Kentucky’s run in Top 25 ends

Men’s college basketball: Kentucky coach John Calipari’s latest group of talented freshmen may have gotten a needed wake-up call on Monday – the defending champs fell out of the Top 25.

The Wildcats opened the season ranked No. 3, dropped to No. 8 and after back-to-back losses to unranked Notre Dame and Baylor, their 61-poll run ended. The stretch included 11 weeks at No. 1 under Calipari.

Calipari (pictured) hasn’t seen the kind of commitment needed to get better but says there’s nothing wrong that more gym time can’t correct. Calipari has often said this freshmen class needs more time to develop than their predecessors.

Kentucky is 4-3 and Calipari wants his team to put in the work to improve. But he says he’s not seeing many gym rats on his roster right now.

Associated Press

Battle in Seattle tickets available

Men’s college basketball: Additional tickets for the 10th annual State Farm Battle in Seattle, pitting Gonzaga against Kansas State on Dec. 15 at KeyArena, will be released today.

The tickets became available when GU and K-State released their sponsor allotments. Prices begin at $16 and can be obtained at the KeyArena box office, Ticketmaster.com and all Ticketmaster outlets.

It will be the third meeting between the schools. K-State won the first two. GU is 5-4 in the Battle in Seattle.

Defensive backs return to Shock

Arena football: A couple of defensive backs who spent time with Spokane in 2012 will return to the Shock in 2013, the team announced.

Paul Stephens had a productive rookie season with the Shock, starting 15 games and recording 57 tackles, nine pass break-ups, three interceptions and two fumble recoveries.

Bryant Nnabuife, a former California Golden Bear, was with Spokane originally in 2012 before earning a spot in the training camp of the CFL’s B.C. Lions.