[Moderated by Matt Jones]
Hey everybody!!!
Good morning everyone! Happy (almost) Memorial Day weekend! Here are your afternoon links:
With the committment of Drew Barker, Kentucky has officially moved into the Top 25 recruiting classes for 2014. But there is still a long way to go and a lot of time between now and Signing Day.
The Harrisons, Julius Randle, and WCS all turned down the chance to compete on the USA Under 19 team to come to UK early and start working towards the ultimate goal of #9. Also included in the article is the little tidbit that Kyle Wiltjer will try out for the Canadian national team.
Marcus Lee is a man of many different sides. Here is a heartwarming story about his love of volleyball, graphic design, and how hard he has worked to overcome dyslexia and ADHD.
Coach Cal thinks that Nerlens would be a perfect fit for the Cavs.
Our favorite Vespa rider, Coach Cal is in Brooklyn watching Uncle Julius at the Nets’ NBA Combine.
Finally in my weird news of the day: A company called My Pet Chicken has created a line of chicken diapers. No, I’m not joking. I’m talking Huggies for chickens.
What is the world coming to?
New Releases:
Fast & Furious 6
Six? Really? While you may be surprised that Universal Studios is cranking out yet another one, Fast Five grossed $625 million worldwide in 2011 with a budget of $125 million. The five movies in the Fast & Furious franchise, begun in 2001, have made $699,105,181 in the US and over $1.6 billion worldwide. Like Tom Cruise, these things keep on making money. The combination of Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, Eva Mendes, Michelle Rodriguez, and the Rock, are a hit, especially with foreign markets.
In this new film, Michelle Rodriguez’s character who debuted in the first, wasn’t in the next two, and died in the fourth, is now back for the sixth. Following? Aside from this soap opera, Fast & Furious 6 looks like your typical injection of testosterone and horsepower in which Agent Hobbs (The Rock) enlists the help of former enemies in Dominic (Vin Diesel) and Brian O’Connor (Paul Walker) to take down a villian who specializes in “vehicular warfare.”
The trailer highlights what this type of warfare entails–a sexy ninja girl fight, a tank (and Ludacris), and of course, a car taking down an enormous jet. Chuck Hagel take notes. This is the future of military defense
If you’re one for chick flicks or realism in your movie experience this movie is a bit too reminiscent of Michael Bay nightmares for you, but it’s sure to hold your interest.
[Trailer]
The Hangover Part III
Another concept that may be getting overdone, but that everyone can’t help but go see, The Hangover Part III, brings the Wolfpack back together for the last time. It’s rumored to take place in the place where the Ruflin and face tattoos began–Vegas, with some potential side trips to Tijuana and LA. A continuation of the surprise hit of 2009,
Part III will not feature yet another bachelor party like the cheap knockoff in Bangkok. The plot will stray from the “what happened last night and where is Doug” format, as the Wolfpack stages an intervention on Alan (Zach Galifianakis) who has gone further off the deep end since his father passed away. In what should be a peaceful drive to check Alan into a mental health hospital becomes yet another misadventure with a giraffe instead of a tiger.
It’s sure to be a raunchy and a fun movie, essentially the Ted of summer 2013. The Hangover baby from the first movie will be back, played by the same kid who is already cooler than me… Another sidenote, Melissa McCarthy of Bridesmaids and Identity Thief will be playing Galifianakis’s girlfriend. Gamechanger
[Trailer]
Epic
Epic is directed by the same guy who did Ice Age. No need to know his name
It’s the story of a girl whose father is convinced that there are tiny warriors in the forest near their house. His teenage daughter is shrunk by magic leaves that she catches, (big mistake), and then becomes a part of a tiny forest battle between good and evil.
It sounds like the old Disney movie Thumbelina with no music and an unnatural shrinking à la Honey I Shrunk the Kids. That’s surely how they arrived at this story.
Although animated movies may not be your thing, if you have kids or babysit then it can give you an hour and a half with minimal noise. And there won’t be another animated movie released until June 21st with Monsters University so this is your chance.
