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Group wants fountain to flow again
Found: 1 Month 5 Days 6 Hours 40 Minutes ago
Lexington Hearld-Leader -
FRANKFORT . Martha Moore says Kentucky history is in her blood. As president of the Franklin County Trust for Historic Preservation, she led the restoration of the historic Glen Willis House.
And now she has her sights on getting water flowing in Frankfort's Old Capitol Fountain again, The (Frankfort) State Journal reports.
The fountain was built in 1839 under the administration of Gov. Charles Wickliffe and has not functioned since 1960, Moore said. The last time it was used, leaking water turned up several blocks away.
The people of Frankfort were probably energized when the fountain was built before the city even had paved streets, Moore said, and restoring it could have a similar effect in the 21st century. ...
Group plans to get Capitol Fountain running again
Found: 1 Month 5 Days 23 Hours 13 Minutes ago
Lexington Hearld-Leader - Martha Moore says Kentucky history is in her blood. As president of the Franklin County Trust for Historic Preservation, she led the restoration of the historic Glen Willis House.
And now she has her sights on getting water flowing in Frankfort's Old Capitol Fountain again, The (Frankfort) State Journal reports.
The fountain was built in 1839 under the administration of Gov. Charles Wickliffe and has not functioned since 1960, Moore said. The last time it was used, leaking water turned up several blocks away.
The people of Frankfort were probably energized when the fountain was built before the city even had paved streets, Moore said, and restoring it could have a similar effect in the 21st century.
"There's nothing prettier than running water," she said....
Fountain may flow again
Found: 1 Month 1 Week 2 Days 23 Hours 56 Minutes ago
The State Journal - The Franklin County woman who spearheaded the restoration of Frankfort's Glen Willis House has taken up a new project: the Old Capitol Fountain. Martha Moore, president of the Franklin County Trust for Historic Preservation, successfully fronted the Glen Willis House's transformation from creaky old building to a Frankfort icon. But now her crosshairs are squarely aimed at the water feature which....
Tigers recall Willis
Found: 1 Month 1 Week 3 Days 23 Hours 18 Minutes ago
Lexington Hearld-Leader - The Detroit Tigers recalled pitcher Dontrelle Willis from Triple-A Toledo before Monday's game with the New York Yankees.
After struggling with his control early this season, Willis was sent to Class- A Lakeland to regain his command. The veteran left-hander was then promoted to Toledo, where he was 3-2 with a 4.45 earned run average in six starts.
Willis was 0-1 with a miserable 10.32 ERA with the Tigers before being sent to the minors.
The veteran was acquired from the Florida Marlins in a blockbuster offseason trade that also brought Miguel Cabrera to the Motor City.
With rosters now able to be expanded to 40, Detroit also made another move, recalling pitcher Freddy Dolsi from Toledo....
Ravens Cut QB Bramlet, Stills, 17 More
Found: 1 Month 1 Week 5 Days 19 Hours 12 Minutes ago
Lexington Hearld-Leader - Quarterback Casey Bramlet's stay as a member of the Baltimore Ravens was a short one, as Bramlet was released along with 18 others as part of the team's "cut-down day" transactions on Saturday.
Bramlet was signed last week when an illness to quarterback Troy Smith and a shoulder injury suffered by Kyle Boller left the club short-handed at the position. But Bramlet did not play particularly well in the team's preseason loss to the Falcons on Thursday, completing 7-of-21 passes for 100 yards with a pair of interceptions in the game, and was deemed expendable.
Also released was veteran special teams ace Gary Stills, who played in every game as a member of the Ravens over the past two seasons. Stills, a Pro Bowler while with the Chiefs in 2003, saw his chances to make the roster take a hit when the team signed former Bears Pro Bowl special-teamer Brendon Ayanbadejo during the offseason.
