2025-09-19 - LEACH REPORT

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This podcast of The Leach Report is presented by Boone's
Butcher Shop in Barnstown at one hundred Old Bloomfield Pike,
family owned and operated since nineteen forty six, with fresh
meat cut on site daily Boone's Butcher Shop. Good Day,
Welcome into the Leach Report, presented by Bob Kat Enterprises.

(00:21):
And coming up on the show today, we're going to
visit with the new editor sports editor for the Lexington
Herald Leader, that is Brett Dawson, frequent guest on the
show many many, but several years ago when he was
covering the Cats here locally and he left to find

(00:43):
his way around the NBA at in Oklahoma City, and
so now has matriculated back to the Bluegrass, and so
we will catch up with him talk about his new
job and the local sports scene. And in the second
half of the show, Derek Ramsey joins us to talk
about a really special milestone that is happening this football

(01:06):
season for him and for Kentucky football. So that's what's
on our agenda today. Wildcat News of the Day presented
by Giuseppes of Lexington, And rather than round up all
the news, we'll get to as many things as we
can at some point during the show, but we want
to lead off with Kentucky Volleyball winning last night at
number three Louisville three to two. Kentucky lost the first set,

(01:29):
won the second, lost the third, and then steamrolled Louisville
in the last two sets. And Dick Gabriel joins us
to talk about it, and he was on hand. And
I know that because I was watching a Louisville player
serve and there was Gabe right there behind her. So,
and you told me you were at the match. What

(01:50):
I texted you back? Coming on?

Speaker 2 (01:51):
I said, I know, that's all you want to TV.

Speaker 3 (01:55):
I started getting texts last night and my actually my
brother I took with because he is a volleyball high
school volleyball official in Louisville and I'm still studying the
game and trying to learn the rules and how to
spot them quickly, and he was giving me a lot
of tips, you know, hand signals, you know, watch for
this and that. So so yeah, we both got some FaceTime.

Speaker 1 (02:17):
So what happened It was actually our Doug had a
little surgery and I was helping with her, and so
I missed a chunk of the fourth set.

Speaker 2 (02:28):
And what turned it around A.

Speaker 3 (02:31):
Couple of things. You got it. Obviously, Craig Skinner's done
a remarkable job at Kentucky, but he made a personnel
change and was forced into another one. Towards the end
of the third set. I believe it was Cassie O'Brien,
the six to one, really talented freshman setter, started cramping
up one of her legs.

Speaker 4 (02:52):
You could tell.

Speaker 3 (02:53):
She limped off the floor terrible cramps, and Ava Sarappa
came in. Avias started the year as at her played
extremely well against Nebraska in in other spots, but Cassie
just beat her out well. Absarappa immediately had an impact
setting the ball and really helping Kentucky's offense find a flow.

(03:13):
And that's what was the problem was early was Louisville's
defense was tremendous, double Kentucky up in blocks early, but
pretty soon the Kentucky's big hitter started to get the
ball where they needed it and really had Louisville back
on its heels. The other thing was Jordan Daily came
off the man. She is a really talented young player

(03:33):
who's battled injury and is just trying to find playing
time and Skinner saw a spot for her and put
her in, and she responded immediately, first on defense and
then pretty soon on offense. So those two moves, as
well as you know, everybody else playing pretty well, really
turned things around in a tough place because, as you know,

(03:53):
the young center can be kind of intimidating. They had
the top curtained off, so it was it looked like
a full house with about twelve thousand people in a
great crowd.

Speaker 1 (04:04):
And loud and in Louisville's number three in the country.
So the Kentucky's played a grueling schedule as they usually do,
but maybe maybe that paid often in a situation like
this what they've already been through.

Speaker 3 (04:18):
But yeah, the Louisville team has had Texas down four
in the fifth set, let it get away. So they're
really good.

Speaker 1 (04:26):
But it's it's funny sometimes how you know a change
that maybe you weren't necessarily going to make works out
now you and your staff had to have the player
prepared to come through at that time, and so clearly
they did. So I mean, it's kind of like having
two really good quarterbacks, I guess, isn't it to have
two really good setters?

