KSR Hall Of Fame Inductee - Bomani Jones

Please play this song whilst you read about our favorite KSR Blogger with the last name of Jones…

As we continue to honor our innagural KSR Hall of Fame class, today we celebrate the first human inducted, one Bomani Jones.  Bomani was introduced to the KSR masses on February 7th, 2006, when Matt linked a story he wrote about a hatred of Duke.  Obviously, he was immediatly a star with KSR.  He has since been mentioned in 127 total posts, and become a consistent live blog member.  First, Will Lentz will honor Bomani is his own special way, but keep a special eye out for the statement Bomani sent me about his Hall of Fame Induction, which you can read in bold at the bottom of the post.

Will Lentz
The legend of the Bomani-KSR connection is something like this. Some time, a long time ago, Bomani Jones was privy to hear Matt Jones speak. Bomani said ‘Now, there’s a country boy who’s unashamed of who he is.’  The rest is history.

But what has Bomani done to earn himself a spot in the first KSR hall of fame class?  While some of you may point solely to the moniker he has forever attached to ‘Ricky Three Stacks,’ in reality, Bomani offers us so much more.  You see, we here at Kentucky Sports Radio fully embrace the fact that we are fans pretending to be journalists.  At the end of the day, we can only offer you our opinions and spins on the facts of the day from a perspective inside the Kentucky camp.  What Bomani offers us is a rational analysis of major happenings in sports from the perspective of an outsider.  He isn’t a Kentucky nor a rivals fan, per se, but a sports fan with a smart opinion (something that is all too rare these days.)

Bomani takes a common sense approach to news and makes it smart. Whether it’s questions about why everyone is making a big deal about Eric Bledsoe or the crazy that was Xavier Henry’s dad, he takes what we’re all feeling and puts it out there for everyone to hear.  Generally in a much better way than any of us could communicate.

For his brutally honest common sense approach to news, for his biting humor, for his outside the program point of view, and because he’s our only black friend, we give you KSR Hall of Fame Inductee – Bomani Jones.

Now, while it is difficult for a Door or Jean Shorts to make a statement, Bomani Jones was nice enough to write a little something special for his induction into the KSR Hall of Fame.  So, I give you the acceptance speech of our good friend and guide, Bomani Jones:

Of course, my immediate reaction to this fancy honor on this decidedly fancy site is to say something snarky.  However, if you don’t mind, I’d like to be halfway serious for a moment.

Three years ago, I was out of a job and had no idea what I was going to do going forward. I wound up teaching a class to pay the bills and started hosting a Saturday radio show in Raleigh, which led me down the path that got me to wherever this is I am now. I probably never would have seriously considered a career in radio if it weren’t for the weekly appearances I made on the radio with Matt, his encouragement and the feedback I received from his listeners, who are largely the readers of KSR. In spite of whatever differences in appearances and opinions we may have, we were able to go back and forth and have a great time. That you good folks in Kentucky and beyond could appreciate me and what I do really showed me a lot and, honestly, changed the course of my life and career.

On top of that, when I was out of work, there was only one place that invited me to write, and that was Kentucky Sports Radio. When I needed a place to help keep my name out there while I figured things out, you guys were here. When I was covering the John Wall recruitment, my information, insights and opinions became noteworthy because you all took the time to hear what I had to say. Not sure if you could tell, but those were big things to me and for me.  At my last job, our highest Internet traffic came when Matt was a guest and you guys tuned in to listen.

So, for those things, I thank my very good friend Matt and everyone else with all the sincerity I can muster. The Hall of Fame, while pretty groovy, is only half as cool and momentous as everything else in the four years since we met.

-Bomani Jones