Big Blue Nation Linkapalooza: To Tebow Or Not To Tebow?

Only in America could people begin to believe a college football player with a penchant for good works, hard play, and who not only wears his religion on his sleeve, but attempts to live up to its ideals, could be the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

In a totally unofficial survey, TMZ readers were asked who was a more influential Christian: the pope or Tebow. The result? Pope 55, Tebow 45.

To "Tebow" has become a verb. You kneel, place an elbow on one bended knee, head in hand. It has become de rigueur in many football stadiums around the country, as well as a popular meme on Facebook. Three Long Island students were recently suspended for Tebowing in the halls of their high school.

Only in America. Now, for the news:

Georgetown Deals Louisville First Loss // Card Chronicle

Still, we all knew deep inside that this team probably wasn't the fourth-best in the country and we all knew it would have to taste defeat eventually (besides Chane). I don't prescribe to the "good loss" or "this needed to happen" philosophy, but there are plenty of positives that will be taken away from Wednesday night.

I think virtually everyone agrees with Mike that the Cardinals aren't fourth-best in America. They are still a very good team, and Georgetown got a few breaks in this game.

Update: The Anthony Davis Block Party // College Courtside

Kentucky’s Anthony Davis entered last night’s contest vs Lamar as the nation’s second best shot blocker with 4.3 blocks per game. Against Lamar he recorded 6 more blocks, vaulting him this morning into 1st in the NCAA’s with an average of 4.5 blocks per game. On the season the freshman has now blocked a whopping 58 shots in 13 games!

Calipari frustrated that Cats are not playing better, will not "baby these guys" // vaughtsviews

"Maybe we can learn from this. But at some point you’ve got to get stepped on and be stepped on good so that you understand what we are trying to say," said Calipari. "I’m not babying these guys. I’m not. I’ve not babied a player, not one, and I’m not going to baby these guys. We have to start playing better, and we have some guys out there that are not playing rough enough. We have guys losing concentration and we have guys breaking off plays. We have got a ways to go."

I think this is right. We are so far from our potential, and if we are getting closer, it is hard to discern.

Everything Kentucky // MIchael Kidd-Gilchrist Post Lamar Comments [Video]

UK basketball notes: Terrence Jones, on his Indiana performance, says, 'We just have to move on' // Lexington Herald-Leader

"It happened," Jones said in an emotionless tone. "The game is over. We just have to move on. There's nothing I can do to change what happened."

I do think it is time to move on from the IU game. That was a long time ago. Leave it and move on.

John Calipari unhappy with 22-point win // The Kentucky Kernel

"I’m not very happy," Calipari said after UK beat Lamar by 22. "Do I seem happy?"

No, he did not. His words were incisive and his tone was annoyed.

Terrence Jones’ last few weeks ‘difficult’ // The Kentucky Kernel

"It’s been different and difficult," Jones said of the past few weeks. "I’ve been fighting, working out to get back. It’s just been different with the injury, not being able to go out and play with my team like I want to right after a tough game."

Oh, for God's sake, Terrence, pull your panties up and quit whining. Play ball. Shut up about the finger.

Anthony Davis Nominated for GEICO Play of the Year [Video]

Calipari can't afford to sit Kidd-Gilchrist // Cat Scratches

For the third game in a row, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist picked up his second foul early and, for the third game in a row, Calipari reinserted him into the lineup with those two fouls.

"Normally when a guy gets two fouls, I will not play him the rest of the half," Calipari said. "The problem with this team is you need his toughness so bad, that I ended up shoving him back in there."

Video: Darius Miller Post-Lamar Interview

U of L loss to Georgetown surprises Cal // Jerry Tipton on UK basketball

Five Takeaways: No. 14 Mississippi State vs. No. 7 Baylor // Searching for Billy Edelin

As we had expected – read: hoped and prayed – last night’s matchup of No. 7 Baylor and No. 14 Mississippi State turned into a real gem. It pitted two of the country’s best frontcourts against each other with Perry Jones III checking Arnett Moultrie and Quincy Acy battling Renardo Sidney.

Syracuse 75 - Seton Hall 49: Hello, My Name Is Fabricio de Melo, You Doubted My Potential, Prepare To Die // Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician

Heh. Classic title.

2012 SEC Football Schedule Finally Announced; Georgia Bulldogs Lose Pre-Cocktail Party Open Date But Card Gains Elsewhere // Dawg Sports

The SEC schedule from the Georgia perspective. They seem pretty happy.

The Delusion Train Keeps On Chugging: Georgetown Defeats Louisville 71-68 // Casual Hoya

Tonight's game, in many ways, marks a new era in John Thompson III's Georgetown career. In previous years, there wasn't enough depth and production to bench starters when they played poorly. Yet, this year, we have 4 eager freshmen itching to get off the bench to prove their worth. When Henry Sims, Jason Clark, and Nate Lubick weren't providing the energy necessary to beat an undefeated Louisville squad at home, there were freshmen ready to jump into the fray. Last year, this wouldn't have happened. Previous teams weren't built for lulls in energy by starters. Those teams ran 6 deep and lived and died by those 6 players. This year's team is different. This year's team has 10 talented basketball players, and JT3 is ready to play all 10 players at any time.

Rick Bozich | Louisville basketball ‘humbled’ by a better team // The Courier-Journal

Seven NBA scouts came to the KFC Yum! Center for the Georgetown-Louisville game Wednesday night. The ones I talked with made the same two observations:

The only first-round draft picks on the court played for the Hoyas. And the surprise of the night wasn’t that Georgetown defeated the Cardinals, 71-68. The shocker was that Rick Pitino had shaken and stirred a 12-0 record out of this group.

Is anyone but me getting fed up with this, "How great is Pitino to get this team to play so well?" meme? Good grief.

He did it by playing a weak schedule at home, and got a couple of teams that were supposed to be strong but weren't. Hello! Lots of coaches have had success this way. Has anyone seen Seton Hall, formerly 11-1 until last night? Oh, that's right -- hardly anyone has heard of Seton Hall, certainly not in the context of championship basketball. Can anyone but me name Seton Hall's coach? But the Great Rick Pitino, and Louisville, why, everyone has heard of them.

For the love of God, sports media. Get a freaking grip.

Pac-12 Conference's basketball fortunes take a dip // latimes.com

Indeed, the once-proud Pac-12 is now a foil for other conferences. The Mountain West trumpets in its weekly notes its 10-2 record against Pac-12 schools. And the Big West proudly proclaims its three wins.

Ouch.

Five-Star Basketball // Gathers on Teaming with Goodwin at UK, Recruitment [Video]