There are more cartoons this summer than angry KSR Bachlor comments–Despicable Me 2 July 5th, a Pixar Cars knockoff called Planes in August, another terrible Smurfs movie, and a cartoon about snails called Turbo, both in July.
None of these other animated summer films are musicals. In the good ole days of Aladdin and The Lion King, kids learned the vital skill of how to incorporate songs into their daily lives. I’m concerned for this next generation.
Without kids as incentive, there is one other reason to see this movie–the voice actors. Colin Farrell, Josh Hutcherson, Beyoncé Knowles, Amanda Seyfried, Aziz Ansari, Jason Sudeikis, Christoph Waltz, Pitbull, and Steven Tyler make up the list of people you’d never see in the same room.
Christoph Waltz is a blue villian in furs being pursued by PETA, Beyoncé is obviously a queen, and Pitbull is a grouchy frog.
[Trailer]
Also in Theaters:
Note- I’m trying my best to avoid spoilers.
Star Trek Into Darkness
The sequel to the surprisingly good J.J. Abrams’ 2009 film had a $70 million dollars opening weekend. It was slightly less than projected but enough to knock Iron Man 3 out of its top spot. I myself am going to see it Friday, but I anticipate being cool enough for advance screenings soon enough.
In the first film Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) goes from a n’er do well to the Captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise, saving Earth from face-tattooed time travelers, the Romulans. Zachary Quinto did a fantastic job reprising Spock (and has since befriended Leonard Nimoy), and the rest of the cast is surprisingly fresh and endearing.
Star Trek Into Darkness is, as its title makes clear, is a darker film than its predecessor. Kirk leads Uhura, Sulu, Bones, Spock, and the whole crew into a war-zone world to capture a “one man weapon of mass destruction” played by Benedict Cumberbatch. The man with the best name in history is sure to be both a charming and terrifying adversary for Starfleet.
Let’s just hope there aren’t quite as many lens flares as in the first. It was a bit excessive.
Whether you are a Trekkie (aka a high school teacher) or a skeptic this movie will likely surprise you. I expect it to be not only flashy and entertaining, but have the flair, drama, and smarts that made Abrams’ program Lost such a hit. Before Abrams touches the Star Wars franchise, you should see whether he has the stuff to be the unequivocal master of the nerd universe.
[Trailer]
Iron Man 3
Really not much to say because if you haven’t seen Iron Man 3 then what are you doing with your valuable time? The movie only bested in the all-time weekend box office by its Avengers cousin, is was what one would expect. It was at times slightly underwhelming visually compared to past Marvel films, but featured more emotional turmoil. Tony Stark has PTSD and his relationship with Pepper (Gwyneth Paltrow) is explored. Also for all you softies out there, Tony befriends a precious 8-year old boy who is also good at inventing things.
It is a much more intimate film than many Marvel movies and features somewhat less explosions and outlandish fight scenes. But don’t worry, you get plenty of that, as Tony possibly has an army of Iron Man suits at his disposal, which obviously is the coolest.
The movie explores a lot of topics like terrorism, ‘Murica, mental health, and deception. It is not perfect, as a comic book movie or otherwise, but plot is irrelevant when Robert Downey Jr. is on the screen. He is as sharp and witty as ever in the “final” Iron Man installment.
[Trailer]
Great Gatsby
Listen to the Great Gatsby soundtrack because it’s so bizarre and difficult to relate to the book. Then see the movie. Thankfully, the film was more relevant to your favorite required-reading than the uncomfortable music, but what you see on screen does have some analgous issues to the Jay-Z tracks. At times, the movie gets too bogged down in absurd colors and rapid camera panning/zoom-ins, partially attributed to the desire to make a 3D ticket worth the money. But to be honest it was a bit tacky, though one could argue so were the Roaring 20s.
