Anthony Davis takes over ESPNEWS

It appears that Kentucky shot swatting freshman big man Anthony Davis plans on a career at ESPN if the NBA lockout is still going on this time next year.

ESPN excited for Kentucky visit

Judging from the sign outside of the ESPN headquarters in Bristol, I'd say ESPN is excited to host the men's basketball team for a tour, and a practice session.

Cal is expected to be on sports center around 1:40 this after noon.

Child molestation investigation at Syracuse

This is just getting ridiculous. Long time assistant (35 years) at the University of Syracuse, Bernie Fine is being accused of child molestation. It seems that a former ball boy for the basketball team is accusing Fine of molesting him from the mid 80's, to the early 90's. The accuser stated that he informed the Syracuse athuorities of the accusations sometime around 2005, but the police said that the statute of limitations had expired.


The University said that in 2005, after being contacted by an adult male about the allegations, they did their own investigation and found that none of the witnesses the accuser said would go along with his story could recall any wrongful conduct on Fine's behalf. Fine also denied any wrong doing during the 4 month investigation. But yesterday, the university felt the need to send out the following email to students.


Message from Chancellor Cantor
November 16, 2011
SU News Services
(315) 443-3784


Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff:

The recent child sexual abuse allegations at Penn State—a human tragedy that has played out on an immense public stage—remind us all of the responsibility we have, individually and collectively, to ensure that Syracuse University remains a safe place for every campus community member, or everyone with whom we interact on a daily basis—on campus or in the community—as part of our learning, scholarship, or work.

Our campus code of ethics and other guidelines call upon us to act and respond promptly in ways that create and sustain the most productive and supportive environment possible for all in our community. While we all must be vigilant to prevent instances of violence of any kind, today we want to provide clear direction regarding actual or suspected abuse or violence against our most vulnerable members of society—children.

Toward that end, here are specific actions to follow in reporting witnessed or suspected abuse involving a minor child (17 years of age or younger):

1. If you witness an instance of sexual or physical abuse against a child as it occurring, immediately call 911 to reach the Syracuse City Police, or the law enforcement department where you are located. If for some reason that is not possible, you can immediately contact SU’s Department of Public Safety (DPS) at 315-443-2224.

2. If you have not witnessed child abuse, but suspect it may be occurring at a child's home or in another setting, immediately contact New York State Child Protective Services at 1-800-342-3720. For more information you may visit the NYS-CPS website.

3. If you have concerns about other possible illegal, inappropriate, or questionable behavior, you may promptly report them to SU DPS at 315-443-2224. In addition, the University has two ways to report these type of concerns anonymously. DPS has a Silent Witness program, which allows individuals to report concerns about criminal activity. The University also has EthicsPoint, a way to anonymously report other possible inappropriate activity.

Safe, respectful, and caring communities do not develop by accident. They require an intentional commitment by all of us to take actions that ensure the well-being of one another. I urge each one of us to embrace that commitment, and work vigilantly to safeguard the health and safety of our entire campus community and those with whom we interact with in our extended communities.

Sincerely,

Nancy Cantor


This shows me that the university expected this story to come out at some point. Now, it must be stressed, that as of right now, Fine is just being ACCUSED of these things, and is NOT in no way being announced as guilty. It is still under investigation. I for one hope this isn't true, not for Fine's sake, or even that of the university, but for the sake of HUMANITY. Hasn't the Penn State debacle sickened us enough? We should not have to worry about adults taking advantage of children in this manner.

Kentucky passes first true test

After ESPN drooled, and slobbered over Coach K for breaking some kind of record, Kentucky took the floor in their first real test of the season. With the Empire State Building covered in a "Big Blue Mist" Kentucky got down to business.

The first half left a lot to be desired, as Kentucky looked like the young team that they are. We seen everything from, guys trying to go one on one when there was no way to make any kind of play, to Teague passing it to everyone in MSG except his teammates to collect 6 turnovers. But, as the old sayinging goes "there is two halves of basketball". Good thing too.


Kentucky came out in the second half, playing like the team everyone expected to start the game. Everything seemed to go their way as they built at one point a 17 point lead, and rolled on their way to a 10 point beat down of the Jayhawks. I call it a beat down, because, Kentucky done what they wanted during the second half (last 1:50 aside), and at times, made it look easy. But let's be honest here, this wasn't exactly the most talented Kansas team that Kentucky faced last night. Kansas lost a lot off of last years team to the draft, and graduation, and returned only one starter. Never the less, Kentucky showed why they are going to be hard to deal with once everything gets ironed out.


