Big Blue Daily Mail -- Mike Hartline Edition

by Glenn Logan on Oct 12, 2009 9:07 AM EDT in Kentucky Wildcats News

You know, I made a comment yesterday that I thought the officiating in the South Carolina game was pretty good, and I still do for the most part, but one call they got wrong ultimately cost us Mike Hartline.

I had forgotten about it, but on the play on which Mike Hartline was injured by a blitzing USC cornerback, Kentucky was flagged for a procedural penalty. Instead of whistling the play dead like they are supposed to, the officials allowed it to proceed, resulting in the injury. So their failure to properly blow the play dead was directly responsible for the contact that resulted in Hartline's injury. Talk about mistakes having consequences.

As of this morning, there is no official word on Hartline's injury, but Brooks is expecting the worst. The very best we could hope for is an MCL injury, but I would be surprised if that's all it was. But in any event, we should have the results of the MRI back fairly soon. We'll know later today, and Brooks is scheduled for a presser around 1:00 PM today.

Now, for the news:

UK Basketball News

Ms. Wildcat loves the Big Blue | Vaught's Views
Listen up: Patterson thinks Cats have championship potential
Now he wants you to believe him when he tells you, the fans, that everything you’ve heard is true. The hype, the preseason rankings, the ridiculous dunks John Wall throws down in practice every day – they’re all true.

This team is special, and Patterson isn’t hesitant about saying it.

I think this team will be special, also. Hat tip: Walter's Wildcat World
Tobias Harris Tennessee Visit Update - They Painted A Rock - Testudo Times
Wow. Totally weird. Via Walter's Wildcat World.
Is it Patterson's turn to dance? | KentuckySports.com
The best thing about John Calipari's infusion of top-level talent into the Kentucky basketball program is this: Assuming he stays healthy, it should mean that Patrick Patterson at last gets to play in an NCAA Tournament.
Kentucky Sports Radio " Blog Archive " John Wall Mixtape
Darnell Dodson..."I can shoot!"
UK hoops: No 'fun' without Final Fours | KentuckySports.com
Perhaps "Wildcat" Wally Clark spoke for many fans when he predicted big success this coming season.

"I think we'll make the Final Four," he said last week. "If we don't, I hate to say it, but Calipari needs to hunt for a (new) job."

Even while I applaud the passion, I must also bemoan the insanity of such a comment.

UK Football News

Chizik signals depth distress - al.com
Chizik was not in a warm and fuzzy mood Sunday, and he took pains to avoid excuse-making. That said, he predicted that Auburn's depth issues on defense and special teams will only grow more pressing.

Hard to be warm and fuzzy when you just got your hind parts handed to you.
Cobb at QB not the right answer | KentuckySports.com
So give Fidler a shot. Give him reps, coach him up at practice, tweak the game-plan to suit his strengths. Get Newton ready, if not for Saturday's game at Auburn, then for some possessions the following three weeks when Louisiana-Monroe, Mississippi State and Eastern Kentucky come to Commonwealth.

The Cats gave in to the Cobb-at-quarterback urge last season. This season, it's time to fight that urge.

I'm inclined to agree with this, at least at the moment, and I'm fairly sure that's what we'll see.

Other UK Sports News

None today.

NCAA Sports News

KU officials deserve pat on the back / LJWorld.com
Consider the blase reactions at places like Florida State, where good old Bobby Bowden has goshed-and-gollied away so many dubious football program activities. Or UMass, Memphis and now Kentucky, where John Calipari seems always to be only a step ahead of the sheriff while involved in his basketball hegira.

Could Kansas wind up being the new Duke, hated by everyone? They are working on it pretty hard.
U of M refutes NCAA decision on basketball penalties " The Commercial Appeal
Memphis' appeal, which was obtained by The Commercial Appeal through the Freedom of Information Act, calls the NCAA's use of that rationale a "procedural error" that is not supported by current NCAA legislation. Furthermore, the school argues that by upholding the penalties given to Memphis under the "strict-liability" standard, it sets a precedent that "will apply to (future) situations that do not warrant such treatment and could result in outcomes unacceptable to the Division 1 membership."

Memphis' argument sounds convincing. I hope it succeeds. Via Fanhouse
Southern Miss. Golden Eagles @ Louisville Cardinals GameThread, Oct 10, 2009 7:30 PM EDT - Card Chronicle
Check out the picture. Absolutely hilarious, I just love it. For those of you too young to remember Dr. Strangelove, well, there is always the Wikipedia entry.
Gopher basketball - a Big Ten team on the rise? - The Daily Gopher
Year three sees the team returning it's top nine scorers to go along with a top 15 recruiting class. This team will be exciting and has all of the necessary pieces to be a team that makes a run at the Big Ten title and deep into the NCAA Tournament.

You have to give it to Coach Smith, he definitely has Minnesota moving in the right direction. I'm not at all surprised.
No. 3 Alabama shuts down No. 20 Mississippi - College football- nbcsports.msnbc.com
Surprising nobody. Nice to know we gave them more trouble.
LSU’s sputtering offense exposed by Gators - College football- nbcsports.msnbc.com
No offense + strong defense = no SEC championship. You must be able to put points on the board.

Other News of Interest

Sideline Stars: The top five Best Movie Coaches | The Kentucky Kernel
Hanks' Jimmy Duggan and Washington's Herman Boone are far and away my favorites.
America's Most Hated - CelticsBlog
Heh.

