A Sea Of Blue: FanPosts

Lorenzen Waived by the Giants

rock19701 — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 23:30:21 -0000

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The Giants today trimmed their roster by waiving five players, including backup quarterback Jared Lorenzen, who had been with the organization since 2004.

Also released were four first-year players: Wide receiver Todd Lowber, long snapper Nick Leeson, defensive tackle Brian Soi and offensive lineman Jacobs Hobbs.

The moves leave the Giants with 81 players (including six unsigned draft choices).

Lorenzen was signed as a rookie free agent in 2004, the same year the Giants acquired Eli Manning. The lefthander from Kentucky did not play that season but served as a backup to Manning each of the next three years.

Link to the article

Comment on A Sea of Blue newsfeed articles

Truzenzuzex — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 14:45:45 -0000

Google reader keeps improving the feed reader sharing capabilities, and I keep using them. The newsfeed is located here on A Sea of Blue just below the "Featured Stories" list on the right sidebar.

If you look down at the bottom of that feed, you will see a "Read more..." link. Click on it and you can see not only the link, but the comments I have made on the article and the important snippet that prompted me to post it.

Use this FanPost as a place for comments about the news articles in the news feed.

Roburt Sallie Headed To Memphis

stephensmith — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 22:27:35 -0000

The following is the story as it appears from Scout.com:

The Memphis Tigers are the proud owners of a 6-foot-5 shooting guard. Roburt Sallie, a former Nebraska signee and current San Francisco City Junior College, committed to the Tigers on Monday.

“I’ve spoken to 20-25 different schools and that goes from the highest majors to some of the mid-majors but I narrowed it to three and it came down to Cincinnati, Kentucky and Memphis,” Sallie told Scout.com. “Memphis is just perfect for me because the style fits my game and this is perfect.”

The Tigers building was a big draw and a huge reason why he’s not making a visit to Kentucky later this week. “That FedEx Arena, man,” Sallie said. “It’s an opportunity to play there night in and night out. It’s unreal. Memphis is a great city and it’s a very good community. Cal is Cal, he’s a great coach with a proven track record. He’s got 7 guys in the NBA and half of these guys I played with already.”

This past season, Sallie was the state junior college player of the year and averaged 19 points. He originally signed with Nebraska but was not allowed to enroll and now he’s a Tiger.

“This has been a blessing. Everything happens for a reason in life. Fortunately I’ve been trying to play and I’m finally eligible. For some reason, God didn’t intend me to play for Nebraska. I was dedicated to them and I still wish today I’d have the opportunity to play for them because they’re great.”

John Parker, Sallies’ former assistant coach at the Patterson School, found Memphis’ strength and conditioning program to be an enormous asset.

“To be honest, I think the strength coach (sold him). He physically showed the improvements of the guys. He takes photos and shows them and then 4-5 months later it was night and day. That sold him that he could take his body to another level.”

Clarence Trent looking at University of Kentucky, Arkansas, Florida among others...

gboahoops — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 18:05:54 -0000

GBOA Hoops talks about South superstar Clarence Trent of the Arkansas Hawks, and has the latest recruiting news on the athlete! Where do you think he'll end up? I'm hoping Kentucky! This kid is a hotshot on the court. Trent is playing at the GBOA South Tournament in Norcross, GA on June 28th and 29th with the Arkansas Hawks. You can bet recruits will be watching out for his performance.

Check out the article on Clarence!

GBOA Article

Roburt Sallie a uk wildcat....according to facebook?

Austinb83 — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 04:53:57 -0000

Yeah i am the one who dropped the Jasper story around a month or so ago, it sucks that it turned out to be true. But tonight I come bearing fantastic news, according to Roburt Sallie's facebook profile...he is now a uk wildcat. Also wanted to mention that my significant other met someone claiming to be a family member of Sallie's and also told her that Sallie was in fact in the blue and white. I expect an official statement whenever i wake in the morning, just thought I would let you know my inside info. But wait for an official statement before jumping in excitement. I am really glad we were able to land this guy as he will make an instant impact on next years team. This guy is a future first round draft pick and maybe even lottery pick. Why can't November come now!

UK Baseball: Cohen leaves; Henderson Promoted

Thomas Hunt Morgan — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 20:46:50 -0000

Not a huge surprise but John Cohen resigned as head baseball coach to take the same position at his alma mater Mississippi St. Assistant coach Gary Henderson was named the new head coach immediately. Couldn't have caught Barnhart too off guard because Cohen told his AD he was leaving Friday morning and by that afternoon the Bat Cats had a new coach in place. Here's to continued momentum for the Kentucky Baseball.

