Is it just me, or does the Pro Bowl seem to be the worst of the All-Star type series? I mean, come on, nobody even took a hard hit on Sunday night. They might as well have been playing two-hand touch.

‰How many more style points can John Calipari possibly muster? Getting LeBron James — The King himself — to sit courtside at a Kentucky game was a major coup in my opinion. I’m sure it’ll score points on the recruiting trail, too. Having the face of the NBA at your game sure can’t hurt.

‰Reports are that there will be 28 NBA teams represented in Rupp Arena watching tonight’s Mississippi-Kentucky game. Hopefully, they’ll get their eyes full.

‰Kentucky fell to No. 4 in the AP rankings after the loss last Tuesday to South Carolina. However, somebody still gave the Cats a No. 1 vote. As long as you give yourself a chance to be a No. 1 seed come tournament time, which essentially means staying in the top four, then the rankings don’t matter much anyway.

By the way, Kentucky played like a No. 1 team on Saturday against Vanderbilt. Maybe that’s why they got that one writer’s No. 1 vote.

‰The Reds are making some interesting moves. I like the signing of shortstop Orlando Cabera and didn’t mind dumping Willy Taveras’ fat contract on the Oakland Athletics. But I did hate to see the Reds part wth Adam Rosales. If Aaron Miles can revert to 2008 form, when he hit .317 for the Cardinals, maybe that deal can be even sweeter.

‰I’m not convinced the Reds are any better than fourth in the NL West although I’ve seen some predictions of a .500 record and second-place finish. I think the Reds are still a year away from contending despite some frontline pitching potential.

‰This year makes the 20th anniversary of the Reds last world championship. Man, where has the time gone.

‰I’m looking forward to the Saints-Colts matchup in the Super Bowl. It should live up to the hype. The NFL Network is showing all those 30-minute programs on past Super Bowls. It’s amazing how they can make some of the worst games seem exciting.

‰Pitchers and catchers report in two weeks. Hooray!

‰Only three weeks remain in the regular season for high school basketball in Kentucky. The 16th Region is as muddled now as it was to start the season but the parity should make for one of the best regional tournaments in years. We went into the last three regional tournaments understanding that anything short of Elliott County winniing would be a major upset.

‰The 16th Region is playing the Fourth Region in the opening game of the Sweet 16. There could be some interesting developments. Glasgow is one of the top teams in the Fourth Region. Coached by Jeff Hall, the Scotties made it to the semifinals of last week’s All A state tournament in Richmond. Jeff’s son, Cameron, a 6-foot-1 senior guard, averaged 30 a game.

It makes you wonder how good Fairview may have been if Cameron were still playing for the Eagles.

Jeff Hall took Ashland (1992) and Rose Hill (2003) to the State Tournament.

It’s a “what if” game, but the possibility of a Fairview-Glasgow or Ashland-Glasgow matchup exists in the Sweet 16 opener.

‰Lewis County is retiring the jersey of 1950s star Ralph Davis on Friday night in Vanceburg. Davis went on to play with Oscar Robertson on those great University of Cincinnati teams.

Davis will be the first jersey the school has retired. More on him later in the week.

MARK MAYNARD can be reached at mmaynard@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2648.