Daily News blog moving

As many of you know by now, I’ll be leaving the Daily News and will no longer be the Western Kentucky beat writer.

Chad Bishop, the former Daily News prep editor, will be taking the beat over as I move on to a new phase of my career.

Chad will be running a daily sports blog, similar to what I’ve done here. He’ll also be available on Twitter.

Follow Chad on Twitter at: @MrChadBishop

To get to Chad’s WKU blog, click HERE

Again, I’d like to thank everyone that’s been a part of this blog and anyone that’s ever read it. It’s been far more successful than I ever imagined it would be.

Thanks so much again, and we’ll see you in the Big Ten.

Sincerely,

Nick Baumgardner

Ex-WKU star Jim McDaniels calls for end to lockout, more NBA player protection

Former Western Kentucky basketball star Jim McDaniels is unhappy with the current NBA lockout situation, and says that players need to be more protected.

McDaniels – through his attorney, Mike Breen – recently sent a letter to NBA Commissioner David Stern and to NBA Players Association Excecutive Director Billy Hunter calling for an end to the lockout, and a resumption of labor discussions.

“I’ve been watching the lockout and the tactics used by the NBA, and I’m very concerned,” McDaniels said in a statement.”When I played in the league in the 1970s players were frequently abused and taken advantage of. We have to be careful to prevent that from happening again. I don’t want what happened to me to happen to others.”

More on the letter, per a release from Breen and McDaniels:

In the letter Mr. McDaniels tells how he had a six year guaranteed contract with the Seattle Sonics, but was fired by coach Bill Russell without reason. He also notes that young players are vulnerable to manipulation and abuse, and that many players had their careers ended prematurely by poor management.

“The hard cap proposal could leave many players in the same place I was when I played in the league,” McDaniels said. “Lots of players stand to lose out. We have to make sure that players are protected. The owners and the league need to end the lockout, and come to the table with realistic proposals.”

Tickets still available for Kentucky-Western Kentucky season opener in Nashville

Western Kentucky senior associate athletic director Todd Stewart told the Daily News on Wednesday that plenty of tickets for WKU’s season opener against Kentucky on Sept. 1 at LP Field in Nashville are still available.

In fact, Stewart said that there are more than plenty – as neither WKU, nor UK, has met early expectations for sales numbers at this point.

“The ticket sales aren’t meeting expectations,” Stewart said. “We had high expectations about the excitement of the game, got a lot of positive feedback when the contract was signed and featured a game in Nashville and we feel that a lot of people are excited with our program. There’s a freshness there with coach (Willie) Taggart and the success of Bobby Rainey.

“There’s not a problem with awareness or excitement, but it’s not translating into ticket sales. Some of the feedback we’ve gotten in our ticket office is that all the good seats were taken, or that there aren’t any good seats available – and that’s not the case. If everyone that has a ticket right now, showed up on Sept. 1 – 75 percent of the stadium would be empty.”

Stewart did not the divulge the actual number of tickets presently sold, and said that the university still has high hopes for the overall attendance in Nashville, as the game is some two weeks away.

“Historically we’ve moved a lot of tickets during the week before a game, so there’s time,” Stewart said. “But we want people to know that there are a lot of great tickets and a lot of great seats available for this game.

“This is a unique opportunity and we need to compete in that game – but we also need a great showing from our fans. It’s a great opportunity to showcase our university in front of a national audience. We know that the game being on a Thursday isn’t helpful, but we had no choice there. We know the economy’s not good and we know that we haven’t had a lot of success – we know we need to win more games. … But this is a great opportunity.”

The game will kick off at 8:15 p.m. on Sept. 1 from LP Field in Nashville, and the first 4,000 WKU students attending get in free with a valid ID.

Ticket prices range from $28-$63, and can be purchased through WKU by phone at 1-800-5-BIGRED, or at wkusports.com.

WKU-Louisville hoops to air on ESPN2 Dec. 23

Release per WKU:

The BIG EAST Conference announced Wednesday that the December 23 men’s basketball showdown between WKU and Louisville at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, will be televised live on ESPN2 at 6:00 PM (CT).

The game, WKU’s final non-conference game of the 2011-12 season, will be the Hilltoppers’ first visit to the 22,000-seat KFC Yum! Center in downtown Louisville, which opened prior to the 2010-11 season. It also marks the fourth and final game in a four-year playing agreement between the Hilltoppers and Louisville, which began with WKU’s victory over the third-ranked Cardinals on November 30, 2008 in Nashville, Tenn. Louisville won both games the last two seasons at Freedom Hall in Louisville in 2009 and in Bowling Green one year ago.

