Happy Thanksgiving, ladies and gentlemen of the Big Blue Nation and denizens of A Sea of Blue. Here's a quick list of things I am thankful for, by no means exhaustive and in no particular order:
- All of you readers who come here, read, and comment on this site. Thank you. Truly.
- My co-authors. They are the bones of this community.
- John Calipari. Really, he's just the gift that keeps on giving.
- Mark Stoops. Finally, a football coach who dares not just to dream, but is hell-bent on making them come true.
- College basketball. There is nothing that I enjoy more.
- My friends and family, all of them. No exposition needed.
- My country. Despite its faults, it's still the best place on earth.
May your Thanksgiving be blessed.
Tweet of the Morning:
Just left the Salvation Army w/ the team. Don't take the meals in front of u today for granted. There are many people less fortunate than us
— Tod Lanter (@tod_lanterIII) November 28, 2013
What better tweet for Thanksgiving?
Your Quickies:
Kentucky football
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An architect who graduated from UK talks about the new Commonwealth Stadium upgrades. I think it will be a rousing success.
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College and Magnolia gets bold and predicts Kentucky will defeat the Volunteers on Saturday. Check this out:
I actually like Mark Stoops and think he will make Kentucky about as good as Kentucky can be in football.
We haz fans! Well, at least our coach does.
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Rocky Top Talk previews the UK-Tennessee game, predicting it will be "hideous."
Kentucky basketball
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Coach Cal's Thanksgiving message. I like it. I think it is a great fit for the football program, not so much basketball right now.
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Luke Kennard visits Kentucky for the 5th time. I'd really love to see Kentucky land this kid, and I like the way things seem to be progressing with him. You can never have too many shooters on a basketball team, I don't care what anyone says.
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Eric Crawford's thoughts on the UK victory over Eastern Michigan. I didn't see the game, but I thought this was very interesting:
One (perhaps) overlooked facet of this game that is worth tucking away to remember: UK faced a pretty decent press for the first time this season. It wasn't a problem. While the Wildcats had 20 turnovers in the game, the press really wasn't a factor in creating them. He remarked on UK guards Aaron and Andrew Harrison, "People say, they're not quick. But they understand basketball angles, and they're very good."
Yes, this is definitely worth remembering, and I had a feeling this would happen. The Harrisons are not likely to be hurried up by presses.
Other UK sports
- Cally McCumber of the Kentucky cross-country team repeats as an all-American.
Links posts
College football
- This is why I love me some Mark Stoops. He gets it totally.
College basketball
- Some bad blood between Andy Enfiled (Southern Cal coach) and Tim Floyd (UTEP). This isn't what we need, fellas. Rivalries are one thing, fisticuffs another.
Other sports News
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John Wall shows off his remarkable athleticism (via KSR):
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Consider this item that Dan Devine, from Yahoo's Ball Don't Lie, is thankful for:
That Eric Bledsoe's now free to be a full-time game-changer, and that he's taking advantage of his opportunity.
Word.