Mark Maloney on Kentucky sports

South Atlantic League baseball

Coming up

Lexington Legends
vs. Kannapolis Intimidators

What: Four-game series

When: Monday through Thursday (7:05 each night)

Where: Fieldcrest Cannon Stadium (Kannapolis, N.C.)

Probable pitchers (Legends listed first): Monday, RH Kyle Greenwalt (7-11, 3.90) vs. RH Nevin Griffith (2-4, 4.24); Tuesday, RH Jordan Lyles (6-10, 3.27) vs. LH Joey Serafin (1-1, 2.70); Wednesday, LH Brad Dydalewicz (7-5, 3.91) vs. RH Stephen Sauer (6-5, 3.27); Thursday, RH Robert Bono (8-8, 3.39) vs. LH Charlie Leesman (12-4, 2.97).

Jared Mitchell

Intimidator to watch: CF Jared Mitchell (6-foot, 195 pounds, from New Iberia, La.) was a first-round draft pick (23rd overall) of the Chicago White Sox in the June draft. In 24 games with the Intimidators (through Saturday), he is 24-for-78 (.308), with nine doubles, two triples, six RBI, eight runs scored, four stolen bases and a .443 on-base percentage. Mitchell hit .327, with 11 homers, 50 RBI, 64 runs and 35 stolen bases this year to help LSU win its sixth NCAA title. He was named Most Outstanding Player of the College World Series. Mitchell led the Tigers in steals, walks and on-base percentage. Baseball America tabbed him as Best Athlete and Fastest Runner among draft-eligible collegiate players. Mitchell also played on LSU’s national championship football team (2007). Over three seasons at wide receiver, he caught 24 passes for 274 yards.

Patrick Urckfitz

Legend to watch: LHP Patrick Urckfitz (6-3, 190 pounds, from Rochester, N.Y.) has developed into a dominant closer. Over 48 1/3 innings and 41 games, he is 4-0, with 13 saves and a 2.61 ERA. He has struck out 40 and walked 13. At the all-star break, he was 3-0, seven saves, 3.00 ERA. Since then, he is 1-0, six save, 1.96 ERA. Signed with the Houston Astros as non-drafted free agent out of Monroe (N.Y.) Community College on June 29, 2008. Worked 15 games in relief for Greeneville last year, going 1-0 with one save and a 1.40 ERA. Had 23 strikeouts and nine walks over 19 1/3 innings.   

Radio: WLXG AM-1300

The Lexington Legends, coming off Thursday’s doubleheader sweep of Bowling Green, are back at home tonight (Friday).

The Greenville Drive come into Fireworks Night at Applebee’s Park on a five-game winning streak.

Tonight’s starting lineups:

GREENVILLE – 15, David Mailman, lf; 18, Tim Federowicz, dh; 25, Anthony Rizzo, 1b; 33, Ryan Lavarnway, c; 17, Mitch Dening, cf; 11, Will Middlebrooks, 3b; 22, Ryan Dent, ss; 7, Zach Gentile, 2b; 21, David Marks, rf. Pitching — 14, RH Stephen Fife (0-0, 0.00).

LEXINGTON — 4, Michael Diaz, dh; 7, Eric Suttle, rf; 24, Steve Brown, lf; 45, Brian Pellegrini, 1b; 13, Ebert Rosario, 3b; 46, Federico Hernandez, c; 15, Brandon Barnes, cf; 11, Ronnie Ramirez, 2b; 40, Jorge De Leon, ss. Pitching — 20, RH Jordan Lyles (2-5, 3.31).

UMPIRES — Jay Pierce, plate; Matt Cumbee, field.

Charley Taylor is in the house

Charley Taylor

Charley Taylor, pitching coach for each of the Legends nine seasons, made his first appearance of the season Friday.

Travis Driskill

Travis Driskill has filled in admirably in Taylor’s absence, which came as a result of a cancerous bladder. Taylor had his bladder and prostate removed in April.

At the time of his surgery, Taylor said he hoped to be back on the job, perhaps as soon as mid-June. That timeline now looks unlikely, Taylor said. Although he looks good and has regained his appetite, he still has a way to go before he’ll be strong enough to rejoin the team.

In a class move, Driskill pulled the pitchers aside from pre-game drills so that Taylor could speak briefly with them. Having missed spring training, Taylor was meeting many of the players for the first time.

“K”iller P’s

Pitchers Jordan Lyles of the Legends and Stephen Fife of the Drive have dominated through two scoreless innings.

After giving up back-to-back singles to open the game, Lyles has retired six in a row, including four straight strikeouts.

Fife has tossed two perfect innings, striking out four (two in each inning) and getting a pair of groundouts.