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s book is so beautifully written, though simultaneously simple, it is difficult to transpose the feel of the book onto the screen. Aside from the inundation in CGI, it was a decent representation of the unique world of Gatsby, with a mixture of both the surreal and the hyperreal in 1920s Long Island. It’s not only glitzy and fabulous, but delicate and depressing as you can feel Gatsby’s pain onscreen throughout the movie. Admittedly, the film was painful for a viewer at times, as the slow pace of some moments, combined with the frenetic speed of others, made the storyline feel much too choppy.
Leonard DiCaprio, a superb actor and star of many of the best films of the past 15 years, does capture Gatsby’s sheer awkwardness and desire to be loved. Hearing him say “old sport” over and over grows tiresome. Tobey Maguire is solid as the reserved and innocent neighbor to Gatsby, Nick Carroway. Joel Edgerton and Carey Mulligan capture Tom’s brashness and Daisy’s mild yet passionate personality to create the selfish power couple of Fitzgerald’s novel.
As Nick Carroway said, “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy-they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness…” Despite Fitzgerald’s grandiose writing, an obscenely grand film doesn’t quite capture its essence.
There is a great deal to complain about in this movie with the pacing, feel, and visual effects, yet it gets across the main themes of the book–the dark side of wealth, the flaws American dream, the novelty of hope, and the dichotomy of nouveau riche versus old.
It’s worth seeing because I’m still thinking about it two weeks later. Clearly director Baz Luhrmann must have done something right.
[Trailer]
Bottom of the Box Office Recommendation:
Mud
Don’t let the McConaughey fool you, this Cannes film features Reese Witherspoon of TMZ fame, Sarah Paulson from American Horror Story, and Academy Award winner Sam Shephard, along with two talented kids Tye Sheridan, and Jacob Lofland.
2 boys try to help an oft shirtless island fugitive played by McConaughey in evading police and bounty hunters to reunite with his love (Witherspoon).
Check it out at Kentucky Theater tonight or tomorrow as it’s your last chance before The Iceman comes in and steals the slot.
[Trailer]
The Weekend in Television:
Arrested Development
7 years after the final episode of its three season run on Fox, the “cult” comedy Arrested Development is back for a 4th on Netflix. All 15 episodes will be released on May 26th, allowing this generation of binge watchers to enjoy the show until our eyes bleed. Fans new and old will behold the Bluth family in all its dysfunctional glory as “the story of a wealthy family who lost everything and the one son who had no choice but to keep them all together” returns.
Michael (Jason Bateman), George Michael (Michael Cera), Gob (Will Arnett), Lindsey (Portia de Rossi), and the rest of the now much more famous and highly paid crew are sure to amuse with their antics and horrifying sense of entitlement. No family can compare to the Bluths.
My all-time favorite comedy aside from The Simpsons releasing new episodes means I won’t just have to entertain myself with Arrested Development GIFs, nostalgia, and obnoxious fangirl inside jokes.
So no touching and no j-u-i-c-e for you this Memorial Day weekend, though frozen bananas, ham water, and mayoneggs are a must for your viewing party.
[Trailer]
As the 2014 Kentucky football class begins to gain more steam, decision time appears to be looming for a pair of Kentucky’s top defensive targets. Mike Edwards and Darius West, both of which are defensive backs from Ohio, have stated that they plan on playing together at the next level. In the opinions of many, including current UK commits, Kentucky is the favorite to land this package deal. Yesterday, Jon Shartzer of In Depth Sports online, spoke with running back commitment Mikel Horton and tight end commitment Darryl Long about Kentucky’s chances with West and Edwards. Horton and Long provide and inside look, as well as their opinions as to how Edwards’ and West’s recruitment will unfold. You can read the article below:
Mike Edwards and Darius West Update
“Here comes the boom!”
Summer is really lacking news for Kentucky football. It sure started with a bang though. The commitment from Drew Barker, 4-star QB, couldn’t have been any bigger for the program. It was a great day, and still leaves that “feel good” feeling in your soul. Since then, however, things have gone rather quite on the recruiting front. Other big-time recruits are close to making decisions, but until then, not much can be said. Even the UK commits’ twitter page has gone cold.
