'3T/ie (jo/a ' J2S
//M'C
"Jecertz/KT 23, /p&p
VIEWPOINT
Letters To The Editor
Mail All Letters To: VIEWPOINT, The Cats' Pause, P.O. Box 7297, Lexington, KY 40522
Wake up, boys
Dear sir:
Last night, for the first time in over 30 years, I was unable to either watch or hear a Wildcat basketball game. I heard the results over ESPN.
Not having a 50,000-watt station for out-of-state UK fans show a total disregard for the future of UK athletics. The university and Jim Host Associates have allowed the University of Louisville to outmaneuver them and squeeze them out of the big radio market.
It is very disheartening to see a once proud basketball program take a back seat to a university that hasn't earned the right to "tie UK's shoelaces." But it has been done. When will UK wake up and smell the coffee? Soon and very soon, I hope.
Sincerely yours.
Charles Rickard Union Lake, MI
Double standards?
Dear sir:
I am writing to you concerning the Dwayne Morton fiasco. If the NCAA decides to sit on their hands and do nothing, as you say is a possibility, all Big Blue fans should be upset for several reasons.
Kentucky has been severely penalized for allegedly breaking NCAA rules. We handled our investigation in a model situation, according to Richard Schultz. Don't we afford being protected by the rules as well as being penalized if we break them?
Not only has this situation cost UK from filling a scholarship with Morton, we couldn't fill it with our next choice! A school with only three scholarships can hardly make up the loss with numbers.
If the NCAA does nothing, it will definitely appear as if Kentucky was made to be an example. An example that not everyone has to follow.
Just remember, major violations are usually found after investigating minor violations, or is this a minor violation? It sure is major to the Big Blue everywhere.
Sincerely,
Robert S. Sabiston Bowling Green, Ky.
TCP outlasts Hugo
Dear sir:
We were devastated by the hurricane where we live in Sumemrville, S. C, but I want you to know the first mail we received when the service was restored to our area was The Cats' Pause. We received that before we started to receive the newspaper.
Thank you very much and keep up the good work.
Marie Newcom, Summerville, S. C.
SOS  Save our stereo
Dear sir:
Our big problem is living in Indiana, and for the first time in 45 years, we cannot pick the Wildcats up on radioWe need help. What can we do as Wildcats (fans) to get a radio station to pick up the broadcasts? There are 'Cat fans all over the country, and for the first time there is no way to pick up the broadcasts.
Kentucky football and basketball are No. 1. We have had our problems, but not being able to listen to the games is the No. 1 problem for fans living outside of Kentucky. What happened to WLW, WHAS or one of the (other) 50,000-watt clear channel (stations)?
Do all the Kentucky fans outside of the state a big favor and get us a radio hookup with a big station. In my business, I talk to 'Cat fans all over this country and we are in the same boat. I am from the hills of Kentucky (Letcher County), Whitesburg, Ky.. and this will be the first time in 45 years that I will not be able to tune into the Wildcats.
Please Help!
Sincerely,
Gail Williams Indianapolis, Ind.
German 'Cats
Dear sir:
Enclosed is a check for another year's subscription to The Cats' Pause.
Since we live overseas and have limited information on the Cats, we really enjoy your great coverage of our favorite team. Keep up the good work.
Wildcat fans,
Jerald, Dusty, Justine Rhodes Heidelberg. Germany
It will help me and UK
Dear sir:
Having just finished reading my Cats' Pause for this week, I felt compelled to write and add my name to those who have expressed their unhappiness about the lack of a clear channel radio station to broadcast UK athletics to those of us who live out of state. I have followed UK football and basketball for more than 25 years (since I was 4), although I have not lived in Kentucky for almost 20 years. In the last six years I have lived in Monroe and New Orleans, La.; Miami, Fla.; and presently in Montgomery, Ala. I have always had the pleasure of being able to listen to Cawood, Ralph and the gang bring the action "live" to me. I am truly sorry that I won't have this pleasure this season. I understand that KMOX of St. Louis may
carry certain games this season. If Tlie Cats' Pause discovers which games will be carried, we would appreciate publishng their schedule as soon as it become available.
