Tonight, Kentucky closes out its non-conference season against the Eastern Michigan Eagles. It's also back-to-work days for those of us with long holidays. We'll get through it somehow.

Tweet of the Morning:

How much Alex plays, and how hard he plays, and how Cal thinks he plays, will probably be the story for tonights game.

— alan cutler (@cutler18) January 2, 2013

This is absolutely right. For the next couple of games at least, Alex Poythress will be the focus of the Big Blue Nation's attention - and John Calipari's.

Your Quickies:

Kentucky football

• Asiantii Woulard // Ky Cat Stats

  So who is Asiantii Woulard? Well, some services rate him as the #1 dual threat quarterback in the country. He’s 6’3, comes from Winter Park Florida, and is a 4* recruit by most services. He’s a 5.9 on rivals though, meaning he’s very close to being a 5* recruit. He was originally committed to USF, but has opened things up now that Skip Holtz has been fired.

  This would be a great get for Kentucky.

Kentucky basketball

• You have just gotta watch these highlights. Via Sam Henson:
  

• Ira Combs Weekly Column

  NCAA basketball coaches have always talked out of both sides of their mouth when needed about the importance of free throws but rarely spend the necessary amount of time in practice . Just like NCAA football coaches talk about the importance of special teams but rarely spend the amount of quality time in preparation needed .

  There is a lot of truth in that comment. Calipari is somewhat famous for a failure to follow throw on free throw problems.

• UK basketball notes: If history is guide, so-so start foretells 12-4 finish in the SEC // Kentucky.com
  12-4 would be a disappointment to me in conference.

Links posts

• Tom Leach // Monday links
• SEC Links // John Clay

College football

• There are really no words to describe this. Via John Clay:
  

• Georgia Bulldogs 45, Nebraska Cornhuskers 31: Tonight We're Going to Party Like It's 1787 // Dawg Sports
  Nice work,. Dawgs. It was closer than I expected, but Georgia got it done.

• Gamecocks stun Wolverines on late TD to claim Outback Bowl // CollegeFootballTalk
  Great game.

• South Carolina Upends Michigan in the Outback Bowl: A Quick Recap // Garnet And Black Attack

College basketball

• 3-point shot: Big heat in Big East // ESPN

  Officials have to be held accountable for their actions when there is a mistake. Just like coaches, players and yes, even those of us in the media who cover the games and the sport. That’s why it was good to see Big East official Karl Hess come out late Tuesday night and say officials were wrong in not giving Connecticut a goal-tending basket in overtime after the officials failed to realize UConn and Marquette were facing the wrong way to start the extra period.

  This is right. Why can't we see more of this in college basketball? Somehow, officials have evolved into something like bureaucrats - unaccountable to anyone for a failure of competence.

Other sports news

• Kentucky Sports Radio // Is Boogie in a "Toxic" Environment?
  It seems Cousins hasn't found the right combination yet, for some reason.

• Randall Cobb calls himself "100 percent" for Saturday night // ProFootballTalk
  Great.