visiting UK this week and will decide next week. Arkansas, Miss State, UK, and Tulane hosting him for a visit. It’s thought that only Tulane has presented him with a true offer as of today. That could change.

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Either way, good or bad. As in, "I thought this kid was going to be great/terrible/average, but as it turns out, he _____________. Did not see that coming!"

Should be some very interesting games. Bama is a 2 point dog and Washington is 4. I’m thinking Texas Bama rematch so Michigan and Washington probably win.

We have 3 guys, 1 out with injury represented, in addition to the usual powers, Auburn, Oregon and S Carolina are heavily represented by signees:

Seems like all eyes should be on Arkansas given he visits them and they were first to offer when he went into the portal.

Underscores they are looking at OT and CB.

We had SS sit out but Big Z wants to play and Bradshaw came back from a injury. Can we put SS to rest and not bring him up. I didn’t like how that went down but good riddance. Hope his name is a blast from the past.!This team is a blast to watch!!

UK & A&M

I have 2 tickets available for the MSU game. DM me for details if you’re interested.

One of the few ways to fix NIL and to some extent the transfer portal would to be sign players as employees of the athletic department to 3 year contracts with a 4th year option. Make a salary cap per position and if a team broke that they are prohibited from "hiring" another player.

Yeah, I know. NFL collective bargaining. If we are gonna pattern the game after the NFL we may as well use parts of their revenue/collective bargaining program

The thought of amateur athletics is not only dead, it's nearly fossilized.

The good news for the SEC:
LSU, Ole Miss, Tennessee, and Mizzou went head-to-head with Big 10 teams and all won their games. There is a lot to be excited about in those spots regarding their futures and how the bowl season sets up a solid off season and expectations for a good year next season.

The bad news for the SEC:
The SEC essentially went 0-2 vs. the Big 10 in the playoffs. Old SEC member Alabama lost to old Big 10 member Michigan. New SEC member Texas lost to new Big 10 member Washington- meaning the defending national champion will play in the Big 10 next year.

What do you believe this means, if anything?

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We watched A&M attempts to buy a winning program with disastrous results. Last year’s basketball final four were teams from no where with little to no NIL for their players. We just watched smaller schools in bowl season take down WAY more talented teams by rankings. Will NIL knock the SEC off it’s thrown?? How do you get kids to focus on football with 100k in their checking accounts?? If Saban and Kirby can’t do it, it probably can’t be done. I hope paying these guys doesn’t work. I’m all for NIL. I’m against pay for play. There is a huge difference.

You all might have read the incoming rules of selection, which sound damn-near identical to the current rules of selection of the NYD6 Bowls.

“The new 12-team College Football Playoff field will include the six highest-ranked conference champions, which will receive automatic bids. The top four teams will receive a first-round bye to the quarterfinals.

The six highest-ranked teams remaining will round out the 12-team format.”


But what happens when there are only 4 remaining P5(4) conferences with the death of the PAC?

The way it is written, there will only be 4 conferences left that possess traditional P5 teams, so will two have to be selected from the MAC, CUSA, etc.?

Or was “it written,” some time back, prior to the collapse of the PAC, and will it be interpreted as allowing only 5 conference champions?

Given that many former quality G5 programs have found new homes in the surviving Big 12, it will have watered down the potential quality of the G5 team(s) that make it in, anyhow: BYU, Houston, Cincy, and maybe some others are now “P4,” teams.

Since I live about 5 miles from Ft Myers, Fla I spent two days watching about 12 of the top HS BB teams in the country pl;ay in the City of Palms classic.. Before I share my "amateur" observations I want to post a disclaimer! I am a 80 year old retired Army full colonel. I have expertise in contingency war planning and bass fishing, but none in evaluating basketball talent. Feel free to critique or disagree with my observations!
I saw Lyon co and Travis Perry play two games. He scored 30 in the first and 40 in the 2nd against very good teams. He has incredible quickness and speed, dead eye 3 pt and mid range jump shooter. I saw him hit 15 consecutive 3 pt range shots during pre game warm up. He has excellent ball control skills, a motor that never quits or slows down and can create his own shot with his lateral quickness and great leaping ability. He is a very intelligent player who has great court vision and is one of the best passers I saw. I was very surprised to see that he has added 10-15 pounds of muscle since I saw him on tv last year. He can take a hit and is still strong enough to finish the play. He was the best pure guard I saw. His game is almost a carbon copy of Reed Sheppard's. The only player I would rank above him is Dylan Harper, He is a better player than Acuff, Boogie Fland and Camden Boozer. Lyon county is one of the most enjoyable teams I have ever seen play in HS college or the pros. If you ever get a chance go see them.

Boogie Fland with his quickness, great hops and driving ability has tremendous upside but he is frail and spends a lot of time on the floor. He also takes a lot of plays off. If he gets his shot blocked he has a tendency to hang his head and walk to the other end of the floor. Conversely, when motivated or challenged he can be unstoppable. On a couple of occasions he and Acuff were guarding each other and were exchanging some good natured jawing. Twice I saw Boogie leave Acuff's feet nailed to the floor and zoom past him with a two hand dunk. Plays like that is the potential Boogie that I assume Cal saw. In summation If Cal can get him in the weight room and his motor running 100% the sky is the limit for him.

