John Calipari is Kentucky's new basketball head coach

It is official. The wait is over (that didn't take too long). John Calipari, former Memphis coach, says "I want to go there" and now is the new Kentucky basketball coach. He reportedly will be paid in excess of $5 million a year. He and Pitino will try to coexist in the same state. More details to come.

Here We Go Again Kentucky Fans, We Need To Find A New Basketball Coach

Kentucky is once again looking for a new basketball coach. They just canned Billy Clyde Gillispie after just two years on the job. UK President lee Todd and UK Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart said that it didn't have much to do with wins and losses, but more to do with what he did and didn't do off the court. Part of me still thinks that he should have received more time as coach, but there are a few things that I was not aware of until today.

Among these miscues by Gillispie were that he missed basketball camps and social functions that the head coach of UK has led for the past 50 years. There are also reports that past and current players really aren't too fond of him. I think everyone knows that the media didn't care for him either. This is seen loud and clear by looking at the video in this article. There are obviously many in Lexington that are happy to see him go.

It is a real shame that it didn't work out between Gillispie and Kentucky. He seemed to be the perfect fit for Kentucky. A guy with no family could give his heart and soul to his team and the university. That obviously didn't happen. I don't know what is in Gillispie's future, but I do wish the best for him.
Now what for Kentucky? Well the same names as two years ago are popping up: Billy Donovan, Travis Ford, Tom Izzo and others. As I'm writing this Donovan hnas supposedly said "No" and that he is staying at Florida. I know many fans who would like for our new coach to be Travis Ford. I've always liked Travis Ford. He went to UK when I was there. He is an intense guy and a good coach. he probably would be a good fit, but we shall see. A lot can happen in a short period of time.

Here's to a quick and painless search. Put us out of our misery soon. Also, let's hope that we aren't in this same situation in two years where we have to "run out another coach" out of Lexington.

Twitter

I'm now on the internet social phenom that is called Twitter. For most it is very addictive. It is mini-blogging . . . short bursts of words no more than 140 characters long at a time. You probably know all of this.

You can learn a lot from people you "follow" on Twitter. Give it a try and try not to waste too much time.

http://twitter.com/ClayInKy

Yo Yo Yo Spacy Joaquin Phoenix on Letterman Announces New Music Career

Joaquin Phoenix went on Letterman on February 11, 2009 and announced he is retiring from acting and is starting a new hip hop career. If that wasn't enough he shows up on the show doing a Grizzly Adams impersonation on heroin. He was very lethargic and non responsive most of the time. This was a huge change from Joaquin's appearance on Letterman in 2006. His 2006 and 2009 Letterman appearances are below so you can see the huge difference.

Honestly I don't know if this is a trick or not. Is he pulling a joke on everyone a la Andy Kaufman or did his life just plummet before our eyes? Doesn't he have friends and an agent to prevent this debacle from happening on national TV? I really like the guy and I know he has an odd sense of humor, so who knows? We know his brother obviously had a drug problem. Let's all hope he is fine and he was just bored and wanted to "liven" things up.

The new hip hop artist Joaquin on Letterman in 2009:


A very sane Joaquin on Letterman in 2006:

Book Review: Stone Cold by David Baldacci

This is the third book in The Camel Club series by David Baldacci. A killer is trying to take out all of the former Triple 6 members. This is kind of disheartening for "Oliver Stone" because he once was a member of the secret group. Stone with the help of The Camel Club and Annabelle Conroy and even her father will try to get things back in order again.

This book isn't as interesting as the previous two in the series. There is an unexpected death of one of the main characters, however. A decent enough story to get the series moving. I hoping that the fourth book Divine Justice will be a little more intriguing. A series that I still truely enjoy.

Again though, I do recommend this series if you are into spy stuff.

Book Review: The Collectors by David Baldacci

This is the second book in The Camel Club series by David Baldacci. There are two separate stories that merge into one. One is of a world class con who attempts to get revenge on the man who killed her mother. Also, the director of the Rare Books in the library of Congress is murdered. The Camel Club finds themselves involved in a huge conspiracy that only they can solve. The world class con also gets thrown into the mix to help and they must work together to survive.

This novel is a good continuation of the series that I have come to enjoy. I thought it was a nice mix of old and new characters. The addition of the con was entertaining. If you've read the first in the series The Camel Club you'll want to read this. There is also a third book Stone Coldand now a fourth in the series called Divine Justice. I will read all of these.

If you like conspiracies and spies you'll really like this series.

Book Review: The Appeal by John Grisham

John Grisham delves into the legal system after a jury finds for a widow against a large company. She lost her husband and her son to their chemicals. The owner of the large company doesn't want to pay the damages so he comes up with a ingenious plan: to buy the appeals court by creating a new judge.

As a "constant reader" of John Grisham I was going to read this book no matter what. It is a little different than his other novels. The beginning makes you think of "The Rainmaker", but the rest of the book is new to Grisham readers. The dirty world of politics is on display, from campaigns to elections. Can someone create a new judge out of thin air? Will the company receive the justice they deserve?

I would say that this is an average Grisham novel. There are some twists and turns and an ending that I liked and that is surprising. If you are a Grisham fan or like novels on trials or politics this may be for you. "Politics has always been a dirty game. Now justice is, too."