UK should follow Texas and play a students-only basketball game at Memorial Coliseum
Random notes:
▪ Loved that Texas basketball played Sam Houston State on Monday in a students-only game at Gregory Gym, which seats just under 3,500. It was the Longhorns’ first game in the Gym since 1977. Texas won 73-57.
So how about Kentucky playing a students-only game at Memorial Coliseum?
▪ Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for Mark Stoops’ contract extension. Stoops has done a terrific job as Kentucky’s football coach. He deserves a raise, security, etc.
But college football coaching contracts these days are not worth the price of the paper they’re printed on. They’re all for show. They’re for recruiting. Ask Oklahoma about its contract with Lincoln Riley, now the head coach at USC. Ask Notre Dame about its contract with Brian Kelly, now the head coach at LSU.
▪ How important is the College Football Playoff when Kelly walked out the door as the Irish are two spots away from being in the national semifinals?
▪ On the other hand, new Florida coach Billy Napier will coach Louisiana in the Sun Belt Conference title game against Appalachian State on Saturday.
▪ How would you like to be a Notre Dame football player told to go to a 7 a.m. meeting so that your coach can tell you what you already knew, that he was leaving for LSU? Then again, Riley didn’t meet with his Oklahoma players.
▪ Then again, if you are a football player at LSU or Oklahoma you probably have a pretty good idea that this is professional sports at the college level. Chances are you’re more annoyed about getting up for a 7 a.m. meeting than your coach leaving.
▪ And this was rich from Oklahoma AD Joe Castiglione, when asked about Riley leaving. “We would have liked more notice,” said the representative of a school that left for the SEC without telling any of its fellow members in the Big 12.
▪ More proof it’s all crazy money: In addition to his 10-year, $95 million base contract, Kelly gets a $500,000 bonus when LSU becomes bowl eligible. He gets a $500,000 annual longevity bonus.
▪ This is all more confirmation that allowing college athletes to transfer one time without a waiver is absolutely the right thing to do. And if you thought the transfer portal was nuts last year, just wait.
▪ Raise your hand if you thought the Cincinnati Bengals would be 7-4 the week after Thanksgiving. The Bengals have swept the Steelers. They beat the Ravens 41-17 in Baltimore and Pittsburgh 41-10 in Cincinnati. Zac Taylor deserves to be in the Coach of the Year discussion.
▪ That said, the Bengals have a tough slate down the stretch. The Chargers and 49ers visit Paul Brown Stadium the next two Sundays. Then comes a trip to Denver before home games against Baltimore and Kansas City. Cincinnati finishes out the season Jan. 9 at Cleveland.
▪ The Ravens beating the Browns 16-10 on Sunday night despite Lamar Jackson throwing four interceptions had to be a painful reminder of 1993 when Kentucky intercepted seven Florida passes but still lost 24-20 to Steve Spurrier’s Gators.
▪ Kentucky men’s basketball plays Ohio State in the CBS Sports Classic in Las Vegas on Dec. 18. That’s the same Ohio State that rallied to beat No. 1 Duke 71-66 on Tuesday night in Columbus. Chris Holtmann’s club outscored the Blue Devils 41-23 in the second half. It held the Blue Devils scoreless the final 4:28.
▪ If you missed it, former Kentucky basketball coach Billy Gillispie put a scare into No. 3-ranked Gonzaga on Monday. Now the head coach at Tarleton State, a school in the second year of a four-year transition to Division I, Gillispie’s team played neck-and-neck with the Zags until the final minutes when Gonzaga pulled away for a 64-55 win.
▪ Purdue is for real. With Duke losing, Matt Painter’s Boilermakers are likely the new No. 1 in next week’s AP poll. And with good reason. Now 7-0, Purdue took apart Leonard Hamilton’s Florida State Seminoles 93-65 on Tuesday night in West Lafayette.
▪ Asking for a friend: Why has the song “Mony Mony” disappeared from UK home basketball games at Rupp?
