Photo via UK Athletics
JACKSON TO REMAIN IN NBA DRAFT
Kentucky men’s basketball freshman forward Isaiah Jackson will remain in the NBA Draft, ending his collegiate eligibility. Jackson initially declared for the NBA Draft in mid-March but left the option open to return to school. After two months of evaluations, Jackson has decided to remain in the July 29 draft. He is projected as a first round pick. Jackson will join Brandon Boston and Olivier Sarr in the draft pool. Davion Mintz has also declared for the NBA Draft but has not made a final decision while he goes through the draft evaluation process. Jackson averaged 8.4 points and 6.6 rebounds in 25 games with 18 starts.
TUESDAY’S HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL SCORES
7th District Championship
Caldwell County 5, Madisonville 0
TUESDAY’S HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL SCORES
8th District Championship
Christian County 16, UHA 0
PAIRINGS TO BE ANNOUNCED TODAY
Today, we will know the Regional Tournament pairings, with Calloway County earning spots in both the Region 1 Baseball Tournament at McCracken County and the Region 1 Softball Tournament at Graves County.
CARDINALS EDGE DODGERS
Edmundo Sosa drove in the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth as the Cardinals beat the Dodgers 3-2 in LA. Paul Goldschmidt and Dylan Carlson also had RBIs for St. Louis. Giovanny Gallegos got the win and Alex Reyes posted his 16th save for the Cards, who ended a two-game skid. The series concludes tonight with a 7:15 airtime on Classic Hits WNBS AM and FM.
TWO AREA MINOR LEAGUE GAMES RAINED OUT
In minor league games, Rain showers postponed the Louisville Bats and Memphis Redbirds games. Louisville was scheduled to play the St. Paul Saints and Memphis was set to face the Toledo Mud Hens. Both teams will start their six-game home series today and the rained out games will be played on Thursday. Nashville defeated Charlotte 6-4
MORANT LOOKS TO FORCE A GAME 6 FOR MEMPHIS
Memphis will look to avoid elimination in Game Five tonight against the Jazz in Salt Lake City. The Grizzlies are down 3-to-1 in the series after losing 120-113 to the Jazz in Game Four in Memphis. Ja Morant has scored at least 23 points in all four games against Utah and the Grizzlies will probably need a similar performance from him if they want to extend the series.
MORANT FAMILY GETS SEAT UPGRADE
Jazz owner Ryan Smith is giving Ja Morant’s family and friends courtside seats for Game Five. Morant’s father Tee told ESPN that lodging and a car service is also being provided for the group. This comes after three fans were banned from Vivint Arena because they made racist and vulgar comments to Morant’s parents in Game Two.
TITANS HIRE FIRST WOMAN AS SCOUTING ASSISTANT
A former Titans’ scouting and operations intern is the first woman hired as a full-time scouting assistant by the franchise. Tennessee announced Mical Johnson’s new role yesterday. Johnson will work in professional and college counting departments, evaluate players, monitor the waiver wire and help the team prepare for free agency and the NFL Draft. The Belmont grad helped put the advanced reports together for the coaches last season.
TTU’S THOMPSON WIN HAMILTON AWARD
Tennessee Tech junior football and men’s basketball player Jamaal Thompson has been selected as the recipient of the Steve Hamilton Sportsmanship Award from the OVC. Thompson has been a three-year member of the Golden Eagles football team, posted a 3.96 GPA, and has earned the OVC Academic Medal of Honor. Thompson also volunteered in the community with various service projects, including tornado cleanup in spring 2020, and a blanket service project for homeless members of the Cookeville community.
WKU ANNOUNCES FULL CAPACITY FOR FOOTBALL
There will be full capacity for WKU home football games at Houchens-Smith Stadium for the 2021 season. WKU Athletics made the announcement Tuesday. The university will continue to follow state and local health guidelines for attendance and gameday procedures. WKU finished the 2020 campaign with a 5-7 overall record, including a 39-21 loss to Georgia State in the 22nd Annual LendingTree Bowl.
