In Kentucky, the Derby is an epoch by which we mark the passage of time.
So, I thought this morning was the perfect moment to unveil The Kentucky 25, my list of the 25 most intriguing sports figures in Kentucky in the next year.
25. Randolph Morris, Ramel Bradley and Joe Crawford. Along with the departed Rajon Rondo, the three UK hoopsters formed the No. 1 recruiting class in the country two years ago.
But after two years filled with selfish play, attempts to leave school and way more losing (in the second year) than Kentucky is accustomed to, many are declaring this group a flop. In 2006-07, can the remaining trio reverse that?
24. Rajon Rondo. So can a point guard -- even one with the abundant athletic gifts of Rondo -- make it in the NBA if he can't shoot a lick?
23. Brigid DeVries. After years of building rancor between public and private schools over high school sports, 2005 yielded a bitter fight that saw the overwhelming majority of public schools essentially vote to throw the private schools out of the Kentucky playoffs.
Fortunately for those who can see the big picture, the state board of education keeps ordering the two sides to compromise. That keeps the onus to find the solution on DeVries, the first female commissioner of the Kentucky High School Athletics Association.
22. Micah Johnson. The lavishly wooed linebacker from Fort Campbell turned down a Who's Who of football powers -- Georgia, Notre Dame -- to cast his lot with Kentucky. Is he the foundational player who can lift UK out of the abyss of perpetual football despair?
21. Michael Waltrip. In 2007, Waltrip will be both a team owner and a driver for Toyota as the Japanese car company moves into Nextel Cup. That means the Owensboro native will play a key role in what will be the most-watched sports sociological experiment of the year.
20. Darius Miller and Scotty Hopson. The drought in Kentucky when it comes to producing top-level high school hoops talent has reached epic proportions.
Mason County's Miller (6-foo) and University Heights' Hopson (6-5) are a pair of bouncy wing men from the Class of 2008 who at last give our state some hoops hope.
19. Rafael Bejarano. Only 23, the Peruvian jockey has already established himself as the heir apparent to the retired Pat Day as "The Man" among Kentucky-based jockeys. But will the gifted Bejarano maintain his base here or be lured away by the bright lights of New York (or Southern California)?
18. Curtis Pulley and Andre Woodson. Pulley has leadership qualities but can't pass. Woodson is a gifted passer whose presence in the pocket and the huddle is questioned. Can one of two flawed Kentucky quarterbacks prove effective enough to allow the embattled Rich Brooks to save his job?
17. Jeremy Sowers. The left-hander from Louisville has been a first-round draft pick of both the Reds (he went to Vanderbilt instead) and Indians (signed). The recent Baseball America cover boy is at Class AAA Buffalo now and is considered one of the top pitching prospects in pro baseball. So, how soon does he reach The Show?
16. Tim Couch. The nation may consider the No. 1 overall pick in the 1999 NFL Draft a flop, but the former UK star remains a folk hero in Kentucky. This year, we may find out for good if Couch's surgically repaired throwing arm can ever get him back into the NFL.
15. Tom Jurich. Having aced every one of his major coaching hires, the U of L athletics director also has Louisville in the Big East (and the BCS) and, apparently, soon to be playing in a new basketball arena. So how do you top all that?
14. Whoever will replace Tom Meeker. Bringing some version of casino gambling to Kentucky racetracks remains a dominant economic goal of the commonwealth's racing interests.
Meeker, the departing Churchill Downs Inc. CEO, started making noises about moving Churchill's corporate offices out of Kentucky if the state legislature doesn't give in to the horse tracks. Whoever replaces Meeker inherits a very hot potato.
13. Chris Lofton. Every time the ex-Kentucky schoolboy legend drains a three-pointer at Tennessee, a state (ours) eats its heart out over the one it let get away.
12. Austin Kearns. The 2006 season began being described as "make-or-break" in Cincinnati for the Lexington product. So far, it's been all "make" for the Reds' right fielder (.321, 5 HRs, 21 RBI through Friday).
11. Gary Ransdell and Wood Selig. The Western Kentucky University president and athletics director are big-picture guys who have presided over an impressive upgrade in WKU's athletics facilities.
Next up is a renovation and expansion of the school's football stadium -- which sets the stage for WKU going I-A in football?
10. Mickie DeMoss. Having beaten Tennessee and won an NCAA Tournament game in her third year at Kentucky, can the coach lift her women's hoops rebuilding effort into the Baylor/Maryland stratosphere?
9. Rich Brooks. Say this for Brooks: He doesn't have a glass jaw, having managed to keep his job as UK football coach in spite of a 9-25 record. Now, given a favorable schedule, can the Kentucky coach at last win some games?
8. Brian Brohm and Michael Bush. With running back Bush a senior-to-be and quarterback Brohm a (draft-eligible) junior-to-be, the two former Louisville high school legends are in their final year together at the University of Louisville.
Will the homeboys take the Cards to the BCS promised land in 2006? And will the city of Louisville ever turn out two such prospects at the same time again?
7. Mitch Barnhart. After a rugged start as UK athletics director (see football decisions), the success of Barnhart coaching hires in baseball, women's basketball and volleyball has given the AD some forward momentum.
Yet a disgruntled UK fan base doesn't seem inclined to give Barnhart much credit until it sees both improvement in football and a bounce-back in men's basketball.
6. Jess Jackson. The billionaire California winemaker/new Bluegrass horseman has shaken the Kentucky thoroughbred industry to its core with a lawsuit accusing some industry leaders of unethical double-dealing in the sale of horses.
5. Bobby Petrino. With the pressure on West Virginia this coming season, can Petrino lead Louisville to the Big East title and BCS berth the Cards were supposed to win a year ago?
And, with stars Michael Bush and Brian Brohm both NFL Draft eligible after this year, will next-post-season be the time Petrino finally gives in to his wandering job eye? (My guess is yes).
4. Jerry Carroll. The Northern Kentucky real-estate mogul and former Turfway Park owner opened a state-of-the-art auto racing track in 2000 with the intention of gaining a race in NASCAR's big leagues.
By 2005, when Kentucky Speedway failed to gain a spot on the Nextel Cup schedule in spite of having drawn huge crowds to Busch and truck series events for years, Carroll filed an anti-trust suit against NASCAR seeking a Cup date. How that plays out is one of the most significant sports stories in the history of our state.
3. Rick Pitino. Other than the drive to the 2005 Final Four, Ricky P.'s five years at Louisville have yielded two NIT berths, an NCAA first-round loss to Xavier and a second-round loss to Butler. If the Cardinals don't make a deep NCAA run in 2007, could King Rick actually hear grumbling begin in the Derby City?
2. Jim Host. The former Lexington marketing/media mogul is now point man for two sports-related projects -- the drive to build a new basketball arena in Louisville and organizing the World Equestrian Games in Lexington (which will be here in 2010) -- each with potential economic impact in the hundreds of millions.
1. Tubby Smith. He's won 77.2 percent of his games at Kentucky, claimed a national title and played in four Elite Eights in nine years.
Yet a sizable -- and loud -- segment of the Kentucky fan base has declared Smith not up to UK's regal standards. In 2007, we'll see if Smith 1.) still has the fire in his belly to manage the beast that is UK basketball; and 2.) can again shut up his critics.
