Kentucky Sports Radio
[Moderated by Matt Jones]
[Moderated by Matt Jones]
So we have had over 24 hours now to get over the 25th heartstomp by the Tennessee Vols over our beloved Wildcats. Thus it is time to move on and get ready for what will be a BIG week in both football and basketball. With that in mind, lets reset where we are for both sports, along with a practice report from the UK Louisville practice today:
FOOTBALL:
While I understand the fact that most people consider Louisville to be our biggest rival in all sports, I grew up in a different place. I am from Eastern Kentucky and grew up on the border of Tennessee, so the Big Orange is my natural rival and their football team has spent 25 years being my white whale. After 25 straight defeats, I never actually have a high degree of confidence that a win is coming against the Knoxville Terrorists. However when that ball popped out with about 3 minutes to go, I thought the storybook ending could be ours. The Seniors, winning the big game, breaking the streak and a Knoxville native scoring the winning touchdown. It couldnt get much better.
But then, for reasons that are beyond my comprehension, the coaches didnt give the Knoxville legend a chance to add to his mystique. On the two biggest plays of regulation, Randall Cobb didnt touch the ball. And the rest is history. The debate as to why continues to rage on and answers are being sought (and here is what we have found…there is no good answer). When its 1st and 10 at the 13 and you have a chance to win…Cobb gets it 3 and maybe even 4 times in my playbook. But thats not what happened and the overtime loss followed.
People are understandably upset. But I do think that with all the gripes that exist, one truth should not be forgotten. Kentucky did have a good to very good season this year. There are six teams tied in the SEC this year at 7-5. Those teams are: Tennessee, Auburn, Georgia, Arkansas, South Carolina and Kentucky. Historically, we dont belong in the group with the first three teams and we usually dont with the second two. But we are there…and now we dont look to out of place. In fact, it says something about what Rich Brooks has done that someone, anyone much less many someones would find 7-5 and a 4th straight bowl big something to complain about. But Brooks has elevated the program and expectations have elevated accordingly.
Now the question remains, which Bowl will end up taking the Cats. It says something about the UK football program and especially its fans, that the Cats are not a lock for the bottom of that 7-5 group. The pecking order for the Bowls is Outback (which is likely to take UT), Chik-Fil-A (which is considering the Cats, along with Auburn and Georgia), the Music City (which will take UK if available), Liberty, Independence and Papa Johns. My guess is that Atlanta or Nashville are the two likely locations. The representative from the Chik-Fil-A Bowl told me on Saturday that his bowl will make its decision by Monday. If that remains true, we might know UK’s location tomorrow. While some would be disappointed by another trip to Nashville, I would say that is unreasonable. YES, UK let an opportunity slip with the losses to UT and Mississippi State…but they jumped at opportunistic wins against Auburn and Georgia…one cant forget that. We remember the close and unlucky losses and sometimes forget the fortunate wins. This team probably was a 7-5 team…and that is where they finished. They will be rewarded with a good, but not great, Bowl and I will most certainly be there and if you are able, I hope you are too.
BASKETBALL:
It was a GREAT UK turnout at the Louisville practice today, as fans produced the biggest crowd in recent years. I am not good at estimating numbers, but it was probably around 4,000-5,000 and the crowd was very energetic. Here are some notes from the evening:
— Calipari took the microphone and made certain that fans knew he wants to make major inroads in Louisville. He talked of potentially putting together a 3 game package in Louisville (with one conference game, one major opponent and one other), if fans show their support when games are played here. He urged fans to come out on Monday and try to sell it out so he could “convince the powers that be that we need to be here more.”
— Calipari brought the players out early and they signed autographs for 40 minutes before the practice began. I have never seen the players do that before and it is likely that virtually everyone towards the front of the stands got a signature of at least one player or coach. AFterwards the players said they enjoyed doing it and it was a great gesture for the fans.
— Before practice began, the players did some stomping on the UL Cardinal bird at center court. The crowd urged Patterson to stomp on it and he did with a smile and then Jorts/Boogie decided to do a running jump and stomp, which got a roar from the crowd. John Wall and Eric Bledsoe then got ready to do the same thing, but Assistant Coach Orlando Antigua came over with what Courier Journal writer Brett Dawson said was a “Dikembe Mutombo waving finger” telling them to stop. The crowd was sad. When asked afterwards if he was worried that stomping the Bird would make the UL team mad, Patrick Patterson said with a smile, “if it does, it does.”
