Poythress to Consider Part Time Job As Pizza Delivery Boy

TENT CITY, KY- After spending time last night delivering pizza to hungry fans camping out for Big Blue Madness tickets, Alex Poythress has reportedly decided to pursue a career as a pizza delivery boy.

A source overheard Poythress commenting to a friend, “Man, I could do this all night long!”, referring to passing out pizza and not (as we first assumed) Lionel Ritchie’s hit song. Witnesses commented on the huge grin planted on Poythress’s face as he interacted with fans and spread the joy of Papa John’s pizza throughout 582 tents worth of people.

Kentucky Head Coach John Calipari could not be reached directly for comment, but a source who wishes to remain anonymous told this reporter, “Calipari runs a players-first program, and that includes their professional careers. If the NCAA would only pay student athletes, Alex wouldn’t have to pick up a part time job.”

Considering Poythress is currently projected to only go sixth in the 2013 NBA Draft, it’s probably wise for him to work for extra cash during the school year. In that scenario, Poythress would only earn $2,643,600 in his rookie year, as opposed to the $4,436,900 projected first-year earnings of the number one overall draft pick- hardly enough to afford a white-on-white Bentley.

NCAA rules allow student athletes on scholarship to earn up to $2,000 annually at outside employment; as a pizza delivery boy, it’s safe to say Poythress will not be in danger of violating this regulation. However, UK is awaiting ruling from the NCAA regarding how much Poythress will be able to use his employee discount or employee meal for free or drastically reduced-cost pizza.

Poythress has scheduled a press conference for halftime of the next UK home football game (to ensure a high attendance) to announce which pizza chain he will work for. The smart bet is on Papa John’s, which is a UK sponsor and gave Poythress his start in the business last night; however, there are whispers that Poythress is partial to the cheesesticks from Mad Mushroom. Mellow Mushroom also has nicer uniforms.

Poythress’s favorite pizza toppings are pineapple and ham.

@KristenGeilKSR for fake and sometimes real news

Source: ksrcollege.com

Best of KSRCollege From the Weekend

This week’s best of KSR College is brought to you by Rajon Rondo hiding in a closet at Fashion Week to eat a cupcake undisturbed.

I’m sorry, but is that not the funniest thing you’ve ever seen? Glad you liked it. Let’s move on to the best of KSR College so far this week.

Andrew Cassady, the consummate professional, pushed aside his UK pride to honestly rank the SEC football teams in this week’s SEC Power Rankings. Read to see if Kentucky has a chance against Florida this week.

Speaking of Florida, Brooks Holton did a little digging and found a look at the Kentucky football program through a Florida football writer’s eyes. Brooks also drops an absolutely terrifying stat regarding Kentucky and Florida scoring in the first quarter of their previous four match ups. Yikes. However, I do think it was kind of the Florida writer to refer to our Western loss as “humbling.” That’s a nice little spin.

The men’s and women’s soccer teams both earned victories this week. Dean Bowling covered the men’s win over Eastern Tennessee last night, and I wrote briefly about the women’s soccer team, who are still undefeated in SEC play against some really tough competition. Check it out.

It’s Big Blue Madness time, so let’s have some fun. JC Ausmus provided some fun facts surrounding the madness, and Havana Childers wandered around the tents to photograph some of the Big Blue Faithful. So did Tara Bilby. Did you make it onto their iPhones?

And finally, in case you’ve somehow missed hearing about the epic Stone Cold vs Nerlens Noel one-on-one game that’s taking place tonight, Hayley Minogue wrote up a quick pre game preview. Read it, then go check out the matchup at 9 pm behind the Craft Center. Who’s side are you on?

@KristenGeilKSR

Source: kentuckysportsradio.com

Best of KSR College From the Weekend

Well, that was a roller coaster of the weekend. From the Fantasy Camp experience to the Alumni Game, to the Western debacle to the women’s soccer win, Kentucky sports experienced every emotion on the spectrum this weekend. Luckily, KSR College writers were on hand to cover all of it. Here’s what you might have missed (while napping at Wildcat Lodge) over at KSRCollege.com:

Let’s get the ugly stuff over with. Andrew McCarthy had the dubious task of writing the post-game summary of the Western Kentucky overtime win, and he managed not to shatter his keyboard when angrily blogging away. That deserves a click, amirite?

Brooks Holton is a freshman at Centre College and is apparently really enjoying the discussion-based classes he’s taking, because he took the concept to his post Sunday Discussion: What Happened to Maxwell Smith and the UK Offense? It’s similar to a difficult therapy session- you don’t want to talk about it, but you know you’ll feel better after.

