D1 Greyhounds Lose in Third Round

The D1 Greyhounds- Darius Miller's team- lost 65-63 to Westchester Hawk Select in the fourth round of the AAUBoys National Basketball Tournament in Orlando Monday night. The D1 Greyounds play Martin Brothers Select this afternoon in the Consolation Bracket. It's too bad Miller's team didn't win at least two more games and advance to the semifinals of the Championship Bracket. The semifinals and championship game are going to be televised live on ESPNU.

Lady Royals Open Golf Season Tuesday

The Mason County Lady Royals open the golf season Tuesday against Nicholas County at Kenton Station Golf Course. Laura Houchens is the new coach of the Lady Royals. Here is the schedule:

July 31 Nicholas County at Kenton Station
Aug. 1 Bryan Conway Tournament at Kenton Station
Aug. 6 Nicholas County at Carnico Golf Club
Aug. 15 Harrison County at Laurel Oaks
Aug. 20 Pendleton County at Laurel Oaks
Aug. 22 Nicholas County at Laurel Oaks
Aug. 25 Tournament at Mt. Sterling Country Club
Aug. 28 Harrison County at Harrison Country Club
Sept. 4 Pendleton County at Pendleton County Country Club
Sept. 24 Regional Tournament at Mt. Sterling

Darius Miller Playing in AAU National Tournament

Orlando, Florida is the lastest stop on Darius Miller's summer of basketball travel. Miller's D1 Greyhounds are playing in the AAU Boys Basketball National Tournament at Walt Disney World. The D1 Greyhounds, the defending champions, went 2-1 in pool play and won their first two games in the Championship Bracket. (Scroll down to the bottom half of the bracket) .The tournament runs through Wednesday.

Lewis and the Horsemen Win Conference Title

The Lexington Horsemen defeated the Bloomington Extreme 67-49 in the United Indoor Football Eastern Conference Championship game last night in Rupp Arena. Harry Lewis had five receptions for 67 yards and a touchdown. The Horsemen advance to the United Bowl for the second straight year and will play the winner of today's Western Conference Final between Sioux Falls and Billings.

Royals Fifth In Bluegrasspreps.com Pre-Season Rankings

The Mason County Royals are ranked fifth in Class 3A in the Bluegrasspreps.com pre-season football rankings.

Class 3A (last year's record)

1. Central (11-3)
2. Paducah Tilghman (6-6)
3. Belfry (11-3)
4. Russell (13-2)
5. Mason County (7-4)
6. Breathitt County (8-3)
7. Somerset (9-5)
8. Sheldon Clark (9-2)
9. Elizabethtown (7-4)
10. Russellville (8-4)

Tom Browning Boys and Girls Club Soccer Sign Up

Registration is under way for the soccer league at the Tom Browning Boys and Girls Club. The league is for boys and girls ages five to 15. The club is closed for vacation through August 6th, but applications can be picked up and dropped off at the club this week and next from 12 to 1 p.m and 5 to 6 p.m. The club will re-open for the fall schedule August 7 at 3 p.m.
August 10 is the deadline to return a completed application.

Miller and the D1 Greyhounds Fall in Finals

Darius Miller and his D1 Greyhounds teammates beat Inland Reebok I 75-57 in a semi-final game before losing to Team Breakdown 77-71 in the finals of Open Division Bracket One at the Reebok Summer Championships in Las Vegas today.

Miller and the Greyhounds Win and Advance

The D1 Greyhounds-Darius Miller's team- defeated Team CBIZ 15's by the score of 74-58 today in Open Division Bracket #1 in the Reebok Summer Championships in Las Vegas.

The D1 Greyhounds play Inland Reebook Wednesday at 8 a.m. Here is a link to the tournament bracket.

Levay Wins Bronze Medal at Bluegrass State Games

Elizabeth Levay of Maysville won the bronze medal in the women's ages 17-18 High Jump in the Bluegrass State Games. Levay had a jump of four feet, six inches.

Miller Playing In Vegas

Mason County senior-to-be Darius Miller is playing in the Reebok SummerChampionships in Las Vegas. Miller is playing for the D-1 Greyhounds. They lost to Blemont Shore 79-75 in pool play Sunday. Here is a link to the tournament page.

