National Championship

How did Drake, a rap singer, get a Kentucky national championship ring? He has described himself as a UK¿basketball fan and played at the first Big Blue Madness of the John Calipari era at UK. He's been to games, including NCAA Tournament games. But now he has a championship ring with the inscription “Drizzy” above “Kentucky Wildcats, 38-2.” So why did he get a ring? “Coach Calipari secured rings for friends and family on his own through the manufacturer,” said DeWayne Peevy, executive associate athletics director at Kentucky.

The 1959 Perryville High School football team that played Rockport, Ind., for the eight-man national championship will have a 50-year reunion Thursday. Players from both teams will attend the event at noon in Perryville. Among those planning to attend will be former Perryville coach Tom Mills, who went on to become Kentucky High School Athletic Association commissioner. For more information, contact Dan Engler at dengler@almanacsports.com or 812-305-1338.

LEXINGTON - In July, University of Kentucky cheerleader Dylan Smith fell 44 feet and suffered a dislocated hip, fractured pelvis, and laceration to his spleen, and both his lungs collapsed. In January, he was in Orlando with the UK squad when it won the national championship again. It was a remarkable journey for Smith. He was teaching a gymnastics class in Rhode Island when he lost his balance at the end of a series of moves and landed against a door that had been nailed shut, but suddenly opened into open air. Smith turned a back clip during the fall and somehow managed to land on his feet.

Late last week, a lot of the chatter filling sports talk radio began to turn to college football. Not because the start of the season is about eight weeks away, but because the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) commissioners (and Notre Dame ) endorsed a move to a four-team playoff model for college football set to begin in 2014. Cue applause, cheering and Houston fans thinking they'll get that shot at a national championship. Once all the noise has died down, take a breath, look at the current BCS format, the last 15 years of national championship games, the FCS¿format, who will actually be making the decisions on which teams make it to the “BCS¿Final Four,” and start making rational thoughts.

Anthony Davis continues to add awards to his University of Kentucky resume. He had already won the 2012 Adolph Rupp Award, annually presented to the national player of the year, been named the United States Basketball Writers Association player of the year before adding two more prestigious honors Monday. He was named a first-team All-American by the Associated Press and also named to the John R. Wooden All-American team. “It means a lot, especially for a freshman,” Davis told the AP. “I thought I would just come in here and hit a couple of shots, block a couple of shots, get a couple of dunks.

LEXINGTON - Doron Lamb knows he “worked hard” to make his dream of playing in the NBA become a reality and that's why the sophomore guard is leaving Kentucky with no regrets after the Cats won the national title this season. “It is a dream come true to go the NBA. I have worked hard to get here. I can't wait to go to the next level,” said Lamb Tuesday after announcing he would join UK's other starters and put his name into the June draft. “It would have been hard on us if we had not won the title.

For Doron Lamb, it has been easy not to think about a potential NBA career this season for one reason - he wants to win a national championship. “It would mean a lot to me in my second year in college,” said the Kentucky sophomore guard. “We went to the Final Four my freshman year and my second year I¿am on a great team and that would be a great college career by itself. “That was my main focus this year. Right now we are on a good pace and playing great.We want this to lead to a national championship.” Lamb has averaged 13.2 points per game - up slightly form 12.3 per game last season.

She's a freshman making a historical appearance the NCAA Division III Golf Championship, but Centre College's Emily Bachert - the first Centre women's golfer to make nationals - said she really isn't feeling any pressure. The national championship begins Thursday at the Professional Golf Association (PGA) Village in Port St. Lucie, Fla. She won't be alone. Centre sophomore Chris Morris also earned one of the five at-large bids in the men's field. "I'm just excited to be going, and I'm not sure what to expect," said Bachert, who comes into the tourney as the second-ranked player and top individual chosen by the selection committee.

LEXINGTON - Kentucky freshman Archie Goodwin is not worried about following last year's Wildcat squad that went 38-2 and won the school's eighth national championship. Goodwin, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard from Little Rock, Ark., is ready to defend the title in the absence of six players who left the repeating project up to Goodwin and four newcomers. Goodwin shared his thoughts on the upcoming season during the team's annual media day last week at Memorial Coliseum. Question: Do you think you guys can live up to the expectations that the national champs are going to carry whether the same players are on the court or not wearing the Kentucky jersey?

