Plenty of Bright Days Ahead

Whew!!!!! What a weekend for a University of Kentucky all sports fan. The deeper into the weekend we got the more the losses mounted on the field and court and the worse the weather got across the Commonwealth (especially in Eastern Kentucky) so there were no escape opportunities like high school basketball or even a visit to the local Wal Mart available in most areas, you just simply had to sit in front of the TV and endure. Best part of the weekend to me was UK President Lee Todd and Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart's public statements in response to the NCAA's decision on Enes Kanter's eligibility.

I was refreshing to me to see two men of your stature show some "Backbone" toward the NCAA in your comments.

You are both out of my doghouse and I sense a renewal of faith from the UK fan base toward both of you coming in your next appearance at Rupp Arena.

Now, let's close out the Enes Kanter knockout by the NCAA and make it final with a bit of advice to him as well as the loyal readers of this column by using a couple quotes from one of our most famous coaches in American sports history that I refer to occasionally myself,  "Nothing in life is so hard that you can't make it easier by the way you take it." or " Things turn out best for the people who make the best out of the way they turned out.", both quotes were used on many occasions by John Wooden to his players at UCLA.

Welcome to America Big Enes, we have a few ugly warts in our society but please don't judge the rest of us by the way you were treated by one of our most hypocritical organizations. I hope you enjoy a long and successful career in the NBA and establish your off-season home in the Bluegrass or at least come back to visit once a year to make the "Y" at Rupp Arena.

As for Coach Calipari on to the next battle. As you know there will be more with the NCAA because in their eyes you are their new Jerry Tarkanian and they are still as vindictive an organization as we have in our modern day culture. Just remember to dot your "I's" and cross your "T's" because your at Kentucky now and the NCAA will find a way to punish you whether your guilty or not.

They did again in this case by prolonging a decision for four months that had an effect on your team every day. I'm convinced the decision would have been dragged out to the same finalization in the spring had Big Blue Nation and the UK administration not been so vocal and constant in the various media outlets available today.

As they say down at the old ball yard hang with'em Coach Cal were all behind you especially Lee Todd and Mitch Barnhart.

Plenty of Bright Days Ahead

By Ira D. Combs Syndicated Columnist
Tri State Sports Media Service Inc

kentuckysportsnetwork.com