Ohio Valley Conference

The Boston Red Sox would win two of the last four World Series titles? The Yankees would trade one Joe Torre for another one in Joe Girardi? The price for Kentucky beating LSU would be a loss to Mississippi State? Kentucky would score just 14 points against the Bulldogs? The New England Patriots would be undefeated? A-Rod would opt out of his contract with the New York Yankees? Boston College would be the second-best college football team in America, just one spot below The Ohio State?

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Former Lincoln County High School standout Cassandra Peek will return to Kentucky to play Thursday when Austin Peay takes on Eastern Kentucky at 5:30 p.m. in Richmond. Peek and Austin Peay (8-5, 2-0 Ohio Valley Conference) lost to Kentucky in Lexington last month. Peek starts at point guard and played a key role in Austin Peay's recent 54-47 win over OVC rival Eastern Illinois. "Peek has a lot of guts. She is what we want our point guard to be. She steps up and makes big shots when it is time for her to do it, and at the same time runs the offense and does a good job with that," Austin Peay coach Andy Blackston told The Leaf-Chronicle of Clarksville after the Eastern Illinois win. Austin Peay will also play at Morehead State at 4:30 p.m. Saturday.

LEXINGTON - Former Lincoln County standout Cassandra Peek will be back close to home playing tonight when Austin Peay takes on Kentucky at Memorial Coliseum here at 7 p.m. Kentucky (6-4) takes a two-game win streak into tonight's game while Austin Peay (5-4) is coming off a 65-60 win over Lipscomb College. Peek, a junior guard, leads the Governors in assists (4.3 per game) and steals (16). She is third in minutes played at 33.6 minutes per game. She is averaging 7.7 points and 3.3 rebounds per game while shooting 40 percent overall from the field as well as 40 percent from 3-point range.

When Kentucky's football team opens its season on September 1, Louisville won't be the school lining up on the opposite sideline. Instead, Eastern Kentucky University, located 20 miles south of Lexington in Richmond, will serve as the Wildcats' opening opponent at Commonwealth Stadium.The two biggest instate rivals won't compete until the third week of the season, but the move could serve as more of an advantage for the Wildcats, who will have two games under their belt before taking on the Cardinals at Commonwealth Stadium.

The Eastern Kentucky Colonels are having too much fun. Coach Danny Hope said he and his players have enjoyed the ride all the way to the school's first Ohio Valley Conference championship and postseason berth in 10 years. And he said that won't change as they prepare for the playoffs. "We're not going to change anything now," Hope said Tuesday in a teleconference. "We have a great time together, and it's a very, very close football team. " "It's probably the closest team I've ever been a part of, and it's just been a special experience.

Kentucky coach John Calipari hopes his team plays better than it practiced Thursday. "It was so bad that we conditioned for an hour, and I haven't done that since my UMass days," Calipari said Friday. "Coach (John) Robic came in and said that was old school because we ran for one hour. " Calipari is anxious to see how his third-ranked team responds heading into today's contest against Austin Peay at Rupp Arena. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. It will be the Wildcats' first outing since a 90-73 win over Indiana in Bloomington a week ago. The Governors are 7-4 on the season and are 2-0 in the Ohio Valley Conference.

RICHMOND - The Eastern Kentucky Colonels know exactly what they're up against. They are up against one of the name brands of college basketball, a program that is almost always among the nation's elite teams. They're up against a team playing right in the middle of its fan base. And they're up against that invisible barrier that no No. 16 seed has ever broken through in a game against one of the NCAA Tournament's top-seeded teams. To see this bracket in .pdf format, click here.

RICHMOND - The pass Patrick Bugg wasn't supposed to catch just might have changed Eastern Kentucky's season. For three years in a row the Colonels have faced an uphill climb after a sluggish September that included a loss to Western Kentucky, but Bugg said their win over Western Saturday night could be an indication that things will be different this season. The senior tight end helped make that win possible with a 47-yard touchdown catch early in the fourth quarter that put Eastern in front to stay.

