Kentucky Sports Radio
[Moderated by Matt Jones, Drew Franklin and Tyler Thompson]
[Moderated by Matt Jones, Drew Franklin and Tyler Thompson]
I don’t mean to beat a dead horse here, but since the dead horse never even existed, that’s exactly what I intend to do. The Manti Te’o girlfriend hoax story fascinates me. I can’t get over it. College football’s golden boy lied about the love of his life and used her death, that never happened, as an inspirational story to win the hearts of America. It’s so perfect. He, for whatever reason, couldn’t find love as the star player at Notre Dame so he met a girl on Twitter and she instantly became his one and only, without ever meeting. It’s so, so perfect. He told the world that he met her outside the stadium following the Stanford game last season and they swapped phone numbers after exchanging glances and touching hands. It’s complete bullsh-t and it’s so, so perfect. Te’o also said she would visit him in Hawaii whenever he got to go home. Her, as in the person he never actually met. Lies, all lies. All awesome lies.
The best part about all this for Kentucky fans? Pete Thamel was the first to break the fairy tale love story. Thamel wrote it out like it was the script for The Notebook 2 without ever checking a single fact. It’s amazing how he can harass the Honey Badger’s family for comments or fly to Alabama to poke around in Eric Bledsoe’s hometown, but he can’t type a girl’s name in a simple Google search to find out she doesn’t exist. He must’ve been in a hurry to get a head start on investigating Calipari’s next recruiting class. What a joke.
With the help of Thamel’s portrayal of the couple, Twitter has been brilliant since the news broke Wednesday afternoon and it’s going to get even better when more details are released. If Te’o really is the victim, like he claims, it’ll be unfortunate but he will still be a punchline for years to come as the guy who got “catfished” on the internet by a fake account. But if it turns out Te’o was in on the hoax to amplify his image, he will go down as one of the biggest assholes ever. I can’t wait to see how it unfolds.
Now, let’s get to the News and Views so I can go to bed with my girlfriend. She’s in Oregon but I always call her before bed and leave her on the line to hear her breathing while I sleep. She’s the most beautiful girl I ever met, not because of her Twitter handle, but the beauty of her MySpace background and the way she uses Instagram filters.
Wednesday got off to a good start for Kentucky when the Cats picked up a commitment from Nate Willis. Willis is the seventh-best cornerback in ESPN’s JUCO 100 and he’s made it very clear that he plans to be a “one-and-done” player at Kentucky. New UK cornerbacks coach Derek Ansley gets all the credit for the commitment, considering Willis never visited Lexington or had a conversation with Coach Stoops prior to picking Kentucky.
Willis is Stoops’ fourth JUCO pickup and the 20th commitment in the 2013 class. If all 20 remain on board, which is very unlikely, Kentucky would have five spots to fill for signing day. However, the new regime is recruiting a long list of highly-touted prospects right now and they’ll take as many new commitments as they can get. They won’t hesitate to send some of the guys Joker pulled in elsewhere to make room for whoever they need.
One of those highly-touted prospects on Kentucky’s big board is Jason Hatcher, a defensive end from Louisville Trinity. Hatcher remains committed to USC, for now, but his visit over the weekend opened his eyes to possibilities in Lexington. Word is Hatcher really likes Stoops’ track record with defensive linemen and there are concerns about what Lane Kiffin is doing with his team in Los Angeles. A month ago we would’ve said a commitment from Hatcher is extremely unlikely, but now we wouldn’t be surprised if Stoops pulled off the upset and flipped Hatcher’s commitment to UK. Florida was also believed to be a major player for Hatcher, until Wednesday when canceled his upcoming visit to Gainesville.
It’s the middle of January and we’re talking about football. Mark Stoops, what have you done to us???
Circle April 13 on your calendars because it’s going to be an eventful day in Lexington. Stoops announced on Wednesday that Kentucky’s spring football game will be played under the lights on Saturday, April 13, which happens to be in the heart of Keeneland’s spring meet. That means you can cap off a long day of losing money on horse racing with a fun evening at Commonwealth Stadium to welcome the new staff and, hopefully, a top 25 recruiting class. I think it’s a brilliant move on UK’s part to move the game from the afternoon to the evening and a lot of people who never even considered going to the spring game, like myself, are already excited to attend.
