As I'm waiting to go buy my copy of Madden 10 and start my online league, I came across this video - the funniest thing I've ever seen in my lifetime.
Kudos to the creator of the dialogue.
But I still love NCAA Football 10 though, I don't care what Hitler says ...
I know Ms. Judd is a UK icon and all, however, I'm beginning to really dislike her public appearances.
Although she has appeared to have gained some weight in the face lately, it's not that kind of appearance I'm talking about; she's still a beautiful woman.
Via buzzfeed, not only is Ms. Judd courting Congress on issues of Global Warming, she's got this hate for Alaska's Sarah Palin that she must make known to the world also.
Maybe Ashley wants to be Vice President?
It would be much better than seeing her do this ...
According to eyewitnesses, four kids in a jeep sped down Broadway today acting like monkeys and wooing at girls along the campus of UK.
And according to one eyewitness, these kids were the cause of the over-turned coal truck on New Circle Road yesterday.
Alan Cutler is my new hero.
From what I've been reading on various blogs concerning Kentucky, Cutler has been ripped by some for, and maybe by the national media as well, for displaying the debacle as we've come to witness which is the footage of Cutler chasing down Gillispie for a simple reaction to his firing.
The question that should be asked is why Gillispie decided he should run from, and a I laugh hysterically, a guy (Cutler) who kept up with him? Gillispie half jogged actually (he really is out of shape), and used a cell phone to play up why couldn't talk to Cutler. Class act that Gillispie, I tell you.
I'm fumed to think that other people think that Cutler should lose his job over this. It's ridiculous. If there's one thing anyone in Lexington should know, it's that news concerning UK basketball and its coaches are paramount. It matters. Gillispie should have understood that. He said he did. He didn't care. Cutler was doing his job. As far as I'm concerned Cutler is entitled on behalf of the Lexington community to chase his punk body. I'm glad he did.
Coaching Rumors
I don't get the list of coaches everyone is throwing out there for the UK job. Names like Calipari, Izzo, Barnes - guys that have already established themselves with other universities. Is this really what we want? Is this really what you want Mitch?
When UK was about to hire Gillispie a couple years ago, I said here at this blog that I'd like to see Pat Riley coach here. He should. People shrugged at me because I thought that.
There's only two guys I'd like to see coach UK because their seasoned obviously and because they are proven and are connected to UK in an intimate way.
Pat Riley
Rick Pitino
Anyone else is like playing Russian Roulette.
Here's my thing about the coaching position at UK: if you're going to call it a sophisticated search for the coaching position for the Men's basketball team at UK then make it a sophisticated search for the head coaching position for the Men's basketball team.
Throwing names out there of coaches who have already established themselves and quite frankly are questionable as to whether they love UK enough is alarming to me. And it's too easy. It's too easy to make a list of the top head coaches in college basketball. I mean while we're at it (and I'm pointing to the other blogs out there who have proven to be the definitive answer to all things UK) let's just throw names out there like Roy Williams and Coach K. I've even heard someone say they put former Indiana coach Bobby Knight on their list. That's just stupid.
If Mitch Barnhart wants to honestly make a serious coaching search for the next head coach for UK's Men's basketball team then he should put forth a broader search throughout the nation including those coaches no one's even heard of. It's pertinent to the integrity of the process. Otherwise we'll always get these washed-out lists thrown out from people who are supposed to be experts but don't really care at all about doing a real search. I mean guys like Calipari, Pitino, Knight, Coach K, Williams, even Gillispie - they all started somewhere.
Let me ask you this Mitch, was Pitino as established when UK hired him or was UK looking at his overall potential because he was the RIGHT FIT all in one?
That's who Kentucky needs to go after, and I don't know who that guy is because odds are, if we don't go after Pitino or Riley, our next head coach who's going to bring back national fear of playing against is not going to come from a generated popularity poll of coaches who have already established themselves with other universities.
