Highlighting a Pre-Pre Derby Week at Churchill, Library, Freedom Hall and a Racquetball Lesson Sunday, Apr 20 2014 

Business and Churchill Downs and Claudia Coffey and Culture and Darren Rogers and Education and Events and Freedom Hall and I Was There and Insider Louisville and Jaylen Johnson and Jill Bell and Joe Arnold and Kentucky Derby Festival and Kevin Flanery and Louisville and Louisville Free Public Library and LoUnique and Matt Taibbi and media and Parenting and Politics and Quentin Synder and Rick and Sport Rick Redding 11:05 am

With a couple of days left still until the frenzy of Derby Week, I warmed up with an active schedule of interesting activities available only in Louisville, Kentucky.

First, you can listen to my conversation with Darren Rogers, the big man on campus (at least as far as 2,000 media members are concerned) at the new and improved Churchill Downs. Here’s a link to our show, which also includes Kentucky Derby Festival board member Jill Bell.

Listen to the Rusty Satellite Show here.

The biggest improvement is the massive new scoreboard you’ve probably heard about on the backside. Of course, the infield has changed a lot since I ended my eight-year stretch of consecutive Infield experiences in 1989. And I’m not a fan of most of the changes (all that concrete), but the new scoreboard is a big improvement no matter what your vantage point. Pull out all your synonyms for “big” to describe it. I can’t wait to see it in action.

And a new area of the track that Darren showed me, with an elevated view of the Derby starting gate, will be an awesome place to watch. It reminds me of the area above the South End Zone at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium. The new facade facing Central transforms the look of the place. It’s in a spot where Rogers told me Downs president and South End resident Kevin Flanery used to cut the fence and charge a reduced entry fee to his friends.

I think all my liberal progressive friends and Bill Maher fans showed up at the Library Wednesday to hear from journalist Matt Taibbi. He spoke for 90 minutes about injustices in the American justice system, specifically contrasting how white collar financial criminals manage to avoid jail time while committing crimes that affect millions versus the minor offenses that put the less-privileged behind bars. His book, The Divide, is high on my reading list.

On Firday, I took my son Luke out to a basketball game at Freedom Hall, where we marveled at how old and out-of-date the place seemed, having experienced the Yum! Center on a regular basis. The game was the Kentucky Derby Festival Basketball Classic, and featured three U of L recruits. It’s the oldest of these all-star games in the country. The highlight may have been U of L recruit Jaylen Johnson taking a feed from his Mom in the Dunk Contest, but we were also impressed by Ballard recruit Quentin Snyder’s court presence.

For those of you who follow local media, I had two interesting stories at Insider Louisville. Check out my piece on the new political show on WHAS-TV, hosted by Joe Arnold.  And I had the only local story on the sudden departure of Claudia Coffey from the WHAS-TV anchor desk. Both have been guests on the Rusty Satellite Show.

So all in all it was a great week, not including playing golf with my girlfriend Paula on Saturday. And one more thing I never expected. I walked into the Westport LAC for my regular racquetball game Friday afternoon. I noticed the guy on the court, by himself, looked like he was pretty good, but I couldn’t see him clearly. So I got dressed in the locker room, thinking maybe I’d challenge this stranger.

But when I got over to the court I recognized that it was none other than Kane Waselenchuk. Now that may not mean much to you, but Kane is the best player in the world. See for yourself in this New York Times profile.

Kane Waselenchuk is the best in the world Journalist Matt Taibbi spoke at the downtown Library Jill Bell of the Kentucky Derby Festival Darren Rogers with the new scoreboard at Churchill Downs Joe Arnold has a new show on WHAS-TV Claudia Coffey has moved on from WHAS-TV

He hasn’t lost a professional match in four years, and has been #1 since 2009. He’s married to a Louisville girl, Kim Russell, a champion on the court herself. I used to play her Dad, Rick, in the 1980s at the YMCA. I compared it to Tiger Woods hitting balls at Seneca, or maybe LeBron James showing up unannounced at a U of L basketball practice to get some work in. But neither superstar dominates his sport the way Kane does.

