"Yes" Month

MADISONVILLE, Ky.--I today announced July 2009 is "Yes" Month. As part of the initiative, I will be try to assume more of a posture of "yes" to a wider variety of personal and professional requests.

"I’m glad to see Eric throwing caution to the wind with his ‘Yes’ program," said Kristin Duskin-Gadd, a friend and associate of me for nearly two decades. "Instead of furrowing his brow and checking his day planner, Eric is now more likely to nod at the suggestion to spend Thanksgiving in Georgia."

While "Yes" Month kicked off officially on only July 1, preparations have been underway for months. My wife, daughter and I joined Cindy, Cora and Rob McCracken in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., July 4-6 following a "yes" response to the McCrackens' vacation invitation. Also, later in July, I will be portraying Paul in a series of evening Vacation Bible School appearances at First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) here in Madisonville--again the product of a "yes" response to a request to participate. Finally, the Nance Woehlers have said "yes" to Connie and Tom Nance's tentative request to keep their dog, Lucky, while they travel to Utah. A version of "yes" is said to be forthcoming to Kristin Duskin-Gadd's Thanksgiving invite.

"I'm almost 41 years old, and, frankly, how far has my own agenda gotten me?" I said. "Whatever good has happened in my life has been the result of going with others' flow--'taking what the defense gives me,' you might call it. The announcement of 'Yes' Month is merely a more conscious and concerted effort to adopt this best practice moving forward. I'm excited to build on the success of the just-elapsed Bulgaria Month and to see where 'Yes' Month takes me."

Bulgaria Month

This is the pivotal day of my year. June 25 is when we make the turn from the previous wonderful Christmas (sniffsniff) and toward the next fantastic Christmas (hooray!). So, with six months to go until Christmas 2009, we take a look at Christmas in Bulgaria, about which there is no shortage of Web sites of unknown-to-me validity:

