Kingfish Stevens

Actually a quit significant fact.

You make a good argument for Frank Lee. He is too often overlooked.

He was first team all-state as an 8th grader and second team all-state as a seventh grader. Have any other 16th Region players done this in their junior and senior years? There have been several who went from honorable mention as juniors to first or second team all state as seniors but I am not aware of any who matched Mayo's middle school achievement. Of course, I could be wrong and that is why I am asking.

Amen. In high school, I attended a Latin Mass five days a week. It was both spiritual and inspiring. It also helped me to do well in Latin class. I think all "churches" have shown a tendency to modernize for the sake of survival. Many are more of a social club than a place of traditional, Bible-based worship. We see more emphasis on gymnasiums and and thinly veiled "mission trips" that are really little vacations than we see concern for the needy and unchurched. I think Pope Benedict is trying to move the Catholic Church away from this and back to its original purposes. I commend him for that and suggest that others do the same.

Yes. Conley would most likely by considered as the best by those who won't choose Mayo. I gave my opinion as to comparing the two in a post above. I am basing my opinion on Conley as a senior and Mayo as an eighth grader. If you have personal knowledge of both of them at that stage of their development, feel free to dissect my analysis. Please remember, I am in no way taking anything away from Larry Conley.

In the early 1980s there was a Godfather's Pizza in Russell at the intersection of Diederich Blvd. and US 23. The pizza was excellent according to those who dined there.

Since you saw both play in high school, unlike others you do have personal knowledge of the two. Using your criteria of attitude, team player, and self discipline, all three of which are Conley's strongest attributes, I would hardily agree with your assessment. I, too, would give the nod to Conley. However, using a somewhat more inclusive criteria, I believe Mayo clearly prevails. As for Mr. dinoradja, I am interested in where you saw "tape" of Conley playing for Ashland. I would be surprised if it exists. Of course, there may be some old 8mm home movie somewhere. For the sake of discussion, let me throw out how I rate the two: Attitude: Conley Team player: Conley Self discipline: Conley (but closer than you think) Passing ability: Conley Rebounding: Mayo Foul shooting: Mayo Inside shooting: Mayo Outside shooting: Mayo (Larry was never a good outside shooter) Strength: Mayo Defense: Mayo Ballhandlling: Tossup Desire to win: Tossup Flair for the dramatic: Mayo Work ethic: Tossup Ability to dominate a game: Mayo (by a goodly margin)

With all due respect, there is no confusion on the part of The Kingfish. You said your opinion was based upon "personal knowledge" which means that you saw him play. Now, if others told you about Conley or if you read something or if you just have certain loyalties/prejuduces, that is not "personal knowledge". Nonetheless, you are entitled to your analysis regardless of any lack of real personal knowledge. There is no need for us to spilit hairs and no one has more regard for the accomplishments of Larry Conley than do I. However, I believe most would agree (many reluctantly) that Mayo was better. You, for whatever reason, see otherwise which is absolutely fine with me.

Sounds good to me. Each person is entitled to establish his own criteria and you have certainly done so. I'm just happy to read that you got to see Conley play in person during his high school days. Not too many on BGP can say that.

According to Jerry Tipton in this morning's Lexington Herald-Leader, the Mountaineers and Coach Huggins have offered a scholarship to sophomore-to-be, Chad Jackson, of Rose Hill. Tipton says that Jackson hopes for an offer from UK. Tipton also had a nice article about Dakotah Euton of Rose Hill in which he discusses Euton's great worth ethic. If Rose Hill can produce a good supporting cast, the schools in the region will make a lot of money from Rose Hill's latest group of primetimers. I hope Rose Hill has learned to schedule home games rather than providing cash cows to their less than appreciative associates.

While your last statement may be correct, I am more concerned with the laws of God. Do you doubt that they are breaking those laws? As the years pass, it becomes more and more evident that what is "legal" and what is "moral" are completely different. I would choose the latter.

Excellent post.

As a unit, the 1960-1961 Ashland team may well be the best to ever play in Kentucky. They featured five D-1 players (Conley, Sergent, Hilton, Cram, and Smith). The two top reserves (Sexton and Daniels) would have started for most any other team in the state. The coach, Bob Wright, was outstanding.

I certainly respect your opinion. Is it based upon personal knowledge or on word of mouth from others? Larry Conley is the second best to ever play in the region. You can discount his accomplishments during the 1960-1961 season because he had six other exceptionally capable teammates on that team who would have likely won the state tournament without him. However, in the 1961-1962 season, he carried Ashland to the championship game because he had a clearly inferior supporting cast. It was his finest effort. Nonetheless, I feel sure that unbiased observers who are familiar with both players will, by a large margin, tell you that Mayo, even as a middle schooler, was superior to Conley. That is no knock on Conley. The player of the 1960s was just not nearly as strong and athletic as the player of the 2000s. It was a different and less intense game. Conley in his prime was a delight as was Harold Sergent. However, neither compares to Mayo and I'll bet both of them would quickly agree. The others you name are somewhere down the line but not near these three.

