Neil Armstrong's Thursday notes

by:Hunter Campbell08/04/10

@HunterCampbell

armstrong We'll have to go with a bit of a truncated version of the tribute this evening, as some of us have a crummy night job to get to.Today's honoree is astronaut Neil Armstrong, who turns 80 years young. Hopefully you don't need me to write a paragraph to tell you about Neil Armstrong, but in short, he was the first man on the moon, didn't dance with the stars and is an American icon. Now, he can add perhaps the most prestigious prize to his long list of awards...a birthday shout out on Kentucky Sports Radio. Here's to you, spaceman. Now, a few notes. --In the event you spent your whole day sleeping in a cave, the major news of the day was the report from Michael O'Brien of the Chicago Sun-Times alleging that UK paid Anthony Davis, Jr. $200,000 for his impending commitment. It was, of course, dismissed by basically every basketball writer of consequence, and notably not dismissed by some of those of less consequence. Jeff Goodman spoke to Anthony Davis, Sr., with Davis saying he was "clearly upset" and that the report is "crazy" and "nonsense." I tend to agree. In fact, late tonight UK issued a legal response to the article. You can read it here or below in Beisner's post, but if you don't want to read it all, just knowing that the words "false and defamatory" play pretty prominently should give you a good idea of where it's going. --In news that unexpectedly got bumped from the top of the ticker today, the Karen Sypher case was turned over to the jury, who decided that they could use another night to ponder the decision. Somewhere in there, there's a real zinger of a 'Jury Duty' or 'Runaway Jury' joke to be made, but in the interest of me having places to be, take fifteen seconds and come up with your own. The jury is expected to come to a verdict tomorrow. --Kentucky football media day takes place this Friday, and it should provide plenty of quotables and maybe even shed a little light on the quarterback situation as we continue to countdown to the battle with the Filthy Cards. Also, Fan Day is scheduled for this Saturday, with the full slate of activities laid out here. The part of football season I'm looking forward to most? Giving Louisville the beating of a lifetime in the opening game for the 'Now With More Empty!' Papa John's Stadium. It's going to be glorious. --For some reason, the Maui Invitational schedule will be announced in a special on ESPN News at 1:30. I'm not sure why this deserves its own TV show but, because I have no life to speak of, I'll be watching so I can't really talk. Here's to hoping we get to crush Washington in the opener. --There were a couple of accomplishments of note in other areas around Kentucky athletics today. UK Hoops' Victoria Dunlap was placed on the preseason watch list for the Wade Trophy, given annually to the player of the year in women's basketball. It's an honor for Dunlap, who will be the driving force of Kentucky's attempt to build on last season's regional final run. Also, Mitch Barnhardt recently climbed Mt. Rainier for charity, which I would say constitutes an accomplishment. He sat down to talk to CatScratches about the feat. That pretty much wraps it up for the evening. Go read Tomlin's Canada post and then make sure to tune back in throughout the day, as we should get a Sypher verdict and whatever happens next in the Chicago Sun-Times' quest to be the world's beacon for journalistic integrity, in addition to whatever else comes along. The ridiculousness continues tomorrow. Until then...

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