Kentucky Sports: The Blues Hit The Big Blue Nation

But let’s try to pretend, just for the moment, that we have not lost our collective minds and morphed into Louisville fans

For me, with Tennessee, I delight in getting to see people who chose to play a very punishing game for my school. Win or lose, I’ve always said I’ll cheer on effort and never boo a defeat. If you care enough about football to cheer your team when they win, at the very least, then you can cheer on the success of going to a bowl game. Half the teams don’t get that luxury.

rec’d

Hear, hear Glenn! Some of our more enthusiastic brethren at another site that shall be unnamed really, really overinflated their collective expectations about this year’s football team. Now, they’re disgusted that pie failed to fall from the sky.

Given all the structural challenges we face in football, we should only be slightly, if at all, disappointed in a .500 season and a chance at a 5th straight bowl game.

Those people need to buy a clue.

the idea of rejecting a bowl bid is sheer ignorance. first, it is money. you take it and you run. second, how many teams have a shot at 5 straight bowl games and for how many years did we hope just to get bowl eligible before this streak? finally, and most importantly, the extra practice is invaluable. next years QB could very well be decided during these practices and we have a lot of young guys (esp. WRs with the probable loss of Cobb) that need the extra work.

Dave Pickle at the NCAA’s Bylaw Blog says the reinstatement staff ruled Kanter a professional. News to me. But the rationale is that $33,033 in excessive expenses from a professional athletics team (same sport) amounts to a payment for athletics participation, which is the NCAA’s definition of professional athlete. There’s a lot of subjectivity in that.

One dollar over actual and necessary expenses and no one can argue he’s a professional. Hundreds of thousands and no one can argue we’re still talking about expenses. So what to do with the uncomfortable middle. Adjudicators often find themselves having to decide the gray areas invariably left by legislative language. They know the next case will be $3,000, and the next $300. What do they do then?

It’s a slippery slope. You don’t want to open the floodgates to professionals, but you don’t want to box yourself in when perhaps a more compelling case next crosses your desk. Adjudicators want to maintain freedom of action. So they rationalize that every case should be decided on its own merits, on a “case-by-case” basis. They do what they think is fair under the circumstances of that particular case, safe in the knowledge that they can later distinguish that case on its facts if they feel the need. And if the rules committee should eventually feel the need to clarify existing bylaws, all the better.

Because the Reinstatement Committee can cite numerous mitigating circumstances for tempering the punishment without undermining the NCAA’s policy on amateur athletics – the line between amateur and professional is still bright, it’s just a little thinner – I half expect some relief this week.

I’ve seen this written (and said it myself) numerous times, but honestly, is there any evidence to show this is true? With 4 years of “extra practice,” have the results at Kentucky improved at all? Aren’t we in basically the same position (results wise) as we were when we first travelled down to Nashville? I’d hate to think we’re all repeating a fallacy just because it sounds right.

Clearly, UK is too small a sample size, but I’m sure one could look at the results of a bowl team to a non-bowl team from one year to the next (relative improvement, however defined) to see if it’s true, but I’m admittedly too lazy to do so. Hey, I just ask the questions – anyone got the answers?

I’m not sure I get the point of this post. Yes, the internet is full of stupid ideas, often amplified a thousand times over. I don’t think anyone debates this. But your basic message seems to be – some bad stuff will happen, some good stuff will happen, so whatever. Sorry, but I’m not sure “whatever” is necessarily the stance a blogger on a fan site should be taking. “Whatever” is perilously close to “I don’t care,” and if no one cares, how much traffic does ASoB get?

I’m probably mis-reading this by a mile, but that was my take away. I guess my mileage varied. ;-)

Glenn, I’ve been a KY fan since the Rupp era. I’m not a football fan per say and my boys didn’t play FB. I would like for KY to have a great FB program. I have lived out of state since 1985. But I always wore my KY Wildcat hats, T-shirts, jackets and had it on my vehicles. I also have been asked many times why KY fans are so wishy-washy. I say what do you mean ? They say, you can’t be pleased with your coaches, way your team plays, your fans are never happy unless they win every game and they should know that isn’t going to happen. I don’t know what to say because it’s true with a lot of KY fans. I’m just happy our BB program is doing good and being a Memphis fan also I’m happy Cal is now at KY. Now both of my teams have good coaches.

 "If A equals success, then the formula is A equals X plus Y and Z, with X being work, Y play, and Z keeping your mouth shut."
In the future I’ll be Z, more often then not.
Now on to unparalleled sucess in UK basketball, mens and ladies for 2010-2011.

from 6’1", 230 lb. linebacker Blake Terry.

and that might be reason enough for Cobb to come back. I know Joker does not like a two QB situation but we might have that next year. If not I look for Moss to be the starter. Remember he was the 4 star QB where Newton was only a 3 star as QB but was a 5 star as an Athlete. Six wins was better than I thought we would do because of all of the losses to the defense but I did not think our defense would be as bad as it was.

It also looks like a lock out for the NBA and that could make things interesting on who leaves after this year and who goes. Right now Knight doesn’t look like he could be ready but Evans didn’t look like he would be either but he turned it on by the end of the year.

As for Kanter I don’t see him getting eligible but if he did, he might want to stay instead of dealing with a lock out.

I love the Wildcats and I am certainly not ready to throw in the towel on Joker. I always felt he should get a shot at the head job and he should get at least 3 years and I prefer 4 to show what he can do. Blending all of the new assistants in didn’t help thing this year and I think that was Florida’s problem this year as well. Florida lost two very good coordinators over the last two years on top of the loss of several exceptional players and if it could have that effect on them then it certainly could have been one of our problems this year.