Kenny Rogers' Tuesday News and Views

"He said son I made my life out of readin people's faces and knowing what their cards were by the way they held their eyes so if you dont mind me sayin I can see your out of aces for a taste of your whiskey I'll give you some advice" Young, old, man, woman, Republican or Democrat, I bet you know what song those words make up. It is of course "The Gambler" and today is the birthday of the man with the legendary white beard, Kenny Rogers. Aww yes, Kenny Rogers. It is hard for people to accept this today, but there was a time in this country when having silver hair, a beard, a tight polyester suit and a slightly above-average voice could take you to superstardom.....and oh yes for Kenny it did. Through famous dittys such as "Lady" and "Coward of the County", Kenny became an icon and one of those handful of singers that everyone of all ages equally could tolerate. He sang duets with Dolly Parton and his "Islands in the Stream" still to this day makes sorority girls point at each other and sing off-key as loudly as possible. But regardless of his other accomplishments, Kenny will always be known primarily for "The Gambler", an ode to the supposed wisdom of a drifter and his drunken ramblings. While not only teaching us the meaning of life (there are times to hold them and times to fold them), "The Gambler" is catchy and is known to make gruff men tear up and wax poetic. The end of August is a great time for birthdays....heck, four members of Kentucky Sports Radio will have their birthdays celebrated in a ten day period at the end of this month (Hubby, Mosley, Tomlin and I for the record), but none shines quite as brightly as Kenny Rogers. For no matter where you are in America, if you say "Know when to walk away", someone will answer back "know when to run"....and that my friend is the power of Kenny Rogers. To the news.... (1) More mysterious than a wondering Waldo is the continued "will he or wont he" saga of the visits of one Ralph Sampson III. First, it was reported on Rivals.com that Sampson was to visit UK two weeks ago, a fact that seemed possible when one Kentucky Sports Radio spy (who has since been relieved of his duties and sent back to Jonathan Webb's music studio) claimed to have seen him on campus. But alas, no visit. Then Jerry Meyer of Rivals.com let us all know last week that he would be visiting last weekend.....a fact that could never be confirmed by us after the weekend had passed. And now today we find out why as Sampson did NOT visit this weekend. Scout.com's Dave Telep reports today that Sampson is actually visiting THIS weekend, likely in order to attend the Matt Jones birthday festivities that are sure to break out all over Lexington. Because this is the third weekend that Sampson has been said to be coming, it is hard to get too excited about this news.....but I get the feeling that third time will be the charm and Sampson will finally get to see the UK campus. (2) Someone who may or may not make the trip to Lexington is Sylvan Landesburg, a wing player who Kentucky is looking at, likely as a backup option to Darius Miller. Scout.com also reports today that Landesburg is scheduling his last few visits and has yet to decide whether he will take one to Lexington. Landesburg says UK only began re-recruiting him recently (Tubby had originally recruited him) and that he is still deciding whether he will make the trip to Lexington. Landesburg is a perfect example of the tight rope that comes with recruiting as the Cats want to keep him interested, but are likely looking at him as a backup option. Keeping a backup as someone that doesnt believe they are a backup is one of the many difficulties that must be overcome by those trying to win at this recruiting game. (3) If you follow Rob's Mid-Afternoon Football Fixes (and you should), then you likely know that Michael Hartline is the favorite for the backup quarterback role for UK this year. But Rob spoke at length on the new Kentucky Sports Radio Show (6-8 pm) yesterday about how Will Fidler may have dropped to fourth string behind freshman QB Lentz. Fidler's progress is a huge disappointment to many that have followed the young man and the reports coming from practice continue to get worse. IT could be do or die time for Fidler's future at UK and the next few weeks will tell the tale. (4) Randolph Morris and Marquis Estill both get alcohol related driving charges in Lexington in the last few days. It looks as if that if you were a big man at Kentucky, a bit slow and at times unmotivated, things are not going your way. Someone please take Rob Lock's keys from him right now. We will have more as the day goes on tomorrow.....keep checking in. Rob will have his football fix, more talk about all things UK and a big show tomorrow night. Let us hear from you if you have any suggestions, comments or questions or anything else.... [email protected]