You can own Christian Laettner's jersey! I assume UK fans would want to do something unkind to it. Myself, I'd use it to light my Christmas Yule, but I rather doubt I'd spend the money required to get that singular pleasure.
I don't often lead off with things we are not going to discuss here, but this is one of those times, mainly because I don't want it being raised repeatedly because I "ignored" it.
We are not discussing "Duck Dyansty" and the kerfuffle surrounding it. Why? Because it is a purely political issue, not a free speech issue. The First Amendment is a restraint on government, not on A&E. All the rest is a debate about a hot-button social issue and is inappropriate for this community. If you need a list of political blogs to visit where you can rant at one side or the other, email me. Otherwise, let's leave this one to other venues.
Tweet of the Morning:
@tsnmike See people around Louisville wearing UK and U of L at the same time a lot. Pick a side! Or only wear one at a time at least.
— Chris Foster (@mrbigblue1) December 19, 2013
Really. Good grief, milquetoasts. Just kidding, y'all, wear what you want. If you're a squish, be a proud, defiant squish.
Your Quickies:
Kentucky football
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We can relax about Neal Brown now:
#ArkansasState AD announces #UNC OC Blake Anderson is new head coach.
— Bruce Feldman (@BFeldmanCBS) December 19, 2013 -
Catch up on all the latest football posts here at ASoB, in case you missed them: Will Marshall here, Hank Rippetoe here.
Kentucky basketball
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Dana O'Neil thinks Kentucky fans are right to be a little concerned. I agree, but I think the use of "potential disaster" is beyond overwrought and firmly into the hyperbolic.
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Because of Calipari’s recruiting bonanza last summer, this year’s team constantly is being compared to the 2012 NCAA champions because, naturally, that’s the goal. And that’s probably unfair. That team featured the future numbers one AND two picks in the draft. Anthony Davis was a once-in-a-decade kind of game-changing defensive presence. And Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had the heart of a samurai warrior.
This team, for all its five-star players, has neither. Nor does it have three upper-classmen in its top six rotation, such as Jones, Doron Lamb and Darius Miller.
Hat tip: Aaron's blog
Other Kentucky sports
- Two UK volleyball players named All-Americans. Congrats, ladies, and well done.
Links posts
College football
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SEC players to watch this bowl season. It's pure tragedy that Aaron Murray is unable to participate.
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There is so much unintended hilarity in this whole dust-up that it simply cannot be coherently described. It's all somehow so ... Alabama.
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I wish I could unsee this. You will, too.
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When a guy can't go on a post-collapse pizza binge without being filmed, you know the world is headed down the crapper:
Finally, the Urban Meyer Sad Pizza GIF the Internet needs. http://t.co/Fl4nZiQTGx http://t.co/HmaS2zQP4U
— SB Nation (@sbnation) December 19, 2013
College basketball
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Texas defeats UNC, Tennessee loses to NC State, and Baylor narrowly escapes Northwestern State. Roy Williams goes off on a mini-rant:
"I told them I better check the NCAA rules," Williams said. "So we cannot practice at midnight tonight. We cannot practice until 5 a.m., and everybody’s (butt) will be in at 5 a.m. this morning. Everybody’s whole body will."
Coming from Ol' Roy, this is tantamount to a profanity-laced screed.
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My eyes! Never thought I'd curse better vision from cataract surgery, but ...
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Heh.
@tsnmike Man that Carolina free-throw shootin'...I hadn't seen that many misses since I was wingman for Eddie Rabbitt one night in Biloxi.
— Conway ReTwitty (@hellodarlinz) December 19, 2013 -
This is kinda cool. The alley-oop could have been better. Looks like one of Kentucky's this season.
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Have this year's top freshmen been covered too much? I think that's probably fair to say. Consider:
Definitive statements about players do not exist in December. Scouting a player is about amassing as much information about them over the course of the season, or in some cases, seasons. With freshmen, a big part of the process is seeing where they are at the beginning of the year and where they are in March. These are 18 or 19 year old kids. You should be able to see the development even over 4 or 5 months. If you can’t, then that isn’t a good thing.
I think this is right.
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Ouch.
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Duke transfer Tyler Murphy seems headed to the Florida Gators.
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UCLA vs. Duke preview. This is one where both teams have a shot, and both teams really need the win. I think probably Alford needs it more than anybody.
Other sports new
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LeBron gets in Mario Chalmer's face. Interesting. If only Kentucky could communicate that well, maybe we'd play better.
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Wild dustup between Grant Wahl of ESPN and SB Nations's Matt Montgomery of RSL Soapbox:
@TheCrossbarRSL Ok, I'll be clear: SB Nation is an unprofessional disaster.
— Grant Wahl (@GrantWahl) December 19, 2013And
@edsbs Referring to SBN soccer only, but you're right. I shouldn't have tweeted that. My apologies to you & SB Nation @TheCrossbarRSL
— Grant Wahl (@GrantWahl) December 19, 2013