The thing is, the list of coaches that have been thrown out there as possible successors to Gillispie, the majority of names have already established an intimate relationship and success at other universities who are popular right now. Does UK really want to make another Gillispie mistake?
It's clear to me that UK should search diligently and take its time, not just going on a popularity poll. And that, Big Blue Nation, SHOULD take some time. Let's hope it does.
The footage we saw last night on WLEX News of Alan Cutler chasing Gillispie within UK's walls now comes to light on YouTube.
With a little added footage, you clearly see a Billy G who probably wasn't talking to anyone on his cell phone, just using it to avoid the questions he should be expected to answer in a professional way.
But I guess Billy G always had a hard time answering questions - I mean he was being paid to represent this university as well as coach, but failed. He just acted as if he didn't have to answer questions and it shows here in this video.
Seriously, did Alan Cutler really expect Billy G to express his feelings? Billy G doesn't necessarily fit the personality type that would. He does fit the personality type that would do this though ...
... and I will defend Alan Cutler. He is only doing his job. How frustrating it must be to get anything genuine from a guy like Gillispie. You know, Gillispie showed his unprofessionalism here. He could have just said 'look, I'm not going to comment right now.' But he uses a cell phone as an excuse to dodge the media which has a right to ask questions.
I mean seriously, you're going to run like a celebrity running from the paparazzi? Now you're going to act like a celebrity? Whatever. I'm glad he's gone.
courtesy of msnbc.com
Well Billy Gillispie is out at kentucky.
While it doesn't come as a surprise, what does come as a surprise was hearing that the meeting today held at President Lee Todd's mansion only lasted 18 min, and maybe the green Chevy Silverado that reportedly dropped him off and picked him up that had Texas license plates and an Texas A&M decal reveals where Gillispie's true heart is set at.
A 4:30pm news conference is scheduled and they are not allowing live coverage of the event.
UPDATE: 4:30 news conference WILL BE SHOWN LIVE via WLEX TV update (4:11pm)
So yet again we are inevitably going to face ANOTHER transition year with Wildcats in 09-10 with another coaching change. So who's the next coach going to be? We've all heard the three names that's been thrown out there, Calipari, Ford, and Donovan, but here's who I believe is also being considered for the job and may cause the decision to be longer ... much longer ... than we may be used to.
From what I understand, UK Boosters want Rick Pitino back. Point blank. Straight up. No nonsense. They apparently told Pitino to name his price and it's a done deal but Pitino reportedly had said for UK to go talk to Calipari. But the Boosters don't want him. Basically, Pitino told them to talk to Ford and Donovan first before coming back to discuss the potential of him coming back to Fayette Co.
Now all of this is hearsay. Do I believe this happened? Certainly I do. Reportedly, the Louisville athletic department actually has embraced the idea of Pitino leaving for UK because Pitino has already brought prominence back to the Cardinals program (and a 09 championship pending). I've heard they certainly wouldn't fight for Pitino to stay there, and Pitino himself actually has expressed his desire to come back to Lexington where he developed so much success before belting for the NBA. He realized his mistake and what he had going here at UK and wants to come back as head coach of UK again. Do I believe this is true. Certainly. Pitino has expressed his mistake for leaving UK publicly before, and in fact, he has never publicly said anything negative when speaking about Kentucky or anything UK related at all. This displays a lot of respect for UK that Pitino still has which makes me believes when a man is that nice to a commonwealth of a fan base which at times has been very ugly to him that he truly loves this place.
Now I believe I am of the MAJORITY that would actually embrace Pitino back to UK. The media can spin it any way they want.
