Mark Maloney on Kentucky sports

Tommy Johnson, named Thursday as coach of the Kentucky Horsemen, says the “stamp” he intends to put on the arena football team starts with defense.

Tommy Johnson

“Defense is what’s going to lead us to a championship,” he said. “I played on an Alabama team that had probably one of the best defenses in college football, and that’s one of the things that’s been my staple for a long time, is defense.

“I think that you will see a team that, first of all, has a lot of character. We want to make sure that our young men understand that this is just a sport, this is just a game. Children wake up every Saturday and play this for free, and you have the privilege ofplaying it for money. So you’ll see a team that’s full of character and you’ll see a team that’s going to play just-nasty defense, and we’re going to score a lot of points.”

Johnson replaces Mike Harmon, the Tates Creek head coach, who recently resigned from the Horsemen. Johnson says he plans to consult Harmon: “Absolutely, I will. I’d be crazy not to. Coach Harmon, he’s had some success on the football field here. I’d be crazy not to seek a little information on the guys and what they can do.”

Matt DiLorenzo, general manager of the Horsemen, said that he consulted with football contacts, Arena Football League officials and the commissioner of arenafootball2.

“The same name kept coming up,” DiLorenzo said, indicating Johnson.

So an interview was arranged.

“I knew within the first three minutes that this man was our man,” DiLorenzo said.

Johnson is the former head coach of the Louisville Fire. He was hired to be defensive coordinator of the Colorado Crush last season, but the AFL suspended operations before the season began.

A defensive back, Johnson was a team captain at Alabama, which won the 1992 No. 1 ranking by beating Miami in the Sugar Bowl. He also played professionally with the Jacksonville Jaguars, with several AFL teams and in NFL Europe. His coaching career began in 2001 as defensive coordinator of the Fire.

He and his wife Monica live in Louisville, where he is a volunteer assistant on Tim Green’s staff at Kentucky Country Day High School.

Also on the KCD staff is Justin Rascati, who split Horsemen quarterback chores last season with Jared Lorenzen.

Johnson says that continuing a quarterback rotation is not in his plans, though.

“When you have a quarterback of those two guys’ caliber, you have to go with one guy and you have to stick with him,” Johnson said. “You have to get a guy in there that can lead your team. I think every good team has a starting quarterback and a quarterback they feel comfortable with coming in if something happens with that starter. But the rotation thing, it gets those guys our of their rhythm. We want to get those guys in a situation where they’ve got their rhythm and they’re moving our team down the field and scoring points.”

Brett Kincaid, chairman of the board for the team, said the Horsemen will be changing leagues next season, moving from arenafootball2 to a league that will include AFL teams and teams from some smaller leagues. The Horsemen begin training in March.

About 10 players attended Thursday’s press conference, held on the Rupp Arena concourse.

Johnson stressed to them that he expects them to put the community first, show respect, play hard and do what they can to make the fans feel at home. If they do, they will be rewarded with a faithful following that will “cheer us to championships. We will win football games. We are going to take this thing to the next level.”

DiLorenzo said the team is “looking into” adding a “kid zone” for home games; freezing and lowering ticket-package prices; offering payment plans, and merging sponsorships and family ticket packages with the new basketball team in town, the Bluegrass Stallions.

Johnson accepted an on-the-spot offer by Stallions owner Tony Chase to suit up for a game as the basketball team’s 13th man – a celebrity roster spot that each team has for home games.

Most of all, though, Johnson wants to win football games.

“We want to get back to that championship trophy. We want to get back to that point where we’re the cream of the crop,” he said. “The Horsemen have a storied history of being the best and we’re going to get back to that. … I am overly excited about getting started because I know the potential of this team and where we can go.”

Johnson says he has interviewed some “pretty exciting candidates” to be on his staff, but will continue the search: “We are going to interview every coach that wants to interview.”

Asked what his salary will be, Johnson said, “Haven’t negotiated that yet. I can tell you this: it is a league-mandatory salary cap. … I just don’t know how much I will be compensated.”

