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Congratulations to the Oregon Ducks’ quarterback Marcus Mariota for winning the Heisman Trophy. I am not convinced he deserved it over Jameis Winston based purely on football performance, but it has become de rigeur these days for sports awards outfits to be politically sensitive, and Winston’s off-the-field antics and continuing issues with a rape allegation have made him a tough inclusion.
The moral of the story is that being in an exalted athletics position requires more than just on-the-field performance. You have to have a modicum of character, or at least not repeatedly engage in overt displays of entitlement or other bad behavior.
Tweet of the Day
Happy post game reading, people, happy reading. http://t.co/HSyvTm8q53 @KentuckyMBB #Bbn
— ashley judd (@AshleyJudd) December 14, 2014
It’s always an honor to get tweeted out by Ashley Judd. Doesn’t hurt traffic, either. :-)
Your Quickies:
Kentucky football
- Kentucky lands 4-star offensive lineman. What a huge get for the Wildcats.
Kentucky basketball
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I can’t believe I am linking two Pat Forde articles today, but I think this one needs linking. Consider:
The team took the news of Poythress’ injury hard, but no Wildcat took it harder than the thoughtful giant from Olathe, Kan.
“He’s one of the best kids I ever met,” Cauley-Stein said Saturday, after the ‘Cats moved to 11-0 by pounding North Carolina, 84-70.
How droll is it to have a young man refer to another young man as a “kid?” That’s one of the things I love most about WCS — he’s so … unconventional.
My wife refers to Willie as “Little Cuz” in reference to DeMarcus Cousins, the “Big Cuz.” Seeing this quote from him somehow makes that comparison more apt, despite the vast difference in how the two men play the game.
Another point that deserves mentioning is this one made by Ol’ Roy:
“He is a complete player,” Williams said. “If you look at it, he affected the game drastically and only took nine shots. … Their defense was so much stronger, and I think that was the dominating thing in the game. And Willie was the spearhead.”
There is only one other player I can remember that did that — a certain Anthony Davis.
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How far can he go? Cauley-Stein is rarely mentioned among national player of the year candidates, but he ought to be. His numbers aren’t going to jump off the page, but there’s not another 7-footer in the country who can do the things he does, or change games the way he can change them on either end.
Absolutely right.
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Can somebody please explain to me what “UK wins without whining” means? This, as I recall, is the same guy who happily had the “brat Calipari” picture associated with his article — you know, the one the Courier-Journal wound up apologizing for?
Other Kentucky sports
- Hoops hosts the Belmont Bruins tonight in Memorial Coliseum. UK is on an eight-game home winning streak, it would be nice to make it nine.
Links posts
College football
- Tragedy in Auburn. 18-year old Auburn freshman Jakell Mitchell was shot and killed early this morning in an apartment complex close to the university. He had redshirted this season. Our prayers go out to his family, and we hope his killer is brought swiftly to justice.
College basketball
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Josh Pastner continues to struggle. I’m calling his seat pretty hot right now.
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Arkansas beats Dayton convincingly. That was a big win by a team the SEC needs to be good this season. That Iowa State loss really hurt, and even worse was the Clemson defeat, but they seem to be bask on track.
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LSU defeats Sam Houston, but continues to look vulnerable. Turnovers and defensive weakness are hurting them.
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Ole Miss loses to Western Kentucky, Red Cup Rebellion doesn’t even notice. That’s SEC basketball for you.
Other sports news
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LeBron James will attend Johnny Manziel’s first start, according to a report. It seems LeBron is a fan of Manziel.
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Neil Paine at Five Thirty Eight says that Michael Jordan was way better than Kobe Bryant. I’d agree even without metrics — Jordan was a vastly superior defensive player.
Other news
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The ten most healthy states in America. Kentucky is not among them, of course.
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Beautiful tech gifts to give if money is no object. The skull lamp is pretty cool, I think.