Published: March 26, 2008 09:29 pm            

Mark Maynard: Spotlight bright with politics, basketball

It’s interesting when national events intersect with Our Towns.

Just two days ago, the Democratic presidential campaign’s enormous glare came to Kentucky and, for a few hours anyway, the bright lights were aimed directly on Morehead with a visit from Bill Clinton.

Our reporter and photographer on the scene in Morehead said the clamoring of the locals coming to catch a glimpse of the former president was like going to a rock concert — and almost everybody had their cell phone/cameras aimed at former President Clinton at one time or another.

Within the last couple of weeks, in nearby cities in Ohio and West Virginia, Our Towns have seen presidential candidate Hillary Clinton visit twice (Hanging Rock and Huntington) and her husband once (Portsmouth) while stumping for votes. Barack Obama came to Charleston looking for support in West Virginia.

Now it’s Kentucky’s turn with the May 20 primary — a primary that was supposed to be meaningless — about seven weeks away. Those 59 delegates up for grabs suddenly have a lot of meaning to these candidates.

Most of us remember when former President Clinton passed through Ashland in 1996 on his way to re-election. My daughter, who was 9 at the time and is now a 21-year-old junior at Morehead State, didn’t venture over to see the former president on Tuesday.

She did remember her mother making her get out of the pool at her aunt and uncle’s house to watch him on television when he visited Our Town in ’96.

“Respect the office,” her mother told her.

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During last week’s first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, Western Kentucky University senior Adam Howard of Ashland found some notoriety without ever stepping onto the floor — at least during the game.

Howard’s picture leading the Hilltoppers’ celebration after Ty Rogers’ 30-footer defeated Drake in the opening round was splashed not only on front pages across the state, including this one on Saturday morning, but also throughout the nation.

It was almost immediately the lead photo on the Web site of the New York Times and found its way to a lot of other places as one of the AP’s top pictures of the day.

Howard has had plenty of calls from friends who caught the photograph, in one publication or another, of him pumping his fist and his teammates giddy with March Madness glee. It was the perfect celebration photograph, capturing part of what turned out to be a wild weekend in the NCAA Tournament.

Howard didn’t get to play in either of WKU’s victories, but he’s enjoying the view from one of the best seats in the house. It’ll be a memory he’ll treasure the rest of his life.

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Cam Thoroughman probably wasn’t expecting to play for West Virginia in the NCAA Tournament either. But the seldom-used 6-foot-7 freshman, who attempted only 10 shots and had 16 rebounds all season, not only played in the tournament but became one of the most valuable contributors off the bench for the Mountaineers in the second-round upset of Duke.

Thoroughman, who played his freshman high school season at Raceland before transferring to Randy Ward-coached Portsmouth Clay, had four points and four rebounds during a 73-67 victory over Duke.

Thoroughman, hampered with a knee injury, was asked by WVU coach Bob Huggins to postpone surgery until after the NCAA Tournament. Thoroughman agreed, and then Huggins called on him at a crucial time. He came through in a big way in helping WVU through to the Sweet 16.

I failed to mention Thoroughman last week when putting together local connections with the NCAA Tournament. But I’m sure many area fans remember Cam the Ram after his fantastic freshman season at Raceland. Sorry for the omission.

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Another local tie to the NCAA Tournament — the Women’s NCAA Tournament — is Florida State assistant coach Angie Johnson, the former Ashland and University of Louisville standout.

Johnson is the recruiting coordinator for the Seminoles, who were eliminated on Monday night by Oklahoma State. Florida State’s recruiting class was ranked No. 8 in the nation, so don’t be surprised to see the Seminoles in the NCAA Tournament for a fifth consecutive season next year.

From politics to hoops, it’s been a nice stretch for Our Towns. Let’s keep that spotlight shining.

MARK MAYNARD can be reached at mmaynard@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2648.

        

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