Wounded warriors

Tom Lawless

Jay Austin

Five Legends are on the disabled list. Two are close to being ready to return to action, two are out long-term and the other is awaiting results of a doctor’s re-check.

CF Jay Austin, who suffered a concussion a week ago when he collided with SS Jorge De Leon, should be back in two or three days, according to Manager Tom Lawless.

Jose Trinidad

Phil Disher

RHP Jose Trinidad (strained shoulder) has resumed throwing and is “close” to being ready, Lawless said.

1B Phil Disher (hip, labrum) will have surgery in Houston and will be on the shelf for an extended time.

Ricardo Bonfante

Albert Cartwright

SS Ricardo Bonfante (dislocated left shoulder) will be heading to the Astros’ training facility in Florida to begin rehabiltation. However, Lawless said Bonfante likely is done for the season.

2B Albert Cartwright (broken forearm) was to be examined Friday, but Lawless had not received a report before game time.

Middlebrooks goes deep for Greenville; Fife still perfect

Will Middlebrooks led off the top of the fifth inning with his first homer of the season, to near-dead center.

That not only snapped a scoreless tie, but it was the first hit for either team since David Mailman and Tim Federowicz led off the game with back-to-back singles.

Legends RHP Jordan Lyles retired the next 12 batters in order. After Middlebrooks’ homer, he set the next three batters down in order. Through five innings, Lyles has 10 strikeouts — two in each inning.

His counterpart, RH Stephen Fife, has been even better, tossing five perfect innings. He has struck out seven, including all three batters in the fifth inning. He also has retired four on grounders and eight on fly balls.

Legends tie with run in seventh

The Legends finally got untracked with a hit in the sixth inning and a run in the seventh.

Greenville starter Stephen Fife, who is coming back from shoulder soreness detected during spring training, was lifted after five perfect innings. He struck out seven.

Facing another right-hander, Mike Lee, Ronnie Ramirez broke up the perfect game with a one-out single in the sixth.

Steve Brown

Brian Pellegrini

The Legends went one better in the seventh.

Steve Brown was credited with a one-out triple when he lined to left and left-fielder David Mailman had trouble making the pickup. Brian Pellegrini brought Brown in with the tying run, blooping a single to center.

That takes Legends starter Jordan Lyles off the hook. He gave up a run on three hits over six innings, striking out 11 and walking nobody.

Henry Villar is working for a second inning of relief in the eighth.

Tied 1-1 in ninth inning

Villar retires Greenville in order in the eighth. In the bottom of the inning, the Legends notch their fourth hit — Jorge De Leon’s two-out infield single — but get nothing. So we go to the ninth, tied at 1.

Legends try to win it in ninth

Tim Federowicz started the Greenville ninth with a drive to the left-field wall. Steve Brown played the carom perfectly to hold him to a long single.

Henry Villar struck out the next two batters. Manager Tom Lawless then summoned his left-handed closer, Patrick Urckfitz. He got Mitch Dening on a fly to Brown in left.

Villar finished with 2 2/3 innings of one-hit shutout relief. He walked one and struck out four.

Winning run stranded at third in bottom of ninth 

Eric Suttle led off the bottom of the ninth with a bloop double down the right-field line.

Drive right-hander Mike Lee got a comebacker from Steve Brown, looked Suttle back to second and threw to first for the first out. Suttle tagged up and went to third on Brian Pellegrini’s fly to deep right.

Lee escaped by getting Ebert Rosario to ground out to shortstop.

Martinez delivers winning hit in 10th

Patrick Urckfitz retired Greenville 1-2-3 in the 10th.

Ronnie Ramirez

After knocking the ball out of the park, but just a bit foul down the right-field line, Federico Hernandez led off the bottomo the 10th with a single to short center. Brandon Barnes bunted Hernandez to second.

Manager Tom Lawless put speedy Marques Williams in to run for Hernandez.

Ronnie Ramirez singled to center. With Lawless waving him in all the way, Williams slid in just ahead of the throw from center fielder Mitch Dening, which was slightly up the third-base line. The final: Lexington 2, Greenville 1.

Former Villanova standout Bobby Curtis, who dominated Kentucky high school track during his days at St. Xavier, is keeping busy at a variety of distances this season.

Bobby Curtis

Thursday, at Minneapolis, Curtis placed third in the inaugural USA 1-Mile Road Championships.

Curtis, now based out of Ardmore, Pa., and Darren Brown hung with Jon Rankin as they broke from the pack at 1,200 meters, according to reports from USA Track & Field.

Also lurking, though, was David Torrence, who overtook Rankin to run the first sub-four road mile ever in Minnesota and earn a bonus of $10,000. First-place prize money, before the bonus, was $4,000.