Armstrong Wins Laurel Oaks Classic

Shawn Armstrong of Ironton, Ohio shot a five-under-par 67 today and won the Laurel Oaks Classic by one shot. Armstrong had a two-day total of seven-under 135. Eric Schumacher, who shot 67 on Saturday, had a 69 Sunday to take second place. Deron Feldhaus finished third, two shots behind Armstrong. Drew Traxel was fourth, three shots back.
The other flight winners and their scores include:

First Flight
Tom Grayson (145)

Second Flight
Brett Walton (145)

Third Flight
Justin Rigdon (149)

Fourth Flight
Brady South (157)

Fifth Flight
Charlie Woodruff (163)

Sixth Flight
Leroy Palmer (170)

Schild and Ludwig Win Ladies 2-Day Tourney at MCC

Laura Schild and Peggy Ludwig won the Ladies 2-Day Invitational at the Maysville Country Club today with a with 36-hole total of 9-under 141. Kelly Conner and Libby Moses finished second at 153 and Jodi Bertram and Lois McHugh took third place at 155.
The other flight winners and their scores include:

First Flight
Gail DeClaire and Heidi Mitchell (156) *

Second Flight
Peggy Barreda and Katie Aldridge (161)

Third Flight
Lois Ross and Marjorie Sebastion (169) *

Fourth Flight
Mary Crump and Cathy Jones (171)

Fifth Flight
Wanda Hornsby and Martha Ann Schmidt (183)

Sixth Flight
Vickie O'Mara and Connie Schumacher (194)

* won flight in scorecard playoff

A Big Weekend for Golf in Maysville

This is a big weekend for golf in Maysville. The Maysville Country Club will host the annual
Ladies 2-Day Invitational Tournament Saturday and Sunday. The 15th Laurel Oaks Classic will be played Saturday and Sunday at Laurel Oaks Golf Club. Here is a list of the former champions of the Laurel Oaks Classic:

1993 Larry Slone
1994 Robert Walton
1995 Andy Plummer
1996 Harold Wallace Jr.
1997 Mark Moore
1998 Mark Moore
1999 Deron Feldhaus
2000 Deron Feldhaus
2001 Harold Wallace Jr.
2002 Greg Weddington
2003 Steve Conley
2004 Eric Frischette
2005 Harold Wallace Jr.
2006 Bill O'Mara Jr.

Mike Reitz Returns to Harrison County

Mike Reitz is back at Harrison County for his second stint as the Thorobred's basketball coach. Here is a link to the story in the Cynthiana Democrat.
Reitz coached at Maysville from 1986 to 1988. He guided the Bulldogs to their final 10th Region title in 1988.

12 and Under Softball Tournament Postponed

The Maysville Softball League tournament for the 12 and uunder division scheduled tonight at Wald Park has been postponed due to wet fields and rescheduled for Sunday, August 5.

Sorry to See The Post Closing

In case you missed it yesterday, The Cincinnati Post and The Kentucky Post announced they will cease publication on New Year's Eve. The Kentucky Post had drastically reduced its coverage of our area in recent years, but from the 1960s to early 90s the paper did an excellent job of covering news and sports here. My aunt, Goldie Dunaway, had the Post delivered to her home daily. I remember scanning the sports page in her paper. Jack Condon would always tell me when The Post's high school basketball preview was coming out. You had to have a copy of the preview. I can't tell you how many times I saw Arthur "Punk" Griffin make the daily walk from his apartment to The Post newspaper rack at the corner of Third and Market Streets to buy the paper. The Post was one of the many newspapers that Griffin called with the scoring summary of every Maysville Bulldogs game. Former Kentucky Post Sports Editor Dan Weber and current Kentucky Post Sports Writer Terry Boehmker filed many stories on 10th Region basketball and other local sports.
Here are some of the headlines of stories from The Kentucky Post that I have saved over the years-
Royals sweat out final seconds in first-round win
March 19, 1981 ( state tournament win over Shelby County)

Feldhaus disputes key calls after Mason fall in overtime
March 23, 1985 (overtime loss to Doss in the quarterfinals of the state tournament)

The best in basketballFinal curtain comes down on Feldhaus father-and-son act April 6, 1987 (a story about Coach Feldhaus coaching his third and youngest son, Deron)

No. 1 Royals face slippery road
January 21, 1994 (top ranked Mason County team had cabin fever after a big snow).

The local coverage wasn't the only reason sports fans turned to The Post. Hall of Famer Earl Lawson provided the best coverage of the Cincinnati Reds in The Cincinnati Post for 34 years.Count me as one of the many readers who will miss The Post.

Pearl Talks About Lofton Not Making USA Team

During the SEC basketball coaches' teleconference Monday, Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl was asked about Chris Lofton not making the USA Men's Basketball team that will play in the Pan American Games. Pearl said he talked to Lofton during and after the team trials.
"He just said he didn't feel like he played well enough to make the team," Pearl said. "[I] think (the coaches) must have based their decisions based on what they saw on those couple of days. And Chris said he didn't shoot the ball very well.
"And [he] actually played better with the ball than without it, which has not his been his M.O. [He] felt like their were some guys that made it ahead of him that played better than he did those couple of days. So, he was disappointed, he wanted very much to represent his country and represent the University of Tennessee, but just didn't think he played well enough to make the team."

