Sports
Even Kentucky haters of the highest order will find themselves liking Mark Pope
The Champions Classic gives annual intel on four college hoops teams that usually matter — check out CJ Moore’s resulting film breakdown on Duke, Kansas, Kentucky and Michigan State — and that means worthwhile hints on the season at large as well. This year, the Champions Classic has confirmed an enormous shift in college basketball fandom.
Hating Kentucky isn’t cool or fun anymore because Kentucky’s coach is both. Mark Pope is relentlessly likable, which means Kentucky basketball has become likable. Adjust accordingly.
Now, “cool” doesn’t work in every sense of the word, not for a 6-foot-10 guy who gives off the energy of a chemistry teacher towering over his students while delivering gentle words of encouragement. Pope is Mr. Vargas in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” but with a dry-erase board and no hair.
Just as Vargas was the one teacher who could get Jeff Spicoli enthused about learning something, Pope got his thrown-together first team to figure out how to beat Duke — arguably the most talented outfit in the land — 77-72 on Tuesday in Atlanta. Pope is a former Rhodes scholarship candidate and Columbia medical student who can obviously teach as well as learn.
That might not sound cool, and in fact, his wife, Lee Anne, addressed that very word in Brendan Quinn’s profile of Pope, saying: “You know, somebody said to me, ‘He’s goofy.’ But no. He’s not goofy. He’s just — in a world where everyone is cool, he is not too cool. And there’s a big difference. He’s brilliant. He’s authentic. And he’s going to outwork everyone. I know it.”
Last night was a movie 😼 pic.twitter.com/5IbNodYT3J
— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) November 13, 2024
But authenticity and perspective are cool, and they spring forth from Pope, who told Quinn that if being the coach at Kentucky is “everything you are,” you won’t succeed at it. That story centers on Pope’s relationships with his wife and four daughters, adding to a public glimpse of Pope that makes more fascinating his new job in service of the most ferociously passionate fan base in … American sports?
It adds to an interesting time for the blue bloods, too. Pope beat Jon Scheyer, who is embarking on a critical third season as the friendly, soft-spoken successor to hated (by non-Duke fans) basketball overlord Mike Krzyzewski. Non-North Carolina fans had very few nice things to say about Roy “Aw Shucks” Williams — Hubert Davis is much easier to like. Bill Self, himself an “aw shucks” purveyor extraordinaire, is the only old head left. As any non-Kansas fan will tell you, it won’t be hard to find someone less grating on the nerves than he is.
Pope, meanwhile, replaces John Calipari, which is a leap in likeability. But it would have been a parasail across the Grand Canyon a decade ago. At the rate Cal’s going, he might be a beloved underdog by the time he’s done at Arkansas. He became a bit of a sympathetic figure in recent years (for non-Kentucky fans) because of early NCAA exits with loaded teams, betrayed in part by Calipari’s failure to modernize stylistically.
Kentucky fans got angrier and angrier at him while everyone else connected better with his jokes when he wasn’t destroying the competition every night. Hey, he’s kind of cute when he loses! Now his pressers at Arkansas, where he will fade or prove he has a renaissance in him, are must-stream events. Compare that to a certain UMass presser from 30 years ago, when everyone (except UMass fans, I guess) wished John Chaney would have roughed him up a little.
When Calipari got the Kentucky job in 2009, after breaking NCAA rules at Memphis that people didn’t know existed, the prevailing sentiment in the sport was “Kentucky sold its soul.”
That’s where most of the dislike originated. Calipari was a handy rogue for all with his teams full of NBA players spending a forced year in college, when paying players was still seen as a felony and other coaches swimming in the same waters were able to “aw shucks” their way out of public scrutiny.
If you lost a recruit back then, point at the cheaters. Now there’s no bogeyman. Just you and your collective. Same thing for fans. So much energy used to be spent on which renegades were getting one over on your team and your rule-abiding coach. We’re in an era of forced introspection. And talent fees.
These are the conditions that make villains harder to manufacture. Save for the impossible-to-dislike Tubby Smith, and other than the very early Rick Pitino days when he should have upset Christian Laettner and the basketball overlord, and with all due respect to the parties Billy Gillispie used to throw, the Kentucky basketball coach is supposed to be a despised scoundrel.
