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KSR Today: Derby Week, A Powerball Winner, UK Baseball Momentum, Cats In The NBA, and More

Drew Franklinby: Drew Franklin04/28/25DrewFranklinKSR
ksr-today-4-28

Good morning, dear friends and readers of KentuckySportsRadio.com, and welcome to the beginning of an exciting week in the Bluegrass. Today is the Monday before the first Saturday in May, meaning it’s almost time for the 151st running of the Kentucky Derby. The Run for the Roses is set for this Saturday, May 3, at Churchill Downs. Still, the Derby festivities are already underway in Louisville, with a busy week of cleverly-named events ahead until Derby Day:

  • Tuesday: 502’s Day
  • Wednesday: Winsday
  • Thursday: Thurby
  • Friday: Kentucky Oaks
  • Saturday: Kentucky Derby

As we wait for The Most Exciting Two Minutes In Sports, take a look at the field and the early-week odds:

  1. Citizen Bull, Bob Baffert, Martin Garcia, 20-1
  2. Neoequos, Saffie Joseph Jr., Flavien Prat, 30-1
  3. Final Gambit, Brad Cox, Luan Machado, 30-1
  4. Rodriguez, Bob Baffert, Mike Smith, 12-1
  5. American Promise, D. Wayne Lukas, Nik Juarez, 30-1
  6. Admire Daytona, Yukihiro Kato, Christophe Lemaire, 30-1
  7. Luxor Café, Noriyuki Hori, Joao Moreira, 15-1
  8. Journalism, Michael McCarthy, Umberto Rispoli, 3-1
  9. Burnham Square, Ian Wilkes, Brian Hernandez Jr., 12-1
  10. Grande, Todd Pletcher, John Velazquez, 20-1
  11. Flying Mohawk, Whit Beckman, Joe Ramos, 30-1
  12. East Avenue, Brendan Walsh, Manny Franco, 20-1
  13. Publisher, Steve Asmussen, Irad Ortiz Jr., 20-1
  14. Tiztastic, Steve Asmussen, Joel Rosario, 20-1
  15. Renderd Judgment, Kenny McPeek, Julien Leparoux, 30-1
  16. Coal Battle, Lonnie Briley, Juan Vargas, 30-1
  17. Sandman, Mark Casse, Jose Ortiz, 6-1
  18. Sovereignty, Bill Mott, Junior Alvarado, 5-1
  19. Chunk of Gold, Ethan West, Jareth Loveberry, 30-1
  20. Owen Almighty, Brian Lynch, Javier Castellano, 30-1

Which one of you won the Powerball?

Somebody, maybe even one of you, won the $167.3 million Powerball on a ticket purchased in Georgetown, Kentucky, over the weekend. The winning Powerball ticket was sold at the Clark’s Pump N Shop on Connector Road, marking the largest Powerball win in Kentucky history.

It could be the case that the winner was just passing through Georgetown and the Bluegrass, but the best-case scenario for all of us is that the winner is a part of Big Blue Nation and will soon step up as a new donor for the Wildcats.

If it was you, reach out to me. I’d love to go to Las Vegas with you.

Kentucky Baseball won a second straight SEC series

Kentucky Baseball stayed hot over the weekend, winning its first home SEC series of the season. Fresh off a victorious series at Tennessee and the Battle of the Bluegrass, Kentucky won two of three against South Carolina in Lexington, capped off by Sunday’s 11-5 win in the rubber match. Tyler Bell, Kyuss Gargett, Griffin Cameron, Cole Hage, Ryan Schwartz and Luke Lawrence each logged at least one RBI in the win over the Gamecocks, led by Bell with three runs batted in.

Up next: Kentucky (25-16, 10-11 SEC) travels to Bowling Green to play the Hilltoppers tomorrow.

[Kentucky downs South Carolina 11-5 to take Sunday rubber match]

Karl-Anthony Towns drilled a 27-foot game-winner in Detroit

Karl-Anthony Towns shined in the first of four NBA Playoff games on Sunday, leading his New York Knicks to a narrow victory in Detroit. Towns scored 27 points with nine rebounds as the Knicks claimed a 3-1 lead over the Pistons in the East’s 3 vs. 6 series. The former Wildcat’s 27-foot step-back 3-pointer with 47 seconds on the clock was the game-winner.

