Keith Taylor: After six consecutive losses, struggling UK needs to find way out of dark tunnel

Let’s face it. This hasn’t been a fun season for Kentucky coach John Calipari, no matter how he tries to convince you otherwise. It’s been a struggle and it’s been real.
It’s been more than three decades — 1988-89 — since the Wildcats have lost six straight games. You would have to go back even further to 1911 before you discover a Kentucky team that lost six of its first seven games...
Struggling UK gets ‘punked’ by No. 7 Kansas in 65-62 loss; Wildcats (1-2) suffer second straight defeat

By Keith Taylor
Kentucky Today
Kentucky head coach John Calipari praised Kansas for its ability to defeat the Wildcats on Tuesday night.
Two days after a disappointing 76-64 loss to Richmond, Kentucky dropped a 65-62 decision to No. 7 Kansas in the State Farm Champions Classic at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The Jayhawks (2-1) fended off Calipari’s squad despite shooting 29 percent from...
Calipari, Wildcats begin season against Kansas in State Farm Champions Classic on Nov. 10

By Keith Taylor
Kentucky Today
Kentucky will open the college basketball season against Kansas in the State Farm Champions Classic on Nov. 10 at the United Center in Chicago.
The contest will be the fourth meeting between the two collegiate powerhouses in the four-team event. The Wildcats are 5-4 in the yearly classic and defeated Michigan State to open the season last November.
Kentucky beat Kansas...
Calipari anxious to see how Wildcats will fare in blockbuster opener against Michigan State in N.Y.

By Keith Taylor
Kentucky Today
John Calipari doesn’t know what to expect from his team when Kentucky opens the season against Michigan State in the State Farm Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden.
“This is so early in the season, I can’t predict what goes on,” he said Sunday. “They have a have a couple of veterans, but really their veteran quarterback (Cassius Winston) makes them go....
PJ Washington turns in inspiring performance, leads Wildcats past Kansas 71-63, gets 5th double-double

By Keith Taylor
Kentucky Today
When he’s at his best, PJ Washington is nearly unstoppable. He was a force for Kentucky when the Wildcats needed him the most Saturday night.
Washington had a double-double with 20 points and 13 rebounds to lead the eighth-ranked Wildcats to a 71-63 victory over No. 9 Kansas in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge at Rupp Arena. It was the team’s fifth consecutive victory...
Calipari pleased with Kentucky’s progress, but Kansas will be another great challenge for Cats

By Keith Taylor
Kentucky Today
Keldon Johnson has no problem get hyped up for a game. The energy level will likely reach epic proportions when Kentucky takes on Kansas Saturday at Rupp Arena.
Johnson admitted Friday he is anxious for the Top-10 showdown between the eighth-ranked Wildcats and the ninth-ranked Jayhawks in the fifth SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
“I’m excited to get out there and put everything...
Bevin joins 16-state coalition in Supreme Court amicus brief protecting Second Amendment rights

Gov. Matt Bevin has joined 15 states in a U.S. Supreme Court amicus brief supporting Second Amendment rights, in response to New York City’s restrictions on handguns kept for self-defense.
The brief was filed in response to the costly and restrictive “premises permit” required by the city to own a personal handgun for self-defense. The permit prohibits taking a weapon outside the home for...
Wiedemann appointed Chief Executive Officer for AAA Club Alliance

AAA Club Alliance has announced the appointment of Thomas C. Wiedemann as Chief Executive Officer.
Wiedemann replaces Bernhard “Berni” Koch, who had been with the organization since 2002 and had served as CEO since 2012.
AAA Club Alliance, Inc. is the third-largest AAA club in the national AAA federation and serves more than six million members in Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky,...
Beshear fighting temporary injunction request seeking to halt nation’s health care system

Attorney General Andy Beshear is fighting a request for a temporary injunction filed this week by a group of states seeking to halt the nation’s health care system while an ongoing lawsuit on the issue plays out in federal court.
Beshear
Beshear and a group of state attorneys general are intervening in the lawsuit – Texas et al. v. United States et al. – that claims the ACA is unconstitutional...
Beshear, AGs file court action to block ACA lawsuit; claims Kentucky would lose $49.7 billion in funding

A group of state attorneys general is joining together to protect the nation’s health care system by seeking to intervene in and combat a lawsuit aimed at dismantling the Affordable Care Act, Attorney General Andy Beshear has announced.
The lawsuit claims that the ACA is unconstitutional because the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act eliminated the ACA penalty for failing to purchase health insurance – known...
Rural Blog: Analysts think Ky.’s newly approved Medicaid work requirement poses little political risk

“On Jan. 12, Kentucky became the first state to get federal permission to suspend Medicaid coverage for “‘able-bodied’ adults who don’t complete 80 hours per month of community engagement activities,” like employment, education, job-skills training and community service,” Tony Pugh reports for McClatchy’s DC bureau. And though Kentucky is one of the poorest...