Torrence, from Oakland, Calif., was timed in 3:59.3. Rankin took second in 4:01.7, followed by Curtis in 4:02.0. Brown was fourth in 4:08.0. John Richardson, the former Southeastern Conference champion for Kentucky, placed seventh in 4:10.1. 

Shannon Rowbury, the Olympic Trials 1,500-meter champion, took the women’s mile in 4:33.4. Sara Hall was runner-up in 4:39.1, followed by Sara Vaughn in 4:41.3.

Just about two weeks before heading to Minnesota, on April 24, Curtis turned in a sensational 5,000-meter victory in the Brutus Hamilton Invitational at Berkeley, Calif.

Curtis, sponsored by Reebok, clocked 13:29.12. Ben St. Lawrence (New Balance) edged Jorge Torres (Reebok) for second, 13:30.18 to 13:30.65, followed closesly by Scott Baughs (adidas) in 13:30.85. Further back in the international field was former Lexington Catholic and University of Kentucky standout Thomas Morgan (ZAP Fitness), 18th in 14:31.16.

Morgan’s ZAP teammate, former UK runner Allison Grace, took seventh in the women’s 5K (16:12.50).

Spanning the globe

Reese Hoffa

Danielle Carruthers

Louisville native Reese Hoffa was among several American winners Friday in the Qatar Athletic Super Grand Prix at Doha, Qatar.

Hoffa, the 2007 World Outdoor champion and a two-time Olympian, took the men’s shot put with the longest toss in the world this season, 71 feet. Poland’s Tomasz Majewski, gold-medalist at the Beijing Olympics, took second (69-7 1/2). Two-time Olympic silver-medalist Adam Nelson of the U.S. placed sixth (64-10).

Dannielle Carruthers, a former Indiana University standout and Kentucky high school champion out of Paducah Tilghman, placed third in the women’s 100-meter hurdles (12.73).

As for the other American winners:

* Brittney Reese, the NCAA and Olympic Trials champion out of Ole Miss, also won with a world-leading season-best — 22 feet, 11 1/4 inches in the women’s long jump. That also tops her all-time personal best of 22-9 3/4.

Allyson Felix

* Allyson Felix, a two-time World Outdoor champion and two-time Olympic silver-medal winner at 200 meters, doubled the distance to win the 400 at Qatar. Her time of 50.75 is fastest in the world this season.

* Travis Padgett, the NCAA 100-meter runner-up last year, took the Qatar century in 10-flat. That ties Olympic teammate Walter Dix for the fastest time in the world this season. Dix clocked 10.00 on April 11.

* Olympic bronze-medalist David Oliver repeated as the Doha champion in the 110-meter hurdles, although not as quick as last year (12.95). Still, his time of 13.09 is best in the world this year, topping his previous mark of 13.19.

For more details and results, see www.iaaf.org.

Kentucky pitchers struck out 17 and starter Chris Rusin (14 K’s) took a no-hitter into the sixth inning Saturday.

Yet, Tennessee’s pulled out the 8-2 victory at Cliff Hagan Stadium.

“We struck out, but we did have some good swings in between those,” said Todd Raleigh, coach of the Volunteers. “We hit three homers and almost four … but that kid (Rusin) pitched a heck of a game.”

Kentrail Davis broke up the no-hitter and shutout with a two-run homer that gave Tennessee a 2-1 lead. Tyler Horne led off the seventh with a homer and Cody Brown added a three-run shot in the eighth.

The outcome evens the three-game series at a game apiece. Both sides see Sunday’s finale as a must-win situation. UK (23-23, 9-14 SEC) began the day ninth in the SEC overall standings, the Vols (21-26, 7-16) 11th. Only eight teams will qualify for the SEC Tournament, May 20-24 at Hoover, Ala.

Gary Henderson

“Absolutely,” UK Coach Gary Henderson said of the “must-win” assessment. “We’ve got to win a series, we’re at home and then you’ve got to win another series next weekend. So absolutely.”

Todd Raleigh

“It is,” Raleigh agreed. “It has to be. We figured we had to win two this weekend, we’ve got to win two against South Carolina and two against Vandy to have a chance. So it’s a must win.”

Rusin, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound senior, said that he struggled with his command early. He issued a pair of first-inning walks, the first first-inning walks he’s surrendered all season. But he also baffled the Vols, striking out 10 over five no-hit innings.

“Really a shame to waste Chris Rusin’s effort,” Henderson said.

UK didn’t do much against Tennessee righty Ty’Relle Harris.

Marcus Nidiffer, who singled, scored on Chris McClendon’s second-inning double for a 1-0 lead.

Bryan Morgado

In the fifth, McClendon lined an infield single off of Harris’ throwing hand. Harris retired the next two batters, then turned things over to lefty Bryan Morgado. (Raleigh said later that Harris “is fine.”)

