CHRISTIAN COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL WILL BEGIN A SEARCH FOR A NEW ATHLETICS DIRECTOR. JUST A COUPLE OF MONTHS AFTER RESIGNING AS BOYS BASKETBALL COACH TO TAKE THE A-D’S POSITION, KERRY STOVALL ANNOUNCED HIS RESIGNATION FRIDAY.

STOVALL HAS ACCEPTED A TEACHING POSITION IN MUHLENBERG COUNTY, WHERE HE LIVES. STOVALL TOLD WHOP SPORTS HE WILL NOT BE COACHING IN ANY CAPACITY AND ADDED MAKING THIS DECISION WAS VERY HARD. STOVALL COACHED BASKETBALL TEN YEARS AT CHRISTIAN COUNTY, AND LED THE COLONELS TO THIS YEAR’S BOYS STATE HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP.

GOLF

FRIDAY WAS A LONG DAY FOR THE FIELD AT THE U-S WOMEN’S OPEN, BEING PLAYED AT THE BROADMOOR IN COLORADO SPRINGS.

MUCH OF THE FIELD, INCLUDING PRINCETON’S EMMA TALLEY HAD TO FINISH FIRST ROUND PLAY. TALLEY HAD ONE HOLE TO GO WHEN PLAY WAS SUSPENDED DUE TO WEATHER THURSDAY. TALLEY CAME OUT FRIDAY MORNING AND PARRED HER FINAL HOLE, THE 18^TH, TO FINISH AT FOUR OVER PAR 75.

TALLEY DID NOT GET TO HIT ANOTHER STROKE IN COMPETITION FRIDAY AND IS CURRENTLY TIED FOR 41^ST. SHE IS SCHEDULED TO TEE OFF IN HER SECOND ROUND JUST AFTER 8:30 HOPKINSVILLE TIME THIS MORNING. GLASGOW’S WHITNEY WADE PLAYED ONE HOLE FRIDAY AND STANDS AT NINE OVER PAR.

I-K KIM IS THE LEADER WITH A FOUR UNDER PAR SCORE THROUGH 14 HOLES OF HER SECOND ROUND. PLAY WAS HALTED AGAIN LATE FRIDAY DUE TO DARKNESS. AS PLAY BEGINS THIS MORNING, THE PROJECTED CUT LINE IS AT EIGHT OVER PAR, HOWEVER THAT WILL LIKELY CHANGE AS PLAY CONTINUES TODAY. TO FOLLOW EMMA TALLEY’S PROGRESS, YOU CAN CHECK THE LEADERBOARD AT www.usga.org AND CLICK ON THE US WOMEN’S OPEN LEADERBOARD.

NASCAR

BRAD KESLOWSKI CRUISED TO AN EASY WIN AT THE NATIONWIDE SERIES FEED THE CHILDREN 300 LAST NIGHT AT KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY. TONIGHT, THE SPRINT CUP QUAKER STATE 300 TAKES PLACE AT THE RACE TRACK IN GALLATIN COUNTY.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

THE LEXINGTON HERALD LEADER REPORTS KENTUCKY DEFENSIVE LINEMAN NERMIN DELIC, WHO DECIDED TO GIVE UP FOOTBALL THREE WEEKS AGO, HAS BEEN ACCEPTED BACK ON THE TEAM BY COACH JOKER PHILLIPS.

DELIC PLAYED IN EIGHT GAMES DURING HIS FRESHMAN SEASON AT KENTUCKY. DELIC HAD DECIDED TO GIVE UP FOOTBALL AFTER GOING THROUGH THREE SURGERIES IN THREE MONTHS. HE ALSO SAYS HE WILL NOT PLAY OR PRACTICE OR ATTEND CLASSES THIS FALL, BUT WILL RETURN TO THE CLASSROOM AND TO PRACTICE FOR THE SPRING SEMESTER.

