Kentucky Sports Radio

So tonight was the night (if you believe Andy Katz….which if it were based solely on his personality I wouldnt, but because he works for ESPN and actually had quotes in his story, I probably will, but it doesnt make me any more likely to find anything but totally objectionable…..although he has come on my show a couple of times, so lets just call it a wash) that Billy Gillispie made his way to California to see Jasper one last time and try to convince him to remain in Lexington. There have of course been on reports as to the result of said visit, but I am sure it likely included conversations like this:

Gillispie: Hey Derrick, why dont you stay.

Jasper: You know Coach, I dont know….I kind of want to stay close to home.

Gillispie: Yeah, but why dont you just stay

Jasper: Well Coach, I kind of am ready to do something else….

Gillispie: Yeah, yeah thats fine and all, but how about we try something new and improved, like….oh say, you stay

Jasper: Yeah but Coach, I think I kind of want to take a new direction and maybe move on a different path.

Gillispie: I have a path for you….its called the “staying at Kentucky path”….it is good, you should try it.

And then the conversation went on from there. It is very likely that Jasper will still leave, and a report on a UNLV website suggested that Vegas is the likely destination. (Along those lines, there is some talk online about Jasper being in talks with Minnesota and Tubby…..from what I know of the situation, that is HIGHLY unlikely for a variety of reasons). Regardless, however if Gillispie was not able to pull a magical transformation in the young man’s mind, the days of Derrick Jasper in Lexington will be over. That means that the PG position will be manned next year by Kevin Galloway and Michael Porter….as of now, that is the list. Possibly Jodie Meeks could be brought over….there is still hope that DeAndre Liggins will get qualified….and who knows, Jared Carter could be transformed while in Africa. But for now, the only two certainties are Galloway or Porter, thus making Gillispie’s trip out West necessary.

In my view, you cant really blame Derrick. He came to Kentucky to play for a different coach and may simply not want to be here at this time. Some have speculated on a variety of different reasons for his transfer, but through some recent talks with folks, I think I have a decent grasp as to why he is leaving and it is not nearly as complex as people think. Derrick likes Gillispie, he likes UK and he loves his teammates. But for a couple of different reasons, he has thought it was time to move on. His teammates have known this for some time and the program has moved forward as if he wont be here next season. But that doesnt mean his presence wont be missed. The fact remains that the best chance for the Cats to produce a very good season next year, includes a lineup with Derrick Jasper in it. Without him, the pressure on Liggins to qualify, Galloway to produce and Porter to transform is high….Jasper is a known quantity and losing him will hurt.

There is still always hope for a miracle, but it is likely that Gillispie’s visit tonight will lead to an ending relatively soon in the Jasper story. It is understandable that many folks are ready to move on and are attempting to downplay any possible loss associated with his transfer. But the coaching staff certainly knows his importance and is trying to find a way to make this work. While the future of Kentucky basketball will be fine either way, the immediate success, especially next season, could sure use Derrick running the show. Here’s hoping the improbable is somehow pulled off and we havent seen the last of #5 in these parts.

More later today, including a look at the #1 player in America, John Wall, who may have moved UL above UK in the sweepstakes for his services and the story of one 2008 UK commit’s new nickname for the future….

As Matt touched on earlier, Rivals.com released their new top 150 rankings for the class of 2009 today and it brought a mixed bag of results for Kentucky fans with Jon Hood rising and G.J. Vilarino disappointing a bit.  And while, this year’s team is not completely set until we figure out what Derrick Jasper does and if anyone else is jumping on board, we can expect for there to be some more positioning with the class of 2009 by the staff.

As of right now, there are 100 four and five star prospects in the ‘09 class listed by Rivals and the following players are in that Top 100 and list Kentucky as a school they are considering. We will start to break down these players and their varying degrees of interest in the near future, but here is what we are looking at, based on what was released today.