The Daily Schadenfreuede

Rush The Court " Blog Archive " Buzz: Louisville Players Arrested
Wanting to take some of the pressure of their coach’s personal problems, which have made him more delusional than usual, Terrence Jennings and Jerry Smith (one of the Cardinals co-captains this season) were arrested for resisting law enforcement after Jennings was involved in a fight around 1 AM this morning. The altercation happened at a Louisville alumni homecoming party at Kye’s ("THE place for your special event") in Jeffersonville, Indiana. [Ed. Note: I guess Porcini's isn't a popular spot for Louisville parties any more.]

One word: Ouch!
Jennings and Smith Update - Mugshots
All is not well in Cardland.

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Comments

Tru,

This is probably not going to be well received by the experts, and I won’t go into detail until I finish my post, but Will Fidler was a backup to Mike Hartline for a reason. Now, I will admit that the situation Saturday was less than ideal conditions for the young man to be brought in under, but that is what a backup is for.

My honest opinion is give Fidler 2 weeks, and if he shows no progress, then it is time to start developing Newton for next season. Give the kid a chance to be up to speed when spring workouts start. I know it will look like he is being thrown to the wolves, but with the schedule we have remaining, we have the opportunity to get ourselves in the best position to win next year, and still pull out a few close ones this year. Assuming Hartline recovers, then the job is his to lose upon his return, but the 2 game stretch with Eastern and LA might be the only place we have to try developing the freshman and see what he really has. Coach says his decision making is not good, and that is a freshman trait, but just maybe he has enough of an arm to get himself out of a few of those bad decisions, maybe not, but at this point, it will not hurt to try.

Remember, we're having fun now!!!

by ALLBLUCAT on Oct 12, 2009 9:39 AM EDT reply actions

Maybe that will happen.

I have no idea. I don’t watch practices, and I don’t feel comfortable second-guessing the coaching staff on this. I say let this play out as it will. No matter what they do, UK will not be 100% with Hartline out. I figure Brooks will start getting Newton some snaps, but I’d be surprised if he winds up in the starting job.

But you never know. Maybe the kid rises up and just makes plays. He is certainly talented. But it isn’t talent that is going to get him through, it is an understanding of UK’s offense and the confidence to lead the team. That’s very, very tough for a freshman.

A Sea of Blue -- Kentucky Sports for the Discerning Fan

by Glenn Logan on Oct 12, 2009 10:20 AM EDT up reply actions

You're right

“Will Fidler was a backup to Mike Hartline for a reason”. He earned #2 spot ahead of Newton (along with Mossy) and should be given every opportunity and advantage the #1 quarterback gets leading up to and through a couple of games. Game #1 – Can he manage the game? (I hate that expression); Game #2 – Does he make marked improvement? Only then should we make the Newton decision.

All year I’ve called for the Wildcat to be run more as a series than a play here and a play there. Folks here (that shall remain nameless) have said that it would lose it’s surprise effect on the defense. I submit to you the Cobb drive against Carolina. I don’t want it as a full time offense but still maintain it needs to be used as a series. Cobb needs to find the rhythm for the WIldcat to be effective and single plays do not offer that opportunity.

by hoboat33 on Oct 12, 2009 2:32 PM EDT up reply actions

glass half full and Schadenfreuede

continuing my glass half full theme, john clay has the following on his blog:

http://johnclay.bloginky.com/2009/10/12/that-uk-offense-doesnt-look-so-bad-now/

it compares uk’s offensive effort against bama with ole miss and uk’s effort against florida with lsu’s. hope abc is right in post above – and i agree with abc – fieldler was #2 for a reason.

my schadenfreuede for the day – ole miss fans are ready to sit snead – wonder if they would trade for hartline straight up. seriously, talk radio is boiling with mad ole miss fans – going from #4 to unranked in 2 weeks will do that. rivals.com apparently ran a story saying everyone that picked ole miss to win the west should hang their head in shame…….

at least we have bball :)

only one rule in my house - uk has to be your favorite college bball team

by memphis wildcat on Oct 12, 2009 9:45 AM EDT reply actions

I will also point out ...

… that Newton was not #2 for a reason.

A Sea of Blue -- Kentucky Sports for the Discerning Fan

by Glenn Logan on Oct 12, 2009 10:21 AM EDT up reply actions

0-17 may not technically be "never"...

….but it knows where all the local restaurants are.

Even though I have little use for Bozich (and wouldn’t have even seen his post if you hadn’t linked to it, Tru), I think he is just about spot on.

Consider this quote regarding the 2-point conversion:

"We’re all happy they didn’t put that running quarterback in there, Randall Cobb," Spurrier said. "I’m glad they didn’t use him the last possession because we were in disarray there. We couldn’t tackle him."

And then there is this post from South Carolina, titled “Rather be Lucky than Good”, where the writer lists all of the lucky breaks that USC got in route to their win. Amid the normal entries of dropped passes here, missed blocks there, etc.. there appeared on the list two of our in-game coaching decisions. (And yes, we all know what they are.)

On one side of the field we have a crafty, 24/7 scheming coach who managed to weasel and wring out just…. one… more…. blocked punt attempt …. out of the first half — when a lot of coaches would have already been jogging to the locker room (I know that I was already jogging to the kitchen…) And on the other side we have Brooks and Joker whose in-game decisions are frequent fodder for post-game “Lucky Breaks for the Other Team” lists.

Brooks & Joker are good coaches. They are professional and competent. They did a great job getting the team prepared, and on the whole their play calling was good.

But just like the players can never let up, even for a play, against a good opponent—- neither can the headsets. Even for a second. Especially when the other side has a crafty, calculating rat that is going to stay up all night working on ways to eat his way into your home, sneak past the dog and steal your food. Or at the very least, get to 17-0.

Just once I would like to go in to a game thinking that we are going to outsmart the opponent with our in-game decisions. Or at least not outdumb them.

by Sonic on Oct 12, 2009 12:14 PM EDT reply actions