Speaker 3 (04:48):
It really is it's a great analogy or two really
good point guards. I mean, whoever just triggers the offense.
But it really comes back to your point. Now, competitive
Kentucky's are for years, and I've gone to practices and
seen how these players lift each other up and make
each other better. And I've always said this, if you

(05:09):
practice well with Kentucky volleyball, you play. You know, there
are kids that we haven't seen for two weeks. Suddenly
they're playing. If not in the starting lineup, Well, why
did she play? Well? She practiced solo this week, which
is I think a really interesting way to run a team.

Speaker 1 (05:25):
And it's like there's something to this coaching thing.

Speaker 3 (05:30):
Yeah, you know, you don't just show up and roll
the ball out.

Speaker 4 (05:32):
Let them play.

Speaker 2 (05:33):
I guess well, Gabe, I appreciate you jumping on.

Speaker 1 (05:37):
I just wanted to get a little more detail on
such a big win. Plus it's the it's the Kentucky
Louisville anything. Anytime it's in that rivalry, it is a
little bigger deal. So they go into conference play Coach
Ginner squad next week, right.

Speaker 3 (05:55):
They do, but they got Washington coming up. Washington said
good teams in the past, so they can't overlook them.
That's Saturday at noon and we'll have it on SEC plus.

Speaker 2 (06:03):
Great sounds good, Thank you, Gabe.

Speaker 4 (06:05):
All right, see it.

Speaker 1 (06:06):
The other big story involving a wildcat, a former wildcat.
We're talking about City McLaughlin Lavroni on Wednesday with Mike
Decursi when she won her semifinal in the four hundred
meters at the World Championships in Tokyo, Well yesterday with
the time change happened shortly after we went off the air,

(06:28):
she won the final and she finished eighteen hundreds of
a second off a forty year old record that from
what I read, people thought might never be broken, and
looks like she may have her sights set on it now.
She nearly got it yesterday, only the second runner to
go under forty eight seconds in the four hundred, and

(06:50):
she beat the Olympic champion in winning. Go sid, go wow.
She is incredible. And now yeah, and I've read somewhere
depending on the schedule of events, the writer suggested that
she could perhaps run both the four hundred flat and
the four hundred meter hurdles at the Olympics. I don't,

(07:11):
I mean, I'm assuming that's never been done, and that
would be amazing if you could pull it off, but
she does amazing pretty easily. Links to the stories that
we talk about each day, you can find them on
the bud Light Leach Report page at Tom Leechky dot com.
I've got some other notes that we'll get to as
we move through the show today. But when we come back,
Brett Dawson's going to join the program, the new sports

(07:31):
editor for the Lexingdon Herald Leader. We'll be read back
on the Leech Report. Opening segment always presented by Joseepies
of Lexington. And if you're celebrating any kind of a
special occasion, a birthday and anniversary, maybe you're doing a
day at Keeland or at a UK game and you
need a really special meal to either start the weekend
or cap it off, make it Juseeppes, go to open

(07:52):
Table right now.

Speaker 2 (07:53):
Make your reservation.

Speaker 1 (07:55):
The food is fantastic, the ambiance is extra special, and
give it a try. Go to the Sheppes Lexington dot com.
You'll see the menu. You see what I'm talking about.
We'll be right back on the Leads Report. Radio Network
Chapart comes to you each day from the Clark's pumping Shop,
Studio Return, Refresh, Refuel at Clark's. Brett Dawson joins the
program new sports editor for the Lexington Herald Leader. So, Brett,

(08:18):
welcome back to the Bluegrass. Congrats on the new job.

Speaker 4 (08:21):
Thank you, Tom.

Speaker 5 (08:21):
It's good to be back, really good to be home.

Speaker 1 (08:24):
What was the appeal of you know, you've been a
writer for most of your career, did a teaching stint
out in Missouri at a great school there, So what
was the appeal of taking a little different path in
the business.

Speaker 5 (08:40):
Yeah, so the Missouri thing was a big part of it. Actually,
that was a few years ago and I was teaching
at Missouri. But you're also the sports editor of the
Columbia Missourian in that sports journalism teaching job. And that
job is that piper. Really, it's produced by the students
of the journalism school. It's produced by the school itself,
but the editors are professionals and professional faculty.