As David Mulloy sunnily phrased it, “At least we didn’t lose the tailgate.” He and Havana Childers roamed the Commonwealth parking lot to capture on film what is now widely considered Kentucky’s greatest strength as a football program. JC Ausmus also got a fun perspective with access to the John Calipari Fantasy Camp’s tailgate, and let me tell you, it is something swanky.

And to wrap up the football section, I wrote about why I’m already getting a little bit fed up with coaching speculations. Guys. It’s September. There is a whole lot of football season left, for better or for worse. Nothing good can come from pressing fast forward on this football season, and I explain why in my post.

Let’s lighten things up a bit. Jack Heyburn brought the laughs this weekend, with one of the most unlikely pictures to ever be taken and a brief discussion afterwards. Jack also browsed the Oklahoma City message boards for fan reactions after the announced signing of DeAndre Liggins, and the results are NOT what you would expect. I died laughing.

The Billy G saga continues. Doctors have advised Billy Gillispie to stay stress-free for the sake of his health- how will he possibly fill his days? I offered a few suggestions for him.

And finally, after watching Jim Calhoun’s retirement press conference, I started musing on Calipari’s (hopefully very far off in the distant) future retirement, using The Sandlot as my analytic lens. I wrote this before the Fantasy Camp and Alumni Game, which would definitely impact my thoughts if I were to rewrite it today- but you’ll have to read it to find out why.

@KristenGeilKSR

Source: kentuckysportsradio.com

Best of KSR College This Week

With fall sports kicking into high gear, I know that my schedule, at least, is a lot more jam-packed than usual. Time is of the essence, and to help you guys make the most of your Internet time, I’m here to highlight the best KSRC posts every few days. This week, I have also included a book recommendation because we all need to read more good literature. Let’s goooooo.

Let’s start with some football posts. We’ve heard that this Kentucky football team is young and inexperienced. In The Future of Kentucky Football, Will Totten profiles some of our most vital young players. These are the guys to keep an eye on throughout their Kentucky careers.

Similarly, remember Jessica and her daily life affirmations on YouTube? Andrew McCarthy takes it upon himself to be the Jessica of UK football beat writers, reminding us of why Max Smith could be “the light at the end of the tunnel.” It’s like Chicken Soup for the Kentucky Football Fan’s Soul.

It’s been a couple days, but Willie Taggart’s thoughtless comment about WKU students getting rejected from UK still sting for some WKU students. Havana Childers has some fighting words for him as a UK transfer by way of WKU. Her post “Choose One: Blue and White or Red and White” is a glimpse into how lots of WKU’s students might be feeling right now, and it’s worth a read.

John Burke did some research and summarizing to analyze how UK’s opponents for the rest of the season fared in their first two weeks, all to explore the question “Has UK’s Schedule Gotten Easier or Harder?” His conclusion may surprise you…

To cap off our football posts, Andrew Cassady is a man on a mission. That mission? To use his KSR power and rank the SEC’s football teams on a weekly basis. Spoiler alert- Kentucky’s not last!

Billy Gillespie is currently one of the most notorious figures in college basketball (well, this week anyway). Tara Bilby provides an insightful comparison of how the media handled Billy G’s firing from Kentucky as compared to his present situation at Texas Tech (written before he checked into rehab).

On the flip side of Tara’s post- Jack Heyburn should run for office. He can put a positive spin on anything. Keep that in mind while reading “It Wasn’t All Bad,” which focuses on Billy Gillispie’s perhaps most significant victory while at UK. It’s nice to remember that we had a nice moment, once, for a brief second, with Billy.

And finally,  everyone had a great time with the Countdown to Kickoff football posts (except possibly Nick Roush when he did a string of roughly 14 days of them in a row), so we decided to bring the feature back for a Countdown to Big Blue Madness. With 30 days out, the first post went up this morning- so check it out to see what fun facts associated with the number thirty there are in the realm of UK basketball (hint- there’s an Eloy tweet).

@KristenGeilKSR for the links to KSRCollege posts as they go up

Source: kentuckysportsradio.com

Best of KSRCollege From the Weekend

With fall sports kicking into high gear, I know that my schedule, at least, is a lot more jam-packed than usual. Time is of the essence, and to help you guys make the most of your Internet time, I’m here to highlight the best KSRC posts every few days. I will also include a funny picture because according to research, that’s how you get more people to read your words. Let’s goooooo.

