In light of the chaos of the weekend's activities, we are looking at some very focused links this morning. What was, is no longer. What we thought we knew, we didn't. And what the experts claimed as irrefutable, is now called into question. Well, except for a couple of things.
If you were out of the country over the weekend with no internet access, you will have to read all of these links and then click on every one. EVERY one. Big Blue Madness was not only a success, it was a warning to college basketball. Not only was last year an aberration, if you get in our way, we will not be responsible for what happens to you, as 10% of the country's top big men are in Lexington. We all know that Kentucky is not for everybody, that is now a given. Eric Lindsey over at CoachCal.com has gathered the public comments about the young Cats from the boys @ ESPN and a few others. The most prized gives us our Tweet of The Day:
Several members of New Orleans Pelicans were watching practice. Not one of them had the physical presence of Frosh Julius Randle.A grown man
— Jimmy Dykes (@JimmyDykesLive) October 18, 2013
While Jimmy Dykes may be known for some of the sports world's more ignorant catch phrases, he is not known for speaking out of turn. If Randle is good enough for his eye test, I say we ride that horse until we nail down #9. As for another comment to hang a hat on:
NBA star and former Kentucky Wildcat John Wall, when asked about the Cats going 40-0:
"I don’t know. That’s what they said about us, and we lost three."
I'll take three losses. As long as they come before the Louisville game, although Andrew Cassady over at KSR says different. Meanwhile, Seth Davis makes the most ignorant statement of the weekend, and possibly the decade.
Since the SEC and really the entire world of college football was overturned, upset, or rocked, with the exception of the Gold Standard, the Alabama Crimson Tide; we will now attempt to make some sense out of the wreckage that was left. Please refrain from shaking your head in disgust, amazement, or ridicule, because some of this is downright ugly. How much of a mess was made this weekend? This piece was written over at Grantland on Oct. 15. Heh! I guess I am not the only one who should avoid predictions. Did all of the chaos kill this idea? Doubtful. Good luck with this one Tom Jurich.
Polls, you want polls? They are here, but they are not what once was considered to be a basically straightforward college football season. And if you think that the BCS is ugly, some people think that next year, things will be worse. Some of the Heisman candidates may have had their hopes dashed last weekend as well. Say what you will, win or lose, I still think Johnny Manziel is the real deal. He impressed me, even in the loss.
Baseball? Who cares about baseball? Prince Fielder and the Tigers flopped on Saturday, literally. So, it's Boston and St. Louis in the series, two teams I could literally care less about. However, since it is the World Series it is sports news and important to some, so we will track the series' progress this next week or so. I guess I should want the Cards to win, but I hate them with a passion, so, I am going to be not cheering for the Sox.
Ashley Judd is showing that spirit that she must have learned when she was at Kentucky, as she is going to try again with estranged husband Dario Franchitti. Nothing like a brush with death to make you take a hard look at your priorities. Maybe Dario will start coming to UK games too?
In our ongoing look at the NCAA, amateurism, and what will become of all of the reconstruction, reinvention, and restructuring talk, we have the next salvo fired by the NCAA in their desperate attempts to send this lawsuit purgatory that they have been relegated to far, far away.
Finally, we discussed this a little last week, and I pointed out that the NCAA could learn from the mistakes that the NFL made in their handling of concussions and all the baggage that goes along with them. However, did the media have a role in this? ESPN Ombudsman Robert Lipsyte has this piece on what ESPN knew and when. This brings to mind the question, what is the media's responsibility in situations where they have knowledge that could change the outcome of major legal and moral ramifications? Is the media partially responsible for things that happen when they have knowledge of wrongdoing and do not report it? You tell me.