Orville Moody's Friday News and Views

I will show my age a bit on this one, but today's honoree is golfer Orville Moody. I was saddened to read today in Sports Illustrated that Moody passed away last week after a bout with cancer. Moody is one of the first golfers I can remember on the old PGA Senior Tour that I followed as a child. Back in the day of Chi Chi Rodriguez, I watched nearly every Senior Tour event ESPN would show (which was all of them) and Moody was one of the names that always popped towards the top of leader board. Moody was the 1969 PGA Championship winner, but may be best known for being the first popular golfer to actually break out the long putter on the Senior Tour. Moody discovered the putter and his game took off, and soon everyone wondered if the long putter would take over golf. That hasnt happened, but the idea that former conventions of the game didnt have to be continued helped breed innovations such as the hybrid golf club and has made golf the technology race it is today. I probably havent thought of Moody's name in ten years, but I was genuinely saddened at seeing that a name of my youth had passed. To the news.... (1) Tonight I had the chance to talk to the father of the quarterback that everyone has their eye on, Morgan Newton from Indiana. He told me that Newton will be making his choice next Tuesday at 10:30 AM (which we will cover here) and that Morgan will join me on SportsNight the night before at 6:30 on 93.9 The Ticket. Newton's dad had a couple of quotes for me I found interesting. He said that Newton's list included Clemson, Indiana and Purdue, but it seemed clear that the leaders at this time were Florida and Kentucky. About the Cats he said, "The fan attention from them has been amazing. That is where the excitement is obviously. He mentioned Morgan's goals like this: "He wants to win a national championship and try and win multiple SEC Championships. So he wants to go to a program with high aspirations." He had this to say about Kentucky: "They are just real impressive. With Randy Sanders, you got a coach who coached Peyton Manning....what else do you need to say? And then Joker played wide receiver and he sure knows what he is doing. Look at the statistics and you see that Kentucky and Florida are at the top of the SEC in offense. There is a reason for that." When I asked about the spread system at Florida versus the system at Kentucky: "Yeah Kentucky has that pro-style system, which is good for the next level. I mean they put Woodson in the NFL and Lorenzen is there too, so they know how to prepare guys." Overall, his father seemed very high on Kentucky. Most scuttlebutt is that UK is the leader, but we will know for sure on Tuesday....and we will try to get the best hint we can Monday night on the show. (2) On the football side of things, not a ton of news from UK practice except that Coach Brooks acknowledged that the Freshman wide receiver that is standing out the most right now is Matt Roark, who continues to impress. Privately the coaches are concerned about the WR position, especially with the small injuries to some of the backup guys. The goal is to get four or five that the team can have confidence in....it looks like Roark will likely be one of those. (3): A little basketball now as the players are close to all being back on campus. As I stated earlier today, the news is positive on the Liggins and Galloway front. I spoke with a guy who has played a bit with the team over the past month or so who said this about Kevin Galloway: I dont think he is a point guard, but he is good. He can get to the basket and has a great first step. He isnt the best passer and I think you want him on the wing....but he will surprise some people this year. Dont sleep on Galloway. (4): ESPN has interviewed UK recruit Jeremiah Davis for an "Outside the Lines" story they are doing on guys who get offers early on in their basketball careers. The interview focuses on UK's early offer to Davis and the other schools who have started the attention on him. Story comes out right before the college basketball season. So there you go....more to come all day.