Joey Votto's Tuesday News and Views

Good morning and a hearty hello to all of my land-locked brothers and sisters.  And, for all of you reading this on your iPhone in Maui, whatever.  Welcome to the second day of this action-packed week of Kentucky sports.  We’ve already put one basketball game behind us and, with a day of giving thanks the only thing splitting up two more basketball games and the most anticipated football game of the year, the spirits are high around the KSR compound.  Before we get moving on all of the UK news of the day, though, let’s take a pause to mention for BTI that Miley Cyrus turns 18 today and then celebrate all things Joey Votto.  The Canadian-born Cincinnati slugger was honored on Monday as the National League MVP, joining Ernie Lombardi, Bucky Walters, Frank McCormick, Frank Robinson, Johnny Bench, Pete Rose, Joe Morgan, George Foster and Barry Larkin as Red Leg winners.  It’s not just a little hardware and those tiny graphic tees that Votto wears that earn him a Tuesday morning shoutout, though.  Votto earns his love for winning the MVP award after not being named to the All-Star game until the fans gave him the final spot and for taking a shot at Colin Cowherd Monday afternoon.  As you might remember, Cowherd spent most of the summer ripping the Reds and taking shots at Votto, saying that he “didn’t even know who he was”, which is a vital element of MVP voting.  In his press conference today, Votto said “I don’t know who he is either”, much to the delight of John Clay.  And, as you know all too well, when John Clay is happy, KSR is happy.  Well done, Joey Votto.

Now onto some UK notes…

(1) As mentioned in the previous 500 posts about the Oklahoma game, the forty minutes in Maui served as a national coming-out party for a UK freshman, just as a certain game at Madison Square Garden did last year.  The basketball world was set abuzz with Terrence Jones chatter Monday night as the UK freshman torched Oklahoma to the tune of 29 points and 13 rebounds.  Jones displayed the ability to score from all spots on the floor and brought the ball up the court against pressure and made a number of incredible passes.  No one seemed more encouraged by what he saw than Jeff Goodman ESPN’s Chad Ford, who compared Jones to Los Angeles Laker Lamar Odom and then wrote this after the game, saying Jones could climb to be the best draft prospect by the end of the year.  One scout even told Ford that, “He could even be the number 1 pick in the draft.  He does all the things Harrison Barnes does and he’s bigger and so far, he’s been better”.  Ladies and gentlemen, that’s why you play for John Calipari.

(2) It wasn’t just the NBA folks who were drooling over Jones after the game.  In their post-game press conferences, both coaches were asked if Terrence Jones was the best freshman in the country and eached offered endorsements.  Sort of.  Oklahoma’s Jeff Capel was emphatic in his belief that Jones was the nation’s best, saying that he recruited him because he thought he was the best high school player in the country and added that “Others got more accolades, but I felt like no one could impact the game in more ways than Jones could”.  Kentucky coach John Calipari was a bit more subdued when discussing the subject, as one might expect, but did praise his young star by saying that he was the best freshman in the country on Monday.  He added that as the games get more physical, then we’ll all have a better answer to that question. 

 (3) Coach Cal’s comments about toughness and physicality in the paint again conjure up painful reminders of what a difference Enes Kanter would make for this team.  With his appeal set to be filed soon, the Turkish big man got some public support from a guy who hasn’t been much of a UK fan favorite in the past.  After the game, ESPN’s Doug Gottlieb laid into the NCAA for ruling Kanter ineligible over the $33k in expenses, some of which went to educational expenses.  Gottlieb didn’t defend the money as much as he blasted the NCAA over a decision to rule out a player who could make a long-term impact on opening up the college game to European fans and players.  He said that the possibility of spreading the NCAA brand overseas is far more important than some expenses that are said to have been for schooling.  Whatever works, I guess.

(4) An amusing note out of Maui came from Brett Dawson’s Twitter account when he said that the powerful UK contingent booed every advertisement for the 2011 Maui Invitational.  Why?  Because it features Duke and Kansas. 

(5) In case you’ve forgotten with all of the basketball goodness going on, there’s a fairly big football game on Saturday in Knoxville.  Both Tennessee and Kentucky got things going by suspending a defensive tackle on Monday.  The Cats announced that Mark Crawford is done for the rest of the season and the Vols said that Montori Hughes will not be allowed to be a part of the Tennessee team that was responsible for their winning streak ending.  SEC football…I love this game!

(6) It appears that there as a bit of confusion on Monday in the world of football recruiting and Alonzo Harris is not an official UK commitment yet.  According to Steve Jones, Harris verballed to UK and assistant Chris Thurmond on Thursday but was told that he should not make it public until he had a meeting with Joker Phillips.  Well, that meeting hasn’t happened.  So, I guess we’re all going to just agree to keep this a secret.  Don’t tell anyone.  I mean it.

(7) On a non-UK note, my wife decided during the Duke game that Kyle Singler’s media guide picture looks like a red-headed Matt Jones.  Because I’m a fan of sleeping in my own bed and eating, I can’t disagree.  So, you be the judge. 

You should know, though, that she’s still upset with Matt for not giving her proper credit for starting the “Randall Cobb has pretty eyes” movement.  Yes, she reads everything.

(8) Also, a quick shout-out to the Associate Press.  Long overlooked for their impact on the news cycle and often unfairly criticized for the poll bearing their name, the massive group stepped out with a great headline on Monday.  Enjoy:

(9) Finally, make sure you check out Fox Sports Radio just before you turn over to 1080 for the Tom Leach – Kentucky Sports Radio tandem as Stephen A. Smith will yell at Steve Johnson about his outstanding 2010 NFL season.  Stevie will get loose at 8:30 am.

That’s it for now.  Stay tuned throughout the day as we get you ready for (INSERT TEAM HERE) and Drew Franklin presents a Tennessee preview in a way that only he can.  Dad’s still on vacation and the kids are running the show.  It’s going to be a fun day.  See you in a few…