John Clay's Sidelines

(H-L photo/Mark Cornelison)

Big Blue Links for Sunday.

Kentucky over Indiana 81-62

• Herald-Leader photo gallery from UK-IU.
• Calipari shaking head over UK’s mistakes in win over Indiana, writes Jerry Tipton of the Herald-Leader.
• My column on the “Big White Kid” Josh Harrellson.
• Liggins brings back the hustle, writes Tipton.
• Wildcats throttle the Hoosiers, writes Will Graves of the AP.
• Liggins sparks Cats to win over Hoosiers, writes Brett Dawson of the Courier-Journal.
• Desperate defense helps Kentucky to the win, says Matt May of the Cats Pause.
• Liggins has his breakthrough game, writes Keith Taylor of the Winchester Sun.
• Terrence Jones doesn’t quite get it yet, says Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate-Messenger.
• Late run pushes Kentucky to the win, writes Aaron Smith of the Kentucky Kernel.
• Hoosiers close to becoming the Hoosiers of old, says Nick Craddock of the Kernel.

From Indiana’s point of view

• Hoosiers fight, but can’t quite finish, writes Terry Hutchens of the Indianapolis Star.
• Wildcats maintain domination of Hoosiers, writes Pete DiPrimio of the Ft. Wayne News-Sentinel.
• Some thoughts on the Indiana loss to Kentucky from Inside the Hall.
• Kentucky runs away late from Indiana, writes Kent Sterling.

New defensive coordinator hire looming?

• Football additions at UK all but official, writes Chip Cosby of the H-L.
• Has Rick Minter already been hired? asks WLEX-TV.

Continue reading ‘BBL: DeAndre Liggins, Rick Minter, Mike Hartline’

Kudos to Joker Phillips. The Kentucky football coach planted his feet and took a strong stand Saturday, suspending starting quarterback Mike Hartline for the BBVA Compass Bowl.

Hartline was arrested early Friday morning on alcohol intoxication and disorderly conduct charges. After practice this morning, Phillips announced that Hartline would not play in the bowl game.

It may be that Hartline’s transgression fell under the school’s alcohol policy, which calls for a 10 percent-of-season suspension for an alcohol offense.  But in Hartline’s case, since it was public intoxication charge and not a DUI charge, Phillips may have had some leeway to try and make an exception and play his quarterback in the bowl game. He said earlier this year that he would treat each circumstance on a case-by-case basis.

In this case, Phillips wasted no time delivering the punishment.

In my column today, I wrote only that if Hartline was guilty of the assault accusation made by the accuser, no way should he be allowed to play in Birmingham. As for the other charges, it would be up to Phillips to weight the facts and circumstances and make a clear decision. The coach didn’t wait long. That’s a good thing. It shows Phillips has a strong feelings about where he wants his program to go, and what he wants it to represent.

Continue reading ‘Joker Phillips does right thing, suspends Hartline’

UK target L.J. Rose last night at Scott County. (H-L photo/Mark Cornelison)

Big Blue Links for Saturday:

• UK a tall order for Indiana, writes Terry Hutchens of Indianapolis Star.
• Brandon Knight making adjustments, writes Jerry Tipton of the Herald-Leader.
• Hoosier slump hurts series, says Tipton in notes.
• Prospect has a rough night at Scott County, reports Tipton.
• DeAndre Daniels on UK visit, reports Zagsblog.
• Cal is seen at Malones with Daniels, reports Nation of Blue.
• Kentucky’s new look worries IU, writes LaMond Pope of Ft. Wayne Journal-Gazette.
• Hartline puts Joker in a tough spot, says my Saturday column.
• The mistake of a glorified student, writes Chandler Howard of the Kernel.
• Hartline not alone, writes Nick Craddock of the Kernel.

Continue reading ‘BBL: Cats-Hoosiers, Rose, Daniels, and more links’

From WLEX-TV.

WTVQ also has a short video clip of Hartline sprinting away from the jail.

Big Blue Links for Friday:

UPDATE: HARTLINE ARREST – More details from Chip Cosby of the H-L.

HARTLINE SACKED FOR ALCOHOL – WLEX-TV has the Mike Hartline arrest news, plus the mug shot. Also arrested was Ashley Kathleen Karnes, a 20-year-old, who appears to be a UK cheerleader, at least on her Facebook page. WKYT also has the Hartline report, as does WTVQ.

Now it’s up to head coach Joker Phillips to hand down a punishment. When Matt Roark received a DUI, the wide receiver was suspended for one game. Phillips said he would handle such arrests on a case-by-case basis, but after I wrote about UK’s change in alcohol policy from previous years, the school said it does have a department policy that athletes are suspended for 10 percent of their season for a DUI. Not sure if that applies in this case, since it was not a DUI. But we shall see. This isn’t what you want out of your quarterback before a bowl game.

UK spokesman Tony Neely said that Phillips is aware of Hartline’s arrest.

POLL QUESTION -- How should Joker Phillips handle Mike Hartline for the bowl game? Vote here.