Don’t worry too much, its only 100 days until the WKU game in Nashville. That’s something to look forward to, isn’t it? Your darn right it is! I can’t wait for kickoff; this is the most excited I’ve ever been for football season. From now until the season opener, we have plenty to keep us satisfied: summer camps, fall practices, and more commitments! As long as you stay up-to-date with us, you won’tmiss any of it. Thanks for brining the energy and excitement back to the bluegrass, Coach Stoops.
While we wait, let’s have a look at some of the few good things we can take from last season. For example, the 47-14 victory over Kent State. Keep in mind that Kent State was ranked nationally at the end of the season. In this short highlight film, we can see sparks of greatness from young players like DeMarcus Sweat and upper-classmen such as Raymond Sanders. With coaching from the new staff at UK, all of this potential can be turned into success on the field.
“…Sanders with a crease….and a BURST…AND THERE HE GOES….TOUCHDOWN!“
@KoryHenryKSR
We as sports fans are extremely impatient. As soon as one season is done, instead of taking time reflect on the season it was, we ask the same four words: What about next season?
And to be honest, I have no complaints with the way this thing works. I enjoy projecting next season with limited roster knowledge around the country. But thankfully, this is Kentucky golf and not basketball so I don’t have to sit around and wait on late signees and NBA draft entrees. I pretty much know the roster already unless there’s an unforeseen transfer.
The Cats had a bit of a disappointing season, but they did make the NCAA tournament and had a couple of strong tournaments (specifically in the fall season) so it wasn’t all bad. There is one major positive note from the season, though, and that is that the Cats were very young and gained plenty of valuable experience moving forward.
UK only graduates two seniors, starter Chase Parker and individual performer Joseph Barr, and returns the rest of the team, and adds three talented freshmen (Cooper Musselman, Stephen Stallings, and Christopher Meuth). The biggest returners for Kentucky, though, are seniors-to-be Ben Stow and Stephen Powers.
Stow is a transfer from England who only participated in the spring season and will have another full season next year. Stow led the team in scoring average at 73.92, had one top-10 finish, and four top-20 finishes. Meanwhile, Stephen Powers may have been the best player for the Cats this past season, as he had a 74.33 scoring average, had four top-10 finishes, and five top-20 finishes. Nevertheless, this dynamic duo should be more than solid next season for Kentucky.
The two other returning starters for Kentucky are rising senior Cody Martin and rising junior Will Bishop. Martin had an up and down season (like most of the Cats), but definitely had a much stronger fall season than spring. He posted four top-30 finishes in the fall, but only one in the spring. If he can play like he did in the fall for the entire year, then UK will be much more prepared to make a deeper run in the NCAA’s next season. The exact same goes for Bishop, as he too had a much better fall season than spring, as he had three top-20 finishes including a win in the fall, but no top-30 finishes in the spring.
The only remaining question is who will be the fifth starter for the Cats? Will it be fall season starter David Snyder? Will it be one of the three incoming freshman? My money is on the rising sophomore from across the big water hazard, Harrison Greenberry.
Greenberry participated in five events as a freshman, and even posted a top-10 finish at the Bearcat Invitational. As a freshman in a new country, Greenberry received solid experience both on the course and off of it, and this should carry over into next season well.
The UK golf news will be slow over the summer but I’ll try to keep you updated as much as possible.
Peace.
@BWardKSR
I refuse to put a picture of Coach K up. Here is a picture of the “new” Dream Team and Anthony Davis instead.
Told you it wouldn’t last long. After insisting that he would not return to coach the Red, White, and Blue, Coach K will return to coach the USA Basketball team for the 2016 Olympics. The Duke (Yuck) Coach led the team to gold twice, once in 2008 and again in 2012. A formal announcement is expected within 48 hours.
It will only be okay with me if Anthony Davis goes back in 2016 too.
