Cal says his #1 goal is to send players to the league, not win a Championship

Pardon the idiom, but John Woodenmust be rolling over in his grave. Traditionally, college basketball has been about, well, tradition. It’s about banners. It’s about retired jerseys. It’s about legacy. But as we’ve seen ever since the NBA enacted it’s “one year removed” policy, college basketball has simply become a necessity for the one-percenters that need a place to play before entering the NBA Draft. And while college coaches have had to change their strategies while recruiting in this new climate, it was always believed that winning a national championship was still the goal. Apparently that’s no longer the case.

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2.22.12

Systemic hypocrisy on full display in Danny O’Brien transfer case

My media colleagues seem to be split in their opinions of Maryland football coach Randy Edsall. One camp thinks Edsall is a self-serving, hypocritical turd. The other camp thinks he is a shameless, ruthless disgrace to his profession.

I will not choose a side. In fact, I’m not convinced Edsall is the chief villain in the story I’m about to tell. In major-college athletics these days, you have to look beyond the coach and to the school. Then you have to look beyond the school and to the system.

This is about a quarterback, Danny O’Brien … no, wait. That’s not right. O’Brien, we have been told many times, is a student-athlete. He attended the University of Maryland, where he played quarterback for the football team and graduated in three years.

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/michael_rosenberg/02/21/maryland-edsall-obrien-transfer/index.html#ixzz1n74whSsc

2.22.12

What We Learned in Starkville

Hood’s injury hurt Dogs

STARKVILLE — Forget the referees. Forget the missed shots. Mississippi State’s game plan was drastically affected by the loss of Rodney Hood in the first half. When he bruised his knee on a collision late in the first half, Kentucky had an extra piece. The Wildcats then switched the bigger and meaner Michael Kidd-Gilchrist on Dee Bost defensively. It worked, too. After scoring 16 points in the first half, Bost was held to only five in the final 20 minutes.

MSU got what it wanted

Give the Bulldogs credit. The game plan worked in the first half. The Bulldogs kept Anthony Davis, for the most part, out of the lane. Building a 13-point lead showed that, and there’s a good reason why UK missed 10 of its first 11 shots. The Bulldogs forced a few turnovers but also forced the Wildcats to take some jump shots they’re not accustomed to shooting. The Wildcats win their games with lobs and dunks. They didn’t get that Tuesday.

Read more from ClarionLedger.com

2.22.12

Bulldogs give valiant effort that falls short

STARKVILLE — It started with an Aspen-like white-out, a crowd of more than 10,000 Mississippi State partisans, 90 percent of them dressed in white T-shirts.

It ended in a Big Blue avalanche, the No. 1-ranked Kentucky Wildcats storming back from a 13-point halftime deficit to take a 73-64 victory over a Bulldog team that was for 35 minutes at its best but still not quite good enough.

The Bulldogs played with more sustained effort than they have previously this season. They played hard. They played well. They played with purpose.

And all that just goes to tell you just how remarkable this young Kentucky team is. The 27-1 Wildcats, starting three freshmen and two sophomores, won their 13th straight Southeastern Conference game and 19th straight victory overall.

Read more from ClarionLedger.com

2.22.12

No. 1 Cats claw back

STARKVILLE — Kentucky has delivered heartbreak to Mississippi State so many times over the years.

On Tuesday night, Darius Miller drilled a stake in the Bulldogs’ heart.

The Kentucky senior nailed a 3-pointer from NBA range on the left side of the key with 1:28 remaining, extending the Wildcats’ lead to seven points and the nation’s No. 1 team cruised in the final minute to a 73-64 win in front of an announced crowd of 10,213 at Humphrey Coliseum.

Miller scored all nine of his points in the second half, rallying the Wildcats from a 13-point deficit at halftime – their largest all season – to remain undefeated in the SEC

Read more from ClarionLedger.com

2.22.12

Jason Campbell denies leaving fiancee at altar

It seems Jason Campbell may be a free agent in more ways than one.

CAPTION

By Kirby Lee, US Presswire

This from The Washington Post regarding Campbell’s scheduled wedding:

“Campbell and fianceeYenicia “Jenny” Montescalled off Saturday’s ceremony just hours before the couple was scheduled to tie the knot. The 162 guests — who flew to an exclusive Dominican Republican resort for the celebration — were informed at a welcoming party that the marriage was off, but did not receive any explanation why.”

Campbell has denied reports he left Montes at the altar, painting the decision as a mutual one.

Read more from USAToday.com

2.22.12

Kidd-Gilchrist’s defense helps Kentucky rally past Mississippi State

STARKVILLE, MISS. — STARKVILLE, Miss. — The largest halftime deficit in more than a year in a game played under “white-out” conditions could not prevent No. 1 Kentucky from seeing its way to victory Tuesday night.

Led by Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, UK rallied to beat Mississippi State 73-64.

The Cats trailed by 13 at halftime.

“We should have been down 20 the way we played and the way they played,” UK Coach John Calipari said. “I told them at halftime, ‘This isn’t all bad. Let’s show what we’re made of.’ ”

Then Calipari added, facetiously, “Everybody rooting for us. Let’s make them angry.”

2.22.12

BCS leaders in no rush to pick a postseason system

How many teams will be allowed to play for the national championship is just one of the many issues being considered by the guys who run the BCS.

When the games will be played is a hot topic, too.

The 11 conference commissioners and Notre Dame‘s athletic director met Tuesday in Dallas, along with BCS Executive Director Bill Hancock to resume discussing possible changes to college football’s postseason.

While there seems to be growing support for creating a four-team playoff to determine a champion, how exactly that would work and when the games would be played remains to be seen.

“It’s very clear the commissioners do not want the championship game to be played too late,” Hancock said in a telephone interview.

He couldn’t define too late, but in the past the BCS title game has been held as late as Jan. 10, and has regularly been played on Jan. 7 or 8 since it was implemented for the 2006 season.

Read more from USAToday.com

2.22.12

Brady Quinn apologizes about Tim Tebow comments in GQ article

Broncos quarterback Brady Quinn was not pleased with how his comments were portrayed in a GQ article on Tebowmania that was released today.

The article on Tim Tebow’s 2011 season, written by Michael Silver, was titled: “The year of Magical Stinking: An Oral History of Tebow Time.”

In it, Quinn was quoted as saying, “We’ve had a lot of, I guess, luck, to put it simply.”

“I regret the comments as they appeared in the article and I apologize if the comments that were in the article upset anyone,” Quinn said today. “I think they were taken in the wrong tone. Had I known at the time the direction the article was going to go I would not have participated in the interview at all. The interview took place three months ago.

Read more:Brady Quinn apologizes about Tim Tebow comments in GQ article – The Denver Posthttp://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_20012043#ixzz1n70jXI78
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2.22.12