BY BRITTNI MCCOY
The KHSAA dead period ends this week and official practices will be full steam ahead. From what I’ve seen over the summer, Martin County looks to have great seasons.
UK football and basketball are also looking to be fun to watch. Mark Stoops will be entering his 10th season, and he and Cal are bringing in top recruits.
Are we becoming a football school, too?
An issue that is rearing its head is the new Name Image Likeness (NIL), particularly for the Cats.
Athletic director Mitch Barnhart doesn’t seem to be on board. Even if you disagree with NIL, it’s the way of the land now. We’ll start missing out if he doesn’t allow his coaches to adapt.
Luckily, a meeting took place this past week. We can only hope that Mitch listened to his coaches and is lifting restrictions on what they can do. It only took him 10 years to hear our cries about the checkerboard uniforms.
Hopefully, this issue doesn’t take as long for him to change his mind.
Shaedon Sharpe made his long-awaited debut this week with the Portland Trail Blazers. After not playing in an organized basketball game for nine months, he did what anyone else would do: He injured himself.
Sharpe scored two points in five minutes before suffering a labral tear in his shoulder. In no way, shape or form did I want him to be injured. I would have preferred his failing be attributed to stinking it up the old-fashioned way.
TyTy Washington is playing for the Houston Rockets now, and I believe he will be a solid NBA player. After returning early from his injury this past season, he showed us that wearing a Wildcat jersey meant something to him.
We also learned that Kellen Grady played through an injury for most of the season. I don’t think you should put yourself at risk if it’s going to harm you long-term. But how about that fight?
Oscar Tshiebwe tried to change his jersey number to 9 for this season. Kentucky has eight national championships, and Oscar wanted to show us he’s striving for nine. Per NCAA regulations, the numbers six through nine are prohibited.
From a referee’s standpoint, I completely understand the rule. It’s tough to signal 9 or 88 to a scorer’s table.
From a UK fan’s perspective, “Come on, NCAA. Let the man show his dedication.”
Until next week, that’s all folks.