theguru

Great stuff like always @Purple88! First I want to say I like your recaps of the races better than the professional writers. And that is you doing it for fun vs. it being their jobs. Oh Lando! I think almost everyone is a fan of Lando Norris, me included, that was fantastic and like P88 mentioned, the Miami Grand Prix was a SUPER race! Congrats Lando!! I also agree on the Sprint Racing and wish there was more of it in F1. Back to Lando, I agree with P88 that the caution came out just at the right time for him but that is racing and it made the Miami Grand Prix all the more engaging. I agree with P88's take on everything else and want to bring up one last driver, Yuki Tsunoda. It feels like I have more Japanese neighbors all the time and they are all wonderful. One of my "next door" neighbors and I were chit chatting the other day and I was trying to find some common ground and brought up F1. I mentioned Yuki and my neighbor immediately said, "I know Yuki" and his face lit up. F1 truly is an international sport and something a lot of sports fans are missing out on. One last shoutout to ESPN, they cover these F1 races (with primary sponsor Mercedes Benz) and there are NO COMMERCIALS. Once you watch a race that way, it becomes the only way to watch a race. I love me some NASCAR but all the advertising and commercials make that viewing experience pale in comparison to watching F1 on ESPN, it is magnificent.

I ran into a Ryle booster yesterday when I was out and about. Two things stood out to me about the conversation, Ryle is optimistic about their 2024 team and they know the opening game against CovCath will let them know almost exactly where they stand. My comment on CCH was if the game is close that is probably not a good sign but if Ryle wins by three touchdowns or so, then just maybe they can compete in 6A this year. My thinking on Ryle is always wake me up with September ends. The Raiders only have three games in the month of September but those games are against Cooper, Highlands, and CAL. Speaking of Ryle's schedule, I love it!

From Black Kat Sports on Facebook. Here are the NASCAR Cup Series points standings after Sunday’s race at Darlington Raceway.

Also, this was the first victory of the year for Ford and that is a big deal, Ford was under a lot of heat for not getting it down. Especially with the new Dark Horse Mustang and all, lol.

I agree @PurplePride92. The 2024 season has been extremely engaging this season including a win this past week by one of the "old guys", Bad Brad! From Brad Keselowski on Facebook. This 6 never quit!! — with Ford Performance and RFK Racing.

Rewind to March 4th and this is how the 15th Region looked. How would you rank the teams this year? 1. Pikeville (21-4) 2. Pike County Central (20-8) 3. Floyd Central (16-13) 4. Lawrence County (24-7) 5. Martin County (21-9) 6. Magoffin County (18-13) 7. Betsy Lane (17-15) 8. Johnson Central (14-13)

These were our early March rankings of the 8th Region. What does this season look like? 1. North Oldham (25-5) 2. Spencer County (22-9) 3. Woodford County (24-6) 4. Simon Kenton (16-15) 5. Walton-Verona (22-10) 6. South Oldham (17-13) 7. Owen County (19-13) 8. Gallatin County (20-12)