Speaker 2 (09:01):
There are people who've been.

Speaker 4 (09:01):
In the business.

Speaker 5 (09:02):
So I got a real taste of being a sports
editor in that job, working with really young people, but
super talented people.

Speaker 2 (09:09):
And then I was.

Speaker 5 (09:09):
Again in academy. I was a Oklahoma state when this
opened up and I'd been working with students and not
the same capacity I was the media advisor for the
whole paper, but some similarities to that and just much
more of a management type of experience. And then, you know,
when matc groff announced he was going to retire, a
couple of people on the staff I've known for a
very long time reached out and wanted to know if

(09:31):
maybe I'd be interested, and I definitely was. It was
a chance to be back here and if you know,
if I wasn't going to be covering the NBA, this
is there's no place I'd rather be than Lexington. And
so the opportunity to just come back work with a really,
really amazing staff at a place as you know, people
come and just stay. They stay forever because people love
to work at their old leader.

Speaker 1 (09:50):
Yeah, the job that you now hold, it's not like
it's changes over every couple of years.

Speaker 5 (09:56):
Yeah, it's like basketball coaches at Kentucky, you know, like
it's a long time sports editors. So you know, Matt
was in the job for about a decade, but was
that the paper for close to I don't know, thirty years.
We just celebrated Mark story thirty fifth anniversary at the
paper recently, So yeah, he started in nineteen ninety and

(10:20):
then Gene Abel did the job for longer than I
could count before Matt was doing it as a sports editor.
So you know, if you look at just recently the
people who have stepped away, John Clay and Jerry Tipton
and Mike Fields, all those guys were there for so long.

Speaker 2 (10:33):
You know.

Speaker 5 (10:34):
I think Ben Roberts's coming basketball for US now has
actually been with The Herald Leader for nineteen years. And
Ben doesn't even seem old enough for that to be possible,
but he was even doing the recruiting stuff and when
he lived in Washington, DC, so he's been He's working
there for a very, very long time.

Speaker 2 (10:48):
How's the.

Speaker 1 (10:51):
Job different for the sports editor now? What are the
significant differences versus when you were coming up in the
business and working for editors.

Speaker 4 (11:00):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (11:01):
I think one of the big things is that the
job is more about you know, one thing that's really
similar is that you're still trying to think of what
are the best stories. So one of the things, you know,
when I taught sports journalism, what I always told students
was don't think that you cover sports, think of it
as you cover people who play sports, and so who
are the personalities, who are the people that we want

(11:22):
to know more about, learn more about, write more about,
And so that part is really similar. What's different, obviously,
is one you're overseeing everything. So as I was more focused,
you know, on a football team and season or a
basketball team and season. Now I'm kind of keeping touch
with everything. I'm talking to Ben already about basketball, and
we're you know, I'm learning the high schools and who's

(11:43):
great at football and who's great at volleyball and who's
great at soccer. And then, you know, instead of writing
these stories, you're really trying to help writers write the
very best stories. So I'm reading everything before it goes
into paper or almost everything or goes online, and just
trying to help people get where they want to get.
Kind of you know, somebody's working on a feature, you're
kind of trying to help them push it over the top.

(12:05):
Take a good story great, make a great story an
award winner. That kind of thing.

Speaker 1 (12:09):
We used to do some work in the print world.
I could read your stuff and critique it really well.
I would miss stuff in my own copy because you
just see it there, even though it's not there because
you know miss you're to put it there.

Speaker 2 (12:23):
Very true.

Speaker 5 (12:23):
Also, get you get married to your stuff as a writer,
So sometimes you just think there's this one thing you
just couldn't possibly cut because you thought it was so
great when somebody told it to you, and then somebody
reads and says, you know, it really doesn't belong, really
doesn't fit with this story, and now I have to
be the one who says that stuff.

