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"Hooray! Thank you, Xavier! Thank you!"

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The top news of this morning is that Xavier Henry has told a number of people, radio stations and even a loathsome troll that he will not be reneging on his commitment to Bill Self and Kansas, despite numerous reports that he was strongly reconsidering his destination.

I am pleased that the young man has kept his word.  While there is no penalty for changing your mind in Henry's situation, and Kentucky could have definitely used him to shore up what looks right now to be a significant weakness in next year's team, it always makes me happy to see notoriously flighty young people keep their agreements.  Henry is a bright, articulate young man and I think he made the right decision.  Some UK fans are rather miffed that he got us all excited again, but let's face it -- UK fans are well known for getting excited about any potential recruiting news, and we have only ourselves to blame if some of us got RickRoll'd.

Now, for the news:

Top Story

• Xavier Henry still going to Kansas
  Henry stays with Kansas, according to this report. You can all return to your regularly scheduled summer.

• Kansas exhales after Henry watch ends
  "Later, Carl said there was nothing factually wrong with the [Kansas City Star] story, but wasn’t happy with the writer. "The guy who wrote that story kind of betrayed my whole family and kind of made us look bad, like my kids are prima donnas, all I do is talk."
  
  Heh. I think the Star was actually quite accurate, especially about that last part.

• Henrys stick with KU / LJWorld.com
  "However, all was smoothed over by late Tuesday night when Xavier Henry sent a text message to Kansas City 610 radio’s Cory Anderson indicating he would remain a Jayhawk. "I’m goin’ to Kansas and that’s final," Anderson said in reading the message to the Journal-World."

UK Basketball News

• Kentucky dueling Duke for Terrance Jones

• CatsPause.com - Whispers: Wall on track at UK
  "John Wall is on track to be eligible to play at Kentucky next season. John Wall, the No. 1-ranked prospect in the Rivals150, confirmed that he received the SAT score he needed and is doing well in summer school at Kentucky."[Subscription required]

• Miller, Mack trying to put U.S. back on top
  Good luck to them.

• A Legal View of the Gillispie v UKAA Lawsuit’s Early Battles
  Very interesting blog post, and with the exception of his conclusion that Gillispie won't coach again unless he wins, I agree with all of it. That last conclusion though, is just specious.

• John Calipari: Rock Star?
  Well, yeah, at least around here. "(EDIT: Yes, I forgot about Rick Pitino -- one Final Four at Providence, two playoff appearances in two years with the New York Knicks. So who was the bigger Rock Star upon arriving at UK -- Pitino or Calipari?)"
  
  My answer: Unquestionably Calipari. Pitino had a lot of buzz when he came, but it has never been like this.

• UK Basketball: Full speed ahead for Calipari: WinchesterSun.com
  "The Kentucky coach understood the reasoning behind Meeks’ decision to stay in the draft. If he had stayed, Meeks would have been playing for his third coach in four years. " Jay Bilas also touched on this. I think it was much more of a factor than any other single thing besides Meeks' desire to be a pro.

• Matt Pilgrim's progress may bring him to Memphis
  '"He [Calipari] didn't give me a reason," Pilgrim said. "He said, (on) talent, I can play in the (NBA) if I wanted to, but it's how hard I was willing to work. I told him I was willing to work hard, but I guess it wasn't convincing enough."'
  
  That quote looks bad, but it is offset by an amplifying one in this article: '"He just gave me a choice...to sit the bench or go somewhere and play. So, you know he basically gave me a choice but it wasn't really a choice at the same time," Pilgrim said.'
  

• "When the Wildcats win, the SEC matters more."
  Indeed.

UK Football News

• Mark Story: Evaluating UK football's streak-busting chances
  Interesting piece by Story. I would love to see the Tennessee and Spurrier streaks end this year. If that happens, I expect the bowl streak will happen as well.

• Brown expects Cats' defense to keep on rising
  "The Wildcats were 118th in total defense when Brown took over in 2007. That number climbed to 67th following his first year and 40th in 2008. After being 99th in scoring defense before Brown took the reigns, the Cats finished 35th last fall." I think Steve Brown has made an impact on our defense, but this season could really tell the tale.

Other UK Sports News

• None today
  

NCAA Sports News

• Pearl signs new six-yeal deal reportedly worth $2.4 Million/year.
  "Both Pearl and Hamilton have indicated they are comfortable with Pearl being the third-highest-paid coach in the SEC."

• $kyrocketing $EC $alaries
  Offered without comment.

• League's coaches expect rebound
  Definitely the SEC will be better this year than last. "Having a traditional power such as Kentucky climb back to its pedestal after missing the NCAA for the first time in 18 years will also rehab to conference's reputation, Pearl said. Having a leader in the arms race only forces the rest to reach higher." Indeed.

• Kelvin Sampson's appeal denied by NCAA
  Reeee...jected!

Other News of Interest

• BCS won’t change ‘if Congress does nothing’
  Orin Hatch is full of it on this issue. It's all about looking good for his home state, and nothing else. Filthy politics at its worst. He and his ilk should be ashamed, but the word "ashamed" when applied to a politician like Hatch is an oxymoron.

The Daily Schadenfreude

• The Snake of the Bluegrass Stealing the Henrys
  How sweet. Calipari gets all this recruiting interest, and it's gotta be illegal. Get this line: "The other thing that even more appalling is the fact that Kentucky decided to cut two players loose to make sure that they are under in scholarships. Now I realize that my Marquette Golden Eagles have done somewhat of the same things with the scholarships but its not to sign one of the best players in the nation."
  
  Oh, well then, if it's not to "sign one of the best players in the nation," running players off is just fine, right? What kind of insensate, brain-dead reasoning is that? My college logic teacher just rolled over in his grave.
  
  As the last insult, I will note that the author missed a golden opportunity at clever wordplay by replacing "of" with "in" for his title, but upon reflection, cleverness seems... beyond his reach.

• Many thanks to Coach K staying at Duke
  I can't imagine Krzyzewski going to the Lakers, and it isn't going to happen according to Mike Miller.