“I was expecting to go in in the sixth, not in the fifth, so I didn’t have very many (warm-up) pitches to go in there,” Morgado said. “But I knew I had to battle my way through and find a way to keep my team in the game.”

He did, going the last 4 1/3 innings while holding UK to a run, two hits and four walks. Morgado (3-1) struck out five.

Rusin’s sixth-inning trouble began with the fourth of his five walks in the game, this one to leadoff batter Zach Osborne. P.J. Polk bunted Osborne to second.

Kentrail Davis

Davis jumped on an 0-1 pitch, drilling the ball deep into the parking lot beyond right field.

“We didn’t panic at all,” Davis said. “We got some good pitches to hit. He had our number for a minute there. We just settled down, not try to do too much and we started getting some hits.”

As for the big first hit, Davis said, “There was a man on second, so I knew he wasn’t going to give me anything special to hit. He threw me a good breaking ball and I just kept my hands back and I hit it.”

After Horne’s homer made it 3-1, UK got a run in the seventh without benefit of a hit.

A hit batsman, walk and sacrifice put runners on second and third. A Morgado wild pitch scored Nidiffer. Two more walks, sandwiched around a strikeout, loaded the bases, but the inning ended when Andy Burns lined out to right field.

“When somebody gives you that opportunity, if you’re going to win the ball game, you’ve got to take advantage of it,” Henderson said. “Somebody’s got to step up and get a base hit and put a crooked number up there, and get us back in the ball game.”

Instead, the momentum swung back to Tennessee, which struck for four runs in the eighth. The big blow was Brown’s three-run homer, which came on the first pitch offered by UK reliever Braden Kapteyn.

Rusin was charged with six runs, five hits and five walks over 7 1/3 innings. He threw 124 pitches, 75 for strikes.

Chris Rusin

“We didn’t get the win so (14 strikeouts) doesn’t feel too good,” Rusin said. “I made a couple mistakes and it cost me three runs.”

Which leaves the Cats with a must win in order to take the series.

“I think we’ll be good,” Rusin said. “We’ve just got to come out aggressive and we’ll win the series.”

Would one ever think of being on a team that struck out 17 times and somehow pulled out a win?

“Never. Never,” Davis said. “I don’t think anybody, any coach, any player would have. But we stayed focused and got it done.”

How to improve on the Boston Marathon?

With a fast warmup act the day before the race.

The Boston Marathon, held each Patriots Day, will celebrate its 113th running Monday.

Sunday, though, the Boston Athletic Association pulled off the inaugural running of the B.A.A. Invitational Mile and the B.A.A. 5K.

Texas graduate Darren Brown won the men’s mile in 4 minutes, 11.6 seconds over a three-lap course, breaking the tape at the Marathon finish line. Next came 2008 Olympian Ian Dobson in 4:12.1.

Brown is half of the first American father-son combination to break the four-minute-mile barrier. His father, Florida all-American Barry Brown, committed suicide in 1992.

Sunday, Darren Brown took the lead with about 250 meters left. After Brown and Dobson came Alistair Cragg, the former Arkansas all-American by way of Ireland, in 4:12.7.

John Richardson, a two-time Southeastern Conference champion out of Kentucky, placed ninth in 4:16.6.

Beijing Olympians Anna Willard and Shalane Flanagan finished 1-2 in the women’s mile.

Willard, a steeplechaser, overtook Flanagan with about 200 meters left and won in 4:38.6. Flanagan, the Olympic bronze-medalist at 10,000 meters, clocked 4:40.2.

Jarrod Shoemaker and Maria Varela prevailed in the 5K over nearly 4,000 runners from 36 countries.

Shoemaker, an Olympic triathlete, won the men’s portion in 14:29.

Varela took the women’s title in 17:37.

Boston Marathon past winners who took part included Amby Burfoot, Greg Meyer, Neil Cusack, Joan Samuelson, Ingrid Kristiansen and Lorraine Moller, along with women’s running pioneer Katherine Switzer.

Men’s Invitational Mile

The Cats get something going in the bottom of the ninth. Keenan Wiley leads off by lining a single over shorstop Bobby Haney, and Spencer Korus follows with a walk. A four-pitch walk to Chad Wright loads the bases with none out.

Chris Bisson strikes out swinging. Chris Wade’s fly to left scores Wiley, with Korus and Wright staying put. Chris McClendon bounces out as Blake Cooper completes an eight-hit distance performance. Final score: South Carolina 4, Kentucky 2.

