John Clay's Sidelines

Had tried to reach Bret Bearup on Friday for my Saturday column remembering Melvin Turpin. A teammate of Turpin’s at UK, now a front-office executive with the Denver Nuggets, Bret got back to me today with this e-mail:

Hearing about Melvin yesterday was like getting punched in the gut. Dying suddenly, like in a car accident or having a heart attack, is one thing. There isn’t anything anybody can do about that. Suicide….that puts you in a dark place full of unanswered questions. Anybody who has been his friend or has known him asks these questions: why didn’t I know he was feeling this way? What could I have done to help? We all feel a little guilty. Maybe we shouldn’t….but we do. It’s very difficult to reconcile suicide with who we knew him to be….a happy guy with a quick smile who rambled through life.

We came to UK as freshmen together. Oddly, it took Melvin a long time to remember my name, but he remembered fellow freshmen Jim Masters’ and Dickys’ name from the beginning. That first summer in the weight room, he weighed in at 199, me at 212. He was a stick, spindly.

Continue reading ‘Bret Bearup remembers Melvin Turpin’

Big Blue Links for Saturday:

• My column on the UK success and NBA failures of Melvin Turpin.

• Family is baffled by Turpin suicide, reports Shawntaye Hopkins and Josh Kegley of the Herald-Leader.

• The bigs are buying into John Calipari’s pitch, reports Jerry Tipton of the Herald-Leader.

• Players at LeBron’s camp say it’s crazy to criticize King James, reports Tipton.

• Eric Bledsoe has signed with the Clippers, reports AP.

• Ian Thomsen of Sports Illustrated says no NBA team was willing to hire Calipari in hopes of getting LeBron.

• Rapper J. Cole disses Calipari, reports Nation of Blue.

• DeMarcus Cousins is showing the Kings his leadership skills, reports Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee.

• Prospect Amir Williams talks to Jerry Tipton at LeBron camp:

• Chicago prospect Anthony Davis also talks to Jerry:

Continue reading ‘BBL: Turpin memories, recruiting, rappers and video’

(AP photo)

SEC links for Saturday:

• Tennessee coach Derek Dooley doesn’t waste time after team involved in bar fight, reports Austin Ward of the Knoxville News-Sentinel.

• News-Sentinel columnist Mike Strange says Dooley did not abandon discipline.

• Tennessean columnist Joe Biddle says Dooley made the right call with his swift action.

• After Tennessee arrests, Georgia fans shouldn’t judge, writes Mark Bradley of the AJC.

• Knoxville, the black-eye capital of the SEC, writes John Pennington of Mr. SEC.

• Dooley was decisive, writes Jay Greeson of the Chattanooga Times Free Press.

Continue reading ‘Knoxville, the black-eye capital of the SEC’

Big Blue Links for Friday:

• Former UK basketball player Melvin Turpin apparently takes own life, reports Herald-Leader.

• Big-time recruit, Rodney Purvis, flattered by John Wall comparisons, reports Jerry Tipton from Akron.

• Perry Ellis counts Kentucky among his long list of suitors, reports Tipton.

• Mark Story of the Herald-Leader takes a look at those whom Lexingtonians love to hate.

• Tony Delk talks about his long-term goals to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. (Hat tip to Tom Leach.)

• Kelenna Azubuke could be headed to the New York Knicks, reports Marcus Thompson of the Oakland Tribune.

• Video of Rodney Purvis, interviewed at LeBron James camp:

Continue reading ‘BBL: Turpin’s death; recruiting news and Tony Delk’

SEC links for Friday:

• Tennessee football players involved in brawl at bar, reports Wes Rucker of the Chattanooga Times Free Press.

• Tennessean columnist David Climer reports that Lane Kiffin has taken another jab at Tennessee.

• ESPN announces a $1.86 billion TV deal with ACC, reports Andrew Carter of the Orlando Sentinel.

• Championship coach Ray Tanner seeking a new deal at South Carolina, reports Joseph Person of The State.

