Kyle Draper

Jennings Releases Statement Following Arrest

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle Draper) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 20:59:00 +0000

The attorneys for UofL basketball players Terrence Jennings and Jerry Smith have released statements about their client’s recent arrests. Here's the full transcript of what they had to say.

From: Larry Wilder, Attorney
Scott Roby, Attorney

On Saturday the Jeffersonville Police arrested two (2) University of Louisville student athletes at a social function at Kye's banquet hall in Jeffersonville, Indiana. The two athletes, Terrence Jennings and Jerry Smith, were taken to the Clark County jail where they were booked in and charged with Resisting Law Enforcement as a misdemeanor.

As of this time charges have not been filed however, the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney has indicated that his office will move forward with charges within the next several days.

In light of these circumstances, Terrence Jennings would like to offer the following public statement:

"I want to first apologize to the police and to the organizers of the event. I was minding my own business and unfortunately, was provoked by another person that I was unfamiliar with. That's where this all started. At first, I did not know the individuals who approached me were off duty police officers working security. My teammate Jerry Smith was trying to help me from being physically harmed and I know he did not mean any disrespect either. I hope that I have shown in the past that these actions are uncharacteristic for me and I look forward to showing everyone that I am a person with good integrity."

Jennings' attorney, Scott Roby, stated that, "It is our hope that this matter can be dealt with in a reasonable manner and we can put this incident behind us. Terrence is a fine young man and he is looking forward to continuing to contribute to the University and the city of Louisville during his college tenure."

Larry Wilder, attorney for Smith, re-iterated Roby's position. "This is an unfortunate incident. Jerry's sense of loyalty and comradery to his teammate lead him to react and as a result we are faced with the circumstances placed before us." Wilder concluded, "These are two very soft-spoken, intelligent, kind young men and it is my personal hope that the media and public allow them to move forward with their lives and careers."

Wilder went on to point out that, "Neither Jerry or Terrence have ever been in trouble with law enforcement. The events that took place last Saturday are clearly not an indication of what they are as people, students or athletes."

Yankee Bowl Set to Be Announced

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle Draper) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 21:55:00 +0000

Wednesday the New York Yankees will announce Yankee Stadium, in the Bronx, will host a college football bowl game. The Yankees have called a press conference for 1030am Wednesday to announce the Yankee bowl. It will match up the 4th place Big East team against the 7th place Big 12 team beginning next year. The inaugural Yankee bowl will be played December 29, 2010.

Excerpts From Pitino Press Conference

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle Draper) — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 22:32:00 +0000

Rick Pitino held a press conference Wednesday afternoon to voice his frustration about the way the media is reporting the story of his involvement with Karen Cunigan Sypher. I was in the front row and here's a portion of what he had to say:

"Everything that's been printed. Everything that's been reported. Everything that you're breaking into the news on a day that Ted Kennedy died is 100 percent a lie. A lit. All of this has been a lie. OK. A total fabrication of the truth. Except what I told you. The mistake that I have made. Everything else is a lie."

"I couldn't say anything because my lawyer said don't say anything. And the University said don't say anything. The authorities said don't say anything. Well enough's enough. I am saying something. It's a lie. It's a 100 percent lie. You've known that it's a lie. You've all known it. You haven't printed it, you haven't said it. You've known the background. But you haven't said it."

"It hasn't hurt recruiting one bit. We will still bring in top 10 players. This program has been a top 10 program the last two years. It will continue to be a top 10program. Our fans are the greatest in college basketball. My opinion I work here. I'm sure there's great fans everywhere. We will continue to bring in great players. We will still run this program with great integrity."

"No question I admitted to you I made a mistake. and believe me I will suffer that mistake. My wife and family do not deserve these lies. You shouldn't be reporting these lies. You want to report the truth go ahead and do it. Report the truth. Do your investigative reporting. Get the open records. Get anything you want that you can get. When it comes to trial you'll know the truth. That's why I haven't gone around to Inside Edition, and this station, and this station, and this station because I know it's going to come out. The FBI and the US Attorney's office don't go after jaywalker's. Thank you very much."

IU to Play Penn State at FedExField in 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle Draper) — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 13:24:00 +0000

The Indiana Hoosiers will play Penn State in football at the home of the Washington Redskins in 2010. IU announced this Wednesday morning the Hoosiers and Nittany Lions will play at FedExField November 20, 2010. It's a growing trend in college football where games are being scheduled for NFL stadiums. The game was supposed to be in Bloomington, but IU will be able to schedule another home game to get up to six. Here's the full release from Indiana:

INDIANA TO PLAY PENN STATE AT FEDEXFIELD IN 2010

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana University Vice President and Director of Athletics Fred Glass has announced that the athletic department has reached an agreement with the Washington Redskins and FedExField to move its 2010 Big Ten Conference home football game with Penn State to the Redskins' home facility in Landover, Maryland. The game will be played on November 20, 2010. Indiana will add another home game to the schedule so that the Hoosiers will still play six home games in Bloomington at Memorial Stadium in 2010.

"This is a unique opportunity to partner with an outstanding organization like the Washington Redskins to bring Hoosier football to within an afternoon's drive of all our fans and tens of thousands of alumni that live along the eastern seaboard," said Glass. "We believe that this will be an outstanding, bowl-like experience for our student-athletes, provide us with added recruiting visibility on the east coast, and will serve as a wonderful opportunity for our
student-athletes to spend time in and around the nation's capital."

Under the arrangement, IU will receive $3,000,000 and will be responsible for selling 7,000 seats. The game also will be shown by one of the Big Ten Conference’s television partners (ABC, Big Ten Network or ESPN). In addition, Glass said the department is in the process of shuffling the 2010 non-conference schedule and will replace a road game with another foe at home so that there is no net loss of home games for Indiana fans and the Bloomington community.

"We are excited to have Indiana and Penn State playing a Big Ten Conference game at FedExField," Redskins Chief Operating Officer Mitch Gershman said. "Both universities have a very large following with enthusiastic fan support and alumni in the Washington Metropolitan area. It is a unique opportunity for the fans of this area to watch Big Ten Football in person, and we expect a great crowd at the game."