TUCKER TRANSFERS TO TENNESSEE STATE
Former 4-star safety Derrick Tucker of Texas A&M has announced his intention to transfer to Tennessee State and play for former NFL star Eddie George. The Tigers were just 2-5 in the Ohio Valley Conference in 2020.
SOONER ADD FORMER EIU STANDOUT
Oklahoma basketball has added Marvin Johnson, a graduate transfer from Eastern Illinois. Johnson is from the Sooner State and announced his verbal commitment on Sunday. The 6-foot, 6-inch guard averaged 15.3 points and 4.7 assists per game last season for the Panthers, scoring in double figures in 23 of the 26 games.
SEMO LANDS IN OXFORD REGIONAL
OVC Champion Southeast Missouri is the No. 4 seed in the Oxford Regional of the NCAA Baseball Championship and will play #! seed Ole Miss on Friday night. Florida State and Southern Miss will also play on Friday in the Oxford Regional. It marks the third-straight tournament the OVC champion has been sent to Oxford. Three years ago Tennessee Tech, who received an at-large selection, won the Oxford Regional by defeating Ole Miss.
VOLS AND VANDY WILL HOST NCAA REGIONALS
The Vols and Commodores know their regional foes in the NCAA Tournament after the regional groups were announced Sunday. Tennessee hosts a regional and will face Duke, Liberty and Wright State. Vanderbilt also hosts a regional and will play Georgia Tech, Presbyterian and Indiana State. Regional play begins on Friday.
VOLS GAMES SOLD OUT
The Volunteers’ games in the NCAA baseball tournament regional to be hosted by the University of Tennessee are sold out. The UT Athletic Department said it sold all of its tickets in about 24 hours after the field was announced on Monday. It’s the first time UT has hosted a regional in the baseball tournament since 2006. The Vols will open play against Wright State on Friday evening.
BLUES UPDATE
Keean Washkurak has signed a three-year entry level contract with the Blues. St. Louis drafted the forward in the fifth round of the 2019 NHL Draft. The 19-year-old spent the majority of the 2020-21 season with HK Levice in Slovakia. Washkurak logged 19 points in 21 regular-season games.
NATIONAL SPORTS BRIEFS
Devin Booker scored 30 points as the Suns crushed the Lakers 115-85 in Game Five in Phoenix. Former Racer Cam Payne added 16 points for the Suns who take a 3-2 series lead. The Nuggets survived a double-overtime scare as they beat the Trail Blazers 147-140 in Denver. Elsewhere, the Nets are onto the second round after defeating the Celtics 123-109 at home in Game Five.
The 76ers could be without star center Joel Embiid for Game Five of their series against the Wizards at home tonight. According to ESPN, it’s “doubtful” Embiid will suit up for Philadelphia as he battles right knee soreness. Embiid exited Game Four’s loss against the Wizards early as he dealt with the knee issue. The center underwent an MRI and is expected to be further evaluated.
Ben Roethlisberger is saying that it was his idea to take a pay cut this past offseason. The Steelers quarterback cap hit was north of 41-million dollars, and reduced his salary by five million dollars by signing a new contract. The move freed up some 15-million-dollars in cap space for the club. The 39-year-old signal caller lead Pittsburgh to an 11-and-oh start last season before they lost to the rival Cleveland Browns in the playoffs.
Anthony Cirelli scored in the third period as the Lightning topped the Hurricanes 2-1 in Raleigh, giving Tampa Bay a two-games-to-none lead in their best-of-seven Central Division playoff series. Tonight, the Canadiens and the Jets will kick off their series in Winnipeg while the Golden Knights will look to even their series with the Avalanche in Denver.
The right to draft 18-year-old Michigan defenseman Owen Power is on the line tonight as the N-H-L Draft Lottery will be held in Secaucus, New Jersey. The lottery is done in three phases: The first lottery draw will be done for the first pick, then a second lottery draw will be done for the second pick. Finally, picks three through 16 will be assigned in inverse order of regular-season points. The Buffalo Sabres have the best chance at the top spot, followed by the Anaheim Ducks, then the expansion Seattle Kraken.
