I Bleed Blue and White

UPDATE: Not to be outdone by his peers, former Kentucky coach Billy Gillispie was arraigned on DUI charges Thursday after being pulled over with a “strong fruity smell coming from his person.” I will not be having what he was drinking.

One of the subtle bonuses to having Jay Wright as your coach is that he rarely (has he ever?) puts his foot in his mouth. With nothing really going on in the offseason, we pretty much take for granted that the ‘Dapper Don’ of ‘Nova Hoops will hit up a beach somewhere, work on that tan, and enjoy life outside the spotlight.

Jay acts as smoothly as he dresses.

Other programs? Let’s just say the Louisville AD is probably still wondering what his coach’s point was today.

• Rick Pitino hastily called a news conference yesterday afternoon for…well, we still really don’t know. Ted Kennedy’s death was involved (a lot), but you’re really going to have to see this one for yourself.
• Not to be outdone, Isaiah Thomas is already causing stirs in his new post at Florida International. He’s threatening to boycott their opening game vs. North Carolina because they were supposed to play Ohio State. Since FIU will clearly lose to either, it begs the question of whether it actually matters.
• Dick Vitale is apparently on a mission to to clear Memphis of any wrongdoing. Because according to him, it is the NCAA’s fault that they were caught cheating?
• Bobby Knight has been inducted to the Indiana Hoosiers Hall of Fame. Whether he will attend is not yet known, but I’d imagine his acceptance speech could include downing a shot of whiskey, kicking over the podium and giving the crowd the bird. The possibilities are endless.
• After realizing that complaining to officials doesn’t stop your team from taking a beatdown at the hands of Jay Wright, Mike Krzyewski has actually decided to recruit big-time players in order to win.

…The Isaiah Thomas story cracks me up especially…he thinks that since he wasn’t there when the contract was signed that it doesn’t impact him…even after he’s gone from my beloved Knicks, he can’t go gracefully into the night…

It’s already August, which means only a few more months of me having to endure the misery known as the New York Mets, but more importantly, only a few more months until the college hoops season.  One person who is ready for college basketball year round is the infamous Dick Vitale.  Today, he released his rankings of the top 40 teams for the upcoming season.  Villanova fell in at #7, with Vitale saying,

Jay Wright had to be thrilled when Scottie Reynolds said no to the NBA and came back to the Big East.  Wright has a super class coming in, plus Corey Fisher and Corey Stokes among the returning talent.

Vitale wasn’t the only ESPN contributor posting rankings today, as Andy Katz came out with his top 25 teams.  Katz rated the Wildcats more favorably than Vitale, with a ranking of #4.  Katz says,

Corey Fisher and Scottie Reynolds and a highly touted newcomer class means the Wildcats are the pick to win the Big East.  Losing Dante Cunningham hurts, but Jay Wright has this program rolling.  There won’t be a dip.

Although it may seem far away to you, the college hoops season is drawing nearer and nearer.

Depending on work, I am going to try and get to the “Attitude of a Champion” showing tomorrow night at the Connelly Center.  If I do, stay tuned for my reaction.  I will try not to spoil anything though. 

In the midst of UConn’s dominating win at Freedom Hall, Dick Vitale just gave a nice shout out to Jay Wright, Dante Cunningham and Villanova. We all know the guy is an ACC whore, but it is still good to hear. It went something to the effect of:

“I really like that Villanova team, they are playing very well. They’re a very good basketball team. Nobody talks about them.”

And watching this game, it makes the loss to Louisville that much worse. Connecticut has just dominated them in every phase of the game. Although it makes the loss to UConn a bit easier to take. They are clearly the best team in the country right now.