• http://www.abvg.net/Traditions/Christmas/index.html --"Bulgaria's Orthodox Church turned to the reformed Julian calendar in 1968. Since then, Bulgaria has celebrated Christmas for three days starting on December 25, same as most of the Christian world. ... For Orthodox Christians, Christmas comes after 40 days and nights of fasting. The forty-day Advent, started on November 15, finishes on this day. Folk beliefs hold it that the Mother of Jesus began her labours on St. Ignatius’ Day and gave birth to God’s son on Christmas Eve, but that she told of it only on the next day. According to tradition, when bearing her first child, a young mother did not let others know of the birth on the same day; instead people were told about it only on the following day, when guests were invited into the home. Throughout the fasting period, Orthodox Bulgarians will avoid alcohol and animal products. ..."
• http://www.questbg.com/en/lifestyle/life/770-christmas-compared--"... The build up to Christmas happens over a two week period and the celebration itself is not as huge as it is in the West, possibly because during the Communist era, Christmas was not celebrated openly as a religious festival because Communist dogmas forbid the following of religion. Rather than enter into periods of frantic shopping and excess, many Bulgarians take life easy and many still choose to fast for 40 days in fact right up until midnight on Christmas Eve. Main retail outlets do add festive decorations to their stores and the growth in shopping malls is adding to the trend of pushing Christmas from a commercial angle, but the trend has not reached the excesses of the Western world and only small sections of a store are dedicated to Christmas. Likewise, last year on Bulgarian TV there were only three advertisements for Christmas; one from Coca Cola, another from a Rakiya company who were suggesting the purchase of their brand with your Christmas salad and a phone company offering an encyclopaedia to those who took out a contract during the Christmas period. The net result of this barren land of advertising was that children were not craving for all of the latest gizmos. Indeed most children including those of ex pats ask for only one main gift as opposed to a catalogue of demands. ..."
• http://www.geocities.com/nomer6/bulgaria.html--"... It all starts out on the 23rd of December! All the families go out to the shops and buy the food for the holiday! Please take into account that on the Christmas Eve, Bulgarians eat only vegiterian! The whole family goes out to buy the groceries and of course the Christmas Tree! ... The following day the family waks up early to decorate the rest of the house. Of course all the family don't remain free, they are all "bossed around" by the mother. She tells them with what they can help, setting the table, hoovering the house, cleaning the house, going out for last minute shopping, and helping her with the cooking. Everyone works hard the whole day and at about seven o'clock the closest relatives begin to arrive. The family is now ready - all dressed up formally, the table is set, the house is spottless and everyone is ready to have a dinner. The Christmas Tree is of course lit as well as some candles and the atmosphere of the living room is very warm and merry!!!! ..."
• http://www.santas.net/bulgarianchristmas.htm--"... A special diner, consisting of at least twelve dishes is prepared. All of them are without meat and each of them represents a separate month of the year. The dishes consist of beans, different kinds of nuts, dried plums, cakes, and the traditional Banitza. ..."
• http://christmas-world.freeservers.com/bulgaria.html--"... Straw is used for decorations to symbolize the straw in the stable at Bethlehem. Some place the straw on the table and cover it with a white cloth before placing the dinner plates on the table. ... As part of the (Christmas Eve) ritual, the father of the family moves through the house with incense while the family recites special prayers to drive away any evil spirits that may be lurking. Once the dining room is incensed, everyone takes their place at the table and no is supposed to stand up before the entire meal is finished. ... The Christmas Eve table is not cleared until the following morning. Once again, traditions vary in some areas regarding the reason. Some say that it is to insure that there will be plenty of food in the coming year, while others leave the food out for departed family members whose spirit may return. Still others leave the food on the table in case Joseph and Mary stop on their way to Bethlehem. ... It's traditional for young men, called Koledari, to go from house to house singing seasonal carols wishing for good luck and good health. They are rewarded with food and, sometimes, money. ..."
• http://www.geocities.com/nomer6/bulgaria.html--"... They go round the houses in the village or in the town from midnight till dawn. On their way, in front of the gate and in the house they sing specific ritual songs. The songs differ from one another according to the place they are sung and the person they are dedicated to. As a whole, these songs are ritual wishes for happiness in the family and rich crop in the farm. The first song usually begins with this verse: 'Get up, get up dear host!/We are singing for you!/We have come to visit you,/We are good guests for you, koledari!' ... In the morning the family wake up to find their presents underneath the Christmas Tree! Everyone opens their presents and thank SANTA :-) for the presents. They all have breakfast and call friends and relatives to wish them a MERRY CHRISTMAS and make an arangement to meet somewhere and have a snowball fight! In the evening everyone stays up late or goes to a Christmas Concert in the theater! ..."
• http://www.abvg.net/Traditions/Christmas/index.html--"... And we should mention in closing ... the Bulgarian greeting is 'Vesela Koleda,' Merry Christmas."

Bulgaria Month

Following the news of the day out of Bulgaria is not for the faint of heart ... Reuters' Irina Ivanova writes that "Bulgarians are set to punish the Socialists in July" and that "Bulgaria's average monthly salary of about 300 euros ($420) remains the lowest in the EU." Despite the country's poor economy--forecasted by the International Monetary Fund to bottom out this year--versatile Nick Iliev's Sofia Echo reporting indicates that "ATM skimming" is a growing industry.

Of course, following the news of yesterday is pretty grim, too. Check out the Bulgaria exhibit at the Global Museum on Communism, which launched yesterday. Its history section includes these two paragraphs about Bulgaria's "People's Courts," which show up again and again in the Collier's Encyclopedia Yearbook reports from the second half of the 1940s:

"... The next stage of the communist takeover began in December 1944, when the government installed special People’s Courts authorized to prosecute 'fascists.' Similar tribunals were established in every European state that was occupied by or collaborated with Nazi Germany; in Bulgaria, however, the purges were of a magnitude unseen elsewhere. In Hungary or Czechoslovakia individual members of parliaments and governments were indicted – whereas in Bulgaria the government put on trial all members of all governments and all parliaments between 1941 and 1944. Each one of these individuals was sentenced to death – 2800 death sentences overall – and the verdicts were carried out immediately. In contrast, People’s Courts in Hungary handed out 322 death sentences 176 of which were commuted.

"The term 'fascist' was applied to anyone who had opposed the communists in the past or might oppose them in the future. In addition to the judicial and extra-judicial murders, 'fascists' were subjected to imprisonment (the People’s Court sentenced to life imprisonment more than 2,000 defendants), deportations (5,000 families were sent into internal exile), and incarceration (by the end of 1945 approximately 10,000 people languished in concentration camps). ..."