As much as I love Tara and Willow, I love the guy on the left even more. Sweet sunglasses!

-Did you know that the NFL kicked off yesterday? No? Neither did half of my fantasy football league. I took some time to recap the performances of former Kentuckians, including of course Randall Cobb’s punt return and David Akers’ record-tying field goal.

-Nick Roush analyzed the important of rivalries through a different lens, turning to the Holy Cross and DeSales high schools and comparing their antagonism to that of Kentucky and Louisville. I say this with no sarcasm- it’s a really smart post that deserves a read.

-Our football writers certainly kept busy, and luckily they had a more pleasant game to write about than last week. Adam Schilt stayed up late on a Saturday night, blogging his heart out about the Kent State game- the low attendance, the improved offense, and the still-shaky-but-hey-better-than-last-week defense.

-Andrew Cassady also wrote his Cliffs Notes-esque weekly summary of the game, going over The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of the Kent State game.  Bolded phrases and list lovers everywhere salute you, Andrew.

-Want tailgating photos? We have those too. Tara Bilby and JC Ausmus were our roving reporters on Saturday, and they captured some great images from outside of Commonwealth Stadium in Tailgating Pictures Part One and Part Two.

-It’s no secret that Kentucky’s offense is already looking to be more entertaining than last season, and a large part of that is because of how quickly the offense has been calling plays. Will Totten explores whether the no-huddle offense is here to stay and how it could help us in SEC play.

-And in case you missed it, Wilder Treadway wrote a thorough guide covering the Do’s and Don’ts of Tailgating. If any of y’all made rookie mistakes for the Kent State game (skipping the shower beer, wearing inappropriate attire, and failing to fuel properly), check his post out and correct your behavior for Saturday’s game against Western.

-On the more creative side of writing, Hayley Minogue somehow found herself with enough free time to rewrite a Drake song, UK style. Blue Nation, what’s up?

@kristengeilksr

Source: kentuckysportsradio.com

Best of KSR College

With fall sports kicking into high gear (oh, and classes- those have started too), I know that my schedule, at least, is a lot more jam-packed than usual. Time is of the essence, and to help you guys make the most of your Internet time, I’m here to highlight the best KSRC posts every few days. I will also include a funny picture because according to research, that’s how you get more people to read your words. Let’s goooooo.

This is everything that’s right with America. That woman scares me.

-UK fans know that football plays second fiddle to men’s basketball, and for the most part, they’re okay with it. In “Our Football Team is Living in Our Basketball Team’s Shadow,” Tara Bilby argues that while this favoritism may be the case, that doesn’t mean UK football is without fans. Lay off us, Dick Vitale.

-You thought you were done hearing about the Louisville game, right? Well, not quite. Andrew Cassady closes the book on the loss with “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly: Louisville Football Game Edition.” 

-Getting away from football for a minute, Jack Heyburn addresses the shot clock’s place in college basketball. Does preserving the 35-second clock slow the game and impair players who are hoping to go to the NBA, or is it necessary for teams to run set offenses? Should it be shortened to 24 seconds, or can we compromise somehow?

-First, John Burke’s post “Joker Adopting a ‘YOLO’ Mentality” has two of the greatest pictures to ever be placed side-by-side in the history of the Internet. And, it’s a well-researched argument for how Joker’s play-calling in the Louisville game showed that he’s ready to take some risks this season.

-Stats on stats on stats- Brooks Holton has ‘em, “Ranking the UK Offense Against the SEC.” It’s not too pretty, but it’s probably better than you expected (UK’s offense, not Brooks’ writing- he’s pretty solid).

-Did you know Nick Roush moonlights as an Intramural Football announcer? Me neither, but apparently that’s the case. Check out “Miraculous Game to Start Intramural Season” for a dramatic narrative of the ATO-Kappa Sig game. 

-Kentucky football will attempt to redeem themselves with Saturday’s game against Kent State. Andrew Cassady provides a handy guide to the opponent in “Know Thy Enemy: Kent State.” Spoiler alert- I don’t think a Golden Flash is a real thing. Also, there’s no such thing as posting the Kent State wrong way punt return TOO many times.

-And finally, Adam Schilt is passionate about getting the UK students behind the football team and, even better, into the actual stadium. In “A Plea to the Students,” Adam appeals to the Big Blue Nation’s pride and urges students to get out and support the football team. He also calls out a blonde freshman for not realizing the football home opener is not the same as Homecoming. Freshmen, SMH.

Stay tuned for more football and other fall sports news this weekend- it’s shaping up to be an exciting one.

