Author: Mark Maynard

Managing editor of Kentucky Today, the digital newspaper of the Kentucky Baptist Convention, since July 2017. Worked 42 years for The Daily Independent in Ashland, Kentucky, the last 12 as managing editor and editor and the previous 30 in the sports department, including 17 years as sports editor. President of Amy For Africa, a faith-based Christian ministry serving Uganda. I'm a husband to Beth and father to Stephen and Sally, grandfather to Brooks and Addy.

From ‘Now or Never’ to ‘Uptown Funk,’ it’s going to be an epic championship game

ASHLAND, Ky. – Around town they were referring to it as Larry’s Legends against The Kids.

The final two teams of the Tomcat Shootout simulation tournament were playing for a championship and everybody was talking about it.

Jason Mays, the coach of the 2015-20 Tomcats, was losing sleep over it. He’d been up all night watching 16 mm video of Larry Conley dominating team after team for the 1960-64 Tomcats.

Nobody had stopped him yet and Mays wasn’t sure they could either.

Dicky Martin was fired up for this one.

“We have to figure out something else,” he said. “Larry is going to get his, but we have to make it hard on him. We have a lot of fouls to give and we’re going to use them. He may be shooting a lot of free throws.”

Even though the 2015-20 Tomcats were known for their high-scoring offense, it was the defense that predicated everything.

“We win with defense,” Mays said. “That’s where it starts.”

On the other bench, coach Bob Wright was devising a strategy to limit the 3-point looks of the 2015-20 Tomcats and deciding how to defend the Villers’ brothers. Christian, Chase and Cole had become a dominating force.

“It’s like looking at three clones the way those guys can shoot,” Wright said. “This game might be first one to 120 wins!”

On the eve of the championship game, everybody was looking for tickets. It was already a sellout at James A. Anderson Gymnasium. They brought a closed circuit television for the lobby where chairs were set up so another 800 could at least see it that way.

Giovanni’s on Blackburn Avenue was not only bringing the game in via My Town TV, but also piped in Dicky Martin and his father’s call of the game. Dicky was on the FM signal and his father, Dick Martin, was going to be on the AM signal. Headphones at the tables allowed guests to listen to either call.

People were choosing sides and some bets were going down from what insiders were saying.

This game had all the trappings and it may have been the biggest sporting event Ashland had ever witnessed.

Young and old, they all wanted to watch this game unfold.

The players arrived at the gym a couple of hours early and it was already packed. Cathy Goble was lecturing her cheerleaders (making sure they stayed off the playing floor) and Marie Hamm was getting her cheerleaders together. There was even a bit of competition between the squads although they tried not to show it.

Dicky and his father were testing the broadcasting equipment and the fans from both sides were already finding their seats. They brought signs, noise-makers and a lot of Tomcat spirit.

Chuck Rist was lining up a song list – one for the 1960s and one for today’s songs. It was going to be a nice collection. Nobody was anymore prepared or jacked up than him.

Well, maybe the Martins, who were practically giddy tuning their radio dials to make sure everything was going to work correctly. Pete Wonn was with Dick Martin and Dirk Payne with Dicky. It was a sight to behold!

Donna Childers Suttle loves her Tomcats, but she had chosen who she was rooting for just the same. It was the 2015-2020 Tomcats.

“I just love those boys!” she said.

Dave Kouns and Scott Walter were trying to talk AD Mark Swift into letting them bring extra hot dogs and popcorn into the gym (they had bottles of water in their hoodie pockets). There was a good-faith negotiating and it looked like Swift was going to allow it because of the superfan status of Kouns and Walter.

“We don’t want to miss a second of this game,” Walter said.

The teams were in their respective locker rooms and it was sounding like thunder in the gym. Everybody was saying it had never been louder in Anderson gym. They were about to blow the lid off the place.