And he has a message for the public: “To all the fans out there that have not been to an arena football league game, give us one game. I promise you, at the end of the game, you will come up to me and say, ‘Coach, you were right. This is a phenomenal, family-fun game.”

Two Eastern Kentucky University seniors have been named to the Sports Network All-America football team.

Place-kicker Taylor Long was named to the first team, while safety Brandon Gathof made the third team. They were instrumental in helping the Colonels to an 8-4 record, a 20th Ohio Valley Conference championship, 31st consecutive winning season and a berth in the NCAA playoffs.

Long, from Hopkinsville, finished his EKU career as the program’s leading kick-scorer with 285 points. He made 20 field goals in 2008, ranking second in NCAA Division I FCS (formerly known as I-AA).

Gathof, from LaGrange, is a three-time all-Ohio Valley Conference pick and a repeat third-team all-American with Sports Network. He started all 12 games in 2008, finishing second on the team with 81 tackles and five interceptions. He led the Colonels with six pass break-ups.

EKU offensive lineman Sam Reid in action.

Honors continue to come for Eastern Kentucky University’s football team.

Friday, offensive lineman Sam Reid was named to the 11th annual Football Championship Subdivision Athletics Director Association (FCS ADA) Academic All-Star team. (Try fitting that inscription on an award!)

The announcement was made at Chattanooga, Tenn., where Richmond will face Montana in the FCS title game. Reid is among 43 players cited, and one of two from the Ohio Valley Conference. To be eligible for the award, student-athletes must have a minimum grade-point average of 3.20 (on a 4.00 scale) and have been a starter or key player with legitimate credentials.

Reid, a second-team all-OVC pick from Carlisle, Ky., changed positions from tight end to center in 2008. He started all 12 games, helping the Colonels to their second OVC title in a row. A team captain, Reid earned his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice last spring and is now working towards a master’s degree. He is a member of the Chi Alpha Sigma National Athletic Honor Society.

Notes from Thursday’s (e-)mailbag.

* From Keith Elkins of the Lexington Legends ….

Alan Stein, president and CEO of the Legends and Omaha Royals, is the first recipient of the Presidential Citation from Minor League Baseball for outstanding service. MiLB President Pat O’Conner presented the award during the recent baseball winter meetings in Las Vegas.

Stein has served since 2006 as the South Atlantic League’s elected representative on Minor League Baseball’s board of trustees, elected vice chairman in 2007. O’Connor said Stein’s overall service was worthy of recognition, but noted in particular Stein’s role in this year’s agreement between MiLB and Major League Baseball Advanced Media on the bundled internet rights program. The Baseball Internet Rights Company, formed as a result of the agreement, bundles internet content of all clubs, with the purpose of significantly increasing the volume and availability of information about MiLB to an international audience.

* From Michael Clark at Eastern Kentucky University …

Senior place-kicker Taylor Long of Hopkinsville has been named second-team all-American by The Associated Press. Taylor finished his career with the Colonels as the program’s all-time leader in kick points, 285. Included were 20 field goals this season. He had a 13-for-13 stretch this season, including an overtime game-winner against Austin Peay, and booted a career-best 50-yarder against Eastern Illinois. Overall, he was 20-for-27 this season, averaging 7.3 points a game.

His 49 career field goals ties the EKU record set by Dale Dawson (1983-86), and his 138 PAT points are a school record.

* From Julie Bartell at USA Softball …

Crystl Bustos, the top power hitter in the game, has been named by the Amateur Softball Association as USA Softball Player of the Year.

Bustos came through in the clutch, blasting a three-run homer in the top of the ninth inning to give the U.S. a 4-1 victory over Japan and a spot in the gold-medal game at the Beijing Olympics. Although Japan won the gold-medal game, Bustos provided the only American run with a home run before drawing her third intentional walk of the Games.

Overall, Bustos hit .500 (11-for-22) at Beijing, with six homers, 10 RBI and 12 runs before retiring. The six homers and 1.318 slugging percentage broke her own Olympic records of five homers and .923 slugging at the 2004 Athens Olympics. The 10 RBI tie her Olympic record set at Athens. She finishes with the career home run Olympic record, 14, over three Olympics.