Calipari Using Mind Games from China

Coach Cal (above) did attend the NCAA hearings today.

How dare he! We, as a nation, were led to believe the NCAA hearings today were going to pull the curtain back on John Calipari. A meeting so intense that one day might not cover it all. These allegations against Memphis were somehow passed onto Kentucky's lap by the liberal media looking for a story.

A story that might forever tarn...... Wait, what's that? Oh, the hearing is over already? It lasted under four hours? But Jerry Tipton went to the hearing looking for a story that could uproot the Kentucky basketball empire. Hmmm, let me think. Aha.

BBB has found an excerpt from a story due to come out in tomorrow's papers. Again, the following is 100% factual.

... Today is the day we've all been waiting for. A
chance to rid the world of one of the most notorious members of one of the most
pure sports in America: college basketball. His name is John
Calipari. A man who has played with NCAA fire one too many times. I
am here to tell you, after today, his time is over...

... From forcing an innocent kid, Marcus Camby, to meet with
the mafia and accept money -- to manipulating/kidnapping the moderator during
Derrick Rose's SAT test, Calipari and his tentacles have probably even reached
into your local community...

... John Calipari and his shadiness used sleazy mind games
through the telephone from China to corrupt the NCAA hearings today (Note: All members of the NCAA committee were wearing American flag pendants because they love America more than you). They had planned on going for days, weeks, even months, but this man forced the NCAA to end it only after four hours. After being told he HAD to attend the hearings, Mr. Calipari fled the country to hang out with his communist friends in China...

So there you go Big Blue Nation. Beware of the coming storm from our media friends across the country.

June 6th: On this date...

OOOOOOOOOOOOO K.

... in 1989, new Kentucky coach Rick Pitino hired his first assistant, one Herb Sendek from Providence. Sendek, 26, was first hired by Rick at Providence as a graduate assistant. The team and coaches would later become one of the most beloved team's in UK history. (I dare you to take a look at that team picture and not smile.) After Sendek left Kentucky, he would go on to coach Miami (OH), N.C. State, and Arizona State. Not a bad resume if you ask me, as he's been successful everywhere he has gone.

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And the hits keep on coming......

Say it aint so, Joe?

As if news wasn't bad enough for us lately, news hits that the relationship between Joe Bologna's and the University of Kentucky will cease to exist for the next three years. Apparently a gossipy waitress popped off about how the player's meals were always comped by the big guy.

And once Sandy Bell caught wind of this, GAME OVER. She said Joe knows better and he knew what he was doing. Kentucky players and coaches are no longer allowed to eat big breadsticks and olive oil. Of course, Scherbenske could always call-in a to-go order. Nobody knows who that is, right?

When BBB tried to reach Bologna for a comment, he said (while shaking a fist), "Yeah, and we woulda gotten away with it if it hadn't been for you meddling kids."

Kentucky fans. Getting in their own way since 1873!

Will Barton verbals to Memphis

Meh, doesn't look like we're missing out on much.

So says Evan Daniels of Scout.com. Big get for new Memphis coach Josh Pastner. Kentucky was said to be the leader for Barton, as recently as yesterday, but Beirut Memphis gets their man. I'm guessing they'll also get his brother Antonio, as the post says below. I knew Coach Cal shouldn't have gone to China. Or........maybe he called Will from Bejing and told him a shooting guard was found in Tiananmen Square? Our new coach always has an agenda.

Memphis Commercial Appeal

June 5th: On this date...

... in 2004, the Detroit Pistons and Tayshaun Prince snaked into Los Angeles and stole Game 1 of the 2004 NBA Finals. The Lakers had won three of the past four NBA titles and featured a roster chock full of NBA Hall-of-Famers: Karl Malone, Shaquille O'Neal, & Kobe Bryant. Not many people gave the Pistons a chance in the Series, but a big-time defensive effort shocked the Lakers 87-75. Kentucky great Tayshaun Prince got the assignment of guarding Kobe Bryant. Tayshaun's length, athleticism and craftiness frustrated Bryant each game, giving the Pistons a huge "ace-up-the-sleeve."

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Will Barton, Gimel Martinez and Alan Cutler -- Excuse Me, What?

WLEX throw two semi-stories at us tonight:

• Will Barton, Rivals #1 SG and #7 overall player in 2010, has Kentucky high on his list. This may be the first signing for Coach Cal in 2010. Will's brother Antonio also graduates next year and is a 3-star PG. They seems to be a package deal. They have multiple offers on the table, but have said Kentucky would be the ideal situation. Some think Cal will offer Antonio in the near future. Take that for what its worth.
• Alan Cutler also caught up with former UK great Gimel Martinez. Gimmy has apparently been kickin' it at Louisville father-son basketball camps and his kid has tons of Card gear. Gimmy seems to be growing tired of that act, so he's already signed up for Coach Cal's father-son deal so he can get his boy in blue a bit more.