FedExField, with a seating capacity of 91,704, is the largest venue used by a professional sports team in the United States. Opened in 1997, the venue has hosted several college football games, including the 2004 BCA Classic between the Virginia Tech Hokies and USC Trojans. That contest attracted 91,665 spectators.

"We are excited FedExField, the Big Ten, Penn State and Fred Glass worked together to make this happen," said IU Coach Bill Lynch. "FedExField is a state-of-the-art facility and our student-athletes will enjoy playing in a NFL venue."

Mark Krebs Put on Scholarship

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle Draper) — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 13:18:00 +0000

UK basketball player Mark Krebs will be put on scholarship for his senior season. Cats Coach John Calipari made the announcement on his website. Krebs has been a walk-on the last two seasons at Kentucky. He's played a total of 28 minutes at UK scoring 6 points. For the complete details of Coach Calipari's decision to give Krebs a scholarship go to coachcal.com

Pacers to Play Exhibition Game at Assembly Hall

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle Draper) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 21:14:00 +0000

The Pacers are coming to Bloomington, Indiana October 23rd to take on the San Antonio Spurs in an exhibition game. Here's the full release from the Pacers:

PACERS TO PLAY PRESEASON GAME IN BLOOMINGTON

INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Pacers will travel to Bloomington, Ind., to play a preseason game against the San Antonio Spurs at Indiana University’s Assembly Hall, Friday, Oct. 23 at 7:00 p.m. The Pacers last played in Bloomington when an ABA playoff game was held at Assembly Hall in 1972.

“As part of the great basketball heritage here in the state of Indiana, we are excited to play a game in Bloomington,” said Rick Fuson, Pacers Sports & Entertainment’s Chief Operating Officer. “This is a great opportunity to partner with Indiana University to further that strong tradition.”

"We are unbelievably excited that the Indiana Pacers have decided to include Bloomington and IU in their preseason schedule,” added Fred Glass, Athletic Director of Indiana University. “This is a special opportunity for our community to see the very best basketball in the world, and we are so pleased that we could play a part in bringing it to Bloomington."

Pacers Season Ticket Holders, along with Indiana University Season Ticket Holders and Indiana University Students, will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to the game prior to the general on-sale. Complete ticket information will be announced at a later date.

The entire Pacers preseason schedule is listed below.

2009 PRESEASON SCHEDULE
DATE OPPONENT TIME
Friday Oct. 2 vs. Chicago (at Conseco Fieldhouse) 7:00 p.m.
Thursday Oct. 8 vs. Denver (at Taipei Arena in Taipei, Taiwan) 7:30 a.m.
Sunday Oct. 11 at Denver (at Wukesong Arena in Beijing, China) 12:00 a.m.
Friday Oct. 16 vs. Houston (at Conseco Fieldhouse) 7:00 p.m.
Saturday Oct. 17 at New Orleans (at New Orleans Arena in New Orleans,Lou.)8:00 pm
Wednesday Oct. 21 at Orlando (at Amway Arena in Orlando, Fla.) 7:00 p.m.
Friday Oct. 23 vs. San Antonio (at Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Ind.)7:00 p.m.

Pitino Apologizes for Affair With Karen Sypher

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle Draper) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 23:36:00 +0000

University of Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino apologized to his family, the fans, and the University of Louisville for having an extramarital affair with Karen Sypher six years ago at the Louisville restaurant Porcini's. Here's a full text of Pitino's statement, along with the statement from U of L President James Ramsey, and Athletic Director Tom Jurich:

Statement from Rick Pitino, University of Louisville Men's Basketball Coach:

"I just want to make a statement. I want to say that the past seven months have been very difficult on the people I love. I made a decision seven months ago because of something I've preached to my players for the thirty-some-odd years I've been coaching. They've heard it for thirty-some-odd years and it goes like this: When you have a problem, if you tell the truth, your problem becomes a part of your past. If you lie, it becomes a part of your future. I made a very difficult decision to tell the truth to the federal authorities, the local authorities, the university officials and most importantly, the people that love me the most: my family and friends."

"A grand jury indictment is a very serious thing and I have not commented on it for that reason. I have not said anything to any of you about any of it. But I am here today because I've personally apologized to my family every single day. For all of us, our families - our wife and our children - and mine in particular, make the sun rise for me every morning. They are highly principled people that are very strong morally and very strong fundamentally and I let them down with my indiscretion six years ago. I'm sorry for that and I've told them that every single day."

"But I want to tell more than just them that. I want to tell my extended family, which is all of my players, recruits who believe in me, families who have believed in me, that I'm sorry for that indiscretion six years ago. You as professionals who have covered me for 16 years, I want to apologize to you as professionals for that indiscretion six years ago."

"Besides my apology to the university -- and in particular to Tom Jurich and Dr. Ramsey, who have been very strong with me throughout this period -- I also apologize to my extended family, which is all of the fans. I came here at a very difficult time. When 9/11 hit, you needed a community to get you over it. In New York City, it was easy because everybody knew the devastation of that and they got each other over it. In Louisville, the impact wasn't felt like New York City, but I needed this community to help me get over it. The university officials and my friends and loved ones have helped me through this very difficult time."

"I will continue to cooperate with the authorities as I have from day one. I believe in the judicial system and I won't comment anymore on that. I hope that the trial comes quickly and we can do what all of you should be doing at this period in time: celebrating a BIG EAST Championship and a wonderful season where we once again finished in the Elite Eight with very dedicated players who paid the price to reach that pinnacle."

"The second thing I'm going to do, besides be quiet about the indictment, is that I plan on accomplishing one thing that is very, very important to me. I plan, regardless of how difficult a situation this is, to coach here at the University of Louisville for as long as I physically can maintain the passion I have for the game of basketball, which is still stronger than when I was a head coach at 24 years of age. I love the game. I love my players. I love this university as well as this community. I won't coach anywhere else. I don't believe in anything as much as I believe in this university and this state. So, as long as they'll have me, I'm going to coach here. I'm not a spring chicken, but I'm certainly not over the hill. I intend on recruiting the best athletes and the best people to this program and going a little farther than those Elite Eights in the many years to come. So I thank you as professionals. I know there are much more pleasant things we'd like to talk about, but I do want to apologize once again to my loving family, my wife and university officials, as well as the extended family with all of my players and the great fans we have here at the University of Louisville. So thank you all very much."

