Kentucky Sports Radio

Well it sure isn’t the Derby but the second leg of the triple crown is underway today with Orb ready to make a run at glory. Much like the Derby two weeks ago it’s a sloppy overcast day in Baltimore which should make for an amazing time in the infield. Here’s what you need to know to get ready for Pimlico:

Who are the favorites?

1. Orb 4-5

2. Goldencents 8-1

3. Titletown Five 16-1

4. Departing 10-1

5. Mylute 8-1

6. Oxbow 14-1

7. Will Take Charge 9-1

8. Govenor Charlie 10-1

9. Itsmyluckyday 8-1

Battle the Rail

If Orb is going to win the second leg of the crown then he will have to overcome the rail in addition to the field to do so. Only one horse has ever won the Preakness after staring in the 1 spot but everyone seems to think Orb is a lock to become the second. Nine horses have won the first two legs since 97, Orb will look to make it 10.

Lexington Native Shug McGaughey in the Spotlight

“The Kentucky Derby was on my list. I’m not sure the Triple Crown was,” those are the words of Shug who has been launched to the forefront of horse racing. He finally got his wish of capturing the Derby but now he has a chance to be forever etched into the history books with Orb.

So who are you taking in the Preakness today? Post your picks in the comment section below so we can figure up how much money you won after the race.

Update

Oxbow takes the Preakness in an upset after leading from wire to wire!

There’s a gift already wrapped and sitting under a NBA GM’s tree and that gift is a 7-foot shot blocker with a flattop. Kinda hard to tell with all that wrapping paper. Noel has spent the week getting ready for the NBA draft and spoke with the AP about his recovery process

Noel said he is ”ahead of schedule,” but being ready for a season opener is overly optimistic and Christmas is more of a target date.

”I’ve started to shoot some free throws the last week with a different type of brace on,” said Noel, who has yet to start running again in his rehab. ”I’m 100 percent confident of not just gaining what I had but definitely being stronger, coming back better. During this time that I won’t be playing basketball I’ll just be working on a lot of things that I needed to polish when I was playing.” [...]

”It’s an injury you’ve got to be mindful of,” he said. ”You can’t try to rush back from it. You want to have longevity in your career, just be careful with it.”

Noel said he’ll be particularly careful about the mental aspect of being comfortable with his return.

”As much as you want to be back, you want to be playing as long as you can in the NBA and not have to reinjure yourself and go through all this again,” he said.

Knees aren’t something you want to mess around with, just ask Greg Oden, but it’s good to hear that Nerlens is ahead of schedule. After seeing him go down at Florida you had to think the guy’s career could be on the line. Now Noel could be back for Christmas (heh) after being the number one pick in the draft. It’s hard to imagine a better possible outcome for the flattop fella.

@ACassady_KSR

The headline “Berrios’ 5 TDs carry Pride to Victory” from the Midtown Raleigh News speaks for itself.

Wide Receiver

5’9”, 180 lbs.
Westchester, NC

Rivals: #33 WR
Scout: #84 WR
247: #37 ATH, #12 in player NC

Choosing between UK and: Clemson, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virgina, and Virginia Tech

Twitter: @HNYNUT_BERRIOS

After announcing his commitment to play for the University of Kentucky, Northern Kentucky QB Drew Barker vowed to reach out to his peers to make the best recruiting class in the history of Kentucky football. In the coming weeks I will be breaking down some of the players on Barker’s wish list. “Who’s Drew Barkin’ At?” may be a grammatically awful pun ending in a preposition, but I just can’t help myself. Past profiles: Derek Kief

“@hnynut_berrios: This @uk2014class page is taking stuff to a whole different level…#respect” WE WANT YOU!

— UK 2014 Fball Class (@UK2014Class) May 15, 2013

Braxton Berrios has been heralded by national recruiting writers as a clone of Wes Welker. They see a mini-Wes Welker, I see a Randall Cobb/Dicky Lyons. Berrios is listed as an athlete because he does what Randall Cobb does: EVERYTHING. His agility allows him to stop on a dime, making it difficult for defenses whether he is catching passes in the slot, as QB of the Wildcat, or running the ball on an end-around.The proof lies in the stats: last year he finished with 1,142 yards rushing and 22 touchdowns while catching 10 touchdowns on 766 yards receiving. Berrios combines Cobb-like athleticism with the same hard-nosed football mentality that Dicky Lyons brought to the field. His hit at the 3:58 mark of his highlight tape reminds me of Lyons’ big hit in the 2007 LSU game. You gotta love a little guy that plays with no fear.

