Farah Fath's Wednesday News and Views

Over the past few years, it has become very trendy to be a Kentucky fan. By associating the program with artists like Drake and Jay-Z and bringing in the nation’s top talent year in and year out, Cal has rebranded Kentucky basketball as the cool program in the country. Because of that, there’s been an influx of famous Kentucky fans, many of which don’t really know much about the program’s history or tradition. That’s why it’s so important to have celebrity fans like Ashley Judd and Josh Hopkins who truly understand Kentucky basketball not just because someone told them about it, but because they were raised on it. Farah Fath is also one of those fans.

Fath is a popular soap actress who has appeared on “Days of Our Lives,” “One Life to Live,” and the short-lived E! series “Dirty Soap.” She’s a Lexington native, and if you follow her on Twitter, you’d know that she is a huge Kentucky fan. Not only has she been the “Y” a few times at games, but she regularly tweets about the Cats. She’s also posed for the UK Hockey Team poster. But, how do I know she’s a true UK fan? She made this onesie at a recent baby shower:

Whereas other girls would doodle their crush’s name on their Trapper Keeper growing up, I would draw the same thing as Farah. It’s a Kentucky thing, I guess.

Happy birthday, Farah. “Days” isn’t the same without you.

— The biggest news of the day had to be the story behind the photo of John Calipari and Rick Pitino that we posted Monday night. The young lady in the photo’s father called in to the radio show on Tuesday morning to dispel any rumors that Pitino and Cal were breaking bread. The woman saw Cal and Pitino dining in the adjoining restaurants, and asked Cal if he would be willing to come with her to Drake’s to take a photo with Pitino. Cal agreed, and there you have it. Further digging revealed that Calipari ordered a bone-in filet and calamari, while Pitino had a calamari salad, a cup of broccoli cheddar soup, and the Lexingtonian Salad. Calipari eating calamari and posing for pics with his rival. Just a regular ole Monday night, right?

— The other major news on Tuesday was Cal offering 2016 point forward Jayson Tatum a scholarship. As you could have guessed, Tatum is only a freshman right now, and Cal told him he’s one of four underclassmen he’s offered. Analysts say that Tatum’s size and advanced skill set for his age only add to his upside, which is why so many schools (Florida, Kansas, Memphis, Marquette, and Missouri) have already offered him a spot. The fact that Cal’s involved so early on speaks volumes, and denotes what may be a growing trend in his recruiting style. Last November, Cal offered 2015 PF Skal Labissiere a scholarship after seeing him play only one game, which he very rarely does for a player so young. Is Cal trying to get recruits to commit earlier so he can sell the class to other players or is he merely trying to get a head start? Are these the questions the offseason makes us ask? Why is the sky blue?

— Today in “Really, really, ridiculously early projections”: ESPN’s Eamon Brennan named Andrew Wiggins to his “Way too early” 2013-2014 Preseason All-American First Team. Julius Randle was named to the Third Team, while the Harrison Twins received honorable mention. In related news, Brennan named the gleam in LeBron James’ eye 2031 Player of the Year.

— On Tuesday night, UK Deputy Director of Athletics DeWayne Peevy tweeted out that he was working on next year’s schedule and wanted suggestions from the fans on which games they’re looking forward to and which matchups they’d like to see in the future. Got opinions? Of course you do. Tweet them to @KentuckyMBB with the hashtag #WeAreUK.

— We’ve posted Hunter S. Thompson’s “The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved” several times on this site, but the folks over at Kentucky for Kentucky have taken their love for the piece one step further, collaborating with Louisville artist Rachael Sinclair on a poster to commemorate the iconic essay. Each silk on the print represents a memorable moment from the essay, and only 200 prints were made. To buy one, click here.

— Tuesday night, top 2014 prospect Drew Barker tweeted that “big news was coming soon.” Before you get your Conway Twitty “bom bom bom” on, Barker will probably just announce his college decision date, which he alluded to last week.

— The UK Men’s tennis team got some exciting news on Tuesday. They were selected to host a first and second round regional for the NCAA Men’s Tennis Tournament. They’ll face Western Michigan in the opening round, while Virginia Tech and Michigan will square off in the other round. This will be UK’s fifth-straight year hosting the opening rounds of the tournament, and the team’s 19th appearance in the last 20 tournaments. The Cats will be the top seed in the Lexington regional, which will go down Friday, May 10th and Saturday, May 11th.

— Yes, yes, I know you want the answer to the Wiggins rumor post from earlier. On Tuesday afternoon, I teased you guys that a national media member had posted a juicy Wiggins rumor earlier this week and gave you a list of potential rumors to choose from. If you chose B, you were correct! On Monday afternoon, Bossi posted on the Rivals national basketball recruiting board that he had heard that Calipari recently told Coach K that Wiggins’ father, Mitch, wanted his son to pick Florida State or Kansas, and that Kentucky and UNC were in the second tier.

Now, remember, this is just a “rumor,” so, you know…grain of salt. However, both coaches were at the Nike EYBL Session 2 this past weekend and could have had time to swap stories. Regardless, what’s the most telling thing about Wiggins’ recruitment so far? Almost any of the answers I made up seemed believable, and are probably actual rumors on message boards in Kansas, North Carolina, Kentucky or Florida. Well, except for Florida, because I seriously doubt Florida State fans really care. No one except for Andrew and his family knows what’s going on, and hopefully we’ll have an answer by May 15th. Otherwise, you can find me curled up in a ball under my desk muttering “Wiggins” over and over again for the foreseeable future.

That’s all for now. See you in the morning.