A'dia Mathies (H-L photo/Mark Cornelison)
Big Blue Links for Friday:
- Jennifer Smith of the Herald-Leader writes that UK’s Amber Smith has shed her brace for a faster pace.
- Mark Story of the Herald-Leader writes that UK is a comfortable fit for the state’s Miss Basketball.
- Chip Cosby of the Herald-Leader reports on UK cornerback Randall Burden’s search for his swagger.
- Jerry Tipton’s clarification concerning Patrick Patterson’s new truck, something that got blown way out proportion on Thursday.
- Brett Dawson of the Courier-Journal reports that UK spent $185,000 more on Big Blue Madness than the year before.
- Chris Low of ESPN puts Micah Johnson as the fifth scariest player in the SEC.
- Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate-Messenger talks to Tywanna Patterson about the supposed truck-gate.
- Eric Lindsey of Cat Scratches previews the UK women’s basketball team.
- Nick Craddock of the Kentucky Kernel writes on the hope for a curling club.
- Armchair Quarterback looks at basketball and football.
- Kentucky Sports Network has a video notebook from the Blue-White game.
- Wildcat Blue Blog previews UK-Mississippi State football.
- Wildcat-Den writes that Patrick Patterson is spreading his wings.
- Aaron’s UK Football Blog has that ESPN is reporting that recruit Storm Johnson has UK in his final five. (UK needs a Storm on its team.)
- Steve Moline of Kentucky Ink says the black-out has been given the blues.
- Matt May of Cats Pause says John Wall’s status still in question.
- A Sea of Blue asks what’s going on with Jerry Tipton? (Answer: Nothing’s going on with Jerry Tipton.)
- Kentucky Sports Radio thinks that U of L threw a fit which kept UK from practicing Sunday at Freedom Hall.
- Bluegrass State Basketball breaks down individual play from the Blue-White game.
- Inner Circle thinks pre-season awards and rankings are ludicrous.
John Clay is a sports columnist for the Lexington Herald-Leader. A native of Central Kentucky and graduate of UK, he covered UK football for 13 seasons before being promoted to columnist in 2000. He lives in Lexington with his wife and two sons. You can e-mail him at jclay@herald-leader.com.
John you just caused me to never read the Herald Leader again and to loose all respect for you. Saying that the Patterson truck story was blown out of proportion is crazy. Yo just proved to me that you are taking up for Tipton, and the HL has no standards for reporting anything. Think about it, if he makes a story up like that how can I believe anything that is printed in that paper. He isn’t clarifying anything he is just covering his but. Poor excuse for a paper and another reason it’s going broke!!
Joe
Joe, sorry you feel that way. Jerry made a mistake in assuming that Pat drove to the game and from the game in his new truck. (I’ve made similar mistakes from time-to-time in stories.) But it was not a malicious mistake.
John, the “mistake” that Jerry made COULD have been a mistake about a college basketball player visiting a children’s hospital when he wasn’t really able to. Or helping build a Habitat for Humanity home when he wasn’t really there. Or helping an old lady cross the street, when he was actually sitting in class.
The “mistake” he DID make was a fabricated account of a college basketball player driving away from a scrimmage in a new, expensive truck.
How coincidental. And thanks for admitting that you do the same thing.
And, yes, I am “taking up for Tipton.”
Tipton’s “reporting” is just another example of typical work from a dinosaur in a dying industry. At least we won’t have to be dealing with this “journalism” for too much longer, what with NO ONE buying or advertising in the LHL anymore. I had previously viewed this blog as a breath of fresh air from the antiquated schools of thought shown by most LHL work, but clearly the “create a story” approach is accepted here as well. Sad.
John, I just lost respect for you as well. He did not make a mistake. What was the point of adding that to the story? especially if it was not true. Explain that to me. What was his intent? It had nothing at all to do with anything about the blue/white game. Sorry, but if you are going to take up for him on this one I am done with the LHL you were one of the few reasons I was sticking with them.
Joe, you are probably reading the LHL this morning.
John, I understand why you added a little comment to take up for your co-worker. Heck, you might have been told to do so (I hope you were actually). I think YOU would have been better served by just linking the article and not editorializing though.
Tipton apparently made up facts (welcome to the Jayson Blair club). Making up facts (and that must be what happened here - there has been no good explanation offered) is simply not a good thing for a journalist to do. Tipton got caught here.
I am not a Tipton hater like some here and on the comments section under his stories. I know yesterday on the live blog you said his job is to write about UK, not be a fan. But the perception that he accentuates the negative is fair, and his discussion of a Lincoln SUV that has no relationship to the story is something that Tipton ABSOLUTELY KNOWS will give an impression of possible booster help. He knew his made up comments were inuendo for possible cheating. His story and the quote that went with it (and a lot of other stuff he reports now) are called into question. Patterson deserves better.
