Madisonville North Hopkins High School is beginning its search for a new football coach.  The Madisonville Messenger reports Will Weaver resigned Monday after five seasons, citing personal reasons.  Weaver was 31-24 during his tenure, including a 9-3 record in the 2011 season.   Defensive coordinator Brock Shoulders has been named as interim coach.

Murray State basketballer Isaiah Cannan has been named the Ohio Valley Conference player of the week for the sixth time this season.  The junior averaged 21 points and shot 52 percent from the field--including 53 percent from three point range in wins over Tennessee State and Tennessee Tech last week.  The Racers will play in the semifinals of the OVC Tournament Friday night in Nashville.

High School Basketball

2^nd region girls at Christian County: University Heights saw its season come to an end as the Lady Blazers lost to Livingston Central 66-58. Dannika Prater led UHA with 25 points and Denayia Holmes added 17 as the Lady Blazers end the season 22-7. Livingston Central improves to 22-10 with the win and moves to the semi finals Friday night.

Webster County moves to the semi finals following a 62-41 win over Caldwell County. The Lady Trojans improve to 18-12 on the season, while Caldwell County finishes 16-13.

4^th region at WKU: Todd Central defeated Metcalfe County 51-29 to improve to 23-7 on the season. Ariel Johnson led the Lady Rebels with 22 points and Claire Hart had a double-double of 13 points and 13 rebounds.   Glasgow defeated Greenwood in the other first round game 53-39.

1^st region at Murray State: Lone Oak over Graves County 50-40 and Marshall County defeated Hickman County 84-25.

3^rd region at Owensboro Sportscenter:   Grayson County over Owensboro Catholic 60-43 and Hancock County edged Ohio County 60-56.

Tonight’s games

2^nd region: Hopkinsville plays Madisonville for the third time this season. The Lady Tigers have won both regular season meetings and bring a 28-4 record into the game, while the Lady Maroons are 11-21. Tip off at 6, with the Heritage Bank pre game show at 5:45 on Newstalk 95.3 FM/1230 AM WHOP and whopam.com.  

Tonight’s second game has Henderson County 24-3 on the season meeting Lyon County who is 15-16, with tonight’s winners to play in the second semifinal game Friday night.

4^th region: Bowling Green meets Russellville, while Russell County goes against Monroe County.

1^st region:   Carlisle County meets Murray and Paducah Tilghman plays Ballard Memorial.

3^rd region:   Meade County meets Daviess County and Muhlenberg County goes against Edmonson County.

College Basketball

Tonight’s game:   In the SEC—Vanderbilt meets 13^th ranked Florida.

Kentucky freshman Michael Kidd-Gilchrist has caused quite a media stir after telling reporters following Saturday’s win over Vanderbilt he plans to stay in school after this year. The Courier Journal reports some NBA draft experts have Kidd-Gilchrist as high as the third pick in the first round if he comes out after this season. Most draft experts are impressed with Kidd-Gilchrist’s play except for one area, lack of a perimeter game.

Coach John Calipari says Kidd-Gilchrist has to convince him why he would want to stay another year at Kentucky.

By the way, Kidd-Gilchrist and fellow freshman Anthony Davis swept the SEC player and freshman of the week honors this week for the second time this season.

Kentucky remained number one in this week’s ESPN/USA Today coaches poll and the Associated Press polls. Murray State moved to ninth in the ESPN poll, 12^th in the AP poll, with Louisville 18^th in the ESPN poll and 19^th in the AP poll.

Western Kentucky University is pondering the future of its women’s basketball program. The Bowling Green Daily News reported Monday, athletics director Ross Bjork will make a complete evaluation of the program following the season. The story stated Bjork stopped short of commenting on coach Mary Taylor Cowles’s future.

The Lady Toppers have lost 20 games for the first time in the program’s history and have a losing record at home this season. Western faces Louisiana-Monroe in the first round of the women’s Sun Belt Conference tournament Saturday in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

College Football

The Courier Journal reports University of Kentucky linebacker Ridge Wilson was dismissed from the team Monday following his weekend arrest in Louisville on drug charges. A UK spokesman says coach Joker Phillips would have no further comment other than to confirm Wilson had been dismissed from the team.

Meanwhile, the Wildcats have hired a new wide receivers coach. Veteran assistant coach Pat Washington has been hired to replace Tee Martin, who recently left to go work at Southern California. Washington has coached at several schools, most recently at Southern Mississippi. His other stops include Tennessee and Mississippi State.

NHL

The Nashville Predators held off the Los Angeles Kings 2-1 Monday night at Bridgestone Arena. The Predators play at the Carolina Hurricanes this evening.

The Predators were also busy on the final day of the NHL trade deadline, acquiring forward Andrei Kostitsyn from Montreal and Paul Gaustad from Buffalo.

Baseball

The Hoptown Hoppers are continuing to prepare for their first season in the Ohio Valley League. Christian County Chamber of Commerce president Carter Hendricks says the team is looking for families to host this year’s players.   Hendricks adds those who host players will be given season passes to attend the Hoppers home games. If you need more information, you can contact Hendricks at 348-6226.

