Kentucky

In the documentary “Bert Combs, Governor from the Mountains,” the late Thomas D. Clark, Kentucky's most eminent historian, said that Combs dragged Kentucky into the 20th Century against its will. Sadly, that century was 60 years old before he did so. Even sadder, Kentucky is still stuck there well into the 21st Century. Combs was progressive, especially by Kentucky standards. When he became Governor in 1959 there was a compelling case for his agenda. He passed a sales tax and used the proceeds to improve education, parks, roads and several other things to better Kentuckians' quality of life.

Chris Souder's Olympic games are just two weeks away. For all the big basketball games in which Souder has coached at Mercer County and elsewhere during his career, he knows there won't be many as big as the two games in which he'll coach the Kentucky All-Stars next month. In fact, The Mercer County girls coach likened the opportunity he has to coach in the Kentucky-Indiana series to a college or professional coach getting the chance to coach the national team. “Other than going to the state tournament with my team in 2003, this'll be the highlight of my coaching career,” Souder said.

Jeff Sheppard has high hopes for the highly touted recruits on their way to Kentucky, but he also has tempered expectations. The former Kentucky star said he's excited about the players coach John Calipari is bringing into the program, and particularly those who will be arriving in the coming weeks as part of this year's No. 1-ranked recruiting class. However, Sheppard said the shortcomings of last season's Kentucky team should underscore the fact that there's no guarantee of success, and he said his fellow Kentucky fans should realize just how difficult it is to do what will be expected of the incoming freshmen.

Marcus Lee is a dynamic basketball player - that's why he played in the McDonald's All-American Game and Jordan Brand Classic along with five other future Wildcats. However, he's an interesting personality away from basketball, too. First, he has an interest in graphic art. “I have always loved kind of messing around with technology and drawing art. I like to look on the computer and create the interior of a house. When I am on my phone, I am thinking they should have done this better and I will write little notes about how they could do it better,” said Lee. “If I had time, I would probably go to my brother's work - he works at Apple - and see if I could sit down and talk to them about their Apple products.” He plans to major in business and then wants to “come back and get my Masters in technology” for future business ventures.

His football coach is not really sure what is his best sport or even what he does best on the football field. All Caldwell County football coach Davis Barnes knows is that sophomore Elijah Sindelar is special whether it's football or baseball. “I really don't know what his best sport is,” said Barnes of the 6-4, 210-pound Sindelar. “This year he did not play basketball, but he's good there, too. He's just a gifted athlete. He excels in all three sports. In baseball, he pitches and plays either third base or first base.” On the football field, Sindelar - who runs the 40-yard dash in 4.7 seconds - plays quarterback.

FRANKFORT (KPNS) - Gov. Steve Beshear announced Friday that Marcheta Sparrow of Harrodsburg will retire May 31 from her post as Kentucky secretary of Tourism, Arts and Heritage. “Secretary Sparrow has done a fantastic job of continuing to improve and develop Kentucky's tourism through some very challenging times. The recently announced 4.4 percent growth in 2012 tourism economic impact is a direct result of her leadership.” Beshear said in a news release. “I want to thank her for her steady leadership and her lifelong contributions to Kentucky's travel and hospitality industry, which have played an important role in maintaining tourism as a major economic force for Kentucky.” Sparrow was named secretary in December 2007 by Beshear after serving nine years as president and CEO of the Kentucky Tourism Council, now the Kentucky Travel Industry Association.

Count Florida's Will Yeguete as one who expects big things from Willie Cauley-Stein next season. Yeguete said he was impressed by the progress the Kentucky center showed in the second of two meetings between the Wildcats and Gators and said he believes Cauley-Stein will continue to get better. “I think he did a good job defensively this year. He was a factor. He was blocking shots, tipping the balls. I think he did a really good job overall,” Yeguete said. “The first time we played them, he didn't really play that much and do anything to impact the game because (Nerlens)

While pondering a trip to the Bluegrass state to visit a variety of wineries, something caught the eye of Cincinnati's Nadia Laabs. That something was an advertisement for the 2013 Kentucky Wine and Vine Fest in Nicholasville. So instead of going all over to visit the many different wineries, Laabs and Peter Stark decided to go to the one place where many of the wineries could come to them. “We were going to tour all the wineries in the area, but we found this, so it was very convenient,” Laabs said, as she and Stark sat on grass near the wine tents on the warm and muggy Saturday afternoon.

If there is anything Emmanuel Mudiay can't do well, his coach has not seen it. Ray Forsett, Mudiay's coach at Dallas Prime Prep Academy, said the 6-4 point guard, who is regarded as one of the top five overall players in the 2014 recruiting class, said Mudiay could play for virtually any school in the country. “He is just a special player. He can do it all from getting to the rim to shooting the ball. He's electrifying,” Forsett said. “You've got to see him play to appreciate all the special things he can do. He could go to Kentucky, Baylor, Arizona or about anywhere else because of the type player he is. “He can do it all. He can get teammates involved.

LEXINGTON - If Kentucky coach John Calipari is right, last year's NIT season was “the beginnings of success” for the upcoming season for the Wildcats. “What we're about to undertake has never been done before. Trying to put teams together like this, where you're talking a big number of players, whether it be the Lakers, the Miami Heat, it takes time,” said Calipari during his summer press conference Wednesday. “There's a learning curve. There's a galvanizing process that we have to go through.