Bulgaria Month, June 16

Here begins what is for me the most stunning sentence of Bulgaria Month proceedings thus far: European Social Survey (ESS) reports that more than half of Bulgarians feel unsafe to walk through their neighborhoods at night.

In other happy news of the day, 80 schools are closing, and 1,500 teachers are losing their jobs. And the first "Intercontinental Round" weekend of World League men's volleyball went badly for the Bulgarians.

Bulgaria Month, June 10

Dudaktan Kalbe and other Turkish soap operas are all the rage in Bulgaria.

Bulgaria Month, June 11

The Bulgarian education minister says literature classes will cover Bulgarian-to-Latin translation to help students text message in accordance with the country's new, state-supported Law on Transliteration dictionary.

In other news today, SETimes.com seems to be suggesting that an alleged organized-crime boss in southwestern Bulgaria might be trying to escape prosecution by getting elected in Kyustendil. The sister city Cocoa Beach, Fla.--home to more than 51,000 people--looks like a pretty place.

Bulgaria Month, June 13

Might women's volleyball be Bulgaria's sport ...?

Bulgaria appears to be emerging as the Western Balkans whip and banner toter within the European Union. Since joining the EU, Bulgaria has become a higher-revenue customer for Italy, and Italy is apparently going to in some way give Bulgaria free advertising as an Italian tourist destination.

Finally, the very-great-idea Heifer International says financial problems will keep it from launching projects in Bulgaria.

Bulgaria Month, June 14

The prenup is coming to Bulgaria. Reports Radio Bulgaria: "Bulgarians can now divorce Hollywood-wise that is a few days after the marriage. The new rules ease divorce procedures, lifting regulations whcih forbid divorce before three years of marriage pass." The Heritage Foundation says the 2002 divorce rate in Bulgaria was 21.1 per 100 marriages--less than half than in the United States, about twice as much as in Italy.

Bulgaria Month, June 12

Through the (Collier's Encyclopedia) (Y)ear(book)s with Bulgaria:

• 1945--Four parties (the Agrarians, Right Wing Zveno Group, Socialists and Communists) comprise the ruling Fatherland Front. The yearbook says that the most influential person in the party is a woman named Tsola Dragoytchova but doesn't go into any details. A Google search on her name appears to confirm the name and importance, but that's about it. Two other things from this year ... It is said that, through, March 26, 1945, 2,138 people had been convicted (of treason, it appears) by Bulgaria's People's Court and executed. Also, it is said that in October, Louisville editor Mark Ethridge visited Bulgaria to report on the elections there and contributed to the U.S. position that they failed to reflect the democratic opinion.
• 1955--"Of all the satellite countries in Eastern Europe Bulgaria has been the one most Sovietized. ... Little news came out of the country." So, for example, while Western media were allowed to visit some Communist lands in summer 1955, Bulgaria "remained secluded." Among the news that did seep through were these two items. Bulgaria in August shot down what turned out to be a passenger plane from Israel, killing 57 on board. (The Bulgarian government eventually apologized for the error.) Also in 1955, Bulgaria cut a deal to buy 500 Chevrolet passenger cars for a little more than $1 million, "but the agreement was cancelled by General Motors under a company rule against sales to Communist countries."
• 1973--Some interesting legislation from this year ... Citizens may own no more than one residence and one villa, neither larger than 120 square meters (about 1,290 square feet). Property being used to generate "non-labor income" was to be expropriated, with violators additionally either being resettled or jailed. Moms were extended six months of additional paid leave after their first child, seven months after their second, eight months after their third and an additional six months for each new child thereafter. Minimum wage was raised to 80 leva per month. Top teacher salary was raised to 145 leva per month; beginning physicians, to 130 per month.

Bulgaria Month, June 9

Bulgaria joined the European Union in 2007, and Sunday was the first time it voted in sync with the rest of the EU for Members of the European Parliament (MEPs). Bulgaria elects 17 of the 736 MEPs (Germany holds the most seats, 99; Malta, the least, 5), and on Sunday an estimated 38 percent of Bulgarians voted to shift more of those seats to a center-right/populist party led by the Sofia mayor. The Financial Times reports that the results suggests the mayor, Boyko Borissov, is the favorite to become Bulgaria’s next leader when citizens return to the polls July 5 to elect their national leaders.