A new four-year series begins next season with a game at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. WKU will host the Cardinals in E.A. Diddle Arena during the 2014-15 season.

WKU leads the all-time series between the two schools, 39-35.

More information on game times and television broadcasts for WKU’s 2011-12 season will be released in the coming weeks.

WKU Adds Exhibition Game to Schedule: The Hilltoppers will host Xavier (La.) in an exhibition game for the third-straight season on Saturday, November 5. WKU defeated the Gold Rush 90-37 in 2009 and 84-69 prior to the 2010-11 campaign.

NCAA contacts WKU president’s office to speak with Jake Morton

Western Kentucky athletic director Ross Bjork issued a statement to the Daily News this morning confirming that the NCAA has contacted WKU to express a desire to speak with men’s basketball assistant coach Jake Morton about an investigation into Miami’s athletic department.

The statement, from Bjork:

“Per protocol, the NCAA contacted the President’s office regarding their investigation of the University of Miami and their desire to speak with Jake Morton, who was a member of the Miami basketball staff during the timeframe of the alleged allegations. Jake will cooperate fully.”

WKU also said this morning that the NCAA has not requested to speak with Bjork himself on the matter.

Bjork served as an associate athletic director at Miami from 2003-05 – the allegations laid down by former Miami booster Nevin Shapiro in Tuesday’s Yahoo! Sports report were said to have taken place from 2002-2010.

Bjork was not said to have anything to do with the alleged allegations in the Yahoo! report, and was at UCLA during the time of Morton’s alleged involvement in the situation.

WKU hoops assistant Jake Morton mentioned in Yahoo! report on Miami violations

The story outlines a Yahoo! Sports investigation on rogue Miami booster Nevin Shapiro – who is currently in prison for his role in a Ponzi Scheme.

WKU athletics director Ross Bjork responded to a request for comment on the matter today by the Daily News with a statement.

“We are aware of the allegation related to Jake Morton, and he denies any wrong doing,” Bjork said. “Jake came to us highly recommended, Ken McDonald and I both did our homework during the interview process,  and Jake passed our background checks before we hired him.

“These allegations occurred while Jake was a member of the University of Miami basketball coaching staff.  We will cooperate completely and accordingly with the NCAA and the University of Miami during their investigations.”

 

Here is the excerpt mentioning Morton – a former Miami assistant who was hired by WKU coach Ken McDonald this offseason.

Shapiro said he violated NCAA rules with the knowledge or direct participation of at least six coaches – Clint Hurtt, Jeff Stoutland and Aubrey Hill on the football staff, and Frank Haith, Jake Morton and Jorge Fernandez on the basketball staff. Multiple sources told Yahoo! Sports Shapiro also violated NCAA rules with football assistant Joe Pannunzio, although the booster refused to answer any questions about that relationship. Shapiro also named assistant football equipment manager Sean Allen as someone who engaged in rulebreaking, and equipment managers Ralph Nogueras and Joey Coreyas witnesses to some of his impropriety.

Among the specific incidents, Shapiro or other sources say Hurtt, Hill, Stoutland, Pannunzio and Allen all delivered top-tier recruits to Shapiro’s home or luxury suite so the booster could make recruiting pitches to them. Among the players who were ushered to Shapiro while they were still in high school: Eventual Miami commitments Ray-Ray Armstrong, Dyron Dye and Olivier Vernon (prompted by Hurtt); eventual Florida commitments Andre Debose (Hurtt) and Matt Patchan (prompted by Stoutland and Pannunzio); eventual Georgia commitment Orson Charles (Pannunzio); and eventual Central Florida commitment Jeffrey Godfrey (Allen).

The University of Alabama (Pannunzio and Soutland), University of Florida (Hill) and Louisville University (Hurtt) all declined to make the coaches available for interviews. Allen declined comment, calling all of Shapiro’s claims “egregious and false.”

But Shapiro insists he came in contact with multiple recruits improperly during their official or unofficial visits going all the way back to 2002.

“Hell yeah, I recruited a lot of kids for Miami,” Shapiro said. “With access to the clubs, access to the strip joints. My house. My boat. We’re talking about high school football players. Not anybody can just get into the clubs or strip joints. Who is going to pay for it and make it happen? That was me.”

The booster said his role went one step farther with the basketball program, when he paid $10,000 to help secure the commitment of recruit DeQuan Jones. Shapiro said the transaction was set up by assistant coach Jake Morton in 2007 who acted as the conduit for the funds, and was later acknowledged by head coach Frank Haith in a one-on-one conversation.

Haith denied Shapiro’s claims through a University of Missouri spokesman. Morton, who is now at Western Kentucky, didn’t return a call seeking comment.

