Family Ties Thursday News and Views

Quick.....When I say "Family Ties", what do you think of? Does the young, motivated Reagan Conservatism of Michael J Fox come to mind, complete with the portrait of Richard Nixon hanging on his wall? What about the beauty of a young Justine Batemen, giving all young men of my age group their first glimpse of a saucy young lass that they can aspire to be with. Or maybe you think of mildly disgusting Tina Yothers and her future as a poster girl for "People" Magazine's Annual "Child Stars in Trouble" issue. Yes these were often the focal points of the Family Ties and they are the people we have the fondest memories of after 20 years have passed (not counting Skippy of course). But what about the parents.....Michael Gross and Meridith "Dont Call me Baxter" Birney? Are we just to dismiss them as simply bit characters to be ignored? Well today both are turning 60 years old....which means that the two parental authorites on this classic show were born on the EXACT SAME DAY in 1947. Doesnt that mean something? Well maybe not, but with the after-Family Times life of Birney as a Lifetime movie staple and Gross as an ignored former hippie, we must remember the good times. Sha lalala To the news..... (1) Today was the day that we learned about visits to the Big Blue Nation by the Clarks not named Dick. Rotnei Clarke, the 2008 sharp shooter that is on everyone's mind now is coming to Kentucky next weekend for an unofficial visit in which Billy Clyde will continue to try and put on the Kentucky full court press. Getting Clarke on board early could end up being a god send for the other big target from the area, Willie Warren. Just this week, Clarke and Warren again expressed their hope to play with each other in college and Kentucky continues to be one of the only schools in America that both are interested in and where both could play. (2) Apparently the Cats are also to get a visit from 2007 big man Andre Clark who is set to come next weekend as well. Clark is considering Oklahoma, Colorado, Indiana and UK and expressed in a recent Rivals.com interview that he wondered if UK was even interested due to their lackluster pursuit of him. If the stories of his visit are correct, that has not stepped up and UK is firmly in the picture. (3) As I spoke about today on the show, the most important recruit of 2008 in my view, Darius Miller continues to look good for UK. MY connection in Mason County told me today that Darius wants to make a decision by late in the summer and that at this point, Kentucky is the prohibitive favorite. Miller is the top priority for the UK staff and locking up the top talent in state can be accomplished going forward by pulling Miller into the flock. We will have Darius on the show next week (for the first time incidently) and we hope to explore these issues with him then. (4) Reggie Theus is the best NBA coach to ever come off of Saturday morning NBC television shows. "HangTime" will never be the same. Now Bob Golic needs an NFL job and "Saved by the Bell: The College Years" will get the respect it so deserves. Rich Brooks is on the show today at 3:20....you gotta tune in. More later today, including our list of the "Senior Superlatives" for UK in the last 25 years....