John Clay's Sidelines

Is it ESPN? Is it Sports Illustrated? Is it Sporting News? When it comes to which national sports web site gets the most traffic, the answer may surprise you. Yahoo Sports was the winner in April, pulling down nearly 46 million unique visitors. Yes, even more than this site. ESPN is second. Fox Sports is third, though well behind the first two. With national basketball writer Jeff Goodman switching from Fox Sports to CBS Sports, maybe the latter can rise the up the charts. For April, CBS Sports ranked sixth. Sporting News is way back in the 12th spot. As for the major leagues, NFL group edges out MLB.com, with NHL making the top 15.

The Big Lead has the top 15 list for April.

Which national site is your favorite?

Continue reading ‘Which national sports web site gets the most traffic?’

(AP photo)

SEC links for Sunday:

• Coaching the Gators not easy, writes Mike Bianchi of Orlando Sentinel.
• Brantley struggles in spring game, reports Mike McCall of Miami Herald.
• Gators get some work, reports Robbie Andreu of the Gainesville Sun.
• Muschamp says much work ahead, reports David Jones of Florida Today.
• Garcia not forgotten, writes Travis Haney of Charleston Post and Courier.
• Vanderbilt invites Ohio State, says David Climer of Tennessean.
• Dooley sees positives in scrimmage, reports Austin Ward of News-Sentinel.
• Robinson now front and center for Dogs, reports Seth Emerson of Macon Telegraph.
• Georgia’s quarterbacks look solid, writes David Paschall of Free Press.
• Eighteen Dogs miss scrimmage, reports Tim Tucker of the AJC.
• Ware impresses at LSU, reports Glenn Guilbeau of Shreveport Times.
• Auburn’s Roof wants more, writes Charles Goldberg of the Birmingham News.

Continue reading ‘SEC: Columnist finds coaching Gators is not easy’

UK basketball coach John Calipari talks about being ejected from his team’s win over MVSU.

A clarification: Cal says he had never been thrown out of a game before. He was actually thrown out of a game in 1996.

Click here to see this video on YouTube.

If you want to know what's going on with the Michael Phelps family over in Beijing, check out this blog:

Whitney Phelps' post in Swimroom.

Thanks to WKYT and WVLK’s Drew Deener whose e-mail Sunday reminded me of an oversight. In my Sunday column on how as a state Kentucky has turned out more first-round draft choices in baseball than in football and basketball combined over the last 10 years, I left off the name of Oakland A’s pitcher Joe Blanton, the former UK star who was born in Nashville, but who played his high school baseball at Franklin-Simpson.

Only two Kentuckians (Tim Couch in 1999 and Shaun Alexander in 2000) have been taken in the first round of the NFL draft over the past 10 years. Only two Kentuckians (Scott Padgett in 1998 and Rajon Rondo last year) have been taken in the first round of the NBA draft.

Here are the Kentuckians taken in the first round of the MLB draft over the past 10 years:

• Player                  Hometown             Year           Team             Overall
• Austin Kearns       Lexington               1998          Cincinnati         7
• Matt Ginter          Winchester             1999          White Sox        22
• Chris Burke           Louisville               2001          Houston           10
• Jeremy Sowers      Louisville               2001          Cincinnati         20
• Joe Blanton           Franklin                 2002           Oakland           24
• Chaz Roe              Lexington              2005           Colorado          32
• Ben Revere           Lexington               2007          Minnesota        28

Sports Illustrated and CBS’ studo analyst Seth Davis picks Kentucky to upset Florida 77-76 on Saturday.

"In front of the wild denziens at Rupp Arena, including a certain fetching movie-star brunette," writes Davis. "I say UK will capture a little magic and pull off the upset."

Here’s the rest of his UK-Florida entry and the rest of his weekend picks.

Former UK coach Guy Morriss could land one of the nation’s top prep quarterbacks on Sunday. That’s when G.J. Kinne, a senior-to-be from Gilmer, Texas, will make a verbal commitment to either Morris’ Baylor Bears or Florida.

Kinne was the AP Class 3A Texas Offensive Player of the Year last season. His father, former Baylor linebacker Gary Joe Kinne, is an assistant coach on Morris’ staff in Waco.

The younger Kinne did have Tennessee on his list, but scratched the Vols when narrowing his choices to Baylor and Florida.

