Kentucky BROW beats UNC

I had to miss what is sure to be the best regular season game of the year thanks to having a job. But, thanks to an invention called DVR, and a loving wife who understands my obsession with Kentucky basketball, I got to watch it later. I gotta say, the game certainly didn't disappoint.


It had the feeling of a regional final, or a Final Four game, or to quote coach Cal an "end all to end all" type of atmosphere. Both teams played with passion and aggression you normally don't see until late March or early April. It was just fitting that it would end in a one point victory.


But, to get that one point victory it took an impressive play by Anthony Davis. Who knew he could fly? That's exactly what it looked like he did when he jumped from one side of the lane to the other, to block John Hensons' potential game winning shot attempt. When Davis stretched out, and raised his arm, he looked like he was 14 feet long, and it took every inch of him to save the day.


When John Henson was asked about the block,he sounded impressed:

"I thought I was open. It was a little taste of my own medicine, which is kind of funny. I've done that before, and he did it to me this game. Credit to him. It was a great play by a great player."

Darius Miller on Davis' block:

"Where did he even come from? I thought Henson had a clean look at it. That was a crazy blocked shot."

Anthony Davis on his block:

"I just sprinted as fast as I could and jumped with my hand as high as I could get it. I thought I could get to it."


Tyler Zeller didn't have quite the enthusiasm as John Henson had when he was asked about Anthony Davis:

Zeller: "I'm not going to comment on that"

This response would leave one to believe that Zeller had a hard time dealing with Davis in the low post. But later, he mustered up some what of a comment.

Zeller: "He's young. I think he has great potential."

This was an excellent game for ANY college basketball fan, and was what most called, a preview of things to come in April. Now, I don't believe that you can pencil in UK and UNC for the National Championship game for certain as OSU and Syracuse would have something to say about that. But, it's not a far stretch because as of right now these are clearly the two best teams at this time in the country.


There was some odd happenings the last few seconds of the game as UNC players stood around in shock after Davis' block, not fouling and letting the final 5 seconds tick away. Then, with 2 or 3 seconds left, some say Marquis Teague appeared to travel with no whistle. I watched the game, did he travel? Possibly. But, it's hard to tell as it looked to me the ball was knocked out of his hand by a UNC player.


One sports writer, took to twitter claiming that Kentucky got a favorable no call, and that UNC should have had one more shot. Who was the sports writer you ask. One of Kentucky fans favorites, Dan Wolken.


@DanWolken: "I'll tell you what, Marquis Teague might have Wesley Withersoon'd that ending.

@DanWolken: "Teague walked with one second left. Absolutely, he walked.

@DanWolken: "Ran it back three times. Teague traveled. UNC should've had one mo shot

Now, someone needs to tell Ole' Dan, that UNC has no one to blame but themselves for the ending to that game. Had they fouled after the block like Roy Williams was trying to get them to do by jumping and screaming and waving his arms like a mad man on the sideline, while his guys just stood in awe at what just happened, they would have had their the last shot Dan Wolken so badly wanted for them. That is, if Kentucky didn't drain the two freethrows that they would have been awarded on the foul to take a three point lead.


Or, ask Dan about the out of bounds call late in the second half, when one ref ruled Kentucky ball, then got his call reversed to give the ball back to Carolina, when it was clearly off the neck, head, shoulders, face and arms of the Carolina player as he tried to gain control of the ball. When, the call was reversed and the ball given back to Carolina, it led to a Harrison Barnes three cutting Kentucky's lead to 2, and taking away any momentum Kentucky had gained. No, you won't hear someone like Dan Wolken getting upset over a bad call against Kentucky.


But, with the absurdities of the likes of Dan Wolken aside, this was a great game, played between two great teams, loaded with great players. And that, is what college basketball fans love to see.

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.