Statement from Dr. James Ramsey, University of Louisville President:
Rick Pitino is the University of Louisville's basketball coach. He has been a role model for countless young people and a positive influence on this community.
Regardless of the truth or falsehood of specific actions that have been attributed to the coach, he's clearly made errors in judgment that have come under intense public scrutiny. We can't ignore these errors in judgment, and they have saddened and disappointed me. As we try to teach our students, when you make a mistake, you admit it and right it as best you can. Coach has done that today.
It's not an easy thing to come before the university community and all of you to admit mistakes and commit to do better. I know this has been difficult on the coach, it's been difficult on me, and difficult for our university. But as Coach Pitino and I discussed earlier today, this was the right thing for him to do.
We hope this closes this chapter; we're all ready to move on. Our university is recovering from a flood that shut down a large portion of our campus, preparing for the start of classes on August 24th, and getting ready to welcome the most academically talented freshman class in our history. We need to get back to our job of educating the next generation of Kentucky's leaders.

Statement from Tom Jurich, University of Louisville Vice-President and Director of Athletics:
As I said yesterday, Coach Pitino has been truthful with us about this matter all along and we stand by him and his family during this process. He's been diligent in his work as our men's basketball coach, despite a number of false rumors, reported inaccuracies and the difficulties this personal matter that happened six years ago has placed on him and his family. I'm a million percent behind him. I have great confidence in the federal court system that this matter will be addressed appropriately. I expect Coach Pitino to be the head coach at the University of Louisville for a long time.

Local Coach to Take Part in MLB Home Run Derby

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle Draper) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 23:44:00 +0000

Over the next few days the eyes of the baseball world will be on St. Louis, MO, site of Major League Baseball's midsummer night's classic. MLB's All-Star game is Tuesday but for a Louisville area baseball coach his night on the national stage comes Monday. Bellarmine University baseball coach Deron Spink will be lobbing pitches to Phillies slugger Ryan Howard in the Home Run Derby.

Spink and Howard go back to when Howard just graduated high school. That summer Spink coached the St. Louis native and the two remain close to this day. "We've remained friends over the years, and I've probably thrown (Howard) about a thousand pitches during that time," Spink said.

Report: Xavier Henry to Stay at Kansas

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle Draper) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 04:43:00 +0000

Radio station KCSP 610am in Kansas City reports late Tuesday night that highly touted recruit Xavier Henry will stick with his commitment to Kansas and not join the Kentucky Wildcats. Jeff Goodman of Foxsports.com, through his Twitter page, says Xavier texted him saying he was indeed sticking with the Jayhawks.

Earlier on Tuesday Henry's father, Carl, went on 610sports saying his son may be rethinking his decision to go to Kansas and instead may want to play for UK. That interview set off a firestorm of chatter on the world wide web. The elder Henry stated the family was to meet Tuesday night to discuss Xavier's future. Rivals.com reported Kansas coach Bill Self and assistant coach Danny Manning were also planning to meet with the family that night.

Xavier Henry is rated in the top 10 in the country by several websites. The Oklahoma City native originally committed to Memphis but when John Calipari left for UK he was let out of his letter of intent. Him and his older brother C.J., who was a walk on at Memphis, announced they would then transfer to Kansas. The possibility of Xavier Henry playing for the Cats presented itself again when Jodie Meeks was picked by the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA Draft, ending his career at Kentucky. Kentucky has 12 scholarship players on the roster. The NCAA limit is 13.

Talking Sports with WHAS11 on Twitter

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle Draper) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 13:59:00 +0000

I've been a sports broadcaster for about a decade now and the business is definitely changing. There used to be the day when all I had to do was worry about what to air on the 6:00 and 11:00 news. Then about 5 years ago blogging really took off. I was a little hesitant at first. I thought there's no way with all my job duties I would have time to blog. But as you can see I've pretty much gotten the hang of it.

Then two years or so ago Facebook was all the rage. I have to admit I jumped on the bandwagon and created my Facebook page. It's been a wonderful tool to catch up with old friends, discuss sports, and just meet new people.

But now the latest craze is Twitter. Once again I was reluctant to join but now that I'm on there I can't go a day without checking it. It's crazy how many celebrities, including local athletes, are tweeting constantly. From Shaquille O'Neal to John Calipari. From Alyssa Milano to Paris Hilton they're all posting tweets about the interesting things going on in their lives. It's a great way to get your message out and keep people updated on the latest sports news. So you can follow me on twitter right here. I've recruited my coworker Danielle Santoro to take up Twitter, so you can follow her also. And don't forget the mother ship, WHAS11, is tweeting so whether it's sports or news you can be the first to know by following us on twitter.

HBCU Football Comes To the Ville

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle Draper) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 05:05:00 +0000

There's a long history of quality football being played at historically black colleges and universities. Some of the biggest names to lace 'em up on the gridiron played for HBCU's. Jerry Rice played for Mississippi Valley State. Walter Payton suited up for Jackson State. Doug Williams, the only black quarterback to lead his team to a Super Bowl win while also winning the MVP, played under the late Eddie Robinson at Grambling State. Now HBCU football is coming to Louisville with the first ever Derby City Football Classic.

Saturday September 12th the Kentucky State Thorobreds will take on the Morehouse College Maroon Tigers at Central High School's football stadium. It's being billed as the Derby City Football Classic and the organizers say it's more than just a football game. The weekend will feature a Presidents' Meet and Greet, Battle of the Bands, Greek Step Show, and party.

Kick-off is set for 1:30 at Central Stadium. For more information just hit up the website DerbyCityFootballClassic.com

Dream Night for Clark and Williams

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle Draper) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 04:16:00 +0000

Thursday night will be like none other for former UofL basketball players Terrence Williams and Earl Clark. It's NBA Draft night and although they're like night and day, they'll share a common bond. Williams is Mr. Flamboyant. He seems to relish the spotlight. When you walk into a room he's the first one you notice. Clark is more subdued. He's soft spoken. He doesn't beat his chest much. But on Thursday night the two basketball talents who hail from opposite coast (Williams is from Seattle and Clark is from New Jersey) will become the first pair of Cardinals picked in the first round, in the same year, since Greg Minor (25th to the Clippers) and Clifford Rozier (16th to Golden State) did it back in 1994. All the mock drafts I've checked have Clark and Williams somewhere between picks 11 and 20. DraftExpress.com has Williams 12th to the Bobcats and Clark 14th to the Suns.

