Introducing a new segment: Tweets of the Day!

All of us stay pretty busy here at Wildcat Wrap with full time jobs and graduate school, so I've decided to start a new segment that I'll try to do on a pretty regular basis. One that is quick, and to the point, and can be updated to the site on a daily basis. I will still provide full length articles several times a week, but I hope that by sharing "Tweets of the Day" each day we will keep you up to date on a daily basis what is going on around UK Athletics and the entire sports world.

I'm going to actually flash back to the last few days to start my first "Tweets of the Day" (a couple days late I guess) because the retirement of Rich Brooks and the formal announcement of Joker Phillips as head coach of Kentucky football yesterday sparked some good tweets that actually gave me the idea to do this.

With Coach Cal's 12 tweets a day, there should never be a dull segment and we hope to keep you up to date on what coaches and players are saying and thinking each and every day while saving you the time of having to make your own Twitter account. Without further ado, here are your first ever "Tweets of the (past few) day(s)"!

P.S. Since a lot happened the last few days, I am including more tweets than I would on a normal day.

UKCoachCalipari: It's been my distinct pleasure 2 get 2 know Coach Brooks during my time at UK. Click here for my video thank you 2 him. http://bit.ly/7ZxxFT
3:25 PM Jan 4th from TwitterBerry

danielorton33: Team Bowling night at southland tonight at 7:30!!!
6:06 PM Jan 4th from Echofon

UKcoachbrooks: Thanks to the coaches &players for 7 great years. Also thanks to the big blue nation.
6:58 PM Jan 4th from Echofon

UKcoachbrooks: Looking forward to joker taking over and seeing some games next season. Go cats!
8:26 PM Jan 5th from Echofon

UKcoachbrooks: Joker has a hiring press conf at 3 today. Great thing for Kentucky moving forward. I'm really excited for him. He has earned it.
1:39 PM Jan 6th from web

rcobb18: Just talked to the "NEW" ball coach! Coach Phillips is abt to drive this thing to the next level! Put ya seat belts on!!!!!
6:16 PM Jan 6th from UberTwitter

jokerphillips: I want to thank everyone for their support and I am very excited for the Wildcat Football team. I look forward to "Operation Win!"
6:26 PM Jan 6th from web

UKCoachCalipari: Congratulations to Coach Phillips. I’ll be here supporting him and his staff and we'll do whatever we can to help him continue to build on what Coach Brooks was able to get accomplished.
6:56 PM Jan 6th from TwitterBerry

rcobb18: OPERATION WIN! One thing on my mind.... I'm tryna enjoy this break but I got so much more on my mind!
about 23 hours ago from UberTwitter

UKCoachCalipari: Today ends Camp Cal. Time will tell how much we learned during the extra time together.
about 2 hours ago from TweetDeck

Rich Brooks Announces his Retirement

It's official, Rich Brooks announced this morning that he is retiring as Head Football Coach at the University of Kentucky and leaving the program in the hands of Joker Phillips.

"I have decided that it's time for me to step away and turn this program over," Brooks said, "Hopefully it will not only be competitive but reach the heights that I failed to get to. That is my biggest regret is not having broken more of the streaks that needed to be broken. We did get quite a few of them. We did achieve some things, and I can't leave without saying thank you to a great group of players who dedicated themselves to coming here and making Kentucky football respectable on a yearly basis, to a great group of coaches who have really done so much for this program, not only on the field but off the field."

This time, he is certain that he will not coach again, however, he plans to stay close to the program and help it in any way that he can. Of some of the improvements that he would like to help with, he specifically mentioned the expansion of Commonwealth Stadium and a new weight room. He didn't go into too many specifics, but he said that he would help the program in any capacity that Joker wanted him to, but did not want to stand in Joker's way, either.

Nobody wanted him to go. Coach Brooks said that he received many text messages and phone calls from players, friends, and family urging him to stay. "None of them wanted me to give it up," Brooks said. "They all thought that I would miss it a lot, that I could come back and ride out on the white stallion next year and have victories over all those teams we hadn't beaten and everything would be wonderful."

When asked, what was it that made his mind go from 80% sure he wanted to retire to 100% sure, he replied, "I just felt that it was time to make the change," Brooks said. "The losses take their toll. It's very, very frustrating to be close to something and not be able to grab it. I didn't want my frustration to change the direction of the program. I think a younger person that has been through it can be a better position to take the program forward."

