The resignation of Harold Tackett as the Logan County boys basketball coach didn't come as a surprise. He never established a permanent residence here and his family was still in Eastern Kentucky. The nucleus of the team he had groomed for four years graduated. Together they accomplished three milestones—a winning record (two of those), a win over Russellville (two, too), and the program's first trip to region in 14 years.

What was unfortunate was how late the resignation came. Other schools had been jockeying for the best available coach to fill vacancies for two to three months, and the list of available quality candidates has shrunk considerably. Still I'm told a couple of dozen candidates have applied for the job, some of whom are very qualified.

Just as was the case for Russellville and several other schools, there was a very good chance that the man I consider the state's best high school coach, Tim Riley (shown in photo), would become the Cougars' coach. The former Warren Central head coach and WKU Lady Toppers assistant seriously considered both the RHS and LCHS jobs. Every time he gets close to taking another position (and he's had several opportunities), the desire to see his son Brett play for Warren Central this fall keeps holding him back.

The name Dennis Pardue keeps popping up in conversations about the Logan job. Pardue grew up in the Logan County system as an Auburn High School athlete. His first coaching job was at Auburn Middle School. At one point it appeared that he would be an assistant at LCHS, but Coach Ray Maggard decided that Greg Howard's coaching philosophy was more akin to his than Pardue's. After coaching at Barren County and Russellville Middle, Pardue is coming off successful runs as the Todd Central and Russellville High head coach totaling 14 seasons.

Principal Casey Jaynes has conducted a number of interviews for the LCHS job, including by the Internet web-camera program SKYPE. That's the modern equivalent of long distance. Jaynes says he won't make the decision alone, that a committee will meet to decide on the next Cougar coach, maybe next week.

Tackett tied the record for the longest tenure by an LCHS head boys coach by staying four years. The other two staying four years were Gerald Sinclair, who coached the Cougars to the state championship in the second year of the school's existence while being named state coach of the year, and Dick Webb, whose last game was in the 1993 regional finals. Logan has had 10 head coaches in its 30-year history.

Lonnie Mason , who played for Webb on that team and has been an assistant under many of those head coaches, has been acting head coach this summer. He got a lot out of the current Cougars in the Ray Harper Team Camp at WKU recently. Torin Graham is the only returning starter, andLandon Stratton and Clint Knight are the only returning subs who saw much action throughout the season, although Ben Wright did give the team a lift in the district finals as a freshman. Still this group had some impressive moments at Diddle, getting quality play from junior J.R. Morrow and sophomores Tahmir Graham, Tucker Baldwin and John Wilson Coots. Mason has reportedly been interviewed for the head coaching job.

Meanwhile, basketball observers have been impressed with the play of the Russellville Panthers under new/old coach Phil Todd in summer action. I've had several people tell me they consider the Panthers a top five regional team. RHS returns starts Jordan Kennedy, Josh Hampton and Zach Hines along with key reserves Barrett Croslin, Christian Naylor, and Coco Darden.

Todd, who returns as the Panther coach after Pardue was at the helm the last eight years, coached the Panthers to three regional championships and two other regional finals between 1992 and 2001. He also led his team to consecutive slots in the state Final Four. “I never was sure how much of it was his coaching and how much was Russellville's talent level those years,” one veteran observer said. “But after watching the way this team is playing this summer, I'm convinced he's a very good coach.”

Speaking of talented players who were part of the Todd regime, two of the best were on display when a Russellville-Logan All-Star team faced the Harlem Wizards in a fund raiser for Logan County Little League. Bubba Wells and Otis Key were on Todd's first team (also his first regional finalist team) in 1991-92 and then went on to impressive college and professional careers. Wells, a top assistant coach at his alma mater, Austin Peay, was unable to play because of a injury, but he appears to be in great shape. Otis, who was national champion player and coach of the year in a professional league, did play, although he would admit that he's not in competitive playing shape.

I can't remember a more fun sports night here than that Wizards game. Jim Young Gymnasium was full, and the audience was appreciative of what was going on during the game. The Wizards were talented and audience-friendly. Some of the best athletes who have played here in recent years were in the game. Especially impressive were Squeaky Hampton, who is a perennial professional all-star in Europe, Mikie Benton, who is a returning starter at safety for University of Kentucky football, and Teco Dickerson, a multi-year state champion in track who played both football and basketball for WKU. When those three were teamed with Otis and either Tyrone 'Ice' Kennedy (Auburn's regional finalist team in 1982), Montez Mason (LCHS regional finalist in 1993) or Bryan Fuller, (the LCHS grad who pitched Campbellsville into the NAIA World Series) , the local guys were able to play on fairly even terms with the Wizards.