Rist had the music blaring with the volume on number 9 of 10. First it was “It’s Now or Never” from Elvis Presley and then to “Uptown Funk” with Bruno Mars, and a lot more to come. The atmosphere was electric and it was still 30 minutes before tipoff … Larry’s Legends vs. The Kids.

Come back Friday evening for the results.

The swing of a lifetime

(Originally written in 2009 on the silver anniversary of East Carter winning the 1984 state baseball championship)

Kevin Bair sometimes wonders what would have happened if that hanging curveball had fooled him.

But it didn’t. Bair got all of it, and then some. The towering home run with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning capped a miraculous four-run rally that made a state champion out of East Carter.

Thirty-six years later, they still talk about the home run in Grayson.

“There’s a lot worse things to be remembered for,” said J.P. Kouns, the Raiders’ coach that season.

They probably remember in Cynthiana, too, the hometown of Harrison County, the stunned victim in the 10-9 state championship game loss to the Raiders in 1984 at Johnson Central High School.

With one mighty swing, Bair made history.

While it hasn’t exactly defined his life, it does give him a bit of celebrity status, especially in Carter County.

Bair will always be the player who hit the home run that won the state championship for the Raiders in ’84.

“I think about it, I’m not going to say I don’t,” he said. “It comes back when I drive by the field. My son (Kyle) plays basketball for East Carter. I’ve been to Paintsville several times and always point out that Johnson Central field, which they’ve changed. He’s not near as interested as I am but I make sure he knows about it. He doesn’t want to talk about it as long as I do.”

It’s more than that magical home run that Kevin Bair remembers. The Raiders were a team built on good hitting, great fielding and crafty pitching.

They were improbable champions, having entered the 15th Region Tournament as a district runner-up to Rowan County. East Carter outscored three foes, 22-1, in the regional tournament.

But the Raiders got on a roll, winning seven consecutive postseason games to claim the only team state championship in school history.

“It’s definitely a blur,” Bair said. “I remember bits and pieces of it. If I see a photo, I can remember that.”

East Carter trailed Harrison County 6-0 in the fifth inning, but rallied for four runs to get back in the game. Then Harrison County scored three in the sixth to make it 9-4. Again, the Raiders rallied, this time for two runs, to make it 9-6.

But could they keep coming back?

“I know we thought we had a chance,” Bair said. “We had the top of the lineup (coming) up.”

Bair was the No. 6 hitter in the lineup, the designated hitter with a looping left-handed swing.

With one out, Cass Hall reached on an error and then Jamie Swanagan walked. A popup to second base brought the Raiders down to their last out.

Steve Lambert laced a two-run double to right center field that barely eluded the diving center fielder to make it 9-8.

Then it was Bair’s turn to bat.

With the count 1-1, pitcher Billy Fisher tried to get ahead with a curveball. Bair didn’t blink. He made him pay and the rest, as they say, is history.

“I can still see the pitch and remember hitting it,” he said. “Hanging curveball. I knew when I hit it it was gone.”

Bair was a junior on the senior-dominated team that included Art Daugherty, the best three-sport athlete in East Carter history. Daughtery was the shortstop and Hall the second baseman, a keystone combination that led to many double plays.

The pitchers were the durable Swanagan, who won three games in eight days over the regional and sectional tournament, freshman Craig Collier and senior Joey Thomas. At least, that’s the only pitchers they needed in the postseason.

The rules were different in those days and it’s a good thing for the Raiders, who finished the season 29-8.

“It was one of those special teams,” Kouns said.

Those Raiders grew up together, played on the same Little League, Junior League and Senior League teams. They played other sports, too. Daughtery was the quarterback and Bair the center on one of East Carter’s best football teams in 1983.

Others on the team were basketball players. It was just a good collection of athletes who came together.

“Those guys were close-knit because they played together for years,” Kouns said.

Kouns considers himself lucky to have won a state championship. He’s in the Kentucky Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame but the state title is the major achievement.

‘‘It’s a once-in-a-lifetime deal when you can win that thing,” he said.

