John Clay's Sidelines

Rick Pitino arrives at federal courthouse. (AP photo)

Some news and notes as we break for lunch at the Karen Sypher trial.

• Rick Pitino has not yet testified. He may testify this afternoon. We’re not sure at this point.

• Star witness this morning was Vinnie Tatum, Pitino’s personal assistant back in 2003. He testified that after Porcini’s restaurant had cleared out that night, leaving Pitino and Karen Sypher at the bar, Tatum moved to the other side of a brick wall because, “I felt uncomfortable.” Tatum said he felt like the third wheel. But Tatum testified that he did not hear any screams, and if he had he would have tried to see what was going on.

• Sypher’s attorney, Jim Earhart, honed in on Pitino’s restaurant bill that night. There was a bill for $316.24, and an additional bill for $280.12, plus a third tab for approximately $38. Of that bill, Earhart pointed out that only about $100 was for food. The rest of the $600-plus bill was for alcohol. And of the people in Pitino’s party that night (Pitino, Reggie Theus, Ron Carmichael and Tatum), Tatum did not drink because he was the designated driver, and Theus left immediately after dinner to return to the West Coast. Theus had been officially announced as a new U of L assistant coach that day, and the dinner at Porcini’s was to celebrate the hire. Earhart’s inference was that Pitino consumed a considerable amount of alcohol that night. Tatum did say, “It doesn’t say that Coach Pitino didn’t buy other people cocktails” that night.

• Porcini’s owner, Tim Coury, was the first person to testify. He did say that the night of July 31, 2003, the night of the sexual encounter between Pitino and Sypher, was the only time that he ever let a customer, Pitino or otherwise, remain in the restaurant after he had departed. Coury said he told Tatum how to exit the restaurant, through an emergency door in the front of restaurant. He said he did not give Pitino a key.

• Later, Earhart hit on the fact that though Coury told Tatum how to exit, Tatum did not tell Pitino. Yet Pitino knew how to exit, since Tatum testified that he did see Pitino exit through that door with Sypher, then get into Sypher’s white Cadillac Escalade.

Continue reading ‘Lunch break at Karen Sypher trial’

(AP photo)

With the possibility that Rick Pitino may testify today, I’m in Louisville for the Karen Sypher trail.

I’m currently in the Media Room of the federal courthouse building. You are not allowed to take electronic equipment into the courtroom. So next texts. No tweets. No liveblog. But I hope to post updates during breaks in the day’s proceedings. Or that’s the hope, anyway. We’ll see how it goes.

Big Blue Links for Wednesday:

• Zagsblog reports that Austin Rivers has Kentucky in his final five.
• My random notes column, with a few UK meanderings sprinkled within.
• Rick Pitino is expected to testify today in the Karen Sypher trial, reports Will Graves and Brett Barrouquere of the AP.
• Bartender says Pitino and Sypher looked happy, reports Andrew Wolfson of the Courier-Journal.
• Football analysts offer insight on Joker Phillips and Kentucky, reports Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate-Messenger.
• Eamonn Brennan of espn.com on John Calipari’s bold recruiting gambit. (Think there’s a tongue in cheek there.)
• Kentucky, now with more dribble drives, blogs Diamond Leung of espn.com.
• Jody Demling of the C-J has a Chane Behanan update.
• Tailgate Review has video of UK 2012 target Brandon Ashley.

SEC links for Wednesday:

• No decision announced yet on whether Ole Miss will take former Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli, reports David Brandt of the Clarion-Ledger.
• But the NE Mississippi Daily Journal reports that Ole Miss administration has given OK on Masoli transfer.
• John Adams of the Knoxville News-Sentinel writes that Derek Dooley is doing a balancing act.
• Adams also reports that Tennessee running back Bryce Brown has left school without a release.
• Brown left Tennessee after skipping arranged meeting with Dooley, reports Wes Rucker of the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
• Ex-Alabama defensive tackle Terrence Cody fails his conditioning test with the Baltimore Ravens, reports the Montgomery Advertiser.
• South Carolina AD Eric Hyman says his plan is working, writes Joseph Person of The State.
• Randy Rosetta of The Advocate takes a look at his 2010 crystal ball.

Continue reading ‘SEC: Jeremiah Masoli may be on way to Ole Miss’

At least it’s not Joe Namath in a pair of pantyhose.

The official promo.

Seth Davis of Sports Illustrated talks to a few top college coaches, who are out on the recruiting trail.