Good afternoon y’all! How has your day been going so far? Keep this in mind… at least you aren’t a Louisville/Tennessee fan. That would be awful. Onto the links:
It’s not a secret that Kentucky fans have big expectations for this upcoming season. With those expectations on the team as a whole, comes huge expectations for the players as a whole. Bleacher Report has a run-down on what they are expecting each projected starter to bring to the table.
As reported last night, the Cleveland Cavs won the 2013 NBA Draft Lottery last night and the first shot of getting Nerlens Noel ten years after winning the lottery that brought them LeBron James.
For all you volleyball fans out there; Kentucky has released their 2013 schedule which features match-ups with nine NCAA qualifiers from last season.
The Kentucky baseball team’s disappointing season came to an end yesterday when they got beaten in the first round of the SEC Tournament by Ole Miss.
Andy Roddick retired? How did I not know this? Well, apparently he is now coming to Fox Sports live to be a co-host for the three-hour news, opinion, and highlight show that is probably Fox Sports’ answer to Sports Center.
And finally, in my weird news of the day, the creator of the “GIF” finally tells us how to correctly pronounce the word. Spoiler: It’s pronounced like the peanut butter brand.
My favorite Kentucky related GIF??? The one where Coach Cal sets his inner cheerleader free.
The five-star small forward (No. 18 Rivals, No. 15 Scout) from Wesleyan Christian in North Carolina announced today he will be a Tar Heel in 2014. He chose UNC over Indiana, Louisville, Georgetown, and Duke.
Theo Pinson will join fellow top-25 recruits, small forward Justin Jackson and point guard Joel Berry, in the 2014 class in Chapel Hill. Roy is building a pretty solid class down there on Tobacco Road. Bribing them with Coke products maybe?
Tom Crean and the Hoosiers were long rumored to be the in the running for his services, potentially with the ”momentum” this spring, but Pinson chose to stay close to home.
@BrennanKSR
Although it may not be the most important preseason ranking, the Orlando Sentinel and college football insider Matt Murschel has ranked the Kentucky Wildcats at 97 out of 125 in their preseason ranking.
In their rundown, the Sentinel says that;
“Stoops has yet to identify a starting quarterback…. It’s usually not a good sign when a quarterback battle stretches into the summer. Stoops faces an uphill battle turning around the Kentucky programs. The Wildcats have to be patient and give him time to install his system before pulling the plug on his rebuilding effort.”
So there we have it. At least Kentucky wasn’t ranked 125, I feel like we are moving up in the world. #StoopsEffect
Our neighbors to the north were lucky enough to have two different stories centering on their beloved Buckeyes of OSU make it all the way to the front page of yahoo.com yesterday evening. Now, I can’t tell you whether or not all press actually is good press, but I can tell you that both stories are more than likely going to leave you scratching your head and thanking your mama for raising you on the right side of the Ohio River.
The first article, concerning the scarlet and gray’s favorite sport without pads, features none other than Thad Matta’s own Deshaun Thomas. It seems that the 6’7″ 225-lb. forward isn’t concerned with increasing his chances at being drafted next June, even though DraftExpress ranks him as low as 45th overall in their updated Top 100 Prospects for the 2013 NBA Draft. This fact was demonstrated when the 21-year-old junior refused to give the NBA’s 4× world champion San Antonio Spurs his phone number when the silver and black requested it last Wednesday. Thomas, who was quoted as saying, “I can’t go around giving [my number] out to everyone,” opted only to provide the current Western Conference Finalists with his e-mail address on the off chance the Spurs still wanted to contact their potential future employee. I use the word potential lightly, as I don’t see why any employer would still consider hiring a prospective employee after he or she refuses to bridge the gap of two-way personal contact. Go figure.