• Person also counts the five SEC first-year football players most likely to make a splash.

• Ex-LSU star JaMarcus Russell must help himself before others can, writes Tommy Hicks of the Mobile Press-Register.

Continue reading ‘SEC: Tennessee players involved in bar brawl’

Big Blue Links for Thursday:

• Don’t normally link to subscription stories, but espn.com’s Doug Gottlieb lists Enes Kanter as top pick for 2011 draft.

• H-L staff report on friend and family member saying they paid Eric Bledsoe’s rent in Alabama.

• Jon Solomon of the Birmingham News breaks the story on relative and friend claiming they made Bledsoe’s payments.

• Eamonn Brennan of espn.com blogs that the new Bledsoe claims are a little fishy.

• My column on coaches seeing and being seen at the Adidas Invitational in Indianapolis on Wednesday.

• Jody Demling of the Courier-Journal reports that many eyes are on Bowling Green’s Chane Behanan at Indy event.

• United States’ U-17 national team, led by Michael Gilchrist and Marquis Teague, rips Serbia, reports USA Basketball.

• Marcellus Barksdale is a do-everything recruit, writes Jerry Tipton of the Herald-Leader.

• Daniel Orton says John Calipari has done nothing wrong, writes Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel.

Continue reading ‘BBL: Could Enes Kanter be first pick in the draft?’

Southern Cal AD Mike Garrett has issued apologies to SEC schools.

SEC links for Thursday:

• Tennessee turned down a chance to play Southern Cal in football, reports Austin Ward of the Knoxville News-Sentinel.

• Southern Cal apologizes for false recruiting accusations against Alabama, reports Tommy Deas of the Tuscaloosa News.

• Southern Cal apologizes for tampering accusations against Florida, reports Edward Aschoff of the Gainesville Sun.

• Ole Miss dismisses wide out Patrick Patterson from the team, reports David Brandt of the Clarion-Ledger.

• Parrish Alford of the NE Mississippi Daily Journal has more on the Patterson dismissal at Ole Miss.

Continue reading ‘SEC: Southern Cal issues apologies to SEC schools’

Jerry Tipton of the H-L is at the Adidas Invitational Camp in Indianapolis and shot this interview with Quincy Miller today:

Agree 100 percent with my counterpart Rick Bozich over at the Courious-Journal, who blogs on Colin Cowherd’s lack of baseball acumen.

I, too, heard the ‘Herd this morning exposing his lack of stitched-ball knowledge by downgrading Reds first baseman Joey Votto’s All-Star credentials, while pumping up the Phillies’ Ryan Howard.

Don’t get me wrong. I listen to Colin. He knows the NFL. He is entertaining. If I had a nickle for every time he says, “You know, it’s interesting . . .” I’d be a rich man. But you try and talk for three hours, with very few guests, without repeating yourself repeatedly.

But if it’s not the Yankees, or Manny Ramirez, he’s not interested.

BTW, Chick Ludwig over at the Cincinnati Enquirer also takes Cowherd to task.

And you can still vote for Joey Votto here.

As Dan “The Duke” Davis pointed out, doing the news on ‘Herd’s show, Votto would be the first player to be in the top five of all triple crown categories to be left off the All-Star team since 1957.

(H-L photo/Pablo Alcala)

Bill Murphy of the Gainesville (GA) Times has a question-and-answer with former Kentucky defensive tackle, and current Atlanta Falcons rookie Corey Peters.

Much of the interview is focused on the Louisville native’s time at UK, and the Cats’ progression from doormat to perennial bowl team.

Excerpt:

The amazing thing about going to Kentucky was that I could see the change in attitude from the time I got there coming off a 2-10 campaign and coming off of probation, but seeing the fans come out more and more and really starting to support us. We beat Georgia my freshman year.

We beat LSU when they were No. 1 my sophomore year. We just built on that and the fans continued to support us. Kentucky is at the point where we’re trying to get up in those 10-win seasons, and if we don’t then it’s a disappointment.