In list form, of course, because that’s how I roll
1. About my absence: I broke my leg in a car accident a month ago. Needless to say, I was incapacitated. The leg’s still broken, but I’m doing a lot better.
2. About John Wall: Holy crap. I had a piece up and ready to go about John Wall and the greatest recruiting class of all time, but then I proofread it and thought it was terrible. Needless to say, I’m excited, and I’ll try to revise it and post it next week.
3. About the site: Apparently it’s just me now. If you were a fan of KC and/or JP, they’ve taken an indefinite hiatus, so you’re left with little old me. If you guys really miss Kenny and Jared, I have their email adresses and I can beg on my knees (not literally, of course) for them to come back and do an occasional guest spot
4: About the Billy Gillispie lawsuit: This can’t end well for him, can it? Does he really want the alleged real reasons he was fired to get out into the open? It would be career suicide. He’d land on his feet at a program with traditionally good football and no pressure in basketball (I’m specifically thinking Texas Tech here), but if some of this stuff comes out, he’ll never work again.
5. About the allegations against Memphis: Don’t go running off to Wal-Mart for bread and milk. I don’t think this thing is going to be as bad as it seemed when the news broke last night and ruined an awesome Lakers/Nuggets playoff game. When I woke up this morning, I saw this statement issued by Kentucky.
STATEMENT FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY
First and foremost, there are no NCAA allegations against UK Head Men’s Basketball Coach John Calipari. Coach Calipari was forthcoming with the University of Kentucky during the hiring process about any issues under investigation at the University of Memphis at that time.
It is normal procedure for the NCAA to ask a former coach to participate in a hearing. Therefore, Coach Calipari will participate as requested.
Coach John Calipari has received a letter from the NCAA stating that he is not at risk of being charged with any NCAA violations in this case.
This is a University of Memphis issue and the University of Kentucky will not comment any further.
UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY MEN’S BASKETBALL COACH JOHN CALIPARI
“Even though I’m not at risk, I will fully cooperate with the NCAA hearing. Beyond that, I concur with the statement from the University of Kentucky and will have no further comment.”
DeWayne Peevy
Associate AD / Media Relations
University of Kentucky
If you lost sleep over what was happening, you shouldn’t have. It wasn’t going to have any bearing on us anyway, and since Calipari was not named in the report, it shouldn’t have any effect on him at all. This news has been out in the open since January. Why it didn’t come into the forefront until the end of May is confusing to me, but that’s how things go sometimes. Sandy Bell is one of the strictest compliance officials in D-I. One has to believe she knew about this and still saw nothing screwy enough to prevent Mitch Barnhart from making the hire. Everything is going to be okay. The only thing this does to Calipari is fuel the fire of the fans of rival schools who claim shenanigans after every Calipari recruit, even though he has a SPOTLESS RECORD WITH THE NCAA.
6. About Jeremy Jarmon: What bull’s crap. I’m not saying the kid didn’t make a mistake. He did. He should have consulted with a trainer to see if he could take whatever he took. But the NCAA was borderline Draconian in how it decided to end Jarmon’s career. NFL players have done what Jarmon did. As a matter of fact, it happened last year with my beloved Minnesota Vikings and Kevin and Pat Williams. They took a weight loss supplement with a diuretic on the banned list and were suspended for four games. The suspension is still under appeal with the Minnesota state court and it is likely that it will be rescinded according to ESPN. So the pro guys lose four games and the college kid, never mind a high character kid that has been the epitome of what an NCAA student athlete should represent, a kid who has already graduated and was planning to study abroad were he not to make the NFL, gets an entire season taken away from him. The NCAA responds with the quickness to kill this guy’s season, almost tripping over their own feet because they were in such a rush, yet we’re still waiting for the inevitable slap on the wrist to USC for PAYING THEIR PLAYERS or to Tennessee for Lane Kiffin acting like a jackass on multiple occasions. Be consistent, NCAA. And be fair.
7. About the greatest sporting event in the world: Be sure to watch the National Spelling Bee this morning. Having participated in one of these things in 2000, I can tell you that the people to cheer for are the ones who go to public school, unless you’re the sympathetic type, in which case you cheer for the homeschooled kids, God help them. I did so badly at the National Spelling Bee that if I’m watching it at home and my dad walks in, I have to change the channel or hear the all too familiar “I got as many damned words right in that thing as you did.” I wouldn’t change a thing, though. The whole experience was just way too fun, and I got to come out of the dugout that Cal Ripken did when he broke the consecutive games streak.
If you’re still concerned about the Memphis stuff, don’t watch SportsCenter. They’re really spinning it against Calipari, never mind that HE WAS NOT NAMED IN THE REPORT, and neither was the phrase “lack of institutional control.” Until you see either his name or that phrase listed, everybody is in the clear.
Thanks for reading.