Going into the postseason we ended with the 3rd Region ranked as follows. How does it look to you for the upcoming season? 1.Butler County (20-8, 12-0) – Butler comes in as the tournament favorite but drew the co-favorite in Daviess County in Round 1. They feature one the of the best scorers in the state in Ty Price. Price has a tremendous starting lineup around him, highlighted by big man Lawson Rice. Rice averaged a double-double on the season. Briar Griffin is a great compliment to Ty Price at the guard spot. Trevor Deweesse and Justin Castlin do all the little things for Coach Dockery to round out the lineup. If the Bears have any weakness at all, it would be their depth. Butler County has never won a 3rd Region title. This is their best chance in school history. 2.Daviess County (24-7, 13-3) – The Panthers come into the regional off a disappointing loss to Owensboro Catholic in the 9th district tournament. That said, they sport one of the best rosters in the region, led by dynamic point guard, Jonathan Moss. The Sophomore has been electric in the second half of the season and is being courted by several division 1 level programs. Gage Phelps is the lone senior in the starting lineup and brings great leadership and scoring. Jaxon Brown has emerged in the post season proving to be a scorer when other teams try to take Moss away. Aydan Ayer and DeAaron Watkins bring the defensive energy to round out the starting lineup and both are capable of scoring 20 on any given night. This is the Panthers first trip to the Regional Tournament since 2017. They want to leave their mark and end their season in Rupp Arena. 3.Ohio County (18-12, 10-3) – Ohio County comes in hot, having won 13 of their last 16 games. Elijah Decker has been incredible in the back half of the season to lead the Eagles. Versatile guard Carter Young has been consistent all year long as Deckers top compliment. Bo Morse emerged as a scorer over the past few weeks and can be someone who helps elevate Ohio County to a Regional contender. The Eagles have battled injuries and adversity all year, but they have put all of that behind them now. They are primed to make a run for Rupp. 4.Owensboro Catholic (21-9, 12-4) – The Aces won the 9th district championship with one of their best players in Tutt Carrico on the sidelines with a back injury. Luke Bieckman was incredible in the tournament, scoring 28 and 33 in back-to-back performances. When the entire gym knew he was getting the ball, they still couldn’t stop him. Coach Tim Riley thrives during tournament season and is getting the most out of guys like Dre Corothers, Waryn Eblhar, Solly Smith and Kiser Frick. Never go against Riley in elimination games. He is 9 for 9 in district elimination games since taking over as Head Coach for the Aces. He is hunting his 3rd Region title in 9 seasons. 5.Meade County (16-15, 8-5) – Meade County comes in playing their best basketball of the season. They have won 9 of their last 12 games, including an 11th District Title. Coach Tripure knows his way around the Sportscenter. He took Meade to 3 straight regional title games a few years back and is looking to make another run this season. The Waves are led by Garrett Hardesty at 16.2 ppg. Hayden Shouse and Peyton Johnson are as good of a big 3 as you are going to find in the region. The key for Meade will be their role players. Michael Blackman had a big District Championship game and will look to carry that into this week. The Waves got a favorable draw and could be a dark horse to make a run at the who tournament. 6.Breck County (16-12, 13-7) – Breck has won 10 of their last 12 games but fell to Meade County in the district title game on Friday. Consistency will be the key for the Tigers. They are led by Mercer Rogers at 14.9 ppg. Lance Poole has emerged as of late and pushed his scoring average to almost 11 ppg. Big man Brayden Carmen is one of the regions best rebounders at 7.4 rpg. The Tigers got a tough draw but have the potential to upset anyone on any given night. 7.Edmonson County (14-15, 5-7) – The Wildcats upset their way into the regional tournament, knocking off a good Grayson County team in the district first round. Kollin Doyle led them with 17 points. Edmonson does everything well as they stack up in the top half of this backet in every statistical category. They will have to translate that to on court success. Joshua Decker is right at a double-double on the season, scoring 11 ppg and pulling 9.1 rpg. Will Alexander is also in double figures at 11.6 ppg while Wyatt Gravil has the best field goal percentage in the tournament at 63.9. Do not sleep on the Wildcats in that first round match-up with Catholic. 8.Muhlenberg County (8-22, 4-9) – The Mustangs fought their way into the regional with a win over Mclean County in district play. They are led by Madox Jernigan at 16 ppg. The key for the Mustangs will be consistency around him. Jace Sommers and Issac Coats are capable scorers to compliment Jernigan. The Mustangs got a draw they can work with and could find themselves making an improbable run if they play to the level, they are capable of.

Early in March this is how we had the 2nd Region ranked and of course the Sweet 16® Champion came out of the 2nd region. What does the Region look like this coming year? Ranking the Field 1. Lyon County (29-3) 2. Henderson County (24-6) 3. University Heights (23-6) 4. Christian County (15-17) 5. Madisonville North Hopkins (17-15) 6. Caldwell County (19-13) 7. Union County (13-17) 8. Trigg County (12-19)

We had the 1st Region ranked like this near the end of the season last year. What does this year look like? 1. Marshall County (22-7) - this is a well-balanced team that is simply finding ways to win right now. 2. McCracken County (24-7) - the one/two punch of Senior Connor Miller and Sophomore Jackson Klope may be enough to lead them to Rupp Arena. 3. Murray (23-9) - a very narrow loss to the Marshals, and I think they led most of the way. This is a senior-led team that has a very good chance. 4 (tie). Mayfield (19-8) - this team just keeps getting better. They are capable of a big upset this week. 4 (tie). Paducah Tilghman (14-15) - they have some guys who are really playing well right now. My question for them is are they capable of strining together three wins in a row? 6. Graves County (20-10) - the Eagles have been on a slide the last part of the season, but this team also has several seniors who don't want their high school career to end. 7. Carlisle County (21-10) - Coach Oneil is crafty and he will have them ready to play this week. 8. Fulton County (6-23) - their mascot is the Pilots.

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