Uk athletic's article

BIG BLUE MADNESS

Blue2DaBone — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 22:31:05 -0000

Does anyone know the date for BIG BLUE MADNESS? I gotta let my work know my vacation days for Oct.-Dec. And I can't wait to hang out at Memorial with the greatest fans in this BIG BLUE NATION!!! Last year was the first time I'd ever been to BIG BLUE MADNESS. It was pretty cool camping across the street from Wildcat Lodge and meeting all the players as they came in and out. They were all pretty cool and let us take pictures and get autographs with them. I have to say just camping out for tickets has now become an annual event my friends. So if anyone has any info on the exact date it would be great.

ASoB Technology Update

Truzenzuzex — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 17:48:50 -0000

Most of you have seen the newsfeed I have set up on the right sidebar just below the FanShots.

Google has fairly recently added the capability for me to make comments on the articles that I put in there. Unfortunately, those comments don't show up in the listing on the front page of the blog -- not enough room. But if you click the "read more" link at the bottom of the listing, you can see them.

Just in case you are interested.

Pilgrim a Wildcat...

ReverendBlue — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 02:17:42 -0000

According to reports I've seen (Kentucky Sports Radio), Pilgrim is now a Wildcat. I read that he has moved into the Wildcat Lodge. He's a big, athletic body but also has a reputation as having attitude problems. He will likely either thrive under Billy Clyde or he won't make it past Christmas. I hope he's a Heshimu Evans-type transfer who comes in with a great attitude and makes a solid contribution. I don't recall being blown away by his stats from last season. I'm wondering about the quality of the competition he faced at Hampton Inn.

LEAD GUARD Situation for '08-'09 (w/ Quiz)

Ken Pomeroy — Fri, 30 May 2008 16:50:27 -0000

Most of the people whining about our supposedly woeful situation at lead guard for next year need to pipe down, because all they are doing is proving how uninformed they are about the game of basketball. Take this quick test to see where you stack up:

Which Wildcat was our best DEFENSIVE player last year as measured by Steals Per Minute?

Which Wildcat was our best OFFENSIVE player last year as measured by Free Throw per centage?

Which Wildcat shot better than 40% from behind the three point line last year?

Let me make it easy for you by pointing out that only one Wildcat is the answer to all three questions.

Does that help? Well then, let me give you another hint – it’s not Ramel Bradley, Derrick Jasper, or Jodie Meeks. Does that help?

That’s right, Wildcat fans! The man who holds these three awesome distinctions is the man so many of you are saying is too slow to defend in the SEC, and not a serious offensive threat, even though the statistics prove he is the best pure shooter on the team.

Who is this mystery Wildcat? Why, it’s none other than that slow white boy from California, the much maligned Michael Porter.

Yes, it’s true that Jodie and Ramel were modestly better rebounders (Reb. Per 40 min.: Porter 3.12; Meeks 4.41; Bradley 4.79), and that both had better “Assists to Turnovers” ratios. But if you paid attention to the games you could see that many of the turnovers attributed to Michael were really someone else’s fault -- the result of him following the play called when another team mate did not. Crawford would get late to the spot, Perry would fumble a great pass out of bounds, etc.

Moreover (and this is probably the biggest thing), comparing Michael’s numbers in this regard with those who got to play many more minutes results in an unfair comparison, because those who play longer minutes have time to get into their rhythm, instead of having to come in cold from the bench and spell somebody for two minutes at a time. (Those of you who’ve actually played the game know what I’m talking about.)

It’s also a lot easier for the other players to “read” and anticipate the guards they play more minutes with. By all rights, Bradley SHOULD have had a much better Assist to Turnover ratio; indeed, it would have been very strange if he had not. All of that will right itself when Porter has more minutes with the other starters, and they learn to follow him and the game plan much more closely.

(Incidentally, the Ken Pomeroy numbers show that even with all of this going against him, the team was two points MORE efficient offensively with Michael at the point than with Ramel. How many of you knew that?)

I’m getting very weary of all of this boo-hoo-ing about the point position next year. We’re going to be better with Michael Porter at the helm. The point will have a different personality, but the statistics clearly suggest that the position will be stronger under Porter than it ever was under Bradley.

There is one regard in which I think Ramel had the edge over Michael, and that is that when the game occasionally degenerated into “street ball” (as in the last minute of a game with no timeouts left). In those situations Ramel could revert to playground ball and often make good things happen. I have not seen that from Michael Porter, but frankly I can live without it – Adolph Rupp did.

I confess that although I liked Ramel, I can’t say that he will go down as one of my favorite Wildcats through the years. To be honest, he always seemed to me to be a “not-too-bright Yankee street baller” -- more class clown than class. I cringed every time he made that stupid diamond shape with his hands, and I’ve never thought anything good could come of associating UK with Gangster Rap. Contrast his professional aspiration to become a gangster rap artist with that of, say, Richie Farmer, Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner, and you’ll see where I stand. Good luck, but good riddance.

