Sunday Afternoon Newspaper for February 8th

The big news in college basketball yesterday was the upset of #9 Xavier by unranked Duquesne.  There will be more about all the scores in today's news, which follows the jump.

Kentucky Basketball News

• Are the 'Cats skidding or crashing?  Good question, and one that will probably be answered on Tuesday.  Four losses would put the SEC East crown as a long shot for the 'Cats.  A win, and they are back tied for the lead.
• Some fans are complaining about the boo-birds, and rightly so.
• Is there a 'Cat who can create?  At this point, you would have to say no, and obviously, that is one of our problems.
• A Kentucky fan sneaks into enemy territory to watch a Tarheel game.
• Orton's rehab is ahead of schedule.  That's all I can tell you as a non-subscriber.
• Florida's Dan Werner was almost a 'Cat.  I think he's right, we are happy without him.
• Opponents are daring players other than Meeks and Patterson to beat them, and wearing down our scorers.  That worked particularly well for MSU, but won't work as well for Florida, fortunately.
• Matthew Pilgrim will be a big help next year.  I think so.  I hope so. [via Aaron's blog]
• A mock draft featuring Patrick Patterson.

Kentucky Football News

• Fanhouse criticizes the "coach-in-waiting" idea, claiming it is just an extension of the "good ol' boy" network.  Maybe for some schools.  Not for Kentucky.  I don't particularly agree that the hiring process is "unfair."  Fact is, most schools who have good assistants give them the major inside track, so I see it as a distinction without a difference.
• Josh Edwards of Kentucky Ink tells us about how important relationships are in recruiting.
• The SEC dominates football recruiting again.  Surprised?  Not me.
• UK has identified a major target for 2010 at Louisville Central.
• UK Football:  A process of improvement.

NCAA Basketball News

• More "SEC basketball sucks" talk.  All these worthies had better hope that the SEC falls on its face in the tournament, or there is going to be some major humor had at the expense of the doom criers.
• Auburn beats Tennessee at home.
• Vandy handles the Rebels at home.
• Arkansas continues to struggle.  They played hard, but they ran into the same problems UK did -- hot perimeter shooting.  In fact, the Bulldogs made more threes against the Razorbacks than UK.  MSU is playing very, very well right now.
• Florida State takes down Clemson at Clemson.  This "beat Duke, lose your next game" pattern is becoming disturbing.  I think K is putting a hex on these teams after they beat him.  I always suspected him of being a closet Voodoo High Priest.  Probably praying to JoBu.  It is very bad to steal JoBu's rum.  Very bad.
• Xavier falls to ... Duquesne?  Duquesne shot 81% against the Musketeers?  JoBu again, I figure ...
• Minnesota falls to Ohio State.

NCAA Football News

• Third Saturday in Blogtober takes Mike Slive to task for a double standard.
• Mike Bianchi, the always amusing but often factually deficient sports opinion writer at the Orlando Sentinel, weighs in on the Kiffin vs. Meyer dustup.
• The new most hated coach in the SEC:  Lane Kiffin.  Well, I say good for him.
• More piling on Lane Kiffin.  I have to admit, this is hilarious.  I can't wait for football season to see this drama continue to play out.

Other News of Interest

• Western Kentuckians still struggling with the after effects of the storm.
• Australia suffering from terrible wildfires.