There were only three of us by the courts, and Kane, who’s a really cool guy, agreed to play my friend Travis in a game that was as lopsided as you might expect. I asked Kim why they were here, and her answer tells you a lot about how someone can become a dominant force in any sport. They were in town to visit her family, and when she asked Kane what he wanted to do, he said he wanted to practice. And that’s how the #1 player in the world ended up hitting balls at my club.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No Fear, Fire Up The Thunder Thursday, Apr 10 2014 

Business and Compassionate Louisville and Crime and Culture and Education and Events and I Was There and Kentucky Derby Festival and Louisville and LoUnique and media and music, and Politics and Rick and Thunder Over Louisville and Tom Williams and Wayne Hettinger and YNO Rick Redding 9:18 pm

OK. I’m a little bit worried.

fireworks

Let’s hope the only fireworks are in the sky

I keep running into people, coming across social media posts, that indicates to me a lot of people are staying home for Thunder Saturday.  The message I’d like the community to send is that we’re not giving up our riverfront, Waterfront Park or downtown to criminals.

In the last few days, it’s become known that youth gangs were responsible for the March 22 violence, and that the culture that exists within that culture isn’t extinguished by putting more cops on the street or having meetings in the West End. This memo, written by an FBI agent, claims a gang known as YNO is behind the problem. Here’s the scariest part — as part of the group’s initiation, members may be “required to assault someone” and that assault may or may not be random in nature.

I think the only citizens who don’t have a little fear are the ones who haven’t read the memo. No one wants to risk running into a young gang member on a mission to hurt somebody. People are talking about it, and the media is quick to highlight citizen fear in news stories.  We’re used to fear tactics from the media related to weather, but this is something entirely different.

That all this is happening now is tragic for the city. There’s a perfect Thunder forecast for the 25th anniversary. It will/should be a perfect day to mark the opening of the Derby Festival. I’m hopeful it will be, but no one can be sure there won’t be problems.

So there’s the 25th anniversary of Thunder. I talked to Wayne Hettinger for this week’s Rusty Satellite Show, and it’s worth listening to, especially if you want to get a little fired up for the show. Wayne does not lack for enthusiasm, and I’m anxious just to hear the soundtrack of songs — one from each of the 24 previous Thunders.

My other guest is Tom Williams, who is the point man for another extremely positive movement in town — the one for compassion.  So download the show and let me know what you think.

 

 

 

 

Cultural Differences, and Plentiful Options, in the ‘Ville Monday, Mar 24 2014 

actors theatre and Billy Joel and Business and Comfy Cow and Culture and Dave Barry and Education and Elvis Costello and Events and Health and I Was There and Joe Sonka and JRA Architects and LEO weekly and Louisville and LoUnique and Lyle Lovett and Mark Coomes and Matt Taibbi and media and Mitch McConnell and music, and Nick Hornby and Politics and Rick and Rusty Satellite Show and Sarah Palin and Sport and Steve Wiser and The Wire and Tim Koons-McGee Rick Redding 7:00 pm

Among the reasons I really enjoy doing the Rusty Satellite Show is the opportunity to learn a little about a lot of things from the rich roster of guests I have been able to convince to spend 15 minutes talking about themselves.  In every case, I learn something form the conversation, and I hope you do too.

It would be hard not to get something worthwhile from my talks this time with Tim Koons McGee and Steve Wiser. Koons McGee’s ambitious plans for the four-year-old Comfy Cow, which include becoming a national brand, was news to me. I just called him because I wanted to know about the new store at Eastern Parkway and Bardstown Road, and maybe get a free scoop of ice cream.  I also got a relevant opinion on same-sex marriage from someone actually affected by the much-debated topic.

Wiser is one of those guys with a vast amount of local knowledge, which made 12 minutes really insufficient to get all my questions answered about local architecture.  But if you listen you’ll find out about the renovation of a long-anticipated restoration project and what could really be a cool change to downtown.