No offense to Coach Cal, but I'd pay for the father-son camp just to hang out with Gimel for a week. We've got a tad more history. Not to mention see if he really wears some of the glasses above.

June 4th: On this date...

... in 2006, former UK-JV starter, Nazr Mohammed, started at center for the San Antonio Spurs when they beat Phoenix in five games to advance to the NBA Finals. His lines throughout the Western Conference Finals were: Game 1 (9p-7r-2b) Game 2 (11p-8r-2b) Game 3 (9p-4r) Game 4 (8p-8r) Game 5 (4p-2r). As you can see, it was Nazr's clutch play, not Tim Duncan's, that led the Spurs to the Finals. They went on to beat fellow Wildcat Tayshaun Prince and the Pistons to win the 2006 NBA Championship.

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June 3rd: On this date...

You're right. I couldn't resist either.

... in 1989, new Kentucky head coach Rick Pitino admitted Kenny "Sky" Walker was a very big influence in him taking the UK job. The New York Times reported then-current Knicks player "Sky" Walker had more influence than many realized in convincing Pitino to go to his alma-mater. Walker said, "I didn't try to make the bluegrass greener for him, I just laid out for him what he could expect if he came here. After some of the things I said, I think he started more seriously considering it." No word on whether "Sky" really wanted him to coach at Kentucky or if he was simply tired of playing for him in New York.

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Where Are They Now - All Grows'd Up Edition

Here are a few updates of our former baby kittens:

• Wesley Woodyard has juiced up from 218 lbs. to 230 lbs. He says he hasn't lost any of his speed and is ready to make plays wherever the Broncos put him. The addition of Braxton Kelley has eased the transition for them both. Nice writeup of the defensive stud.
• Keenan Burton is a heavy favorite to win a starting wide receiver's job in St. Louis.
• Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher can't wait to see Rafael Little this summer. He feels Little has a great chance to see some time this fall behind Chris Johnson and LenDale White.
• The wide-receiving corps in Buffalo will be crowded (addition of T.O.), but if Steve Johnson can hold a spot on the team, he could very well have a career year in the slot.

Go Cats.

Straight From The Horse's Mouth

The horse being one Jodie Meeks. He dropped some knowledge yesterday on his website, jodiemeeks.net. Is this foreshadowing that he's ready to move on from his college experience? Does writing on your own site try to further your own personal agenda? Do these questions even have right or wrong answers? Am I simply asking dumb questions because there's no news and I'm ready for basketball season to start?

Jodie lets us know who he has worked out for already. He gives a little insight from NBA scouts and coaches on where they think he'll get drafted. One of these "sharks" even tried to pollute Jodie's mind by saying he'd be a better pro player than a college player. That very well could be the case, but I bet these same NBA minds aren't worried about Kentucky's world domination plan.

In other news, Jodie had the third fastest sprint time at the NBA Combine.

Academic Issues

If there's one thing we are sure about with our current recruiting class, it's that Billy Clyde's recruits, Jon Hood and Daniel Orton, are in far better academic standing than our new guys. Not to say this won't be water under the bridge in a few weeks or months, I'm just stating the facts.

The latest rumors with our new guys being Derrick Rose actually took the SAT for both John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins to make up for his past transgressions. Ah, we kid because it's a slow news day.

Jeff Goodman of Fox Sports and Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog say both John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins are good to go academically. Both will enrolling in summer classes at UK soon, and the rest will hopefully be history. Can you imagine being in the same summer class as these guys? You might be able to squeeze into an entourage if you can keep these two in shape this summer.

June 2nd: On this date...

A-W-E-S-O-M-E

... in 1989, the man pictured above, Derrick Miller, decided to stay at the University following the coaching change. Rick Pitino met with the Kentucky players in Wildcat Lodge for about 40 minutes and told them to get outta Dodge if they wanted; but if they decided to stay, they would be a part of "the most exciting school in America today." Players like Sean Sutton, Reggie Hanson, Derrick Miller, and the Unforgettables would have to decide what to do within a few weeks. Sean Woods seemed to be the most positive of the bunch, saying, "Coach Pitino is a great guy, and I look forward to playing for him."

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Conan O'Brien Begins a New Era

Not sure about you, but I'm actually looking forward to tonight's debut of Conan O'Brien as The Tonight Show host. Jay Leno's act was old and tired and NBC needed a change bad. I'm not necessarily saying he'll be there for 20 years, but his writing suits my generation much more than Leno.

June 1st: On this date...

...in 1989, Rick Pitino promises Big Blue Nation "will win and we will win right away." The University held a press conference at Patterson Office Tower officially naming Pitino as the new men's basketball coach. The rebuilding would start immediately. Inheriting a roster consisting only of eight players and one returning starter, Pitino would try to recover from the worst season since 1926-27. Pitino said, "Sanctions and probation just make it tougher. But we will overcome all obstacles to make Kentucky basketball rich again." To make his point, he held up the "Kentucky's Shame" Sports Illustrated cover and vowed the next time the Cats would be on the cover, we would be "cutting down certain nets."

