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Todd Hallum
[Continued From Page 17]
in bi Arnsparger. This staff has helped LSU become one of the premier programs in the country. What is their status at LSU?
Ifjyou recall, there was a lot of bitterness displayed between some LSU staff members of Bo Rein when Jerry Stovall took over after Rein had tragically died in an airplane crash in 1979. One year later Stofall let go most of Rein's staff after becoming the head coach.
Sjjo, how are LSU officials going to decide on a new head coach?
Will the new head mentor keep any of the members of Arn-spaxger's staff? LSU officials may stipulate that the new man must ke#p the current assistants who decide to stay at the university.
Another decision is who is going to be the athletics director? Obviously the AD/coach relationship is very important to any major college football program.
Finally, can the new head coach deal with the many factions of aljimni and fans who are involved in the LSU program? Can he adjust to their ver\ high demands?
. . .Mack Brown, Nelson Stokely?
(Who are the likely candidates to fill Arnsparger's shoes? News hfis surfaced that two head coaches at major univerisites with past ties to LSU have been bandied about. One is Tulane head coach Mack Brown, who used to be an assistant at LSU. The other is tyelson Stokely who is the head mentor at Southwest Louisiana and a| former quarterback for the Tigers.
I Of the two, Stokely probably holds an edge because Brown hails from instate rival Tulane. In two years at the Green Wave helm, ijirown has compiled a dismal 5-17 record. Stokely, however, has a much better head coaching record. Then there's always the possibility of considering a coach from the professional ranks. If j'ou'll recall, Arnsparger was brought in by former AD Bob Jrodhead from Don Shula's staff at Miami.
Whoever it may be should negotiate for a long term contract. That's because LSU's football schedule will be one of the toughest in the nation during the next two seasons. Next year within the conference LSU playes SEC foes Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, .'Mississippi, Mississippi State and Georgia. Add non-conference  opponents Texas A&M and Ohio State and you have the makings iof a very demanding slate.
In 1988 the Tigers play seven conference games with five of the six teams (not Georgia) previously listed plus Tennessee and Auburn. In addition they will play Texas A&M (Baton Rouge), Ohio State (Columbus) and Miami. Fla (Baton Rouge).
Needless to say, with two monsterous schedules ahead, LSU's new coach will be facing an uphill battle.
UK NOTEBOOK
Former Wildcat Sam Bowie, is doing well after breaking his leg in a game against the Dallas Mavericks. Currently, Bowie is in a walking cast and the Portland center isn't expected to be out of his full cast until four-to-six weeks. . .Current UK forward Cedric Jenkins says he should be ready to practice with the Wildcats this week. During preseason practice, the 6-foot-8 Dawson, Ga.. native suffered a stress fracture to his left leg that has already caused him to miss four games of action. It appears he is right on schedule to be fit for play once the Wildcats' SEC schedule gets underway. . .Former UK football assistant Ro Waldron has resigned as the head coach at Catholic University in Washington D.C. 5 Waldron's Catholic teams were 4-17-1 during his two years as head I coach. This season Catholic finished with a 2-8-1 mark. Waldron | says he would like to get back- into Division I-A coaching. The Virginia Tech graduate was a member of Jerry Claiborne's coaching staff for three years. . .Ex-Wildcat forward Kenny Walker has been struggling during the eary stages of his rookie season with the New York Knicks. Because of a badly sprained back in the early portion of December, Walker was given a rest against the Portland Trail Blazers. In a recent Knicks' home game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Walker played but didn't score.
Nick Nicholas
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Jerry Claiborne: A promise to fill (ill their seals at Commonwealth Stadium on a consistent basis. Students tend to be the biggest fair-weather fans of all. Coach Claiborne needs all the support in the stands he can get. An early New Year's resolution from the UK student bodyshowing support in '87 like Tennessee. Oklahoma. Alabama. Nebraska always dowould bring a smile to Jerry Claiborne's face.
One Very Special Wish
Season's Greetings from everyone to UK cheerleader Dale Baldwin: A medical miracle. I saved the biggest and rriosl important wish for last. It's a biggie and it needs to be carried out as soon as possible. You see. Dale suffered a severe spinal injury while practicing on a mini-trampoline prior to a Blue-White scrimmage in Louisville last month. Here's hoping Baldwin will one day retain the full use of his arms and legs.
Following a peaceful dinner, a onc-on-one hoop battle with Sky-Elf (a local ringer), and a good night's rest at Claus Manor, I proceeded to head for home. Santa asked me if I wanted a ride back to Lexington on his sleigh. "No thanks," I answered. "I don't have flight insurance."
