There are very few actresses I feel like I could be legit friends with. I’ve already talked about how I could see myself being BFFs with Jennifer Lawrence, to the point I could convince her to drop her UofL fanhood to bleed blue, likely over margaritas at a Malibu beach house. (There would probably be some guacamole involved, too.) Another actress I could see myself relating to is Mila Kunis. Kunis, otherwise known to you guys as that chick from “The 70′s Show,” the voice of Meg from “Family Guy,” or just a smokin’ hot famous person, seems pretty real as far as Hollywood types come. We’re about the same age (she’s almost a year older than me, a technicality to which I will cling because she hits 30 this year), are both pretty laid-back, have the nerve to walk around in public without makeup on, and excel at the “bitch please” look (or so I’ve been told).
Some fun facts about Mila Kunis:
– She was born in Ukraine, and lived there until she was seven
– Her parents moved to LA with only $250 in their pockets
– She didn’t know a word of English when she moved here, which she used as a topic for her college essay
– She’s terrified of bugs
– She recently underwent surgery to correct blindness in one of her eyes
Happy birthday, Mila. Give me a call if you’re ever in Nashville. We’ll drink beers and talk about what you see in Ashton Kutcher.
News. Views.
BASKETBALL
– If you’re traveling to Dallas for the UK/Baylor doubleheader on Friday, December 6th, be sure to stock up on some 5-Hour Energy drinks. The tip times for the Big 12/SEC Challenge games were announced on Tuesday, and Kentucky/Baylor got the late slot, tipping off at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN. (So much for cutting back on Diet Coke.)
Tickets for the game went on presale Tuesday morning, and it looks like the UK VIP section is already sold out. To still get the good seats, use the promo code BAYLOR, or you can just wait until Friday like everyone else who doesn’t read KSR.
– There was a surprising amount of basketball recruiting news on Tuesday, starting with Tyus Jones announcing that he will take an official visit to Kentucky on September 27th. His package-deal pal Jahlil Okafor will visit the Cats on September 9th for the Alumni Game. Interestingly, the two will take every visit together except for the one to Lexington, which could be read in a number of ways:
1) They disagree on Kentucky
Okafor is visiting for one of Kentucky’s biggest nights, whereas nothing particularly special is going on the weekend Jones is in town. Last week, Okafor shot down rumors that he had a frontrunner, and there was chatter that the package deal wasn’t as solid as people made it out to be. Could Okafor be more interested in UK than Jones? If so, a solo visit to campus would be best for him to gauge his interest and for Cal to sell the program to him.
2) They agree that the visit doesn’t mean as much, so it isn’t as important
On the other hand, maybe Okafor and Jones do agree that Kentucky isn’t as high on their priority list, so it’s not a big deal if they take the visit separately.
3) Their schedules simply didn’t line up
Or, maybe Jones just had a conflict and couldn’t join Okafor in Lexington on September 9th. But that’s not nearly as fun to analyze.
Whatever the reason, Duke still has Jones and Okafor’s final visit at the end of October, right before signing period. Read into that what you may.
– While Jones and Okafor couldn’t agree on a time to visit Kentucky, two other friends in the 2014 class may have. According to several reports on Tuesday, fellow IU decommits James Blackmon Jr. and Trey Lyles will most likely visit for Big Blue Madness, which is beyond huge. Blackmon told the Courier-Journal’s Steve Jones that chances are “big” that he’ll take an official to UK for BBM, and Lyles’ father told Rivals’ Corey Albertson that his son will probably do the same. The two may also take a visit to Florida together. In addition, Blackmon said he may visit UK unofficially on August 20, and that the offer from the Cats was “a really big deal.”
Lyles’s father says Cal has called to check in often with his son, and that lately, has asked about Trey’s strength training routine. If you missed my profile of Lyles earlier, one of the areas I mentioned he could improve was his strength, so it’s good to see that Cal and I are on the same page about that, even if we disagree about our favorite Orange Leaf flavors.
– In case you’re keeping count, here’s the guest list for Big Blue Madness so far:
Confirmed: Stanley Johnson, Emmanuel Mudiay
Likely: Devin Booker, Trey Lyles, James Blackmon Jr.
– Is that enough basketball news for you? 2014 point guard Tyler Ulis will take an unofficial visit to Kentucky on Friday, according to Dave Telep. Ulis doesn’t have an offer yet, but his impressive summer circuit drew interest from Calipari. Our own Jay Hochstetler talked to Ulis last week about his interest in UK, so if you want to hear more, click that link.
FOOTBALL
– Another “good day,” another “good practice” for Mark Stoops and the team. You can read Nick Roush’s full recap of practice here, but Stoops said that the team had a “good and long and good, physical practice,” capped off by a 50-yard touchdown run by Jalen Whitlow: “He pulled one and ran right in the end zone. Not very good defense, but he looked good running down there.”
Does that mean that Whitlow’s in the lead for the starting quarterback spot? Stoops refused to tip his hand, but said that even if Whitlow isn’t named the starter, the staff will find a way to have him on the field because of his playmaking ability (which is exactly why this gal thinks Whitlow will be named the starter in the coming week).
– It was DJ Eliot’s turn to face the media on Tuesday, and the defensive coordinator said that despite some “up and downs,” he liked the players’ intensity: “We had our ups and downs, did some things good though which I wanted to see. We played with an intensity, we played physical at times and we haven’t done that throughout training camp at times and we did today.”
– How about Ashely Lowery, who’s been running with the first team in practice despite his horrifying car crash over the summer? Stoops said that he will make a decision soon on whether or not Lowery will start against Western: “He is going with the first team, and I will make a decision on (discipline) pretty soon here. We haven’t gotten into specifically game planning for the first game yet.
– Have you checked TheOuterCourts.com today? Matt and Drew are still in Cincinnati covering The Western & Southern Open, and have been updating their Tennis Channel blog with the latest news and gossip from the courts. On Tuesday, Matt interviewed Tommy Haas in an uncomfortably small room, while Drew got up the nerve to wish Sloane Stephens good luck in an elevator. Their accounts of it are much more entertaining than that, I swear.
– Finally, save the date for The Cardinal Hill Kentucky Bash at Donamire Farm, which takes place Friday, September 6th at 6:30 p.m. Mark Stoops, Jennifer Palumbo, Jared Lorenzen, and other Lexington celebrities will be in attendance, along with our own Matt Jones and Drew Franklin. Individual tickets are $125 each, and tables start at $1,200 (seating eight).
It sounds like the perfect way to pre-pregame for Kentucky’s season opener if you ask me. See you in the morning.