Before making my feeble attempt at putting together a few sports briefs of note, I beg your indulgence for just a moment.
I would be remiss if I didn’t recognize that today marks 10 years ago that my dear mother passed away. She was an unbelievably resilient and strong woman, as well as a kind and loving mother. I think of her every single day, and I am just one of many people who miss her greatly.
Red-hot, yet light-hitting Reds roll on
As of this writing, the Cincinnati Reds have embarked on their best start in a couple of decades. The team is still performing poorly at the plate, but the Reds are winning the close ones, something they’ve struggled with for more than a few years. The primary reason for the current four-game winning streak and 15-8 division-leading record is the shutdown bullpen, which at this early juncture is the best in baseball.
Sustaining this kind of success will become difficult if the bats don’t awaken, but defense and pitching can carry a team a long way.
Fans have to expect better offensive production than what the Reds have shown in a still rather small ample size, and if this team can remain relatively healthy, they are showing the qualities of a winning team. They aren’t beating themselves, they’re running the bases effectively, coming up with timely hits on occasion, and of course, the already mentioned solid defense and outstanding relief pitching.
The Reds should be a fun team to watch throughout the season, but pulling way in what has thus far been an uber-competitive NL Central will be a tough assignment indeed. At the time of this writing, the division features five teams with winning records separated by a measly two games. The suddenly hot Chicago Cubs and surprising Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals are snipping at their heels, a game and half behind the Redlegs at 13-9, and the always dangerous Milwaukee Brewers are 12-9.
Even with a ton of baseball yet to be played, it appears the race for the NL Central title will be interesting until the end. Cincy looks to have what it takes to get it done, but it would sure be nice to see several players heat up soon.
Pope desperately seeking bigs
The heat remains at full blast in Lexington, where the rabid fanbase is growing increasingly impatient with each passing day. The portal wars have not gone well for head coach Mark Pope and the Kentucky basketball staff, and at this point, that may be the understatement of the century.
The Cats continue to whiff on what are considered the highest-rated transfer targets in the transfer portal, and it would behoove Pope to bring in some frontline help as soon as possible. Perhaps there will be a surprise announcement coming in the near future, and the top high school recruit is still taking his sweet ol’ time deciding on a school. Kentucky cannot count on that player, Tyran Stokes, to declare he’s going to become a Wildcat, and the roster is still in dire need of some size.
If you look at the top teams in college hoops a year ago, many had the same thing in common. They were stocked with big men who could play. Kentucky has lost several bigs to the portal, and replacements are needed. Whether or not they will be any better than what we saw last year is an unknown, and maybe the international market is an option.
Bengals shock the NFL world
While the news surrounding the Kentucky basketball program remains concerning, the National Football League football franchise just up the road made what can only be called a stunning announcement a few days ago.
The Cincinnati Bengals front office admitted the time is now by dealing their top draft pick, and the 10th overall, to the New York Giants in exchange for behemoth defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, a former Pro Bowler. Lawrence fills a definite need for the Bengals, but for the Brown family and the team’s de facto GM Duke Tobin to pull the trigger is still a humongous surprise. Perhaps the team was feeling undesired pressure to get a higher round draft pick correct, and said what the heck, let’s do this.
Whatever the reasoning, it appears to be a popular move among the Bengals players, who are ecstatic with the move. If the front office can make some solid decisions to improve the depth at a few other positions – cornerback, linebacker, and the offensive line come to mind immediately – next season could turn out to be a year to remember.
Pair of coaches returning to area
There will be at least two new high school basketball coaches in the 39th District roaming the sideline when November rolls around, and quite possibly, three.
That is due to the recent announcements that former Royal star football and basketball player Jordan Gilbert will return to his alma mater to coach Mason County, and former St. Patrick 10th Region Hall of Fame player and Saints coach Aaron Rigdon is coming back to the area to lead Bracken County.
Another change could be forthcoming at St. Patrick; current coach Lex Turner has yet to decide for certain if a return to the downtown Maysville school is going to happen. If the longtime 10th Region Hall of Famer decides to retire, that would mean that Augusta bench boss Jason Hinson would be the lone district coach to remain in his current location.
Gilbert has had a successful run at Green County and Nelson County, and he’ll be taking over for the departed Brian Kirk. Rigdon, whose son Jaylan is currently playing basketball at the University of Pikeville, succeeds Terry King at the Brooksville school.
Without a doubt, both coaches are relishing the challenges ahead of them, and they’re well aware that they will be trying to replace several key seniors from last year’s teams. The 39th appears to again be up for grabs, with what appears to be four very young teams vying for the title.
High school players on the move as well
Of course, coaches aren’t the only folks switching schools nowadays. The high school “transfer portal” is also in full swing, with the news that 6-foot-8 Andrew Terry is leaving Montgomery County for the Mount Sterling school’s archrival, George Rogers Clark. Terry led the Indians with 20.8 points and 9.7 rebounds per game in his sophomore season, and is considered one of the top power forward prospects in Kentucky. GRC will be his third school playing varsity basketball after beginning his career as an eighth-grader at Owsley County, scoring nearly 12 points per game.
Absolutely nothing comes as much of a surprise when it comes to high school hoops in Kentucky as it relates to transfers. Rumors of recruiting run rampant throughout the commonwealth leading one longtime, close observer to proclaim, and I’m paraphrasing here: “If you ain’t recruitin’, you ain’t tryin’”, and I don’t think he was kidding.
Folks have cried foul for years about high school recruiting, with many complaining that private schools enjoyed an unfair advantage. That argument is a moot point these days; public schools aren’t shy about doing the same. Competing in many Kentucky regions is and always has been highly competitive, and it isn’t slowing down anytime soon. That only means that some schools feel the need to do recruit or entice certain players because of the pressure to win at the highest level.
********************
“Good breeding consists in concealing how much we think of ourselves and little we think of the other person.” – Mark Twain
Leave a Reply