The Cincinnati Bengals have released the schedule for the upcoming 2024 season. 

The preseason will feature three games against Buccaneers at home on August 10th followed by a road trip to Chicago to face the Bears August 17th and a final tuneup hosting the Colts on August 22nd. 

The regular season kicks off Sunday, September 8th at 1 p.m. as the Bengals host New England with the Patriots starting the post-Bill Belichick era. 

The Bengals will be featured on Monday Night Football twice this season: September 23rd hosting the Commanders to end Week 3 and a Week 14 date against the Cowboys in Dallas on December 9th. 

Cincinnati will also play the Giants on the road in Week 6 on Sunday Night Football. There is also a pair of Thursday Night games as the Bengals will travel to Baltimore on November 7th to begin Week 14 and host the Browns on Thursday, December 19th to kickoff Week 16.

The Bengals will also host the Ravens, Eagles, Raiders, Steelers and Broncos with road trips to meet the Cheifs, Panthers, Browns, Chargers, Titans and Steelers.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The first pieces to the inaugural schedule under Kentucky men’s basketball head coach Mark Pope were unveiled by the Southeastern Conference on Monday. The Wildcats are slated to play all 15 league foes at least once and will tangle with Alabama, Tennessee and Vanderbilt in home-and-home fashion.

The league office debuted the 2024-25 home-and-away designations for the league schedule which once again features an 18-game slate with the additions of Oklahoma and Texas to the fold. Kentucky will play nine games within the friendly confines of Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center and play an equal number of games on the road.

This season, the Wildcats will take on Alabama, Tennessee and Vanderbilt in a home-and-home series. It will extend two of the longest-played series in the nation with multiple dates against the Volunteers and Commodores. The two matchups against Alabama will mark the first time the Cats and Tide have met twice in a regular season since 2021-22.

Kentucky’s league home schedule will include the three aforementioned teams as well as Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, LSU, South Carolina and Texas A&M. UK’s road matchups will include Georgia, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas.

Times, dates and television information will be announced at a later date.

The SEC will add Texas and Oklahoma to its alignment in 2024-25 enhancing an already formidable league. The SEC has had 43 NCAA Tournament selections over the last six tournaments, and the league has had at least one team advance to the Elite Eight in 10 of the last 14 tournaments. The league’s success has also translated into 60 players being selected in the last six NBA Drafts, leading all conferences in that time span.

UK’s home-and-home slate features three intriguing matchups. The Wildcats will take on Alabama, who advanced to its first Final Four in program history in 2024, for two dates next season. Kentucky captured the lone matchup between the two teams a season ago, with the Cats earning a 117-95 victory in Rupp Arena. Kentucky leads the all-time series by a 117-41 mark.

Kentucky has played Tennessee more than any other program in its history and owns a 161-78 all-time record after splitting the series a season ago. Both visiting teams secured a win in 2023-24, with UK’s coming in upset fashion to spoil Senior Night in Knoxville, Tennessee, on March 9. 

Kentucky leads the all-time series with Vanderbilt 157-49. UK won both meetings in 2023-24 and are 16-2 against the Commodores in the last 18 matchups. The Wildcats are 86-16 against VU in Lexington and own a 63-29 mark in Nashville.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky men’s basketball has landed Trent Noah, the state of Kentucky’s fifth all-time leading scorer in high school basketball history, head coach Mark Pope announced on Wednesday.

Noah averaged 29.9 points per game during his senior season for Harlan County, where he capped his high school career having tallied 3,707 total points. That mark is also a school and county record.

“Trent Noah is one of the elite shooters in this class,” Pope said. “He is a tough, hard-nosed player with a special physicality. As an eastern Kentucky native, Trent will bring a grit, toughness and determination to the program that is representative of this state. We’re looking forward to Trent joining this talented group.”

During a senior campaign that saw Noah lead Harlan County to a state runner-up finish, he averaged 29.9 points per game on 56% shooting from the field, 43% from distance and 89% from the free-throw line. During the state tournament run, Noah increased his average to 32.3 points during the four games. He was tabbed a first-team all-state selection by both the Louisville Courier Journal and the Lexington Herald Leader, and he was the 13th Region Player of the Year by the Kentucky Association of Basketball Coaches.

Noah, a four-star prospect ranking as high as No. 108 by 247Sports, hit 102 of 237 (43.03%) from 3-point range as a senior. He is the second overall prospect in the state of Kentucky, behind fellow UK signee Travis Perry, who captured the state title with Lyon County, edging out Noah’s squad by a 67-58 score.

Harlan County was the first school from eastern Kentucky to reach the state finals since 2011. Noah scored 129 points over the four-game span and set the Sweet 16 record by hitting 19 3-pointers in the tournament, bettering Mason County’s Chris Lofton’s mark of 17 in 2003.

The 6-foot-6 wing scored 35 points and added 10 boards in the first round. He followed that performance with 48 points and nine rebounds, including making 7 of 10 from distance. The 48 points were the fourth-most ever scored in a Boys’ Sweet 16 game. In the semifinals, Noah poured in 29 points and contributed 10 rebounds. He had 17 points, nine rebounds and three assists in the championship contest.