And there you have it. Rich Brooks made the decision that he thought was best for Kentucky football. If he did what he really wanted to do, what was best for him, I think that he would have came back and rode that white stallion next year and be a part of that magical season that he envisions that Kentucky is very close to achieving. But Brooks felt that the youthfulness and positive energy of Joker Phillips was the best option for this program to succeed at reaching the next level and unselfishly passed the torch to Joker Phillips.

You will be dearly missed, Coach Brooks, and thank you very much for everything you've done for Kentucky football. Thank you for coming out of retirement and taking a job at a time that nobody else wanted it, going through the hard times, and building this program into something that Kentucky can be proud of. On the day that Kentucky finally beats the pesky Gators, Steve Spurrier, and our neighbors to the south in Knoxville, and finds themselves in the middle of an SEC Championship race, you deserve all the credit for the foundation that you built and left behind for the chance of our dreams becoming a reality some day. Thank You once again, Coach Brooks.

(Photos courtesy of Salem-news.com and NBC Sports Media)

Wall makes history again for the Cats!

The Cats improved to 14-0 on the basketball court with a 104-61 dismantling of Hartford last night at Rupp. There was one reason, and one reason only, that this game was broadcasted on ESPN2 on national tv: ESPN, and almost everyone else, thought that we would lose to UNC and UConn and would be a 2 loss team, with Hartford projected to be the victim of our 2,000th win. Feels pretty good to prove them wrong and force them to show such a one-sided game that they would normally not show, doesn't it? However, ESPN did get to show a piece of UK history after all, as John Wall broke Travis Ford's single game assist record with 16 assists.

The game marked the 2nd this season that Wall has had 14 or more assists, and he continues to make every player on the floor better with his presence. Wall had another unselfish game against a team that he could easily score 30 on if he wanted to, but only finished with 9. He is exactly the type of player that last year's team lacked. Jodie could put up 40 points occasionally, and Patterson would give us plenty of double-doubles, but the team lacked someone who could effectively get other players involved as well. Wall was tabbed by many of his critics to be a streetball-type, selfish player as he committed to Kentucky. He has proved to be the exact opposite of everything he had been stereotyped to be, from the way he plays the game, works in the classroom, and conducts himself off the court. As Kentucky fans, we should enjoy every second that we witness this kid play in the blue and white, because I can't confidently say that he is not the most talented player to ever put on the storied uniform.

We all know who and what awaits the Cats on Saturday, but before then (sometime on the evening of New Years Day), I will break down the year that was 2009 for University of Kentucky Athletics. It has been quite a ride this past year on the basketball floor, hasn't it? It's truly incredible how so much has changed in the past year and makes me feel so grateful and appreciative of this year's team. Pictures of the Bowl Game trip to Nashville are posted on facebook, and I'll also give you any updates, if available, on the status of Rich Brooks. Until then, be safe and have a very Happy New Year!

A reflection on the possible ending of the Rich Brooks era

The Cats came up short Sunday night as they were defeated by the Clemson Tigers and All-American Running Back, CJ Spiller, 21-13 at a frigid LP Field in Nashville. The three straight bowl win-streak has come to an end, as well as the nation's longest non-conference winning streak. The game started out great for the Cats as they seemed to control most of the first half in time of possession, 1st downs, and yardage. They were also doing a very good job of slowing down Spiller. However, the Cats' offense could only come up with 10 points in the first half, despite moving the ball into Clemson territory in six of their first seven possessions.

In a disappointing loss which could have been the last game of the Rich Brooks era, it should be noted that Clemson should have been placed in a bigger bowl and was a heavy favorite by most experts. If Bobby Bowden didn't get his wish to play in the Gator Bowl for his last game, UK would have played a weaker FSU team instead of Spiller and the Tigers, and probably would have won their fourth straight bowl game. It wasn't fair for Clemson to have hopes of going to an Orange Bowl and lose a competitive game with Georgia Tech to fall all the way down to the Music City Bowl. It also wasn't fair that Coach Brooks didn't get the same special treatment as Bowden with an Outback or Peach Bowl in what could have been his last game. After the game, Coach Brooks said there's about an 80% chance that he will not return but will take some time (as early as 4 or 5 days, but no longer than a week) to reflect with his family before making a decision.

