Tracy’s Racer Roundup 1-26-12

Here’s what’s being written about the undefeated Murray State University Racer basketball team:

sportsradiointerviews.com posted a nice interview with Steve Prohm:

“Our league doesn’t get the credit it deserves. Morehead State finished second in our league last year. We won the regular season. Our second-place team moved on to the second round of the NCAA tournament. And then two years ago, we went to the second round. Two out of the last three years, we had an NBA draft pick in our league.”

– Racer head coach Steve Prohm

ology.com wonders if an undefeated Racer squad could be rewarded with a coveted 1 seed in the Big Dance.

The Murray State Racers are turning themselves into one of the most exciting and confounding storylines of the college basketball season. At 20-0, Murray State has a great shot at becoming the first college hoops team to go undefeated in the regular season since UNLV did it in 1990-1991, before losing to Duke in the Final Four.

In case you missed it, the New York Times wrote a great in-depth article about the Racer’s magical season and its effect on the community.

There are close to 18,000 people in Murray, according to the 2010 census, and it seems that almost all of them have an opinion on the Racers. (“There are a lot of coaches in this town,” Prohm said.) They pack the 8,700 seats in CFSB Center on game nights, giving the Racers a distinct home-court advantage.

morning cram [somaliland edition]

Somali pirates last year seized a record number (+1k) of hostages. This year, they’ve already hijacked 15 vessels, including an American yacht whose four passengers were killed.

NPR declares Somali piracy has become an epidemic.

KENTUCKY~ MSU Basketball Head Coach Billy Kennedy is in the running to be the University of Miami’s next. Paducah may have a (better) community center in the works. Clinton’s embattled nursing home will close and its purported violations have been released. Dems call for gubernatorial candidates to disclose their finances but Republicans say no. David Williams’ GOP running mate Richie Farmer wants his wife’s divorce petition dismissed.

TENNESSEE~ Gov Haslam signs the teacher tenure difficulty bill into law.

OVC SPORTS~ (Baseball) APSU < WKU; (Softball) MSU < SIU-E, APSU > UTM.

morning cram [flamingo edition]

While we normally associate flamingos with tropical lagoons, they’re not always warm weather birds.

As NPR‘s Robert Krulwich discovers in a rare, but repeated instance, flamingos have turned up in Siberia.

KENTUCKY~ Whistleblowers write another letter renewing scrutiny of McCracken County Clerk Jeff Jerrell’s administration. Paducah organizers cancel this summer’s Festival. A longtime Caldwell County official resigns amid an improper conduct investigation. Lawmakers legalize ‘dangerous’ fireworks! Tornado drills tomorrow will sound throughout the Commonwealth. Lawmakers head back to the hill for three more days hoping to agree on a budget.

TENNESSEE~ A judge, a printing company and a photographer team up to support a bereaved western Kentucky Amish family. Lake County cops charge a man with a weekend double murder. Former House Speaker: bill to restrict teacher’s union will die.

OVC TOURNEY~ (Men’s) MSU < TTU, MhSU > APSU. Morehead wins the championship. (Women’s) APSU < TTU, UTM > MhSU & TTU. UT Martin wins the championship.

morning cram [union busting edition]

Wisconsin Republican Governor Scott Walker wants to close his state’s budget gap by having state workers pay more for pensions and benefits and also permanently limit public employees’ bargaining rights.

NPR reports after a week of protests and Senate Democrats literally walking away from the capitol, no one’s backing down.

KENTUCKY~ Major crimes in Paducah have dropped 16%. +35 MPH winds knocked over a Super 8 Motel sign in Calvert City. Expect delays tomorrow passing over Eggner’s Ferry Bridge. The state’s Tourism Council renames itself and spring cleaning is being planned at a dozen Civil War sites. Two state Republican candidates have no Primary opposition and 14 hopefuls spoke @ a Murray GOP dinner Saturday. The General Assembly is racing to finish their ‘short session.’

OVC BASKETBALL~ (Men’s) MSU > Evansville, UTM > SEMO, APSU < Fairfield; (Women’s) MSU < EIU, UTM < Bradley, APSU > TTU.

morning cram [island edition]

Since scientists predict global warming will bring higher sea levels, longer droughts and more frequent storms, an Australian government program aims to help a neighboring island nation slowly relocate.

NPR reports the program gives people economic incentives to move gradually, so they won’t completely lose their national identity.

KENTUCKY~ A Paducah/McCracken County merger studying session is no longer threatened after a House Bill dies. Meet Heath High School’s new principal. KET warns federal funding cuts could mean no more Sesame Street or Antiques Roadshow. Apparently the Commonwealth is a ginseng-growing power house. Payday lenders rejoice they can still charge whatever they want. Lawmakers threaten to kick out the EPA to protect the coal industry and the House will soon vote to allow optometrists to use lasers. MSU < SEMO.