[Foxsports.com] [Dallasblog.com]
 

Live blogging while watching the NBA draft:

• 10:41 — Signing off now, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Rajon Rondo ended up somewhere other than Boston. After all, why would the Celtics want two 20-year-old point guards? That’s what  Danny Ainge and Doc Rivers now have with Rondo and Sebastian Telfair.

• 10:40 – Ok, here’s what it looks like, by team, we think:
  • Atlanta-Shelden Williams
  • Boston-Rajon Rondo
  • Charlotte-Adam Morrison
  • Chicago-Tyrus Thomas, Thabo Sefolosha
  • Cleveland-Shannon Brown
  • Dallas-Maurice Ager
  • Golden St-Patrick O’Bryant
  • Indiana-Shawne Williams
  • L.A. Lakers-Jordan Farmar
  • Memphis-Rudy Gay, Kyle Lowry
  • Minnesota-Randy Foye
  • New Orleans-Hilton Armstrong, Cedric Simmons
  • New Jersey-Marcus Williams, Josh Boone
  • New York-Renaldo Balkman, Mardy Collins
  • Orlando-J.J. Redick
  • Philadelphia-Rodney Carney
  • Portland-LaMarcus Aldridge, Brandon Roy, Sergio Rodriguez, Joel Freeland
  • Sacramento-Quincy Douby
  • Seattle-Saer Sene
  • Toronto-Andrea Bargnani
  • Utah-Ronnie Brewer
  • Washington-Oleksiy Pecherov

• 10:30 — Portland finishes the first round by taking David Beckham. What? Sorry, it’s Joel Freeland, a center from England. Portland will now try to trade for every other pick taken in the first round.

• 10:29 — Have to say I agree with comment below concerning Danny Ainge having something up his sleeve. Rumors still out there about Iverson coming to Boston, so maybe Rondo could end up a 76er.

• 10:25 — New York takes Mardy Collins, senior guard out of Temple. I agree with Bilas. Good, safe pick. You just expected the Knicks to do something crazy.

• 10:24 — I think a Beastie Boy just tried to push Mark Jones down.

• 10:22 — Knicks are on the clock, and considering Balkman pick, Randolph Morris might not be out of the question. True, he can’t be drafted. But do you think New York knows that?

• 10:21 — I stand corrected concerning earlier bewilderment about Saer Sene. Roscoe Nance in USA Today had Sene going 18th.

• 
  10:19 — David Stern revokes Dallas’ pick at No. 29 just to watch Mark Cuban blow his top. Just kidding. Mavs take Maurice Ager from Michigan State. Dickie V. likes Ager. Dickie likes everybody.

• 10:15 — Phoenix takes Sergio Rodriguez, who the Suns will trade the to the trade-happy Blazers.

• 10:10 — Jordan Farmar from UCLA is picked by the Lakers. Another point guard.

• 10:08 — Here’s the picks taken at No. 21 over last five years:
  • 2005-Nate Robinson, Washington, by Phoenix
  • 2004-Pavel Podkolzinc, Russia, by Dallas
  • 2003-Boris Diaw, France, by Atlanta
  • 2002-Qyntel Woods, Juco, by Portland
  • 2001-Joe Forte, North Carolina, by Boston

• 10:03 — Cleveland takes Shannon Brown from Michigan State. Good solid pick, but at this point in the draft, it’s a roll of the dice. Bilas loves him. Anthony loves the pick.

• 10:01 — Just took a peek at the Boston roster. If in fact he is traded to the Celtics, Rondo will play. But will he play in front of Telfair?

• 9:59 — Less than 15 minutes after Rondo is picked, ESPN airs a Yukon Denali commercial. You couldn’t make that up.

• 9:58 — Bilas just said that Lowry could beat up Rondo.

• 9:56 — Memphis picks Kyle Lowry from Villanova. Suddenly there’s a run on point guards.

• 9:53 — Connecticut has four first-round draft picks and no title.

• 9:51 — New Jersey takes Josh "Cleopatra" Boone. I’m not a Boone fan. Not a first-round guy.

• 9:49 —
  Dickie V. takes it to Rondo saying Boston made a mistake. Celtics should have taken Williams, says Vitale.

• 9:47 — Marcus Williams goes to New Jersey as the second point guard taken, behind Rondo.

