Kentucky Wildcats Morning Quickies: Veteran's Day Edition

Today is veteran’s day, and we remember those who have served, but much more importantly, those who have fallen, either to pay the ultimate price or who were forced to live the rest of their life with the permanent affects of conflict.

Paraphrasing Jack Nicholson’s great testimony in A Few Good Men: “We live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. You want them on that wall. You need them on that wall.”

Yes, we do. Those rough men preserve our freedom from those who would deprive us of it. They do a duty that they are both proud an honored to do, and don’t see it as a hardship or particularly praiseworthy — which is all the more reason to remember them.

Tweet of the Morning

It’s Veteran’s Day, so make sure to thank the members of our military for a job well done in protecting our freedom.

— Larry Glover Live (@larrygloverlive) November 11, 2014

Your Quickies:

Kentucky football

• Mark Stoops talks about going to Tennessee:

  He called the Georgia game a “difficult matchup.” I’ll say. He also mentioned why Jojo Kemp didn’t play, stating that the other guys are just running it better right now. He also called out JD Harmon, not by name but by inference. He also said he was breathing down the neck of the special teams coach (Craig Naivar).

  Despite the naming, Harmon is staying positive:

  The only easy day was yesterday and that ended last night.... Work hard today to change the outcome of tomorrow!

  — ✨Prínce Charmíng✨ (@JDHarmonUK) November 10, 2014

• Kentucky and Tennessee heading in different directions. Most of this is due to the scheduling.

• What would UK’s offense have looked like this year with Alexander Montgomery and Jeff Badet? We’ll never know.

• Jojo Kemp now #4 on the depth chart. Remember when he won the South Carolina game for us?

• Stanley “Boom” Williams has been awarded an honorable mention all-purpose performer of the week by College Football Performance awards.

Kentucky basketball

• Nice:

  With JB, general managers at Ralph's in Philly. Oldest family owner Italian restaurant in USA.… http://t.co/inmrsZWEWr

  — John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) November 10, 2014

• Interesting.

  On this day last year there were just 10 top 100 prospects still available in the 2014 class. There are currently 22 left in the 2015 class.

  — Evan Daniels (@EvanDaniels) November 10, 2014

• Two UK recruits to reveal their college decisions on Thursday. I am uncomfortable with Skal Labissiere, but if Sandy Bell is good with him, I’m okay with it. It’s amazing how much we, as a fan base, have come to trust her. It is trust she has earned.

• Jerry Tipton, master of the obvious: Analysts say Kentucky isn’t invincible.

  Dear Jerry:

  Kentucky has already lost a game, remember? The last one in the Big Blue Bahamas to Champagne Calons-Reims Basket? Invincible teams, by definition, do not lose games. Ever. That’s what “invincible” means.

  So we get it, m’kay? There’s nothing to see here, no 40-0 talk, no serious thought that the Wildcats will march through the college basketball season like fecal matter through a goose. We learned that last year in spite of efforts to assure us we didn’t. Not invincible. Roger that.

  We aren’t the droids you’re looking for. You can go about your business. Move along.

  Sincerely,
  The Big Blue Nation

Other Kentucky sports

• A month ago, Kentucky wasn’t even looking at an NCAA bid. Now, they are a #3 seed.

Links posts

• The Leach Report: Tuesday Wildcat Links

• John Clay’s SEC Links

College football

• UNC to football player: “You want an education? Go to Harvard.” That’s going to leave a mark just because it is so credible-looking. UNC continues to duck and cover, because honestly, what’s left to do? More here.

• Big Ten’s marketing ploy — manufacturing a rivalry between Nebraska and Wisconsin. Spare me.

College basketball

• Mike DeCourcy of The Sporting news points out another reason why those anxious to see North Carolina stripped of the 2005 NCAA title should curb their enthusiasm. He doesn’t even mention the statute of limitations, which I see as the primary bar to such action. But DeCourcy has a point, it’s just more of an anecdotal one rather than something we can conclude is “policy.”

  I wonder if there has ever been serious deliberation in the NCAA about vacating an NCAA Tournament title and the consequences thereof?

• Young man with cancer scores a basket for Bellarmine against Louisville. Touching.

Other sports news

• Is the new NFL emphasis on defender’s grabbing and physical play on wide receivers enabling smaller slot guys like Randall Cobb and Emmanuel Sanders to become invaluable weapons?

• The young gun, Anthony Davis, ran into the old veteran gunslinger last night. For now, at least, the old veteran is looking as prime as ever.

Other news

• Good news, men! “The lads” have been identified as the “most distinct type” of human tissue. Sweet.

  What do we win? Hat tip: Instapundit

• Just what I was hoping for: Genetically modified potatoes with lower cancer risk.

• Beware the new iPhone malware. It’s hard to get, but the tech behind it is scary, because it allows the malware to mine data without having your phone “rooted,” also known as “jailbroken.”

  It will be interesting if this sort of programming is able to infect other Unix-like operating systems, specifically Android and/or Linux. Could this turn out to be a selling point for Microsoft’s slow-moving Windows mobile platform? Doubt it, but you never know. After all, unlike Apple, they’ve been dealing with malware for decades.