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The Most Ridiculous Kentucky Sports Moments from 2025

Nick-Roush-headshotby: Nick Roush12/31/25RoushKSR

A little more than 20 years ago, Kentucky Sports Radio made a pledge to Big Blue Nation to provide University of Kentucky Basketball, Football, and Recruiting news in the most ridiculous manner possible. Well folks, it was a pretty ridiculous 2025.

Vince Marrow Leaves Kentucky for Louisville

Once the initial shock wore off from his move from Kentucky to Louisville, a decision that was the canary in the Stoops era coal mine, the Big Dog content was a gift that kept on giving. He did about 78 interviews, including a video message to fans intended to pull at BBN’s heartstrings. It fell on deaf ears. One Kentucky fan even flipped him off in a drive-thru. Vince called into KSR to confirm it was true.

There were plenty of Groan Man Tweets, including one sent to me from the sidelines in the middle of the Governor’s Cup, “Hello Nick Roush.” We still haven’t gotten to the best Vince Marrow Louisville content yet. Whenever I need a good laugh, I think about the Big Dog wearing sweatpants inside out at a UofL practice.

Kentucky Fans Buy All of the Weetabix

There’s no story that better encapsulates the passion, energy, and ridiculousness of the Kentucky fanbase quite like the Weetabix phenomenon of 2025.

Mark Pope needed Amari Williams at his best during the NCAA Tournament. On the morning before facing Illinois, the head coach asked the Brit, “Amari, what do you usually eat (for breakfast)?” He shared with the coaching staff that during his childhood in Nottingham, England, his parents fed him Weetabix, a plain biscuit cereal, served with warm milk. Pope’s staff was on it, scouring international food stores for a box of Weetabix.

Williams ate some of the cereal, then had 8 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 blocks to punch Kentucky’s ticket to the Sweet 16. Once BBN heard this story, they had to try it. Weetabix was soon the No. 1-selling cereal on Amazon, and before too long, Williams had an NIL deal with Weetabix. Never doubt the power of BBN.

“Go Get You Some Money, Garrett”

Zach Calzada got hurt, then benched, yet the quarterback still had plenty of money to show off to an online troll. Ironically, the incident turned into a rallying cry for the Wildcats, who beat Florida at home later that week in the middle of a three-game win streak.

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Mark Pope Sent Jack Pilgrim Home

No, the Kentucky head coach wasn’t grounding KSR’s basketball reporter. Jack hit the road to the Peach Jam and was in the gym when he learned that his second child was on the way. Pope kicked him out of the gym, and Jack made it back about four hours before Myles Pilgrim entered the world.

Motivated Mark Stoops

Ahead of what would be his final season in Lexington, Mark Stoops’ Kentucky football program went radio silent. To fill the void, fans clung to a line from a previous presser. Motivated Mark Stoops became the meme that was going to turn around the Kentucky football program. It may have actually worked if Stoops embraced it. Quite the contrary. He hated it, saying instead that he preferred the term “grateful,” which led to a contentious moment at SEC Media Days.

You’ve heard Adam Luckett and I recap that odd day. Stoops was combative, and rather than making the talking points all about change, he was prepared to stick to the same formula. It was truly shocking, and only half of the story. The other half we will share at a later date. Until then, the lasting image from Mark Stoops’ final SEC Media Days.

John Calipari Returned to Kentucky

There was a buzz that filled Rupp Arena, unlike few other times in that building’s existence. The buzz was so palpable that Steven Peake was inspired to propose to his longtime girlfriend during a pregame live stream. BBN was hungry for vengeance, then ate a spoonful of humble pie.

Calipari brought out his old rolled-up program to salute Joe B. Hall and tried his best to avoid the limelight, all while his team played inspired basketball. Three former Cats brought their A-game, with Adou Thiero tallying 21 points, DJ Wagner added 17, and Big Z hit four threes in an 89-79 win that shell-shocked BBN.

A Fight Between Pat Kelsey and Mark Pope?

On the first night of the live recruiting period, Mark Pope paid a visit to Atlanta to see point guard Tay Kinney. Pat Kelsey was also scheduled to visit with Kinney that night around midnight. Rumors circulated that the Kentucky and Louisville head coaches got into a fight in-between meetings, and there was real smoke behind the scuttlebutt.

The visual of the 6-11 former NBA forward squaring up with the 5-11 Louisville coach is hilarious, although it didn’t quite come to blows. Jacob Polacheck reported that the upset coaches exchanged words around the midnight meeting, but did not escalate any further.

