Now that I've exposed ol' Billy Gillispie and sent him packin'... I guess it's time for me to jump back into the water again.
This time, my target is former UConn Lady Huskie, U.S. Olympic team and WNBA forward Diana Taurasi.
It's not that I want to see Taurasi banished from the WNBA... but I would like to see her clean up her act... for the game's sake... her opponents' sake... and the thousands of her young fans' sake.
Check out these photos of Diana Taurasi's vicious attacks on her opponents on the court:
skylinesdesign.com/protectyourself.html (courtesy of richardrob)
On Wednesday night, June 17, 2009, former LSU standout and U.S. Olympic gold medalist Seimone Augustus was racing down the court on a breakaway for her Minnesota Lynx WNBA team... against the Phoenix LifeLock Mercury in Phoenix. It was a 1-on-5 break... where Seimone had only to get pass the Mercury's Diana Taurasi to score the basket. And she did!
Seimone Augustus went up against FIVE opposing players... by herself... and left them in her dust! There was no one inbetween her and the basket but air and opportunity!
What a fabulous play!
But the ball never reached the basket... neither did Seimone Augustus.
Just when Augustus beat Diana Taurasi on the break, Diana... the 3-time NCAA Women's Basketball Champion... the 2007 WNBA Champion... the two-time U.S. Olympic Team gold medalist... Diana Taurasi... threw her elbow and complete body weight into the back of a speedy Seimone Augustus who was about to plant her left foot to elevate toward the rim to score.
The mere thrust of Taurasi's shove into Augustus' back sent Augustus flying completely across the lane.
skylinesdesign.com/seimonegoesdown.html (courtesy of richardrob)
skylinesdesign.com/seimonegoesdown2.html (courtesy of richardob)
Upon impact... Augustus' left knee buckled... and she hit the floor clutching her knee to her chest in obvoius pain.
No foul was called.
Taurasi didn't even go over to Augustus... her U.S. Olympic teammate... to see if she was okay... or to even apologize for having caused her so much pain.
Oh... and did I mention that the two teams were vying for first place in the WNBA's Western Conference?
The next morning... the WNBA's website featured a split-frame photo of a triumphant Diana Taurasi and a fallen Seimone Augustus... with a headline that read something like "Taurasi's Mercury rises, Augustus' Lynx take a fall." (The WNBA has since removed this split-frame photo completely from their homepage and archives. Hmmmm... I wonder why?)
For two days, Augustus waited anxiously for her MRI results.
Torn ACL... surgery required... done for the season... was the word that came out on Friday, June 19, 2009.
Bummer!
No... more appropriately... what a BUM!
Diana Taurasi is exactly that! A bum! A dirty bum... who shoved an innocent player in the back... blowing out her ACL... and ending her season.
Why couldn't Taurasi have hustled her lazy ass into position to defend against Augustus? She was already in front of her.
Or better yet... why couldn't Taurasi have let the play gooooo? Her Phoenix team was in the lead. It was only two points!
Well... only Taurasi can answer those two questions.
Now... while Augustus is hopping around on crutches waiting on the swelling to go down in her left knee... so that she can undergo a season-ending surgery... the WNBA is doing damage control for their superstar forward, Diana Taurasi.
Even though it was a deliberate act by Taurasi that ended Seimone Augustus' season... the WNBA has not taken any punitive actions against Taurasi.
Instead... the WNBA has been cleaning up and covering up... by altering the audio-taped comments of Minnesota Lynx head coach Jennifer Gillom (Augustus' coach) from "the force that was pushed against [Augustus]"... and transcribing Gillom's comments to read "the weight that was pushed against her"... to negate the idea that Augustus was pushed hard by Taurasi.
And to add fuel to the flame... the WNBA... which makes complete game videos accessible to the public... has not made this particular game video available to the public.
I wonder why? Hmmmm...
At the very least, Diana Taurasi should be admonished by the WNBA for her dirty tactics on court... not protected.
The NBA holds its superstars accountable for their actions... Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard... Why not the WNBA?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Hg-IRZk4D0
Posted on: March 10, 2009 11:43 am
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After Kentucky's loss to Florida last Saturday, a reporter asked Jodie Meeks why he didn't shoot more. Jodie replied that Billy Gillispie told him not to shoot... but to pass the ball to Patrick Patterson.