@KristenGeilKSR

Source: kentuckysportsradio.com

How to Interact With Athletes on Campus

Today was the first day of school for all you UK students out there, and this rite of passage wouldn’t be complete without a pop quiz. Hypothetical scenario: it’s your first day of college. You’ve got your backpack full of books that you probably won’t need, your lunch money jangling happily in your pocket, and you’ve successfully avoided your mom’s request for a “first day of school” picture for the fridge (“Honey, why can’t you just ask your roommate to take it?”). You’re strolling merrily along Limestone, minding your own business, when all of the sudden- you see Nerlens Noel. How do you react?

(A) Immediately run up, ask for a picture with him, and throw your three goggles with abandon. CHEESE!

(B) Stare. Just outright stare. He doesn’t look that tall on television…

(C) Casual head nod (“sup, bro?”), then continue on your path. Ain’t no thang.

Correct Answer: (C). Lezzbehonest: in real life, most freshmen would do A or B. But, newsflash: as starstruck as you may be by the shadow cast by Nerlen’s flattop, he’s technically your peer now. YOU ARE THE SAME AGE AS HIM (and I’m almost five years older. Practically a dinosaur, or Digger Phelps). Sure, some athletes may be just one year away from professional careers and thousands in endorsements, but that doesn’t mean you have to act like a creep around them. So for all the freshmen reading this, here’s a handy guide for how to appropriately interact with athletes on campus- so that you don’t stick out even more than you already do (lose the lanyards, though. For real).

DO: Treat athletes like normal human beings. Use this as a guiding principle for every time you are within the vicinity of a UK athlete. Would you ask for the autograph of the girl next to you in Psych 101? No? Then don’t do it if you happen to find yourself sitting next to Alex Poythress in class.

DON’T: Bother them if they have their Beats on. Everyone knows the universal law of earbuds: if someone has earbuds in, it is physically impossible to break the sound barrier and talk to them. With athletes and Beats, this rule is multiplied ten-fold. Beats might as well be a huge “DO NOT DISTURB” sandwich board around their necks. Don’t mess.

This fan broke the Law of Headphones and lived to tell the tale. 

DO: Follow Josh Hopkins’ words of wisdom. In his second post, “Meeting John Wall,” Josh confesses how nervous he was at approaching John Wall for a picture while at a bar in LA. He strategically planned his approach- said hi as he walked by, asked if he could get a quick picture after dinner, then follow through once Wall was about to leave. Polite, uninterfering, and not at all stalkerish (save for the slightly neurotic running commentary occurring inside Josh’s head at the time). If you absolutely MUST get a picture with your favorite UK player, follow Josh’s example.

SUCCESS.

DON’T: Ask for pictures while they’re going to class, in the act of eating, or seem otherwise occupied. Acceptable photo ops? Public places (WalMart, Kroger, Orange Leaf), the blue courts, leaving dining establishments, and fund-raising events.

DO: Occassionally feed into the “Big Men On Campus” hype. By this, I mean that after an athlete has an outstanding play or record-breaking game, stroke the egos a little bit. For example, cheering Matt Roark’s walk to class the Monday after the Tennessee game- totally fine. Starting a “Da-vis! Da-vis! Da-vis!” slow clap at Ovids after the UNC block- probably necessary. Part of the fun of attending a big-time athletic school like UK is the infectious enthusiasm floating around campus when a team is on a roll. Embrace it when it’s deserved.

DON’T: Heckle players after a poor showing. The necessary corrollary to my previous point. Every now and then, a player or team has an off night. They will probably recognize this. Their coaches will definitely recognize this. Frankly, they don’t need you to let them know how much you didn’t appreciate them choking the weekend before. Keep it to yourself.

And finally…

DO: Relish the “Athletes are people, too!” moments. Savor running into Wiltjer and Polson at Graeter’s. Giggle to yourself when you watch Archie Goodwin ride his scooter to class. Take a mental snapshot when you see LaRod King eating Ramen straight out of the cup. Again, one of the perks of going to a school like UK is seeing athletes before they’re pros and having some common ground with them, if only for a year or two. Enjoy it while you can.

@KristenGeilKSR

Source: ksrcollege.com

Chicago Tribune Thinks Anthony Davis is Having the Best Year Ever

Calling it “The Dream Year,” the writers here in my neck of the woods profiled Anthony Davis and his nearly unfathomable accomplishments in 2012. Every major college basketball award, a NCAA championship, first pick in the NBA draft, and the youngest player ever to represent Team USA, and win a gold medal? Check, check, check, quadruple check, annnnd still technically waiting on that last one (I’m so tired of #spoileralert. So unbelievably tired).

