Not Jerry Tipton's Friday Basketball Notebook

The season's over. To stay apprised and educated, follow me on Twitter @NotJerryTipton. Here’s the weekly notebook: *T-r-o-u-b-l-e Last weekend, the Kentucky baseball team won 2 of 3 against top ranked LSU, which gave the Bat Cats a #2 ranking and the best record in the country. It also made them the talk of the sports world in the Bluegrass. This does not bode well for John Calipari and the Kentucky basketball team. Though he has yet to publicly admit it, it must really chap his hide that the baseball team is garnering this much attention. Consider: Ever since the series win over LSU by the UK baseball team, how many commitments has Calipari and the hoops team gotten? How many Sports Illustrated covers have they been on? How many times have they led off SportsCenter? How many parades have been thrown for them? In fact, even ex-Kentucky star Anthony Davis has switched allegiances, as evidenced by his appearance at the baseball game last Sunday, where he gave the proverbial middle finger to Calipari by throwing out the first pitch. And those who think this is mere conjecture may want to ask themselves one simple question: Has Calipari released a statement in which he denies being extremely jealous of the baseball team? Exactly. Strike three, Coach Cal. You're out. *Ten Feet Tall & Bulletproof During Kentucky's national semifinal win over Louisville, Terrence Jones viciously injured a Louisville cheerleader (a diminuitive female), and caused her to get stitches. On Monday, Jones gave the cheerleader flowers in what was supposed to be an "apology." This does not bode well for John Calipari and the Kentucky basketball team. First of all, it should be pointed out that Jones did this on Louisville's campus when he was ostensibly supposed to be in Lexington studying. Since he was not studying, however, this will cast more doubt on whether or not he should have been eligible during his two seasons at UK. Luckily for Jones, the effect of his truancy on Kentucky's APR will not make itself known for quite some time. And not only that, several questions have been raised regarding Jones's financial condition, and just how he was able to pay for the flowers, which -- as any aspiring Casanova knows -- aren't cheap. So while Jones runs off to the NBA to make his millions, Kentucky fans are left to worry and wonder if his cheap publicity stunt proves to the be the program's undoing. Will UK's 38 wins be vacated? Will the national championship be stricken from the record books? Even if nobody ever speaks of this incident again and it turns out to be nothing, it will remain a dark stain on the banner hanging in Rupp Arena. *Here's A Quarter (Call Someone Who Cares) On Tuesday, before the Reds/Giants game in Cincinnati, the Kentucky basketball team was honored, and John Calipari threw out the first pitch. This does not bode well for John Calipari and the Kentucky basketball team. When Calipari was introduced, a light smattering of thunderous boos could almost be heard throughout the crowd, presumably from fans of Ohio State and the University of Cincinnati. It seems these fans are a little tired of all the publicity the Cats are receiving, and felt like making their frustration known. Amazingly, despite over a century of playing basketball, this was the first time a UK team was booed while being recognized before a Reds game. This clearly sends an unmistakable signal that (despite recently being named the 2nd most popular college basketball team in America) people everywhere are sick of the Cats. Seeing as how UK never plays OSU or UC, it must be assumed that the displeasure exhibited by those fans is representative of the country as a whole, if not the world as a whole. And in response to conspiracy theorists who think that the boos were the result of some regional rivalry between the Ohio schools and the Kentucky school, one should remember that the University Louisville has never been booed before a Reds game. * On this date: On this date in 1990, Kentucky was still on probation.