CINCINNATI – Major League Baseball’s all-time leader in career hits, Pete Rose, has died at the age of 83.

Rose was reportedly found by family members at his home in Clark County in Nevada, on Monday. The cause of death has yet to be determined.

Once defined by the game he loved, Rose undermined his legacy by agreeing to a lifetime ban from baseball for allegedly betting on baseball while managing the Cincinnati Reds, a claim he publicly denied until 2004.

Rose applied for reinstatement into Major League Baseball numerous times with no success, leaving him ineligible for induction in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

The Cincinnati Reds released a statement: “Our hearts are deeply saddened by the news of Pete’s passing,” said Bob Castellini, Reds Principal Owner and Managing Partner. “He was one of the fiercest competitors the game has ever seen, and every team he played for was better because of him. Pete was a Red through and through. No one loved the game more than Pete and no one loved Pete more than Reds Country. We must never forget what he accomplished.”

Rose, a 17-time All-Star, is the all-time MLB leader in hits (4,256), games played (3,562), at-bats (14,053) and singles (3,215). He won three World Series (1975 & 76 with the Reds, 1980 with the Phillies), three batting titles (1968, ’69 & ’73), one National League Most Valuable Player Award (1973), two Gold Glove Awards (1969, ’70), NL Rookie of the Year Award (1963) and 1975 World Series MVP. In 1999, Rose was named to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.

Rose was inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame in 2016 and his iconic #14 was retired the same year. His statue outside Great American Ball Park was dedicated in 2017.

PRESTONSBURG, Ky. (WMDJ) – A pair of undefeated top-10 teams in Class 2A renewed their rivalry on Friday night as 7th-ranked Betsy Layne faced 6th-ranked Prestonsburg in an instant classic, with the Blackcats prevailing 39-32.

Prestonsburg’s smashmouth offensive attack proved to be the perfect mix of ball control and dominance as the Blackcats rushed the ball 64 times for 381 total yards in just over 31-minutes, almost doubling Betsy Layne’s time of possession for the victory.

Senior Alex Harris led the way with 33 carries for 246 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Fellow senior Dalton Elliott scored three touchdowns, including the final two Blackcat scores in the fourth quarter to seal the win.

A quick first quarter saw Prestonsburg start the scoring behind a quarterback sneak by sophomore Bryce Holbrook, giving the Blackcats an early 6-0 lead at the 6:16 mark.

After both teams traded possessions, Betsy Layne finally answered back at the 8:47 mark in the second quarter as standout senior Andrew McCutcheon punched in his first of three scores, followed by a successful two-point conversion run by Carter Parsons, to give Betsy Layne the advantage 8-6.

That would prove to be the only lead the Bobcats would enjoy on the evening.

Prestonsburg would strike again with Harris on a 12-yard run and a conversion run by sophomore Colin Hatfield to give the Blackcats a 14-8 lead with 3:22 left before the half.

On the ensuing drive, McCutcheon wouldn’t be denied as he slashed through the Blackcat defense for a 52-yard touchdown run. Both teams would be tied 14-14 at the half.

Prestonsburg began the battle of ball control, taking the kickoff and marching down field with Dalton Elliott scoring his first of three touchdowns with 4:29 left in the third.

Betsy Layne quickly answered back as junior Isaiah Allen took a kick return 73-yards for a touchdown, tying the game again at 20-20.

Both teams would trade scores within the first minute of the fourth quarter as Harris punched in a 31-yard touchdown run, immediately answered by Betsy Layne’s McCutcheon, game tied again at 26-26 with 11:06 left to play.

Prestonsburg again answered as Elliott gashed the Bobcats on a spinning 15-yard run to give the Blackcats the lead 32-26 with 8:34 remaining.

After a Blackcat stop on defense, Elliott again found pay dirt, followed by Jayden Johnson’s PAT to extend the Prestonsburg advantage 39-26. This drive was aided by a pair of critical 15-yard personal foul frustration penalties by Betsy Layne.

