Barney Miller: I root for UK football

Lexington businessman Barney Miller issued a news release on Friday. It stated that he rooted for the University of Kentucky football team.

An ad promotion for his downtown electronics store led Miller to declare his partisan interest in UK’s team.

Miller is offering customers a free flat-panel television. There are two hitches. The TV must be bought in August and the customers will get refunds in December if UK’s football team makes the Southeastern Conference championship game.

Since UK has never made the game and has all all-time winning percentage of only .388 in league play (155-347), it seemed Miller made a safe bet. In fact, it was so safe that radio call-in shows accused him of having a betting interest in UK losing games this season.

That prompted Miller to issue a release swearing his loyalty to UK. He noted that he had taken out an insurance policy to cover any costs should he have to make refunds, so he had nothing financial to gain.

“If anybody is pulling against the Cats, it’s the insurance company in Reno, Nevada,” Miller said in his news release. “. . . If anybody doubts my loyalty, they can watch me at Commonwealth Stadium. I’ll be leading cheers for the Cats!”