As a junior, he averaged 26.5 points and 12.8 rebounds per game while connecting on 66 3-pointers. He was tabbed a second-team all-state selection by the Louisville Courier Journal.

Noah’s grandfather, Charles “Perky” Bryant, played football for Kentucky from 1961-63.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WMDJ) – On Wednesday, the KHSAA Board of Control gave final approval to the next round of football realignment for the 2025-2026 seasons.

There will be a shakeup in Class 2A, District 8 as perennial state title contender Belfry High School will move down from Class 3A to join fellow Pike County schools East Ridge, Pike Central and Shelby Valley along with Betsy Layne to form a new 5-team district.

Belfry had elected to play in a higher class during the last round of realignment for the 2023-2024 seasons, however the KHSAA would not allow schools to play “up” in class moving forward.

Class 2A, District 7 will now include Leslie County, joining existing teams Floyd Central, Knott County Central, Martin County and Prestonsburg to create a new 5-team alignment.

Officials at Betsy Layne had petitioned the KHSAA to move into District 7 joining the other Floyd County schools citing less travel expenses and better rivalry matchups, yet the KHSAA denied Betsy Layne’s request.

Locally, Class 1A, District 8 will encompass Hazard, Jenkins, Paintsville, Phelps and Pikeville. Phelps and Jenkins have not participated in district competition for several seasons.

Class 3A, District 8 will feature Estill County, Lawrence County, Letcher County Central falling from Class 4A, Magoffin County and Powell County.

Johnson Central will remain in Class 4A, District 6 along with Ashland-Blazer, Boyd County, Greenup County and Rowan County.

Reds starting center fielder TJ Friedl could possibly return to Cincinnati starting lineup when the defending National League champion Arizona Diamondbacks visit Great American Ballpark for a 3-game series beginning Tuesday night.

Friedl is currently on a rehab assignment at Triple A Louisville, where he has four hits in 16 at-bats while scoring three runs. Three of Friedl’s four hits have gone for extra bases. He’s also driven in a pair of runs with a .250/.333/.438/.771 batting line for the Bats.

The Reds are hitting a Major League worst .209 as a team collectively and scored a total of three runs this weekend while being swept by the Baltimore Orioles at home. The Reds have dropped five-straight games and eight of their last 10.

Cincinnati will be back in action against Arizona on Tuesday, starting at 6:40 p.m. The Inside Pitch pregame begins at 6:10 on your home for Reds baseball all season long WMDJ.

PRESTONSBURG, Ky. (WMDJ) – Prestonsburg High School didn’t need to look far when the position of head boys’ basketball coach opened earlier this week.

Veteran coach Harold Tackett has been named the new head boys' basketball coach at Prestonsburg, one day after the resignation of Chase Parsley.

Tackett is a familiar name to Prestonsburg fans as he’s been serving as an assistant coach on the boys’ program since returning to the school a couple of years ago.

Tackett previously served as girls basketball coach for Prestonsburg, enjoying a run of success in the 1990s and later spent one season leading Betsy Layne’s girls program, winning a 58th District title. He left Betsy Layne for his first head boys coaching position at 4th Region Logan County High School in 2008.

At Logan County, Tackett turned their program around, winning 21 games in his fourth and final season, returning the Cougars to the region tournament. He was also named 4th region coach of the year in 2012.

Tackett’s last head coaching position was at Greenup County, where he led the boys’ program to a pair of district crowns before leaving after the 2018-19 season.  Tackett was (81-81) in six seasons leading the Musketeers.

Tackett will take the reins of a Prestonsburg squad that finished with its first winning record in 15 seasons at (17-15). The Blackcats won one of the first four Super Regional contest, defeating Phelps before falling in the second round to eventual regional champion Magoffin County.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Adding to the backcourt, Kentucky men’s basketball head coach Mark Pope announced on Thursday that Kerr Kriisa (pronounced KREE-suh), a 6-foot-3 veteran guard who has played at both Arizona and West Virginia, will transfer to Kentucky ahead of the 2024-25 season. He will have one season of eligibility remaining. 

Kriisa, who hails from Tartu, Estonia, played three seasons with Arizona before transferring to West Virginia for the 2023-24 campaign. This past year, Kriisa averaged 11.0 points, 4.7 assists and 2.5 rebounds for the Mountaineers across 23 games played. For his college career, Kriisa has averaged 9.7 points, 4.7 assists and 2.3 rebounds in 99 total games, including 93 starts. 

"Kerr Kriisa is one of the best shooters in the country,” Pope said.  “I feel like I’ve been recruiting him for the last five or six years since he was a prep player. He is one of the most experienced guards in all of college basketball. Kerr played on some great Arizona teams and then, last year, in the hallowed halls of West Virginia. He has a competitive spirit that overflows in every way conceivable. Kerr will have a massive impact on our team on the court and in the locker room. Kentucky fans are going to love his bold personality.” 

Kriisa made a large impact from the start during his year in Morgantown. He poured in 20 points and dished out seven assists during his WVU debut vs. Massachusetts, his first of four 20-point efforts on the season. Against Toledo, Kriisa registered a double-double with 12 points and 10 assists, becoming the first West Virginia player to have 10 or more assists in a game in five years. 