TUESDAY’S SCOREBOARD
MLB National League
——-
Philadelphia Phillies 17, Cincinnati Reds 3
Washington Nationals 11, Atlanta Braves 6
Chicago Cubs 4, San Diego Padres 3
Arizona Diamondbacks 6, New York Mets 5 (10)
St. Louis Cardinals 3, Los Angeles Dodgers 2
MLB American League
——-
Cleveland Indians 6, Chicago White Sox 5
New York Yankees 5, Tampa Bay Rays 3 (11)
Baltimore Orioles 7, Minnesota Twins 4
Houston Astros 5, Boston Red Sox 1
Oakland Athletics 12, Seattle Mariners 6
MLB Interleague
——-
Toronto Blue Jays 5, Miami Marlins 1
Detroit Tigers 10, Milwaukee Brewers 7
Kansas City Royals 10, Pittsburgh Pirates 5
Colorado Rockies 3, Texas Rangers 2 (11)
Los Angeles Angels 8, San Francisco Giants 1
NBA Playoffs
——-
Brooklyn Nets 123, Boston Celtics 109
(Nets win best-of-seven East first round series, 4-1)
Denver Nuggets 147, Portland Trail Blazers 140 (2OT)
(Nuggets lead best-of-seven West first round series, 3-2)
Phoenix Suns 115, Los Angeles Lakers 85
(Suns lead best-of-seven West first round series, 3-2)
NHL Playoffs
——-
Tampa Bay Lightning 2, Carolina Hurricanes 1
(Lightning lead best-of-seven Central second round series, 2-0)
WNBA
——-
Connecticut Sun 74, Las Vegas Aces 67
Dallas Wings 79, Los Angeles Sparks 69
Phoenix Mercury 84, Chicago Sky 83
Seattle Storm 88, Indiana Fever 73
WEDNESDAY’S SCHEDULE (All Times Are Eastern)
MLB National League
——-
12:35 p.m. – Philadelphia Phillies at Cincinnati Reds
2:20 p.m. – San Diego Padres at Chicago Cubs
3:40 p.m. – New York Mets at Arizona Diamondbacks
7:20 p.m. – Washington Nationals at Atlanta Braves
9:10 p.m. – St. Louis Cardinals at Los Angeles Dodgers
MLB American League
——-
1:10 p.m. – Chicago White Sox at Cleveland Indians
7:05 p.m. – Minnesota Twins at Baltimore Orioles
7:05 p.m. – Tampa Bay Rays at New York Yankees
8:10 p.m. – Boston Red Sox at Houston Astros
10:10 p.m. – Oakland Athletics at Seattle Mariners
MLB Interleague
——-
7:07 p.m. – Miami Marlins at Toronto Blue Jays (at Buffalo, NY)
8:40 p.m. – Texas Rangers at Colorado Rockies
NBA Playoffs
——-
7:00 p.m. – Washington Wizards at Philadelphia 76ers]
(76ers lead best-of-seven East first round series, 3-1)
7:30 p.m. – Atlanta Hawks at New York Knicks
(Hawks lead best-of-seven East first round series, 3-1)
9:30 p.m. – Memphis Grizzlies at Utah Jazz
(Jazz lead best-of-seven West first round series, 3-1)
10:00 p.m. – Dallas Mavericks at LA Clippers
(Best-of-seven West first round series tied, 2-2)
NHL Playoffs
——-
7:30 p.m. – Montreal Canadiens at Winnipeg Jets
(Game one of best-of-seven North second round series)
10:00 p.m. – Vegas Golden Knights at Colorado Avalanche
(Avalanche lead best-of-seven West second round series, 1-0)
WNBA
——-
No Games Scheduled
###
24/7 News SPT)
