Sorry about the lateness of the quickies. Busy morning. However, we had plenty of news this morning about the renovations to Commonwealth Stadium.

Tweet of the Morning:

3 ESPN experts have Julius Randle picking UK. 3 others have him at Texas. No votes for Florida es.pn/UCZ4ws (Insider)

— Ben Roberts (@NextCats) January 10, 2013

How huge would that be? Indescribably huge.

Your Quickies:

Kentucky football

• Commonwealth, Nutter renovations included in proposal to self-fund campus projects // Cat Scratches
  Guy Ramsey has more on the proposed renovations to football and the UK campus.

• Reese Phillips Enrolls at Kentucky // UKAthletics.com
  He's behind a lot of people ...

• Kentucky football cornerbacks Reed, Caffey kicked off team by new coach Mark Stoops // The Courier-Journal |
  In case you hadn't heard. Both these guys have been in some trouble, and I guess Stoops didn't like what he saw.

Kentucky basketball

• Stallings knows even opposing fans aspire to have tradition like Kentucky basketball has // vaughtsviews

  Stallings said beating UK in last year’s SEC Tournament final before the Cats went on to win the national title was "very meaningful" for Vanderbilt and the Commodores will toast that feat before tonight’s game.

  Well, go right ahead.

• On This Date: Memorable January Games in College Basketball History // College Hoopedia

  Kentucky's Adolph Rupp became the coach to compile 500 victories the fastest with a 92-59 win over DePaul in 1955 (584 games in 23rd season). . . .

  Definitely worth remembering.

Other UK sports

• No. 6 UK Hoops Meets No. 20/21 Texas A&M in First-Ever Matchup // UKAthletics.com
  Hard to believe that we've never played them before.

• Track and Field Kentucky Invitational Schedule // UKAthletics.com

Links posts

• The Morning Mix // Troy Machir, CollegeBasketballTalk

College football

• Sad Notre Dame fan speaks: The man behind the BCS National Championship GIF // SBNation.com

College basketball

• The untrained eye: UNLV vs. New Mexico // Kenpom.com

  ‘Tis better to miss free throws than not take them at all. People often lament missed free throws and the Lobos missed 14 of their 29 attempts from the line. But rarely do people acknowledge the benefits of getting to the line. Even shooting 52% Wednesday night (plus one offensive rebound of a miss) wasn’t a net drain on the New Mexico offense in a game where neither team came close to getting to a point per possession. And of course those fouls drawn add up. Anthony Bennett got a rare dose of foul trouble – it was first game with four fouls. Khem Birch and Anthony Marshall ended up fouling out.

  Something to encourage those of us who lament missed free throws. Getting to the line and missing is better than not getting there at all. Of course, MAKING a high percentage is much better than not.

• Tar Heels marked 'fragile'
  Heh.

• No. 8 Minnesota rolls through No. 12 Illinois, 84-67 // CollegeBasketballTalk
  Tubby Smith has himself a team this year. Beware, Big Ten.

Other sports news

• Program note: Blog interruption // John Clay's Sidelines
  Prayers for a quick return to health for John.