In case you missed it yesterday, Eric Lindsey announced that he will be “moving downstairs” to work as the new content editor for CoachCal.com. It goes without saying that Eric is a big loss for both UK Athletics and Cat Scratches. He’s the biggest reason why this blog is what it has become and it’s our responsibility to ensure that we sustain that and build upon it. Eric leaves some big shoes to fill and it is currently being determined how that will be done. In the interim, Metz Camfield and I will be doing our best to continue to provide that “inside and unprecedented look into UK Athletics” that Eric talked about in his farewell post.We wish Eric the best and I look forward to posting a bunch of links to the good work I know he’s going to do over at CoachCal.com.Amazingly, this weekend marks the end of the off-season for UK Athletics. With women’s soccer kicking off its season next Friday, this weekend is the final one of the summer without an event, game or match for any Kentucky team. Even so, there is plenty going on:
- Darius Miller and Team USA opened play in the 2011 World University Games early this morning in Shenzhen, China with a big 108-67 over cross-border rival Mexico. Miller got the start at forward for the Americans, playing 19 minutes. He didn’t shoot particularly well, scoring just two points on 1-for-5 shooting, but he posted eight rebounds and a blocked shot. Ashton Gibbs of Pitt led five Americans in double figures with 20 points. Team USA will play their second game of the tournament Sunday at 3:30 p.m. (3:30 a.m. eastern) against Hungary. Here are a few links if you want to read more about the game, as well as a video of the opening ceremonies from earlier today.
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- Divers Greg Ferrucci and Lisa Faulkner have participated this week in the 2011 AT&T Diving Championships and have represented UK very well. Ferrucci, who just closed out one of the best freshman seasons in UK history, earned a bronze medal in the one-meter finals. Faulkner, who graduated this spring, finished eighth in the one-meter springboard event. Ferrucci also qualified for the final round of the three-meter springboard, which takes place this afternoon. NBC Sports and Universal Sports are televising the event, with the three-meter final taking place from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Universal Sports. Check your local listings and tune in if you can to support a diver who has a chance to be one of the best ever at UK.
- UK football is holding its first scrimmage of the fall this afternoon after a solid initial week of practice. I know I am very interested to hear what comes of this scrimmage and how the offense and defense fare against one another. I will be heading to Commonwealth Stadium later this afternoon to talk to players and coaches and will be writing a feature on the happenings, so keep an eye out for that later this evening.
- A number of former Wildcats have taken the field over the past couple days for the opening of the NFL preseason. With five games on tap Saturday evening, including Randall Cobb’s anticipated debut with the Green Bay Packers, I will have a full breakdown of how Wildcats in the league fared in the first batch of games sometime tomorrow.
