For the lack of a more appropriate phrase, I have decided not to “beat a dead horse” with today’s commentary. That particular cliche is in reference to the current state of the sinking Cincinnati Reds as they continue their freefall. It has become far too easy to complain about the team’s current misfortunes, making today’s goal to voice a few opinions on several other happenings in the world of sports. As is always the case, it is a challenge for yours truly not to ramble on and on, so I am not making any promises when it comes to brevity.
Trinity prohibitive favorite to claim title
As this blurb is being written on Friday morning, the 2026 KHSAA State Baseball Tournament has begun its semifinal round at Kentucky Proud Park on the campus of the University of Kentucky. In the opener of the “Final Four”, Boyd County defeated McCracken County 6-2.
With the victory, the Lions have the unenviable task of attempting to pull off a gargantuan upset of Trinity, which is heavily favored to defeat Apollo on Friday afternoon. The title tilt is set for 3:30 this afternoon, and the Louisville school is expected to improve its impressive run to a state championship and finish with a 41-3 record.
Trinity is also attempting to finish as the top-ranked team in the country, according to the MaxPreps poll. One of the primary reasons for the Shamrocks being in such a lofty position is because they have Kentucky’s Mr. Baseball leading the way. Senior pitcher Grayson Willoughby leads a formidable Trinity pitching staff with an 11-0 record and 0.73 ERA heading into play today, and he’s fanned 89 batters in 57 1/3 innings. The UK commit not only shines on the mound, but he also plays third base, and leads the ‘Rocks with a .465 batting average, pounding out 47 hits in 101 at-bats. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound Willoughby is also expected to be an early round selection in next month’s MLB Draft, meaning he will be facing a decision on whether to attend Kentucky or sign with a big-league club to begin his professional career.
South Warren shooting for unbeaten season
John Cropp Stadium on the UK campus is hosting the 2026 Softball State Tournament, with the semifinals matching Highlands against undefeated South Warren in the Friday afternoon game, and Bullitt East facing George Rogers Clark in the evening matchup.
Just as Trinity is expected to roll to the state baseball title, South Warren is heavily favored to do the same on the softball diamond.
The Lady Spartans take a 43-0 record into their game against the Fort Thomas school after surviving a quarterfinal thriller. That’s when it took a two-run, walk-off homer from Layla Ogden in the eighth inning to thwart Madison Central’s upset bid, winning 4-3.
Highlands has enjoyed a remarkable season, and will be sending senior pitcher Kaitlyn Dixon to the circle as they try to accomplish the seemingly unthinkable. Dixon takes a 30-3 record and 0.66 ERA, along with 345 strikeouts in 202 innings, into the clash against South Warren.
The other semifinal contest features what appears to be an even matchup between the 10th Region champion Lady
Cardinals (38-5) and the 6th Region’s Bullitt East Lady Chargers, who bring a 31-4 mark into the game. The ace of the GRC pitching staff is junior Lilliana Hill, who has posted a 17-2 record and 1.91 ERA this season.
On paper, both semifinals look to be close and hard-fought, but it will take a special effort and a little luck to knock off South Warren, a team with seven Division I signees on its roster, led by Florida State commit McLaine Hudson, who is hitting an otherworldly .731 with 26 home runs and 78 RBI.
Men’s College World Series gets underway
One of my favorite annual sporting events begins this weekend, when eight collegiate baseball teams convene in Omaha to decide this year’s national champions.
There is no shortage of storylines with this year’s field at the Men’s College World Series, or MCWS if you will. For one, there are no returning teams from a year ago. Secondly, the Southeastern Conference has placed a record five teams in the event, led by SEC double champions Georgia. Thirdly, the tournament opened on Friday afternoon with two school making their MCWS debuts, Troy and West Virginia. Game 2 pits North Carolina against Ole Miss in Bracket 1 on Friday night.
Bracket 2 begins today, with four SEC members beginning their quest for a title. Alabama and Oklahoma meet at 3 p.m., followed by Georgia-Texas at 8, with both games on ESPN.
The tournament uses a two-and-out format to determine a winner of each bracket, who will then square off in a best-of-three series beginning next Saturday evening. The only predictable aspect of this year’s get together is that it is completely unpredictable. This year’s field is believed to be one of the most even in history. Georgia enters as the highest-ranked team in the field as they seek their first title since 1990.
Knicks on brink of championship
After what can only be described as an unbelievable 107-106 victory on Wednesday night in Madison Square Garden, the New York Knickerbockers are on the verge of capturing their first NBA title since 1973. For impatient New York fans, that is an eternity, but they were given reason for real hope this year is finally the year after rallying from 29 points down to San Antonio in Game 4.
The victory gives the Knicks a 3-1 advantage in the best-of-seven NBA Finals, with the action shifting to the Alamo City tonight. If the Spurs can extend the series with a win, Game 6 would be back in the Gotham City next Tuesday. Arguably, San Antonio has been in prime position to have already won this series, but several collapses have resulted in New York capitalizing to be in this position. It would come as no surprise to his observer if the Spurs win tonight, and send the series back to MSG, but winning three in a row to win it all appears to be nothing more than a pipedream for San Antonio fans.
USA ranked 17th in World Cup
If you think the Spurs have little chance of coming back to win three consecutive games to win the NBA Finals, they still have a much better opportunity in their pursuit for a title than the US Men’s National Team in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
However, the USMNT (ranked 17th) is picked to win Group D against Paraguay, Turkiye and Australia, and advance to the knockout rounds. According to close soccer observers, that is where the USA will find the going difficult. Betting odds are predicting the USMNT has a 1.2% chance of winning the World Cup, but they have a legitimate shot of finishing in the Round of 16.
The two favorites to lift the trophy on July 19 include Spain and France, with Argentina, England, Portugal, Brazil, Germany, Japan, and the Netherlands also being tabbed as the top teams in the world.
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“We all break over the rule two or three times in our lives and fire a disagreeable and unpopular private opinion into print, but we never do it when we can help it, we never do it except when the desire to do it is too strong for us and overrides and conquers our cold, calm, wise judgment.” – Mark Twain
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