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Kentucky Played with Only Two Healthy (and Inexperienced) Cornerbacks

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Kentucky Played with Only Two Healthy (and Inexperienced) Cornerbacks


The stars were aligning for a disaster class. For years, Josh Heupel’s uptempo attack put the Kentucky defensive backs out on islands and wrecked the Wildcat defense. Three cornerbacks were sidelined before the game even started. Then J.Q. Hardaway started cramping, leaving only two healthy players at the position.

Despite the incredibly difficult circumstances, the defense held up their end of the bargain for most of the game, limiting the Vols to 21 points over the first three quarters of the football game and only one reception of 30 yards or more.

“Overall, considering the situation we were in with being extremely thin, I thought we held up okay,” Mark Stoops said after the loss.

“The inexperience showed late with not being tight enough on that third down there late. We have to tighten up there. Obviously, we had an inexperienced guy out there, but we have to coach him. We have to do a better job with that play. But overall, in a tough situation and being down a lot of guys, they fought pretty hard.”

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Mark Stoops is referring to two third downs in the fourth quarter that Kentucky could not get off the field, ultimately leading to the game-clinching touchdown for the Vols with five minutes to play. A few drives before, there was one more third down that could have swung the game Kentucky’s way.

Addison Almost Made a Game-Changing Interception

True freshman Terhyon Nichols has logged legitimate reps all season, but tonight needed to play starter’s reps. He shared some of them with Nasir Addison, a true sophomore primarily used in special teams that was tasked to play 34 snaps at cornerback.

Neither looked like a fish out of water. Addison may have gotten away with a PI early in the game, but late in the game he damn near flipped the script. Pressure in the backfield forced Nico Iamaleava‘s third-down pass to sail way off-target. Addison was there and got two hands on the ball, but he couldn’t catch the interception. If it wasn’t a pick six, Kentucky would have started the ball inside the red zone down 14-10. Instead, the Wildcats threw an interception of their own on the ensuing possession.

Even though the game-changing play didn’t happen, there was plenty of good sprinkled in. Nichols had another impressive pass break-up and Addison only allowed two receptions on four targets.

“They’re some ballplayers, real life. They love the game of football, Nas and Rhy. Shout out to both of them, and JQ on the other side, handling his business,” Zion Childress said after the game. “We’re thin, but if we get prepared by the best, everybody’s going to be ready to play and when those guys’ names were called, they made plays.”

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Kentucky

Tale of The Tape, Predictions: Louisville vs. Eastern Kentucky

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Tale of The Tape, Predictions: Louisville vs. Eastern Kentucky


LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Louisville (7-5, 1-1 ACC) is set to face Eastern Kentucky (6-6, 0-0 ASUN) on Saturday, Dec. 28 at 12:00 p.m. EST at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky. Here’s how the Cardinals stack up against the Colonels:

*Mobile users can scroll left and right on the tables below*

E. Kentucky

Louisville

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AP/USAT

NR/NR

NR/NR

SOS

183rd

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9th

SOR

200th

62nd

BPI

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254th

60th

NET

198th

53rd

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RPI

227th

26th

KenPom

227th

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50th

Torvik

154th

46th

EvanMiya

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231st

53rd

E. Kentucky

Louisville

Points

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Devontae Blanton (16.4)

Chucky Hepburn (15.3)

Rebounds

Devontae Blanton (6.1)

J’Vonne Hadley (7.8)

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Assists

Devontae Blanton (3. 8)

Chucky Hepburn (5.1)

Steals

George Kimble (2.9)

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Chucky Hepburn (2.9)

Blocks

Yvens Paul (1.6)

James Scott 0.8

E. Kentucky

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Louisville

Points Per Game

77.0

78.0

Field Goal %

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41.9%

43.3%

FGM/FGA Per Game

28.2/67.3

26.2/60.4

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Three Point %

31.8%

29.8%

3PTM/3PTA Per Game

9.4/29.6

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9.6/32.2

Free Throw %

66.5%

71.7%

FTM/FTA Per Game

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11.3/16.9

16.1/22.4

E. Kentucky

Louisville

Rebounds Per Game

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38.3

37.3

Off. Reb. Per Game

15.8

12.4

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Def. Reb. Per Game

22.5

24.9

Rebound Margin

0.1

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3.6

E. Kentucky

Louisville

Opp. Points Per Game

75.0

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71.3

Opp. FG%

46.8%

45.1%

Opp. 3PT%

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35.6%

35.8%

Steals Per Game

9.8

7.3

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Blocks Per Game

3.7

2.8

Turnovers Forced Per Game

15.6

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14.6

E. Kentucky

Louisville

Assists Per Game

13.5

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13.4

Turnovers Per Game

11.2

12.1

Turnover Margin

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4.4

2.5

Assist/Turnover Ratio

1.2

1.1

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– ESPN Prediction: Per ESPN’s Basketball Power Index, Louisville has a 95.6 percent chance to win against Eastern Kentucky. The Cardinals have a BPI rating of 9.8 (60th overall), whereas the Colonels have a BPI rating of -5.3 (254th overall).

