PAGE 21    THE CATS'  PAUSE, APRIL 8,   1978
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Blue - White Game Promises To Be Exciting
FIRST AND TENS . . . Saturday is the annual climax of spring football practice as a normal rule,  but the Kentucky Widlcats will go another week   in   drills   because inclement weather prevented the Wildcats from getting out the first week this spring . . . Senior-to-be Dan Fowler missed all of spring practice with a bum knee which he   injured  in  the  weight  room at Shively Sports Center. Fowler figures to be a big key in the offensive line again next season. Wildcat coaches hope fullback Rod Stewart will be ready for fall practices. Stewart, one of the most promising runners ever at Kentucky, injured a knee in the Baylor game last fall and is not participating in   spring   practice.    Surgery was performed back last September ... It might have  been April Fool's last Saturday, but Wildcat coaches were still celebrating the signing of Louisville All-State running back Shawn Donigan on  Wednesday.   That one signee enabled the Wildcats to have a good   recruiting   year,   better than average which it had been labeled by some . . . Good news and bad news department: Good news was the play of David "Tuffskin" Stephens in last week's practices to which head coach Fran Curci said, "He's really looking great right now." The bad news was a very so-so exhibition by the first team offense last Saturday in a scrimmage at Commonwealth Stadium. Curci was so upset,  he kept  the  first string around   long   after   sending other players   to   the   showers.   If the scrimmage is any indication of days to come, look for the air to be filled with pigskins this fall. Quarterback Mike Deaton was firing the ball all around. The only problem was that no one was catching it. It wasn't one of Deaton's better days, but seVeral passes were dropped by receivers. Up to that point, Deaton's arm had been rated as a very good A-plus this spring .   .   . UK football ticket manager AI Morgan reports  that   season  football ticket sales are going at a record pace and UK will probably achieve its earliest sell-out in history. UK could sell about 3,000 extra season tickets if it were not for an agreement with the University of Tennessee. How? Well,, the two schools have an agreement on the number of tickets  for the visiting school and that number represents about   3,000   more   than normally alloted other SEC games. Tennessee would gladly give the 3,000 back to Kentucky, but then the Vols would reduce Kentucky's allotment to the Knoxville game by 3,000 and Kentucky   doesn't   want   to   do that. Actually, Tennessee has a little better situation because of its 82,000-plus
seats as compared to 58,000 in Lexington. For that reason, Kentucky has about 3,000 single game tickets available for all home games with the exception of Tennessee. And like this season (when the Tennessee game is on the road) they have 3,000 extra tickets for all home games. "We could sell 3,000 more season tickets this season," said one UK official, "but then we couldn't renew the season ticket next year and they'd all be on our back." The public sale of football tickets, if there are any available will be in August . . . With the current situation of football tickets, look for more and more pressure from fans and alumni to expand Commonwealth Stadium . . . Without being too optimistic, most insiders close to the football program feel Kentucky is the next thing to a sure bet to be playing in a post-season bowl this winter. Our good friend Herbie  Hunt says the
Liberty Bowl people will be courting Kentucky hard and heavy this fall, but so will the Sugar Bowl, the Orange Bowl and the Gator Bowl . . . For those who were bored with the 0-0 score of last season's spring Blue-White game, Curci promises there'll be plenty of scoring this time. "We've changed our offense to utilize out personnel, especially Mike Deaton," said Curci last week, "and it'll be an offense which will be more explosive, which can score in a hurry". . . Freddie Williams, who will be a fifth-year man this fall, has been going strong and appears to have no thoughts of relinquishing his position that he so ably occupied last season . . . Jim Kovach, the brilliant linebacker who spent most of the season on the sidelines last year, apparently will do something no one else has ever done in collegiate football. He is expected to play for the Wildcats this fall while
Basketball Banquet Tickets On Sale
The Committee of 101's annual banquet honoring the 1978 University of Kentucky basketball team will be held at 6:30 p.m., April 11, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel.
