Kentucky

Louisville coach Rick Pitino showed why he's a master tactician. It still wasn't enough to beat Kentucky.     Relying on offensive rebounding and Pitino's savvy, Louisville kept it close before fading in a 69-61 loss to in-state rival Kentucky in the Final Four on Saturday night.     Louisville (30-10) got off to a jittery start and had a hard time matching up with Kentucky's stable of future NBA players. The Cardinals kept clawing, though, turning 19 offensive rebounds into 13 second-chance points to twice rally from double-digit deficits.

When I think of Kentucky, I think basketball, whiskey and that other kind of racing that uses real horse power. I don't really think NASCAR. But believe me, the great people of the Bluegrass State fought long and hard to get a cup race in their great state. So now that they have it, what will they do with it? The track regularly sold out stand alone Nationwide events, so expect them to pack it in for a cup race. Drivers say the track is a lot like Kansas, but it's also a night race.

Kemba Walker scored 18 points Saturday night to help Connecticut keep its remarkable postseason run going with a 56-55 victory over Kentucky that placed the Huskies one win away from their third, and most improbable, NCAA title. UConn won despite not making a field goal over the final 2:29. Trailing by two with the clock ticking down, DeAndre Liggins had a chance to win it for Kentucky, but his 3-pointer came up short - the end of a 34-percent shooting night for the fourth-seeded Wildcats (29-9)

The Kentucky Motor Speedway is hoping it is them. Last season, thousands of fans never even made it into the track to see the first cup race there. So the state of Kentucky and Bruton Smith threw millions at increased lanes, a pedestrian tunnel and more parking. We will find out on Saturday night if it will actually work. As for actually racing, Kyle Busch was the winner last year the one and only cup race at Kentucky. "It was a great race for us last year," said Busch  I remember just being pretty quick right off the track and being able to have a fast car during the test that we had and during the practice session.  Qualifying got rained out and then we still got to start up front because of the practice speeds.  Feel good about it again this year.

Saturday, April 2 - Reliant Stadium in Houston, TX No. 8 Butler vs. No. 11 Virginia Commonwealth 5:09pm Central Time No. 3 Connecticut vs. No. 4 Kentucky Approx. 7:49pm Central Time Both games will air on KWCH 12.

Saturday, March 26 3:20 p.m. (Central Time) Butler vs. Florida 5:55 p.m. (Central Time) Connecticut vs. Arizona Sunday, March 27 1:20 p.m. (Central Time) Kansas vs. VCU 4:05 p.m. (Central Time) North Carolina vs. Kentucky ALL GAMES THROUGH THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ARE NOW ON KWCH 12.

While Jayhawk fans are still celebrating Saturday night's win, the team is focused on what's next.  They take on Kentucky for the national title Monday night. KU Coach Bill Self and some players will answer questions from the media at 1:30 Sunday. And don't miss our Rock Chalk Championship Preview Show, with live pre-game coverage from New Orleans, Monday night at 7:30 on KWCH 12.

I know I said last week that Clint Bowyer was becoming a pretty good little road course racer, but come on, you know you never expected him to WIN at Sonoma. But that is exactly what he did. "Just unbelievable, to have a great car," said Bowyer. "I knew when we went to VIR and tested, this thing was pretty fast.  Never did I think it would put me in victory lane out here but I knew it was going to be a good car for us. " The win shot Bowyer up two spots in the points standings to 7th, plus now he has a win in his pocket, which puts him in good possition to make the chase, with 10 races to go until it begins.

Many times in the Bill Self era, Kansas men’s basketball has ranked among the national leaders in strength of schedule and even with the Big 12 stiffening its schedule, KU did not let up with its 2011-12 non-conference slate. Ten of Kansas’ 13 non-conference opponents advanced to the 2011 postseason. The Jayhawks could face as many as three defending league regular-season champions and three teams that won their conference tourney titles in 2011. KU will have home-and-home meetings against all nine Big 12 foes in the league’s first-complete round-robin 18-game format since the inception of the conference in 1996-97.

Do you think alligators can order a human po boy sandwich? UK v KU It comes to a head tonight, the two winningest programs in college basketball history deciding the national championship. Even though this game will be discussed until there are no words left to discuss it with today, the analysis is pretty simple. Kentucky wants to get out in transition, Kansas wants to muck up the game by playing ugly - their words, not mine. What does that mean? Kentucky has six first round draft picks, three of them could go in the lottery.