Cats trail by 3 going to bottom of 9th

Jackie Bradley Jr. starts the South Carolina ninth with a double down the right-field line. He takes second on Whit Merrifield’s sacrifice bunt. Nick Ebert draws a walk, putting runners on the corners with one out, and knocking Clint Tilford from the game. Left-hander Logan Darnell gets the call from the Kentucky bullpen.

Darnell promptly strikes out DeAngelo Mack. Right-hander Braden Kapteyn, already in the game as DH, gets the call for face Andrew Crisp. Kapteyn does the job with a called third strike.

With Carolina’s Blake Cooper trying to finish a complete game, going to the bottom of the ninth: South Carolina 4, Kentucky 1.

Going to the 9th: Carolina 4, Kentucky 1

In the top of the eighth, South Carolina strands a runner, Scott Wingo, who was hit by a pitch.

Kentucky gets a Chris McClendon walk and Gunner Glad single in the bottom of the seventh, but both are stranded. Going to the ninth inning: South Carolina 4, Kentucky 1.

Gamecocks lead Wildcats 4-1 through 7th

In the top of the seventh, one-out singles by Bobby Haney and Jackie Bradley Jr., drive UK’s Tyler Henry from the mound. Right-hander Clint Tilford gets the call from the ‘pen.

Whit Merrifield welcomed Tilford with a run-scoring double down the right-field line, with Bradley stopping at third. With the infield drawn in, Nick Ebert lined a two-run single past a diving UK third baseman Chris McClendon.

Whit Merrifield

Tilford got the next three batters. But South Carolina leads 4-1.

In the bottom of the seventh, UK got two-out singles by Spencer Korus and Chad Wright. They were stranded when Chris Bisson was retired on a close play at first.

At the end of seven innings: South Carolina 4, Kentucky 1.

Cats, Gamecocks tied 1-1 through 6th

UK strands a runner in a scoreless sixth inning. Going to the seventh: UK 1, South Carolina 1.

Gamecocks tie with run in sixth

So much for settling down.

DeAngelo Mack

UK’s Alex Meyer opened the sixth inning by issuing his sixth walk of the game, and his third to Nick Ebert. Meyer’s third wild pitch of the game moved Ebert to second. And DeAngelo Mack drove in the tying run with a single up the middle.

That ended Meyer’s day as Coach Gary Henderson called to the bullpen for righty Tyler Henry.

Henry set down the next three batters in order.

Midway through the sixth: Kentucky 1, South Carolina 1.

Cats take 1-0 lead in fifth

Braden Kapteyn

After struggling through two innings, UK right-hander Alex Meyer has settled down.

In the fifth, recorded his first 1-2-3 inning of the game, getting a pair of groundouts and his fourth strikeout of the day.

Braden Kapteyn led off UK’s half of the fifth with a double to left-center. A sacrifice bunt by Keenan Wiley moved Kapteyn to third base. Spencer Korus brought him home with the game’s first run, sending a double over the head of center fielder Whit Merrifield.

Korus made it to third on Chad Wright’s bunt, but was stranded when Chris Bisson grounded out.

Spencer Korus

After five innings: Kentucky 1, South Carolina 0.

Nothing doing in the fourth inning

Carolina wasted a two-out single by Kyle Enders. Through four innings, the Gamecocks have left at least one runner on base in every inning, five total.

Kentucky went down 1-2-3 in the fourth.

Through four, both teams have no runs on two hits.

Still no score through three innings

Carolina wasted a two-out walk in the third inning.

The Gamecocks made a defensive switch, subbing Kyle Enders for Justin Dalles behind the plate. Dalles appeared to suffer an injury in the first inning, by a ball that deflected off of UK batter Chris McClendon.

The Wildcats wasted a two-out infield single by Chris Bisson.

Through three innings: no score.

Scoreless through two innings

UK starter Alex Meyer did his best Houdini impression in the second.

South Carolina’s Andrew Crisp led off with a single and Jeffrey Jones walked. A wild pitch advanced both runners, and Justin Dalles walked to load the bases with none out.

But Meyer struck out Scott Wingo, picked off Jones at second and got Bobby Haney on a dribbler to the mound, escaping unscathed.

Carolina’s Blake Cooper retired the Cats in order.

At the end of two innings: no score.

No score through first

Both teams turned double plays in a scoreless first inning.

Two walks and a two-base throwing error gave South Carolina runners on the corners with one out. But DeAngelo Mack flied to Chad Wright in short left, and Wright threw out Jackie Bradley Jr., at the plate to end the top of the first.

Kentucky got a leadoff infield single by Chris Bisson, but Chris Wade grounded into a 6-4-3 double play.

Going to the second inning: no score.

Live from Cliff Hagan Stadium at the University of Kentucky: South Carolina vs. Kentucky

After splitting a wild Saturday doubleheader, this Southeastern Conference series winds up Sunday. South Carolina won Saturday’s opener 20-19. Kentucky took the nightcap 5-4.