The Davis clan has enthusiastically jumped on board with Team USA, with Anthony’s dad (maybe) hyperbolically declaring, “Besides him being born, this is the greatest day a parent could have, to see him go from being an unknown in Chicago to winning a national title at Kentucky and maybe a gold medal in the same year.” Mama Davis chimed in too when asked about the family’s plans to move to New Orleans for awhile to help Ant get adjusted to his new job: “He’s still young, so we just want to make sure he adjusts… You know, make sure he doesn’t forget anything.”

Hmm… like this?

Click here for the full article.

Source: ksrcollege.com

UK Soccer Says “Let’s Get Technical, Technical!”

We’re used to reading about technology used in college’s primary sports- the fancy Nike uniforms, the professional-level workout facilities, etc- but more often than not, secondary sports tend to get the shaft when trying to acquire top of the line equipment, facilities, and technologies.

Not so for the UK soccer programs. The men’s and women’s soccer teams recently acquired Prozone 3 software, a soccer specific performance analysis system that, according to its website, “enables coaches and management staff to analyse physical, technical and tactical performance information through an interactive and engaging coaching tool.” Need proof it’s legit? Aresnal FC and Real Madrid count themselves among its users.

Here’s how it works: there are 8-12 cameras installed in the soccer stadium. The cameras track the players’ and ball movement, and send the data to a computer program that takes in the data and analyzes it. The resulting analysis is 2D animation that gives coaches and managers a more comprehensive understanding of physical, technical, and tactical performance. Coaches and managers can look at the team as a whole, position by position breakdown, or an individual’s performance. There are fancy distribution maps, video clips, and a 2D recreation of the game. From a robot’s point of view (#KSRSummitJokez), it’s top of the line technology that will have a real impact on the way Coach Lipsitz, Coach Cedergren, and their staffs prepare for games and make adjustments to their tactics.

What’s even cooler about the soccer teams having access to Prozone 3 is that they’ve made UK the first college in the country to have both the men’s team and the women’s team using the software. Coach Lipsitz points to this as evidence of the incredible support that the athletic teams receive from Mitch Barnhart and the rest of the university. Other universities will follow suit, but for now, Kentucky is leading the way in innovative soccer technology. Just like we’ve become accustomed to with men’s basketball, Kentucky soccer is on its way to becoming the benchmark for other programs to follow. It’s an exciting development for a secondary sport at UK, and hopefully it’s the start of an increased attention and subsequent fan interest in UK sports besides basketball and football.

Women’s soccer has their next game at home on Friday night at 7 pm while the men’s team will play Sunday evening at Dayton.

@KristenGeilKSR

Source: ksrcollege.com

Women’s Soccer Opens Season With A Win

The women’s soccer team started the season off on the right foot (I have so many soccer puns bottled up inside of me!) with a 2-0 win over Coastal Carolina last night at the UK Soccer Complex. It was a beautiful night for soccer, and the teams looked even better on the field’s new video display board in a corner of the field facing the stadium.

The Wildcats struck quickly with Ashley VanLandingham scoring on a free kick 11 minutes into the game. VanLandingham, a defender, shot from about 35 yards out for her second career goal. Freshman Cara Ledman added some cushion with a ricochet rebound in the 61st minute off a Caitlin Landis shot. The Cats should have had a third goal after a Chanticleer received a yellow card in their own box to lead to a penalty kick. Courtney Raetzman scored, but UK was called for entering the box too early, and the freshman missed the re-shot by hitting the right goalpost.

Cara Ledman (20)

It was an exciting game for the Wildcats offensively as they outshot Coastal Carolina 21-1 and had 13 corner kicks. Goalkeepers Kayla King and Kayla Price had barely any work to do, and head coach Jon Lipsitz took advantage of his team’s offensive dominance to substitute liberally, and eight freshmen saw the field. Freshmen Raetzman (midfield), Olivia Jester (midfield), Kelli Hubley (forward), and Ledman (forward) started for the Wildcats. Sophomore defender Arin Gilliland, who has been recovering from a knee injury, played fearlessly and without apparent fear of reinjuring herself.

The Wildcats have a week before their next game (apparently they have these things called classes that start next week, what?) on August 24th at 7pm, when they’ll play host to Eastern Kentucky University at the UK Soccer Complex. You can find game highlights and post-game comments from Coach Lipsitz here.

@KristenGeilKSR

Source: ksrcollege.com