Big Blue Nation Linkapalooza: Western Kentucky Edition

Tomorrow night, Kentucky opens their football season versus my alma mater, the Western Kentucky University Hilltoppers.  As you might expect, when two of my favorite teams face off against each other, it's difficult. 

To get by, I am just going to remember that this is finally the end of a long summer of almost no sporting interest, and college football season is always something to welcome.

Now, for the news:

• A prayer for college football.

  Lord, thank you for Les Miles. Truly, we can never thank you enough for Les Miles.

  Now that's funny right there, I don't care who you are.

• So let me get this straight.
  Because the UK-UL game is not the first game, it doesn't get enough hype? Does story really think nobody would have showed up a the Dominican Republic games if the UK-UL football game came earlier in the season?

  Is this guy serious, or as nutty as a fruitcake?

• Kentucky counting on 'big guys' to stuff the run -- Lexington Herald-Leader

  By naming her son "Mister," Cassandra Cobble wanted to ensure that her son could not be dismissed.

  Hey, he's "Mister" to me.  What a monster.

• UConn's games with scholarhships drawing articles.

  The scholarship casualty is likely to be either 6-10 redshirt freshman Michael Bradley, who could be "encouraged" into walk-on status; or 7-1 sophomore Enosch Wolf, who could suddenly "choose" to play professionally in his native Germany. Bradley lived in what was essentially a Chattanooga, Tenn., orphanage for eight years before arriving in Storrs, and Lynn Jordan, his house mother at the Tennessee Baptist Children's Home, told the New Haven Register that there were "several options the school is helping [Bradley] to explore, [like] how much financial aid he would be eligible for."

  Jim Calhoun is in the process of making people dislike him even more, even though he is playing by the same rules as everyone else.  There are costs, though.

• First Amendment my azz.

• Video suggests maybe LSU's Jefferson was not the guy doing the kicking.
  Pretty good work by Outkick The Coverage.

• New 2013 basketball rankings.
  Via NextCats.

• Some Texas reax to Texas A&M's announcement.

• John Clay: Second seasons a mixed bag for UK coaches -- Lexington Herald-Leader
  Lots of history here.

• The irreverent Kyle King on the Texas A&M/SEC dance.

  Yes, this is all smoke screen; the parties are engaging in the pretense of playing "Mother, May I" when we all know damned good and well what everyone ultimately is going to do when push comes to shove. However, in one carefully-crafted sentence ("We would appreciate your conferring with the other member institutions and outlining for us the process to be followed by Texas A&M should it withdraw from the Conference"; capitalizing "conference" made this a masterpiece of lawyerly draftsmanship), the Aggies used their engineering acumen to erect the canopy under which they will be free to flee, and through which the SEC will be able to accept them with the protection the league requires.

• I am so sick of uniforms.
  But for those of you who love them, let it not be said that I am ignoring you.

• How Kentucky and Western Kentucky match up
  Personally, I think the tight end advantage is an undeserved gift, but I don't dispute the running backs. I think the QB is closer to a tie on paper, but I expect Morgan Newton to prove me wrong.

• Schedule favorable to Calhoun's suspension - College Basketball Nation Blog - ESPN

  Still, when people say NCAA penalties are toothless, the past week at Connecticut is exactly what they mean. Along with Calhoun's suspension, UConn's penalties in the Miles case also included a lost scholarship in 2011-12. On Friday, top recruit Andre Drummond decided to attend Connecticut despite the scholarship crunch. What happened? A little-used player named Michael Bradley forfeited his scholarship to make room for Drummond.

  A sad reality.  Perhaps the NCAA should forbid the use of exceptions by a team is on probation.  That seems like such a simple and obvious thing to do that it makes you wonder what these COI people use for brains.

• Morgan Newton is interviewed.

• Louisville has three more home games than Kentucky.
  Is that mock-worthy?

• The RTC 2011 College Football All-Americans (with a Hoops Twist)
  Heh. Well, that's interesting.

• This makes my head spin.
  And ache ... a bit.