UK fans now have a chance to win dinner with a group of UK legends

With UK’s 77-62 win over Ole Miss on Saturday, the Wildcats ran their home court win streak to 50. Coach John Calipari has never lost in Rupp Arena, and with Vandy and Georgia the last two teams coming into the big house this season, it seems the Cats will run that streak to 52.

A familiar face was seen in Rupp Arena on Tuesday night, one many Wildcat fans loved to hate.

Former coach, TV analyst and NIKE representative George Raveling paid UK a visit after the Cats 25-point blowout win over Tennessee.

I've cast my ballot for the 2011 Kentucky Sportsman of the Year. Any athlete, coach or sports administrator at any level is eligible for the award, if he or she plays for a team in Kentucky, is from Kentucky, or played for a college in Kentucky.

In the words of the great Jack Buck, "I don't believe, what I just saw." Buck, the Hall of Fame baseball announcer, uttered those words as Kirk Gibson rounded the bases in the 1988 World Series, after homering for the Dodgers. More than 24 hours after watching Kentucky knock off Tennessee, 10-7, for the first time in 26 years, those words are still rattling around in my head.

UK’s run of five consecutive bowl games officially comes to an end on Saturday, when the Cats face Tennessee on Senior Day at Commonwealth Stadium. At best, the Cats would finish 5-7. While fans, coaches and players all say the season has been a downer, one Wildcat sees a happy ending to an otherwise disappointing year. UK wide receiver Matt Roark is one of 21 seniors who will play his final game at Commonwealth Stadium this weekend. He’ll be joined on the field in pregame ceremonies by his mom and dad. Having his father there, Roark said, will be one of the great joys in his life.

On Saturday, Morgan Newton will get his first start against UK’s arch-rival, Louisville, in the annual battle for the Governor’s Cup. That Newton is wearing the blue and white, and not Cardinals’ red and white, is a victory for the Cats, in its own right. Newton was one of the premiere quarterbacks coming out of Carmel High School in 2008. One recruiting service had Newton tabbed as a 5-star product, which means the Indianapolis, Ind. native was a “can’t miss” player.

If you’re a fan of UK sports, then this Saturday is wall-to-wall Big Blue coverage on WKYT and CWKYT.

With Rich Brooks’ announcement on Thursday, via Twitter, that he and wife Karen had sold their old Kentucky home and are moving back to the west coast, an era in UK football officially comes to an end, even though Brooks hasn’t coached the Cats since 2009.

Saying it was something new and exciting, UK coach John Calipari said this season fans will see more of the pick and roll , an NBA staple. "It kind of fits us," Calipari said, before addressing coal owners and operators on Friday at the annual Kentucky Coal Association meetings in Lexington.

Kentucky fans love their basketball heroes, but man, do they loathe their villains. UK fans circle the games every year on the schedule: Florida, Tennessee, Indiana, Louisville, North Carolina. Boy, what would a UK-Duke game mean to fans? So you would think a game pitting current UK NBA players against other NBA players from rival teams would make for good theater. We’ll soon find out.

Adam Wing doesn’t need any more distractions. The Rowan Co. quarterback has his Vikings in position to make a deep run into the high school postseason and he wants to make his last football season his best.

The move became an overnight sensation and made John Wall a household name across the college basketball landscape. Today, the “John Wall Dance” has its own Wikipedia page.

John Calipari’s Dominican Republic national team has won its way into the FIBA Americas semifinals. The top two finishers in this Olympic qualifier head to London next year for the 2012 Summer Olympics. Cal’s team, however, was dealt a serious blow, when point guard Edgar Sosa went down on Monday with a broken right leg, in the Dominican’s win over Panama. Sosa suffered the injury near the end of the game when he drove into the lane and delivered a pass.

A 6-foot-3, 336 lb. dancing machine? That’s what Bengals linebacker DeQuin Evans calls Larry Warford. The two were teammates at Kentucky. Evans says Warford, UK’s starting right guard, is the best dancer on the Wildcats’ team. “I can’t really explain it,” Warford said with a laugh. “I guess I was born with it.”

Celtics guard and former Wildcat Rajon Rondo summed it up best: Monday's exhibition game between his team of NBA players and John Calipari's Dominican Republic national team was "breathtaking."

One of the great things about working in the sports media is meeting people – athletes that blow you away with their extraordinary talents or the coaches and administrators who are the movers and shakers in their fields. But you also meet people who work tirelessly behind the scenes, the women and men we sometimes take for granted, who are equally gifted, but don’t seek the limelight or the credit they sometimes deserve. Dick Robinson was one such man.

UK coach John Calipari says Wildcat center Eloy Vargas wants to play in the NBA. At 6-foot-11, Vargas certainly has the size. But does he have the talent? If last season is any indication, Vargas still has a ways to go to reach his goal.

John Calipari announced via Twitter on Wednesday night that the game between current UK NBA players and his Dominican Republic national team will happen at Rupp Arena on Aug. 15.

Say what you will about Mike Hartline. One of the most criticized players in recent UK football history, the guy was more than a “serviceable” quarterback for the Cats during his career in Lexington.

Former UK All-American outfielder Collin Cowgill made his major league debut Tuesday night. Cowgill and his Arizona Diamondbacks won in San Diego, 6-1.

Could John Wall, Eric Bledsoe and DeMarcus Cousins soon be coming to a Rupp Arena near you? If John Calipari and the Dominican Republic national team have anything to do with it... yes.

There is still no word from UK on when Wildcat forward Jon Hood will undergo surgery to repair his torn ACL. The junior from Madisonville suffered the knee injury on Monday during a pick-up game.

The summer of 2011 was supposed to be one during which Samantha Drake proved she belonged at Kentucky. A highly regarded player coming out of Nelson Co., Drake struggled during her freshman season under coach Matthew Mitchell, enduring a knee injury and the proverbial growing pains associated with playing for the first time in the SEC.