The following Monday, Gillispie denied saying that to Jodie Meeks. He said that he would never say anything like that.
Who do you believe -- Jodie Meeks or Billy Gillispie?
Sure Jodie Meeks has been getting a lot of national attention for his scoring prowess... while Gillispie is catching a lot of flack for the Wildcats' current slump.
But why demoralize and frustrate your leading scorer?
Here's the facts, Blue Nation:
1. Jodie Meeks and Patrick Patterson were recruited by Coach Tubby Smith.
2. Jodie Meeks left Kentucky to attend his grandfather's funeral in Tennessee about the same time that Coach Tubby Smith left Kentucky for Minnesota. And the UK Athletic Department had originally thought that Jodie had left with Coach Smith... since Jodie was nowhere to be found. A week or two later, they found out that Jodie was with his family and had no intentions of leaving Kentucky. But for that brief period of time, Gillispie thought that Jodie had jumped ship.
3. Jodie Meeks got injured against Gardner-Webb in the second game of the season on Nov. 17, 2007 and Gillispie made him continue to suit-up and play (with a serious injury) through Feb. 16, 2008, until Jodie told him that he couldn't play anymore... he was in too much pain. And Gillispie felt like Jodie had let the team down for not playing through his pain... with his serious injuries... in the SEC and NCAA tournaments.
4. Jodie Meeks is a prolific scorer, leading not only his team in scoring this year, but the entire SEC... and he is among the top five scorers in the country. As a result of the media attention he has received as a NCAA Player of the Year candidate, Jodie Meeks' accomplishments have overshadowed his team's accomplishments (or lack of)... prompting Gillispie to make public statements to an ESPN sports analyst minimizing the importance of Jodie Meeks' contributions to the team.
5. Jodie Meeks has been benched and publicly humiliated on a national stage by Gillispie on more than one occasion... for no apparent reason. And Jodie watched Gillispie bench Joe Crawford (the Wildcats' leading scorer) for a good portion of the season in his senior year last year... for no apparent reason.
6. Jodie Meeks is told by Gillispie during the last game of the regular season not to shoot, but to pass the ball to Patrick Patterson.
7. Jodie Meeks needs only 13 credits to earn his degree from the University of Kentucky... this year... as a junior.
Now, if you were Jodie Meeks, would you return to Kentucky next year for your senior year... with Billy Gillispie at the helm?
I know that Gillispie has been arrested twice for driving under the influence of alcohol.
But this time... it's not alcohol he's driving under the influence of... It's insanity!
If Gillispie drives a good kid... All-American... like Jodie Meeks... off of his roster and right out of Kentucky, he should be rounded up and locked away... in a padded cell!
Speak up, Blue Nation!
Billy Gillispie must be STOPPED!
Posted on: February 26, 2009 6:23 pm
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It might have been the whiskey... It could have been the gin... It could have been 3 or 4 six packs... I don't know, but look at the mess I'm in...
Man, this could be Billy Gillispie's theme song... or at least his post-game comments at the press conference Wednesday night after South Carolina torched the Wildcats... and after Billy Gillispie decided to bench Jodie Meeks, the leading scorer for Kentucky (and the leading scorer for the SEC).
Jodie Meeks was perfect behind the threepoint line in the first half and had 13 points at the half. Kentucky was trailing by 18 points... with 16 turnovers at the half.
South Carolina not only dismantled the Wildcats' offensive attack in the lane, but they completely humiliated the Wildcats' point guards (eventually forcing Michael Porter to cry "Uncle" and request to come out of the game).
So, what's a coach to do in a situation like this?
Billy Gillispie chose to bench his leading scorer (and the only offense he had in the first half).
That drunken bum benched Jodie Meeks!
Watch out Blue Nation! This is the same pissing contest Billy Gillispie got into with Joe Crawford last year.
And EVERYONE knows that Jodie Meeks doesn't have a attitude problem.
And EVERYONE knows that Jodie Meeks hustles on both ends of the court.
Someone on a sports blog commented that Meeks was benched because he missed a defensive assignment.
