Happy Mother's Day to all mothers out there, and to all those who have passed on;
We cherish you while you are here, and no less after you're gone.
The big news of today is that the Kentucky Wildcats baseball team has vaulted back into first place in the SEC overall on the strength of a sweep of the Alabama Crimson Tide. Kentucky was helped by the Vanderbilt Commodores and Georgia Bulldogs defeating the LSU Tigers and South Carolina Gamecocks respectively yesterday. Both LSU and USC have the rubber-matches for their currently split series today, and Kentucky's current 1.5 game lead over both could shrink to one in the East and overall, depending on the outcome.
The quickies begin after the jump.
No. 7 UK sweeps, moves back into SEC East lead
The Wildcats completed an unprecedented season at home, posting a school-record 29-5 record at Cliff Hagan Stadium. UK became the first team in the NCAA to win 40 games, with UK’s 41 total wins returning to the nation’s lead. The Wildcats have now won the second-most games in the 107-year history of the program, with its 18 SEC wins ranking second-best in UK’s history in the league.
Historic season so far. Could the Bat Cats reach Omaha this year?
Looking at DeMarcus Cousins' Future by Looking at the Past // Sactown Royalty
But can DeMarcus get there if he continues to be inefficient from the field? Is there historical evidence of other big men who began inefficiently and then became successes? How did they do it?
Sactown Royalty asks some interesting questions about DeMarcus Cousins considering how he's played so far.
Mike Cardillo: UConn fans should relish chance at UMass rivalry // StamfordAdvocate
Firm, brief and altogether unremarkable.
That's the best way to describe shaking hands with John Calipari.
From all the unsavory things said about him, you'd expect a handshake with the Kentucky basketball coach to be greasy -- leaving you feeling as though you'd been slimed like in "Ghostbusters."
This is a very interesting article, and gives us some insight about Calipari's past that mostly happened before the age of the Internet.
Bill Walton reportedly will call Pac-12 games for ESPN // Arizona Desert Swarm
Interesting. Should be some quotes of value coming from that source.
FSU says "misinformation" spread about ACC contract - CBSSports
The ACC just agreed to an extension of its ESPN deal through 2026-27. Apparently, ol' Andy was miffed about the conference going from $10 million per team to $17 million in a little over a year.
In anyone's mind, that is a 600-foot home run for a conference that competes for national championships in football not even occassionally. This guy does realize his school plays in the ACC, right?
Monke: New age minimum would help NBA // The Dickinson Press
Who wouldn’t want to watch this year’s Kentucky team go after another title against deep and maturing squads from North Carolina, Kansas and Connecticut? John Calipari sure would — and it would have saved him a ton of time spent recruiting.
No it wouldn't. You never get a day off when it comes to recruiting. Not in the college game.
LSU falls to second place in the SEC with loss to Vanderbilt // Shreveporttimes
Cats roll Hoosiers to advance to third consecutive Sweet 16
"Well, we’ve only done it (three consecutive Sweet 16s) one other time and I’ve been here 30 years so that kind of says it all," UK head coach Dennis Emery said on advancing to a third-straight Sweet 16. "It’s really hard to keep it going. We’re going to Athens (Georgia) with a chance. We went to the Elite Eight last year, and we’re going to Athens with a real chance to go further. It’s not going to be easy, but we have the athletic ability, the composure as well as the experience that I think we can do it."
2012 NBA Draft: Jeff Taylor, Arnett Moultrie Among Sleeper Picks // SBNation.com
We all know Jeffrey Taylor is a quality player, and I think Tjarks is right about him, and I'm pretty sure Arnett Moultrie is as well, although I'm somewhat less sanguine about him.
Festus Ezeli is a crap shoot. He has upside, but he lacks a perimeter game and is not really big enough to play exclusively in the post in the NBA.
Diamond Dogs Pull Out Extra-Inning Win Over Visiting Gamecocks // Dawg Sports
Tennis Cats Roll Hoosiers to Advance to Third Consecutive Sweet 16
UK’s win over Indiana is its 13th victory in its last 14 matches, and the eighth consecutive win at home. All told, Kentucky ends the season with an impressive 16-1 record at home and a 62-10 posting at Boone since the start of the 2009 season. The victory moves Kentucky’s record to 23-5 this season against ranked foes, while UK’s 28 wins in 2012 is one off its school record 29 wins set a season ago.
BBL: Baseball, tennis win; Jefferson to announce Tuesday // John Clay's Sidelines
John Clay's Big Blue Links.