Transcript

6.4.26 · The Mountain Eagle

0:01
Speaker 1: Now we turn to the Mountain Eagle to read news
0:04
Speaker 1: from Wisburg. Your reader today is build an Arsenale. We
0:09
Speaker 1: will begin with the addition dated June third, twenty twenty six,
0:13
Speaker 1: which the publishers have donated to RADIOIE as a reminder.
0:18
Speaker 1: RADIOI is a reading service intended for people who are
0:21
Speaker 1: blind or have other disabilities that make it difficult to
0:23
Speaker 1: read printed material. The first headline is around the campfire
0:30
Speaker 1: at Fish Pond. The hooting of owls, the hanking of geese,
0:36
Speaker 1: the splash of bass in the lake, and the growl
0:39
Speaker 1: of side by sides winding through the hills all blend
0:43
Speaker 1: into the atmosphere at the Spring meet Up in the
0:46
Speaker 1: Mountains at Fish Pond Lake. The annual gathering, held this
0:51
Speaker 1: weekend for the eighth year, draws outdoor enthusiasts from across
0:55
Speaker 1: the country to learn primitive skills such as bow drill firemen,
1:00
Speaker 1: traditional herbal remedies including tea made from the common wildflower
1:05
Speaker 1: daisy fleabane, and wilderness survival techniques, while also offering instruction
1:12
Speaker 1: in modern skills such as wilderness first aid. Now in
1:17
Speaker 1: its eighth year in Letcher County, the event has evolved
1:20
Speaker 1: into something more like a family reunion than a trade show.
1:24
Speaker 1: Many participants return year after year, gathering around campfires and
1:29
Speaker 1: sharing a potluck meal every Saturday night. It was well
1:33
Speaker 1: in excess of one hundred that passed through this year,
1:36
Speaker 1: but as far as camping out, it was somewhere around
1:38
Speaker 1: thirty or forty, said Chris Riffey of Thornton, who hosted
1:42
Speaker 1: the first meet up at Fish Pond Lake. The gathering
1:46
Speaker 1: began at Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area
1:50
Speaker 1: in Tennessee. When the event's founder decided to step away,
1:55
Speaker 1: he asked Riffee if he would be willing to host it.
1:59
Speaker 1: Rify agreed, and only if it could be held in
2:01
Speaker 1: his home county. Since then, the meetup has become a
2:05
Speaker 1: destination for outdoor enthusiasts, YouTube content creators, and their followers.
2:12
Speaker 1: It started out just a group of YouTubers getting together,
2:15
Speaker 1: but it's more than that, Riffy said. There's still a
2:18
Speaker 1: lot of YouTubers, but there are a lot of other
2:20
Speaker 1: people too. Over the years, participants have traveled to Letcher
2:25
Speaker 1: County from states including California, Iowa, Florida, Michigan, Ohio, and Georgia,
2:31
Speaker 1: as well as neighboring Kentucky Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and
2:36
Speaker 1: the Carolinas. This year. Riffy pointed to a pair of
2:40
Speaker 1: brothers who first attended several years ago after working in
2:43
Speaker 1: Bowling Green. They were so impressed by the area that
2:48
Speaker 1: they eventually purchased property in neighboring Leslie County. The first
2:52
Speaker 1: time they showed up was probably four years ago, and
2:55
Speaker 1: they just fell in love with these mountains, he said.
