G
et in the AME
University of Kentucky Men’s Basketball
APRIL 2015
The Story Behind the Sport Big Blue Renovation Nation
Table of Contents Editors’ Biographies
2
Big Blue Renovation Nation
3
Letter form the Editors
6
The Sport Behind the Sport The Pursuit of Perfection
7 11
Jacob Wolford
Jacob, author of the article “Big Blue Renovation Nation”, can be seen playing corner for the Woodford County High School football team, and enjoys playing Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft when he isn’t playing football or working.
Ryan Mink
Ryan wrote the article “The Story Behind a Sport”, and plays soccer for Woodford County High School team. When he isn’t playing soccer, he’s probably at home studying for the academic team, where he enjoys competing against others in both written testing and quick recall.
Chris Gambrell Chris, author of the article “Pursuit of Perfection”, is a percussionist for the Woodford County marching band. When Chris isn’t marching, he enjoys playing his drums and swimming.
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Big Subtitle Blue Renovation Nation By Byline Jacob Wolford
With the increasing popularity of the Kentucky football program due to the new coach, Mark Stoops, the University of Kentucky has a plan to remodel their football stadium, but this begs the question, is it necessary? The new renovations might be a welcome change to the stadium, as the last time it saw a construction crew was in 1999, and that was just to close in the ends of the stadium, but the actual bulk of the stadium has not been touched since it was built in 1973, but most people that visit
the stadium said that it was already well equipped and very nicely designed. The stadium should not be remodeled, and this is a waste of the university’s time and resources.
decrease ticket sales because there won’t be enough availability, and the increased ticket prices may initially show more revenue, they will actually end up in less sales, counteracting the increased revenue.
With the new head football coach at Kentucky, the university has designed a remodel plan for commonwealth stadium. the remodel includes turning many stadium seats into press box seating, essentially making the stadium smaller and tickets more expensive. This is a bad move for the university. The decreased stadium seats will
The stadium is still in fairly good condition, and constantly draws crowds every week. People enjoy going and watching their team play. The new press box stadium will take away from that experience, separating fans from the crowd, and from the action happening on the field. Kentucky fans are very friendly and like to be around other people in the tailgating scene and in the stadium, but if
Does Commonwealth Stadium need to be remodeled?
Survey Results
Image from Behind Her Monogrammed Macbook
all of the stadium seating is removed and press boxes are put in, then people will be forced to separate, and the atmosphere of the stadium will lose the feel, the being in the crowd and having the smells and loud noise of a normal football game.
150 Kentucky high school students were surveyed and out of the 89 that had been to the stadium and remembered what it looked like, 55 people thought it was fine, and only 34 thought it needed to be remodeled. Even the 34 people that said it needed to be remodeled said that it needed more seats, there were 4 that said there needed to be more seats for
Renovations at commonwealth stadium are in full swing.
fans. The majority of the reports said that the stadium needed more and closer parking, which there are no accommodations for, but it is a pressing issue, as most fans struggle to find reasonable parking without buying parking passes. However, only a few people thought the stadium should incorporate the comfort factor and include press box seating.
The rest thought the stadium was dirty and outdated, but for a 32 year old stadium, it will always look outdated to some people, and that doesn’t mean it needs to be remodeled, that just makes it more classic. The stadium itself is structurally sound, and the whole stadium was built as solid concrete, and functions well as a stadium. Yes, the concrete floors and the steel stadium seats may not be the most ergonomic thing in the
world, but if you want to watch the game from a cushioned seat, then watch it from your recliner in your own living room. the stadium seats and solid concrete walls and floors just give a better atmosphere to the game. The stadium renovations are unnecessary, but maybe it will be nice to have a change. As much as everybody likes new things, this was $110 million dollars that could have been spent elsewhere. That being said,
the majority of people will still come out and try to support the cats as their new head coach Mark stoops tries to lead them to a championship.
Thanks to info places (will edit this shortly)
A NOTE FROM
YOUR HOSTS
Dear Sports Fans,
This is an original sports magazine that takes you everywhere through the hills of Kentucky to the international waters of the elusive sport of Badminton. The staff of the Get in the Game magazine wanted to show you a unique take on a sports magazine that brings a different feel than a professional magazine like the high end Sports Illustrated. For three high schoolers in Kentucky, its about all you can ask for so
Here it is, Enjoy!