Our second story is even more perplexing. Apparently, a man by the name of Giovanni Strassini has been fooling the Buckeye fanbase for several years. Since 2011, he has been showing up to events hosted by the Charlotte Buckeyes, an Ohio State fan group located in North Carolina, claiming that he not only played football and baseball for the Buckeyes from 1973-1977, but that he was an All-American in both sports in 1976. When word of Mr. Strassini reached a message board thread on buckeyeplanet.com, the truth began to rear its ugly head. OSU spokesman Jerry Emig promptly released a statement declaring that he could find no documentation proving that a Giovanni Strassini ever played for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Strassini’s claims of catching a touchdown pass in the 1976 Rose Bowl were easily dismissed, as running back Pete Johnson scored the Buckeyes’ only touchdown of the day in a 10-23 loss at the hands of Dick Vermeil’s UCLA Bruins. He never wore No. 89 as TE on the OSU football team, played 3rd base for the Buckeye baseball team, certainly never earned All-America honors in either sport, nor heard his name called by the Cleveland Browns in the 6th round of the NFL Draft. Why anyone would have the balls audacity stupidity to attempt such a(n) elaborate poorly constructed hoax in a time where any bit of information in the entire world can be fact-checked at the click of a button on the supercomputer located inside every American citizen’s pocket is beyond me. Seriously, this might have worked 30 years ago (at least until the university got wind of it), but the year is 2013, and Giovanni Strassini’s ignorance is even more mind-blowing than Deshaun Thomas’ ability to not talk to strangers.
It’s days like today when we’re all just a little more thankful to call ourselves Wildcats, instead of whatever these guys claim to be.
@Condre3000_KSR
1. Cleveland Cavaliers
2. Orlando Magic
3. Washington Wizards
4. Charlotte Bobcats
5. Phoenix Suns
6. New Orleans Pelicans
7. Sacramento Kings
8. Detroit Pistons
9. Minnesota Timberwolves
10. Portland Trail Blazers
11. Philadelphia 76ers
12. Oklahoma City Thunder
13. Dallas Mavericks
14. Utah Jazz
News broke today that Uncle Julius Mays has been invited to the Brooklyn Nets’ league wide combine, beginning tomorrow. The event will give Julius the chance to be scoped out by all the different NBA teams in a five on five competition between projected second rounders.
Good for you, Julius. We wish you nothing but the best. Good luck!
Tonight at 8:30 ET, Anthony Davis and his coach will be at the NBA Draft Lottery to represent the NOLA Pelicans for their chance at getting the number one overall pick. I’m going to go ahead and assume that Louis Vuitton belt buckle is real.
As we have stated on the site numerous times today, the Magic have the best chance to win the chance to draft Nerlens Noel, followed by Charlotte (when are they going to be the Hornets?).
Here are the final odds to get you prepared for tonight (I’ve taken the liberty of italicizing where I personally would like to see Nerlens go):
Orlando Magic 25%
Charlotte Bobcats 19.9%
Cleveland Cavaliers 15.6%
Phoenix Suns 11.9%
New Orleans Pelicans 8.8%
Sacramento Kings 6.3%
Detroit Pistons 4.3%
Washington Wizards 2.8%
Minnesota Timberwolves 1.7%
Portland Trail Blazers 1.1%
Philadelphia 76ers .8%
Toronto Raptors .7%
Dallas Mavericks .6%
Utah Jazz .5%
Let’s reminisce, shall we?
Kentucky fell last week to Duke in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Team Championship, but there is still hope for the UK men to leave their mark on a successful season.
The NCAA Singles bracket was released today and senior Anthony Rossi will take on John Morrissey of Stanford, while junior Tom Jomby will go up against Michael Redlicki of Duke.
In the Doubles Championship, Tom Jomby and Kevin Lai will face Lucas Ana and Victor Valente of Georgia State.
[NCAA Singles Championship Bracket]
[NCAA Doubles Championship Bracket]
Go Tennis Cats!
Photo by Regina Rickert
Much has been made on the site about the disappointing turn the 2013 Kentucky Baseball season took during the mid to latter half of conference play and how the team would need a near improbable run at the SEC Tournament to even be considered for an NCAA Tournament bid. Well, all of that talk culminated in Hoover, Alabama this afternoon when a 4-1 loss at the hands of the No. 21 Ole Miss Rebels ended the Cats’ (30-25, 11-20) tournament run and any hope the team had of further postseason play.