2:59
Speaker 1: The event has also become an unexpected tourism draw. Many
3:03
Speaker 1: attendees first learn about Fish Pond Lake and eastern Kentucky
3:07
Speaker 1: through YouTube videos posted by participants and decide to see
3:12
Speaker 1: the area for themselves. Another avenue of promotion has come
3:17
Speaker 1: through amateur radio. The Lescher County Amateur Radio Club has
3:22
Speaker 1: operated a special events station from the center of the
3:25
Speaker 1: campground for the past three years. According to Rowland Brown
3:29
Speaker 1: of lecture, this year, club members made contact with approximately
3:34
Speaker 1: twenty five amateur radio operators in locations ranging from Spain
3:39
Speaker 1: to the Middle East. When videos from this year's event
3:43
Speaker 1: are posted online, each contact will receive a commemorative QSL
3:48
Speaker 1: card featuring artwork inspired by the meet up and a
3:52
Speaker 1: QR code linking to a website containing video highlights from
3:56
Speaker 1: attendee's YouTube channels. A card is for any confirmed contact
4:03
Speaker 1: and it will say basically, hey, you have us on
4:05
Speaker 1: a special events call sign W four B or whiskey
4:09
Speaker 1: four Bravo. Brown said many amateur radio operators collect QSL
4:16
Speaker 1: cards from around the world, displaying them in albums or
4:19
Speaker 1: on the walls of their radio shacks, much like travelers
4:22
Speaker 1: once displayed postcards from distant places. For organizers, the cards
4:28
Speaker 1: offer another way to introduce people around the world to
4:31
Speaker 1: Lectra County, Fish Pond Lake, and the mountains that keep
4:35
Speaker 1: drawing visitors back year after year. The next story is
4:41
Speaker 1: man faces long term in prison after conviction. A u
4:47
Speaker 1: Z man convicted of killing his nephew in twenty twenty
4:50
Speaker 1: four will likely spend the rest of his life in prison.
4:55
Speaker 1: Elector Circuit Court jury last week found Rodney Webb, fifty eight,
5:00
Speaker 1: guilty of first degree manslaughter in the death of his nephew,
5:04
Speaker 1: Nicholas Webb. According to testimony, Rodney Webb shot Nicholas Webb,
5:10
Speaker 1: forty four, in the leg during a family altercation on
5:13
Speaker 1: April fifth, twenty twenty four. The bullet severed the femoral
5:18
Speaker 1: artery and Nicholas Webb bled to death before emergency medical
5:22
Speaker 1: personnel could arrive. Witnesses estimated that he died within three
5:26
Speaker 1: to four minutes of being shot. Witnesses testified that the
5:31
Speaker 1: altercation began when Rodney Webb's brother, Roger Webb, became angry
5:37
Speaker 1: about a loud pickup truck that awakened him. After arriving
5:40
Speaker 1: at Rodney webb nearby trailer, the two men became involved
5:44
Speaker 1: in a fistfight. Roger Webb testified that he pinned Rodney
5:49
Speaker 1: Webb to the ground for several minutes while striking him
5:52
Speaker 1: in the face. After the fight ended, Nicholas Webb attempted
5:56
Speaker 1: to intervene, and Rodney Webb then fired the fatal shot,
6:00
Speaker 1: according to testimony. Rodney Webb was originally charged with murder
6:06
Speaker 1: and persistent Felony Offender PFO, second degree charges that carried
6:11
Speaker 1: the possibility of a life sentence. The jury instead convicted
6:15
Speaker 1: him of first degree manslaughter, which ordinarily carries a sentence
6:19
Speaker 1: of ten to twenty years in prison. The trial then
6:23
Speaker 1: moved into a second phase to determine whether Webb qualified
6:27
Speaker 1: as a persistent felony offender. Defense attorney Jonas Stevens argued
6:33
Speaker 1: that Kentucky's PFO statute was never intended to target non
6:37
Speaker 1: violent offenders and noted that Webb's previous convictions were not
6:41
Speaker 1: for violent crimes. Stephens also asked jurors to consider Webb's
6:46
Speaker 1: age and health. PFO would be inhumane. Stephens said, mister
6:51
Speaker 1: Webb would probably die in prison. Letcher, Commonwealth's attorney Matt Butler,
6:57
Speaker 1: urged jurors to focus solely on whether Webb met the
7:01
Speaker 1: legal requirements for a persistent felony offender enhancement. The jury agreed,
7:07
Speaker 1: finding Webb guilty of being a persistent felony offender in
7:10
Speaker 1: the second degree. The enhancement elevated the manslaughter conviction to
7:15
Speaker 1: a Class A felony, carrying a possible sentence of twenty
7:19
Speaker 1: years to life in prison. During the sentencing phase, Butler
7:24
Speaker 1: called Kentucky State Police detective Brandon Thomas as his only witness.