Now, back to Gillispie. What happened? Well first off, it was a rushed decision. I didn't like the decision personally, which maybe contributes to why I've layed low on this blog for awhile now. I've tried to embrace the change but ultimately Gillispie's demeanor and public attitude has a lot to why I don't like him. First off, I think he's phony. From day one I've admitted that I don't think he has UK in his best interests. I think he purposely over works his players where they come out flat in games. I think he's rude in front of cameras and acts like he knows it all, like he's a God and he doesn't have to dish out any pertinent explanations other than the wussy excuses like 'well we didn't play well enough' crap. At some point Gillispie has to take responsibility, but he has never taken true responsibility at all for the program. Saying 'I take full responsibility' in front cameras doesn't cut it. As the coach of UK, you need to elaborate what you did wrong and give the fans some respect and the community some respect. Gillispie didn't do that at all. I firmly believe what everyone else is now confirming, Gillispie wasn't the 'right fit'.
Why did UK hire him? I don't know. Part of the reasoning behind it I believe is how the media outlets portrayed Gillispie as this coaching 'God' in Texas and immediately threw his name in the mix of possible successors to Tubby Smith as at the time UK was rumored to be getting rid of Tubby. The other part of it is Mitch Barnhart. I don't think he's using his resources effectively enough to make the right decision. Common sense says to think things through, investigate, interview, interview again, interview again, investigate some more before you make a decision on who your next coach is going to be. I feel that Barnhart rushed his decisions mostly because of what the media 'made out' Gillispie to be and partly because he wanted the process to end quickly so that the university could move forward. I feel UK rushed too quickly to name Gillispie as head coach. TOO QUICKLY.
Now I'm glad Gillispie's gone. He never showed the type of genuine emotion you want to see out of your head coach during games. He made odd substitutions. His stubbornness was a virus for this university. He over worked his players, not to say that has anything to do with certain injuries but hey, it is what it is. Patterson has played flat as of late. Yet as the ambassador for this team, you expect Patterson to support Gillispie as the coach. Patterson is a class act, but honestly, the season showed its toll on Patterson and Meeks the last couple months. You were in fantasy land if you thought Kentucky was going to go far in the NIT. Not when your offense revolves around only 2 guys who have been given the responsibility to put this team on their shoulders alone.
Give me one team who has won any basketball championship because of only two players professionally. It's not going to happen, and if it does, it's an act of God.
For what it's worth, it's a smart decision by Barnhart to realize his mistake and part ways with Gillispie. Now it's time for this storied program to take its time, get the right guy for this job, and make an important hire and give the respect of making such a decision it's due process THIS TIME.
I'll be on the record as saying I'd love to have Rick Pitino back.
The start of the new season doesn’t bid well for Gillispie. When he first came to UK last year, I was excited at the opportunities ahead for the basketball program. Although he’s a brutal monster in the recruiting field, I’m not so convinced yet that he has the best interest at heart for the program. I’m going to throw some things out there that may upset some of you, but this is how I feel, and MOST of the time my gut instinct is right on. Ninety percent of the time. And I honestly don’t care if other people think differently or try to persuade me to think differently.
It wasn’t until this preseason that I began to realize that my gut instinct might be right. Last year I let the season play out, trust Gillispie in what he says and how he conducts his practices and styles. Don’t get me wrong, Gillispie is a ball of fury when it comes to recruiting, and he actually has brought a bunch of talent-sized kids to Lexington. I admire his hard work there, but I’m more concerned now that his coaching style might be a ‘one-hit wonder’ and that Mitch Barnhart jumped the Pop Chart too quickly.
It is because of this I decided to follow Gillispie’s word as closely as I can and judge his thoughts and comments and relate them to my original idea that he might just be hurting Kentucky more in the long run. What’s more irritating to you? Having no talent but having a chance to win a championship or having crap loads of talent but not having a chance in hell to win it all? I clearly want loads of talent that will win a championship, but we need a coach that is going to manage the players correctly, manage morale, manage practice times, and treat the players fairly.
Now, before I get into the VMI game, I want to show you an example of how Gillispie is treating his players that I think will affect, if it hasn’t already, the player involved. The VMI game itself is one huge piece of baffelism (yes that’s my new word), but first let’s compare some significant quotes by Gillispie that I think shows he’s hurting player morale already on the team, not to mention he already openly admitted to us all that he tanked the team, whether consciously or sub-consciously is your decision to make, for the second straight home opener in his career at Kentucky, and he has far more responsibility for this year’s opening loss than last year’s.
