Orb's Monday News and Views

I have generally never loved Derby weekend. I know that sounds sacrilegious for someone from the Commonwealth, but it has generally been true. Part of it is where I grew up, the East Kentucky area is not exactly horse country, and part was due to my couple of Derby encounters being relatively negative experiences (usually involving me sweating profusely or falling into mud). This year was different. We are coming off my favorite Derby weekend of all time, in part due to its winner Orb. The Lexington horse shined in the slop to not only win the race, but also set up for what may be the best chance at a Triple Crown since Smarty Jones in 2004. I won't claim to know what traits in a horse are important, but I know enough to understand when a win is impressive, and Orb's was just that. For those of us who tend to bet for anything Lexington-based (and I am in that camp), the Orb win also meant financial reward. I cashed my biggest horse racing ticket ever after hitting a large win bet and the exacta and with the many people who bet with their heart in the Bluegrass, there were probably lots of groups as happy as this one: This has been a rough few weeks for those of us who are fans of Lexington, UK and everything not having to do with the Cards. Their sports teams have been uber-successful and their publicity has been non-stop, thank in large part to Rick Pitino's ghostly skin and hideous tattoo. A win in the Derby would have been almost too much to handle. But the Lexington owners and trainer saved us from more Hair Plug madness and gave us a feel good story in the middle of the 139th Derby. Celebrations were everywhere, including this one by a well-dressed Tom Brady, who put $4700 on Orb to win and is rumored to potentially have a small ownership stake. Even Super Bowl winners can go nuts when winning the Derby: video from BizJournals.com So congrats to Orb for making a fun weekend. And with that, the other big stories of the last three days: --- When you look at the car above, you would certainly wonder how anyone could possibly have survived that crash...and the answer is that they almost did not. But UK Safety Ashely Lowrey is lucky to be alive after a harrowing accident this weekend that had all of the Big Blue Nation concerned. Late on Friday night, Lowrey took a turn to fast and then flipped his car multiple times, and was ejected over 100 feet. Throughout the day on Saturday, his condition was somewhat of a mystery, but over time it became clear that while Lowrey was going to be ok, his survival was somewhat of a miracle. It was heartwarming to see all of his teammates take to social media to express concern for their teammate who still remains in the hospital. The latest update on his condition is that he has no permanent head or brain injury, has been removed from all breathing devices and is still in serious condition in the hospital. There has been no update on his condition in terms of a long-term injury or football, but it looks as if he will be able to recover and he is alert at this time. His first words to a friend after regaining consciousness were to ask if "I am still pretty," which showcased that his sense of humor remains. We continue to wish him the best for his recovery and will keep you updated as the days go forward. UPDATE: From WLEX reporter Nikki Burdine:

Kentucky safety Ashley Lowery is still intensive care at a Ga hospital after an accident, but he has no broken bones or internal injuries.

— Nikki Burdine (@NikkiBurdine) May 6, 2013

--- Two huge commitments could come down this weekend in UK land, with arguably the two of the most talented players to consider Kentucky in recent years in their two sports. Andrew Wiggins could end up making his decision this week, as he tries to pick between Kentucky, North Carolina, Kansas and Florida State. The growing consensus from those that around him is that he will probably announce something this week, trying to get it done before the May 15 deadline. The rumor mills are nuts right now with speculation as to where he is leaning or going, but the consistent view from everyone I have talked to with knowledge is that Wiggins genuinely has yet to make up his mind. I continue to hear positive vibes for Kansas (amongst those I consider the most in the know, that continues to be the school that I hear brought up the most), but as I have stated many times, there isn't any pick he could make that would surprise me. What I think most Kentucky fans do want is an end to the situation, which was probably asked to me over 100 times over the course of this weekend (I stopped counting at 40). Kentucky doesn't need Wiggins, but if he picks the Big Blue, the circus is on for the best group of talent ever in college basketball. My confidence level is not high, but my hope remains as I continue the view that you can never count out Calipari. --- One decision that we DO know is going down this week will be the college pick for QB Drew Barker, who is picking on Friday between Kentucky, South Carolina and Tennessee. This could be one of the biggest in a long time for Kentucky football as most believe Barker is one of the top 2-3 QB talents to come out of the state in the last 20 years. He is ranked #7 nationally and is the perfect quarterback for the Neil Brown system. Information is all over the map on this one right now, with some of those around the UK program still confident, but national writers and the South Carolina people feeling good about the Gamecocks. I have to think Kentucky is the choice for a variety of reasons, but one trumps all other. Common sense would seem to suggest that having a 3:30 pm press conference and inviting the general public in the state of Kentucky would lead to a guess that Kentucky is the pick. Do you really want to have UK fans (who surely will show up) at your press conference if you pick the other school? But stranger things have happened, so we will at least for now be left in suspense. With Barker deciding and the possibility of Wiggins pulling the trigger that day as well (that is the day floating in speculation), this could be a huge May 10th in UK history coming soon. --- The picture above to me is the highlight of the weekend. Nerlens Noel showcased once again his huge heart, taking Kelly, a young cancer patient as his guest with him to the Kentucky Derby. Kelly walked the red carpet with Nerlens and spent the day with him at Churchill Downs. It is yet another example to me of how Nerlens Noel, even at such a young age, is such a wonderful representative of the program. Noel has been a great individual in the community in Lexington since he arrived here, but this weekend I saw what makes Noel great up close. We were at a number of the same Derby events, and it was great to see how accommodating he was, not only with the attendees at events, or other celebrities, but also with general fans and those that were working at the events. I remember seeing John Calipari early on in his time in Lexington, always take the time at big events to go to those that are serving him, shake hands, take pictures and give them the respect he was also giving the biggest donors around him. The same is true with Noel, and it extends all the way to youngsters like Kelly. It was a heartwarming scene this weekend, but was also par for the course for a man whose heart is as big as his hair. --- It was Graduation day at UK as this year's Senior class said goodbye. This of course included a lot of UK athletes, ranging from Polson/Hood above to a number of football players and great performers in all the sports. I also want to give a shout out to all of our KSRCollege writers that walked the stage today. They were part of the first group to write for the site and have helped us a great deal in expanding our coverage of everything UK related. And in addition, I want to salute Les Johns (below). He has written for the student newspaper, the Kentucky Kernel, and has become a good friend of the site, and me personally. I like stories like the one Les has. He had another career, took a detour mid-life and went back to college. He got into journalism while a "non-traditional" UK student and has been covering UK games for the last two years. As many of you know, KSR is won't win a popularity contest in any media room, but Les has always been a friend and I have been continually impressed by his work ethic and desire to do a great job. We hope to continue to work with Les in the future and I know what this graduation day means to him. Salute to Les and all the other UK grads for getting it done. As we get ready for the week ahead, remember that we have Demarcus Cousins in studio on the radio show this week and will be discussing Ryan Lemond's Derby destination of camping out in Waddy. It should be fun...I leave you with the most undercovered picture of the weekend...Rajon Rondo at the Floyd Mayweather fight, wearing a bedazzled t-shirt of sequins of an image of his face. What can ya say....