Back when sweaters had soul.
The special Kentucky fan-centric broadcast of the Final Four game versus Wisconsin has chosen it’s Kentucky-favored broadcast team. One of the selections is a repeat performer who returns to the Big Blue airwaves after much controversy.
The UK teamcast will consist of @buzzbaker @rexchapman and @michaeleaves. It will air on TNT.
— T.J. Beisner (@Beisner_cn2) March 31, 2015
Okay, yeah, we need to talk about Rex. But first, let’s congratulate Michael and Buzz.
Image from Linkedin.com
Michael Eaves is a former sports anchor with WKYT-TV in Lexington before moving on to Fox Sports West, where he won four LA-Area Emmy awards for best sports reporting and outstanding sports feature. He currently is the main sports anchor for Al Jazeera America. Eaves graduated from UK with a BA in journalism.
Image from WKYT.com
Dave “Buzz” Baker has been a mainstay of Central Kentucky and SEC sports for decades. He’s one of the go-to announcers for television broadcasts on the Big Blue Network and has broadcast games for SEC’s basketball television package that appears on the SEC Network, ESPN, CSS and Fox Sports Net. He also hosts Raycom’s Football Saturdays in the South program. He’s also a way cool dad and I’ve coached his way-cool son in U-6 soccer, so I’m a bit Buzz biased.
Photo: Regina Rickert
Rex Chapman went from famous former Kentucky and NBA basketball player to infamous during last year’s Final Four. Chapman tweeted John Calipari would be leaving Kentucky for the Los Angeles Lakers in a decision so sure he called it a “done deal”. Many Kentucky fans still resent Rex for injecting bad news right before the NCAA Championship Game (which a surging Kentucky team went on to lose to UConn).
Since that incident, Rex’s personal life drama played out in front of all of us. He was arrested for stealing roughly $14,000 worth of Apple Store inventory and charged with 14 felony counts in Arizona. He returned to Kentucky where he entered a substance-abuse treatment program at The Brook Hospital to help with his addiction to suboxone.
A quick poll of my fellow Kentucky fan friends on Twitter shows a deep divide in today’s announcement. Feelings are still sore from Rex’s “done deal” tweet and subsequent response to the tweet to upset Big Blue fans. I’m sure not every bridge is going to be mended, but there’s no wrong way to feel on the subject. Personally I’ve forgiven Rex, but I also share a unique connection to Rex (which I wrote about earlier this year).
Not making the cut for the TNT Team Stream: Gimel Martinez. We did our best.