These 16th Region selections are hilarious. The best basketball player to ever wear the uniform of a school in that region is clearly O.J. Mayo. Most of those named ahead of him are not remotely in his class. Being partisans is fine. Being blind is something else. The best to play in that region, in my opinion, are: O.J. Mayo (Rose Hill) Larry Conley (Ashland) Jerry Ravenscraft (Breckenridge) Harold Sergent (Ashland) Mickey Sydenstricker (Russell) Linville Puckett (Clark County) Bert Greene (Olive Hill) George Carroll (Ashland) Jeff Hall (Fairview) Earl Adkins (Ashland) If Bill walker had made more than a cameo appearance, he would have to be in the top group. These are in no particular order other than for the first two with Mayo over Conley.

I agree with Mr. Log Mountain Boy and Mr. rojas4. The political atmosphere at Greenup County makes the coaching job at most any other school look good. Bath County is clearly a step up because my contacts in Owingsville tell me that they want a winner and that Hicks is a step in that direction. Many believe that, other than cheerleading, Greenup County does not have a winner mentality.

Hazard: Mickey Gibson Ashland (PGB): Larry Conley and Earl Adkins Lone Jack: Bobby Slusher Leslie County: Tim Couch Corbin: Frank Selvy with honorable mention to Jerry Bird Wayland: The King Flat Gap: Cyclone Charlie Osborne Inez (Sheldon Clark): Billy Ray Cassidy McKell: Don Gullett Rowan County: Jerry Ravenscraft West Carter (Olive Hill): Bert Greene followed by Gayle Rose Clark County: Linville Puckett

Good news and a good hire for Bath County. Coach Hicks has taken a step up. A good program can be built in Owingsville. That will likely never happen at Greenup County where cheerleading is king (or is it queen?).

Lexington Lafayette: Vernon Hatton Tough choice

Clinton, immediately upon taking office, fired all of the US Attorneys. The media said nothing. Bush fired eight US Attorneys and the press acted/acts like it has never happened before and must be something highly illegal , which it clearly is not. Clinton pardoned Rich, MacDougal, and many other rogues and political buddies. The media said little. Bush commutes the sentence (not a pardon) of Libby and the media will go wild. Get ready for the trashing. I commend Bush for having the backbone to do it. I only wish that this backbone would be more visable in battling the other party.

Everyone spins to suit their personal viewpoint. The media is no different. The decision is more important than some of you seem to want to believe. However, it is less important than those on the other side prefer. It is, nonetheless, a bump in the road for those who form all their opinions based upon race.

Of course they are not unbiased. No one is unbiased. However, they are in the position of making the decision. That is why judicial appointments are so important. The Democrats have done a much better job of nominating liberals than the Republicans have done in choosing conservatives. Remember that HW Bush stuck us with Souter.

If you accept what these guys say as "authority", I guess we can assume that you accept everything Bush says in the same vein. You surely didn't expect "those that argued for the plaintiffs" to say otherwise, did you?

Well of course those who participated in representing Brown would say that the Chief Justice is incorrect. What else could be expected? Those people were/are advocates for a particular viewpoint and are not interpreters of the U.S. Constitution as is Justice Roberts. If we accept the arguments of these guys as fact, we should, I suppose, accept Bush's interpretation of the necessity of the war effort. Advocates are not reporters. They are spinning from one direction. It is their job to spin one side of the debate. It is our job to realize this and not accept spin as necessarily being the truth. I would think that Justice Roberts is a little more of an unbiased source in this than are these aged civil rights lawyers or the NYT.

Of course you aren't going to "engage" me, Heresay. I know and you should know that "the law" will not cure anything. I would submit that some of these ridiculous interpretations by federal courts have led many to lose respect for the "tradition of law". Call my reply "sanctimonius" if you must. However, history proves that it is fact. I may not like it and you may not like it. Nevertheless, reality is that everyone is not equal- economically or intellectually. By the way, before you infer that I am saying otherwise, it has nothing to do with race. I am talking about, for lack of a better phrase, haves and have nots. For whatever reason, God does not allow all of us to be born with equal social, financial, physical, and intellectual capabilites and opportunities. It would be preposterous for anyone to believe that a court of human beings can do so. If you truly believe equality can be achieved, tell us how you will accomplish it without stealing equal opportunity from others. It should not be the "tradition of law" to take away an opportunity from a more qualified individual to provide that opportunity to a lesser qualified individual. Don't attack the bearer of the message. If you can, attack the message. However, remember that this is the "real world".