LISTEN TO THE NEW RUSTY SATELLITE SHOW HERE

And I got to talk about seeing one of my cultural heroes, the hilarious Dave Barry, at the downtown library last week. It motivated me to check out his book “Lunatics” and recall how much fun I still have with my son Josh talking about the movie “Big Trouble” based on Dave’s hilarious first novel.

Which got me to thinking about the culture available around here, like seeing Barry (or Matt Taibbi, coming soon) at the library, a rich resource where I’ve built my music collection and keep finding books I want to read (Nick Hornby’s “Slam“). Maybe I’m just itching to get out, but it’s great I have options like the upcoming shows by Lyle Lovett and (just announced) Elvis Costello. Not to mention events I’ve actually bought tickets for, including Billy Joel at the Yum! Center and the Book of Mormon at the Kentucky Center. I’ve written about how great the Humana Festival is.

There is certainly a lot to choose from to keep your mind occupied. I mentioned a few media stories on the show last week — how Mitch McConnell dissed a LEO reporter, how the University of Louisville is paying hush money to former employees, how a court sided with newspapers in a battle with the state over releasing records to the public. So it was fitting that I finally got to the end of a memorable binge watch — five seasons of the HBO series “The Wire.” which concluded with a long piece about the media’s effects on life in a big city. I highly recommend it, even if it’s already dated (pagers).

Something for everyone, of course. But everyone around here is talking about a basketball game scheduled for this Friday in Indianapolis. I can handle respectful differences of opinion, even if I don’t agree with your point of view (like if you agree with Sarah Palin, who thinks the missing Malaysian jet may have been snatched up into heaven by God, according to fake news reports).

As for the game, I think we should all take a deep breath, turn off talk radio and stop reading our Facebook news feeds. Let’s use the game as an excuse to have a beer with our friends. Let’s not surround ourselves with the negative energy we’re feeling toward people who think the 20-year-olds they’re cheering for in a basketball game are superior to the 20-year-olds in different uniforms you’re cheering for.  If you only read one piece on the game, read this one by former Rusty guest Mark Coomes. And if our team loses, let’s become the best fans of our home state team, even if we can’t stand the behavior of some of their fans.

Dave Barry at the Library Architect Steve Wiser Tim Koons McGee at the Comfy Cow

 

 

 

Culture Rant: Missing Plane Mystery Solved Monday, Mar 17 2014 

Politics and Ruminations mail 9:48 pm

historyI actually put down the clicker, got up from my recliner and stepped away from Championship Week long enough to do my regular Saturday radio gig on FPK 91.9 with the estimable James Bickers.

And, having cracked the mystery about the missing Malaysian airliner, I shared the answer with those who were tuned in.

Because we didn’t cut off communication, as happened aboard the jet, my man Brad Yost has fashioned the podcast, so you can learn what’s up with that darned missing plane, even if you didn’t tune in Saturday.

Is that a deal or what?

Audio MP3

 

Bracket Distractions — Arts and Business and Politics Sunday, Mar 16 2014 

actors theatre and Bill Lamb and Business and casino gambling and Cordish Co. and Courier-Journal and Crime and Culture and Dave Barry and Education and El Toro and hemp and I Was There and Jack Conway and Joe Gerth and Les Waters and Louisville and LoUnique and Mayor Greg Fischer and media and Neil Budde and Non-Profits and Omni Hotel and Parenting and Politics and Rand Paul and Rick and Smoking Ban and Sport and Stacy Griggs and University of Louisville Rick Redding 3:02 pm

It’s always good to have some friends who don’t pay attention to the same things you do — it offers perspective. What’s important to you (whether U of  L will be a #2 seed or #3 seed in the NCAA bracket) is like speaking a foreign language, I’m guessing, to someone like Les Waters, the artistic director at Actors’ Theatre and my guest on the Rusty Satellite Show this week.

LISTEN TO THE RUSTY SATELLITE SHOW HERE

 

On the other hand, I suspect that my other guest, El Toro exec Stacy Griggs, can probably tell you how many points Russ Smith got (42) against Houston in the AAC Tournament. I asked neither Les or Stacy about basketball, so I’m guessing here. We all seem to know a lot about something, which is what makes finding guests for the Rusty show kinda fun.