— Daniel Orton and DeAndre Liggins were not there because of a class conflict.
— The exciting part of the festivities (besides the section in which kids shot against players….a feature that I know is money from the Barnstorming Tour days), was the Three Point Shooting contest, in which the players were divided up into teams and competed against each other. The Blue Team had: Cousins, Stevenson, Dodson, Harris and Krebs…..the White Team had: Patterson, Wall, Bledsoe, Hood, Harrellson and Miller. The Blue Team won…four straight.
— Members of the crowd screamed “JORTS” after most Josh Harrellson free throws. He always laughed and his teammates began calling him that. KSR 4 Life.
— After the game, Patrick Patterson was asked what he signed for fans during the autographs and he replied that he signed a baby shirt, a big and a pair of men’s underwear….although he was quick to add that they were boxers and not “tighty whiteys.”
— Calipari spoke a bit in the post-practice presser about the importance of Louisville to his team’s plans and said that he (a) had no interest in ever playing in the new arena and (b) getting good games here on a regular basis. That then led Jerry Tipton to ask if Calipari felt like that he “owed it” to the students to keep good games in Lexington and if he believed the students would “resent” it. Calipari said no to both questions.
— Louisville sports television personality Fred Cowgill got a phone call in the middle of the press conference and the ringer played “Rocky Top”…I booed him.
— Calipari also said three little tidbits I found interesting….(1) he believes the team needs to learn the “ecstacy” of winning as a team and not just individual success…as proof he cited Demarcus Cousins being down on himself even though UK won in Cancun…(2) he said that John Wall is trying to get all “A”s in his first semester and used it to mock those who say one and dones dont go to class….and (3) he said that UK’s zone offense is poor, its man offense nonexistent and the Dribble Drive is a “version I have never seen before”, but then followed with his regular, “but I do love this team.”
All in all, a great day in Louisville and tonight’s game against 0-6 UNC Asheville should be fun. Stay tuned all day for more info on that and any Bowl game news as we get it.
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November 29th, 2009 at 11:42 pm
First.
November 29th, 2009 at 11:42 pm
Cowgill is a dick. Me and my friends sat beside him at a River Frogs hockey game back in the day. He got absolutely hammered. We made fun of him for most of the game b/c none of us knew a damn thing about hockey except for the fights were cool. Screw Cowgill. Go Coach Dohminie (spelled incorrectly I know).
November 29th, 2009 at 11:42 pm
I’m so pissed that I missed the practice today! I could kick my own ass.
November 29th, 2009 at 11:47 pm
Yeah, I missed it too wathing New Moon w/ my wife. I’m going to the game tomorrow night though. Maybe that New Moon thing will get me some action tonight!
What KSR signs should we have tomorrow night????????????????
Something w/ Porcinis, Kiffen’s wife, and “Jag-off”. Give me some suggestions.
November 29th, 2009 at 11:56 pm
4).Dude, that’s too easy, reverse the order and put them together.
November 30th, 2009 at 12:07 am
Fred Cowgill graduated from the University of Tennessee…
November 30th, 2009 at 12:11 am
does anybody have video of the Louisville Cardinal stomping???
November 30th, 2009 at 12:26 am
I keep trying to tell people that we have YET to see the DDMO in action with this team. Once they learn it, you’ll say, “OOOH, that’s what it is supposed to look like?!” Watch a tape of Memphis in the Final Four a couple of years ago and you’ll be shocked …
November 30th, 2009 at 12:31 am
is there any chance at all that wall won’t be a one and done? I know it sounds like theres no chance, but during his recruitment, i do remember him saying something about wanting to get a degree and his being a one and done not being certain. I know it’s probably too much to ask, but how insane would he be after 3 or 4 years of college.
November 30th, 2009 at 12:32 am
8. We have seen DDMO this season, just very little of it, as in just a few plays. Due to our overflowing talent in the front court, we probably won’t see as much of it this season as in Cal’s teams of the past.
