James makes splash at UK

Posted at 6:08 p.m. EDT - Eric Lindsey, UK Media Relations

The King finally visited Camelot.

College basketball's greatest tradition and basketball's most visible star came together Friday afternoon at Kentucky's campus. LeBron James, the 2009 NBA MVP, flew into Lexington to tour UK's basketball facilities.

King James and Kentucky have long been viewed as two of the most iconic figures and programs in basketball for some time, but Friday was the first time the two had come together. Even though James never attended UK or college for that matter - he was the No. 1 pick in the 2003 NBA Draft - UK head coach John Calipari and James have had a budding friendship recently.

When Calipari heard James was interested in touring UK's basketball facilities on his way to an event in Mississippi, Calipari and his staff set up a mock recruiting visit. If James would have ever considered going to UK, he would have received a treatment similar to the one he got Friday.

Calipari met with UK President Lee Todd and Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart at about 4:15 p.m. before Calipari and his staff took James on a tour of UK's state-of-the-art Joe Craft Center. James received a firsthand expedition of UK's hall of fame on the first floor, its practice facilities in the basement and a look at the hallowed Memorial Coliseum.

James also introduced himself to members of UK's basketball team and briefly watched a pick-up game in the Joe Craft Center. He even shot a few baskets on the side before heading upstairs to view all of the other first-class amenities at the Mecca of college basketball.

The Cleveland Cavaliers' star eventually headed upstairs to the media relations office, much to the pleasant surprise of our media relations staff. We were all talking about the noticeable buzz around the Craft Center when Calipari opened the door, rounded the corner and around James came.

"I'm the new recruit in town," James said.

James could have just walked past us and kept going. Instead, he introduced himself to all of us, shook our hands and then continued on with the rest of the tour. We only had a few seconds to see him, but let me tell you, it was well worth it.

I'm not usually star struck, but this was easily a jaw-dropping experience. It's not every day that you get to meet one of the world's most iconic sports figures.

 

 

FSN will air SEC athletic events

Posted at 2:30 p.m. EDT - Eric Lindsey, UK Media Relations

The Southeastern Conference's lucrative television deal with ESPN and CBS, worth a combined $3 billion during the next 15 years, will give the league unprecedented TV coverage and exposure. But it won't be the only place you can find SEC action this year.

FOX Sports Net announced a new multi-year television rights agreement with ESPN that will expand its longtime partnership with the SEC. FSN's three regional networks - FOX Sports South, Sun Sports and FOX Sports Southwest - will televise at least 91 SEC athletic events this year, in addition to coverage on ESPN's family of networks and CBS.

FSN's coverage will include:

• Seven live, exclusive football games
• 20 men's basketball games
• 24 women's basketball games (16 regular season, eight tournament)
• 16 baseball games (10 regular season, six tournament)
• 24 additional Olympic sporting events (softball, volleyball, soccer, gymnastics)

If you're a UK fas, here's what you need to know: No matter what cable provider you have, you'll get more UK coverage than ever before. Locally, you'll almost never be without a men's basketball or football game, and nationally, you'll see more games than ever before thanks to the new ESPN, CBS deal.

 

Coach's Kitchen Live on Saturday

Posted at 11:34 a.m. EDT - Eric Lindsey, UK Media Relations

Wanted to remind everyone that UK Hoops' head coach Matthew Mitchell and his wife, Jenna, are hosting their own live edition of the popular coach's show segment "The Coach's Kitchen" on Saturday at Lexington's Fayette Mall. The event will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Saturday's event is the second of five events in the "Drive for 5K," a push to get 5,000 new season ticket holders for the 2009-10 season and break the old record of 4,808 set in 2005-06.

Season ticket holders present at "The Coach's Kitchen" event will have the opportunity to win great prizes, including autographed basketballs, women's basketball VIP game experiences and a brand new 37-inch Sony HDTV from Pieratt's. Fans also will have the opportunity to meet members of the team, coaching staff and have a photo taken with Wildcat and Scratch.

Check-in will be available at "The Coach's Kitchen" location inside the mall in front of Dillard's department store from 11 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. Season ticket forms will be available for those who have not yet purchased season tickets.

Season tickets cost just $45 for 17 home games in Memorial Coliseum.

 

Representing Kentucky

Former UK golfer J.B. Holmes was just three shots off the pace as of 11:15 a.m. EDT

Posted at 11:15 a.m. EDT - Eric Lindsey, UK Media Relations

Yesterday was kind of a tease. Today, it's time to get serious.

After an ever-par 70 in the second round, J.B. Holmes appears to be in the British Open for the long haul. The former UK golfer has carded back-to-back brilliant rounds at Turnberry, putting him just three shots back of leader Steve Marino.

Holmes' second round score came in typical, adverse British Open conditions. After a relatively quiet and sunny Thursday at Turnberry, the wind started howling, and at last glance, the rain has started to come down.

