Kentucky baseball has a chance to prove the doubters wrong again
Random notes:
▪ Kentucky baseball has been doubted before. It’s being doubted again. Despite reaching the College World Series for the first time in program history last season, Nick Mingione’s Cats are not among D1 Baseball’s preseason Top 25 rankings. No matter, UK was unranked last season and finished No. 3.
Kentucky baseball opens its season with a three-game series at Lipscomb, starting Feb. 14.
▪ If you haven’t checked out Georgia Amoore’s game, you should. The point guard for Kentucky women’s basketball is fun to watch. So is Kenny Brooks’ entire team, for that matter. The Wildcats take a 15-1 record overall and unbeaten 4-0 SEC mark into Sunday’s 2 p.m. game at Georgia.
▪ For Kentucky football fans fretting over next season’s outlook, we won’t really know the value of the Cats’ transfer portal additions until next season. That’s the way it works in the age of NIL. And as for the departures, UK did go 4-8 last season.
▪ My guess is that Ohio State’s firepower will prevail over Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff championship game on Monday. Prediction: Buckeyes 31, Irish 17.
▪ Former Kentucky offensive coordinator Liam Coen saw his NFL season end Sunday when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost 23-20 to the Washington Commanders in an NFC wild card playoff game. Still, Coen’s success as play-caller for Baker Mayfield and the Bucs has many Tampa Bay fans worried Coen may leave for a head coaching opportunity. The 39-year-old Coen reportedly will interview with the Jacksonville Jaguars for their head coach opening.
▪ Felt for former UK defensive back Carrington Valentine on Sunday. Try as he might for 20 yards, the Green Bay Packers defender couldn’t bring Dallas Goedert to the ground as the Philadelphia tight end scored a touchdown in the Eagles’ 22-10 NFC wild card win.
▪ Mark Pope’s visit with a wheelchair-bound Kentucky fan after UK’s 95-90 victory at Mississippi State garnered much social media attention. Even from Louisville coach Pat Kelsey, who reposted the video. Not only that, Kelsey commented, “Love your neighbor. Great stuff.” Kelsey is one rival coach UK fans will find tough to hate.
▪ Speaking of Louisville, the Cardinals carried a five-game ACC win streak into their Tuesday night game at Syracuse. Not even Rick Pitino did that.
▪ Not all Arkansas fans have caught on to John Calipari’s post-game routine yet. Some actually believed Cal when, after Saturday’s loss to Florida, the coach said he didn’t even know who the Razorbacks played next. We’ve heard that one before.
▪ Going into Monday night’s action, Ken Pomeroy’s top three most efficient offensive teams were in the SEC. Auburn was No. 1, followed by Alabama at No. 2 and Kentucky at No. 3.
▪ Here’s what Tennessee basketball coach Rick Barnes gave as his explanation for benching star player Chaz Lanier for not shooting in a recent game, “I told him, ‘If you’re not going to do what you’re getting paid to do, you sit over here.’ ‘Cause he’s getting paid to do that.”
▪ Now ranked 23rd in the AP Top 25, Georgia has a chance Wednesday to show it is the SEC’s surprise team. After beating Kentucky and Oklahoma last week, Mike White’s Bulldogs are at No. 6 Tennessee at 8 p.m. on the SEC Network.
▪ By the way, the SEC Network has a men’s basketball tripleheader on Wednesday. South Carolina at Vanderbilt tips it off at 6 p.m. EST, followed by Georgia at Tennessee at 8, then Texas at Oklahoma at 10. I’m all for the 11 a.m. Saturday tip-offs, but 6 p.m. on a weeknight — 5 p.m. in Nashville — is a bit early.
▪ Fox Sports’ most recent 2025 NBA mock draft has Rutgers freshman Dylan Harper going No. 2 overall and Rutgers freshman Ace Bailey going No. 3 overall. Meanwhile, the Scarlet Knights were 8-8 overall and 1-4 in the Big Ten after last week’s 18-point loss to Purdue.
▪ Seeing Cheap Trick lead singer Robin Zander, now age 71, perform the national anthem before the Bucs-Commanders game on Sunday night reminded me that I saw the band appear on UK’s campus in 1980 campaigning for independent presidential candidate John Anderson. Yes, I am that old.
