John Clay's Sidelines

WKYT-TV is reporting that Billy Gillispie has confirmed that he will meet with UK officials this afternoon.

We’re expecting an announcement or a press conference sometime after that meeting, though none has been scheduled at this time.

Big Blue Links for Friday:

• Jerry Tipton of the Herald-Leader writes about a day full of rumors but no official word on Billy Gillispie.
• H-L columnist Mark Story writes that the UK situation is not about win-at-all-costs.
• H-L columnist Tom Eblen writes on Joe B. Hall’s take that the UK job is about more than bsaketball.
• Linda Blackford of the H-L writes that Gillispie’s buyout might ruffle feathers at UK and beyond.
• Chip Cosby of H-L reports that UK has finalized football schedule.
• WHAS reports that Gillispie has been fired, and UK denies the report.
• At espn.com, Pat Forde writes that the blame goes to Kentucky and Gillispie.
• In USA Today, Marlen Garcia writes that Kansas’ Bill Self is defending Gillispie.
• Brett Dawson of the Courier-Journal writes that Gillispie says he has “no idea” about job status.
• Ex-UK player Scott Padgett tells WLKY that a change needs to be made.
• The Oklahoman reports that Daniel Orton’s brother tells talk show that Orton might not come to UK if Gillispie is fired. (Hat tip to Spam’s Wildcat Page.)

Continue reading ‘BBL: Many twists and no turns with Billy G.’

SEC links for Friday:

• Kevin Scarbinsky of the Birmingham News writes that Kentucky’s great expectations could trickle down to Alabama.
• Ian Rapoport of the News says Bama hopes to hear from Anthony Grant today.
• Tommy Deas of the Tuscaloosa News writes that Florida could impact Grant’s decision.
• Huntsville Times columnist Bill Bryant writes that Bama goes uptempo for Grant.
• Dave Hooker of the Knoxville News-Sentinel reports on Johnny Majors first UT practice in 17 years.

Continue reading ‘SEC links: Bama waits on Grant; Majors returns’

Lot of talk tonight about the WHAS report that Gillispie has been fired. This isn’t much different from what we’ve all been hearing, just not from anyone on the record. If you’re interested in the report, the station just put it up on the website.

With nothing official happening today on the Billy Gillispie front — look for a Friday press conference — we’ll have a livechat to discuss the events of the day. Hope you can hop on board. Thanks — J.C.

AP photo/Joe Raymond

Big Blue Links for Thursday:

• Jerry Tipton of the Herald-Leader writes about Kentucky’s season-ending loss to Notre Dame, and that president Lee Todd indicates nothing will happen on the Billy Gillispie front before Friday.
• Tipton’s notes lead with Patrick Patterson and Jodie Meeks saying they are undecided about the draft.
• My column in which I say Gillispie’s body language suggested he was resigned to his fate.
• Audio from UK’s post-game press conference.
• Brett Dawson of the Courier-Journal writes that all we really know is that UK’s season is over.
• Andy Staples of SI.com writes that Gillispie appears on his way out.
• Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate-Messenger writes that Meeks and Patterson are not sure about next season.

Continue reading ‘BBL: Nothing official on Gillispie’s fate before Friday’

Anthony Grant

SEC links for Thursday:

• Ian Rapoport of the Birmingham News reports on Anthony Grant’s visit to Alabama.
• Tommy Deas of the Tuscaloosa News reports that Bama is waiting on Grant’s final answer.
• Tuscaloosa News columnist Cecil Hurt writes that wheels turned quickly when Grant was identified as top candidate.
• News columnist Ray Melick writes that Gene Chizik keeps the press at bay during Auburn’s spring drills.
• Maurice Patton of the Tennessean reports that in Tennessee basketball fans stayed home in 2009.
• In the AJC, Chip Towers reports on new book that examines power struggle between Vince Dooley and Michael Adams.
• AJC columnist Terence Moore wants to know what’s the big deal about Lane Kiffin knocking Florida?

Continue reading ‘SEC links: Bama waiting on Grant’s decision’

Post-game audio from UK coach Billy Gillispie and players after UK’s 77-67 loss to Notre Dame:

• Gillispie and players Patrick Patterson and Jodie Meeks in the post-game press conference.

• Back in the locker room, Patrick Patterson says his plan is to return, but hedges slightly.

• Darius Miller talks about his development this season and his future.

• Michael Porter talks about his future and how Gillispie handled the speculation.

If you’re looking for updates on UK-Notre Dame, sign up for my Sidelines account at Twitter.

Once you’ve signed up, you can go to this link, or you can do a search for Sidelines.

Couple of notes on the liveblog: You can turn off the autoscroll by hitting the button at the bottom of the window. Because I’m also watching the game, and the comments are at times quite numerous, and I have to approve each comment that appears, don’t be insulted if your comment doesn’t show up right away, or not at all. I do the best I can to get to as many as I can. Also, if you’re question has already been answered, your comment may not appear. Just scroll back a bit and you can find the answer. Thanks to everyone for participating.