The Mark Stoops era is here!

Good morning, Big Blue Nation!

Fans of the Kentucky Wildcats have two times today to be able to welcome Coach Mark Stoops to Kentucky. The first opportunity is 12:45 p.m. at the R.J. Corman Airplane Hangar in Nicholasville. The second opportunity is 2:45 p.m. outside the Nutter Field House next to Gate 1 of Commonwealth Stadium. The press conference is closed to the public but fans will be able to watch comments of Coach Stoops, UK Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart and President Eli Capilouto on the video board of Commonwealth Stadium.

Not in the Lexington area? You can watch stream the broadcast here or at ESPN3. It will air on CWKYT in Lexington and the feed will be made available to the UK IMG Sports Network affiliates around the state. As of right now, I don’t know which affiliates will air the game.

John Crigler passed away yesterday at the age of 76. Crigler was a member of the 1957-58 Fiddlin’ Five team that took home Kentucky’s fourth NCAA Championship. After his playing days, he put in over 40 years of service at Scott County High School, where he taught, coached, and worked as the athletic director. May he rest in peace.

The college basketball world lost a great one last night with the passing of Rick Majerus. Hat tip to Brett Dawson for this interesting find of Rick Majerus quotes. Here are some of the good ones:

"Responding to Kentucky coach Rick Pitino’s tongue-in-cheek assertion that his Wildcats would be the underdog in their 1996 NCAA Tournament game …“If we’re getting in a sumo ring, he and I, then he’s the underdog. I’ll crush him. But on the court, we’re in trouble.”[Salt Lake Tribune 3/24/1996]"

About how the Utes’ season keeps ending with a loss to Kentucky..
“When I die, they might as well bury me at the finish line at Churchill Downs so they can run over me one more time.”
[New Orleans Times-Picayune 3/9/1999]

He said that he had tried to arrange a home and home series with the University of Kentucky, but they refused. “I’d play Kentucky home and home every year. Book it right now. I’d do anything to get them there. They want to ski on a mountain, I can get them a mountain to ski on. For privacy I can get them to Redford’s place and they can eat like kings. But Kentucky ain’t coming to play us.” “I also said I’d like to date Ashley Judd and you know, she ain’t gonna do that either. That was her dad that was here with me before. He looked at me and he’s happy I’m not dating her either.” “I am like Kentucky’s favorite punching bag. People in Kentucky love me. ‘I’d like me too if I lost every game.”
[Louisville, KY newspaper, 2000]

On how he planned to stop the Kentucky Wildcats in a 1996 NCAA tournament match-up …
“Food poisoning!”
[Houston Chronicle 3/20/1996]

ESPN’s Dana O’Neil has a column up following yesterday’s loss to Baylor. It’s a reminder to Kentucky fans to be patient with Coach Calipari, as the team is being built by scratch. Mike DeCourcy’s write-up at The Sporting News is a must-read.