7:29
Speaker 1: Thomas testified that if jurors had seen Rodney Webb's feet
7:33
Speaker 1: in a photograph taken on the day of the shooting,
7:36
Speaker 1: they would have seen an ankle monitor. Webb was on
7:39
Speaker 1: home incarceration at the time of the offense. Butler then
7:44
Speaker 1: asked Letcher Circuit Judge James W. Craft the second to
7:47
Speaker 1: read Webb's prior criminal record into evidence. The record included
7:52
Speaker 1: convictions for trafficking and control substances, driving under the influence,
7:57
Speaker 1: non support, possession of drug payer fernilia, possession of controlled substances,
8:02
Speaker 1: and other offenses. Stephens submitted Webb's medical records as evidence,
8:08
Speaker 1: but called no witnesses. During closing arguments, Stevens again argued
8:13
Speaker 1: that Kentucky's persistent felony offender law was modeled after statutes
8:18
Speaker 1: enacted in states with higher violent crime rates and now
8:21
Speaker 1: often affects defendants whose prior offenses were non violent. I think,
8:26
Speaker 1: deep down you know he does not have a violent nature,
8:30
Speaker 1: Stevens said of his clan. Butler countered that Webb's criminal
8:34
Speaker 1: record demonstrated a pattern of unlawful behavior. In the next headline,
8:42
Speaker 1: school board narrows superintendent choices, the Lectri County Board of
8:48
Speaker 1: Education will interview two candidates for superintendent in the coming days.
8:53
Speaker 1: A committee appointed to conduct the superintendent search turned over
8:56
Speaker 1: two names to the board on Thursday night during a
8:59
Speaker 1: closed session. The board has not released the names, but
9:02
Speaker 1: will interview both candidates. It's not clear where those candidates
9:06
Speaker 1: are from but the board has said in the past
9:08
Speaker 1: that it will interview all local candidates. The board has
9:12
Speaker 1: not yet sent dates for interviews and has not identified
9:16
Speaker 1: the two candidates. The search began after the board accepted
9:20
Speaker 1: the retirement of Superintendent Denise Jance, who will step down
9:24
Speaker 1: from her position June thirtieth. The next story is Parkway
9:30
Speaker 1: Pharmacy to celebrate opening of new store in Jenkins. Parkway
9:37
Speaker 1: Pharmacy will celebrate its grand opening Friday, June fifth with
9:41
Speaker 1: a day of special promotions, giveaway and free food at
9:45
Speaker 1: its location on Highway eight oh five in Jenkins. The
9:49
Speaker 1: locally operated pharmacy, located at ninety five hundred Highway eighth five,
9:55
Speaker 1: will host the event from nine am to six pm.
9:58
Speaker 1: Customers can register for prize drawings throughout the week leading
10:01
Speaker 1: up to the grand opening and on the day of
10:03
Speaker 1: the event. Prizes include a fifty inch smart television, a case,
10:09
Speaker 1: golfer's knife and round of golf at Raven Rock Golf Course,
10:13
Speaker 1: a one hundred dollars ace hardware, gift card, ladies perfume,
10:17
Speaker 1: a tart burner and wax tarts and gift cards from
10:21
Speaker 1: area businesses. Free hot dogs will be available from eleven
10:25
Speaker 1: am to one pm during the celebration. The pharmacy is
10:29
Speaker 1: also offering special discounts, including twenty percent off case knives, fragrances,
10:35
Speaker 1: and candles, as well as a buy one, get one
10:38
Speaker 1: half off promotion on Nature Truth and Foster and Thrive vitamins.
