Dean Hood (Photo by Dave Winder, MSU Athletics)
HOOD NAMED AFCA REGION 3 COACH OF THE YEAR
Murray State head football coach Dean Hood received another honor Wednesday, as he was named the Region 3 Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association. Hood led Murray State to its first winning season since 2011 and best OVC record since 2005. His Racers started the season at 5-0, tying the 1995 team for the best start in school history. Murray State also returned to the top 25 polls under Hood this season, and were ranked 19th in the final regular season poll. This is Hood’s second time to earn the award, having previously earned the honor in 2011 at Eastern Kentucky. Wednesday’s award marked the third of this postseason for Hood as he was previously named OVC Coach of the Year and a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award. The regional winners will serve as finalists for the 2021 Spring FCS National Coach of the Year, which will be announced by the AFCA during the week leading up to the FCS National Championship game.
RACER FOOTBALL TICKET RENEWALS BEGIN MAY 3
Murray State football fans can reserve their spot to catch all of the action of the 97th edition of Racer football and season two of the Dean Hood era. For just $50 per seat, fans can guarantee that they will not miss a minute of the 2021 football season at Roy Stewart Stadium featuring five exciting home games. This year’s home schedule includes the September 4 home opener against Mississippi Valley State, the annual Family Weekend game versus Eastern Illinois on October 2, a Battle of the Border Homecoming clash with Austin Peay on October 23, a November 6 matchup against Tennessee Tech, and the home finale against Southeast Missouri for Hall of Fame Day November 13. The renewal process begins May 3 and runs through July 2 with deposits now being accepted. For more information, call the Murray State ticket office at 270-809-3000.
RACER BASEBALL ALTERS WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Murray State baseball has altered its three game weekend series with Eastern Kentucky due to potential weather issues on Saturday. The teams will now play a Friday doubleheader with games set for 1 pm and 5 pm, and then a Saturday game at a time to be announced. The games are part of alumni weekend and Friday will be Johnny Reagan Day. The games will stream on ESPN Plus.
WEDNESDAY’S HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL SCORES
McCracken County 5, Hopkinsville 4
Ballard Memorial 2, Dresden 0
Dresden 9, Ballard Memorial 6
UK VS WASHINGTON IN THE NCAA VOLLEYBALL FINAL FOUR
Kentucky faces Washington tonight in the NCAA Volleyball Final Four in Omaha. The Wildcats are appearing in the national semifinals for the first time. Washington ended Kentucky’s season in 2019 in the NCAA Tourney. Texas and Wisconsin meet in the other semifinal tonight.
EKU CANCELS SPRING GAME
EKU football fans planning to attend the program’s spring game are out of luck. The school announced yesterday the Maroon and White game set for Saturday is being canceled. The Colonels say they don’t have the depth to simulate a game. The team cited injuries and COVID-19 protocols for the lack of depth.
CARDINALS BLANKED BY NATS
The St. Louis Cardinals were unable to find the plate in a 1-0 shutout loss to the Washington Nationals. St. Louis starter Carlos Martinez gave up one run over six-innings but couldn’t get any run support as he took his fourth loss of the season. Paul DeJong led the Card’s offense with two hits. St. Louis will take tonight off before returning home to Busch Stadium to host the Reds on Friday.
GRIZZLIES SQUANDER EARLY LEAD; JACKSON RETURNS
The Memphis Grizzlies led by 15 points after one quarter before fading in a 117-105 loss to the Clippers in LA. Ja Morant led Memphis with 22 points. Memphis is 29-and-28 and plays tomorrow night in Portland…Jaren Jackson Jr. made his season debut against the Clippers and scored 15 points, hauled down eight rebounds, and blocked four shots in less than 18 minutes off the bench. Jackson has been recovering from knee surgery after hurting it in the Orlando bubble last season.
AREA HOCKEY ROUNDUP
The Nashville Predators led by three goals midway through the third period, but could not hold it in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Blackhawks in Chicago. The two teams rematch tomorrow night in Chicago. The St. Louis Blues are back on home ice tonight for the first of two matches with the Colorado Avalanche. Puck drop from the Enterprise Center is set for 7 p.m.
VANDY HIRES HOOPS ASSISTANTS
Ed Conroy and Michael Curry are joining Jerry Stackhouse’s Vanderbilt basketball staff as assistants. Conroy is a former head coach at Tulane and the Citadel, his alma mater. He is the uncle of former Minnesota center Liam Robbins, who is transferring to Vandy. Curry served as head coach of the Pistons for the 2008-09 season and is a former teammate of Stackhouse with Detroit.
NATIONAL SPORTS BRIEFS
NFL clubs will find out their 2021 schedules next month. The league will release the full regular-season slate in prime time on May 12th on NFL Network, NFL.com and the NFL app. The schedule will feature 17 regular season and three preseason games for the first time ever.
