UK football embarrassed (worse than last week?), ESPN has torn out my heart, UK basketball has some killer guards this year, the truth behind Carlos Boozer's painted-on hair, and more effusive praise for Anthony Davis.
I need to begin this post by pouring several out for Grantland, which has been forced by its owner, ESPN, to shutter its virtual doors. One of the greatest conveniences of my life when it came to finding intelligent and discerning coverage of sports and pop culture all in one place is gone. I also have to admit that the Sunday Quickies will inevitably end up shorter until I can sort out where some of the oft-linked writers are headed, especially Zach Lowe, Andrew Sharp, Bill Barnwell, and Rembert Browne.
Deadspin has a detailed explanation of how it happened and here is a eulogy from The New Republic.
*Takes on Last Night's Game and Other NCAAF Stories
The defense was flimsy again, the offense was maddeningly inconsistent, and now we have to throw poor special teams into the mix. Like last week, I expected a loss, but not an embarrassment. How many more games do you think UK football will win? Vote below.
I vote two. I now expect an embarrassing loss to UGA in Athens, and then a 2-1 record to finish the season (@ Vandy, vs. Charlotte, vs. U of L). Six wins and a bowl game, just as I estimated in August.
Keith's Recap / Will's Recap (TSK) / Will Shelton's Recap (Rocky Top Talk) / Jen Smith's Recap (LH-L)
Kyle Tucker's Recap (C-J) / 5 Answers (GoVols247) / ESPN Recap + Box Score
Quotes from the team regarding Boom Williams' second quarter elbow injury. We are unaware of how bad the injury is at this point.
"Chalk" basically ruled NCAAF yesterday, as the favored teams won their games. The lone exception was when Miami beat #22 Duke with the help of a crazy lateral-ridden special teams play.
A NCSU assistant coach pushed Clemson QB Deshaun Watson on the sideline yesterday.
UF's backup kicker is a walk-on dental student who won the job in an open tryout.
As I'm sure everyone knows by now, OSU starting QB J.T. Barrett was cited for OVI Friday night and subsequently suspended for next weekend's game against Minnesota. With all due respect to Minnesota, if OSU started Curtis Pulley or even Will Fidler, they'd beat Minnesota (and most other Big Ten teams that they're lucky enough to have on their schedule). Rant over. OSU is talented and should make the CFP, so I'll give credit where it's due, but I've lived in Columbus for nearly eight years now and the OSU fans are as annoying as ever. I can't wait for UK to destroy them in men's basketball in Brooklyn in mid-December.
Deadspin's ESPN College GameDay Sign Roundup.
BONUS: Deadspin pokes fun at UK football. Jared Lorenzen gets mentioned on Deadspin several times a year, but it's usually in reference to this famous photo and not in a Kentucky context.
*UK Basketball + Recruiting
UK opens the season in the number two spot in Ken Pomeroy's always-enlightening rankings. I love advanced stats in basketball. I'm still catching on with football.
Did you know your '15-'16 Kentucky Wildcats have a fairly talented backcourt?
'16 UK target Rawle Alkins' first USA Today blog entry. This is longer and more colorful than some of the previous entries by other prospects. Alkins seems personable, intelligent, funny, and in no hurry to make a decision.
Rasheed Sulaimon's mother is not a Coach K fan. At first, this reads like sour grapes from a mother who loves her son. It is true, however, that we never really got the whole story. Her point that Coach K saw the anonymous sexual assault allegations, which were never substantiated by Duke (draw your own conclusions there) or pursued criminally, as inconveniences which led him to dismiss her son is not entirely unreasonable.
We all know that Sulaimon landed on his feet at Maryland. We've seen this type of scenario before (similar, not identical) with Chris Jones at U of L and Dez Wells at Xavier. Wells also finished his college career in College Park, MD and actually settled a lawsuit with Xavier regarding their handling of the rape allegation. Jones is playing professional basketball in Turkey.
Please understand that I'm not passing judgment on what did or did not happen with respect to sexual assault allegations. I have absolutely no clue. I'm only shining a spotlight on cases in which allegations were unsubstantiated via whatever investigation was undertaken, and a college athlete was still forced to pursue opportunities elsewhere.
*NBA
The greatest mystery of my lifetime has been solved! Carlos Boozer drops some knowledge on us with regard to that spray paint hair he donned in 2012. Groundbreaking stuff.
The NBA season commenced on Tuesday, I know, but this New Orleans Pelicans preview via FiveThirtyEight is yet another publication to laud Davis as the man in the NBA. Specifically, advanced stats (Real Plus-Minus) indicate that A.D. is the best two-way player in the NBA.
That said, though it's very (VERY) early, Steph Curry, last year's NBA MVP, has been unstoppable -- he scored 28 points in the third quarter last night in a victory over the Pelicans. As for A.D.'s MVP chances, your team has to win for you to be given serious consideration for the award, and his Pels are 0-3 and have lost each of their games by 10+ points. Two of the losses came at the hands of Golden State, which can be excused (I guess), but the loss to rebuilding Portland was a terrible look.
Jimmer Fredette, five seasons into his career, is in the D League. Fredette has to be one of the greatest lottery busts of the last decade. Do you remember how saturated NCAAB was with Fredette, that year's NPOY, in '10-'11?
Hall of Famer and two-time ABA MVP Mel Daniels passed away on Friday. In six seasons with the Indiana Pacers, Daniels averaged 19.4 PPG and 16 RPG. That sustainability is impressive.
*NFL
Charles P. Pierce on the NFL's "sin eaters" -- Greg Hardy follows in the dubious footsteps of Bill Romanowski, Lawrence Phillips and Pacman Jones. As usual, Pierce provides a unique and thought-provoking cultural take on a subject about which we'd already thought we'd heard it all.
*Miscellany
When I was at UK ('03-'07), there was a local experimental/noise (everything must be categorized!) band that I loved called Hair Police. I stumbled upon this 8 minute video on Kentucky native Robert Beatty, who was a member of Hair Police. Beatty continues to be a spectacular artist (he's been doing album art for Tame Impala and other national acts) and musician, and has positive things to say about Kentucky in the piece.
Some hilarious X-Files fun for those of us aching for the show's reboot on Fox coming this January.
I'm ~400 pages into Garth Risk Hallberg's City on Fire (you know, his debut novel that secured him an unheard of $2 million dollar advance). It's a behemoth (nearly 1,000 pages), but it is extremely accessible and paces itself very well. If you had any connection to New York City before it got pretty, you've ever had a relationship with another human being, or you appreciate an adept and sure-handed young writer, this book is worth checking out.
Horror movies are the best investment in Hollywood.
Poll
How many more victories will UK football post this season?
4
3
2
1
0
25 votes | Results