10:43
Speaker 1: Parkway Pharmacy provides prescription services, a drive through window and
10:48
Speaker 1: accepts most area insurance plans. The pharmacy also offers flavored
10:53
Speaker 1: liquid medications for children. The business is open from nine
10:57
Speaker 1: am to six pm Monday through Friday, and from nine
11:00
Speaker 1: am to three pm on Saturdays. For more information, calls
11:04
Speaker 1: six six eight three two six oh nine seven. The
11:10
Speaker 1: next headline is PSC Okay's Kentucky Power storm cost deferral.
11:18
Speaker 1: Kentucky Power Company's request to defer more than one point
11:22
Speaker 1: four million dollars in storm restoration expenses for possible future
11:26
Speaker 1: recovery from customers has been approved by the State Public
11:30
Speaker 1: Service Commission PSC. At the same time, the PSC warned
11:35
Speaker 1: that the utility's repeated use of such accounting treatment could
11:38
Speaker 1: ultimately cost rate payers more money. In an order issued
11:43
Speaker 1: May nineteenth, the PSC authorized Kentucky Power to establish a
11:48
Speaker 1: regulatory asset for approximately one point four to three million
11:52
Speaker 1: dollars in incremental operating and maintenance expenses stemming from severe
11:57
Speaker 1: thunderstorms that struck the company's service territory on December eighteenth
12:02
Speaker 1: and nineteen, twenty twenty five. The approval does not immediately
12:07
Speaker 1: increase electric bills. Instead, it allows Kentucky Power to record
12:11
Speaker 1: the costs as a regulatory asset and seek recovery in
12:15
Speaker 1: a future rate case. A regulatory asset is essentially an
12:19
Speaker 1: accounting mechanism that allows a utility to postpone recovery of
12:24
Speaker 1: certain expenses and ask regulators for permission to collect those
12:28
Speaker 1: costs from customers at a later date. According to the
12:33
Speaker 1: PSC order, the storms caused widespread damage across Kentucky Power's
12:37
Speaker 1: Eastern Kentucky service territory, damaging poles, transformers, conductors, and other
12:43
Speaker 1: equipment while causing more than sixteen thousand customer outages. Kentucky
12:49
Speaker 1: Power reported spending approximately two point three seven million dollars
12:54
Speaker 1: restoring service after the storms swept through its service territory.
12:59
Speaker 1: That amount, about one point four to three million dollars
13:02
Speaker 1: was identified as incremental operating expenses not already included in
13:07
Speaker 1: the company's base rates. The PSC agreed that the December
13:12
Speaker 1: eighteenth and nineteenth storm damage represented an extraordinary and non
13:16
Speaker 1: recurring event that justified special accounting treatment. However, the Commission
13:22
Speaker 1: also repeated concerns it raised in Kentucky Power's most recent
13:25
Speaker 1: rate case, Noting that Kentucky Power has sought approval to
13:29
Speaker 1: defer storm related expenses in each of the past four years.