Acuff reminds me of Wagner. Very strong, good handle, streak shooter and outstanding athletic ability. Motor is a problem, he takes too many plays off and hangs his head w3hen he makes a mistake. Camden Boozer is in my opinion the most overrated player I saw. He had 10 turnovers in the one game I saw him play. It could be that he was under the weather or was just having a bad game, But based on this performance I don't think he would be a 5 star if his name wasn't Boozer.

I think a case can be made.

I know we will have to wait until the season is over to make a true and clear assessment and Sheppard clearly has a better supporting cast.

Ill hang up and listen.

Imagine being your conference runner-up. And you don’t score in two consecutive games that has to be some kind of a record.

Maxwell is decent and Phillips is gone. Our backups are not Div 1 level so we need a couple of experienced corners from the portal. We struck out last year completely, and I hope those guys transfer back out. We need help in other areas like the OL as well but this seems to be the biggest need going into the offseason. If we don’t, it won’t matter how good the rest of the team is.

Politically it doesnt exactly line up with my views but I've visited Mexico for 25 years .. NOT Cancun , but a small less populated island . I could live there , hurricanes are a terrible threat in the fall usually but the year round pleasant climate is tempting . The climate and friendliness of the people would be the driving force. I'm sure there are places in Europe I could stand , politically , does it matter that the country would align with your views ? what countries are the most conservative , and the most liberal ? I'd guess France and Canada are quite liberal ? I could summers in Canada 100% ( fam has had property there for near 30 years) Thoughts ?

Played out as I suspect many of us expected. Defensive battle between Mich and Bama, and an offensive battle between Washington and Texas. Gotta give credit to Washington's defense though. They dominated that game (Texas penalties didn't help). Snap problems and bad O line play hurt Bama. Should be a fun game to win it all. All-in-all though, turns out the committee got it right for once. Fun night of semi-finals

would watch the Bengals-Chiefs game. How the chiefs defended on the Bengals last drive is how we should have played against Clemson. Didn't lay back and hope for misfires. Attacked the QB and didn't give him any time to find a receiver.

These have been a popular feature for other UK sports here on the HOB, a way to consolidate the news and not have individual threads get lost among a sea of football/basketball/recruiting topics. We'll discuss Craig Skinner's 2023 squad here.

UK MEDIA RELATIONS
VOLLEYBALL
AUGUST 15, 2023


Kentucky Volleyball Hosts WKU for Exhibition and Fan Day Thursday

Wildcats host exhibition match Thursday night


LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Kentucky Volleyball team will play its lone exhibition match of the season Thursday night at 6 p.m. ET inside Rupp Arena against Western Kentucky in a rematch of the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2022.

After the match, there will be a fan day component to the evening, with all UK Volleyball players and coaches available for autographs and photos along the concourses of Rupp Arena with free posters being distributed, as well.

The match will be free admission to all fans, with free parking also provided by UK Athletics at the Rupp Arena parking lots surrounding the arena downtown.

Kentucky will be debuting six newcomers to its roster that returns 2022 SEC Player of the Year, Emma Grome in addition to American Volleyball Coaches’ Association All-Americans, Azhani Tealer and Reagan Rutherford.

With the ongoing construction of Memorial Coliseum, the Kentucky Volleyball team will be playing its 2023 home matches at historic Rupp Arena in downtown Lexington. Monday afternoon, the Kentucky Volleyball team announced additional home match details for fans who will be attending matches.


Parking

Fans will be allowed to park at Rupp Arena free of charge with a purchased match ticket. Fans will be asked to show their match ticket upon entry into the parking lots of Rupp Arena for free entrance. Lots will be open three hours prior to first serve and cars are asked to enter through gate two of the High Street Lots for entrance into the lots.



Gates

Gates to Rupp Arena will open one hour to first serve time of the match.



Requested Entrances to Rupp Arena for Volleyball

All fans – High Street and Vine Street

Students – High Street, Main Street, Vine Street

Player Guest – High Street

Ticket Sales – High Street

Will Call & Ticket Resolution – High Street



Tickets

Season tickets for the 2023 home schedule are available for purchase now.



Single match tickets are also available by visiting this link.



The normal men’s basketball/women’s basketball ticket office location at Rupp Arena will also serve as the box office for volleyball matches.



Ticket Prices

• Season Tickets
  • Floor seats: $290 (2 seats) + $500 donation to The Back Row Club
  • Grey Chairbacks: $120
  • Reserved Chairbacks: $95
  • General Admission: $70
• Single-Match Tickets
  • Reserved seats: $10
  • GA Adults: $8
  • GA Youth and Seniors $5
  • Children 5 and under: Free

UK Athletics announced earlier this spring that Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center will serve as the primary home venue for the Kentucky gymnastics, volleyball and women’s basketball teams for the 2023-24 season while Memorial Coliseum undergoes an $82 million renovation.


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