Beech Tree News Network

And then there was one.

Only one game to go in the University of Kentucky football season. Just one more Saturday for UK football fans to be hopeful, excited, disappointed, and dejected, all in the space of just a few hours.

It occurred to me during the Georgia debacle on Saturday night that watching UK football is a lot like looking at a car accident on the interstate. A part of me wants to look and see how bad things are, but when I do look it makes me feel dirty somehow.

If Mark Stoops hasn't privately asked himself what he's gotten himself into I'll eat my hat. While Stoops languishes in Lexington the Florida State team he helped build sits at the precipice of a National Championship game. A year ago he coached young men who were masters of their game. This year he's trying to limp to the season's finish with a team that can barely play football, and aren't proving to be the finest of young men off the field.

This team still finds ways to surprise me with its ineptitude. The new, 'better' offense is supposed to stretch defenses and open up opportunities for big plays all over the field. In reality Neil Brown is trying to stretch the field with a couple of quarterbacks that struggle to throw the ball more than 20 yards. Of course it wouldn't really matter if the qbs could fling the ball the entire length of the field, because the UK receiving corps can't catch the football. I think they lead the free world in drops this season.

Then there's the ground game.

UK's running backs have to have at least a little talent. They do manage to gain a few yards here and there, despite the fact that the SEC's worst offensive line is blocking for them. Georgia destroyed the UK line so badly that it looked like they were starting plays in the UK backfield. UK's skill backs are hit so often and so violently that the sideline medical staff needs room for expansion. I've seen the ER lobby less crowded than the trainer's area at Commonwealth Stadium.

Only the Tennessee game remains. It speaks volumes about how bad UT football has gotten that they are only a 4-point favorite. Nothing is at stake in this game. Nobody can get bowl eligible. Neither coach has reached the point where he needs a win to save his job. If UT wins they'll have 2 SEC wins and Butch Jones can start convincing the boosters that the Vols are climbing out of the cellar. If UK wins the season is better on paper than last year, and the arguments can start between Cat fans and Arkansas fans about whose team is really the worst in the league.

For myself and a lot of other UK football fans next Saturday will bring a merciful close to our season of frustration and disappointment. We will start a UK football fan's best season, the off-season. The time when we always seem to think that next year will somehow be better. The time when all the recruits live up to the hype, and whatever the coach says sounds believable.

At least the off-season doesn't disappoint. No college football team falls flat and makes you question your allegiance in the off-season. The off-season doesn't have a scheduled beating by Florida, or an appearance by Steve Spurrier and his bag of UK-dooming tricks and miracles. It's the best time for UK football, when everyone's record is 0-0-0, and the cards aren't yet on the table. And we can dream of wins, even though we know September will be here before we know it, and it might again be time to fold our dreams and do what UK football fans seem to do best. Wait for better days.

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Two of Motorsports' stalwarts will have their Thanksgiving dinners this year under different circumstances.

After a career that's seen him almost win multiple titles, establish himself as one of the nice guys in sports, and create one of the sports world's most loyal troupe of fans, Mark Martin is stepping away from NASCAR. He won't go as far as saying he's retired, but it looks like this time he's done for good.

Martin made his 882nd, and likely final start of his career last Sunday at Homestead. If the book is indeed closed he will end things with 40 Cup wins, six runner up finishes in the championship, and 49 Grand National wins. With his departure the last of the NASCAR old guard has pulled off the track. Now guys like Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart are the sports' elder statesmen, and a better era of racing comes to a close.

A continent away, in Yorba Linda, California, John Force will carve his Thanksgiving bird just as he has 15 other times, as the NHRA Funny Car World Champion.

In possibly his most amazing season yet, Force silenced his critics and doubters in grand fashion. Even though he had to deal with team disappointments, the loss of sponsors, and the upheaval of learning that Ford will leave drag-racing after next season, Force piloted his Mustang to his 16th world title.

It was far from his most dominant year. It wasn't the best driving job he's ever done. He wasn't even his usual, sponsor-stroking, mic-loving self, but he got the job done.

Force has always been about doing his job. Racing quit being a game to him when it started putting food on his table. Through the years he's won about everything you can win in the NHRA. He's tamed tracks, and bested rivals. Some years he won by domination, and some years by cunning and maybe some luck. But he always found ways to get his car down the track and get a paycheck.

John Force will never hurt for money again, and neither will his family. He's amassed a fortune thanks to a business sense that's as strong as his skill as a driver. There will never be any doubt about who is the greatest funny car racer in history. His legend and his legacy are assured.

Some folks think Force should give up driving. After all racing is a young person's sport, especially when the cars go over 300mph.

If Mark Martin and John Force were to share some leftovers and have a chat I think I know what Martin would tell Force. He would say that racing isn't always about winning, that sometimes it's about doing things right and giving your best effort to the job at hand. I think he would tell him that it's easy to listen to the doubters when old injuries make it hard to sleep and even harder to get up the next day. But I think he would remind Force that racing is still fun even if it's a job, and that sometimes enjoying the ride is the most important thing.

I think the last thing Martin would tell Force is that all the hard work and time he has invested do entitle him to one thing. That is to do things for himself, in his own time, and on his terms. I can almost hear Mark telling him, "if you still love it, keep doing it."

Force clearly still loves racing, and this championship certainly must be one of his sweetest. Who knows if he will win another race, or even another round, but rest assured John Force will be back next year, and he will find a way to let us know that he's still around.

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I don't advocate crime.

That said, if I wanted to rob a bank I think Alabama, next Saturday might be the place to try it, because at 1:30 pm the entire state will shut down for about three-and-a-half hours.

The #1 Alabama Crimson Tide will travel to Auburn to take on the #6 Tigers in the annual Iron Bowl. In terms of in-state rivalry games this is as big as it gets. This year the game also has a trip to the SEC Championship Game, and a probable NCAA Title Game berth on the line to just add to the hysteria.

I'm not even going to attempt to pick a winner in this game. Bama will be the favorite, but that all goes out the window once the game kicks off.

If you need some good entertainment next Saturday, find a mixed group of Alabama and Auburn fans and go watch the game. You'll likely hear some vicious slurs, plenty of snarky comments, and at the end of the evening you can watch one group of fans see just how badly they can represent their school in victory. This game is UK vs Lousiville, Duke vs UNC, and Yankees vs Red Sox all rolled into one.

I'm hoping for the same outcome I do every year in this game. I want a 50-50 tie that ends in the wee hours of the morning when the governor intervenes and stops the contest. I just think it would be fun to watch Alabama and Auburn fans argue all winter with no way to decide whose team is better.

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Smokin'Joe's Sunday NFL Winners

Steelers, Lions, Packers, Chiefs, Bears, Panthers, Ravens, Texans, Raiders, Colts, Cowboys, Broncos, 49ers.

I'll update my standings next week, and have my Thanksgiving winners for you before you sit down to dinner on Thursday.

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Tune into the Butler County Sports Jam this week at 8 Wednesday night. This week's show will feature a 3rd Region basketball preview, and interviews with BCHS Head Basketball Coaches Calvin Dockery and Christy Clark.

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I'm thankful for all my readers, and hope you have plenty of turkey and football this Thursday. You can tell me all about you meal or weigh in on other topics by sending mail to: [email protected]