Big Blue Linkapalooza: Steve Spurrier Edition

Steve Spurrier's attack on a South Carolina media member in retaliation for some critical columns about him are dominating the sports world today, and yesterday.  But there is a good bit about Big Blue Madness as well, as there should be since it is less than 72 hours away.

• STEVE SPURRIER KILLS RON MORRIS, BOOTS GARCIA, KICKS DOG - Every Day Should Be Saturday
  The title says it all.

• Deadspin has some fun at the Ol' Ball Coach's expense.

  Today, six months after it was published, he brought it up again, calling it a "fabricated story." Spurrier announced that it was his "right" to refrain from speaking while Morris was in the room, and declared that he would hold individual interviews with the TV reporters, and then come back for the writers—presumably, Morris was then asked to leave the room. (A quick word: punitive segregation is really never a good tactic.)

• John Clay links reax to the Spurrier rant.

• The UConn Blog takes note of the Big Blue All Stars vs. the Villains.

  Lots of schools, including UConn, have charity basketball games. No school has one as cool as Kentucky's. Rather than pitting a group of alumni against each other, the Wildcats have put together a team of "Big Blue All-Stars" to take on what they've termed the "Villains," a squad that will feature two former Huskies.

• Paul Jordan makes some excellent points in here

  First and foremost, I do not believe that there is ever a case in where the mid-season firing of a head football coach is in the best short-term interest of the team. The offensive and defensive schemes are executed by the players and designed by the coordinators, but the head coach puts the blueprints in place for the team. A change at the top could appease disgruntled fans, but in effect, it can also tank the season.

  This seems right to me.

• Guy Ramsey writes about the big showdown between UK and UT in volleyball.

• The Kentucky volleyball team is among the hottest in the nation. Having won 14 of 15 matches, the Wildcats have raced out to a 16-3 record, including 7-1 in the Southeastern Conference. This week, the No. 25 Cats will host a team that has matched them win for win.

• Nation of Blue looks at why Kentucky will win the SEC.

  If you are wondering how this group surpasses the John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Patrick Patterson, Eric Bledoe, and Daniel Orton group my answer to you is simple, more talented upperclassmen. Darius Miller comes back for his senior year as arguably one of the best defensive players in the country. Terrence Jones returns after a stellar freshman campaign and should be one of the leaders on this team. Likewise, fellow Sophmore Doron Lamb has had plenty of hype put on him this offseason, and if he ends up as half as good as people are saying he is, that is a serious weapon for the Cats. If that wasn't enough, center Eloy Vargas will provide depth in the middle and Stacey Poole is a solid wing player. Transfer Twanny Beckham is very talented as well and will provide a spark of the bench.

• Knee injury will keep RB Josh Clemons from showing his talent any more this season -- vaughtsviews

• Tom Crean commits secondary violation, loses 2 recruiting days and an off-campus contact.

  According to an Indiana release, the university self-reported the secondary violation after Crean had off-season contact with a recruit last Thursday, Oct. 6. The release stated assistant coach Tim Buckley mistakenly told Crean that Thursday was the last day of a fall contact period. In fact, it was the first day of an evaluation period. Off-campus contact was not allowed.

  Via Aaron's blog.

• Jody Demling says Bullitt East player Derek Willis has a UK offer.

  But the big news of the day came later in the evening from Kentucky when Willis made a call to Calipari. Bullitt East coach Troy Barr said Calipari extended a scholarship offer Willis, a top-30 prospect in the Class of 2014 and a former Purdue commitment.

• Les Johns says UK Hoops will share the spotlight at Big Blue Madness.

  With a mix of experienced returnees and a highly ranked recruiting class, the deep and talented roster has many believing this could be a special year for the team.

• Andrew Jones says Pitino came away worse for the wear in latest scuffle with Calipari

  .To suggest Calipari, who has taken Memphis and UK to the Final Four over the past three years, is jealous of Pitino is laughable. Pitino has a national title and five Final Four appearances — though in 10 seasons at Louisville, he's taken the Cardinals to just a pair of regional finals and a Final Four.
  
  In the past six years alone, including four at Memphis before taking the UK job, Calipari's teams have advanced to two Final Fours, three regional finals and a Sweet 16. He's lost just 26 games in that span.

• Sam Rothbaure or the Kentucky Kernel thinks players adapting well to Calipari.

  As expected, the newcomers seemed to adapt to this team strategy. Freshman forward Anthony Davis exploded in practice from beginning to end. He seemed like a quiet player, but he made big plays at each end of the court. Since Calipari emphasizes player communication on the court, being encouraged to talk during practices should train Davis to talk during games as well.

  Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, a freshman forward, was explosive up and down the court as well, muscling out of double teams and drawing fouls.

  Freshman forward Kyle Wiltjer also performed well during the first public practice.

• Rock Bottom: Can It Really Get Worse For The Wildcats? -- Saturday Down South
  A question that I fear the answer to.