Other players cut were tight end Adam Bergen, defensive lineman Darrell Campbell, wide receiver Patrick Carter, guard Adrien Clarke, defensive tackle Amon Gordon, wide receiver Justin Harper, running back Alex Haynes, tight end Keith Heinrich, guard Adam Kraus, linebacker Robert McCune, running back Allen Patrick, cornerback Ronnie Prude, tackle Joe Reitz, tackle Chad Slaughter, wide receiver Ernie Wheelwright, defensive lineman Lorenzo Williams, and wide receiver Matt Willis.
Notables among that group include Clarke, who played in 14 games with the Jets last season; Harper and Patrick, the Ravens' two seventh-round Draft choices back in April; Slaughter, a former regular with the Raiders; and Gordon, Prude and Willis, all of whom saw time with the Ravens last season....
Toppers hope to earn notice at Indiana
Found: 1 Month 1 Week 6 Days 8 Hours 50 Minutes ago
Bowling Green Daily News - BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Western Kentucky’s quest for national respect and notice begins today.
WKU coach David Elson has preached all spring that the only way his team is going to make people take notice during this transitional phase - and beyond - is to knock off someone they’re not expected to.
And the first chance for that will take place at 11 a.m. today in Bloomington, Ind.
“We’ve got to beat Indiana, we’ve got to beat somebody we’re not supposed to beat,” Elson said. “This first six weeks of the schedule gives us a lot of opportunities to do just that and instead of just taking a step forward, we can take a giant step forward.”
There’s no secret on what - or more specifically, whom - the Hilltoppers will have to focus on this afternoon to pull their first win over a BCS team.
And that individual is Indiana quarterback Kellen Lewis.
“The quarterback definitely poses a different dimension,” WKU defensive line coach Eric Mathies said. “He’s an athlete, and he makes that thing go.”
And while it’s obvious who the major key on offense for WKU will be defensively, the one question that has concerned the Hilltopper staff this week is where exactly Lewis will be throwing the ball.
Last season, 80 of his passes were caught by 6-foot-7 wideout James Hardy. But Hardy plays on Sundays now, and Lewis’ main weapons look to be wideouts Terrance Turner, Andrew Means and Ray Fisher - not to mention speedy senior running back Marcus Thigpen.
“But now you have a question with (Hardy) being gone, and he was a huge part of that offense last year,” Mathies said. “So you wonder where they’re going to look to for offense, and you have to believe that they’re going to put the ball in the quarterback’s hands more.
“And our job is to try and contain him. We know he’s going to bust the pocket and we know he’s going to run around - but our job is to not let him have one of those 100-yard rushing games where he scrambles and busts your back.”
One thing that WKU has going for it defensively is the fact that it sees the spread offense every single day in practice, and it sees one mobile quarterback after another - something that may go a long way in bottling up Lewis.
“We see that offense each and every day in practice,” senior defensive end Dan Cline said. “And playing against (WKU sophomore quarterback) K.J. (Black) is very much like going against Kellen Lewis - they’re very mobile and they can move.”
Offensively for WKU, the focus will likely fall solely on Black, who was named the undisputed starter toward the end of camp - thus ending the brief two-headed quarterback system that WKU ran last year.
Black will have plenty of weapons along side him in the backfield, as returning 1,000-yard rusher Tyrell Hayden, along with senior Stephen Willis and junior Marell Booker are all expected to see big carries.
Black’s wild card has always been his ability to break defenses down with his feet, but Elson said that having him running exclusively with the first team over the last 10 or so days has helped extremely with timing in the passing game - something WKU will have to have success with if it hopes to keep up with Indiana’s offense.
One bonus for the WKU offense will be the absence of Indiana defensive end Greg Middleton. Middleton - the nation’s leading sack man last year with 16 - will sit out due to a suspension.
“We obviously were going to be aware of him and make sure we accounted for him, but it just makes us less specific on how we handle our protections,” Elson said. “But it’s sort of like a backup quarterback coming in, and I get more worried about those kind of guys because that backup is typically playing for a job, this is his one opportunity.”
WKU football has used the battle cry of “making history” over the last two seasons with abundance, and today will certainly be a huge opportunity to earn some of that history - and Elson believes the team is ready for it.
