 points while hitting four 3-pointers.
With Clarksville erasing Oakland's lead in the second quarter, Harper stole the ball at midcourt and threw a perfect pass to Adam Barnes for a layup. Harper had another steal that led to a Caldwell layup in the third quarter, and then he hit a driving layup with 1:46 left in regulation to give the Wildcats a three-point lead. The basket ultimately proved to be critical when Allen hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key less than a minute later.
And if that wasn't enough. Harper also had eight defensive rebounds.
"I should've been doing it the whole year," said Harper, referring to his defensive rebounding effort. "I want to get in there to get the defensive rebounds and help Shaun (Merriweather) and Lavonte (Henderson). To do what they can down low, they need help sometimes."
Harper's biggest play, however, didn't show up in the scorebook. At the beginning of the third overtime, Harper shot an air ball from the free-throw line, but followed his shot, saving the ball from going out of bounds and finding an open Barnes. Seconds later Barnes hit a 3-pointer that proved to be the demise of Oakland.
The start of Clarksville's semifinal game was eerily similar to how it started against Ridgeway in the tournament quarterfinals. Clarksville trailed by 14 at one point before coming back to beat Ridgeway. Against Oakland, the Wildcats trailed by 11 in the first quarter, but were down by one only at halftime.
"We felt like we can battle back from a deficit, but we don't like being there," Harper said. "We do not need to take that approach in any game. You never want to get behind, but I'm glad we battled back both times."
Clarksville led by as many as four points in each of the first two overtimes, only to watch Oakland come back.
Jimmy Trodglen is sports editor of The Leaf-Chronicle and can be reached by e-mail at jimmytrodglen@theleafchronicle.com or by phone at 245-0261.
Wings & Prayers
Wings & Prayers
Epic semifinal game has already been billed as one of the best in school history
BY GEORGE ROBINSON
The Leaf-Chronicle
MURFREESBORO — Mark it in the annals of Clarksville High basketball lore. Talk about it at the watering hole with your grandchildren generations from now.
For those who saw it, they'd swear it was a dream.
But for Clarksville's basketball team, their dream is only one game away.
In what has become an instant classic, Clarksville rallied from a first-quarter deficit, watched a 10-point fourth-quarter lead evaporate then absorbed 12 minutes of overtime periods to finally end Oakland's season, beating the Patriots 70-63 in a triple-overtime thriller Friday night in the semifinals of the TSSAA Boys' State Basketball Championships at the Murphy Center.
The victory gives the Wildcats their first state title berth since 1964.
"I've already had three people tell me that this was the best state tournament semifinal they've ever seen," an exhausted Clarksville coach Ted Young said. "This was two teams playing at the highest level and giving everything of themselves. It was an honor to be a part of it and the loser of this game certainly doesn't deserve to lose."
Ryne Harper had another outstanding night, finishing with a team high 20 points, including shooting 4-of-7 from behind the 3-point arc. Tyrone Caldwell had 14 points and eight assists while Shaun Merriweather rebounded from a lackluster quarterfinal game against Memphis Ridgeway Thursday, to post 13 points and 13 rebounds Friday.
"I've been playing basketball since I was three and I'm 17 now," Caldwell said. "I've never played in a game like this. It was so incredible I'm still at a loss for words."
Oakland's Chaisson Allen, a Northeastern signee, showed his Division-I skills pouring in 36 points. Shane Blissard added 15 points for the Patriots.
"I haven't been in a game like this with all the ebb and flow and the emotions," Oakland coach Randy King said. "It was a great game between two great teams and Clarksville was the better one this night."
The Wildcats (33-2) will face Maryville (28-7) for the Class 3-A state championship at 7 p.m. today. Clarksville, who is riding a 23-game win streak, has never won a state title.
"We didn't have any goals of being the greatest Clarksville High team ever," Young said. "We just wanted to be the most together team. We want to enjoy the journey. And now there are only two teams left where the journey will stop abruptly for one."
Trailing 36-35, Clarksville shot into the fourth quarter on a 13-2 run as Harper buried a pair of treys to open the frame. In less than 2:00, the Wildcats were enjoying a 48-38 lead.
But Allen put the Patriots (32-4) on his slender shoulders. He dropped in a 3-pointer with 4:40 left to cut the lead to 48-41. Oakland forced Harper into a trap and stole the ball as Allen connected on another three. Shawn Dowlen found himself the victim of Oakland's defense as his penetration to the basket was picked by Jaffarious Wade. Wade drove to the basket and drew a three-point play. His foul shot with 3:54 left cut Clarksville's lead to 48-47.
Allen tied the game at 50, draining the sixth of his seven 3-pointers, on the night, over the smaller Caldwell with 40 seconds left in regulation.
But Dowlen responded powering his way under the basket for two points with 14 ticks remaining as Clarksville took a 52-50 lead.
Allen, however, reached the foul line with 6 seconds left and calmly sank both shots to send the game into overtime.
Both teams traded points in the extra period before Harper nailed a 3-pointer from the corner with 2:30 left for a 57-54 lead.
Blissard countered with his 3-pointer with 1:42 left to tie the game. Oakland had an opportunity to get off a game-winning shot but Wade turned the ball over to the Wildcats and Harper found himself with the basketball 14 feet from the goal. His shot, however, was blocked by two Patriot defenders sending the game into a second overtime.
Clarksville's LaVonte Henderson and Adam Barnes hit two straight baskets to give the Wildcats a 61-57 lead as the second extra period began. But Allen, whose outside shooting forced Young to abandon a matchup zone that has been effective since early February, saved Oakland again.
His two foul shots with 1:22 left cut the lead to 61-59.
Harper's drive for a lay up with 44 seconds left gave the Wildcats a four-point lead but fate stepped in.
Caldwell almost came up with a key steal, deflecting a pass from Wade to Allen. Allen, however, caught the ball and hesitated slightly, pulling Henderson out to challenge the shot. Allen stroked the 3-pointer and drew the foul, completing a rare four-point play with 31 seconds left.
The final seconds of the second overtime period were whacky as the ball bounced around between two Clarksville and three Oakland players before Wade took a heave from behind halfcourt that nearly found its mark.
"We hit baskets and they hit baskets," Merriweather said. "I couldn't keep up and I was out on the floor playing. I was just shocked that both teams kept coming out quarter after quarter."
Undaunted, Clarksville would finally put the game away in the third overtime. Oakland missed all five of its shots in the third OT.
Barnes, who finished with 10 points, connected on a 3-pointer for the period's first points with 1:41 left in the game. Henderson, Harper and Barnes would seal it on the charity stripe, going 4-of-6 from the line to secure the victory.
"I just feel bad for our seniors that they were on the short end of this," King said. "They've been a great group and this was a great game and to lose it is tough."
Clarksville finished the contest, shooting 50.8 percent (34-of-68) while holding Oakland to just 28.8 percent. Young put a taller Henderson (6-foot-4) on Allen (6-5), forcing the senior to work harder for shots in the fourth quarter and overtime periods. Allen shot 12-of-33 and 7-for-17 from the 3-point line.
But the Wildcats out-rebounded Oakland, 49-37, despite the Patriots size advantage with 6-8 center Kit Carlton. Carlton was limited to just 1-for-6 from the field and three rebounds.
Now the Wildcats face Maryville who'll play for its first state championship.
"My kids trust me to come up with a game plan," Young said. "I don't know what it's going to be. Our game plan is to score more points than Maryville."
Clarksville 70, Oakland 63
Oakland 16 8 12 16 5 6 0 — 63
Clarksville 9 14 12 17 5 6 7 — 70
Clarksville: Adam Barnes 10, Ryne Harper 20, Tyrone Caldwell 14, LaVonte Henderson 9, Shaun Merriweather 13, Shawn Dowlen 4. Team totals 29 7-12.
Oakland: Allen Chaisson 36, Jaffarious Wade 10, Shane Blissard 15, Kit Carlton 2. Team totals 21 11-14.
3-point goals: Clarksville 5 (Harper 4, Barnes). Oakland 10 (Chaisson 7, Blissard 3).
Records: Clarksville (33-2). Oakland (32-4).
George Robinson is the prep writer for The Leaf-Chronicle. He can be reached by e-mail at georgerobinson@theleafchronicle.com or by telephone at 245-0747.