Don’t forget: Mark Stoops will join us on Kentucky Sports Radio radio Thursday morning at 11:00 a.m. Plan your morning accordingly.
Kentucky basketball got a little help in the RPI rankings Wednesday night when Maryland upset No. 14 N.C. State. Alex Len scored with three seconds remaining to give the Terps a one-point victory. The Maryland fans we encountered in Brooklyn were some of the most vile human beings on the face of the Earth, but we’re going to have to join them in cheering for Maryland for the remainder of the season to help improve the quality of Kentucky’s win in the season opener.
It seems Coach Cal has given up on pushing his team and turned the reins over to the players to will themselves to victory. He looked like a broken man after the Tennessee game when he said he can’t see this team being up 20 on anybody. I think Calipari has finally accepted that this group isn’t going to develop in warp speed, as he likes to say, and they’re going to be in a lot of tight battles against teams we would like to see get “whomped.” It’s going to be a long and frustrating ride for the next two and a half months as the Cats fight to stay unbeaten at home and find enough quality wins on the road to build an attractive resume for the NCAA selection committee.
After the way he’s played in Kentucky’s last two games, any NBA GM who passes on Nerlens Noel in the draft should be fired and forced to watch the entire WNBA regular season. He’s easily the best defender in America, maybe even better than Anthony Davis was last season, and the effort he gives for 40 minutes makes up for his lack of an offensive skill set.
While Nerlens is deserving of MKG-like praise from Big Blue Nation, Archie Goodwin is driving all of us crazy. The attacking Archie we once loved is turning into the selfish Archie we all love to yell at. He has to learn when to lower his head and go, and when to pass the ball to an open teammate. We saw him keep the rock on more than one occasion against Tennessee when he should’ve given it up to someone else.
Jason Jordan of USA Today has a blog post coming out soon with new stuff from Julius Randle. He teased it on Wednesday with a quote from Randle about his relationship with Coach Cal. Randle said, “Me and Coach Cal click because we have similar mindsets. We’re both go-getters. We battle. We compete. Love that!” With Wiggins slipping away to Florida State, where he will be triple-teamed on every possession, Randle is the most important recruit to complete Kentucky’s 2013 class. And with some of the things he’s said over the past month, it’s looking like UK could very well be his college destination. Wiggins is the better of the two talents, but Randle isn’t too far behind and will be a dominant force in blue if he chooses Kentucky.
If you’re not willing to let Andrew Wiggins go, you can go see him play this weekend and let him know how bad you want him at Kentucky. Wiggins and Huntington Prep will be playing just north of Cincinnati in Kettering, Ohio in the Flyin’ To The Hoop Invitational. 2014 point guard Emmanuel Mudiay will also be participating in the tournament. For more information, Google it.
That’ll do it for now. We’ll see ya back here in the morning for another long day of loving the Kentucky Wildcats.
See you then.
[powered by WordPress.]
Bill Keightley Report : Never to be forgotten.
9 queries. 0.488 seconds
January 16th, 2013 at 11:43 pm
My fake dead girlfriend just farted.
January 16th, 2013 at 11:43 pm
Can’t wait for the sex tape.
January 16th, 2013 at 11:45 pm
Any NBA GM who passes on Nerlens is smart. Sure he has potential, but he has zero offensive game and is overrated defensively. “Easily the best defender” is easily the biggest homerism ever. Effort doesn’t make you an NBA player. As a big man, being able to score and not get pushed around by guys down low does. He may be something some day but wouldn’t be suprised to see him in the D league some next year, not something you say about a surefire #1 pick
January 16th, 2013 at 11:45 pm
Hey Cal…..you created this monster and need to find a way to push the right buttons to get this underachieving team back to being the best they should be rather than to throw up your hands and advise us that we are probably stuck with this. You get paid big bucks to coach and coach up your team. If anyting, this team has slid back as of late. Why can’t u or your assistants put a boot up AP’s posterior and restrictors on AG? Our ineptness has signalled to every team on our schedule that if they play a good game they have a chance of taking us out. This should be unthinkable with our tradition.
January 16th, 2013 at 11:47 pm
What if Teo is gay and this was all a cover-up? I hope this doesn’t lead to him doing something stupid.
January 16th, 2013 at 11:56 pm
Manti had stated in the past that he met this girl in 2009 after the Stanford game. Evidently that was a lie. I find it really hard to believe any NCAA football star has to resort to the internet to meet women. It was either an attempt to enhance his Heisman chances or she was created to be his “beard”.