*1. John Wall PG
*3. Derrick Favors PF
*8. Daniel Horton C
*17. Avery Bradley SG.
*20. Peyton Siva  PG
*25. Shawn Kemp, Jr. C
39. Mfon Udofia PG
47. Christian Watford F
51. Shawn Williams F
52. Ferrakohn Hall F
59. Ari Stewart F
60. Jeronne Maymon F
64. Darius Morris PG
70. Noel Johnson F
73. Richard Howell F
79. Mike Roser F
87. Reginald Buckner F

* Denotes a 5-star player.

You can see that most of the guys listed fit the profile of athletic wing players that Billy Gillispie has made somewhat of his specialty lately.  You have to assume that Jared Carter is gone and possibly even - close your eyes and ears here - Patrick Patterson (I know he said he was staying four years) might decide to leave early, so a premium might be put on the post players.  But, then again, the only thing we know with this staff is that we really don’t know anything. 

Things are about to start getting fun.  We’ll keep you posted.

Sorry, I refuse to say “Spygate”.  I still think that we can come up with something better, but now we’re moving past the whole situation, I guess.  It looks like we are standing exactly where we were a few weeks ago when it comes to this Patriots situation.  After meeting with Matt Walsh, Roger Goodell decided that there is nothing new to what he already knew and no additional punishment will be made.  Ok, whatever.  I’m over it at this point.  But, with this decision, the blame game immediately kicked into high gear and has turned into bit of a triple-threat match of finger pointing.

Ok, try to follow me here.  The Boston Herald originally wrote the story that the Patriots were spying on the Rams before their Super Bowl matchup.  Well, The Herald apologized today, but not before this exchange between Trey Wingo and a columnist of theirs:

Tom Brady, however, just doesn’t like ESPN.  He thinks that they’re out to get the Patriots and they hold responsibility for what this story has become.  Listen to this clip here of Brady explaining how ESPN is basically MTV and distracted the team all year.   If you listen to it, make sure to be patient because it’s long (that’s what she said) and it doesn’t hit that part until the middle (again, that’s what she said).  You’re probably better just taking my word for it.

So, with so many differing opinions, I guess now it’s up to America to decide who they think is in the wrong here.  Is it the Boston Herald for breaking the story?  Or, is it ESPN for running with it and putting it on the front page?  I guess we’ll never kno….wait.  What happened to the Patriots?  They were the team illegally taping, right?  When did they stop being in the wrong?  Hmm…I must have missed something.  I think they’re the only team that consistently do things considered to be “low-class” and still be respected for doing things “the right way”. 

Oh well, I guess there is only one thing I can be certain of:  We need another dose of Scoops Callahan…and fast!

The new Rivals.com Rankings are out and its a mixed bag for Kentucky fans. Jon Hood has moved up to #19 in the rankings and has become a 5 star player. While that is higher that most other services, it isnt too extravagant in my eyes. I love Hood as a player and think he has the potential to be the most successful UK player from the state since Rondo and Derek Anderson. In more downward news, GJ Vilarino went unranked in the Top 150…a result not surprising due to his slipping reviews in the past year. While I think the rankings often miss players and are by no means the gospel, GJ has seen his stock fall quite a bit. Hopefully he will pick it up and be ready come next fall.

Lets say you wanna make a pizza roll….but you dont know how. Well here comes Kige to save the day…..

Here’s an interesting story about new Auburn offensive coordinator Tony Franklin and his long wait to return to football.  You might remember the name because Franklin was once a coach under Hal Mumme and wrote a book detailing the corrupt operation that the Kentucky football program had become under him.  Because of the book and the tenure under Mumme, Franklin was basically black-listed in the coaching profession despite the fact that UK sent a letter to every single athletic director, head coach and university president in Division I-A to say that Franklin was legit. 

Since stepping away from UK, Franklin has spent time as the coach and GM of the Horsemen, selling yet another book he wrote and traveling around the country leading seminars on his offense.  I’ll admit it’s nothing fantastic, but it’s still an interesting read on a slow news day.

