[UPDATE 1]
In another apparent game for the ages, the Celtics dropped back into a tie with the Bulls in thier playoff series, and once again Rajon Rondo and Derrick Rose were all anyone could talk about.
Of course, the best place to read about this series is at SBNation's two NBA blogs for each respective team -- CelticsBlog for the Celts, and BlogABull for the Chicago Bulls. This series has been amazing so far, and you just can't help but be fascinated as a Kentucky fan with watching one of our own go up against one of the best pro prospects in recent years in Derrick Rose and do so well. We all knew Rondo was good when he was here, and I think most of us thought he would make a really good pro. But in this series, the young man from Louisville has taken his game to undreamed-of heights, and shows no sign of stopping.
And now, for the news.
Kentucky Basketball News
- Adam Zagoria's blog, as usual, has lots of interesting stuff, like an update on John Wall post-Miami. Asu usual, Wall displayed a remarkable poker face for one so young. But try this on for size -- Renardo Sidney to Mississippi State? If so, it would be amongst the most amazing recruiting coups in quite some time.
- Chris Fisher at Kentucky Ink has a post about both football and basketball. In a coin toss, I decided to put it here.
- Thomas Beisner at Kentucky Sports Radio doesn't like Coach Cal's motivational tweets. I don't know about the rest of you, but I need motivation more times than not. So tweet away, coach.
- Remember the UMass game buyout of a couple of years ago? UMass does.
- Matt Jones has a John Wall interview -- of sorts. "IDK?"
- Gregg Doyel thinks this whole Twitter thing is nuts. "Ghost written" tweets are really weak, I think, unless you are so computer illiterate that you can't do it for yourself. If you're going to tweet via proxy, at least have the courtesy to tell the proxy what to say. Me, I only tweet if I have something to tweet about, and a visit to the john doesn't qualify.
- Seems like the latest complaint about Calipari's salary, which I linked in yesterday's news post, was wrong on the facts, unsurprisingly. The sad fact of the matter is that it is irrelevant -- the goo-goo types out there will tell you that the endorsement money should be used to offset the taxpayer's investment in the university -- or something like that. The best thing to do in this situation is to avoid any Calhounesque gaffes and embrace the hate.
- Patrick Patterson may want to rethink pulling his name from the draft, considering all the guys that have already pulled out, including Greg Monroe, Al-Farouq Aminu and Ed Davis. 2010 could be a daunting year for power forwards. Also, we have more info on Ater Majok's strange situation. Seems like missing out on him was a blessing in disguise.
- Brew Hoop, SB Nation's Milwaukee Bucks blog, is eyeing Patrick Patterson. So is Sactown Royalty, the SBN Sacramento Kings blog.
- [UPDATE 1] Former UK commit GJ Vilarino is a Gonzaga Bulldog. More coverage at The Slipper Still Fits.
- [UPDATE 1] More on Coach Cal and Twittering.
- [UPDATE 1] Josh Harrellson says he's not going anywhere, according to his Facebook page.
Kentucky Football News
- Myron Pryor is a Patriot as the 207th overall pick.
- Chris Diggs has questions for both UK and U of L fans. I think that Kentucky has seen some improvement in the wide receiver corps and is likely to see more still when Chris Matthews dresses out. Quarterback is still very much a work in progress for Kentucky. I'll leave the U of L questions to U of L fans for the nonce.
- Guy Smiley at Straitpinkie thinks Patterson might be back next year. No doubt, I think we would all love to have him. Bluegrass State Basketball has it on the authority of a "good source" that both players are not satisfied with their current projections and will return.
- Jeremy Jarmon will study abroad this summer in France.
-
[UPDATE 1] Several Wildcats sign with teams as undrafted free agents.
- [UPDATE 1] Over the Pylon covers the UK players drafted by the NFL. Team Speed Kills has more on the SEC picks in the draft including UK.
-
[UPDATE 1] The Patriots will give Marcus McClinton a shot.
Other Kentucky Sports News
- Bat Cats lose rubber match, and series, to Alabama.
NCAA Sports News
-
[UPDATE 1] Rocky Top Talk is Missing Chris Lofton, plus -- Ohio State only had 75,000 more people show up for the spring game than UK did!
Other News of Interest
- The Middlesboro Daily News has a piece on Matt Jones of Kentucky Sports radio. Evidently, Matt grew up there. Congratulations, Matt -- you're famous!
-
[UPDATE 1] Chuck Hayes preserves the Rocket's victory over the Trailblazers. Check this:
Most of all, there was Chuck Hayes, who played just four minutes on the night, checking into the game as a defensive sub with 10.7 seconds left and the Rockets still clinging to that two-point lead.
Chuck is awesome.
Hayes watched the Blazers biggest gun Brandon Roy (31 points) start on his drive to the left side of the basket and get an edge on his defender Artest. Then Hayes slid down into the open spot in front of the basket, just outside the restricted area and he waited.
When Roy arrived, Hayes was planted in his path and drew the charge that gave the Rockets just enough room to breathe.