13:34
Speaker 1: The PSC warned that Kentucky Power already receives money in
13:37
Speaker 1: its rates to cover ordinary storm damage. Regulators said they
13:42
Speaker 1: are concerned that repeatedly allowing the company to defer additional
13:46
Speaker 1: storm expenses for future recovery could create a situation in
13:50
Speaker 1: which customers are routinely asked to pay extra whenever actual
13:54
Speaker 1: storm costs succeed the amount already built into rates. The
13:58
Speaker 1: Commission said such a practice could reduce pressure on utilities
14:02
Speaker 1: to control storm restoration costs because customers would ultimately be
14:06
Speaker 1: responsible for making up the difference through future rate increases
14:10
Speaker 1: or special charges. The PSC further noted that repeated recovery
14:15
Speaker 1: of such expenses could increase customer costs through carrying charges
14:19
Speaker 1: and other financing expenses associated with regulatory assets. Similar concerns
14:26
Speaker 1: were raised by three Kentucky Power customers who submitted comments
14:30
Speaker 1: opposing Kentucky Power's request. One of them, Keisha Mullins of Pikeville,
14:37
Speaker 1: questioned whether customers should be responsible for paying storm repair
14:41
Speaker 1: costs at all, arguing that utilities should maintain adequate reserves
14:45
Speaker 1: and insurance to cover such expenses. Mullins also called for
14:50
Speaker 1: additional scrutiny of the company's use of contract labor and
14:53
Speaker 1: the costs associated with outside contractors. The PSC ultimately proved
15:00
Speaker 1: Kentucky Power's request. However, regulators echoed some of the broader
15:05
Speaker 1: concerns raised by commanders, warning that routinely allowing utilities to
15:09
Speaker 1: defer storm expenses for future recovery could eventually shift too
15:14
Speaker 1: much financial risk from the company to its customers. Despite
15:19
Speaker 1: those concerns, the PSC found that Kentucky Power had provided
15:23
Speaker 1: sufficient documentation showing that the December storm expenses were extraordinary
15:28
Speaker 1: and could not reasonably have been anticipated or incorporated into
15:32
Speaker 1: normal budgeting. The order emphasizes that approval of the regulatory
15:37
Speaker 1: asset is for accounting purposes only. Whether customers ultimately pay
15:42
Speaker 1: those costs will be decided in a future rate case
15:46
Speaker 1: where Kentucky Power must justify the expenses as prudent and
15:50
Speaker 1: necessary before they can be included in rates. Kentucky Power
15:55
Speaker 1: said the cost of the two day December storm brought
15:58
Speaker 1: its total costs of repairing storm damage in twenty twenty
16:02
Speaker 1: five to approximately twenty one point eight million dollars. And
16:08
Speaker 1: the next headline is remains found in Knot County are
16:12
Speaker 1: believed to be those of missing man. Human remains discovered
16:18
Speaker 1: at Amberge in Knot County this week are believed to
16:22
Speaker 1: be those of a twenty five year old man missing
16:24
Speaker 1: for two months. Family members said searchers discovered human remains
16:30
Speaker 1: off Big Branch Road between Carcreek Lake and Hindman in
16:34
Speaker 1: Knot County, near where Sean Reisner was last seen. Speculation
16:39
Speaker 1: and circumstantial evidence suggests that was probably him, we just
16:44
Speaker 1: can't confirm an identity. Kentucky State Police Trooper Matt Gayheart said,
16:49
Speaker 1: KSP troopers, search and rescue volunteers and cadaver dog handlers
16:54
Speaker 1: from Indiana Canine United, searching a wooded area off the
16:58
Speaker 1: two thousand block of Big Branch Road, discovered the badly
17:02
Speaker 1: decomposed remains shortly before ten a m June first, the
17:08
Speaker 1: Knot County Coroner's office pronounced the person dead and the
17:11
Speaker 1: remains were taken to the Kentucky Medical Examiner's Office in
17:15
Speaker 1: Frankfort for autopsy and positive identification. Family members have posted
17:21
Speaker 1: online that they believed the body is Sean Reisner, who
17:24
Speaker 1: disappeared on the night of March twenty sixth. He was
17:28
Speaker 1: reported missing after callers told nine one one dispatchers and
17:32
Speaker 1: Hazard that a van was abandoned in a ditch on
17:36
Speaker 1: Big Branch on the night of March twenty sixth. The vehicle,
17:39
Speaker 1: a silver Chevrolet with a blue front bumper, did not
17:43
Speaker 1: appear to be damaged, and there was a loaded gun inside.