Pope is not that. And that goes beyond the era we’re in, and he’s instantly a refreshing change from Calipari, even the late-stage version known as Commiserative Cal.
Pope isn’t just taking over a legendary program; he loves the place, having co-captained Pitino’s absurdly loaded 1996 national championship team. Pope clearly wasn’t Kentucky’s first — or second … or third — choice. He has to prove himself. Instant likeability points.
Word from inside the program is that he’s as lacking in self-importance as he appears to be publicly. He’s emphasizing outreach to former players. He’s honoring history, showing his team clips of legendary Duke-UK matchups stretching back to the 1970s before Tuesday’s tilt.
The fun of Pope is in the basketball itself. This roster, which was completely empty when he arrived, is not loaded with first-round picks. But it’s well-constructed. The Wildcats play a five-out system built around cutting, passing and long-range shooting. It’s a joy to watch. And to hear coached.
Did you catch ESPN’s cut-in to a Pope huddle during Tuesday’s game? The guy is down 7 to Duke in his first huge game at Kentucky, he doesn’t have anyone who can realistically guard Cooper Flagg, and he’s calmly talking fundamentals. Cheerily, even.
“We’re standing a little too much on offense, so let’s really make declarative cuts right now, OK?” Pope said to his players. “Declarative cuts.”
A sentence is the only thing that can be declarative. That declarative sentence, as Professor Pope has demonstrated for us, is inaccurate. This guy is adding to the hoops lexicon and showing how cool basketball nerd-dom can be.
And college basketball can’t help but like him. At least until he wins enough that Kentucky fans love him.
(Photo: Andy Lyons / Getty Images)
Sports
It’s Game 7, and we have a bet locked in as the Cavaliers and legacies are on the line against the Pistons
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The NBA takes a lot of flak for having meaningless games, and I can definitely understand it, watching on a random Wednesday in January. However, the playoffs have delivered over and over to viewers and rewarded us for putting up with garbage regular-season games.
This will be the fourth Game 7 of the playoffs. Three series have been sweeps, and the other three have been six games. That shows competitive hoops. Now, how do we bet this Game 7 in the Eastern Conference?
The Cleveland Cavaliers blew it. After not winning a road game all postseason, they took Game 5 in surprising fashion. It looked like they were going to win in six games. After all, they hadn’t lost a game at home in the postseason.
Instead, Detroit came out and blitzed the Cavs, never giving them a chance to get their footing. They lost in an ugly fashion and now have to figure out a way to win a game on the road.
Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden drives to the basket against the Detroit Pistons during the second half of Game 5 in the second-round NBA playoffs in Detroit on May 13, 2026. (Duane Burleson/AP)
It isn’t just the Cavs’ fate that rests in this game. It is also the legacy of James Harden and, to a lesser extent, Donovan Mitchell.
We know that Mitchell is a very good player, but he isn’t regarded as one of the best players ever. Harden is. Unfortunately, Harden has struggled in Game 7s. He’s averaged 19.1 points, 7.3 assists and 5.8 rebounds. That’s not terrible, but looking at his shooting percentages, he is at 35.3% and 22.2% in those games. He actually is 4-4 overall in the games, but in his past three, he has scored a combined 34 points over 113 minutes.
The Detroit Pistons seem to like playing with their backs against the wall. They are a gritty team, so I suppose it makes sense.
Detroit Pistons’ Jalen Duren reacts after allowing a pass to go out of bounds in the second half of Game 4 of the second-round NBA playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Cleveland on May 11, 2026. (Sue Ogrocki/AP)
Cade Cunningham continues to deliver for the team, and he finally got some help in Game 6 from Jalen Duren. This was never going to be an easy series for Duren, but it feels like he is taking more time to mature than others. He definitely improved this year, but the consistency they need from him just isn’t there yet.
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Now as the team goes home they will need Duren to be a beast on the glass. If he can keep the Pistons in the rebounding battle, they should win this game with ease. They won Game 6 by just three rebounds, but that takes away a big dimension of what Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley do for the Cavs. It isn’t everything, though, as the Pistons won the rebounding battle in both losses in Cleveland.
I don’t see this being a runaway game for the Pistons. Mitchell and Cunningham likely will cancel each other out with scoring. Harden needs to establish himself as the third-best player on the floor. I haven’t seen him do that in the postseason, yet.
