— OK, so this came out of nowhere; John Calipari is bolting from Kentucky to Arkansas; if this had happened last Monday, would’ve assumed it was a (bad) April Fools Day joke.
Kentucky was 23-10 this year, 13-5 in a tough SEC, with the #317 continuity team in America, but in the three years since the pandemic, Kentucky is 1-3 in NCAA tournament games, which doesn’t fly with a very spoiled fanbase.
Calipari spent 15 years at Kentucky; he made the Elite 8 five of his first six years there, but lately, not so much. Overall, Kentucky was 32-11 overall in NCAA Tournament games under Calipari.
Calipari is a great coach; he got freakin’ UMass to the Final Four. Will he change his approach at Arkansas? Will he use the transfer portal more and recruit fewer freshmen? Will he bring his son Brad along with him? Brad Calipari was an assistant at Vanderbilt the last couple years.
Where Kentucky turns from here (Mick Cronin?) is a very interesting question. .
— One thing for sure; college sports if off its rocker; crazy stuff going on.
— Pirates 3, Orioles 2- Pittsburgh is 8-2 for first time since 2018; they’re already 5-0 in games where the winning run scored from the 7th inning on.
— Marlins 10, Cardinals 3- Miami gets its first win this year in its 10th game; Luis Arraez went 4-5 with three runs scored. Marlins scored six runs in the first inning.
— Cubs 8, Dodgers 1- Early part of this game was played in cruddy weather; there was nearly a 3-hour rain delay after the Cubs led 6-0.
— Rays 3, Rockies 2- Ryan Pepiot tossed six shutout innings, struck out 11 while allowing only three hits.
— Famous birthdays for April 8th:
Ricky Bell, 69
Terry Porter, 61
Robin Wright, 58
Carlos Santana, 38 (first baseman, not the singer)
Jeff McNeil, 32
Zach Eflin, 30
CeeDee Lamb, 25
Today would’ve been Hall of Fame pitcher Catfish Hunter’s 78th birthday.
— Astros 3, Rangers 1- Houston pitcher Ronel Blanco is the first pitcher in the last 50 years (50 years!!!) to start a season by throwing 13 no-hit innings.
— A’s 7, Tigers 1- A’s are 3-0 when they score in the first inning, 0-7 when they do not.
— Giants 3, Padres 2- San Francisco scored a total of six runs in this 3-game series, somehow won two of the three games.
— Red Sox 12, Angels 2- Boston starts the season with a 7-3 road trip; their home opener is Tuesday against the Orioles.
— Royals 5, White Sox 3- Chicago is off to a 1-8 start, 0-5 in games where the winning run scored from the 7th inning on.
— Birmingham 20, Michigan 13
Stallions outgained Michigan 302-205, held Panthers to 47 rushing yards.
Birmingham backup QB Martinez threw for 88 yards, ran for 65 more.
— DC Defenders 23, Houston 18
Defenders outscored Houston 11-0 in fourth quarter.
Houston converted 3-13 on third down against Gregg Williams’ defense.
Jordan Ta’amu threw a 17-yard TD pass with 6:04 left for the winning score.
