Courier-Journal Tries to Clean Up Its Goof With John Calipari

Apr 6, 2014; Arlington, TX, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari speaks at a press conference during practice before the championship game of the Final Four in the 2014 NCAA Mens Division I Championship tournament at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

In a weird bit of finger-pointing and shot taking with Jim Boeheim, the Courier-Journal in Louisville and John Calipari the paper finds itself attempting to offer the Kentucky coach an apology. It all started with the Syracuse coach taking exception with comments that he thought were uttered by Cal.

This was in response to an article written by Adrian Wojnarowski that cited Mike Kryzewski used his position as head coach of USA Basketball to help his recruiting at Duke.

Sure, Coach K coaching the national team gives him more face time during the summer when we usually wouldn’t see him. Recruits see this as well. This no doubt would help Duke. However, how can you really say that Coach K is playing to some ulterior motive to only do the job in an attempt to help his program. He shows up and coaches to win the gold medal each and every time. Duke basketball sells itself and Coach K is the reason why.

He had built an elite program long before he ever accepted the USA Basketball coaching position.

Jim Beoheim has been an assistant on the USA Basketball team for some time now. To a lesser degree this also puts exposure on him and Syracuse as well every time the camera pans on him. Everyone, recruits included, knows who he coaches.

Wojnarowski insinuates that Cal might be riled up at the perceived advantage that Coach Cal may have by coaching the national team. Boheim said Cal complained to him about it and he has said Cal is  “disingenuous” for doing so. If he were in Coach K’s position, no doubt Kentucky would benefit indirectly as has Duke. That said, he isn’t, and it’s hard to see him whining about something like that when he plays the recruiting game as good as anyone.

The Courier-Journal took Cal’s complaint as gospel and used it as a chance to take a shot at him in a nice little cartoon a few days ago.

If Cal said it, then you could definitely call him out for whining. Still you wouldn’t expect a paper that claims to be objective to go there even if it is the head coach of the city’s most bitter rival. It’s not the first time this has happened though. They did something similar when Nerlens Noel went down in February 2013. By the way, here’s the infamous cartoon from last year. All of this has led to the Courier-Journal backpedaling, as they issued an apology to Coach Cal today.

Well isn’t that nice. Cal kept it classy in his reply.

Everyone knows how the majority of folks (not you Kyle Tucker, nor you Tim Sullivan who just reached out to me shortly after this was finished) at the Courier-Journal feel. It would behoove them going forward to at least try to do a little bit better at hiding it.

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