41 points in a quarter? Shooting stars in second semifinal of Tomcat Shootout

ASHLAND, Ky. – Was this basketball or a track meet?

An entertaining and high-flying opening quarter got the second semifinal of the Tomcat Shootout simulation tournament off to a breathtaking start Thursday.

The free-wheeling 2015-2020 Tomcats put 41 points on the board with a shooting exhibition that dropped jaws throughout James A. Anderson Gymnasium while the 2000-2004 Tomcats nearly matched them basket for basket with 34 points.

The basketball hardly ever hit the floor with both teams throwing long passes over the defense and making shots that seemed impossible. About the only thing that slowed the game down were all the swishes in the scoring-fest, hanging the basketball up in the net to prevent another over-the-top pass.

When the smoke cleared through an already fatigued 2000-2004 Tomcat team was gasping for breath. They had played a grueling game against the 1980-84 Tomcats just two days ago. In the end, they couldn’t keep up the pace and the 2015-20 Tomcats – making 14 of 30 3-pointers and running it up the floor at every opportunity – rolled to a 118-103 victory to move into the championship game against the 1960-64 Tomcats at Anderson gym on Friday night.

“You try having Jeff Tipton lean on you for 48 minutes,” said 2000-04 Tomcats star Mark Surgalski. “I’d like to say he ain’t heavy, he’s my brother, but I’d be lying. He is heavy and he’s my brother. He’s also the best big man I’ve ever gone against.”

Surgalski had his legs early, scoring 16 of his 26 points in the first 12 minutes. But they were able to shut him down for the remainder of the game, holding him to 10 points by using three different players on him.

“Shutting down big Mark was something we knew was going to be nearly impossible,” said 2015-20 Tomcats coach Jason Mays. “And we really didn’t. I mean, he scored 26 points. But for three quarters to hold him to 10 points was something else and probably won the game for us. Cole, Nick (Miller) and Justin (Bradley) kept rotating on him and they had a lot of help. We also limited Arliss, and Justin and Huddy (Ethan Hudson) took turns on him.”

The rest of the script was much the same as always for the 2015-20. The Villers brothers combined for 51 points, the 3-pointers were falling and they had 27 assists on 43 baskets led by point guard Colin Porter’s 10 dimes.

“Why change a good thing?” said Mays. “That’s been our formula for success along with great defense. We gave up 103 points but against that club, I’ll take it. I knew we needed more than 100 to beat them.”

Six players scored in double figures led by Christian Villers with 18, including 13 in the opening quarter. Chase Villers scored 17, Cole Villers 16 and 10 rebounds, Bradley 15 points and nine rebounds, Porter with 14 points and Ethan Hudson with 11 points and seven rebounds.

“They have some great balance and the Villers boys are too much for anybody,” said 2000-04 coach Mike Flynn. “We were playing with dead legs. The quarterfinal game took every ounce of energy we had inside us. The extra day of rest (for the 2015-20 Tomcats) made a big difference. I’d like for us to have had that on our side.”

The score was 60-54 at halftime with both teams firing up shots from everybody. The 2000-04 Tomcats had the lead at 50-48 but was outscored 12-4 the remainder of the half.

“Big swing there,” Mays said. “We were humming along  and then kind of fell apart for a few minutes. We bounced back in the last three minutes and regained the lead. I think that took a lot out of them mentally.”

It showed when the second half started. A decisive third quarter saw the 2015-20 Tomcats keep up the scoring with 28 points while holding the 2000-04 Tomcats to 19 points.

Arliss Beach and Zack Davis scored 13 apiece and Matt Johnson had 12 points. Jeremy Howell collected eight points and eight assists for the 2000-04 Tomcats.

“We had a good run,” Flynn said. “Those younger kids can play the game. It’ll be interesting to see how they do against the Legends. I wouldn’t count them out.”

