Jesco White's Birthday and the Cats Invade the YUM! Center: News and Notes

A lot of you probably don't know who Jesco White is but if you watch the above video then you will. Jesco is the Dancin' Outlaw from West Virginia and was made famous by the movie of the same title and another film entitled the "Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia". I have seen both movies and have become a "fan" of sorts. Not the type of fan that admires him, the type of fan that cannot look away from the train wreck that is his life.

Jesco was in Louisville, Kentucky this weekend at Headliners to celebrate his 55th birthday. I didn't find out about this until yesterday. I was very upset that I missed it. My wife also has the same type of weird curiosity about this fellow that I do and she was equally disappointed that we didn't get to see him go dance.

So here is to you Jesco. Happy birthday. I'm sure you don't have many left.

Onto the PACKED edition of News and Notes:

-There is a lot of news to get to, but the biggest is the rumor of a second UK Legends game that seems to more reality than it is rumor. A second Legends game is scheduled for the YUM! Center in Louisville on August 16, the day after the first one. The kicker is that Brandon Knight will be on the team and will be joined by none other than Jorts. Expect Jorts to have an epic night if he plays. History dictates that he gets a double-double every time he steps into the YUM! Center.

-Joe B. Hall has asked Coach Denny Crum to coach in the Legends game and Crum has expressed major interest. Not only will Kentucky be holding a UK Legends game in the YUM! Center but the Cats might be coached up by the Cardinals' most legendary coach. I can't stop the laughter.

-Rick Pitino is holding a press conference today. They will surely ask him about all the Big Blue traking over the YUM! Center and Denny Crum being part of the invasion. I will be watching like a hawk. Pitino is going to say some pretty stupid crap.

-Not only is it fun to watch UK have a Legends game, it is equally as fun to watch them do it in the Enemy's front yard. The Cats are going into Tom Jurich and Rick Pitino's Chicken Bucket to give the Millions, and Millions of Cats fans in Louisville a chance to enjoy their favorite team. The city of Louisville belongs to the Cats, make no mistake about it. Could the Cards pull this off in Lexington? Hell to the No. The Card fan reaction is going to be epic.

-Eloy Vargas is being given a chance to earn a spot on the Dominican National team. This is a great chance for him to show how much he has improved in the off season. John Calipari has issued a challenge to Eloy, he better step up and play like a pro if he wants to make this team.

-Bruce Pearl is coaching the NBADL Dallas team. Point and laugh.

-Joker Phillips one upped the "Greatest Recruiter and Coach in the History of the World" yesterday by pulling four recruits, one of them from the grasp of Chuck Strong. The Cats have 15 commitments for the 2012 class. I am getting excited about the direction of the program.

-The Big East press conference was held and nobody cared. Louisville was picked to finish 7th out of 8 teams. Of course, the fans are crying fowl (hahahahahahahahaha!). It still hasn't registered that they only went 6-6 last year, lost 25 seniors, lost their entire offensive line, and have a midget starting at quarterback.

-The Big East football title game might be held in Yankee Stadium in the future. It will be half full for the game.

All in all it was a great day to be a Cats fan. I told you there was a lot of news. I will be back later to fill you in on Pitino's press conference. I am hoping for some comedy.

Weekend Wrap Up: Smaki Walker joins the Cardinal Convict Club

The photo that Samaki Walker has submitted to the Yum! Center's Cardinal hall of fame. It goes right next to Terrence Jenning's and Jerry Smith's

It's time to finish up a busy weekend with a late Sunday night post. I'm going to be out the next two days due to business, so I leave you in the capable and caring hands of Monster Mash.

-The big news this weekend was the Joe B. Hall deal with the NCAA. As we all know by now the NCAA decided in it's infinite stupidity that Joe B. Hall coaching the UK Legends team would somehow violate some rule that the NCAA made up. Hall was very upset and hurt by the decision. Coach Cal stuck his middle finger up at the powers that be and let Hall become a member of his Dominican coaching staff. Check Mate, NCAA.

-The whole scenario of the NCAA meddling with this game smacks of conspiracy theories about how the organization hates UK and especially John Calipari. I'm not saying this is so, but I'm not sure the NCAA would have stepped in if Duke was having a game like this.

-Samaki Walker became the latest member of the Cardinal Convict Club. Walker got busted by cops for having pot and liquid steroids. Reenacting Cardinal Willie Williams, Walker decided to try and eat the pot instead of going quietly into custody. Walker was pulled over by a police officer in Arizona. Walker also tried to get off by saying that the steroids are legal in Syria, where he is now playing "professional" basketball.