State Title in Sight
CHS wins in triple OT
Cats to play Maryville for state title today
By JIMMY TRODGLEN
The Leaf-Chronicle
MURFREESBORO — There are moments forever frozen in history. There are games that define teams, players and coaches. Fans will talk about the shot, the block, and a player's performance decades after the final seconds have ticked off the game clock.
Clarksville High has a storied basketball tradition dating back to the 1950s when it made its first state basketball tournament appearance. Along the way, the Wildcats have won their share of district and region titles, and have won more than their share of memorable games.
Arguably its greatest game was played Friday in the semifinals of the TSSAA boys state basketball tournament at Middle Tennessee's Murphy Center. The Wildcats will play for their first state championship in 43 years after beating Oakland 70-63 in triple overtime in what some longtime observers of the state tournament were calling the greatest game in tournament history.
As much as Clarksville High, and its large contingent of fans, would like to enjoy the experience of Friday's semifinal win, there is still unfinished business.
Clarksville High will play Maryville today at 7 p.m. for the Class AAA state title. Maryville stunned Whites Creek 65-55 in Friday's other semifinal game.
"I think all the honor also goes to Murfreesboro Oakland, what a worthy opponent to meet in the state semifinals," Clarksville High coach Ted Young said. "(TSSAA executive director) Ronnie Carter said, 'Ted, I think that's the all-time classic here in TSSAA history.'
"You've got two great fan bases. Our fans, we talked about it starting when we went to the region tournament at Beech that our fans were tremendous."
Clarksville High (33-2) last played for a state championship in 1964 when it lost to Donelson 68-49.
"It's our school's 100th anniversary, here's our present again," Young said. "We gave them (CHS fans) a present when we made it to state. I hope we've got another present in us. What an emotional game."
In the quarterfinals on Thursday, a large and vocal Clarksville High following, watched their Wildcats overcome a big first-quarter deficit to beat Memphis Ridgeway. On Friday, a Wildcats' fan base estimated at well over 1,000, watched Clarksville overcome a 16-9 first quarter deficit.
Ryne Harper hit four 3-pointers and scored 20 points for the Wildcats, while guard Tyrone Caldwell had 14 points. Harper also had eight rebounds.
"The adrenalin was going and there were some great battles," Harper said. "It was just a matter of who wanted it more. Three overtimes, it was great fun and the hardest game I've ever played in my life."
Harper, along with Caldwell, played all 44 minutes, with Caldwell adding five rebounds and three assists to his numbers.
"I don't really know what to say right now," Caldwell said. "There have been a lot of great teams and players come through Clarksville, and coach Young keeps saying we're making history. I think Saturday is setting it up. We could be the best team to come out of Clarksville."
Jimmy Trodglen is sports editor of The Leaf-Chronicle and can be reached at jimmytrodglen@theleafchronicle.com or by phone at 245-0261.
All Time Top Tenner
This got to bouncing around again between my friends,
an All Time Classic Internet Video.....
How many times did you watch it?
an All Time Classic Internet Video.....
How many times did you watch it?
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Saturday, March 10, 2007
George Mason
Last year local boys (for me) George Mason
made an awesome run to the Final Four, here is
the game that got them there.
made an awesome run to the Final Four, here is
the game that got them there.
Big Blue Madness 2006
The season didn't turn out how I hoped but
I hope they can make some noise in the NCAA.
I hope they can make some noise in the NCAA.
1987 NCAA "One Shining Moment"
Find o' The Day
APSU's Darryl "Bedrock" Bedford at the 2:45 mark
and of course, that punk Billy "The Kid" Donovan hugging
Rick Pitino after knocking a Peay player down to get
off the winning three in OT at the 3:11 mark.
I still hate that guy.
APSU's Darryl "Bedrock" Bedford at the 2:45 mark
and of course, that punk Billy "The Kid" Donovan hugging
Rick Pitino after knocking a Peay player down to get
off the winning three in OT at the 3:11 mark.
I still hate that guy.
Kiowa - Air Cavalry
What my Brother (and yours) flew in the 1st Cavalry before he transitioned to airplanes (and yes he wore the Cavalry Hat).
Great video of the Kiowa OH-58 scout helicopter.
Note: Duane sent me this in response to the Kiowa video,
"Hey that's one of my old units at Ft Hood, Delta
Troop 1st squadron, 7th cavalry."
This is what he switched to, the RC-12. He flew this as a
member of the 1st Military Intelligence Battalion in Germany
supporting U.S. and Allied Forces in the Balkans.
He then moved on to the passenger version of the C-12 plane,
which is what he flew for the Army in Korea, Germany, Iraq, the Army National Guard in Virginia and continues to fly now
with the Army National Guard in Idaho.
In between getting out of the Army (he joined the Guard soon after) and going full time with the National Guard, Duane flew this plane for United Express (if you ever flew United Express between Washington. DC and Chicago he may have been your pilot).
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Video Fix
Beastie Boys
Sabotage
3 Mc's & 1 DJ
Run DMC
Mary Mary
King of Rock
Run's House
The Gap Band
You Dropped a Bomb On Me
Afrika Bambaataa
Planet Rock
Sabotage
3 Mc's & 1 DJ
Run DMC
Mary Mary
King of Rock
Run's House
The Gap Band
You Dropped a Bomb On Me
Afrika Bambaataa
Planet Rock
Monday, March 05, 2007
Other Mentions of Austin Peays Shining Moment
The Illini Might Be Responsible For The Dick Vitale We Now Know.
In 1987, an Illini team led by Ken Norman and Doug Altenberger received the No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament and were predicted to reach the Final Four by an up-and-coming broadcaster named Dick Vitale. In the first round, Illinois faced little-known Austin Peay, the champions of the Ohio Valley Conference and most famous for their fans' chant for 1970s player James "Fly" Williams: "The Fly Is Open ... Let s Go Peay!" Back then, early rounds of the NCAA tournament were shown on ESPN, and in the second half, with Peay down to the Illini by only three points, Vitale appeared in ESPN's studio and bellowed, "THERE S NO WAY ILLINOIS LOSES THIS GAME! IF ILLINOIS LOSES, I'LL STAND ON MY HEAD!" Sure enough, Austin Peay pulled off the 68-67 upset, and, months later, Vitale visited the school's Tennessee campus and successfully stood on his head for 10 seconds. The headstand caused an extreme rush of blood to Vitale's brain and reduced his mental acuity to that of a retarded dolphin. -- Will Leitch
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From the OVC history books:
Football wasn’t the only sport in which the OVC was quickly gaining respect. In 1955, the OVC became only the second six-member league nationally to earn an automatic bid to the prestigious NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, which, at that time, was limited to only 24 participants. The conference quickly proved worthy of that bid, as Morehead State defeated Marshall (107-92) and Wayne State (95-84) in the 1956 tournament.
Fifteen years later, former OVC member Western Kentucky became the first and only conference team to reach the Final Four. The Hilltoppers defeated Jacksonville, Kentucky and Ohio State before losing to Villanova in double overtime. WKU went on to finish in third place after beating Kansas 77-75 in the consolation game.
Since that time, the OVC has recorded some of the biggest upsets in the history of the NCAA Tournament. Perhaps the most famous moment came in 1987, when Austin Peay came from fourth place in the regular season to win the OVC Tournament and earn the league's automatic bid. The Governors drew powerful Illinois, and were such big underdogs, that ESPN broadcaster Dick Vitale promised to stand on his head if APSU won the game. After a 68-67 victory over the Illini, and a narrow 90-87 overtime loss to eventual Final Four participant Providence in the second round, Vitale made good on his promise in a visit to Clarksville two months later.
Murray State added to the OVC's string of upsets in 1988 when it knocked off 14th-ranked North Carolina State, 78-75. The Racers' M&M Boys - Jeff Martin and Don Mann - combined for 39 points in the win. MSU nearly went on to the Sweet 16 that year, losing to eventual national champion Kansas, 61-58. A bank shot by Mann that would've given the Racers a one-point lead rolled off the rim with three seconds left. In recent years, Murray State has dominated the OVC Tournament, reaching the championship game every year in the 1990's and winning the title seven times.
