Big Blue Linkapalooza: Arkansas Razorbacks Edition

Tonight, Kentucky takes on the Arkansas Razorbacks in Fayetteville,  a trip I have been dreading all year.  Arkansas is not a particularly good team this year, but they do have enough to make them dangerous at home.  More on that soon.

Also, there is a ton of NCAA crime-and-punishment stuff in here due to the recent rulings handed down to the Connecticut Huskies in general and Jim Calhoun in particular, as well as today's notice of allegations against the Tennessee Volunteers in football and basketball in general, and Lane Kiffin and Bruce Pearl (among others) in particular.

Here we go:

• Kentucky Sports Radio :: Patrick Patterson breaks out
  Great to see this. Go, Patrick!!

• Arkansas senior on Pelphrey as coach, player :: Vaught's Views

• College Hoops Morning Recap :: Searching for Billy Edelin

More after the jump.

• Thoughts On Tennessee's Imminent Notice Of Allegations From The NCAA :: Rocky Top Talk

  Joel does a splendid job of  breaking this down:

  My fear at this point is that the NCAA will give Pearl a show-cause penalty. Under normal circumstances, I'd feel good about making the case to retain him without penalty. He's contrite (unlike Calhoun, by the way, who continues to assert his "innocence"), and if the NCAA is in the message-sending business, it should consider the dilemma of punishing the confession of wrongs more harshly than disputing them to the bitter end, and he's done more good than bad on and off the court. But these aren't normal circumstances, and I fear that the Tennessee athletic administration's problems with other programs will overly hinder its ability to make a case that it should be allowed to retain Pearl without penalty.

  I have been saying this for a long, long time.  Joel seems to get it, but few others even understand what the consequences of a "show-cause" penalty is.  They are dire.

• Vanderbilt Mascot Punches Vanderbilt Fan, Bloodying His Nose
  This was all over SportsCenter this morning. What a mess.

• The kPOY: If you have a problem, turn off your station

• No UConn Postseason Ban, but Calhoun Suspended :: NYTimes.com

  "I am very disappointed with the NCAA's decision in this case," Calhoun said. "My lawyer and I are evaluating my options and will make a decision which way to proceed. In the meantime, I will not make any further statements about the case as our program prepares for what I hope will be an exciting and successful postseason."

  This, sports fans, is what is known as "blowing smoke."  Calhoun and his lawyer have no options except to make life harder on themselves.  The best thing for him to do is shut his pie hole, serve his suspension, and chalk it up to experience.

• Not Worth It For Calhoun To Fight This Battle - Courant.com

  Calhoun has treated this entire sordid affair like it was another basketball game. In the face a Yahoo! report that nailed UConn, he has fought it, one fact at a time, fought it down to the last second. And you know what? The game ended. He lost. And now he's considering overtime?

  Calhoun cannot win.  There is nothing whatsoever he can do to affect the outcome except cost himself further embarrassment and money in the form of legal fees.

• UK’s defense impresses Pelphrey :: Vaught's Views
• Vols Sweep Vandy, Black Cloud Of NCAA Notice Of Allegations To Follow :: Rocky Top Talk

• Rivalry Renewed? Arkansas Looks to Snap Kentucky Skid :: Arkansas News
  We need this. Badly.

• Kentucky Sports Radio :: BTI’s Rants and Ramblings: Should Cal push Lamb and Knight to stay?
  The answer to this one is easy. Calipari sells the fact that he places the player's interests ahead of his own when it comes to giving advice about moving on to the NBA. The day he violates that trust is the day his touch in recruiting will be permanently harmed.

• Lamb: "We feel confident" :: Vaught's Views
  By LARRY VAUGHT Freshman Doron Lamb says Kentucky’s problem on the road in Southeastern Conference play have not hurt the team’s confidence as it

• John Calipari Discusses Kentucky vs. Arkansas
• Kentucky Wildcat Basketball: Keys to a Road Win over Arkansas
• Rush The Court :: Around The Blogosphere: February 23, 2011
• Tennessee does Kentucky a favor by beating Vandy
• Kentucky basketball's rivalry with Arkansas needs a jolt :: Lexington Herald-Leader