Unsportsmanlike Conduct

Here is some more of what the fans are thinking.

“I have been raised to have respect for everyone, I was even raised that to FEAR GOD was to RESPECT GOD. I was raised to respect my Country, my family, my teachers, my neighbors, and the business people who I dealt with. I have had respect for the UK Football Program from the early days of my childhood.

I have read on message board and other articles that it is very DISRESPECTFUL to say something negative about the current condition of the UK Football Program, and especially if it is mentioned that the Coaching staff need replaced.

Now that I have thought about all of that I have come up with this. I think it is very DISRESPECTFUL of the UK Athletic Dept to charge a fee for the product they are putting on display for one of the best fan bases in the entire Nation. It is DISRESPECTFUL to the players and their families to recruit these players and promise them they will be playing football in the Great SEC, and not teach them or not promote them to their fullest. It is very DISRESPECTFUL to the alumni, and to the sponsors of the football program.

I can barely remember listening to the UK Football Games when Bear Bryant was coach, and I can remember all the coaches that followed Bear. In all of those years I have never seen a UK Football team that just did not seem to have any life at all. I have watched UK Football teams that would only win 2 or 3 games in a season, but would beat Tn at the end of the season, This UK Football shows no sign of life on the field, I am thinking that this team must be on Life Support, and Joker has his hand on the plug.

I think it is Unsportsmanlike Conduct for fans that have been Loyal to the mediocre football program for all these years.
If I am out of line then just penalize me the 15 yards or better yet forbid me from watching anymore games that this UK Team is not putting forth an effort to at least do their very best, and by saying that I am talking about the coaching staff getting this team ready to play and calling the kind of plays that will benefit the style of the players, and not just a style that the coaches want to run.”

“Bama, hell you know how I feel about this so called football program. I honestly feel sorry for these kids. I’ve played high school sports , unfortunately I wasn’t talented enough to go to the next level. I know that these kids give it their all every day they buckle up that chin strap.

For Joker Phillips to stand there on the sidelines acting like everything is OK makes me sick at my stomach. Regardless if these kids are 1 star or 5 star they have been promised leadership and guidance to excel in the sport they have been recruited to participate in. They are not getting what they were promised.

These kids have been broken. Their spirit is non existent and they are beaten. It won’t change this season or any season as long as Joker is here. Plain and simple he can’t coach, motivate or be a leader to these young men that have lost respect for him same as the fan base.

I will always stand behind the player that gives 100% . I will never stand behind a coach or an AD that snubs it’s fan base, just because they can. It’s time for a change, NOW. If we have to wait till the end of the season then Mitch and Joker need to be shown the same door . Barnhart can save face, somewhat at this point, but if he waits he’s darn sure lost support from Ol’ 67 . I know I’m a nobody but by the Bud Light I have consumed while enjoying and not enjoying UK sports I have had my say . For Now!”

Tim Beckman For Head Coach

I’ve been thinking about this since the second game of the season.We need to get rid of Joker, even if it costs us money.

Mike Leach seems to be the coach on every ones want list but I have another coach who I think fits the bill. Tim Beckman the head coach at Toledo. When the season is over he is going to be a hot item so why not him. His teams play hard, don’t quit and score points.

They have taken both Syracuse and Ohio St to the wire, lost to Boise St but still managed to put up 349 yds of offense on them, and stomped a good Temple team so far this season.

They are 35th in passing , 54th in rushing and 27th in scoring which shows they are a well coached team.

Since its sure to snow on Waikiki beach before we get a coach of Urban Meyers or Saban’s stature a coach like Tim Beckman seems to make sense.

A Suggestion For Joker

I know the seat is getting hot Joker but I doubt you will be fired this year. Next year is another story and from what I can see with the players we are losing and those we have coming in we are at least one if not two years away from being competitive in the lower rungs of the SEC.

Your going to have to do something this off season if you want to keep your job, so BigBlueRules has a suggestion for you, and it has nothing to do with cactus, dead goldfish or any of those things so I’ll save them for next year for you.