“The only way I know how to do it is to go one game at a time,” Elson said. “I’ve said this all along, and for us to get where we want we’re going to have success outside the conference, beating someone from the BCS and someone we’re not supposed to beat according to the odds makers and those things. We also need to have success in the Sun Belt, but for right now, we’ve got to beat someone and that’s Indiana.”
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Hoosier State Tops motivated by return
Found: 1 Month 2 Weeks 20 Hours 58 Minutes ago
Bowling Green Daily News - There are certain games each season that players anticipate.
For seven Western Kentucky players - and for four coaches - Saturday’s game at Indiana marks as a bit of a homecoming.
Seven current Hilltoppers played high school football in Indiana - Marcus Minor, Tyler Bruce, Dexter Taylor, Dustin Boyer, Stephen Willis, Jeremy Moore and Lloyd Pressley - and all seven have different Hoosier State stories.
But there’s one common thread: All are looking forward to going home.
“This is big for me to be able to go home and be closer to the people that I grew up with and are close to me,” said Minor, who grew up an Indiana fan and has 25 guests scheduled to attend Saturday. “I almost kind of hold a grudge a bit, too. I felt like I could have played there or anywhere in the Big Ten and I kind of take this one personal.
“A lot of guys (from Indiana) here had talent and they really turned a lot of them down, so we’re here to prove a point that we belong.”
When you’re playing against a team that you felt overlooked you during the recruitment process, the will to win increases exponentially.
“Whenever I heard on our schedule that we were playing IU, I got excited, just like last year when we went up to play Ball State,” said Pressley, who said he hopes to have as many as 14 people in attendance. “I was sort of recruited by Indiana and it fell off early on. They said that I was too small and things like that.
“So it’s always something to go and prove someone wrong when you can go back and play against a team like that in your home state.”
While the homecoming feel is something the players are sharing, the chance to go back and prove doubters wrong isn’t on the coaches’ minds.
Indiana coach Bill Lynch and WKU coach David Elson have each made no secrets about their close friendship.
Both are Butler graduates, Hoosier State natives and played for the same Catholic Youth Organization football program - Christ the King.
In addition, assistant head coach T.J. Weist was an assistant at Indiana from 1997-2001, linebackers coach Eric Marquell played collegiately at Ball State and grew up in Muncie, Ind., and offensive coordinator Kevin Wright grew up in Tipton, Ind., and later coached Indianapolis prep power Warren Central to three straight state titles.
Meanwhile, former WKU secondary coach Dennis Springer will be making his debut as the Indiana running backs coach.
“We like all of them. I know coach Lynch, coach Springer’s up there now, I read the Indianapolis Star still just about every day for recruiting purposes and just to keep in touch,” Elson said. “And what (the late and former Indiana coach) Terry Hoeppner did for that program was special, and I remember saying that when Terry Hoeppner got hired and then (he) hired Bill Lynch - I said that if those guys couldn’t get Indiana football going, then nobody can because there are no better people.
“Coach Lynch is a Hoosier through and through, and I’m happy for him. I’m glad to see him have that job, but those are all really personal feelings and I’m really looking forward to when we don’t play them because we can go visit - but for us right now, it’s about beating a BCS school and putting WKU football where we want it to be.”
Lynch agreed with Elson, saying that it can be difficult coaching against a close friend, but once the whistle blows, those feelings evaporate.
“It is tough, but once the game starts, you forget all about it,” said Lynch, who will host WKU again in 2010 before bringing his team to Houchens-Smith Stadium in 2011. “A couple of years ago, I coached against my own son who was playing on another team, but once the game gets going, you’re competing.
“College football’s so unique that every week is so important, and whatever your goals are, so much of it rides on each and every Saturday - no matter who you’re playing.”
So whether it’s a friendly rivalry or a mission of proving people wrong, the goal for those 11 people seems to be similar: getting WKU’s first BCS win over a flagship school in their home state.