When I was the editor of the NCAA Basketball Championship game programs, for instance, I knew the names of the head coaches and the nicknames of every Division I team. When I was syndicating a TV show to stations across the country, I knew the call letters and network affiliation of every station in the U.S.  At WKU 30 years ago, I learned a lot about constellations (those 3 stars in a row are Orion’s belt). There are a lot of experts on college basketball, or at least you would think so, if you listen to local talk radio or watch ESPN.

But being able to talk with authority about the Blue Jays (Creighton) and Shockers (Wichita State, the only unbeaten team going into the tourney) won’t help you fill out your brackets with accuracy. That’s what makes it fun.  Remember that you are as likely to pick a 14 seed upsetting a 3 seed as Digger Phelps. And none of those so-called experts will pick a perfect bracket (even with a billion dollars on the line).

I know that memorizing lists of trivial knowledge is great for impressing folks at cocktail parties. That’s because I used to recite Kentucky Derby winners that I memorized by studying Derby glasses. Attorney general Jack Conway knows the same trick.

Which is all to say that even though a LOT of people are focused today on the NCAA Final Four tournament field, I know several who wouldn’t recognize Rick Pitino if they saw him in line at a drug store (which I’ve done, btw).

I am among those interested in the tournament, though, and will be running a bracket contest at work, like a lot you will be. And having watched Pitino’s team all season, I don’t see the Cards losing short of the Final Four. It may be the most fun-to-watch group ever assembled around here, or anywhere. After winning the AAC title, Pitino told a TV audience he thinks his team should be a #1 seed, and the world of basketball watchers learned a new term — Pitino and the pundits now love saying the Cards passed the “eye test” (C-J headline: “Pitino’s pupils should pass NCAA eye test”).

Next Thursday and Friday, when U of L and UK will play their first-round games, Louisville viewers will find ways to tune in and make our city #1 in the country — for TV sets tuned to hoops. Office productivity will hit a low that won’t be matched until Oaks Day, and you’ll still have hope that you can win that office bracket pool, even if you had Arizona going all the way and they lose to Siena.

I’m rambling, I know, perhaps thinking of Dave Barry’s appearance at the Library Wednesday night. But here are the top stories, outside of basketball, discussed on the Rusty show this week:

Omni Hotel Downtown — The Omni could transform downtown, and is reason for optimism — bringing a long-needed grocery downtown along with the luxury rooms and apartments. The downside — a key player is the Cordish Cos., which was central to a huge scandal over a loan from the city at Fourth Street Live! a few years back. The block – between 2nd and 3rd and Ali and Liberty — was once talked about as the ideal place for what became the Yum! Center. Let’s credit Mayor Fischer (for now) for bringing it all together.

Among other things state lawmakers won’t accomplish is a smoking ban –  the list of ideas that aren’t getting done include casino gambling, local option sales tax, hemp, and marijuana legalization. The state session has produced plenty of talk about guns in bars, guns in schools, abortion restrictions and whether Kentucky students should be taught science or creationism.

Republicans Courting African-Americans – I’d compare Kentucky Republicans courting votes in the West End to sending Obama supporters to Leslie County in the eastern Kentucky coalfields. (Obama got 8.75% of the 2012 vote there). But Rand Paul’s support of voting rights for convicted felons and other key issues important to African-Americans could sway some votes there.

For next week — Former Rusty guest and C-J editor Neil Budde would be glad to know I took the paper up on a limited-time-free offer and read three stories making news this week — Joe Gerth’s column correctly points out that Jack Conway is not required by law to appeal that same-sex marriage ruling, and he blasts (without saying his name) WDRB’s Bill Lamb for “huffing” about it. U of L’s administration has taken to paying off former employees with lavish, and undeserved, payoffs simply to keep their mouths shut. And a special report reveals that Kentucky’s drug abuse problem, as it relates to babies being born addicted to drugs, is exploding. Few in our city will find sympathy for the two women profiled in Laura Ungar’s piece — both pregnant with multiple children born with their mothers’ addictions.