NFL owners are approving several rule changes for 2021. Among them are expanded oversight from replay officials, an experiment to make onside kick recovery easier and the elimination of preseason overtime. More players will also be allowed to wear single-digit numbers.
The Wizards will play the rest of the way without rookie forward Deni Avdija. ESPN reports he suffered a hairline fracture in his right ankle last night against the Warriors and is out for the year. Avdija will have an MRI today to check for ligament damage.
The Astros will be keeping veteran catcher Martin Maldonado in Houston for another season. The 34-year-old backstop has agreed to a one-year contract extension. ESPN reports it’s worth five-million dollars with a vesting option for 2023 based on 90 games played.
The unique PGA Tour Zurich Classic tees off today at TPC Louisiana. Golfers will be paired with two rounds of best-ball and two rounds of alternate shot to determine a champ on Sunday. Jon Rahm and Ryan Palmer won the event in 2019, while the pandemic canceled it last year.
WEDNESDAY’S SCOREBOARD
MLB National League
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Philadelphia Phillies 6, San Francisco Giants 5
Washington Nationals 1, St. Louis Cardinals 0
Milwaukee Brewers 4, San Diego Padres 2
Arizona Diamondbacks 5, Cincinnati Reds 4 (Completion of suspended game)
Arizona Diamondbacks 8, Cincinnati Reds 5 (10)
Chicago Cubs 16, New York Mets 4
MLB American League
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Oakland Athletics 13, Minnesota Twins 12 (10)
Texas Rangers 7, Los Angeles Angels 4
Toronto Blue Jays 6, Boston Red Sox 3
Kansas City Royals 9, Tampa Bay Rays 8
Chicago White Sox at Cleveland Indians (Postponed)
MLB Interleague
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Miami Marlins 3, Baltimore Orioles 0
Pittsburgh Pirates 3, Detroit Tigers 2 (G1)
Detroit Tigers 5, Pittsburgh Pirates 2 (G2)
Colorado Rockies 6, Houston Astros 3
Atlanta Braves 4, New York Yankees 1
NBA
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Cleveland Cavaliers 121, Chicago Bulls 105
Indiana Pacers 122, Oklahoma City Thunder 116
Phoenix Suns 116, Philadelphia 76ers 113
Washington Wizards 118, Golden State Warriors 114
Toronto Raptors 114, Brooklyn Nets 103 (at Tampa, FL)
New York Knicks 137, Atlanta Hawks 127 (OT)
Utah Jazz 112, Houston Rockets 89
Dallas Mavericks 127, Detroit Pistons 117
Miami Heat 107, San Antonio Spurs 87
LA Clippers 117, Memphis Grizzlies 105
Denver Nuggets 106, Portland Trail Blazers 105
Sacramento Kings 128, Minnesota Timberwolves 125
NHL
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Chicago Blackhawks 5, Nashville Predators 4 (OT)
Minnesota Wild 4, Arizona Coyotes 1
Vegas Golden Knights 5, San Jose Sharks 2
Montreal Canadiens 4, Edmonton Oilers 3
THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE (All times are Eastern)
MLB National League
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12:35 p.m. – Arizona Diamondbacks at Cincinnati Reds
7:40 p.m. – New York Mets at Chicago Cubs
9:45 p.m. – Miami Marlins at San Francisco Giants
10:10 p.m. – San Diego Padres at Los Angeles Dodgers
MLB American League
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6:10 p.m. – New York Yankees at Cleveland Indians
7:10 p.m. – Seattle Mariners at Boston Red Sox
8:10 p.m. – Los Angeles Angels at Houston Astros
MLB Interleague
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1:10 p.m. – Pittsburgh Pirates at Detroit Tigers
NBA
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7:00 p.m. – Phoenix Suns at Boston Celtics
7:00 p.m. – New Orleans Pelicans at Orlando Magic
7:00 p.m. – Philadelphia 76ers at Milwaukee Bucks
8:30 p.m. – Detroit Pistons at San Antonio Spurs
9:00 p.m. – Charlotte Hornets at Chicago Bulls
9:30 p.m. – Los Angeles Lakers at Dallas Mavericks
NHL
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7:00 p.m. – Toronto Maple Leafs at Winnipeg Jets
7:00 p.m. – Boston Bruins at Buffalo Sabres
7:00 p.m. – Washington Capitals at New York Islanders
7:00 p.m. – Columbus Blue Jackets at Tampa Bay Lightning
7:00 p.m. – Carolina Hurricanes at Florida Panthers
7:00 p.m. – New Jersey Devils at Pittsburgh Penguins
7:00 p.m. – Philadelphia Flyers at New York Rangers
7:30 p.m. – Dallas Stars at Detroit Red Wings
8:00 p.m. – Colorado Avalanche at St. Louis Blues
10:00 p.m. – Ottawa Senators at Vancouver Canucks
PGA
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Zurich Classic of New Orleans (at Avondale, LA)