This was a game the Cats could have won and the opportunities to win were certainly there, but I think it's safe to say that the better team won and there is not much shame in losing to a team with possibly the best running back in the country that just missed an Orange Bowl appearance. With the news that Rich Brooks was likely leaving we also heard the news that Derrick Locke is likely returning along with the rest of the Cats' offensive weapons. The team has also found a sense of direction with the Quarterback situation, which is a very positive result of this season. There seems to be no more Quarterback controversy, and Morgan Newton has established himself as the guy while getting some very valuable experience. A seven win season with the invaluable experience that Newton has had this year as a true freshman quarterback, in my mind, is more satisfying than an eight win bowl victory with Hartline still playing under center. Hartline is not our future, and it's good to see that the Cats made a step forward with some progress towards the immediate future this season with Newton at Quarterback.

Hopefully, the young Cats will take this loss and use it as motivation for next season. Maybe, instead of celebrating another 8 win season and mid-level bowl victory, it's best that the Cats think about this loss as they go through off season workouts. Maybe, with this loss in their minds, and the returning talent that we have coming back, this loss will motivate us to reach above and beyond a seven or eight win season next year. Hopefully, our eyes will be on a prize much bigger next season. With the uncertainly of the Florida program, the SEC East is very much up for grabs for anyone to take. I hope that Coach Brooks will be around for what could be a very special season, but I also understand that the timing might be right for Joker to take over. I'm confident that Coach Brooks will unselfishly make the right decision for Kentucky Football, and not for himself, because that is the type of man that he is. We will keep you updated this week on the status of Coach Brooks and whether or not Joker Phillips will be taking over the program in 2010.

The Cats face Hartford on the hardwood tomorrow night in Rupp, and I heard there's a pretty big game coming up on Saturday too. Look no further than WildcatWrap.com for coverage of the football coaching situation and this kinda big basketball game on Saturday.

P.S. Either myself or IT Director, Christian Cox (or maybe both of us), will be providing a write up in the coming days of our experience in Nashville along with pictures from the trip.

Congratulations Coach Brooks: SEC Coach of the Year!

Despite having the least amount of returning starters from 2008 in the entire conference, an unexpected loss of All-SEC Defensive End Jeremy Jarmon, only three healthy games from All-American CB Trevard Lindlay, both starting cornerbacks injured and unable to play against South Carolina, and then Mike Hartline getting knocked out of that same game in Columbia after a stellar first half against the Gamecocks, the Cats' season looked to be spiraling out of control loss after loss and injury after injury. And I haven't even mentioned the injuries of Randall Cobb, Derrick Locke, and Micah Johnson which sidelined each player for at least one game.

True Freshman third string Quarterback, Morgan Newton, was literally thrown out to the wolves when he made his first career start and first ever college appearance on the road at Auburn. Somehow, someway....the Cats left with a win, and continued to finish 5-2 with a true Freshman third string Quarterback. Michigan was 5-7 with a true freshman quarterback, Southern Cal was 8-4, and Kentucky played a tougher schedule than each of those teams and faced more injuries, but managed to be 5-2 with road wins over Auburn and Georgia, despite starting a third sting Freshman Quarterback and numerous other injuries throughout the season.

The above reasons make Rich Brooks the obvious choice for every SEC coach of the year award. Today, he was awarded the honor by Collegefootballnews.com, who also placed Derrick Locke on the 1st Team All-SEC team as a return man. Look for Coach Brooks to be in the running for his second career National Coach of the Year Award next season, if he is successfully able to replace his offensive line and his playmakers stay healthy. Those two things could mean ten or more wins for the Cats next year.

Even though Hartline could be healthy by the time the Cats face Clemson in the Music City Bowl on December 27th, Coach Brooks as well as Joker Phillips have indicated that Newton will most likely be the guy and stay the starting quarterback going into next season. Newton should emerge as a star playing with Sophomore sensation, Randall Cobb, in the next two seasons.

UK Basketball Notes:

• The UK WOMEN'S hoops' team is also undefeated with a 9-0 record and hosts defending national runner-up Louisville at Memorial Coliseum on Sunday.

• Seth Davis has picked the Cats to be the last team to stay undefeated this year. He says they will stay unbeaten at 19-0 before getting upset in Columbia to South Carolina.
  