I had a chance to talk with Clark on the eve of the draft and you could tell this is something he's been waiting his entire life for. He says he's worked out for several teams including the Kings, Warriors, Pistons, Knicks and the Nets but he's not sure where he'll go. He said he's already looking past the draft, figuring out ways to get better and help whatever team drafts him. I asked him if he preferred to stay close to his east coast home and he said it doesn't matter. He's just happy to have the opportunity to get drafted.

One interesting thing we talked about is his consistency on the court. I asked him what's the one questions scouts and general managers are asking him and he said they want to know about his consistency. There's no doubt at times Clark can be a beast on the court. We all remember that dunk on Notre Dame's Luke Harangody this past season. But at times it seems like he's passive. when we talked during the season he said it may look like he's not playing hard, but that's not the case at all. He says he wants to win as much as the next person.

Check out the draft Thursday night at 7:00 on ESPN and watch WHAS-11 News at 10:00 and 11:00 for reaction from Williams, Clark and UK's Jodie Meeks.

UofL Basketball Alumni Social

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle Draper) — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 20:49:00 +0000

Some of the biggest names in UofL basketball will come together next Friday, June 26th at the Sports & Social Club in downtown Louisville. I'm hosting the first ever Larry O'Bannon Foundation Alumni Social. It should be a lot of fun and here's the release the foundation is putting out:

Louisville, Kentucky - June - Friday, June 26, 2009 from 7:00PM -10:00 PM Kyle Draper of WHAS 11 will host the 1st Larry O'Bannon Foundation Alumni Social Event. The event will be held at The Sports and Social Club located at 4th Street. This affair will bring together University of Louisville Basketball Alumni players to reunite, meet and greet with the community and local business leaders. The event will introduce the work of the Larry O'Bannon Foundation. Guest will enjoy hors d'oeuvres and cocktails while the foundation holds a silent auction, which benefits the foundation. Auction items include, University of Louisville coaches autograph basketball, Alumni Autograph basketball, Larry O'Bannon autograph basketball and autographed football, signed by Oakland Raider's Michael Bush and Kerry Rhodes of the New York Jets.

I'm looking forward to seeing all the former UofL stars get together to and reminisce about the good ol' days.

If you have an event you'd like me to be a part of just hit me up on my website http://kyle-draper.com/Event-Form.html

Louisville Community Day with the Reds

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle Draper) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 22:08:00 +0000

The Cincinnati Reds are rolling out the red carpet for Louisville area residents on July 5th when they take on the St. Louis Cardinals. The club is offering tickets at half price for select locations. Here's the full release from the Reds:

CINCINNATI (June 10, 2009) - The Cincinnati Reds and ESPN 1450 The Ticket have teamed up to offer Louisville area residents the chance to enjoy the excitement of Reds baseball at a special discount.
Louisville Community Day will take place on Sunday, July 5th as the Reds take on the St. Louis Cardinals at 1:10 pm at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, OH.
Louisville residents and those of surrounding areas can purchase half-price tickets for select seating locations.
Select youth league baseball teams from the Louisville area will march in a pregame parade around the field.
Tickets can be also purchased by visiting www.reds.com/Louisville. Fans can also pick up hard copy order forms by visiting the Louisville Bats ticket offices at Louisville Slugger Field.
Discount tickets must be purchased by Saturday July 4th to receive the Louisville Day discount. Discount tickets cannot be purchased at the box office on the day of the game.
For questions about Louisville Day, youth league parade, group seating, and scoreboard messages, contact Bart Conway at (859) 552-4524 or conway@reds.com.

Ralph Willard Joins Cards Staff as Assistant

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle Draper) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 19:35:00 +0000

It's official former UK assistant coach Ralph Willard has left Holy Cross to join Rick Pitino's staff at UofL. Here's the full release from the University of Louisville:

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Ralph Willard, whose 38 years of coaching experience include the last 10 as head men's basketball coach at Holy Cross, has joined the University of Louisville men's basketball staff as associate coach to Cardinals' head coach Rick Pitino. Willard, who also served as head coach for four seasons at Western Kentucky (1990-94) and five years at Pittsburgh (1994-99), has previously coached with Pitino at two others stops. Willard was an assistant under Pitino with the NBA New York Knicks (1987-89) and at the University of Kentucky (1989-90). "I've been pursuing Ralph for the last 10 years," said Pitino. "I can't tell you how excited we are that he has joined our staff and we are back together again. Ralph is truly one of the best minds in our game. I can't be happier for our players, our program, our university and our fans that such a quality coach and person has joined our U of L family." "Leaving my alma mater and the players at Holy Cross was obviously a difficult decision," said Willard. "However, the opportunity to work for U of L and coach with Rick is very special. I'm excited about tackling the challenges a great program like Louisville will present." Eight of Willard's collegiate teams won 20 or more games, including four that won as many as 25. His teams participated in
postseason competition on nine occasions, including six NCAA Tournament appearances. Willard compiled a 192-117 record in 10 seasons at Holy Cross, his alma mater, while guiding five teams to postseason competition (NCAA Tournament in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2007; NIT in 2005). Holy Cross advanced to the Patriot League tournament championship game seven of the last nine years and Willard had a 17-6 record in the event. Second in career coaching victories at Holy Cross, Willard built the Crusaders' program from one that had won just 22 games collectively in the three years prior to his arrival there. A three-time choice for the Patriot League Coach of the Year, he led the Crusaders to three straight league tournament titles in 2001-03, marking the first time in conference history that a team had accomplished that feat.

