http://www.kentucky.com/columnists/index.xml News, sports, and entertainment from Kentucky.com en-us Copyright 2008 Kentucky.com Columnists 60 Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:01:46 EST http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss McClatchy Interactive's Workbench webmaster@kentucky.com http://www.kentucky.com/columnists/story/563562.html http://www.kentucky.com/columnists/story/563562.html Tue, 21 Oct 2008 20:46 EDT http://www.kentucky.com/106/story/611475.html http://www.kentucky.com/106/story/611475.html Mon, 01 Dec 2008 02:42 EST
Here's something to chew on as you eat your next turkey sandwich at Subway : The bird you are digesting might have been a runner-up to a turkey "pardoned" just before Thanksgiving by President Bush .

But there's more.

The Subway turkey was raised on feed products made by Nicholasville-based Alltech , chief sponsor of the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games .

You see, the pardoned turkey came from Iowa's Circle Hill Farms , a $150 million family business that uses Alltech products to raise 700,000 turkeys a year. ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/139/story/612579.html http://www.kentucky.com/139/story/612579.html Tue, 02 Dec 2008 09:43 EST
Earl Washington knows what it is like to be 18 and itching to be free of the constraints of the foster care system he called home for 10 years.

Jeff Culver knows what it is like to help young people like Washington who age out of foster care but who have very little support to help them succeed in life.

With experiences on both sides of the foster care fence, the two men have established a non-profit agency called Fostering Goodwill, which focuses on the youth who are legally adults but who might not have the skills to maneuver in the adult world.

"We always talked about starting something for older foster youth," Washington said, "those who are about to age out and up to 23 or 24. People just want to get rid of them." ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/140/story/607532.html http://www.kentucky.com/140/story/607532.html Thu, 27 Nov 2008 07:02 EST
Mood enhancers

Festivals and winery tours will get you in the holiday spirit. Here are two places to visit:

. The 41st annual Frontier Christmas in Washington, a historic community in Mason County, will be Dec. 6 and 7. Eight museums and many of the homes in Old Washington will be decorated in pioneer style. Activities include candle dipping in Mefford's Fort log cabin and entertainment provided by bagpipers, a harpist and bell ringers, plus a play at Grace Church. You can buy homemade transparent e_SDHppuddings, blackberry jam cupcakes and cream candy for your holiday parties or gifts. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Go to www.washingtonky.com.

Washington is on U.S. 68, 50 miles northeast of Lexington. ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/204/story/586799.html http://www.kentucky.com/204/story/586799.html Mon, 10 Nov 2008 02:45 EST
FRANKFORT . After each election, it's usually helpful and healthy for both political parties and the observers who follow them to assess the lessons learned from the just-concluded campaigns.

The 2008 set produced a seemingly endless presidential race and about a dozen hot contests in Kentucky brimming with such lessons.

Here are some of the morals to the stories that the candidates, party officials and public at large came away with . or should have.

Quality candidates matter ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/785/story/613414.html http://www.kentucky.com/785/story/613414.html Tue, 02 Dec 2008 19:16 EST
Well, the economists finally made it official this week: We're in a recession. And, guess what? They said it began a year ago.

If you're like the three-fourths of Americans who consider themselves to be "middle class," this probably didn't come as a surprise. Many people feel as if they've been losing economic ground for years. That's because many of them have been.

America has been a generally prosperous nation since World War II, achieving the highest overall standard of living in the planet's history. The reasons are many, including advances in technology and global economic trends that have made goods cheap and available. Americans have been innovative, entrepreneurial and they have worked hard. At times, the nation has made significant public investments in physical infrastructure, such as highways, and social infrastructure, such as schools.

But the pain being felt in this recession has brought new attention to a trend economists have been watching for years: The rich really are getting richer, the poor really are getting poorer and the middle class has been shrinking steadily since the late 1970s. ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/290/story/598828.html http://www.kentucky.com/290/story/598828.html Thu, 20 Nov 2008 03:02 EST
The record may be bad (2-9) for the Western Kentucky football Hilltoppers, but the news is good for Coach Dave Elson and his players.

