If you aren't cheating, you aren't winning

Anyone that has been following sports can tell you that cheating is prevalent. Whether it is in the professional ranks, college, high school, or even youth leagues. It is simple, you can't get away from it.

That being said, I'm always amazed at the hypocrisy of fans of other college teams that really believe that their team is above cheating. I get it all the time. See, I'm a Kentucky fan. Which subjects me to daily posts from other fans, friends, and family members that tell me how rotten John Calipari is. Seriously, I've heard it all.

"Your coach is a cheater" "Snake oil salesman" "Slimy Coach Cal" "Caliban" "UK has sold their soul"

Trust me, those are just the basic generic ones. But I've got to tell you, I laugh at it really. Look, I'm not here proclaiming Calipari to be an angel or anything. I completely realize that he operates in the gray areas. Some say, he's the master of the gray areas. OK, sure, we'll say that he is. UK fans are always quick to point out that he's never been tagged with anything on his record, but that is quickly debunked by other fans that say they are just blind and are going to cover for him at any cost. OK, let's say that's the case.

My biggest issue in everything is that fans act as if their own team (poo) isn't cheating (don't stink). Let me tell you this....YOU'RE DEAD WRONG.

Case #1

See the guys above? Those guys are the notorious (in AAU circles) Pump Brothers and they are at the center of a brewing scandal at Kansas involving basketball tickets and overall shady practices. The story is best summarized in this great article on Yahoo Sports, but it basically comes down to this. A number of individuals in the Kansas Athletic Department and Basketball Office worked to get tickets for the NCAA Tournament and Big 12 Tournament that were then sold to the Pump Brothers for higher sums of money and scalped (or given away) by the brothers Pump. In exchange, the Pump Brothers AAU programs were potentially helped and the players on those programs (which include the children of Coach Bill Self and Danny Manning) were likely told favorable things about Kansas. The last is just an implication, but one would think that in addition to the money that changed hands for tickets, some advantage for KU basketball would have been expected.

While nothing huge is likely to come from this event (although a number of Kansas staffers have already resigned) it showcases the seedy underbelly of AAU basketball and its effect on college sports. Guys like the brothers Pump (who run teams that are called “Pump & Run”, which was has made me laugh every time I have seen it) are everywhere in AAU basketball and their power is great. Media types and Kentucky rivals’ fans all focus on World Wide Wes and what evil things he might be doing, but they have no clue how the real system works. Every school, or at least most every school, has guys like the Pump Brothers, who have relationships with the University in some unofficial capacity and help in the recruiting process. Go to a big AAU tournament and you will see these guys and if you are at a Final Four somewhere, they will be seeping out of every pore in the city. Add these guys to the scalping of tickets (which is a dirty secret that involves officials and assistant coaches at MANY schools) and you have a recipe for a scandal.

This is my favorite quote from the article...

“Not going there,” Freeman said. “One of them was about 250 pounds and he [expletive] talked like [he had a New Jersey accent]. You seen Goodfellas? I don’t know who the [expletive] they were. I can honestly tell you, I don’t know who the [expletive] they were. It was ‘This is the room you go to, this is the guy you need to see.’ There were no [expletive] names. The door would open and a guy would be standing there with a gun. You walk in, do the deal and you’re out.”

Really? A gun? For basketball tickets and AAU basketball? Surely this couldn't be happening at Kansas? This stuff only happens under Cal's watch right? Wrong.

The hard reality for Kansas however may be this. When the “We Want to Pump…You Up” Brothers got involved in the ticket scalping business with the Jayhawk staff, they will become the fall guys for a much more systemic problem.

Case #2

Cheating at UCONN? Not the great Jim Calhoun. He couldn't possibly know about it or have facilitated it. In the words of the great Lee Corso, "Not so fast my friends."

Gary Parrish writes in his article about how UCONN has absolutely cheated. He states....

"The school released the notice of allegation letter Friday following a 15-month investigation into the recruiting of former player Nate Miles. The eight alleged violations include improper phone calls and text messages to recruits, giving recruits improper benefits and improperly distributing free tickets to high school coaches and others. Coach Jim Calhoun was cited for failing to promote an atmosphere of compliance."

They'll charge them with failure to monitor and move on. But once again...UCONN? This couldn't happen there. It only happens under Cal's watch.

These are just two examples of major programs that have been involved in cheating. And if you think that the coaches (Bill Self and Jim Calhoun) didn't know about this, I've got some clean florida salt water to sell you.

