Number

LEXINGTON - Get out the pen and paper. It's time to put faces with a number. If covering an exhibition basketball game toward the end of football season isn't hard enough for even a veteran sports journalist, keeping track of the newcomers on Kentucky's roster this season provided another task in the Wildcats' 94-54 rout over Lindsey Wilson on Thursday night at Rupp Arena. Oh, forgot to mention the fact that Louisville's football team was playing perhaps its biggest game of the season more than an hour up the road against West Virginia at the Pizza Palace.

The George Rogers Clark Cardinals will conclude spring workouts with its annual spring game at 6 p.m. Friday night at Cardinal Stadium. The contest will feature a controlled format with down and distance included. There will be no kickoffs and the scrimmage must be completed in two hours. Because of a lack of numbers, the scrimmage was canceled last year. This time, the team has had more participants, with an average of more than 40 players per session. Columbia said the purpose of spring drills is to prepare the upperclassmen for next season.

Church volunteers greet visitors entering the lobby. The worship band begins its set and a pastor offers to pray privately with anyone during the service. When the sermon is done, it's time for communion, and the pastor guides attendees through the ritual. Later, worshippers exchange Facebook and e-mail addresses so they can stay in touch. There is nothing remarkable about this encounter, which is replicated countless times each weekend at churches around the world. It's all happening online.

HOOVER, Ala. - The team is low on scholarships and will have to rely on numerous young players, but is coming off probation and is eligible to play in a bowl game for extra motivation. It's almost the same scenario Kentucky had last year. This season it is Alabama coming off NCAA sanctions and counting on incoming freshmen for needed depth as it tries to improve on last year's 4-9 finish under first-year coach Mike Shula. "There could be 10 to 13 freshmen on the field this year, with a couple even starting," said Shula here Thursday during the Southeastern Conference Media Days.

LEXINGTON - When it comes to Chuck Hayes, numbers can be deceiving. The University of Kentucky senior has not shot the ball as well as he would have liked in UK's two biggest games. He was only 2-for-10 from the field in Saturday's win at Louisville and was just 2-for-7 in the loss at North Carolina. However, Kentucky coach Tubby Smith says there is nothing wrong with the way Hayes, who is being touted for All-America honors by UK, is playing. "He's leading us in rebounding and he's second in the league (Southeastern Conference)

LIBERTY - Coaches Andy Stephens and Terry Yeast will each look across the field Friday night and see a team facing the same challenges as his own, which is good enough news for the two of them. Stephens' Casey County Rebels faced a depth disadvantage against East Jessamine in its season opener, but will take on a Harrodsburg team here Friday that is used to facing those problems. Neither team played more than 15 people in its opener, and each coach said having a team similar to his own in substitution patterns will be a positive.

Numbers are a big part of the game for any Division I baseball coach. However, it's not just the numbers on the field that matter. If anything, the off-field numbers might be even more important. A Division I program gets 11.7 scholarships. Considering a team has eight position players, a pitcher and a designated hitter, it forces every coach into being creative with how he allocates his scholarships. Kentucky coach John Cohen reaped the benefits of last year's Southeastern Conference championship by adding 20 new players this year.

LEXINGTON - What is going on with the University of Kentucky football recruiting? How can a team that has won a combined five games the last two years already have verbal commitments from 20 high school players and still be in hot pursuit of several more highly-touted players? Kentucky offensive coordinator Joker Phillips is one of those coaches responsible for persuading so many players to indicate they will sign with the Wildcats in February. Phillips knows all facets of the Kentucky program from his playing days under Jerry Claiborne to coaching for Bill Curry to serving as recruiting coordinator for Rich Brooks before becoming offensive coordinator last season.

Shooting only 21.9 percent from the field, the Colts of West Jessamine had no chance Friday night against rivals East Jessamine Jaguars on their home court. "We didn't play well tonight from the start," West coach Robert Hammonds said of the 42-28 loss to the Jags. "They beat us in every aspect. They outcoached us, outplayed us, outshot us. We're not going to make excuses. We just got beat. " The Colts started the defense-oriented game with a 6-2 lead before East tied it at six and never let West take the lead again.