It’s officially football time in the Bluegrass. The media relations staff at UK Athletics is working hard on final preparations for Saturday, the first home UK football game of the 2012 season. While most of the attention will be turned to the gridiron this weekend, there is much more going on than just Saturday’s match up with the Kent State Golden Flashes.Here are some notes heading into this weekend:

• Captains have been named for this weekend’s tilt with Kent State. Joker Phillips announced that Maxwell Smith and Demarco Robinson will carry the honor in Commonwealth Stadium 2012 opener, a rare feat for a pair of true sophomores.

• The latest piece of news regarding the upcoming UK Alumni Charity Basketball Game scheduled for next Saturday, Sept. 15 surfaced last night. Rapper/R&B artist Drake has been confirmed to be one of two celebrity coaches slated to be in attendance. Rumors flew last night about the possible appearance before John Calipari took to twitter to confirm Drake’s commitment. Drake also commented on Twitter that he would be coming to the Bluegrass, saying “Coaching at Kentucky Sept 15! #BBN #CoachCal”

• The UK Alumni Charity Basketball Game will not be televised or broadcast via radio. Make sure to get your tickets HERE.

• In one last bit of basketball news, Darius Miller became the last of UK’s six 2012 NBA Draft picks to sign with the team the selected him. Congratulations to Darius on his contract with the New Orleans Hornets!

• The Kentucky volleyball team picked up its second three-set sweep in as many matches yesterday in the first game in the Ameritas Players Challenge in Lincoln, Neb. Kentucky cruised past the Dukes, as middle blockers Alexandra “Zan” Morgan and Sara Schwarzwalder led the way offensively. Each middle tallied 10 kills, using career-best hitting percentages to propel an efficient UK offensive attack. Morgan hit .833 for the match, while Schwarzwalder followed up at .769 clip. The Cats will be back in action Friday night against the Oklahoma Sooners at 7 p.m. ET. Kentucky will then take on No. 1 ranked Nebraska in their final match of the weekend Saturday at 5 p.m. ET.

• To follow along with tonight’s volleyball match, make sure to check out the live blog brought to you from Lincoln, Neb. The volleyball staff will be providing live blogs for both tonight and tomorrow’s matches. You can access both right here at Cat Scratches.

• Early on in the 2012-13 athletic calendar, Louisville has gained the edge in the rivalry with Kentucky, taking down the Cats in both football and volleyball. The women’s soccer team travels to the River City Friday to try and get on the board for UK while maintaining a perfect start to the season.

• If you’re looking for some UK action this weekend in city of Lexington, the men’s soccer team hosts the UK Invitational, a Friday/Sunday tournament. Men’s head coach Johan Cedergren will make his home debut as Kentucky hosts St. Joseph’s, Charlotte and Stony Brook. The Cats look to get into the win column for the first time this year against St. Joe’s at 7 p.m. at the UK Soccer Complex. Come on out and root on the Cats!
• For more on this weekend’s action in UK Athletics, check out UK Rewind’s weekend preview below.