The guard continued to prove himself in conference play, going off for 21 points and six made 3s on the road at Oklahoma State, before scoring 23 against Pope’s BYU squad in early February. He erupted for a career-high 25 points on the Mountaineers’ trip to Kansas State later that month. 

For the season, Kriisa finished with 13 double-figure scoring efforts, 18 games with at least three assists and 11 outings with three or more 3s. 

At Arizona, Kriisa was a game-changing facilitator, leading the Pac-12 in assists during both his sophomore and junior seasons. He was the first player to lead the league in assists in back-to-back years since Brandon Granville of USC in 2000 and 2001. A capable shooter from outside, Kriisa finished his time at UA ranking 10th in program history with 177 made 3-pointers. He also became one of just five players in Pac-12 history to record multiple triple-doubles in a career, joining Jason Kidd, Andre Iguodala, Loren Woods and Luke Jackson. Kriisa recorded his first triple-double during the 2021-22 season, notching 21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists at Utah. He followed that up during his junior season with 14 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds against Southern. 

During his three years in Tucson, Kriisa and the Wildcats went a combined 78-20, won two Pac-12 tournaments, one Pac-12 regular season title and made three NCAA Tournament appearances, including receiving a No. 1 seed in 2022.

Prior to college, Kriisa spent time playing for Prienai CBet and Zalgiris II Kaunsas in Lithuania. He has experience playing with the Estonian national team and was a driving force behind the nation’s first-ever win over the Lithuanian national team in the summer of 2020. 

LEXINGTON, Ky. – A sharpshooter and two-time Atlantic 10 Sixth Man of the Year, Koby Brea (pronounced BRAY-ah), was added to the Kentucky men’s basketball roster, head coach Mark Pope announced on Wednesday.  

Brea paced the nation in 3-point percentage a season ago, making 49.8% of his attempts for Dayton, the nation’s third best in 3-point percentage in 2023-24. Brea averaged 3.0 made 3s per game for the Flyers who went 25-8 on the season and advanced to the NCAA Tournament as an at-large bid. He will have one season of eligibility remaining.

“By the numbers, Koby Brea is the most efficient mid-to-high major player in college basketball in the last decade,” Pope said. “He’s the best returning shooter in college basketball next year. Koby is a dangerous, dangerous man who is a great human with an incredible family. He will be key in allowing us to play the style of basketball that we love the most. Koby and this group are going to take Big Blue Nation on an incredible ride.”

A native of Washington Heights, New York, Brea has made 21 starts in 113 games for the Flyers. Dayton went 85-41 with Brea on the roster and amassed 22 or more wins in each of the last three seasons.

Brea appeared in 17 games as a freshman and averaged 2.9 points and 1.7 rebounds per game. As a sophomore, Brea earned his first A-10 Sixth Man of the Year honor after notching 8.1 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. He connected on 43.6% from the field and 42.3% from 3-point range, making 1.8 3-pointers per game. An injury-plagued junior year still saw Brea play in 28 games and make 10 starts. He logged 6.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.

Brea broke out for a memorable season during his fourth year in Dayton. He averaged 11.1 points and 3.8 rebounds per game, while contributing 1.2 assists per game en route to A-10 Sixth Man of the Year honors for the second time in his career. He joins Xavier’s James Posey (1997 and 1998) as the league’s only two-time winners of the award. Brea connected on 51.2% of his field goals, including the nation-leading 49.8%, with a minimum of 2.5 makes per game, from long range.

Brea was able to rise to the occasion in big moments this season. He tallied 13 points, including the game-tying 3 with 48 seconds left in a win over LSU. Brea totaled a career-high 22 points, six rebounds and two steals at SMU, where he scored seven of UD’s last eight points in the two-point victory. The 6-foot-6 wing connected on six of eight 3s against SMU. Other season highlights include making 5 of 8 from deep to score 17 points and finish plus-24 against Oakland, and he scored 18 points, 16 coming in the second half, in the come-from-behind VCU win, which included 4 of 5 makes from long range. 

In all, Brea has recorded 38 double-digit scoring efforts and connected on three or more from distance on 33 occasions. He has scored 889 career points, hauled in 351 rebounds, dished out 120 assists and connected on 224 3-pointers at a 43.4% rate.

In two NCAA Tournament games this season, Brea was 9 of 16 (56.3%) from 3-point range against Nevada and Arizona. He scored at least 14 points and made at least four 3s in both contests.

Prior to signing with Dayton, Brea averaged 20.8 points, 7.8 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game as a senior at Monsignor Scanlon High School. The squad advanced to the final four of the Class AA New York Catholic High School Athletic Association for the first time in school history before COVID-19 canceled the tournament.

In the summer of 2019, Brea represented the Dominican National Team in the U-17 FIBA Centrobasket Championships in San Juan. Although he was born in the United States, both of his parents are from the Dominican Republic, making him eligible to play for the national team. He played in five games, averaging 26.8 minutes, 9.2 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. He connected on 44% of his field-goal attempts and 41% from 3-point range.