Good morning from Bally's Las Vegas! I had to walk all the way down to the Harrah's sports book last night to watch the game, and I thought for a good, long while that I'd have been better off gambling than watching Kentucky loose to Cleveland St. I don't mean to disrespect the Vikings, they have a fine coach and some fine players, and they really took it to us last night. But all that schadenfreude giving me warm and fuzzies after Louisville lost to the Tar Heels would have been crushed like a bug underfoot. Now, it's merely tempered a bit.
Narrow escapes happen. Remember the narrow escape vs. Miami (OH) back in 2009 when John Wall hit the game winner at the buzzer? That team turned out to be pretty good.
I hope you are all enjoying the return of the inimitable Ken Howlett. It's great to have him back. The Quickies will be appearing a bit later during this week, as I am 3 hours ahead behind of Lexington, and am not an early riser on holiday.
Tweet of the Morning:
Today in KY stores you can buy the 6th man DVD, a movie about YOU & an essential Xmas gift for every member of #BBN. http://t.co/e7cXqOkC9M
— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) November 26, 2013
Yeah, it's a bit of an advertisement, but I bet most of you are just like me and can't wait to see this movie.
Your Quickies:
Kentucky football
-
Jalen Whitlow may be available Saturday. That would certainly be good news.
-
Mark Stoops on the renovations to Commonwealth Stadium. Also, there is definitely something to the Raymond Sanders things, as he is suspended for the game against Tennessee.
-
Matt Elam has a dislocated patella on his knee. It doesn't sound too bad. Good news for Wildcats fans hopeful of an Elam commitment. Be sure and send him your best wishes if you follow him on Twitter and are so inclined.
-
Oregon showing interest in Ryan Flannigan, one of UK's 2014 JUCO commits for next year. Stay away, Quackers.
Kentucky basketball
-
Julius Randle one double-double short of the school record. I'd say that record is in serious jeopardy. Also, we are reminded that Cleveland St. is forever linked to Kentucky in the famous quote by Jerry Tarkanian. They nearly had us as a "Super Bowl" trophy last night.
-
This, in my view, is the other way around. Cleveland St. may have had some calls go against them at the end, but they didn't get "jobbed." From my view, UK suffered the same kind of poor officiating and was on the wrong end of many close calls during most of the game.
So to you, Rob Dauster, I say "bullcrap." You are suffering from underdog derangement syndrome. I admit that my evaluation is not unbiased, however, so there you go.
-
"This thing is a process here," Calipari said. "It always is and as long as I’ve got all young guys it’s always gonna be. The biggest thing is convincing them that their old habits will not work. They still haven’t surrendered that yet.
-
Calipari lauds Kentucky fans for applauding Cleveland St.'s effort. They were terrific last night, and they taught Kentucky a lot about how to minimize a talent disadvantage — mostly with effort and determination.
-
Tyler Ulis, point guard (via Nation of Blue):
Other UK sports
-
DaNesha Stallworth on Naismith award watch list. Not surprising, but awesome.
-
Matthew Mitchell signs top 20 class. Coach Mitchell is truly getting it done.
Links posts
College football
-
The Auburn Villager thinks this year's Iron Bowl looks an awful lot like 1972, when Auburn defeated the Tide and sent their title hopes into the dustbin. I don't think Auburn can pull this upset, though, but who knows?
-
Iron Bowl 2013, a game for the ages.
College basketball
- Louisville is not (yet) who many thought they were. Still pretty good, though.
Other sports News
- Patrick Patterson talks about himself in an online diary over at NBA.com. He's really happy to be playing with the Big Cuz.