Willard gained his first collegiate head coaching position at Western Kentucky, where he produced an 81-42 record in four years. In his third season there in 1992-93, the Hilltoppers were 26-6, reached the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16, and achieved WKU's highest national ranking in 22 years (No. 16 ESPN/USA Today, No. 20 AP in the final polls). He was the head coach at Pittsburgh for five seasons, including finishing fifth in the BIG EAST in 1996-97 when his team produced an 18-15 mark. While at Pitt, Willard helped to develop a pair of NBA Draft picks in Mark Blount (Seattle SuperSonics) and Vonteego Cummings (Indiana Pacers). Prior to his first collegiate head coaching position in 1990, Willard compiled 19 years of coaching experience. After one year as an assistant at the Merchant Marine Academy (1971-72), he spent 13 years as the head coach of his high school alma mater, St. Dominic (Oyster Bay, N.Y.), where he posted a 162-89 mark. He received five conference coach of the year honors there and his 1980 squad won the New York Class B Championship with a 24-3 record. St. Dominic is also the high school alma mater of Pitino. He returned to the collegiate ranks in 1984 as an assistant coach at Hofstra, followed by a year on Jim Boeheim's staff at Syracuse, where he helped the 1986-87 Orangeman team reach the national championship game. Willard left the college game for two seasons to serve under Pitino with the Knicks, before following Pitino to Kentucky, where he served as the Wildcats' associate head coach for one season. A 1967 graduate of Holy Cross, Willard was a three-year letterwinner and served as the 1966-67 team captain as a senior when the Crusaders posted a 16-9 mark. Willard and his wife, Dorothy, have three children: Pamela, Keith, and Kevin, who is a former U of L assistant coach under Pitino (2001-07) and is currently the head men's basketball coach at Iona College.

Rhodes, Bush and Burton Putting on Football Camp

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle Draper) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 19:42:00 +0000

Former University of Louisville football players Michael Bush and Kerry Rhodes, along with former UK star Keenan Burton are hosting a free camp for kids ages 8-18 this Friday (June 10th) at the Oldham County Youth Football Complex. The camp runs from 8:00 am-1:00 pm.

The press release from the organizer states it's "an opportunity for NFL athletes who played their college football in and around the Louisville / Lexington area to give back to the community and a free opportunity for kids to learn the fundamentals of football from NFL superstars."

Bush currently plays for the NFL's Oakland Raiders, while Rhodes is with the New York Jets. Burton is set to play his second season with the St. Louis Rams. For more info on the camp just email nflcamp@franceathletes.com.

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle Draper) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 01:54:00 +0000

Former Western Kentucky Hilltopper star Courtney Lee has scored close to 800 points (regular season and playoffs) in his NBA career. At Western he averaged 17.6 points and scored more than 2200 in his career. But it's the two points he didn't make on Sunday night that may haunt him forever.

With the scored tied at 88 and 0.6 seconds left on the clock Lee had a chance to even up the Orlando Magic series with the Lakers. But instead of being a hero Lee turned out to be the goat. He missed an alley-oop lay-up to win the game and the Lakers went on to win in overtime and take control of the series. For a guy who has scored so many points on the hardwood to miss that critical of a shot is kind of unbelievable. Lee has to make that shot. I don't care if he is a rookie. I don't care if the timing was off on the pass. He had a look to win the game and blew it.

Those in Lee's corner will say he was partially under the backboard when he caught it. They'll say the pass was off a little bit. They'll even try to make the argument Pau Gasol should have been called for goaltending for getting his fingers caught in the net and rim. I say cry me a river. Lee is a professional. He's one of the best players in the world. He's hit big shots before. He's supposed to make that one.

It was a perfectly drawn up play by magic coach Stan Van Gundy and Lee blew it. As Van Gundy said after the game, "We executed well. Hedo made a great pass and we missed it. I don't really know. I'm not trying to be a pain in the butt. I just don't know what else to say about it. It was a great pass. He was right there and he missed it." That's about it all right. Lee missed it but in all honesty if the Magic are to win the series he had to make that shot.

UK Responds with Lawsuit Against Gillispie

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle Draper) — Thu, 28 May 2009 19:35:00 +0000

A day after former University of Kentucky basketball coach Billy Gillispie filed a lawsuit against the UK Athletics Association seeking six million dollars in buyout money, the university responds with a suit of their own. Below is a release from UK sent out this afternoon.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 28, 2009) − Today, the University of Kentucky announced that it has filed a suit in Franklin Circuit Court, where all contract matters involving state agencies must be adjudicated, seeking a declaration of the respective rights and obligations under its Memorandum of Understanding with former coach Billy Gillispie that was signed on April 6, 2007. UK contends that repeated efforts to reach a definitive long-term employment contract were rejected by Gillispie, therefore the MOU is not an enforceable contract, and no "cause" was required for its termination of him. These are questions of law which we hope can be determined without much delay.
It is unfortunate that Mr. Gillispie has sued the UK Athletics Association, a nonprofit supporting foundation that was not his employer, in Federal Court in Texas. Mr. Gillispie was a university employee, and the volunteer Board of the UKAA serves
the university in a valuable, but purely advisory capacity. The decision to terminate Mr. Gillispie's employment was a university decision. UKAA will vigorously seek the dismissal of the Texas lawsuit. The university is the proper party to any suit, not UKAA, and the university will rely upon the allegations of its Franklin Circuit Court complaint as the true version of this contract dispute.

UK Releases Statement Regarding Memphis Allegations

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle Draper) — Thu, 28 May 2009 05:04:00 +0000

The NCAA has served the University of Memphis basketball program with a notice of allegations that could result in major violations. The alleged violations are said to have occurred when current UK coach John Calipari was head coach. According to the Memphis Commercial Appeal a player on the 2007-2008 squad allegedly had someone else take his SAT test for him. If the claims are proved to be true then Memphis could have to vacant its run to the NCAA title game.

The NCAA is also alleging the associate of a player on the team was allowed to travel with the team for free to some road games. The Commercial Appeal reports that's worth as much as $2,260.

UK released a statement in response late Wednesday :

STATEMENT FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY
First and foremost, there are no NCAA allegations against UK Head Men's Basketball Coach John Calipari. Coach Calipari was forthcoming with the University of Kentucky during the hiring process about any issues under investigation at the University of Memphis at that time.It is normal procedure for the NCAA to ask a former coach to participate in a hearing. Therefore, Coach Calipari will participate as requested.Coach John Calipari has received a letter from the NCAA stating that he is not at risk of being charged with any NCAA violations in this case.This is a University of Memphis issue and the University of Kentucky will not comment any further.

UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY MEN'S BASKETBALL COACH JOHN CALIPARI
"Even though I'm not at risk, I will fully cooperate with the NCAA hearing. Beyond that, I concur with the statement from the University of Kentucky and will have no further comment."

