Content provided by Rocky Top Talk.

And we all know what the “K” stands for…

(BONUS:  Here’s some groovin’ theme music for all the door sitters out there…)

(h/t the Mrs.)

The Memphis Commercial-Appearl reports that according to a source close to John Calipari, the coach has decided to accept the Kentucky offer.

The deal is expected to be for about $5 million per year… which will make Calipari the highest paid basketball coach in the country and the highest paid coach in the SEC (football or basketball).

UPDATE — ESPN has now confirmed the report.

UPDATE — The Lexington Herald-Leader is now going with the story as well.

John Calipari… head coach, Kentucky.

Jeff Schultz of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution lets Kentucky have it for their pursuit of John Calipari.



Here’s a taste:

1)  After stating that Calipari “is not the dirtiest coach or worst person to ever walk the face of the earth,” Mr. Schultz writes, “Should there be much of a difference between not being the dirtiest coach or the worst person in the world — and being uncomfortable close enough?  Kentucky should know better.”

2)  “It always has been about winning at Kentucky, sometimes at all costs.  But you’d think they could find somebody with a cleaner resume (than Calipari).”

3)  “Calipari had a reputation as a less than upstanding recruiter when he was an assistant at Pittsburgh.  He also was known to take academic shortcuts at UMass.  In 1994, the Boston Globe quoted an AAU official in Connecticut as saying, ‘Another coach says to a kid – If you qualify, we want you. – Calipari says – If you qualify, we want you.  If you don’t, we still want you.’”



Over the top?  Yeah, probably.  But this is what UK fans (and Mitch Barnhart and president Lee Todd) can expect for dancing with the devil.

If Coach Cal wins and stays out of trouble, this will be a great coup.

If he doesn’t win — or worse, gets UK in NCAA hot water — Barnhart and Todd will be as doomed as doomed can be.

Tom Izzo — who I think Kentucky should have gone after — told Dan Patrick today that he never heard a peep from Kentucky.

Izzo said that John Calipari will be a great coach for Kentucky.  He also said that “Kentucky is the Notre Dame of college basketball.”  He also said that there might be more pressure at UK than at any other school.

Just my take, but Izzo is a helluva coach.  And he’s media friendly.  And he’s classy.  And he’s pretty much got a clean reputation.



I firmly believe Calipari will win — and win big — at Kentucky.  But I believe UK should have taken their time, done more research on Calipari, and at least approached Izzo and Villanova’s Jay Wright.

With the money UK is tossing around, Mitch Barnhart could have landed anyone he wanted.

I don’t know that I’ll ever understand why Kentucky felt the need to rush.  And why a school with a pretty lousy records of NCAA compliance would head toward a guy with a shady reputation.

That said, I still think it’ll work out in the long run for the Cats.  If Calipari and Worldwide Wes don’t repeat the errors of Eddie Sutton in the late ’80s.

WREG-TV in Memphis has confirmed that a chartered plan has filed plan to fly from Memphis to Lexington with the purpose of delivering John Calipari.

Calipari has met with his assistants and told them of his decision to accept the Kentucky job.

The Memphis Commercial-Appeal reports that Calipari, his wife, and several members of his staff left his home, possibly (probably) en route to the Memphis airport.

Supposedly.  More as it develops.

Not long ago, the websites, radio shows and newspapers were filled with “What the heck is Tennessee doing?” talk based on the salaries given to Lane Kiffin’s staff.

The Vols’ assistants (with the help of Monte Kiffin’s $1.5 million deal) passed the $3.5 million mark in annual salary.

At the time, I wrote that the media’s outrage was misguided.  Lane Kiffin was making just about $2 million per year, which would leave UT no better than third or fourth in the SEC in total staff payout.

Tennessee changed the business model and gave a bigger slice of the pie to their assistants, rather than to their head coach.  They didn’t set a new bar in spending.  They just changed the way they spent.

Today, Alabama announced that it has handed out raises to Nick Saban’s staff and the total numbers push Alabama to the top of the conference in terms of overall pay.

In fact, when Saban’s nearly $4 million a year salary is added to the mix, Bama’s coaches will make more than $6.5 million in 2009.

but because this type of spending falls in line with the traditional “give most of it to the head coach” approach, I doubt if you’ll see many folks write, “What the heck is Alabama doing?”

The Ole Miss athletics department's senior staff and leadership publish biweekly blogs on OleMissSports.com to offer fans added insight into the overall operation of the department.
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The Razorbacks will have 4×100-meter, 4×400-meter and sprint medley relays competing along with long jumpers, pole vaulters, short sprinters and long sprinters competing Friday and Saturday in Gainesville.
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