Big Blue Nation Linkapalooza: Gary Parrish Attempts To Resurrect A Scandal Edition

Today's late edition of the news starts off with this article by CBS Sports' Gary Parrish.  In it he attempts to resurrect the Anthony Davis non-scandal that was all the rage amongst the college basketball commentariat only a year ago:

What makes him most interesting though -- besides the growth spurt in the summer of 2009 that transformed him from a 6-3 guard into a 6-10 forward -- is that Davis is the only Calipari recruit to ever be publicly tied by a mainstream media outlet to a recruiting scandal before enrolling. That might surprise some given Calipari's reputation among most college basketball fans. But the truth is that the NCAA never has charged Calipari or any of his programs with a major recruiting violation, and no major website or newspaper had ever alleged serious cheating until the Chicago Sun-Times staff writer Michael O'Brien reported last August that Davis' father had negotiated a deal worth $200,000 to send his son to Kentucky.

Can you hear the deep sigh?  I know you can.

Of course, we here at A Sea of Blue, along with many others, shot this story so full of holes that the only "scandal" that resulted was the outrageous spectacle of watching a dead-tree media outlet make an absolute fool of itself.  The sourcing of this story wasn't just suspect, it was utterly risible, filled with obviously jealous also-rans for Davis' services sourced anonymously, most of whom had no doubt been recruiting Davis much longer than Kentucky.

Here's Parrish's conclusion:

He's going to be phenomenal on the court, no question. But whether his stickback dunks and blocked shots in college are forever overshadowed by allegations of impropriety remains undetermined, proof being how many of the questions Davis faced in Ohio last week were about exactly that, fair or not.

No, Gary that determination has long since been made.  I understand why you would want to resurrect it, and quite honestly, I have to admit that I am not all that sorry to see you do it. Just as you literally begged Anthony Davis' family to sue the Sun-Times, I really appreciate the fact that you've decided to beat the rotten, maggot-infested remains of this poor deceased nag just a little bit more.  It's dead, so it doesn't mind.

Ersatz commentary by mainstream media reporters give bloggers like me an easy story to write and a relatively unpopular foil, namely the mainstream sports media, to make fun of.  I really should thank you.  So I will.  Thank you, Gary.

To give you a reminder of just how ridiculous this whole sorry mess was, Parrish's own colleague at CBS, Gregg Doyel spoke derisively with Larry Glover about it, and you can listen to that podcast here.  From last year's post on Doyel's conversation, here is what he said:

In re:  Chicago Sun-Times second story, Doyell said, "Unless the Sun-Times' reporter is Woodward or Bernstein, there is no way they got three different D-I coaches to say anything like that."  He went on further to say that Gary Parrish, Jeff Goodman, Andy Katz and Mike DeCourcy could not get three D-I coaches to "tell them on or off the record about that level of cheating," and there was no way that a Chicago reporter could, either.

I'm sure this will all be resurrected by Parrish again sometime during the season, and if not him, maybe Geoff Calkins or Dan Wolken, or Pete Thamel.  But it will be given the Lazarus treatment by somebody, even if all that arises will be a journalistic-reputation-eating zombie.

Now, for the rest of the news:

• Kentucky HoopFest - Monday recap - Jody Demling
• Rush The Court - Around The Blogosphere: July 12, 2011

• An interesting non-basketball link for you entrepreneurs out there.
  Did you know that your work while on vacation might provide some tax deductions?

• We're #2!
  According to the L.A. Times, at least.

• Highlights from the Adidas Invitational.
  From the Worldwide Leader.

• NBA -- Team USA could feel effects of lockout - ESPN

  "If the league is heavy-handed with the players I don't see the guys playing,'' said the agent, who preferred to remain anonymous. "The union will take a hard line. I think it would be a huge problem -- global lure or not. It's accurate to say the players probably wouldn't play.''

  Hmm.  Well, we may be back to using college guys, and I doubt that the best college players would pass up an opportunity to play in the Olympics.  It might be tough to win these days, though, with college players.

• Eamonn Brennan analyzes if Kentucky could pay for "full cost of attendance."
  He also figures out how much it would cost the school.

• Taking A Look At DeAndre Liggins " Howard the Dunk | An Orlando Magic Blog

  Defense is clearly the reason Liggins was drafted. He has good size at 6’6, and 210 lbs. and his wingspan (6’11) gives him the potential to be a good defender. I’m not sure if he has the athletic ability to be an elite defender, but his quickness certainly gives him somewhat of a chance to be. Liggins clearly gives the Magic an upgrade athletically as well as defensively.

  I think Liggins' length gives him a chance to be an elite defender at the next level, but he has to work very hard to improve his stamina and his strength.

• Coach Cal wears Carolina Blue, gets ill.
  Okay, he didn't really get ill, but he said he wouldn't wear it again after Roy Williams made a comment. From Larry Vaught.

• Perry Ellis a priority.
  So Larry Vaught tells Tom Leach on his show, The Leach Report.