Shapiro also entertained then-prominent AAU basketball coach Moe Hicks in October of 2008, with a nightclub visit that was attended by both Morton and Fernandez.

For the full Yahoo! report – click the link HERE:

WKU football practice notes

Western Kentucky hit the practice field early this morning for a two-a-day workout, a few notes.

Sophomore running back Antonio Andrews is no longer just a running back.

The coaching staff has lined him up at running back, wide receiver, quarterback, punt returner and kick returner this season in a role he simply described as a ‘hybrid.’

Andrews says that in a perfect world, he’d have just one position so he could learn to ‘perfect’ it, but he’s excited about having a chance to be on the field in a variety of roles this season.

“They’re just trying to get me on the field,” Andrews said. “They just want the ball in my hand more and want to allow me to make plays. I’m just trying to do whatever I can to help the team get some ‘w’s’ as a whole.”

WKU coach Willie Taggart said that the idea came to him to use Andrews in multiple spots last season, when he got confused as to whether it was Andrews or senior running back Bobby Rainey in the backfield at a given time.

“A few times last year when he got into the game at running back I thought it was Bobby back there,” he said. “Then I’d look over and see Bobby standing next to me – and that’s when I figured out that (Andrews) has something in him, he’s special.

“And he doesn’t do us any good on the sidelines.”

Taggart said he felt that Andrews could be used in a similar manner to how Kentucky used Randall Cobb.

Andrews says he’s aware of how players like Cobb and others took the hybrid role and ran with it. But he was quick to point out that he’s not Randall Cobb or anyone else – he’s Antonio Andrews.

And he intends on making that known.

“They’re good examples,” he said. “I’m just trying to do it better.”

– Taggart said Tuesday that WKU president Gary Ransdell made a visit to practice recently and followed the example originally set by Patrick Reynolds earlier this month.

Shortly after fall camp began, Reynolds – a member of the 2002 1-AA national title team – spoke to the team following a workout, and said that he would be leaving his championship ring at WKU until the Hilltoppers won a Sun Belt title.

Reynolds urged other former players to do the same, and Taggart – an assistant on that team – followed suit.

And now, Taggart says, so has Ransdell.

“That was huge, I was shocked, but I loved it,” Taggart said. “There are a lot of people counting on us and that want this football team to do well and expect great things from us. And they’re starting to understand that – the president comes and gives up his ring and says he wants his ring back, and quick.

“That means it’s time to get to work.”

Taggart also said that legendary coach Jimmy Feix made a visit to practice Sunday, a moment that was special for all involved.

“We just wanted him to tell the guys what WKU is all about and about the tradition,” he said. “He told them he was proud of them, that he’d be following them and that winning isn’t new around here.

“He’s the definition of blue-collar – that’s what he was. It was good for our team to see that, and it was great. Our guys hear about coach Feix, but for a lot of guys it was their first time to see him. He was going to speak to the team last year, but got sick. So it was good for them to meet him and see the guy that the field’s named after.”

Taggart also said that the team would begin introducing Kentucky packages this week.

Nothing too complex, but a few looks here and there to begin preparation for the season opener on Sept. 1.

“We’ll just have a few periods this week to introduce UK’s offense, defense and special teams to them,” Taggart said. “Just to put it into their heads a little.”

HBO documentary to feature WKU’s Derrick Gordon

Release per HBO:

High school basketball is the last pure platform of the sport.  Where the NBA and even college ball are “just a business,” high school basketball is played for school, community, family, friends and love of the game.

Directed by Marc Levin (the 1998 Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner “Slam”), PRAYER FOR A PERFECT SEASON is a gripping account of the 2010-11 boys’ basketball season at St. Patrick’s High School, located in a hardscrabble neighborhood of Elizabeth, NJ.

This feature-length documentary chronicles the extraordinary effort of coach Kevin Boyle and his players, whose journey ends in a winner-take-all showdown for the mythical national championship with archrival St. Anthony’s of Jersey City, when it debuts TUESDAY, OCT. 25 (9:00-10:30 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO.

PRAYER FOR A PERFECT SEASON captures the intersection of two forces – the soaring media interest in the big game, and the decline of Catholic school programs – while illuminating the real-life issues players and coaches confront during the season.

Coached by Kevin Boyle, the St. Patrick Celtics’ 2010-11 team was loaded with talent and plagued by distractions.  Star player Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (now a freshman at the University of Kentucky) was one of the nation’s top performers and his elite skills had cast him in an unrelenting spotlight since grade school.

When Kidd-Gilchrist was just two and a half years old, his father was murdered, and he also lost his surrogate father at the beginning of his senior year of high school.

