December 10, 2012
Kentucky is doing the right things in football?

I’m Ron Burgundy?

Reports abound today confirming that Texas Tech offensive coordinator Neal Brown is coming to Kentucky to assume the same position for a bunch of money, bringing his wide receivers and running backs coaches with him. I’m excited to get all three, but more intrigued with the idea that Mark Stoops/Mitch Barnhart is actually putting together a staff to address, you know, football stuff on the football team, as opposed to some folks who were less than proven (Mike Archer excepted, sort of) to assume similar positions. These guys, along with new defensive coordinator DJ Eliot bring things to the table that Kentucky has not had on said table before: youth, significant responsibility and associations with winning programs on the BCS level, and recognized recruiting acumen. I’m, like, excited about the possibilities of having a football team that is good at football and stuff.

This could all blow up in our collective faces, of course. But I can’t remember a time in my memory where I was more jacked up about the football program’s coaching staff. I loved Papaw Brooks, make no mistake, but I think even he would be jealous of the potential this group has once they’ve had time to do their work, i.e. coach a few seasons and get the players they think they need to be successful.

This is pretty much unheard of in Lexington. Leadership appears to be putting the football team in the best place it can to succeed. What? That’s not a sentence I think I’ve ever written about Kentucky before. I sure hope it works. Go Cats.

2:18pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZgqfcwZ4CWEZ
Filed under: kentucky kentucky football college football 
July 19, 2012
GUESS WHO’S BACK, BACK AGAIN

VanderKitty

Speculate ye who hath returned! Returned once more! VanderKitty hath returned! Advise your colleagues!

What-ho and salutations, ye supporters of Deare Olde Vanderbilt! Numerous are the months that hath passed since we last met to discuss the sporting fortunes of our fair university, but be not affrighted! This week in Birming-Ham, Alibamo, our very own firebrand of a coachman, Jameson Franklingtonshire, hath informed the gathered, slovenly, predominantly elephantine masses with their various recordation machines that all is on the up-and-up in Nash-Ville collegiate footballing!

I must say, I am much pleased with this news! I have recently been greatly disturbed by the fortunes of my dear friend and compatriot, J.P. Meowrgan of New York and his recent ill-advised business ventures. Old J.P., a real brick if ever one there was, is so beside himself, his wife forced him to take a month’s vacation on his vintage sailing yacht to Tahiti just to calm his nerves! No doubt he will purchase a vacation island whilst there, the old Palooka!

Well, dear friends, I must be off to my chateau for a much deserved nap and a crystal goblet filled with Fancy Feast. Adieu, mes amis!

2:18pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZgqfcwPh627V
Filed under: vanderbilt college football 
July 14, 2012
On JoePa.

We all give Rick Reilly a bunch of shit for being awful at writing columns. But his recent post on ESPN is pretty much spot on. We didn’t know anything about Paterno. Up until 9 minutes ago, I didn’t know he actively tried to cover up over a decade of child rape because he feared what it would mean for his football program and for his buddy Sandusky. Mostly the program. And with zero regard for the lives he allowed to be ruined. That’s unforgivable. I’ve kind of defended him just because of all the good he did in his long career, but these most recent revelations absolutely crush all of that. I’m angry that sports has that kind of control over the decisions of a person, let alone an entire university. It’s deplorable and I hope someone’s awake enough to realize it

7:28pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZgqfcwPMZZ9I
Filed under: college football 
June 26, 2012
sportshivemind: Vanderbilt Football is ready to kick some ass.

sportshivemind:

Vanderbilt Football is ready to kick some ass.

8:58am  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZgqfcwO9Bvig
(Notes: 4)
  
Filed under: vanderbilt college football 
June 21, 2012
We’re talkin’ about Playoffs.

Not for very long, mind you. Reports are ubiquitous today that the BCS is dead and college football’s champion will be determined via a four team playoff. Let’s not pretend this isn’t still bullshit, because it is. Boise State is still never going to see that four team playoff, even if they beat the entire army of the People’s Republic of China, and people will still be plenty pissed about the fifth team that gets left out, instead of the old eleventh team left out of the BCS or whatever. It’s still bullshit, and we’ll still watch it.

As a Kentucky fan, I hold no illusion that this holds any significance to me whatsoever. As long as the Music City Bowl still exists, I know where Kentucky will be playing in the event they manage to win six or seven games, their theoretical success-ceiling. The same token more-or-less applies to Vanderbilt; though the Commodoresareflying up recruiting rankings lately, they’re not gonna sniff the Top 10 at the end of the season barring a sudden plague destroying the native populations of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Louisiana. So this is all fun to pay attention to in theory, but in reality, college football is a myth, and we’re sheep who devour it before becoming some rich white guy’s mutton sandwich in mid-January. That doesn’t mean it’s not fun, though.

Another funny thing? I guarantee you all they talked about on Finebaum today was playoffs and how unintentionally hilarious Harvey Updike is. I listened to Kentucky Sports Radio this morning, however, and you know what? The word “football” was not even mentioned. I guess that’s because Calipari, Derek Anderson, and Wayne Turner were on and we just won the NCAA tournament, but still, this is big news. Huge news, really, for most college sports fans. It didn’t get one second of airtime on the most popular sports show in the state. No one said the ridicule Kentucky football fans get from the rest of the SEC wasn’t deserved.

3:24pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZgqfcwNrMin9
Filed under: college football Kentucky vanderbilt 
June 12, 2012
"

[…] [T]he EDSBS staff also consider[s] the countries we need to invite into college football immediately for the right and wrong reasons.

