A Sea Of Blue

I am just thankful

that the camera didn’t show Len Elmore’s “Oh” face. Anyone seen my red stapler?

kywineman - January 22, 2012 reply

I was glad to see Tennessee-

Beat U Conn… And Murray State should be #1 tomorrow. :-P
I worked Sat., and watched a dvr’d version of UK’s win against Alabama. It was a good game. Another hard fought victory. We could play better in some areas, but it is hard to complain when you are 19 and 1. I was most impressed with my boy Smooth. If he and D. Miller hit shots, we are almost unbeatable. Wilt is getting better avery game too. AD showed he was human, but still played well. MKG wills himself to wins. I was interested to see who Glenn gave the game ball to, because almost everyone contributed… See ya’ll Tuesday night…

iam4ukintn - January 22, 2012 reply

IF this weekend was a sneak peek into the post season

NCAA, there is no way that this is not going to be one of the best tournaments in a very long time.

New 'do, new mojo!

a2d2 - January 23, 2012 reply

Classy act by Porter

Not a lot of people know the ravages of ALS (Lou Gerhig’s disease). Porter performed a very kind act.

jdogblue - January 23, 2012 reply

true

I’ve worked in medicinal chemistry and it’s amazing how little money is available for ALS relative to other diseases, relative to other diseases. But I know of a few groups that are working very hard on ALS. Hopefully there is a breakthrough soon.

Porter will always be remembered for his class acts. It’s easy to forget he was a pretty good basketball player who played his last two years at UK under a pretty lousy mentor.

doldham - January 23, 2012 reply

UK Is "It" With Recruits

Five Star Basketball interviews top recruits on their thoughts concerning Big Blue.

Wild Weasel - January 23, 2012 reply

I like it!!

kentuckyrules - January 23, 2012 reply

Great link-

Luv it!

iam4ukintn - January 23, 2012 reply

It was my dream school too.

GoLightning - January 23, 2012 reply

The news that JD Harmon is coming to UK may be small to most

but I am from Paducah and was at a game this season and JD was electric. Not sure how he will translate from high school to college but I watched this kid return punts, kick offs, etc. like Devin Hester. He was able to break tackles, and once even jumped over a tackler who dove too soon. Just a fun guy to watch.

Again only one game but I look forward to seeing how he performs at the next level.

StLHugo - January 23, 2012 reply

I said something about this earlier concerning Paterno, and I know I will probably be in the minority,

but I am also not trying to be totally reactionary concerning Joe and what his “legacy” will be.

Based upon his work as a coach, the man deserves accolades all the day long. But that cannot be allowed to overshadow, or “outweigh” what occurred at Penn State with the Sandusky crisis. Sandusky, if guilty, is something which could be mistaken for a substance which needs to be scraped off of one’s shoe before entering the house. But there has to be a reckoning for Paterno’s inaction. While the explanation has been made public, the inaction, has not been truly explained. While history may see this as simply a good man who made a mistake, that mistake holds a world of complications that have effected the lives of a lot of young men who Paterno, by result of that same position that he holds and deserves accolades for, must also be tied to for history.

Forgiveness, while not mine to give where Paterno’s actions are concerned, will probably be the overwhelming attitude where JoePa is concerned, and I am fine with that, just as long as all of those young men are.

nicely said

especially this:

While history may see this as simply a good man who made a mistake, that mistake holds a world of complications that have effected the lives of a lot of young men…

Given his long tenure and success, there’s no telling how many young men he positively impacted; he should be remembered appropriately for that as well. But every discussion of Paterno has to include the consequences of his lack of action. I saw that not only for the number of people hurt, as you mentioned, but because for many of these men a lifetime may not be enough for the mistakes to be rectified.

doldham - January 23, 2012 reply

I find it hard to judge.

Partly because I actively resisted the feeding frenzy that made Paterno’s celebrity the center of the story. I still do. But mostly because I don’t know all the facts. And you know, I think I’m perfectly fine with that. I’m in no hurry. Time has a way of settling the history of events. Maybe then, in the cool light of reflection, I’ll come to some final opinion of the man. It’s a fascinating combination of subjects, from moral responsibility to the unfolding of Black Swan events. If I had to guess, my opinion will probably be more favorable than most.