Parsons put the Bobcats on his back to give Betsy Layne one more score with just over two minutes remaining, 39-32.

McCutcheon finished the night with 24 rushes for 183 yards and three touchdowns for Betsy Layne. Parsons completed 4-of-6 passes for 64 yards with Allen receiving two catches, Chris Jarrell and Connor Bentley caught the other two passes for 33 and 17 yards respectfully.

Prestonsburg (6-0) will host Martin County this Friday, October 4th in their first district contest of the season.

Betsy Layne (5-1) will entertain the bye week.

EASTERN, Ky. (WMDJ) – Betsy Layne crashed Floyd Central’s first-ever Alumni Night festivities scoring a pair of touchdowns in the first four minutes of the contest on their way to an overwhelming 56-32 win Friday night.

The Bobcats were very efficient offensively scoring on eight of their 10 possessions and piling up 393 total yards of offense.

The scoring started quickly with senior running back Andrew McCutcheon taking a hand-off from junior quarterback Carter Parsons 47-yards for the games first score :47 seconds into the game. 6-0 Bobcats.

After forcing Floyd Central into a three-and-out, the Jaguars poorly punted the ball 16-net yards, giving Betsy Layne the football at the Jaguars 42-yard line at the 8:55 mark. In less than a minute, senior fullback Westin Harris rushed for a 16-yard touchdown, followed by running a successful two-point conversion to give Betsy Layne at 14-0 lead.

The Jaguars responded by orchestrating a 6-minute scoring drive capped by senior quarterback Colt Shelton’s 5-yard run. A failed two-point conversion attempt with 2:03 left in the first quarter made the score 14-6.

Betsy Layne would cash in on two more possessions in the second quarter, both touchdown passes from Parsons. The first was a 14-yard pass to McCutcheon at the 11:53 mark, the next 44-yard strike to junior wideout Isaiah Allen. The Bobcats extended their lead 30-6 with 3:04 left before the half.

Floyd Central quickly put together a 4-play, 54-yard drive as the Jaguars exposed Betsy Layne’s inability to cover the pass. Shelton hit freshman wide receiver Wesley Buck on a beautiful 24-yard touchdown throw to bring the Jaguars closer at 30-12.

Betsy Layne’s poor clock management left points on the field on the final possession of the half. The Bobcats lined up at the 2-yard line with :12 seconds left with Parsons taking a quarterback keeper to the right and stopped just short of the goal line and rather than take a timeout, the clock expired with Betsy Layne leading 30-12.

The Jaguars attempted to make a game of it by opening the third quarter on a 9-play, nearly 5-minute drive resulting in a Shelton’s second rushing touchdown of the night. Floyd Central pulled within 10-points, 30-20 with 7:04 left in the quarter.

Betsy Layne decided to give Floyd Central a dose of its own medicine in terms of ball control, keeping the ball for 5:45 seconds and running 11-plays for 44-yards and scoring again on a 12-yard run by McCutcheon. The conversion attempt failed, yet Betsy Layne increased their lead 36-20 with 5:36 remaining in the third quarter.

Floyd Central finally answered with another long scoring drive as sophomore fullback Ethan Curry capped an 11-play, 44-yard drive pulling the Jaguars back to a 10-point deficit, 36-26 at the start of the fourth quarter.

Betsy Layne would prove to be too much as Parsons ran for a 23-yard score in just three plays. The Bobcats would cause the only turnover of the night when senior linebacker Tye Isom intercepted Shelton’s pass with 4:48 left in the game, returning the ball for a 45-yard score, making the final 56-32.

Although the offense was steady, the Bobcats will need to clean up self-inflicted penalites. Betsy Layne committed 22-penalties for 159 yards including nine offside penalties.

