Wednesday Quickies: Defensive Reboot Edition

It’s pretty clear that Kentucky is not the best defensive team in the nation. Yesterday, they allowed the LSU Tigers, a team that is now on a 10-game losing streak, to score 58 points in the second half and trail by just six points late in the game. Calipari has talked about the team going through a “reboot,” and hopefully he’s going to put them through a defensive reboot. Their defense yesterday was bad enough for them to be LSU’s first win in their lasts 10 games, and that would have been the case had Wenyen Gabriel not played so well.

Is Gonzaga for real? Is Kentucky a flop? That and more - ESPN
There are a lot of unanswered questions in college basketball right now, including Kentucky’s legitimacy. ESPN tries to make some sense of it all.

Guinness releases report on Rupp Arena noise record - Guinness World Records
Guinness has put an article up on their website about Rupp Arena’s record-breaking indoor crowd noise.

Kentucky fighting through growing pains - 247 Sports
The struggles aren’t as bad when you realize this team is full of freshmen. But the expectation is to win, and they’ll have to figure it all out by season’s end.

Which Kentucky football recruit will make an instant impact? - ESPN
It seems likely that Lynn Bowden, a three-star commit, will have a real chance to make an immediate impact, similar to how Benny Snell did last season.

Phoenix Suns’ GM says Devin Booker is the “ringleader” in Suns’ rebuild - KSR
The Suns truly believe that Devin Booker will lead the Suns to the promised land. He’s the star of their building process.

Projected offensive depth chart for 2017 - SEC Country
Spoiler alert: Stephen Johnson is the “projected” starting quarterback. As long as Drew Barker is healthy in the fall, he’ll be the No. 2 QB.

Several Wildcats listed as should-be targets for the Knicks - FOX Sports
The New York Knicks need help everywhere, including the point guard position. Isaiah Briscoe, Malik Monk and De’Aaron Fox are all listed as possible guards for the Knicks to draft.

Cleveland Browns releasing Josh McCown - NFL
The Browns have had all kinds of trouble in their quarterback situation, but they’re eliminating one of their options in their starting quarterback carousel.

Gronk chugging beers shirtless is peak Gronk - FOX Sports
The Patriots had their championship parade today, which meant it was time for Rob Gronkowski to be himself, chugging beers without a shirt on in the cold New England weather.

Why did the Falcons hire Steve Sarkisian as their offensive coordinator? SB Nation
Sarkisian’s time in Alabama didn’t last very long. He’s been hired by the Falcons, but why would the Falcons, the defending NFC Champions, hire a guy that failed as a head coach at USC, and only coordinated one game at Alabama, which the Tide lost?

Edelman catch gets Sports Illustrated cover - Patriots.com
Julian Edelman’s miraculous catch that helped the Pats come back in the Super Bowl is on the cover of SI, unsurprisingly.

Yankees, Chris Carter agree to one-year deal - ESPN
Carter tied the National League lead in home runs last season with 41; his one-year deal will be worth $3 million, plus a $500,000 signing bonus.

Twitter is trying to fight back against trolls - ComputerWorld