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KSR's Saturday morning sights, sounds and thoughts from NYC

Jack PIlgrimby:Jack Pilgrimabout 17 hours
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Photo via UK Athletics

Who up, Midtown? The KSR gang is up and moving on this beautiful Saturday morning in New York City, just a block and a half from Madison Square Garden. After a brief flight delay — we sat on the runway for an hour waiting for traffic to clear up, which is hilarious to me — I got in at 4 PM ET or so while Steven Peake arrived from his morning flight around lunchtime. A number of Kentucky fans were on the flight from Louisville to LaGuardia, decked out in blue and white, ready to celebrate a Christmas win in the Big Apple.

By the time I took the shuttle to the subway station, then took the E Train to Midtown and walked over to the hotel, checked in and pumped out some content, it was already time for dinner. First up? Jack Demsey’s, of course, hoping to enjoy a meal and dinner with all of my closest BBN friends. Much to my disappointment, though, I counted only two blue shirts at the bar. One fan told us we missed the big rush of UK fans by a couple of hours and most would be back before and after the game. We’ll confirm those reports here shortly when we return.

We grabbed a burger — delicious, by the way — then did what you’re supposed to do in NYC at Christmas: touristy nonsense!

See the window displays at Macy’s? Of course. Check out the ice skating at Bryant Park? Wouldn’t miss it! Times Square, Empire State Building, we saw a good chunk of the walkable stuff for our first night out on the town trying to find the biggest pockets of BBN. Thing is, the city is absolutely packed with people coming from all over the world, so even 10K fans don’t compare to the hundreds of thousands there for, well, everything else. Some big blue family, not a ton of big blue family.

Anyway, here are some crappy iPhone photos I took on the move to give you an idea of the vibe.

That was just the appetizer for what’s to come on Saturday, a good dose of New York content leading up to all of the basketball content you could ever dream of, then more New York content to close out the night. I’m gonna get Peake to ice skate if it’s the last thing I do.

Andrew Carr gets a New York slice of pizza

Speaking of fine dining, Andrew Carr unleashed his inner Michael Scott and got himself a slice of New York’s finest pizza from a local staple: Sbarro.

“The game isn’t until 5:30 on Saturday, but I like to get to New York a little bit early so I can try one of my favorite haunts, like this one right here. It’s my favorite New York pizza joint,” he joked before sprinting across the street to get a slice.

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Practice at MSG was a success

Plenty of fun to go around in the big city, but the Cats are there on business, and they took care of it on Friday inside the mecca of basketball. Kentucky participated in practice at Madison Square Garden with special guest appearances from heavy-hitters such as Bill Raftery, Jon Rothstein and Jonathan Givony.

Check out some of the photos and videos from practice:

Aaron Bradshaw may play vs. Kentucky

The former Wildcat has not played since November 19 as Ohio State investigated a personal matter for Bradshaw, followed by a ramp-up process to get back to game shape. Will he be able to play against his old friends in blue and white? There’s a chance.

According to Jon Rothstein via a school spokesman, the Buckeyes will determine his status after today’s shootaround, as they will with Ques Glover (ankle). That’s not necessarily a yes, but considering they haven’t ruled him out in the hours leading up to tip-off, he’s clearly close — and maybe his desire to take on his former school will push him over.

The former five-star recruit is averaging 7.8 points and 4.5 rebounds per game this season in Columbus.

The staff is going with suits

Pope and his assistants have a policy of suits inside Rupp Arena and quarter-zips away from home, but Madison Square Garden isn’t like most venues away from home. In a place as historic as MSG, the staff is making an exception and going with suits when the Cats take on the Buckeyes.

Fitting, if you ask me.

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2024-12-21