(note: This article forgets to mention the Trifecta completed in 1989 by #13 seed MTSU which took out #4 seed Florida State in the first round of the NCAA's. 1987-1989 were the Glory Years in OVC basketball and we were there to see it.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From Time.com By TOM CALLAHAN
excerpt:
Last week, when the Austin Peay Governors came home to Clarksville, Tenn., overtime losers to Providence after conquering Illinois, the whole town met them at the interstate in a caravan complete with fire engine and mayor. Senior Forward Bob Thomas missed the foul shot that would have won the Providence game in regulation, and the anguished picture of him leaving the court is one of the tableaus of the tournament. Thomas was the last player to get up to speak to the caravan, but he never got anything out for all the cheering.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In 1987, an Illini team led by Ken Norman and Doug Altenberger received the No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament and were predicted to reach the Final Four by an up-and-coming broadcaster named Dick Vitale. In the first round, Illinois faced little-known Austin Peay, the champions of the Ohio Valley Conference and most famous for their fans' chant for 1970s player James "Fly" Williams: "The Fly Is Open ... Let s Go Peay!" Back then, early rounds of the NCAA tournament were shown on ESPN, and in the second half, with Peay down to the Illini by only three points, Vitale appeared in ESPN's studio and bellowed, "THERE S NO WAY ILLINOIS LOSES THIS GAME! IF ILLINOIS LOSES, I'LL STAND ON MY HEAD!" Sure enough, Austin Peay pulled off the 68-67 upset, and, months later, Vitale visited the school's Tennessee campus and successfully stood on his head for 10 seconds. The headstand caused an extreme rush of blood to Vitale's brain and reduced his mental acuity to that of a retarded dolphin. -- Will Leitch
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From the OVC history books:
Football wasn’t the only sport in which the OVC was quickly gaining respect. In 1955, the OVC became only the second six-member league nationally to earn an automatic bid to the prestigious NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, which, at that time, was limited to only 24 participants. The conference quickly proved worthy of that bid, as Morehead State defeated Marshall (107-92) and Wayne State (95-84) in the 1956 tournament.
Fifteen years later, former OVC member Western Kentucky became the first and only conference team to reach the Final Four. The Hilltoppers defeated Jacksonville, Kentucky and Ohio State before losing to Villanova in double overtime. WKU went on to finish in third place after beating Kansas 77-75 in the consolation game.
Since that time, the OVC has recorded some of the biggest upsets in the history of the NCAA Tournament. Perhaps the most famous moment came in 1987, when Austin Peay came from fourth place in the regular season to win the OVC Tournament and earn the league's automatic bid. The Governors drew powerful Illinois, and were such big underdogs, that ESPN broadcaster Dick Vitale promised to stand on his head if APSU won the game. After a 68-67 victory over the Illini, and a narrow 90-87 overtime loss to eventual Final Four participant Providence in the second round, Vitale made good on his promise in a visit to Clarksville two months later.
Murray State added to the OVC's string of upsets in 1988 when it knocked off 14th-ranked North Carolina State, 78-75. The Racers' M&M Boys - Jeff Martin and Don Mann - combined for 39 points in the win. MSU nearly went on to the Sweet 16 that year, losing to eventual national champion Kansas, 61-58. A bank shot by Mann that would've given the Racers a one-point lead rolled off the rim with three seconds left. In recent years, Murray State has dominated the OVC Tournament, reaching the championship game every year in the 1990's and winning the title seven times.
(note: This article forgets to mention the Trifecta completed in 1989 by #13 seed MTSU which took out #4 seed Florida State in the first round of the NCAA's. 1987-1989 were the Glory Years in OVC basketball and we were there to see it.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From Time.com By TOM CALLAHAN
excerpt:
Last week, when the Austin Peay Governors came home to Clarksville, Tenn., overtime losers to Providence after conquering Illinois, the whole town met them at the interstate in a caravan complete with fire engine and mayor. Senior Forward Bob Thomas missed the foul shot that would have won the Providence game in regulation, and the anguished picture of him leaving the court is one of the tableaus of the tournament. Thomas was the last player to get up to speak to the caravan, but he never got anything out for all the cheering.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nice article on Lake Kelly
Ever wonder where Lake Kelly went, here is an article from 02/25/2007 with a few Austin Peay references.
One for the history books
Lake Kelly has big role in state's hoops highlights
By Mark Story
HERALD-LEADER SPORTS COLUMNIST
FLEMINGSBURG - Lake Kelly lives on a hill in the house where he was born 73 years ago.
His mother was born in the same home. "We still have the bed she was born in," says Kelly.
It is fitting that Kelly -- the longtime college basketball coach who returned to his hometown in the 1990s and coached the local high school, Fleming County, to its greatest hoops success -- lives a life in touch with history.
Across a long basketball career, few have been in the picture more often than Lake Kelly when significant events in Kentucky's basketball history have occurred.
Let's retrace an eventful journey:
• Stop one. The 129-game Kentucky Wildcats winning streak stopped.
There was not much anticipation in the University of Kentucky's Memorial Coliseum on Jan. 8, 1955. On this evening, Adolph Rupp's Kentucky Wildcats will face a lightly regarded team from Georgia Tech.
The mighty Wildcats had not lost in Lexington since falling to Ohio State 45-40 on Jan. 2, 1943. No one expects anything different tonight.
Kentucky native Lake Kelly is a reserve guard for the Yellowjackets. Yet when he called his father, Ed, and asked if he wanted tickets, "My dad said 'No, I don't relish the fact of seeing you guys get slaughtered and embarrassed. We're going to Louisiana to visit your sister,'" Kelly recalls.
Yet, on this night, the lightly regarded visitors hang tough. "The longer we stayed with them, the more confidence we got," Kelly said.
The final two of Joe Helms' 23 points gave Tech a 59-58 lead. They were the game's final points.
When the horn sounded, 8,500 people fell stone silent.
"Nobody got up, in the whole gym, nobody moved," Kelly says. "We were jumping around and banging each other, and those people sat there. They were totally shocked. I don't think one got up and left the gym."
The best part for young Lake Kelly was yet to come. Out to celebrate with a couple of teammates, he found a phone in a Lexington eatery and called his family in Louisiana.
"I said, 'Hey, you all aren't going to believe this, but we just beat Kentucky,'" Kelly said. "My dad said, 'Oh, c'mon.'"
His father didn't believe the news, Kelly says, until he returned to Kentucky and saw the newspaper accounts of the game.• Stop two. A UK NCAA Tournament game without Adolph on the bench -- and a magical Fly.
On March 15, 1973, at Vanderbilt's Memorial Gymnasium, something that has never happened before in all history -- Kentucky playing an NCAA Tournament game with someone other than Adolph Rupp as head coach -- will this day occur.
Joe B. Hall's first edition of Wildcats closed the season with a rush to wrest the SEC crown from Tennessee. Their first NCAA opponent is Ohio Valley Conference champion Austin Peay.
Coached by Lake Kelly.
Austin Peay is led by the charismatic freshman star and New York playground legend, James "Fly" Williams.
"Fly was a completely undisciplined maniac," Kelly says. "When he got upset, he was ready to fight. He didn't like authority. He loved to trash talk.
"I don't know how I survived it. I was ready to get him out of there 15, 20 times and send him back to New York. But my wife, our coaches, they'd always say, 'Don't send him back.'"
With good reason. What Pete Maravich was to SEC basketball, Fly Williams was on the smaller OVC stage.
He averaged 29.4 points as a freshman. With his high-rise Afro hair style, Fly did things with panache.
People turn out to see stars.
One night, when the fire marshals declared the Austin Peay gym filled beyond capacity, a husband got in but his wife was left outside when they locked the doors, Kelly says.
So she punched the glass door out.
"She said, 'I'm getting in to see Fly Williams.'" Kelly says. "Those kind of things were just commonplace. Fly packed arenas."
When Austin Peay went on the road, fly swatters would dot the opposing stands.
At home in Clarksville, Tenn., arguably the single greatest cheer in college sports history would fill the air: "The Fly is open, let's go Peay!"
Against Kentucky, Williams scores 26 points on 13-of-31 shooting. With the game tied at 92 and the clock ticking down in regulation, Austin Peay has a shot in the air to win.
It misses.
