Kentucky

New Kentucky men’s basketball coach Mark Pope arrives at Bluegrass airport

Published

9 months ago

April 14, 2024

New Kentucky men’s basketball coach Mark Pope arrives at Bluegrass airport

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – University of Kentucky’s new men’s basketball coach Mark Pope has arrived back in the commonwealth after landing in Lexington Saturday afternoon.

“This is like true blue at all angles,” said Kathleen Raque, a member of Big Blue Nation and Louisville resident.

The hiring of Mark Pope came as the names of multiple candidates were being floated around for the role.

As the news settles in, some in Big Blue Nation are gearing up for the new era of Kentucky men’s basketball.

“The more I’ve talked to people, the more I’ve sort of even researched it myself, I think that he will bring a lot of good new energy to the program,” said Russell Glass, a sophomore at UK. “Being an alumnus, […] he’ll care about it a lot in a way that I don’t think a lot of other people would.”

Pope played for the Cats in the 90s, serving as a captain for the University of Kentucky’s 1996 national championship team.

“I love all of the people who are saying ‘in Pope we hope,’ I think that’s a great saying,” said Raque.

In Pope, some fans hope to see a revitalized program.

“BYU did not have NIL funding or the recruiting name that Kentucky has. Kentucky has all of the resources college basketball could ask for,” said Caleb Lane, a student at Indiana University.

With the news still fresh, there are still questions about how Pope will compare to his predecessor, Coach John Calipari, who left UK for the University of Arkansas heading coaching job.

“I’m curious how much of the players coming in was for the UK nameplate or how much was for him,” said Mario Garza, a sophomore at UK. “I’m curious how Mark Pope is going to go about recruiting and if he’s going to even be able to come close to what Coach Cal was able to do.”

Even with questions still in the air, members of the UK faithful are putting their hope in Pope.

“I don’t think the pressure will bother him because he had the pressure as a player,” said Raque. “I know it’s going to be different, but we are supporting him, I hope he knows that.”

Pope is the just the 8th UK men’s basketball coach of the modern era.

A Mark Pope news conference will be held at Rupp Arena on Sunday, April 14. It is an event that is open the public.

Doors will open at 3:30 p.m. It is set to begin at 4:30 p.m. While a ticket is not needed, it is treated as any event with the clear bag policy.

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Related Topics:Basketball Featured flight Lexington Mark Pope University of Kentucky wildcats

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Kentucky

Kentucky Derby standings after 14 points preps

Published

3 hours ago

January 20, 2025

Press Room

Kentucky Derby standings after 14 points preps

Photo:

Ben Breland / Eclipse Sportswire

The winner and runner-up from Saturday’s Grade 3 Lecomte joined the top 10 in the points standings for Kentucky Derby 2025.

Disco Time brought his record to 3-for-3 with his win by a neck over Built over the muddy Fair Grounds track to earn 20 points and move into third place. Built, who already had earned 10 points for his win in the Gun Runner, picked up another 10 to move into fourth place.

The third-, fourth- and fifth-place finishers got their first qualifying points. Innovator earned 6 points, good for 18th place. Golden Afternoon is in 28th place with 4 points, and Maximus Promise earned 2 points, putting him at no. 44.

One points prep is on the calendar for this weekend. The Southwest (G3) at Oaklawn drew a field of 10, with Gaming, fifth on the leaderboard, drawing the rail.

The following weekend brings four preps, the Holy Bull (G3) at Gulfstream, the Robert B. Lewis (G3) at Santa Anita and the Withers (G3) at Aqueduct. All three, along with the Southwest, offer 20-10-6-4-2 points to the top five finishers.