So, whether it's Oklahoma, USC, IU, Kansas, Kentucky, UCONN, or anywhere else. Cheating is going on. You may think it isn't, and if that's the case, I'll gladly come and kick you in the butt while your head is stuck in the sand. So the next time you hear a fan run their mouth about how your team is cheating, look at them and laugh. That's what I do

UK Basketball - A Return to Glory

This past Saturday night the University of Kentucky lost to West Virginia in the Elite Eight of the NCAA basketball tourney. After the loss, I was flooded with a wave of emotions (as well as a lot of text messages) ranging from frustration, anger, and sadness. However, I've since had some time to reflect on this past season and I've changed my feelings on how things went. But in order to explain why I feel this way, I need to step back and explain where UK was.

It was almost a year ago that UK had just finished what some may call as the worst season in recent history. Billy Gillispie had just been hired the year before and managed to lose to teams that no program like UK should ever lose to (Gardner Webb and VMI) and lose horribly bad to Indiana and UNC. However, it wasn't so much the losing that drove UK fans, boosters, and the administration bonkers, as much as it was what was going on in and around Gillispie. There were a few things that led Gillispie down a path that only led to him being fired.

As documented on another blog (KentuckySportsRadio)
They were:
1. Lack of relationships with boosters and staff - "Within his first two months, he refused various meetings with influential alumni, cancelled a 60 year tradition of the Kentucky coach speaking at the Lexington Rotary Club, refused mutiple requests to do “program building” appearances at various in-state events and generally balked at doing all things that were not basketball related".. Additionally, he pissed off many members of the booster club and event some of the athletics dept.

2. Derrick Jasper situation - Jasper was coming off microfracture surgery, the same surgery that Greg Oden had as well as many other basketball players have had. Usually, the down time for a player after this surgery is a year to a year and a half. Additionally the blog states that " Gillispie challenged the young man a great deal on his “toughness” and if he was going to keep “letting his injury be an excuse.” The treatment turned Jasper off and he made the decision to transfer….thus taking away Kentucky’s best point guard prospect and, potentially even more importantly, a teammate that was well-liked" (Keep in mind that Jasper came back from this surgery after only 5 months of time off)

3. Not being liked by the media - Billy G not only managed to piss off boosters and fans, but he also managed to piss off the media. This was building for a long time as there were many issues that went on behind closed doors but a lot of it came out in the open on national tv one night in Oxford.

4. Player Relationships - Many people have said that 7-8 players were going to transfer out because of how horrible Billy G treated the players. He made kids sit in stalls in the bathroom locker room during halftime. He told a player that he had to walk back to the hotel from the arena on an away game. He kicked a player off the team for smiling during a game. There have been many more reports of abuse by Billy G as well.

5. "I'm not an ambassador to Kentucky" - Most consider this to be the straw that broke the camels back. After meeting with the President of the University and the AD, he came out saying this. This is what most people believe ultimately did him in. Billy G never embraced being the coach at UK and any fan of any major college program will tell you that a coach is the face of the program. In Kentucky, he's the face of the state and is more popular than the Governor.

With all that being said, Billy G was fired after not making the NCAA tourney for the first time in 18 years.

Enter John Calipari. He was a perfect fit for this job. Without getting into all the stuff that went on with the hiring and the players that followed...I'll save that for another blog. What I'll say is that he really put some much needed life back into the program. Say what you want about Cal, but anyone that has been around him knows that he puts a lot into philanthropy and the community. Cal started the telethon "Hoops for Haiti" and helped raise over 1 million dollars for the Haiti relief fund. Additionally he really brought the players to closer to the community than ever before and they were embraced more than ever before. Sure, there were maturity problems with those young players along the way, but these guys really did care about the fans that supported them.

Case in point...a lot of people that I talked to think that Demarcus Cousins is going to be arrested in a few years because of attitude problems and that he's selfish. You tell me if this is the same guy that is labeled selfish?


That was DeMarcus Cousins, Mark Krebs, Josh Harrellson, and Darius Miller going to the student basketball courts this past Sunday night (The day after their season ended) and played pickup basketball with the students. Not only that, but if you look at the video, they've got one extra player on their team. It's a boy with down syndrome and they're teaching him how to play. If that doesn't give you a special feeling about these players, I don't know what will. Not your typical "One and Done" selfish player if you asked me. The bottom line is these players care about their university.

