Saturday morning links

Good morning Kentucky! I hope all of you who went out to see Coach Cal Matt Jones during the trophy tour enjoyed yourselves are back at your homestead dreaming of No. 9 — I know I am. It was a big news day yesterday for the college basketball off season, so let’s take a look at what went down. -- A couple of big notes with a local impact: First, UConn transfer Alex Oriakhi has decided to forgo his visit to Lexington and picked Missouri for his last year of eligibility. -- Some people made real a-holes of themselves on Twitter after hearing of Oriakhi’s decision. They weren’t all Kentucky fans, but don't be one of these guys... Not cool. (language NSFW) -- Second bit of news of local importance: Rumors rose and died within a matter of hours Friday evening about Tubby Smith possibly returning to the Southeastern Conference to coach LSU. Trent Johnson left last week for TCU. Tubby’s return to Rupp was not to be, however, as LSU decided on North Texas head coach, and former Tiger Johnny Jones. -- Tim Daniels at the Bleacher Report wrote a feel-good article yesterday, saying “Kentucky will continue to dominate after John Calipari’s first title.” My favorite part was, “Calipari has created a monster at Kentucky — and other programs are scrambling to figure out a way to slay the dragon.” -- Jeff Goodman and Gary Parrish’s Top-25 updated, and I think it’s just awesome. Kentucky comes in at No. 1, followed by Indiana, Louisville, Kansas, and Baylor at No. 6. All four teams the Cats beat en route to the title. Obviously it’s a new year with new teams, but seeing “lost to Kentucky in _______” in parentheses next to each team just puts a smile on my face. -- The UK softball team upset No. 10 Georgia on the road last night 4-1, on a nationally televised game on ESPNU. Pitcher Chanda Bell threw 12 strikeouts to help seal the win. The Lady Cats are 20-22 overall, and 7-8 in the SEC. -- The UK baseball team was also on the road, visiting No. 9 Arkansas. They let one slip away in the seventh, losing 8-7. The men are 30-5 on the season, and 9-4 in conference. Four of their five losses have come by one- or two-run games.