Horse	Points	Trainer	Last race	Earnings*
1. Citizen Bull	40	Bob Baffert	1st, Breeders’ Cup Juvenile	$1,256,000
2. Coal Battle	20	Lonnie Briley	1st, Smarty Jones	$434,500
3. Disco Time	20	Brad Cox	1st, Lecomte	$150,000
4. Built	20	Wayne Catalano	2md, Lecomte	$110,000
5. Gaming	18	Bob Baffert	2nd, Breeders’ Cup Juvenile	$544,000
6. Getaway Car	16	Bob Baffert	4th, Breeders’ Cup Juvenile	$308,000
7. Jonathan’s Way	15	Philip Bauer	2nd, Kentucky Jockey Club	$213,530
8. Chancer McPatrick	10	Chad Brown	6th, Breeders’ Cup Juvenile	$480,000
9. East Avenue	10	Brendan Walsh	9th, Breeders’ Cup Juvenile	$368,750
10. First Resort	10	Eoin Harty	1st, Kentucky Jockey Club	$296,776
11. Poster	10	Eoin Harty	1st, Remsen	$137,500
12. Journalism	10	Michael McCarthy	1st, Los Alamitos Futurity	$120,000
13. Sovereignty	10	Bill Mott	1st, Street Sense	$119,280
14. Cyclone State	10	Chad Summers	1st, Jerome	$82,500
15. Hill Road	9	Adrian Murray	3rd, Breeders’ Cup Juvenile	$180,000
16. Tiztastic	8	Steve Asmussen	3rd, Kentucky Jockey Club	$665,800
17. Ferocious	8	Gustavo Delgado	5th, Breeders’ Cup Juvenile	$232,500
18. Innovator	6	D. Wayne Lukas	3rd, Lecomte	$66,250
19. Dapper Moon	6	Dallas Stewart	4th, Kentucky Jockey Club	$46,238
20. Owen Almighty	5	Brian Lynch	2nd, Iroquois	$163,060
21. Tip Top Thomas	5	Todd Pletcher	2nd, Champagne	$100,000
22. Speed King	5	Chad Brown	2nd, Springboard Mile	$60,000
23. Aviator Gui	5	Chad Brown	2nd, Remsen	$59,000
24. Mo Quality	5	Chris Davis	2nd, Smarty Jones	$48,750
25. Omaha Omaha	5	Michael Gorham	2nd, Jerome	$30,000
26. Magnitude	5	Steve Asmussen	2nd, Gun Runner	$22,505
27. Studlydoright	4	Jerry Robb	4th, Jerome	$256,250
28. Golden Afternoon	4	Nicholas Vaccarezza	4th, Lecomte	$78,375
29. Sandman	4	Mark Casse	3rd, Street Sense	$27,995
30. Render Judgment	4	Kenny McPeek	3td, Gun Runner	$21,610
31. Mo Plex	3	Jeremiah Englehart	2nd, Sleepy Hollow	$156,250
32. Kale’s Angel	3	Peter Miller	3rd, Smarty Jones	$118,625
33. McKinzie Street	3	Tim Yakteen	3rd, American Pharoah	$96,000
34. Filoso	3	Chad Summers	3rd, Breeders’ Futurity	$59,875
35. Dominant Spirit	3	Bret Calhoun	3rd, Springboard Mile	$48,000
36. Giocoso	3	Keith Desormeaux	1st, CD allowance	$33,025
37. Mesero	3	Dale Romans	3rd, CD allowance	$31,200
38. Tux	3	Bill Mott	3rd, Street Sense	$30,000
39. Ican	3	Rick Dutrow	3rd, Jerome	$18,000
40. Smoken Wicked	2	Dallas Stewart	1st, CD allowance	$109,200
41. Dr Ruben M	2	Doug O’Neill	4th, Springboard Mile	$18,000
42. Bon Temps	2	D. Wayne Lukas	4th, Smarty Jones	$14,625
43. Rank	2	Doug O’Neill	4th, Los Alamitos Futurity	$12,500
44. Maximus Promise	2	Kenny McPeek	5th, Lecomte	$5,000
45. Admiral Dennis	2	Brad Cox	4th, Gun Runner	$4,000
46. Jolly Samurai	1	Danny Pish	5th, Springboard MIle	$99,000
47. Vekoma Rides	1	John Kimmel	2nd, Nashua	$20,000
48. Keewaydin	1	Chad Brown	5th Resen	$10,000
49. Hot Property	1	Brad Cox	5th Smarty Jones	$9,750
50. Show of Force	1	Todd Fincher	5th American Pharoah	$8,000
51. Mansetti	1	Kevin Attard	5th, Jerome	$7,500
52. Bracket Buster	1	Vicki Oliver	5th, Street Sense	$5,820
53. Mellencamp	1	Bob Baffert	5th, Los Alamitos Futurity	$4,000
54. Chris’s Revenge	1	Brittany Russell	5th, Gun Runner	$2,000
*Non-restricted stakes earnings