But if your ass is getting torched by 28 to 30 points (like Kentucky was)... EVERYBODY on the team is missing their defensive assignments! Why bench the most productive scorer you have?
Take a poll and ask ANY coach in the NCAA if they would have benched their leading scorer -- for no apparent reason -- while their team was being completely manhandled... with an entire half left to play.
A coach is supposed to motivate his players to continue to fight... in the face of all odds.
A coach is supposed to put his best players out there in order to eat into the lead... to get back into the game.
A coach is supposed to do what's best for the team.
The players deserve it!
The fans deserve it!
And the UK Ahtletic Department should DEMAND it!
I've had it up to my ears with Billy Clyde Gillispie's drunken tirades and dysfunctional/destructive behavior towards his players.
The UK Athelic Department and its alumni need to stop Gillispie before he goes any further.
You only have to look back at Kentucky's roster last year to see how many players Billy Gillispie negatively-impacted and drove away.
Where's Alex Legion?
Happy at Illinois.
Where's Derrick Jasper?
In a wheelchair, released by Gillispie and rehabbing at UNLV.
Where's Mark Coury?
Who knows?
Gillispie needs to be STOPPED... before he adds Jodie Meeks to this list.
Posted on: February 10, 2009 8:53 pm
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Stop all the talk about Bobby Knight possibly returning to the bench in Georgia! The perfect spot for The General's return to coaching is Kentucky!
Yes... I said Kentucky!
Kentucky's two-year lab experiment with Billy Gillispie at the helm has bubbled-up... and exploded right its face.
Kentucky's storied basketball reputation is on a rapid and steady decline. Recruiting is down. The Wildcats' schedule is padded with powderpuff small college teams like Ouachita Baptist, Longwood, Lamar, Delaware State, Appalachian State, the Virginia Military Institute, etc. in an obvious attempt to orchestrate a winning record. Consequently, their strength of schedule is so bad that the Wildcats would have to win the SEC title to sneak into the NCAA tournament. And their coach, Billy Gillispie, is not only ineffective (unable to effectively utilize the talents of their two All-American-quality players, Jodie Meeks and Patrick Patterson), but Gillispie is a fall-down, emotionally-toxic, ill-behaved DRUNK!
KA-BOOM!
It's time for the Kentucky braintrust and alumni to take that big ol' fat "F" they deserve for hiring Billy Gillispie -- knowing that he was and is an alcoholic... and muster the courage to wrestle the grand legacy of Kentucky basketball out of the sweaty grip of the drunk, Billy Gillispie, and place it into the staedy legendary hands of The General, Bobby Knight.
Who... better than a coach who has sat on the opposing bench against the Kentucky Wildcats for nearly 30 years at Indiana... knows about the true Kentucky basketball tradition and reputation as a fierce competitor and champion?
Bobby Knight has a clear understanding of what goes into a GREAT basketball tradition and what goes into making an NCAA champion. He has three of them.
The General has expressed the desire to coach again. And there's no doubt that the fire still simmers in his belly to WIN.
Bobby Knight not only has the resumé to fill the huge shoes vacated by the five great coaches that preceded Billy Gillispie... but he has the fond affection and respect of the Kentucky-faithful... the Wildcats' fans.
His arrival to Kentucky and the Southeastern Conference (SEC) would equal -- and probably surpass -- the impact that former Kentucky Coach Tubby Smith's arrival at Minnesota had on the Big Ten Conference last year. It's still "Tubby Time" in Minnesota. And it could be "Bob-Cat Fever" in the Bluegrass... if Kentucky seizes this rare opportunity to commission and deploy The General, Bobby Knight.
Posted on: January 28, 2009 6:27 pm
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It's no secret to University of Kentucky (UK) fans in Lexington, Ky., that men's basketball coach Billy Gillespie's favorite pastime is pickling... himself. He's a real dilly!
Gillespie has a drinking problem. And the UK Athletic Department and alumni are well aware of it. But what's a school to do when it managed to run off Coach Tubby Smith -- one of the top coaches in the country who averaged 26 wins per year during his 10 years at Kentucky?
Tuesday night, Kentucky is battling Ole Miss at Ole Miss. The Wildcats trailed for much of the first half. Kentucky's leading scorer Jodie Meeks is being shut down by a special box-and-one defense -- holding him to 8 points from the freethrow line and no field goals in the first half.