Getting an unexpected offensive lift in overtime from Larry Stamper, UK proves it can win an NCAA tourney game without Rupp, 106-100.
• Stop three. 3-for-33.
On the date of March 31, 1984, Seattle's Kingdome is playing host to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament.
It will also turn out to be the site of the worst half of basketball ever turned in by a Kentucky team.
Lake Kelly is in his first year as an assistant on the staff of the same Joe Hall against whom he coached in the 1973 NCAAs.
On this day, Hall, Kelly and Kentucky take a 29-22 lead over John Thompson's Georgetown Hoyas at halftime.
What happens next still causes heads to shake from Paducah to Pikeville. In the second half, UK made only three of 33 shots. That horrid performance ended in a 53-40 loss to Patrick Ewing and Co.
How could such a good UK team play so poorly with the stakes so high?
"Oh, Lord, I still don't know," Kelly says.
Then he tries.
"First of all, Kenny Walker got hurt in the Illinois game (in the finals of the Mideast Region) and it was his Achilles' tendon. About 55 percent of our points came from him in games we won in the second half. We didn't have that from him out there.
"Georgetown came at us like buzz saws and got us on our heels. And we just shot so poorly and it snowballed."
• Stop four: A King assumes his throne.
(note: Greg Moore, Scott Erby and I went to this game and cheered the Peay on. We had a great time in the middle of the UK fans. The Peay and Darryl "Bedrock" Bedford had them worried that night, they couldn't believe it when "Bedrock" stepped out to drain a three.)
In Rupp Arena on Nov. 29, 1986, Kelly is in his second stint as head coach at Austin Peay and about to play UK for the second time. But what has people excited is that this will be the first game in a Kentucky uniform for the ballyhooed freshman, Rex Chapman.
The night before, Austin Peay opened its season with a home loss to Centre College.
King Rex scores 18 in his college debut.
But, amazingly, the team that lost to Centre the night before is down one and has a Vincent Brooks 17-footer in the air in the final seconds that would beat Kentucky.
It misses.
Says Kelly: "I guess I just wasn't meant to beat Kentucky. We never got that last shot to go. But we almost spoiled Rex's first game."
• Stop Five: Back Home.
After taking Austin Peay to the second round of the 1987 NCAA Tournament -- including a wrenching overtime loss to Providence College and a young up-and-coming coach named Rick Pitino -- Kelly eventually makes his way back home.
(note: They kind of shorted us on this mention, but this is a KY article after all, G.Moore, Erb, myself and I think Pat Day also made the trip up to U. of Illinois for the rematch the next year which ended 100-62 in the Illini's favor. I might need my memory refreshed on who went on the road trip.)
In 1993, he became an assistant principal at Flemingsburg Elementary. Two years later, he became head basketball coach at Fleming County High.
Working at a school that had never won a boys' Sweet Sixteen game, he led the Panthers to back-to-back state tournament appearances in 1998 and '99, including a trip to the state semifinals in 1998.
"What we did here at Fleming County ranks right up there with anything I've experienced," Kelly says. "This is home. And the people here were so excited. It was very meaningful."
Out of coaching but still working as an elementary assistant principal at 73, Kelly talks like a man who even now feels the tug of X's and O's.
"It's still in my blood," he says of coaching.
Few have a richer history from which to draw.
One for the history books
Lake Kelly has big role in state's hoops highlights
By Mark Story
HERALD-LEADER SPORTS COLUMNIST
FLEMINGSBURG - Lake Kelly lives on a hill in the house where he was born 73 years ago.
His mother was born in the same home. "We still have the bed she was born in," says Kelly.
It is fitting that Kelly -- the longtime college basketball coach who returned to his hometown in the 1990s and coached the local high school, Fleming County, to its greatest hoops success -- lives a life in touch with history.
Across a long basketball career, few have been in the picture more often than Lake Kelly when significant events in Kentucky's basketball history have occurred.
Let's retrace an eventful journey:
• Stop one. The 129-game Kentucky Wildcats winning streak stopped.
There was not much anticipation in the University of Kentucky's Memorial Coliseum on Jan. 8, 1955. On this evening, Adolph Rupp's Kentucky Wildcats will face a lightly regarded team from Georgia Tech.
The mighty Wildcats had not lost in Lexington since falling to Ohio State 45-40 on Jan. 2, 1943. No one expects anything different tonight.
Kentucky native Lake Kelly is a reserve guard for the Yellowjackets. Yet when he called his father, Ed, and asked if he wanted tickets, "My dad said 'No, I don't relish the fact of seeing you guys get slaughtered and embarrassed. We're going to Louisiana to visit your sister,'" Kelly recalls.
Yet, on this night, the lightly regarded visitors hang tough. "The longer we stayed with them, the more confidence we got," Kelly said.
The final two of Joe Helms' 23 points gave Tech a 59-58 lead. They were the game's final points.
When the horn sounded, 8,500 people fell stone silent.
"Nobody got up, in the whole gym, nobody moved," Kelly says. "We were jumping around and banging each other, and those people sat there. They were totally shocked. I don't think one got up and left the gym."
The best part for young Lake Kelly was yet to come. Out to celebrate with a couple of teammates, he found a phone in a Lexington eatery and called his family in Louisiana.
"I said, 'Hey, you all aren't going to believe this, but we just beat Kentucky,'" Kelly said. "My dad said, 'Oh, c'mon.'"
His father didn't believe the news, Kelly says, until he returned to Kentucky and saw the newspaper accounts of the game.• Stop two. A UK NCAA Tournament game without Adolph on the bench -- and a magical Fly.
On March 15, 1973, at Vanderbilt's Memorial Gymnasium, something that has never happened before in all history -- Kentucky playing an NCAA Tournament game with someone other than Adolph Rupp as head coach -- will this day occur.
Joe B. Hall's first edition of Wildcats closed the season with a rush to wrest the SEC crown from Tennessee. Their first NCAA opponent is Ohio Valley Conference champion Austin Peay.
Coached by Lake Kelly.
Austin Peay is led by the charismatic freshman star and New York playground legend, James "Fly" Williams.
"Fly was a completely undisciplined maniac," Kelly says. "When he got upset, he was ready to fight. He didn't like authority. He loved to trash talk.
"I don't know how I survived it. I was ready to get him out of there 15, 20 times and send him back to New York. But my wife, our coaches, they'd always say, 'Don't send him back.'"
With good reason. What Pete Maravich was to SEC basketball, Fly Williams was on the smaller OVC stage.
He averaged 29.4 points as a freshman. With his high-rise Afro hair style, Fly did things with panache.
People turn out to see stars.
One night, when the fire marshals declared the Austin Peay gym filled beyond capacity, a husband got in but his wife was left outside when they locked the doors, Kelly says.
So she punched the glass door out.
"She said, 'I'm getting in to see Fly Williams.'" Kelly says. "Those kind of things were just commonplace. Fly packed arenas."
When Austin Peay went on the road, fly swatters would dot the opposing stands.
At home in Clarksville, Tenn., arguably the single greatest cheer in college sports history would fill the air: "The Fly is open, let's go Peay!"
Against Kentucky, Williams scores 26 points on 13-of-31 shooting. With the game tied at 92 and the clock ticking down in regulation, Austin Peay has a shot in the air to win.
It misses.
Getting an unexpected offensive lift in overtime from Larry Stamper, UK proves it can win an NCAA tourney game without Rupp, 106-100.
• Stop three. 3-for-33.
On the date of March 31, 1984, Seattle's Kingdome is playing host to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament.
It will also turn out to be the site of the worst half of basketball ever turned in by a Kentucky team.
Lake Kelly is in his first year as an assistant on the staff of the same Joe Hall against whom he coached in the 1973 NCAAs.
On this day, Hall, Kelly and Kentucky take a 29-22 lead over John Thompson's Georgetown Hoyas at halftime.
What happens next still causes heads to shake from Paducah to Pikeville. In the second half, UK made only three of 33 shots. That horrid performance ended in a 53-40 loss to Patrick Ewing and Co.
How could such a good UK team play so poorly with the stakes so high?
"Oh, Lord, I still don't know," Kelly says.
Then he tries.