17:47
Speaker 1: Police called a tow truck and impounded the vehicle. According
17:51
Speaker 1: to Reisner's sister, the van was near a wide spot
17:54
Speaker 1: where family members had been given permission to park. A
17:58
Speaker 1: witness saw Reisner walk toward Kentucky fifteen, but he has
18:02
Speaker 1: not been seen since. He is described as a twenty
18:07
Speaker 1: five year old white man, six feet one inch tall
18:09
Speaker 1: with light brown hair. He was last seen wearing a
18:13
Speaker 1: gray Nike sweatshirt and camouflage crocs. Details of exactly where
18:19
Speaker 1: and in what condition the body was found have not
18:21
Speaker 1: been released. The investigation remains ongoing and is being led
18:26
Speaker 1: by Kentucky State Police Detective Nathan Rourke. The next article
18:32
Speaker 1: is Vaught's Views by Larry Vaunt. Stein wants players coaches
18:38
Speaker 1: to expect to win. Relationships are an important part of
18:43
Speaker 1: recruiting for Kentucky football coach Will Stein and his staff. However,
18:48
Speaker 1: those relationships also matter after players get to Kentucky. Connection
18:53
Speaker 1: is such an important part of a program. Player to
18:56
Speaker 1: player connection, where our players actually are brought in and
18:59
Speaker 1: love each other, is important, said Stein during an appearance
19:04
Speaker 1: at the Louisville Quarterback Club. You can do it in
19:06
Speaker 1: a whole different multitude of ways. He's having meetings each
19:11
Speaker 1: Wednesday where players tell each other's stories about where they
19:14
Speaker 1: are from, who in their life is important to them,
19:17
Speaker 1: and more. That player to player connection is huge. The
19:22
Speaker 1: coach player connection is huge. These players are bought into
19:26
Speaker 1: what we are selling them, and it's authentic, it's transparent.
19:30
Speaker 1: It's not just a transactional relationship where we bring these
19:34
Speaker 1: kids in and spit them out. We're invested in them
19:37
Speaker 1: and their future, Stein said. He said coach to coach
19:42
Speaker 1: relationships are also important. He said his coaches are guys
19:46
Speaker 1: that all of us would want to go have beers
19:48
Speaker 1: with after work because of who they are. They are
19:51
Speaker 1: the people whose wives come on our campus to bring
19:54
Speaker 1: their kids up to work and enjoy coming there, So
19:57
Speaker 1: the coach relationship is huge, Stein said. He also noted
20:02
Speaker 1: that groups like the Louisville Quarterback Club are important. We
20:06
Speaker 1: talk about a program and building a program, it takes everybody,
20:10
Speaker 1: a whole state, a whole group of men and women
20:13
Speaker 1: in one room talking about one thing, Kentucky football. Stein said,
20:18
Speaker 1: so I cannot be more excited to be here in
20:20
Speaker 1: front of you guys. We're doing some really cool stuff
20:24
Speaker 1: right now. We're obviously undefeated. We have not won a
20:27
Speaker 1: game or lost a game, so the buzz is real.
20:30
Speaker 1: But it's really exciting where this program is going. And
20:33
Speaker 1: we have great men, great women in our organization. The
20:38
Speaker 1: players are working their ass off this spring, they really did,
20:42
Speaker 1: and their body in recruiting is obviously the buzz right
20:45
Speaker 1: now because there's nothing else going on in football. Everybody's
20:49
Speaker 1: really excited. Kentucky's final two seasons under coach Mark Stoops
20:55
Speaker 1: left many UK fans disillusioned about the future of the program.
21:00
Speaker 1: Stein wants to reignite the pride and passion of UK
21:03
Speaker 1: fans and said there is no slowness to how we
21:06
Speaker 1: operate as a program. He has been part of sixty
21:10
Speaker 1: nine wins over the last six seasons and been part
21:13
Speaker 1: of two trips to the college football Playoffs as well
21:16
Speaker 1: as two trips to New York City for the Heisman
21:18
Speaker 1: Trophy presentation where Oregon quarterbacks were finalists for the award. However,
21:24
Speaker 1: the wins started long before that. My days at Trinity
21:28
Speaker 1: with assistant coach Oscar Brohm, my days at Louisville as
21:32
Speaker 1: a football player won a lot. My days at Holy
21:35
Speaker 1: Spirit grades one through eight. That's just what I've been
21:38
Speaker 1: a part of. And I don't really know any other way.