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TheTitle Story Behind a Sport By: Ryan Mink What first comes to your mind when you think of sports? Baseball, basketball, maybe football? Those sports may be some of the most popular, but one that is frequently overlooked is badminton. Badminton may not seem to be the most competitive or prominent sport in your eyes, but is the second most popular sport in the world behind only soccer. In America, badminton is very under appreciated. According to many, badminton is only a leisurely sport that is meant just for fun in the backyard and not very competitive. Very few people here recognize how significant badminton is, both historically and in
modern times. Like many other sports, badminton was derived from an ancient sport, thousands of years ago in Eurasia. The game was, at that time, known as ti jian zi. Ti jian zi, meaning kicking the shuttle, was played, as the name hints at, with a player’s feet. Battledore, which was very similar to the original game, was played by two people hitting a shuttlecock, without letting it hit the ground, back and forth as long as they could. Battledore, a leisure activity in Europe, was very popular among the wealthy. The people who played battledore had no idea how advanced and competitive the sport they loved to play in
their extra time would become. The game continued, practically unchanged, until the 1800’s when India introduced a game much like today’s badminton. This game was called Poona, and was played by hitting a shuttle back and forth over a net. The only major difference from battledore was that players needed to hit the shuttlecock over the net, whereas before they didn’t need to, and could hit it anywhere as long as their partner could reach it before it hit the ground. The sport spread to Britain, where the Duke of Beaufort decided to introduce the game for guests in his house, known as ‘Badminton’,
to play. The sport Badminton’s name was taken from the name of his home. In 1898, the first ever tournament for the game was held, then the England championships were held in 1899. The International Badminton
Federation was formed between 9 countries, mostly in Europe and Asia in 1934. The first tournament the IBF (International Badminton Federation) held was the Thomas Cup in 1949, 15 years after the IBF was formed. The Thomas Cup was planned to have been years earlier, but World War II kept the IBF from being able to have it. The first Thomas Cup was won by Malaysia, who defeated the United States 6-3 and went to have an amazing win against Denmark in the finals win score of 8-1. This was only the first Thomas Cup, though, and the Thomas Cup has been held every few years since the first
Men and women competing against each other in a doubles tournament.
one. Since then, the game has remained the same apart from a few minor changes, and has even become an Olympic sport. Both singles and doubles are included in the Olympics, for both men and women unlike the Thomas Cup. Although you now know about some of the history of badminton, you probably don’t know exactly how competitive and intense matches can be. In an average game of badminton, a player runs approximately four miles, while a tennis player only runs about two miles in a game. The amazing thing is, a game of badminton
Image from Wikimedia Commons
only lasts half as long as a game of tennis, which means that a player is moving four times as quickly playing badminton as compared to tennis. These quick movements are needed if you want to perform at the highest level, as some players can strike the shuttlecock at up to 206 miles per hour, and it requires an incredible amount of agility to return a hit that’s moving that quickly. Most people believe tennis to be the more strenuous sport, but statistics don’t lie and the statistics say badminton is harder on your body. Depending on what
your level of interest is, there’s probably a store near you that can help get you started. At most sporting goods stores, there are badminton sets that include racquets and a net that is easy to set up in your backyard, along with a few shuttlecocks (these break easily, but are very cheap and can be found at the same store). There are also programs for anyone, whether they’re an amateur or a pro, to practice and compete with. Among these are the YMCA! which has badminton courts and equipment, and the Shannon Pohl Badminton Academy, a training
program aimed towards children interested in learning how to play badminton competitively. If you are going to practice and train at the YMCA, though, you probably won’t be competing much unless you find competitions on your own, which are relatively easy to find online. When it comes to competing, it may seem daunting at first, but as you get more and more experience in competitions, you start becoming more comfortable and don’t worry about making mistakes, or embarrassing yourself in front of spectators.
The only place your eyes go is on the birdie, doing your best not to falter in your concentration. No matter what happens, you refuse to let the rally end, determined to win your match and prove to everyone how hard you have been working and training to get to be where you are. However, badminton isn’t all about the competition, there are many other benefits to playing, like staying in peak physical shape and meeting new people. Since badminton requires you to be running back and forth pretty much the whole time, you will start getting in better shape, and eventually become extremely agile. Don’t worry if you get tired the first few times you play, though, because as you get more experience you start building your endurance until you can play entire matches without tiring a bit. Even if all of that sounded like too much work, don’t let it keep you from playing the sport. Just grab a racquet and a couple of birdies, and play around with a couple friends. No matter how you play, all that matters is you have fun doing it.
Taken from Imagekid.com
Pursuit of Perfection
The city of Lexington, Ken-
tucky bleeds blue for basketball.
From John Wall and DeMarcus Cous-
ins, to Sam Bowie and Melvin Turpin, Kentucky has made legends. Ken-
tucky was playing basketball from the very beginning. In 1903 the
University of Kentucky established
a team naming W. W. H. Mustain as
and ended with a full-court scrim-
Mauer’s system. Players strived for a
their head-coach.
By the 1919-1920 school
year, the Wildcats were known as “the Wonder Team.” With a new
head-coach, George Buchheit, came a new way of defense and offense
which made Kentucky superior. Buchheit played with a man-to-man de-
fense as opposed to a zone. Also, he coached a complicated passing sys-
tem called ”zig-zag” or “figure-eight” offense.