Here is a link to the teleconference.

Lewis and Horsemen Win Finale, Headed to Playoffs

Harry Lewis had three receptions for 26 yards as the Lexington Horsemen closed out the regular season Saturday night with a 47-40 win over the Ohio Valley Greyhounds. The Horsemen clinched the Eastern Conference's No. 3 seed and will play at River City Sunday in the first round of the United Indoor Football playoffs.

Mason County Football Workout Schedule

The Mason County football team will have workouts tonight, tomorrow night and Thursday night from 7:15 to 10. The workouts are open to the public.
A record 103 youngsters attended the "Friday Night Under the Lights" football camp.
Former Royals Andy Fryman and Dustin Grutza were the guest speakers.

Lofton Fails to Make the USA Pan Am Games Team

The 14 finalists for the USA Men's Basketball Pan American Games Team were announced today and Chris Lofton did not make the cut. The finalists were chosen after five trial sessions Thursday through Saturday at Haverford College near Philadelphia. There's more information about the team on the USA Basketball site.

Zach Butler Wins Junior Chippeways

Zach Butler, a junior-to-be at Paul Dunbar High School in Lexington, won the 39th Junior Chippeways golf tournament by five shots today at the Maysville Country Club with a three round total of one-over par, 217. Butler, the first round co-leader after shooting a two-under 70 Friday, shot a 72 in the second round this morning and a 75 in the final round this afternoon. Butler began the final round with a four shot lead and had a seven shot cushion with three holes to play. Danny Lewis of Morrow, OH was the runner-up at six-over, 222. Defending champion Chris Morris of Maysville and the other first round co-leader, Dean Schneider of West Union, tied for third at 225.
The other flight winners and their 36-hole totals include:

First Flight
Justin Lawler of West Union, OH (153)

Second Flight
Dustin Orme of Maysville (162)

Third Flight
Jordan Jones of Georgetown, OH (188)*

* won a three-way scorecard playoff.

Lofton and Miller Ranked by nbadraft.net

Nbadraft.net has Chris Lofton as the 51st pick in its 2008 Mock Draft, and ranks Darius Miller as the 8th best prospect at last week's RBK U.

Schneider and Butler Tied for the lead at Jr. Chippeways

Dean Schneider and Zach Butler shot two-under par 70s today and share the lead after the first round of the 39th Junior Chippeways golf tournament at the Maysville Country Club. Schneider shot a 33 on the front side and was five under through 17 but had a triple bogey on the
par-4 18th. Brandon Heinke is one shot behind the co-leaders with a one-under 71. Danny Lewis is two back. Matthew Kyles trails by three shots. Ryan Hines is four shots behind. Defending champion Chris Morris shot a three-over 75 and is five shots back. The championship flight will play 36 holes Saturday. The rest of the field will play 18 holes Saturday. Here is a list of the golfers who shot in the 70s today.

Dean Schneider 70
Zach Butler 70
Brandon Heinke 71
Danny Lewis 72
Matthew Kyles 73
Ryan Hines 74
Chris Morris 75
Seth Profitt 76
Hardy Breeding 77
Stephen Sparks 79
Andrew Klein 79
Mike Morgan 79

Lofton competing for a spot on the USA Basketball Team

Chris Lofton is one of 32 players competing for a spot on the USA Basketball Men's Pan American Games Team. The Team Trials began yesterday at Haverford College near Philadelphia. Here is a link to the Team Trials schedule.

Mason County vs. Highlands in Passing Scrimmage 2

Tuesday night Highlands came to Maysville for a passing scrimmage against Mason County.
The Royals returned the favor last night by going to Ft. Thomas for another passing scrimmage against the Bluebirds.
"There were some bright spots, but overall we were not pleased with our performance," Mason County coach David Buchanan said in an e-mail. "But, in the long run, this will make us a lot better because a quality opponent like Highlands exposes weaknesses and deficiencies you don't find against weaker opponents. We learned some tough lessons tonight, but we have time to fix them and we learned those lessons without having to take a loss. Ultimately, this was still a practice."
"Sometimes when our kids play poorly against weaker opponents, but still"win" or enjoy success, they then believe they don't have to work hard and that the coaches are just being hard on them," Buchanan said. "Our kids expect us to be good, and (Thursday night) was a reality check that we have a lot of work to do before we will be a good football team. But, we still can be very good and that will be our expectation and what we are working to become."