"First of all, Kenny Walker got hurt in the Illinois game (in the finals of the Mideast Region) and it was his Achilles' tendon. About 55 percent of our points came from him in games we won in the second half. We didn't have that from him out there.
"Georgetown came at us like buzz saws and got us on our heels. And we just shot so poorly and it snowballed."
• Stop four: A King assumes his throne.
(note: Greg Moore, Scott Erby and I went to this game and cheered the Peay on. We had a great time in the middle of the UK fans. The Peay and Darryl "Bedrock" Bedford had them worried that night, they couldn't believe it when "Bedrock" stepped out to drain a three.)
In Rupp Arena on Nov. 29, 1986, Kelly is in his second stint as head coach at Austin Peay and about to play UK for the second time. But what has people excited is that this will be the first game in a Kentucky uniform for the ballyhooed freshman, Rex Chapman.
The night before, Austin Peay opened its season with a home loss to Centre College.
King Rex scores 18 in his college debut.
But, amazingly, the team that lost to Centre the night before is down one and has a Vincent Brooks 17-footer in the air in the final seconds that would beat Kentucky.
It misses.
Says Kelly: "I guess I just wasn't meant to beat Kentucky. We never got that last shot to go. But we almost spoiled Rex's first game."
• Stop Five: Back Home.
After taking Austin Peay to the second round of the 1987 NCAA Tournament -- including a wrenching overtime loss to Providence College and a young up-and-coming coach named Rick Pitino -- Kelly eventually makes his way back home.
(note: They kind of shorted us on this mention, but this is a KY article after all, G.Moore, Erb, myself and I think Pat Day also made the trip up to U. of Illinois for the rematch the next year which ended 100-62 in the Illini's favor. I might need my memory refreshed on who went on the road trip.)
In 1993, he became an assistant principal at Flemingsburg Elementary. Two years later, he became head basketball coach at Fleming County High.
Working at a school that had never won a boys' Sweet Sixteen game, he led the Panthers to back-to-back state tournament appearances in 1998 and '99, including a trip to the state semifinals in 1998.
"What we did here at Fleming County ranks right up there with anything I've experienced," Kelly says. "This is home. And the people here were so excited. It was very meaningful."
Out of coaching but still working as an elementary assistant principal at 73, Kelly talks like a man who even now feels the tug of X's and O's.
"It's still in my blood," he says of coaching.
Few have a richer history from which to draw.
#14 seed Austin Peay 68, #3 seed Illinois 67
Kel brought this up in the group, a huge win and great memory for all that were there. We watched it on the front porch of the KSig house and jumped in the back of pick-up trucks to drive around Clarksville in celebration. We were ready to do the same next game, but that punk Billy "The Kid" Donovan pushed off to get the game winning three, "we was robbed", lol.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From ESPN
Classic NCAA Cinderellas
A big upset happens every year. You come to expect it, yet still can't believe it. Once the NCAA brackets are announced, NCAA Tournament fans start looking for the unknown or overlooked team that will surprise a heavily favored school from one of the power conferences. Waiting for the Cinderella to appear is one of the great joys of the tournament. What makes a Cinderella? For ESPN Classic's Cinderella ranking, we used the following criteria: a Cinderella can't come from a traditional power conference, must beat a highly regarded traditional power and must be seeded No. 12 or higher. Also, only games since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985 have been considered.
10. Let's Go Peay
#14 Austin Peay 68 #3 Illinois 67
March 12, 1987
Birmingham, Alabama
The high-flying Illini, led by Kendall Gill, Nick Anderson and Ken Norman, were grounded by Austin Peay. Tony Raye hit a pair of free throws with two seconds left to lift overwhelming underdog Austin Peay to a 68-67 win over Illinois. Austin Peay coach Lake Kelly said their strategy was to "Sic 'em. If we had to play the Lakers and Celtics combined Saturday night, it wouldn't have made any difference." Darryl Bedford led Austin Peay with 24 points, 15 on 3-pointers. Norman paced the Illini with 17.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From collegehoopsnet.com / Adam Glatczak
March 18th, 2004 - 16 Biggest First Round Upsets in NCAA Tournament History
When the NCAA expanded its Division I basketball tournament to 64 teams in 1985, it certainly couldn’t have had any idea what fun it was creating.
Since the first 64-team field began play that March, the tourney has taken off in ways few could have imagined. Its emergence led to the NCAA signing a mind-boggling $11 billion contract just for its top division basketball tournament. It also practically made a struggling cable network. Before its college basketball coverage exploded in the mid-80s, ESPN was still a struggling network searching for its niche nationally.
The tourney has also quickly turned the term ‘office pool’ into a part of the national lexicon. Ten years ago, the only time you may hear that term was if there was a leak in a roof somewhere. Now, everyone hears office pool and immediately remembers the cardinal rule about always pick a 12 seed to upset a 5 seed.
The NCAA Tournament has grown from a mostly regional, hard-core fan event into a national mania. History would have been greatly altered, though, if the tourney had never proven to be so unpredictable when it expanded to 64 teams.
If Navy, Arkansas-Little Rock or Austin Peay had never marked those first few years of the larger field with stunning performances, ESPN might be showing Australian Rules Football reruns at all hours of the day. How many of the Quinnipiacs, Sacramento States and Hamptons of Division I would have moved up to that level if not for the financial incentive the D-I tourney now carries? And what would the purpose be of an office pool if everyone knew who would win?
The Final Four was starting to become a national event in the 1980s, but the entire NCAA Tournament as a whole was still strictly regional, much like the college baseball postseason now. When smaller schools began doing the unthinkable and started bouncing top 10 teams from the tourney, the NCAA Tournament acquired its reputation for being the event with Cinderellas and true underdogs, and it became a three-week national happening.
Because they have had such an impact on history (and because it’s just fun to relive the past) this is a list of 16 of the biggest upsets that have occurred in the first round in NCAA Tournament history. For our purposes, games considered were from 1979 and after, the first year seeds were used to rank teams. It was also the first year the tourney ever included a sixth round. Before that, what is now the first round didn’t exist; the tourney started with what is now the second round.
Besides the fact that most of the results of these games were shocking, what’s also interesting is so many of the teams that pulled upsets almost never had the chance to. Many didn’t necessarily have monster seasons preceding their big wins. Some dominated their leagues, but many were just good teams in lightly regarded conferences. Fun facts and assorted tidbits like this are called ‘Oddballs.’
The order of the games on this list is purely subjective, the opinion of one person who has followed the NCAA Tournament for 17 years, enjoys researching it and has seen or watched tapes of almost all of the games. Or, in a few cases maybe just remembers where he was when he heard the score of the game. In general, games are placed in an order of historical significance, with the quality of the game or memorable moments also playing a factor. Surely there are games some people might remember as more or less important to them than others, but hopefully it’s a fun history lesson, if nothing else.
And now, the revealing of the 32-team field…
3) 1987 #14 Austin Peay 68, #3 Illinois 67
It's very tempting to make it a three-way tie at the top, but the edge goes to the other two games only because they were the trendsetters. This was another of those defining TV moments for the NCAA Tournament. Years ago, before the tiring overuse of the term "mid-major" had developed, Dick Vitale worked in the ESPN NCAA Tournament studio and told the audience that the tourney was for the "best" 64 teams. Hard as it may be to believe now, at that time he frankly had no use for the Idaho States, Austin Peays, or any of the other "little guys." Vitale was so certain Austin Peay couldn't beat Illinois that he announced he would stand on his head if the Governors somehow beat the Fighting Illini. Well, they did, and Vitale did. It was statements like Vitale's followed by upsets like this (as well as ESPN's superb coverage of the tourney at this time) that displayed the charm of this event to an entire nation.
Austin Peay needed a 30-foot shot by Richie Armstrong at the buzzer of the OVC final against Eastern Kentucky just to get to the NCAAs. Their flair for the dramatic continued in the tourney. The first half ended with five points scored in the final second. Illinois made a pair of free throws with one second left, and after the second make the Governors’ Tony Raye took the ball out from the basket, stepped across the end line with one foot and in one motion threw a one-handed 70-foot pass to Lawrence Mitchell, who caught it, squared up and banked in a three to tie the game at the half. AP continued to hang around in the second half, refusing to go away, and Raye hit the go-ahead free throws with two seconds left in the game. Austin Peay’s Darryl Bedford had an outstanding overall game, as the 6-foot-8 post player hit for 24 points, including five three-pointers while shooting a set shot that bewildered the Illini for its form and for the fact it was coming from a player so big. In the first year of the three-point line, post players didn’t usually shoot from the half-moon line unless their name was Brad Lohaus.