November 30th, 2009 at 12:33 am
the wonderful Fidler family providing us with a summary of Lexington’s collective facial expression at the end of that game.
November 30th, 2009 at 1:19 am
im with matt. not only should Cobb have gotten the ball every time, but the fact that he didnt get it on the third down still has me scratching my head. wtf!?!?!?
November 30th, 2009 at 1:32 am
Anybody else catch Jacob Tamme highlight on sportscenter?
November 30th, 2009 at 1:33 am
I keep trying to get over the football loss and I just can’t. The hurt won’t go away.
We’ve had the better team 3 or 4 times the past 5 years and that’s gotten us zilch.
I’m sorry. I’m flat tired of moving on and waiting for next year.
There’s got to be something we can do to avoid losing games because of bad playcalling. If something is consistently a problem, then it needs to be addressed through modifying the approach. If that’s not an option then the offending party needs that particular responsibility removed.
I’m thankful to our coaching staff for getting us to this point, but we’re past being happy playing in the Music City Bowl. The “it could always be worse” argument doesn’t hold weight anymore.
November 30th, 2009 at 1:44 am
13, yes–very heady play on his part to knock it outta bounds.
14, i understand the frustration. it sucks.
November 30th, 2009 at 1:54 am
Couldn’t agree more Flop. And even more frustrating when this game was really decided outside of the players but by poor officiating by a crew thats already been suspended once this season after the phantom call in the UGA-LSU game and the debacle between Ark-Fla. IMO Mike Slive really should have to answer as to why he allowed an officiating crew to take the field again after some very obvious irresponsible if not crooked officiating. I’ll always say this game was stolen by the officiating crews momentum swinging calls, so in my book thats 3 games they have depicted the outcome of in 1 season.
Why Cobb never got the ball is beyong me and is a whole different discussion for the competency of Joker Phillips which I doubt totally after his failures in the USC/Miss St games and now the UT game.
November 30th, 2009 at 1:55 am
14–AMEN! That’s exactly how I feel.
November 30th, 2009 at 1:58 am
2. Fred Cowgill is actually not a dick. I have family that works at the news station with him and I have met him on a few occasions. He is a pretty nice guy and I’m sure more than one of us on here have been that hammered guy at a sporting event. Doesn’t mean he is a dick.
November 30th, 2009 at 6:40 am
Matt, at the beginning of the season you said you didn’t think the team would do better than 6-6 but now you claim that it had 7-5 talent all along? Actually, this team had 10-2 talent. They should never have lost to South Carolina, Mississippi St. or Tennessee. Stupid play calling by Joker and the crew lost them those three games.
November 30th, 2009 at 6:53 am
You can spin the football thing anyway you want, but the bottom line is Kentucky is still 7-5 and let THREE games slip away much the same way as they have since I’ve been watching for 35 years!
Heartbreak after heartbreak is the moniker of this Football Program.
If I believed in ghost, I’d swear that we are cursed by Bear Bryant for not giving him a cadillac too!!!
November 30th, 2009 at 7:47 am
After three seasons and a 9-27 record, Brooks had not won enough. Four seasons after that and a 30-21 and soon to be four straight bowl appearances, Brooks still hasn’t won enough. Fire them all so we can go back to averaging between 4 and 5 wins a season, like we have for the last fifty years. Losing to Tennessee and South Carolina and Mississippi State sucks, but I would rather have a 7-5 record than a 5-7 record because we lost to Georgia on the road like we have every time we played them in Athens since 1977 and because we lost to Auburn like we have for the last fifteen games we played them since 1966. So two streaks continue and two end. Brooks and crew get no credit for ending two streaks, but all the blame for letting the Tennessee streak continue. If Kiffin continues on his path of NCAA infractions, they will get hit with NCAA sanctions and then we can end the streak. But I can hear the crying and griping now. That won’t count because we could only beat them when they are on probation. Ingrates.
November 30th, 2009 at 7:55 am
I was beginning to think I could hate Tennessee more. Then Louisville fans “sang Rocky Top” all over my Facebook today. I don’t know enough UT fans for that to happen when we play U of L. So I still hate Louisville the most.