Hendricks also says there is the possibility of two more former local high school players joining the team. Former UHA player Matt McGowan will be playing for the Hoppers this season.

Kentucky remains number one in both major college basketball polls this week.  The Wildcats are number one in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today coaches poll.  Kentucky hosts Georgia for senior night Thursday night, with pre game coverage at 6:30 on Lite 98.7.

Murray State is 9th in the ESPN/USA Today poll and 12th in the Associated Press poll.  The Racers return to action Friday night in the semifinals of the Ohio Valley Conference tournament in Nashville.

Louisville is ranked 18th in the ESPN/USA Today poll and 19th in the Associated Press poll.  The Cards are back in action Wednesday night hosting South Florida.

Western Kentucky University athletics director Ross Bjork says the Lady Topper basketball program will be evaluated at season's end.  The Bowling Green Daily News reported Monday Bjork saying the school has to find a way to restore the confidence in the program.  Bjork stopped short of commenting on the future of head coach Mary Taylor Cowles.

The Lady Toppers have lost 20 games this season for the first time in program history and are 6-7 in Diddle Arena this season, a place where Western has never had a losing record in 32 seasons.  The Lady Toppers begin play in the Sun Belt Conference tournament Saturday against Louisiana Monroe in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

High School Basketball

Girls regional tournament action gets underway across the Commonwealth this evening.

2^nd region at Christian County: 8^th district runner up University Heights meets 5^th district winner Livingston Central at 6, followed by 7^th district winner Caldwell County and 6^th district runner up Webster County. Coverage of the UHA game with the Heritage Bank pre game show at 5:45 on Newstalk 95.3 FM/1230 AM WHOP and whopam.com.

8^th district champion Hopkinsville opens play tomorrow night against 7^th district runner up Madisonville at 6, followed by 6^th district winner Henderson County and 5^th district runner up Lyon County.

4^th region at WKU:   Todd Central meets Metcalfe County at 6:30, followed by Glasgow meeting Greenwood.

1^st region at the CFSB Center:   Graves County meets Lone Oak at 6, followed by Marshall County and Hickman County.

3^rd region at the Owensboro Sportscenter: Ohio County meets Hancock County at 6, followed by Grayson County and Owensboro Catholic.

The 2^nd region boys tournament begins Wednesday at Madisonville, with 8^th district runner up Christian County playing Webster County at 7:45, with 8^th district winner Hopkinsville meeting Caldwell County Thursday evening at 7:45.

College Basketball

Kentucky coach John Calipari has his weekly call in show this evening at 5, followed by Big Blue Insider at 6 on Lite 98.7. The top ranked Wildcats return to action Wednesday night hosting Georgia, with pre game coverage at 6:30 also on Lite 98.7.

Sunday’s scores:   Loyola, MD defeated Manhattan 62-60, with former Christian County standout Donovan Kates scoring two points and getting a rebound. Manhattan is now 20-11 on the season.   17^th ranked Louisville edged Pittsburgh 57-54, as the Cards improved to 22-7 on the season.

Women’s scores: Middle Tennessee rolled over Western Kentucky 77-62, 10^th ranked Kentucky defeated Mississippi State 76-40 clinching the SEC regular season championship, 9^th ranked Tennessee rolled over Florida 75-59 and 24^th ranked Vanderbilt defeated Alabama 67-54.

The brackets have been set for the Ohio Valley Conference basketball tournament beginning Wednesday at Municipal Auditorium in Nashville.

Men’s: Austin Peay plays Jacksonville State at 8 pm Wednesday. Should the Governors win, they would face Morehead State Thursday night at 8pm.

Murray State is the top seed and has a double bye and will play either Southeast Missouri, Eastern Kentucky or Tennessee Tech in the first semi final game Friday at 6 pm.

Women’s: Austin Peay faces Morehead State at noon Wednesday. Should the Lady Governors win they would face Murray State at noon Thursday.

The Lexington Herald Leader reports University of Kentucky athletics director Mitch Barnhart is beginning work on renegotiating women’s basketball coach Matthew Mitchell’s contract. Mitchell led Kentucky to its first SEC women’s regular season championship in 30 years Sunday.

Two years ago, Mitchell was given a significant pay raise and a five year rolling contract. Barnhart says he has changed his mind on the rolling contract and wants to lock in Mitchell for a long term deal.

College Baseball/Softball

Baseball:   Austin Peay fell to Georgia State 9-7, with Murray State defeating South Dakota State 12-4.

Softball: Murray State loses to Bowling Green 6-4 in the Hilltopper Spring Classic in Bowling Green.

NHL

The Nashville Predators are back in action this evening, hosting the Los Angeles Kings at 7 in Bridgestone Arena.

The Tennessean reports as the NHL trade deadline comes to fruition today, the Predators are will to make a deal for the right player that can help them make a playoff run.