A 52-inch Rattle Snake's Saturday News and Views

A pair of Casey County brothers made a big discovery the other day when they found a 52-inch rattle snake while cutting timber near their home. The snake was found near Coffman Branch Road in Casey County. Upon finding the snake, the two brothers killed it and then took it to a taxidermist who estimated the length. If you are wowed by the size of the rattlesnake, nearly 4 feet long, it's actually not the record for the state of Kentucky. The longest recorded snake found in Kentucky was reportedly a little over 60 inches long. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the heaviest known rattlesnake weighed in at 34 lbs., and was 7.8 feet long. According to the record books, the snake was shot in 1946.   And now on to the news and views from the day...   ---- You know it's a Friday in late July when one of the lead stories of the day is that Jalen Whitlow will be switching his jersey to the #2. I wish I could say that the news got a lot more tantalizing as the day went on... but it really didn't. Let's see what we can scrounge up for you though... ---- Mark Stoops took the city of Louisville by storm today, first going on Kentucky Sports Radio for an interview in front of fans. Following the appearance, Stoops and some of his coaching staff gave the Louisville Greater Alumni Club Luncheon a treat when they stopped by to speak to them as well. Approximately 800 people packed the hall for an event that typically draws about 400-450 people. Hello, Mark Stoops effect. Hello. Between the KSR interview and the Luncheon, here are 10 quick hitters from Stoops' day in Louisville: 1. "Kentucky's here. We're not messing around." 2. The fan support has been overwhelming and has not gone unnoticed by the coaches or the players. 3. When this Kentucky staff arrived, they wanted to make a statement to the top talent in the state that Kentucky was going to come after them hard...And succeed. Ryan Timmons and Jason Hatcher were two key examples of players who were not likely headed to Kentucky until the new staff arrived and went to work immediately. Literally. DJ Eliot said within 2 hours of being hired, he was in the schools of those kids. 4. Worry not... Mark Stoops is not downplaying the importance of the Louisville rivalry. "Absolutely every day, we think about that. Every day."  I find the comments refreshing. Some new coaches come in and try to downplay the significance of a rivalry initially, especially if they are the underdog in that particular season. Not Mark Stoops, folks. 5. Mark Stoops doesn't like the color red. And it doesn't go with his hair. 6. If you hadn't already gathered this much from the off-season talk, the Kentucky strength and conditioning staff is first class. People can't say enough good things about the type of work they are doing. The changes have been apparent already in the bodies of the returning players. 7. Even though he walked into a program with a bunch of guys he did not recruit to Kentucky, he considers those players to be "his guys." This season is not a throw away season for him. He wants the seniors to go out on a good note. 8. This staff expects freshman stud running back JoJo Kemp to make an impact right away. He will be "throw in the fire" as a true freshman, and will get first and second team reps. 9. Don't get too excited about the new uniform combinations....just yet. Even though the players and recruits tweeted out some exciting new pictures, it seems as if Stoops and his staff might be holding out on actually using the jerseys right away. I can't imagine though that Kentucky will go very long, if at all, without doing something exciting with the uniforms. 10. If Mark Stoops and his staff don't get your blood pumping every time they speak about Kentucky football, I don't know what will...   ---- Kyle Tucker of the Courier-Journal was in attendance to listen to Stoops at the Alumni Luncheon. Stoops was asked about the plan for a first-year coach, and spoke openly and honestly about the challenges ahead of him:

"Being a first year head coach, I know I'm going to make mistakes and I know there's going to be things that will come about that I'm going to have to deal with. But I wanted to head that off as much as possible. I've been around a lot of good people and been around a lot of good head coaches... So I put it all together and hit the ground running. I do feel good about what this staff has done so far. We've put ourselves in a good position to keep on building this program."

  ---- In a bit of exciting news, apparently Marcus McWilson and Javess Blue will be in Lexington and on campus by August 2nd. Both players could be relied upon to make an impact on the field right away. It's comforting to know they will for sure be in Lexington very soon. ---- Rushel Snell (now that's a name) was set to choose between Kentucky and West Virginia today. Snell, a former Pitt running back, was looking to transfer after the departure of his former coach. Snell wound up picking West Virginia today, and said it was in large part due to the fact that Kentucky really wasn't making a push for him. Kentucky has a host of talented running backs between this year and next year's class, and clearly didn't make Snell a priority. Since when are we turning away guys like this? That's gotta be a good sign for the future... Even though Snell won't be joining the new Wildcat era, he had some telling words about why Kentucky was an attractive option for him, "It's a new era there. Things are happening there." Yes, yes they are. ---- Kentucky wide receiver target Braxton "Honey Nut" Berrios picked up an offer from Ohio State tonight. Stay away, Urban. ---- If you thought the 2010 vs. 2012 Kentucky Alumni game was simply for the players to get a chance to back up the smack talk, or for the fans to get a chance to witness a fantasy-like match-up... don't forget the fact that Calipari uses such things as major recruiting tools. Calipari will likely try to get a few top Kentucky targets on campus to rub elbows with the NBA stars and see what kind of family atmsophere Kentucky produces. We learned of the first confirmed visitor today in 2015 small forward Derrick Jones. Jones has an offer from the Cats already and plans to visit in September, more than likely for the Alumni Game.   ...That's all for today folks. Last but not least, a quick shout out to two of my co-workers at Tates Creek High School who were not only the first people I know to name their new puppy "Stoops" after he was hired, but who also just got married. Goggles up. Go Cats.