Last Mother’s Day was a special one in the Pilgrim household as it was the first for my wife, Katie, as a mom to our son, Billy. This time around, the pair of us Looney Tunes have a second one on the way — another boy, due in early August. We’re busy chasing around an 18-month-old on the weekend she enters her third trimester, obviously an overwhelming, but unbelievably exciting time for us. The past year has given us so much joy as we experienced life as parents for the very first time, and to think we’re about to double all of it with non-stop chaos with two under two is the ultimate blessing. Without her, the backbone behind it all despite fighting through the aches, pains and nausea, it’d be impossible. She’s a trooper and I’m so grateful for it.
That goes for my mom, step mom, mother-in-law and all of the other wonderful mothers out there on this day. I was fortunate enough to grow up in households with incredible parents who helped set the standard for me in my own life, but seeing it as a parent myself now, I know how challenging it is and the sacrifices you have to make to keep the world from flipping upside down. So thank you to all of the moms out there doing it in your own lives and enjoy this day a little more than the rest. Kick your feet up and try to relax — don’t hesitate to make the dads do the heavy lifting for a change. They surely owe you one (or a dozen). Even superheroes deserve some time off.
As the moms in our lives take it easy, I’m running the show today here at KSR HQ. Let’s catch up on the early weekend news and what’s to come here on this beautiful Sunday, shall we?
A big-time series win for the Bat Cats
Nick Mingione and the Bat Cats are on the cusp of a third straight trip to the NCAA Tournament. Kentucky took a massive step toward that on Saturday by taking care of business against No. 17 Oklahoma with an 8-5 win to win a fourth series in SEC play and improve to 27-20 (12-14) on the year.
Ryan Schwartz was a home run short of a cycle on a 3-3 day that included a single, double, triple and four RBI. Kyuss Gargett and Patrick Herrera also added hits for the good guys. Nic McCay earned the win on the mound, allowing six hits and five earned runs in 5.2 innings pitched. Herrera and McCay were among the 12 seniors honored on Senior Day — including five members of the 2024 CWS squad.
The Cats and Sooners will wrap up the series on Sunday at 1 PM ET with the former looking for their first conference sweep of the season.
Former and future Cats compete at G League Elite Camp
Three players from Mark Pope’s debut roster in Lexington have been competing for spots in the NBA Draft Combine as participants in the G League Elite Camp in Chicago. Amari Williams and Andrew Carr are teammates in the event from May 9-11 while Lamont Butler is also in attendance.
Their teams actually went head-to-head on Saturday, Butler leading the Cats with 12 points on 5-9 shooting with seven rebounds, four assists and a steal in a win while Carr went for eight points (3-3 FG), three rebounds, two steals, one assist and one block and Williams added four points, eight rebounds, two assists and a steal.
Joining them? Kentucky signee Jaland Lowe, who played in the first game of the day and was a standout, finishing with nine points (4-8 FG), five assists, two steals, one rebound and one block in a win.
All four players will suit up again on Sunday, Butler at 4:20 PM ET and Lowe, Carr and Williams at 6:35 PM ET.
Malachi Moreno does his thing in the Chris Brickley Invitational
Participating in the third annual Chris Brickley Invitational, Kentucky Mr. Basketball and state champion Malachi Moreno was among the best of the best with 20 players participating in the all-star event in Chicago. Jasper Johnson was the game MVP last year, and now, his future teammate in Lexington stood out himself just a few short weeks before they make their way to campus.
Take a look at some of the highlights from the event, putting on a show against some of the top frontcourt prospects in high school basketball:
Malachi Moreno might be more ready than people think.
Note that this is against the top players in the 2025 class! #BBN
fromthesidelines_ TT pic.twitter.com/7mZY97Ceom
— Ethan Grantz (@EthanGrantz99) May 11, 2025
NEW: 5-star Kentucky commit Malachi Moreno causing problems for other top recruits ahead of the Breckley Invitational.
If this game sounds familiar, it’s because Jasper Johnson dropped 32 points going 8/9 from three last year winning MVP.
The game is later tonight! pic.twitter.com/7p5YRI6OOL
— Casey (@BleedBlueCasey) May 10, 2025
Another future Cat representing Kentucky well on the national stage.
No sweeps in the NBA Conference Semifinals
Boston got a double-digit lead and didn’t choke it away this time! How about that?! It’s been a frustrating start to the Eastern Conference Semifinals for the Celtics, blowing massive fourth quarter leads in both home games to drop to 0-2 in the series. Fortunately for them (and myself as a diehard fan) they figured it out in New York, blowing out the Knicks in Game 3 with a 115-93 final to cut the series deficit to 2-1.
After that, Minnesota held on late to defeat Golden State 102-97 to move up 2-1 in the series, as well, guaranteeing there will be no sweeps this round. Indiana leads Cleveland 2-1 after the Cavs got on the board Friday with a 126-104 win while Denver leads Oklahoma City after the Nuggets earned a 113-104 victory, as well — 2-1 across the board.
Today, it’ll be the Thunder and Nuggets at 3:30 PM ET on ABC, followed by the Cavs and Pacers at 8 PM ET on TNT.
That’s all for now, folks. Enjoy your Mother’s Day and Go Cats!
The post KSR Today: Happy Mother’s Day! appeared first on On3.