Speaker 1 (12:39):
We're retired with Brad Dawson, the Lexandon Harrell Leaders, new
sports editor, still at b Dawson Rights on X. It
was Twitter when he started that. But we will be
right back after a break and talk a little bit
about what's going on on the local sports scene. Here
all the Leach Report presented by Bobcat Enterprises. The Leach
Report presented by Bob Kat Enterprises. We're chatting with Brett Dawson,

(13:01):
the new sports editor the Lexingdon Harold Leaders. So you,
I'm sure followed this scene even when you were away
and you're out there in Oklahoma and you see that
John Calipari is leaving Kentucky men's basketball and you're just wondering,
wonder who they're going to get, and Scott Drew's name
had been mentioned for for a few years that he'd

(13:22):
be high on the list, and Hurley, Danny Hurley's hot,
so he's on the list. And what was your take
as to how on how things actually played out.

Speaker 5 (13:34):
Yeah, well, I was very engaged. I actually unfortunately at
the time, if anybody wants to google the phrase Brett
Dawson and sell out crowd, I was at a website
that was a disaster and we had all lost our jobs,
and so I was kind of, you know, I was
I was doing the unemployment thing for a brief window
while that was all happening, and so I was just

(13:54):
obsessed with the coaching search because it gave me something
to do and think about. So I was fascinated by
you know, I was. I covered Billy Donovan in Oklahoma City.
I still knew some people who knew Billy and I
was in contact with some of those people, and I
really thought that might be a real possibility at the time,
just based on some of the things I was hearing
from people and sources that I still had connected to him.

(14:15):
Not that necessarily he was going to say yes, but
I think the openness was certainly there, and I wondered
would they be willing to wait for that. I think
the Mark Pope thing was shocking to me, like I
think it was to most people, probably more so for
the timing than anything else. It happened so quickly, and
I think the thought was, well, you know, they could,
they could get Mark Pope anytime they want. Why wouldn't they,

(14:37):
you know, wait on an NBA coach or whatever. But
the sense I got, especially talking to people in coaching
who know a little bit about Mark, is just that
he kind of blew Mitch farhard away. I think the
the the hope was probably there that he was going
to be the guy when they talked, and I think
he met the expectations that that Mitch wanted. Based on
what I hear from people. You have never talked to

(14:58):
Mitch or Mark Pope about it, but I know coaches
really like Mark Pope. I think they really think he
knows what he's doing and he's very different. You know
a lot of times in coaching searches they say, don't
hire what you just had, and they really couldn't have
hired a more different person, I think in terms of
the analytical approach and just a stylistic approach to basketball.

(15:19):
So it shocked me, but it was a pretty exciting
move to do something so different, and I think pretty bold.

Speaker 1 (15:26):
Yeah, programs like Kentucky often don't, you know, really long
time established programs like Kentucky men's basketball don't do bold
a lot, right, Yeah.

Speaker 5 (15:35):
And I thought it was really interesting to do. You know,
I had been covering the Thunder and I'm still pretty
connected to some of the coaching staff there. I know
those coaches a few of them very well, and I
know the GM Sam Presty very well. And the way
basketball has moved in the past decade or so, there's
so much focus, especially if you look at the Thunder,
who are you know, NBA champions, There's so much of

(15:58):
the focus is on, especially offensively. It's on quick processing, right,
It's a quick thought. The ball touches your hands and
you quickly process what's happening on the floor. Is the
shot there for you? Is there a better shot somewhere else?
Move the ball quickly, don't hold it, don't pound it
into the ground. And I think, you know, if you
watch what Mark Pope is doing and listen to what

(16:19):
he talks about in terms of his philosophies. That's a
really important piece for him. You got to be able
to think the game to play for him. And I
think that's that is much more modern basketball, you know,
probably than anybody's been playing since in terms of modern
for the time then since Rick Patino was here.

Speaker 2 (16:34):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (16:35):
I think Mark at one point compared it to or
used an analogy to Greg Popovitch's offense is with the Spurs,
and I think he said, you had like a maybe a.

Speaker 2 (16:45):
Second and a half to make a decision. Yeah. Yeah,
that's the whole thing.

Speaker 5 (16:50):
Move it quickly, Shoot it quickly. And sometimes that really
means that. Sometimes it means shoot the ball as soon
as you touch it, because often the first shot is
the best shot.

