Officially, the Fourth of July is a celebration of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. It’s when the original 13 American colonies were declared independent from Great Britain, paving the way for the birth of the United States as a nation. Unofficially, it’s when Americans gather around grills and bodies of water to eat, drink and float before lighting fireworks when day turns to night and everyone unleashes their inner Toby Keith in the name of patriotism.
Here at KSR, we do some celebrating, but the kind of celebrating that allows you, BBN, to scroll through for the latest news updates relating to your beloved Kentucky Wildcats — plus whatever themed goofiness we can come up with along the way. We’ll still eat our hot dogs and drink our cold beverages, but we’ll all have our laptops handy because that’s what the most passionate fanbase in sports deserves.
That’s where we’ll get started today, getting the lay of the land with recent news from Thursday and what’s to come on Friday — headlined by the glizzy king himself making his triumphant return.
Joey Chestnut returns to Coney Island
The 2024 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest was missing the GOAT of dog guzzling, Joey Chesnut — who ate 83 hot dogs against Takeru Kobayashi in a Netflix special event after being banned from Coney Island last year over a sponsorship with Impossible Foods. The Nathan’s winner, Patrick Bertoletti, ate 58 in 10 minutes.
This time, though, the two sides have kissed and made up, bringing back the 15-time champion to defend his crown in 2025. The event has been an Independence Day staple for over 50 years, and now, the real stuff is back, Chesnut — a native of Fulton County, KY — set to compete as the heavy favorite starting at 12 p.m. ET on ESPN2. Circa set the total number of dogs he’ll eat at 70.5 with his odds to win the contest sitting at -1800.
Miki Sudo is also back on the women’s side as the top female champion of all time with eight mustard belts to her name and a world record for eating six hot dogs in a single minute. After eating 51 dogs and buns in 2024, she’ll defend her crown at 10:45 a.m. ET to get the day rolling.
We’ll have our annual Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest Live Thread fired up on KSBoard, so make sure you’re subscribed and tuned in to follow along with us.
Jasper Johnson suits up again for Team USA
How about three Kentuckians competing on the Fourth of July? We know about Chesnut in the hot dog world out of Fulton, but don’t forget about Jasper Johnson suiting up for Team USA on Friday in the FIBA U19 World Cup quarterfinals. They’ll be taking on Canada at 11:15 a.m. ET, live on YouTube.
Louisville native and Kentucky target Tyran Stokes is also a standout for the United States, joining fellow recruits Jordan Smith Jr. and Brandon McCoy in Switzerland for the event.
Should Team USA win Friday, they will compete in the semifinals on Saturday, followed by the gold medal game on Sunday, July 6.
Looking for some new recruiting updates? Jacob Polacheck of KSR+ has you covered with a brand-new Here Comes the Boom on the KSR YouTube channel. Is a commitment coming soon for the Cats?
Denzel Aberdeen is mic’d up at Kentucky practice
The kids are back home for the long holiday weekend, but the UK video team made sure to give us some excellent content before leaving the Joe Craft Center.
How about Florida transfer Denzel Aberdeen mic’d up at practice? He got to show off his defense and leadership while also throwing down some big dunks and knocking down some shots.
“Stay tuned, BBN. We’re coming for No. 9,” Aberdeen said.
Mic’d up with @DenzelAberdeen. pic.twitter.com/gpBNhX4qZX
— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) July 3, 2025
Antonio Reeves waived by New Orleans Pelicans
Some not-so-great news dropped Thursday when it comes to former Cats, as Antonio Reeves — who was finding his groove in New Orleans this past season, averaging 15.4 points over his last 10 games — was waived by the Pelicans.
As a rookie, Reeves averaged 6.9 points and 1.4 rebounds in 15 minutes per contest on respectable shooting splits of 46/40/80 — including a career-high 34-point outing against the Cleveland Cavaliers in November. The Pelicans signed him to a three-year, $5 million contract as a second-round pick in last year’s draft, only to part ways with him 12 months later. They had until July 23 to guarantee his full $1.96 million salary in 2025-26.
Bad organizations continue to make bad decisions, this time getting rid of the guy they just traded two future second-round picks for with the No. 47 pick in 2024 — and he produced!
Someone else will quickly pick him up, thankfully.
Don’t forget about Sunday fireworks!
Today is about Fourth of July fireworks, but Sunday is about Kentucky football recruiting fireworks — the program’s most important target in years making his anticipated decision in Cincinnati (Ohio) Moeller quarterback Matt Ponatoski.
The four-star gunslinger will be announcing his commitment on July 6, deciding between Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Oregon.
He won Ohio Gatorade Player of the Year in both football and baseball as a junior and is rated as a top-100 prospect in 2026. KSR’s Adam Luckett submitted an RPM pick for the Cats to land Ponatoski on June 17 with Kentucky trending as the heavy favorite ahead of the announcement.
Mark Stoops is motivated to get things back where they belong in Lexington and we love it.
Until then, enjoy your Fourth of July, BBN! We’ll be here for you all day.
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