November 30th, 2009 at 8:15 am
14, 17.) Im tired of this fairweather fan stuff…. If you can’t support the team and coaching staff after turning this team into a 7 win season then you need to support another university. This is rediculous I guarantee you are the same fans that thought Joker Phillips was the greatest thing since sliced bread when he took the 03 recruiting class and had that offense up to par to compete with anyone in the nation. He took what he has this year, a decent line, 3 very sub par quarterbacks, 0 big play receivers, and 2 stud players and produced enough offense to win 7 and put in the position to win 10. Why does our defense get the bye all the time? We had 1 week to prepare for Anthony Dixon and he ran for almost 300 yards against us and that cost us that game. South Carolina spent the entire game throwing deep balls to a freshman receiver to beat us, and Monterio Hardesty gashed us for 220 and 2 touchdowns of 15 plus including one in overtime. The point is you can’t point fingers here, we are what we are and if its unacceptable to compete for 2nd in the SEC east with GEORGIA, TENNESSEE, and SOUTH CAROLINA, then you are off your rocker!!!!!
Get off your high horse and stop blaming these losses on anything else but the fact that we are Kentucky Football, and though we have made great strides we are not a team full of 5 star talent like 8 of the 12 teams we play, we earn every win we get.
November 30th, 2009 at 8:22 am
[...] KSR reports on the open practice: “It was a GREAT UK turnout at the Louisville practice today, as fans produced the biggest crowd in recent years. I am not good at estimating numbers, but it was probably around 4,000-5,000 and the crowd was very energetic.” [...]
November 30th, 2009 at 8:26 am
Great fball season but you have to give it to your playmakers when its time to score. I could understand it better if Newton was hot but he had a horrible second half.
November 30th, 2009 at 8:45 am
Poor coaching cost us the game again. Plain and simple. Time for a coach that will take us to the next level and a coach that can beat Tennessee. Obviously, it’s not Joker.
November 30th, 2009 at 8:48 am
Looking forward to seeing the cats tonite I am staying in Louisville, looking for a plase to have a drink and hang out with some UK fans after the game. any help ?
November 30th, 2009 at 8:48 am
You don’t see Calipari benching Wall during crunch time. Brooks is an average coach who should be retired and take Joker with him.
November 30th, 2009 at 9:03 am
Rich Brooks and Joker Phillips are the greatest thing to happen to Kentucky football since Bear Bryant, remember Ron Hudson?
Get rid of Joker and Brooks and who comes in? Who comes in to take over a program that has NO football tradition and has to recruit against Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, LSU, Alabama, South Carolina? Kragthorpe? You guys are loony… If we don’t lose John Conner, if Derrick Locke picks up his block, If Randall Cobb doesn’t fumble if Morgan Newton doesn’t fumble, if anyone on the defense stops Hardesty, we win the game and you all are talkin about putting Brooks on the stadium deck next to Bryant……….. Fairweather fans disgust me
November 30th, 2009 at 9:09 am
A 7-5 football season is fine with me. We will not see a 10 win season until we have the horses. That starts with recruiting on the same level as top level programs.
To complain about a couple of losses that we did not get is short-sighted.
November 30th, 2009 at 9:19 am
It would have been nice to have Jarmon on the line against Miss State and UT….might have slowed down the rush some.
November 30th, 2009 at 9:30 am
Could be problems….
November 30th, 2009 at 9:36 am
I’m excited about UNC Ashville tonight!
November 30th, 2009 at 9:40 am
Look at the fingers on that dude, those are creepy !!!
November 30th, 2009 at 9:41 am
Final confirmation that Cowgill is a douche.
November 30th, 2009 at 9:43 am
If, if, if. #29, that’s a lot of “ifs” there. The simple truth is that we had opportunities to win three more games this season and the play calling of Brooks and Joker was horrendous in situations that could have won us those games. I think Brooks has been a great coach for this program and he has raised the level of play. But, he is consistently saying how Kentucky needs to win more games and prove we are a player in the SEC. Well Pawpaw, perhaps you should give your team an opportunity to do so! Why is no one in the media willing to call out the coaching staff for their boneheaded decisions? Someone needs to ask Brooks and Joker point blank why Cobb didn’t touch the ball.