Speaker 1 (17:00):
It's a little like the scene from It a different
way from the from Moneyball with the Billy Bean character
with Brad Pitt. He tells the Jonah Hill character when
you get the answer you want, hang up. It's like
when you get the shot you want, shoot it.

Speaker 5 (17:14):
Yeah, that's right, it's right. And if you don't have it,
get rid of it fast, don't you know, Like the
shot Austin won't come to you if you don't have
it right. When you get it. Holding the ball usually
doesn't do you a lot of good, and so you
know it's been It was super fun to watch Oklahoma
City play that way with a bunch of guys who
could have the ball in their hands. Shaggild as Alexander
does have the ball in his hands a lot, makes
a lot of plays, but also is such a good

(17:36):
guy giving the ball up and understanding that. You know,
sometimes holding the ball doesn't get you the best shot,
but what gets you the best shot is giving the
ball up and getting it back.

Speaker 1 (17:45):
It's Brett Dawson, new sports senator for the Lexid and Hair. Later,
we're coming up on the hard Break, so we will
cut you loose, but we'll be talking frequently now.

Speaker 2 (17:53):
I'm sure. Thank you for the time.

Speaker 5 (17:55):
Yeah, thanks Tom, I really appreciate it.

Speaker 2 (17:57):
Good to be back.

Speaker 1 (17:58):
And is that b Dawson rights on X to follow
him and he we'll get a lot of insight we
get close to the basketball season from Brett about you know,
covering his days covering the NBA after covering a big
time college basketball program. Halfway home on the Lates Report,

(18:18):
and we'll hit from Derek Ramsey whill we come right back.
It's the Late's Ripport presented by Bob kat Enterprises. Welcome
in a dear friend, Dereck Ramsey to the program to
talk some football. And the main reason ram I wanted
to catch up to you about now is ran into
you over at the book signing for the Memorial Coliseum

(18:40):
book last month and we were reminiscing about the fact
that this month is the fiftieth anniversary month of the
you being the first African American quarterback to start at
the University of Kentucky and just the third in the
history of the SEC. And you know, it was just
what seven eight years after Nate Northington broke the color

(19:03):
barrier and the group of the Trailblazers, So I know
that was a I'm sure a difficult time and ways
for you, but also you remember it, you know, finally
to have been a bit of a trailblazer yourself.

Speaker 4 (19:17):
Right, Yeah. Absolutely. And then the guys that you mentioned before,
Condridge Holloway and Connie and I are still friends to
this day. And the other guy was Don Gafney at
the University of Florida, and of course growing up in Hastings,
which is about forty five miles south of Jacksonville, I

(19:39):
would hear a whole bunch about Don Gafney back then.
Of course laid On. His brother was a great wide receiver,
Dereck Gaffney, and so that whole list of guys. But
during that time, as you mentioned, they were really really
good quarterbacks that were out there which I had to chase,

(20:00):
and of course at some point another chased them down
enough to beat both of their teams.

Speaker 1 (20:06):
With Coach Cursey, when you came to the University of Kentucky,
was it a hard sale to convince them to let
you stay at quarterback?

Speaker 4 (20:16):
Note because initially when I came to the University of
Kentucky and wherever I decided to go already and I
and we were going to go together wherever we went.
The deal was I was going to get to play quarterback.
And the interesting part about that time is that in
nineteen seventy five, when I became the starting quarterback, after

(20:40):
four games, I got benched and one of the things
they wanted to do immediately was moved me to tight end.
And I wasn't having any of that, And so I
was going to go home, and Coach Cursey had gotten
word that I was going to transfer or leave. And

(21:01):
he then called my father and there was a phone
call between my father and Coach Cursey and myself, and
he shared with Coach Cirsey that we are guaranteed that
I would get to play quarterback, and of course I
had to beat the other guys out. It wasn't a
gift that he was going to give me. And so

(21:23):
he has told Coach Cursey what he has to do
with me. He said, you really haven't gotten a note
there yet. If he thinks he can do it, he's
not going to change his mind. And I knew I
could do this. And I had to sit back and
watch for the next six weeks before I played again

(21:43):
and figure out how bad I was really playing. And
after being tutored by my high school coach, I understood
how to break down film from the time I was
about thirteen years of age. And so I went back
and started looking at my game film Or was I bad?