WKU Athletic Director Wood Selig has cast his support behind Elson, according to the Daily News in Bowling Green.

"If anyone wants to put blame, start with me," Selig said on Tuesday. "I signed the contracts (for a game against top-ranked Alabama among others) ... you're never going to see another schedule like that."

Selig overscheduled Western, which is completing its second and final year of transition to the Bowl Subdivision from the Championship Subdivision. The Toppers will play a full Sun Belt Conference schedule next fall and a more reasonable non-league schedule. ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/285/story/613166.html http://www.kentucky.com/285/story/613166.html Tue, 02 Dec 2008 19:26 EST
Billy Gillispie has a one-track mind.

That's it.

He is all about winning basketball games.

That must be it. ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/283/story/440545.html http://www.kentucky.com/283/story/440545.html Mon, 23 Jun 2008 08:27 EDT
One of the things the University of Kentucky coaching staff must decide when fall camp opens is what to do with Randall Cobb .

Cobb is one of, if not the most athletic and versatile members of UK's incoming freshman class. He led Alcoa, Tenn., to two consecutive state titles while playing quarterback, yet the 5-foot-11, 180-pounder also has the tools to play wide receiver, defensive back and kick returner.

When he signed in February, Cobb was told by the UK coaching staff that he'd be given an opportunity to play quarterback. And Cobb has spent parts of his first three weeks in Lexington taking snaps in pass skeleton drills.

But there's a major logjam at the quarterback position. Junior Curtis Pulley and sophomore Mike Hartline will battle to be the starter. Redshirt sophomore Will Fidler and his surgically repaired shoulder showed enough progress for him to stake a claim for a spot in the rotation. ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/289/story/608263.html http://www.kentucky.com/289/story/608263.html Fri, 28 Nov 2008 06:55 EST
Because the high school football playoffs fell a week later on the calendar this year, more teams (48) practiced on Thanksgiving Day than ever before.

That meant various coaching strategies were at work, not just about X's and O's, but also about turkey and pumpkin pie.

Some teams practiced Thursday morning so the players could go home and eat mom's cooking without worrying about making it through wind sprints later.

Some teams held drills in the evening so the coaches could makes sure their players didn't linger too long at the dinner table. ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/286/story/499107.html http://www.kentucky.com/286/story/499107.html Sat, 23 Aug 2008 02:57 EDT
BEIJING . The United States men.s basketball team is looking for a little .R and R. at the Beijing Olympics.

Revenge and redemption.

They got the revenge Friday, whipping Argentina 101-81 at Wukesong Olympic Basketball Gymnasium. The Argentines beat Team USA en route to winning the 2004 Olympic gold at Athens.

A little gold-medal redemption is on the line Sunday, with Team USA taking on world champion Spain at 2:30 p.m. (a.m. EDT). Spain advanced by rallying past Lithuania 91-86. ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/287/story/612318.html http://www.kentucky.com/287/story/612318.html Tue, 02 Dec 2008 07:13 EST
Let's apply some market analysis to the just-concluded Kentucky football season with a game of Buy, Sell or Hold.

Buy: Randall Cobb. Tim Couch, Dennis Johnson and Micah Johnson are the only recent UK true freshmen that brought expectations at the level of Cobb.

The Tennessee product lived up to the hype. By the end of the season, he was pretty much Kentucky's only viable offensive playmaker.

Long-term, I now think his future is at wide receiver, not quarterback. But Cobb has star potential. ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/284/story/593522.html http://www.kentucky.com/284/story/593522.html Mon, 17 Nov 2008 10:18 EST
If . and it's a big if given his health . North Carolina All-American Tyler Hansbrough schools Kentucky's Josh Harrellson on Tuesday night, it won't be the first time.

The two crossed paths as Missouri high school players. Even though Harrellson merely watched from the stands, there was a mentor/pupil encounter with Hansbrough delivering the lessons.

His coach at St. Charles (Mo.) High School, Gary Wacker , took Harrellson to the state tournament just to see Hansbrough play.

"Coach wanted Josh to look at Hansbrough and see what Josh could do," said Chris Freise , Harrellson's teammate who also made the trip. ]]>