So sorry to hear that ESPN anchor has died of cancer. I always enjoyed his work, and our prayers and thoughts go out to his family, extended family, and friends, of which he apparently had very many.
Stuart was a young 49. He will be missed.
Here is a recent inspirational speech he gave at the 2014 ESPYs.
Tweet of the Morning
Sad to hear of the passing of Stuart Scott. He made SC fun to watch over and over. My thoughts & prayers are with his family
— DeWayne Peevy (@UKDeWaynePeevy) January 4, 2015
Your Quickies:
Kentucky football
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Football resolutions for 2015: Mark Story says Kentucky needs a bowl game. For once, I agree with him.
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Since UAB shut down their football program, Kentucky is scrambling to try to find a replacement.
Kentucky basketball
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It’s down to UK, Illinois and Kansas for Carlton Bragg
"@ReggieRankin: Five Star F Carlton Bragg has informed @ESPNRNHoops he will decide Jan 8 between Illinois, Kentucky and Kansas"
— Steve Jones (@SteveJones_CJ) January 4, 2015 -
UK signees Charles Matthews and Skal Labissiere will be playing in McCracken County Mustang Madness January 8th-11th.
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True fans don’t root for rivals, according to Daniel Solzman at Wildcat Blue Nation. I think all “true fan” talk is bogus nonsense. Who gets to say what a “true fan” is, anyway?
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More on Carlton Bragg's decision.
Other Kentucky sports
Links posts
College football
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It may have been pretty meaningless to them, but Florida’s 28-20 victory over East Carolina in the Birmingham Bowl gave the SEC a winning record in bowl season.
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LSU is at a crossroads in 2015. I don’t think Tigers fans should be worried.
College basketball
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LSU’s Jarell Martin is starting to play like one of the best players in the SEC.
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South Carolina gets a big win for the SEC, taking down the 9th ranked Iowa State Cyclones at a neutral site in Brooklyn. I have been singing their praises all year, and the Gamecocks have now delivered the goods. Kentucky will have to be careful when we go to Columbia.
We’ll see if they can keep the momentum going on Wednesday, as they welcome what can only be described as the struggling Florida Gators to Colonial Life Arena.
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Virginia escapes the Miami Hurricanes in Coral Gables. Streaking the Lawn is touting the fact that they have no McDonalds All-Americans and are still successful. Well, I guess that’s fine, but in my view that shortcoming showed up against the Hurricanes. We’ll see how they do in an ACC that has plenty of Burger Boys.
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Several unbeatens went down in college basketball yesterday.
Other sports news
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Mike DeCourcy relentlessly mocks recent inane comments by Kobe Bryant. Here’s a taste:
"AAU basketball. Horrible, terrible AAU basketball," Bryant said. "It’s stupid. It doesn’t teach our kids how to play the game at all, so you wind up having players that are big and they bring it up and they do all this fancy crap and they don’t know how to post. They don’t know the fundamentals of the game. It’s stupid."
He’s right, of course. While the Americans are wasting their time trying to dunk their way into SportsCenter’s top 10, the Europeans are drilling 3-pointers. OK, so players trained in U.S. high schools and colleges comprise 19 of the top 20 long-distance shooters in the NBA, but never mind that. Never mind that the U.S. turned out 26 of the 27 players who are making 40 percent or more of their threes. The Americans’ fundamentals are terrible, obviously.
Obviously. Read the whole thing. Playing basketball at the highest level does not automatically render people competent to comment on the game, even on how it’s played. Bryant just offered us proof of that, if any was actually needed.
This is not to defend AAU basketball — there are plenty of things to criticize. But Bryant’s comments are illustrative of the forest-trees problem — well, that and not letting facts get in the way of a good narrative.
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Where are they now: Eloy Vargas.
Other news
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Just cool cars: A 1941 gold-plated Lincoln Zephyr V-12 coupe.
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An insidious diet-breaker: Snacks at your desk. For whatever reason, I’ve never maintained any snacks at my desk.
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Lost dog back with her owners after almost 2,400 miles with a truck driver.
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Little Jimmy Dickens died Friday at 94. He was a legend at the Grand Ole Opry.