Speaker 2 (22:03):
I think you just just play?

Speaker 4 (22:06):
Yeah, I would, I would make a make a big play.
Then I'd misread I make a big play. I threw
in a steps and make a big play. I fumble
on the handout make a big play. Somebody step on
my foot, you know, and we were running this beer offense.
Not not to make total excuses for it, but I

(22:28):
was just awful at it because of my hand side
and my foot side, and it happened too quickly for me.
And so when we brought coach mosson here, my whole
world change, and I think the whole destiny of the
University of Kentucky football change because it allowed me to
do the things that I was really good at and

(22:48):
capable of doing, rather than stumbling and trippling, trippling over myself.

Speaker 2 (22:54):
Ramy need to take a break. We'll do that.

Speaker 1 (22:56):
Come back with more of our chat with former wild
Kat QB legend Dereck Ramsey here on the Leach Report,
presented by Bob kat Enterprises. Leach Report coming to here
from the Clark's Pumping Shop studio. Return Refresh refuwal at Clark's.
We're visiting with Derek Ramsey. A couple of years ago,
ram did a book about his life in sports and

(23:19):
politics and sports administration. They called me mister Secretary. Did
that with John Wong. You still find that, Dick. Let's
get back to talking about that breakout season in seventy
six when things turned you elected to stay at UK
because mainly of coach Perry moss the new offensive coordinator
that Frank Kersey brought in.

Speaker 4 (23:38):
Right when I met coach Mossy initially, I was walking
off the sill. They had brought me back in the
second half at the Florida game and we were getting embarrassed.
I think it was thirty one and thirty two to nothing,
and I was able to put up seven points on
the board to keep us from getting shut out. And

(24:00):
this guy walks up beside me and says, you don't
know who I am. My name is Perry Moss and
I had a guy like you at University of Minnesota,
Sandy Stevens, and just give me a chance, because he
had heard that I was leaving also, and at that

(24:20):
time I was going to leave at the end of
the end of the school year. And he said, just
give me a chance. He said, I'll be in my
office Monday after the Tennessee game. Meet me there at
six am, and you and I will go to work.
And from that morning after the Tennessee game that Monday

(24:43):
morning until spring football started, he and I would meet
about two hours every day, five days a week. So
by the time we got the spring football, I had
a full understanding of the offense, and I had a
full command of the offense, and the rest is history.

Speaker 1 (25:01):
It's interesting you tell that story because I did an
interview with Babe PERRELLI became friend of yours, and Babe,
before he passed, had done a book and he was
telling me a story about when he played here for
coach Bryant. He and Coach Bryant would meet at lunchtime
every day and they played this board game where you'd

(25:24):
roll the dice and you know, one guy pick up
offense and one guy picked the defense, and then you'll
go back and forth. And he said he learned how
the bear thought in playing that game, so that he
knew how to call plays because he was calling his
own plays.

Speaker 2 (25:39):
Like you were. And it's interesting.

Speaker 1 (25:41):
I mean, you can, you know, gain that kind of
you know, trust and effectiveness in a relationship.

Speaker 2 (25:46):
But it takes a lot of time, doesn't it.

Speaker 4 (25:49):
Yes, yes, you does. And we spent more time together.
I learned more football. The only other guy that knew
more football than the coach Moss are as much was
John Madden that I worked for. I mean, he was
that skilled that knowledgeable, and he really had a good
understanding of what my capabilities was because of what he

(26:13):
had was handy. And also, you know, once he allowed
me to call my own plays when they would send
stuff in the sideline, I also had the ability and
the ability to change that play and go to something else.
And uh, if he'd run into some of my lineness
sometimes and asked them about my huddle, they would sending

(26:36):
a play in and I would say, who in the
hell since call let's play. We're not doing this. We're
not doing this, We're going somewhere else. Guys may laugh
about said let's make it work. Make me look good.

