My five most memorable events (good) and five most memorable road trips (bad)
At the end of my 44 years at the Lexington Herald-Leader, I broke down my “most memorables” into two categories.
My five most memorable events
American Pharoah winning the Belmont Stakes on June 6, 2015. Standing alongside the track and listening to the crowd at Belmont Park as American Pharoah became horse racing’s first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978 truly stands out.
The Kentucky-Duke NCAA men’s basketball tournament game on March 28, 1992. I still argue that Kentucky’s 92-90 win against undefeated Indiana in the 1975 Mideast finals was just as, if not more, dramatic. Still, to be in The Spectrum in Philadelphia when Christian Laettner hit his iconic shot is something to tell the grandchildren about.
Kentucky wins the NCAA men’s basketball tournament on April 1, 1996. After taking over a storied program at its lowest ebb, Rick Pitino completes the journey by beating Syracuse 76-67 at the Meadowlands in New Jersey for the school’s first national championship since 1978 and sixth overall.
Kentucky football defeats Alabama on Oct. 4, 1997. With Tim Couch at quarterback, Craig Yeast as star receiver and Hal Mumme as coach, the Wildcats used the “Air Raid” offense to beat the mighty Crimson Tide for just the second time in history. Fans rushed the Commonwealth Stadium field after UK’s 40-34 overtime victory.
Louisville wins the NCAA men’s basketball tournament on March 31, 1986. I had helped cover the 1985 Final Four at Rupp Arena, but the next season I covered the Cardinals’ entire run, from Ogden, Utah, to Houston to Dallas, where Denny Crum won his second national title as “Never Nervous” Pervis Ellison led U of L to a 72-69 win against Duke at Reunion Arena.
My five most memorable road trips
The Outback Bowl on Jan. 1, 1999: The day after Kentucky’s 26-14 loss to Penn State, my flight was canceled because of a winter storm up north. I made it out of Tampa, Florida, the next day but ended up spending two nights in the Detroit airport before making it back to Lexington. It was the same storm that caused the FAA to change its rules about planes sitting for long periods on the tarmac.
The Citrus Bowl on Jan. 1, 2022. Unbeknownst to me, I didn’t completely turn off my hybrid rental car when I parked at the Orlando hotel the day before UK’s 20-17 win against Iowa. Imagine my surprise when after the game I discovered the car was out of gas. And I needed to drive to Gainesville for my flight the next morning. Thank heavens for an Uber driver who took me to the nearest gas station, waited as I purchased a container and gas, then returned to my car in the hotel parking lot.
The CBS Sports Classic on Dec. 17, 2016. A snowstorm closed the Denver airport just after I had arrived for my connecting flight to Las Vegas. I spent the night in the airport and the next day watching television in a Courtyard Hotel as Malik Monk scored 47 points in Kentucky’s 103-100 win against North Carolina.
Kentucky basketball at Tennessee on March 9, 2024. I hit the mother of all potholes going up Jellico Mountain on I-75. My tire popped. Of course. I made it to the nearest exit, where out of nowhere “Jimmy” appeared in a truck with an electric jack to help me change to a spare and advise me on where to get a new tire. I made it to Thompson-Boling Arena just in time for UK’s 85-81 win.
The NCAA East Regional in 1985. With the Final Four being at Rupp Arena, the Herald-Leader covered all four regionals. I was dispatched to Providence. The day between games, I traveled with my friend Rick Bozich to watch the Boston Celtics play Melvin Turpin and the Cleveland Cavaliers. When I checked in with the office, via a pay phone in the Garden, I was told that WKYT was reporting that Joe B. Hall was about to retire. Rick and I spent the drive back to Boston trying to find the Kentucky-St. John’s game on a static-filled radio. (Joe did retire.)
This story was originally published June 25, 2025 at 10:00 AM.