Cal was typical Cal with some of his post game comments, going with the usual we're not a good team:

CAL: "We don't believe we have to truly play together yet. It's not talent that wins, it's good teams that win. This is not a good team yet. We're not bad, but we're not a good team yet. We've got good players, but we broke off every play"

Now, usually I would say, that's just Cal blowing smoke. But if you watched any second of the first half, you would know what he was talking about. Careless turnovers, no sense of organization to the offense, and blown defensive assignments. But all these are things that can and will be fixed in the near future.

Cal went on to compliment his teams heart and determination.


Cal: "They had a will to win. That's what I wanted to see. That's the hardest thing to teach in what we do, a will to win. This team seems to have that"


That means a lot coming from a guy who said the team composed of the likes of John Wall, Demarcus Cousins, Eric Bledsoe, and Patrick Patterson "was not a good team". But once again, that was Cal just being Cal.


This team has a chance to do something really special, something the first two editions of team Cal wasn't able to do. Other people can see it as well, even the Kansas players...

Tyshawn Taylor when asked about Kentucky:


"Really, really, really talented one through seven, two or three games in, they're going to be really, really good once they get more practice and more reps. A lot of the guys are young still. I think they're going to be amazing. "


All in all, this gave us a look at what we can come to expect when this team gets everything figured out, and starts playing like a team. When they put two halves together, things could get ugly for some teams.

Seth Davis can't be serious

While watching the Duke and Michigan State game, I was also keeping up with things on twitter when this came across the screen from Seth Davis


@SethDavisHoops: Caoch K not happy about the non-goaltending call. As usual Duke is getting hosed by the refs.


Now, whether he is being serious or not is not the issue here. The issue is that I didn't know that it was actually possible to put a phrase like that together without your mobile device blowing up in your hand, and Siri (if you have the new iphone) actually laughing at you.

Kentucky invades Manhattan

(photo courtesy of Caine)


So, I guess if your a Kentucky fan, you are in one of the many pubs that line the streets in Manhattan waiting for game time. Unless your me of course, who has to be at work at 5:30am. Although it has been pretty entertaining watching all the pictures sent out over twitter showing downtown Manhattan balnketed in a Blue fog. Once again, it goes to show you, that no one fanbase travels like the BBN.


This is an early season test for Kentucky against a quality opponent. It will be interesting to see how Kentucky will respond.

Also, Duke and Michigan State getting ready to tip, and already I'm ready to vomit over the love fest that ESPN is having with coach k. Gonna be a long game.

Anthony Davis T-Shirt

Apparently our man Anthony Davis has his own T-shirt. Saw this on twitter, don't now if it's real or not but it's awesome.

Remembering Those Who Fought

It is easy to forget Why we get to do the things we do, and enjoy the things we love. The freedom we sometimes take for grantd did not come easy. It was earned and protected by the men and women of our armed forces. Everyone has had a family member, or knew someone that had a family member in a war this country has fought to help bring freedom to each and everyone of us. Without that freedom, I wouldn't be able to write what's on my mind, if I was able, you more than likely wouldn't have the freedom to read it.


I myself, like a lot of people, have a long strong military history in my family(myself excluded) and for that I'm thankful. Without them, and ALL VERTERANS we wouldn't be the great country we are today.


So VERTERANS DAY is their day, their time to look back and be proud of what they have accomplished. Tomorrow, if you see someone who is a VERTERAN, stop them, shake their hand, and thank them for their service and sacrifice. Show them the respect they have earned and deserve. Because without them, we would have nothing we have today!

Marist vs. Kentucky preview

Known as the "Red Foxes", Marist is a small liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, with somewhere around 7000 students and has campuses in several different countries including, England, Eygpt, and China. They have had two players drafted to the NBA (I know, I couldn't believe it either) one being Jared Jordan in 2007, and Rik Smits being taken 2nd over all in 1988 by the Pacers.


Their basketball team out of the MAAC Conference didn't have the best of seasons last year, ending the season with a record of 6-28. Their largest margin of victory last season was 74-64 over Canisius, which was also part of their longest winning streak last year at 2. This years squad has two players standing at 6'10 (both sophomores), after that, their tallest player is 6'6.


