Oprah Winfrey's Thursday News and Views

Ok, I can't seriously write about Oprah.  Sorry. Onto a couple of notes... (1)  As everyone comes back down from their disappointmen/rage/over-reaction/whatever from the loss at Ole Miss, I think what we're all wondering is if UK is still the favorite in the SEC or if we might have been living in a dream a bit after Jodie went for 54 and the Cats beat a pair of mediocre teams in ugly games.  I think, like all things, the truth is somewhere in the middle and there isn't really any reason to panic.  But, what do I know?  I'm just a guy with a computer and no social life.  Here is how the East is sitting currently:  - Florida  5-1   (18-3 overall)  - Kentucky  5-1  (16-5)  - South Carolina  4-2  (15-4)  - Tennessee  3-2  (12-7)  - Vanderbilt   1-5  (12-8) With Tennessee suffering their second conference loss tonight and seeming to be a team that could be on the verge of folding and with Vanderbilt pretty much eliminated, it looks like it could be shaping up to a race between the Cats and the Gators in the SEC East - as long as UK can close out South Carolina at home on Saturday in a game that isn't going to be easy at all.  I'm sure we'll break it down more as we get closer to the game with the Gamecocks, but I like the way the Cats match up with both South Carolina and the Gators and I'd be shocked if another SEC team shreds UK's defense like Ole Miss did.  That had to be a fluke, right?  Feel free to argue/complain/speculate/tell me I'm stupid in the space below. (2)  Another thing that got lost in the shuffle a bit because of the despair after the loss - or possibly because I'm the only one that got his feathers ruffled about it - was the decision by Ramon Harris to switch his jersey to #5 because he has five brothers and sisters.  I'll admit that this should be a non-story probably.  But, for some reason, the old man inside of me (that's what she said!) is irritated by it a bit.  Unless there is some major reason (his siblings are ill or something), then I feel like this is the type of thing that is slightly on the "there is a 'me' in 'team'" side.  The fact that it's a high-quality human like Ramon Harris is probably why its such a tempered irritation rather than just straight anger, but I can promise you if DeAndre Liggins showed up wearing #122 because "that's how many people are in the 'DeAndre Liggins should be the Cats starting point guard' group on Facebook", it would bother you too.  Hey, who deleted my Matlock off of the Tivo? (3)  There was some good news on the academic front today as the SEC released their Fall Academic Honor Roll and the Cats finished #1 with 60 athletes named to the list.  Over half (31) were from the football team, including Dicky Lyons, Corey Peters and Raycom favorite Tim Masthay.  Someone being fair would mention that UK tied with South Carolina for that title, but I'm pretty sure they all cheated.  Plus, I've never claimed to be fair. (4)  If you're still keeping up with that guy that used to coach basketball here and were hoping you might see him in Rupp again on a semi-regular basis, I have some bad news.  Tubby Smith publicly stated that he's not leaving Minnesota for any other coaching position after online speculation that Alabama could pursue him.  This is most likely because the high on Thursday will be reaching a toasty 14 degrees in Minneapolis.  Break out the swim trunks.  You can, however, expect Rick Pitino coaching Arizona next year because my mom said so and I never question my mother. (5)  Duke lost.  That's never a bad thing. That's it for now.  I promise you that a good day is on the horizon and, with power returning to many parts of the Bluegrass, you'll finally see an end to the Ripken-like streak of mediocre "Thomas Beisner" posts on here.  Stick around today and take part in the LiveBlog with Gregg Doyel at noon and find out how many rounds he would last on Tool Academy.  So far, that's the only question I've thought of.  See you in a few...