John Clay's Sidelines

(H-L photo/Mark Cornelison)

Big Blue Links for Happy Turkey Day:

• Jerry Tipton of the H-L reports from Cancun on the Cats’ overtime win over Stanford: “Calipari noted how a coach can learn about his team and his players in a pressure-cooker game.’I think we’ve got two guys who are not afraid to make plays,’ he said of Wall and Bledsoe. Later, the UK coach added Harris and Patterson to the freshman guards as players who won his trust.”

• Jerry’s notes from Cancun: “Because Kentucky fans bought almost 500 ticket packages, tournament officials moved the court to a North-South configuration. The rectangular court sits in the middle of a rectangular ballroom. That provided room for seven rows of bleachers behind the benches, six rows behind the opposite sideline and seven more rows behind each end line.”

• Mark Cornelison’s slide show from Cancun.

• Tom Leach has video of Calipari’s post-game press conference.

• Chip Cosby of the H-L reports that Tennessee is coming together: “Tennessee comes into Commonwealth with an unremarkable 6-5 record, but the Volunteers are a much different team now than they were in September. They easily beat Georgia and South Carolina and came within a blocked field goal of knocking off No. 2 Alabama. The only recent hiccup was a 42-17 loss at Mississippi that came on the heels of three players being arrested for attempted armed robbery.”

• Dave Hooker of the Knoxville News-Sentinel reports UT can’t believe Randall Cobb got away: “Want to know what type of impact Randall Cobb will have on the Tennessee-Kentucky game on Saturday? Just check the scoreboard. ‘I think you’re talking about potentially a 14 to 21 point difference in one player about whether he was signed at Tennessee or went to Kentucky,’ UT coach Lane Kiffin said this week.”

• Wes Rucker of the Chattanooga Times Free Press also writes on Cobb: “The Knoxville-area native, who stunned Tennessee by picking the Wildcats over his childhood favorite Volunteers, is potentially a pesky problem looming in the near horizon. Whether he lines up at receiver, special-package quarterback or return specialist, Cobb drives the Wildcats.”

• Cosby reports that Will Fidler will give up final year of eligibility: “Fidler’s name did not appear on UK’s original list of 26 seniors who will be honored Saturday, but he was on a list released Wednesday. Fidler’s father, Bill, said his son made the decision this week to give up his final year.”

• My column saying that UK-Tennessee needs to be a rivalry again: “So Saturday night, Big Blue Nation needs to set a football attendance record. It needs to park itself in its seats early to give this group of seniors a proper send-off. It needs to work up the courage to tell that second-guessing loudmouth – you know, the one sitting behind you – to knock it off and get with the program.”

• Brett Dawson of the Courier-Journal reports from Cancun: “It took two missed free throws late in regulation, four crucial points from John Wall in the final 31 seconds and an overtime bomb from Eric Bledsoe, but the Cats escaped the Galactic Ballroom at the Moon Palace resort with a 6-0 record and the Cancun Challenge trophy.”

• Matt May of the Cats Pause reports from Cancun on the Kentucky win: “John Wall gave Kentucky a second chance and his teammates took advantage to help the Cats bring home hardware from their trip to the sandy beaches of the Mexican coast. The Cats escaped a gritty Stanford team for a 73-65 overtime victory in front of 1,425 fans at the Moon Palace Resort. Wall’s career-high 23 points helped earn him Most Valuable Player honors in the tournament.”

• Kentucky women hoopsters improve to 5-0: “Again, UK’s stifling defense was the key as the Cats held their fourth straight opponent to less than 50 percent shooting and forced 20-plus turnovers for the third time this season. UK recorded 12 steals and scored 22 points off turnovers.”

• Kentucky Sports Network talks to Doug Williams about Morgan Newton.

• My video of Rich Brooks after Wednesday’s practice.

• A Sea of Blue had its doubts about UK winning: “I distinctly recall John Calipari telling all of us that it would be this way. He said it more than once. None of us really believed it, but this game made a believer out of me. But in the end, there were two things that made this win possible — the crazy self-confidence of these young, talented players, and the fact that these guys do not get upset when the chips are down — they get focused. That’s something Coach Cal can build on.”

• Aaron’s UK Football Blog talks about the Cats’ newest commitment: “Based on reports UK had offered Delic a while back, but you have to wonder if Alex Smith’s commitment to UNC opened up a spot for Delic.“

• Straitpinkie writes on the great south of the border escape: “Well, it’s 6 games into the 2009-2010 season, and already, no one is going to be able to call the Kentucky Wildcats ‘untested’. I think most people expected an undefeated record at this point with lots of John Wall highlights, but I don’t think anyone expected so many plays in clutch situations to be on the mixtapes.”

• Wildcat Blue Blog thinks the Cats were listless: “This whole “Montezuma’s Revenge” thing may have something to it. With Patrick Patterson sitting on the bench in the first half with two fouls, and a very well coached, supposedly overmatched Stanford team matching the Cats bucket for bucket, the only explanation was some kind of Mexican curse (either mythical or intestinal).”

• Kentucky Sports Radio’s post-game thoughts: “Calipari said after the game that he is happy that his two point guards “are winners.” He liked how Bledsoe and Wall competed, and were out there trying to make the big play when others might have taken a step back. He said that Ramon Harris was ‘terrific’ and Patrick Patterson was great in the second half. While he seemed frustrated by some of the game, he was proud of the winning effort and a gutty performance against a well-coached Stanford team.”

• Inner Circle on the UK dance: “In what turned out to be an ugly defensive game for Kentucky, Cat fans began to worry that our undefeated start may come to an abrupt end. At the close of the first-half, Kentucky found themselves trailing 38-32. When the second-half got underway, it appeared no adjustments had been made on Kentucky’s part. The Wildcats continually allowed Stanford second-chance opportunities, and offensively we just couldn’t get a rally going.”

• Mary Jo Perino writes an open letter to Rich Brooks: “If the Cats finish second in the SEC East with a big bowl appearance, I don’t believe your job is done. I know you are leaving the program in capable hands, I certainly trust your judgement, but I want to see what you can do next year. And maybe the year after. I believe you are the coach to keep Kentucky continuing to climb that SEC ladder.”