B-Ball-fan

Thanks for bringing Boyd to our attention. Will definitely be keeping an eye on him.

Awesome to hear...I was hoping that they would. Thanks for settling that mystery.

Wow...thanks for the great information!

Them playing, or not playing really interests me because the Bulldogs will be a world of difference depending on whether they do, or don't.

They played football this season, but I've not heard anything regarding them not playing basketball. If anyone out there knows for sure, please do share.

9th Region - Kentucky Boys High School Basketball Preview - 2021/2022 Here we are folks. Right on the edge of a brand new season. High school basketball junkies everywhere can rejoice. We all know the buzz of having 4 solid months of night after night basketball action, and if recent years can tell, there is no shortage of exciting hoops play in the 9th Region. But WOAH though… I would be remiss if I didn’t first reflect a bit on the excitement of what was a stunning 2020/2021 season in the 9th Region. We saw a region where any number of solid teams could have taken the 9th Region crown. We saw an 11 senior strong St. Henry team take down the region leader Covington Catholic twice, and strangely by the same score of 61-60. Then we saw a hot Sam Vinson lead Highlands Bluebirds team avenge an early season loss to St. Henry when it counted most in the semi’s of the 9th Region tournament, then going on to take the crown in a 77-67 victory over the Conner Cougars in the 9th Region Championship game. Locals felt pretty confident that the Bluebirds might have a good showing in the Sweet 16 at Rupp because we knew that they could light it up, but also knew that Sam Vinson (now starting for NKU) was a special player who is just a downright winner, and the kind of player you want to have when heading into the highly revered Sweet 16. The Birds did not disappoint going on to cut down the nets at Rupp, becoming only the 5th 9th Region team taking all the marbles, while averaging an 18 point edge in their 4 games during the tournament, and ultimately demolishing one of the tourney favorites, Elizabethtown in a Sweet 16 championship game that was never in question, 79-60. Congratulations to the 2020/2021 Highlands Bluebirds. You really gave us 9th Region fans a season to remember!!! Now onto the 2021-2022 season where we can only hope to have just as exciting of a season as the last, and with a region chuck full of talent, I’ve a hunch we’re in for some great competitive hoops action. As with the beginning of every season, we know a bit about some of the teams and players that we saw in the previous season enough to waige a bit of an educated guess of who the leaders might be, but again with every new season we’re also presented the excitement of newer players’ names who step up only to have us learn new names of those to watch closely. I will fully admit that I’m a bit limited here and there in knowing the who’s who in newer players, and will stretch a bit here and there with other who I’m unfamiliar with who maybe I should know more about. I’ve already seen one coaches poll, as well as the CatsPause Rankings, and while I generally agree, I have just a couple of hunch’s of my own that have me shifting around a couple of teams here and there. Ranking the Region: Covington Catholic - Hard to dispute when 3 of the starting 5 (Mitchell Rylee, Evan Ipsaro, and Chandler Starks) have made the Top 10 players poll. Rylee has committed to Miami of Ohio, and Evan Ipsaro has received an offer from Cleveland State. Dixie Heights - Polls have Highlands above them, but this hot 21-6 team from last season didn’t completely lose all their strength to graduation, and are still left with Top 10 players Keirnan Geraci and Billy Wogenstahl, as well as a great supporting cast of Jay Flynn and Logan Landers. Highlands - While the 2021 Kentucky State Champs lost a load of offence while graduating Sam Vinson, and Luke Muller, they’re still left with some highly experience players