The crowd was pleased to see former major league pitcher Mark Thompson (LCHS baseball state quarterfinalist in 1989), Brent Hinton (youngest player on the LCHS state championship basketball team) and Dave Dockins (Russellville's state championship track team in 1975).

Dockins was the oldest player, having been a classmate and teammate of Todd. “I have a feeling if we do this again in 20 years, Dave will still be out there,” laughed Trevor Coe, a former RHS soccer and baseball standout. Just a couple of years younger is Billy Joe Coleman (a key player on Lewisburg's district championship team in Coach Bob Birdwhistell's last season, 1976). Billy Joe didn't play when the clock was running in this game, but he left the handicap parking position on the bench to hit a free throw. He then toddled back to the bench.

Also adding to the fun were former LCHS standouts Marcus Mason, Craig Bailey and Lonnie Mason along with Jae Allison and Timmy Hampton of RHS. Two women played for the stars, too. RHS girls basketball coach Dedra Adler, only a few weeks after giving birth to her third child, played, as did Stevenson Elementary School teacher Jennifer Myers, who scored the game's first goal.

Jennifer 's husband, RHS football coach John Myers, put the evening together. One of his many roles is serving as president of Russellville Little League. Lots of Little League parents worked to make this evening a success, including LCHS baseball coaches Ethan Meguiar and Kyle Wall along with their summer coaching buddy Travis Steward. They put in a long, hard night of work selling Wizards memorabilia, which was very popular.

Little League coaches for 2012 were: 9-10—Kevin White, Bryan Hendricks, Todd Haley, Mark Sears and Jason Hayes; 11-12— Tim Blick, Travis Steward, Dr. David Woodall, Tim Baldwin; John Myers is the league president.

The LoJo

Congratulations to Superintendent Marshall Kemp, Principal Jaynes and the Logan school board for taking steps to keep head football coach Dain Gregory. He brought such positive energy to the program last year and was so universally approved by the players, parents and community that it would have been a demoralizing blow to have lost him.

The LoJo

A sports era came to an end or at least a detour last week when Jim Thompson worked his final day for the Logan County School System. A standout basketball player at Adairville High School in the 1960s, he coached both boys and girls basketball at Chandlers High School before becoming the first girls basketball coach at Logan County High School. He led the Lady Cougars to the regional finals in two of their first six seasons. His first LCHS team lost in the finals to Warren Central, which went on to win the state. Later he was principal at Chandlers Elementary and has served two stints as director of transportation and maintenance for the system. He devoted 35 years to the Logan County schools.

His son, Mark Thompson, is the most successful baseball player in local history. He led Coach David Billingsley's 1989 Cougars to the state quarterfinals, was a starting pitcher for the University of Kentucky for three years and then became a major league pitcher for seven years.

Now Jim and Doris Thompson have sold their Russellville home and are moving to Bowling Green where Mark and their daughter, Michelle Blick, her husband Ken and the Thompson's grandchildren, Kenton and Natalie Blick, live. Jim's mother, Mae Thompson, also is in assisted living there.

Doris will drive to Russellville to work with David Tharpe's insurance agency until the end of the year before she retires. Although he's twice retired, Jim plans to help Mark with his new business, the Josten's dealership which was operated for many years by Jerry Bush before his retirement. Jerry Bush was a friend of school people all over this area, and Mark will be, too.

The LoJo

Dawn Smith of Russellville is now a soccer official. She has called big soccer matches in a multi-state area recently and will begin a career as a KHSAA official this fall. Her son Jacob is a senior soccer player for Logan County and her daughter Katie plays soccer for LCHS and basketball for Olmstead. Dawn has coached soccer and softball in local youth leagues and is a former president of Logan County Little League.

Dawn worked for the Logan County Chamber of Commerce for several years and is now employed in the office of Property Valuation Administrator Ben Brown. Her mother is Commonwealth Attorney Gail Guiling.