It's sort of interesting to read the (Google translation of) results of an online poll at the winning party's web site, "Who should be the leading priority for the next administration?"

• Combating Corruption and Organized Crime 31.8%
• increasing incomes of citizens 26.1%
• absorption of EU funds 9.2%
• building infrastructure 7.0%
• Reform of the judiciary 6.5%
• investment in education 5.6%
• reducing unemployment 5.4%
• Energy Security 4.3%
• accessible and quality health care 4.0%

It's significantly more interesting, however, to read this story.

Finally, there's this, which is definitely interesting but difficult to figure. The person who posted it appears to have roots with both Bulgaria and Macedonia.

Bulgaria Month, June 7

Bulgaria 1-1 Republic of Ireland

The postmortem from The Sofia Echo's Nick Iliev: "It was a decent encounter on a sunny afternoon in Sofia that saw the travelling merry contingent of 3000 plus Irish supporters who had arrived to back their team, singing and drinking constantly. The carnival atmosphere was augmented by the 35 000 thousand Bulgarians who also created a wall of noise in support of their team. It was a good day of football, without crowd trouble, and although the score could have been a little better for the hosts, it will go down as a pleasant encounter for both sides."

And, so, while not definitively eliminated, Bulgaria appears unlikely to qualify for a third consecutive World Cup and instead likely to extend vigil for its next "Golden Generation." That's the nickname for the 1994 national team, the only Bulgarian side to ever achieve the World Cup semifinals.

Later during Bulgaria Month, we'll look at where else in the Bulgarian sports world resides excitement. More importantly today, however: http://www.sofiaecho.com/2009/06/06/731292_bulgaria-falls-in-love-with-fast-food?p=0#comments!

Bulgaria Month, June 6

In my dream episode of Wide World of Sports today, Jim McKay would be ushering me among:

• this morning's Graham, N.C., 5K,
• tonight's A's-Orioles game (Oakland's on a four-game win streak!),
• whatever Bob Griese happens to be doing today (going to a hardware store, watching TV, whatever) and
• the Bulgaria-Ireland match beginning in Sofia starting at 12:30 p.m. U.S. Central today.

Vasil Levski Stadium is probably already aflutter with fans anticipating a World Cup-contention-saving victory, but "The Bulgarian Billy Reed" is sounding a cautionary alarm.

"The fact is, if Ireland are not exactly a 'force' in football, well then neither are Bulgaria," writes The Sofia Echo's Nick Iliev. "The glory days of 1994 are long gone and the current football generation has done little to prove the Bulgarian supporters that a "Second Golden" generation is coming up through the ranks. At least at skin-deep level It appears, that the Irish are taking this game a little more professionally and more seriously than the overflowing with confidence Bulgarians."

Bulgaria Month, June 5 (belatedly)

I'm very excited to announce that I am enhancing my Bulgaria Month activities with some hard-hitting, College Heights Herald-honed investigative reporting.

Will advise as events warrant!

Props again to the BMDepGM for tipping me off to the USA Today coverage of this story. I found the last sentence of this Sofia Echo version illuminative of Bulgarian life: "Perhaps Bulgarians' new-found love of fast food could be attributed to its novelty value?"

Bulgaria Month, June 4

Organized crime is said to be an unusually big problem in Bulgaria, and here's a story from Today's Sofia Echo that might lend credence to the notion. Meanwhile, the BBC reports that three players missing from Bulgaria's 1-1 March tie with Ireland could prove useful in Saturday's key rematch.