Let’s go back to the exhibition game against Ouachita Baptist on November 7, 2008. Perry Stevenson led the team with 35 pts and 20 rebounds. This is a kid who has improved so much over the years and probably wouldn’t have flourished so much if Tubby Smith was still here.
Here is Gillispie’s comments on Stevenson’s game.
I know the numbers indicated that he played really well but that is the only place I saw him play well. I don't think he is playing well for us right now. I know that sounds crazy when a guy gets 20 rebounds. He was good in the sense that we played a lot of different combinations in the game and he was the most experienced guy in the game because guys were sitting on the bench because of foul trouble.
I know that sounds crazy. Really Billy? I’m glad we’re on the same page because IT IS crazy. The least you could do here is give credit where credit is due. Stevenson stepped up when no one else didn’t, and you want to focus on the negative? The kid stepped up, I don’t care how he did it, but that’s ok Billy G. If that’s your style and how you want to critique your players, then ok, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt.
I was willing to understand where Gillispie was coming from until the post-game quotes on Meeks after the VMI game. Do you think he would apply the same critiquing style he gave to Stevenson to Meeks’ performance? I mean after all, we LOST the game. Does he put some blame on the players? No, he takes all the blame and even praises Meek’s performance which is very inconsistent and contradictory considering the way he treated Perry Stevenson’s performance.
Here’s Gillispie’s comments on Meeks’ performance against VMI.
He has played his heart out every time he has played (in a game) and in every practice. He played spectacular tonight as far as scoring. He did a great job guarding Austin Kenon once we got started. He made one mistake leaving his man in the second half, but other than that I thought he played fantastic. He was the one guy that was consistent tonight. But that is not going to work when you have one guy scoring 39 points.
Wow. That’s all I have to say. Wow. This time instead of focusing on the negative part Meeks’ game, he decides to praise his performance citing that he was the only consisting thing Friday night. He could have said the same damn thing about Perry Stevenson the game before but Gillispie decided to focus on what Stevenson did wrong and not that Stevenson was probably the only consistent thing in the game against Ouachita Baptist.
Which is it Gillispie? Are we favoring players already over the less talented? Do players like Jodie Meeks and Patrick Patterson do no wrong for you because you regard them much higher as athletes?
Not one critique on Patrick Patterson who showed up flat in Friday night’s opener. He’s our leader and he doesn’t put one bit of responsibility on this kid? It was apparently everyone else’s fault because they couldn’t get the ball to Patterson which was because VMI played a quick up and down game? That’s the excuse? I’m sorry but I’m saying it … Tubby Smith wouldn’t tolerate such analysis from anyone.
Now let’s review what Gillispie said about the loss to VMI which reveals some telling things.
We started off the game with experienced guys on the court. Our guys were playing soft on the ball and not appreciating the intensity of the game. We didn't face up strong and square off to the basket well. We didn't play well on the court tonight and we didn't make crisp passes. We didn't do a very good job getting to our spots very quickly. I noticed way too much walking around on the court. We didn't have much zip on our passes tonight. You can't have 25 turnovers in the game with 16 in the first half. We finally got the lead, then we didn't get an offensive rebound and just let a guy shoot an easy lay-up. There were way too many break-out baskets. All of these problems were my fault. I'm the coach and I should have prepared this team better for this game and not let this happen.
Again, who is the face of this team by the way? Gillispie or Patterson? Some of you would argue this point, but Patterson is Kentucky’s workhorse. He’s our leader and he should be placed a lot of blame for the loss to VMI’s Friday night. Otherwise, maybe Patterson should just play flat all season like he did Friday night with the rest of team and not play with ANY enthusiasm for defending Rupp Arena at all against some team who probably won’t even make it to March Madness. At this rate already, Kentucky won’t make March Madness if the sports writers of America do their voting objectively.