“Words can’t explain how big that would be,” Minor said. “It’d be something we would remember for the rest of our lives, and it’s a chance to go down in the history books.”
--Read the Daily News sports blog at http://bgsports.wordpress.com
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Hilltoppers eager to play for real
Found: 1 Month 2 Weeks 2 Days 17 Hours 57 Minutes ago
Bowling Green Daily News - The Western Kentucky football program is used to the unknown.
Entering its second year as an NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision transitional member, the Hilltoppers have experienced more firsts over the past two seasons than many people probably care to remember.
So as WKU enters its first game week of the 2008 season, it’s little surprise that “dealing with the unknown” was a theme during the team’s Monday media luncheon.
“It’s that unknown (that makes Week 1 different),” said WKU coach David Elson, who begins his sixth season as the school’s head coach on Saturday at Indiana. “We’ve only got (Indiana’s) game tapes from last year, and they do have the same offensive coordinator, same staff, same offense and some of the same players ... but to me, it’s the unknown (that’s concerning).
“It’s ‘how are you going to respond’ to certain situations, and to me, that’s what that first game is as much as anything.”
While not knowing quite what to expect is a concern, one thing that appears certain is that everyone associated with WKU football is ready to play a real opponent.
“We’re tired of hitting on each other we’re tired of cutting and blocking each other,” WKU senior running back Stephen Willis said. “We’re ready to take our anger out on someone else.”
The anticipation of college football season is intense everywhere. But at WKU, the thought of playing the school’s most difficult schedule in history has anxiousness at an all-time high.
“We’re just chomping at the bit to get out there (Monday) and get ready to start practicing and preparing for IU,” senior defensive end Dan Cline said. “It’s our first game of the season and we’ve been looking forward to this since the start of camp, and ever since the schedule came out really.
“We’re extremely excited, and we’re looking forward to it.”
Still, Cline admitted that the team might even be a bit too cranked up.
“The game-week atmosphere is a lot more intense and I don’t know, maybe we’re even overanxious to get out there,” Cline said. “Now we’re going to hit another opponent with a different jersey finally, and we’re just really excited.”
Elson said he and the coaching staff are also tired of intrasquad work, but he said fall practice has been beneficial - especially due to the fact that Indiana runs virtually the same offense as WKU.
“I’m extremely (sick of practice),” Elson said. “But we’ve had a positive camp as far as going against each other, and we know - especially defensively - that once we turned that page and looked toward Indiana, there aren’t a lot of adjustments to what we’ve seen in ourselves because our offense is so similar.”
Cline agreed, saying that facing the Hilltoppers’ stable of mobile quarterbacks in practice has prepared WKU well for Indiana’s spread, no-huddle offense.
Although Indiana quarterback Kellen Lewis’ starting status is unknown, WKU apparently feels better prepared for Lewis than it did for Florida quarterback Tim Tebow last season.
“It’s not like going into last year against Florida, it was the first game and you never really know because you don’t have any previous game film of that year,” Cline said. “We never really knew what Tim Tebow would do, but we do know what Kellen Lewis’ strengths and weaknesses are, and we play against it in the spread every day.
“And that’s made us more prepared for any first game that I can remember.”
So while pounding on roommates and friends is over for now, the challenge of dealing with the unknown takes the forefront once again. And Elson isn’t overlooking the challenge of keeping his players’ emotions in check.
“I hear (the players) talk a lot about the excitement and anxiousness, and that makes me say that we have to make sure we’re not overdoing it, we have to find that balance,” Elson said. “We have to find that right temperament and that even keel that we can perform the best at.
“And with every team it’s different, this is a different team and it’s a completely different challenge every year - and that’s also part of the unknown.”
--Read WKU beat writer Nick Baumgardner’s Hilltopper football blog at http://bgsports.wordpress.com.
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Lindsey Wilson will bring back football
Found: 1 Month 2 Weeks 6 Days 11 Hours 16 Minutes ago
Lexington Hearld-Leader -
Some 75 years after its last football game, Lindsey Wilson will kick off a new era of the sport in two years.