The primary reason for my writing is selfish, seeking to have UK athietics brought back to me (as well as other "displaced Kentuckians"), but there are obvious advantages to having a clear channel station for UK athletics as well. Having your program broadcast over most of the nation is a tremendous recruiting tool. Many high school recruits, their families and friends listen to Kentucky, LSU (footballWWL, New Orleans), and other pograms at night, despite the fact that no "local" station carried the game. Although many games are televised through network and cable television sources, all games not televised may be listened to on the radio network.
I realize that one letter will not have an impact on decisions of the athletics department or its negotiations with any clear channel radio station with respect to future contracts. However, I urge all "displaced Kentuckians" and other out-of-state Kentucky fans to write a letter or send a postcard to the UK athletics department expressing their feelings.
Sincerely,
Darrell L. Cartwright Montgomery, Ala.
(Editor's Note: The person to write is: C. M. Newton, Athletics Director, University of Kentucky, Memorial Coliseum, Lexington, Ky. 40506.)
Howie's my man
Dear sir:
As a longtime Big Blue follower, I have also been a subscriber to The Cats Pause.
I have been extremely disappointed with the basketball and football program in the past year. I think I have gotten over the basketball investigation and I am still a UK follower.
I would like to express my thanks to Jerry Claiborne for what he has doen for the football program. I have been disappointed in the wins and losses, but I think Jerry did the best job he could under the circumstances.
Here's my vote for Howard Schnellenberger for the new football coach at UK. I have seen what he has done at the University of Louisville and I am convinced he can do the same for the UK program.
Sincerely,
Carl Wilder Louisville, Ky.
Dear CM., Jim Host...
OPEN LETTER TO C. M. Newton and Jim Host
Gentlemen:
I would like to personally thank the Univer
sity of Kentucky for awarding the broadcast rights to UK basketball and football to Jim Host and Associates, this move has certainly done a lot for UK fans. You have successfully alienated every fan that lives outside the state of Kentucky. Why? Because we can no longer listen to or watch UK basketball or football. Was this something UK was shooting for or did they just naturally fall into it?
As for Jim Host and his band of thieves, once they got the broadcast contract they started off with a bang; they immediately lost the only 50,000-watt radio station that was airing the broadcast. His latest move, and this is a real stroke of genius, all delayed TV broadcasts will be aired on a Ku band satellite. This means that the average satellite dish owner, whose system works only the more popular C band, can no longer see the games.
Great move, Jim.
If you were trying to keep these broadcasts entirely within the state of Kentucky, you succeeded. Only those people who can lay out another $1,000 to add Ku band to their system will be able to see the games, but I bet you have already figured this one outyou drop back down to the C band satellite again and scramble the signal so that you can charge people 20 bucks to see each gameam I right? Also, the broadcast will be available on cable within the state. You're pretty sharp. Jim. Do you also sell real estate? You have certainly out-foxed me.
I have been following UK sports for 30 years and you've certainly cut me off. I guess I'll have to turn to Indiana or North Carolina (since) they are everywhere you look on TV and radio and it doesn't cost you anything.
Mr. Newton, is this the UK sports program of the future? Where everything has a price tag on it. Where do followers outside the state fit into these plans? I've been treated shabby before but this is a real kick in the gut. By limiting the radio and television broadcasts you're only hurting the university and its followers. I hope that you can intercede on behalf of the thousands of fans outside the state and bring things back in focus.
Gary L. Taylor Fredericksburg, Va.
Pleased with coverage
Dear sir:
Enclosed is my renewed payment for The Cats' Pause. You and your staff have provided excellent coverage of the "Big" transition period through '89 (Up's and Down's).
Here's hoping that the coverage in '90 will be even more thorough and as usual full of interesting tidbits. Please keep in mind that your out-of-state subscribers need a real special coverage as the TCP could be the only in-depth source of information that we receive due to NCAA restrictions.
Here's hoping that Dec. 27 will be a Happy Day for all UK fans in the Carolinas
(Continued on page 7)