So with all that being said, I'm happy. Happy that UK is relevant again on the national landscape and happy knowing that I believe my Cats are in good hands. We've got a great coach and I believe we're going to win championships with him. People can say what they want about him and our players, but I wouldn't trade them for anyone.

Thanks Coach Cal. Thanks Patterson, Wall, Cousins, Bledsoe, Miller, and the rest of you guys. Thanks for giving me a lot of fun and memories this past season.

Game, Set, BEATDOWN

In what was supposed to be a close game, the Kentucky Wildcats put the gas on the throttle and put an ole fashion 29 point butt whoopin' on the Tennessee Volunteers by a score of 74-45. UT tried every trick in the book...flagrant fouling DeMarcus "Boogie" Cousins, 2-3 zone defense, and even sending Steven "Daddy's Boy" Pearl out to start a fight...NONE OF IT WORKED!

In what looked like a sea of blue in Nashville, the Wildcats sent the Vols and all 8 of their fans back home with their tail tucked between their legs. The freshman all put up great numbers, led by Boogie who finished with 19 pts and 15 rbs and punked out all a whole team snitches and bud smokers in orange.


Bruce Pearl can now go home and work on his tan. He wasn't looking as orange today as usual.

We played like I look

The Best Month of the Year

It's the most wonderful time of the year...
There will be much whistle blowing,
and elbows a-throwing,
cause March Madness is heeeeeerrrrreeee...
IT'S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEEEEEEAAAARRRR!!!

That's right folks, it's March Madness! I can't think of a better thing to celebrate the month of March with (sans my anniversary to my beautiful bride - St. Patty's Day) than watching the NCAA basketball tourney.

As a UK fan, the past 5 years or so have been like watching the world pass you by. Not since Patrick Sparks 3 pointer against Michigan State have I been this excited about March Madness.

Let me explain....real short, short, brief history....

Tubby got lazy and stopped recruiting blue chip players and brought in talent that made Auburn look good and UK got progressively worse and worse. I got married, Tubby left for Minnesota, and UK hired Billy Gillispie. He was a hot name at the time and the Big Blue Nation was looking for someone to interject life into the program. After two years under BG's rein, he turned out to be more of a Bobby Knight disciple than Bill Self and was asked to leave. (His treatment of players and drinking issues led to his demise)
In one painful weekend (for me as a UK and Memphis fan), John Calipari leaves Memphis to come to UK and Lexington celebrates as Memphis has a coronary.

So, here we are...
UK begins their quest for a 8 national championship today as they play Alabama in the second round of the SEC tourney. As I said before, I'm really excited about this years tourney because UK actually has a chance. Unlike the past couple of Tubby and Billy G years.

UK has one of those teams that is good enough to win it, but young enough to lose in the second round. Yes, I realize we only lost two games this year, but we never really closed out anyone really well and never played up to our potential.

Here's hoping that we'll be John Wall Dancin' all the way to the finals!

Up first is Bama.

GTHB

John Wall Dances all over Tennessee

I love beating UT. Because I hate them so. John Wall led the way with 24 points over the criminal-snitches and helped UK continue to dominate the Vols year in and year out. Eric Bledsoe chipped in with 16 and Scotty Hopson was left wondering if he made the right choice to attend a crappy school like he did when he could have been part of winning big time basketball at UK. Does anyone at UT know who he is? Doubt it.

Additionally, ESPN did a piece on John Wall and the dance crave that is sweeping the nation. This time, not just the Big Blue Nation




Question....

If UT beats KU and UK beats UT...does that make them better than KU? Hmmm...things to ponder

I love this picture...



Ain't that the truth!

Hoops for Haiti article

I really enjoyed this article. Greg Doyle is a national writer for CBS Sports and does a great side of getting under people's skin. You don't see him give high praises very often, which makes this article even better.

My favorite quote:

"And if you're feeling good at this moment about Kentucky basketball fans, please allow yourself to feel good about the Kentucky basketball coach. Calipari isn't well-liked by people outside of the Kentucky fan base. We all know that. Memphis and Massachusetts reached the Final Four under him, and both schools symbolically vacated those appearances after reports of NCAA violations. That's the history, and you know the history, and because of that history, a lot of people -- a lot of you -- don't like John Calipari. I get that.

Me, I like Calipari. Always have. I have no idea if he knew that an agent had seduced his star player, Marcus Camby, back when Camby was a junior at UMass in 1996. And I have no idea if he knew that his star recruit, Derrick Rose of Chicago, had found an objectionable way in Detroit to post the SAT score necessary to be eligible as a freshman at Memphis.