Junior Chippeways at Maysville Country Club

The 39th Junior Chippeways Golf Tournament will be played Friday and Saturday at the Maysville Country Club. At least 64 golfers between the ages of 13 and 18 have signed up to play in the medal play tournament. The field will be placed into flights following the first round. The championship flight will play 36 holes Saturday. The rest of the field will play 18 holes Saturday. Chris Morris is the defending champion.

Mason County vs. Highlands in Passing Scrimmage

The Mason County Royals hosted the Highlands Bluebirds in a passing scrimmage last night.

"It was great to get on the field again and get going, " Mason County coach David Buchanan said in an e-mail. "Working withHighlands made it worth our time because of the quality of their program. It really pushed us to get open against them, and to cover them. We got tired at times through the night, but over all, it was a good start. But, we were real rough, as we always are the first day after the dead period."

"We have alot to work on," Buchanan said, " We knew we would. But, we also know we have achance to be a pretty good football team."

Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Coming to Maysville

Here is the condensed press release:


MAYSVILLE, Ky. (July 10, 2007) – The Buckeye Division of the $8.8 million Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League will visit the Ohio River in Maysville, Ky., July 21 for the third of five regular-season events. As many as 200 boaters and 200 co-anglers are expected to compete in the tournament, which will award as much as $45,000 in cash, including a top award of $6,000 in the Boater Division.
If the winner is a participant in the Ranger Cup incentive program, he will receive a $1,000 bonus from Ranger Boats and $500 from Yamaha if his boat is powered by Yamaha. Ranger will award $500 to the highest-finishing Ranger Cup participant if not the winner, and Yamaha will kick in $250 if the boat is powered by Yamaha. Bombardier will award $1,000 to the winning boater if the winner’s boat is equipped with a qualifying Evinrude E-TEC or Direct Injection outboard. That’s a potential top award of $8,000 for anglers who meet contingency guidelines.
The winning co-angler will earn as much as $3,000 cash.
Snickers Big Bass awards of up to $1,000 and $500, respectively, will also be awarded in the Boater and Co-angler Divisions.
Anglers may register for the tournament online at FLWOutdoors.com or by calling (270) 252-1000. Onsite registration will be held July 20 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Wal-Mart store located at 240 Wal-Mart Way in Maysville. Entry fees are $200 for boaters and $100 for co-anglers.
Maysville River Park in Maysville will host the takeoff and weigh-in at 6:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., respectively.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit FLWOutdoors.com.

Maysville Classic 5 on 5 Basketball Tournament

Here is the press release from the Maysville-Mason County Chamber of Commerce:


The Maysville Classic 5-on-5 basketball tournament will take place August 4-5, 2007 in Maysville, KY. The Maysville Classic is a double-elimination tournament limited to competitive players/teams (Division A) age 18 or over that are not currently participating on organized high school or collegiate teams. Entry fee is $300 and teams are limited to ten players. Jerseys/t-shirts will be provided with entry fee. Deposit ($150), completed applications and rosters are required by July 20, 2007. Final payment of $150 must be made by July 27, 2007 or deposit will be forfeited. Classic games are played at Mason County gymnasiums. Admission is free. The first game begins at 10 a.m. Saturday. The last game of the day is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Sunday play resumes at 1 p.m.. The championship game is expected to begin at 6 p.m.
Contact Lamont Johnson at 606-584-6462 for applications and/or additional information.

Friday Night Under the Lights

The Mason County Royals' "Friday Night Under the Lights" football camp will be held this Friday from 4:30 to 10 p.m. The camp is for students entering grades 3-8. The cost is $30.
The first 100 campers will receive a football, sponsored by Southgate Car Wash, and t-shirt, sponsored by Dr. Tim Sargent. There will be a punt, pass and kick competition during the camp.
Forms are available at the Mason County High School office. For more information, call Coach Buchanan at 564-3393.

Good Reading on Vols and C-Lo

If you're looking for summer updates on the Tennessee Volunteers and Chris Lofton, check out this story in The Mountain Press, and a Q and A with coach Bruce Pearl on UTSports.com.

Mason County Football Workouts Begin Tuesday

Mason County football workouts begin Tuesday. Here is the schedule:
Tuesday, July 10- varsity and freshmen perimiter players at 4 p.m., varsity offensive lineman at 7 p.m.;
Thursday, July 11- freshmen workouts, perimeter and offensive linemen, entire freshmen team at 5:45 p.m.
Players must have a completed physical (all five pages and all signatures) to begin workouts.
Call Coach Buchanan if you have questions.