Sunday’s game-time conditions: 38 degrees, a 24 mph wind blowing from right field to left, with light rain.

The lineups:

South Carolina – Jackie Bradley Jr., rf; Whit Merrifield, cf; Nick Ebert, 1b; DeAngelo Mack, lf; Andrew Crisp, 3b; Jeffrey Jones, dh; Justin Dalles, c; Scott Wingo, 2b; Bobby Haney, ss. Pitching: RH Blake Cooper (3-2, 4.74).

Kentucky – Chris Bisson, 2b; Chris Wade, ss; Chris McClendon, 3b; Marcus Nidiffer, c; Gunner Glad, 1b; Braden Kapteyn, dh; Keenan Wiley, cf; Spencer Korus, rf; Chad Wright, lf. Pitching: RH Alex Meyer (1-1, 4.81).

Spanning the commonwealth and beyond …

The Mason-Dixon Athletic Club will host its 49th annual Mason-Dixon Games, Friday and Saturday, in Broadbent Arena at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville.

Approximately 3,000 Kentucky middle school and high school athletes will compete, plus about 70 Masters and Open athletes.

Friday’s schedule begins at 4:30 p.m. with Masters and Open events. Middle school events begin at 5:15 p.m.

Saturday’s high school schedule begins at 8 a.m. for Class A, 1 p.m. for 2A and 5 p.m. for 3A. The meet is designated by the Kentucky Track and Cross Country Coaches Association as the indoor state championships.

Admission is $5 each day. Officials will again be collected canned goods and non-perishable items, to be donated to the Dare to Care Food Bank.

In conjunction with the Games, the Mason-Dixon Games Hall of Fame induction banquet will be tonight (Thursday) at Wildwood Country Club in Fern Creek.

Inductees include athletes Bobby Brown (long jump), Susie Brutscher (pole vault pioneer), 1976 Olympian Tommy Haynes (triple jump, long jump) and 1968 Olympic gold-medalist (200 meters) Tommie Smith (440 yards), along with officials Ron Althoff, David L. Armstrong, Donnie Ray and Jack Thompson, plus “significant supporter” of the Games David A. Jones.

Al Michaels returns to Olympic broadcasting

Dick Ebersol, chairman of NBC Universal Sports and Olympics, announced Thursday that Emmy Award-winning broadcaster Al Michaels will serve as host of NBC’s live weekend and weekday daytime coverage of next year’s Vancouver Winter Olympic Games.

Michaels last broadcast a Winter Olympics in 1988, also in Canada — Calgary, Alberta.

In 1980, Michaels made the call on what, according to a variety of polls, Americans consider the nation’s top sports moment of the 20th century, The Miracle on Ice hockey victory over the Soviet Union.

“Do you believe in miracles? YES!” was his most memorable line as the game neared the finish at the Lake Placid Winter Olympics.

Michaels will host more than 50 hours of live coverage. Although this will mark Michaels’ debut as an Olympic host, he is no stranger to the Games. Vancouver will mark his sixth Olympic assignment.

He covered hockey, biathlon, speed skating, ski jumping and cross-country skiing at the 1972 Sapporo Olympics; hockey at the 1980 Lake Placid Games; figure skating and hockey at the 1984 Sarajevo Games; track and field, plus road cycling, at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games and hockey at the 1988 Calgary Games.

Michaels is the only broadcaster to call a Super Bowl, World Series, NBA Finals and host a Stanley Cup Final for network television.

12 semifinalists for Sullivan Award are named

The 12 semifinalists for the 79th annual James E. Sullivan Award include three gymnasts and three swimmers.

Nastia Liukin

The Sullivan Award, named in honor of the AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) founder and past president, is presented annually to the outstanding amateur athlete in the United States. In addition to athletic accomplishsments, the Sullivan Award considers the qualities of leadership, character, sportsmanship and the ideals of amateurism.

Gymnasts on the semifinals list are Beijing Olympics all-around champion Nastia Liukin, Olympic balance beam gold-medalist Shawn Johnson and Olympic silver-medalist on the horizontal bar, Jonathan Horton.

Swimming semifinalists are the Olympic men’s 4-by-100-meter freestyle relay champions, Paralympian champion Erin Popovich (four gold medals, two silver) and 41-year-old Olympian Dara Torres (three silver medals).

Also on the list are: Cynthia Barboza, Stanford University, volleyball; Amanda Blumenherst, Duke University, golf; Sam Bradford, University of Oklahoma, football; Tyler Hansbrough, University of North Carolina, basketball; the Lopez family (Olympic medalists Diana, Mark and Steven), taekwondo, and Gerald “Buster” Posey, Florida State University, baseball.

