Himmelsbach | UK-U of L dissed; Randle's screw loose?

1. It was announced on Monday that the Kentucky and Louisville basketball teams will face each other Saturday, Dec. 27. The date was no surprise, but it was surprising to see that the game will be televised on ESPN2. It had previously been a CBS national broadcast. A U of L spokesman said that the game was moved to ESPN because of the ACC contract, and that it was expected to return to CBS, which has an SEC deal, for the following year's game at Rupp Arena. I'd be up for bumping a bowl game out of the regular ESPN slot for this one, though.

2. I spoke to one NBA team's director of scouting this week, and he had interesting comments about Julius Randle and the small controversy over whether the Kentucky forward would need foot surgery. If you missed it, Yahoo! Sports reported that Randle would need to have a screw removed from his foot after the draft. Randle strongly denied that.

But the scouting director said that all the teams are aware of the screw — a remnant from surgery to repair a broken foot in high school — and that whoever drafts Randle will likely have the final say on what to do, not Randle or his personal doctors.

3. Churchill Downs has taken a lot of criticism the past few months, and I've been among the critical. But I'll give credit where credit is due. I went to Downs after Dark on Saturday night, and it's clear the musical acts have been given more explicit instructions and were more aware not to play while horses were in the paddock area. (After the horses were gone, it was still a bit loud for the humans, but one step at a time.)

4. I picked the Spurs to beat the Heat, but I never thought their victory would be that dominant. Now, of course, the focus shifts to LeBron James and Decision II. Most believe he will end up returning to Miami, but I still say he goes back to Cleveland. LeBron cares what people think, and he hates that his home state hates him. And the fact that Kyrie Irving is already there and the No. 1 overall pick will soon be there doesn't hurt, either.

5. If you haven't noticed, I'd like No. 5 in Take 5 to be about something other than sports, because sports aren't everything. So this week I'll give you a restaurant recommendation. I went to Feast in New Albany over the weekend, and it's great barbecue. High recommendation.

(I hope I'm allowed to say stuff like this. If I'm not, my editor will just take it out and we'll put some shiny stars in this spot or something.)

Adam Himmelsbach can be reached by email at ahimmelsbach@courier-journal.com and on Twitter @adamhimmelsbach.