Cleveland Cavaliers All-Stars Donovan Mitchell and James Harden talk during Game 2 in the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs vs. the Toronto Raptors at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Ohio. (David Dermer/Imagn Images)
This is the second Game 7 of the playoffs for both of the clubs, so it isn’t like either will be caught off guard about what this entails.
If I look at it objectively, I think the Cavs have the better players. However, the Pistons have looked significantly better this season, and definitely in the playoffs overall. Both are prone to issues and slipping. The Cavs shouldn’t be as they are a veteran team.
This game has to be won by Cleveland, though. There is too much riding on the franchise and legacies of guys for them to not prepare properly for it. Maybe that’s weak analysis, but I’m taking the Cavs with the points and I do think they win outright. I expect a monster game from Mitchell, and Harden should get 10+ assists.
Either way, whoever wins will lose to the New York Knicks.
For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on X/Twitter: @futureprez2024
SOUTHERN SECTION SOFTBALL PLAYOFFS
FRIDAY’S RESULTS
FIRST ROUND
DIVISION 1
Murrieta Mesa 10, Valley View 0
Orange Lutheran 10, Millikan 0
Chino Hills 2, El Modena 1
Etiwanda 14, Agoura 13
Palos Verdes 3, Riverside King 2
Cypress 4, Fullerton 2
Ayala 11, Charter Oak 1
Riverside Poly 7, California 3
Norco 2, Marina 1
DIVISION 3
Rancho Cucamonga 9, Paloma Valley 1
Great Oak 5, West Torrance 2
Edison 8, El Segundo 5
El Toro 9, Colton 0
Murrieta Valley 9, Redondo Union 8
North Torrance 5, Beaumont 0
West Ranch 7, Trabuco Hills 6
San Juan Hills 8, Riverside North 7
Oak Park 10, Cerritos Valley Christian 4
Highland 7, Northview 2
La Serna 4, Carter 0
Dos Pueblos 5, Crescenta Valley 0
Liberty 10, Arcadia 3
DIVISION 5
Anaheim 11, Flintridge Sacred Heart 0
Patriot 11, Arrowhead Christian 9
Temple City 9, Rancho Christian 6
Grace 11, Buena Park 0
Crean Lutheran 3, Alemany 2
Shadow Hills 8, Cerritos 3
San Marcos 10, Leuzinger 0
South El Monte 7, Long Beach Wilson 5
Covina 11, Garden Grove Santiago 1
Muir 8, Rio Hondo Prep 7
Santa Monica 6, Katella 5
Ontario 6, Norwalk 2
Northwood 18, Duarte 11
DIVISION 7
Bloomington 9, Fillmore 8
Miller 11, Savanna 3
Santa Ana Calvary Chapel 11, Riverside Springs Magnolia 4
Faith Baptist 18, St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy 4
Twentynine Palms 16, Rancho Alamitos 15
Riverside Notre Dame 12, Costa Mesa 2
Firebaugh 9, Pioneer 8
Chadwick 6, Desert Christian Academy 1
Cathedral City 2, Artesia 1
Orange 9, Bellflower 3
Santa Ana 10, Hawthorne 0
Culver City 9, Temecula Prep 8
DIVISION 8
Banning 20, Redlands Adventist 3
SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE
(Games at 3:15 p.m. unless noted)
SECOND ROUND
DIVISION 1
La Habra at Murrieta Mesa, noon
Chino Hills at Orange Lutheran
Etiwanda at Westlake
La Mirada at Palos Verdes, noon
Garden Grove Pacifica at Cypress, noon
Ayala at JSerra
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame at Oaks Christian, 1 p.m.
Norco at Riverside Poly
DIVISION 2
Bonita at Ganesha, 11 a.m.
Whittier Christian at Warren
Simi Valley at St. Paul
Moorpark at Lakewood St. Joseph, 11 a.m.
Temescal Canyon at San Clemente, 12:30 p.m.
Huntington Beach at Camarillo, Monday
Saugus at Vista Murrieta, 12:30 p.m.
Mater Dei at Gahr, noon
DIVISION 3
Great Oak at Rancho Cucamonga
Edison at El Toro, Monday
Murrieta Valley at North Torrance
West Ranch at San Juan Hills
Riverside Prep at Oak Park, 12:30 p.m.
