The MLB All Star Game's Wednesday News and Views

If you're looking for high-quality sports competition, All Star games generally aren't the place to go.  The NBA All Star Game is essentially a dunk contest and the Pro Bowl may or may not even exist anymore.  And though the MLB All Star Game puts on a nice front and pretends to be a serious affair with home field advantage on the line, it's pretty much no different than the other two.  But there's something about it that's just so wholesome and wonderful.  My name is TJ Beisner and I'm an MLB All Star Game addict.  There I said it.  But my appreciation of the event, and for baseball as a whole, is just as much because of nostalgia anymore as it is home runs and strikeouts.  To me, baseball is a game for fathers and sons and in my house, the highlight of every baseball season was All-Star Tuesday when my dad and I would make a pizza together and sit down and watch the game from start to finish.  I was always able to stay up late that night, which was a small miracle in my house, and the non-existent bedtime was combined with pizza, Doritos and Kool-Aid.  It was the event of the summer.  I'd ask all kinds of irritating baseball questions and spout off useless facts and my dad would fight a mixture of boredom and old man-ness to stay awake and make sure we saw every pitch.  Now, I spend every All Star Tuesday making a pizza with my son and he sits there, glued to every pitch and asking a million questions.  I fight off boredom and old man-ness, barely managing to stay awake for the whole game.  And I love every second of it.  Because that is what All-Star Tuesday is all about. Now onto a few UK notes...  (1)  It's July, so the big story to follow continues to be John Calipari beating up the recruiting trail and racking up miles in his quest for the next great class of prospects.  Wednesday will be a busy day for Cal as he spends the morning in South Carolina, the afternoon in Milwaukee and then heads back to the Peach Jam for the evening session.  He spent all day at the event Tuesday and checked several of the Kentucky's primary targets for 2012 and 2013.  Here are a few brief notes on some of them:

Archie Goodwin:  The five-star shooting guard from Arkansas played under the watchful eye of Cal in the morning session and had the attention of the head coach and Kenny Payne in the evening when he dropped 25 points (8/23 shooting) on fellow UK target Alex Poythress in the evening.  Goodwin also clarified his Tweet from last week about not being the first to commit in Kentucky's class of 2012 by saying he planned to hold off until the spring to pick his school.

DaJuan Coleman:  Coleman's team dropped both of their games Tuesday, but he still kept Calipari's attention for both games.  The big story out of his day in South Carolina, however, was the announcement that he planned to visit Kentucky in September and then decide where he'd play college basketball around Christmas time.  The staff has been in strong pursuit of the 6'9", 270 pounder and there's a lot of optimism that he could be bound for Lexington.

Ricky Ledo:  The man who treats unofficial visits like he's on Motley Crue's tour bus had an interesting day to say the least.  Ledo showcased an incredible scoring ability, with Rivals' Eric Bossi calling him the "most fluid scorer" and liking him to Jamal Crawford.  However, Ledo also caught Matt's attention during his second game for cussing at his coach and telling him to "shut up".  Unless his coach is his wife, that's a big no-no.  Just kidding. 

Anthony Bennett:  You want a guy you can call "Beast"?  Anthony Bennett might be that guy.  That was the word being thrown around by several people who saw the five-star Canadian big man Tuesday in South Carolina.  Bossi gave him the best reviews, saying that "if you want to take a rebound from Bennett, you better go about your business like a grown man".  He also added that he's a guy that's destined to be a fan favorite anywhere he goes and is the kind of player even opposing teams like.  But what about Gary Parrish?

Brandon Ashley:  Some view Ashley as a long shot for Kentucky at this point, but that didn't stop Calipari from stopping by to watch him play twice Tuesday.  What UK's head man was treated to was what a lot of people called the most impressive outing of the day.  Ashley, ranked by Rivals as the #14 overall player in 2012, exploded offensively and ESPN's Dave Telep said he's been as impressive as any big man this summer.

Nerlens Noel:  Arguably the best player in 2013.  Easily the best hair.  Noel's team went 2-0 on the day and he listed a top-5 of Kentucky, Georgetown, UConn, Florida and Kansas, but in no particular order.  Calipari loves him and he's been compared to Marcus Camby.  ESPN's Dave Telep said he might be the best high school defender since Greg Oden.  Not a bad comparison.

Julius Randle:  The #2 overall player in Rivals' 2013 rankings battled Ashley in the evening session in front of Calipari and what some where calling the biggest gathering of coaches of the day.  The power forward from Texas already holds offers from Baylor, Kansas, Missouri, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Texas.

 (2)  By now, you've probably read Gary Parrish's column regarding the Chicago Sun-Times' accusations last year that Davis was "for sale" for $200,000 as a recruit.  You've probably already read Matt's take on it as well.  If not, stop being so damn lazy and do it.  Matt wasn't the only who had a reaction to the CBS Sports column:

 

(3)  On one final note regarding the Parrish column, an enterprising young KSR reader alerted us to this little blurb on SportsGrid where Parrish called the Sun-Times article "insane", "sloppy" and "embarrassing".  What changed since then?  The calendar, presumably.  Either way, I'm sure there will be at least some sort of response from Parrish Wednesday through Twitter or in a column or something.  He doesn't seem like the type to just back away from something.  I'd be surprised if he didn't stand up to the backlash in some form or fashion.  (4)  With all of that basketball nonsense out of the way, I'm happy (let's hope) to report that the Cats could be on the cusp of landing a big-time football recruit.  Four-star cornerback Devontre Parnell will pick his school Wednesday and, even better, it's down to the Cats and the Cards.  Aaron will have a bit more on the South Carolina native in the morning, but the Cats appear to have a very good chance of pulling in a very nice piece to their 2012 recruiting class.  Of course, if he commits to Charlie Strong's Cell Block, we will shrug it off and say he's overrated.  You know how we do.    (5)  Maybe the most overlooked story of the day was what I think might be the coolest thing we've seen in quite awhile.  WKYT announced they'll be showing classic UK football and basketball games throughout the year after earning the rights to all UK broadcasts dating back to the 1950s.  For quite some time, people have wondered openly why no one was filling space by broadcasting those games and now fans seem to have gotten what they wanted.  I think it's a fantastic move.  If you live in Lexington or the surrounding areas.  Otherwise, you better get your YouTube on.  (6)  Male cheerleading isn't probably one of the most celebrated and saluted jobs on a college campus, but that's going to change right this second.  UK cheerleader Dylan Smith deserves your admiration and respect.  The 19-year old fell 44 feet out of a building, but used what he'd learned for his sport to tuck his legs during his fall and flip over and land on his knees.  He suffered a dislocated hip, a fractured pelvis, a lacerated spleen and two collapsed lungs, but is recovering well.  We wish him nothing but the best in his recovery and hope that he doesn't decide to kill us all when he graduates and becomes a ninja.  (7)  On an absolutely unrelated note, I need the help of our fine KSR readers.  What in the hell am I supposed to do with Google+?  It might be the first sign of my trek into old age and senility, but I don't understand what it's for.  When I was in school, when a friend invited you to hang out with a bunch of dudes and do nothing, we called it a Sausage Fest.  To the best of my knowledge, it's now called Google+.  I'm so confused. That's it for now.  Make sure you stick around throughout the day for all kinds of fun times and media backlash.  As usual, Matt will get the party started with Kentucky Sports Radio at 10am on Talk Radio 1080.  He's promised to stay for the whole show.  In the meantime, just remember that true fanhood never dies...

See you in a few...