– KenPom Prediction: Per KenPom.com, the Cardinals have a 94 percent chance to take down the Colonels, with a projected final score of 86-69 in favor of UofL. Louisville has an adjusted efficiency margin of +15.05 (50th overall), whereas Eastern Kentucky has an adjusted efficiency margin of -5.07 (227th overall).

– Torvik Prediction: Per BartTorvik.com, the Cards have a 90 percent chance to take down the Colonels, with a projected final score of 85-69 in favor of UofL. Louisville has a “Barthag” of .8412 (46th overall), whereas Eastern Kentucky has a “Barthag” of .5033 (154th overall).

– Personal Prediction: Louisville 91, Eastern Kentucky 73.

(Photo of Khani Rooth: Sam Upshaw Jr. – Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

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New laws coming to Kentucky starting in 2025

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New laws coming to Kentucky starting in 2025


LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — With the new year comes new legislation, and for Kentucky, a number of laws will begin affecting Kentuckians starting on Wednesday, January 1.

Starting in 2025, all Kentucky drivers seeking to renew their license will need to pass a vision screening.The exam will be the same as the one used for first time drivers. Free screenings are provided at driver license regional offices around the state.

The screening takes about a minute, and they do not require additional appointments.

“The important thing is we want you to be able to see well while driving, whether you need corrective lenses or not,” said Lori Weaver Hawkins with AAA Bluegrass.

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According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 19 states already have a similar law as a measure to cut down on accidents.

“We know that vision, having clear vision, is important for drivers to be able to successfully maneuver through traffic and to reduce that incidents of traffic crashes,” said Hawkins.

Also starting January 1, retailers will only be able to sell certain vape products. It’s part of House Bill 11, which was passed in April of this year to curb vaping among young people.

Jerry Wayne, who manages Magic Vape in Jessamine County, said the new law will severely impact his business.

“We will be firing 25 employees, closing 8 locations, and taking that money what we can,” said Wayne, “Basically, we will be out of business.”

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The bill states that the FDA must approve vape products that have nicotine, and if they’re not approved, they can’t be sold. Wayne said it cuts the product he can sell from 300 to two.

Medical marijuana can start being sold in 2025 as well. Two lotteries have already happened for growers and distributors. All products must be grown in the Commonwealth.





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Alleged Kentucky deadbeat dad who owes over $100K in child support arrested getting off cruise ship in Miami

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Alleged Kentucky deadbeat dad who owes over 0K in child support arrested getting off cruise ship in Miami


An alleged deadbeat dad who was on the run and owed more than $100,000 in child support was arrested last week as he exited a cruise ship in Miami, authorities said. 

Dominic Weaver, a Kentucky resident, had been on the lam for more than 10 years when his holiday vacation ended after being taken into custody and brought back to Louisville, WDRB-TV reported. 

FLORIDA ARTIST’S PATRIOTIC ANDY WARHOL PIECE FEATURED AT POPULAR EVENT DRAWING THOUSANDS OF VISITORS

Row of cruise ships docked at Port of Miami. (Jeffrey Greenberg/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

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Detectives from a local child support division flew to Miami and eventually brought Weaver back to the Bluegrass State.

“I don’t know when he left, but he fled the jurisdiction, and from the date of his sentence until today, and even today, he’s not paid one cent of child support,” Jefferson County Attorney Mike O’Connell said. 

MEXICO TO IMPOSE TAX FOR CRUISE SHIP VISITORS STARTING IN 2015

Dominic Weaver mugshot

Dominic Weaver, 47, was arrested in Miami while exiting a cruise ship over thousands owed in back child support, authorities said. (Louisville Metro Department of Corrections)

Weaver, 47, owes somewhere between $114,000 and $120,000 in child support, according to O’Connell.

O’Connell said Weaver has a total of four cases with the child support division.

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“Two more of those are ready for indictment again of more felonies,” O’Connell said.

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O’Connell said he planned to ask a judge to revoke Weaver’s original sentence and ask that he be sentenced to four years in prison. 



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