La Serna at Highland
Dos Pueblos at La Salle, Monday
Villa Park at Liberty, 1 p.m.
DIVISION 4
St. Bonaventure at Harvard-Westlake, 11 a.m.
Apple Valley at Oxnard
Don Lugo at Monrovia, 1:30 p.m.
La Quinta at Mira Costa
Rio Mesa at Mission Viejo, 10 a.m.
Oak Hills at Sunny Hills
Ramona at Paramount
Burbank Burroughs at Rosary, Monday
DIVISION 5
Anaheim vs. Santa Clara at Beck Park
Temple City at Patriot
Crean Lutheran at Grace
Viewpoint at Shadow Hills
San Marcos at Irvine University, noon
South El Monte at Covina
Santa Monica at Muir, 10:30 a.m.
Northwood at Ontario, 1 p.m.
DIVISION 6
Irvine at Lakeside
Alhambra at Heritage
Eastside at Granite Hills, noon
El Monte at St. Genevieve
Sierra Vista vs. Southlands Christian at Brea Canyon Cutoff Rd
Hesperia Christian vs. St. Monica Prep at Memorial Park, 2 p.m.
Arroyo at Lancaster
San Jacinto at Jurupa Valley
DIVISION 7
Bloomington at Ramona Convent
Miller at Santa Ana Calvary Chapel
Faith Baptist at Twentynine Palms, Monday
Firebaugh vs. Riverside Notre Dame at Ramona
Chadwick at Cathedral City
Orange at Victor Valley, 11 a.m.
Santa Ana at Culver City, Monday
Windward at Edgewood, Monday at 3:30 p.m.
DIVISION 8
ACE at Avalon
Bolsa Grande vs. San Bernardino, Monday at San Bernardino College
Workman at Glendale
Cobalt at Santa Rosa Academy
Bell Gardens vs. Brentwood at John Anson Ford Park
Pomona Catholic vs. Capistrano Valley Christian at Laguna Hills, 2 p.m.
Fontana at Banning
Hawthorne MSA at Arroyo Valley, 1 p.m.
Note: Quarterfinals May 20; Semifinals May 23; Finals May 28-30 at Bill Barber Memorial Park, Irvine.
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After a slow first round at Aronimink Golf Club in Philadelphia on Thursday, pace of play was a point of emphasis at the PGA Championship on Friday.
However, when an official approached Justin Thomas and Keegan Bradley, they became animated.
Thomas, a longtime Team USA Ryder Cup member, and Bradley, last year’s United States captain, were on the fourth hole when they were approached by an official in a cart, and the conversation quickly turned into finger-pointing.
Justin Thomas and Keegan Bradley watch from the tenth green during the second round of the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown, Pennsylvania, on May 15, 2026. (Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
Thomas said after the round that he, Bradley and fellow USA Ryder Cupper Cameron Young, who won the Cadillac Championship earlier this month, were put on the clock, with the official telling them to pick up the pace. However, both Bradley and Thomas appeared to point at the group in front of them.
“We just didn’t really agree with it,” Thomas said, citing course conditions, high winds and tough pins. “We were behind. That wasn’t our issue… It’s just the fact that we weren’t holding up the group behind us.”
Thomas said they were caught up with the pace on the very next hole.
Justin Thomas plays his shot on the 15th tee during the second round of the PGA Championship in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, on May 15, 2026. (Bill Streicher/Imagn Images)
GARRICK HIGGO SHARES BAFFLING COMMENTS WHILE REACTING TO TWO-SHOT PENALTY AT PGA CHAMPIONSHIP
Thomas had a lengthy conversation with the official, while Bradley appeared to make his point short and sweet — though he was definitely not happy with the call.
It is a large PGA Championship field, with 156 golfers at the course and groups even starting their rounds on the back nine. The scores have also been rather high, with just 25 players below par at the time of publishing.
Aronimink also features a shared tee box on 1 and 10, holes 9 and 17 crossing paths, and a lengthy par-3 eighth hole that’s causing problems. Three par-3s are over 200 yards on the course, and there is also a 457-yard par 4 on the fourth.
Keegan Bradley prepares to putt on the 14th green during the first round of the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, on May 14, 2026. (Bill Streicher/Imagn Images)
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As Chris Gotterup put it on Friday, “You’re not going to get any four-and-a-half hour rounds out here.”
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