President Barack Obama's Tuesday News and Views

You knew I had to do it. Today is a special day for me as a man that I first learned about in 2003 as an Illinois state senator will today be sworn in as the 44th President of the United States. You certainly dont need me to talk about today's historic occasion or to opine on its significance on a predominantly sports blog (leave the nonsense talk to all the celebrities that find themselves on the news networks these last few days....."for another take on Barack Obama, lets go to Carrot Top!"), but it nevertheless is a day that I have looked forward to for some time. I had originally planned to spend today in Washington DC with Bobby "how come Dwight gets all the publicity" Perry, but the wicked mistress of the law has kept me here in Louisville. But I will still be watching all the coverage of what will truly be a day to remember. And even if you are not a Barack Obama supporter, at least you share one thing in common with the guy, and that is his love for basketball. In fact, all the members of the UK basketball team are getting together this morning at Wildcat Lodge to watch the festivities as they join the millions around the world in what will be a day that will be remembered throughout history.....or at least until next week's Miss Teen USA pageant. To the news..... (1): The big news of the day comes from the football side of the aisle as Kentucky got a commitment from LB Ryan Mosby out of Texas, who picked the Cats over Iowa State, Georgia Tech and UNLV, among others. Mosby is an explosive athlete who was a target that the Cats focused in on some time ago. He committed originally to Iowa State, but Gene Chizek's decision to head towards Auburn left him open again and the Cats became the beneficiary of the Cyclones' loss. Mosby helps a LB corp that actually will grow a bit thin after this season and his commitment is another solid addition to a very good UK class. (2): One of the stars of that class is of course all-everything QB Morgan Newton, who got even more honors on Monday as it was leaked that he will be a Parade All-American. Newton is one of only five players that are projected to play QB who received the award and his pick marks the first Kentucky commitment to receive the honor since Micah Johnson. Folks need to recognize just what a huge get Newton has been for the Cats and no matter what happens when he arrives, the ability to get an out-of-state Parade All-American to come to Lexington says so much about where this football program is at this point. (3): There has been an understandable increase in the fans' frustration today as the Cats were unranked in both polls today after their solid week with two road wins. The Cats found themselves outside the Top 25 in both polls, in 28th spot in the AP poll and only receiving 12 votes in the Coaches' edition. The latter poll was especially hard to take as it showcased a lack of respect not only for the Cats, but the SEC as a whole. Based on how UK has played the last two games, it is impossible for anyone to convince me that UK is not one of the Top 25 teams in America, but so be it. When they beat Auburn and Alabama this week, they will be ranked in the AP edition and at some point the coaches will follow. (4): Today UK had a full practice, but Patrick Patterson did miss part of it with his sore finger. While the finger has been X-rayed and no serious injury has been found, it continues to give him difficulty and he had to sit out of part of the beginning of practice today due to the pain. Some have speculated that the finger has played a role in some shooting difficulty for Patrick, but Patterson has said no such thing himself. Such lingering injuries can play havoc on a player over the course of a season, so it will be interesting to see if it gets better over the coming weeks. (5): And finally, prayers go out to former Cat Mike Casey, who is dealing with health difficulties at this time as he seeks a heart transplant in the coming weeks. Casey is one of the legendary members of the Big Blue and his health issues are of concern to many in the Cat family. We here at Kentucky Sports Radio wish him the best in his recovery and our prayers go out to him. We will have more all day, including a look at the Auburn basketball tradition....aka, if it isnt Charles Barkley, a Person brother or Chris Porter, it really isnt worth talking about.