John Clay's Sidelines

We’re starting a new feature on the blog where the three local sports call-in shows can relay to me their guests for that evening and I’ll pass them along to you.

Here’s what we have for tonight, Jan. 26:

• On WLXG-1300, Chris Cross and Mike Cameron will be talking to Fox 41′s John Lewis at 6:05 and Wendy Treinen of the Kentucky Derby Museum at 6:20.

• On WLAP-630, Dick Gabriel will be talking to Brett Dawson, UK beat writer for the Courier-Journal.

Updated at 4:58 p.m.

Two days after losing 61-51 to Kentucky, Mark Gottfried is out at Alabama, according to news accounts in Alabama.

Links:

• Here’s official press release from Alabama.
• Jeff Goodman of FoxSports.com is catching up on the Gottfried news.
• You can listen to them talk about the Gottfried firing on Finebaum online.
• Updated at 4:24: It’s now official that Gottfried has resigned.
• Cecil Hurt has the news of Gottfried’s firing for the Tuscaloosa News.
• Gentry Estes has the story for the Mobile Press-Register.
• Earlier, Ian Rapoport of the Birmingham News had that Gottfried was meeting with Alabama officials to discuss future.
• The Alabama Basketball Blog gives its take.
• Now Pat Forde has the news for ESPN.com.

Good e-mail from Steve from Lexington on my column this morning about judging Kentucky’s worth versus a down year in the SEC.

Here’s an excerpt:

You said the same thing in today’s column that my wife and I discussed last night, but other than three or four good teams in the Big East or the ACC, there are not that many great teams. Teams that were great a month ago, are struggling. Georgetown cannot get a win. Neither can Notre Dame. Minnesota has lost two in a row, and struggled yesterday to beat a team that is worse than any team in the SEC. Why is everyone picking on the SEC? Is it because the PAC 10 games are so late that no one can watch them? UCLA has fallen since last year almost as much as Memphis.

The Cats will be there in the end IF Pat Pat’s finger heals, they continue to play good defense, there are no injuries, and Miller and Liggins turn into the players they can become. Like Jody said, it is time for them to become sophomores. I noticed you did not mention Florida as a potentially good team. They are a miracle away from twelve consecutive wins. Either you or Mark said they would be going down the tube about now. Not true yet. True, most of those are SEC wins, but Mississippi State can play when they show up. Same is true for LSU, who seems to take a game off every now and then. Still, I have to agree that it looks doubtful that any SEC team will make the Sweet Sixteen this year.

A couple more things. Don’t pick on Xavier. No one ever gives X or Butler any respect, and all either of them do is keep on winning, even in the NCAA Tournament. I get tired of people picking on certain schools and conferences. It still irks me when people refuse to give VMI some credit. Jerry did not like it when I told him VMI was better than seventh in their conference. He said the coaches said that is where they would end up. Is that the same coaches that first-place VMI has been beating all year? If I can tell that Jody Meeks and VMI were vastly underrated in November and December, and said so at that time, why can’t those who are paid to study such things know this? I am talking about those misguided souls all across the country. Remind Jerry where the VMI team that he was berating early in the year is still number one in their conference, not seventh.

With all that said, I still think the three of you do a great job of reporting on UK basketball, the only sport I read about, and one of only three reasons why I continue to subscribe to the LHL.

Reply: Steve makes an excellent point. There isn’t great depth when it comes to great teams this year. And I didn’t mean to pick on Xavier. I should have given it more credit for the win at LSU. In fact, if UK had an opening right now, Sean Miller would be at or near the top of my get list. And we are all thankful for Herald-Leader subscribers, especially in these tough economic times.

Meanwhile, Beth wrote:

I noticed that you overlooked Mississippi State when discussing the pathetic condition of the majority of SEC conference schools. Was there a reason for this? Could it have anything to do with the loses UK has had against MSU in recent years? Just curious. It’s also curious that UK, regardless of how well or poorly they played, seems to be the only SEC team really covered in the H-L. By the way, the Cats have my loyalties until they mess with the Dawgs and then all bets are off!

Reply: Beth is right. I should have given MSU more props. The Bulldogs do have non-conference losses to San Diego, Charlotte and Texas Tech, but Rick Stansbury’s club has made an impact in conference play.

Hoops Links for Monday:

• At FoxSports.com, Jeff Goodman writes on Louisville’s Terrence Williams. Goodman: “Williams said the season turned around prior to the last-second victory at home against Kentucky a few weeks back in which Edgar Sosa hit the game-winner. “We knew something had to change,” he said.

• Courier-Journal columnist Eric Crawford writes from U of L’s win at Syracuse. Crawford: “And this big start should re-focus College Basketball Nation on U of L, if it hadn’t drawn that focus already. In running to a 6-0 Big East start, the Cards have beaten four ranked teams in their past five games, including back-to-back wins over top-10 teams. Duke is playing well right now and will probably be No. 1 today. Connecticut is fantastic and should be No. 1. U of L is playing as well or better than both. And the Cardinals may have more room for improvement than both.”

• Bud Poliquin of the Syracuse Post Standard writes that Orange got stuck in the Big East grinder. Poliquin: ” Let the record show that the 57 points represented the lowest amount scored in any one outing by Syracuse this season; meanwhile, Louisville has come up short of 67 four times thus far in this campaign . . . and, instructively, has lost on three of those occasions. As such, this exercise that pitted two Top 10 outfits coached by two guys (Boeheim and Rick Pitino) packing 1,324 career triumphs between them was to scoring what liverwurst is to dining, what corns are to toe rings, what a washboard is to the symphony.”