What do you buy a college kid for his birthday? Target gift cards? Beats headphones? Concert tickets? How about a national championship? That is exactly what Brian Long got as he celebrated his 20th year on the planet back in April. While most college students would celebrate with friends and family, Long got to celebrate in New Orleans with his Kentucky teammates and thousands of Wildcat fans, right after climbing up a ladder to help cut down the nets at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

Even now Mercer County native Vincent Tatum still can't believe the “emotional roller coaster” he was part of that resulted in Louisville winning the national championship. “It was just incredible,” said Tatum, the equipment manager for coach Rick Pitino's Cardinals.  Tatum, 40, knows PItino well. He was a student manager from 1990-93 under Pitino at the University of Kentucky and has just finished his 10th season with him at Louisville. However, he had never since Pitino anywhere near as emotional as what he was in Indianapolis when sophomore guard Kevin Ware broke his leg during the Cardinals' win that got them to the Final Four.

For the first time in the John Calipari era, Kentucky won't be dancing in March, and the Wildcats can't blame anyone but themselves for missing the NCAA Tournament for the second time in five years. Instead of defending its national title, Kentucky will spend the rest of the year competing in the 32-team National Invitational Tournament, along with Southeastern Conference foes Tennessee and Alabama. A year ago, Kentucky was a program that was riding high as the overall No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and won the school's eighth national title with a squad that included a solid mixture of veterans and newcomers.

LEXINGTON - Being back in Rupp Arena Saturday was special for Anthony Davis Sr. - and that was before Kentucky beat No. 11 Florida. “It brings back a lot of memories just to be back in this Kentucky atmosphere rooting for the Cats again.¿It's unbelievable,” said Davis. Last season he seldom missed a game in Rupp Arena when his son, Anthony, was playing for Kentucky and leading the Wildcats to a national championship in a season when he swept most major postseason individual awards.

LEBANON - He knows his daughter, Marion County standout Makayla Epps, is not looking for individual accolades, but Anthony Epps also knows being picked to play in the prestigious McDonald's Al-American Game April 3 at the United Center in Chicago is a huge honor for her. The game will feature the top 24 high school players from around will be see on ESPNU at 7 p.m. EST. “It was a very proud moment for me when she found out she would be playing...

LEXINGTON - Kentucky freshman Archie Goodwin is not worried about following last year's Wildcat squad that went 38-2 and won the school's eighth national championship. Goodwin, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard from Little Rock, Ark., is ready to defend the title in the absence of six players who left the repeating project up to Goodwin and four newcomers. Goodwin shared his thoughts on the upcoming season during the team's annual media day last week at Memorial Coliseum. Question: Do you think you guys can live up to the expectations that the national champs are going to carry whether the same players are on the court or not wearing the Kentucky jersey?

Kentucky freshman Archie Goodwin isn't worried about following last year's Wildcat squad that went 38-2 and won the school's eighth national championship. Goodwin, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard from Little Rock, Ark., is ready to defend the title in the absence of six players who left the repeating project up to Goodwin and four newcomers. Goodwin shared his thoughts on the upcoming season during the team's annual media day last week at Memorial Coliseum. Do you think you guys can live up to the expectations that the national champs are going to carry whether the same players are on the court or not wearing the Kentucky jersey?

LEXINGTON - John Calipari had a long list of potential problems facing his Kentucky Wildcats early in the season - difficult opening games with Maryland and Duke, lack of experienced players, huge expectations coming off a national championship season. Yet it wasn't hard for him to explain Thursday during UK's Media Day what he likes about his freshman-dominated team. “I like what they'll look like in March in my mind. Right now, that's the only thing I can live with,” said Calipari.

What do you buy a college kid for his birthday? Target gift cards? Beats headphones? Concert tickets? How about a national championship? That is exactly what Brian Long got as he celebrated his 20th year on the planet back in April. While most college students would celebrate with friends and family, Long got to celebrate in New Orleans with his Kentucky teammates and thousands of Wildcat fans, right after climbing up a ladder to help cut down the nets at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

How did Drake, a rap singer, get a Kentucky national championship ring? He has described himself as a UK¿basketball fan and played at the first Big Blue Madness of the John Calipari era at UK. He's been to games, including NCAA Tournament games. But now he has a championship ring with the inscription “Drizzy” above “Kentucky Wildcats, 38-2.” So why did he get a ring? “Coach Calipari secured rings for friends and family on his own through the manufacturer,” said DeWayne Peevy, executive associate athletics director at Kentucky.

Late last week, a lot of the chatter filling sports talk radio began to turn to college football. Not because the start of the season is about eight weeks away, but because the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) commissioners (and Notre Dame ) endorsed a move to a four-team playoff model for college football set to begin in 2014. Cue applause, cheering and Houston fans thinking they'll get that shot at a national championship. Once all the noise has died down, take a breath, look at the current BCS format, the last 15 years of national championship games, the FCS¿format, who will actually be making the decisions on which teams make it to the “BCS¿Final Four,” and start making rational thoughts.