Heck, we all (readers and UK fans) deserve a writer that doesn’t make up a scene told in a way that sounds like the writer is personally present when it happened.
First of all, I was not told by anyone to make comments supporting Jerry.
Second of all, I’m publishing all your comments, and you are certainly entitled to your opinion about what happened.
So why am I not allowed to publish my opinion, as well?
John,
I’m disappointed by your defense of Tipton, because there is no defense for what he did. Yes we all make mistakes, but knowingly writing as fact an “assumption” is to knowingly lie. The lie is even worse when it casts suspicion on another human being. Tipton should be severely reprimanded and you should stop making excuses for a friend who crossed the line. It’s ok to be his friend, but it is not ok to downplay the seriousness of what he did.
Glad no one here has ever made an assumption and regretted it. Keep up the good work John.
Were both of those comments directed at my comment? If so, I just want to say I had no intention of suggesting you weren’t entitled to print your opinion here. You have every right, and I typically agree. I was hoping your opinion was “encouraged” by the boss is all. It seems clear to me that your fan base is larger than Tiptons, and defending him on this type transgression (he has been unjust criticized by some, and I have defended him before in the comments on the on-line LHL) is disappointing.
If you feel that Tipton simply made an meaningless assumption mistake, fine. I disagree, but I still think you have a great blog here and I will continue to start with it every day.
FWIW, I work in an profession that requires me to regularly write about facts also, and assumption mistakes can result in serious consequences, so I think I have some idea what goes into this type of process.
John, I still enjoy your writing. I do not fault you for sticking up for Jerry. IMO, Jerry is an absolute terrible writer and is lucky he landed in a dry city like lexington because he would be out the door in a bigger city. His work is written to fill his agenda.
Clarifications are written if the reader is left confused about a point. CORRECTIONS accompanied by an apology is needed for this.
I find it hilarious that no one likes jerry tipton including coaches and players. Mrs. Patterson might have been nice to him on the phone but trust me she cant stand the slime ball journalist he is.
Good comparison Landlord to Slumlord
Journalist to Slime ball
Jack no I am not reading the HL this morning nor will I ever again. I think yo just assumed like Tipton did.lol I do commend John for posting the replies to his blog. Tipton however is not posting any replies.
I’m curious, John, how you would have handled this situation.
It seems that Tipton could have put the fires out with a direct apology and explaination for his “story”. His “explanation” seems to be more of a continuation of the problem than a solution.
In any event, his journalistic integrity - seems to be a buzz word in the traditional media circles - has suffered a tremendous hit.
John, have you ever fabricated a story?
I mean, that’s what Jerry Tipton did. As a fellow journalist, I feel disgraced by his lack of regard for the profession.
You cannot excuse this behavior whatsoever or even downplay it because again, he fabricated a story. Making an assumption is one thing, but to report something as true (and witnessed) that did not even happen is another. Where is the integrity involved?
I was bothered by this until I actually read the story (always a good idea if you are going to criticize a writer). I think people are upset that a writer would invent a detail to sensationalize a Kentucky basketball player driving around in a new truck. There could be an implication there. But Patterson is quoted about his new truck and the article says point blank that his Dad bought it for him. This doesn’t appear malicious. Trust me, I’d be the first to call the HL out if I thought it was.
My two cents.
Pretty lame John - You were one of the few reasons I even glance at the LHL anymore. Not anymore. You KNOW what Tipton was trying to do, but you don’t have the guts (or job offers) to say it. I have lost a lot of respect for you and certainly will not be reading your work or anything from the LHL.
“Joe, sorry you feel that way. Jerry made a mistake in assuming that Pat drove to the game and from the game in his new truck. (I’ve made similar mistakes from time-to-time in stories.) But it was not a malicious mistake.”
Since when is it appropriate to ASSUME something and then write about it as if it were fact? I saw nothing in the article that said that he ASSUMED that Patterson drove the truck to the game. It looked ot me like he was just trying to stir the pot, a well known University of Kentucky athlete has a new vehicle so he must be taking money from someone. This is about what I expect from the geraldo liar and what I typcally see. You WRITERS never ever write anything positive about UK athletics.
I agree with others. If the story was simply that he was wrong about driving a truck to a game, then yes we have no reason to get upset. The reason we are upset is because the truck had no place in the story. Any writer of any merit could see how it had absolutely nothing to do with the natural flow of the piece. But he chose to tack it in- along with the mention of how the recruits were purposefully places within earshot of fans who could chant their name. He didn’t come out directly say what he wanted to say- and that is that UK has cheated to have these players on the court. I can understand why his mother was upset. Their son has worked very hard on and off the court. They get him a new car and then have a slimy local reporter insinuate there is something else going on- is is just insulting. And we are upset not because this one thing matters so much. It is a pattern that happens over and over with the man, and he or nobody we works for doesn’t see a thing wrong with it.