In other news, here's my shopping list for the Bulgarian dishes I plan to make over the course of Bulgaria Month:

• 5 Large Potatoes
• 1 Pound Sauerkraut
• 4 Cups Vegetarian bouillon
• Butter
• Salt And Pepper
• Flour
• Olive Oil
• 2 Cloves Garlic
• Plain yogurt
• 5 carrots
• stalk celery
• 2 cans pinto beans
• 200g white beans
• 4 bell peppers
• medium-sized cabbage
• 2 onions
• 7 tomatoes
• 1 beetroot
• 1 tsp. paprika
• eggs
• sunflower oil
• parsley
• 4 hot peppers
• Mint
• 1 pound+2 packets of phyllo dough
• 600 grams of cheddar and mozzarella mixture
• 1,050 grams of feta cheese
• soda water
• spinach
• 2 roasted peppers
• oregano
• 3 Pounds Pie Pumpkin
• Brown Sugar
• Cinnamon
• Walnuts

And the recipes:

Vipava Corba
Zelenchukova Supa
Bob Chorba
Banitsa
Sirene po Shopski
Tikvenik
Gyuveche

Bulgaria Month, June 3

The country's first cases of swine flu, the heart-attack death of a mayor while competing in the Bulgarian version of Survivor and Motley Crue's first concert in the country are among the stories in today's news. Furthermore, the country is turning its attention to Saturday's soccer game with Ireland.

A Kentucky schoolboy friend of mine about 10 years ago decided to become a fan of European football. Stephen started reading all sorts of books, monitoring Internet sites, ordering videos, etc., and manufactured for himself a deep love for all doings on and around the pitch. So, according to Stephen, even a draw would likely eliminate Bulgaria from contention for a World Cup berth. Bulgaria's hasn't done much in World Cup competition since reaching the semifinals in 1994. Stephen says this was the equivalent of Mississippi State winning the Sugar Bowl and finishing fourth in the national polls.

The big star Bulgarian player on that 1994 team was Hristo Stoichov, who in 2003 was voted by the Bulgarian Football Union as the country's "Golden Player" of the last 50 years (very cool award). He went on to a short, mostly unsuccessful and highly controversial tenure as coach of the Bulgarian national team. This guy sounds a little bit like Pete Rose.

Bulgaria Month, June 2

Most of the media sites are in Bulgarian, but there are a couple I intend to monitor during Bulgaria Month. In today's news were the following two tidbits.

From http://news.dnevnik.bg/: "Bulgaria dropped from the top of the rankings in terms of highest spikes in housing property prices, with an increase of just 3.3% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2009, according to the latest report of British property advisors Knight Frank. The country slipped to ninth spot from year-ago’s second, when home prices skyrocketed by 30%. ... Israel strode atop of the first-quarter table with a 10.9% increase, followed by the Czech Republic, where home prices soared by 9.9%. Bulgaria was leapfrogged also by Switzerland, India, Indonesia and Russia. Dubai and Singapore trailed at the bottom of the table with falls of 32% and 23%, respectively. Thirty of the 46 countries in the ranking saw their housing property prices collapse, with Dubai and Singapore again marking the steepest drops of a respective 40% and 16.2%. The worldwide economic deterioration and the mounting unemployment continue to pinch the global housing market, according to the analysts, who predict that the sector will stay in the doldrums by the end of the year."

And from http://www.sofiaecho.com/: "At noon on June 2, sirens sounded in honour of one of Bulgaria's most beloved heroes and revolutionaries, poet and rebel Hristo Botev (1848-76). Following custom, people stood still for a minute until the sirens stopped. Even traffic on Sofia's busy roads was halted for one minute. The sirens are a reminder to remember the day on which Botev died after several days of fighting the Ottoman army in the days when Bulgaria was under Ottoman rule. The sound of the sirens at noon marks the beginning of a minute of silence in honour of Botev and his comrades who fought on the last day of the April uprising in 1876."

According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hristo_Botev, Botev in 1848 was born a liberal teacher's son from a southern Bulgarian mountain-valley town. He goes away to study in Ukraine and falls in love with Russian, Polish and French revolutionary writing. When he was 19, he returns home to substitute teach in place of his sick dad and speaks at a nationalist festival that his dad had actually helped launch. It turns out to be a screed against Ottoman rule and wealthy, Uncle-Tom Bulgarians, and it gets Botev pegged as a rabble-rouser. Feeling the heat, he again skips town--this time for Romania, a popular destination for Bulgarian exiles.