Floyd Central falls to (0-5) on the season. The Jaguars have endured winless streaks of five or more games in three of the last four seasons: 7-straight in 2021, 9-straight losses in 2022 and now five straight losses to start the 2024 season.

The win sets up a showdown between undefeated rivals as Betsy Layne (5-0) will meet Prestonsburg (5-0) at Blackcat Stadium/Josh Francis Field this Friday. It’ll be the first time ever that both teams enter the game with (5-0) marks.

Game time is 7:30 p.m. and you can watch/listen to the game on WMDJ.

The Cincinnati Reds have announced they are replacing manager David Bell, effective immediately. Bench coach Freddie Benavides will serve as the interim manager for the final 5 games of the 2024 season.

President of Baseball Operations Nick Krall will be available to the media at 11:00 a.m. tomorrow in the clubhouse interview room. Media with Reds season credentials can enter Great American Ball Park at Dock 3.

"David provided the kind of steadiness that we needed in our clubhouse over the last few seasons. We felt a change was needed to move the Major League team forward. We have not achieved the success we expected, and we need to begin focusing on 2025,” Krall said.

Bell, 52, was hired by the Reds in October 2018. He compiled a 409-456 record over 6 seasons, including a 76-81 mark this year. In 2020, the Reds earned a Postseason berth in his second season, which was shortened by COVID-19 to 60 games.

EASTERN, Ky. (WMDJ) – Nothing brings a community together better than a night filled with nostalgia, which is what faculty and staff are planning this Friday night as Floyd Central High School will host its first-ever Alumni Night game when the Jaguars meet the Betsy Layne Bobcats.

Former players from Wheelwright, Allen Central and South Floyd High School are being asked to attend this event along with former players from Floyd Central for what should be a grand reunion starting at 7 p.m.

Alumni players from each school will be asked to line the sidelines during pregame warm-ups while a brief history will be told about each program. Once all four schools are recognized, current Jaguars will greet alumni from Beaver Creek to make a special sports moment sure to be remembered.

There will be tailgating at 5:30 p.m. hosted by alumni. Any alumni wishing to bring items for display are asked to do so and create their own tables. There will also be a memorial table setup which community members can display pictures of players now passed on.

Football on the southern end of Floyd County began with Wheelwright High School, when they began fielding a varsity team in 1940. The Wheelwright Maroons finished their first season (3-2-1), losing their first game to Fleming High School (later known as Fleming-Neon) 12-0 on September 21st, 1940 – nearly 84 years from tomorrow night’s game.

That same season, Wheelwright won its first game on the road against the Belfry Pirates, 14-7 on October 19th, 1940. The following week, the Maroons defeated Vicco High School 100-0!

Wheelwright played 40 seasons of football under eight different head coaches. Walter Price was Wheelwright’s first coach from 1940 to 1942. The program took a hiatus and was later resurrected by former University of Kentucky football star Wilbur “Shorty” Jamerson beginning in 1956. Jamerson had played for legendary head coach Paul “Bear” Bryant and scored a pair of touchdowns in Kentucky’s 1951 Sugar Bowl win over Oklahoma. After graduating from UK, Jamerson served as head coach of Morehead State’s football program before becoming an administrator at Wheelwright High School.

Except for the 1958 and 1966 seasons, Wheelwright football was guided by either Jamerson, Ray Brackett or Don Daniels over a 26-year span.

The decade of the 1970s was the golden age of Trojan football. In 1970, Wheelwright won the East Kentucky Mountain Conference Championship. The Trojans won 9 of their 10 regular season games, highlighted by wins over Pikeville, Whitesburg, Fleming-Neon and Jenkins before losing to Lynch High School in the playoffs. At that time, reaching the playoffs was the equivalent of reaching a Regional Playoff Final in today’s format.