January 16th, 2013 at 11:58 pm
I was unaware that Wiggins was slipping away from UK, damn it.
January 17th, 2013 at 12:02 am
U can also see Wiggins the following weekend in Canton Ohio to try to pursuade him to UK.
January 17th, 2013 at 12:03 am
7. So is Wiggins.
January 17th, 2013 at 12:07 am
As much as I think Wiggins is the next best thing, I can easily see him going to Florida State and doing well. With that kind of talent, you don’t worry too much about being triple-teamed.
January 17th, 2013 at 12:11 am
This whole Manti Teo ordeal reminds me of Katniss and Peeta from the Hunger Games
January 17th, 2013 at 12:13 am
Brent Musberger said Te’o's fake girlfriend is hot.
January 17th, 2013 at 12:15 am
This picture makes me thing “heylo! my name is hennifer lopez! i like tacos and burritos!”
January 17th, 2013 at 12:24 am
Stay on the Teo trail, Drew. Your comments are not only funny but very insightful….
January 17th, 2013 at 12:27 am
Nothing will convince me Manti Teo was the victim of a hoax. He has lied throughout this charade. Hopefully this will be the downfall of Thamel. He has been thoroughly exposed for the joke of a reporter that he is. Hopefully SI will have had enough embarrassment from his corner and will give him his walking papers.
January 17th, 2013 at 12:37 am
I would kill to hear Bomani Jones’ take on the press conference that Notre Dame VP gave earlier tonight. The only thing that could make me laugh harder than the PC itself would be listening to his comments as he watched it live.
January 17th, 2013 at 12:37 am
Wiggins will be triple-teamed by a group of fine, tanned FSU hos.
What?
OH COME ON THEY ARE HOS.
January 17th, 2013 at 1:11 am
Who’s had more action the last 25 years..Te’o or the Louisville Basketball trophy case
January 17th, 2013 at 1:29 am
5) Tyson, Duh, do you think??
January 17th, 2013 at 1:39 am
I bet Te’o's girl was loose #allair
January 17th, 2013 at 2:04 am
Amazing to me that with all the access drew, Matt, and ksr has that they don’t know that Wiggins is UKs to lose. Guess they are more worried about Teo jokes than to actually get solid information on one of the best prospects in a long time. Oh well.
January 17th, 2013 at 2:26 am
What else can you expect from Pete Thamel? Thamel failed to even get Nerlens Noel’s hometown right in his hit-piece published in the NYT. I wish people would stop congratulating Pete for being able to eat a cheese hamburger without getting ketchup on his face!
January 17th, 2013 at 3:11 am
I avoid dating websites. I’m Manti-social.
January 17th, 2013 at 3:45 am
Lay off on Teo. I gave my online girlfriend $3000 dollars to come to America. Unfortunately she died just a few days later in a skydiving accident after parachuting into shark infested waters. Sh!t happens…
January 17th, 2013 at 3:51 am
This just shows one of the many things wrong with this world; real journalism is dead !! In the world of facts are optionable & somehow opinion even if it’s idiotic opinion is truth. Everyday, we get just a little more screwed long term then we were the day before.
January 17th, 2013 at 4:32 am
Hey Rick? Are you sure Karen Sypher is a real person?
Re: Te’oing. First we had Tebowing, now this.
Here’s some really funny photos… Six pages and counting!
http://teoing.tumblr.com/
January 17th, 2013 at 5:35 am
Seeing Goodwin…after Wiltjer caused a steal against UT…leaving Wiltjer OPEN for an EASY two, and Goodwin deciding to go one on one(rarely ever happens…at least one on two) reminded me of another old UK recruit. Austin Rivers.
January 17th, 2013 at 5:51 am
Виваком терориризират клиенти
January 17th, 2013 at 6:12 am
“Te’o was in on the hoax to amplify his image, he will go down as one of the biggest assholes ever.”
He is Mormon (can’t have sex); he was involved in the ND hype machine for Heisman.
January 17th, 2013 at 6:14 am
Correction….He is Mormon (not supposed to have sex…..yet….outside of marriage).
He can have imaginary…..
January 17th, 2013 at 6:58 am
Deadspin broke it, not Pete Thamel
January 17th, 2013 at 7:18 am
Deadspin broke the fake girlfriend story.