Mrs. Claus then gave me a check for a renewal of her Cats' Pause, but I didn't accept it because the Claus' TCPs are always "on the house."
I thanked them for their hospitality, wished them Merry Christmas, and said "goodbye". Santa added that he would go over the list I brought him with a fine tooth comb. "I'll see what I can do," he said.
Thus, another yearly visit had ended with my friends from up North.
Leaving their home I began to reflect back on last year's visit. It seemed like only yesterday I was asking Santa to bring Coach Sutton 50 new pair of NIKES for the Wildcats to wear this season. He said he would. . .and thank goodness he did.
That Santa Claus. . .ain't he somethin'!
Oscar Combs
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In the first game Friday night. Texas A&M will meet Boston University.
It will be Boston University's first trip to the UKIT. Iona has played UK before in Rupp Arena, but not during the UKIT. Texas A&M owns a 1-1 mark in the tourney, having beaten UK but losing to Illinois in the championship contest back in 1978.
HITS AND MISSES ... The Louisville Courier-Journal will be without two of its biggest sports writing names next year after the retirement of columnist Earl Cox and the recent resignation of Billy Reed. Cox is taking early retirement in January and Reed resigned last week after a run-in with the newspaper's management over his role at the newspaper. Reed, who had operated with complete freedom during the past 10 years or so, was told recently that he would come under the supervision of new executive sports editor Steve Ford. Reed, who wrote a positive column on Indiana coach Bobby Knight after fellow columnist Rick Bozich had written an unflattering column on the Hoosier mentor,  was  pulled  from the
Kentucky-Indiana game and assigned to the lesser important Louisville-Eastern game on Dec. 6. In addition, Ford ordered the copy desk to hold Reed's column on Knight and it was never published. Reed bristled at the two actions, took a week's leave with pay and then announced he was resigning after meeting twice with newspaper management . . . Rumors have it that both Reed and Cox will go to work for Tlie Lexington Herald-Leader in some capacity after the first of the year . . . UK coach Eddie Sutton invited some 300 friends of Kentucky basketball to Rupp Arena for a picture-taking session with the Wildcats Sunday after the UK-Lamar game. It was a tradition started several years ago by former UK coach Joe B. Hall . . . Sutton's mother. Beryl Ailshie, is visiting the Suttons in Lexington and will spend the Christmas holidays here . . . One of the Kentucky friends at the picture-taking session Sunday was former Wildcat and NBA star Adrian Smith who said he thought the idea of inviting friends to the event is a great idea. Smith said it was his first invitation. Other ex-Wildcats attending included Dan Issel, Jack Givens, Larry Stamper, Billy Ray Lickeret and James Lee.
Late Surge Enables UK To Ease By Lamar
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ed. During this period the Wildcats increased their advantage from four (54-50) to 14 (67-53). . . Rob Lock started in place of junior Richard Madison. It was his first start since he was a freshman. . .The loss drops Lamar to 2-2 on the season. . .Kentucky continues to have trouble at the foul line (six of 12 against the Cardinals). When asked about the problems, Eddie Sutton quipped, "We hit 50 percent. That's doing good." Kentucky came into the game hitting only 58.3 percent of its free throws. . .Rex Chapman paced the Wildcats with six assists. Richard Madison, Ed Davender and James Blackmon had five each. Lamar had a total of only 11-team assists. Ed Manuel and James Nance led the way with two apiece. . .Walk-on Steve Bruce checked in for the first time this season at the He entered the lineup in the first half (10:52) and quickly returned to the bench (10:44) after committing a foul. Terry Shigg and Bruce were both in action with 17 seconds remaining in the game. "I was happy to allow the walk-on players Terry Shigg and Streve Bruce a chance to play
tonight," said Sutton. "They have put in a lot of hard work and deserve a chance to play.". . .Sutton picked up his second technical of the season. He left the coaching box while complaining after a Madison bucket had been disallowed in the first of of play. . .The win at Rupp Arena gives UK a 143-14 record. It was the 22nd straight win for the 'Cats at home. . .Lamar coach Tom Abatemarco was a former assistant to Jim Valvano at North Carolina State from 1982-'86. He was on the bench when State upset Houston in the 1983 NCAA Championship battle. When one meets the first-year Cardinal coach for the initial time you might think he's a double for Valvano. Like Jimmy V, Abatemarco loves to talk about basketball. . .Kentucky's win over Lamar was its first ever over the Cardinals. The only Southland Conference team the 'Cats have ever faced was on Jan. 8, 1945 when UK beat Arkansas State. UK won 75-6. No, that's not a misprint.