OH Napier's Friday News and Views

Today is quite a day for birthdays. Luminaries ranging from Picasso to Ciara (with a midway stopping point of “Dont Ask Her On a Straight Tequila Night” John Anderson) all either spend, or would spend, today blowing out candles. Bobby Knight is somewhere right now throwing a chair in celebration of the day his expletives were shouted onto the world. In my own life, T.Walters, one of the very early strong blog commenters and official high school friend of Matt Jones, turns 31, as does KSR girl Tracy L. But maybe the most important birthday comes from the hills of Breathitt County, where possibly the first Kentucky Sports Radio superstar, OH Napier, celebrates his big birthday day. For people who come up to me and tell me they have followed the blog for a long time, I usually ask about OH….for if you know OH, you know Kentucky Sports Radio. OH may have been our first discovery, sitting in his home in Breathitt County, strumming out chords about how “Tubby Cant Coach”, OH was a joy that never ended. We followed him through his rise to fame, his discovery by Deadspin, his production of the KSR theme song (which included the immortal chorus “Turn On Your Radio….Its Time for Kentucky Sports Radio) and his run for Breathitt County Judge Executive, a race in which he created a theme song for he and his friend Lacy Miller that I still sing daily (2, 4, 6. 8. who do we appreciate….O-H, O-H and Lacy Miller). In a word OH was scrumtrilescent. We havent heard much from OH these days, but when I look back at the more innocent days of the site, I think about 1570, Charlie Creech, Lenny Christ, Carlos Toomer’s poetry and our man OH. With today his birthday, here is hoping he is doing well and that Breathitt County appreciates its local treasure.

To the news……

(1): With most reports suggesting that today is the day Russell Byrd decides, all sure is quiet on the Western Front. For a big recruit making a decision, there has been almost no talk about what he will do. All tend to agree that the sharp shooter from Indiana is down to Michigan State and Kentucky, although there has been very little talk from Byrd since his trip to Spartan Midnight Madness on Friday. There is no set time for the announcement, and for all we know, it may not come….but one of the top targets in Billy Clyde’s mind in the 2010 class could pull the trigger today. That should be enough to keep your attention throughout the morning and afternoon.

(2): Sort of a bizarre night in recruiting as Terrence Boyd continued his Facebook announcements tonight by telling the world that he was still in contact with Kentucky and that Coach Cyprien had told him “wat’s up” tonight in a conversation. As we have talked about on here before, it seems nearly impossible that Boyd would get qualified in time to play next year for any Division I school, but he is good friends with Daniel Orton and UK has in the past had interest in him. Boyd seems to really be taking to task comments made about him on the internet by various fans and he mentions on his Facebook site comments about these “haters.” Boyd’s whole situation is a bit hard to understand, but if you believe him, UK is still in contact, so it is still worth following.

(3): It was SEC Basketball Media Day today and the Cats took their turn at the podium. No real news to report from the event. Billy Clyde essentially said the same things that he communicated during his media sessions here in Lexington this year. Patrick Patterson met the SEC press and it is clear that he may be the biggest star in the conference this year. All reporters talk about his maturity and what a great interview he has become. Only two real revelations at the event…..one, he has a new tattoo that he got this year, his first and he plans on being SEC player of the year. No word if the two are related.

(4): It continues to be bizarre to me that there is so little talk about the game against Florida this weekend. UK announced that Justin Jeffries will be out for the game and the various people injured on defense (Micah, Lumpkin, Jones, etc) will all attempt to play, but their action may be limited. Myron Pryor was said to be out by Coach Rick Petri on our show on Wednesday night, and there is no word that this has changed at this point. No one will say this (and they shouldnt), but it may be best if the guys get healthy this week and get ready to play the “game few will see” next week in Starkville, a bowl-eligibility game that the Cats truly need to win.

We will have more all day….we will learn our enemy from the Mosley, find out about news about the Gators and meet the newest UK celebrity fan. All this, and an announcement potentially from Russell Byrd at some point. So stay tuned……….