Wheatgerm - January 23, 2012 reply

I understand....and I agree to a point....

I am not completely 100% convinced of Sandusky’s guilt yet, and he has not yet been tried…..so on the basis of that, there is still room to allow for doubt. If there comes a point where Paterno is shown to be absolved of this deal, then I am all for forgiveness…..and I only judge up to the point of opinion…..

darkandbloody@gmail.com - January 24, 2012 reply

The thing is ...

… even if Sandusky cannot be convicted (his guilt or innocence will likely never be known for certain to anyone but him and the others directly involved), Paterno’s failure to take the matter seriously enough is unchanged. As I see it, it really doesn’t matter whether Sandusky is found guilty or not as it relates to the magnitude of Paterno’s failure, although it will certainly impact how he is remembered.

Historical figures are often judged on more than one level. For example, John Wooden’s almost certain failure to properly monitor his program is overcome by his success and his quality as a teacher. That doesn’t change the fact that he almost certainly looked the other way as his players got extra benefits.

How will it play out with Paterno? If Sandusky is convicted, the taint will unquestionably be greater, even though that really isn’t the issue. But it’s perception, not reality, that matters. How will history ultimately judge him?

As usual, it depends on who writes it.

Glenn Logan - January 23, 2012 reply

ain't that the truth.........

Greg Alan Edwards - January 23, 2012 via Android app reply

Visiting the Folks In Paducah

So I listened to O’Reilly with them. I am not a O’reilly fan, but he made a great point about this and that was: what happened at PSU is exactly what happened with the Catholic Church. IE, responsible people looked away because they wanted to protect the institution. As a Catholic it angers me what happened, but as I do the Church I take the good at PSU (of which there is a great deal) with the bad ( which is very very serious).

Additionally, there is this: possibly Joe P like some of the Bishops didn’t comprehend what they were told because it was so foreign to them. Maybe it is age or experience or life style, but I was nearly 45 before I understood that child sex abuse was real. That people did do that stuff to children. I still struggle to understand how people can do that and why society tolerates it at all.

And it is all too real and frequent. In the years since I turned 45 I learned that my own father was sexual abused as a child and that a childhood friend of mine was a horrific sexual predator. In addition a year or so ago my wife and I learned that a child we mentor was physically abused by a parent.

The last thing I will say is, yes, it is difficult to judge, but judge we must and good men cannot tolerate men preying on children or women or the helpless and those that do not stop it, like Joe P and the Bishops, must be called out and judged as well .

On a happier note, I intend to attend the Murray game on Saturday and some high school basketball this week.

Tip of the iceberg

Regarding the Sandusky matter. For each young man that has come forward to reveal the true nature of this very sick individual, there are probably 4-5 more that are fearful of humiliation and embarrassment to their families and love ones. You’ll never hear from them, but they’ll take it to the grave with them. Living in a shadow and having this bear on their souls immensely each day.

KansasUKCat - January 24, 2012 reply

Ahhh....good weekend for 'Cat fans...

I have a co-worker who is a Duke fan…time to rub-it-in gooood since she messed w/ my “win” chart at my desk, BOLD-FONTING the “L” in the IU game on my sheet!!!! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr………….

kentuckyrules - January 23, 2012 reply

I always liked Porter

He was not done any favors by being forced into the point guard position. Cal has done a great job bringing back players to be involved in the program and I would like to see him bring back guys such as Porter, Ramon Harris, Joe Crawford, Patrick Sparks, Cliff Hawkins, etc as well as the NBA guys.

I’m going to go a different direction on Austin Rivers – that’s exactly how he should feel. A couple years ago when UK lost at South Carolina the Cats were still the better team. Maybe FSU is better than Duke, but Duke players shouldn’t feel that way.

JLeverenz - January 23, 2012 reply

I agree with you about the players should

feel their team is better. However, one finds it hard to pass up the opportunity to step on a dookie when they’re down.

oh sure, I don't begrudge you that ;-)

JLeverenz - January 23, 2012 reply

Apparently, the Updyke plea deal has such a long sentence attached because...

…they charged him with some form of recklessly endagering the water supply.

