This morning it was announced that John Wall, the No. 1 rated high school player in the country will go to Kentucky. If you are a UK fan, like myself, you are pretty much beside yourself with the possibilities of next basketball season. The roster for next year, even if Jodi Meeks doesn't return, is pretty incredible. It is definitely the #1 recruiting class in the country.
Notice from the roster the five freshmen: DeMarcus Cousins, Jon Hood, Daniel Orton, Eric Bledsoe & John Wall. It is definitely the Fab 5 of the 21st century. I joke that with this roster the NCAA will announce that Kentucky will have to play in the NBA next season.
Now we have to see whether Jodi Meeks will return to Kentucky or not. I hope he does, but it wouldn't be the end of the world if he pursues his NBA dreams this year. Go Cats!
General Quarters, with Julien Leparoux aboard, didn't have a good race at the Kentucky Derby (he came in 10th). The muddy track conditions were hard on the horse. After the race GQ had a mud ball in his nostril the size of a tennis ball. He also was bumped at the gate, like most other of the horses in the race.
Now both are off to run in the Preakness. His odds are 20-1, the same as when odds were first released for the Kentucky Derby. This time out he will have to go against many of the same contenders, including Derby winner Mine That Bird. However, now the overwhelming favorite is Rachel Alexandra, the filly who won the Kentucky Oaks by 20 lengths.
I hope that the race conditions for the Preakness are better than the Kentucky Derby. Good luck to family friend Tom McCarthy and his horse General Quarters.
The "upsets" are over for General Quarters, the horse who is owned and trained by Tom McCarthy, the retired principal from Louisville. He has had a great run this year and has deserved a spot in The Kentucky Derby. What makes his story more unique is that he is 75 and General Quarters is the only horse in his stable. He had had many offers for GQ, but his answer back is always "You don't sell a dream". It is a great story and one that will be known very soon by millions of people.
Photo: Anne M. Eberhardt
What makes the story so cool for me is that Tom McCarthy is a long time family friend. We couldn't be happier for him and his family. It is so surreal to have this happen and needless to say we all can't wait until the first Saturday in May.
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.
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.
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.
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:
Creator/writer of Ways2GoGreen.com and blog as well as the Louisville Green Living Examiner on Examiner.com. Healthy and green living. Movie addict. Books by Stephen King, Dan Brown, John Grisham, James Patterson and others. University of Kentucky alum. Huge fan of the Kentucky Wildcats and Pittsburgh Steelers.
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