Fan can vote online at www.usatoday.com. The winner will be announced April 15 at the New York Athletic Club.

Trammel is USATF Athlete of Week

Two-time Olympic and World Outdoor silver-medalist Terrence Trammell, winner of the men’s 60-meter hurdles and the Visa Championship Series at last weekend’s USA Indoor Track & Field Championships, is USA Track & Field Athlete of the Week.

Trammell led all the way at Boston, clocking 7.37 seconds to break Reggie Torian’s 10-year-old meet record of 7.38. Trammell just missed the American record (7.36) but did get the fastest time in the world this season.

Among others, Trammell beat Oklahoma State freshman German Fernandez for weekly honors. Running in the Big 12 Indoor Championships at College Station, Texas, Fernandez won the mile in a collegiate-record 3:55.02. Three hours later, Fernandez won the 3,000 meters in the second-best time in meet history, 7:57.21.

UK baseball opens 3-game set vs. Indiana State

James Paxton

Chris Rusin

The Cats (6-2) and Sycamores (9-2) will meet Friday at 4 p.m., Saturday at 1 p.m., and Sunday at 1 p.m.

 

Cats add two games to schedule

Pre-game clinic Saturday

Briefly: James Johnson, Bobby Curtis

James Johnson, right, with Helena Hau and myself in Beijing.

James Johnson,

a three-time national champion Greco-Roman wrestler out of the University of Kentucky, has been on tour since Feb. 23 as coach of U.S. Greco-Roman athletes competing in the Hungary Grand Prix and in Slovakia. The tour ends Sunday.

From the Beijing Olympics at Wukesong Basketball Gymnasium, quarterfinal play  …

The United States advanced to Friday’s semifinals by whipping Australia 116-85.

The U.S. will meet the winner of the Argentina-Greece contest, which is now in progress.

Kobe Bryant led five Americans who scored in double figures. He hit four of seven three-point attempts en route to 25 points. Lebron James added 16 points, nine rebounds and four steals, while Carmelo Anthony had 15 points.

Deron Williams and Chris Bosh scored 10 each.

Former University of Kentucky standout Tayshaun Prince had nine points, a rebound and a steal in 13:21 of action. He hit two of three three-point attempts, his only two-point try (a dunk) and one of two free throws.

The U.S. shot 57percent from the field and finished with a 57-28 advantage in rebounds.

Patrick Mills paced Australia with 20 points. Glen Saville added 13, Joe Ingles 11 and Brad Newley 10.

* The 14-0 run to start the second half blew the game open and the United States leads 89-61 heading into the fourth quarter.

Kobe Bryant had nine of those 14 points. Carmelo Anthony added a three-pointer and Jason Kidd had two points.

Tayshaun Prince entered the game with 3:27 left, adding a three-pointer and a thunderous dunk.

*A 14-0 run to open the third quarter has pushed Team USA’s lead to 69-43.

* The U.S. has opened a 55-43 halftime lead.

Rebounding has been big — the Americans have a 31-14 advantage. That has helped make up for poor free-throw shooting (10-for-20) and three-point shooting (3-for-13)

LeBron James has seven rebounds and Dwyane Wade has six.

James and Carmelo Anthony have 12 points each to lead the U.S. Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard have eight apiece.

Former University of Kentucky standout Tayshaun Prince entered the game late in the half and made one of two free throws. He also had a rebound and steal.

Patrick Mills and Brad Newley each have eight points for Australia. Chris Anstey has seven points and four rebounds.

The Aussies are 7-for-11 at the free-throw line and 4-for-11 from three-point range.

* Team USA leads Australia 25-24 after one quarter.

The U.S. scored the first five points and led by nine points several times, the last at 15-6.

Australia battled back to tie at 21 but has not led.

The U.S. is 4-of-11 at the free-throw line.

Dwight Howard leads all scoreres with eight.

           BEIJING – Finals of the Olympic men’s 100-meter dash Saturday night.

          Time to Bolt.

          Usain Bolt did exactly that, capturing the gold medal in a world-record 9.69 seconds at National Stadium, a.k.a. Bird’s Nest. He is Jamaica’s first champion in the Olympic 100. Bolt broke his own world record of 9.72, set May 31 at New York.

           Richard Thompson of Trinidad and Tobago took the silver medal in 9.89.

          NCAA champion Walter Dix, out of Florida State, scored the bronze in 9.91.

          Teammate Darvis Patton finished eighth in 10.01.

         Former world record-holder Asafa Powell of Jamaica placed fifth in 9.95.

          Tyson Gay’s dream of running for the gold came to a screeching halt in the semifinals.