Over the next few years, Botev lives hand-to-mouth, writing poetry and befriending Vasil Levski, the key organizer of Bulgarian insurgency from Romania. This had to be absolutely great. Oh, what a perfectly heady gas it must've been to spend ages 20 to 25 sleeping on couches and spewing out poems with titles ranging from "Patriot" and "Epistle (to the Bishop of Tarnovo)" to "To My First Love" and "In the Tavern" that come to be received as the moral compass for a bunch of fast-talking, jittery revolutionaries! At some point along this era, Botev marries a woman named Veneta with a son, Dimitar, and they eventually have a daughter of their own, Ivanka.

But, alas, the fun and games end when Levski is tried (for treason, I suppose) and executed on Feb. 19, 1873. This splits the Bulgarian revolutionary movement in Romania. Botev is the voice of a camp that says now is the time to gather a revolution, while there forms another, more moderate position that suggests regrouping, retooling and waiting for the next train. When the leader of that group becomes ill and steps out of the scene, Botev becomes the singular head of all things "Take Back Bulgaria."

If you've read this far, I encourage you to scroll down to the "Death" section at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hristo_Botev. Here's some lively writing involving Botev and his band disguising themselves as gardeners, seizing control of an Austro-Hungarian passenger steamship but eventually converting the captain to their side, kissing the homeland upon their invasion across the Danube (only to find the locals not very interested in confronting the Ottomans) and, despite limited training and equipment, putting up a sticky and inventive mountain defense against the authorities that exploited the Ottomans' custom of suspending any operations at nightfall. Botev took a bullet to the chest on May 20, 1876, and died.

The legend of Botev grew not only in Bulgaria but also in Russia in the decades following his death, and today he's a national icon. In addition to a bunch of streets and public buildings, a number of soccer stadiums and teams are named after Bodev, including http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PFC_Botev_Plovdiv.

Given all of this, I hereby expand the list of topics of my Bulgaria interest:

-- Bulgarian National Revival,
-- feuilletons,
-- bashi-bazouks,
-- the Paris Commune,
-- the organized-crime problem,
-- NATO membership after being on the losing side in two world wars,
-- the Bulgarian Orthodox Church,
-- Saints Cyril and Methodius,
-- music,
-- food,
-- John Ross Beryle (U.S. ambassador to Bulgaria),
-- star speedskater Eugenia Radanova,
-- 2014 Olympics candidacy and
-- the June 6 soccer must-win vs. Ireland/Hristo Stoichkov.

Requiem for Morehead State

The program's all-time scorer is Ricky Minard, who totaled 2,381 in four seasons, 2001-04. But the best Eagle scorer ever would be Dan Swartz, who totaled 1,925 in three seasons, 1953-56 (before freshman NCAA eligibility). He averaged 27.5 per game during his career--including 28.6 as a senior. Both are Morehead State records.

I've literally never heard of either of these guys.

In 1963, Harold Sergent made All-America and earned Ohio Valley Conference player of the year.

I've never heard of this guy.

During the 1983-84 season, Morehead State at one point won 12 straight games en route to a 25-6 finish, including an OVC tournament championship. Coach Wayne Martin was named OVC coach of the year (for the second time in three seasons). Earl Harrison and Jeff Tipton were named All-OVC, and Pate Clements was named to the conference's all-freshman team. Morehead went to the NCAA tournament, beat North Carolina A&T by one and then bowed to Louisville, 72-59.

In the winter of 1983-84, I pretty much did nothing but watch college basketball once the NFL season was over. I still wasn't old enough to have a driver's licence, and I never went on one of those dates where a parent drove me and some girl to a movie or whatever. OK? The point is that I did nothing but watch television, and usually I watched sports.

And I've never heard of any of these guys.

Rooting for the Eagles last night as they put up a decent fight against top-seeded Louisville before losing 74-54 in the first round of the NCAA tournament, I realized just how little I knew about Morehead State basketball. Not only did I grow up near Murray, one of the OVC hotbeds, I also attended Western and wrote about basketball for the college and local newspapers in Bowling Green. Then, even after moving to Washington, D.C., and Cary, N.C., I made probably a dozen or more I-64 pitstops in Morehead, at one of the exit restaurants, the university cafeteria or the downtown Mr. Gatti's. I might've even gotten my haircut once in Morehead. Still, I knew next to nothing about the Eagles--except that, for some reason, Morehead State Guy Minnifield spelled his name differently than UK Dirk and U of L Frank and that Kyle Macy coached the Eagles for some seasons recently.

