KentuckySports.co Rival Kentucky Sports Blog

Been a choppy news week so far for Kentucky but what news there has been is interesting so why not do a quick wrap up of what's going on around the team. Startng off with the picture for this post. Makers Mark will be selling the official Kentucky National Championship bottle starting tomorrow. This is great because a lot of BBN, including myself already have past memorabilia bottles and will be heading out to purchase this one bringt and early!

-Kentucky once again led all of college basketball in attendance. This is the seventh consecutive year BBN has packed Rupp Arena to claim the title with a new NCAA record of 885,953 die hard Cat fans. This number beat the old record which Syracuse held, who also plays in a dome. give youerself a pat on the back Kentucky!

-Anthony Davis finished his fershamn year with a 3.7 GPA. That is all.

-Amile Jefferson's highschool coach said he would be announcing within a week, while Virginia Tech commit Montrezl Harrel has asked for his release and UK is reportedly interested in his talents. Also a name UK fans want to know is Julius Mays. He is a senior transfer from Wright State who will be eligible this year and can ball. Will be choosing between UK and Purdue it seems within the next week as well so the next 7 days could be big for how the 2012-13 team may look.

-UK assistant coach Orlando Antigua was named Top Assistant under 40 by ESPN. Here is what they said:   

Amile Jefferson seems to be making his college decision within the next week. His high school coach let the word out which means three schools will be anticipating his call. Duke and N.C. State are his leaders with Kentucky as the long shot. This may be true but we all know that Coach Cal works wonders. I do think Jefferson is needed now as a few others have gone elsewhere, so the full court press is on.

IF he chooses elsewhere, don't make BBN look bad and tweet negative things at him. Let the Championship and coming games do the talking! Go Cats!

Awesome news coming from NASCAR, the sport of left turns, that Michael Waltrip will be representing the Kentucky Wildcats during this year's Quaker State 400 raced here at the Kentucky Speedway. Waltrip will be sporting a 2012 National Championship Car that is honoring the 8th championship for UK that was won last month. This is great that the Owensboro, KY native will be supporting the Cats during a great time that is still going on for BBN. This is now like the 1000th thing that has honored or taken part of the celebration for the Cats which is the way it should be!

The race is June 30th here in Sparta, KY. We all hope the traffic situation is fixed for this year's event as the two time Daytona winner will be having plenty of support regardless of the fans' favorite car or driver.

Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog.com reported last night that 2012 forward Anthony Bennett has officially dropped Kentucky from his list of potential destinations. His AAU coach Tom McIntyre said "he loves what they're(UK) doing there. But Anthony feels it would be a better fit at UNLV or Oregon." They also mentioned he believes that he can make a immediate impact at the other schools, which seems odd to me considering he would probably start from day one. But it's his choice so good luck to him as he will be knocked out in the first round.

The Kentucky Derby has come and gone. Just like that the biggest time of the year here in Louisville has ended, which is sad to see but what a time it was. Beginning in the morning, the KYSCO crew had the opportunity to do our Weekend Sports Buzz Radio Show(1450am) on Derby so the day already started out right. The two hours in studio talking ponies with fans, choosing the winne,r as I did, and being able to do the pre-derby show was awesome and one thing I won't forget.

Moving into Churchill was next. We headed downtown to hop on the media shuttle which was nice. Hot, but nice. We avoided the fan traffic which was nuts as we all agreed we have not seen the fanfare as big as yesterday, which ended up being a Derby crowd record of over 160,000 people. From there the races went off smoothly. Great weather for everyone, the infield was packed and wild as always. The celebrities piled in which did include the starting five for the 2012 National Champion Kentucky Wildcats, plus senior Eloy Vargas and coaches. Speaking of coaches, John Calipari was the honorary "Riders Up!" call man which was kind of funny to watch but what can you do, its an honor! Then the time had come, The running of the Roses, the fastest two minutes in sports, the Kentucky Derby.

The race started off very fast with potential favorite "Bodemeister" running the first two turns as the 5th fastest recorded time in Derby history with some company of long shot sprinter "Trinniberg," who later tired out in the stretch. But Bodemeister, trained by Bob Baffert, seemed to have the race in the bag as they came to the final stretch with about a five horse lead before "I'll Have Another" came charging from the outside. Doug O'Neill's horse who started from the 19 pole position, a spot which has never produced a winner, came storming down the stretch to catch Bodemeister and take home the 138th Kentucky Derby back to California. "Dullahan" finished in third place while "Union Rags" who went off as the favorite, dropped way back early to only finish in seventh.  

The day in all was great for the fans, media, and hundreds of workers BUT there was also some horrific news as a body was found early this morning. A security guard found the body of a 44-year old Hispanic man inside of Barn 8, but as of now do not know how he was killed. Officials say there is no suspect at this point and that an autopsy will be performed for more information as we hope this is solved knowing that is not how anyone wanted the day to end. Other than that Churchill Downs couldn't have asked for a better Derby. Louisville did it right as always, once again showing why Kentucky does horse racing best and I already can't wait for the 139th running next May!  