One is John Calipari.

Davis asked Cal about one-and-dones:

Still, don’t expect Calipari to alter his recruiting philosophy anytime soon. He scoffed at my suggestion that he should look to recruit a few players who won’t be one-and-done but can still contribute during a four-year career. “If you recruit guys who you know are going to be there for four years, you’ll probably be in the NIT, and that’s not a good thing at Kentucky,” he said. “You recruit the best players you can, and if someone is going to take them in the first round, I tell them to go.”

(AP photo)

Just curious, but are you following the Karen Sypher trial?

And by the way, it is not the Rick Pitino trial. The Louisville coach is not on trial. Is reputation has been tarnished. He should be embarrassed. But he has not been charged with a crime, thus is not on trial.

But Sypher is on trial. Are you following it? If so, why? If not, why?

Big Blue Links:

• Jeff Goodman of Fox Sports writes that UK target Anthony Davis has quickly become a hot commodity.
• Adonis Thomas shines in AAU play, reports Dan Wolken of the Memphis Commercial Appeal.
• Chane Behanan has experienced good and bad in his rapid ascent, writes Chad Bishop of the Bowling Green News. (Hat tip to Spam’s Wildcat Page.)
• Brandon Marcell of the NW Arkansas News ranks Joker Phillips 10th out of 12 for his SEC Media Days performance.
• But Joel Barker of Bleacher Report ranked Phillips as giving the best performance at Hoover.
• Brandon Ashley gets an offer from UK for 2012, reports Zagsblog.
• Lawyers in case see Karen Sypher two different ways, reports Andrew Wolfson and Jayson Riley of the Courier-Journal.
• Jacob Tamme’s golf scramble raises big bucks for a good cause, writes Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate-Messenger.
• Patrick Patterson will join Eric Bledsoe at UK’s pro camp, says UK athletics.
• Kirk Hinrich looking forward to playing with John Wall, reports Michael Lee of the Washington Post.
• NCAA coaches set bad example for players, writes Eric Crawford of the Courier-Journal.
• Bleed Blue Kentucky breaks down the Cats quarterbacks heading into fall drills.

SEC links for Tuesday:

• Ex-Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli to Ole Miss is a thorny possibility, writes David Brandt of the Clarion-Ledger.
• Tennessee Titans slap Lane Kiffin with a lawsuit, reports Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean.
• NCAA requests only one Georgia player for interview, reports Marc Weiszer of the AJC.
• Weiszer also reports that Mark Richt is urging Georgia fans to be patient with new quarterback Aaron Murray.
• “We want our fans to be proud,” Richt tells boosters, reports Mark Bradley of the AJC.
• Paul Finebaum of the Mobile Press-Register jumps on the kick Vandy out of the SEC bandwagon.
• It’s full speed ahead for South Carolina receiver Dion LeCorn, writes Seth Emerson of The State.
• Dan Mullen is the real Darth Visor, Jr., writes Kevin Scarbinsky of the Birmingham News.
• Eight wins just ain’t enough for Auburn, writes David Paschall of the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
• Jordan Jefferson is set to be more than LSU’s quarterback, reports Glenn Guilbeau of the Shreveport Times.
• Gene Stallings got Alabama back on top, at least for a little while, writes Cecil Hurt of the Tuscaloosa News.
• Ex-UT star Tyler Smith joins the SEC parade of basketball players to Turkey, reports Mike Griffith of the Knoxville News-Sentinel.

Big Blue Links for Monday:

• Fox41 in Louisville on the start of the Karen Sypher trial today.
• Rick Bozich of the Courier-Journal writes on Andre Woodson trying a new path to the NFL.
• No easy answers in athlete-agent interactions, reports Brett Dawson of the C-J.
• Kentucky and Louisville basketball on trail of many of the same players, reports Jody Demling of the C-J.
• Mobile Press-Register ranks the top 120 high school football players in the Southeast.
• Frank Burlison of the Long Beach Press-Telegram writes on top prospect Tony Wroten.
• Matt May of the Cats Pause on a potential breakout star for UK football.
• Wildcat Blue Blog wonders if Quincy Miller and Tony Wroten could both end up at Louisville.
• Brett Carney of WLEX reports that UK football is building muscle and leadership in summer workouts.
• Kentucky no longer on Quinn Cook’s list, reports Zagsblog. (Hat tip Aaron’s UK Basketball Blog.)