No Castle for you!

Beverly Fortune of Kentucky.com has some news about the new living quarters for the Calipari family. Since the castle on Versailles Rd. was not for sale, the Calipari's had to settle for this $2.295 million gem and adjacent vacant lot on Richmond Rd. This so-called mega-mansion only has approximately 10,000 square feet on the main part and another 1,000 square feet above the garage. Wisely, Coach Cal has already made plans to fence in some of the property.

Neighbors are already excited:

Neighbor Joe Jones, a retired UK Spanish professor who lives three doors away, said, "we're always delighted to have new neighbors.

"We have a very active neighborhood association. We'll be happy to have the coach added to a group of neighbors on Richmond Road," he said.

Jones added that "it will be an interesting experience to have a celebrity on the block."

To which Coach Cal said, "C'mon Joe, you've gotta be kiddin' me!"

Anyone giving me odds that the next neighborhood watch meeting sets an attendance record?

Bad Blood between Orton and Henry?

The news of late concerning Daniel Orton and his commitment to Kentucky has been if Xavier Henry commits to UK, then he's backing out and going to Kansas. Why? Because supposedly Orton and Henry do not get along........at all. Bad blood has been brewing between the two for years, and this video confirms it.

Man, I've seen some heated stuff in my day, but that takes the cake. You can actually feel the animosity between the two through the monitor.

I'm not saying they're best of friends, but its gotta take a little maturity on both ends to play down their rivalry for two solid minutes, right?

Calipari on Delk and Padgett

WKYT is reporting Coach Calipari will hire Tony Delk and Scott Padgett this coming year to help launch their coaching careers. There have been rumors this would happen at some point, but its always nice to hear it from the horse's mouth. Coach Cal also said he would be having 4-5 other aspiring coaches around the team each year to help get their feet wet. Former Cats in Lexington is always a good thing for the program.

April 16th: On this date...

... in 2008, T.Boone Pickens and Oklahoma State did its best Kentucky impersonation by booting Sean Sutton as their head coach and replacing him with Travis Ford. Ford started coaching at Campbellsville, moved up to Eastern Kentucky, then bolted to Massachusetts. An interesting tidbit: the prospect of playing behind Sean Sutton at Kentucky was the reason Ford started his college career at Missouri. After the scandal of the late 80's, the Sutton's left town, opening the point guard spot for Ford, who led UK to a Final Four appearance in 1993.

This is the Jodie Meeks binary code, who knew?

Impulse buy, impulse buy, impulse buy

These were the new shirts the Cats were wearing at practice today. Coach Cal wanted to send the team out on a high note, so he broke out the shirts Nike and UK made shortly after the record-breaking game v. Tennessee. I'll blame one person and one person only for the reason they didn't see the light of day.

The AP has details of the atmosphere and drills of the last practice.

Cat Scratches looks at the improved play of Matt Pilgrim, DeAndre Liggins, and Darius Miller among other tidbits.

UK Athletics says Randall Cobb was in pads for a full contact practice for the first time in a while.......and looked good.

Big day for Big Blue. Rest easy tonight. Go Cats.

Ashley Judd is officially on the clock

Verbal, Schmerbal - Cousins is officially a Cat

Its only appropriate that since today is 2009 National Letter of Intent day, we should be able to chalk one up for the good guys. Kentucky received a signed National Letter of Intent from top high school prospect DeMarcus Cousins to become a student at the University! member of the basketball team!

The Last Practice

Cat Scratches has some notes from today's final practice. Calipari is still trying to figure out what he has on the current roster, and what he positions he needs to address for the upcoming year.

One interesting quote was about which players will or won't be coming back this fall. He said the players who won't do well in his offense are free to stay:

“If a player chooses to come back knowing that he’s not playing, that’s OK,” Calipari said. “But you can’t be mad in January and February if you’re not getting off the bench. You’ve got to understand that I’m going to be honest with you and tell you about it. This thing is still in motion right now.”

Another comment to make Cat fans everywhere smile a bit more:

“What I’m happy about is we’ve got juniors calling us and they’re all juniors that we’re happy that they’re calling us, so that’s good,” Calipari said.

I'll throw the PTI conversation up when it becomes available.

Pat Patterson puts name in Draft -- NBA of course

Rumor has it, this is the photo from the team huddle that took place when Pat announced he was NBA bound. The team embraced him with hugs.

