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Friday: UK Around the Web

Well, my wonderful, fun & sun filled vacation is coming to an end.  Tomorrow, we pack up and head northwest to Louisville, stopping for an overnight deep in the heart of Bruce Pearl territory.

Just taking a quick look around the web today, where further mentions of "Billy Donovan" other than this sentence are verboten, we find a few Kentucky mentions and news.  

SPORTSbyBROOKS ran across JL's post about Elton Brand's email exchange with a haughty young Dookie:

The veracity of that electronic mail melee is not a certainty. But it does gives us hope that sometimes the right people still do the right thing at the right time - despite the cocooned cacophony of the so-called cultural elite.

Right on.  Woo, we gettin' famous here at ASoB, yeah.  "Cocooned cacophony" ... man, I gotta remember that one.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution interviews Jodie Meeks, and this kid continues to impress as he matures.  Here's what he said when offered the suggestion that Gillispie might want him to run the point for long stretches next year:

"I think I can do it," he said. "It's just a matter of whether they need me there or not. I think I'm capable of leading the team if that's what the situation calls for. Whatever they ask me to do, I'll try to do it."

More Jodie, please.

The Herald-Leader has this story about a meeting by the Lexington-Fayette Urban League, where some are questioning progress in race relations vis-a-vis Tubby Smith's departure.  P.G. Peeples, he president of that body claims to have heard some "bone-chilling and scary" things on radio call-in shows since Smith's departure, and wonders if he was ever "truly supported during his tenure".

I can only speak for myself, Mr. Peeples -- I supported Tubby Smith from the day his name was raised as a candidate until the day he left town.  Truly.

Peeples also had this to allow:

"The nation looks at us," he said. "And I think, right now as a state, we have fulfilled the stereotype again."

This is such B.S.  His comment unfortunately doesn't surprise me, but it does disappoint me.  But I am used to that.

Go Big Blue Cats points us to an article by Jerry Tipton about Billy Gillispie's first summer basketball camp as UK head coach.  Lots of big name recruits are expected to attend.

The New Orleans Times-Picayune says that the fault for all the high coaching salaries in college basketball fall squarely in the lap of one man -- Rick Pitino:

When it comes to money and coaching, no one raised the bar higher than Pitino. He did it the day in 1997 he waved goodbye to the University of Kentucky to become head coach and general manager of the Boston Celtics for the then-unheard of sum of $7 million a year.

I had forgotten just how much Traitor Rick was offered by the Celts.  Kinda makes what Orlando was going to pay he-who-shall-remain-nameless look like weak beer.

The Memphis Tigers Basketball Blog gives us a look at the attendance leaders in college basketball for 2007.  It won't surprise you to see who is on top (once again).  Stuff like this makes me very proud to be a Wildcat fan.

Louisville surprised me coming in at #5, and Arkansas shows strong at #9.  I expect that ranking will go up next year with Pel at the helm.

Finally, Brett Dawson of the Courier-Journal reports that Matthew Mitchell, the new Kentucky women's coach, has rounded out his staff with the addition of Wendy Palmer, who currently plays in the WNBA for the Seattle Storm was a former WNBA all star and has been an assistant coach at VCU the past two years. [editor's note, by Truzenzuzex]  Thanks to commenter xgrunt for correcting my error.

The SB Nation LSU blog, And The Valley Shook, linked JL's "Fun with Photoshop" post.  Thanks, guys!

The UK Bias Blog is back up after difficulties with his blogging software kept him off the air for awhile.  I should have mentioned this earlier, but the tidbit got lost in my vacation-addled brain.  Be sure to give him a visit.