Let’s get to the recap.
We should probably start the recap by reiterating that, if this were any other year, the Cats would not have made the SEC Tournament field. The conference’s expansion of the tournament to twelve teams began in 2013, and Gary Henderson and the gang practically limped into Hoover after dropping nineteen of their last twenty-seven games.
Ole Miss would take the lead early on in this contest, and not look back. In the bottom of the first, the Rebels capitalized on back-to-back singles off of Kentucky starter Jerad Grundy that brought runners to second and third when third basemen Andrew Mistone delivered a sacrifice fly to right field.
The teams traded one-two-three innings before the Rebels added to their lead in the bottom of the third. Second basemen Christian Helsel started the inning with a leadoff double, stole second, was advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by left fielder Tanner Mathis, then scored when shortstop Austin Anderson doubled to right.
Thanks to a defensive mishap, the Kentucky offense was able to get on the board and back into the game in the next half inning. Left fielder Zac Zellers reached on a one-out double to right field and advanced to third on an A.J. Reed groundout to second. This was followed by an Austin Couino walk, and, on the next pitch, the Preseason SEC Player of the Year took off for second on a delayed steal that drew the Rebels off guard. Catcher Stuart Turner’s throw down was on target, but no one was covering the base. The ball rolled to the outfield grass, allowing Zellers to score from third. Through five, the score remained 2-1, Rebels.
Both teams again traded scoreless innings, with the Cats leaving runners on base in both the top of the fifth and the top of the sixth, before the Ole Miss delivered what would prove to be the death blow in the bottom of the sixth. With one out, the Rebels got a double from Mistone, who promptly scored on center fielder Auston Bousfield’s single to right. Then, with two on and two out and Chandler Shepherd in to take over for Grundy, designated hitter Will Allen singled up the middle to bring the Ole Miss lead to 4-1, where it would stand for the rest of the game.
Kentucky had its share of opportunities to get back into the game with a few late-inning rallies. The Cats left runners on base in each of the final three innings, including a seventh inning where they failed to capitalize with the bases loaded and one out. Had a few clutch hits fell their way, the momentum of the ballgame would have swung drastically in Kentucky’s favor, and they might have lived to play another day.
It wasn’t Jerad Grundy’s best outing on the mound today, but the senior kept his team in the game by playing damage control and working out of a few tough jams. After the dominate first half of the season he had, it was tough to watch Grundy struggle down the stretch. He was at least able to give the Cats a quality start in what could be his last game wearing the blue and white.
Chandler Shepherd also had a nice day on the mound, minus the RBI single he gave up to the first batter he faced upon entering the game in the sixth. The sophomore turned in two solid innings of relief effort from there.
The big problem with the Cats today was the lack of offense when runners reached base. This could partly be a result of a great effort on the mound from the Rebel pitching staff, but, when you have a high-powered offense like what we’ve seen from the Cats multiple times this season, most of the blame has to go towards the hitters. Eight Kentucky batters were left on base – again, including three from a bases loaded one out top of the seventh. That will kill you in postseason play.
That’s about it. The box scores will be posted below. An NCAA tournament berth is very unlikely at this point, but, if it somehow happens, we’ll be here to cover all of the Kentucky Baseball action. Stay tuned for postseason wrap-ups and thoughts in the coming days, as well as updates on the possibility of further postseason play right here on KSRCollege.com.
Hitting:
Pitching:
Hitting:
Pitching:
@brooksHoltonKSR
Tonight is the night!!
Saturday Down South says that Kentucky may be in the running for best offense in the SEC East. That would be a pretty big step for the Cats, who previously were 13th in the SEC.
There are 10 things to know about the Kentucky football squad for this upcoming season. #1? Mark Stoops is very impressive.
The hittin’ kittens are on their way to the Super Regional. Their first game will be Saturday, May 25th against Arizona State at 10 pm on ESPN2. It is a “best of three” game series that will continue to Sunday if necessary.
