Notes: Halls of Fame, Keion Brooks, Belmont Stakes, a college salary cap and more
Random notes:
▪ The Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame will be celebrating its 20th anniversary with a special Purple Jacket All-Pro Dinner Party on June 22 at the Downtown Hilton Ballroom.
This year’s inductees are Lee Calland, Randall Cobb, Elbie Nickel, Steve Ortmayer, Reggie Swinton and George Wilson. In addition, more than 40 past inductees will be honored to celebrate the anniversary.
Tickets are available. You can find out more information about the event at the Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame’s linktr.ee site.
▪ Speaking of the Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame, happy retirement to member Romeo Crennel. The Fort Knox High School and Western Kentucky University graduate was a head coach with the Cleveland Browns, Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans as well as an assistant coach with the Super Bowl champion New York Giants and defensive coordinator with the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots. Quite a career.
▪ One more Hall of Fame note: Tim Couch is again on the 2023 ballot for the College Football Hall of Fame. The former Kentucky quarterback should already be in the College Football Hall of Fame.
▪ It would have been nice to have Keion Brooks’ experience back for another year of Kentucky basketball, but you can’t blame the senior forward for wanting to try something new as a transfer to Washington.
▪ An unnamed NBA executive to The Athletic’s David Aldridge regarding Shaedon Sharpe: “How the (expletive) can you be the fifth pick in the draft if you haven’t played in a year and a half? It’s not like it’s (James) Wiseman and the guy is 7 feet tall. Show me where the five (-star expletive) is. Show me.”
▪ Jon Scheyer keeps producing headlines at Duke. The new basketball coach’s latest move: Hiring former Nike and NBA staffer Rachel Baker as the program’s first general manager. Baker is to provide oversight for Duke’s NIL efforts. CBS Sports called it a “big splash hire.”
▪ Speaking of CBS Sports, the site’s Chris Trapasso included former UK defensive end Josh Paschal among his NFC rookies who were not picked in the first round of the draft but who could earn key roles. Paschal was taken No. 46 overall by the Detroit Lions.
▪ Auburn basketball coach Bruce Pearl has gone political, tweeting at President Joe Biden on Wednesday: “Your Socialist Government spending flooded a recovering post COVID economy and created inflation! Your energy policy created the gas shortage and record high prices! Your policies are hurting the working class! Call timeout! Change defenses! Do something different please! @POTUS.”
▪ Interesting prediction from former college basketball administrator Brad Wachtel regarding the future of college sports: “I’m sure at some point down the road there will be some type of salary cap for every team. Clearly, the possibilities are endless.”
▪ My Belmont Stakes pick: Coming off an impressive 10 1/4-length win in the Peter Pan Stakes on the same Belmont Park surface, We the People looks like a strong favorite. There doesn’t appear to be enough pace in the race to suit the closing style of Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike.
▪ Something else to watch on Belmont Stakes Day: Jack Christopher in the Grade 1 Woody Stephens. Trained by Chad Brown, the 3-year-old is a perfect 3-for-3 in his career. An injury delayed his 2022 debut to the Pat Day Mile on Kentucky Derby Day. He won that race by 3 3/4 lengths. A win in the Woody Stephens will stamp Jack Christopher as a major contender for the late summer Haskell Invitational and Travers.
▪ Not exactly breaking news here, but Reds rookie starting pitcher Hunter Greene is going to be really, really good.
▪ This LIV Tour story keeps growing and growing. Wednesday came news that Patrick Reed and Bryson DeChambeau are defecting from the PGA to the Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Tour. Tuesday, Dustin Johnson announced he is joining LIV.
The draw? Money, of course. Plus, players will compete in a 48-player, no-cut, three-day field of 54 holes. Thus the name LIV.
▪ Happy birthday to the one and only Dick Vitale, who turns 83 on Thursday.