Fire Sanders and bring in Sonny Dykes as OC. He is probably going to lose his job when Stoops is let go so chances are he will need the work. He’s been an offensive coordinator under Mike Stoops, Mike Leach and Hal Mumme so you know he knows offense. He probably has a black mark for working under Mumme but who cares, not me.

If that doesn’t work hire Brent Pease who was the offensive coordinator at Kentucky under head coach Guy Morris, and is currently the OC at Boise St. With the overall improvement the team made under Morris. I’m sure he would have no problem improving Jokers offense.

Both are former coaches at Kentucky and unless the administration has a beef with them, they might help you keep your job. Of course there is always the possibility that they don’t think much of a job at Kentucky.

Thorazine Football

What do you do when your head coach and your quarterback look so beat down in a post game interview? Give em a Thorazine, Lock em in a room and pipe in a little music so they can figure out why, why, why they look so pathetic and why they should keep there jobs. Oh wait they are already drooling “Rise”

What Do The Fans Think

A day will have gone by in another hour and we all have had a chance to digest yesterdays game. There is nothing positive to say and everything negative has already been said so we are just going to post a couple of things from the forums.

“Football being my # 1 sport I can’t begin to fathom the thought of sitting still and watching another Curry era. When I get past my rants, which I’m sure most of you are tired of, I try to be somewhat optimistic and make a gallant effort in finding positive aspects in our FB program . Here’s my analysis.
We are getting our fair share of 3 star recruits . Probably more than we deserve.
An occasional 4 star that doesn’t get to play until they are juniors.
An offensive coordinator that is so predictable most of us have the plays called before he does.
A defense that show signs of life . A lot of life . And they are for the most part pretty darn exciting to watch.
receivers that couldn’t catch a cold in an Arctic storm running around naked.
A defensive backfield that is status quo 1/2 step slower than the other team .
Our school colors are awesome . No one no where can compare to the BLUE and WHITE .
Our cheerleaders are knock you on your ass beautiful ( the girl ones )
Our fan base has proven their loyalty without a doubt . Over and over and over and ……. well you know.
Here comes the good stuff .
In my honest and unbiased opinion . Joker Phillips is as lost as an easter egg.
The guy can’t manage his coaches nor can he motivate his players.
He’s more confused than Rick Pitino at Porcini’s on Ladies Night.
He is the worst excuse maker in all football and is becoming a laughing stock to our University.
I can’t wait for the Joker Phillips , Bill Curry , Ron Cooper and Steve Kragthorpe reunion when Joker says ” Why are we the only ones here ” . The answer to the trivia question is ” Joker it’s Easter ” and you have one more year to find yourself.”

“Once upon a time, long, long ago in a place called Kentucky, their was a beautiful field covered with Blue Grass, players would run up and down this beautiful field playing a game called football, this Kentucky team had a rugged looking coach called “Bear”. Somewhere between that Blue Grass Field, and a barn with a couple of peach baskets nailed up on each end, something was mentioned about a Cadillac and a Zippo, The Bear went South, as did the football team, and the team that was throwing the round ball into those peach baskets, rode that new Cadillac to the top of the round ball world.
That beautiful Blue Grass field was over taken with horse weeds, and the started keeping horses in that big fancy barn, and build a big building in the middle of town for the round ball team. Now that is all I got to say about that.”

“The football program at UK lacks a positive identity. Think about your immediate thoughts when you think of any top team in any sport….You immediately think of one person (Joe Pa, Spurrier), one group of players (linebackers, defense), or a region that is rich with players (Florida, LSU). The only time we’ve had that at UK in the last 30 years is when Claiborne was here (graduation rate, pretty good defense) and with Mumme (wide receivers, QBs). We were able to attract some good solid players who saw themselves as fitting in the system – which was a direct link to the program’s identity.

Now the team has had much success over the past 10 years in producing good to excellent quarterbacks and linebackers. But we don’t promote these players the way we should and so no one (specifically high school players)outside of Kentucky realizes this.