Oddball: Austin Peay wasn't even an example of a team being great all year and just being ripped by the NCAA Selection Committee with a bad seed. The Govs were an average team for most of 1986-87, finishing tied for fourth in the Ohio Valley Conference with an 8-6 record. They went into the OVC Tournament at 16-11, and likely wouldn't have made any kind of postseason if Armstrong hadn't hit his buzzer-beater in the OVC championship.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From ESPN
Classic NCAA Cinderellas
A big upset happens every year. You come to expect it, yet still can't believe it. Once the NCAA brackets are announced, NCAA Tournament fans start looking for the unknown or overlooked team that will surprise a heavily favored school from one of the power conferences. Waiting for the Cinderella to appear is one of the great joys of the tournament. What makes a Cinderella? For ESPN Classic's Cinderella ranking, we used the following criteria: a Cinderella can't come from a traditional power conference, must beat a highly regarded traditional power and must be seeded No. 12 or higher. Also, only games since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985 have been considered.
10. Let's Go Peay
#14 Austin Peay 68 #3 Illinois 67
March 12, 1987
Birmingham, Alabama
The high-flying Illini, led by Kendall Gill, Nick Anderson and Ken Norman, were grounded by Austin Peay. Tony Raye hit a pair of free throws with two seconds left to lift overwhelming underdog Austin Peay to a 68-67 win over Illinois. Austin Peay coach Lake Kelly said their strategy was to "Sic 'em. If we had to play the Lakers and Celtics combined Saturday night, it wouldn't have made any difference." Darryl Bedford led Austin Peay with 24 points, 15 on 3-pointers. Norman paced the Illini with 17.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From collegehoopsnet.com / Adam Glatczak
March 18th, 2004 - 16 Biggest First Round Upsets in NCAA Tournament History
When the NCAA expanded its Division I basketball tournament to 64 teams in 1985, it certainly couldn’t have had any idea what fun it was creating.
Since the first 64-team field began play that March, the tourney has taken off in ways few could have imagined. Its emergence led to the NCAA signing a mind-boggling $11 billion contract just for its top division basketball tournament. It also practically made a struggling cable network. Before its college basketball coverage exploded in the mid-80s, ESPN was still a struggling network searching for its niche nationally.
The tourney has also quickly turned the term ‘office pool’ into a part of the national lexicon. Ten years ago, the only time you may hear that term was if there was a leak in a roof somewhere. Now, everyone hears office pool and immediately remembers the cardinal rule about always pick a 12 seed to upset a 5 seed.
The NCAA Tournament has grown from a mostly regional, hard-core fan event into a national mania. History would have been greatly altered, though, if the tourney had never proven to be so unpredictable when it expanded to 64 teams.
If Navy, Arkansas-Little Rock or Austin Peay had never marked those first few years of the larger field with stunning performances, ESPN might be showing Australian Rules Football reruns at all hours of the day. How many of the Quinnipiacs, Sacramento States and Hamptons of Division I would have moved up to that level if not for the financial incentive the D-I tourney now carries? And what would the purpose be of an office pool if everyone knew who would win?
The Final Four was starting to become a national event in the 1980s, but the entire NCAA Tournament as a whole was still strictly regional, much like the college baseball postseason now. When smaller schools began doing the unthinkable and started bouncing top 10 teams from the tourney, the NCAA Tournament acquired its reputation for being the event with Cinderellas and true underdogs, and it became a three-week national happening.
Because they have had such an impact on history (and because it’s just fun to relive the past) this is a list of 16 of the biggest upsets that have occurred in the first round in NCAA Tournament history. For our purposes, games considered were from 1979 and after, the first year seeds were used to rank teams. It was also the first year the tourney ever included a sixth round. Before that, what is now the first round didn’t exist; the tourney started with what is now the second round.
Besides the fact that most of the results of these games were shocking, what’s also interesting is so many of the teams that pulled upsets almost never had the chance to. Many didn’t necessarily have monster seasons preceding their big wins. Some dominated their leagues, but many were just good teams in lightly regarded conferences. Fun facts and assorted tidbits like this are called ‘Oddballs.’
The order of the games on this list is purely subjective, the opinion of one person who has followed the NCAA Tournament for 17 years, enjoys researching it and has seen or watched tapes of almost all of the games. Or, in a few cases maybe just remembers where he was when he heard the score of the game. In general, games are placed in an order of historical significance, with the quality of the game or memorable moments also playing a factor. Surely there are games some people might remember as more or less important to them than others, but hopefully it’s a fun history lesson, if nothing else.
And now, the revealing of the 32-team field…
3) 1987 #14 Austin Peay 68, #3 Illinois 67
It's very tempting to make it a three-way tie at the top, but the edge goes to the other two games only because they were the trendsetters. This was another of those defining TV moments for the NCAA Tournament. Years ago, before the tiring overuse of the term "mid-major" had developed, Dick Vitale worked in the ESPN NCAA Tournament studio and told the audience that the tourney was for the "best" 64 teams. Hard as it may be to believe now, at that time he frankly had no use for the Idaho States, Austin Peays, or any of the other "little guys." Vitale was so certain Austin Peay couldn't beat Illinois that he announced he would stand on his head if the Governors somehow beat the Fighting Illini. Well, they did, and Vitale did. It was statements like Vitale's followed by upsets like this (as well as ESPN's superb coverage of the tourney at this time) that displayed the charm of this event to an entire nation.
Austin Peay needed a 30-foot shot by Richie Armstrong at the buzzer of the OVC final against Eastern Kentucky just to get to the NCAAs. Their flair for the dramatic continued in the tourney. The first half ended with five points scored in the final second. Illinois made a pair of free throws with one second left, and after the second make the Governors’ Tony Raye took the ball out from the basket, stepped across the end line with one foot and in one motion threw a one-handed 70-foot pass to Lawrence Mitchell, who caught it, squared up and banked in a three to tie the game at the half. AP continued to hang around in the second half, refusing to go away, and Raye hit the go-ahead free throws with two seconds left in the game. Austin Peay’s Darryl Bedford had an outstanding overall game, as the 6-foot-8 post player hit for 24 points, including five three-pointers while shooting a set shot that bewildered the Illini for its form and for the fact it was coming from a player so big. In the first year of the three-point line, post players didn’t usually shoot from the half-moon line unless their name was Brad Lohaus.
Oddball: Austin Peay wasn't even an example of a team being great all year and just being ripped by the NCAA Selection Committee with a bad seed. The Govs were an average team for most of 1986-87, finishing tied for fourth in the Ohio Valley Conference with an 8-6 record. They went into the OVC Tournament at 16-11, and likely wouldn't have made any kind of postseason if Armstrong hadn't hit his buzzer-beater in the OVC championship.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One shot is all you get
From The Leaf Chronicle:
Life in OVC means one shot at NCAA Tournament
It hasn't been your typical season for the Duke Blue Devils.
So what.
When the NCAA selection committee announces its 65-team tournament field next Sunday, the Blue Devils will be there.
With an injured Chris Lofton on the sideline, Tennessee went through a January slump where it lost six of eight games. Now heading into the SEC tournament, the Vols are the conference's hottest team, winning seven of eight. The Vols don't have a great track record in the SEC Tournament, but again, so what — they will be a six or seven seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Kansas won the Big 12 regular-season title on Saturday, and will receive a high seed for the tournament, even if it doesn't win the Big 12 tourney.
Austin Peay won the regular season OVC title, and was 2.9 seconds away from an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.
Now the Govs must settle for the NIT. Not a bad consolation prize, although that was of little consolation after Saturday's 63-62 loss to Eastern Kentucky in the OVC tournament title game.
Such is life when you don't call one of the super conferences your home.
Life in the OVC means winning the conference tournament title game.
The Govs know how to get there, only Murray State has reached more tournament title games (22), than Austin Peay, which has been there 14 times. But when it comes to walking off the floor with the trophy, Austin Peay has experienced that euphoria only three times.
