Sunday, December 26, 1999
Couch still the story in Kentucky
NORTHERN KY. INSIDER
BY NEIL SCHMIDT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
He may be Cleveland's quarterback now, but the former Kentucky star still topped the list of the Top 10 Kentucky sports stories of 1999, as chosen by the Associated Press.
Couch's decision to leave Kentucky early for the NFL draft and his subsequent No.1 selection by the expansion Cleveland Browns was a runaway first-place choice in the annual balloting. Couch's departure piled up more votes than the second and third choices combined.
The rest of the '99 Top 10:
2. Charismatic wins the 125th Kentucky Derby and suffers a career-ending injury going for the Triple Crown in Belmont.
3. Former Kentucky football center Jason Watts pleads guilty in fatal 1998 truck wreck, then is released from jail early.
4. Offseason tragedy and turmoil for Kentucky basketball: Recruit John Stewart dies, Michael Bradley and Ryan Hogan transfer, and Jamaal Magloire flirts with an early departure for the NBA before returning at the last minute.
5. Kentucky football earns a Music City Bowl invitation in a rebuilding year.
6. Baseball Hall of Famer Pee Wee Reese, a Louisville native, dies.
7. After a sub-.500 February, Kentucky basketball reaches the Elite Eight, falling one win shy of a fourth consecutive Final Four.
8. The NCAA reverses Louisville basketball's postseason ban; Cards go to NCAA tournament.
9. Boyle County goes 15-0, wins its first state football title.
10. Highlands wins a record 14th state football title.
For the record, my votes differed greatly. I voted Kentucky's postseason basketball charge No.1, on the theory that whatever UK basketball does each year is the biggest deal in the Commonwealth.
The rest of my ballot: 2.) Couch leaves, 3.) Charismatic, 4.) UK football in Music City Bowl, 5.) UK women's basketball team wins first NCAA Tournament game in 17 years, 6.) NCAA reverses Louisville ban, 7.) UK men's basketball stumbles early in '99-00 season, 8.) Louisville Ballard wins boys basketball state title, 9.) Highlands' Derek Smith wins AP Male Athlete of the Year, and 10.) Louisville football goes to Humanitarian Bowl.
NEXT AWARD: The other statewide AP balloting is for the Lexington Herald-Leader Kentucky Sportsman of the Year. The winner hasn't yet been announced.
Any athlete, coach or administrator is eligible if he or she plays for a team in Kentucky, is from Kentucky (but competes elsewhere), or played for a college in Kentucky. Horses born, bred or trained in the state are eligible, as are jockeys and trainers who compete at Kentucky tracks.
I voted UK football coach Hal Mumme No.1. This was the critical year for Mumme to prove UK has turned the corner and become a legitimate SEC contender, and he did.
The rest of my ballot: 2.) Bernadette Mattox, UK women's basketball coach; 3.) Charismatic; 4.) James Whalen Jr., UK's All-
American tight end; 5.) Couch; 6.) Ukari Figgs, former Scott County star who led Purdue to the women's basketball NCAA title and was the Final Four MVP; 7.) Alabama's Shaun Alexander, the former Boone County star named Southeastern Conference football Player of the Year; 8.) Louisville quarterback Chris Redman, who set NCAA career records for pass attempts and completions; 9.) Georgetown College's Eddie Eviston, the former Newport Central Catholic star named NAIA football Player of the Year; and 10.) Dusty Bonner, the UK quarterback.
DRAUD, BRANNEN HONORED: To the ranks of All-Century lists, add two former Northern Kentucky basketball stars. Scott Draud (Highlands) has been named one of Vanderbilt's top 100 athletes of the century, and John Brannen (Newport Central Catholic) is on Marshall's list of its top 40 basketball players in history.
Neil Schmidt is The Enquirer's Northern Kentucky sports reporter. Call him at 578-5582 or send e-mail to nschmidt@enquirer.com.
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