In 1928 Kentucky hired anoth-
er head-coach, named John Mauer, who quickly discovered the team
hadn’t been exposed to the funda-
mentals of the game. He introduced
a new way of practice. At the beginning of the three hour, five-day-a-
week practices the team focused on shooting skills for an hour and a half
mage. Teamwork was the hallmark of win, not individual glory.
Every Kentucky Basketball fan
knows the name of the arena, Rupp
Arena. The building was named after the legendary 1930-1972 coach,
Adolph Rupp. He won the Wildcats four national titles, appeared in
twenty NCAA tournaments, and had six NCAA Final Four appearances.
When he retired in March of 1972,
Rupp was five-time National Coachof-the-Year award winner, sev-
en-time Conference Coach-of-the-
Year award winner, and was elected a member of both the Naismith
Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and College Basketball Hall of Fame.
Joe B. Hall obtained the head-
coach position at the University of
Photo: Lexington Herald Leader/Getty
Kentucky in 1972 after being assis-
to prepare them for their “pursuit of
100 record, Hall marched Kentucky
undefeated in their first five games.
tant-coach since 1965. With a 297to their fifth NCAA Men’s Division I National Championship. Hall was
named National Coach of the Year in 1978 and SEC coach of the year on four different occasions.
At the beginning of the 1989-
1990 school year, New York Knicks coach Rick Pitino left the NBA to coach college basketball at Ken-
tucky. Pitino created the “Untouchable” team which eventually ended with the Wildcat’s sixth National
Championship title in the 1995-1996 school year.
The University of Kentucky’s
current coach, John Calipari, is making Kentucky history. At the be-
ginning of the school year, Calipari took the Wildcats to the Bahamas
perfection.” On their trip, they were This season, the Wildcats won the
SEC tournament with a perfect record! Most people who are filling
out tournament brackets, including
President Barack Obama, are putting Kentucky as the NCAA Champions,
giving them a perfect record of 40-
0. This would make Kentucky history!
The Wildcats’ roster includes
four McDonald’s All-Americans hav-
ing four players 6’-10” or taller, and ten players that are 6’-6” or taller. Kentucky is the tallest team in the NCAA, and is taller than most NBA
teams. Kentucky made NCAA history having a record of 38-1 with the
previous being 37 in 2007-2008 by Kansas. Having the tallest team
Kentucky Athletics
Photo: Lexington Herald Leader/Getty
in the country, Kentucky had 268
“physically imposing athletic freak,”
tucky quickly fixed their attention on
blocks, and 1482 rebounds.
Kentucky has an amazing
recruiting class for the 2015-2016
season. One of the recruits is Rawle
Alkins, a 6’-4”, 185 pound shooting
guard from Brooklyn, New York. Alk-
ins has been well known in New York
City basketball circles for a while, but his stellar play on the summer circuit made him a national recruit heading into his junior year. Alkins is looking
at going to Kansas, Louisville, Indiana and Kentucky.
Another recruit already com-
mitted to Kentucky is Udoka Azubuike from from Jacksonville, Florida.
Azubuike is a 6’-10” 265 pound center from Potter’s House High School. Often referred to as “the dunking machine,” the man who wants to
make an impression on the court is a
says Coach Steve McLaughlin. Ken-
this young player and quickly offered him a scholarship.
With his eyes fixed on the
“dream school” he is wanting, Miles
Bridges is a 6’-5” small forward with
a passion to play at Kentucky. Bridges has many other schools attempt-
ing to recruit him like Michigan State, Louisville, and UCONN for good reason; Bridges is one of the best re-
bounders at his position in the country. This could add to the Wildcats legacy, along with giving Bridges
what he wants, a dream school with a dream team.
As another committed Wild-
cat, M.J. Cage is the son of former
NBA post player Michael Cage with a passion for basketball. Another
fantastic, top rebounder in his class.
and athletic scorer having interest
forward weighing 225 pounds. He
Gordon is a shooting guard weigh-
Cage is 6’10” and plays as a power was the third player in the class of
2016 to receive a scholarship offer from John Calipari.
Harry Gailes was considered
the number one player in his class
until he suffered a knee injury with
Team USA which forced him to miss his entire sophomore season. Con-
firmed to UK, Gailes is another power forward from Winston-Salem, NC. Gailes is 6’-10” and 225 pounds.
Now back on the court, ssGailes has reclaimed his number one seed in
his class and is ready to play for the University of Kentucky.
Having his first major schol-
arship offer in eighth grade, Eron
Gordon, the younger brother of NBA player Eric Gordon, is a hard working
from UK, Louisville, and Indiana.
ing 175 pounds and 6’-2” tall. Being good friends with former Kentucky
player Trey Lyles, it is likely Gordon will attend the University of Kentucky.
Moving to the United States
in December from Australia, Isaac
Humphires has caught Kentucky’s
eye because of his averages of 18.9 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 3.3
blocks per game. With this round of
recruits, Kentucky is looking good for the 2015-2016 basketball season!
By: Chris Gambrell
POWERADE
THE COMPLETE SPORTS DRINK