The Blue Raiders. first home game in Columbia is scheduled tentatively for Sept. 4, 2010, after the college.s Board of Trustees put the plan in motion at its spring meeting.
Joining the football team will be a marching band. The two programs combined will add initially about 200 students, according to Athletic Director Willis Pooler .
Lindsey Wilson expects to hire a head coach in January. .We.ve had a couple of people inquire, and we.ll start advertising the position in September,. Pooler said. .Hiring the coach 18 months ahead of time and coordinators a year in advance shows the commitment from the administration,. ...
Toppers shoring up roster positions
Found: 1 Month 3 Weeks 1 Day 18 Hours 57 Minutes ago
Bowling Green Daily News - When Western Kentucky takes the field tonight for its annual fall camp mock game, it will be more than a dress rehearsal.
Tonight’s scrimmage at 6 p.m. essentially marks the final chance for a player to state his case for a position, playing time - or just a spot on the Hilltoppers’ travel roster.
“It’s been really competitive throughout camp and we’ve been running (first and second teams) really tight,” said redshirt freshman safety Ryan Beard, who’s battling about three other players for two safety slots. “(Tonight) means a lot because you can come out, show what you’ve got and show that you can run with the ones and make plays.”
Coach David Elson said he hopes to have the depth chart for the Aug. 30 Indiana opener largely settled by Thursday.
Perhaps the most popular competition right now is at quarterback, where redshirt sophomore K.J. Black and senior David Wolke seem to be running nearly even for the starting spot. Junior Brandon Smith has also been solid in camp.
Then there’s the battle at running back, where junior Marell Booker, junior Tyrell Hayden, senior Stephen Willis and freshman Bobby Rainey appear to be frontrunners.
Other spots seemingly up for grabs are the two safety spots with Beard, redshirt sophomore Orlando Misaalefua, senior Travis Watters and redshirt freshman Mark Santoro in the mix.
Senior kickers Tanner Siewert and Zac Minturn continue to angle for the No. 1 gig, while a few spots on the offensive and defensive lines, as well as at inside linebacker, also have yet to be claimed.
“Tomorrow’s a big day for a lot of people - in just a couple of days it seems we’ll be heading to (Indiana), and there are still a couple people fighting for a spot on the (travel) bus and on the team,” said junior wide receiver Jake Gaebler, who should be a starter again this season. “They’re going to come out here and give everything they have because it’s that last chance to prove some stuff.
“I redshirted my freshman year, but that next year I was right where these guys are now, fighting for everything. Every day, every practice you had to come out there and give it all you have, especially when you have a chance to go live in a game situation.”
Meanwhile, Elson said tonight’s game-situation scrimmage primarily helps the Hilltoppers establish a home-game routine.
“It’s not the determining factor (for jobs), but it’s part of the process for some,” Elson said. “The biggest reason we do this is really for our first home game, so guys know what’s going to happen and so guys know what the routine is. You like to have guys know a routine so they can mentally prepare.
“It’ll be at 6 p.m., and that’s when we open at home with Murray State (on Sept. 20),” Elson said. “We’ll have the lights on, the game uniforms on, the first half is live just like the Red-White Game - we just want as much game atmosphere as we can possibly have to see how guys respond.”
Still, Elson did say that a strong showing tonight won’t hurt a player’s chances to solidify his role on the team.
“Thursday afternoon we’ll make decisions on everything, basically this is the last piece of the puzzle,” Elson said. “We’re going to evaluate, grade, wrap everything up and kind of polish up some of the things that we’re putting in and working on.
“And then we’ll wake up Friday morning, divide up the scout teams, give out the scouting reports and introduce them to Indiana. They’ve all been watching film on them already, but that’s when we’ll start game week.”
--Read WKU beat writer Nick Baumgardner’s Hilltopper football blog at http://bgdailynews.wordpress.com.
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