John Clay's Sidelines

(Sacramento Bee photo)

After a 27-point star-turn in Sacramento’s stunning win at Los Angeles over the Lakers on Friday, Big Cuz did it again last night for the Kings.

The rookie scored 25 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as Sacramento stopped New Orleans’ 10-game win streak with a 102-96 win over the Hornets.

It marks Sacramento’s first two-game win streak since the third and fourth games of the season. And besides Cousins’ points-production and rebounds, he set the tone for the victory with a little run-in with the Hornets’ Chris Paul.

Wrote Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee:

With 31.4 seconds left in the game, Kings guard Beno Udrih hit the floor with a thud, and one of his teammates didn’t like it.

DeMarcus Cousins might be a rookie, but he won’t allow the Kings to be bullied.

So it didn’t matter that the player who dropped Udrih was New Orleans All-Star guard Chris Paul.

Cousins let Paul know how he felt. Paul had a few choice words of his own. But in the end, Cousins and the Kings would have another unlikely win to talk about.

The Kings ended the Hornets’ 10-game winning streak with a 102-96 win Saturday night at Arco Arena.

(H-L photo/David Perry)

Click here for the Herald-Leader photo gallery from UK-Georgia.

Big Blue Links for Sunday:

• Fast-starting Kentucky puts away Georgia 66-60, reports Jerry Tipton of the Herald-Leader.
• Kentucky plays hold on, to beat the Bulldogs, reports Brett Dawson of the Courier-Journal.
• Georgia’s stars don’t align at Rupp, reports Seth Emerson of the Macon Telegraph.
• Kentucky gets its revenge on the Bulldogs, writes Will Graves of the AP.
• The Cats even the score with Georgia, reports Matt May of the Cats Pause.
• Georgia falls to last place in the SEC East, reports Tim Tucker of the AJC.
• Kentucky gets a big win, but still playing too small, says my game column.
• Who says Kentucky basketball can’t by with six? asks Eric Crawford of the Courier-Journal.
• This time, Kentucky shuts down Thompkins and Leslie, writes Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate-Messenger.
• Kentucky’s closing ability comes into question, writes Nick Craddock of the Kentucky Kernel.
• Kentucky’s big first half is the big key to win over Georgia, reports Aaron Smith of the Kernel.
• Kentucky’s upperclassmen must carry the team, writes Mike DeCourcy of the Sporting News.
• Tee Martin named Kentucky’s passing game coordinator, reports me.
• Larry Brown’s cameo role with UK may have violated an NCAA rule, reports Tipton.

(AP photo/Mark Humphrey)

SEC links for Sunday:

• Mississippi State responds and chomps the Gators, 71-64, reports Brandon Marcello of the Clarion-Ledger.
• Florida falls for the first time on the road, reports Kevin Brockway of the Gainesville Sun.
• Arkansas shocks Vanderbilt in Nashville, 89-78, reports Jeff Lockridge of the Tennessean.
• The Razorbacks play their most complete game of the last two seasons, writes Arkansas Sports 360.
• Previously winless Auburn upsets South Carolina 79-64 in Columbia, reports Jeff Collins of the AP.
• The Tigers committed just eight turnovers and made 26 of 34 free throws, reports Evan Woodbery of the Mobile Press-Register.
• Alabama stays unbeaten at home with 70-46 win over visiting LSU, reports Don Kausler of the Birmingham News.
• Alabama’s 5-1 record is now best in the SEC, reports Cecil Hurt of the Tuscaloosa News.
• Tennessee takes advantage of hot shooting late to beat Ole Miss 74-58, reports Mike Griffith of the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
• Vols turn out to be too much for Ole Miss, writes Ron Higgins of the Memphis Commercial Appeal.

UK players Darius Miller, Doron Lamb, Josh Harrellson and Brandon Knight speak with media after Saturday’s win.

(H-L photo/David Perry)

Twenty questions, asked and answered, about Kentucky’s 66-60 win over Georgia?

1. Ok, so even though Kentucky struggled at the end, it was still a good win, right?

Yes, a win, is a win, is a win. Especially a win over a team that you lost to at their place just three weeks ago.

2. The offensive star?

Honors go to freshman Doron Lamb, who scored 19 points, and hit some big shots in the second half. Especially big was a Lamb baseline jumper with 6:40 left that broke a long Kentucky scoring drought.

3. So what does this do to the SEC East race?

Tightens it considerable. First-place Florida lost in Starkville. So the Gators are 5-2. Kentucky is 4-2 after the win over Georgia. Tennessee is now 4-2 after its win at Ole Miss. The big surprise was Vanderbilt’s loss to visiting Arkansas. The Commodores slipped to 3-3. South Carolina was upset at home by Auburn. The Gamecocks are also 3-3. Tough-luck Georgia is now 3-4.

4. Was John Calipari happy with the win?

Yes, thought it took him forever to come to the post-game press conference. By the time he gets there, we have serious doubts if he remembers much about the game. But seriously, he seemed happy. He did lament the finish, however. But it seemed like he did not want to make too much of the fact his team led by 13 with four minutes to go, and ended up winning by six.

5. Was Larry Brown there?

He was there, sitting next to Ellen Calipari at mid-court. By the way, I love Larry Brown. And here’s why. Years ago, when he was coaching at Kansas, I called him for a story. It was early in the morning — that’s when the interview had been set up — and he could not have been nicer. We actually talked for quite awhile. I’m sure he has no recollection of this, but I do. We sportswriters don’t forget those things.

Continue reading ‘Twenty questions about Kentucky’s win over Georgia’

Clips from the post-game press conferences of Kentucky coach John Calipari and Georgia coach Mark Fox after UK’s 66-60 win over the Bulldogs.

Tee Martin

Before today’s basketball game with Georgia, Kentucky head football coach Joker Phillips announced that wide receivers coach Tee Martin has been promoted to “passing game coordinator.”

Phillips announced that Martin has received a contract extension and raise, but would not discuss specifics of a new contract for the former Tennessee quarterback.

There were unconfirmed reports that Martin was a finalist for the wide receivers job at Alabama. But Martin said that while he was contacted by a couple of schools to see about possible interest, the coach said he never interviewed with another school for another position.

Phillips called Martin “a relentless recruiter,” and said that as passing game coordinator, Martin would be responsible for passing game schemes and would head up passing drills in practice.

Martin joined the UK staff this past season after being on the staff at New Mexico.

DeMarcus Cousins scored 27 points last night as Sacramento beat the Lakers 100-95 in Los Angeles.