But I know this:

An earthquake devastated Haiti on Jan. 12, and within five days Calipari had used the power and the passion of Kentucky basketball to raise more than $1 million for victims, with more on the way as Calipari is auctioning off a dinner with himself and Ashley Judd to the highest bidder. President Obama felt the need to call Calipari and thank him, and Kentucky basketball fans, for their help. Maybe you can tell, but I still can't believe this story. The Kentucky basketball community gave $1 million! That's as much as all of India. It's more than Sweden ($850,000). Nothing against those countries, either. Good for them. Every bit helps.

Kentucky lost to unranked South Carolina on Tuesday night, but I've never been more impressed with the Wildcats."

Check out the rest of the article if you want.

http://www.cbssports.com/columns/story/12846974/kentucky-a-firsttime-loser-on-court-but-winner-off-it

My First Love

As most have read, I'm working out a lot in the mornings with my wife and have been enjoying more and more as I go (I know...crazy). But the one workout that is kicking my butt right now is my Weight and Resistance Training class that I'm taking on Tues and Thurs. I am very fortunate that I know the professor/drill sergeant that is going to be putting me through the ringer for the semester. Let me say that I know her through her husband and one of my best friends. We've met on a couple of occasions and have never really talked much. However, this class will allow us to get to know one another a little better. Additionally my drill sergeant and her husband are HUGE Memphis fans.

Here's a little back story...

Last Wednesday night, Memphis had a chance to set the record for consecutive conference wins in a row and unfortunately, they lost. So they are now tied in the history books with a team for the most wins in a row in conference play. The irony is who they are tied with...Kentucky. Yep, that same team that took their former coach and that same team that happens to be my favorite team. So, living in Memphis, I'm always faced with the dilemma of rooting for two teams that don't like each other. I always tell people that UK is my 1a and Memphis is my 1b. My explanation for Memphis is pretty simple. My dad went to Memphis and I remember watching games with him as a kid. Also, I currently go to Memphis, work for the soccer team, and have lived in the city for some time. So Memphis is in my blood.

Well, I was talking to my drill sergeant last week and asked her if her husband was upset about the loss, to which she replied, "Yes, I just left him alone as he didn't want to talk." So we talked a bit about the irony of who they were tied with and I said something to the effect of, "You know, I'm happy because I'm a UK fan and a Memphis fan and they both get to share the record." She looked at me with an almost disgusted look on her face and said, "NO, you cannot be a fan of both teams", to which I replied, "I can't be a fan of two different teams or just those two particular teams?" She smiled and told me that it was UK and Memphis that I had to pick sides with.

So I feel the need to explain my fanhood for UK. It was, my first love....


I grew up in Lexington, KY listening to the legendary Caywood Ledford calling every game. My cousin, Randy and I use to play nerf basketball in his downstairs basemen while listening to games. While most kids growing up would pretend to be Batman, Superman, Michael Jordan, or Joe Montana, I would pretend I was Rex Champman.



Rex was considered a "local" kid from Bowling Green, KY and was a beloved player for UK. "King Rex" and "Rexington Kentucky" were just a few of the names he was given as a player at UK.

From then on I was hooked. I wanted to be Rex Chapman and I wanted to play for the University of Kentucky basketball team. The only problem was that I never grew much and I was always better at soccer.

I spent a large part of my childhood going to UK games at Rupp Arena and football games at Commonwealth Stadium. While the football team isn't as well known as their basketball team, I followed them nonetheless. (I can't stand it when someone is a fan of one sport, say football, and not a fan of the others...you see that a lot with UT fans. Look people, you support a UNIVERSITY not a sport.)

When I moved to Memphis, my love for all things UK actually grew because I was away from going to games and chatting with friends about UK issues. My love for Memphis increased a lot as well because I started attending Memphis games (yes, football AND basketball) and my dad is a pretty big fan.

No one was ever bothered by my fanhood of UK until last March. when John Calipari left Memphis for Kentucky, then people told me I had to choose sides. Or as my drill sergeant stated, "You can't be a fan of both...it's not allowed." Pretty funny eh? Well, got news for ya...I am. I am a fan of both and nothing, not Calipari or even living in Memphis, will make me change my mind. I don't pick my coaches or players, I just support the team no matter what.

I do get the question of what happens if they play each other? Who do I root for? Well, in soccer I root for Memphis because they are my boys, my team, and paying for my school. In basketball, that's another story.

You don't ever forget or root against your first love.