Complementing Kidd-Gilchrist, senior shooting guard Derrick Gordon (ticketed for Western Kentucky University) must live with his twin brother’s incarceration for aggravated assault.

PRAYER FOR A PERFECT SEASON follows the roller-coaster ride of a team on the brink of history, at a school on the verge of becoming insolvent, where the journey to the top of the polls is inspiring, but the future is filled with uncertainty.  The quest for the perfect season comes down to the March 9 title game, a prime-time match-up on the campus of Rutgers University before an overflow crowd, as St. Patrick’s (26-0) confronts archnemesis St. Anthony’s (29-0), led by Basketball Hall of Fame coach Bob Hurley.

Marc Levin’s previous HBO credits include “Schmatta:  Rags to Riches to Rags,” the Emmy®-winning “Thug Life in D.C.,” “Protocols of Zion” “Gang War:  Bangin’ in Little Rock” and “Gladiator Days.”

PRAYER FOR A PERFECT SEASON is a Blowback Production in association with Overbrook Productions; directed by Marc Levin; produced by Karl Hollandt, Ben Selkow and R. Binky Brown; editor, James Lester; director of photography, Daniel B. Levin.  For HBO:  executive producers, Shelia Nevins and Rick Bernstein; senior producers, Nancy Abraham and Joe Lavine.

WKU football media day

A few snippets from Western Kentucky’s football media day, which the team held today inside E.A. Diddle Arena.

WKU coach Willie Taggart was joined by offensive coordinator Zach Azzanni, defensive coordinator Lance Guidry as well as senior defensive end Jared Clendenin and senior running back Bobby Rainey.

Taggart, his assistants and both players arrived at the media day news conference wearing their now custom-made blue-collared work shirts – as the team continues to put emphasis on getting back to basics.

In any event, a few comments from today:

WKU coach Willie Taggart:

On his team’s progression to this point:

“Our guys are working hard, they understand how to practice now and that’s fun to watch as a coach. I’m not emotionally hijacked because guys are going the wrong way or don’t know what we’re doing. Our football team now understands how we practice and that’s fun. Guys aren’t sitting around looking clueless either.

“I always say, I hate boring people – and I tell our football team that we can’t be that way. We have to be excited. If you make an interception, get excited. If you catch a pass, get excited. Guys will say, ‘coach, I’ve been there already.’ No, you haven’t. It’s hard to catch a ball, it’s hard to score a touchdown or get a pick – I want my team to enjoy what they’re doing.”

On the importance of WKU’s season-opener vs. Kentucky in Nashville:

“It’s very, very, very important – because it’s the first game. It’s the first one on the schedule and the first game we can play. It’s the beginning of a new season and I want to see what our football team can do.

“I’ve watched them grow, watched the culture change and now I’m excited to go watch our guys respond after starting to finally believe in themselves.”

Taggart on his mission to remind his team of WKU’s past football success, and show them what the school once was, and possibly could be again:

“When I was a player, we didn’t have all this stuff. We worked for everything we got. We didn’t complain, we just worked. We had fun, we enjoyed each other – but at the end of the day, we worked. There are a lot of people counting on us to do well and there are a lot of people that worked really hard to get us to where we are today, they were blue collar – and I’m one of them. And I want our guys to get back to that.

“We brought some old footage back and really showed them what we went through. I showed them an old OVC championship team. And how, you know, today we run onto the field out of a tunnel through the helmet – back then, we ran through a car port. That’s ghetto-fabulous – that was big time. Those guys went crazy when they saw that. And back then, we thought we had something going – we had the smoke, all that, we had fun and we won a lot of ballgames.

“We didn’t worry about any other stuff back then, we just had fun and played ball. And that’s how I want our team to be.

“A lot of guys don’t understand how it is around here. When I took this job I said that I was going to beat (WKU’s football tradition) back into them. There’s a rich tradition here and we have to get back to feeling that way. … We don’t have to settle and I want our team to stop settling and talking about being the new guys on the block or the transition. Get away from excuses and just work. That’s what we used to do around here. We took everything we ever won and got. If we wanted it, we went out and took it. We need to get back to doing that.

“We need to put pride back into this program, because there are a lot of (former players) out there that are waiting to be able to go to work and brag on this team. A lot of people are depending on us.

“Every night after practice during camp I have a former player come speak to the team. The other night we had (former player) Pat Reynolds, who played on the (2002 1-AA National Championship team). He gave a great speech – we were all fired up. And he walked up, took out his championship ring and left it there. He said he was coming back to get that when we win the Sun Belt.

“And he said he’d be getting a lot of other guys to put their rings up to let them know how important it is – I put mine up. But I want that thing back, quick.”

