John Clay's Sidelines

(AP photo/Bill Feig)

Big Blue Links for Thursday:

• Richard Obert: Rex Chapman’s son following own blueprint to success.
• HSH: Shabazz Muhammad says he will visit Kentucky soon.
• Jody Demling: Jon Davis committed to UK, but looking at U of L and Illinois.
• Jim Kleinpeter: UK’s next foe, LSU, holds off Arkansas for 56-53 victory.
• Scott Hotard: LSU led by 17 points in second half before holding on to win.
• Jerry Tipton: Ex-LSU coach and UK nemesis Dale Brown will be at Rupp on Saturday.
• Jennifer Smith: Kentucky women are finding that losing is a team effort.
• T.J. Walker: Kentucky women hope to improve shooting against South Carolina.
• Eric Lindsey: Amber Smith leaning toward sitting out this year, returning next.
• H-L: Three football grayshirts enroll for spring semester.
• Steve Jones: Jabari Johnson among grayshirts joining Cats.
• John Clay: There’s no reason to believe that Joker Phillips can’t get job done.
• Brett Dawson: Phillips says football is heading in the right direction.
• Larry Vaught: Saturday’s UK-LSU game will be special for one family.
• Jason King: Brandon Knight is a mid-season All-American.
• Brian Rickerd: Kentucky got back on track in win over Auburn.
• Alan Cutler: Sherlock Holmes discovers it was Stacey Poole.
• Jeff Drummond: Calipari to be part of ESPN’s MLK celebration.
• Nick Craddock: Kentucky’s defense transitions once again.
• Wildcat Blue Nation: Kentucky basketball expectations never change.
• Ryan Clark: Jones is filling in well for Cousins.

Big Blue Links for Friday:

• Minnesota’s Royce White could be Kentucky-bound, writes Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
• Sons of Dirk Minniefield and Rex Chapman are succeeding on the court, writes Jerry Tipton of the Herald-Leader.
• Rankings rankle some recruits at NBA-sponsored Elite Camp, writes Tipton.
• Some Day 1 notes from the NBA Elite Camp, courtesy of the Courier-Journal’s Jody Demling.
• Michael Gilchrist is trying to get Tony Wroten to Kentucky, writes Adam Gorney of Yahoo Sports. (Hat tip Bluegrass State Basketball.)
• Quincy Miller is keeping his options open, reports Zagsblog.
• Daniel Orton could go as high as No. 10 to the Pacers, writes Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star.
• Randall Cobb is the 14th best football player in the SEC, according to Chris Low of espn.com.
• Video of Darin Minniefield and Zeke Chapman:

Continue reading ‘BBL: Minnesota thinks Royce White is UK-bound’

Big Blue Links for Friday:

• Parker High School supporter says he was told Bledsoe was ineligible, reports Jon Solomon of the Birmingham News.
• Birmingham schools superintendent will meet with state’s high school athletics association about Eric Bledsoe case, reports Jeff Sentell of the Birmingham News.
• ABC has picked up Kentucky-Louisville football game for the first time, reports Chip Cosby of the Herald-Leader.
• Ex-UK football player Marcus McClinton is ready to star on a new stage, reports Cosby.
• An NCAA official explains the role of the Eligibility Center to Jerry Tipton of the Herald-Leader.
• John Calipari isn’t exactly sleazy, just slippery, writes Brad Locke of the NE Mississippi Daily Journal.
• Toronto Raptors official thinks Daniel Orton could be a solid center, reports Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun.
• Boyle County linebacker and UK target Lamar Dawson is hearing from rivals, writes Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate-Messenger.
• Education is important to Enes Kanter, writes Vaught in the Advocate-Messenger.
• Joker Phillips has UK off and running, writes Chris Low of espn.com.

Continue reading ‘BBL: Birmingham controversy over Bledsoe’s eligibility’

Big Blue Links for Friday:

• Yahoo Sports national columnist Dan Wetzel gives John Calipari some well-deserved props for his Hoops for Haiti.
• Andy Mead of H-L reports that one donor spent over $108,000 on Hoops for Haiti.
• Ken Tysiac of the Charlotte Observer on how John Wall escaped North Carolina.
• Calipari tells Dan Patrick he wants John Wall to go pro if he’s No. 1 pick.
• Jennifer Smith Mark Maloney of the H-L reports that Rich Brooks gave UK women a helping hand in win over Arkansas.
• Mason Linker of the Winston-Salem Journal writes on UK target Quincy Miller. (Hat tip to Spam’s Wildcat Page.)
• Mark Story of the H-L writes on former UK commitment Dakotah Euton.
• Danny Jett’s Inner Circle has a Calipari encounter at a middle school basketball game.
• Jerry Tipton of the H-L writes that Saturday is another emotional hurdle for Arkansas coach John Pelphrey.
• High School Hoops says Ryan Harrow is backtracking on his C.J. Leslie statement. (Hat tip to Bluegrass State Basketball.)