Berrios’ ability to use the open-field to make hard cuts and elude defenders will make him a great fit for Neal Brown’s offense. A majority of the passing yards will come from wide receivers turning 4-yard routes into 10-yard gains, making Berrios the perfect fit at slot receiver. If Berrios can’t find the field immediately at wideout, he will have the chance to play a key role in special teams. Even if he isn’t returning kicks, rest assured he will be flying down the field on kickoffs/punts for the big homerun hit.

-@RoushKSR

If you’re in the Lexington-area it’s still not too late to head out to John Cropp Stadium to help the Cats advance to tomorrow’s Regional Final. If you aren’t in the Lexington-area or you don’t want to spend $20 for a ticket, you can watch the Regional Semi-final vs. Virginia Tech on ESPN3 at 1:00. The #12 Wildcats may have taken an early lump in the SEC Tournament, but after a bases-loaded walk-off win against Marshall last night the Cats are looking to build some momentum for a deep run into the post-season.

If that short paragraph wasn’t enough to light a fire under your butt and get you to the park, you can watch Nikki Sagermann’s game-winning hit below at the 2:45 mark. If that still doesn’t work you can always be there in heart by listening to the game on 105.5 FM, or online here.

Timmons finishes strong in the final-leg of the 100M. (h/t The State Journal)

Neal Brown has marveled at incoming freshman Ryan Timmons speed on the football field. Yesterday Timmons reinforced Brown’s beliefs by taking home the AA State Title in the 100M and 200M. Timmons successfully pulled off the 3-peat in the 100M, finishing in 11.06 seconds.

While re-claiming his title in 100M was important, Timmons showed his competitive nature by focusing primarily on winning the 200M, a race he fell just short of winning the year before. “I lost last year and I had something to prove. It was kind of disappointing and that’s what I’ve been working for, to show people how fast I was.” After hearing Cal recently preach and preach about toughness, you can appreciate Timmons’ competitive “headhunter” mentality that will be brought to football team in the fall.

(@SRsixstix)

This morning Dominique Hawkins added another accolade to his exceptional Senior year of high school. With a Sweet 16 MOP under his belt and a roster spot on a potentially historic UK team, the only thing left was to have his own day of the week. This morning Richmond Mayor Jim Barnes declared May 18th “Dominique Hawkins Day” in the city of Richmond.

I know most of you are excited to get out of town Memorial Day Weekend, but you should have planned your vacations around the summer’s best holiday “Dominique Hawkins Day”.

- The Hittin’ Kittens inched their way closer to the Women’s College World Series last night after winning in dramatic fashion at John Cropp Stadium. With the game tied 1-1 in the bottom of the 8th, Nikki Sagermann’s RBI-single gave the Cats their 7th extra-inning win of the season, downing Marshall 2-1. They will continue their quest at 1:00 against Virginia Tech, go show em some support #BBN.

- The Mayans will not stop saying, “I told you so.” Yesterday’s Copa del Rey Final (that’s soccer) was a rough match between inner-city rivals Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid. With cards flying all over the field, Atletico defeated Real 2-1 in extra-time for the first time since 1999.  The Mayans may not have correctly predicted the ending of the world, but they knew something weird was going to happen in 2013 for Little Brothers all around the world.

- With the second leg of the triple crown on the line tonight at 6:20 on NBC, take some time to learn more about your homegrown Derby winner Orb. The New York Times wrote a piece on Orb and his ‘childhood friend’ Departing, reuniting today on the racetrack for the first time since their time as yearlings on Claiborne Farms.

- Violence is never the correct answer, unless you are a Russian Pee-Wee hockey player. In honor of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, take a look at the craziest hockey fight I’ve EVER seen.

Former Kentucky Wildcat Ron Mercer celebrates his 36th birthday today. Mercer was a key member of the 1996 national championship winning/denim jersey wearing Kentucky men’s basketball team. For most children growing up in the 1990s like myself, Mercer’s most important and prominent role was as a forward for the Blue and White. For me though, his most important role was in the VHS movie “Back on Tops Cats” that I watched every single day when I came home from school for at least 2-3 years of my childhood. Following the 1996 national championship run, the sequel to the “Top Cats” VHS was released. And just like my Mom always went and bought national championship t-shirts at the gas station promptly the day after each title Kentucky has won in my lifetime, she faithfully purchased the VHS for me.

