October-29, fp&tf
OSCAR L. COMBS
Georgia win should give UK needed shot in the arm
Never say never!
Just when many fans of the Kentucky football team were beginning to believe the 'Cats would never win a close game, the Big Blue rose to the occasion and carried an overjoyed Jerry Claiborne off the field Saturday afternoon.
Nothing could have been sweeter for the Kentucky program, which has needed a shot in the arm like the one it got.
Along with a 16-10 upset victory over Georgia came a renewed confidence in the Claiborne philosophy, a legitimate shot at a winning season and a somewhat longshot chance at a (whisper, whisper) postseason bowl if some other good fortune could follow.
In a season which most experts believe has the Southeastern Conference in a downspiral, it isn't all that impossible that UK just might win three more and possibly all four remaining games.
But first let's talk about Saturday.
It was to be a gloomy one. One controversy after another led up to the contest. Everyone around these parts knows the basketball allegations have completely overshadowed the football team. Up until Saturday, that wasn't all bad because there had been little to cheer about on the football field.
Then a few of the friends in the horse industry had been upset about moving the Georgia game from night to day to accommodate national television over Atlanta Superstation WTBS, thereby making the 'Cats and Keeneland go head-to-head.
Now that the game is history, we can say with candor the university made not only a wise decision but the only one it should have.
First of all, can you imagine what such an exciting upset victory on national television will mean to Claiborne on the recruiting trails this winter? As WTBS wrapped up the telecast, it showed the final seconds of the game, Claiborne being embraced by his assistants and players and the scoreboard. I don't care how many extra fans from Keeneland might have attended the game, they'll never match those scenes being shown coast-to-coast to millions of college football fans.
Plus, it was the biggest upset of the day and since the game was on WTBS, every other major network (ABC-TV, CBS-TV, ESPN and CNN) all picked up the highlights and telecast them throughout the weekend. There in the midst was Georgia product Alford Rawls' 48-yard touchdown run.
It's a recruiting plus you just don't get that often.
For WTBS, it was the third time this season UK has been shown and the Wildcats haven't disappointed. For UK, the third time was the charm.
Kentucky helped Auburn provide WTBS fans a great game back in September and then one of the station's most exciting games of the season was Alabama's 31-27 victory Oct. 1.
Kentucky's victory would still have been a great win had the game been
played at night, but consider a couple side effects: First of all, the upset would have gotten little publicity outside Kentucky because of early newspaper deadlines in the East. The game wouldn't have been over until after 10 p.m. By then, most newspapers already have their lead sports stories set up.
By it being an early afternoon game, the Kentucky upset was played as one of the major stories in almost all the papers.
As far as attendance goes, the crowd was listed at slightly more than 50,000, a figure which surprised even me. Considering that UK was coming off back-to-back losses and going against Keeneland, I figured it might be closer to 40,000. There was speculation that many Georgia fans might opt for the races instead of the game.
Judging from the Georgia section at Commonwealth Stadium, those Bulldog fans are true to their school. And as for Kentucky, it appeared the great multitude of missing fans were once again in the student section, where they have been missing from action for the past two or three years.
Keeneland, on the other hand, enjoyed a great attendance of over 21,000. All this leads us to the conclusion that there really aren't that many who cross over, maybe three or four thousand. In the end, neither group should have to alter its plans to accommodate the other. Both have valid reasons for daytime events.
With that in mind, I have to say Kentucky is going too far in trying to appease the racing people and putting its football fans to a far greater hardship next month for the Vanderbilt game.
The Vandy game is now set for 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 4. The game was originally set for 1:30 p.m., but because of the Breeder's Cup being staged in Louisville on that afternoon, UK said it was trying to cooperate with its friends in the industry so fans could attend both events.
To me, it would have made a little more sense if the Breeder's Cup was being staged in Lexington, but Louisville? Do we have to begin scheduling our football games around major events in Cincinnati now?
Let's put UK football first and foremost in its season and let's not worry about some other sport. Again, what a missed opportunity it would have been last Saturday if UK had not moved the game for national television. Nuf said?
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Kentucky can now set its sights on a stretch run where Claiborne and his 'Cats can realisticly see the opportunity to win each and every game. That doesn't mean they'll win any of them, only that the opportunity is there.
The Wildcats might even be favored in each of them, but they cannot afford to take any for granted.
Southern Illinois is first on the line. A victory Saturday and UK is even at 4-4.
