NBA commissioner David Stern, left, poses with the No. 1 overall draft pick, John Wall, of Kentucky, who was selected by the Washington Wizards in the first round of the NBA basketball draft Thursday, June 24, 2010, in New York. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)
For the first time in school history, five former Kentucky players were drafted in the first round of the NBA Draft Thursday night at Madison Square Garden in New York.
John Wall was the No. 1 pick, followed by DeMarcus Cousins, Patrick Patterson, Eric Bledsoe and Daniel Orton. Kentucky coach John Calipari was all smiles as he watched five of his former players make history.
“For a program that makes history pretty regularly, Thursday night was a truly historic evening,” Calipari said in a statement released by the university. “An unprecedented five Wildcats were chosen in the first round of the 2010 NBA Draft. I am so proud of John, DeMarcus, Patrick, Eric and Daniel and I love the way they have represented our University, our program and the Big Blue Nation.”
The following is a story written by the Associated Press:
Kentucky dominated the first round of Thursday night’s NBA draft and passed some other powerful college programs with the five players selected.
Read the rest of this entry »
It’s interesting to see how nicknames evolve. While preparing for the girls state softball tournament this week, I had a chance to ask some of the players at George Rogers Clark High School how they earned their nicknames. The following are some responses:
Caitlin “Bama” Collins:
“When I was little, my favorite song was ‘Sweet Home Alabama.’ and I couldn’t pronounce it. I started calling it the Bama song and my dad starting calling me Bama, and it’s stuck (with me) since I was 2. I love it.”
Amy “Doodle” Haggard:
“My uncle game me the name Doodle bug when I was first born and then bug fell off and it’s now Doodle.”
Shamera “Shamy” Williams:
“I have always been called that since, I can’t remember. People couldn’t pronounce my name, so we were like, just call me Shamy.
Rebecca “Boo” Strange:
“My grand paw gave me the name when I was (younger) because it was the only thing that would make me laugh and it just stuck with me.”
If you’re like me, you’re always on the move and like information at the fingertips. I have been getting used to a smart phone – a Droid – that helps me receive information in a hurry.
Verizon is offering a new service that will be exciting now and in the future. The following is a release on V Cast Video now available through Verizon. The upcoming World Cup will be offered.
DROID doesn’t compromise on entertainment, and watching popular television shows and sporting events just got easier for Verizon Wireless smartphone customers. Verizon Wireless said that V CAST Video is now available on the company’s impressive family of Android smartphones.
Univision Interactive Media will provide live streams of all 64 of its Spanish-language broadcasts of the 2010 FIFA World Cup soccer matches from South Africa exclusively to V CAST Video customers’ mobile devices.
The soccer tournament is just one of hundreds of live sporting events – including college football, college basketball and NHL Hockey – available on V CAST Video throughout the year.
With V CAST Video, Android customers can now enjoy a wide variety of top-rated entertainment, news and sports programs on demand, whenever they want on the large screens on their smartphones. V CAST Video recently added programming from AETN, including A&E, Lifetime and History, and Spanish-language content from V-me.
V CAST Video currently features more than 230 full-length programs from more than 40 leading providers. V CAST Video can be found in the Verizon Channel in Android Market™ on all Android smartphones from Verizon Wireless: DROID by Motorola, DROID ERIS™ by HTC, Motorola DEVOUR™, DROID Incredible by HTC and LG Ally.
V CAST Video on Android devices is available for a $10 monthly subscription in addition to a smartphone data plan.
For more information about V CAST Video, including how to subscribe, visit www.verizonwireless.com/vcast.
For more information about Verizon Wireless products and services, visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call (800) 2 JOIN IN or go to www.verizonwireless.com.
You won’t be disappointed.
In this Dec. 9, 2005, file photo, Former UCLA basketball coach John Wooden poses for a picture after a news conference in Anaheim, Calif., about Saturday's Wooden Classic basketball tournament. Wooden, college basketball's gentlemanly Wizard of Westwood who built one of the greatest dynasties in all of sports at UCLA and became one of the most revered coaches ever, has died. He was 99.
John Wooden wasn’t just a basketball coach. He was an even better person.
I was only four when Wooden coached his last college basketball game, but from what I have read and researched, he was one of the best the game has ever witnessed.
I did see clips of Wooden with a folded program in his hands and know for a fact that Wooden’s last basketball game as a coach in 1975 was a win over Kentucky in the NCAA championship game.
Wooden was always a fixture at UCLA games following his retirement and kept a low-key approach when it came to college basketball. He has written several books and I remember when I played basketball how our coaches would use his pyramid for success as a tool.
Wooden’s influence in college basketball was similar to the legacy late president Ronald Reagan achieved during his life on earth.
Both men were devoted to faith, family and friends, a trait hard to find in today’s society. Wooden and Reagan knew how to achieve the right balance in life and were successful.
One was a coach and the other an actor and politician. Wooden and Reagan left behind a legacy of greatness.
I’m not into perfection. I just do the best I can, because I’m in fact, a human being. At the same time, I strive for perfection.
No, I do not like making a mistake or a series of miscues, but I do realize they happen from time to time. In my field of work, I have covered countless sporting events and they all have one thing in common: They’re coached by humans, officiated by humans and played by humans. Even the fans in the stands are human. Even the scoreboard is operated by a human being. By the way, the journalists, photographers, television crews and radio announcers are human, too.
In the major leagues earlier this week, Detroit pitcher Armando Galarraga’s perfect game was wiped out after umpire Jim Joyce ruled Jason Donald safe on a run to first with two outs in the ninth inning. Joyce later apologized for missing the call. Joyce did the right thing by admitting to his mistake.
During the 10th Region Tournament softball finals earlier this week at Harrison County, I overheard a fan object to a call by an official on an infield fly and yelled that that a call should have been made before the fact instead of after the play happened. Aren’t all calls made after the fact?
Sometimes it’s not easy being human.