• 9:45 — So Rondo was taken two spots in front of Tayshaun Prince (23rd) in 2002, the only other Tubby Smith signee to be picked in the first round.

• 9:43 — Bilas on Rondo, "He can’t shoot it at all." Predicts that Rondo will be a better player in pros than college. Greg Anthony doesn’t seem to be impressed. Anthony likes Marcus Williams better. Stephen A. seems confused, thinking that Phoenix is going to keep Rondo. Maybe he didn’t hear Katz.

• 9:42 — The Suns do take Rondo, who they will supposedly ship to Boston. Now how strange would it be that Rondo and Telfair end up on the same team. Rondo was set to go to Louisville, but U of L held off in hopes of getting Telfair. By the time Telfair decided to go pro, Rondo had committed to Kentucky.

• 9:40 — Katz says Celtics are trying to get back in draft to take Rondo. So Boston wans Telfair and Rondo?

• 9:39 — I’ve seen Balkman for three years. He’s a sleeper all right. He was asleep for much of his Carolina career.

• 9:37 — Do you think anyone over at UK is looking for a lost fax right now?

• 9:35 — Knicks take Renaldo Balkman from South Carolina. Figures. Best line of night, after Stern says Renaldo is not here, Patrick says, "And it’s probably a good thing." Bilas is stunned. Hey, it’s Isiah. It’s the Knicks. Balkman is now the third SEC player taken ahead of Rondo.

• 9:31 — They love Isiah in New York, don’t they?

• 9:29 — The Kings actually take Quincy Douby from Rutgers, who is not in New York. A 6-3 guard. Douby before Marcus Williams? I would have taken Thurman.

• 9:28 — Going by the movie trailer, with the next pick, the Sacramento Kings take Uma Thurman.

• 9:26 — Spike Lee, the last living Knicks fan, is in the house.

• 9:25 — Response to comment No. 4 below: You’re right. So much for that you don’t have to be able to shoot to play in the NBA.

• 9:22 — Buoyed by Ukraine’s showing in the World Cup, Washington takes Oleksiy Pecherov.

• 9:21 — Someone just interviewed Danny Grainger, who apparently did not want to go on camera to talk about Indiana’s pick. Or there was no camera around. Now we have Larry Bird. We can hear him. But we can’t see him. Things are falling apart for the world wide leader. Maybe Dan Patrick will be traded for Shane Battier.

• 9:20 — Apparently nobody wants a point guard.

• 9:16 — Indiana picks Shawne Williams from Memphis. Williams is not in New York. "Little bit of a stunner," says Bilas. Loads of potential. Young. But huh?

• 9:15 — Has Ric Bucher gotten Shane Battier traded yet?

• 9:11 — I agree with Bilas on Carney ("no middle game") but I tend to agree with Bilas. Still no point guards have been taken. Not Marcus Williams. Not Justin Farmar. Not Rondo.

• 9:10 — Chicago, picking for Philadelphia, selects R — Rodney Carney from Memphis. Bet Rajon’s heart skipped a beat there.

• 9:06 — It’s official. Rondo is not a lottery pick.

• 9:04 — New Orleans takes Cedric. Oklahoma City takes Simmons. Put them together and he’s the 6-9 guy from North Carolina State. Oooh, Dan Patrick just took a shot at Herb Sendek, saying Simmons didn’t get a chance to show his ability because of N.C. State’s style of play.

• 9:03 — Answer to comment No. 3 below: Rondo is not in New York. He was not invited by the league.

• 8:59 — Utah picks Ronnie Brewer from Arkansas. He’s the second SEC player taken in front of Rondo. Not that we’re counting.

• 8:55 — The hard-working Katz says the Swiss guy is actually headed to Chicago. Doesn’t anyone want to keep the guy they drafted.

• 8:54 — Philadelphia just took someone named Thabo from Switzerland.

• 8:52 — David Stern makes it official. Portland has just traded its entire roster. More later.

• 8:51 — To the comment (see comments at bottom of post) about the EA Sports commercial with Adam Morrison, is that the one with him talking about crying?

• 8:49 — Philadelphia is on the clock and Roscoe Nance in USA Today this morning projected that the Sixers would take Rondo. We’ll see.