Wheelwright made statewide news when the team was denied a championship with an undefeated district record. The Trojans had won 14-consecutive district games over the 1976 and 1977 seasons and both times missed out on postseason play. In 1977, the Trojans were undefeated in district play at (7-0), but Paintsville was proclaimed the champion with a (4-0) district record. The KHSAA ruled that Paintsville was allowed to designate an out-of-district win over Pikeville as a district victory, which gave the Tigers the championship in terms of opponent victories. The results of the 1977 season and a lawsuit by Wheelwright coach Don Daniels, created the rule that every school must play each team in their district to win a title – rules that are currently used today.

Wheelwright won 141 games and reached the playoffs twice: 1970 as East Kentucky Mountain Conference Champions and in 1993 under coach Donnie Daniels in the last season as a school.

While football was briefly played at Wayland High School in the 1940s, the sport didn’t take hold permanently until 1986, when Allen Central began varsity play.

The Rebels were led by Donnie Daniels as he took what he had learned under those legendary Wheelwright coaches, including his father, and applied it into creating a program from scratch at Allen Central.

The Rebels first win came against the Jenkins Cavaliers on the road in the first game of the 1987 season. The Rebels also recorded their first home win against Wheelwright that same season; 13-12 in game that was played at Prestonsburg, which served as the home field for Allen Central during the 1986 and 87 seasons.

Don Daniels Athletic Complex / Rebel Field at Eastern became the permanent home for Allen Central at the start of the 1988 season. Allen Central won the first game played there over Magoffin County 15-13.

Seven men served as head coach of the Allen Central football program:

Donnie Daniels from 1986-1989.

Dewey Jamerson took over in 1990 leading the program to its first winning season in 1990 at (6-5). He stayed on through the 1992 season.

Glenn Reeves led the program from 1993-1996. Reeves took the program to new heights, winning five games in 1995 and guiding Allen Central to its first playoff appearance against Lloyd Memorial High School.

Wes Halbert was coach for the 1997 season. Kevin Spurlock coached the Rebels from 1998-2000. Robert Mayton served as coach for two seasons, 2001-2002.

Jeremy Hall became first former Rebel player to coach the program starting in 2003. Over the next 14-seasons, Allen Central High School enjoyed its greatest success. Coach Hall led the Rebels to a pair of District Runner-Up finishes in 2009 and 2011, the school’s first 10-win season in 2009, which included the Rebels first playoff victory, a 60-34 win over Pineville at home.

Nearly 60% of Allen Central’s all-time wins came from Coach Hall’s teams, as his Rebels recorded 62 of the 105 all-time wins at Allen Central.

Donnie Daniels was once again given the task of berthing a program when he was named the first coach of South Floyd High School in 1993.

The Raiders first game was on the road against Betsy Layne, a 16-6 loss to the Bobcats on August 27th, 1993. Coach Daniels led the Raiders to their first official win during the school’s second season; a 20-6 victory over McCreary Central on October 21st, 1994.

The following season, South Floyd would play in its first playoff game at Williamsburg in 1995. In two more seasons, the Raiders defeated the Pikeville Panthers 46-43 at Bracket Field, and would go on to finish as District Runner-up with a record of (7-4), hosting the Cumberland Redskins in the playoffs. It was the first and only time old Brackett Field had hosted a playoff game.

In 2002, South Floyd hosted their first game at the new Raider Stadium against the Raceland Rams. The Raiders would score a school-record 84 points in their first win at the new field in Hi Hat over Betsy Layne 84-48.

The 2004 season saw South Floyd win a school-record 8 games, including victories over Hazard, Paintsville, Powell County, East Ridge, Fleming-Neon, Jenkins, Allen Central and a double-overtime thriller over Phelps at home. The Raiders were once again District Runner-Up and hosted Lynn Camp in the opening round of the playoffs.

In 2008, Jody Hall took over the program, becoming the first former player to lead Raiders. Jody served as head coach for three seasons before Coach Daniels returned for a third time. Chad Hall was the final Raiders coach in 2015 and 2016.