-John Calipari is highlighting all of the incoming players, including Ryan Harrow. This week Cal takes a look at Kyle Wiltjer. Wiltjer is a movie buff, like yours truly, and has developed an old school game that includes a hook shot. Wiltjer is a basketball historian of sorts. He is a player that gets lost in the mix with the other stellar freshmen. I have a feeling Wiltjer is going to wow all of Big Blue Nation and will be very, very hard to guard. Just like Kyle Kuric.....NOT!

That's it from me for a couple of days. Another week of slow news and football season will break us out of the doldrums.

Where Does UK go from Here?

It's been an exciting day in the world of Kentucky basketball to say the least. Monster Mash has already highlighted the UK "Pros" game. Let's talk about the fact that John Wall and Rajon Rondon, among others, will enroll in classes this fall at UK while the NBA lockout continues and will be undergraduate assistant coaches on the basketball team.

What does this mean:

A). If you are a student at Kentucky you could sit next to John Wall in your Macro Economics class

B). College co-eds will be trying to figure out which classes the NBA guys will be taking

C). The NBA players will be able to participate in practice with Kentucky

D). The NCAA and all of Calipari's critics can shut it. Those that say that Calipari and his players don't care about education have just been silenced. These guys are millionaires and they don't have to go to school for any reason besides their love for education.

Marquis Teague will be practicing against John Wall and Rajon Rondo. This is going to take Teague to the next level in a HURRY. Recruits coming to visit UK will see all of these NBA guys at practice playing against the current team. Will they see this at any other school? I think not.

John Calipari has done more for Kentucky in the last two years than Tubby Smith and Billy G did, besides the National Title that Tubby won.

Other than a national championship, where does Cal take the Cats from here? The future is so bright for Kentucky it is absolutely insane. Being a UK fan right now is the greatest thing in the world and I am ready to debate anyone on that fact. Ball is in your court Dirty Birds.

Pro's vs Joe's (aka UK Lengends vs Dominican Republic National Team)

Boogie told us that we can't call it the "UK Legends Team" and Ticketmaster is complying instead calling the team the "The Pros" and they'll be facing The Dominican Republic National team. At 10:00 AM this morning the tickets went on pre-sale (and will run through 10pm tonight reopening Monday at 10:00 AM). You can still get your tickets using the Password NATIONAL when prompted. Here's the link to the site if you can't manage Ticketmaster

Reports have it that the lower level $35 tickets have sold out but upper level $15 tickets and the lowest Rupp tickets are still available ($100 and $1200).

It'll be an exciting time and the closest thing to a professional basketball game in the state of Kentucky since the Draft Cats took the court (unless you count the Harlem Globetrotters).

The best part about this game outside of 8 former Kentucky fan favorites? There will be a familiar opponent on the other side of the court in former UL Cardinal Francisco Garcia, who will be playing for Calipari on the DR squad - my only question, is it OK to boo him since Cal is coaching him?

I love basketball in August - it's the best thing since the teams trip to Canada last year!!!

The NCAA are Buzzkils: News and Notes

Nothing can stem my excitement for the fact that it looks like Sportsthat is for sure going to the UK Legends game, but the NCAA sure has thrown a wrench in the works.

UK has complied with the NCAA on this whole event and Cal has made sure that rules are not broken, i.e. Terrence Jones on the UK team or John Hood coaching with Calipari on the Dominican side. The NCAA still has to come in a assert it's "authority" and rain on the parade a little bit.

Here are the new NCAA rules:
-Joe B. Hall cannot coach in the game
-The UK Legends team cannot be called the UK Legends team
-No TV or radio broadcasts are allowed
-John Calipari cannot honor any of the old UK players

I can maybe see the radio and TV broadcast thing, but the rest of these rules are ridiculous. How are they breaking any real NCAA regulations? They aren't. This just continues to show the bias the NCAA has for some teams.

On with the News:

-I highlighted the Governor's Cup presser last night and came away with a feeling of confidence in Joker. He really is high on this team and he seems to think that they are just a few young guys stepping up from being a really, really good team. I hope you are right Joker.

-On the Louisville side of things, Charlie Strong seemed downright depressed. He pretty much stated that his team is going to be young, inexperienced and all around bad. This does not stop Louisville fans from continuing to insist that the game in Lexington will be a blow out win for the Cards. They are idiots.