It’s a bit of a stretch.

bob in bg - January 23, 2012 reply

Stupid is as stupid does.

"A bit of a stretch"?

Yeah. like trying to reach from here to the moon. :-)

Sure, it’s plausible, but any environmental chemist is likely to impeach that evidence.

Glenn Logan - January 23, 2012 reply

The guy kiiled a couple of trees and needs to be punished for that.

Not sure making up other stuff is the way to go here. It is going to come down to the value of the trees as to the punishment ultimately given out. They can also make him replay that in a civil court. But endanngering the water supply is not even plausible at all in my humble opinion. There are some people trying to make a name for themselves here.

GriffinRC - January 23, 2012 reply

It really depends on the chemicals used

and proximity to ground water sources. EPA laws can be pretty strict. I think making him pay for the trees is the best way to go. He could earn some money by opening a toilet paper concession on the corner.

Synchronicity?

This is Week 12 of the season. 2 years ago the Cats ascended to #1 in the Week 12 rankings only to lose it the next day to South Carolina. Hopefully the trip to Georgia will have a better outcome.

JLeverenz - January 23, 2012 reply

Don't look now...

.
.. but that is TWO schools from the SEC at the top of the basketball polls.

Just as there were two at the top of the football polls.

HSLex - January 23, 2012 reply

I started to say that - Man next year we could have our hands full in just our division

With a greatly improved Vol’s team, Missouri, Vandy maybe not because of graduation and Florida.

KansasUKCat - January 24, 2012 reply

are we keeping divisional scheduling for next year?

I’d like to just pick 2-3 permanent rivals to play twice a year and then rotate everybody else (as a Tennessee fan, I’d pick UK and Vandy)

Greg Alan Edwards - January 24, 2012 reply

I honestly dont know if they have gotten that far yet.....

but it is definitely going to be an interesting schedule next year

I guess I just assumed we would play everybody in our division twice - that's two extra games isn't it - hmmm

God I hate using lotto ball draws to select your opponents in basketball. How else are they going to do it. If a set of minds select the competition there will be and always be many unsatisfied teams in the league.

KansasUKCat - January 24, 2012 reply

that's three extra games

two against Missouri, one against A&M

my preferred option

is that every team protects 2-3 rivalry games that happen twice a year (I’m sure everybody in the East would want to protect Kentucky, but y’all must have 2-3 that rise above the rest. Hopefully we’re one of them). As a Tennessee fan, Kentucky and Vanderbilt are the obvious top two choices. After that, you play everybody at least once, and the remaining 1-4 (depending on how many protected rivalries there are and whether our schedule goes to 18 or stays at 16) teams that you play twice in a given year are rotational.

To me, this seems like by far the simplest solution that maintains the biggest rivalries and keeps things competitively balanced.

I thought they were dropping

the divisions in basketball… even before adding A&M and Missouri.

But I could (easily) be wrong.

HSLex - January 24, 2012 reply

divisions have already been dropped for standings

but still exist for scheduling. obviously, the scheduling situation must change with the addition of Mizzou and A&M

Gotcha.

.
Well then, if we pick 3 rivals from the East I guess it would be UT, Vandy, and Florida.

HSLex - January 24, 2012 reply

and if we picked 3, it'd be UK, Vandy, and Florida

I somehow don’t think everybody would get their first three choices, or else Georgia and Carolina would be completely left out. But I’d hope we could get two of the three

Incipient_Senescence - January 25, 2012 reply

Hey...

.
… this is the ball that is round.

That means that we should get priority, this time.

(Actually, it is probably ESPN and CBS who would get to choose, I bet… unless I am not understanding how things work these days…)

HSLex - January 24, 2012 reply

Tennessee lost two of our top five football rivals during the '92 realignment

being at the top of the conference doesn’t mean you keep all your rivalries. Although it should mean you keep your #1 rivalry (we didn’t lose the Third Saturday in October). Who is your #1 (conference) rivalry? Us?

For me? Yes you guys in conference. ;-)

I think most everyone else too.

a2d2 - January 25, 2012 reply

UK Hoops retains #6 in ladies polls......1-8 all went undefeated the last week....