Nathan Thompson , who may be the best soccer player in Russellville High School history, has resigned as the Panthers' soccer coach. The school's varsity soccer program was sidelined last year for lack of participation, and it may be difficult to field one this year. Thompson, who was a starter on Coach Todd's Final Four basketball team in 2001, had planned to continue as an assistant basketball coach under Pardue, but that no longer is a possibility. A banker now, he told The LoJo that he wouldn't be interested in being an assistant coach for the Cougars if Pardue becomes the LCHS coach.

Ryan Davenport , who played basketball for RHS under Coach Todd and who has been the Panthers' middle school basketball coach the past few years, is now Todd's assistant coach on the high school team. He will teach the physical education classes at Stevenson Elementary that have long been the work of the retired Lou Kendall.

No successor for Kendall as the Panther baseball coach has been announced. Two names I've heard: Johnny White, a former outstanding player at Lewisburg High and in Legion ball who is in human resources at Logan Aluminum, and Greg Shelton, the Hall of Fame coach for whom the Franklin-Simpson baseball field is named. Greg's been coaching baseball at Beech High School in Tennessee since his retirement in Kentucky, but there's speculation that he might like to come back home to be near his mother, retired Lewisburg School secretary Hattie Ruth Shelton. His late father, Morris Shelton, was the long-time principal at Chandlers High School. Greg's first coaching job was the Post 29 Legion team here while he was a star reliever for WKU.

The LoJo

We didn't get to report much tennis news this spring. Getting wins in the regional tennis tournament for Logan County High were Caleb Dawson, Adam Wilkins, Dalton Gunderson and Evan Harris, Adriana Hinojoza, and Meg and Brenna Brown. Gunderson and Harris beat the RHS team of Will Oakley and Cameron Tisdale 6-2, 6-3. Also playing for one of the two local teams were Kyle Harris. John David Reeves, Chris Collier, Travis McDaniel, Sydney Anderson, and the doubles team of Mason Gregory and Alexandria Slaton.

The Browns beat a team from Greenwood in three sets to reach the quarterfinals. They became the first LCHS tennis players to go to state. Meg will play tennis for Campbellsville University. Brenna was also recruited as a college tennis player, but elected to go a different direction.

Franklin's Ian Greer and Hayes defeated Gunderson and Harris 2&1 in the quarterfinals. Ian is the grandson of Logan County's David and Colette Brown. His uncle, Tim Brown, was one of the first outstanding tennis players at LCHS. Ian, whom I taught in a college speech class while he was still a high school student, was a standout soccer player as well as tennis player for the Wildcats, and he was the placekicker on the state runner-up football team. He was pictured on the back cover of The Sporting Times magazine as Scholarship Athlete of the Month during the winter. He kicked 60 extra points to help F-S reach the state football finals. He also was a 4.0 student and already has several college credits from taking Advanced Placement courses and dual courses at Bowling Green Technical College.

Franklin-Simpson has two new coaches in highly visible positions. Former F-S player Dee Spencer has been named boys basketball coach, succeeding Lex Lindsey, who resigned but will still teach at the school. Spencer, who has been head coach at nearby White House High School in Tennessee for five years, is the brother of long-time Russellville pastor Sammy Spencer. Like Phil Todd, he is getting highly positive reviews for his summer coaching skills.

New F-S Principal Tim Schlosser has chosen as his successor Doug Preston to coach the highly successful football team. He has been a head coach at Rowan County, Louisville Western and Bullitt East. He coached Bullitt East to the Class 4A state finals in 2008. Franklin was in that same level championship game last year.

Franklin native Brad Kelley, who made his fortune selling Commonwealth Brands tobacco company to Houchens Industries for a reported $1 billion, is the lead owner of Calumet Farms in Lexington. One of my favorite sights in the world is passing Calumet with its red and white barns and white fences while entering Lexington from the Bluegrass Parkway. When I was a boy, we toured Calumet frequently before it was closed because of some college students setting off explosives in the driveway.

Former Franklin standout athlete Jami Deberry has been named special teams and defensive quality control coach at the University of Kansas. He is the grandson of James and Nadine Deberry of Logan County. He was brought to Coach Charlie Weiss' Jayhawks staff by Clint Bowen, a former WKU defensive coordinator. Jami's working under Kansas defensive coordinator Dave Campo, a former head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. Weiss, of course, is the former offensive coordinator of the New England Patriots in their Super Bowl championship seasons as well as having been head coach at Notre Dame.