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May 31st: On this date...

... in 1983, Kentucky All-American center Sam Bowie continued workouts to rehabilitate his broken left leg. Bowie's leg had been in five separate casts since the fall of 1981, when reports first came out of a fractured tibia. He was able to get back in time for a 1984 Final Four run in Seattle, where they lost to Patrick Ewing and Georgetown. As much hell as he gets, he didn't have THAT awful of an NBA career.

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UK Track & Field Shines at Regionals

Rashaud Scott's famous levitation sleepwalk move

The #20 Kentucky Men's Track & Field team continued its hot 2-year run by finishing third at this weekend's Mideast Regional in Louisville. Kentucky had top three finishes in five different events, giving them tons of momentum going into the Outdoor Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas June 10-13. The third place finish was best ever finish for the Cats. In 2008, they finished tied for fourth.

Defending NCAA Champion in the discus Rashaud Scott continued his dominance winning with a personal best throw of 216-2. It was Scott's third career Regional title, winning the discus in both 2008 & 2009, as well as the 2009 Shot Put this past Friday.

The team qualified the following for the NCAA Championships:

• Scott and Chase Madison in the Discus
• Scott in the Shot Put
• Rondel Sorrillo in the 200m dash
• 4x100m Relay
• 4x400m Relay

The UK Women's Track & Field team also qualified two members for the NCAA Championships as well. Kristin Smith placed second in the Hammer Throw. Ashley Muffett placed third in the Discus.

Just another step in the process of becoming World Dominators.

NCAA needs to look in the mirror

George Robinson, of the Leaf Chronicle, has a great piece analyzing the reality of what is today's college basketball "game." He says that while he might not agree with some of the shadiness that goes along with John Calipari, he by no means blames Coach Cal for being the way he is.

It's what the NCAA breeds. Calipari, by no means, is the lone wolf in all of this. Kentucky is in the position it's in mostly because they weren't willing to visit the gray area, while most other top basketball programs were -- look at the results.

Lets face facts: high-profile high school athletes are million dollar babies to companies like Nike, Adidas and Reebok. The AAU serves as the breeding ground for those athletes, taking sponsorships from shoe companies to herd athletes across the country for Show and Tell. Traditional high school basketball teams are quickly becoming irrelevant in the high-stakes game of Find the Next Big NBA Star.....Not every AAU coach, team or college institution is guilty of it, but if someone could prove that most aren't, in some form or fashion, I'd be willing to bow to the NCAA's feet.

Well said, my friend, well said.

May 30th: On this date...

... in 1989, 20 years ago exactly, two big things happened. Rick Pitino accepted the University of Kentucky head coaching job and the Sports Illustrated cover above started circulation into your mailbox. Traitor Rick met with Knicks GM Al Bianchi for two hours and was finally granted permission to take the UK job. Very ironic that this infamous cover came out within hours with a lone player standing in shame -- foreshadowing?. To this day, everyone thinks this guy was bowing his head in defeat because we were about to be on probation. In a BBB exclusive, though, I did some research and found out this kid simply knew we were getting in bed with one of the most notorious people to ever set foot in the state. I'm just kidding Rick, maybe the kid was bowing his head because he knew the media would once again be focused on Kentucky 20 years later even though the story of you and your mistress should be topic #1. Yup.......no..........hard...........feelings.........at..................all.

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Where Memphis Went Wrong

CBS Sports' Gary Parrish has an interesting look at how Memphis Athletic Director R.C. Johnson dropped the ball with their basketball program. Some highlights:

• Memphis had a roast of R.C. Johnson last night -- throwing SAT and John Calipari jokes around. A roast is a roast, but this is absolutely horrible timing.


• New Memphis coach Josh Pastner has repeatedly said he knew nothing of the violations at the time he was hired. IF this is true, how in the world do you hire a guy without letting him know the NCAA is investigating the very team he is taking over.


• Why not release the NCAA letter earlier? If you wanted to keep Calipari in Memphis, unveiling this little tidbit when Kentucky came calling MAY have scared them away.

Don't know if you have read it or will read it, but its pro-Kentucky-ish. And lately, that's hard to find.

Calipari tells NCAA to......

In an absolutely hilarious development regarding Cal v. NCAA, Sporting News confirms Cal won't even attend the NCAA hearing about the "shadiness" in Memphis. He'll actually be in China while this hearing is going on and will be interviewed over the telephone.

I think this tells you all you need to know about how much trouble Calipari is in regarding the Memphis Women's Golf scandal.

Send us a postcard and grab another point guard while your at it.