In UK Hoops news, incoming Wildcat, Linnae Harper was selected to the 2013 USA Basketball Women’s Under 19 World Championship Team.
In non-UK (but still relevant) news, AL.com has an interview with Bobby Petrino that may be interesting to some of you.
Donte Rumph was named one of the top defensive tackle prospects from the SEC for next year’s draft.
A big congrats is in order for the Harrison twins and Julius Randle who were named Slam Magazine All-Americans yesterday.
And finally for my daily weird news link, Charles Ramsey is coming to Stanville, Kentucky for a meet ‘n greet. I vote that Matt & Ryan interview him for the radio show.
Also, don’t forget that the NBA Draft Lottery is tonight at 8:30 ET on ESPN. The Orlando Magic have the best chance at getting the number one overall pick at 25% followed by the Charlotte Hornets (have they officially changed their name yet?) with 19.9%. Hopefully the balls fall into Charlotte’s court. I really want to see MKG and Nerlens Noel as teammates.
*****Update: It just got real, yo.
Friday on KSR, Charles Ramsey will be joining us….and yes, I am serious
— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) May 21, 2013
- The NBA draft lottery will air at 8:30 ET on ESPN this evening. Your grandmother may tune in tonight, confusing the event for their favorite sport, Bingo.
- The Chad Ford NBA draft lottery mock draft is always fun if you want to kill some time at work and see where Nerlens may end up!
- Below are each team’s chances at getting that #1 pick. If you want Nerlens going in the top spot, Charlotte is likely his best bet. And watching the two best motors Kentucky has seen under John Calipari on the same team sounds like reason enough to pull for the Bobcats. Although they only have a 3.5% chance at the #1 pick, I would also approve of Noel and Wall teaming up in DC. #Dreams
- In case you missed it, here’s a link to Stephanie Bell of ESPN’s profile of Nerlens Noel as he prepares for the draft and rehabilitates that left knee.
- In news that isn’t really news, the official Bulls website believes this year’s draft is rather uninspiring:
Tuesday is the NBA’s draft lottery, and no one is exactly bringing all their horse shoes and four leaf clovers. This is being widely regarded as the draft you wished was 2014, though they’re never as bad as the scouts project at this stage.
- With the Pacers being pitted against the NBA’s best (and highest drawing) team on TNT Tuesday, you can bet that David Stern, ABC, and those profiting from we, the sportsfan, are praying for a Miami Heat and anyone else NBA Finals. An upset is not to their benefit, as these NBA playoffs have seen low ratings outside of the Miami-sphere.
- The Memphis Grizzlies will take on the San Antonio Spurs on ESPN at 9 ET tonight. The series is 1-0 in favor of the Spurs after a throttling of Zach Randolph and the gritty Grizz by the Spurs Sunday. Although the Grizzlies may be historically an inept (and Canadian) franchise, without a large fanbase, this rather young and scrappy squad would likely be a bigger ratings draw than the veteran San Antonio Spurs. The two lowest-rated NBA Finals ever came in the last decade and each involved the Spurs: 2003 against the Nets (6.5) and 2009 versus the Cavaliers (6.2). People are just tired of the Tim Duncan patented bankshot. Haters gonna hate.
On another note, here’s how you can help the people of Oklahoma:
American Red Cross
The American Red Cross has several shelters open in Oklahoma and Red Cross Emergency Response Vehicles have begun delivering hot meals throughout the affected areas. The Red Cross is also working to link loved ones in Moore who are OK through a website called Safe and Well. Text REDCROSS to 90999 to give $10 to American Red Cross Disaster Relief, donate online, or donate by phone at 1-800-RED CROSS.
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is activating disaster response teams and mobile feeding units to help residents and rescuers in Moore, Okla., as well as in other locations in the Plains and the Midwest that were impacted by tornadoes. Donate online or text STORM to 80888 to contribute $10 to the Salvation Army’s relief efforts or make a donation by phone at 1-800-SAL-ARMY.
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