John Clay's Sidelines

Richie Farmer

My friends at Bluegrass Politics are reporting that ex-Wildcat and current Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer is indeed considering a run for governor.

An excerpt:

Farmer told The Associated Press on Tuesday that he has been in discussions about a possible run and may do some political polling in the near future.

Can a sitting governor insert himself into the starting lineup?

(H-L photo/Charles Bertram)

Great paragraph at the end of my Herald-Leader colleague Andy Mead’s report on UK trustees approving Wildcat Coal Lodge by a vote of 17-3.

UK president Lee Todd told board member Bill Gatton that the current Joe B. Hall Wildcat Lodge would “go into the housing inventory.”

Andy reports:

Asked by a reporter whether the building that was deemed inadequate for basketball players would be used to house other students, Todd said the current lodge would have to be evaluated until any decision was made.

The man who casts this state’s vote in this year’s AP college basketball poll has placed Kentucky fourth on his pre-season ballot.

OK, the voter is my friend Rick Bozich, over at the Courier-Journal.

Rick has put his ballot on his blog, and has the Cats ranked fourth, with Louisville at No. 13. (That’s too high, by the way.)

You can see his entire Top 25 here.

The subject of the proposed Wildcat Coal Lodge, which may take the place of the Joe B. Hall Wildcat Lodge, which houses the UK basketball players, made its way to the Rachel Maddow Show. And Rachel and her guest, the sports editor for The Nation — you probably didn’t know The Nation had a sports editor — are among those who are less than thrilled with the idea. ( Best news is now I get to tag Rachel Maddow.)

Hat tip to Doc Purcell.

Big Blue Links for Tuesday:

• Chip Cosby of the Herald-Leader writes that UK football seasons have hinged on the Mississippi State game.
• Mark Story of the H-L writes about Rich Brooks’ record against the SEC West.
• Minneapolis Star-Tribune has note on the death of Tubby Smith’s father.
• Brett Dawson of the Courier-Journal writes about the Blackout.
• Blair Kerkhoff of the Kansas City Star writes on John Calipari’s salary, and the high salaries of others. (Hat tip to Walter’s Wildcat World.)
• Brian Rickerd of the State-Journal writes that UK football is better, but not quite there yet.
• Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate-Messenger writes on Darnell Dodson.
• Tom Leach has a video interview with Dodson.

Continue reading ‘BBL: Cats get ready for crucial football game’

SEC links for Tuesday:

• Kevin Scarbinsky of the Birmingham News writes that the SEC should suspend Lane Kiffin.
• But John Adams of the Knoxville News-Sentinel writes that there is no such thing as bad publicity.
• Mike Griffith of the News-Sentinel writes that Chris Lofton is at home playing in Spain.
• Kyle Veazey of the Clarion-Ledger reports on SEC reprimanding MSU coach Dan Mullen.
• Jay Greeson of the Chattanooga Times Fress Press writes that SEC officials remain in the limelight.
• Ken Suguria of the AJC writes on Tim Tebow’s SEC legacy.

Continue reading ‘SEC links: Those bad boy football coaches’

Kentucky wants the fans to wear black for Saturday’s Halloween Homecoming football game with Mississippi State.

The players want to wear black uniforms.

The head coach, Rich Brooks, said Monday, “I haven’t seen black in our school colors.”

So where do you stand? Would black unis be a great idea for Halloween? Or is wearing black too much like what U of L does in football, or Duke does in basketball?

The new SEC rankings are out, and it should be no surprise that Kentucky is dead last in 3rd-down defense.

Opponents have converted 43.1 percent of its third downs against the Cats. That’s 2.6 percent more than 11th place LSU.

Saturday’s 36-13 win over UL-Monroe didn’t help the Kentucky cause in that category. The visiting WarHawks were 12-of-19 on third down, and converted a ridiculous five-of-six attempts on third-and-10-or-more yards.

Here’s a look:

Here are some player videos from today’s UK football press luncheon.

We lead off with UK defensive tackle Corey Peters, who is peppered with questions about the possibility Kentucky might wear black uniforms for the “blackout” Halloween game with Mississippi State on Saturday. Peters loves the idea. Rich Brooks, not so much.

Continue reading ‘Player videos from Rich Brooks’ press luncheon’