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June 29, 2009

After a couple of weeks hiatus, I’m back

Larry Winterland

I know, I know, it’s been a while since my words were put into print, and my one reader out there was shooting Les Dixon e-mails wondering where I was.

A lot has happened since my short-lived stint when writers block took place.

• First of all, Jodie Meeks kept his name in the NBA draft.

The Friday before he announced his stay in the NBA, I tried to warn my listeners on Krunchtime that he would have not bettered himself by coming back to UK for one more season. He would have bettered Kentucky, but his draft position would have been the same next year.

• If you took my advice in the U.S. Open and took Tiger over the field, I am sorry.

• Much to my surprise, Brett Favre still hasn’t decided if he is going to come back and play for Minnesota. More to my surprise, Favre hasn’t been on SportsCenter every night with overpaid talking heads telling me the pros and cons of Favre coming back or staying put.

• Really, Sammy Sosa?

As if anyone believed you were clean anyway. The slugger weeks ago announced his retirement from baseball and said he will wait on his call to the Hall of Fame. I like Les Dixon’s chance to become mayor of Corbin before I like Sosa’s phone ringing.

• Is there anything more boring than watching teams win a title in the another person’s house? First the Pittsburgh Penguins won the Stanley Cup in Hockeytown and the Detroit Red Wings fans booed all throughout the celebration. In Orlando, the Los Angeles Lakers won easy and the Orlando Magic fans did their share of booing, but it all came with eight minutes left in the game. Those who hung around were so quiet you would have thought they were celebrating in a day care.

• Phil Jackson has won 10 NBA titles — no doubt the best ever.

• I have learned that hanging around soccer coaches isn’t that bad. I still don’t understand the game and can’t watch it, but I am coming around.

• The National League Central can’t get any worse even if you added the Washington Nationals.

• When will baseball and other sports get smart and use the internet to their advantage? They should start streaming their games online at no extra charge like the NCAA does during the tournament and the U.S. Open did this past Monday. I am sure there is a way they can profit by live internet stream.

• The schedule makers were not very kind to the UK football team. Kentucky will open up with Miami of Ohio followed by a bye week. After that it’s 11 straight weeks of football that includes back-to-back against last year’s SEC title game opponents, Florida and Alabama.

• Tuesday in Detroit, Pulaski County native Josh Anderson was scheduled to bat. However, he was pulled for Ryan Rayburn. All Rayburn did was hit a walk-off two-run homer against the Chicago Cubs. I am still proud that July 17, a kid from Pulaski County will step on the field at the New Yankee Stadium and play a baseball game. Good for you, Anderson.

• I promise that I won’t stay gone so long next time.  



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