In 1993, before heading out on a trip around to each of Kentucky's 120 counties, I sent out postcards to all of the local tourism offices asking for information. I got back this handwritten note back from the Rowan County clerk:

"... As to history, that is a long, drawn-out affair. If you have some extra time here you might go to the public library here. They can fill you in on that. Our famous sports sons are Joe Magrane who went to school here, played ball, etc. He now pitches for St. Louis Cards. Steve Hamilton is now director of athletics at MSU. He was one of Morehead's best baseball players, pitcher, in the NCAA, also basketball NBA All-American. I'm not a sports person. I may have things turned around. He also coached MSU baseball for several years. Another 'son' is Phil Simms, star quarterback for N.Y. Giants. We also have a TV personality who fills in for Paul Harvey. Tom Martin, I think, is the name he goes by on the air."

In any event, last night I found the Morehead State men's basketball media guide and came up to speed. Before this season, Morehead State was 12-27 all-time against Louisville, 72-93 against Eastern Kentucky, 51-102 against Murray State, 31-72 against Western and 0-8 against UK. On the other hand, the Eagles were 27-4 against Berea. And Morehead has been bad news south of the border: 26-25 against Tennessee State, 21-12 against Tennessee-Martin, 51-49 against Middle Tennessee State and 66-61 against Tennessee Tech.

Morehead State's first season of men's basketball was 1929-30. The Eagles opened with a 25-37 loss to Sue Bennett College but finished 9-3.

Still thinking about the Eagles this morning, Virginia and I got out Basketball, The Dream Game in Kentucky to see what Dave Kindred had written about Morehead State back in 1976 (it's fun that Virginia, 8 weeks old Monday, is still little enough to enjoy any book that is being shown and read to her):

"Only those with iron will and strong heart survive in the Ohio Valley Conference. With Western, Eastern, Murray State and Morehead State as members from the beginning in 1948, the OVC became basketball's Hatfield-McCoy number. To confess admiration for an opponent was to risk confinement in a dark place. Maybe in some places basketball was a game. In Bowling Green, Richmond, Morehead and Murray, it was, in the words of the former Murray State coach Cal Luther, 'an emotional binge.' Luther said, "I've often wondered what an enterprising fellow could steal during one of our home games. The whole city police force attends the games, along with half of the state police. I'm aware of this because most of them call me for tickets and I oblige where I can because it never hurts to be friends with the law.' Life in the OVC, Luther decided after 14 seasons, was 'pure hell.'

"Adron Doran, then president of Morehead State and husband of Mignon, who played the organ at home games in a roller-rinkinsh, 5,000-seat arena, once stalked an official on the court during a game. (A photographer made pictures of the happening; Doran caused the film to be confiscated and exposed.) Struck in the face by thrown ice, Western Kentucky athletic director Johnny Oldham, Diddle's successor as coach, said he wasn't going back to Morehead anymore. Why? 'Because I've been there,' Oldham said.

"... In 1952 Morehead State and Tennessee Tech and Tennessee Tech began a game at 8:15 p.m. It ended at 10:45. In legend this was 'The Night the Clock Stood Still.' The Tennessee Tech timepiece was suffering a bad case of the slows, and the teams played 60 minutes of basketball, not 40. Eight Morehead players fouled out, leaving only four on the court. Resourceful coach Ellis Johnson, the old Ashland flash of '28 and UK All-America, peeled off his sports coat, undid his tie and ran to the scorer's table, where he pounded his fist and announced, 'Coach Johnson in for Morehead!' Recountings that value color over truth had Johnson dashing up and down the court with the players the last minute and 40 seconds. The next year, on arrival at Tennessee Tech, Johnson used the arena microphone to ask all spectators to 'please synchronize your watches.' That was Johnson's last year in the OVC.

