Louisville

CHICAGO - On the court, Andrew Harrison is an intense competitor - a Michael Kidd-Gilchrist or Deandre Liggins type. Off the court, he's just as intense and not afraid to voice his opinion. Not only did the future Kentucky point guard say that he though the McDonald's All-American Game - he had 10 points on 5-for-5 shooting,  four assists, two rebounds and one steal in 18 minutes in Wednesday's game here - was a more prestigious event than the upcoming Jordan Brand Classic, but he's already tossing verbal barbs at Louisville.  He admitted he had picked Louisville to reach the Final Four, but then told media members, "I hope Michigan wins (the national title)

LEXINGTON - Louisville is back in the Sweet Sixteen. The Cardinals, who lost to Kentucky in the national semifinals last year and the overall No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, punched their ticket to the Midwest Region semifinals with a dominating 82-56 victory over Colorado State Saturday night at Rupp Arena. Unlike their previous appearance in the postseason at Rupp Arena, which resulted in a loss to Texas A&M in 2007, the Cardinals looked the part of a top seed during the two contests, with double-figure wins over North Carolina A&T and Colorado State in front of a crowd that transferred Kentucky's home floor into an obvious homecourt advantage.

Stefan and Allison Fink bred and exhibited the Reserve Champion Hampshire Ram at the North American International Livestock Expo during the National Junior Breeding Sheep Show that took place recently in Louisville. The pair also placed second and fifth with ewes they raised. The Finks are members of the Clark County Youth 4-H/FFA Livestock Club.

The Frazier History Museum in Louisville is featuring historic photos from Clark County as part of a new exhibit running through Jan. 15. “Rough Road: The Kentucky Documentary Photographic Project 1975-1977,” features images from three photographers - ¿Ted Wathen, Bob Hower and Bill Burke - who have traveled to every Kentucky county to create a photographic record of 1975-1977. Wathen will present gallery talks at the museum on selected Saturdays during the run of the exhibit, according to a news release.

Lillie Mae (Snowden) Bartlett, 90, of Louisville, passed away Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013. A Winchester native, she was survived by two daughters. Funeral services will be 1 p.m. Saturday at the Owen Funeral Home, 5317 Dixie Hwy. with burial in Evergreen Cemetery. Visitation will be 4-8 p.m. Friday and after 11 a.m. Saturday. Online condolences can be sent at www.owenfuneralhome.com.

Frances Stockdale Steverson Mixon, 78, widow of Leon Mixon, passed away on Thursday, Dec. 20 at the Masonic Home of Louisville. She was born in Bath County on Feb. 8, 1934 to the late Harry and Rosa Lee Utterback Stockdale. She was a homemaker, a U.S. Army WAC veteran of the Korean War and a member of the Cornerstone Baptist Church in South Carolina. Survivors include her son, Michael Steverson of China; daughter and Son-in-Law, Deborah and Bev Anderson of Clark County; 4 grandchildren, Natalie Steverson and Nicholas Steverson of CO, Leslie Anderson of Frankfort and Kelsey (Justin)

Joker Phillips entertained a record-breaking crowd of alumni and fans with his thoughts on the upcoming season, along with amusing stories from his first year as head coach at Kentucky, at the Jefferson County UK Alumni Luncheon in Louisville on Wednesday. “We want to have a huge presence here in the city of Louisville,” Phillips said. “For us to have a chance to come here and do a luncheon with the Louisville alumni is big for us. We have over 15 players from the city of Louisville and therefore we feel we are making a pretty good presence here.

The Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame (KPFHF) facility board  has been working feverishly to procure commitments from government entities and private investors since the launch of its new promotional video in June. Since the blitz on funding, the board has sacked commitments of more than $1.2 million, said Tommy Cobb, a Nicholasville Tourism Commission member and facility board member. “There's been a lot of positive feedback, and we've approached a lot different governing bodies, and many are still signing and close to committing,” Cobb said.

Alex Bunch has been a frequent runner in Louisville over the past several years, with six seasons of varsity cross country often drawing her to the area and five straight appearances in the state  track and field championships taking her to the University of Louisville track complex. Starting this fall, the standout Lincoln County High School distance runner will become a fixture on the Louisville running circuit, having signed her letter of intent to run for UofL. Decked out in a red UofL t-shirt and Cardinal baseball cap, the LCHS senior realized her lifelong dream of running at the collegiate level by signing her letter of intent during a special ceremony at the school.

LOUISVILLE - Getting soundly beaten by Louisville to open the season has not convinced Kentucky's players and head coach that the Wildcats are as bad as they looked. “We beat ourselves,” said Kentucky senior receiver LaRod King, who had eight catches for 77 yards and one score in Sunday's 32-14 loss, said. “We are much better than this. Saying this is the first game is a bunch of bull in my opinion. First game ... get the jitters. We prepared way too hard and way better than we showed out here today.” Senior center Matt Smith, a Louisville native, was visibly shaken after the loss and admitted he got a bit emotional in the dressing room with teammates.