• Wildcat legend Jamaal Mashburn will be broadcasting the 2,000th win on ESPN U with Jimmy Dykes


• UK Athletics has announced that they WILL continue to sell eRUPPtion Zone tickets to the general public while the students are away on Christmas Break for only $5. Classy move by UK Athletics- they could make so much more money for those tickets if they wanted to.


• The tickets will be sold an hour and a half before gametime for all games during the break except, of course, the Louisville game. Something tells me there will be another campout for the 2,000 win game against Drexel (I wish work didn't prevent me from having much of a chance to get out there early enough to get tickets).

Last but not least, it's time to start to get into the holiday spirit!

Oh....... the weather outside is frightful, But the Cats are so delightful. And the Louisville fans should know. 10-O, 10-O, 10-O They’re showing no sign of stopping. Two thousand wins we’ll soon be topping. While beating every top-10 foe, 10-O, 10-O, 10-O The Louisville season is... dying, and their fans will...... allll start crying. But the record of the CATS, although, 10-O, 10-O, 10-O!

Biggest Game, Ever?

Just like the LSU win in Commonwealth a few years ago, a win over Tennessee tonight could be one of those defining moments in the rebuilding of Kentucky football under Rich Brooks. This win would not only break the 24 game losing streak, but would give the Cats a 2nd place finish in the SEC East and almost guarantee an Outback Bowl appearance on New Years Day. For those reasons, it would be an even more overall significant win than the one against #1 LSU two years ago.

Year, after year, after year, after year...when you ask Kentucky fans, "What is the one team on the schedule that you want to beat more than anyone else in the world?" The answer is always Tennessee. I've even heard some fans say they'd trade away a Final Four in basketball to beat Tennessee in football.

To put it simple: tonight could be the best night in the history of UK football. Even though the Vols are not ranked and have won one less game than the Cats have so far, the goalposts will be brought down if the Cats win tonight. To outsiders, this might seem ridiculous. But for a Kentucky fan who has never witnessed a win over Tennessee in my lifetime, I understand the significance of ending the streak and finishing off the best season Kentucky has had in 30 years. This win will propell the Cats very close to the top of that SEC mountain that we've been climbing for so long and we're not finished yet (just ask a certain sophomore qb/wr/punt returner). Commonwealth will be rocking tonight, possibly like it never has before.

What a Weekend for the Big Blue...and oh yeah, WHO DEY!

FRIDAY: KENTUCKY 75, MOREHEAD STATE 59

What a weekend it was for Kentucky sports fans. It all started on Friday night when the Calipari era officially began with a solid 16 point win against an NCAA tournament team that returned four starters and an NBA Draft prospect. They did it without John Wall, and once again, Eric Bledsoe played fantastic at the point and even made the #1 play on Sportscenter. Eric Bledsoe is about the best back-up point guard I've seen since Wayne Turner backed up Tony Delk in 1996. I can't wait to see these two guys play together for the first time tomorrow night against Miami University. If Bledsoe sticks around, this kid is going to be very special. He set a new record for the most points for a UK freshman in thier first game ever with 24 points. Kentucky basketball is back in every way imaginable.

Morehead had the talent to pull another Gardner Webb or VMI, but those days are over. This was a game the Cats could have lost in the past two years playing nervous and mentally stressed from the mind games and coaching tactics of their former coach. This year, you can sense that everyone is just having fun and playing loose, and letting their talent simply take over. They know that the pressure and expectations are as high as they possibly could be, but it's just not bothering them in any way. The expectations of having to win every game is not anything new to Calipari's teams. At Memphis, his teams were expected to win every conference game, and they did. They were circled on every team's calendar in Conference USA as the biggest game of the year. Things are obviously no different at Kentucky. And not once, after UofL, Cincinnati, Marquette, Depaul, and South Florida left the league, did Memphis ever get beat by an inferior team in the conference. Not even a solid UAB or Houston team ever walked away with a victory over Memphis during that stretch, even though those same two teams were good enough to beat a Kentucky team filled with 4 and 5 star recruits in 2007.

It was also great to see Patterson stepping up and scoring 20 points and grabbing 12 rebounds after struggling in two exhibition games. He must have seen that I picked Jarvis Varnardo over him in my 1st Team All-SEC selections. If true, I actually feel like I had an impact on his play for motivating Patrick to prove me wrong! You know when he recently said that KSR was his most visited website, he was actually probably confused and meant to say that it was Wildcat Wrap.