Gillispie puts all the blame on himself and admits to everyone that he didn’t prepare his team for the home opener of the season. So here you go Gillispie, since you’re avoiding to put the proper blame on your team’s leaders , and I don’t know, maybe he’s afraid to offend Patterson since he’s the only player on the team who’s been hyped up to be this untouchable savior for the Wildcats, here’s some proper critique for you.
How dare Gillispie not prepare this team for a season home opener in Rupp Arena. This is Lexington and we expect much better results. We certainly don’t expect some team most of us never heard of to dominate us like North Carolina will Tuesday night and score over 100 in OUR house. This is not acceptable. Two in row doesn’t bid well for Gillispie. Hasn’t he learned anything yet about coaching in Rupp Arena?
What exactly is Gillispie doing? Does he not care at all about how his games are played? I don’t buy that he didn’t prepare his team for this game. I don’t buy that at all, in fact, I think Gillispie knows exactly what he’s doing. I don’t buy that he didn’t scout VMI for Friday night’s game and didn’t prepare a game plan.
I think Gillispie is working these kids too hard and too much in practice so he can achieve these flat results when it counts with a goal in mind to never take seriously to bringing Kentucky back to national prominence. I think recruiting is a way for Gillispie to portray he cares about Kentucky, but so far as much as he has been hyped up to be as a coach, the results are less than par. They are flat out embarrassing. How do you schedule a team like VMI for your home opener and play as an embarrassment to the university and fans?
I am convinced until otherwise contradicted by his results and his attitude that there is something bigger going on here with Gillispie and I’m relunctant to say what the bigger picture is because my gut feeling is telling me that Billy Gillispie isn’t taking his job seriously as he seems to otherwise portray by his demeanor and recruiting results.
I think it’s just as important to let these kids rest and absorb game plans as much as practice is. The key is balancing that out, and I don’t think Gillispie is managing that very well. So far, I don’t see that he shows he can put proper blame and motivation onto those players who rightly deserve it.
Don’t get me wrong, I love this team. I think they can be very special, but in the end, it’s Gillispie’s responsibility to have these kids prepared and properly rested to play and with the enthusiasm for playing for the University of Kentucky.
Do you think you have what it takes to show the internet and the world that you are UK's #1 fan? Well here's your chance to do that and also to win a couple things on the house, courtesy of your The Wildcat Blog.
I want pictures, man. Pictures showing your UK spirit. Starting now until the first week in March, The Wildcat Blog will conduct a search for the best Male and Female picture showing UK spirit based on the pictures we receive from you, the fans! The winning male AND female will win a Wildcat Blog Tshirt AND hat, courtesy of The Wildcat Blog. For a look at what the t-shirts and hats look like, jump to CafePress and check it out.
We're looking for amazing, odd, unique, and shockingly outrageous UK fan pictures to bring to the forefront here at the Wildcat Blog by the time March Madness arrives!!! So show us your pictures people, we'll show them all here (NO OBSCENE PICTURES YO, I WILL DELETE THEM!) and then announce who our winners are. Lets show the world what kind of fans we really are.
What: UK Picture Contest
Where: http://www.thewildcatblog.com
How: Turn your camera on, put on some UK apparel and take some pictures and send them to The Wildcat Blog
When: NOW until the first week of March
Let's make Lexington proud!
Send away, yo, and at the end of this contest I'll zip all the pictures together and send them to Deadspin since the guys over there just love to report on UK in a negative aspect all the time! ;)
This is just as great to watch as eating say, a ... cobbler pie? Yo, this is truely a youtube fav for me, and if you haven't watched it or witnessed it yourself, here you go. It's a little distorted at the beginning, but when the hit happens, you can clearly witness the brutal force coach Brooks has managed to employ on the team. Thumbs up for Brooks, yo!
Got pictures, inside info, or just a general comment about UK? Email The Wildcat Blog and we'll be sure to use it here on this blog!
Tips, kudos, and hugs welcome, too!
