Bluegrass Stallions in Frankfort 1/31/10

Anyone that reads my blog (hi mom) knows that I love independent pro sports teams. I admire everything that goes into one.


First, an investor takes the huge gamble of buying in to the league. That investor really has a lot to lose, and little to gain. Check out the thousands of independent pro sports teams that have not made it.


Lexington has had some good teams come and go. A couple of hockey teams come to mind. The Horsemen football team seems to be gone (though their web site suggest that they might not be done yet).


Now Lexington has the Bluegrass Stallions. I have talked about them before. I do hope they are able to keep things going. This is a great opportunity to catch a professional team in the area. I truly hope one day we can tell our grand kids we were able to see the Stallions during their first season, and I hope we aren't telling them about the one season professional basketball was here.



The Stallions have had their obstacles to face during this first season. They have been unable to continue playing at their original venue, and have scheduled home games at different places in the area.


In some ways this is a good thing. For one, I had an excuse to go to Frankfort Saturday to catch the Stallions playing the Columbus Life.


Columbus Life looked pretty good when they took the floor for practice. My friend and I speculated on what their mascot might be at their home games. I checked wikipedia and the ABA homepage to find out more about the team. Sadly, the link to their site has been disabled at this time.


The Stallions have 4 former UK players, including the 7 foot tall Lucas Obrzut and they dominated the Life. In fact, at one point, the Stallions had about a 50 point lead.


The Stallions were pulling off some pretty spectacular plays. They were hitting everything. This is a fun, talented, experienced team and they looked amazing. I would feel bad about comparing them to the Globetrotters, who I saw at Rupp a couple of weeks ago (see my previous post on that) but it was similar. The Stallions were making those kind of plays.


So, with about 3 minutes left in this obvious Stallions victory, the legend, coach Kyle Macy put in the 13th man. I know this is one of those unique things about the ABA and I don't totally understand it, but there is a rule about letting someone from the community take practice and set on the bench with the team. I am not sure of the exact qualifications one must have to be a 13th man, but I think you have to be at least a recognized person in the community, and a generally good guy.


From what I hear, Frankfort radio personality Steve Sullivan fits that description. He practiced with the team before the game and took his place on the bench during it. And, with the score a bit lopsided, Steve officially checked in to the game.


Now, Steve Sullivan can add professional basketball player to his resume in addition to his work at Star 103.7. How cool is that?


With time running out, the unselfish Stallions got the ball to Steve a couple of times. As he was in the middle of shooting, one of the Life players bumped him.


As Steve Sullivan stood at the line for his 2 free throws, the Stallions on field announcer/funnyman Steve Tressler announced that if Sullivan made the shot, he would be the 1st 13th man in Stallions history to officially score a point in a game. Sullivan made both shots!


After the game, the team, the cheerleaders, and coach Macy signed autographs and took pictures with fans. Several of the players actually thanked me for coming out to support the team. I talked briefly with the always classy Coach Macy about the team and their various venues. I over heard several players asking kids about what sports they played in school. One little girl showed the cheerleaders some of her cheering skills. They encouraged her.

I walked around the Frankfort Convention Center during halftime. I walked next to a dad and his son for a few seconds. The 5 or 6 year old son said to his dad at least three times, "this is awesome!" He was so excited and happy to be there.

I love seeing a UK game at Rupp as much as the next guy. I am so pumped about the Cats. I am excited about the Legends this coming April too. BUT there is some exciting sports action going on in the area that gets overlooked. The Stallions have games scheduled in Owensboro, Lexington AND Corbin. A dad and his son can have an "awesome" time for lot cheaper than a Rupp game. They can walk out with something signed by the whole team, including some UK legends, and they can have a great memory.

www.star1037.com

www.bluegrassstallions.com

Columbus Zoo in Ohio

OK, I really have little to say about the Columbus Zoo. It is a big zoo with a lot going on. It is considered the best zoo in the country by many people.

It is definitely a great zoo, and I remember from my trips there that it is big! Wear good walking shoes.

Obviously they have that cool association with the legendary Jack Hanna, and they have had a mutually beneficial relationship since the 1970s.

Columbus Ohio is a great area, and it probably doesn't get the credit it deserves. I have really enjoyed seeing small music acts at some of the smaller music venues. They have the Easton shopping area too. I will have to do a write up on that area by itself. They also have the legendary AAA baseball team, the Columbus Clippers. There is a lot to do in Columbus.

