A Depressing Evening in Sports

Allow me to recap how my evening has went so far, as a fan of both the Kentucky Wildcats and the Cincinnati Bengals.

• I got home from work around 5:30 this evening and on WSAZ, a press conference is on to announce that Patrick Patterson is finished for the season after suffering a stress fracture in his left foot. While it is entirely possible for Kentucky to still make the NCAA tournament(no team with 10 wins in the SEC has been left out of the tourney), it has completely dashed the confidence that had been built up over the past two months, even with the letdown in Vandy.

• A positive though, NFL trading and free agency is open. The Cincinnati Bengals acquired Shaun Rogers from the Detroit Lions for a third and fifth round draft pick. Rogers is a nose tackle that fills a glaring need and all but signals a move to a 3-4. Has some weight problems, but a two time pro-bowler nonetheless.

• In other Kentucky news, a player that Kentucky was in the lead for in 2009, DeMarcus Cousins, a top 5 center from Alabama, gave a verbal commitment to UAB. Wish him the best of luck, even though the odds of him being successful in a Memphis dominated C-USA are pretty well slim.

• Then I get online again to read that the Shaun Rogers trade has not only been called off, but Cleveland has gotten in and stolen him from the Bengals. Whether the league canceled the trade or the Bengals backed out I am not sure we will ever know, but the only positive is now the Brownies are out of first day draft picks.

And to think, a rematch with Tennessee, no Patterson, in Knoxville Sunday at noon. All I have to say is "Thank God I have to work."

The Day After the Worst Loss Ever

Fortunately, I was at work last night, so outside of highlights, I really have nothing to base the game on.

Looking at stats though, when a team shoots 55% from the field compared to 34%, it's generally going to be a very long game. Three of your best players who had double figures combine for 42 points while Vanderbilt has four players in double figures with 64.

Other production notes: Derrick Jasper plays 29 minutes with only 2 POINTS. AJ Stewart plays 21 minutes and only scores 3. Perry Stevenson, the comeback player for Kentucky, only plays 12 minutes before fouling out.

Bottom line is, Vanderbilt is one of the most inconsistent teams in the league. While they can get white hot and scorch Kentucky like they did last night, they are also capable of laying an egg like they did in Rupp. Of course, even watching the highlights, some of the calls looked pretty questionable, which is what you will get on the road. Kentucky will head to the Bayou tomorrow to face an LSU team that deposed of its head coach last week, so whatever adjustments need made will be done by then.

One positive out of the whole loss is that the program to the north of us may be headed for a date with the NCAA for recruiting infractions. If Indiana was smart, they would call a press conference today to announce Sampson's firing, but it won't happen until the season is over.

Random Midweek Thoughts

First off, the big issue since before the Super Bowl known as "Spygate". It was reported earlier in the season after week one that the Patriots were filming the Jets trying to steal the plays, giving them an advantage over opposing teams who may have been doing carrying about business in a professional manner. The NFL basically gave the Patriots a slap on the wrist, losing a first rounder and levying a fine against Bill Belicheck and the Patriots organization. If the Patriots would have missed the playoffs, they would have been stripped of a second and third round pick, which really would have hurt them a lot more than losing a late first rounder.

Now a report surfaced the day before the Super Bowl that a former employee that he videotaped the Rams final walkthrough back in 2002. In addition, the evidence from the Jets game was destroyed by the NFL, leading Arlin Specter and Congress to suspect a coverup?

First question being asked- Why does Congress care why the tapes were destroyed?

Anti-trust. The NFL rakes in billions of dollars worth of subsidies every year, which in a way is a tax reduction. This is how teams are able to pay Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Carson Palmer, and others ridiculous contracts. In this case, picture the Chicago Black Sox scandal, which is more or less on the same level, except the league destroys the evidence. Congress is creating subsidies for what is described as a competitive sporting league, so if there was evidence that the NFL was rigging games for one of their largest media markets to win, shouldn't somebody speak up?

Worst case scenario, Congress pulls their support in both baseball(steroids) and football and you will see contracts that are a little more sane.

In SEC news, John Brady is out at LSU. Couldn't have happened to a better person. If you are a Kentucky fan like me though, don't get your hopes up waiting on J'Mison Morgan to decommit and give Kentucky an inside presence to go along with Patterson. Tim Floyd or Anthony Grant will likely be the new coach down in the Bayou and both will likely keep the recruiting class in check. Floyd would be the most intriguing, since there has been a wealth of talent coming out of Louisiana recently and his experience with the NBA and in recruiting would be a welcome addition to a school who let one big fish get away to DC.(Greg Monroe)

In regards to Kentucky's game, they did something I never thought would be possible. In addition to setting the season record for turnovers with 24, they somehow managed to win the game. The previous high this year was against Vanderbilt with 23, but they had two overtimes to factor in as well. I have been one of the most vocal about Ramel Bradley being one of the worst players to don a Kentucky uniform since Saul Smith, but with his recent turnaround, you have to admit that not only was he missed greatly Wednesday night, but he would have cut the turnovers down by close to half against an Auburn team that isn't overly impressive.

It's simple folks, if Kentucky can get the turnovers down, opponents will not score off of those turnovers, and the margin of victory will expand higher than maybe three points. Problem is, I can see Richard Hendrix and Alabama giving Kentucky a lot of problems tomorrow on the inside, and I hope Bradley is back.