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Kentucky

Bipartisan bill filed that would target violence committed by minors

Published

11 hours ago

January 20, 2025

Press Room

Bipartisan bill filed that would target violence committed by minors

FRANKFORT, Ky. (WKYT) – Kentucky’s general assembly is currently on a break after convening for four days to start 2025 legislative session.

However, hundreds of bills were filed in those four days.

“I feel like too many young people are committing act of violence with guns and we need to get it under control,” said Rep. Kim Banta (R-Ft. Mitchell).

Republican Rep. Banta said House Bill 55 does not just apply to guns.

“My party asked me they said, ‘look why pick on guns, why not any weapon?’,” she said. “And so, I changed it and so if you buy your child a machete and they choose to put it in their backpack and go to school and harm people, you’re going to be held accountable for it.”

The bill would make parents or guardians civilly liable for injury caused by a destructive device, explosive, firearm or other deadly weapon. The bill would apply to legal guardians who allow the minor to have the device, know that the minor has a delinquent history or knows that the intended use is to commit a crime.

“Anything that we can do that may deter a horrific crime would be something I’m all about,” said Rep. Tina Bojanowski (D-Louisville).

Democratic Rep. Bojanowski said she is cosponsoring House Bill 55 because as a teacher, she said it is important for parents or legal guardians to have a pulse on their child.

“You know maybe yeah your son really enjoys hunting and you gave them this knife, but you may want to think twice if he’s been accused and found guilty of a crime already,” said Rep. Bojanowski.

As the session continues, Rep. Banta said she hopes to convey that the bill is not about taking away guns or imposing restrictions.

Kentucky’s House of Representatives and Senate will meet for part II of the 2025 legislative session on Feb. 4.

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Kentucky

Strack scores 25, Amoore has 24, and No. 12 Kentucky women top Georgia 78-64

Published

19 hours ago

January 19, 2025

Press Room

Strack scores 25, Amoore has 24, and No. 12 Kentucky women top Georgia 78-64

Associated Press

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Led by Clara Strack with 25 points and Georgia Amoore with 24 points, No. 12 Kentucky defeated Georgia 78-64 on Sunday.

Strack made 9 of 19 shots and 6 of 7 free throws. She had 12 rebounds to complete her fourth double-double this season. Amelia Hassett had 14 points and 10 rebounds for her third double-double this season and Amoore had eight assists.

Trinity Turner scored 19 points and De’Mauri Flournoy had 19 of Georgia’s 21 bench points.

Kentucky dominated the first quarter, building a 23-4 lead. All three players who scored for the Wildcats — Amoore (11 points), Strack (6) and Hassett (6) — outscored Georgia. The Bulldogs made one of 16 shots.

Kentucky led 44-31 at halftime before being outscored by nine points in the second half.

After the disastrous first quarter, Georgia battled back and got as close as 69-57 with two minutes left in the fourth quarter. A layup by Asia Avinger had Georgia within 12 points again, 73-61, with a minute to go but Amoore hit a jumper and Cassidy Rowe made 3 of 4 free throws to close it out.

The Wildcats are 16-1 overall and 5-0 in the Southeastern Conference, marking their fourth-best start to a season through 17 games in program history and their best start to league action since 2012-13. That season, the Cats won their first six conference games.

The win for the Wildcats was their 15th by at least 10 points but the 14-point margin ended a streak of six straight wins by 16 points or more.

Kentucky visits Texas A&M on Thursday.

Georgia (9-11, 1-5 SEC) is idle until a road game next Sunday against No. 13 Oklahoma. ___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball

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