Deadspin: Kentucky Wildcats

Digger Phelps Is Tired Of Kentucky Fans' Bullshit; Kentucky Fans Tell Him To Go To Hell

Timothy Burke — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 14:28:06 EST

Kentucky basketball fans have invaded Nashville in an attempt to overwhelm Vanderbilt fans ahead of today's matchup between the Wildcats and Commodores, one which ESPN chose as its College GameDay site of the week. (They're not-so-cleverly calling it "Occupy Memorial.") More »

John Calipari Told His Team They "Need To Get Beat"

Sports Radio Interviews — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:55:06 EST

Every morning, the fine folks at Sports Radio Interviews sift through the a.m. drive-time chatter to bring you the best interviews with coaches, players, and personalities across the sports landscape. Today: Coach Cal isn't sure his Cats are tough enough yet. More »

Memphis Basketball Announcer Accidentally Introduces "Head Coach Of The Memphis Tigers, John Calipari!"

Emma Carmichael — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 11:15:00 EST

The Memphis Tigers, coached by Josh Pastner, lost 76-72 to unranked (and undefeated) Murray State yesterday. John Calipari did not get credited with the loss, because John Calipari stopped coaching Memphis two and a half years ago, when Kentucky offered him $31.65 million and free membership to a country club. Nonetheless, John Calipari did get introduced as "head coach of the Memphis Tigers" by the Memphis PA announcer. Oh, that's awkward. More »

"Unbelievable!" Indiana Beats #1 Kentucky On Buzzer-Beating Three-Pointer

Timothy Burke — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 20:09:09 EST

On a day that already saw the #2 team in the country fall, the Indiana Hoosiers brought down top-ranked Kentucky on this buzzer-beating three-pointer that left Dick Vitale a puddly mess of screams and IU coach Tom Crean shaking his head in disbelief.[ESPN] More »

Rajon Rondo Delivers The Realest Analysis Of The NBA Lockout Yet

Emma Carmichael — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 11:10:00 EDT

"It's just boring." [Kentucky Kernel] More »

Christian Laettner Is Still Trolling The State Of Kentucky, Even In Charity Games

Timothy Burke — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 15:00:00 EDT

Christian Laettner is not particularly popular in the state of Kentucky. Indeed, it's argued he's the most hated man in the state, a characterization that reflects both Kentucky's basketball-first attitude and its long memory (it's been nearly 20 years since Laettner hit the buzzer-beater that led his Duke Blue Devils over the Wildcats in the 1992 NCAA Tournament). More »

John Calipari Overlooks That Louisville Is Also Located In Kentucky, TV Reporter Too Smitten With Him To Notice (CORRECTED)

Dom Cosentino — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 17:50:00 EDT

The outrage in at least one corner of the Bluegrass State today has been over Calipari's comments, beginning at the two-minute mark, in which he seems deliberately not to mention UK's in-state rivalry with Louisville. cn|2 "reporter" Will Mapes, whose station's coverage area includes Louisville, doesn't seem to notice, at least until he's back in the studio re-applying his blue and white face paint. But then again, cn|2's sports editor, Matt Jones, is a Kentucky sports blogger, and Mapes' own bio says he is "crazy about the Cats." Getting weak at the knees and passing it off as news is apparently what they do. More »

John Calipari Has A Shockingly Logical Plan For Paying Players

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 17:25:50 EDT

Every morning, the fine folks at Sports Radio Interviews sift through the a.m. drive-time chatter to bring you the best interviews with coaches, players, and personalities across the sports landscape. Today: Calipari on how to pay just the ones that bring in the money. More »

Jay-Z Fined $50k For Making Kentucky Freshmen's Dreams Come True

Jack Dickey — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 18:10:00 EDT

ESPN's Marc Stein reports that the NBA has fined the New Jersey Nets $50k for Jay-Z's visit to the Kentucky Wildcats locker room. More »

John Calipari Celebrates His First Final Four Appearance, Technically

Wed, 30 Mar 2011 16:35:07 EDT

The NCAA May Be Approaching Its Day Of Reckoning

Jack Dickey — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 21:55:00 EDT

Once upon a time, complaining about exploitation in the NCAA made you the turd in the punch bowl and/or Jason Whitlock. "College athletes should be paid" marked troll territory. Rollie Massimino selflessly forges boys into men, damn it! He's never made a dime off basketball! More »

Newark A Horrible Place To Visit, But Better Than Syracuse

Barry Petchesky — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 13:40:00 EDT

Yesterday, the big news was that John Calipari had moved the Wildcats out of their Newark hotel, giving some excuse about wanting a place "on the outskirts of the city ... so they didn't have any distractions." I don't know if I buy that, because I don't think you can get any more outskirty than an airport Wyndham in North Jersey. More »

Why Is Danny Ainge Dicking Around On His Phone When He Should Be Working?

