Big Blue Nation Linkapalooza: Georgia/Penn St. Edition

Tomorrow, we have a weird confluence of events we have never had before at A Sea of Blue that I can recall -- a football and basketball game taking place at virtually the same time.  How will we cover it?  Will there be two open threads?  I don't know just yet, but we'll come up with something.  Look at it this way -- it beats August when there is nothing happening.

There is a ton happening in the sports world today, and this morning's Linkapalooza will be taking you all over the place.

• Georgia and Kentucky a rival? David Ching notes how competitive the 'Cats have been versus the Dawgs.

  2009 -- The last time Kentucky visited Athens, the 10-point underdog Wildcats' 34-27 comeback victory produced one of the ugliest defeats in Richt's tenure. The Bulldogs led 20-6 at halftime and seemed well on their way to an easy win, but Branden Smith fumbled the second-half kickoff and Kentucky recovered at the Georgia 14-yard line, setting up a quick touchdown. It was the first of Georgia's four turnovers in the second half, which included one by Ealey at Kentucky's 1-yard line.

• The loss of Randall Cobb cannot be overestimated.

  While Randall Cobb returns punts for the Green Bay Packers, including one for an 80-yard touchdown on 'Monday Night Football,' his alma mater counts itself lucky to get 5 yards. The University of Kentucky doesn’t have the worst punt-return unit in the nation — but it does rank at 116th of 120 FBS schools at 2 yards per return.

• Kentucky basketball's coach John Calipari gushes over his signees -- Kyle Tucker, Courier Journal

• Mike Bianchi slaps Rick Pitino around.

  Actually, let me answer my own question: Because Pitino epitomizes why the Big East is in the shape it's in; because he is among the basketball coaches in the league who have way too much power and influence. The basketball boneheads have been making all of the decisions, and that's why there has been a mass exodus of the league's football schools over the years.

  Ouch.

• Tom Heiser of the C-J has more on Pitino's push for Memphis and Temple.

  While the pier-6 brawl for membership in the Big 12 rages between the Cardinals and West Virginia Mountaineers, Rick Pitino, with stoic aplomb, is lobbying to extend a hardy Big East hand to Memphis and Temple, according to ESPN’s Andy Katz.

  I wonder if Pitino would be lobbying for Memphis if Calipari were still there?

• Accusations of sexual abuse at Syracuse.
  I will wait for the facts to emerge.

• Missouri's football coach cited for DUI.

  Missouri football coach Gary Pinkel’s arrest for driving while intoxicated will keep him off the sidelines for the Tigers’ home finale Saturday against Texas Tech and could cost him as much as $306,538.

  The Tigers are stumbling into the SEC, it seems.

• Tim Terrific, otherworldy athlete and leader.

  Tebow’s 20-yard sprint to the end zone with 58 seconds left will remain in our memories for decades. It completed a stunning, mind-boggling and, yes, Elway-esque drive.

  Somewhere, Urban Meyer is smiling.

• There's a SportsCenter commerical in here somewhere.
  Thanks to Wild Weasel for the link.

• Mark Story writes that Max Smith has his work cut out for him against Georgia.