Bryan Conway Memorial Junior Golf Tournament

The Bryan Conway Memorial Junior Golf Tournament will be held Wednesday, Aug. 1 at Kenton Station Golf Course. The tournament is for boys and girls ages 9-16. Entrants must be signed up in the clubhouse by 6 p.m. on July 30. Call Deron Feldhaus at 606-759-7154 to sign up.
You also need to call that number the evening prior to the tournament for your tee time.

Mason County Royals Baseball Awards

Here is a list of the Mason County Royals baseball awards for the 2007 season:

Higgest Batting Average- Cory Woods
Scottie Morgan Hustle Award- Richie Cox
MVP- Darrin Doyle
Most Improved- Tyler Mattingly
Pitching Award- Jonathon Stafford
Shane Morgan Defensive Award- Kyle Marinaro
Coaches Award- Eric Meadows
Leadership Award- Kenton Pumpelly
JV Award- Michael Fegley
JV Award- Tyler French

Boys and Girls Club to Host Soccer and Cheerleading Camps

The Tom Browning Boys and Girls Club will host soccer and cheerleading camps this month.
The soccer camp for children ages 5 to 14 is scheduled July 11-14.
The cheerleading camp will be held July 16-18. The camp for ages 6-9 will be from 10 to 11:30 a.m., and the camp for children ages 10-14 will be from 1-3 p.m. The camps are free. For more information, call the Tom Browning Boys and Girls Club at 564-3093.

Mason County 11 and Under Girls Lose Tonight

The Mason County Lady Royals 11 and under girls' basketball team lost to Cincy Legend 44-25 tonight in the Loser's Bracket of the Division II 11 and Under AAU National Championships in Dayton, Ohio.

11 and Under Girls Lose in First Round

The Mason County Lady Royals 11 and under girls' basketball team lost to the Dayton Lady Hoopstars White 31-21 today in the Championship Bracket of the Division II AAU National Championship in Dayton, Ohio. Mason County will play in the Championship Loser's Bracket tomorrow night at 8:45.

Mason County Royals 13 and Under Team Finishes 4th

The Mason County Royals 13 and under boys' basketball team finished fourth in the Classic Bracket of the Division II 13 and under/7th Grade AAU National Championships in Memphis, TN. The Royals went 1-2 in pool play. Here are the scores:

Nashville Nuggets 53
Mason County Royals 45

Mason County Royals 66
Suffolk Blazer 50

Illinois T-wolves Blue 54
Mason County 46.

In the Classic Bracket, Mason County defeated the Arkansas Kings 79-56, the San Antonio Bearcats 75-66 and the Memphis Golden Eagles 70-68. The Royals lost to the eventual champions, the Southern LouisianaParish Rockets in the semi-final round..
Mason County lost to Kentucky KB Hoops in the third place game.

Lady Royals 11 and Under Team Goes 1-2 in Pool Play

The Mason County Lady Royals 11 and under girls' basketball team went 1-2 in pool play in the Division II AAU National Championships in Dayton, OH. Here are the scores:

New Hampshire Shooting Stars 60
Mason County Lady Royals 32

Mason County Lady Royals 33
Dayton Lady Hoopstars Red 11

Maryland Grizzles 50
Mason County Lady Royals 31

Mason County plays the Dayton Lady Hoopstars White today at 1:45 p.m. in the first round of the Championship winners bracket.

Troy Grooms Wins Firecracker

Troy Grooms rallied from a one shot deficit with back-to-back birdies late in the final round today to win the Firecracker Golf Tournament by one shot over Deron Feldhaus at Kenton Station Golf Course. Grooms began the day with a three shot lead over Feldhaus after firing a nine-under-par 61 Saturday. Feldhaus had a one shot lead at the turn today after shootng a 29 on the front side. Feldhaus maintained the lead until Grooms birdied 15 and 16. Both golfers parred 17 and 18, and Grooms won with a two-day total of 16-under 124. Feldhaus shot a 61 today for a two-day total of 125. Steve Grayson finished third at 132.
The other flight winners include:
First Flight- Charlie Woodruff 136
Second Flight- Chris Brown 142
Third Flight- Kevin Wolfe 150
Fourth Flight-Arch Justus 160

Lewis Held to One Catch In Horsemen Loss

Harry Lewis was held to one reception for 19 yards and the Lexington Horsemen were routed by the Rock River Raptors 70-47 last night in Rockford, IL. This is a bye week for Lexington.
The Horsemen (7-7) close out the regular season July 14 at home against the Ohio Valley Greyhounds