Klaus Schnellenkamp's Friday News and Views

Good morning and a Happy Christmas Eve to you, my KSR friend.  Welcome to your Friday News and Views, which not only come with a little extra holiday cheer, but also the carefree feeling that comes with not stressing about refreshing the site over and over.  In celebration of this new sense of blog freedom, let's stop and pay tribute to Chilean author Klaus Schnellenkamp, who celebrates cumpleaños numero thirty-eight today.  I promise that I won't pretend like I'm familiar with him if you promise not to pretend like you care.  Instead, let's just agree that his somewhat festive and Christmas-y name is a meager and pathetic substitute for "Can't see the line, can you Russ?', which I spent about two hours trying to figure out how to reference in tonight's post.  So, to you, dear Klaus, whatever.  Now onto some UK notes...  - Well, it looks like Santa isn't bringing you what you wanted this year.  After Larry Vaught got all of our hopes up and had visions of an NCAA ruling dancing in our heads, the human equivalent of "The Door", NCAA spokesman Chuck Wynne, came through in the afternoon and said that no Enes Kanter ruling would be handed out in 2010.  While this, of course, brings the obvious ramifications of more waiting and a definite Enes-less roster against Louisville, I think it also provides a little more context to Mehmet Kanter's declaration the day before that his son would return to UK if the NCAA chose to handout a one-year suspension.  The NCAA's one-man holiday staff of Chuck Wynne told the good doctor Jerry Tipton that Kanter's declaration would have no impact on the committee's decision, but it will certainly have an impact on the way it is received, especially if they again find him permanently ineligible.  - The NCAA did find some time on Thursday to make a ruling on the saga of Terrelle Pryor and his Buckeye teammates, which had held the Buckeye fanbase in absolutely paralyzing terror for all of about 18 hours.  The NCAA determined that the Pryor Trading Company (trademark pending) would not be suspended for the Sugar Bowl, but instead would have to sit out five games next year when they may or may not be in the NFL.  The decision was another case of "they didn't know, so we can't come down hard" on them.  Apparently they don't read the news or talk with the six full-time compliance officers that the school employs.  While we could argue the logic of the decision, especially compared with the AJ Green or Dez Bryant cases, it again sends a clear message of what the NCAA's biggest flaw is at this point - consistency.  We can hate the rules and we can argue until our faces turn blue over whether or not players should be compensated.  But, the one thing that should be indisputable is the enforcement.  As a governing body, the one thing the NCAA should have going for it is consistency in its enforcement.  Right now, the only thing consistent is that it's absurdly inconsistent.  Every time the NCAA makes a ruling, it's essentially the opposite of what the world is thinking.  It's like a Gregg Doyel article with a bureaucratic stamp of approval.  And it makes it pretty impossible to follow the rules when they're constantly being undermined in a selective fashion.  We should hate the NCAA for their rules, not the way they're enforced.  Besides, the only quarterback who should be suspended over a tattoo is Tyler Bray.  - Another feel-good holiday story came from an unlikely place on Thursday as Daniel Orton tweeted out an apology to UK fans for the way he left school.  Given his knee situation, it's hard to argue that he made a wrong decision to leave UK early, but the way he did so, lying about his coursework and leaving Coach Cal and his staff hanging, is pretty indefensible.  But, it takes a lot for a kid to admit to a mistake and apologize.  Especially a kid with a fat bank account and no real reason to do so.  So, I give Orton credit for sending out an apology.  It won't change what has happened, but it was a nice, unexpected gesture.  - The Birmingham News had an interesting note regarding the ticket situation for the BBVA Compass Bowl.  It's not good news for either school.  The bowl requires each school to buy 10,000 tickets for $50 (an increase from last year) and, as of now, the paper reports that Pitt has sold 2,000 and UK has sold 4,000.  It did note that the SEC has an insurance policy that protects schools from being stuck with revenue deficits from the tickets, but it still does not paint a pretty picture as of right now.  Also, on a similar note, there's still plenty of time to get your BBVA Compass Bowl tickets!!!!!  - Also on Thursday, Derrick Locke announced he will play in the Senior Bowl.  He's a senior, so that makes sense.  - It is with a heavy hear that I report that Tennessee beat Belmont on a Scotty Hopson layup with 5.7 seconds remaining, thus ending the reign of the Beisner Curse.  Hopson probably thinks that he finally evicted me from the Kid 'N Play dome of his.  But, the truth is, I just stepped out for a bit.  I'll be back, Scotty.  I'll be back.  - Speaking of Tennessee, am I the only person who wasn't aware of this?  How have we not talked about this more? That's it for now.  Stick around throughout the day as we update you on things unrelated to Enes Kanter.  Make sure you bring Rob Bromley some figgy pudding and stick around.  See you in a few...