During a halftime interview with an ESPN reporter who asked him what he planned to do to get Jodie Meeks more involved in the offense in the second half, Coach Billy Gillespie got real chippy with the reporter, stating "This is not a one-man team... This is a good team... everything is not centered around one player..."
He was actually bothered by the question... as if Kentucky doesn't need Jodie Meeks' gabillion points per game to be successful. Yeah... right.
What was he drinking before the game? It sure wasn't Gatorade.
Billy Gillespie is a drunk. And it was painfully obvious that he was full of IT Tuesday night.
What should have been a routine answer to an obvious question, turned out to be a telltale drunken stumble for Gillespie during a nationally-televised sobriety test.
Hell, yeah... Kentucky needed to figure up something at halftime to free Jodie Meeks up to get involved in its offense.
That's what coaches are supposed to say when they're asked questions like that. And that's what coaches get paid to do at halftime... figure stuff out.
Jodie is not just the Wildcats' leading scorer, but he is the leading scorer in the entire Southeastern Conference (SEC)... the third leading scorer in the nation... a candidate for NCAA Player of the Year!
What coach would not want to figure out how to get a player of that caliber into their offense?
Where else did Gillespie plan to get Jodie's 26.1 points against Ole Miss... from turnover-proned freshman backup point guard Deandre Liggins -- who had almost as many turnovers (3) as he had assists (4), while shooting 3-16 from the field for 8 points? Or from the two starters he benched in the first half, point guard Michael Porter (6 minutes) and forward Ramon Harris (9 minutes)? Or from center Patrick Patterson (nursing a finger injury) who (along with Meeks) already shoulders a great portion of the team's scoring, averaging 18 points per game?
The answer was painfully obvious by game's end. NOWHERE! No one filled Jodie's shoes.
Even though Jodie Meeks managed to score 21 points (10-10 from the charity stripe), Gillespie never figured out how to work Jodie free to get open looks against Ole Miss' box-and-one.
The only plays Gillespie TRIED to run for Jodie required him to run around the full halfcourt from the top of the key to try to outrun his defender to get open on the opposite wing... only to realize that the box-and-one quickly became a triangle-and-two to double-team Jodie.
There were no high post picks... no nothing... just a drunken look on Gillespie's face when Ole Miss -- minus three of their key starters -- sent in their bench-warmers for the bench-warmers who had put the game out of reach of Gillespie's 25th-ranked Wildcats.
Now, if that ain't a good reason for Kentucky fans to tie one on, what is?
Kentucky needs to admit that they made a mistake when they hired Gillespie... and get rid of him. The players deserve better than having to tolerate a drunken tyrant... a drunken bum.
Only a bum would minimize the value of one of his premier players... a player who is currently considered to be a candidate for NCAA Player of the Year. And only a drunk would do it on national TV.
While Gillespie is turning bottoms-up... the UK Athletic Department should be kicking his bottom out.
Now... I'll drink to that!
Posted on: January 24, 2009 12:41 pm
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Instant sadness came to me with the news... only an hour ago... that North Carolina State Coach Kay Yow has passed away.
Her courageous battle with breast cancer not only heightened breast cancer awareness... but it put a face of a dear friend on the disease that far too many of us were afraid to even think of. Because hers was a disease that claims our wives, our girlfriends, our sisters, our daughters, our aunties, our grannies, and... yes... our mothers.
Hopefully, this Hall-of-Famer's very public struggle with this disease has enabled us all to muster the courage to join in the fight... the fight of our wives, our girlfriends, our sisters, our daughters, our aunties, our grannies, our mothers... and every woman strickened with this terrible disease.
You may be saying to yourself... wearing pink ribbons and bracelets just ain't your thang. "Real men don't wear pink."
"Real men" may not wear pink... but real husbands, boyfriends, brothers, fathers, nephews, grandsons and sons do.
Here's to the tremendous life and the wonderful legacy of the leader of the 'pack... Coach Kay Yow.
The Wolfpack may have lost a great legend and a dear friend... but we've all gained a very special angel.
May God bless the soul and memory of Coach Kay Yow... and may she rest in eternal peace. Amen.