An Unusual KSR Road Trip

A snowstorm in the South couldn’t keep KSR away from Starkville. Steven Peake and Jack Pilgrim left two days early to beat the storm, and on the first night, won a little trivia in Decatur, Alabama. After shoveling aside some snow, they arrived early to tour the Mississippi State campus. That included a stop at the bookstore, where they found cowbells and a book that relates Bible verses to Mississippi State football.

“Be Ready.”

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Headline: Shane Beamer Subscribes to the Kentucky Sports Radio YouTube Channel

The South Carolina head coach is like the omniscient Santa Claus, except for bulletin board material. He cited a quote buried in a lengthy video that was only published on our YouTube channel in his postgame interview with Cole Cubelic after beating Kentucky, South Carolina’s only SEC win of the season. He’s clearly a big KSR fan. Can’t wait to have him on 11 Personnel.

Bush Hamdan’s Fix for the Kentucky Offense

Kentucky had scoring opportunities against Ole Miss, but didn’t score enough points. Bush Hamdan eloquently explained what went wrong and how the Cats planned on fixing it.

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McGowan’s Trip to the Hospital in the Middle of a Kentucky Football Game

Seth McGowan was spotted walking to the locker room in the middle of a slugfest against No. 21 Texas. BBN was put on high alert when they shared on the broadcast that the star running back was on his way to the hospital.

“We were passing the fans and all the tailgaters,” McGowan recalled. “They had their TVs up. They were looking up like, ‘Damn, I’m pretty sure he was just on the screen. Seth, what’re you doing?‘”

He watched the action on a phone while he was being examined in full uniform. Once cleared, he hopped back on a golf cart and got back on the field. Kentucky needed a field goal to send the game to overtime, but had no timeouts and only 51 seconds on the clock. McGowan’s 17-yard gain through the middle of the field got the Cats a much-needed first down, then he caught another pass before Jacob Kauwe kicked the equalizer.

Unfortunately, his efforts did not manifest in a win. Kentucky was stuffed a yard short of the goal line in overtime. The loss kept the Cats from reaching a bowl, changing the history of the Kentucky football program.

KSR Drives Around Lexington on a Couch

Why drive around town in a car when there is a perfectly good couch on wheels?

Kentucky Hires an Old Friend of KSR to Coach the Football Team

In high school, Steven Peake made silly videos. The star of one before the rivalry game between St. X. and Trinity was Will Stein. He was hired as the program’s 38th head coach in December. Peake froze in the snow when Stein arrived, then saw his old high school buddies at the introductory press conference. What a wild time to be alive.

Alarms and Sissy Cakes in an All-Time Kentucky Sports Radio

If you ever wanted to introduce someone to Kentucky Sports Radio, one show perfectly encapsulates it all. I would argue that the Dec. 2 edition of KSR is one of the best in the history of the long-time radio show.

Matt Jones prepared a lengthy monologue to discuss the addition of Will Stein, a day after he was hired as the next Kentucky football coach. It was interrupted by fire alarms that rang on and off throughout the first hour of the show. Technical difficulties happen all the time. This one in particular infuriated Matt. It was laugh-out-loud funny.

In the second hour, Jay in Lyndon became an unofficial KSR correspondent. He traveled to Sissy Cakes, a bakery in St. Matthews operated by Stein’s aunt and mother. Jay in Lyndon handed the phone to Debbie Stein, who revealed that she’s a long-time listener in a delightful conversation.

Did the Annabelle Doll Curse Kentucky Basketball?

The Annabelle doll is an infamous object that has a paranormal past, serving as a key plot point in The Conjuring series. The doll was brought to Lexington’s Central Bank Center for ScareFest and it led to a scary night for BBN.

Just a few miles away at Historic Memorial Coliseum, Kentucky took the floor for the first time in the Blue-White Scrimmage. There was a stunned silence that filled the air when point guard Jaland Lowe went down with a shoulder injury. He has since re-injured it two more times. Fortunately, he was able to return in the second half of the St. John’s game, but it feels like one of those injuries we will be talking about for the entire Kentucky basketball season.

Jack Pilgrim Nearly got in a Wreck with Dauster and Goodman

Shortly after joining On3, The Field of 68 crew made their way to Lexington for a preseason Kentucky basketball showcase. After a busy day at Kentucky basketball practice, Jack Pilgrim picked up Rob Dauster and Jeff Goodman to have a chat with them on the way to the airport. The KSR basketball reporter nearly got into a wreck as they left the parking lot. Never a dull moment!

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2026-01-05