Continue reading ‘BBL: Rex Chapman, Howard Stern, Quincy Miller & more’

(Photo John Clay)

Big Blue Links for Saturday:

Ray Ratto writes for CBS SportsLine that Bob Kngiht was a little late: “Does this invalidate his points at the Hall of Fame? No, of course not. His principles speech is always on point. It is, however, a lot like going to a meeting of a mob family and complaining about rampant lawbreaking. You’re speaking about people who long ago figured out the price of a soul and use that number when amortizing its costs, and wondering aloud why they aren’t nicer people. They’re not, and in many cases they never were. They just crossed more lines with less care for the punishment, because there is none and never has been.”

Gary Parrish of CBS SportsLine says UK fans will have to live with this: “And this is how it’s going to be forever, UK fans, and why it was clear — even before Knight said what he said — that any success Calipari has going forward will be tainted regardless of whether it’s really tainted. Until the day he retires, the majority of observers will believe, fair or not, that every recruit Calipari gets is a product of his relationship with William Wesley even if Worldwide Wes has never met the recruit. All SATs will be assumed fake even if they’re legit, all future pros will supposedly have agents even if they do not.”

Mike DeCourcy says Knight got it wrong: “Knight always contended too many in the media wrote or talked about things they didn’t know or understand. Now he has done the same. The current Kentucky coach – yes, we know his name, John Calipari – did previously work at Massachusetts and Memphis, and both of those schools wound up facing NCAA sanctions for incidents that occurred while he coached there. However, Calipari was not implicated in either circumstance.”

Geoff Calkins of the Memphis Commercial Appeal takes a different view of Knight’s comments: “Knight could talk about the way Kentucky essentially bought Memphis’ recruiting class for $32 million. He could talk about the way Calipari rigged the recruits’ letters of intent so they wouldn’t actually be bound to the school. He could point out that Calipari used that Memphis recruiting class to escape NCAA sanctions he knew were coming. He could say the things Dick Vitale and the rest don’t have the guts or objectivity to say.”

My column calling Bob Knight a washed-up bully, among other things: “Before a rapt audience Thursday night, Knight tried to make it sound as though he was the one too good for the game, when actually the game’s grown too good for him. The days of coaches abusively treating players and fans and administrators is coming to a close. Ask Mark Mangino, the former football coach at Kansas. He, too, has some time on his hands.”

Continue reading ‘BBL: Reaction to the Calipari-Knight reaction’

Big Blue Links for Friday:

• Chip Cosby of the Herald-Leader writes that the title changes among UK’s offensive staff won’t affect Saturdays.
• Mark Story of the H-L writes on UK center Marcus Davis.
• Jerry Tipton of the H-L reports that John Calipari’s gift to Obama draws fire.
• On Jerry’s blog, Rex Chapman sticks up for Ed Davender.
• Richard Skinner reports for the Cincinnati Enqurier that Calipari’s appearance turned into midday madness.
• Zagsblog reports that Terrence Jones will receive an in-home visit from Kentucky.
• Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate-Messenger writes on Scott Padgett.
• Tom Leach has a video interview with Joker Phillips about UK’s receivers.
• Cat Scratches has a Jesse Witten update at the U.S. Open.
• B.W. Jones of the Kentucky Kernel reports on UK quarterback Mike Hartline.

Rex Chapman

Big Blue Links for Wednesday:

• Steve Austin of the Henderson Gleaner reports that Rex Chapman’s son is making noise.
• Dick Vitale says that John Calipari is being treated unfairly.
• Cincinnati Enquirer reports that Calipari will be featured speaker at Erlanger event June 22.
• Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate-Messenger reports that Mike Pratt has been amused at flak given Calipari.
• Jody Demling of the Courier-Journal reports on Jon Hood’s showing with Kentucky All-Stars.

Continue reading ‘BBL: Rex Chapman’s son making hoops noise’