John Clay's Sidelines

My friend Rich Copley of the Herald-Leader is asking for some help on a story he’s working on:

I am supposed to be working on a story about smack talk for Weekender for the UK-UofL game. I put out twitter and facebook requests to “hit me with your best taunts,” and have gotten a few. But I imagine your followers are more engaged in this. Could you ask your followers for some of their favorite UK-UofL smack – we’re looking for both sides here. Just ask them to use @copiousnotes in the reply, and I’ll get it.

The @copiousnotes is for Twitter, but you can offer your taunts here, as well, and I’ll make sure they are passed along.

Big Blue Links for Friday:

In case you missed it, Michael Marot of AP on Bob Knight knocking John Calipari: “‘We’ve gotten into this situation where integrity is really lacking and that’s why I’m glad I’m not coaching,’ he said. ‘You see we’ve got a coach at Kentucky (John Calipari), who put two schools on probation and he’s still coaching. I really don’t understand that.’”

Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate-Messenger on Knight’s cheap shot: “There was a time when I had some respect for then Indiana coach Bob Knight, but not now.”

USA Today asks if Knight is really a good messenger: “Many people will applaud Knight for his honesty both during his career and in his assessment of the game’s present state. During the speech the Hall of Famer also criticized the NCAA and players who don’t attend class. But there are others who feel that Knight cheap-shoted Calipari and that the problems at Memphis and Massachusetts should not all be laid at his door.”

Kentucky Sports Radio on Bob’s blast: “Interestingly enough, his point regarding the questionable integrity of college basketball could have been better made had he said the last two national champions were a team on probation (Kansas) and a coach (Roy Williams) partially responsible for them being there. But, Calipari continues to be a convenient scapegoat a la BTI.”

Continue reading ‘BBL: Reaction to Bob Knight’s “cheap” shot at Calipari’

SEC links for Friday:

• Robbie Andreu of the Gainesville Sun reports that Florida’s Sugar Bowl ticket sales are not sweet.
• Mr. SEC reports that Florida recruit says photo of him with pistol and cash was a joke.
• David Climer of the Tennessean writes that NCAA probe isn’t publicity Tennessee wants.
• Jeff Schultz of the AJC wonders if SEC rivals are ratting out the Vols.
• Austin Ward of the Knoxville News-Sentinel reports on Kippy Brown’s return to Tennessee.
• Wes Rucker of the Chattanooga Times Free Press also writes on Kippy Brown.

Continue reading ‘SEC links: Florida’s Sugar Bowl ticket sales slow’

(AP photo/Tom Strickland)

Update: Here’s story from the Chicago Tribune news service.

This is just over the wire via AP from Bob Knight’s talk at a fundraiser for the Indiana Hall of Fame.

The ex-IU coach took a shot at John Calipari.

Excerpt:

“We’ve gotten into this situation where integrity is really lacking and that’s why I’m glad I’m not coaching,” he said. “You see we’ve got a coach at Kentucky who put two schools on probation and he’s still coaching. I really don’t understand that.”

Here’s Michael Marot’s full story from the AP on Knight’s speech.

(Hat tip to Mary Jo Perino and WLEX’s sportscast.)

(AP photo/Butch Dill)

Kentucky just released its in-house award winners for the 2009 football season.

A rundown from UK:

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

The recipient will be the player judged to have contributed the most to the team’s success, its biggest contributor with his play of the field. The award is selected by a vote of the team members. WINNER: Randall Cobb

MOST OUTSTANDING OFFENSIVE PLAYER

This award is given to the squad’s best performer for the offensive unit, recognizing the best execution at his position of all team members. This award is determined by the coaching staff. WINNER: Randall Cobb

MOST OUTSTANDING DEFENSIVE PLAYER

This award is given to the squad’s best performer on the defensive squad, recognizing the best execution at his position of all team members. This award is determined by the coaching staff. WINNER: Corey Peters

Continue reading ‘Randall Cobb wins UK MVP award’

A “concerned” Kentucky fan wrote to CBS Sportsline’s Gary Parrish about the possibility of John Calipari leaving after this season to coach LeBron James in Cleveland. Remember, Parrish covered Cal in Memphis when Gary worked for the Memphis Commercial Appeal. He says it could happen, but a lot of other things could happen. too.

Excerpt:

I would compare it to the speculation that Michigan will fire Rich Rodriguez after next season, then go pluck Jim Harbaugh from Stanford. Could it happen? Sure. But what if Rodriguez turns it around? What if Harbaugh has a terrible season at Stanford next year? What if Harbaugh decides he just really loves living in California?

In other words, there are a lot of moving parts.

Gregg Doyel

Gregg Doyel is behind the Cats, or so he writes for CBS Sportline.