Pete Thamel, last fall, bought it, without doing proper investigation – and now has egg on his face.
#5 Tyson has a valid point. Couple of options. If Te’o is gay, the fake g-friend was proper cover in advance of Heisman. If he’s not gay, it is still good hype in advance of Heisman. Either way, it was good for his Heisman candidacy image.
“Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive”. – Sir Walter Scott
January 17th, 2013 at 7:21 am
Why do u say wiggins is slipping away drew?
January 17th, 2013 at 7:24 am
31- Deadspin broke the story that Teo’s dead girlfriend was a hoax, but Drew was saying that Pete Thamel broke the original story about the girlfriend that turned out to be completely untrue.
January 17th, 2013 at 7:38 am
Manti Te’o and his fake girlfriend is still a better love story than Twilight.
January 17th, 2013 at 7:40 am
In on it or not, I shall consider Te’o an a-hole after the way he bounced up and down and chanted, “OVER-RATED” during the UK vs. Notre Dame basketball game. I only wish I could have been at the Bama beat-down to return the favor when they completely exposed and embarrassed him on the field.
January 17th, 2013 at 7:42 am
Americans needs this dead girlfriend story.
January 17th, 2013 at 7:47 am
we beat Maryland … Maryland beat NCState … NCState beat Duke … Duke beat Louisville … we’re No.1 !
January 17th, 2013 at 7:51 am
Two things… 1. Andrew wiggins is going to go to kentucky still, and he is way way way way better than Julius randle. Be careful what you say about our next star player (the best out of high school since Lebron). 2. Also the team Huntington is playing is one of the most fun to watch in the country. Just YouTube Detrick mostella and Sam logwood for proof. Huntington has to be an underdog as la lumiere is going to give wiggins all he can handle.
January 17th, 2013 at 8:02 am
I don’t understand why people find this confusing. Te’o ‘s girlfriend is obviously the daughter of the invisible Obama that Clint Eastwood was yelling at. They met when invisible Obama was vacationing in Hawaii.
January 17th, 2013 at 8:16 am
Why tell such a love story lie? Easy. It’s called “the Heisman”! Simple as that. Mante’tell’lies wanted that record Heisman. 1st purely defensive winner?! Duh… That and I’d say he’s a pathological liar. Those people are almost incapable of honesty. Especially when it’s the admit your lying kind of honesty! Drew, GREAT write-up!
January 17th, 2013 at 8:19 am
Pathological liar means he’s SICK. And, almost assured of never getting true help here, in this country. We’d rather have the instant “story”.
January 17th, 2013 at 8:24 am
In all honesty, Randle would be a perfect fit for UK. Here’s the book on Wiggins – extreme athlete, can get to the rim anytime he wants (in AAU and high school), can jump out of the gym, has no perimeter shot, has no midrange game – sound familiar? Guys who make their living and look fantastic in aau and hs “getting to the rim” tend to run into a wall when they face D1 athletes who are playing “team defense” – the lane gets clogged and they end up charging or turning it over – especially if they can’t pull up and hit a short jumper which evidently is one of his weaknesses. I’d love to see Wiggins in Blue and White. But if we get Randle, I’ll be absolutely elated. I think Randle has a more “college-ready” game and has more weapons offensively at this time. Wiggins will be an absoluite superstar with some development of his game. But with only one year in college, will we ever get to see that development?
January 17th, 2013 at 8:49 am
I cant believe they made me share half of half of the tv screen with this looser during the ND – UK game.
January 17th, 2013 at 8:55 am
I heard Teo was waiting for the Nigerian prince to send him a check for helping him out. He was going to use the money to buy an engagement ring and propose while riding a white unicorn. Her death messed up his plans. I did hear the BFRO were coming to South Bend for an investigation.
January 17th, 2013 at 8:56 am
It speaks reams that Notre Dame’s VP was on giving an extensive interview regarding everything that happened in the FakeGirlfriend Gate. How would he know what happened betweeen her and Mante’o? Obviously they were afraid to put the latter on bedause the media would inevitably trip him up. What a sham!
January 17th, 2013 at 9:00 am
TEO’S GIRLFRIEND AND KENTUCKY’S NCAA TITLE HOPES DONT EXIST…..WOW!!!!