Cards Open Up Regional Play vs. Indiana

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle Draper) — Mon, 25 May 2009 17:01:00 +0000

The Louisville Cardinal baseball team will host NCAA Regional play at Jim Patterson Stadium beginning on Friday. The Big East champion Cards (44-15) first day opponent will be the Big Ten champion Indiana Hoosiers (32-25). Louisville won both meetings with the Hoosiers this season; 15-1 at Patterson Stadium and 10-8 in Bloomington.

The other teams in the Louisville regional are Vanderbilt (34-25) and Middle Tennessee (43-16). The last time Louisville hosted a regional was 2007 when they advanced to the College World Series in Omaha, NE. Each bracket is double elimination. The first game is Friday at noon at Jim Patterson Stadium.

Calipary Talks Expectations, Midnight Madness, and A Whole Lot More

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle Draper) — Wed, 13 May 2009 18:55:00 +0000

UK head basketball coach John Calipari held a press conference on Wednesday to discuss a number of topics. Here's the transcript of what he had to say:

Q: Can you talk about Patrick Patterson and his decision to come back?
“I’m excited about it. When I talked to him afterwards I thought that he was fabulous in the press conference. I was blown away by his maturity and his thought
process that went into it. When he called me I was doing a clinic in Vegas and I said, ‘Tell me why you want to come back,’ and after he told me the reasons, I said, 'Perfect.’ If that is what you want to do I am all for it. I told his mother and father that I wanted them to understand that he and I had two conversations with him and Jodie together and not once did I tell him that he needed to come back. I told him that he needed to explore and do what he needed to do and that I would be here for him. I did not coach him into coming back, because if he came back I wanted him to know that he is coming back for himself and to help the university. I was proud of him.”

Q: What do you think about Patrick not even going through the process of a NBA workout?
“Do you know why he said he didn’t want to do? Because I asked him that, he said,
‘Because I know what I want to do and I don’t want to drag anybody out. I don’t want to do it to the NBA teams or to you.’ Think about that, how about that one?
I asked the same question, why don’t you go workout for a couple of teams? He said, ‘Why do that, why waste their time and mine? I want to come back.’ I was smiling on the other end of the phone, but I am looking at him saying ‘wow.’ This was very thought out and he did not just say, ‘I want to come back.’”

Q: Coach, you have been here for a couple of weeks no. Can you talk about if there are any surprises that you have found about Lexington or the job?
“I think that I have been here 40 days, it seems like ten. I have been at work speed and in the time machine in what I have been doing. The one thing that has struck me and really hit me in the head is that this is like Seattle, it rains every day. It has rained 30 days out of 40. I got off the plane and was like, ‘Are we in Seattle, where are we?’ So they tell me that it doesn’t always rain like that here, but they also told me in Massachusetts that it didn’t always snow like that either.”

Q: It has been a while since we have talked to you, and you have signed a couple of players since then. Can you talk about Darnell (Dodson) and Eric (Bledsoe) a little bit more?
“I am very excited about both of those guys. I think that the class that we have
coming in thus far is a class that can help us and is filled with good young people that are driven to do what they are suppose to do and driven to win championships and play. We are filling the needs that the team has. I am excited about all the kids. I am excited about Jon (Hood) and Daniel (Orton) too. I have seen them enough that I think that they will help guide us to the direction we want to take things.”

Q: Can you talk more about Eric (Bledsoe)?
“He reminds me of the point guard I had at Memphis, Antonio Burks. When I recruit players, I want to make sure that they play big and are big. If a guy is 6-foot-4 and plays 6-foot-2, then he is not big. If a guy is 6-foot and plays 6-foot-5, then he is big. Antonio played bigger than his size, he was 5-foot-10 and Eric is probably 6-foot-1 maybe, but he plays big. He is fast and very physically strong and tough. He has great vision on the court, and in this offense you have to be able to react. Everything that we do in the drills and teach is trying to get them to react better and to keep their heads up and recognize what is happening to them. Some guys never get it, they just can’t. They have to run plays and set screens, but he is one that gets it. He just gets it.”

Q: Could you talk about who you have been impressed with in workouts?
“I was worried about some of the players and then each time they got better and tried to pick it up. I was worried also about how coachable all these players are and if they were going to pick up how we were going to play and how to be on the floor. I was really impressed with Patrick and I put him in the same position as I played Robert Dozer a couple of years ago and he did things that I had no idea he could do. One of the things was that I didn’t realize how fast he was. He is really fast. He hasn’t always run fast though. Last year, Tyreke Evan’s mother called him and said, ‘I didn’t realize you were that fast.’ She had seen him his whole life and he never ran as fast as he could; he just ran. Now he is sprinting and she is saying, ‘Geez you are fast.’ With Patrick, it kind of hit me where there were a couple of plays that he just took off and I was like, ‘Whoa, I didn’t know you could run like that.’ He also shoots the ball better than I thought, and handles it and passes it better than I thought.”

Q: Coach, you said in you opening press conference that this turnover won’t happen overnight, but with all of these recruits coming in the fan base is getting excited.
“We will calm them down don’t worry, it is not that time yet but we will calm them down. You are going to have people that will say that we are going to be the national champion and they are No. 1 or No. 2, but I have done this too long, so it doesn’t have any effect on me at all. It’s not going to put more pressure on us. Can you do that at Kentucky? I am not buying it. Half of the team is going to be new players that have never played college basketball; the other half has never played this style. So to say that we are going to be one of the best teams in the country, and Dicky V(itale) is out there saying stuff; and he never embellishes ever. We have a ways to go and this is going to be a step at a time. What you are going to be finding out is that in September and November, balls are going to be playing everywhere and they will be questioning how we are playing. All of a sudden it will hit January and we will have a couple of breakout games and they will say, ‘Oh my goodness.’ Then it hits February and we aren’t turning the ball over as much and we are shooting better and still running people into the ground and that is how you are playing. Then by March you are playing your best basketball. If you asked me how my vision of what it will look like, it will look something like that.”