21:41
Speaker 1: Stein said. And people ask me about, oh, what are
21:46
Speaker 1: the goals for the season. What the goal is is
21:49
Speaker 1: to win? If you're not showing up to win every
21:52
Speaker 1: single Saturday, this is what I say. Now, you're a loser.
21:56
Speaker 1: I don't want anybody near me that has a mentality
21:59
Speaker 1: or near my near my coaches. You play to win
22:02
Speaker 1: the game. It's what you do. You prepare to win,
22:06
Speaker 1: you recruit to win every single second of every single day.
22:10
Speaker 1: So you want to ignite a fan base, you want
22:14
Speaker 1: to get a team going, get great players, get great coaches,
22:18
Speaker 1: get people that are invested and that are fearless. That's
22:21
Speaker 1: what it's all about. Even Stein admits he doesn't know
22:25
Speaker 1: how that will translate to his first season at Kentucky.
22:30
Speaker 1: If I had a crystal ball, I'd be a really
22:32
Speaker 1: rich man. I would know every result of every game.
22:36
Speaker 1: All I know is that if we prepare the right way,
22:39
Speaker 1: I think we have really good players, that is going
22:41
Speaker 1: to give us the most the best possibility to win
22:44
Speaker 1: on Saturday. So I'm fired up. Some Kentucky fans are
22:49
Speaker 1: already pointing to a UK's home game with Alabama on
22:52
Speaker 1: September twelfth as a potential signature win to start the
22:56
Speaker 1: Stein era. Stein has another idea. I could honestly give
23:01
Speaker 1: a damn about Alabama. I'm worried about Youngstown State on
23:05
Speaker 1: September fifth. And that's not some cliche coach talk. That
23:09
Speaker 1: is true. The first game is going to be electric,
23:13
Speaker 1: and I want our players to play really well, play
23:16
Speaker 1: really clean, and have a great Saturday on September fifth,
23:20
Speaker 1: the UK coach said. Veteran Sporting News columnist Mike de
23:25
Speaker 1: Courci believes that returning players Malachai Moreno and Cam Williams,
23:30
Speaker 1: along with transfer point guard Zoom Diallo, give Kentucky a
23:34
Speaker 1: pretty good starting point for next season. However, he's also
23:38
Speaker 1: realistic about the roster that coach Mark Pope has assembled
23:42
Speaker 1: so far. I don't think it's a perfect roster. Justin McBride,
23:46
Speaker 1: Richmond and Alex Wilkins Furman have to make really successful
23:51
Speaker 1: transitions to the SEC from mid major teams. That might
23:55
Speaker 1: be a lot. We have seen lots of players do it,
23:58
Speaker 1: but it is not a given, said Decroy. He watched
24:02
Speaker 1: Diallo play several times last year and considers him a
24:05
Speaker 1: capable point guard. He knows how to handle the ball
24:09
Speaker 1: and get it to the right places, and that's important.