As I listened this morning to the radio that gets me up and moving every morning, I heard news that put a somewhat gloomy start to my day. Tony Kornheiser, my sports radio/writing hero that was the basis for me attempting to do something in this field, accepted a buyout with the Washington Post, thus ending his sportswriting career with the newspaper. Kornheiser had been with the Post for 29 years and had built his career doing what, at the time, no one else did. He wrote with passion about sports, but he did it in a humorous way that made the game real to those of us who take it a little less serious. His success led to his radio show, PTI and Monday Night Football, but he still remained with the Post through it all, a newspaper guy all the way.

But as good as he was on writing sports, that is not where I fell for Mr. Tony. I loved his writing, but I completely fell for his radio work. In my view, there is no better sports radio personality alive than Kornheiser. He could talk about sports in the way that I related to more than any other….as a part of life, but not the most crucial component. He joked about what had happened the night before, taking the game seriously but also having fun. He also never let sports limit him in his scope of what he would do…..he brought people from other fields of life, ranging from Larry King to James Carville on to talk sports and whatever else they wanted to rant on. He would talk “American Idol” when necessary and had a political tinge that I loved. He was let go of his ESPN Radio show after disparaging comments on ESPN (which came in part because they wouldnt turn the microphone off the internet streaming when they went to commercials, producing some Clahh-sic commentary) and then went back to a local show in DC….which I have listened to online every day since. From 2003-current, I would turn on his local show, write him (what I thought were) clever emails and be overjoyed when he would say, “Matt in Raleigh/Lexington/Louisville writes…” As I once said in an email he read, “No one else could ever get me to write one of these, but you can.”

In an odd way for a man that I have only met once and have talked to only a couple of times, he has always felt like a kindred spirit. He will still continue PTI and MNF, and will do the radio show part time. But Tony is a writer at heart and his columns, when done well, are as good as it gets. I know that he isnt everyone’s cup of tea, but he is mine. If it werent for Tony making me realize that sportscasters and writers didnt have to be Mike Lupica, Stephen A Smith or Colin Cowherd, I would have never started this blog or pursued the radio gigs. We all have those who we have modeled some part of our life after, and in this small arena of mine, Tony was my model. I will still listen to his radio show, but I will miss his work, no matter how limited it had become, in the Washington Post.

One final Tony story….while working in DC, I was listening to Tony interview Jim Boeheim after he had won the national championship. They came back from the break and Tony was laughing and said to Boeheim, “Hey Mr. Bigshot, just won a national championship…..tell everyone what luxurious location Mr. Fancy Pants is in right now to celebrate.” And Boeheim laughed and said, “I am sitting in the Wendy’s Drive-Thru in Middlesboro, Kentucky.” As Kornheiser cackled, I nearly fell off my chair. Boeheim’s wife’s parents live in my home town of Middlesboro, which explained while he was there, but the phrase “Wendy’s Drive-Thru in Middlesboro, Kentucky” became a Kornheiser punchline. Later in the show, while talking to James Carville, he said he had to leave to go to lunch with Bill Clinton….when Tony asked where they were going, Carville didnt miss a beat and said “why of course the Wendy’s Drive-Thru in Middlesboro, Kentucky.”

I was bored last night, so what did I get to watching, a women’s softball game.  ESPN seems to be addicted to these Team USA games, and frankly the women are not good looking enough for me to watch 15-0 routs night after night.  But, it did get me thinking about the hardest things to do in sport.  I list a few below, strictly off the top of my, and I remove some of the obvious (like hit a home run, dunk a basketball, etc.) My list:

(1) Hit a golf ball consistently straight: When the professionals can barely do it, you know it must be tough.  Go to a driving range and you see NOBODY can do this.

(2) Hit a top tier softball pitcher (i.e. Jennie Fitch): They are closer to you than in baseball, throw from an awkward angle, and can produced more spin. 

(3) Kick a field goal of 30+ yards: I have rarely seen someone do this off a tee with all the time in the world, now imagine 11 guys running at you with someone holding the ball.

(4) Kick a soccer ball accuratly: I sometimes can understand why its so damn hard to score in soccer, because its freakin hard to kick a soccer ball where you want it.  That being said, the sport still sucks to watch.