So call me crazy, but I think one of the biggest needs for the football program is a successful marketing campaign that builds on the success we’ve had at producing all-SEC players from two and three star talent. (And not one that is developed by Joker (Rise?!?!).) This would help to develop a team identity and would help us recruit the best players in the country at certain positions…..”

“Well I see two major issues and until they are corrected we will never be a player in the SEC………….(1)If we were serious about wanting to play football at Kentucky we would have gone on a nation wide search for a coach and not hire a coach in waiting that is nothing better than a receivers coach..and you see how well are receivers are doing.

A example of what I am talking about we went out and got a Rolls Royce to coach our basketball team and hired a Yugo for our football coach….(2) We will Never, never, be able to play against the powers in the sec with the players we have…. our players are 2 stars the the other schools did not want going against 5 stars at the likes of Bama, LSU, Fla. etc…..The Joker should realize we cannot line up and play smash mouth football with 2 stars verses 5 stars why cant he see this…..Shuck the pro set and put in Bookie, with him being a duel threat and open it up and at least look fun while losing.”

“If UK don’t want to change football coaches, then I suggest we go ahead and fire all the present coaches, and elect a team captain for offense and a team captain for defense. Then build a statue of a great coach (any great coach) on the UK sidline, and just let the team play ball. I am sure we would save millions of dollars each year, and odds would be in favor of us having a much better team than we have now.”

Well Joker when you read this while you are searching for an offense, please try and keep in mind that the fans love Kentucky Football as much, if not more than you do and frankly there are former HS coaches on the board who make more sense than your offense.

Why Can’t We Be Like Alabama

Starting out by saying Lexington isn’t Birmingham, or Kentucky isn’t Alabama, seems like a good way to get your attention. Have I got it now?

We hear constantly that Kentucky is a Basketball school and not a Football school. Is that really true? I say no it’s not true. We play in the SEC, abet poorly but we do field an occasional better than average team, and we do have our fair share of rabid fans. Look up the meaning of the word rabid.

1. irrationally extreme in opinion or practice: a rabid isolationist; a rabid football fan.
2. furious or raging; violently intense: a rabid hunger.

Ok. Rabid might no be the perfect word to use but some of it fits. This fan for one is drooling for good football.

It seems like every day I read a fan post somewhere where a fan says, “I’ve been a football fan all my life but I’m getting old and want to see Kentucky take the next step before I die”. They might use different words but the meaning is clear.

We have fans saying the administration needs to spend more money, hire better coaches, build a new stadium, recruit better and even move to a different conference. Depending on your opinion all of those are true.

Here is the gist of what I want to say. Why isn’t Kentucky like Alabama. In this day and age recruits are more computer literate than some writers are. They visit multiple sites and compare whats said about teams they are looking at. Is what is printed in a online newspaper going to be the decider in where they play? No but I think it does play a small role in deciding where to attend school. At least in my mind as a parent.

All I have to do is look at how the LHL has uses their online site and the way al.com uses their site. Does anyone wonder why KSR gets more visitors than even links from other sites pull into the LHL. Larry Vaught posts better articles every day on his blog and Bleedbluekentucky.com does a far better job on covering football than the LHL does.

So why hasn’t the next step been taken? A partnership between the LHL, the Winchester Sun, the AM News, the Courier Journal and any other Ky newspaper in an online site like al.com sure couldn’t hurt any of them. I have no idea on how much this would cost but I’m sure a company similar to Advance Internet would be more than willing to discuss it.

Perception might not be the end all to better recruiting but it can’t do anything but help all the state schools, and the newspapers.

Oh and by the way I’m open to being the Hawaii writer when the Kentucky administration finally decides to schedule Hawaii in football. I’ll probably have to arm wrestle Larry Vaught for the job though.