Actually, I can go on and on about Columbus. A weekend trip from Kentucky is always fun. The zoo is not to be missed there.

http://www.columbuszoo.org/

Diamond Caverns Mammoth Cave Kentucky area

I pretty much think of Diamond Caverns as part of Mammoth Cave. It is really right there in the Mammoth Cave park area, and it isn't far from the Mammoth Cave visitor center.


I really like the cozy entrance area and gift shop. You actually have to go inside of the gift shop to get inside of the cave! Its pretty cool. The building is built over the entrance. There is an almost sun room like area in the front of the building. You walk down a few steps by the gift shop, and there is the main entrance to the cave. A gated door is close there until a tour comes through or exits.

The cave itself seemed very layered to me. Lots of going up and down steep stairs along the paths. If you aren't a big cave fan, frankly, this might look like just another cave. They have the standard cave formations seen at every cave.

The cave was discovered, and opened as a show cave in 1859! It has been open for tours continuously since then, except during the Civil War.

In 1999, some of the cave owners actually found a new, unexplored area of the cave!

This is a fun cave, the staff seemed knowledgeable and enthusiastic. If you have been to Mammoth Cave, this is a nice alternative.

http://www.diamondcaverns.com/

Harlem Globetrotters

I did go to Rupp Arena on Sunday to check out the Harlem Globetrotters. I had a great time.

It did remind me of watching the Globetrotter games, whenever they would come on, as a kid. They did all of the old tricks, including putting the ball under the shirt of the other teams player, messing with the ref, and goofing around with the fans. Oh, and beating up on the Washington Generals.

The "game" started at 3 and we went in a little after 2. This was a good family type atmosphere. I can't stress enough about how great the staff at Rupp is. I always feel comfortable here with the great security and friendly ushers.

The "Hill on Wheels" wheelchair basketball team played a game before the Globetrotters did their thing. What an amazing display! I have never been to a wheelchair basketball game before. These guys are impressive and tough. They moved the ball well, and made the shots. I would hate to arm wrestle any members of the team. Seeing "Hill on Wheels" was an a big bonus to a fun night. Here is their website:
http://www.kylegends.com/

The rest of the evening reminded me of a mix of a basketball game, minor league baseball, and pro-wrestling.

The Globetrotters have an on field announcer/MC, a mascot, and other activities going on. During a break in the game, they were bowling using Globie, the Globetrotters mascot as the bowling ball, and huge Campbell's Soup cans as the pins. It was pretty fun.

The manager of the Generals came out and started talking trash about the Globetrotters, Lexington, etc. He also used a hypnotic umbrella to hypnotize members of the Globetrotters during the game. It was cheesy but funny. Oddly, the Globetrotters manager was motionless. Even when Special K asked him to come on the floor during a bit, the manager set like a stone.

The Globetrotters did their usual amazing dunks and shots. They made it look easy. Of course, having an opponent standing back and letting you make those shots helps. Still, it was pure nostalgic fun.

Niagara Falls

Since things have been a bit slow in my neck of the woods, mostly because of the holidays and a wicked cold, I thought now might be a good time to mention Niagara Falls. I haven't been up there in a few years. I used to go a couple of times a year when I lived in Cleveland. I am on a huge Niagara Falls kick right now (I got the complete series of the show "Wonderfalls" for Christmas, prompting my recently renewed interest in the Falls).


Niagara Falls is still pretty accessible. You could do it over a four day weekend from Kentucky. I would suggest trying to incorporate it into a week trip through the north. It does justify a whole week to itself too. You could spend 7 or more days here easily. I think I could spend 7 days simply staring at the Falls in amazement.


We used to pretty much hang out on the Canadian side, but the American side is pretty cool too. Most people suggest getting to the Canadian part if you must choose between 1 or the other.


It is amazing to see the falls, and I do remember the first time walking right up to the rail and seeing them.


The area walking distance from the falls is very exciting. I have heard friends compare it to Gatlinburg, and other very touristy areas. There are blocks of shops, restaurants, and museums.


Niagara Falls has a certain mythical and dark beauty to it. Like some of the other wonders of the world, there is plenty of strangeness at the falls. I recently read "In The Mad Water" and "Journeys to the Brink of Doom" by TW Kriner. Both books give details of the many deaths and other tragedies that have occurred near and in the falls. I will have to do a review of these fascinating books later as I let a friend borrow my copies a couple weeks ago. Both books would be appropriate reading in October.



