The SEC took it on the chin yesterday as the Florida Gators lost to the Kansas St. Wildcats, Alabama lost at home to Mercer, and Ole Miss lost to Indiana St. in the Diamond Head Classic.

Tweet of the Day:

KenPom gives Louisville 80% chance of beating UK. Ironically, this would be Calipari's winning % in the series even if that does happen.

— Not Jerry Tipton (@NotJerryTipton) December 23, 2012

Heh.

Your Quickies:

Kentucky football

• Kentucky football notebook: For ex-Cats and new assistant football coaches, selling UK to recruits is 'personal' // Kentucky.com

  "The excitement in the Big Blue Nation about football is at an all-time high," he said. "I really believe that. This state and this university are special to me. This isn't just another job for me. This is personal."

  Neal Brown on what selling the Big Blue to recruits means to him.

Kentucky basketball

• Calipari has simple mesage for Goodwin — do not miss layups // vaughtsviews
  Doh.

• Alex Poythress says he was ready to “bang” with another team and played “decent” in spurts | vaughtsviews

  “Alex Poythress did some good things and then he reverted at times,” Calipari said. “He just grabbed a guy on a foul, wanted to stop playing, left his feet three times because he was late getting to the guy. Instead of being ready, you can close with your hands up or you can stand straight up and down (and) be late going to the shooter so you’ve got to leave your feet, which he did three or four times.”

  Calipari and I were obviously watching the same game.
• Ryan Harrow helps Kentucky rout Marshall // Hoopsworld

• Work pays dividends as Cats take down Marshall // Cat Scratches

  "The thing I liked about Marshall, very physical, bump and grind team that we out rebounded, and they were big," Calipari said. "That's what we needed. We needed this game like this. We needed a team that would play that way."

  This is certainly a notable positive. The improved rebounding is something that we have not seen in many games, and Marshall was not a small team.

• Post-game videos from UK’s win over Marshall // John Clay's Sidelines
  Calipari's comments were interesting. Ryan Harrow is always worth watching, the kid never fails to get a laugh.

• Cats show improvement heading toward Louisville game // The Kentucky Kernel

  “Oh, we got better. A couple of guys had lapses, and those lapses will kill us in our league,” Calipari said. “But the reality of it is we got way better.”

  Hmm. Seems Coach Cal is in disagreement with our naysaysers.

• UK Notebook: Coach John Calipari not happy with NCAA training table rules - Central Kentucky News

  Calipari said Friday it was “stupid” to limit how much players could eat.

  Calipari's right. This is the kind of rule that will eventually be the death of the NCAA. I am now convinced that Calipari's vision is coming to fruition day by day.

• Kentucky basketball notes: Big Blue Nation doesn't give opponents enough credit, Marshall coach says // Kentucky.com
  He's got a point, but he's wasting his breath.

• Notebook: Attention turns to Louisville with Marshall out of the way // CoachCal.com

Links posts

• Kentucky Sports Radio // Sunday Morning Hyperlinks
• John Clay's Big Blue Links

College football

• The favorite classes of college football stars // SBNation.com

College basketball

• SEC: Florida’s road woes continue; Missouri gets big win // John Clay's Sidelines
  Florida is cracking up, it seems. Missouri and Illinois are very much alike, and even though they are both good teams, I think they are both overrated.

• Another rough day for SEC basketball // John Clay's Sidelines
  Very rough. Without putting to fine a point on it, the SEC sucks this year.

Other sports news

• More bad debt news for the KFC Yum Center // John Clay's Sidelines
  This is a taxpayer-funded money-washer, laundering money from taxpayers and putting it straight into the pockets of the University of Louisville.

• DeMarcus Cousins “needs to be helped” | John Clay's Sidelines

  A side note: Remember that back in the old days, DeMarcus Cousins would be a senior in college this year. From an economic standpoint, he had to go pro. From an emotional standpoint, it is clear he was not ready to go pro.

  Probably true ...
• DeMarcus Cousins switches to John Wall’s agent // John Clay's Sidelines
• Liggins to D-league // NBA.com

• John Wall, Women's Wing Organization bring early Christmas to kids in need // WJLA.com
  Well done, John.