That is Open golf, which is why Holmes' steady play so far has put him right in the hunt. A score of 12-under isn't going to win this tournament. It's likely going to be somewhere around the 5-under score Marino has right now. If Holmes can continue to weather the conditions, he's going to be in one of the final groups come Sunday.

As of this post, Holmes was tied for 10th place, and the names above him won't make anyone's knees buckle. If the weather holds up and the course continues to play tough, the field is going to continue to come back to even par. Only five guys ahead of Holmes have posted two-day scores, so the former Cat could be in top six of seven by Friday night.

The one guy everyone always has their eyes on, Tiger Woods, is two shots back of Holmes and five shots back of the lead at even. Woods has just started his second round though and could move up before the day is over.

Holmes has two career PGA victories, both coming at the FBR Open. Holmes' crowning moment came at last year's Ryder Cup victory, but an Open victory would easily be the highlight of his career. His best career finish in a major was at the 2008 Masters when he finished in a tie for 25th. He has never made the cut at the British Open, but that streak will come to an end this week. 

I'll keep an eye on the scoreboard and post a few final details later on today once all the golfers finish up. It looks like there are still a few hours to go before the second round will be completed.  

 

Morning Coffee 

Posted at 9:58 a.m. EDT - Eric Lindsey, UK Media Relations

 

I'm running a little short on time because of a morning conference call, so I'll have to make this quick. We have a bunch of smaller tidbits from Thursday, so instead of one UK highlight, I'll run through a few briefly like I did yesterday.

 

I'm leaving out the national highlight of the day (the British Open) for a certain reason. A former UK golfer, J.B. Holmes, is just a few shots back of the lead, but I'll be back shortly to talk more about that.

 

JARMON IS HEADED TO WASHINGTON: Jeremy Jarmon wanted to head to Washington D.C. at some point in his life to get into either politics, the CIA or the FBI, but for now, he's headed to our nation's capitol to play football for the Redskins.

 

The Redskins selected Jarmon in Thursday's NFL Supplemental Draft, giving up a third-round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft in exchange.

 

Since I went into the selection yesterday in detail, I'll leave it at that. I never did get a hold of Jarmon yesterday, but if he calls back, I'll definitely post something.

 

SIX CATS ALL-SEC: If you missed the release on UK's homepage, six UK football players were tabbed to the preseason All-Southeastern Conference Team, as selected by the league's coaches.

Quarterback Mike Hartline was named to the preseason All-SEC team by the league's coaches.

 

A couple of selections are no-brainers. A couple of others might surprise you.

 

Trevard Lindley was named to the first team, Micah Johnson to the second team, and Jorge Gonzales, Zipp Duncan, Corey Peters and Mike Hartline were all named to the third team.

 

Yes, that Mike Hartline. The same one that many have said will be fighting for his starting job at UK with two highly touted freshmen and Randall Cobb breathing down his neck.

 

Hartline will have to improve his play in 2009 to earn that third-team status, but let's give the credit that he deserves. While he didn't put up Andre Woodson-like numbers last year, let's remember it was his first year as a starter after virtually no previous experience on the college level.

 

The junior-to-be got better as the season progressed and appears to be ready to take the next step. I had a chance to listen to a taped interview of him the other day for SEC Media Days, and let me tell you, the kid sounds like he has matured a great deal. He said he took last year as a learning experience and has come a long way since then. He's more mature, more confident and wants bigger and better things for the Cats this year. You may be surprised right now that he's a third-team quarterback, but don't be shocked if he plays like one.

 

MEEKS GOES OUT WITH A BANG: Jodie Meeks finished the NBA Summer League in grand fashion. After an already successful stint with the Milwaukee Bucks, Meeks went for a game-high 29 points in the final summer game of the season. The former UK guard hit 12-of-23 shots in just under 36 minutes in the Bucks' first loss.

 

Meeks averaged a team-best 19.0 points per game during the Bucks' five-game summer season. He hit 39-of-70 shots from the field (55.7 percent), including 8-of-15 from behind the 3-point line (53.3 percent). Not that I'm going out on a limb or anything, but Meeks is going to be just fine in the NBA.

 

AGOSTINELLI TO MAKE PRO DEBUT: Former UK tennis player Bruno Agostinelli will make his pro debut next week in Lexington at the Fifth Third Bank Tennis Championships.

 

Agostinelli, a standout at UK who made it to the NCAA quarterfinals a couple of months ago, secured a wildcard spot in the main draw. He won the clinching match for Canada in a Davis Cup match last week against Peru.

 

SEC HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: Somebody has given Tim Tebow and the Florida Gators bulletin board material again. Bad choice.

 

Along with Kentucky's six selections, the SEC coaches picked the preseason All-SEC teams Thursday. Tebow was tabbed the first-team quarterback, but somehow, he wasn't a unanimous choice. 

 

Regardless of what you think of Tebow, we're talking about a two-time national championship quarterback. And did I mention he's a former Heisman winner?

 

Ole Miss quarterback Jevan Snead can sling it with the best of them, but whoever left Tebow off their first team made a big mistake (Rich Brooks, I hope it wasn't you).