John:
I can’t believe you would defend someone who just blatantly made something up…actually lied…however you want to look at.
For you to defend it by saying you have done similar things in the past actually says a lot about the LHL and its staff.
You and your advertisers should be ashamed of the actions of Jerry Tipton.
John, much respect for you. however my comment wasnt posted after being submitted 2.5 hrs ago. it was in no way obscene or inappropriate. although it did bring up some very interesting points, i guess thats why it was blocked.
In other interesting news, I see it appears that U of L threw a hissy fit to stop UK from practicing at Freedom Hall. That is disappointing I’m sure to many UK fans in that fine city. I was wanting to see if we could draw more for practice that UofL did for its Red and White (Red and Black?) game. They keep that up and I will start calling it U of Loserville like other UK fans.
John,
It was admirable to defend Jerry. Thats what a co worker and friend should do. However, I dont think it was necessarily blown out of porportion. I read the article yesterday and it definitely led me to believe that the mention of the truck was an innuendo to create suspiciou about Patterson having such a nice truck. Then, I saw all of the reports about the mistake this morning and was shocked… because I truly went to sleep last night thinking about how Patterson could have such an automobile.
It’s just kind of weird to know that I can read a Lexington sports page and receive false reports and innuendos. Im sure there are more out there who felt the same way as me when they read the article.
This reminds me of when Tipton reported on the SUV that Rondo was driving and the suspicion it raised. Is he trying to spark the negative interest of the NCAA or something? Weird!
I will definitely continue to read your publications, but not Mr. Tipton’s. What a shame that we cant even read the city of Lexington’s own resident UK baskeball writer.
MM, you’re earlier comment was blocked because it contained an inappropriate reference. I attempted to e-mail you about that, but your e-mail address was bounced back to me as being not in service.
Alex,
If the story you read was the on-line version, it has been edited now that that the truth is out. I guess it was also in print (I live in Georgia - don’t get the print version), so you might read the original there if you haven’t yet.
If you have read the original version and reached the same conclusion, never mind.
I do not agree that there are never positive articles about UK. In fact, John is the one writer that writes fairly but leans positive. I do not think this was blown out of proportion.
I know the paper won the 1986 Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting by finding that UK was cheating and it seems to me that Jerry thinks that is what he has to do to be a good reporter. The thing is assumptions are not investigative reporting. Jerry implies cheating based on his assumptions. If this would have been an assumption about Patrick’s vehicle in a story about something positive it would not be so bad. The thing is this gives the appearance of Jerry having an agenda. So like Jerry’s frequent cheating assumptions people are assuming he has an agenda based on the appearance of this and several other negative stories. If his assumption would have been in a story about Patrick giving a woman a ride home http://kentuckysportsradio.com/?p=30522 it would have been both a positive story and part of the story. He went out of his way to imply cheating by putting a reference to the new vehicle in a story about a scrimmage. I do not have a problem with investigative reporting and calling out wrong doing. I do, however, have a problem with reports that are based on assumptions to fulfill an agenda but are presented as facts. I am not saying Jerry having an agenda is a fact. It is just the way it appears to me. It is just my opinion. That is the difference between Jerry and me; I am not presenting assumptions as facts.
I read the original story and automatically thought that many UK fans would be upset by making the assumption that the article was trying to insinuate that Patterson had obtained the truck illegally. I did not make that assumption. I see high school students with newer and better vehicles all the time. I figured that if his parents wanted to reward him with a new vehicle, then so be it. He has worked hard and will obtain his degree in only 3 years. Not an easy task for any college student, much less an athlete on the D1 level.
Jack, the report on another blog about U of L killing the UK practice isn’t true. UK killed the practice because it is against the NCAA rules to publicize such a practice, and word got out. Here is Calipari’s statement:
“We originally planned a practice at Freedom Hall on Sunday afternoon to give our guys a chance to practice in an arena that we will compete in later this season,” UK head coach John Calipari said. “The passion of our Kentucky fans in Louisville made it impossible for the word not to get out about the practice at Freedom Hall. Due to the publicity created by several media outlets, we will no longer be able to conduct a preseason practice off campus this weekend. We will schedule an open practice at Freedom Hall and make sure all our fans in Louisville know about it.”
John, the article you linked suggested (probably assumed
that Louisville complaints were behind the cancel. I accept your correction of me, but I must say that is a really odd rule. Which is more evil: NCAA or Louisville?
Probably NCAA.
Jack, I wasn’t correcting you. I was correcting the article.