On this eve...

Glory Road opens nationwide today. Several Kentucky fans remain critical of how Coach Adolph Rupp and the basketball program are portrayed in the movie. I thought Pat Riley did a good job on consulting with regards to the image of Coach Rupp and the University of Kentucky. Just remember, if UK had lost to Duke that year, it would have been them and not us. See the film and tell me what you think. True, some things were fabricated like the flags behind the Kentucky bench. There's no doubt that what happened on that night in March 1966 affected how college programs recruited. Courier-Journal review. Tommy Kron enjoyed the movie.

Former University of Kentucky basketball player Tommy Kron, one of "Rupp's Runts," scored six points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Wildcats against Texas Western in the 1966 NCAA Championship. He saw "Glory Road" at a recent Louisville sneak preview and gave this critique:

"I enjoyed it very much. I thought it was great, very entertaining. The basketball scenes were very accurate. I thought they portrayed Coach Rupp in a little harsh light several times. . . And some things weren't true. But it wasn't horrible, and I don't think his family will be too upset."

Here's an article in today's Kentucky Kernal.

"I think this may be a case of revisionist history, where somebody said 15 years later Coach Rupp said something, and he didn't say it," said Scott Stricklin, UK sports information director.

"I don't think - honestly, in my heart - that Coach Rupp was a racist," Larry Conley, a guard on the 1966 team known as "Rupp's Runts," told The Kernel for its story on Rupp and "Glory Road" in March 2005. "I just don't think that.

"And as long as I live and have conversations with people about him, I don't mind standing up and stating my position."

Rupp's name, and thus his controversial legacy, are synonymous with UK. But Stricklin argued that UK has been progressive in that area, also.

"The SEC's first black football player wore a Kentucky uniform," Stricklin said, referring to Nat Northington, who integrated the SEC in 1967 when he suited up for the Cats against Ole Miss. Another black player, Greg Page, was also recruited in 1966 by football coach Charlie Bradshaw, but died after suffering a neck injury during a practice. The campus apartments neighboring Commonwealth Stadium on Alumni Drive are named for Page.

"Back in the '50s, when the schools that won the SEC (basketball) Tournament got a bid to the NCAA Tournament, and they wouldn't go because they didn't want to play against black players, Kentucky was the school that took their place," Stricklin said.

Reviews of the movie do not state that it carries connotations of racial prejudice either by Rupp or UK.

"I hope folks keep in mind that it's a movie," said UK spokesman Jay Blanton. "In a lot of ways, UK was a leader in integration in the South in the 1960s."

Blanton noted the challenges UK faced, but also said that those challenges weren't different from a lot of other Southern schools.

"We've had challenges, but we've had a lot of successes, too," he said. "We currently have the highest graduation rate among African-Americans in the state.

Here's an op-ed that also was in today's Kentucky Kernal.
A Republican member of Congress has proposed a lifetime ban for Congress members with regards to lobbying after their term expires. Currently, they are not allowed to lobby for a year.

Evan Bayh has called on Delphi to reconsider their pay package.

My thoughts and prayers go out to keyboardist Billy Preston. Preston is unable to speak after suffering from a serious infection. He suffers from chronic kidney failure.

The St. Louis Cardinals will unofficially kick off the 2006 season when the Winter Warm-Up takes place at the Millenium Hotel in downtown St. Louis.

Center fielder Jim Edmonds, third baseman Scott Rolen, shortstop David Eckstein, catcher Yadier Molina and starting pitchers Jeff Suppan and Jason Marquis also are expected to appear during the three-day event, which begins Saturday morning. Festivities conclude Monday night with the Baseball Writers Association of America's annual dinner. Pujols, Carpenter and NL Rookie of the Year and Lafayette High alum Ryan Howard will be presented their awards at the dinner.

Sold out for several weeks, the writers dinner also will honor the all-Busch Stadium team while recognizing Bruce Sutter for Tuesday's election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Retired reliever Cal Eldred will be awarded the third recipient of the Darryl Kile Award, which is given annually by team members to the player who best exemplifies qualities embodied by the Cardinal hurler who died in June 2002.

Lisa Rose of the New Jersey Star Ledger has compared the late Coach Rupp to the guy that ran Germany in the 1930's. I have to take issue with her review because Coach Rupp was no racist. Rupp's hands were tied by the university.

In sports history, Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp remains a controversial figure. His record of 876 wins is coupled with the troubling statistic that only one black athlete played for him in his 42-year career.

The movie doesn't outright state that he was a racist but it plants plenty of hints. Rupp (Jon Voight) is presented as an athletic despot whose players are vaguely Aryan drones. He advertises his eminence with WWII-style propaganda posters. All that's missing is a Hitler mustache.

While we have the Fuhrer on one side of the court, our hero coach has all the menace of a tranquilized poodle. Lucas is a poor casting choice for the tough team leader. He was bullied by Reese Witherspoon in "Sweet Home Alabama," so it's tough to accept him as imposing taskmaster.

Sasha Cohen is also guaranteed to have a trip to Torino, Italy, after winning the short program at last night's U.S. Figure Skating championships. The other two finishing in the top three were Emily Hughes (sister of Sarah Hughes), and Beatrisa Liang.

Jessamine County Sheriff Joe Walker is running against Tom Buford. Walker is a Democrat. Buford has served as a state Senator for four terms now. Walker may have an edge if all Democrats vote for the Democrat as we outnumber the GOP in the district 38,000 to 32,000. This race will be close.

I have recieved the game notes for tomorrow's Kentucky-Alabama and will start previewing the game this afternoon.