This short list is basically off the top of my head.  And there are lots of other things that are extremely difficult to do in sports.  Argue if you will, I’m sticking to mine.  On to today’s (limited) links:

1. Lots of notes from the UK football team, including Jared Lorenzen’s reaction to Andre Woodson coming to the Giants, Aaron Boyd’s opinion of himself, and an honor going out to Dick Gabriel.

2. Let’s think about the great professional basketball players to come out of UK.  Tayshaun Prince has got to be already in the Top 5.  He’s turned into an amazing clutch defender, the best in the league, and the Pistons actually use him as an offensive weapon as well.  Pistons on their way to the East finals again.  In other NBA news, the Spurs-Hornets series is as confusing as anything I have ever watched.  Home court can NOT mean that much in the NBA.  At least not in the point swings we are seeing in this series.  There was a 42-POINT SWING between games 4 and 5. 

3. This video will give you nothing new, nothing groundbreaking.  It’s simply Erin Andrews giving an interview about the creeps of the world, and she does it all in a skimpy blue dress.  Whats that you’re saying Tomlin?  Oh, I’m the type of creep she’s talking about. 

This offseason has been crowded by a lot of talk about a lot of subjects. Topics have ranged from the legacy of Ramel and Joe, to the recruiting of youngsters, to Derrick Jasper’s transfer to the new class of Freshmen. But one topic that is too often forgotten, mainly because of its relative normalcy, is the greatness of Patrick Patterson. Admit it, you take Patrick for granted….even though he has only been at UK for one year. Here is a player so good, so absolutely perfect on the court for the Cats, that fans dont question anything about him or what role he will have on the team. He is the rock-solid leader of the team and the program and is the one uncontroversial part of a program that will generate talk about the smallest minutia or detail. He is Patrick Patterson and he should be appreciated.

Patterson came to Kentucky with possibly the greatest deal of anticipation of any player since Rex Chapman. No player’s recruitment was followed with more day-to-day detail than that of the young man from Huntington. In the days of the internet, there has been no player more coveted by a UK fanbase and no celebration greater than the day he signed on the UK dotted line. Yet somehow, even with all that hype, Patrick not only lived up to it, but surpassed it. Even when the team looked its worst throughout the season, Patrick Patterson was a bright spot that couldnt be denied. He took Player of the Year Tyler Hansborough of North Carolina, and made him look below average, holding the Heel to one of his worst games of the year when the two were matched one-on-one. He scored tons of points even though me met multiple double teams….he got rebounds even though he had a height disadvantage against some opponents….and he threw the perfect pass to help get his teammates an open shot. In every game he had a highlight, and at the end of every performance, some stat line that approached a double-double.

Had Patrick not gotten hurt towards the end of the year, he would have broken the UK Freshman scoring record. And yet, going into this summer, he is the name rarely mentioned in UK circles. Part of that is the nature of recruiting and our tendency to follow stories with unknown outcomes (such as Jasper leaving) over that which is more consistent. But part of it is that we know Patrick will not only be there next season, but his greatness is unquestioned. Unlike various people who need to improve, newcomers who must make an impact or guys who we hope havent reached their peak, Patrick will be great…..and there is no opinion that will be valid to the contrary. His importance is so great and his impact looms so large that UK got Dr. James Andrews, surgeon to the stars, to perform his recent surgery….that boot represents the future of the UK program, and no precaution is too great.

Greatness sometimes can be expected and is overlooked until it is has already passed by. Lets hope that doesnt happen to Patrick Patterson. He has the opportunity to be the best post player at Kentucky since Bowie, all the while representing the University in an impeccable manner on and off the court. Lets keep track of all the news that is going on during the offseason and all the mini-stories that make UK basketball great. But dont forget Patrick in the process. He is the rock of UK basketball and his greatness should continue to be appreciated.

…B-A-L-L-E-R.  Plain and simple.  Another series-clinching block.  Another trip to the Eastern Conference Finals.  Man crush?  Maybe.  Call me crazy, but I don’t think this team goes on this run that they’ve had since 2003 with Carmelo Anthony instead of Prince.  Is Prince a better player?  Probably not.  But there might not be a more perfect fit.  If I’m a Piston fan, I’m praising Darko right now.