Let’s watch some hoops! Les Waters of Actors' Theatre El Toro's Stacy Griggs

 

 

Raving on Rusty #36: Shoni Schimmel, Dawn Yankeelov and an Update on Karen Faulkner Saturday, Mar 1 2014 

actors theatre and Bill Clinton and Business and Culture and David James and Dawn Yankeelov and Education and Events and Health and Humana Festival and I Was There and John Yarmuth and Karen Faulkner and Louisville and Louisville women's basketball and LoUnique and media and Mike O'Connell and Mitch McConnell and Parenting and Politics and Rick and Rusty Satellite Show and Shoni Schimmel and Sport Rick Redding 10:00 am

The Rusty Satellite Show is mostly a labor of love for me. I am grateful that Passport Health Plan sponsors the show, but my motivation is really tied to the fact that the show gives me an opportunity to meet and talk with some really cool local people and also to air my opinions about things. So this was a really great week.

LISTEN TO THE RUSTY SATELLITE SHOW HERE

The first time I became aware of Shoni Schimmel was her freshman year, the first that the Yum! Center was open, and I took my son Luke to a few games because we couldn’t get tickets for the men’s games. Watching Shoni dribble and shoot was pure entertainment. Luke and I went to several games, in which we didn’t really watch the game, but watched Shoni — how she moved without the ball to get open, how she would shoot it under any circumstance, how she made the difficult and risky pass, how even then she was the emotional leader of the team.

Dawn Yankeelov Shoni Schimmel

Since then, of course, she’s scored more than 2,000 points and become a national figure in the game. Not only that, but she’s an engaging and outgoing personality who has attracted the attention of Native Americans across the U.S. So it was a bit of a thrill to have her on the Rusty Satellite Show the week of her final regular season game Monday at the Yum! Center. You should go. The few tickets left are just $5.

Talking with Dawn Yankeelov after a trip to D.C., in which she led a team to talk technology with John Yarmuth and Mitch McConnell was equally cool. Of course, I’ve known Dawn for many years, going back to my Business First days, where she preceded me as a reporter.

In the News:  You should go Monday to Insider Louisville’s Meetup at Vincenzo’s, where you can hear more of the logical reasons we should have casino gaming in Kentucky from Johnathan Blue, a leader of the Kentucky Wins! campaign. But I pointed out on Rusty that stories like the one in which Mayor Fischer talked about a casino going downtown just don’t matter until the neanderthals in Frankfort pull their heads out of the sand and vote for gaming.

Once I posted my opinion about Bill Clinton coming to town, that Clinton’s popularity seems to really get under Republicans’ skin, I got a reaction on Twitter that proves my point:  Clinton committed a felony, he lied under oath. Did that while he was Prez. Does that qualify as dishonest?  

Kentucky is 49th in a health ranking, which is not really news.

I hope you get a chance to attend at least one of the performances in the Humana Festival of New American Plays. I’ll have a review of “Partners” that I attended Friday night soon here on LouisvilleKY.com.

THE UPDATE:  You may remember that a week ago one of my guests was Karen Faulkner, who found herself and her campaign in the news this week. Faulkner’s opponent in the May election for Jefferson County Attorney, incumbent Mike O’Connell, seems to have decided the time is right to go after one of her main supporters, Metro Council member David James (another ex-Rusty Satellite guest). O’Connell found an obscure rule that says James can’t be a sworn U of L police officer and a sworn Metro Council member at the same time. O’Connell’s political ploy here is pretty obvious to insiders,  as Faulkner told WFPL.

 

 

Rick’s Top Five, and a Love Song on Rusty Satellite Saturday, Feb 15 2014 

Bill Lamb and Brigid Kaelin and Courier-Journal and Culture and Events and I Was There and JCPS and Kentucky legislature and Louisville and Louisville Love app and LoUnique and media and music, and New2Lou and Parenting and Politics and Red Accordion Diaries and Rick and Rusty Satellite Show and Single Life and Stacey Servo and WDRB Rick Redding 6:24 pm

Valentine’s Day was a big success around here, despite those end-of-world predictions by weather-foolers and the panic of school officials across the region, who either cancelled or dismissed classes early for yet another “storm that wasn’t”.  I spent the evening with Paula at the new Laughing Derby at the Comedy Caravan listening to the entertaining and hilarious Heywood Banks. You should go.