David Matthews — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 13:45:00 EST

Last Wednesday, UConn and Kentucky faced off in the Maui Invitational Final. Kemba Walker had blown the tournament up in the previous games and saw his NBA Draft stock rising, so why was Celtics GM Danny Ainge so bored with the proceedings? More »

Eric Bledsoe's High School Transcript Is Some Shady Business

Barry Petchesky — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 15:50:00 EDT

The one-and-done Kentucky stud needed an A in a certain high school class to be academically eligible for college. The grade report shows he made a C average. What gives? More »

Milwaukee Fans Are, Surprise Surprise, Drunk And Disorderly

Barry Petchesky — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 09:30:07 EDT

Because no one reads the newspaper, and SportsCenter's anchors are too perky for this early in the morning, Deadspin combs the best of the broadsheets and internets to bring you everything you need to know to start your day. More »

Sun-Times Going Hard On UK's Pay-For-Play Recruit

Barry Petchesky — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 12:35:06 EDT

Sun-Times Going Hard On UK's Pay-For-Play Recruit" alt="Click here to read Sun-Times Going Hard On UK's Pay-For-Play Recruit" src="http://cache.deadspin.com/assets/images/11/2011/11/small_8be932c2c793e134bb6d17a3b33d8007.jpg"/>

The paper reported rumors, that highly-prized Anthony Davis accepted $200,000 to choose Kentucky. UK's lawyers got involved, and the editors pulled the paragraph...for a day. Now the Sun-Times is fighting back, with more detailed, sourced allegations. This should be fun. More »

The San "Francicso" Giants Need Spellcheck

Barry Petchesky — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 06:30:00 EDT

Because no one reads the newspaper, and SportsCenter's anchors are too perky for this early in the morning, Deadspin combs the best of the broadsheets and the blogosphere to bring you everything you need to know to start your day. More »

Cousins Love Fest: Your West Virginia-Kentucky Open Thread

David Matthews — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 19:00:00 EDT

John Calipari goes for his first Final Four trip, Huggybear and the Mountaineers try to stick it to John Beilein one more time for good measure. Predictions on DeMarcus Cousins' weight in seven years below. More »

I Guess They'll Let Anyone Go There Now: Your 9:30ish Open Thread

David Matthews — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 21:30:00 EDT

It's the rich kids vs. the (shhh) rich kids, i.e. Cornell-Kentucky. The Pride of Cincinnati vs. The Other Manhattan, i.e. Xavier-Kansas State. Will Ashley Judd be seen again, or can Cornell win one for a fictional character? More »

Are You A Racist If You Root For Cornell?

Dashiell Bennett — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 15:30:52 EDT

Dan Shaughnessy, wrote a boring little filler column about why Cornell is better than Kentucky. Matt Jones, who covers Kentucky, says that attitude is elitist and racist. So who is the most wrong here? WRITER FIGHT! More »

En Garde! East Tennessee State-Kentucky Open Thread

David Matthews — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 19:15:00 EDT

The inevitable Calipari-led letdown begins tonight as Kentucky takes on the feisty ETSU Buccaneers. Your opinions on Double Jeopardy and other Ashley Judd vehicles are encouraged. More »

I Was There: Dwyane Wade's Shining Moment

A.J. Daulerio — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 11:50:05 EDT

Reader Michael P was there the night a relatively unknown Dwyane Wade of Marquette University went off on Kentucky in the 2003 NCAA Tournament. Here's his recap. More »

I Was There: Duke Vs. Kentucky, Philadelphia, 1992

A.J. Daulerio — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 09:45:42 EDT

Here's one of our first submission to #Iwasthere (here for explanation) courtesy of Brett Hoover, who was on press row at The Spectrum the night Christian Laettner ripped the heart out of Lexington. More »