• In his Weekly Watch column, ESPN’s Andy Katz throws some love at Oregon State. Katz: “(Craig) Robinson had had no idea the Beavers would be one of the hottest teams in the Pac-10 after an improbable road sweep of Cal and Stanford. He’d had no clue the Beavers would have three Pac-10 victories, including a home win over USC. That’s one more conference win than Arizona, three more than winless rival Oregon, and as many as Stanford and Washington State.”

• In the Cincinnati Enquirer, Shannon Russell writes that Xavier took care of business last week. Russell: “In beating LSU, the Muskies dispatched a second Southeastern Conference opponent this season. They defeated Auburn 81-74 on Dec. 3 at Cintas Center. There were plenty of positives to take away from the road victory, which snapped LSU’s 17-game home winning streak. The Tigers were held without a field goal during a nine-minute second-half stretch and never regained their composure.”

Continue reading ‘HL: Williams flies as Louisville grinds’

College basketball on the tube for Monday, Jan. 26:

Big Blue Links for Monday:

• Our Jerry Tipton talks to Ramon Harris’ mother, who says she believes her son will be ready to play Tuesday when the Cats travel to Ole Miss.
• Here’s my column arguing that the weakness of the SEC makes it hard to judge just how good the Cats are at this point.
• Our Jennifer Smith reports on the UK women’s loss to LSU.
• In the Kentucky Kernel, B.W. Jones writes on Kentucky’s loss to the Lady Tigers.
• The Courier-Journal’s Brett Dawson has the UK update on Harris.
• Ken Howlett at A Sea of Blue has a statistical breakdown and analysis of the Cats.
• Kentucky Sports Radio says UK fans should enjoy Patterson and Meeks while they are here.
• On his WKYT blog, Steve Moss writes on Jodie Meek’s torrid scoring streak.

SEC links for Monday:

• Kevin Brockway of the Gainesville Sun chronicles Florida’s offensive explosion in win at Vanderbilt.
• In the Tennessean, columnist David Climer writes that Vanderbilt’s defense has gone from strength to weakness.
• Maurice Patton of the Tennessean has the game story from the Vandy perspective.
• In the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Bob Holt writes that big losses are piling up for young Hogs.
• In the Northwest Arkansas Times, Nate Allen writes that the Razorbacks are looking for answers.
• In the Clarion-Ledger, Kyle Veazey writes that Mississippi State’s Barry Stewart is back on track.
• Gentry Estes of the Huntsville Times reports that Alabama’s top football targets leave the Tide waiting.
• In the Birmingham News, Kevin Scarbinsky writes that on the list of history’s great traitors, assistant football coaches don’t even rate an honorable mention.
• In the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Chip Towers reports that Georgia assistants have chosen loyalty over money.
• In women’s hoops, Dan Fleser of the Knoxville News-Sentinel reports on Auburn’s big win over Tennessee.
• In The State, Chris Dearing reports on the South Carolina women losing to Vandy in women’s hoops.

Big Blue Links for Sunday:

• Here’s my column on Ramon Harris’ collapse during halftime.
• In the Herald-Leader, Jerry Tipton writes on what UK overcame to beat Alabama 61-51.
• Tipton writes that Darius Miller and DeAndre Liggins draw praise off the bench.
• In the C-J, Brett Dawson writes that Cats rise above it all to top Tide.
• In the Kentucky Kernel, Jon Hale writes that Perry Stevenson steps up when needed.
• Also in the Kernel, Bobby Reagan writes on the UK win at Alabama.
• In the Huntsville Times, Mark McCarter writes that another Alabama loss points to coaching.
• In the Tuscaloosa News, Cecil Hurt writes that Alabama fails to finish.
• In the Birmingham News, Ian Rapoport writes that Bama’s Mark Gottfried calls it “one of those days.”
• A Sea of Blue gives its thoughts on the Kentucky win in Tuscaloosa.
• Kentucky Sports Radio says Cats win an ugly game.

SEC links for Sunday:

• In The Advocate, Gary Laney reports on LSU’s 80-70 loss to visiting Xavier.
• Jim Kleinpeter of the Times-Picayune reports on the X win over the Tigers.
• In the Tennessean, David Climer writes that Tennessee-Memphis rivalry stays nasty on and off the floor.
• Also in the Tennessean, Bryan Mullen reports on the Vols’ loss to Memphis.
• In the Knoxville News-Sentinel, Mike Griffth writes on the Tennessee defeat.
• Geoff Calkins of the Memphis Commercial-Appeal writes that, for Memphis, winning is the best revenge.
• In the News-Sentinel, John Adams writes that Tennessee got beat by missed shots, not missed calls.
• In the Clarion-Ledger, Kyle Veazey reports that Mississippi State climbs back on track with win over Georgia.
• Chip Towers of the AJC writes on Georgia’s sixth straight loss.
• Seth Emerson of The State reports on South Carolina’s win over Ole Miss.
• In the Clarion-Ledger, David Brandt writes that South Carolina’s depth swamped the Rebels.
• State columnist Ron Morris writes that Carolina fans won’t sit over fees.
• The Montgomery Advertiser, via AP, reports on Auburn’s drubbing of Arkansas.
• In the Tennessean, Maurice Patton reports that Vandy prepares for Florida star Nick Calathes.
• In the Birmingham News, Ian Rapoport writes that Alabama’s key departures in football leave room for recruits.

If you haven’t already seen it, here’s link to story saying UK forward Ramon Harris was released from a Tuscaloosa hospital after collapsing outside the lockerroom during halftime of Kentucky’s 61-51 win over Alabama.