“Back on Top Cats” chronicled the entire NCAA tournament run, which included a final 4 win over a then-John Calipari coached UMASS team. I don’t remember many specifics from that UMASS team other than Marcus Camby, but I do remember a few pesky guards: The Padilla brothers, and a guy by the name of “Travieso.”

Mercer not only celebrated a decorated career at Kentucky, including All-American honors and SEC Player of the Year honors, but he also had a career in the NBA which lasted until 2005. Mercer was originally drafted by Rick Pitino in 1997 with the 6th overall pick. Happy birthday, Ron Mercer. Thank you for helping me avoid watching Sally Jesse Raphael with my sister after school.

And now on to the news and views from a slow day in the Kentucky sporting world…

—- If you came here tonight hoping to find breaking news or big news from the day… quite simply, you might find yourself disappointed. Following the Andrew Wiggins announcement and John Calipari’s press conference and KSR radio appearance, “school” has essentially been let out for the summer. The time between now and the NBA Draft will likely be rather slow… but we will do our best to help you through the emptiness.

—- We learned today that Archie Goodwin and Nerlens Noel might not be the only two Wildcats from this year’s team to play in the NBA. Julius Mays, who admitted at the end of the season that he would like to continue pursuing the option to play basketball, has been working out with NBA teams. The Milwaukee Bucks, LA Lakers and the Toronto Raptors are all giving Uncle Julius a look before the draft. Mays doesn’t necessarily expect to hear his name called on draft night, but he feels confident that he can find a spot for himself as a shooter and role player off the bench as a free agent. Best of luck to Julius Mays.

—- Meanwhile, Archie Goodwin is currently participating in the NBA Draft combine in Chicago. In news that likely hasn’t surprised many Kentucky fans, Goodwin has struggled a bit in his workouts. Goodwin is primarily considered to be a shooting guard, yet he does not have the outside shooting stroke that the NBA often croons over from that position. Goodwin played some at the point for Kentucky, but that doesn’t appear to be his natural position (or at least not yet). If Goodwin sparks a team’s interest in the first round, it will likely be based on raw potential, not his current skill set.

—- John Calipari has made the rounds in the past few days to talk mainly about next year’s team, his Vespa and his two-man book club with Willie Cauley-Stein. One point Cal brought up was that Alex Poythress and Willie Cauley-Stein were both realistic about their status and readiness for the NBA, prompting them to both come back for another season. Only time will tell on whether or not Goodwin would have been better off making the same decision. His lack of a clear cut shooting guard or point guard skill-set certainly begs the question.

—- In a small football nugget, Athlon Magazine’s pre-season college football rankings were just released. Kentucky checks in at #65 with the daunting task of facing perhaps the toughest schedule in the country. Western Kentucky, a team Mark Stoops believes would beat the Cats if they played today, checked in at #91. Kentucky will have the chance to score a huge upset early in the season when they play 10th ranked Louisville.

—- More help looks to be on the way though in the next few years for the Kentucky football team. On the heels of Drew Barker’s commitment last week, Kentucky looks to be in great shape with at least 3 players who plan to announce their college decisions soon. Darius West, Braxton “Honey Nut” Berrios and Derek Kief all have Kentucky squarely in the picture for their recruitment. West and Berrios both intend to likely announce by the end of the month, and Kentucky is in a strong position with both players. #StoopsAndBarkerEffect

A quick glance at the 3 players to keep an eye on:

1) Derek Chief

6’5, 200 lbs.

4-star WR

Cincinnati, Ohio

Choosing between: Kentucky, Alabama, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Northwestern

2) Braxton Berrios

5’9, 180 lbs.

4-star WR

Raleigh, North Carolina

Offers from Virginia Tech, West Virginia, South Carolina, Tennessee, etc.

3) Darius West

5’11, 196 lbs.

4-star Safety

Lima, Ohio

Will choose between Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan State and Wisconsin on May 30th

—- A huge congratulations to the Kentucky women’s softball team for their opening round win in the NCAA Regionals tonight. The Cats faced off against Marshall in a game that took extra innings to decide. Kentucky finally pulled out the victory in the bottom of the 8th with a walk-off single by Nikki Sagermann to close the deal. The Cats won 2-1 and will now face Virginia Tech in the winners bracket at 1 p.m. tomorrow afternoon. Kentucky is hosting the event, so make an afternoon of it at the brand new facility if the weather holds up. Go Cats.