Gregg is so behind the Cats, he wants them to go undefeated.

IMHO, here’s the best two graphs in the column:

Biggest story in college basketball history? It would be right up there with underdog North Carolina State in 1983 and hot dog Pistol Pete Maravich in 1967 and the top-dog UCLA teams of Lew Alcindor and Bill Walton from the 1960s and ’70s. Kentucky winning it all, and losing never, would be that big.

The media would hate it, but that makes me want it even more. Media groupthink has decided John Calipari is a bad guy, but media groupthink also decided Texas should play Alabama for the college football championship, and that the running back from Alabama is the best player in the country. Media groupthink is silly.

I like this even though I am part of the media groupthink, and I voted Mark Ingram for the Heisman. (He was the best, most consistent player in the best conference in the country.) But I agree on Calipari. I know John rubs some people the wrong way. I know he can talk, and at times is prone to exagerrate. But through eight months on the job here, all Calipari has done is go out of his way to embrace the job, to connect with the fans, to promote the program, to recruit good players and win basketball games. Seems like that was what he was hired to do.

Example: The anecdote about Adolph Rupp and fast-break basketball and using the 1-3-1 zone in last Saturday’s post-game press conference. Some might take that as the slick workings of an opportunist. I took it as someone who has done his homework, and wants to use (not ignore) the rich tradition of the program. It wasn’t that Cal dropped Rupp’s name, or talked about offense and defensive philosophy. It’s that he used the name of Harry Lancaster, who was Rupp’s long-time assistant and later UK’s athletics director. Call it corny, but the fact that Calipari would even bother to know a detail like that told me quite a bit more than the media groupthink tells.

Media Approval Ratings motors on toward the holiday with Chip Cosby, the Herald-Leader’s beat man for Kentucky football. You may remember Chip from his PTI’s focus on his 40-yard dash time.

What say you on Chip Cosby, thumbs-up or thumbs-down?

Previously: Jerry Tipton, Mark Story, John Clay

This just in from the Music City Bowl:

A limited number of lower level and club level tickets were made available to the general public today through Ticketmaster. Visit www.ticketmaster.com/MusicCityBowl

The Bowl will be played on Sunday, Dec. 27 at 7:30 p.m. CST and will feature the University of Kentucky vs. Clemson University.

ABOUT THE BOWL:
The Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl (501 (c) 3 non-profit organization) is an annual post-season collegiate bowl featuring the Atlantic Coast and Southeastern Conferences. Televised nationally to millions of viewers and listeners on ESPN and Nevada Sports Radio Network, the Bowl is Nashville’s Holiday Tradition. For more information, call the Bowl office at 615.743.3130 or visit the Bowl online at MusicCityBowl.com.

To get up-to-the-minute information, including practice schedules, follow the Bowl on Facebook and Twitter.

(AP Photo/James Crisp)

Big Blue Links for Thursday:

College Football News praises Rich Brooks: ” Kentucky’s Rich Brooks has been named Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year by CollegeFootballNews.com. Brooks, in his seventh season at UK, led the Wildcats to a 7-5 record and a fourth consecutive bowl game for the first time in school history.”

ESPN’s Scoop Jackson on John Wall: “If he had a nickname, it would be “The Biz.” He gives opponents the business; he handles his business. Not Biz Markie, but mark thee as the best N.C. has seen since CP3; Jason Kidd size and speed, EBC imagination.”

Dick Vitale on Calipari and Rupp: “At 10-0, Calipari has matched Adolph Rupp for the best start by a first-year Wildcats coach. With a favorable schedule ahead (Austin Peay, Drexel, Long Beach State and Hartford), it looks like Calipari will be 14-0 heading into a showdown against Rick Pitino and his Louisville Cardinals. Rupp Arena will be electric!! Pitno is sharp as ever — Cardinal fans should not panic as they must get healthy.”

Bluegrass State Basketball reports on Josh Selby: “Josh Selby, a superstar 2010 point guard, has added the Wildcats to his list of potential college destinations. Unfortunately for Kentucky fans, he has added another set of Wildcats – the Arizona Wildcats.”

Jamal Mashburn will help broadcast UK-Drexel: “f the Wildcats win Saturday against Austin Peay, the Drexel game would be the program’s first attempt to become the first college basketball program to win 2,000 games.”

Inner Circle on the Mashburn return: “Mashburn, as most of you know, is my all-time favorite Kentucky Wildcat. He was the kind of guy that could do anything on the court. He bled blue through and through. I think he was the recruit that helped save UK basketball from the brink of probation decimation. I’ll even go a step further, I think he is the greatest UK player in the last 25 years.”

Continue reading ‘BBL: Josh Selby now considering Arizona’