I have had trouble finding stats on jumpers at the falls. Most of the stunt jumpers are pretty well documented on line and elsewhere.



One thing that really amazes me at each visit is the barge that is stuck just above the Canadian side. Many people are unaware of this, but if you take about a 5 minute walk away from the Horseshoe Falls you will see it. It is out a bit, but it is there. It has been there for decades! Kriner's book tells the story in detail of how it was basically jammed there to keep it from going over by it's 2 passengers. It has remained there since.


Anyway, here are some of my favorite pictures from my personal Niagara Falls collection!



I might write more about the Falls again soon, especially after I finish up the Wondefalls series, and after I get my books back.

Land Between the Lakes

When I was in the 5th grade, my class took a trip to Land Between the Lakes. All 5th grade classes at my elementary school took this trip over a couple of days. It was such a great experience. We had to make a Land Between the Lakes book. This was a huge event for all students before they advanced to middle school.

I was grateful to my school for giving us the experience. I know for many of us, this was our first real "away from home" trip. I went to a very calm school, and I really liked all of my classmates. My memory of this trip is still vivid and happy.

My dad and I have made a couple trips to the Land Between the Lakes area recently. Growing up in Western Kentucky, this was not an uncommon trip. I remember some family and friends near Owensboro probably going down monthly.

There is a lot going on there. I just found out that they have a blog too! Check it out:

http://www.landbetweenthelakes.blogspot.com/

LBL is one of those places that you really have to go to to appreciate. It is nice, and you hear it is nice, but you just have to go there to see exactly how nice it is. Also, it helps if you have someone going with you familiar with the area, like my dad. Ask him, he will go with you! Seriously, he has nothing else going on.

I love the Animal Center near the Center Furnace. Its 4-5 bucks to go through. I remember seeing a presentation on snakes here while on that 5th grade trip. They let me hold a snake. I was scared to death, but they calmly explained that it wouldn't bite. There was no mischievous person around to try to scare me. It was a pleasant and positive experience. They still have snakes, and many other animals. My dad and I got there right when they opened, and they were bringing out there owls. The unreal friendly rangers there gave us a presentation on each owl that came out! I assume they do this every day when they open up. The presentation alone was worth 3 times the price of admission.

There are a ton of trails and camping areas throughout. I would love to take a week and just go walk around.

There is the Elk and Bison Prairie. I think it is five bucks to enter it. You pay your entry fee at an automated area, and then you drive in. I do wish they would put a real person at the entrance, but it does seem that friendly rangers are around once inside the range.

My last time there, I saw one buffalo at a distance. A ranger told us that they were all over in another area, off the trail. The loner we saw was an older buffalo that had been there since the start of the trail. The new, younger buffalo do not socialize with him according to the ranger.

On another trip trough the Elk and Bison Prairie, we had to wait for many of the buffalo to get out of our way! They were everywhere! They obviously are comfortable around visitors, and they would walk right next to our truck.

There is another area to see Buffalo next to the Great Western Furnace. I am not sure about their status, but they are across the road in a field. They are always very visible.

Speaking of furnaces. I really don't know a lot about old iron furnaces, or even how the furnaces operated, but the area has 2 standing furnaces that have been around for some time. The Great Western Furnaces dates back to the 1850s. It still looks good. The Center Furnace looks a little rougher each time I see it.

There is the Golden Pond Planetarium too. I love planetariums, and this area is lucky to have this one, connected to the visitor center. I saw a great presentation here about a year ago on the International Space Station. There was a great Q&A session after the show, and the audience was told about a web site where you could type in your location and find out times that you could see the ISS over head! The next night, my dad and I actually looked up at the right time and saw the ISS! It is quick, you have to look up and catch it. It could easily be mistaken for a fast moving plain.

The gift shop in the visitor center has a great selection of local interest books.

Oh, and you can't really bring up LBL without mentioning Patti's. I have a friend from the Paducah area that kept telling me that I must stop there. The word is the portions are huge. My friend was not kidding. I had a salad, and 3 people could have helped me finish it off. It was big. Oh, and they give you bread baked in a flower pot. It is just as cool as it sounds. Think Cracker Barrel but bigger and more authentic. You couldn't franchise this kind of Kentucky atmosphere. They have a nice gift shop too. Check out their web site.

http://www.pattis-settlement.com/iron_kettle_restaurant.htm

I guess this is a great area just to go and drive around (keep a map around though!). I have seen turkey and deer just walking around on the roads. It is very relaxing just driving around the area.