-Dick Vitale Tweeted his disgust in the stupid NCAA rules for the UK Legends game. "NCAA rules r wacky-Joe Hall being denied to coach an all star team of ex UK players. Can't common sense be used! Hall is 82!" A lot of people don't like Dickie V because of his Duke obsession. I can look past that because he hates the NCAA and is a big time Cats cheerleader.

-Chad Ochocinco has joined Albert Haynesworth as the latest disgruntled malcontent that has joined the Patriots and will shine this season. NFL, you better watch out.

That's all for now! Enjoy your Friday.

Governor's Cup Presser Break Down

First and Foremost, Joker Phillps:
-Joker came out and said "We are going to be pretty damn good this season" in kind of a joking manner in response to his intro. I think he was serious when he said that they will be good if some young guys step up.

-He mentioned Rick Minter's name as the new defensive coordinator and received cheers. He mentioned Steve Brown's name as co-coordinator and defensive backs coach and there were crickets.

-He introduced the rest of the coaching staff. There were like 100 of them. It was quite boring.

-Joker said that there were some questions on the offensive side of things but there would soon be answers.

-The offensive line should be the strength of the offense as well as the tight end position.

-A lot of production was lost at QB, wide receiver and running back but he said that he feels really good about replacing those players with guys that are going to produce.

-Defense will be the strength of the entire team. 10 starters are returning on D including All SEC linebacker Danny Trevathan.

-Ridge Wilson moved from a linebacker to a defensive end to replace DeQuinn Evans.

-Winston Guy has been moved from safety to outs tide linebacker.

-The players switching positions was done to increase speed on the field.

-Joker said they signed "true receivers" instead of athletes that they had to teach the position to, like Cobb. This should help with production.

-He stated that the rivalry has elevated both programs to a higher level in competition.

Overall: Joker talked for over eight minutes and was very positive and up on his team the entire time. He seems to be more comfortable as the head coach this year and he has a lot of confidence in his guys.

And now, Charlie Strong...booooooo!!!!!

-First off, the guy that was introducing both coached must be a Louisville fan because he was kissing Strong's butt. He stated that Strong already turned the program around, will bring them to the top of the Big East and will soon compete for a national title. All these morons are in for a HUGE disappointment.

-I like Strong. He went up to the guy and laughed and said "National Championship?", like "Are you kidding me?" This guy isn't dumb. He knows where he is and what conference he is in.

-He said the Beef O'Brady's Bowl win set the foundation for the future of the program. That's a pretty lame foundation.

-The Cards lost 25 seniors, including 14 starters. Ouch.

-Strong used the "R" word a lot, as in "Rebuilding". According to Louisville fans and the douche that introduced him, the Cards are primed to take on Alabama, Auburn, Oklahoma, USC, LSU and Florida. All at the same time.

-The coach pointed out that his team has A LOT of weaknesses. The guy is making more and more sense with every word.

-The Cards rank 119 out of 120 teams in regards to returning experience. Ouch again.

-None of their 3 QB's have started. Weakness.

-Only one returning starter on the offensive line. Weakness.

-They have two returning running backs that can produce. Strength.

-4 starters return on offense. Weakness.

-Strong stated that the defensive line is their strength. If they have one.

-Nobody asked Strong any questions after he offered. I think everyone was depressed after he was done.

Overall: Strong was the exact opposite of Joker. He was down on his team and expressed concern of key positions. He did state that they are far away from where they want to be but they will get there.

I am getting close to a score for the game but I am going to wait to the week of to see how these two play early. I think UK might be mediocre or even better than expected. I truly think Louisville is going to be awful this year. Kragthorpe awful. I will hold to my prediciton that some UofL fans will be ready to toss Strong out on his butt because of the unfair expectations they have placed on him. More analysis as the game approaches.

Come back in the morning for a ton of news.

Joker Phillips Comes out Swinging

The hook up that the Courier Journal has for the Governor's Cup press conference is terrible and keeps cutting out on me. It's hard to listen to and I missed almost everything Charlie Strong had to say, which doesn't make me too sad at all.

What I did catch was Joker Phillips saying "We are going to be pretty damn good this year. If we get some young guys to step up, we are going to kick some people."

First off, I love Joker's confidence. That's about as inspiring and confident as I have ever heard him in a public venue. He either: A). Must like what he sees so far at practice; or B). He is trying to pump up a young group on offense. Either way, I bet Strong tickled in his Fruit of the Looms a little bit when he heard Joker say the "D" word.

I'll be back tonight with commentary on what both coaches said once the transcripts are made available online.

College football is around the corner and I'm damn glad of it.