News broke earlier today that Xavier transfer Mark Lyons has committed to the Arizona Wildcats.

He visited Zona, Kentucky, and Kansas before making his decision and obviously felt that heading west to play for Sean Miller was best for him. My opinion is that it's probably not a bad thing for UK as he may have character issues from his past and loves to shoot the ball, which he wouldn't be able to do in Lexington. So not a bad miss by the staff as they will look forward, which means Coach Calipari has to go out and get a guy he wants which could be Amile Jefferson now that Anthony Bennett seems to be heading to a west coast school. There is also Julius Mays. He will be a senior at Wright State, but graduates as a Junior so he can transfer out be eligible to play elsewhere immediately, and is interested in the Cats and would be a great addition to the bench behind Ryan Harrow. Coincidentally, Harrow and Mays were former teammates at NC State before both leaving which could help bring him in.

News came out from Sports Illustrated that Anthony Davis will be a candidate for the final roster spot on the USA team in this summers Olympic games being held in London, England. The opportunity came available after Dwight Howard injured his back and Andrew Bynum's planned surgery. It has allowed the committee to take a gander at the Kentucky big man who could help the team on the defensive end, which is what is needed considering all the talent that can put the ball in the net. So congrats to the UniBaller as all of BBN hopes to see you in the Red, White and Blue!

Earlier today on ESPN, the post positions were drawn for the 138th Kentucky Derby. Here is what the field will look like come this Saturday with the updated odds and in the comment section. Let KYSCO know who's your horse??

• 1. Daddy Long Legs 30/1
• 2. Optimizer 50/1
• 3. Take Charge Indy 15/1
• 4. Union Rags 9/2
• 5. Dullahan 8/1
• 6. Bodemeister 4/1
• 7. Rousing Sermon 50/1
• 8. Creative Cause 12/1
• 9. Trinniberg 50/1
• 10. Daddy Knows Best 15/1
• 11. Alpha 15/1
• 12. Perspective 30/1
• 13. Went The Day Well 20/1
• 14. Hansen 10/1
• 15. Gemologist 6/1
• 16. El Padrino 20/1
• 17. Done Talking 50/1
• 18. Sabercat 30/1
• 19. I'll Have Another 12/1
• 20. Liaison 50/1

It is Wednesday of Derby week here in the Louisville area which means it is time for the pole positions for the 138th Running of the Roses to be selected today at 5:00pm. You can catch the first look at this year's full Derby field and which post number you're favorite will be starting from when selected later today on ESPN. Some of you may think "who cares?", but positioning is very important as James Scully from ESPN describes:  

Post positions are always important in the 20-horse field—a contestant risks getting shuffled back if stuck down on the rail—and the innermost post cost Lookin at Lucky, who was probably the best horse in the field, any chance in 2010.

It is very important to get off to an early start and not be squeezed out of the pack to the back of the field and all the jockeys and horses will do whatever it takes this Saturday, May 5th for their opportunity to appear in Churchill Downs's Winners Circle!

*****Kentucky Derby needs and information go HERE!

Word came out earlier today that Xavier transfer Mark Lyons visited Kentucky yesterday. This went under the radar as no outlet reported the news til today and now Jeff Goodman of CBS tweeted that Lyons may be back in Lexington tonight, despite being here yesterday and heading out. Here is the tweet:

Jeff Goodman

This may be good news for UK and it's staff if he is on the verge of a commitment for his senior season and adding him would be great as he would bring leadership, experience and a solid point guard to go with Ryan Harrow, the Cats would be on the list of Final Four contenders once again. We will know more later and update as soon as we hear.

The 2012 National Champion Kentucky Wildcats have a date with the President. This Friday May 4th the team and coaches will head to the Nations capital to tour the White House and meet President Obama himself. This is a regular thing for the champions of each sport and is always something to look forward to as Coach Calipari had this to say about the visit:

“The amazing thing is the first thing that was said when the horn sounded in New Orleans was, ‘We’re going to the White House!’

“It’s one of those moments for these players that they have probably thought about without us even knowing that it was important to them. So I’m excited about the opportunity for them to meet the President of the United States, the Leader of the Free World and someone who is trying to make a difference in their lives.”

The ceremony is set to begin at 4:50pm as I am sure the team is excited for this day but if you don't remember, this is not the first President they have met as former Pres Bill Clinton made a stop in Lexington while on a speech to say hi to the team. How many other teams can say they met two leaders of our great nation? Not many, Go Cats!

Today is the post position selection for the 2012 Kentucky Oaks. The Oaks is held every Friday before the Derby and is ran by Fillies only and since it's that time, here are the current Oaks race odds and don't forget tomorrow is the post selection show for the 2012 Derby and you can catch that Live on ESPN at 5:00.

Amies Dini 10/1

And Why Not 20/1

Believe You Can 12/1

Broadways Alibi 5/1