Sunday’s three other NBA games:

— Game 4 between the Lakers and Wolves also came down to the final seconds on Sunday, with Minnesota surviving at home to take a 3-1 lead. Julius Randle scored 25 points to help Minnesota defend home court and protect the series advantage, while Anthony Edwards led the way with 43 points, including the go-ahead free throws with 10 seconds before Austin Reaves missed a potential game-winner from the corner on the end.

— In the only series without a former Wildcat, Boston took a 3-1 lead over Orlando with a 107-98 win in Game 4. Jayson Tatum’s 37 points and 14 rebounds led the Celtics, plus a 21 and 11 double-double from Jaylen Brown. Paolo Banchero led Orlando with 31 points in the loss.

— Indiana was the fourth team to take a 3-1 lead on Sunday, beating the Bucks by 26 in Milwaukee to win Game 4. However, the biggest story of the game centered on the lower left leg injury that Damian Lillard suffered in the first quarter, presumably a torn Achilles tendon that will keep Lillard out for the remainder of the playoffs and beyond. Without Lillard, the Bucks’ roster and playoff hopes are wrecked. Chris Livingston, the only former Kentucky player in the game, played four minutes off the bench in the loss.

Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo face elimination tonight

There are two games on tonight’s NBA slate, including an elimination game in the East. The No. 1 seed Cleveland Cavaliers lead the Heat 3-0 in the series heading into Monday night’s Game 4 in South Beach. Tyler Herro, who averages 23.9 points per game in the series, encouraged his Heat teammates not to let go of the rope with their backs against the wall. Will he and Bam Adebayo help Miami avoid the sweep? Tune in at 7:30 p.m. ET on TNT/truTV/Max.

Then, in the nightcap, Reed Sheppard‘s Houston Rockets can even the series with the Warriors in Golden State. Down 2-1 and playing on the road, Houston is a 3.5-point underdog as the West’s No. 2 seed against the No. 7. Sheppard played only two minutes in the first three games as Houston struggled with Steph Curry’s Warriors. You can watch Game 4 at 10:00 p.m. ET on TNT/truTV/Max.

Kentucky’s transfer additions visited campus over the weekend

Kentucky Basketball hosted four of its transfer portal additions for official visits to Lexington over the weekend. Jaland Lowe, Denzel Aberdeen, Kam Williams, and Mouhamed Dioubate each made the trip to Kentucky to check out their next destination in college basketball, including a trip to Kentucky Proud Park on Sunday for the baseball game.

A couple of the guys raved about their trip to the Bluegrass on social media, including Aberdeen, who posted, “MAN I LOVE KENTUCKY!! Had a great official visit today in Lexington, cannot wait to represent the University and its culture. #BBN”

The fifth portal add, Jayden Quaintance, did not make the trip because he is still recovering from ACL surgery. Quaintance visited Lexington several times in the past.

Changes coming to the CBS Sports Classic?

There may be a significant change to Kentucky’s basketball schedule for the upcoming season. It is rumored that one of the teams in the CBS Sports Classic will drop out of the event and that St. John’s or UConn will take its place. KSR’s own Matt Jones posted that Kentucky will be matched up with the new team, meaning the Wildcats could play St. John’s or UConn in December. Though it hasn’t been announced, the expectation is that this year’s CBS Sports Classic will be played in Atlanta, with UCLA as the likely opponent Kentucky was initially set to face.

KSR will debut a new Monday Happy Hour live stream on YouTube today

The KSR team has a lot more time on its hands in the summer, so today, we will debut a new Monday Happy Hour on YouTube. The 30-minute live stream will rotate hosts and panelists each Monday for discussions on the latest news around Big Blue Nation and beyond. Sponsored by our friends at Country Boy Brewing, the first episode will premiere today at 4 p.m. Join us while you wind down from a Monday at work, even if you’re still at work.

Where to find KSR’s morning show this week

Today, the KSR crew is in the iHeart studio for Monday’s show from 10 a.m. to noon. You can find the guys at KSBar and Grille on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of this week. Go Cats.

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2025-08-04