The Kentucky Motor Speedway is hoping it is them. Last season, thousands of fans never even made it into the track to see the first cup race there. So the state of Kentucky and Bruton Smith threw millions at increased lanes, a pedestrian tunnel and more parking. We will find out on Saturday night if it will actually work. As for actually racing, Kyle Busch was the winner last year the one and only cup race at Kentucky. "It was a great race for us last year," said Busch  I remember just being pretty quick right off the track and being able to have a fast car during the test that we had and during the practice session.  Qualifying got rained out and then we still got to start up front because of the practice speeds.  Feel good about it again this year.

I know I said last week that Clint Bowyer was becoming a pretty good little road course racer, but come on, you know you never expected him to WIN at Sonoma. But that is exactly what he did. "Just unbelievable, to have a great car," said Bowyer. "I knew when we went to VIR and tested, this thing was pretty fast.  Never did I think it would put me in victory lane out here but I knew it was going to be a good car for us. " The win shot Bowyer up two spots in the points standings to 7th, plus now he has a win in his pocket, which puts him in good possition to make the chase, with 10 races to go until it begins.

Do you think alligators can order a human po boy sandwich? UK v KU It comes to a head tonight, the two winningest programs in college basketball history deciding the national championship. Even though this game will be discussed until there are no words left to discuss it with today, the analysis is pretty simple. Kentucky wants to get out in transition, Kansas wants to muck up the game by playing ugly - their words, not mine. What does that mean? Kentucky has six first round draft picks, three of them could go in the lottery.

Kansas played another great second half in the NCAA Tournament but couldn't overcome a first half deficit, falling 67-59 in the national title game in New Orleans. Photos KU vs UK 2nd Half Tyshawn Taylor finished with 19 points, Thomas Robinson had 18. Kentucky's Doron Lamb poured in 22 in the win. Kansas battled back and forth with the lead by Kentucky, trailing by as many as 16 and getting as close as six with three minutes left in the game. The Jayhawks struggled to score from outside, shooting on 5-10 from three point region, settling for 36 percent shooting.

While Jayhawk fans are still celebrating Saturday night's win, the team is focused on what's next.  They take on Kentucky for the national title Monday night. KU Coach Bill Self and some players will answer questions from the media at 1:30 Sunday. And don't miss our Rock Chalk Championship Preview Show, with live pre-game coverage from New Orleans, Monday night at 7:30 on KWCH 12.

Kansas head coach Bill Self will be the first to admit the Kentucky Wildcats are an impressive team on paper. "But I've never known the game to played on paper," said Self. "I haven't seen anyone pick us. " It's that 'sure we are the underdogs, but we don't care' attitute, that has driven the Jayhawks the entire season. "It don't bother us," said Tyshaun Taylor. "They had a great year so the expectations should be high this year. I think what we think is, we match up with them well, we feel confident going into this game.

Louisville coach Rick Pitino showed why he's a master tactician. It still wasn't enough to beat Kentucky.     Relying on offensive rebounding and Pitino's savvy, Louisville kept it close before fading in a 69-61 loss to in-state rival Kentucky in the Final Four on Saturday night.     Louisville (30-10) got off to a jittery start and had a hard time matching up with Kentucky's stable of future NBA players. The Cardinals kept clawing, though, turning 19 offensive rebounds into 13 second-chance points to twice rally from double-digit deficits.

Tyshawn Taylor hopes that you really can go home, or at least close to home. The KU senior grew up just across the East River from New York City in Hoboken, NJ - tonight he leads his Kansas Jayhawks into Madison Square Garden to face #2 Kentucky.  The Wildcats feature six freshman, Head Coach John Calipari jokes that he's spent so much time putting in basic sets that he hasn't even had time to work on inbounds plays. Kansas won their opening game over Towson State 100-58, behind 18 points and 11 rebounds from Thomas Robinson.  Kentucky beat Marist by 50 points in their opener, getting 23 points and 10 rebounds from 6'11” Anthony Davis.

Kentucky Speedway gets its first chance to redeem itself this weekend from the traffic nightmare that ruined its inaugural Sprint Cup Series race. Fans spent hours in non-moving traffic before the July 9 race. Thousands never even made it into the speedway. Track owner Speedway Motorsports Inc. and the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet pledged $11 million in improvements and some of the work has already been done. The track hosts NASCAR's Truck Series on Saturday night and the IndyCar Series on Sunday.

Kansas State scores 10 points in the fourth quarter to come back and beat Eastern Kentucky 10-7 Saturday night. The Wildcats took the lead after quarterback Collin Klein hooked up with former Wichita Northwest star Chris Harper for the go-ahead touchdown with 1:39 left to go in the fourth quarter. The game tied at zero after halftime but Eastern Kentucky took the lead on a one yard touchdown run from Jared Mcclain in the third quarter. Wildcat kicker Anthony Cantele kicked a 36 yard field goal to cut the Eastern Kentuckys' lead to four with just over 10 minutes to go in the 4th quarter.