The largest lead of the game was 19 points for the 2015-20 Tomcats. A 12-0 flurry led to the huge lead that was too much for the 2015-20 Tomcats to overcome.

“Mark knows all our kids so well,” Mays said. “I’m sure he’s not happy about losing to us. He’s a warrior out there. Tipton and those 80s guys worked him over pretty good. I saw that game. It was physical.”

The slick-passing 20s Tomcats were so good they even tongue-tied Dicky Martin’s descriptions over the air on several occasions.

“By gawd, I love both these teams and hated to see either one of them lose,” he said. “But that championship game is going to be something to watch.”

Fans will have the option of listening to Dick Martin – voice of the 60s Tomcats – or his son Dicky Martin, voice of the 2015-20 Tomcats.

2015-2020 TOMCATS (118) – Christian Villers 8-16 0-3 18, Chase Villers 6-14 1-1 17, Bradley 7-8 0-2 15, Cole Villers 6-12 3-3 16, Hudson 4-4 3-4 11, Miller 2-5 0-0 5, Sellars 2-4 2-2 8, Robinson 3-4 1-3 7, Porter 3-5 6-6 14, Mays 1-5 2-2 5. FG: 43-79. FT: 18-26. 3FG: 14-30 (Christian Villers 2-3, Chase Villers 4-9, Bradley 1-3, Cole Villers 1-3, Miller 1-2, Sellars 2-3, Porter 2-3, Mays 1-4). Rebounds: 42 (Christian Villers 6, Chase Villers 2, Bradley 9, Cole Villers 10, Hudson 7, Miller 2, Sellers 3, Robinson 1, Porter 1, Mays 1). Assists: 27 (Christian Villers 1, Chase Villers 1, Bradley 2, Cole Villers 7, Hudson 2, Miller3, Robinson 1, Porter 10). PF: 18. Turnovers: 9.

2000-2004 TOMCATS (103) – Howell 3-11 0-0 8, J.Cook 3-7 3-3 9, Surgalkski 10-19 2-2 26, Howard 4-6 0-0 8, Johnson 5-11 2-2 12, Davis 6-12 0-0 13, Cooksey 3-6 2-3 8, C.Cook 1-3 0-0 3, Salyers 1-4 0-0 3. FG: 40-89. FT: 13-14. 3FG: 10-26 (Howell 2-7, J.Cook 0-3, Surgalski 4-7, Davis 1-1, Cooksey 0-1, Beach 1-4, C.Cook 1-1, Salyers 1-2). Rebounds: 44 (Howell 4, J.Cook 3, Surgalski 9, Howard 7, M.Johnson 5, Davis 4, Cooksey 3, Beach 3, C.Cook 3, Salyers 2). Assists: 26 (Howell 8, Surgalski 3, Howard 3, M.Johnson 1, Davis 3, Cooksey 1, Beach 6, C.Cook 1). PF: 21. Turnovers: 17.

2015-2020 TOMCATS     41       19       28        30         –         118

2000-2004 TOMCATS     34       20       19        30         –        103

40 years ago this summer, Darryl Strawberry made his pro debut in Paintsville, and so did Jody Hamilton

It was 41 years ago this summer that George Steinbrenner put some Yankee pride into eastern Kentucky.

The former Yankee owner, who passed away in 2010, made the Paintsville Highlanders the Paintsville Yankees.

Paintsville’s pinstripes lived up to what The Boss wanted from his franchise. Paintsville won the Appalachian League championship in 1979, 1980 and 1981 and finished second in 1982.

That first season the Paintsville Yankees went 52-13 — an .800 winning percentage — and ran away with the Appalachian League title by 15 1/2 games over the Bluefield Orioles.

Paintsville’s own Boss was the late Paul Fyffe, who was more Bill Veeck than George Steinbrenner.

In other words, Fyffe knew how to draw a crowd.

But one July night in 1980, he almost went too far.