Thirteen athletes from Jessamine County schools are competing in the Kentucky High School Athletic Associations 2A track-and-field state championships Friday. Below are the competitors and their respective events in the order they are scheduled to compete. The Journal will update results throughout the day. Follow @thejj_sports on Twitter for the latest news. 2:30 p.m. - boys' shot put • Robbie Irgang - West Jessamine High School - 12th place (43 feet, 10.25 inches) 4 p.m. - boys' triple jump • Noah Daniel, East Jessamine High School - 18th (38 feet, 5.5 inches)

Jerry W. Kindoll, 63, of Carrollton, passed away with his family by his side at Baptist East in Louisville on May 12, 2014. He leaves to mourn his passing his loving wife, Donna Osborne Kindoll. Memorial Services will be 7 p.m. Thursday, May 16, 2013 at Ransdell Funeral Home in Bedford, Ky. Visitation will begin at 4 p.m. Cremation was chosen and burial will be done privately in Winchester Cemetery, Winchester at a later date. Online condolences may be made at www.ransdellfuneral.com.

Louisville assistant coaches Tommy Restivo and Sherrone Moore came to Danville Saturday to speak at the Kentucky High School Coaches Association Clinic. Restivo coaches defensive backs and had three players earn All-BIG EAST Conference honors - cornerback Adrian Bushell and safeties Calvin Pryor and Hakeem Smith - last season. Prior to joining the Cardinals, Restivo was the defensive graduate assistant at Florida for Louisville coach Charlie Strong, who was the defensive coordinator.

My mother wasn't the athletic type. As far as I know, she never played sports at Madison Central High School or Kirksville Elementary. Just because she never participated in sports doesn't mean she doesn't like softball or basketball. She does. Although mom didn't pass down any athletic traits to her two children, she did hand down other important values that are essential to success on and off the field. While growing up, mom taught my sister and me the value of honesty, integrity and never giving up. She also provided a valuable support system that remains in place even to this day and shows her love every day. It was Mom who made sure the uniforms were always clean and washed.

Dorothy Mae Fletcher, 79, of 207 Lindsey Court, died peacefully at her residence Thursday morning. She was born in Paris, Ky., to the late Albert and Lucy Wilson Fletcher. She worked as a nursing assistant at Clark County Hospital for many years. She was a member of First Baptist Church where she served in the Missionary society. She is survived by five children, Ramona, Anna E. Mason and Norma Fletcher, all of Winchester, Martha McCaffery of Los Angeles, Calif., and William Christopher (Debbie)

Ella Mae Siler Holtzclaw, 96, of Stanford, died Sunday, April 28, at University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington.   Born Nov. 15, 1916, in Lincoln County, Ella Mae was a daughter of the late William Virgil and Bertha Durham Siler.  She was the widow of William Oscar Holtzclaw whom she married in 1947 and he died in 1966. Ella Mae was a longtime farmer in the Hubble Community and attended the McKendree Methodist Church for over 60 years while remaining a member of the old Maywood Baptist Church.

Jack Graham tossed a three-hit shutout Friday to lead Danville to a 5-0 win over Fern Creek at the Louisville Invitational Tournament at Southern High. Graham struck out eight and walked two on 104 pitches. “Jack pitched an awesome game,” Danville coach Paul Morse said. “He really did a great job throwing multiple pitches for strikes, working ahead and we made all the plays in the field. It was another good, all-around game for us. It took a while  to get our bats going.” It was scoreless until Danville plated five runs in the sixth, highlighted by J.B. Williams' two-run single.

When Kentucky defensive line coach Jimmy Brumbaugh visited John Hardin junior standout Matt Elam this week, he left no doubt about how he could help the Wildcats. “He talked about how he wanted me and I could help head the defense. He watched me practice, said he was amazed and that Kentucky needed me,” said Elam. Kentucky offensive coordinator Neal Brown, a Bardstown native, also made the trip to Elizabethtown with Brumbaugh to see Elam before heading out to another recruiting visit.

Mark Dec. 28 as the day where anyone who is a college basketball fan will be paying attention to the Bluegrass. Sources have confirmed that's the date for the Kentucky-Louisville game in Rupp Arena. Kentucky won the national championship in 2012 and Louisville won this year. With the return of veteran guard Russ Smith and a talented recruiting class, Louisville should go into the season as a top five team. With the return of Alex Poythress, Willie-Cauley Stein and Kyle Wiltjer to go with six McDonald's All-Americans and two-in state recruits, Kentucky seems set to go into the season ranked No. 1 despite playing in the NIT and losing to Robert Morris to end last season.

Kentucky proved it's a state big enough to accommodate two national champions. A year ago, the state was beaming after the Wildcats defeated Kansas to win the school's eighth national championship in New Orleans. It was a moment the program had been yearning for since the Wildcats defeated Utah to capture their last national title in 1998. Kentucky endured two coaching changes during the 14-year hiatus between the two titles and watched as teams such as Southeastern Conference rival Florida, led by former Kentucky assistant coach Billy Donovan, captured back-to-back National championships from 2006-07.