—- If you are still following Grant Traylor (the media member from the Wiggins announcement), tonight was probably a fairly productive evening for him on your Twitter Timeline. Traylor is the beat writer for the Marshall women’s softball team. I unfollowed him at 8 p.m., a few hours before the game was over. It must have been love, but it’s over now. 

—- On the other side of the scoreboard, the Kentucky men’s baseball team dropped a crucial game to Missouri 4-3 tonight. The Cats were in desperate need of a sweep over a beatable Missouri team in order to keep its NCAA tournament hopes alive. Kentucky’s lone chance to keep the dream alive now appears to be an SEC tournament championship. Anything less and the Cats will likely be on the outside looking in.

UK player Jake Taylor probably put it best when he said, “Well I guess there’s only one thing left to do. Win the whole ******* thing.”

—- This season has been rather disappointing for the baseball team. On April 2nd, the Cats’ record stood at 22-6. In just over a month’s time, Kentucky has gone 7-18 (s/o to David Mulloy for the stat and for his superb UK windbreaker).

And last but not least… stay tuned for stories from Matt, Drew, Ryan and some of the other KSR crew members as they travel to Waddy tomorrow night to camp with the werewolf. Good luck and fill up on gas while you’re there. Best deal in town.

I wouldn’t being doing my due diligence as the KSR Bachelor representative if I didn’t pass along the trailer to a brand new Bachelor show that will soon premiere on ABC.*

Check out this clip from The Jimmy Kimmel Show and decide with or not you believe “The Baby Bachelor” Wesley can find love after (4-ish) years of searching. This kid has dreams. Like “turning his bed around.”

If you can’t laugh at this, we probably can’t be friends. 

*Just kidding. It will not ever be on television.

@AFlenerKSR

It is impressive, but in my view should be a little bigger.

Good evening, friends, and welcome to a rare Friday evening notes. I’m usually winding down from the blogging world around this time and switching to weekend mode, but tonight I felt compelled to write Kentucky news and notes in bulleted in form for my favorite people on the internet. So, kick back and enjoy what little news I could dig up from around #BBN.

— The NBA combine is underway in Chicago and, for the first time in the John Calipari era, we have only one Kentucky player to really keep up with during the process. Nerlens is almost a lock for that No. 1 pick and he isn’t working out, so Archie Goodwin is our NBA Draft entertainment for the month of May. Burr.

Archie struggled with his shot during today’s drills and it’s going to end up being his downfall if he can’t improve very, very soon. There isn’t a big market for shooting guards who can’t shoot, which is exactly what he is right now, unfortunately. This tweet from Draft Express sums the day up:

Archie Goodwin and B.J. Young having a mini-competition for who can look like a worse shooter. Air-balling shots left and right. #nbacombine

— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) May 16, 2013

This is how it looked…

Time to focus on that move to point guard? He told Andy Katz he’s open to it if asked by a team but he plans to stay at the two.

— About a year ago, I decided that Nazr Mohammed will play in the NBA forever. It’s truly amazing that he’s still in the league after 14 seasons, and if Bulls coach Tom Thibodeux has his way, Nazr will be back for a 15th. Thibodeux said yesterday he would like to re-sign Nazr for another year and that Nazr was “tremendous” this season. However, Thibodeux also acknowledged that the market could call for someone else to take his place. One Bulls reporter said odds of Nazr being back in Chicago next season are very slim. Kings? You listening?

— Soon-to-be Kentucky football star Ryan Timmons won the state 100-meter title today, making him a three-time state champion in the event. That’s your future kick returner, folks. Congrats to Ryan.

— Oh, look, Kentucky will play NCAA Division III school Franciscan University of Steubenville in basketball in 2014. Cal extended the offer back in April while serving as the guest speaker at a fundraiser for the school, then announced it to the audience during his speech. Now it appears the deal is finalized for an exhibition game in Rupp Arena in November 2014. Beat the….ummmm… Google search… Barons! Beat the Barons!

— Finally, for you golf lovers, our friends over at IZOD are giving away a round of golf at Pebble Beach. I’d highly recommend you sign up and take me with you if you win.

That’ll do it for now. Enjoy your weekend and Go Cats.

If there’s one thing Kentucky fans love more than their teams, it’s the stuff they can buy to support them. KSR wants to see your odd and unique UK memorabilia. No, not just your run of the mill UK flag or t-shirt collection. We want the weird stuff. Have a stuffed Wildcat eating a cardinal? Send it in. A portrait of John Calipari made entirely of popcorn? Send it in. The odder, the better.