A First At BBRules

Between the LHL board and here at BBRules we have been playing Lits U Pick Em for at least 5 years. This week is the first time NO ONE picked the Cats to win. In years past even if we expected to lose to Florida or Tennessee people almost always picked the Cats to win. Call it pride, call it hope, call it what ever you want to call it. When things reach this point there only one thing left to do during the rest of the season. Call the beer wench and wait for basketball to start.

Vacation Anyone Part II

Here is a continuation of my post from earlier in the week.

There is a lot involved in scheduling Hawaii for a 13th game. So many teams want to get that 13th game that it’s not easy to get the game. For us to get on the schedule we would probably have to go the home and home route and even then it night be necessary to get coach Cal to agree to throw in a basketball game or two.

The economy is a valid point but surprisingly people are still coming to Hawaii they just aren’t spending as much in stores. Given a year or two to plan I think Kentucky fans will turn out.

From the recruiting point, Hawaii turns out the most D1 players per capita in the country. The last 9 or 10 QB’s from St Louis HS have started as D1 QB’s. Polynesian’s are scattered all up and down the west coast and untapped by the SEC. Bear Bryant even brought in a RB from Hawaii the year before he left for A&M.

Here are the games scheduled so far by Hawaii. We would look good on that list.

2012
@ Southern California (Pac-12), September 1
@ BYU (Independent), September 8
Lamar (Southland) (FCS), September 15
South Alabama (Sun Belt), December 1[4]

2013
Southern California (Pac-12), August 31
@ Oregon State (Pac-12), September 7
BYU (Independent), September 14
@ Navy (Independent), November 9
Army (Independent), November 30

2014
Oregon State (Pac-12), September 6
@ Colorado (Pac-12), September 20
Washington (Pac-12), Date TBD

2015
Colorado (Pac-12), September 5
Navy (Independent), November 28
@ Washington (Pac-12), Date TBD

2018
@ Army (Independent), September 15

2019
Army (Independent), November 30

Vacation Anyone

I really don’t see much in the way of a future over the next couple of years so. Lets go for the future or at least a good vacation. I’m sure everyone remembers when Alabama was hurting. What did they do, they signed a two for one deal with Hawaii to give their kids something to look forward to. Hawaii gave them their all and beat them once in three games, but guess what it worked.

From what I see we need to do the same, even if we lose three times. We need to get our kids and fans fired up, even if its just for a visit to Hawaii.

Sure I know we play in a tough conference but play in Hawaii and you get a 13th game. Looks like more of a win situation than than playing W Ky in Tennessee.

Join in people and at least give me a chance to see my favorite two teams play, and me a chance to meet all my BigBlue friends. Besides we can have one hell of a tailgate. BBQ’ed spam anyone.

Open Letter To Mitch

Dear Mitch. I’m a Kentucky football fan, admittedly a out of state fan, but come on Mitch grow a set. Sure you’ve improved women’s basketball. volleyball and soccer. Even men’s soccer has improved, but what about what pays the bills for those sports. Come on Mitch you know what I’m talking about. Spit it out guy, you know you can.

I’m not going to be one of those people who defends our coach, and I’m not going to be someone who ignores what is happening on the football field. Neither am I going to be some one who yells for a firing of a coach for a quick fix, but a quick fix is needed

I know your are getting some flack from the money guys, you know the guys who, how should I say it, yank your chain when things aren’t going right.

From what I see the SEC is going to grow to 14 or 16 teams real quick. You have any plans for how football is going to compete in a 16 team conference? Us fans sure hope so, since from what we can see, how are we even going to even a second rate bowl in the future.

Damn Mitch I’m beginning to feel like I didn’t turn in a library book, and that makes me want to take it out on some one.

So come one Mitch spend a few bucks on coaching before we start looking like a conference USA team. I’m not greedy Mitch, I just want to see a winner.

Truthfully Mitch, your an AD so, can you really see Kentucky finishing better than 11th in the SEC. When we go to 16 teams what do you think is going to happen.

A question for you to answer Mitch, and I feel bad for asking this. Is this your plan to get your daughter a job?

I’d really like to know Mitch so click on the contact link so I will know you really care.

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