Go ‘Cats!

Cats get 3 seed

Magnoliacat — Mon, 26 May 2008 22:34:06 -0000

Looks like the BatCats are headed to Michigan as a 3 seed along with Arizona, Michigan and Eastern Michigan. The Cats face Michigan on Friday. Arizona is the number one seed in the regional. Hopefully the Cats will make a good showing, i think we've only lost one non-conference game this season. I'm not sure how "strong" this regional is considered but Arizona is 38-17 and Michigan at 45-12 was the Big Ten champion. On paper, looks kinda tough, but here's hoping the Cats will take it to em!

Noah Arrested!!!!!!!!!

i got the blues — Sun, 25 May 2008 21:27:55 -0000

I haven't seen this posted on here yet. Thought it might be of interest since he was "public enemy # 1" while at Florida. It appears that Mr. Noah was busted for possession of marijuana and having an open container of alcohol in Gainesville early this morning. Nice to see that the police in Gainesville show no favortism, even to players that helped win back to back national titles. Here is the link to the ESPN article.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3411961

I hear Liggins failed to qualify again...

ReverendBlue — Wed, 21 May 2008 05:26:40 -0000

Leaving him one more opportunity this summer to make a passing score. If Jasper doesn't return, that would leave Galloway and Porter running the point.

However, I hear the Billy Clyde is hot on the trail of a 2008 point guard out of Durham, North Carolina. You can check him out on youtube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6qjhf09IMA He seems to be a cross between Pistol Pete (flashy style and ballhandling skills) and Tim Hardaway (cross over move that will break your ankles). Here's hoping we get this kid.

Wesley Johnson Likely to Kentucky

CrossCyed — Mon, 19 May 2008 23:36:31 -0000

Enjoy Iowa State's best basketball player. He was probably the best freshman in the Big 12 not named Kevin Durant a couple years ago, and he played all of last year with a broken foot. He's got an NBA skill set, and he'll be a lot of fun to watch. He's been rumored to be looking at Kentucky for a while now, and there was a message board post that says UK is his destination.

This is the Big Blue Nation for those who don't know

Uknation — Mon, 19 May 2008 19:51:58 -0000

No. 1 – Kentucky

“It started in 1903… Seven national titles later, an NCAA-best 1,795 wins, an NCAA-best .763 winning percentage and the most intense cultural impact on a state populous in the game make Kentucky the greatest program.
“36 All-Americans, five Hall-of-Famers, 13 Final Four appearances, 41 SEC Championships, the most NCAA Tournament appearances and wins, most 30-win seasons (10), just one losing season since 1927 and the incubator for inventions such as the fast break.

“But while through the years, the program that Adolph Rupp built into a dynasty beginning in 1931 has generally been excellent, it has also been relentlessly followed. It is that ability to connect with the fans, to become the pride of its state that shoves it past UCLA, which has more crowns but not similar support from fans. Consider Kentucky has led the nation in attendance in each of the last six years despite not having the largest building. The tradition – fervency that gets people to camp out for over a month to attend practice and make a small Southern state a basketball mecca – is its most endearing element.

“Kentucky isn’t the only school that has achieved sustained greatness and made an impact on the people around it, but none has done it better.”

Dan Wetzel
Senior Writer
CBS Sportsline.com

Welcome to
Big Blue Nation

What makes UK tradition special?

soonergrl14 — Fri, 16 May 2008 17:42:39 -0000

Hi all in just a few short months i will be moving to Harrodsburg to live with my fiance a UK grad. I am trying to learn more about UK traditions (gameday, during game, etc.)

I am a sooner grad, so you wont have my heart when it comes to football. Football gamedays in Norman are one of the things I will miss the most about Oklahoma. but I want to learn more about UK as a whole and BBall so I am ready when the season starts.

So tell me what traditions make UK special?

Tayshaun Prince

davw83 — Thu, 15 May 2008 23:02:16 -0000

This says something to me about how great a player Tayshaun is becoming in the NBA when Joe Dumars says this about you.

Langlois: He’s played almost a season and a half’s worth of games just in the postseason these last six years. To get the chance to play that many postseason games over a six-year span is another benchmark of what you’ve accomplished, isn’t it?

Dumars: This group here, man. … I think also with that, maybe I’m wrong, but hasn’t Tayshaun played in the conference finals every year of his career?

Langlois: Yeah, six for six.