STUDENT KNOW-IT-ALLS – Nathan Hart of the Indiana Daily Student pens a column saying that John Calipari’s recruiting strategy ultimately doesn’t work. Writes Hart, “But UK will never be an experience-laden squad with Calipari. The good-but-not-great players that stick around and fill out the roster aren’t there. Consider the Big Ten, which is widely regarded as the strongest conference in college basketball this season. Why? Because Michigan State, Illinois, Ohio State, Wisconsin and Minnesota are experienced groups.” (Hat tip Aaron’s UK Basketball Blog)

INDIANA BASKETBALL – Michael Marot of the AP writes that an Indiana basketball revival is under way. Excerpt: “Indiana has not recovered completely, but Crean is clearly making progress. For the first time since 2002, Indiana started 6-0 – the longest winning streak of the Crean era. The Hoosiers have now won eight straight home games, another best under Crean, and take a 7-1 record into Saturday’s game at No. 17 Kentucky. What really excites Indiana fans is Crean’s ability to win over recruits.”

Continue reading ‘Hartline arrest; Indiana student paper knocks Cal’

Big Blue Links for Tuesday:

• Kentucky floor installed at Freedom Hall, reports Aaron Smith of the Kentucky Kernel.
• Badgoneblog has a picture of the floor. (Hat tip All Kentucky Hoops)
• Jason Jordan of ESPN tweets that Shabazz Muhammad and Rodney Purvis will visit UK together.
• Looking ahead, Indiana believes it can beat Kentucky, reports Pete DiPrimio of the Ft. Wayne News Sentinel. (Hat tip Spam’s Wildcat Page)
• Terrence Jones vs. Tyrone Nash will be battle of similar styles, writes Jerry Tipton of the H-L.
• Kentucky provides the first of two Notre Dame tests, writes Brian Hamilton of Chicago Breaking Sports.
• Irish needs Nash’s versatility, writes Hamilton for the Chicago Tribune.
• Cats say lesser bowl is not a letdown, reports Chip Cosby of the Herald-Leader.
• Kentucky is dreaming of bowls beyond goals, writes Brett Dawson of the Courier-Journal.
• Mark Story of the H-L says back off the Mike Hartline bashing.

Continue reading ‘BBL: Muhammad and Purvis to visit UK together’

Kentucky quarterback Mike Hartline talks to media after the Cats’ loss at Tennessee.

Video of Mike Hartline talking this week about Saturday’s game at Tennessee:

Big Blue Links for Friday:

• Calipari thinks trip out west could be rough for Cats, writes Jerry Tipton of the Herald-Leader.
• Portland coach is worried about turnovers, writes Tipton.
• Portland guard predicts win over Kentucky, reports Diamond Leung of espn.com.
• Don’t sleep on Portland, says Calipari, according to Brett Dawson of the Courier-Journal.
• Terrence Jones’ hometown trip is part of UK’s learning experience, writes Will Graves of the AP.
• Jones gets an early trip back home, reports the Oregonian.
• Mark Story of the Herald-Leader writes that Jacob Tamme has turned into a hot NFL commodity.
• Mike Hartline is one of the SEC’s top 10 step-up players, says Chris Low of espn.com.
• UK women’s coach Matthew Mitchell signs a 5-year extension, reports T.J. Walker of the Kentucky Kernel.
• Mitchell is now among the highest-paid women’s coaches in the SEC, reports Jennifer Smith of the H-L.

Mitch Barnhart

Big Blue Links for Monday:

SportsbyBrooks.com: “Two SEC school administration sources have told me in the past 48 hours that University of Kentucky Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart will interview for the Kansas University Athletic Director position in early December. Joining Barnhart as a finalist for the position is current Tulsa Athletic Director Bubba Cunningham. Cunningham will also interview with Kansas for the job next month, which was recently vacated by the retirement of Lew Perkins. I’ve been told Barnhart and Cunningham are two of three finalists targeted by the six-member Kansas AD search panel, which is chaired by the managing partner of Pegasus Capital Management, Ray Evans.” (Hat tip to A Sea of Blue.)

(AP photo)

Jennifer Smith of the Herald-Leader: “In just its second game of the season, on the road at Miami, Kentucky learned a lot about itself. The ninth-ranked Cats figured out they were capable of grinding out a win even when things don’t go as planned. “They really impressed me with some plays they made coming back from some negative circumstances,” Coach Matthew Mitchell said after UK escaped Millett Hall with an 84-71 victory.”

Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog: “The 6-foot-10, 280-pound (DaJuan) Coleman is the No. 3 center in the Class of 2011, per Rivals. He initially said his “top five” consisted of Syracuse, Ohio State, North Carolina, Kentucky and Louisville.”

Chip Cosby of the Herald-Leader: “After a rough October and early November, the Kentucky football team finally has some good vibes going into its open date this week. The Cats have a modest two-game winning streak, and though neither win was over a powerhouse (Charleston Southern and Vanderbilt), the tone in the locker room following a 38-20 win over Vandy was a far cry from the somber mood of the previous six weeks.”

Chris Low of espn.com: “Chick-fil-A Bowl (Dec. 31, 7:30 p.m. ET): Mississippi State vs. ACC team. Gator Bowl (Jan. 1, 1:30 p.m. ET): Florida vs. Big Ten team. Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl (Dec. 30, 6:40 p.m. ET): Tennessee vs. ACC team. AutoZone Liberty Bowl (Dec. 31, 3:30 p.m. ET): Georgia vs. Conference USA team. BBVA Compass Bowl (Jan. 8, noon ET): Kentucky vs. Big East team.”

Continue reading ‘BBL: Blog report says Barnhart finalist at Kansas’