South Floyd won 91 games over 23 seasons while making 12 playoff appearances. The Raiders also owned winning records over county rivals Allen Central and Betsy Layne, winning 24 of their 45 games against both schools – 13 wins over the Rebels and 11 wins over the Bobcats.

Donnie Daniels coached 17 of the Raiders 23 seasons, winning 79 games and capturing two District Runner-up crowns in 1997 and 2004.

Floyd Central has been able to reach the postseason four times in its first seven seasons, including wins over Henry County in 2017 and East Ridge last season. Both times, the Jaguars finished as runners-up in district play.

This year’s Floyd Central team is still searching for its first victory. The Jaguars will look to upset the undefeated Betsy Layne Bobcats (4-0). Floyd Central leads the all-time “Route 680 Series” against Betsy Layne (3-2), yet the Bobcats have won two of the last three matchups, including last season.

Listen and watch the game, along with the pregame Alumni Night festivities on WMDJ starting at 7 p.m. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. Friday.

FLOYD COUNTY, Ky. (WMDJ) – The Betsy Layne Bobcats proved to be too much for the visiting Knott County Central Patriots on Friday night as Betsy Layne won going away 48-12.

The night belonged to senior running back Andrew McCutcheon, who rushed for 355 yards on 32 carries and scored 4 touchdowns. He also caught a 58-yard pass for a fifth touchdown in the victory.

McCutcheon ran for his first three scores before Knott County Central (3-1) was able to answer with a 70-yard kickoff return by junior Brody Short with 10:05 left in the second quarter. Betsy Layne led 20-6.

The Bobcats struck back quickly through the air with a pair of touchdown passes from junior quarterback Carter Parsons. The first, a 6-yard pass to junior wide receiver Isaiah Allen followed by the 58-yard strike to McCutcheon, giving Betsy Layne a commanding 34-6 lead at the half.

Both teams stumbled around early in the third quarter dealing with penalties before the Patriots put together their final scoring drive of the game on a 5-yard touchdown pass to Michael Gibson from senior quarterback Gage Short, cutting the Bobcat advantage to 34-12 after a failed 2-point conversion.

Betsy Layne would tack on a pair of touchdowns before the end with McCutcheon’s final scoring run for eight yards plus the two-point conversion just before the end of the third quarter, making the score 42-12.

Betsy Layne’s EJ Hoggard ran a score in from three yards with 1:30 remaining to make the final score 48-12.

Betsy Layne dominated every aspect of the stat sheet, piling up 462 yards of total offense on 55 plays in 27:30 minutes of possession as opposed to Knott Central’s 40 plays for 171 total yards in 20:27. Betsy Layne held a 2+ advantage in the turnover margin.

Parsons finished 6-for-9 passing for 77 yards and two touchdowns.  Allen caught five passes for 21 yards and one score.

The game was plagued by penalties with Betsy Layne suffering 16 flags for 155 penalty yards while Knott County Central committed 12 penalties for 113 yards. 

Betsy Layne (4-0) will travel to Floyd Central (0-4) this Friday for the renewing of the “680 Series” against the Jaguars. You can catch the game on WMDJ.

RICHMOND, Ky. – The Eastern Kentucky University football team will make the short trip down the Bluegrass Parkway this Saturday, Sept. 7, to face one of its oldest rivals, Western Kentucky.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+, with Steve Schlanger and Terry Obee on the call.

The audio broadcast will also be streamed worldwide on EKUSports.com, featuring Greg Stotelmyer, Jim Tirey, and Wes Chandler.

Saturday’s game marks the 86th Battle of the Bluegrass and the first meeting since 2017. WKU leads the all-time series, 48-34-3.

The Colonels' last win in the series came in 2006 in Richmond, 26-21, as they look to earn their first victory in Bowling Green since 1998.

EKU enters the matchup looking to rebound from a 56-7 road loss in its season opener at Mississippi State.

WKU will also be looking to bounce back from a season-opening road loss in the SEC, falling to No. 5 Alabama, 63-0.