The Kingsport Mets were visiting Paintsville and top draft choice, 18-year-old Darryl Strawberry, was in the house.

Fyffe didn’t want the moment to pass without some fans in the stands. He planted a strawberry patch in right field — where Darryl Strawberry would be playing — and sold nothing but strawberry drinks in the concession stand. Also, fans got free admission to the two-game series if they brought a strawberry with them. He dubbed it the “Strawberry Festival.”

(The story of strawberries being dropped from a helicopter was not true. Although, if Fyffe thought it might work within fan safety regulations, I wouldn’t have put it past him to try it).

Darryl Strawberry was the Mets’ No. 1 draft choice on June 3, 1980. Jody Hamilton (below) and Strawberry both made their professional debuts in Paintsville in July 1980.

Not only was Strawberry a rookie, but so was Ashland native Jody Hamilton, who went undrafted but earned a spot on the Yankees after a tryout. It was a mystery why Hamilton wasn’t drafted. He was taken in the 16th round by the Texas Rangers after his junior season at Morehead State University but chose to stay in school. He had knee surgery in the offseason and that may have been what scared them off.

Hamilton left MSU as the school’s all-time home run king, a Triple Crown champion and an Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year. He still ranks as one of the Eagles’ greatest hitters.

He proved he could hit on the professional level, too, going 14-for-30 (.467) with eight walks, two home runs and 10 RBIs in his first 10 games with the Yankees. Hamilton ended up hitting .306 with six home runs in his 47-game professional career.

Hamilton also outhit Strawberry in that two-game series with the Kingsport Mets. In one game, he belted a 330-foot home run over the right-field fence to give the Yankees an 11-10 victory in the series opener.

Hamilton, of course, quit playing baseball to start coaching it in high school. It was a good move. Jody was one of the giants in Kentucky high school baseball history with more than 900 career victories and state championships at Boyd County High School in 2001 and West Jessamine High School a couple of years ago.

The 1980 “Strawberry Festival” was a sellout and a fun time in Paintsville, which, remember, was the property of the Yankees.

And there was the rub.

When The Sporting News ran an article about how a Yankee team in the Appalachian League’s Rookie League had promoted a New York Met, Steinbrenner blew a gasket and threatened to take away the franchise.

“It was like a scene from ‘Seinfeld’ where Steinbrenner is screaming at George over something that happened in Paintsville, Ky.,” said Jason Blanton, who began working for the Paintsville Yankees as a 14-year-old clubbie who folded uniforms and towels — and whatever else was asked of him. “That was our claim to fame with Steinbrenner. That was the only time he threatened the franchise.”

Blanton, who now works for Morehead State University’s media department, closely followed professional baseball in Paintsville to its end in 1984.

“It was a great time, as I look back on it,” he said. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

The Yankees were good to Paintsville, including putting money into the high school field that they called home in the summer. It was a showplace.

“He (Steinbrenner) made sure they had anything they needed,” Blanton said. “I remember one of the first days at a Yankee practice they had a pamphlet called ‘The Yankee Way.’ It told you no facial hair, have the hair off the back of your collar, things like that. You did things their way. When I folded uniforms, it had to be a certain way.”

The sign on the Johnson County clubhouse door was the Yankee logo with “The pride starts here” written under it, Blanton said.

“That’s what it was all about,” he said. “They said it a thousand times a day: Do it the Yankee way. It started from the top and moved down.”

Steinbrenner, who had purchased the sagging New York Yankee franchise in 1973, was building from within (although he mostly built with a wide-open wallet). Of course, in 1979, the Yankees were coming off back-to-back World Series championships under Steinbrenner.

It wasn’t the same in Paintsville after the Brewers became the parent club in 1983 and 1984, Blanton said. The last game in Paintsville pro baseball history was a 4-0 loss to the Pikeville Cubs. The pitcher that night? None other than surefire Hall-of-Famer Greg Maddux.

“Things were a lot different,” he said. “The best days were with the Yankees.”