ATHLON SPORTS INTRODUCED ITS RANKINGS OF THE TOP FIRST YEAR COACHES FROM LAST SEASON AND TWO KENTUCKY SCHOOLS HAD COACHES RANKED IN THE TOP FIVE. THE BOWLING GREEN DAILY NEWS REPORTS WESTERN KENTUCKY’S WILLIE TAGGART WAS THE FOURTH BEST FIRST YEAR COACH LAST SEASON. TAGGART LED THE HILLTOPPERS TO A 2-10 SEASON, BUT ATHLON SPORTS CITED THE TEAM’S OVERALL IMPROVEMENT TO RANKING TAGGART HIGH IN THE LIST. THE NUMBER ONE COACH LAST SEASON WAS LOUISVILLE’S CHARLIE STRONG, WHO LED THE CARDINALS TO A BOWL APPEARANCE IN THE BEEF O’ BRADY’S BOWL.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

KENTUCKY HAS A NEW PLAYER ON ITS TEAM, AT LEAST IN NAME. THE LEXINGTON HERALD LEADER REPORTS INCOMING FRESHMAN MICHAEL GILCHRIST HAS CHANGED IS NAME TO MICHAEL KIDD-GILCHRIST. KIDD-GILCHRIST SAID ON HIS TWITTER ACCOUNT FRIDAY HE IS MAKING THE NAME CHANGE TO HONOR HIS LATE UNCLE DARRIN KIDD, WHO DIED OF A HEART ATTACK THE DAY HE SIGNED WITH KENTUCKY.

COLLEGE ATHLETICS

THE KNOXVILLE NEWS SENTINEL REPORTS THOSE INTERESTED IN BECOMING THE ATHLETICS DIRECTOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE HAVE THROUGH TOMORROW TO SUBMIT THEIR RESUME’ AND OTHER MATERIALS.

PARKER EXECUTIVE SEARCH—THE COMPANY HELPING THE SCHOOL FIND MIKE HAMILTON’S SUCCESSOR—WILL THEN MOVE ON TO THE NEXT PHASE OF THE SEARCH. THE NEWSPAPER REPORTS THROUGH AN OPEN RECORDS REQUEST, THERE HAVE BEEN NO EMAILS, LETTERS OR RESUMES THAT HAVE EXPRESSED INTEREST IN THE POSITION.

NHL

ONE DAY AFTER FOUR RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS SIGNED NEW DEALS WITH THE NASHVILLE PREDATORS, THE FIFTH ALSO INKED A NEW CONTRACT.

THE TENNESSEAN REPORTS FORWARD SERGI KOSTITSYN SIGNED A ONE YEAR, TWO POINT FIVE MILLION DOLLAR CONTRACT. THE SIGNING CAME JUST BEFORE AN ARBITRATOR WAS TO HEAR KOSTITSYN’S GRIEVANCE AGAINST THE TEAM. KOSTITSYN’S 23 GOALS LEAD THE PREDATORS LAST SEASON.

MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

THE TRADEWATER PIRATES OPENED A TWO GAME SERIES WITH OWENSBORO AT RIVERSIDE PARK LAST NIGHT, DEFEATING THE OILERS 5-3. THE TWO TEAMS WRAP UP THEIR SERIES TONIGHT IN DAWSON SPRINGS.

THE BOWLING GREEN HOT RODS SWEPT A DOUBLEHEADER FROM LAKE COUNTY FRIDAY NIGHT AT BOWLING GREEN BALLPARK. THE HOT RODS WON THE FIRST GAME WITH THE CLUB’S FIRST EVER NO HITTER BY VICTOR MATEO 1-0 IN THE NIGHTCAP AFTER TAKING THE FIRST GAME 5-1. THE HOT RODS ARE ON THE ROAD FOR A WHILE NOW, OPENING A SERIES TONIGHT AT WEST MICHIGAN.

THE NASHVILLE SOUNDS LOST FOR THE SECOND STRAIGHT NIGHT AT ALBQUERQUE 7-1 WITH GAME THREE SET FOR THIS EVENING.