KSR Today: Finally Friday and lots to talk about
Good morning, friends. Congratulations on making it to the weekend, which is shaping up to be hot, sunny, and eventually stormy. Did you hear the big news from yesterday? No, not Jimbo vs. Saban — we’ll get to that — but about Kentucky’s Men’s Tennis. Let’s start there.
Kentucky Men’s Tennis makes first-ever Final Four
Huge congrats to the Kentucky’s Men’s Tennis team, which defeated No. 1 TCU 4-3 yesterday to advance to the first NCAA Tournament semifinal in program history. The upset came down to the final point on court two, where junior Gabriel Diallo came back from a set down to beat No. 16-ranked Juan Carlos Aguilar 3-6, 6-2, 6-4.
No. 4-ranked Liam Draxl (pictured at the top of this post personifying that Friday energy), Millen Hurrion, and Francois Musitelli also won their singles matches to help give the Cats the win. KSR’s Troy Howell was in Champaign, Illinois to cover it for us, so check out his recap and the highlights below. Kentucky will play No. 4 Ohio State on Saturday at 11 a.m. ET in Champaign for a spot in the championship.
Kentucky Softball begins NCAA Tournament run
On Sunday, Kentucky received an at-large bid to make the NCAA Softball Tournament for the 13th straight season. This afternoon, the Cats will take on Miami (OH) in the Blacksburg Regional. The game starts at 4:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+. If Kentucky wins, they’ll face the winner of No. 3 seed Virginia Tech and St. Francis (PA) Saturday at 3 p.m. The winner of the regionals advance to the Super Regionals May 26-29.
Kentucky lost to Miami (OH) in Oxford earlier this season and also lost to Virginia Tech 6-1 on opening weekend at the Northern Lights/Southern Nights Tournament. Kassidy Stumbo previewed the Cats’ run yesterday, so click that link for more.
Kentucky Baseball doubleheader vs. No. 18 Auburn
If all goes well, Kentucky Baseball could lock up a spot in the SEC Tournament today. Mother Nature forced the postponement of last night’s series opener vs. No. 18 Auburn, so today, the two teams will play a doubleheader at Kentucky Proud Park. The first game starts at 2 p.m. ET. Senior Night festivities will take place before game two. Tickets for both days will be honored today. If you can’t make it in person, you can watch on SEC Network+.
Kentucky (28-23) needs two wins in this final series of the season to make the SEC tournament in Hoover. You got this, Bat Cats.
NBA Draft Combine wraps up
The top NBA Draft prospects have been strutting their stuff this week in Chicago. Yesterday, Shaedon Sharpe left the event, declining to take part in media rounds and five-on-five scrimmaging. TyTy Washington did speak with reporters and told Adam Zagoria he believes Sharpe made a business decision by not playing at Kentucky last season.
“At the end of the day, you can only control what you can control so it sucks that he didn’t get a chance to play, it sucks that people didn’t get a chance to watch him play, but we all know at the end of the day the game of basketball at the highest level is a business. So you gotta do what’s best for you and yours, not so much for everybody else. And if that’s what Shaedon feels is best for him and his, then I’m going to support him all the way because that’s my brother regardless.”
TyTy Washington, via Adam Zagoria
TyTy added that he believes Sharpe could have helped Kentucky “a lot” had he played, but I think we’re all very over this by now. You can read all of the quotes over at ZagsBlog.com.
The dust settles on Jimbo Fisher vs. Nick Saban — for now
The biggest story in sports yesterday wasn’t the NBA or NHL Playoffs, MLB, or even the PGA Championship. It was Jimbo Fisher vs. Nick Saban, college football’s best new rivalry. By now, you surely know the basics. At a speaking engagement on Wednesday night, Nick Saban alleged that Texas A&M bought every player in its top-ranked 2022 recruiting class, which prompted Fisher to call a press conference Thursday morning. From there, we were treated to ten of the most entertaining minutes in sports as Fisher eviscerated Saban, calling him a narcissist who thinks he’s God and needs to be slapped. It was glorious.
Later in the afternoon, Saban apologized for his remarks, but the damage was done. While the October 8 showdown between Alabama and Texas A&M looms on the horizon, the two coaches will both appear at the SEC Meetings in Destin in two weeks and again at SEC Media Days in July. Talking season just got much more entertaining.
Another NBA Playoffs blowout
Last night, the Boston Celtics routed the Miami Heat 127-102 to even the Eastern Conference Finals at 1-1. It was a relatively quiet night for Kentucky’s Miami boys, Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro. Bam had 6 points and 9 rebounds in 29 minutes, while Herro came off the bench for 11 points and 3 assists. Game Three is Saturday in Boston.
Tonight, we get the Mavericks vs. the Warriors in Game Two of the Western Conference Finals starting at 9 p.m. on TNT. Golden State leads the series 1-0.
Rory leads at the PGA Championship
When Tiger Woods crushed his opening tee shot and birdied the first hole yesterday at the PGA Championship, it felt like another magical run could be in store. Sadly, Tiger’s leg to the best of him midway through the round and he limped to a 4-over 74 finish, nine shots back of the leader, Rory McIlroy (-5).
Here’s the top of the leaderboard. The action runs all day on ESPN and ESPN+.
| Pos | Player | R2 | Thru | Total |
| 1 | R. McIlroy | – | 2:36 PM | -5 |
| T2 | W. Zalatoris | – | 2:25 PM | -4 |
| T2 | T. Hoge | – | 3:04 PM | -4 |
| T4 | M. Kuchar | – | 2:20 PM | -3 |
| T4 | A. Ancer | – | 2:42 PM | -3 |
| T4 | J. Thomas | – | 8:49 AM | -3 |
After a fantastic start, John Daly is now tied for 56th at +2. Maybe a few more cigs and Diet Cokes will help him make the cut.
Will Levis flies through the air with the greatest of ease
I’ll leave you with this video of Will Levis having a heck of a time in Punta Cana:
Safety first, QB1!
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