24:11
Speaker 1: The Sporting News columnist said. The pieces are there, but
24:16
Speaker 1: they've got to have Wilkins and or McBride transfer their
24:19
Speaker 1: mid major level of success to a high major level,
24:22
Speaker 1: and I understand why some worry about that. However, De
24:27
Speaker 1: Coursey also urged UK fans to think back to a
24:29
Speaker 1: year ago. How many were critical of this roster. A
24:33
Speaker 1: year ago, most were doing somersaults over the construction of
24:36
Speaker 1: the roster. It didn't work. Kentucky lost fourteen games. De
24:40
Speaker 1: Coursey said, so you just never know exactly how any
24:44
Speaker 1: roster is going to turn out, and Kentucky fans need
24:47
Speaker 1: to remember that. Kenny Rice, sixty nine is probably best
24:53
Speaker 1: known for his horse race reporting, including the Kentucky Derby
24:57
Speaker 1: with NBC and MMA coverage for HD. The Eastern Kentucky
25:02
Speaker 1: native also has been sports director for WTVQTV in Lexington
25:07
Speaker 1: and was a national stringer for ESPN from nineteen eighty
25:10
Speaker 1: two to nineteen ninety. He started work for NBC in
25:14
Speaker 1: nineteen ninety nine and worked two Summer Olympics. He's also
25:20
Speaker 1: a nineteen eighty University of Kentucky graduate who still follows
25:24
Speaker 1: the Wildcats closely, but also has a national perspective on
25:28
Speaker 1: what UK men's basketball and football are doing. I think
25:32
Speaker 1: this is such a big season coming up for Mark Pope.
25:36
Speaker 1: I am not an advocate of looking for new coaches,
25:38
Speaker 1: but fans want instant results and want to win At
25:42
Speaker 1: a program like Kentucky. Getting to the NC DOUBLEA is
25:44
Speaker 1: not a big deal. You're supposed to do that, Rice said.
25:49
Speaker 1: I thought it was a big ask for Mark to
25:51
Speaker 1: come in here, not having any proven success in NCAA
25:54
Speaker 1: tournament play Pope is smart, he's likable, but that is
25:59
Speaker 1: not trend to the court. I think Kentucky certainly has
26:03
Speaker 1: to do better this year. I'm not saying this is
26:06
Speaker 1: his last year, but he has to make a run.
26:09
Speaker 1: The Sweet sixteen is the least he should be happy with.
26:13
Speaker 1: Riich said he knows fans still love Pope, but it
26:16
Speaker 1: has not been a two year love fest. After UK
26:19
Speaker 1: lost fourteen games last year. Reich can remember when John Ray,
26:25
Speaker 1: a hot shot Notre Dame assistant coach, came to Kentucky
26:28
Speaker 1: in nineteen sixty nine. He went ten and thirty three
26:32
Speaker 1: in four years, including four and twenty four in SEC play.
26:38
Speaker 1: We've seen a lot of coaches come and go, Rice said.
26:41
Speaker 1: Mark Stoops is a friend of mine. I thought he
26:43
Speaker 1: did a good job, relatively speaking, and did things that
26:46
Speaker 1: had never happened at UK. Will Stein is another unproven guy.
26:52
Speaker 1: I hope no one tells me how tough the SEC is.
26:55
Speaker 1: You're in the SEC and you know the schedule is
26:58
Speaker 1: tough every year. It's hard to make that claim. Considering
27:01
Speaker 1: what Vanderbilt and Missouri have done. It looks like he's
27:05
Speaker 1: bringing in good talent. He didn't re sign quarterback cutter
27:08
Speaker 1: Bully and this new guy, Kenny Minschei, may be better
27:11
Speaker 1: than Bully. Rich knows UK needs both men's basketball and
27:16
Speaker 1: football to be competitive in the SEC for fans to
27:20
Speaker 1: be happy and worries if Pope does not have a
27:23
Speaker 1: better season that UK could be headed for irrelevance like
27:26
Speaker 1: some former national powers Syracuse and Indiana have experienced recently.
27:32
Speaker 1: The good thing for UK fans is that women's basketball
27:35
Speaker 1: coach Kenny Brooks is building a first class program. So
27:39
Speaker 1: if you're looking for somebody to cheer for next March,
27:41
Speaker 1: I think the women's team will be a safe bit.
27:44
Speaker 1: He said. This concludes the reading of The Mountain Eagle.
27:50
Speaker 1: Your reader has been built in Arsenal. Now please stay
27:54
Speaker 1: tuned for continued programming on behalf of everyone here at
27:58
Speaker 1: Radio I. Thank you for listening, and have a good day.