Deberry had some memorable football and baseball battles with Logan County and Russellville during his career at FSHS from 1995-2000. He played linebacker for WKU during the national championship era and later coached under Willie Taggart of the Hilltoppers. He is the son of Dwight and Reba Deberry.

The LoJo

A name from the past: Former RHS standout golfer Dustin Siletchnik finished sixth in the Paul Walker Memorial golf tournament in Bowling Green recently. He shot a two-day total of 139 on the Paul Walker course, which was known as Municipal when Paul was head of Bowling Green Park. And Dustin's name still drives my computer spell check program crazy.

The LoJo

Many present and former Logan Countians were keenly interested in the college regional softball matchup between the universities of Kentucky and Louisville at U of L this spring. One of the key players for the Cats is Griffin Joiner, the granddaughter of Lewisburg High grads Glenn Smith and Dixie Shelton Dennis.

Griffin, the starting catcher and number three batter, had a good series and hit a dramatic home run, but the Lady Cardinals eliminated UK from contention.

Joiner's cousin, Aeron Smith, was a key player for Greenwood as the Lady Gators won the region and made a strong run at a state title. Aeron is also a catcher.

Allen County-Scottsville senior pitcher Kelsi Pardue has been named “Miss Softball” by the Kentucky Softball Coaches Association. Four years or so ago, I taught Kevin Pardue in a speech class at WKU. He was one of the many middle aged students who appear in college classes far too frequently now because their jobs have been shipped off somewhere else. Kevin talked with me then about his young daughter Kelsi, who he modestly said had a chance to be a good high school pitcher. How right he was!

Pardue (30-5 record this year) completed her high school career among the top pitchers in Kentucky high school softball history in several categories. According to the KHSAA website. Pardue's 112 career wins places her seventh all-time in Kentucky career wins. Pardue's 405 strikeouts this year raise her career strikeout total to 1,290, seventh on the all-time strikeout list. She is also among the leaders in career shutouts.

The highlight of Kelsi's career came in 2011 as Allen County-Scottsville won the KHSAA state softball championship. Pardue was state tournament MVP. Pardue, who has signed to play college softball at WKU, is the first Allen Count athlete to earn “Mr. or Miss” honors since Jim McDaniels was named “Mr. Basketball” in 1967. Here's hoping she has similar success to Big Mac on The Hill.

Kerry Harwood , who has coached a pile of baseball games against Logan County and some against Russellville, has given up his post as baseball coach at Allen County-Scottsville. A former Patriot player, he was on the staff 20 years, 16 as head coach. He had a record of 267-200 and won two regional championships. He will continue as AC-S athletic director.

The LoJo

Former Logan Countians Steve and Janet McCarley, now of Franklin, got to see the son of one of her best friends' son star for the Minnesota Twins at Cincinnati recently. Josh Willingham homered and had an RBI double in a win over the Reds. Also there were Russellville's Adam Shrull and his son Jax. Adam has gotten to know the Twins slugger, and Josh gave them that game-winning ball.

The LoJo

Greg Pogue has left WNSR (560 AM) to become one of the drive time anchors on WPRT'sThe Game (102.5 FM) along with Willie Daunic. He is one of the most experienced sports media people in Nashville, having logged decades of print, television and radio coverage after leaving Bowling Green newspaper and radio.

Greg wrote a column which we carried on The LoJo in February about the impending death of his father, Gordon Pogue, who was a basketball standout at Lewisburg and a long-time coach at Chandlers. You can read it at http://www.theloganjournal.com/Stories.aspx?Article=guests99

On the day of Gordon's funeral, Greg told me this story:

Coach Pogue had decided that he had endured kidney disease and dialysis long enough. He opted to stop treatment and let his life slip away peacefully. “After the first weekend without dialysis, Dad told me he was thinking about going back on it. I asked him why, that I thought he was at peace with his decision,” Greg said.

“I know, but I got to thinking that I'd like to stick around long enough to see if this Kentucky team wins the national championship,” Gordon explained.

“If they don't win it, it will kill you anyway,” Greg told him with a smile. “If you're already in heaven, you'll have a great view of it and may know how it comes out before it happens.”

Gordon Pogue didn't go back on dialysis and had been deceased almost two months before the Cats won it all. Greg figures that added to his dad's enjoyment of his eternal reward.