The Big Blue Daily Mail -- UK Basketball Schedule Edition

You know, I can understand the UK athletics and marketing guys wanting to milk this whole John Calipari thing for what it's worth.  I can understand that they may want to gin up as much excitement, blog buzz and fan euphoria as possible.  I totally get that.  Totally.

But it's just ridiculous to be waiting for the basketball schedule this long.  It really is.  And all the brinksmanship and games they are playing with the schedule release has gotten on my last nerve.  So here's my message to UK:  Release the schedule, for Heaven's sake!  If you must run a two-hour prime-time infomercial to do it, fine, but release the darn thing.  Too much of a good thing is, well, too much.

Now, for the news.

Top Stories

• Bluegrass State Basketball: Ex-Wildcat A.J. Stewart to Texas State
  Good for AJ

• UK's Trevard Lindley on Bednarik Watch List
  No real surprise here.

• Calipari understands UK basketball
  So says Larry Vaught. I think he's right.

• One Player has punched their ticket for Midnight Madness
  I'm sure there will be many more to come.

UK Basketball News

• March Madness All Season: Class of 2011 Intro: Achraf Yacoubou
  Calipari is definitely going after this guy.

• Calipari mending fences for UK
  More signs that Calipari gets it.

• UK dominates ‘Super Tuesday,’ release of full schedule near — Jerry Tipton on UK basketball
  Well, it's about time.

• ESPN picks UK for 4 ‘Super Tuesday' basketball matchups | courier-journal.com | The Courier-Journal
  Aarrrgh! I hate the 9:00 PM time slot!

• The Immortals: UK's 25 'Legends' #13
• Calipari scheduled to visit Tri-State

• UK out of the race for 2010's Joe Jackson?
  Seems so, according to Jody Demling.

• Four Huge UK Basketball Game Dates
  Chris Diggs has this one right.

UK Football News

• 2009 Kentucky Wildcats Preview : RollTideBama Blog
  A look at UK from an Alabama fan.

• Honors for Trevard Lindley…"Pretty Good" first scrimmage for the Wildcats

• The villains of the SEC - SEC - ESPN
  UK basketball is Kentucky football's biggest villain. Heh.

• Hartline Highlights First Scrimmage
  * On junior-college defensive end DeQuin Evans: "We had DeQuin Evans working on the first-team defense some. He got a sack today." * On the freshman linebackers: "Qua Huzzie and Ridge Wilson have done very well. (Ryan) Mosby has done pretty well, too. I think we’re in pretty good shape there."

• Pre-season camp - it's a team thing | KentuckySports.com
  The players don't have that much free time to begin with. Randall Cobb and Corey Peters estimated it to be between 3-4 hours a day. McCutchan said most of the offensive linemen use that time for sleep. "The O-linemen are usually so tired, they don't have the energy to be running around and playing cards and stuff," McCutchan said. "By about 10 o'clock or 10:15, they're usually out."

• Brooks pleased with offense in scrimmage
  On the injury front, Brooks noted that several players are dealing with various sprains and strains. The coach said that wide receiver Randall Cobb has a sore back and hip and did not finish Sunday’s practice. Wide receiver Michael Harper continues to be evaluated after injuring his back, hip and knee while twisting awkwardly during a tackle in the scrimmage.
  
  Minor injuries, I hope.

• Wildcats wide open at wideout
  This is a good article looking at wide receivers.

• Predicting the UK Football Season

• 2009 Kentucky Football Positional Outlook: Wide Receivers
  Hmm. I actually think Roark and Boyd could contribute this year.

Other UK Sports News

• None today
  

NCAA Sports News

• Not Sure Which is Sadder
  I wish whoever was messing with Ferguson would get a life.

• Sports Talk: Top Selling Colleges in Licensee Merchandise
  UK is at #13, and the author was "surprised."

Other News of Interest

• The Unreal Usain Bolt
  Unreal? Unholy is more like it. I think he is praying to JoBu.

• No Pryor complaints - BostonHerald.com
  FOXBORO - There was no sack dance for Myron Pryor. Not even after bringing down a quarterback for the first time in his first start in his first game. The Patriots rookie defensive lineman knows better than that. After he tackled Eagles star Donovan McNabb for a 6-yard loss in the Patriots’...

• Rookies shine on Patriots’ defensive line - Brockton, MA - The Enterprise
  All three rookies had at least one tackle in the Pats’ 27-25 victory over the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field Thursday, but [former UK player Myron] Pryor earned the most attention. He had two solo tackles, including a sack of Donovan McNabb that knocked the Eagles back to their 31-yard line in a second-quarter drive that stalled out three plays later. He also had a quarterback hurry.

The Daily Schadenfreude

• Is the SEC Really the Best?
  Heh. Man, is this guy bitter. Has to go in The Daily Schadenfreude.

• Rick Pitino Wants to Know If You Think He Should Be Fired
  Ouch.