Taggart on his expectations for Bobby Rainey this season – Rainey himself has set a goal for 2,000 rushing yards:

“Bobby looks good. He’s been good. I tell him to shoot for the stars. Our team, we want a Sun Belt championship. You have to set those goals high, and if he doesn’t set that goal high he won’t get it.

“I always tell Bobby that you’re either getting better or you’re getting worse. If he gets less than 1,600 yards, I tell him he’ll have gotten a little bit worse. If he gets 1,600 on the dot – I’ll take it – but still, a little bit worse. He understands that, though, and we talk about that with everything in our program.”

Taggart on how time is running out for his veterans to make a mark:

“No matter how you put it, it’ll hurt them if they leave here having lost their entire career. You’ll think about that and think about everything you could have done. But now, they have an opportunity to lead this program to a winning season and go out as a winner.

“And they have to hold these young guys accountable to make sure that this group goes out a winner. … You could leave here and say you were a part of getting something started again, and they should take pride in that.

“They’re doing a good job of holding guys accountable – and that’s a big difference. They’ve been able to show the young guys the way in how to get things done.”

Taggart on Kawaun Jakes’ development at quarterback:

“Kawaun’s growing up, just like the rest of our football team. I commend him because he’s done a great job of taking criticism. He got a lot of it last year, even though he’d only played one year and was in a new system – he got it bad, but he took it well.

“I knew he wouldn’t get this offense down in one year, if he did, he would already be playing at the next level. I understood that we were running our offense with a spread group, I knew we weren’t going to be on our A-game all the time.

“But Kawaun’s always had the tools to run and throw the ball. The concern always was, to me, doing those little things on and off the field. He can’t who anybody any weakness, he can’t show them that he’s rattled. He’s got to put it on his shoulders. He wasn’t that way before, he was just like the rest of them.

“I told him simply, there’s a part of you that your teammates can’t have – sorry, it’s just the way it is. He can’t be like them, that’s what he signed up for when he wanted to play quarterback. And he’s understanding that now. And he’s putting in the work now to get there, before, he wasn’t doing it. Now, he’s studying film, taking notes, and that’s good to see.”

 

For more on media day, see Friday’s Daily News

WKU football: Padding up

The Western Kentucky football team was scheduled to practice in pads for the first time this afternoon.

The practice was only open to media during the first 15 minutes, so while coach Willie Taggart couldn’t give a full reaction to how the group looked – he said he was excited to see his group hit for the first time since spring.

“It’s exciting to get out here and see what guys are all about,” Taggart said. “We’ll have some time to see what these young guys can do – in pads and helmets they look the part, but we’ll find out with everything on.

“One linebacker, (sophomore) Andrew Jackson has looked great in just shorts and helmets – so I’m really excited to see him. I told our team last night after they had a great practice that now we have to put two together, and we have to do it with pads on. I’m excited.”

Freshmen showing their stuff

Taggart noted several true freshmen that have already caught the coaching staff’s eye during the first week of practice.

Taggart said that receiver Boe Brand has been solid during his work with fellow freshmen and veterans.

He also noted that freshmen defensive backs Cam Thomas (safety) and Champ Lewis have been playing ahead of the curve early – remember, Taggart routinely pointed out Arius Wright and Tyree Robinson at this point last season, and both ended up as fixtures in the starting lineup.

Taggart also touched on the talent of freshmen running backs Marquis Sumler, Quartterrio Morgan and John Evans –saying that all have been exciting early, and all have serious potential moving forward.

“They’re almost playing a little too fast right now,” he said. “They’re a little antsy – I want them to calm down a little bit, but there’s a lot of potential right there.”

O-line stays quiet

Prior to the start of last season, the WKU offensive line made a pact to boycott any media requests until the team’s losing streak was snapped.

The group stayed true to its promise – not uttering a word to anyone (not even WKU sports information) until the Hilltoppers ended their skid against Louisiana-Lafayette.

This season, the group is at it again – as senior offensive tackle Wes Jeffries informed WKU sports information that he and his fellow linemen would be denying any media request until the Hilltoppers win a home game.

The last home football game WKU won was Sept. 20, 2008 against Murray State – and currently, the group’s home losing streak stands at 15 games.

On Thursday

The Hilltoppers will host their annual media day at Houchens-Smith Stadium on Thursday – but the team will not unveil its new uniforms.

WKU sports information said that the team is expected to unveil the new design of its uniforms on Aug. 19.

Also, in Thursday’s Daily News, we catch up with WKU tight ends coach Stu Holt – a former staff member during the David Elson era that has returned to the Hilltopper sidelines this season.