Brigid Kaelin and Graham

Brigid Kaelin and Graham

Please take a moment (about 40 minutes) to listen to this week’s Rusty Satellite podcast. The first-ever live music happens on the show when Brigid Kaelin sings me her Eggs and Toast tune. (Hey, she could do a duet with Banks, who has a famous song about Toast). And if you were wondering about the New2Lou organization you see so much about in social media, listen as Stacey Servo explains. I went to the New2Lou party at the Yum! Center this week, met some great folks, and got to see the first half of the Shoni Schimmel show as the Cards beat Temple.

So on to my Top Five stories in the news this week.

Lamb vs. C-J: WDRB’s Bill Lamb once told me he loves it when people disagree with him, so he must be really happy this week. The conservative commenter seems to have it in for the Courier-Journal, (he did hire away at least five staffers) and made news when he claimed (the post has since been deleted from the WDRB web site) that the newspaper influenced a respected Survey USA poll to show that Alison Lundergan Grimes is leading Mitch McConnell in a hypothetical U.S. Senate election (McConnell has a primary against Matt Bevin). In reaction, WFPL media critic James Miller wrote a column criticizing Lamb, and a national journalism blog also took issue. Thursday Lamb did an on-air apology, saying he shouldn’t have used the word “rigged.” It was the right thing to do.

Gays Win, Gays Win:U.S. District John Heyburn struck down Kentucky’s same-sex marriage ban for legitimate marriages that originate in states where gay marriage is legal. This issue became a factor politically when Matt Bevin made a statement linking McConnell to Heyburn. I wonder when these right-wing politicians are going to figure out that the number of voters who go for the candidate who hates gays the most doesn’t usually win.  Bevin is going to lose, but unfortunately we have plenty of politicians in Kentucky (Stan Lee)  and others willing to do their gay-baiting in national

Stacey Servo

Stacey Servo

media.

Don’t Bet on It, At Least in Kentucky: I’ve been to two events recently in which respected business leaders (attorneys Ed Glasscock and Terry McBrayer, Jonathan Blue and Churchill Downs president Kevin Flanery) explain the elementary logic and tragic consequences if Kentucky doesn’t find a way to make casinos legal. For one, we are about to lose our signature horse industry and thousands of jobs associated with it, and more importantly we’re missing out on economic development opportunities while Kentuckians cross state lines to gamble. Doesn’t matter to Kentucky senators, who won’t put forward a bill to make it happen. Blame your state politician.

Guns in Bars: Meawhile, your Frankfort lawmakers have quickly sent a bill up the chain that would allow citizens to carry guns into bars if they promise not to drink. I don’t know what planet this logic comes from, but why would anyone go to a bar and not drink just so they can carry around a weapon? The Union Republican sponsor of the Senate bill (good news, it’s doomed in the House) has also written a bill that would allow (seriously, I’m not kidding) monkeys, as in primates, to be used as domestic help.

love appLove Louisville Online: The startup/tech/entrepreneur part of this city is really excited about the new Louisville Love app, developed by a local firm, Forest Giant. It’s fun you should check it out. I tested it out here.

 

 

Jackie’s a Write-In, and the Weekend Blogger’s Top Five Sunday, Feb 9 2014 

Bill Nye and Business and Crime and Culture and CVS and Dr. Hong Ye and Education and Events and Ford Fusion and Franklin Family Chevy and Green and Health and I Was There and Jackie Green and JCPS and Ken Ham and Louisville and LoUnique and media and Parenting and Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Politics and Rick and RIck Redding and Rusty Satellite Show and smoking and weather hype Rick Redding 1:55 pm

RS33HongYe

Dr. Hong Ye with her Earth-Blends herbal healing patch

RS33JackieGreen

Jackie Green at this bike shop

It was a big week for Jackie Green. When I went down to his Market Street bike shop to do this week’s Rusty Satellite interview (LISTEN HERE), he was trying to figure out how to make the announcement that he’d be running as an independent candidate for Mayor. It was Tuesday, and he was announcing on Thursday, so he wouldn’t come out and say he was running during our interview, in which he DID criticize Mayor Greg Fischer for his sustainability record.