November 30th, 2009 at 9:45 am
#23–Although your points (ESPECIALLY about the defense) are well taken, can you please explain the playing call on UK’s last drive (in regulation)? Also, I don’t like being lumped into the “fair weather fan” category. I’ve followed this football program for 45 years, so I’m well beyond that. Also, I’ve never been a fan of Joker Phillips. I think the stats for the past two season would mete out my feelings. Total offense has plummeted and there is absolutely no imagination in play calling. And the thought of him being head coach makes my eyes twitch. You all may be happy with 7-5 now, but it will be you who sing a different tune once the reigns have been taken over by Phillips.
November 30th, 2009 at 9:56 am
#35 It was the same poor play calling during the drive against Mississippi State where Cobb didn’t touch the ball 6 straight plays and ended up costing us the game. I’m seeing a pattern here.
November 30th, 2009 at 9:58 am
Matt, you still have to admit that 1) playcalling single-handedly lost three games for us this season (south carolina, miss st, tennessee), 2) that this is a recurring trend every single season, 3) it is a major major problem which could end up deflating both fans and players aliek, and 4) something needs to be done about it.
Honestly, how many more games like this have to happen before not only the fans but the players on the field start EXPECTING it to happen? In close games at the end, etc. It’s a major major problem, and most frustrating at all — no one around the program/administration seems to be talking about it.
November 30th, 2009 at 10:09 am
37. you can’t assume that just because a different play is called we would have scored in each of those 3 games. what if we had given it to Cobb and he didn’t score? you guys would be blaming Cobb, saying that he isn’t tough enough.
your logic is flawed.
Even though we have a chance to win 4 bowl games in a row (an incredible feat for UK), some of you clowns are ready to run this coaching staff out of town? I have followed UK football for a long time as well and we have never been this competitive on a regular basis.
The UT loss hurts but Coach Brooks has elevated this program and there is no denying it.
November 30th, 2009 at 10:13 am
I really get tired of hearing Brook’s lame excuses. Excuses don’t get the job done and the game was very winnable. Three minutes left to go and we can’t score a touchdown from ten yards out with out best player on the bench, what sense does that make?
November 30th, 2009 at 10:16 am
35.) Play calling is obvious … if you use two players on every possesion througout the game they wear out. The only thing I disagree with is on 3rd and 3 not going with the wildcobb, BUT, the play call was great and Newton just about walks in if Derrick Locke picks up his block. As for no imagination in the playbook, you go from having a Heisman hopeful QB and 2 NFL bound recievers a NFL bound tight end, a NFL bound running backand a pretty good Dicky Lyons to….. what??? I don’t know what you guys expected. Mike Harltline could not hold ANdre Woodson’s jock strap, and we have nothing close to Keenan burton, Stevie Johnson, Jacob Tamme, or Dicky Lyons. We simply have a decent line, Randall Cobb, and Derrick Locke. I think we did really well to go 7-5…..
By the way if you weren’t impressed when Joker Phillips put up 43 against #1 ranked LSU then you should probably find a new team….
36.) Anthony Dixon ran for 300 YARDS!!!!!! We scored 24 points against a team that had 1 player. Their quarterback threw 4 touchdowns all year!!!!!!! You can’t blame all of this on one coach. WE are Kentucky Football, we are what we are, be happy we are bowling and dont expect BCS games!@!!
November 30th, 2009 at 10:18 am
38: its a COMPLETELY different thing to lose with your best players and your best plays. everyone knows that. no one would blame cobb for anything. you find yourself in a position to win and, as the offensive coordinator, you have to be creative, ballsy, take risks, but no matter what you have to give your players the best possible chance to win. second half of the south carolina game — no wildcat until the very last drive, then no wildcat on the 2-point conversion. miss state game — go watch the entire final three possessions and tell me that the playcalling honestly gave those players the best chance to win the game. and saturday night — everyone in the stadium and watching at home knew we had once chance there. i would even argue the players knew it too. players understand the game and see things just as well as we do watching on our HD televisions.
at the end of the day, i dont know what else to say. you will see this next year too. 2-3 games where playcalling single-handedly leads to a loss in a game we could have won.
