Kentucky Wildcats Morning Quickies: Hunter Mahan Edition

Did you hear about Hunter Mahan walking away from a golf tournament he was leading by two shots to be with his wife as she gave birth? The women of the world swooned in unison at that move.

Now, the guy that went on to win, Brant Snedeker, says he'll send a very nice gift to the newest Mahan. Sportsmanship and chivalry still live... in the PGA, at least.

Tweet of the Morning:

First rule in coaching: if your rival's fans are universally elated that you kept him, you made the wrong choice.

— Andy Glockner (@AndyGlockner) July 30, 2013

Heh. Indeed.

Your Quickies:

Kentucky football

• Here's one reaction to Brady Taylor's decision to spurn Kentucky. You have to read the comments which range from hilarious to mean-spirited. Taylor is not the first, Derek Kief holds that distinction. [Hank]
• Yesterday's announcement by Taylor shows you should never count your chickens before they hatch. Apparently, others besides KSR haven't learned that lesson. [Hank]

• Here's the most level-headed reaction. [Hank]

  [Glenn] Next to us, of course. :-)

• Stoops is selling the SEC. Doh. He certainly isn't selling Kentucky's success in football, that's for sure.

• We're not going to win them all. Nick Richardson would more than make up for the loss of Brady Taylor.
• Ira Combs has a lot of stuff about Kentucky football this week.
• Kentucky's 2014 class by position.
• Well, you have to love this. I hope he's right.

Kentucky basketball

• John Calipari talks recruiting, pro camp with Rob Bromley:

• More on John Calipari's clothing line.

• Eamonn Brennan has many more questions about Calipari's latest foray into apparel than I do. My basic response is, "Who cares? If you like them, buy them." Let's not try to divine the secrets of the universe when it comes to a clothing line.

Other UK sports

• Former Bat Cat Scott Downs got traded from the Los Angeles Angels to Atlanta, and the next day won his first MLB game in relief for the Braves.

Links posts

• John Clay's Big Blue Links
• John Clay's SEC Links
• The Leach Report — Tuesday Wildcat Links

College football

• Teddy Speaks....Transfer U or Thug U? [Hank]

  [Glenn] In an earlier piece, here is the baggage that Dyer brings with him:

  Dyer is an ex-member of two college football programs. He was suspended by Auburn in December 2011, late in his sophomore season, for failing a drug test. He admits he smoked marijuana and "spice," or synthetic marijuana. And he later testified in court that four former teammates used his .45 pistol in a robbery in March 2011 – though he said the gun, which was legally purchased, was taken without permission. Although Dyer said he didn't believe his friends would go through with the robbery, he said he wanted no part of it and left their company when they began talking about it.

  I can see why he was dismissed. The think about legal gun ownership is that if you have friends talking about an illegal act, then don't secure your weapon, you have displayed a reckless attitude.

• Even CEO's can do dumb things. [Hank]

  [Glenn] Okay, from the CEO of Anthem or FedEx, I could understand this. But the CEO of Twitter? Seriously?

• Tennessee's tradition still matters, and Butch Jones' recruiting proves it.

  I think this is right. As Coach Cal always says, it matters to the parents. They remember when the Volunteers were a national name, and that always filters down to the kids.

• Rick Bozich writes that, in the case of Michael Dyer, 40% of Charlie Strong's core values might be negotiable. Ouch.

  The Card Chronicle says that Michael Dyer is in the U of L's registrar's database.

College basketball

• Vanderbilt's basketball team is imploding. Leading scorer Kendren Johnson has been suspended, is not enrolled at Vanderbilt, and will miss the entire year due to "some very poor judgment." Anchor of Gold has all the details. Hat tip: John Clay
• Here's a method of tearing your ACL that you don't see every day. Fortunately. Our best wishes for a quick recovery to Dusan Langura.
• Derek Whittenburg heading back to North Carolina St.
• Joe Paterno indicts former Penn St. president Graham Spanier from the grave.

Other sports news

• Suns coach Jeff Hornacek tells Archie Goodwin he'll play right away:

  "He’s telling me that I’m going to play right away. He wanted to make that clear," he said. "They were excited to get me as I was excited to be there. They said from the get-go that I was going to be a special player and be one of the better players out of this draft. I felt the same, and with my work ethic and the way I compete, I’m going to make that happen."

  Meanwhile Julius Mays is exploring some overseas opportunities.

• Nerlens Noel expects to make his NBA debut appearance in December. I think that's about right, but it depends a lot on the individual. Sometimes, a year is not enough to fully heal from an ACL.

• EA Sports wants out of the O'Bannon case. Good luck with that.

• Consider:

  Isiah Thomas has done exactly nothing with distinction since he stopped playing basketball for a living. The impressive part is that he just keeps on doing it.

  Heh.

• RG III will be bracing that injured knee in 2013. I don't blame him, that makes plenty of sense.

• Ex-OSU president Gordon Gee, he with the silver foot in his mouth, gets paid big by his former employer.

Other news

• Time Warner Cable and CBS come to the brink of a breakup, then back away.