Q: You have talked a lot about Jodie and Patrick and their workouts, but could you talk about some of the other players that you have been impressed with?
“Darius (Miller) has played well, and Josh (Harrellson) has played well. Perry (Stevenson) has done some things that we had to stop practice and the whole team clapped for him, because he did some things that they haven’t even seen him do. Kevin (Galloway) and DeAndre (Liggins) are completely out of control. Your feet have to move really fast in this offense, like really fast, like a duck where your feet are moving really fast under water, but above the water it is really smooth, but when their (Kevin and DeAndre) feet move really fast, their minds move fast as well. That is all about being coached and drilled. They have the mentality to take the ball to the rim and drive the way I want, but right now they would run over cheerleaders, fans
and officials.”

Q: Can you tell us some of the players that might not be back next season?
“I don’t know. There are some guys that we will sit down with and talk to, but I haven’t really sat down with any of the players that way. We told them to get everything settled with academics, and put everything together and the guys have played enough to know how they fit in and where they fit in.”

Q: When are you going to let them know so that they can plan for the future and where they go next?
“We will do stuff here in the near future. I just got back into town and they just got done with finals. They will have time and whatever happened for all of them, I want
this to be a situation for them and that we are all being fair and doing the right thing.”
Q: What are your thoughts on walk-ons? I think that they had five to seven last year.
“We had a football team when I first got here. I have never seen so many players on a basketball court at one time. My focus is going to be on the 10, 11 or 12 that are really going to be playing. We will have walk-ons, but I am not going to keep seven walk-ons I will tell you that. I have always had walk-ons earn scholarships. Chance McGrady who just graduated, was one of the best teammates I have ever coached. He earned his scholarship because he was a great teammate, but he was a great player too. He was not as good as the rest of our guys, but he could have played Division I. I want to continue to do that, there are guys out there that have always dreamed of playing for Kentucky and hopefully you can help a couple of kids accomplish those dreams, just not seven.”

Q: Coach, can you talk about Daniel Orton and is your entire incoming freshman class eligible to play?
“To be eligible, you have to first be graduated and turn in everything. Most high schools have not graduated yet, so until that happens nobody is through the clearinghouse so they are not eligible. Having said that, if you ask me all the kids that we have signed will get through the clearinghouse. That is my opinion, but I am not sitting there evaluating all the stuff. I have done it long enough though that I know how things work.

“Daniel Orton is going to be terrific, because he has great size, really long arms and he is skilled. You can play him inside, or outside and he is a terrific passer. He is
not a guy that you have to say, ‘Oh my god, he doesn’t have the skills to be in the way they play,’ because he does. He also has the skills that if you want to play two big guys you can. There is DeMarcus (Cousins) that you can play with him and together. I am watching Boston right now and what they are doing with their two big guys. If you spread them out on the court, they are not guarded. (Celtic coach) Doc (Rivers) and I have talked about the motion offense and he has run different portions of it. He is doing things with two big guys running at the ball and I am watching it, because we have an opportunity to, at times, play two big players at one time and maybe we play a little zone. You have an opportunity to play two guys that are big because they are really fast, aggressive and skilled.”

Q: Coach, there is a story out at USC that has broke over the last couple of days, is there an inherited danger in recruiting top players?
“I didn’t read the story, but in my opinion we shouldn’t have summer recruiting. I have said that for years, we don’t need it. We need to get it back into the high schools and should do what football coaches do, which is take a month off and shut it down. Nothing, no calls nothing. We should put it back in the high schools, while they are there. Some of the smaller schools say, ‘Well I have to go and it saves money if I can
see 150 kids at one time.’ OK, so you are at Morehead State and you go see a kid
and South Carolina and Clemson loses a guy and a guy that you thought you could
get a Morehead State is now going to South Carolina because they saw him at the
same event you saw him. But if you are at Morehead State and you go see a kid in
season, then you will get that guy because he hasn’t had as much exposure. I asked a friend of mine that coaches at Drexel, a former assistant, ‘How did you get this guy he is really good?’ He said, ‘He didn’t go onto the circuit, he was injured.’ That is my point. I think that it would be good for everyone. We don’t need to be recruiting in the summer. I would like to be like a father and be at home. I end up being the cardboard cutout. They tell me what gym to go to and I do the presidential wave and stand there. I have already seen the kid five times but I have to go across country so he sees me watching him. He sees me, I see him, and he sees me watching him as I see him watching me. I already know if he can play or not. They keep shorting it, so now in seven days we have to do what we did in 18 days. Now the kid truly wants to see me Vegas and Orlando and New York and Chicago. In one day I have to hit four cities. I’m in the time machine again. One coach and I’m not going to mention his name – I may as I keep talking about it – he says, ‘I don’t even go. I call the kid and say it was nice seeing you. I was up top. You really looked good and played your butt off.’ The assistant was probably out there and calls him and tells him how he plays.”

Q: What will Tony Delk and Scott Padgett’s job will be?
“They are going to be ‘coaches-in-training.’ They will be part of our family and watching what we are doing and learning. They will be a part of our camps and clinics and that kind of stuff. Basically, be learning and if they do a good job and create their own niche in what they are doing and one of my assistants get a job, they hire them or I hire them. We will have a retreat here, and there will be 40 or so NBA and college coaches that come and that is where I meet Tony last year. Mike Woodson and he have gotten close; Mike is one of our family of coaches. Tony is going to have an opportunity to be in the NBA or college, but he just wants to get started. A lot like Rod Strickland did.”

Q: What about this midnight madness in Commonwealth Stadium…
“You guys have got to tell me, can we do it? (Crowd says yes and laughs.) You say that, but listen. The average weather in that time period is from 50-to-66 degrees, what if it is 50? (Media member says, ‘I don’t care if it is 10 degrees.) Yeah, you don’t care because you have a coat on; I’m talking about the guys that are running around up and down out there on the court. Here is what I would like to do and you will get to know me, I am usually outside of the box where you just shake your head and leave and say, ‘This guy is out of his mind.’ I would like to do it on the football stadium and you get 70,000 people there and have the weather be perfect and have Ashley Judd come and Justin Timberlake and other celebrities come and you make it an hour and a half of fun. The thing is on the players though, I don’t like doing the rapping and the dancing and all that. Look, we are going to do some drills; you are going to see them play and introduce them and that is it. It is about them, not them being stupid. It is seeing them. Weather wise, you put a court down and all of a
sudden it might rain. There are some things that are going on. I am throwing it
at the athletic department to say will it work. What happens if it is nice and then it gets bad? Can we then go down to Rupp? How do you do that? It is harder than you think, but I let everyone else deal with the hard stuff and I come up with the ideas.”

