MCA's Late Night Notes

It was reported today that Adam Yauch, one of the founding members of the Beastie Boys, died after a three year battle with cancer. A tumor in his salivary gland had kept him out of the public spotlight since 2012, even preventing him from traveling with his band mates when they were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Yauch was an integral part of a group that redefined the way people viewed hip hop. The Beastie Boys showed up on the scene in the late eighties with a bunch of Jewish guys from affluent New York families who were trying to make it in an industry dominated by African American performers. They were extremely successful and hold the respect of nearly everyone of their hip hop peers from that era. Their first album, License to Ill, was released in 1986 and was the first hip hop album to top the charts. Yauch will be sorely missed. The world lost a significant musical force today and in MCA's memory I ask that all of you fight for your right to party tonight. That's how I'll be honoring him. - Speaking of parties, the city of Louisville is hosting a little shindig tomorrow that a few of you might be interested in. The Kentucky Derby is about to do its thing with the mint juleps and the big hats and the John Calipari appearances. I know absolutely nothing about horses aside from the fact that I like to drink and place uninformed bets upon the outcomes of their races. I also know that as a person from Kentucky outside the state of Kentucky, this is the one day out of the year when my friends constantly ask me how excited I am. If any of you are heading to Churchill Downs tomorrow, I wish you the best of luck. - The big news of the day in the world of Kentucky basketball was the team's trip to the White House. Scroll down a bit to check out all of the great coverage from the event. My favorite line from the President was his endorsement of Darius Miller in the unlikely chance that he ever decided to run for governor. That's the kind of thing you put on a resume. - Also, I know that it's impossible to talk about the President without the topic of politics coming up and party lines being drawn, but this is a tradition that exceeds Republican or Democrat. National champions are invited to meet the President in every sport and the most common gesture of appreciation shown by the team in question is to offer gifts to the President related to your team and its exploits. The team would have done the exact same thing no matter who was in office. Don't make yourself look like a raving lunatic in a comment section or on Twitter. - While Coach Cal looked like a born natural behind that podium today, it's unlikely that he'll be running for president anytime soon. Coach Cal and his staff had their going rate beefed up today. Cal received an eight percent spike in his annual salary and, with incentives, could end up pulling in over six million dollars in one of the upcoming years. - Anthony Bennett cut Florida from his list. He is now down to Kentucky, UNLV and Oregon. He visited the Runnin' Rebels today, but the consensus had always been that it would be either UK or UF. Now that the Gators are out, it looks like we will most likely land Bennett and with him the top overall class for the fourth season in a row in addition to the first preseason number one ranking in Cal's time in Lexington. - Hey you guys like the Harrison twins, right? Good. I never want you to be without. We'll have more all day tomorrow. Happy Derby day, kids.