Tickets for the banquet, which is open to the general public, are priced at $12.00 each. They may be purchased through the Committee of 101, P.O. Box 22, Lexington, Ky. 40501.
UK Bids For SEC Tournament
(Cont i nued
draft, but Rick Robey says he isn't above going to Europe for pro ball if the contract is better. He'd like to play with the New Orleans Jazz where his family lives, but money will do the talking in the end. Givens will surely get a great package and Lee's performance in Charlotte now puts him at the top of the list . . . SEC coaches and athletics directors were to have met earlier this week to finalize plans for-the SEC basketball tournament next year. The site selection was to be one of the main topics and UK's Larry Ivy says he'll be disappointed if UK isn't awarded the first event. Most observers feel Kentucky has a good shot at obtaining the first tourney, but expect it will then be moved to Birmingham. "They'll want to get the tourney off on a sound financial basis," said a UK official, "and they know they'll have a sell-out here. Plus, if they're ever going to let UK have it, then they'll probably figure this is the best time because we're graduating
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four seniors." . . . Jack Givens, who earlier had said he would bypass the Pizza Hut Classic attended after all and scored 18 points in a fine performance. Givens said he wanted to concentrate more on his studies, but he had already committed himself several weeks ago and didn't want to break his promise. How much do Lexingtonians think of Givens? Well, Jack is being nominated for the Outstanding Lexingtonian of the Year in an annual contest conducted by the local Optimist Club. Don't be surprised if he is the winner . . . The big annual Derby Basketball Classic will be staged April 29 in Louisville's Freedom Hall and this year's event will probably showcase several future UK players. Max Rein does a super job with the classic, which is rapidly becoming known as the "Classic of Classics." It is held in conjunction with Kentucky Derby week. More on the classic soon as far as rosters are concerned.
attending the UK Medical School. A new NCAA regulation now allows a graduate student to use his fourth year of eligibility while in graduate school, if the graduate school is the same one he   attended  the  four years prior. Kovach was granted a fifth year to play his   fourth   campaign   after being injured early last season. Attending medical school isn't the easiest task around, but if a man can handle the two,  it would be  Kovach,  who is bypassing spring practice to concentrate on his studies . . . It's too bad Dean Martin and NBC cannot recognize a good roast, for the roast of roasts will be in Lexington this week when  the outspoken  but well-liked Buckshot Underwood is tortured at a retirement dinner. Those to  be on hand for the festivities include: Bear Bryant,   Charlie   McClendon, Fran Curci, Happy Chandler, George Blan-da, and Otis Singletary, to name a few. . . . Some may claim there's bitter division among the UK football and basketball programs, but that's hard to conceive if you were at St. Louis a week ago when the basketball Wildcats defeated Duke for the national championship. There in person rooting the roundball Cats was head football coach Fran Curci. Ironically, Curci and Joe Hall are very good friends. But there's where it ends often. It's too bad one cannot say the same for some supporters and naturally a coach isn't going to alienate himself with his own people . . . Ermal Allen, a former Kentucky great who is now in the Dallas Cowboy organization, was at the NCAA Final Four in St. Louis. One Wildcat fan claims the real reason Allen was in St. Louis was to scout James Lee, for the NFL, that is ... If you don't think people like a winner, then come over to the Shively Sports Center some afternoon. You'd think it's the week before the opening game the way spectators are showing up for the   spring  grid   drills   .   .   . One interested by-stander at last Friday's drill was Danville's pride and joy, Chris Jones, who'll be suiting up for the Big Blue this fall . . . There's a good possibility Kentucky will be on regional   television   this   fall since ABC-TV has already made a couple of initial inquiries with UK about the Wildcats'  schedule  .   .   .  Curci is expected to allow team players to choose sides again for squads in this weekend's spring game. "They have a lot of excitement with it," said Curci. "And I think it makes the game more interesting although it was 0-0 last year. It won't be that   way this time, though. There should be a lot of points scored."