in Oliver Harris, Will Hearld, Top 10 player Zachary Barth, and the always reliable guard play Leyton Read. It truth I believe that Dixie and Highlands are interchangeable as the Number 2 team, but I still just have this hunch about Dixie, believing they’ve really got something going in this season with their experience which is pretty much in line with the Bluebird’s experience. Holy Cross - Here again polls have both Conner and Beechwood above the Indians, but I just can’t get past a Jacob Meyer (and WKU commit) lead Holy Cross team that consists of reliable and quick guard Xavier Ward, two experienced Arlinghaus’ in Dylan and Zach, and Sam Gibson who is a monster that I’m hoping to see have a breakout season now that he’ll be relied on more to crowd up the paint in this his junior season. Connor - What I know about Conner is that junior, and hot perimeter shooter Landen Hamilton has found his way in the coaches poll’s Top 10 players, and they also have another junior hot hand in Ayden Lohr. I will have to admit to not knowing much more about them, but coach Matthew Otte has always proved to bring a competitive team to the fold. Beechwood - What we do know about the Beechwood Tigers is that they lost to graduation the highest scorer in 9th Region history, Scotty Draud, and high flyer Will Downton, which is saying a lot, so they’ll have to look elsewhere now for the offence. While I can dabble in names, I’ll have to admit my lack of knowledge of current Beechwood players and their strengths, so I welcome any input here from those more in the know about this season’s Tigers. Cooper - Coach Tim Sullivan lost a couple of key players to graduation in Jacob Deere, and Gaven Rabe. Just like Beechwood I can’t really offer much about their up and coming stars, but all I do know is the Coach Sully will just like always go with a defense first approach. Again any input on Cooper will be much appreciated. Lloyd - What I know about Lloyd is that they’ve in recent years have brought to the court fairly decent competitive teams. This season they’ll have a hot hand in shooting by senior Ryan Davis, and solid play by Hanover College commit senior Garrett Vogelpohl. Newport Catholic Central - Lead by the sharp shooting of senior Joel Isles, the reliable inside play of Kaedon Butts. Sadly I hear that the Pangallo kid will not be playing because of injury. Holmes - Rounding out my Top 10 Teams, I have the always quick as lightning Holmes Bulldogs who by benefit of the COVID repeat-a-year policy, will again have the services and experience of the Calloway brothers, Quantez, and Tayquan. Sadly the Bulldogs have lost the dynamite play of junior Eian Elmer to Taft of Cincinnati. Elmer wouldn’ve lent a powerful boost this season’s Bulldog’s but it is not to be. Aside from the Calloway brothers I’m not yet that keen on who the other key players will be for the Bulldogs this season. Again, if anyone has any knowledge of their possible upstarts, please do make us all privy to who they might be. 11. St. Henry 12. Ryle 13. Newport 14. Boone County 15. Ludlow 16. Villa Madonna 17. Bellevue 18. Dayton 19. Heritage Academy 20. Covington Latin Top Ten Players - Jacob Meyer - Holy Cross Mitchell Rylee - Covington Catholic Evan Ipsaro - Covington Catholic Quantez Calloway - Holmes Chandler Starks - Covington Catholic Kiernan Garaci - Dixie Heights Will Herald - Highlands Zachary Barth - Highlands Landen Hamilton - Conner Billy Wogenstahl - Dixie Heights Honorable mention: Joel Isles - Newport Central Catholic Garrett Vogelpohl - Lloyd Donovan Robinson - Ryle Jay Flynn - Dixie Heights Logan Landers - Dixie Heights Leyton Read - Highlands Kaedon Butts - Newport Central Catholic Oliver Harris - Highlands Please feel free to add more names to this honorable mention list as we’re all eager to know who are the players to watch this season. This season’s action begins Monday, November 29th. Good luck to all teams in what is looking to be yet another exciting season in the 9th Region!!!