Kentucky shouldn't have any problem handling this team much like they did Morehouse all though I doubt UK wins by 85 again, but the Red Foxes ( I can't help but think of the comedian) might have other plans.


So, let's get ready for the tip off of what is sure to be another great season of Kentucky Basketball!

Alex Poythress to Kentucky

Alex Poythress, the 6'8 forward out of Clarksville Tenn. elected to take his talents to Kentucky, choosing them over Vanderbilt, Florida, and Memphis.


I'm a little late to the party on this one, because by now I'm sure everyone who even remotely follows recruiting knows how all this went down today. I, like everyone else, went to sleep last night thinking that Memphis was the team to beat today. Then earlier today, I heard that Memphis was out of it. Then I heard that Florida had snuck in, and was the likely destination for the 5 star forward. Everyone, everywhere had the "inside scoop" on this, and was sure they "knew" where he was going to end up. As it turns out, no one was "positive" where he would go, and shows you that recruiting changes more often than the weather.


The only person to know his decision besides him and the ones closest to him, was John Calipari. Poythress said he told Coach Cal of his decision "two days ago", and that Cal was "screaming with excitement on the phone". He informed the coaches of the other schools 30 minutes before he made his announcement.


Alex is the 3rd commitment for the class of 2012, and jumped Kentucky's recruiting class up to #2 over all according to rivals. Now UK fans can step back away from the cliffs edge as next years recruiting class is rounding out to be another blockbuster class once again.

The Morehouse Massacre

I like most that I know in Kentucky had to record the game and watch it today because of a delayed broadcast. I did however listen to the game, and was stunned at what was coming through my speakers. I have never heard a team get dominated the way Morehouse did last night. You don't have to tell me "easy, it was just an exhibition!", or "yeah they scored a lot, but they weren't playing anyone." I realize all of that. But I also realize, that I haven't seen a team abuse their exhibition opponent the way Kentucky did last night.


Usually while I'm looking for a pic to post with the story, I find one from the game to use. However, while I was watching the game today and looking for a pic, I decided on this pic for the story as its the only one to do it justice. A final score of 125-40? Really? That is just absurd, no matter who your opponent is. Last night Kentucky done what they wanted, when they wanted to do it, and dared Morehouse to try and stop them. The first 5-10 minutes when the score went from a 20-4 lead, to a 60-6 lead was some of the best offensive execution I have ever seen or heard from a team this early. They dominated every aspect of the game from start to finish.



Like I said before, yes I know it was just an "exhibition game", but you can bet your bottom dollar that display got some teams attention. Let's hope they can play that well against a quality team when the time comes.

Jay Bilas watches UK practice

Apparently ESPN's own Jay Bilas stopped by the University of Kentucky to watch the men's basketball team practice, and shoot a segment for ESPN. This is what Jay had to say about that practice on twitter.


Watched Kentucky practice. Those that think @ukcoachcalipari "just rolls the balls out"... No way. One of the very best; he can really coach!


For UK: T. Jones is mature, ready to soar; M. Gilchrist competes his tail off; A. Davis oozes potential. M Teague and D. Lamb are the keys


A fan (@bobby_hoskins) asked Jay Bilas on twitter:

What separates North Carolina and Kentucky?

Jays response?


"Tennessee"


While it was great to read Bilas' thoughts after observing practice today, I couldn't help but notice one guy he didn't mention... Darius Miller. This leads me to believe that Miller isn't doing anything to separate himself from the freshman much like the last two years. I hope I am wrong about this, because this team is going to need the leadership of the lone senior.


I said it since Darius has arrived on campus, and will continue to say it. He is the most athletic player on this team, he just doesn't use his abilities like he should.

UPDATE on status of Stacey Poole

Just exchanged emails with Dewayne Peevy who is (for those who dont know)the senior associate athletic director for communications at the University of Kentucky about the status of Stacey Poole. Reports out earlier today had Stacey Poole moving out of Wildcat Lodge, and leaving the team.


And he gave me the following statement.

"Stacey Poole is a member of the UK men's basketball team. We don't have any roster changes to announce and have no plans to."


So there you have it. As of this time, Stacey has not moved out of the lodge, and is still on the roster.