John Clay’s Sidelines

Gabe e-mails to say — and if you are a Lexington radio sports call-in show listener, you know Gabe — to say I was dead wrong in my Wednesday column, which said that there has never been a UK football and UK basketball game played at the same time.

Wrote Gabe:

I remember sitting in the stands in Gainesville in 1979 & getting updates from the UK cheerleaders on the UK-Duke basketball game.

The reason it is clear in my mind is that it was Sam Bowie’s debut and the Cats lost in overtime.The football team won behind QB Juan Portella over the Gators, 31-3. That Gator team went 0-10-1 that year.

The two games overlapped each other for at least the 1st qt of the Football game.

Hard to believe how the tables have turned.

Gabe may be right. What I should have said was that there has never been a simultaneous broadcast of UK football and basketball, at least according to IMG, the UK rights holder. I believe the UK basketball game was broadcast on a tape-delayed basis, or vice versa, back in 1979.

But it’s always good to hear from Gabe.