Today, we’re going to take a look at some odd wildcat figurines. These are not your normal knickknacks; someone has gone to great lengths to create them for UK fans to set upon their end tables, mantles, and everywhere else they can express their fandom in a slightly classier manner than say, a poster.

Cole Hancock’s Wildcat vase:

From Mike Stalls, who says he’s been riding since his freshman year at UK back in 1969:

Robey Smith’s favorite Wildcat mug:

This piece has a story behind it. From Kyle Moore:

This carafe is dubbed “The Wildcat,” and belonged to Kyle’s grandfather, who was a huge UK fan and season ticket holder for many years. The item has been in Kyle’s family since the 70′s, and always sat atop Kyle’s grandfather’s bar. After his grandfather’s death, Kyle’s grandmother sold the house and the family split some of his collectibles. The piece was passed around the family, sometimes with a surprise beverage inside. On September 10, 2011, Kyle’s cousin Will, a UK graduate, was killed in a motorcycle accident. Kyle says he and his cousin had many a nights drinking out of “The Wildcat,” and as a tribute, brought the carafe to a UK football tailgate the Saturday after his death. The family celebrated Will’s life by passing around “The Wildcat,” which garnered a lot of attention from fellow tailgaters, many who offered to buy it or just have their picture taken with it. Will’s friends and family came, and as Kyle writes, “it was a great way to wind down after a tragic week and celebrate the life of my cousin.”

Think you can do better? Send us a picture of your unique “UK junk” along with the story behind it and we’ll post the best ones on the website. Email pictures to tylerthompson@kentuckysportsradio.com with the subject heading “Kentucky Pickers.”

Remember last year when Kentucky won the national championship and Cal embarked on a state wide Trophy Tour to allow fans across the state a chance to celebrate with the hardware? Well not to be outdone Pitino has decided to take his trophy on a tour of his own and is doing so in the most Louisville way possible.

After bringing the trophy along as he went deep sea fishing in the Bahamas Pitino decided the next appearance made needed to be at his daughter’s 21st birthday bash. So while Cal stops at gas stations in Martin County to give people a chance to touch history Pitino decides to degrade the sanctity of the trophy by taking it out amongst the co-eds of Ft. Lauderdale. Seems about right.

A few weeks ago Ally asked the question “Do you still consider Rick Pitino ours?“. My answer to that is a resounding no. Between multiple scandals, the tattoo, and now stunts like this he has unquestionably gone full Cardinal. No official word yet but the next stops on the Pitino Trophy Tour include: dinner at Porcini’s, a stop by a tobacco field so the trophy can learn more about where Black and Mild’s come from, and they’ll wrap things up with a tour of the Crown Royal factory. Fitting. What other stops do you think they’ll try and fit in?

 @ACassady_KSR

Wide Receiver

6’5”, 200 lbs.
Cincinnati, OH (La Salle)

Rivals: #37 WR
Scout: #33 WR
247: #21 WR, #5 in OH, #134 overall

Choosing Between UK and: Alabama, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Northwestern (22 offers total).

Twitter: @DKief10

It has been one week since Drew Barker announced his commitment to the University of Kentucky, vowing to continue Mark Stoops’ great recruiting run by reaching out to his peers. In that short period of time he has created a UK Class of 2014 Twitter account to complement daily communication with his peers. In the next few weeks, I’ll be breaking down some of the best players Drew wants to join him in the Class of 2014.

Who would love to see me throwing passes to @dkief10 ??

— -Drew Barker- (@D_Barker7) May 17, 2013

I know Drew certainly wouldn’t mind throwing to the giant 6’5 target. Kief’s size doesn’t slow him down, running a 4.5 40-yard dash with a 35 inch vertical leap (try covering THAT in man-to-man coverage). He holds school records for receptions in a season and in a game, with his best performance against Cincy powerhouse Moeller resulting in 12 catches for 161 yards and 1 touchdown. With a great reputation off the field as well, it’s hard to find anything wrong with him other than a thin physique (That will change quickly once he starts a college-level weight program). With a Barker-to-Kief connection, Kentucky will become a force in the Red Zone with a jump-ball specialist on the outside.

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE! I can talk about how he is physically one of the best WR recruits ever for Kentucky, he has to have more swag than Bookie, Boogie, and Stevie Styles combined. Not only does he have his own website highlighting his career (derekkief.com), but he has his own rap song in the background of his highlight tape. The best lyrics from Speed Does Kill, “#10 Derek Kief, y’all in disbelief. Throw the jump ball, y’all check the vertical leap.” God Almighty PLEASE get this kid to UK.