Q: What about the schedule …
“We are winding it down. We still have two games to schedule, but the rest of it is pretty much laid out. We are working on next year. I have some stuff going on that will be unbelievable if we can get it done. We are trying to move one game in Louisville and play at another neutral site. Texas has called and wants to play a neutral site game in Houston. We are thinking about Cincinnati, but you really want to protect your home fans in Lexington and make sure they have games. You may want to shove a game into Nashville at some point. It may not be a bad game as a
neutral site. I like neutral site games for all of you to understand because what I like to do is split tickets. You get half of the tickets and we get half of the tickets. The reason is that is an NCAA venue, which is what the NCAA is. You are not playing a road game in the NCAA tournament. It will be half and half. We did play one, we played UCLA in California. We were the higher seed but they had 17,000 and we had 1,500. I would love to get a team that would agree to play us in Louisville every year and split the tickets. That would be my preference because every year you know that is the team that we are playing and you don’t have to worry about other things.”

Rick Pitino Statement Regarding Coaching Rumors

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle Draper) — Sat, 09 May 2009 17:05:00 +0000

UofL head basketball coach Rick Pitino has been linked to the Sacramento Kings coaching job but today he issued his strongest denial saying he has not contacted nor been contacted by the Kings. Here's the statement from UofL:

"I'm not sure how these rumors get started, but there is absolutely
no truth that there has been any dialog, either directly or indirectly, with the
Kings and I'm sure they would confirm that. I am not represented by an
agent, I don't have a "camp," and no one representing me nor have I had any
contact with the Kings. Anything else said to the contrary is false.
These invalid rumors are unfair to the Kings and are misleading to the many
outstanding young men we are recruiting to attend U of L.

"I'm so proud of our players that have worked so hard to win the
BIG EAST Conference regular season and tournament championships in arguably the
toughest season since its inception last year. At the same time, our team
has also performed very well in the classroom, earning a collective team grade
point average over a 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) during the past year. We have
worked extremely hard to attract the type of players that have helped us reach
the NCAA Elite Eight the past two seasons and have kept us among the top ten in
the nation the last two seasons.

"I have great respect for the Kings, their ownership and (President for Basketball Operations) Geoff Petrie. However, I have been totally committed to U of L the past eight seasons and I am looking forward to the future more than ever. We are all very anxious for the start of next season and will concentrate our efforts on what we can control, not on what we can't."

Topsy Turvy 24 Hours in Horse Racing

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle Draper) — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 02:13:00 +0000

Horse racing can be a cruel game and in a span of 24 hours I learned how cruel it could be. I've been heading out to Churchill Downs every day for the past week or so, covering the horses running in the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks. It's the 7th year I've been on the backside and I feel comfortable covering the sport. But on Monday I wondered if it was all too much.

First came the news that Florida Derby winner Quality Road would not run in the Derby. He had been battling a quarter crack injury for the last few weeks. He had missed some training time and on Monday trainer Jimmy Jerkins decided not to send him out for his final work before the Derby and instead took him out of the running. These kinds of things happen all the time. Horses are such fragile animals it would be wrong to race them if they weren't a hundred percent.

On Tuesday Doug O'Neill decided to pull his colt, Square Eddie, out of the run for the roses with sore shins. It's an injury that caused him to miss about three months of training before, but from March on he had been sound and ok to run. But after a workout this weekend his shins were hot and remained so for the next couple of days so O'Neill decided to give him some rest and skip the Derby. Once again these things happen and O'Neill and the owner made the right decision.

But what happened Monday after the renovation break, at around 8:45am was a freak accident. A horse trained by David Caroll dumped its rider and got loose on the front stretch. As Kenny McPeek's filly was turning around the Carroll horse rammed into the back of McPeek's horse sending the two horses and the jockeys sprawling to the ground. It was an ugly sight and my heart dropped immediately.

I've never seen a horse accident in person, and watching the two horses trying to get up brought tears to my eyes. I just thought to myself, let them be ok. But they weren't ok. The filly later had to be put down and I haven't received an update on the Carroll horse. But that freak accident brought to life for me that these horses are animals. I couldn't imagine something terrible happening to my two dogs or cat. I wonder if the trainers or owners, who spend hours each day with these horses feel the same way. Do they have a strong emotional bond with the horses?

All three incidents happened within about a 24 hour span. With the Run for the Roses just days away let's hope for smooth sailing, and that each horse remains healthy.

Charges Brought Against Karen Sypher in Rick Pitino Extortion Case

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle Draper) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 22:00:00 +0000

I haven't seen the affidavit yet but Karen Sypher has been charged for her role in the Rick Pitino extortion case. Here's the statement I received from Pitino attorney Steve Pence:

"Last week, my client, Coach Rick Pitino, issued a statement disclosing that he had reported an extortion attempt against himself and his family to the FBI. Today, the United States brought criminal charges against the perpetrator of this scheme. While Coach Pitino takes no comfort in this prosecution and remains astonished by these events, it marks a turning point that allows him to focus with a clear mind once again on his family and his team. Coach Pitino is grateful for the support so many people have shown him in recent days. Given that this is a federal criminal prosecution in which we are cooperating, I have directed Coach Pitino not to comment any further about this case. Any inquiries should be referred to the United States Attorney's Office or to me."

Statement From UofL Equipment Manager

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle Draper) — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 14:48:00 +0000

Here's an update to the alleged extortion attempt against Cards coach Rick Pitino. The person making allegations against and allegedly trying to extort money from Coach Pitino is Karen Sypher the estranged wife of basketball equipment manager Tim Sypher. Early Sunday morning the University of Louisville released a statement from Tim Sypher.

Statement from Tim Sypher, University of Louisville men's basketball equipment manager:

"I am devastated by the bizarre allegations that my estranged wife is making against both Coach Pitino and myself. At this point, my primary concern is for my young daughter and four stepsons, both to the impact of their mother's actions on them, as well as the impact on Coach's family and the University. I love my children, and want to protect them. At the same time, I intend to defend the allegations vigorously and will have no additional comment at this time. "