November 30th, 2009 at 10:20 am
40: you would raise a good point but if you remember, the streak should have ended two years ago, when joker had one of the most high power offenses in the country. remember the end of regulation in that game? what were we, three yards away? and he played for the FIELD GAL.
also, didnt he play for the field goal in regulation against LSU too?
November 30th, 2009 at 10:25 am
^ high Five 23. Hell I can still remember when the only bowl we were asked at was the ones that our Mothers gave when they were baking cakes. Granted, we’re 7-5 and maybe to the Music bowl or whatever, but we’re still going to bowl games which also means kids who weren’t even looking our way are starting to concider us as vialble school for them. Yeah sometimes coaches make bad plays, and some players make bad plays, but you live with it and go on….
November 30th, 2009 at 10:31 am
Most the most part, I agree with 40, especially regarding the talent of this years team versus 2 years ago. But with that said, we were still in the position to win this game against UT and the curse strikes again. As far as play calling, I’ll concede you need to ride your best horses all you can, but you can’t use the same players, and the same plays over and over again. Joker is too conservative, there is no doubt about that, but if Locke doesn’t miss the block, this is all mute. If we don’t draft some quality receivers and a tight end who can run routes and catch balls, it will be more of the same going forward.
November 30th, 2009 at 10:32 am
#40–Phillips did great his FIRST year. But you look at his numbers the past two. Obviously, you’re in his jock, so I’ll go find myself another team–like you suggest.
November 30th, 2009 at 10:42 am
You all are putting too much weight on bowl games. This is not 20 years ago or even 50 years ago. There are 34 bowls, meaning 68 out of 120 teams will go to a bowl. That’s a whopping 57% of the teams. Which means, you just have to be average to get to a bowl. That’s not very impressive and not that much of an accomplishment.
November 30th, 2009 at 10:48 am
DO NOT EAT AT FREEDOM HALL TONIGHT
http://www.whas11.com/news/consumer/Health-code-violations-investigate d-at-Freedom-Hall-73186102.html
November 30th, 2009 at 10:54 am
I don’t think those people in the picture are thinking “At least we beat LSU 2 years ago….” or “I’m so glad Brooks didn’t put Cobb in when it counted and settled for OT”
November 30th, 2009 at 10:59 am
45 Do you notice a difference in the offensive talent between Joker’s first year and the last two years? Hartline versus Woodson? Cobb versus Burton, Johnson (one year), Lyons, Tamme? Perhaps that explains the difference in the offense and the play calling. Let me know what team you decide to follow so I can avoid them like the plague.
46 Given that for years, we have been less than average, it is a step up to be in a bowl. While it is diluted, I would rather be in a bowl than not. We will start to move up when we land better recruits and do not have to wait for two star recruits to become decent SEC players. We will not land better recruits without winning. Being in a bowl game, regardless of how diluted the standard is, guarantees that we have had, at a minimum, a six win season. I would rather be in this position than where we found ourselves at the end of the 2005 season.
November 30th, 2009 at 11:00 am
I want UNC in the Music City
November 30th, 2009 at 11:08 am
Somebody put that guy on suicide watch. Seriously though, i feel his pain. One of the biggest coaching blunders of the Brooks/Joker era at the end of regulation. It’s always a Charlie brown moment with this staff. For every good thing they do or accomplish there’s an equal disappointment waiting to happen. I can care less about the pizza or banjo bowl game at this point. I’m ready for Brooks to retire and for Joker to get his debacle over with.
November 30th, 2009 at 11:48 am
After this past week of basketball and football, one thing stands out in my mind. Expectations. The expectations of our basketball team are through the roof. Fans are worried and are complaining after 6 games on a team that is 6-0, ranked 5th in the country, one of the best coaches in the nation,starts 3 freshman and is now relevant again on the national scene. The expectations are low and mediocre at best for the football team. After blowing 3 games that they could have possibly won, coaching staff not putting the ball in their best players hands during crunch time, playing for the tie instead of the win, going to 4 midlevel bowls in the midst of the influx of bowls era, fans are happy that they are 7-5 when if it was the basketball team, everybody would be up in arms that we lost those games and the coaches are buffoons. See the difference of expectations? As long as coaches, players, administration and fans keep the same mediocre expectations, then this is what we’ll always have and that is disappointment over a mediocre football program.