Indianapolis at Christmas

One of my favorite cities outside of Kentucky is Indianapolis. I love this town. I have talked about it before, but I feel the need to mention it again now.

Indianapolis is a great city during Christmas. I try to make it down for a day or a whole weekend at some point between Thanksgiving and Christmas each year. Indianapolis really knows how to celebrate the season.

For anyone totally unfamiliar with Indy's downtown area, it is very photogenic. Their 284 foot tall Soldiers and Sailors monument is overwhelming. The statues that are attached to it alone really make a person feel small. This is a magnificent structure, and if you are driving through the area, please take a moment to get out of your car and actually walk up to it. Glancing at it as you loop around the round about does not do it justice. You can take an elevator to the top for a buck.

So, much of their downtown area is centered around the monument. There are a lot of cool things going on right in that area. Nice restaurants, hotels and shopping are common. You can easily drive down on a Friday, park, get a room, and not need your car again until Sunday when you leave.

Circle Center Mall is part of Indianapolis' glorious downtown. I really can't describe how cool the mall here is as it has a bit of an infinite feel. It is four stories, and is inside of four preexisting buildings. It is connected by walkways to many hotels downtown too. It is easy to spend an event filled weekend at a downtown hotel and never have to step foot outside.

There are a couple of glassed in areas at the mall that allow for some cool views of downtown. The Artsgarden is a fun architectural site on the outside and on the inside. It is maintained by the city's arts counsel ( http://www.artscouncilofindianapolis.org/uncilofindianapolis.org/ ). Something cool is usually going on in the Artsgarden. There is always information on cool events in the area here.

The day after Thanksgiving, the town host a huge event around the Soldiers and Sailors monument, lighting it up as a tree for the season. I have heard estimates of 100,000 people showing up for the lighting.

Indianapolis has another Christmas tradition that, in my books, trumps all others. Since 1947, a small Cherub has appeared for Christmas on the clock at the old L.S. Ayers building. I love looking up at the clock and seeing the Cherub there when I am in town before Christmas.

Across the street from the Cherub is the Border's Bookstore. I am usually not a huge fan of chain store (I must admit that I do like Border's) but this store has some true uniqueness to it. It is obvious that they built the store into an old bank, leaving up some of the old fixtures. I love their well stocked local interest section, and the staff there seems friendly and helpful. Also, I like the marriage of Border's Books and Seattle's Best Coffee, especially at this location. A big book store and a cozy coffee area in clean downtown Indianapolis is perfect.

I have been to Indianapolis on many summer days, but I seem to be making a tradition of getting downtown in December. In my mind, I associate downtown with Christmas and winter. If you are in downtown Indianapolis on a cold winter night, you MUST stop by the South Bend Chocolate Company Chocolate Cafe. Get some hot chocolate. Get the large. Trust me.
http://www.sbchocolate.com/

All of the major sporting venues (Victory Field, Conseco Fieldhouse, and Lucas Oil Stadium) are within the downtown area. The Convention Center is here. A cool place to catch a nice dinner and get a view of the entire city is the Eagle's Nest restaurant on top of the Hyatt (the place is very classy, and it rotates slowly, giving you a complete view of the town great skyline).

Getting away from downtown, Indy still has several NICE malls. Castleton Square Mall and the Keystone Fashion Mall are both worth a walk through, and they are close to each other. The Keystone Mall has a nice feel to it, and it has many unique stores. I REALLY love the Keystone Art Cinema here. It is worth taking a couple of hours to catch a movie here. They have a great selection of the usual movie theater snacks, plus some. The seats are the most comfortable seats ever in a theater. We had a great lunch at this malls "Fashion Cafe". Its like a cool nic nac store, plus a very nice cafe. We had some great sandwiches, desert and tea. This is a really unique place, and I hope people support this place.

I like Greenwood Mall too, and the area around there (I love that Half Price Books and pet store across the street). There are still many legitimate malls in Indy.

I have spent summer weekends in Indy downtown, walking to ballgames, monuments, etc. I have spent winter weekends downtown doing totally different things than what I did there during the summer. I have spent weekends in the Keystone area, not stepping foot in downtown and still had a nice time. Indy is a big town with a lot of nice things going on.