Well Jackie made his announcement at First and Main, despite concerns about the weather. He didn’t get much media coverage, but the story that aired on WHAS-TV wasn’t the one he’d have liked. Former RS guest Joe Arnold points out that a law that says that as a registered Democrat, Green can’t be on the ballot as an independent. So Green re-directed, saying he plans to mount a write-in campaign. Not that he, or anyone else, has much of a shot at unseating Fischer, but not being on the ballot makes the campaign more of a sideshow. Bob DeVore, the Republican candidate, won’t make it much of a race either.

I like Jackie, and the bike he sold me, and I hope someone will listen to his ideas for the city. If you download and listen to the podcast, you’ll hear an interesting interview with Dr. Hong Ye, who’s selling a healing product I plan to try on my surgically-repaired knee soon.

In addition to the Rusty Satellite Show, I’m hoping to have the discipline to be a weekend blogger, sort of the like the old Fred Wiche Weekend Gardener, with my weekly Top Five stories. So here you go:

Rob Totten at the debate

Rob Totten at the debate

#1 Creation vs. Evolution: We’re still arguing about this? I watched the Ken Ham vs. Bill Nye debate online this week. It went on for 2 1/2 hours, complete with PowerPoint slides, convincing no one to change their mind about where we came from. I am, by the way, on the side of science. And smart people. My friend Rob Totten, pictured here, went up to the Creation Museum to see the spectacle and got in this great piece at Buzzfeed. I’d say that it’s silly that we’re still holding evolution debates in Kentucky, except I’m concerned that creationists believe we should be teaching our kids and changing textbooks to say the science is wrong, that Noah really could have built a vessel able to hold and feed 14,000 animals for 40 days and nights.

#2 Weather Hype:  After this show was produced, TV weather-foolers predicted a late Friday-early Saturday storm that prompted JCPS officials to cancel Saturday ACT testing. Around 10 we got a light dusting of snow. This weather hype is out of control. JCPS officials are scrambling to make up days when the kids should have gone to school. They let them out early Wednesday for another threat, a storm that didn’t arrive until after 4:30, when kids could have already been home. Stop it!

NEW CAR

NEW CAR

#3 Car Buying Experience: Yes, I got a new car. After helping my son Josh acquire a Ford Fusion, and driving a rental on my trip to New Orleans, I decided to buy one. My friend Chris Hammer works at Franklin Family Chevy in Bardstown, and he found me a great black one at a good price. Just for fun, I went to a local dealer and did the whole back-and-forth routine with a salesman, who eventually brought his manager over, who said he’d have to check with the GM to see if they could match my price. They didn’t.

#4 CVS and Smoking: It’s about time. Since Kentucky’s lawmakers refuse to adopt a statewide smoking ban, and Kentucky’s citizens are determined to rank last in health in the U.S. by having the highest rate of smoking, it was great to see CVS announce it’s not selling cancer sticks after October. It’s a decision to give up a billion-dollar business, but I think CVS executives are just being the boldest, first and smartest. Let’s hope Walgreen’s and Rite-Aid follow suit. Meanwhile, when I have a choice, my business is going to CVS.

#5 Hoffman and Heroin: No one criticized Phillip Seymour Hoffman as an actor. Brilliant, versatile, smart. But Hoffman was an addict, and his death at 46 on Super Bowl Sunday reminded America of the toll drug abuse is taking on our country.