Perhaps it's only fitting that Cassandra Peek will be playing her final regular-season college basketball game at Eastern Kentucky Saturday. Peek, the starting point guard at Austin Peay, burst on the area girls high school basketball scene a decade ago as a middle school player. She went on to become one of the area's best all-time players and she'll end her college career as one of only three Austin Peay players to have made 100 3-pointers and handed out 300 assists in her career.

Kentucky coach John Calipari hopes his team plays better than it practiced Thursday. "It was so bad that we conditioned for an hour, and I haven't done that since my UMass days," Calipari said Friday. "Coach (John) Robic came in and said that was old school because we ran for one hour. " Calipari is anxious to see how his third-ranked team responds heading into today's contest against Austin Peay at Rupp Arena. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. It will be the Wildcats' first outing since a 90-73 win over Indiana in Bloomington a week ago. The Governors are 7-4 on the season and are 2-0 in the Ohio Valley Conference.

The Eastern Kentucky Colonels are having too much fun. Coach Danny Hope said he and his players have enjoyed the ride all the way to the school's first Ohio Valley Conference championship and postseason berth in 10 years. And he said that won't change as they prepare for the playoffs. "We're not going to change anything now," Hope said Tuesday in a teleconference. "We have a great time together, and it's a very, very close football team. " "It's probably the closest team I've ever been a part of, and it's just been a special experience.

The Boston Red Sox would win two of the last four World Series titles? The Yankees would trade one Joe Torre for another one in Joe Girardi? The price for Kentucky beating LSU would be a loss to Mississippi State? Kentucky would score just 14 points against the Bulldogs? The New England Patriots would be undefeated? A-Rod would opt out of his contract with the New York Yankees? Boston College would be the second-best college football team in America, just one spot below The Ohio State?

NASHVILLE -- In a vote of Ohio Valley Conference head football coaches and sports information directors, Eastern Illinois University was picked as the 2007 preseason favorite in the 10-team league. The Panthers have won or shared the last two OVC Championships and have won four titles since joining the OVC in 1996. Eastern Illinois (150 points) garnered eight first-place votes, although the overall balloting was balanced, as five different teams got at least one first-place nod. Jacksonville State received six first-place votes (139 points)

When Kentucky's football team opens its season on September 1, Louisville won't be the school lining up on the opposite sideline. Instead, Eastern Kentucky University, located 20 miles south of Lexington in Richmond, will serve as the Wildcats' opening opponent at Commonwealth Stadium.The two biggest instate rivals won't compete until the third week of the season, but the move could serve as more of an advantage for the Wildcats, who will have two games under their belt before taking on the Cardinals at Commonwealth Stadium.

RICHMOND - The Eastern Kentucky Colonels know exactly what they're up against. They are up against one of the name brands of college basketball, a program that is almost always among the nation's elite teams. They're up against a team playing right in the middle of its fan base. And they're up against that invisible barrier that no No. 16 seed has ever broken through in a game against one of the NCAA Tournament's top-seeded teams. To see this bracket in .pdf format, click here.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Josh Taylor had never practiced the play. With the clock ticking down and the Colonels trailing by one, the freshman saw the open lane in front of him. He didn't hesitate. Instead of passing to open teammate Adam Leonard, Taylor drove to the basket and converted the layup with 2.9 seconds left, and Eastern Kentucky beat regular-season champion Austin Peay 63-62 Saturday night for the Ohio Valley Conference tournament championship. It was Taylor's only bucket of the night.

RICHMOND - The pass Patrick Bugg wasn't supposed to catch just might have changed Eastern Kentucky's season. For three years in a row the Colonels have faced an uphill climb after a sluggish September that included a loss to Western Kentucky, but Bugg said their win over Western Saturday night could be an indication that things will be different this season. The senior tight end helped make that win possible with a 47-yard touchdown catch early in the fourth quarter that put Eastern in front to stay.

Perhaps it's only fitting that Cassandra Peek will be playing her final regular-season college basketball game at Eastern Kentucky Saturday. Peek, the starting point guard at Austin Peay, burst on the area girls high school basketball scene a decade ago as a middle school player. She went on to become one of the area's best all-time players and she'll end her college career as one of only three Austin Peay players to have made 100 3-pointers and handed out 300 assists in her career.