Kentucky Sports Radio
[Moderated by Matt Jones]
[Moderated by Matt Jones]
If you have gone to the KSR Live Blogs recently (and you should have), I have talked about my writing assignment for Velocity this weekend covering the Kentucky Derby. The Louisville magazine has asked me to cover the event in “KSR style”, which means lots of comments about John Wall, Kige Ramsey and the benefits of scrapbooking. I am not actually covering the race so much as the atmosphere and have been instructed to “make fun of as much as possible” while “talking about the absurdity of parts of the event.” Over the next two days, I will have snippets of my encounters with random celebs and off the wall sports folks at the Oaks, the Kim Kardashian party and the Derby on this site and the Velocity site. My full article will be in next week’s issue.
In getting ready, I have read some of the best reviews of the Derby from the past. Two are of such quality, I thought it would be good link them for our readers, most of whom werent born when they were written. The first is by Kentuckian Hunter S Thompson from 1970 and is the definitive Derby work and the second is a lesser known piece by William Faulkner in Sports Illustrated in 1955. Enjoy…..
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April 30th, 2009 at 3:23 pm
This can not end well….
April 30th, 2009 at 3:24 pm
I attended the Kentucky Derby in person in 1987, and it was the greatest live sporting event I’ve ever witnessed.
April 30th, 2009 at 3:31 pm
We can’t stop here, this is bat country!
April 30th, 2009 at 3:31 pm
“decadent and KSR-Filled”
Boy, where to start with this one . . .
When Jones shows up at the Infield, some decadent chicks are going to end up KSR-Filled?
The possibilities are endless.
Matt, did you see the posts in the last section about a KSR golf event?
April 30th, 2009 at 3:32 pm
I read that HST article once a yr to get geared up for the debauchery that the Derby brings.
MJ: Watch GONZO this week for inspiration. A great documentary about an even greater American
Do you have your mace spray yet?
April 30th, 2009 at 3:33 pm
Can you get me into that Kardasian party. I need some Kentucky Ale too.
April 30th, 2009 at 3:35 pm
Big Hooray for the Hunter props. More attention should be paid to him, as he is not only a great writer, and Kentuckian, but perhaps one of the most vigilant UK fans to ever walk the earth, his stuff he wrote for espn, which is still on the website under the page2 tab is genius. Widely widely respected sports knowledge, and a perspective which many a Kentuckian can appreciate as one that could only come from here.
April 30th, 2009 at 3:36 pm
I’ve only seen the Derby 4 times, all from the fourth floor, hosting clients.
Sunrise tour of the barns, then brunch at Buck’s, police escort into the downs sometime after the first or second race, hang out with all the B-lister’s on millionaire’s row, police escort back out of the Downs right after the Derby race, and dinner afterward at 610 Magnolia. The only way to to do Derby.
So I’ve missed out on all the decadence.
April 30th, 2009 at 3:37 pm
Kudos’ for linking Hunter S.
Matt, if only you could be half the journalist he was…………….
April 30th, 2009 at 3:38 pm
So Matt just called our mothers fish?
April 30th, 2009 at 3:39 pm
Hunter S. Thompson was one of the craziest intellectuals to ever live; one of my favorite quotes of his: “Who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived, or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed?”
April 30th, 2009 at 3:40 pm
8 - I can’t believe you are on this board with us “common folk”. Take your maggard-esque attitude over to TBK.
April 30th, 2009 at 3:43 pm
Velocity, huh.
Everytime I see a KSR reference to Democrats, Obama, or a Bardstown Road rag like Velo, I feel a little sad inside. At least it’s not for the Leo.
But, UK (and a little maturity) should trump all that, so moving on . . . no hate here.
I can rise above!
April 30th, 2009 at 3:44 pm
11. And a diehard Kentucky fan til the end, his page 2 articles are still on espn.com
April 30th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
12 - I didn’t pay for any of it, it was paid for by the good shareholders of the company I worked for at the time.
If they had any clue of how I talked or what I wore outside of there, folks may not have been so friendly. My red flannel shirt/coat wouldn’t quite fit in.
I didn’t mean it pompously, I wouldn’t pay for that kind of experience in a hundred years. But I’ll take it if someone else does.
April 30th, 2009 at 3:49 pm
Which three celebrities will leave Kentucky with restraining orders against Matt Jones?
I’d say Heidi Montag is a given, although I’m reluctant to call her a true celebrity.
I’m willing to group Kenny Perry’s daughter, Megan Calipari, Miss Kentucky and any of the KSR girls posted on his Facebook page in the “very likely” category.