 

Ashley Miller and Chuck Kaplan Stop at the Satellite Saturday, Feb 1 2014 

Ashley Miller and Beauty and Fashion and Business and C.D. Kaplan and Culture and Culture Maven and Events and gaming and I Was There and Kentucky House of Representatives and Louisville and LoUnique and media and Metro Council and music, and Politics and Rick and Rusty Satellite Show and Seedy K Sports and Sport and Steve Beshear and Super Bowl Rick Redding 6:52 pm

Rusty gets political this week with a promising Democrat, Ashley Miller, who’s running for the District 32 State House seat. She’s certainly got a lot going for her — former beauty queen from the West End, a nurse practitioner who is taking boxing lessons in her spare time. And she’s only 30.  As you’ll hear, Ashley knows the political language and has the backing of local Democrats, so it’ll be interesting to see how her race develops.

Guest 2 is the always entertaining C.D. (Chuck) Kaplan, who’s well-known around these parts for his take on movies, sports, media, music, history and well, we got his take on this year’s Super Bowl.

RUSTY SATELLITE SHOW LINK

In between, I tackle my Top Five news stories — the battle over gaming in Kentucky that illustrates why we can’t have nice things; a quick take on the Metro Council elections now that the candidate deadline has passed; Governor Beshear’s “mind-boggling” trip to see the President’s State of the Union address; the death of a local newspaper and my Super Bowl prediction. It’s all in another great edition of the Rusty Satellite Show.

 

rs31AshleyMiller RS31Kaplan

 

Bring on Bobby Baby Wednesday, Jan 8 2014 

Bobby Petrino and Charlie Strong and Education and I Was There and Louisville Football and LoUnique and media and Politics and Rick and Sport and Tom Jurich Rick Redding 6:18 pm

Everyone’s got an opinion on Bobby Petrino, but no one can argue the man’s ability to coach football. And that’s why he’s being re-introduced to the community to carry on the University of Louisville’s football tradition.

One thing that hasn’t changed is his ability of motivate young men to move a football into an end zone. Remember the ritual of fans getting angry at Bobby for having his offense take a knee in an opponents’ red zone with a 40-point lead? I do. He won 41 of 50 games in four years, a dropped interception away from a potential national championship. That brand of football was not only a winner, but it was fun to watch, much more so than cheering 3-point wins against Memphis under Charlie Strong.

And while a minority of U of L fans object to the hire on moral grounds, this news must be disheartening up in Lexington. Given the chance to hire Petrino last year, UK took the safe route and found a coordinator at a top school. Mark Stoops may eventually get UK back to the point it can win 5 or 6 games a season, he’s unlikely to beat a high-powered Cardinal attack headed by the innovative Petrino, who proved last year in Nashville that he could take average players (from Western Kentucky) and whoop the Cats soundly.  He never had a problem beating the Cats when he was here.

Let’s not cast stones at Petrino as if he were the first talented coach with a character flaw. Give Jurich credit – he stuck by Rick Pitino through a horrid scandal, from which The Rick produced the most successful run in Cardinal basketball history. In Lexington, fans overlooked the taint of teams John Calipari coached having their records deleted from the NCAA record books.  As Mark Coomes pointed out at Insider Louisville, “There are no vestal virgins in the bordello of college sports. Some are purer than others, but it’s mostly a matter of degree. And revelation.”

Thursday’s press conference, in which Petrino is expected to be announced as the coach, will create a mass of media coverage unlike anything we’ve seen. Already, sports radio talk shows have stretched their hours to become almost 24/7, just trying to give everyone with an opinion and a telephone a chance to get their two cents in. If you’re Facebook and Twitter feeds aren’t lit up by Petrino news, you’re just not connected to the pulse of the city.

Last year, when Petrino was hired at my alma mater, WKU, some loyal fans were angry right up to the first touchdown scored against Kentucky in Nashville. Critics will be heard this time, too, but the CardNation fan base is primed for a long run of prosperity with Petrino at the helm.

The bottom line is that Bobby is the best candidate for the job, uniquely qualified to keep the Ws coming, and Jurich is one of the few A.D.s in the country with the guts to hire him.

HERE’S MY AUDIO TAKE ON THE ISSUE, ALONG WITH INTERVIEWS WITH BOB SOKOLER AND JOHN WITTEN. ON THE RUSTY SATELLITE SHOW

 

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