I’m back, just as I promised a few months ago. Now it’s time to rekindle the flames of passion with UK sports.
Here’s the website you’ve been waiting for. Nothing fancy, nothing Earth-shattering. Nothing boring. Just a place to visit when you want to spend time enjoying something new, or old, about University of Kentucky sports (particularly basketball and football) that will have you laughing, crying, giddy, or perhaps just a bit more knowledgeable than you were the day before.
After my 50 years of covering UK sports, starting with the Hazard Herald in 1965 and East Kentucky Voice in 1969, then founding The Cats’ Pause in 1976, as well as 20 years co-hosting the UK Radio Network pregame shows for football & basketball, I’m turning to this venue for a new adventure to keep providing BBN with stories, podcasts, blog posts & photos of current and past Wildcat heroes.
To say I’m excited would be an understatement. Let me be upfront. Don’t expect 24/7 breaking news coverage here every day. Not going back into a 24/7 grind mode. What I will have are some great memories and stories to share with you.
Here’s a sample of what you will get: I’ll be writing a post whenever I feel like it. That might be one a month, but more than likely it’ll be a few times a week. You’ll be enjoying tons of historical pictures of days gone by. Stories of players, coaches and referees from yesterday will pop up every now and then. Opinion pieces will be spirited. You might be surprised by what I’ll say about current affairs or controversial issues as they pop up. I might not always be right, but I’ll always be honest.
Most exciting, I think, will be a weekly podcast where I’ll be having conversations with sports figures you’ll enjoy hearing.
My first podcast is with a man who grew up with the great Wah Wah Jones in Harlan, then tagged along with Wah Wah on recruiting visits to Tennessee and WKU before spending 4 years as a student manager under Adolph Rupp. You will absolutely love hearing him tell stories about Wah Wah, Rupp, and football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant. He’ll tell you about the real relationship between Rupp and Bryant. He’ll also explain how UK became half of the 1948 Olympic Gold Medal winning team in London along with the Phillips Oilers starting five.
Joe Bryant of the ’76 & ’77 football Wildcats and I will recall the 2 greatest back-to-back football seasons at UK in past 62 years, when UK won 1976 Peach Bowl, and how excited he is for his team’s 40th anniversary this year.
Also, we’ll continue having the very popular Twitter polls, to which so many of you have responded favorably. If you do not follow us on Twitter, be sure to join our 35,000 Twitter friends. It’s @wildcatnews.
One of the specialties will be keeping you up to date on Wildcats in the pros. Our first installment will be getting you ready for the Wizards-Kings exhibition game that will be played in Rupp Arena on October 15.
Before I move on, I want to give “special” thanks to my good buddy Beau Robinson who is putting together my podcasts and will be joining me in a podcast series of “remembering the past 50 years” of UK basketball and football. Also “special” thanks to my good friend Brett Morris who is the master behind creating this website and making sure everything works.
We’ll be adding more web content as time goes on. If you like, we wouldn’t mind you telling your friends about us. Just remember, the website is www.oscarcombs.com. We invite your feedback, suggestions and comments, whether it’s via Twitter @wildcatnews, or by e-mail: oscarcombs.oc@gmail.com.
So sit back and enjoy. We’re blessed to have you along for the ride.