John Clay's Sidelines

Tony Wroten

Big Blue Links for Saturday:

• My Herald-Leader column on the TMZ report claiming NCAA is looking into UK basketball.

• Greg Nord coming back to Lexington as a UK assistant, reports Chip Cosby of the Herald-Leader.

• Tony Wroten has narrowed his choices to Kentucky and Washington, reports Diamond Leung of espn.com.

• Kentucky finishes 29th in the Directors’ Cup standings for overall sports programs, reports Eric Lindsey of Cat Scratches.

• Mary Jo Perino of WLEX reports that Steve Ortmayer was shocked by his firing from UK football staff.

• Scott Padgett may be leaving UK for Manhattan, blogs Rick Bozich of the Courier-Journal.

• Bozich also writes on TMZ spreading the dirt on Kentucky basketball.

• Louisville sports agent questions validity of TMZ report, says Maria Ansari of WAVE-TV in Louisville.

Continue reading ‘BBL: Tony Wroten down to Kentucky and Washington’

TMZ's Harvey Levin.

Big Blue Links for Friday:

• TMZ reports that NCAA aggressively looking at UK basketball and agents.

• Minneapolis Star-Tribune on TMZ chief Havey Levin.

• Wikipedia gives the dope on TMZ, which stands for Thirty Mile Zone.

• The Guardian on how TMZ got the scoop on Michael Jackson’s death.

• Chip Cosby of the Herald-Leader reports on Steve Ortmayer’s ouster as UK assistant football coach.

• Rick Pitino’s program is prompting a flashback, writes Mark Story of the Herald-Leader.

• Brett Dawson of the Courier-Journal on Joker Phillips’ sacking of Ortmayer.

• Footballscoop.com reports that ex-UK assistant Greg Nord will return to Lexington.

• Laura Bell Bundy shows her UK colors at CMA Music Fest:

Continue reading ‘BBL: How reliable is TMZ, reporting UK investigation?’

Steve Ortmayer

Update: Chip Cosby’s story on Ortmayer leaving.

Just got confirmation from Kentucky that assistant coach Steve Ortmayer will not be back on the coaching staff next season.

No replacement has been named. H-L’s Chip Cosby will have details.

Ortmayer came in with head coach Rich Brooks in 2002, and served as UK’s special teams coach and tight ends coach.

BTW, UK says this was Joker Phillips’ decision.

Big Blue Links for Tuesday:

Jerry Tipton of the Herald-Leader reports that UK football ticket prices are going up:

Single-game tickets will rise from $35 to $41 for games against non-Bowl Championship Series opponents and from $40 to $46 for games against teams from BCS leagues. The board also approved a $50-per-seat increase in the K-Fund contribution that gives fans the right to buy priority seats. Tickets for about 36,000 seats in Commonwealth Stadium require a contribution to the K Fund. In the 2010 season, that contribution will rise to a range of $100 to $525 per seat. The required contribution last season ranged from $50 to $475.

Michael Carvell of the AJC reports that UK has offered a scholarship to Georgia’s Mr. Basketball:

Kentucky coach John Calipari has expressed heavy interest in Thornton, along with representatives from Texas and Florida. There is also speculation that Tennessee, Michigan, LSU and Auburn, among others, will also join the recruiting race. (Note: See Monday night’s updated list at the bottom). “We’re very surprised by all the attention,” said Thornton’s father, Billy. “People told us to anticipate it, but you don’t really know what is going to happen. It has been very overwhelming, and we feel very blessed.”

Mark Wiedmer of the Chattanooga Times Free Press thinks NCAA rule unfair to Patrick Patterson:

And given the questionable rep that has overtaken much of college basketball the past few seasons before last week’s remarkable NCAA tourney final between choir boys Duke and Butler, you’d think the NCAA would be doing everything possible to keep quality young men like Patterson around as long as possible. But if Patterson does the expected over the next 10 days and tests the NBA draft waters for the second year in a row, his college eligibility is over. Fini. Kaput.

Chip Cosby of the Herald-Leader on the UK defense needing leadership:

“A lot of cats were looking depressed,” Evans said. “I was on the sideline trying to cheer everybody on because this is something you love to do. It’s not always going to be a happy situation when you mess up on a play or something, but you’re out here doing something you’ve done since a kid, and if you’re not having fun, you’re probably not going to do well. People who are good at things are usually having fun doing them.”

Continue reading ‘Thornton, Jones, Ross, Kanter and more recruiting news’

Steve Ortmayer

Steve Ortmayer entered the visiting media room Saturday wearing a semi-scowl.

The visiting media room at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium is actually in back of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. It’s a small room, up some stairs, with a podium and a few folding chairs. Aside from its location, which requires you to actually leave the stadium, the room is pretty much standard fare for opposing teams, i.e. a small out-of-the-way closet. But requesting the special teams coach’s presence at the visiting media room is not standard fare.

Being that Steve Ortmayer is Kentucky’s special teams coach, that’s what he had to be thinking Saturday. What am I doing here? The media didn’t ask for a post-game interview after Derrick Locke returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown against Western Kentucky. The media didn’t ask for post-game interviews when Tim Masthay kept booming kickoffs out of the end zones for touchbacks. But the media wanted to talk to Ortmayer now.

After all, it is not every day that a team has back-to-back punts blocked, and a field goal blocked, in the same game.

Special teams coaches are a lot like offensive linemen. No one bothers to learn their name until they mess up.

Continue reading ‘Steve Ortmayer’