Again, you take nothing for granted.
After that come Vanderbilt and Florida at home before closing the season at Tennessee.
I can't go any further without admitting an accident which almost happened:
It was Saturday morning about 9:30 and while on the way to the office before the Kentucky-Georgia game and I had the radio dial turned to good ol' 590 WVLK, where you get nothing but Big Blue coverage on game day.
When UK assistant athletics director Gene DeFillippio made the comment that if the 'Cats could just pull off the Georgia upset, "we could be on our way to a bowl game," well, I forgot I was behind the wheel. Thankfully, there was no other vehicle within a half mile of my swerving.
I said to myself, sure, this fella has to put on a straight face and he is paid to promote the Big Blue, but B-O-W-L T-A-L-K, well, that's a little too strong.
Guess who was grinning from ear-to-ear after the final second ticked off the stadium clock?
Which leads us to Vanderbilt and Florida.
Each has been as equally unimpressive as they have been impressive this season. Vanderbilt has beaten the likes of Florida but lost to Ole Miss and Duke. Florida beat LSU but has lost to people like Memphis State and Vandy.
And the season finale is at Knoxville where the Vols are struggling to say the very least. Until last Saturday, Tennessee was winless. Johnny Majors' team finally conquered Memphis State 38-35 but it wasn't easy.
Prior to the season opener, less than a handful of experts expected anything but a disaster for UK in 1988. But strange things happen once you tee up the pigskin. Kentucky could still finish 3-8 on the season or it could wind up 7-4 or somewhere in between, but last Saturday's upset has surely sparked new life into this team and you could see it spread all over Jerry Claiborne's face.
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One lady embraced another after the game in the Commonwealth Stadium pressbox after Saturday's game. They were Faye Claiborne and Barbara Dooley.
They've been friends for a long time, and always will be said Claiborne's wife.
"It was a tough loss for them," said Mrs. Claiborne, "I really feel bad for the Dooleys, they've been personal friends of ours for years. They run their program a lot like ours. I know how they felt today, but I told her that we needed this victory a lot worse than they did."
Somehow, I've got a feeling the Dooleys probably agreed. But it isn't all that simple.
Had Georgia won the game, the Bulldogs would have been a lock for a piece of the SEC championship. A victory would have given the Dawgs a 5-0
conference mark. With two games left against Florida and Auburn, Georgia no doubt would have finished at either 6-1 or 7-0. With everyone else already having at least one loss, Kentucky appeared to be the victim for the clincher.
Anytime you have a conference title on the line, you don't give an inch to your best friend, Jerry Claiborne or anyone else. But I'm sure if Dooley had to lose to someone, he'd much rather it be a Jerry Claiborne.
Footnote: Nice guys don't always finish last. They didn't Saturday.
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The fallout from the additional 17 allegations from the NCAA toward the UK basketball program is still making news.
Many of you read where one portion of an allegation said that a university representative made a special trip to Lexington with a potential UK recruit for an interview with me to be published in this publication.
The NCAA said Bill Chupil transported Lawrence Funderburke and a friend to Lexington last school year for the sole purpose of being interviewed for this publication. The NCAA has asked UK to provide the NCAA with a copy of the paper containing the article and to explain my company's connection with the athletics department.
Well, you readers who have been subscribers to TCP for at least the past year know there is absolutely no truth to that rumor because there has never been a feature or interview on Funderburke published in this newspaper.
The problem I have with the NCCA in this matter, however, goes beyond that. What if I had interviewed the kid? Would that be a crime? No!
The fact is that Chupil did visit the TCP retail store where numerous items on many sports are sold. Chupil has been one of hundreds of sports fans who make purchases from our store each year. Hundreds of college basketball fans (not just UK because all state colleges are covered as well as the national high school scene) purchase our annual Kentucky Basketball Yearbook at our office each year. It was this reason Chupil had made this particular visit, according to him.
I hesitate to detail this matter because it really isn't any of the NCAA's business what I or my company does in the process of publishing a newspaper or running a retail operation.
But because of the insinuations, I feel you deserve this. The only regret I have is that I goofed as a reporter. I had the opportunity to seek an interview and publish an exclusive story but because I was so busy with other matters at the time, it simply didn't occur to me.
I apologize to you, our readers, for the oversight, but I assure you if another story idea pops into our office unex-[Continued on page 22]