• 8:47 — New Orleans/Oklahoma City just took Hilton Armstrong out of Connecticut. He could be a good player. He could also be a bust. Needs to develop.

• 8:46 — Sounded like Redick just stuck it to Stuart Scott with a "I don’t think you ever complimented me."

• 
  8:41 — Off to the Magic Kingdom for J.J. He’s taken by the Magic. Sorry, but ain’t sold on him as a pro. Basing that on his performance against an athletic LSU. Guess what, Dickie V. loves it. "Terrific choice," says Dickie.

• 8:39 — That is bottled water at Redick’s table, right?

• 8:38 — Yeah for Stephen A. He’s right. Why spend the 10th pick on a project just to save a few bucks.

• 8:35 — The night’s first big upset. Seattle takes Muhammad Saer Sene from Senagal. Said to be a very raw project who no one, no one, had going this high.

• 8:34 — Portland can’t sit still. Katz says the Trail Blazers will get Brandon Roy from Minnesota for the rights to Randy Foye.

• 8:26 — Turnover David Stern. He said Golden State had the 10th pick. Actually it’s the ninth, and Warriors take 7-footer Patrick O’Bryant from Bradley. Good pick. Not ready yet, but he could be ok.

• 8:21 — Houston picks Rudy Gay. Bucher says Gay will be traded to Memphis for Shane Battier. Bucher is bound and determined to get Battier out of Memphis.

• 8:16 — Boston takes Randy Foye from Villanova, who will be promptly shipped to Portland. Question: Would you rather have Foye or Sebastian Telfair?

• 8:10 — Boston is on the clock, but the Celts are picking for Portland. The Blazers were hoping Roy would be here. Might the Blazers make another trade? Ric Bucher says Portland may trade pick to Memphis for Shane Battier.

• 8:07 — T-Wolves take Brandon Roy. Great pick. I love Roy as a pro.

• 8:02 — Minnesota is on the clock. Wolves are supposedly looking at Randy Foye. But I’m guessing Rudy Gay.

• 
  8:00 — Atlanta makes its ineptness official, choosing Williams with the fifth pick. What? Just a handshake with J.J. Redick? No man-hug? I’d have picked Marcus Williams here. And, oh yeah, here’s a shock, Vitale thinks taking the Dookie is a good choice.

• 7:59 — Tyrus Thomas has on a purple tie and a purple sweater-vest. Guess that is LSU’s purple.

• 7:57 — Atlanta is on the clock. The Hawks need a point guard in the worst way, yet they are supposed to be in love with Shelden Williams, who has a face only a mother could love. Then again, these are the Hawks.

• 7:54 — Portland does take Thomas. He’s the highest SEC player taken in the draft since another LSU player, Stromile Swift, went No. 2 to Vancouver in 2000.

• 7:53 — Oh, no, it’s Dickie V. Do they use a satellite to get Vitale from Florida, or does his voice just carry?

• 7:52 — Portland is on the clock. But it’s really Chicago’s pick. This is where the Bulls get Tyrus Thomas.

• 7:50 — Greg Anthony just called Morrison "the best prospect in the draft."

• 7:49 — Surprise, surprise. Charlotte takes Adam Morrison from Gonzaga. So the "next Larry Bird" ends up with the Bobcats as the third choice. I think Morrison will be a very good pro. Love his intensity.

• 7:45 — Charlotte is on the clock. I say Bobcats go for Brandon Roy. Of all the players in this first group, I like Roy the best long-term.

• 
  7:43 — Bulls do take Aldridge, but will ship the Longhorn to Portland for that fourth selection and surely some other stuff. Aldridge was terrible in Texas’ loss to LSU in the NCAA regional final.

• 7:42 — Super sleuth Andy Katz says Bulls are trading pick to the Blazers and will take Aldridge.

• 7:39 — Chicago is on the clock. Reports say the Bulls may already have an agreement with LSU’s Tyrus Thomas.

• 7:37 — Toronto takes Andrea Bargnani. I’m already 0-1. Bilas has already said this guy’s no Dirk Nowitzki. Guess that means he could make a field goal in the fourth quarter of an elimination NBA finals game.

• 7:36 — Looks like Dan Patrick got a haircut.

• 7:32 — Latest nbadraft.net mock has Rondo going at No. 26 to the Lakers.