Calipari On Buccigross: "He's A Jagoff"

David Matthews — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 13:10:45 EDT

Kentucky coach John Calipari talked with SportsCenter today. Wrapping up, he had the chance to say something to ESPN's John Buccigross. Calipari proceeds to call him a "jagoff" yet again. H/t reader Tyler for the video. More »

The Best Defense Is...Any Defense

Barry Petchesky — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 10:30:00 EDT

Braving A Blizzard Now The Only Way To Watch Olympics Live

Barry Petchesky — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 06:30:00 EST

UK Thankfully Better At Basketball Than Spelling

Barry Petchesky — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 01:45:00 EST

Nike misspelled "Kentcuky" on John Wall's jersey for a Slam photoshoot. But to be fair, spelling your state correctly isn't a graduation requirement at most SEC schools. [Twitpic] More »

Sheed And The Truth Get Into Cosplay

Barry Petchesky — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 06:30:00 EST

Last Night's Winner: Non-Number One Teams

Dashiell Bennett — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 09:35:20 EST

In sports, everyone is a winner—some people just win better than others. Like Kentucky, who will soon be number one thanks to Kansas State, who took care of the last number one. Everyone comes out ahead! (Except Texas.) More »

Miami Coach Not Impressed By Lexington Reporter's Question

Dashiell Bennett — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:10:37 EST

A reporter asked Miami of Ohio coach Charlie Coles (a 17.5-point underdog last night) how he let the Kentucky game "get away from him." He was not amused. More »

Two Of Kentucky's Greatest Minds Finally Meet

A.J. Daulerio — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 21:30:39 EDT

Yes, that's living giant and "You Tube Sports" reporter Kige Ramsey perched behind new Kentucky head coach John Calipari. If an audio clip of this conversation existed it'd be translated into 30 different languages and pored over for centuries. [FriendsOfTheProgram] More »

This Time On Twitter, Calipari Apologizes

Ben Cohen — Fri, 29 May 2009 17:30:00 EDT

John Calipari atones for his daughter, Erin, who he says — err, tweets — got "a little over-zealous in defending her daddy's honor." Then he apologizes, presumably to Pat Forde. "We all have our jobs to do and none of them are easy," he writes. Or tweets. Whatever. [Twitter] More »

No, We're Suing You!

Dashiell Bennett — Fri, 29 May 2009 09:30:17 EDT

University of Kentucky is countersuing Billy Gillispie saying that he's a stupid head who can't even write his own name. (Also something about jurisdiction and picking the wrong defendant.) Gillispie's lawyers plan to counter with the popular "takes one to know one" defense. [ESPN] More »

Billy Gillispie Isn't Done With Kentucky Either

Dashiell Bennett — Thu, 28 May 2009 10:15:09 EDT

As if Kentucky didn't have enough to deal with from their current coach, the guy they fired to get him, Billy Gillispie, is now suing the athletic department for the $6 million he says they owe him on the contract that he never actually signed. Legal mumbo jumbo awaits.... More »

John Calipari Wins At Wall Ball

Dashiell Bennett — Tue, 19 May 2009 10:00:57 EDT

John Wall, the most talked about basketball recruit in the country, will join Calipari at Kentucky. Enjoy what little time you have left with him, Wildcat fans. [Rush The Court] More »

John Calipari Continues His Dismantling Of Memphis

Dashiell Bennett — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 10:30:00 EDT

It was bad enough when John Calipari's daughter decided to follow her dad to the University of Kentucky, but it looks like Memphis isn't going to get to keep any of his players either. More »

Look At That: John Calipari Is At Kentucky

Dashiell Bennett — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 11:15:51 EDT

John Calipari is the new coach of the Kentucky Wildcats and he's going right to work. Step One: Managing expectations. More »

Calipari Watch, Day 2: Pretty Blonde Reporter Is Latest Victim Of The Madness

Dashiell Bennett — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 14:05:05 EDT

A Deadpsin operative checked into "Door Watch '09" last night to find that the Memphis Athletic Department had been replaced by an adorable blonde reporter. You can imagine how the comment horde dealt with that. More »

John Calipari Is Walking Through That Door (Maybe)

Dashiell Bennett — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 16:50:00 EDT

A local Memphis TV station has set up a live web feed of a camera trained on the door to the Memphis Athletic Department offices. It is riveting. More »