KSR

KSR Today: World Cup Stars Deliver, Another Kentucky Wildcat?

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Lionel Messi scored multiple goals for Argentina, 20 years after his World Cup debut, via Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

If you are a casual fan of soccer and needed an excuse to get into the North American World Cup, the four draws on Monday probably didn’t do it for you. We got the exact opposite on Tuesday, with stars scoring goals all over the pitch. The plural form of “stars” and “goals” is necessary to use in this case.

Kylian Mbappe kicked off the action with a pair of goals for France in a 3-1 win over Senegal. The impressive performance — and James Corden-inspired celebration — set the tone for the day. Little did we know that it was just an appetizer.

Erling Haaland made his highly anticipated World Cup debut for Norway. One of the best goal-scorers in the history of the English Premier League delivered two goals in the first half of Norway’s 4-1 win over Iraq.

If you thought that was cool, wait till you see what Messi did in Kansas City. The Greatest of All-Time added to his lengthy resume by tying the World Cup record 20 years after he made his debut. The 38-year-old was called offside on a goal in the opening minutes of the game. It didn’t matter. He still secured his first World Cup hat trick and tied Germany’s Miroslav Klose for the most-ever in the international competition with 16 career goals. He made it look so, so easy.

Can the stars stay hot? Portugal kicks off World Cup play at 1 PM against DR Congo, but Cristiano Ronaldo may not take the pitch. I’m sure after watching Tuesday’s action, he’ll beg to make an appearance and show his counterparts that the old man still has a few tricks in his bag.

Wednesday World Cup Schedule

Buzz Building for Kentucky

Big Blue Nation collectively exhaled when Kentucky secured a commitment from Milan Momcilovic. Mark Pope was still looking for another piece to add to the 2026-27 Kentucky basketball roster.

Jack Pilgrim first reported over the weekend that the Cats were in the mix for Nikola Kusturica. For a time, it appeared that Gonzaga and UCLA were the teams to beat. Last night, Big Blue Nation was buzzing like a bee as more and more folks connected Kentucky with the Serbian sensation who would be a 2-year college basketball player, and potentially a top-10 pick in 2028. Folks, this could be a big one.

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The Barnhart Tree Assembles

J Batt has been meeting players and coaches around campus as he gets comfortable in his new job at Kentucky. Meanwhile, his predecessor is enjoying some time together with old friends during his final days on the job. Mitch Barnhart has one of the most sprawling administrative trees in the industry, and many of them made the trip to Kentucky to give their old boss a proper sendoff.

Special night in Lexington celebrating, Mitch and Connie Barnhart.

Much of Mitch’s AD tree came together to tell stories and say thank you to two people who we will forever be indebted to. #ThanksMitchAndConnie pic.twitter.com/QdC61kOlTp
— Greg Byrne (@Greg_Byrne) June 17, 2026

College World Series Final Four is Set

And then there were four. The College World Series consists of a pair of double-elimination tournaments to create a pair of finalists. A win by the SEC Champion Georgia Bulldogs has set up a rematch with Oklahoma. The Dawgs need two wins, just like West Virginia, to advance to Saturday’s final, the first of a three-game series.

2 pm ET | North Carolina vs. West Virginia | ESPN
7 pm ET | Oklahoma vs. Georgia | ESPN

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Will Stein Connects with PMT on KSR

Before they became the biggest sports podcast on Earth, they were guest-hosting KSR a decade ago. They didn’t forget their friends once they got famous, and on Tuesday, Pardon My Take returned to the iHeart airwaves and made a new friend in Will Stein. The Kentucky head football coach is a big fan of the program. In between the hijinks, Stein did share something that will probably pique your interest. He’s considering options to change up Kentucky’s in-game atmosphere at Kroger Field.

“I’m in the mix of working through with our marketing team. How do we get this thing rocking? So, I got a couple ideas for a walkout song,” he told the Pardon My Take duo on KSR. “For third down, I’m thinking like the Purge Siren. It’s kinda creepy, something different.”

Grove Street Party and the third down coal whistle have been staples over the last decade. A new coach is ready to shake up everything, and that might be exactly what the Kentucky football program needs.

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Former Kentucky Wildcats on the Radio

AJ Stewart and Perry Stevenson survived the Billy Gillispie era of Kentucky basketball. Now they’re talking about the current Wildcats on the ARC 360 Podcast. After all of those trials and tribulations in the late 2010s, you owe them a listen or two as KSR Guest Host Week continues this morning at 10 am.