SATURDAY: KENTUCKY 24, VANDY 13

For the fourth straight year, Kentucky football will be playing in a bowl game. That statement has never been made in the history of this program until Saturday when the Cats reached bowl eligibility for the fourth straight year with a win at Commonwealth Stadium Southwest. There was a sea of blue in Nashville to watch the Cats make history against the Commodores. With a

couple of big but attainable wins over Georgia and Tennessee, the Cats could even be playing in a very large and meaningful bowl game. If they're able to win one of the last two, the Peach Bowl is a likely destination on New Years Eve for the Cats in Atlanta. If they win both, it's possible that they could be packing their bags for Tampa for the Outback Bowl against Penn State or Iowa. To even be in this position is impressive with everything that this team has gone through. They went through a brutal 3 week stretch early on against Florida, Alabama, and South Carolina and came out of the first five games with a 2-3 record.

They had one of the worst quarters you could ever imagine against Florida, but they battled back to make it a respectable final outcome. The next week, there were more than a few questionable calls that went in Alabama's favor that if not made, would have been a totally different game. The week after that, the Cats' led almost the entire game and Mike Hartline was playing his best game of his career. Then, he got hurt and the Cats let one slip away in a devastating 2 point loss to South Carolina. Just as Hartline had finally solidified himself as "the guy", he gets hurt and the Cats are forced to switch to a three quarterback rotation. Amazingly, the three headed quarterback of true freshman Morgan Newton, Will Fidler, and Randall Cobb each had a rushing touchdown and shocked a 5-1 Auburn team on the road. Morgan Newton would eventually emerge as the primary quarterback as a true freshman and has struggled at times like a true freshman in the SEC should struggle (remember when Matthew Stafford lost to UK and Vandy as a true freshman in 2006?).

But, in the end, Newton has won 2 out of 3 SEC games with the help of Randall Cobb doing just about everything except kicking field goals. Cobb and Derrick Locke combined for 144 rushing yards after the duo both sat out last week's game against EKU. Locke even completed a pass for a gain of 41 yards to Morgan Newton who was lined up as a receiver while Cobb was under center. Cobb made a reverse handoff to Locke, and then Locke found Newton wide open down field. On the very next play, Cobb was in the "Wildcobb" formation again and ran it 21 yards into the endzone to give the Cats a 7-0 lead. Plays like these are ones that need to be called more often from Joker Phillips for the next two years with Randall Cobb. If he's utilized to his full potential, he will emerge as college football's best player by his senior year.

Along with the heroics of Randall Cobb and Derrick Locke, Newton has stepped up when his number was called as a freshman quarterback and put UK in a position to possibly play in a very big bowl game. With the announcement that Hartline will have season ending surgery, Newton has the chance to do something that hasn't been done in Lexington in a very long time: beat Tennessee.

"It is a huge step and you can't downplay that in my mind because it's never happened," UK coach Rich Brooks said about reaching a fourth straight bowl game. "But at the same token we're not happy with where we are at this stage. We had a close one get away at South Carolina and we didn't play as well as we're capable against Mississippi State. We'd be looking a lot better right now if we had won one of those. Those were very tough losses but I'm proud of how the team has bounced back. Now we just want to climb the ladder a little higher."

Beating Georgia and Tennessee to cap off the regular season would certainly help the Cats climb up that SEC ladder that Coach Brooks keeps on talking about. In a few years, when Newton is a junior and Randall Cobb is a senior, hopefully the tandem will take this program to the unimaginable next level: the BCS.

"It's significant. We won't be satisfied with a 6-6 finish but we've taken one step from the bottom of the SEC to the middle of the pack and now we've got to build toward the top," senior defensive tackle Corey Peters said.

SUNDAY: BENGALS 18, STEELERS 12

(Photo courtesy of Cincinnati.com)

Last but certainly not least, I absolutely have to give a shout out to WHO DEY NATION! The Bengals completed the sweep today against the defending Super Bowl Champs, and it is in no way delusional now to start talking about the Lombardi trophy coming to Cincinnati. With games coming up against Oakland, Cleveland, and Detroit...the Bengals could be looking at a 10-2 record. Yes, 10-2, (could be 11-1 if not for the immaculate deflection in week 1 against Denver). They could also complete an undefeated season in the AFC North with a win against Cleveland. Then, if they're able to knock off Brett Favre and the Vikings, the Bengals could seriously win out.