Wednesday Quickies: Bat Cats Edition

Kentucky baseball is all the way up to No. 6 in the nation, as the Bat Cats beat Eastern Kentucky yesterday to improve to 12-1 on the season. It’s the best start since 2012 for the program, a year in which UK won its first 22 games. The Wildcats have hit a home run in all 13 games and scored 93 runs in the last eight games (47 in the last four).

Nick Mingione has the Wildcats rolling early, and they look likely to build and improve on an extremely successful 2017 season.

Tweet of the day

March is here.

Your quickies

How Kentucky basketball can make another deep NCAA Tournament run - SEC Country
FINAL FOURCAST? Kentucky basketball has pieces for another deep NCAA Tournament run, but it also has the holes for an early exit. Four keys to a long dance.

Gunnar Hoak and Terry Wilson begin quarterback battle as spring practice starts - Cats' Pause
UK's quarterback battle is just beginning, but coaches have liked the progress so far.

College hoops scandal encounter details challenges facing NCAA
Here's more details on Bam Adebayo's involvement in the current FBI investigation.

Revisiting Calipari's preseason comments about his team | Kentucky Sports Radio
Back on August 28, John Calipari sat down with the media to preview the 2017-18 basketball season. Six months, 21 wins, and 10 losses later, do any of his comments about this squad still ring true? I went to the preseason roundtable transcript to find out.

Kentucky's Passing Game Inconsistencies | Kentucky Sports Radio
Four quarters of passing game stability is a major priority for Eddie Gran's offense in 2018.

Knox and Gilgeous-Alexander earn SEC honors, focus on room for improvement - SEC Country
Kentucky freshmen Kevin Knox and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander earned All-SEC honors Tuesday but spoke about their need to improve for postseason.

Big Blue Bombs Away: No. 6 Kentucky Blasts Eastern Kentucky - University of Kentucky
National Player of the Week Luke Heyer smashed a grand slam to cap a dominating offensive display as No. 6 Kentucky started a six-game homestand with a 16-5 victory over Eastern Kentucky at Cliff Hagan Stadium.

NFL Combine 2018 Draft Risers and Fallers | SI.com
A look at how fans, the media, and NFL front offices treat the combine, and why team draft boards haven’t shuffled nearly as much as you might think. Plus, a top-five mock draft after a week of gathering intel, parsing the ‘Hot Take Du Jour’ (Sam Darnold’s decision to not throw), and Baker Mayfield stars in ‘YouTube Highlights That My Only Interest Me’

Memphis officials seriously considering Penny Hardaway to replace Tubby Smith - CBSSports.com
The former NBA star has started identifying possible staff members, including Hall of Famer Larry Brown

Memphis officials seriously considering Penny Hardaway to replace Tubby Smith - CBSSports.com
The former NBA star has started identifying possible staff members, including Hall of Famer Larry Brown

Rangers' Tim Lincecum is back pitching for his late brother - Yahoo Sports
Sean Lincecum died Feb. 22 at the age of 37 after years of personal struggles. The sadness remains fresh for Lincecum, who will join the Rangers and once again try to reinvent himself, this time as a relief pitcher.

Steelers franchise Le'Veon Bell for second straight season | FOX Sports
Bell claimed he would retire if this happened again.

NFL ref Ed Hochuli retires. We’ll miss his long explanations and biceps - SBNation.com
The NFL referee with the biggest biceps is retiring, and we wish him the best.

Syracuse gets first-ever ACC Tournament victory | Newsday
Marek Dolezaj scores career-high 20 for Orange, which likely needs another victory to reach NCAA Tournament.