Bluegrass Stallions at the Kentucky Horse Park

I had the chance to check out the new pro basketball team in Lexington last night. I am glad to see another new team in the area, and I hope they do well. I had a good time but as a new team, in a new venue, they have a lot of little things to work out. There are good things, and bad things about this team right now.

The set up at the Horse Park, at this time anyway, is confusing. With the Southern Lights at the park, there is some additional chaos. I love the lights. In fact, getting to see the lights AND catching a basketball game is a bonus, but if you are simply hoping to catch the game the whole lights thing may be a problem.

We got to the Horse park, and went through the campground entrance. We stopped at the front and were told we still had to pay $15 (admission to see the lights through the park) but the Stallions would give us a buy one get one free ticket because of that, which was cool with us.

Also, there was a long line of vehicles forming to get into the park, for the game AND for the lights.

We were then told to look for the Stallions sign with the blinking light. The entire park is blinking lights! AND the stallions "sign" was a small cardboard yard sign with ONE small blinking light on it (not being familiar with the park, we came close to driving by this sign without noticing it).

I was the only one buying a ticket at the ticket window, but this was a long process. It took probably 20 minutes to get my ticket, as people were being trained in this area. Also, they were unable to provide me with a receipt. I really don't want to be too critical of this team starting out, but this was embarrassing and they really need to correct this problem soon.

My only other real problem with this team relates more to the rules of the ABA. I hate rule change gimmicks, and that's what the 3D rule is. I personally don't find it exciting. I remember an independent baseball league (one that folded) suggested making home runs count x2 after the 7th or 8th inning. These kind of rules don't seem necessary. It gets confusing. You know, with arena football, the rule modifications for the arena setting improved the game of football in my opinion. Smaller fields and smaller uprights make the game just as interesting, if not more.

Speaking of arena football, I was glad to see that a lot of the former Horsemen staff are running the new basketball team. In a way, it almost felt like the football playing Horsemen have continued on with the Stallions.

I really hate on field announcers or DJs finding their way into minor league sports these days. A mediocre one is a dime a dozen. The Stallions were lucky to get Steve from the Horsemen. Steve is fun, and has a great, original sense of humor. Steve had me laughing so hard I cried at some Horsemen games (flirting with cheerleaders when he thought he wasn't being filmed, egging participants on in hot dog eating contests, etc.). At the Stallion's game last night, he heckled a smaller player on the other team while they were at the free throw line. Steve is the only on field host that I actually look forward to seeing at a game.

There were other cool things about seeing this new team.

The new indoor stadium is very nice and cozy. I think it can hold around 6,000. It has a clean new feel to it. It has a dirt floor, but they put a basketball court over it. Oddly, it works and works well. I think this would be a fun venue for an arena football team too. Rupp is easily the most exciting indoor sports venue in the state, but this venue is probably a more affordable and ideal one for independent pro teams like the Stallions. I hope to catch many more sporting events (basketball and other) here.

Kyle Macy. The guy is a UK legend, and has a lot of pro playing time under his belt. I doubt he is coaching right now for the money. Every ABA fan that gets to see him owes him a sincere, "Thank You."

HOOPS the mascot. Big fluffy mascots are cool, I don't care what anyone else has to say about this. They are great. HOOPS is a new great one. I saw him all over the place, posing for pics, throwing popcorn, and harassing the cheerleaders. He is fun. I mean, I don't appreciate him as much as I appreciate coach Kyle, but the kids will love him. I love him.

Ale-8 was last nights sponsor and we got a free 6 pack on our way into the park. On the cool-giveaway-o-meter, that ranks at the top. I remember a couple of seasons ago, Chipotle would give out burrito coupons at Legends games on Tuesday nights. If Ale-8 and Chipotle are ever given away at the same time, my head will explode. I am MUCH more likely to buy a ticket if I know I am getting free Ale-8!

Also, if you love obscure and unusual occurrences, well, here you go. As far as I know, last night was the first time EVER that 2 pro basketball teams, both from Kentucky, played each other in Lexington! Think about that. Think about how much of a basketball town Lexington is. Pretty cool.

I do hope the area comes out to support the Stallions (and the Bisons too, playing for a second season in Owensboro). Pikeville is listed as having a team but I can't find current info on them.

Check out my links to the Stallions and Bisons at the left of this page.