TENNESSEE~ A Clarksville woman finds a WWII-era bomb in a field… brings it home… then calls police.  TVA is changing its rate structure, but says if you see changes it’s your distributor’s fault. Oh… and free fire alarms!

morning cram [movie magic edition]

Once upon a time, long before the digital age, scenery and special effects were crafted entirely by human hands.

<— NPR takes us behind classic scenes from movies like this one.

KENTUCKY~ Benton Police arrest the guy who crashed his SUV into a Subway restaurant. Some area schools have been out +20 snow days. MSU > SIU-E. Governor Beshear cares about high school dropouts. Senator McConnell wants to end public contributions to presidential campaigns. Rand Paul’s newly proposed bill would eradicate several arms of the federal government.

TENNESSEE~ Planned widening of the Paris-Puryear stretch of US-641 has been pushed back by at least a year and a half. Clarksville-Montgomery County students will attend longer classes to make up snow days. Governor Haslam outspent (5x over) his opponents. The state’s top judge is pushing for attorney’s to up their pro bono game. The Volunteer State keeps breaking its own meth-related records.

morning cram [abort edition]

Abortion is an issue so contentious it almost prevented the health law from passing last year.

NPR reports its back.

It’s cold and dangerous on the roads. Think twice about getting out and keep warm clothing in your car.

KENTUCKY~ Oak Grove will soon have a local psychiatric service. A Christian County man pleads guilty to matricide. (Another) Democrat files to run for Secretary of State. A former Fort Campbell murderer/rapist soldier is appealing his conviction today.

TENNESSEE~ A meeting in Paris next week will solicit public opinion on a proposed project to widen US-641 and city officials there will meet today to figure out who will temporarily fill in as city manager. Clarksville officials won’t push for allowing handguns on city park grounds and former Mayor Johnny Piper snags his ex-spokeswoman to be his assistant.

OVC BASKETBALL~ (Men’s) MSU < EIU, UTM > SEMO, APSU < TTU; (Women’s) MSU > EIU, APSU < TTU.

morning cram [ike's warning edition]

50 years ago today, President Dwight Eisenhower warned the nation about what he described as a threat to democratic government. He called it the military-industrial complex, a formidable union of defense contractors and the armed forces.

NPR looks at what’s changed since.

KENTUCKY~ 2 property owner holdouts will go to court in the battle to build a new Paducah Middle School. McCracken County officials are investigating a non-suspicious teen death. Police arrest a Graves County high schooler over a gun threat. You can buy your very own LBL bison. A bill before legislators this session would drug-test food stamp and Medicaid recipients.

TENNESSEE~ A lucky pilot receives only a scratch after crash-landing a single-engine craft near Sango. Clarksville Police seize a record 250lbs of pot, an (alleged) drug dealer is murdered, and they also allege a guy lied about getting his wallet stolen (he lost it). Governor Haslam doesn’t want the public to know his income.

ILLINOIS~ SIU@Carbondale: enrollment keeps falling. Everyone’s waiting around to see what Governor Pat Quinn will decide to do about the state’s death penalty.

OVC SPORTS~ (Men’s) MSU > TTU, APSU < TSU, UTM > JSU; (Women’s) MSU < TTU, APSU > TSU, UTM > JSU.

morning cram [learning edition]

After watching low-level yahoos bungle attacks all year, al-Qaida leaders may have been looking for ways to avoid rookie mistakes by directly managing plots themselves.

Intelligence officials tell NPR al-Qaida learns by failing.

KENTUCKY~ Police arrest 3 in a Paducah murder case and 5 for peddling drugs in Hopkinsville.

TENNESSEE~ Clarksville’s Hemlock Semiconductor plant needs more skilled artisans to build it and officials will wait until the new year to figure out how to make city workers’ pay equitable. TVA is raising electricity rates (again).

ILLINOIS~ 2 people die in a head-on collision.

BASKETBALL~ MSU > UTM, APSU > MhSU.

morning cram [bias? edition]

“In the health care challenges and other politically charged disputes, the judges hearing the cases are now drawing almost as much attention as the law.”

~NPR reports on the rekindling of the long-standing debate over whether party affiliation or political background can predict how a judge will rule.

KENTUCKY~ Paducah’s Southside Salvation Army suffers flood damage. An unknown woman attacked Hopkinsville Mayor Dan Kemp’s wife at her home. Less western Kentuckians sought financial heating assistance this year. A report due out early next year will guess how many of the Commonwealth’s high schoolers are smoking pot. One lawmaker wants legislative leaders to stop hiding while concocting the state budget. Ag officials warn of poor tobacco yields. The state ranks lowest on protecting animals (according to ALDF). Basketball: MSU > Bethel.

TENNESSEE~ 3 Stewart County men face federal poaching charges of illegal deer harvesting on Fort Campbell property. TVA buys up more wind power.