[…]

KENTUCKY. It’s about time they’re good at something other than paying amateur basketball players, bourbon, and horse racing. #3rdworldproblems

"

— Spencer Hall. Actually, I’m perfectly okay with just being good at those three things.

5:01pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZgqfcwNGepiI
(Notes: 1)
  
Filed under: EDSBS college football kentucky 
May 30, 2012
TSK breaks down Kentucky's 2012 FB Schedule

Ugh. I don’t really even want to think about the upcoming football season. That said, here are my super quick predictions based on very little no research the bad taste in my mouth left from the past two seasons and nothing else:

9/3 @ Louisville: Loss. No, the Cards aren’t really that good, but the Cats are probably just that bad.

9/8 KENT STATE: Win, but I bet it’s squeaky. Maybe the team will kind of start figuring out how to play and win, which, of course, is the point of these MAC-tastic games.

9/15 WESTERN KENTUCKY: Did Bobby Rainey graduate? I really hope Bobby Rainey graduated. Win.

9/22 at Florida: Loss, duh.

9/29 SOUTH CAROLINA: Probably a loss, despite the wheel-of-fun quarterbacks and loss of Alshon Jeffery, they still have Marcus Lattimore, and Kentucky is still pretty bad at stopping a good run offense.

10/6: MISSISSIPPI STATE: Kentucky can’t beat MSU when it’s good and State is bad, but it’s a home game so…still a loss.

10/13: at Arkansas: No Bobby Petrino? Still no W.

10/20: GEORGIA: Georgia’s supposed to be the class of the division this year, so loss. Kentucky usually makes the UGA game interesting though; they damn near won in Athens last year and the Dawgs ended up winning the division.

10/27: at Missouri: Honestly, this is the only game that I’m kind of excited about, just because it’s a new conference opponent. Loss, regardless of Gary Pinkel’s sobriety and hatred for kickers.

11/3: VANDERBILT: Tough game. The Dores are gonna be better, but they still need to figure out how to pass block and protect the quarterback. No matter, though, because Kentucky sucks at the pass rush. Loss.

11/10: BYE: WIN!

11/17: SAMFORD: Win, most boring game ever.

11/24: at Tennessee: Who knows? I’d be shocked at two consecutive wins over the Vols, but there’s no reason for me to believe that they’ll be any better than they were last year. Bray could be the difference, though. Loss.

So I’m setting the bar pretty low with a 3-9 season. Five wins would be stellar. If I’m right, chances are good Joker’s outta town but I don’t know who on Earth Barnhart’s gonna find to replace him with the expectation of better results. Oh, and better news, there’s not a single Kentucky high school prospect in the 2013 ESPN Top 100. Yay Wildcats football.

/drinks all the bourbon

2:19pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZgqfcwMQrJFH
Filed under: Kentucky sec football college football 
May 29, 2012
"[John L. Smith v. Les Miles] will be the equivalent of a coaching solar eclipse in terms of fake punts, Dada clock management, fluky plays, and incomprehensible postgame press conferences. Someone might go for threeve in this game. EDIT: Someone will go for threeve, and then fumble, and then have the fumble returned and free kicked on the run through the goal posts as time expires for a win of TOMATO to 23."

— Spencer Hall

9:39am  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZgqfcwMMFrFG
Filed under: LSU arkansas sec sec football college football 
January 9, 2012
BCS Super Game!

I don’t think it’s necessarily fair to call tonight’s game between LSU and Alabama a “National Championship” game mainly because that implies that there was some sort of tournament used to determine a winner, instead a game between the two teams a bunch of sportswriters and coaches thought were better than everyone else. Bitchin’ about the BCS and college football aside, I love and dislike tonight’s match-up.

These two teams are clearly head and shoulders above everyone else in college football except maybe Oklahoma State, who still hasn’t played a team with much of a defense. That being said, holy shit Brandon Weeden to Justin Blackmon is pretty awesome.

I don’t like the game for LSU, though, because somehow beating Alabama once just isn’t going to be enough to win the glass crystal football, which is kind of stupid. Alabama loses to the Tigers in the regular season, but maybe wins tonight and becomes “champ?” That basically eviscerates the traditional BCS shill argument that “the regular season IS our playoff, and stuff!,” which was never really a real argument anyway.

Anyway, I’m pulling for LSU because Les Miles, not Nick Saban. Geaux Tighxgers, that’s how you do that, right?

12:01pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZgqfcwEW5vZF
Filed under: college football bcs is stupid sec football southeastern conference alabama lsu 
January 6, 2012
On the Basketball Weekend 1/7/2012

Honestly, I haven’t thought much about it. I’m kind of pumped to watch the Cotton Bowl to see whether K-State continues its streak of winning games that they really shouldn’t so that Bobby Petrino’s head explodes, and then I guess there’s some other football on TV, too.

Vanderbilt plays Auburn at 12:30 on Saturday. Auburn is not very good, but Vandy sure hasn’t convinced me that they’re capable of not screwing up a game against anybody, much less a second year team under Tony Barbee. If Jeff Taylor plays like Jeff Taylor, the Dores should be okay. I bet if you promised him ice cream after the game, he goes off for 30.

Kentucky plays a not very good South Carolina team at 4. It’s at Rupp so again, not very concerned. However, my buddy is having a 30th birthday party at the same time and everyone’s kids are invited. This means that my chances of actually watching the game are slim to none, and it will probably be for adorable but irritating reasons like baby fights. Baby fights are hilarious.

3:24pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZgqfcwEMYXIG
Filed under: Vanderbilt Basketball kentucky basketball college football 
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