Speaker 1 (26:50):
Fellas Dereck, you also had a unique counselor when you
were in that time at UK as the first African
American quarter back.

Speaker 4 (27:00):
Right, yes, yes, I did. I was Governor ab Happy Chamber,
and he gave me a lot of insight on a
lot of things that a seventeen eighty old person just
had no idea of what the expectations were of me.
And they were not only to win games on the field,

(27:24):
but also to conduct myself in a manner that the
African Americans in the state of Kentucky could be proud.
There were a lot of people looking at me. I
knew that this was the first time and it meant
a lot, not only to the African American people, but

(27:44):
to the people of Kentucky because this is something that
was unseen and unfeard of for them.

Speaker 1 (27:51):
And you found out many years later when you were
working in state government kind of the impact of that,
maybe that you didn't fully appreciate at the time.

Speaker 4 (28:02):
Right absolutely. I was working for Governor Fletcher at the time,
and I was on an assignment in Western Kentucky to
go around and speak to all the African American churches
about what we were doing to take government, how we
could be helpful to the different communities. And I walked

(28:26):
in there and I went to introduce myself and there
were maybe five African American women in the age of
seventy five to eighty eighty five, and I'd go to
introduce myself and this woman said, oh, no, honey, I
know who you are. We know who you are, and

(28:47):
I've been pulling for you and I've been praying for you.
We know who you are. You just keep doing what
you're doing.

Speaker 2 (28:55):
Neat story they had to make you feel good.

Speaker 4 (28:57):
Oh that had to make me feel great it, you know,
because again there's a lot of things that go with
the assignment of being quarterback, and as well as you know,
how you conduct yourself, how do you lead your team,
how you get these guys to follow you, because like myself,

(29:20):
they too were all Americans as well, and so just
to show up and I would bet you that the
majority of my teammates because before our class came in
there there was only nine African Americans on the team.
And so with that in mind, I'm certain if there
were a number of white guys that never played with

(29:44):
or gainst in African Americans. And so I then had
to conduct myself in a way that would make them
understand that this guy could lead us and he is
who we are going to He was the follow And
there was another guy that was instrumental in my preparation

(30:08):
before becoming the starting quarterback and becoming a leader, and
that was a colonel that I was working with while
I was cadeted my first two and a half years there.
We would talk about leadership, how you get men to
follow you, and I remember one thing in particularly he

(30:30):
told me, and his name now that that escapes me
but I will come back. There was one thing he
told me and I will never forget. He said, the son,
you have the ability to lead men, he says, obviously,
he said, just in the two or three months, this

(30:51):
is my freshman year, just in the two or three
months that we've talked. He said. The different is is
that in the game of football, if you can't get
them to follow you, you lose games. He said, in
the war game, if you don't get them to follow you,

(31:13):
you lose life. And so the whole learning process and
getting ready to lead my team to a lot of
people that were involved in helping me develop the leader
that I became.

Speaker 1 (31:31):
Well, it's I know there's a lot of stats people
could tick off about your career, but I'm guessing the
one you're most proud of is all the games that
you guys won because they getting into a bowl game
in twenty five years and you guys went to one
and dominated it in seventy six and might have been
as good as anybody in the country in seventy seven.

Speaker 4 (31:51):
Well, you know the two things you just hit on
one time. For me, you know, it's not about statistical stuff.
I've never cared about that all I care about wins
and losses, and in nineteen seventy six to be able
to give the people of Kentucky something that they hadn't
had for twenty five years that they were clamoring for,

(32:13):
and me and my guys were able to do it.
We were very good teams. And then in nineteen seventy seven,
I would argue and Babe and I we would talk
about this. As you mentioned earlier, it was a mentor
and a frame. We would always debate about whose team
was better. And two things I would always tell him. One,

(32:34):
you never beat Tennessee and second, we're the only team
that ever go undefeated in their SCC, so there's not
much debate when it comes to that. Babe. Of course
we'd go back and forth, but at the end of
the day, we were just two great teams. But I

(32:55):
would certainly argue still to this day that my team
nineteen seven is the greatest team in UK's history.