EASTERN, Ky. (WMDJ) – Leslie County converted three consecutive Floyd Central turnovers into touchdowns the fourth quarter to pull away for 41-26 road victory Friday night.

Senior quarterback Landry Collett accounted for five rushing touchdowns on only eight carries for a total of 110 yards to rally the Eagles from an 18-0 second quarter deficit.

Coming off a controversial opening week loss at home to Prestonsburg, Leslie County looked deflated early, frustrated by Floyd Central’s dominance of time. The Jaguars kept the ball for over 19-minutes on their way to punching in three rushing touchdowns.

Senior running back Colt Shelton struck pay dirt first for Floyd Central with a 25-yard touchdown run on the team’s opening drive with 6-minutes to play in the first quarter.

After forcing a Leslie County punt, senior quarterback Jace Martin took a 12-yard bootleg stroll to the endzone with 10:36 to go in the second quarter. Floyd Central led 12-0 at this point.

On the first play of the following drive, Leslie County’s Caden Caldwell broke free for a 28-yard run only to fumble the football away, resulting in an Eagles turnover to Floyd Central at their own 35-yard line.

The Jaguars would again lean on a successful first half ground attack with sophomore running back Bailey Evans completing a 13-play, 70-yard drive by punching in a 2-yard dive to put Floyd Central ahead 18-0 with 2:44 left in the second quarter.

All three touchdowns were followed by missed 2-point conversion attempts, which would burn the Jags in the end.

Leslie County would scratch the board on the following drive as Collett collected his first touchdown run for 16-yards with 1:23 left before the half to make the score 18-6.

The Eagles would take over to start the third quarter and march down field on the legs of Collett with another 16-yard touchdown run to tighten the game, followed by a successful extra point kick from senior Jesse Osborne, making it 18-13 Floyd Central.

The Jaguars would answer with Colt Shelton’s second touchdown run of the night at the 4:16 mark in the third quarter to extend the Floyd Central advantage to 26-13. Shelton was a workhorse for Floyd Central, carrying the ball 29 times for 178 yards and two scores.

Leslie County quickly answered with another Collett rushing touchdown from 12 yards out followed by an Osborne kick. Eagles trailed 26-20 to end the third quarter.

Floyd Central would fall apart in the fourth quarter, committing three consecutive turnovers which Leslie County converted into points.

The Jaguars were putting together another long possession, marching inside the redzone as Martin fired an 18-yard pass to the endzone that went incomplete through the hands of freshman wide receiver Wesley Buck, setting up a fourth-and-ten at the Leslie County 18-yard line. The Eagles would cause a fumble to take over, zapping all the steam from the Floyd Central sideline.

Collett again would fly the Eagles down field on a five play, 75-yard drive in just under 3-minutes, finishing the drive with a 20-yard run to tie the game 26-26. Osborne’s extra point would give Leslie County their first lead, 27-26 with 2:41 left to play.

Trailing for the first time, Floyd Central’s Martin would sail a pass over the middle on the next drive, picked by Leslie’s Jayden Hacker, who returned the interception inside the Jaguar 10-yard line. That would set up Collett’s fifth and final touchdown run from four yards away with the extra point, giving the Eagles a 34-26 lead with 2:12 remaining.

Aided by a penalty, Floyd Central marched to the Leslie County 39-yard line with just over one minute remaining before Martin threw his second interception, this time picked off by junior short safety Rylan Simpson, who returned the pick 95-yards for a touchdown to seal the win.

While Floyd Central dominated time of possession, keeping the ball 35-minutes, Leslie was still able to rally in-part by the three Jaguar turnovers, outscoring the Floyd Central 35-8 in the second half.

Floyd Central (0-2) will travel to Powell County (0-1) for their first road game of the season on Thursday, September 5th. Leslie County (1-1) will host Magoffin County (1-1) at home on Friday, September 6th.