For Austin Peay, watching another team cut down the net has become an all too familiar scene. Since 1995, the Govs have played in eight tournament title games, only to win twice.
And there have been some tough losses along the way.
The Govs lost in overtime to Murray State in the '97 title game, Eastern Illinois came from 18 down with less than nine minutes remaining to beat the Govs in the '01 title game, and three years later, Austin Peay was perfect in the OVC during the '03-04 season only to lose to Murray State in the title game.
The cruel reality of the OVC is you won't go dancing if you don't cut down the net.
Govs coach Dave Loos knows this all too well.
"It's down to one game, and it's not like the SEC or some of those other leagues that you can say, 'If we don't win, we're still going,'" said Loos, during his postgame interview Saturday. "We're not going. One team goes. That's the way it is... it is what it is."
The frustration of Saturday's loss will linger for a while, but the Govs were picked sixth in the preseason poll, and will return their entire roster next season.
"We're probably way ahead from a developmental standpoint than people thought we would be," Loos said. "These guys are going to play good again next year, I'm certain of it."
Another consolation for the Govs, and another reason to believe they will have another shot at cutting down the net.
Jimmy Trodglen is sports editor of The Leaf-Chronicle and can be reached by e-mail at jimmytrodglen@theleafchronicle.com or by phone at 245-0261.
Life in OVC means one shot at NCAA Tournament
It hasn't been your typical season for the Duke Blue Devils.
So what.
When the NCAA selection committee announces its 65-team tournament field next Sunday, the Blue Devils will be there.
With an injured Chris Lofton on the sideline, Tennessee went through a January slump where it lost six of eight games. Now heading into the SEC tournament, the Vols are the conference's hottest team, winning seven of eight. The Vols don't have a great track record in the SEC Tournament, but again, so what — they will be a six or seven seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Kansas won the Big 12 regular-season title on Saturday, and will receive a high seed for the tournament, even if it doesn't win the Big 12 tourney.
Austin Peay won the regular season OVC title, and was 2.9 seconds away from an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.
Now the Govs must settle for the NIT. Not a bad consolation prize, although that was of little consolation after Saturday's 63-62 loss to Eastern Kentucky in the OVC tournament title game.
Such is life when you don't call one of the super conferences your home.
Life in the OVC means winning the conference tournament title game.
The Govs know how to get there, only Murray State has reached more tournament title games (22), than Austin Peay, which has been there 14 times. But when it comes to walking off the floor with the trophy, Austin Peay has experienced that euphoria only three times.
For Austin Peay, watching another team cut down the net has become an all too familiar scene. Since 1995, the Govs have played in eight tournament title games, only to win twice.
And there have been some tough losses along the way.
The Govs lost in overtime to Murray State in the '97 title game, Eastern Illinois came from 18 down with less than nine minutes remaining to beat the Govs in the '01 title game, and three years later, Austin Peay was perfect in the OVC during the '03-04 season only to lose to Murray State in the title game.
The cruel reality of the OVC is you won't go dancing if you don't cut down the net.
Govs coach Dave Loos knows this all too well.
"It's down to one game, and it's not like the SEC or some of those other leagues that you can say, 'If we don't win, we're still going,'" said Loos, during his postgame interview Saturday. "We're not going. One team goes. That's the way it is... it is what it is."
The frustration of Saturday's loss will linger for a while, but the Govs were picked sixth in the preseason poll, and will return their entire roster next season.
"We're probably way ahead from a developmental standpoint than people thought we would be," Loos said. "These guys are going to play good again next year, I'm certain of it."
Another consolation for the Govs, and another reason to believe they will have another shot at cutting down the net.
Jimmy Trodglen is sports editor of The Leaf-Chronicle and can be reached by e-mail at jimmytrodglen@theleafchronicle.com or by phone at 245-0261.
Star Wars Parodies
eLyGoLd sent this one to me, not bad...
Which brought to mind these...
TROOPS
and The All Time Classic...
Hardware Wars
Which brought to mind these...
TROOPS
and The All Time Classic...
Hardware Wars
Sunday, March 04, 2007
Rock Chicks
Joan Jett
The Runaways - Wasted (Lita Ford on Lead Guitar)
The Runaways - Schooldays
I Love Rock n Roll
Crimson and Clover
I Hate Myseff For Loving You
Still Rocking Today - AC/DC
Joan Jett & "The Boss" - Light of Day
The Runaways - Wasted (Lita Ford on Lead Guitar)
The Runaways - Schooldays
I Love Rock n Roll
Crimson and Clover
I Hate Myseff For Loving You
Still Rocking Today - AC/DC
Joan Jett & "The Boss" - Light of Day
NIT Bound Baby !
Colonels, Taylor beat the buzzer to earn NCAA berth
Associated Press
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Josh Taylor had never practiced the play. With the clock ticking down and the Colonels trailing by one, the freshman saw the open lane in front of him.
He didn't hesitate.
Instead of passing to open teammate Adam Leonard, Taylor drove to the basket and converted the layup with 2.9 seconds left, and Eastern Kentucky beat regular-season champion Austin Peay 63-62 Saturday night for the Ohio Valley Conference tournament championship.
It was Taylor's only bucket of the night.
"Oh, you can't even describe it," Taylor said with a big grin on his face. "It feels unbelievable."
The Colonels (21-11) clinched their seventh NCAA Tournament berth and fifth OVC title -- first since 2005 -- against the team that had swept them in the regular season. They also beat Austin Peay in this game two years ago.
"It's devastating for these kids and for all of us," said Austin Peay coach Dave Loos, whose Governors now hope for an NIT bid. "I feel especially bad for them. They wanted it very badly."
Eastern Kentucky coach Jeff Neubauer, who was an assistant when West Virginia reached the regional final in 2005, celebrated his first NCAA berth as a head coach by twirling the net with his index finger after cutting the last strand.
Eastern Kentucky usually looks to Darnell Dialls or Jamaal Douglas at the end of tight games. But both had fouled out, a rarity for a team ranked second in the nation for fewest fouls per game.
"The key is he just made a good basketball play," Neubauer said. "That shows what a good basketball player he is. He figured it out on the fly at a crucial part of our season and made a good basketball play to get in the lane."
Leonard, who is Taylor's roommate, didn't hold a grudge.
"If he wants to take the shot, take the shot. If it's the only shot he takes and it goes in, it doesn't matter how it went in. He hit it," Leonard said.
The Governors (21-11) struggled through a horrible shooting performance, going nearly 10 minutes without a point in the second half. They lost their brief lead in that stretch along with a sixth NCAA Tournament berth and fourth OVC tournament title.
"We just couldn't make any shots," Loos said. "We had some open looks from the perimeter, and we couldn't make enough free throws. It's what it boils down to."
They made it very interesting in the final minutes, though, rallying from a 59-51 deficit in the final 2:37 after Leonard hit back-to-back 3s for Eastern Kentucky.
Austin Peay whittled away at the Colonels' lead, and Wes Channels hit two free throws to put the Governors up 62-61 with 21.8 seconds left.
The Colonels lost the ball out of bounds under their own basket with 6.6 seconds left. But they got it back, and Taylor, a freshman from Pittsburgh, drove the lane and scored.
Derek Wright missed a 3-pointer left of the rim at the buzzer, and the Colonels swarmed Taylor on the court.
Mike Rose led Eastern Kentucky with 19 points. Leonard finished with 17, and Dialls had 12.
The Colonels had blown leads to Austin Peay's pressing defense twice before this season. But this time, they added another NCAA berth to those of 2005, 1979, 1972, 1965, 1959 and 1953.
"We did just enough here down the stretch and handled the pressure just well enough," Neubauer said.
Drake Reed, the OVC player of the year, had 15 points despite going 3-of-8 at the free-throw line for Austin Peay. Channels finished with 14, Fernandez Lockett had 11 and Wright 10.
The Governors went 13-of-23 from the free throw line and a defense that had held opponents to 28.4 percent shooting from outside the arc gave up 10-of-23 to the Colonels. Austin Peay, which had led the OVC in 3-point shooting, hit only 5-of-22.
The Govs' cold streak came after Channels' layup with 17:43 to go. The Governors missed 13 straight shots and didn't score again until Lockett's layup with 7:58 to go.