• 7:30 — Toronto is on the clock. I say the Raptors pull a fast one, pass on the Italian, and take LaMarcus Aldridge from Texas. If they do, it’s a bad pick.

• 7:20 — News already that could effect ex-UK guard Rajon Rondo on his night of nights. Boston was supposedly high on Rondo, maybe even high enough to take the Louisville native with the No. 7 pick. But the Celtics have traded for former Louisville signee Sebastain Telfair, a rookie last year with Portland. The Trail Blazers now have the seventh pick, though the Celtics actually still have the spot and will pick for Portland.

• 7:15 — We’re strapped in for a full night of Screamin’ Stephen A. Smith.

For Thursday’s column about the U.S. in the World Cup, I e-mailed all the boys’ high school soccer coaches in town for their thoughts. But it’s summer. Not all teachers/coaches check their e-mails on a daily basis during the summer months. I know. I’m married to one.

A couple of coaches replied late, but had interesting things to say.

Starting with Henry Clay coach Charles Atinay:

"I just now read the e-mail just after watching the (U.S.-Ghana) match.  I
can tell you that I was disappointed in our effort and intensity in the
first half as well as the call on the penalty kick against the U.S.  The
U.S. did seem to get some pretty tough calls in group play.  Yet, having
scored only one goal in 270 minutes (3 games) of World Cup play indicates a
team not deserving to advance as well as the fact of giving up six goals in
three games (2.0 Goals Against Average).  While Claudio Reyna, Brian
McBride, and Casey Keller (who I have played while at I.U. ['87-'91] with a
1-0 win over Keller’s Portland side[ that was undefeated] in the national
semifinals on our way to a 1-0 win for the national championship against
Howard in 1988 who’s goalkeeper Shaka Hislop is currently playing for
Trinidad & Tobago), I feel as though it was noticeable by their play and
their leadership on the field that it was their farewell appearance.  Coach
Arena and the U.S. should have played a more motivated and energetic side
that played more together leading up to the World Cup.  There was too much
inconsistency and individual play.  We should have found our rotating 14 or
15 players and played them consistently the entire past year and through all
of the qualifying and friendly matches to create better chemistry."

And from Lexington Christian Coach Tim Slighter, who replied before the U.S. loss:

"I think soccer will continue to grow as a sport in the
US regardless of the outcome of the US World Cup team today.  The youth
recreational programs, the developmental teams and clubs, and the
indoor opportunities in winter make soccer a year round sport. However,
I think that if the US team can advance today it will create some
excitement that could help the sport to become more popular- especially
in the sports media circles that so quickly dismiss the sport and
minimize the impact it has world wide."

I admit it. I’m hooked on the World Cup. Perhaps it is the influence of my two kids involvement in soccer, but I’ve watched at least a portion of nearly every match through the first week and found the whole thing terrificially entertaining.

Some observations:

• The Germany-Poland match, with Germany scoring in the first minute of stoppage time, was magnificent. Some scoff at the notion a 0-0 game for 90 minutes could be thrilling, but there was breath-holding drama in the final minutes with Poland, playing a man down, trying to keep Germany from scoring. You felt for the Poles when the Germans finally broke through.

• ESPN/ABC should have stuck with its usual soccer announcers over Dave O’Brien, who is too intent on talking about everything but the soccer.

• You have to love the Irishman Tommy Smith.

• I was disappointed with Brazil in its 1-0 opening game win. As everyone else has said, Ronaldo looked out-of-shape.

• I think the U.S. will play better Saturday, but can’t see the Americans beating the Italians. Short World Cup for our boys.

• Unwritten World Cup rule: When falling to the ground make sure you look you will never be able to rise to your feet again.

• Argentina, a 6-0 winner over Serbia this morning, looks very good.

• 
  The melodrama that is England is especially humorous. Reading the British press, you would think the English are 0-2 instead of 2-0 after two matches. Still, you have to be impressed with Posh Spice’s husband.

• The Houston Chronicle reports that last weekend only the opening two games of the Heat-Mavs game, both in primetime, outdrew the Sunday afternoon Mexico-Iran match in local Nielsen ratings. The NBA’s Game 1 drew 11.5, Game 2 drew 10.5. Mexico-Iran drew 8.7.

• The U.S.-Czech match was the highest rated show on ESPN2 thus far this year.