Speaker 1 (33:03):
And football appreciate the time as always, Thank you, thank you,
He's the best. That's Derek Ramsey. Interesting note, Fabe Perrilli
has the best streak of two seasons in terms of
winning twenty games at the University of Kentucky Derrek Ramsey's
next at nineteen. All this time's past, nobody's been able
to beat those two in wins. Which is the most

(33:25):
important stat It's the Leads Report presented by bob Ted Enterprises.
We'll be right back next week, I think. On the
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(33:47):
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(34:08):
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and all the hemp is grown in Kentucky and proudly

(34:28):
made in the USA. Let's get to a couple of
notes here. The SEC is going to unveil the list
of league games for all of its football teams on Tuesday.
So they're going to a nine game schedule next year,
and we'll see who the three and they call them
annual opponents. So the reason it is they're going to

(34:49):
review this every four years, according to the story, So
we'll see who Kentucky's three annual opponents will be for
football starting next year come Tuesday.

Speaker 2 (35:02):
The Wildcat historied.

Speaker 1 (35:04):
Out for today is that in nineteen ninety two, Dean
Wells set a school record with five sacks at a
thirty seven to twenty five win over Indiana. Dean was
honored by the Jefferson County Alumni Association at the annual
Kickoff luncheon last month in Louisville. He passed much, much
too soon, and I was a tremendous player a Kentucky

(35:26):
and then in the NFL as well birthdays today, Derek
Hord celebrating a birthday saw Derek at the Michael Eves
reception last week when Michael was in town to be
inducted into the Hall of Fame for Distinguished Alumni at
uk SO. Derek celebrating a birthday today. Former Kentucky basketball

(35:48):
player Jerry Calvert was born on this day, and a
UK women's basketball legend, Victoria Dummap celebrating a birthday today
as well.

Speaker 2 (35:55):
You came in.

Speaker 1 (35:56):
Soccer will close out a five match homestand when they
take on Central Florida. It is the Sun Belt Conference
opener for the Wildcats and that will be tomorrow night
or excuse me tonight at the Bell Soccer Complex. Women's
soccer came out on the short end at number twenty
one Georgia as Kentucky fell to one and one in

(36:19):
the SEC with a one nill loss at the twenty
first ranked Bulldogs last night. Like I said to African
American Sports Hall of Fame Gallas, coming up tomorrow night.
Some former Wildcats being honored there, Keyo Sandford, Shane Boyd,
Sterling Ward among the list of twenty three. Lonnie Demris

(36:39):
on the list to longtime press Box colleague. So was
glad to see Lannie on the list. We lost him
too soon last year.

Speaker 2 (36:48):
As well. A couple of other notes.

Speaker 1 (36:53):
Mark Stoops talked about this his post practice media session
the other day. I didn't get to it yesterday about
what they're doing this week, they're trying to do more
good on good, he said, got to get some depth
built at a couple of spots a cornerback, I think
most notably where Dj Waller and to Ryan Nichols both

(37:13):
battled injuries of late, and so Kentucky was down two
of its top three corners and that particular position got
exposed in the Eastern Michigan game. So they need to
go make an sec play to get someone in position there.
Get mainly get guys healthy, their best players, and hopefully
that will happen. But Grant great and the freshman did

(37:33):
show a little spark in the second half, so hopefully
he can build on that and maybe give them a
solid option as a fourth corner. Andrea Yellovich did an
interview with BBN tonight. You can see that at bbntonight
dot com if you missed it. He talked about how
he came to commit to play at UK. He'd heard
from his coach that there was interest from Kentucky. After

(37:57):
Andrea had had a big game, Mark Pope called, Yellovich committed,
It's pretty much it sounds pretty much like what happened
when Mitch Barnhart called looking for a new men's basketball coach,
and Mark Pope committed bet that quick for Yellovich. You
can see that interview the Keith Farmer did at bbntonight
dot com.

Speaker 2 (38:16):
That will do it for us.

Speaker 1 (38:18):
On the Lead Report, have a great weekend everybody, and
we will see you Monday. Get into game week for
Kentucky South Carolina. On the Leach Report presented by Bobcat
Enterprises