John Clay's Sidelines

Big Blue Links for Monday:

• Nashville hoops star Alex Poythress talks about offer he received from Kentucky
• Billy Gillispie one of several coaches who invested with man now found dead
• Sea of Blue is trying to choose the best UK small forward since 1977
• Ira Combs offers some sizzling summer storylines for Kentucky
• DeMarcus Cousins will hold a summer camp in Georgetown
• Micah Johnson wants to make Big Blue Nation proud
• Kentucky will be searching for depth at running back come fall
• Former UK player Ramon Harris suffers a knee injury overseas
• Mark Krebs says John Calipari the best coach you could have
• Joker Phillips says the best players don’t always win championships

Big Blue Links for Wednesday:

• Turkish team says it paid Enes Kanter over $100,000, reports Pete Thamel of the New York Times.
• No Lexington TV outlet yet for UK-WKU football game, says Herald-Leader staff report.
• Moncel Allen sees opportunity in Kentucky fullback role, reports Chip Cosby of the H-L.
• UK football season ticket sales are down eight percent, reports Cosby.
• Kentucky and, yes, Louisville are benefiting from basketball recruiting wars, so writes me.
• Diligence pays off for Micah Johnson, writes Andy Kent of miamidolphins.com. (Hat tip to Tom Leach.)
• Bowling Green basketball star Chane Behanan commits to Louisville, reports Jody Demling of the Courier-Journal.
• Rick Bozich of the C-J blogs on Enes Kanter story.
• Eric Crawford of the C-J does a Q&A with himself about the Kanter story.
• Luke McDermott, Freaky Luke, got to prove he can play, writes Brett Dawson of the Courier-Journal.
• Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate-Messenger gives his take on the Enes Kanter story.
• Eamonn Brennan of espn.com blogs about the New York Times and Enes Kanter.

Enes Kanter has yet to be cleared by the NCAA.

Big Blue Links for Wednesday:

• Zagsblog reports that after visiting UK, Anthony Davis has decided on a school. He’s just not ready to say yet.
• Ex-UK student manager Andrew Rogers is working for DeMarcus Cousins now, reports Keith Taylor of the Winchester Sun.
• Jerry Tipton of the Herald-Leader on the price increases for basketball prices and K-Fund.
• Eric Lindsey of Cat Scratches, a UK athletics department blog, makes the case for the ticket increases.
• Enes Kanter has not yet been cleared by NCAA for trip to Canada, says H-L report.
• Brett Dawson of the Courier-Journal also reports on the Kanter eligibility situation.
• Gary Parrish of CBS Sports says Kanter is under extensive questioning by the NCAA.

Continue reading ‘BBL: Anthony Davis not ready to talk about his decision’

A'dia Mathies (H-L photo/Mark Cornelison)

Big Blue Links for Friday:

• Jennifer Smith of the Herald-Leader writes that UK’s Amber Smith has shed her brace for a faster pace.
• Mark Story of the Herald-Leader writes that UK is a comfortable fit for the state’s Miss Basketball.
• Chip Cosby of the Herald-Leader reports on UK cornerback Randall Burden’s search for his swagger.
• Jerry Tipton’s clarification concerning Patrick Patterson’s new truck, something that got blown way out proportion on Thursday.
• Brett Dawson of the Courier-Journal reports that UK spent $185,000 more on Big Blue Madness than the year before.
• Chris Low of ESPN puts Micah Johnson as the fifth scariest player in the SEC.
• Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate-Messenger talks to Tywanna Patterson about the supposed truck-gate.
• Eric Lindsey of Cat Scratches previews the UK women’s basketball team.
• Nick Craddock of the Kentucky Kernel writes on the hope for a curling club.

Continue reading ‘BBL: Women’s hoops and UK-Mississippi St grid’

(H-L photo/Pablo Alcala)

Big Blue Links for Sunday:

• Chip Cosby of the Herald-Leader writes that Kentucky’s fast start helped put away ULM 36-13.
• Chip has the report on Micah Johnson’s strained MCL.
• Mark Story of the Herald-Leader writes that UK quarterback plan is working, but needs work.
• My column saying that UK is starting to show a little wear and tear.
• Herald-Leader slide show from the UK-ULM game.
• Jerry Tipton writes that John Calipari and fans look beyond vacated games.
• Andy Mead of the Herald-Leader writes about the possible Wildcat Coal Lodge.
• Eric Crawford of the Courier-Journal writes that Randall Cobb is Mr. Do-It-All for the Cats.
• Brett Dawson of the C-J writes that UK was good early, good enough late.
• Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate-Messenger reports that Joker Phillips was not happy with UK’s play.

Continue reading ‘BBL: Cats, Cobb, coal and a cadre of other links’

Chris Low

ESPN blogger Chris Low is doing a mid-season review of all 12 SEC schools. He just checked in with his Kentucky review. Randall Cobb is his UK offensive MVP. No surprise there. Micah Johnson is his defensive MVP.

An excerpt:

Just when you thought Kentucky might be toast, the Wildcats (3-3, 1-3) come back swinging and pull off their biggest win of the season. Their 21-14 win at Auburn last week is just what they needed for a little momentum heading into the second half of the season. Rich Brooks and his staff have done a bang-up job of keeping this team together despite several key injuries and a three-game losing streak.

If you get and up-close and personal look at Micah Johnson, you may notice that he has numerals cut into each side of his head — or at least the hair on his head.

(H-L photo/John Clay)

(H-L photo/John Clay)

As you see here, Micah has the numerals 931 cut into the left side of his head. And, Micah has the numerals 703 cut into the right side of his head.

I asked him the significance of the numerals, and the senior linebacker said that 931 is the area code in which the Johnsons lived when his family was in Ft. Campbell. Actually, the family lived on the Tennessee side, in Clarksville, Tenn. The 703 is the area code for Alexandria, Virginia where the Johnsons resided before moving to Ft. Campbell.

So even though the senior linebacker, who was named SEC Defensive Player of the Week for his 14-tackle performance at Auburn hopes to move on to the next level next season, he doesn’t forget the folks back home.

(H-L photo/Pablo Alcala)

Let’s break it down to three highlights from the Rich Brooks’ press conference today:

• 1. Derrick Locke is doubtful for Saturday’s game with Louisiana-Monroe because of a nagging knee problem. In fact, Brooks said the running back, coming off a 126-yard game, is probably out. Locke has a slight tear of the MCL that will take three or four days to “calm down” said Brooks. That means Alfonso Smith and Moncel Allen are likely to share the load. True freshman running back Donald Russell will also get some playing time.

• 2. Brooks said Morgan Newton will most likely make his second start. Brooks admitted that wasn’t fair to Will Fidler,  but the coach likes the idea of bringing in Fidler off the bench if things aren’t going well. That worked Saturday at Auburn, when Fidler, the junior, engineered those two fourth-quarter scoring drives.

• 3. Last Saturday’s game may have been one of the better ones in UK linebacker history. Micah Johnson was named SEC Defensive Player of the Week, thanks to his 14 tackles. But Danny Trevathan could have received the honor, as well. Trevathan was credited with 14 tackles, as well, by the Auburn stat crew. Trevathan has been leaving the field when UK goes to an extra defensive back, but the Cats played a more conventional defense Saturday, leaving Trevathan on the field.