November 30th, 2009 at 12:28 pm
45.) Maybe you should, if you can’t see the difference in teams. I just want to know what you guys expect year in year out???? Do you even watch the game or are you one of those fans who just looks for touchdowns??? Did you not see Derrick Locke miss a block the Newton walks past the first down marker and maybe scores on??? Did you not see the key to our offense go down (John Conner) did you not see Newton overthrow every receiver??? Did you not see Randall Cobb fumble twice in 2 in the second half????
I hope Joker comes in and breaks all these streaks so you haters will show your true color, then dchagy = JokerforPrez. Fair weather Fans!!!!!
November 30th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
Amen 53…..Amen
November 30th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
Lets face it folks, the Cats were pretty fortunate to end up 3-5 in the SEC. They were SIGNIFICANTLY outgained in all but the USC, Auburn and Vandy games. That reflects on the overall level of talent vs other SEC teams. The Georgia game was a gift, and they were lucky to even be in the Tennessee game.
Overall, Brooks is just slightly above average if you look back at all UK coaches, and below average vs his peers in the SEC. Things have obviously improved over since his disastrous first three years, but he is still not able to sign the recruits we need to truly be competitive in the SEC. The fact that we don’t have a good quarterback or defensive line now is Brooks’ and Joker’s fault. They’ve had 7 years to get the talent level where it needs to be and they simply have not gotten the job done. For people to cut them slack because they don’t have the talent ignores a key aspect of the assessment.
Curci showed you CAN win here. We just need a proven coach - like the ones recently hired by Alabama, Florida, Arkansas, and Mississippi. The administration needs to step up and spend some money, like they did for basketball, and like UNC did for its football program.
November 30th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
I’m not a fair weather fan. I’m simply someone who didn’t grow up a college football fan but within the last few years (starting 4 years ago when I entered grad school at UK) has become one. I WANT to be a college football fan in the same way I am a college basketball fan. I want to desparately root for the football ‘Cats as I do the basketball ‘Cats. And I have watched every game this season I could (living out of state makes it difficult, at times). But at the end of the day, when I see boneheaded decisions like on Saturday, it makes me thankful for basketball season. And you know what #53, you’re right, if Locke makes his block then maybe Newton picks up the first down. But the bigger issue at hand is why wasn’t the best player on the team on the field?
November 30th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
52. This isn’t true- and for the reasons it isn’t true look to UofL during this coaching search. Succeeding at UK at football is difficult for a few reasons- if you add unrealistic fan expectations to the list- you can forget about having a good coach. We’ll simply cycle through bad coaches for a decade or so. Slowly but surely we are getting better- that is my expectation- to see progress on the field- progress in recruiting. So far this coaching staff has done that. Just because you want this team to get to a BCS game doesn’t mean it will happen. Be realistic with your team’s goals and you will be a happier more thoughtful fan. That being said- we better win the NC in basketball this season- just kidding.
November 30th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
52. Your right, the key is recruiting, Problem is, THIS STAFF IS NOT GETTING IT DONE. How many 4&5 star recruits have they signed in the past 8 years? Maybe 10? The top half of the SEC does that in one or two years, in addition to their occasional 5 star. Have you noticed who we’re competing with on most of the kids Brooks has signed this year? All second tier programs. Until we start competing at an SEC level in recruiting we will continue seeing KY players bust their tails trying to win, but ultimately lose.
November 30th, 2009 at 3:46 pm
52 What fans are complaining about basketball? I’m overjoyed! This is a young team that is showing alot of grit.
November 30th, 2009 at 3:47 pm
52 I agree with you on the mediocre expectations for football by the fans. It’s time to expect BCS bowls not also ran bowls!
November 30th, 2009 at 3:50 pm
I wish all you morons who call fans that point out the coaching mistakes stop calling us fair weather fans. You obviously don’t know the definition of that term. Learn the meaning, then you can have the right to use the term again, until then your license has been revoked.