January 17th, 2013 at 9:09 am
Drew, you are beating a dead (or nonexistent) horse. This whole Teo thing is just a dumb story. I really dont care if he dressed up his hand and called it his girlfriend. It’s just noise. How about some more FOOTBALL news!
January 17th, 2013 at 9:10 am
Everyone post on this subject is hilarious. I’m proud of #BBN.The funniest post was Manti chanting “over inflated”
Does anyone know where I can find the Thamel story?
January 17th, 2013 at 9:22 am
What do Teo’s fake girlfriend and Notre Dame’s defense have in common? Neither one showed up for the national championship.
January 17th, 2013 at 9:32 am
I agree with the Gay theory as it’s written here http://catanddevil.webs.com/apps/blog/show/22512912-te-o-theory
January 17th, 2013 at 9:43 am
If Randle chooses UK and Wiggins chooses FSU, Randle will be the better player and here’s why. Like you said, Wiggins will be doubled and triple teamed and every opposing team will focus on shutting him down when they play FSU. Meanwhile, whoever chooses UK will thrive because it would be crazy stupid for anyone to double team one of our players with the talent that will be surrounding them. For some reason some of these star players want to go to a school where they can be THE MAN, but surrounding yourself with the best will not only take pressure off of you, but will make you a better player because of the talent you are going up against in practice.
January 17th, 2013 at 9:45 am
If the players on this team that should not declare for the draft, decide to stick around, our BENCH will be a top ten team in the country. Probably a top five team.
January 17th, 2013 at 9:59 am
First time I have seen an informational website say to “Google it” haha! Let’s help drew out, below is a link to the schedule to see Wiggins in Ohio this weekend.
I will be there!
http://flyintothehoop.com/ftth-schedule/
January 17th, 2013 at 10:35 am
The perfect Teo Halloween Costume is, Hey husband-and-wife team, he’s dressed as Teo, she’s dressed as a zombie.
January 17th, 2013 at 10:40 am
A.J.’s Girlfriend is real!
January 17th, 2013 at 11:08 am
ZOMBIE girlfriend!! Classic!! Any female zombie on tv needs to wear his jersey on screen!!! Hilarious. Photoshoppers, time to go to work! Remake the movie “Ghost” with Te’o the leading man! Redo video to “imaginary lover”!! This story is too funny.
January 17th, 2013 at 11:15 am
#52 the anti-UK football recruiting philosophy?
January 17th, 2013 at 11:24 am
Manti needs to grow a ball and admit to lying.
January 17th, 2013 at 11:24 am
Still need the Mante’o story dissected. Too confusing, especially the comments from Notre Dame officials. For instance, did Teo ever really hold his ‘girlfriend’s’ hand as he apparently told one reporter in a story I read this morning, or did he never actually see her as I believe his people are now saying?
Either way, this is just too much.
January 17th, 2013 at 11:32 am
Mati Te’o's girlfriends real name is Minnie Fivefingers.
January 17th, 2013 at 11:43 am
47– Bet you thought long and hard on that one didnt ya U freakn line beard Loserville Troll! Get off our site!!!
January 17th, 2013 at 11:48 am
a bit of mid-morn prose:
Ima star feetsball stud
tho a bit of a dolt
& this most recent pub
has sure beena jolt
Butt my gal sure seemed real
& deff not any fake
butt this simpleton notion
now makes me a flake?
January 17th, 2013 at 11:50 am
Kevin, no way that bench would be a top ten team. The possible returners you’re probably speaking of have no heart and no basketball IQ. You might fix IQ, but you can’t fix heart.
January 17th, 2013 at 11:55 am
So let Manti come forth with his cell phone records and social networking emails if he really wants to prove to us that this was a hoax. I’m calling bullshit but all I know is my Russian mail order bride really loves me and is visiting soon after I just wired her $5,000.
January 17th, 2013 at 12:27 pm
SOUTHPARK’S GOING TO HAVE A FIELD DAY WITH THIS ONE!!!!!!!!
January 17th, 2013 at 12:54 pm
“TACO FLAVORED KISSES FOR MY BEN!”
January 17th, 2013 at 3:14 pm
Cartman already did this years ago!!!!
January 17th, 2013 at 6:09 pm
Hello! This post could not be written any better! Reading this post reminds me of my good old room mate! He always kept chatting about this. I will forward this page to him. Pretty sure he will have a good read. Thanks for sharing!|