Fans? Day on Sat. Aug. 14: The annual Kentucky Football Fans? Day will be held Saturday, Aug. 14, at Commonwealth Stadium. Admission is free.
Activities begin outside the stadium at 9 a.m. with the ?Wildcat Refuge? children?s play area. The UK volleyball team will be signing autographs in the Refuge from 10-11 a.m.
Stadium gates open at 10:30 a.m., when Wildcat gift bags and prize tickets will be given away. Posters, schedule cards, meal tickets, and other goodies will be in the gift bags. Meal tickets can be redeemed for free Kroger hot dogs and Pepsi while supplies last. The official Kentucky Football Media Guide will be on sale for $15 each.
Coach Rich Brooks and the team will be introduced at 11 a.m., followed by an autograph session with the Wildcat coaches and players. During the autograph session, there will be drawings for grand prizes, such as season tickets, a golf outing, game jerseys, and other memorabilia.
The autograph session ends at 12:45 p.m. Fans are invited to remain at the stadium and observe practice, which will begin at 1:20 p.m. Fans? Day will be the only practice that will be open to the general public this season. The remainder of the team practices will be closed to the public.
No Triskaidekaphobia for Parker: Superstitious folks might be wary of today?s date (Friday the 13th), although you shouldn?t count UK wide receiver Gerad Parker among them.
Parker wears uniform No. 13 for the Wildcats, but definitely doesn?t suffer from triskaidekaphobia ? fear of the number 13.
?I wore 13 in high school. When I first got on the team, it was about the only number left,? explained Parker, who set the Kentucky career record for pass receptions (238 catches) while playing for Lawrence County High School. ?I always try to be a little different, so I thought I?d take 13. My dad (Rick Parker) always tried to get us not to be superstitious. I got a lot of questions about it while I was in high school.?
At UK, Parker redshirted as a freshman, then had to wait for his number for two years while Aaron Boone wore No. 13 with great success. Parker returned to the number last season.
Parker projects to be in the playing rotation in 2004. His senior season is off to a good start already, as Parker recently made a successful marriage proposal to his girlfriend, Kandi Brown. The couple plans to wed in July 2005.
Dewalt, Lyons Make Good First Impressions: Freshman wide receivers Lonnell Dewalt and Dicky Lyons, Jr., have made a good showing during their first week of practice.
During the first practice on Tuesday, Dewalt made a pair of spectacular catches ? a body-twisting snatch of a ball thrown behind him, and a full-extension fingertip snag of a ball that appeared to be overthrown. Lyons got open frequently during the first two days and appeared to catch anything he could reach.
?Lonnell is very, very talented, with size, speed, and athletic ability,? wide receivers coach Joker Phillips said. ?He?s doing a really good job picking up the system. He?s listening to the coaches and studying.
?Dicky is exactly what we thought when we recruited him? Phillips continued. ?He?s a fierce competitor with good hand-eye coordination. To me, he?s a cross between Derek Abney and Tommy Cook. He has Abney?s quickness and Cook?s strength and toughness.?
Dewalt (8) and Lyons (12) talk with injured wide receiver Tommy Cook