Eastern Kentucky wasn't much better. The Colonels scored only 10 points during the Governors' drought.
Lockett hit two free throws with 1:10 to go to tie it at 59. Rose answered with his two free throws. Reed had a chance to tie it at the line, but he missed the first. He finished 3-of-8 at the line.
Reed and Wright cornered Rose and forced a jump ball as the Colonels inbounded, and Channels hit two free throws to put Austin Peay up. It wasn't enough.
Eastern Kentucky scored the first five points and led by as much as 10, hitting six of its first 11 3-pointers. But Austin Peay finally got going and trailed 34-31 at halftime.
Associated Press
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Josh Taylor had never practiced the play. With the clock ticking down and the Colonels trailing by one, the freshman saw the open lane in front of him.
He didn't hesitate.
Instead of passing to open teammate Adam Leonard, Taylor drove to the basket and converted the layup with 2.9 seconds left, and Eastern Kentucky beat regular-season champion Austin Peay 63-62 Saturday night for the Ohio Valley Conference tournament championship.
It was Taylor's only bucket of the night.
"Oh, you can't even describe it," Taylor said with a big grin on his face. "It feels unbelievable."
The Colonels (21-11) clinched their seventh NCAA Tournament berth and fifth OVC title -- first since 2005 -- against the team that had swept them in the regular season. They also beat Austin Peay in this game two years ago.
"It's devastating for these kids and for all of us," said Austin Peay coach Dave Loos, whose Governors now hope for an NIT bid. "I feel especially bad for them. They wanted it very badly."
Eastern Kentucky coach Jeff Neubauer, who was an assistant when West Virginia reached the regional final in 2005, celebrated his first NCAA berth as a head coach by twirling the net with his index finger after cutting the last strand.
Eastern Kentucky usually looks to Darnell Dialls or Jamaal Douglas at the end of tight games. But both had fouled out, a rarity for a team ranked second in the nation for fewest fouls per game.
"The key is he just made a good basketball play," Neubauer said. "That shows what a good basketball player he is. He figured it out on the fly at a crucial part of our season and made a good basketball play to get in the lane."
Leonard, who is Taylor's roommate, didn't hold a grudge.
"If he wants to take the shot, take the shot. If it's the only shot he takes and it goes in, it doesn't matter how it went in. He hit it," Leonard said.
The Governors (21-11) struggled through a horrible shooting performance, going nearly 10 minutes without a point in the second half. They lost their brief lead in that stretch along with a sixth NCAA Tournament berth and fourth OVC tournament title.
"We just couldn't make any shots," Loos said. "We had some open looks from the perimeter, and we couldn't make enough free throws. It's what it boils down to."
They made it very interesting in the final minutes, though, rallying from a 59-51 deficit in the final 2:37 after Leonard hit back-to-back 3s for Eastern Kentucky.
Austin Peay whittled away at the Colonels' lead, and Wes Channels hit two free throws to put the Governors up 62-61 with 21.8 seconds left.
The Colonels lost the ball out of bounds under their own basket with 6.6 seconds left. But they got it back, and Taylor, a freshman from Pittsburgh, drove the lane and scored.
Derek Wright missed a 3-pointer left of the rim at the buzzer, and the Colonels swarmed Taylor on the court.
Mike Rose led Eastern Kentucky with 19 points. Leonard finished with 17, and Dialls had 12.
The Colonels had blown leads to Austin Peay's pressing defense twice before this season. But this time, they added another NCAA berth to those of 2005, 1979, 1972, 1965, 1959 and 1953.
"We did just enough here down the stretch and handled the pressure just well enough," Neubauer said.
Drake Reed, the OVC player of the year, had 15 points despite going 3-of-8 at the free-throw line for Austin Peay. Channels finished with 14, Fernandez Lockett had 11 and Wright 10.
The Governors went 13-of-23 from the free throw line and a defense that had held opponents to 28.4 percent shooting from outside the arc gave up 10-of-23 to the Colonels. Austin Peay, which had led the OVC in 3-point shooting, hit only 5-of-22.
The Govs' cold streak came after Channels' layup with 17:43 to go. The Governors missed 13 straight shots and didn't score again until Lockett's layup with 7:58 to go.
Eastern Kentucky wasn't much better. The Colonels scored only 10 points during the Governors' drought.
Lockett hit two free throws with 1:10 to go to tie it at 59. Rose answered with his two free throws. Reed had a chance to tie it at the line, but he missed the first. He finished 3-of-8 at the line.
Reed and Wright cornered Rose and forced a jump ball as the Colonels inbounded, and Channels hit two free throws to put Austin Peay up. It wasn't enough.
Eastern Kentucky scored the first five points and led by as much as 10, hitting six of its first 11 3-pointers. But Austin Peay finally got going and trailed 34-31 at halftime.
Saturday, March 03, 2007
Friday, March 02, 2007
Austin Peay 65, Samford 55
Associated Press
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Fernandez Lockett scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as No. 1 seed Austin Peay fought off pesky Samford 65-55 Friday to advance to the final of the Ohio Valley Conference basketball tournament.
The Governors (21-10) squandered a six-point halftime lead and trailed the Bulldogs (16-16) by as many as five points in the second half before rallying to advance to Saturday's championship game.
Trailing 42-37, the Governors went on an 11-2 run, capped off by Drake Reed's basket that gave Austin Peay a 48-44 lead with 7:09 to play. Austin Peay never trailed again after that.
Austin Peay will face the winner of Friday's second semifinal game between Tennessee Tech and Eastern Kentucky.
Lockett played all 40 minutes and made 7-of-10 shots from the floor for the Govs, who had a balanced scoring attack.
Wes Channels scored 14 points, including a key 3-pointer in the final minute that pushed Austin Peay's lead to 57-49. Reed added 13 points and Derek Wright added 10 for Austin Peay.
Samford's Randall Gulina scored a game-high 21 points, while Joe Ross Merritt and Travis Peterson added 11 points each. Jerry Smith finished with 10 for Samford.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Fernandez Lockett scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as No. 1 seed Austin Peay fought off pesky Samford 65-55 Friday to advance to the final of the Ohio Valley Conference basketball tournament.
The Governors (21-10) squandered a six-point halftime lead and trailed the Bulldogs (16-16) by as many as five points in the second half before rallying to advance to Saturday's championship game.
Trailing 42-37, the Governors went on an 11-2 run, capped off by Drake Reed's basket that gave Austin Peay a 48-44 lead with 7:09 to play. Austin Peay never trailed again after that.
Austin Peay will face the winner of Friday's second semifinal game between Tennessee Tech and Eastern Kentucky.
Lockett played all 40 minutes and made 7-of-10 shots from the floor for the Govs, who had a balanced scoring attack.
Wes Channels scored 14 points, including a key 3-pointer in the final minute that pushed Austin Peay's lead to 57-49. Reed added 13 points and Derek Wright added 10 for Austin Peay.
Samford's Randall Gulina scored a game-high 21 points, while Joe Ross Merritt and Travis Peterson added 11 points each. Jerry Smith finished with 10 for Samford.
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Bang Bang Bang
A great new band out of Nashville, saw them at the Exit/In last year.
Check them out Live - Click Click Click Here for the Band Website
I was visiting Nashville & C'ville last year and went online to see who was playing at the Exit/In that weekend, saw this group listed and checked out their website which had the "Traffic" video. Me & my boy eLyGoLd were there the next night ... great live show.
Traffic - Video (from the CD, "I shot the king")
Rock & Roll Queen - Video (from their new release, "American Ride")
Check them out Live - Click Click Click Here for the Band Website
I was visiting Nashville & C'ville last year and went online to see who was playing at the Exit/In that weekend, saw this group listed and checked out their website which had the "Traffic" video. Me & my boy eLyGoLd were there the next night ... great live show.
Traffic - Video (from the CD, "I shot the king")
Rock & Roll Queen - Video (from their new release, "American Ride")
Royal Court of China
Another blast from 80's Nashville
It's All Changed - Video
The Lottery - Live at the Exit/In
(and a good chance I was in the crowd)
It's All Changed - Video
The Lottery - Live at the Exit/In
(and a good chance I was in the crowd)
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