           “I’m pretty upset. When I get back to the (Athletes) Village, I guess it will probably set in,” Gay said. “My family’s here. Everyone at home’s supporting me, praying for me, and I’m disappointed because I let them down a little bit. But, at the same time, I gave it my best.”

           A graduate of Lafayette High School in Lexington, he placed fifth in his heat, where only the top four moved into the finals. His time of 10.05 was two-hundredths of a second behind Patton.

            “I just didn’t have nothing in me today. I ran as fast as I could. I gave it 100 percent,” Gay said. “I focused on the Olympics, so I’m disappointed. I thought I would get into the finals.”

            In the finals, Bolt had the second-slowest reaction time to the gun, yet was so clear of the field that he hammed it up with hands outspread 20 meters before the finish line.

            Bolt led the semifinals in 9.85.

             Gay, running in the next heat, tied for ninth overall.

            Bolt practically loped to victory in the first heat. Dix  took second in 9.95, followed by Marc Burns of Trinidad and Tobago (9.97), Michael Prater of Jamaica (10.01) and Kim Collins of St. Kitts and Nevis (10.05).

            Powell won Gay’s heat in 9.91. Then came Richard Thompson of Trinidad and Tobago (9.93), Churandy Martinia of Netherland Antilles (9.94), Patton (10.03) and Gay. Behind Gay was Portugal’s Francis Okikwelu (10.10), silver medalist at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

            Gay was trying to do what few thought possible just a few days ago.

            The reigning world champion at 100 and 200 meters set an American record of 9.77 during quarterfinals of the U.S. Olympic Trials at Eugene, Ore. In the finals, he ran the fastest 100 of all time, 9.68, although a tailwind negated the effort from record consideration.

                A few days later, Gay cruised through one round of the 200. In the quarterfinals, though, he tumbled to the track with a strained left hamstring. That knocked him out of the 200 and, many speculated, possibly the 100.

Until coming to Beijing, he had not competed since being injured about five weeks ago.

His first race here was a tepid 10.22. He improved to 10.09 in the quarterfinals.

He declined to use his hamstring as an excuse.

“The injury was a setback to my training, but that’s no excuse because my hamstring feels fine,” he said. “I feel great, I feel strong, I feel relaxed. It just wasn’t there.”

Gay still has the 4-by-100 relay to run here. After the Games, he says he plans to continue running on the lucrative European circuit.

While Lexington’s Tyson Gay pulled out of the 100 meters in order to nurse his sore hamstring, plenty of other Beijing-bound athletes put on a show Friday at the Aviva London Super Grand Prix.

Former world record-holder Asafa Powell, fresh off a win over fellow Jamaican and current (pending ratification) record-holder Usain Bolt, prevailed in the 100.

After a 10.06 qualifying win, Powell zipped a 9.94 finals, trailed by Marc Burns of Trinidad and Tobago (9.97). Jamaica’s Michael Frater took third (10.00), a hundredth ahead of Burns’ countryman Richard Thompson.

Olympic Trials winner and two-time World Outdoor champion Allyson Felix had a bad start and finished a stunning fourth in the women’s 200 (22.70). Jamaica’s Sherone Simpson won (22.70), ahead of Bianca Knight (22.79).

Felix will come back Saturday in the 100 vs. Jamaica’s Veronica Campbell-Brown, among others.

Other notables included World Outdoor champion Reese Hoffa. The defending meet champion and Louisville native topped two-time Olympic silver-medalist Adam Nelson in the shot put, 69-4 to 69-1.5. Tomasz Majewski of Poland took third (68-9.75), with Christian Cantwell (67-4) giving the U.S. a 1-2-4 finish.

David Oliver, just as he did in the Olympic Trials, snared the 110-meter hurdles (13.20), leading a U.S. sweep of the top four spots. Anwar Moore (13.52), Antwon Hicks (13.58 ) and Aries Merritt (13.61) followed Oliver. World record-holder Dayron Robles of Cuba was missing, apparently because he didn’t apply for a visa.

Kenya’s Shadrick Korir nipped Great Britain’s Andrew Baddeley in the mile, 3:54.68 to 3:54.76. Bernard Lagat, who will run the 1,500 and 5,000 for the U.S., was third in 3:55.20, only the second defeat of the season for the world champion. Australia’s Craig Mottram, last with 150 meters left, came on strong to bag fourth in 3:55.40.

The women’s 1,500 went to Britain’s Lisa Dobriskey (4:08.97).

Russia’s Yelena Isinbayeva, the world record-holder and reigning Olympic gold-medalist, defeated American record-holder Jenn Stuczynski in the women’s pole vault, 16-2 to 15-9 1/4.

Roisin McGettigan of Ireland set a stadium record in the women’s steeplechase (9:33.76).