Eric Lindsey has confirmed Pat is putting his name in the NBA Draft. This should surprise no one, as Coach Cal has been screaming for him to do it ever since he became the UK coach. Pat, like Jodie, will not hire an agent, so the possibilities of the 2009-10 Cats being the best team ever are still in tact.

The team is practicing now, so check back later for any and all updates.

Calipari World Tour

John Calipari continues his media blitz today at 3:00 pm as he will appear on ESPNU's signing day coverage to reassure everyone how awesome Kentucky basketball will be for years to come.

He will then make his way to PTI and speak to Kornheiser and Wilbon at 5:30 pm. Hopefully he will take a few jabs at Wilbon for saying everyone in the Commonwealth of Kentucky is scum of the earth. If nothing else reassure Wilbon that he and Kentucky basketball now have ties to the mafia and it would be best for him to stand down.

Tom Leach was able to watch the team practice recently and he says UK fans are going to love the new style of basketball, comparing it to the West Coast offense. Good stuff.

April 15th: On this date...

... in 1992, the University put together a retirement dinner in Rupp Arena for the recently retired "Voice of the Wildcats". About 700 people came to a black-tie affair honoring the great Cawood Ledford for his service to Kentucky basketball, and to radio broadcasting everywhere. It was a $250-a-plate event that raised about $135,000 for a Cawood Ledford Scholarship Fund. Scout.com has a great writeup of Cawood. Below are the final moments of 1992 SEC Tourney with Cawood painting the picture.

Diamond Talk

Good night on the diamond for our two favorite baseball teams here on Big Blue Booyah.

The Bat Cats ended a seven game skid tonight with a win over the hated Dirty Birds of Louisville. Eric Lindsey at Cat Scratches has the recap and did a live blog for the game. The Cats let a 4-1 lead move to a 6-4 deficit before coming back late. Big ups to the Bat Cats.

And the Northern Kentucky Reds won their third straight game tonight with a dominant performance in Milwaukee. Ya Boyo Arroyo went 6+ innings with only 4 hits and 1 run and Jerry Hairston Jr. scored 3 runs along with a 2-run homer to win going away 6-1. Joey Votto continued his torrid start going 2-5 with 2 RBIs. Off-season pickup Willy Taveras stayed hot going 1-3 with 2 walks, 2 SBs, and great defense to guarantee the Red Legs a series win in their first road trip.

Don't know how often I'll be able to brag about the Bat Cats and Red Legs, so I'm getting it in while I can.

Orton firm on UK

Jerry Tipton talked to Larry Orton today and said something "drastic" would have to happen for Daniel not to join the Cats in Lexington this fall.

“Daniel is set to go to the University of Kentucky,” Larry Orton said. “Unless something drastic changes, he’ll still (be playing for Kentucky.).”

Good news on the recruiting front for the Cats. I'd love to see Daniel Orton at UK, even more than DeMarcus Cousins honestly. This makes me feel much better going into the spring signing period. Orton's someone I thought we'd lose in all of this changing of the guard. Kansas, Orton's other suitor, is presumably trying to use its two remaining scholarships on Xavier Henry and his brother C.J.

"Rumble at the River" - Oh no you di'int

This is the official logo and website for the September 5, 2009, intergalactic showdown between Miami (OH) and your University of Kentucky Wildcats. Rich Brooks and new Miami (OH) coach Michael Haywood met in Cincinnati today to begin promoting this epic battle, and unveil the logo.

Both coaches think the crowd will be split evenly. PaPaw says he expects upward of 30,000 strong from the Big Blue Nation.

Cat fans can contact UK's ticket office for tickets at 1 (800) 928-2287.

Uh-Oh

On a live chat just a second ago, John Wall failed to mention Kentucky on his list of potential suitors. HOW DARE HE NOT BE THINKING OF KENTUCKY 24/7?!?!?!

He later said he would be looking at UK also. I hope he did it to freak everyone in Kentucky out. Also, 10 of the 15 question he answered during the live chat were from the state of Kentucky. That won't freak him out at all, will it?

He now lists 9 schools he's looking at: Florida, Carolina, Duke, Baylor, Miami, NC State, Memphis, Kansas, and UK.

Oh, and ESPN's Chad Ford will be writing a piece on John Wall and how he is actually eligible for this year's NBA Draft (gulp). Here's an excerpt from his live chat today:

Mike, FL: Is John Wall the No. 1 pick in 2010 Draft. He was awesome at the Hoop Summit game.