As far as men go, though, I will say it is basically guaranteed that an off-beat politician or obscure writer or actor could find Matt getting too up-close and personal with him, although I’m not sure who would be. Probably someone we’ve never heard of - like a liberal first-time congressman from Topeka that once appeared on an episode of Dukes of Hazzard or a supporting actor on a USA show that has a cousin or something from Middlesboro. I know I’ve painted a broad stroke here, but I’m confident that a strong candidate will eventually emerge.
This is going to be very, very entertaining.
April 30th, 2009 at 3:53 pm
#12….please hush…if you dont like the site, its liberalness, my Obama fandom, the way I write, the way I breathe or the fact I am writing an article for Velocity, then dont come to the site. It is very easy.
April 30th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/blogs/freakonomics/posts/Steadman- Kentucky.jpg
April 30th, 2009 at 3:57 pm
Hey, I was just joking. There’s been too much political banter over the last several months.
Sorry if you were offended, internet communication is easy to misconstrue.
Besides, I really like how you breathe.
April 30th, 2009 at 3:57 pm
matt, Ya just gotta post the steadman art (see above) for Derby Day!
April 30th, 2009 at 4:02 pm
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/blog/the_dagger/post/Mark-Titu s-enters-NBA-draft-is-kindly-asked-to-?urn=ncaab,160332
Check this out…kinda funny. A scrub on the OSU bball team put his name in the NBA draft as a prank for his blog, until the NBA made him pull it out.
April 30th, 2009 at 4:05 pm
19- I know, especially the little whimpering noise he makes right as he’s fall asleep, sorry my heart is all aflutter.
April 30th, 2009 at 4:06 pm
Good call on posting Ralph’s art, veeper.
April 30th, 2009 at 4:21 pm
22 - Yes! That was awesome. You should check out his blog http://clubtrillion.blogspot.com/
I wish a Kentucky scrub would do this.
Here is a bit from the NBA draft entry.
“That’s because he informed me that I had figuratively (and maybe literally) walked into the corporate office of the NBA, cut the cheese in a legendary fashion, and locked the door as I walked out so that everyone would be forced to bask in my creation.”
April 30th, 2009 at 4:27 pm
The Hunter article is epic stuff. I wish I’d gotten to know him better.
April 30th, 2009 at 4:28 pm
Yea it ended well for Hunter, shooting himself in the face.
April 30th, 2009 at 4:39 pm
17 — “Obama fandom” is putting it lightly.
Sorry… I couldn’t resist. Please don’t ask me to leave this site.
April 30th, 2009 at 4:55 pm
I’m a native from KY, but live in CO–met Hunter at an Aspen bar once. Very interesting person and a big Wildcat fan. As an English major I appreciated his work and writing style. Major loss for literary folks.
Matt, that would be tough covering the Derby…good luck!
April 30th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
BTW, you people ragging on Obama seem to forget the last 8 years: one of the worst 8 year span of presidential leadership EVER. War, energy crisis, financial crisis–all during Republican rule. That’s a fact folks. Obama can’t be any worse than that and obviously most Americans felt the same way.
April 30th, 2009 at 5:12 pm
31 — thanks for setting the record straight — I must not be paying attention because I’ve never heard that take before.
April 30th, 2009 at 5:44 pm
Matt - love the site and have read daily for the past few years. As evidenced by my screen name, the Derby is something I know a little about. Two of my favorite quotes about the race are: “The Kentucky Derby, whatever it is - a race, an emotion, a turbulence, an explosion - is one of the most beautiful and violent things I have ever experience.” - John Steinbeck.
And…”Until you go to Kentucky and with your own eyes behold the Derby, you ain’t never been nowheres and you ain’t never seen nothin’.” - Irvin Cobb
April 30th, 2009 at 6:02 pm
I got a copy of the Faulkner article on my computer and read it often, #33 where is the Steinbeck quote from?
April 30th, 2009 at 6:16 pm
You’ll need Tomlin to keep your notes in order; pens; pads; a pint of ether; a dozen grapefruits; several quarts of Chivas Regal; a raw adrenal gland to gnaw on after the 5th race; oh and a Colt 45; a fistful of 20’s; and a can of “chemical billy” to pump into the crowd.
Res Ipsa Loquitor
April 30th, 2009 at 6:45 pm
34 - In 1955 Sports Illustrated had Faulkner cover the Derby for them. Not to be outdone, the next year, the Courier Jounal asked Steinbeck to cover it for them. The quote is from his article.
May 1st, 2009 at 9:27 am
Never knew much about him until 10 years ago or so. Since then, I’ve devoured all I could about him. A great talent…gone too soon. RIP