(UK Athletics, Chet White)

For the fifth consecutive season, the Kentucky Wildcats softball team has received an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament – one of only 23 schools who can make that claim. This is just the fifth bid ever for the program, and all have come under head coach Rachel Lawson. What’s more, the selection committee named Kentucky as the No. 12 national seed and one of the 16 regional hosts for the first time in the program’s history. The team will have home field advantage through the first set of games, and if the No. 5 seed in the bracket above in knocked out, Kentucky will own the Super Regional host as well.

Before falling in the first round of the SEC Tournament to South Carolina last week, the Wildcats were continuing a stellar season, and making history by taking two games out of three against 10th-ranked Alabama on the road. The wins in Tuscaloosa marked the first in school history, and the softball team’s first-ever series win against the Crimson Tide.

Now the focus lies on the double-elimination regional, which features Kentucky (10 RPI), Virginia Tech (38 RPI), Notre Dame (43 RPI), and Marshall (90 RPI). The Cats will be looking to top its 2011 run which included winning the Ann Arbor regional after knocking off the 10-seed Michigan Wolverines in two games, before being eliminated by 7-seed California in game three of the Lexington Super Regional. Just one win away from a trip to the Women’s College World Series.

First up for the Wildcats is the Marshall Thundering Herd. These two teams met a little more than a month ago in Lexington, and resulted in a thrilling come-from-behind walk-off win for the Cats in the bottom of the 7th inning. Down 3-1 with three outs to go, the Wildcats were able to plate three runs for the victory with the winning single coming off the bat of junior Ginny Carroll.

Since that game, the Herd posted a 10-6 record through the last part of its Conference-USA schedule, none of which were against ranked teams. While the Wildcats went 10-8 against far superior competition; all but three of those games were against ranked teams.

Marshall finished fourth in the C-USA standings with a 13-10 record, but earned its NCAA Tournament bid by winning the conference title. Paced by senior ace pitcher Andi Williamson who ranks third in the country in total strikeouts (332), the Thundering Herd will be looking to “shock the world” in this tournament. They are clearly the underdogs in this regional, if not the entire bracket.

Freshman pitcher Kelsey Nunley has been the stud in the circle for the Cats and will be the key in guiding Kentucky to the WCWS. She has set a school record for wins in a season with her 24-8 record. The frosh has a stellar 2.10 ERA with 175 strikeouts in 230.1 innings and tops the freshman SEC season leaders in wins, strikeouts, and ERA.

Sophomore Griffin Joiner is calling the signs, but her damage is done with the sticks. She paces the UK offense overall with a .327 average, 13 doubles, 41 RBI, and 10 home runs. Senior shortstop and slap hitter Kara Dill leads the team in batting average with a .361 mark and a .411 on-base percentage.

Game one of the Lexington Regional starts at 5 p.m. Friday with Notre Dame and Virginia Tech squaring off. Game two will begin after, scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. with Kentucky and Marshall. Both games will be available on ESPN3.com. The Regional will continue on Saturday and conclude on Sunday with the Championship game at 1 p.m. and the “if-necessary” game at 3:30 p.m.

This Kentucky team is poised to make a deep run. With as tough of a schedule as the team played, and as well as it came out, these Wildcats have a monster ceiling and are feeling as confident as ever. It would be wise for you to hop on the bandwagon now if you haven’t already.

The good people over at SB Nation think the Stoops brothers need some time away from football. Like the article mentions, it has been a busy offseason for all three of the Stoops boys: Mark is rebuilding a program; Mike is hatin’ on Johnny Manziel; and Bob is hatin’ on everyone. They need to get away for a bit.

So SB Nation followed them around on a make-believe vacation to the Grand Canyon and documented their travels. An example:

JUNE 7, STOP 3: Ute Lake State Park, Logan, NM

Brother Mike thought this was the greatest freaking place in the whole world. He spent an hour trying to ride armadillos, and the next few hours trying to grab fish in the lake the same way bears try to catch salmon.

Luckily Brother Mark packed plenty of sandwiches earlier in the day, because the crew was certainly famished. The brothers could always count on Mark to stay on task and organized.

Brother Bob isn’t what we call the biggest fan of state parks, so he put on his Discman and listened to the first half of a George Jones disc. The first half was his favorite half.

DRIVE TIME: 40 MINUTES

You can read stories from the rest of the fictional trip here.