Chad Ford: He was awesome and he'll compete with Ed Davis and a few other freshmen for that. However, there is some buzz that Wall believes he might be eligible for THIS year's draft. I've been doing some digging and will be filing a story later today. The short rub is this: Wall is a 5th year senior and depending on how you read the collective bargaining agreement, 5th year seniors are eligible for the draft as long as the turn 19 in the calander year (Wall does). The league is taking a wait and see approach. If he declares, they'll research and make a ruling. If he does declare and is ruled eligible (two big ifs) he's a Top 5 pick in this draft. Maybe Top 3.

Coach Cal on Dan Patrick

For those who didn't hear it this morning, here is Coach Cal on the Dan Patrick Show (audio segment included). A few highlights include:

• He hopes all the players who signed at Memphis stay at Mem-zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
• He would like Jodie and Pat to test the waters, but would be glad to have them back next year at Kent-zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
• A few comments on Rick Pitino.
• Dan gives Coach Cal hell because he hasn't talked to Ashley Judd yet. Dan talked to her last week.

Staring down Derby 135

With all but one of the Graded Stakes races completed on the way to Derby 135, here is the updated earnings list going into Saturday's Coolmore Lexington Stakes at Keeneland. The top 20 have the opportunity to race in the Derby if they drop enough coin. So go ahead and take a look at the list and pick your horse based on name, jockey, or trainer. Because lets face it, you don't know anything about horse racing either.

If you'll notice, Square Eddie (#3 on the earnings list), will be running this Saturday in the Lexington. Seems like a bit much for a horse with enough Graded earnings to risk injury this close to the Derby, but this is why I'm not an elite trainer. The updated list of competitors for Saturday's race is here. For all things Derby 135, check out this page for prep race replays, horse workout info, or how to make an ugly Derby hat!

I Want Revenge and his 19-year old jockey, Joe Talamo, had a workout this morning. This was the tweet:

Talamo gave I Want Revenge an easy half-mile breeze :50. Fractions of :12 2/5, :24 2/5, :36 4/5, :50 and out 5 F in 1:04 3/5. 2 hours ago
I Want Revenge is standing calmly at the eighth pole. Talamo is patting his neck. Just began to jog in advance of the move. . .stay tuned.

Yeah, I don't really understand much of that either, but it sounds VERY impressive.

April 14: On this date...

... in 1987, Kentucky changed its mind and decided to offer John Pelphrey a scholarship (GASP!). UK seemed to be skeptical about the talent of the red-haired kid from Paintsville. That is, until he was named Mr. Kentucky Basketball. Just two weeks earlier, Eddie Sutton and his staff said they would only take on one more player, and were going hard after Memphis' Elliot Perry (w/ goggles). The rest lives in UK history, as Pelphrey became one of the most beloved and popular players in the last 25 years. He currently sits at 31st on the all-time Kentucky scoring list and consistently gets named as a possible replacement every time we need a new basketball coach.

Learn these names - Spring football edition

Chip Cosby lets us know some of the new names stepping it up in Kentucky's spring practices. Whether its due to new opportunities, a change of position, or simply new to the UK roster, these seven players have a chance to become a household name to UK fans by the end of 2009. The list includes five defensive players and two offensive players.

1. Danny Trevathan - linebacker - freak athlete, coaches love his progression.
2. Winston Guy - safety/cornerback - freak athlete, has an opportunity to start at safety.
3. Randell Burden - cornerback - breakout game in Liberty Bowl, will start opposite Lindley.
4. Mark Crawford - defensive tackle - JUCO transfer, great attitude, filling Myron Pryor's big shoes.
5. Collins Ukwu - defensive end - very raw, has enough athletic ability to be great SEC defensive end.
6. Stuart Hines - offensive line - coaches love what they see, will provide depth at offensive line.
7. E.J. Fields - wide receiver - great receiver build, just needs reps with first team offense.

Hopefully this wets your appetite as the Dog Days of Summer approach and the fact basketball won't start until mid-October. Give me some ideas on what to cover during these summer months. Email me a commentary on something if you'd like to see your name in print.

Reds fans -- Yup, this about sums it up

For all the Reds fans out there, here's a story you can simply nod your head to. Cincinnati outfielder Chris Dickerson is day-to-day after getting into a fight with a revolving door.

"My 'real' story is I hit my head on the rim during a celebrity slam dunk contest," Dickerson joked. "They do need to do something about that door. It's a deathtrap waiting to happen. I can only imagine what happens with people less coordinated than me. I'm a little clumsy, but a pretty coordinated guy. I should be able to fly through that thing easy. I struggle with it every day."

Looks like its gonna be a long year in Cincy!