Dumars: This guy has never played in anything less than the final four of the NBA. That’s a pretty good one, too. There are some things going on with this group that are pretty special and I just hope … I hope … I hope people understand that what’s going on with this group is pretty special. Sometimes it gets taken for granted and you just shake your head when it is. This doesn’t happen all the time.

Langlois: Prince’s block on Turkoglu last night – and I just wrote something about this earlier this morning – I think the block on Reggie Miller is going to live longer on the highlight reels because it came out of nowhere and was so unexpected, but for my money this was more impressive. You see dunks blocked by big men sometimes who step away from their man to meet the driver at the rim, but to be on the hip of the guy you’re guarding and take him on at the rim without fouling, to me that topped the Reggie block.

Dumars: This was impressive. Miller never saw it coming. This was a mano-a-mano play. Hedo turned the corner and decided “I’m throwing it down. I’m not going to try to lay it up. I’m not going to try to float it.” And that’s a mano-a-mano thing you say to yourself on the court. And Tayshaun said, “I’ll meet you at the rim.” You have plays like that where both guys make up their mind that “I’m going to impose my will on you.” Hedo made up his mind and Tayshaun made up his mind. Those are the most impressive plays. Because there is no surprise element here. It’s one guy saying, “I’m coming.” And the other guy saying, “OK, I’ll be there.” And that’s impressive.

Langlois: I don’t know if you saw the replays or the great shot in the Free Press this morning – he didn’t come close to fouling him. It was hand on ball, no body, perfectly clean block.

Dumars: To be honest with you, I did not, when it happened live, I did not see what happened. I thought it slipped off his hand or he just missed it off the rim. But when the replay went up, I said, “Oh, my God – he got that.” It was impressive. Very impressive.

Langlois: At this point in last year’s playoffs, after playing very well through the first two rounds, he pretty clearly wore down in the conference finals against Cleveland. He’s going to have some time off now, and that will help, but do you believe there will still be residual benefits for not having played 38, 39, 40 tough minutes virtually every night of the regular season for him?

Dumars: I think there are several factors that are weighing in Tayshaun’s and the team’s favor. One is, no one got worn down during the regular season. Two is, for the first time I can remember in a long time, we’ve taken care of business. We have the benefit of rest heading into the next round. And three is, guys know how this thing unfolded last year. There is a strong reminder there. We took care of business in the first round last year, we went six in the second round, we were sitting as favorites in the conference finals and we didn’t get it done. I think the fact they’ve been rested all season and took care of business here with Orlando and they know what’s at stake here, I think all of that bodes well for Tayshaun and the rest of the guys.

Just wanted to say....

cardsfan84 — Thu, 15 May 2008 15:10:35 -0000

Congrats to Sea of Blue on moving on up with the upgrade.

Also, I must clarify this now before questions get asked later. My username is because I'm a St. Louis Cardinals fan and they upgraded to the new system first.

Anyway, with the latest rankings that just came out. GJ is a three star and I was curious as to if you think he will re-open his committment or if he will indeed become a Wildcat given that most of our recruits seem to be four and five stars as of late.

No new equipment manager?

Acdixon — Tue, 13 May 2008 16:26:50 -0000

Just found this addition to Bill Keightley's Wikipedia article (started by yours truly) that states: "The Wildcats not only will not hire a new equipment manager for the 2009 season, but will in fact leave Keightley's chair on the Kentucky bench empty for the season in his honor." This would certainly be a classy move, and one several of us have called for, but the editor provided no reliable source for the edit. Anyone know if this is official? Anyone have a source?

Bob Hill of the C-J takes a swing at Gillispie -- and hits only air

Truzenzuzex — Tue, 13 May 2008 12:06:18 -0000

Comes now Bob Hill, mostly a political and culture commentator at the Courer-Journal, to scold college basketball coaches in general and Billy Gillispie in particular for recruiting so young. Fortunately, his argument is so bankrupt it only takes a second to dismiss it. Quoth he:

Does Harvard offer four-year scholarships to eighth-grade business tycoons with an eye on an MBA?

Does the Juilliard School guarantee full academic rides to eighth-graders adept at dance, drama or music? Would Northwestern University or the University of Missouri offer a budding eighth-grade journalist four years of free education?

Recruiting eighth-graders is nuts for any reason at any school -- even as we all realize it's long been done in athletics at the high school level. It's been the subject of years of angry debate and attempted legislation in and among private and parochial schools in Indiana and Kentucky.

Two words for you, Bob -- child prodigies. Academic and arts institutions like the ones you name have been fighting over these young talents for years. These young people actually enter college at the ages we are talking about guys like Avery merely deciding on one.

Spare me the nonsense, Bob. Go back to writing about things you have at least a puncher's chance of having an informed opinion about.