It’s peculiar when anti-vaxxers hear reports of this, and still remain anti-vaxxers. Lots of folks for various reasons about various things these days absolutely refuse to admit being misguided, and just change the narrative to feel comfortable with their misguided stance. Sometimes the need to not ever admit being misguided can kill you. This pandemic is making this all too clear.

In most situations in life under “normal circumstances” I am truly for people and their rights. Rights for the handicapped, women, rights for people of color, rights for the LGBTQ community. I state these for example because these folks have truly experienced discrimination in their lives even when by law they should have the same rights as anyone. I question in general terms, have white folks, and especially the white male, really ever experienced much in the ways of discrimination? Some might be able to point out a bit of this and that, but In my experience it seems largely limited to almost non-existent. With that said, a pandemic such as what we’re experiencing in COVID is not “normal circumstances”, as we’re experiencing something that everyone should be in agreement that if we can, we should be trying to eradicate it. Can we eradicate it? History has shown us that we can, but that requires everyone to be a true patriot, and join in the cause, and be vaccinated just like others scourges had been eradicated in the past. What we’re experiencing now with the Delta Variant is what happens when we’ve not reached herd immunity, and the virus is free to mutate, and continue to spread. Our present vaccinations, while somewhat effective on the Delta, were not designed for the Delta, and with that we’re seeing vaccinated people becoming infected. Generally those vaccinated people infected now with the Delta variant experience a lesser effect of COVID depending on their present immunity circumstances, and how long ago they were vaccinated. And with this, they also can spread the virus. The boosters are intended to even future protect people while the Delta is running amuck. We know that we have about half of our population who’ve for an assortment of reasons have decided that they want to decline on the vaccines, and take their chances. We know that their reasons have stemmed from their general distrust, their denial of science, or their own researched version of it. Various conspiracy theories that they trust over tried and proven science. Their suspicions of vaccines in general, or how fast this one was developed, as well as other various reasons that I’ll refrain from mentioning because it crosses certain lines that we’re not at liberty to discuss on BGP. We know that most folks who have been hospitalized are those who are unvaccinated, and vaccinated people tend to be able to stay at home and get through it without too much trouble. Now if unvaccinated people would decide to protect themselves, as the vaccines have shown that they are generally reliable, they would not only protect themselves, but they would also be aiding in the bigger picture of helping to prevent new variants, as well as helping our society move toward herd immunity to have a better chance of for once and for all eradicating COVID, or at least getting a better handle on is like we have with the flu and our yearly vaccinations for it. As we know not everyone gets their yearly flu vaccine, and is generally why we have to keep modifying vaccines yearly to be able to protect ourselves from new variants. And while deadly, the common flu is not normally as dangerous as COVID is. With COVID being more extreme, it’s all the more reason for us to do our best to eradicate it before it irradiates us. While we know that some folks of various races are suspect of getting vaccinated, we know that these folks are overwhelmingly white. Whereas in the past, people generally trusted science and understood the importance of being vaccinated to help eradicate a disease, and we indeed did, we today don’t have that unified understanding and trust, so folks have decided that it’s “against their rights” to feel any pressure to be vaccinated, and with their assortment of misinformation that they believe over science, by their personal choice, they as a result are not contributing to help eradicate the virus, and are essentially the very reason it can continue to fester and mutate. In their minds it’s more important to protect their own personal rights than to help protect the world. They are looking inward rather than outward, and in doing so are not “patriotically” and responsibly helping the cause. They certainly have every right to be irresponsible and self=centered, but in doing so they’re not IMO honorable helping the world to eradicate a life stealing virus during a pandemic. With all of this said, I find it peculiar that a sector of our culture who is overwhelmingly white who’ve never truly experienced much in the ways of discrimination, and haven’t much bent over backward to help eliminate discrimination in folks who have dialy experience systemic versions of it, are now screaming for their rights, when the rights that they are screaming for are working counter to helping our world get a handle on COVID. While their heads are full of doubts and distrust, they’re allowing themselves to miss the bigger picture, and what they’re being pleaded to do is to help the world is the responsible thing to do. These are not “normal circumstances” and certainly not the time for white folks to be screaming about their rights when they barely ever know what it truly means to be discriminated against, and what they’re ultimately fighting for is the right to screw the world, and maybe even themselves. It’s counterintuitive to their own survival, and ultimately lacks any sense and is helping for the pandemic to continue and persist. Not at all a “patriot” in my mind, but a petty irresponsible stance when for once in their lives they're being asked to be responsible, and make such a small sacrifice to get a jab in their shoulder that could ultimately help the world survive, but their acting like spoiled rotten misguided entitled people who truly have never known what it’s like to be truly discriminated against. IMO it’s time that they grow up, and be responsible. The survival of our world depends on it.

I agree @PP1, yes indeed it’s bad. If two people are truly in love, they’d have no desire to go outside of their union. If they do, it’s one of the most hurtful things that someone can do to their loved one as their union is one of the most precious and important secure feelings in life, and to disrupt that security is to chance destroying what could and should be Heaven on earth for a couple. If couples ever begin to lose their conscience, and think it’s alright to play outside of their union, or “spice things up” they’re IMO being selfish, jeopardizing the sanctity of their union, and generally making it a relationship of convenience rather than unconditional love. And if that doesn’t describe it enough, there’s very few things in life that feel as awful as being cheated on. It can cause so much inner strife and depression that no one should have to endure. And I also agree that no matter your religion, or lack thereof it’s an awful thing to do.

I’ve never been desperate to get one. I find the phenomenon interesting over the past 25 years considering that when growing up it might’ve been an occasional Navy guy having an anchor on his shoulder. Personally I have psoriasis, so it’s really probably a bad idea to try having one as it might just turn into a crusty mess as damage to psoriatic skin is a recipe for additional skin irritation and therefore unnecessary avoidable problems.

Considering that I’ve always been attracted to much older than myself, most of my partners have been at least 20 years older than me. My most significant 20 year long term deceased partner was 36 years older than me.

Haha...uncomfortably cool!

New video/song drop from Pangeaux:

That's awful...prayers to Chandler.

Official video for "Caught in the Middle"

Pangeaux's newest drop "West Coast Luv"

Official video for "Better Alone"

Pangeaux - Living Room

Pangeaux - American History X

Pangeaux - Better Alone

Pangeaux - Pressure

Not the greatest sound, but a little glimpse of Pangeaux getting his LIVE on at the Thompson House in Newport.

Pangeaux keeps it up he could find himself being a heavy hitter in Chillhop.