"On a foundation laid by Ellis Johnson in a 15-year coaching job (176 victories, 158 losses), Morehead State came to rank second to Western Kentucky in number of OVC championships won or shared. Bobby Laughlin's teams won four championships in 12 seasons. Bob Wright added one and Bill Harrell won two before getting into trouble with Adron Doran. With some important OVC games coming up, Harrell left his top six players at home when Morehead went to Illinois State for a non-conference game. Illinois State cried fraud, embarrassed Morehead nationally--the affair was entitled 'The Missing Six'--and Doran didn't resist when Harrell said he would resign. Morehead shared the league championship that year. Crazy league."[1]

Basketball, The Dream Game in Kentucky is a great book.

[1] Kindred, Dave Basketball, The Dream Game in Kentucky (Louisville: Data Courier, 1976) 124-126.

RED! ... WHITE! ... RED! ... WHITE! ... RED! ...

Despite a late injury to its fantastic point guard and a blatant attempt by the officials to keep Illinois competitive late, Western Kentucky upended the higher-seeded Illini last night and advanced to the second round of the men's NCAA basketball tournament. The Associated Press is referring to this as an upset, as WKU was the 12th seed and Illinois the fifth, but the Hilltoppers were obviously the better team from the start.

WKU has to be the all-time leader in NCAA-tournament appearances under different coaches. Ed Diddle, John Oldham, Jim Richards, Gene Keady, Clem Haskins, Murray Arnold, Ralph Willard, Matt Kilcullen, Dennis Felton, Darrin Horn and now Ken McDonald--10 coaches--have each taken the Hilltoppers to the tournament. Rah.

Also:

-- $4 million in federal stimulus funds will pay for the Green River Intra-County Transit System--serving Daviess, Hancock, Henderson, McLean, Ohio, Union and Webster counties--to buy seven hybrid buses and expand its administrative offices and garage.

-- The boys' Sweet Sixteen high-school basketball state tournament has reached the quarterfinals, and my friend Stephen handicaps today's four games thusly: Grayson County (26-6) and West Jessamine (27-8) "should have fun playing each other, and one school will get a once-in-a-lifetime trip to the state semi-finals. ... The championship of Louisville. The second game features the two Louisville teams, Central (17-14) and Eastern (31-2). These are two of the legendary programs of the KHSAA ... Last year, Lexington Catholic (26-7) and Covington Holmes (33-2) met in the state semi-finals, with Holmes winning 57-50. Holmes then lost in the finals to Mason County and Darius Miller. Now they're back. ... The two best teams to come out of the mountains in years, Shelby Valley (31-4) from Pikeville and Elliott County (30-2) from Sandy Hook. Rupp will be a complete madhouse for this game. There were over 21,000 people there last night to watch Shelby Valley and Elliott County play their first-round games, and there should be even more tonight."

-- Madisonville's newspaper, The Messenger, puts a poll question on its front page every day, and readers can vote at http://www.the-messenger.com/. Yesterday's question was, Will Billy Gillispie be coaching UK next season? The results published today: Yes 48 percent, No 52 percent.

-- Martin County's unemployment rate held steady from January 2008 to January 2009, according to the Kentucky Office of Employment and Training. It was the only of Kentucky's 120 counties to not see an uptick in unemployment over the last 12 months.

Need to know

What do we need to know about a county? Here's the start of a list:

• Population
• Seat of government
• Life expectancy
• State championships in high-school sports
• Notable natives
• Local radio stations
• Public library locations and hours
• Sports facilities
• Web addresses for local news
• Good places to eat
• Parks-and-rec opportunities
• Signature events
• School performance
• Formation
• Key historical events
• Religious makeup
• Demographic makeup
• Where the richest people live
• Where the poorest people live
• Hospitals

503 new jobs, Sweet Sixteen, two planned libraries, one free tree per person and five points short

• The U.S. Department of Labor is committing more than $5 million to create 503 temporary jobs across 93 Kentucky counties to help with storm cleanup.
• The boys' Sweet Sixteen high-school basketball tournament is happening, and the 30-2 Elliott County Lions of Sandy Hook got some Hoosiers love in USA Today.
• Carter County is getting its first public library, in Olive Hill, and a branch is planned for Grayson.
• Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park near Dawson Springs will celebrate Arbor Day with a tree give-away.
• UK finished second in the NCAA rifle championships, with 4,638 points to West Virginia's 4,643.