Culture
Former UK Baseball Coach Cohen is Lauded, Polk Criticized
http://www.aseaofblue.com/2008/6/8/548232/former-uk-baseball-coach-c
It seems that the debacle caused by outgoing coach Ron Polk over Mississippi State's selection of former UK baseball coach John Cohen is not being well received by the MSU faithful nor the local media in Mississippi, and that is good.
Despite the respect and admiration Polk had earned over almost 30 years as the MSU baseball coach, very few people in and around the program seem to be buying into Polk's tirade at incoming MSU Athletics Director Greg Byrne. John Clay has a post detailing a response from Rick Cleveland of the Clarion-Ledger, long-time MSU columnist and self-confessed fan of Polk. Cleveland correctly takes Polk to task for his outrageous comments, calling them " ... wrong, wrong, wrong."
Honestly, I had never heard of Polk before the other day. Baseball might as well be a brand-new sport to the Big Blue Nation, as Wildcat baseball has had so few followers around here that it could have just been invented this decade instead of sometime in he 1800's. But because of Cohen's outstanding work with the absolutely downtrodden baseball program at Kentucky, we now know it is possible to create a winner here in the Bluegrass, and it seems to me that Mitch Barnhart is determined to do just that. The fact that fans are starting to come around is a sign something good is happening to the UK baseball program, something we all hope can be continued.
For Cohen's part, there was simply no amount of money that could have kept him at Kentucky, and when that happens, you just have to stand aside and congratulate the man. Reading this press conference transcript convinced me that nothing Barnhart could have offered him would have enticed him to stay, very much as nothing TAMU could have offered Billy Gillispie would have enticed him to stay when UK came calling. Coaches have dream jobs, and when a dream job is offered, you take it 100% of the time unless your name is Billy Donovan.
SeaofBlue.com
6/8/08
Incoming Rivals Top-150 recruits…
http://sechoopsgoodbaddirty.wordpress.com/2008/06/07/incoming-rivals-top-150-recruits/
To begin to grasp some amount of perspective regarding who is returning for this coming SEC season, I thought now [just before the NBA draft] a good time to review which SEC schools will be bringing in the top talent out of high-school. Here’s a current listing of committed players…
* #5 overall - Scotty Hopson - Tennessee (6?5?, 185lb. - Shooting Guard)
Offers: Tennessee, Texas, Cincinatti, Kentucky, Louisville, Mississippi State
- “Bouncy wing with a ton of upside”
* #21 overall - Jamychal Green - Alabama (6?8?, 225lb. - Power Forward)
Offers: Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Marquette, Ole Miss, Virginia
- “Athletic forward with developing skills”
* #26 overall - Eloy Vargas - Florida (6?10?, 210lb. - Power Forward)
Offers: Florida, Florida State, Louisville, Miami-FL, Pittsburgh, Clemson
- “A skilled forward”
* #27 overall - Kenny Kadji - Florida (6?10?, 240lb. - Center/Forward)
Offers: Florida, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Kansas State, Memphis, Connecticut
- “Long, athletic forward”
* #28 overall - DeAndre Liggins - Kentucky (6?5?, 190lb. - Point Guard/Forward)
Offers: Kentucky, Memphis, Illinois, Kansas
- “Point forward with strong passing skills”
* #30 overall - Howard Thompkins - Georgia (6?8?, 225lb. - Power Forward)
Offers: Georgia, Georgia Tech, Michigan State, Florida, Florida State
- “A very skilled power forward”
* #38 overall - Tony Mitchell - Alabama (6?6?, 185lb. - Small Forward)
Offers: Alabama, Cincinatti, Clemson, Georgia, South Carolina
- “Athletic forward who puts up numbers”
SEC Hoops: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly
6/7/08
‘Boxed’ in a corner, Tigers fight back
http://www.sunherald.com/246/story/612261.html
Alex Box Stadium seemed ready for its last rites. California Irvine is a fundamentally sound team, and the LSU Tigers were laboring through one meek at bat after another.
The Anteaters had already taken Game 1 of this NCAA super regional, by an impressive 11-5 count, and they held a five-run lead into the top of the eighth inning Sunday afternoon.
With Omaha in their sight
Then again...
"We are never going to quit," LSU's Blake Dean said.
The Tigers started to buckle down. Jared Mitchell unloaded a leadoff home run in the eighth. LSU drew another run closer on Matt Clark's bloop single to right field. But the Anteaters had finally turned to their ace reliever, Eric Pettis.
LSU still trailed by three runs.
Somehow, though, the Tigers found the strength to follow their mantra. They loaded the bases in the ninth. They tied the game on a walk and a sharp ground ball. And then they did something they've never done before.
LSU overcame a ninth-inning deficit to win in NCAA Tournament play at Alex Box, which is in its 70th and final season. The Tigers scored five times in the top of the ninth to edge UC Irvine 9-7, and force a winner-take-all game tonight for a berth in the College World Series.
"I can honestly tell you that everyone in that dugout believed we could do it," LSU coach Paul Mainieri said.
SunHerald.com
6/9/08
Cohen thanks mentor Polk but adds veiled shot
http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008806080339
STARKVILLE — Ron Polk made waves Friday, making demands, among other things, that his name be taken off Mississippi State's home field.
Just how those demands will be met in the Mississippi State administration remains to be seen.
Incoming MSU athletic director Greg Byrne wouldn't comment on whether he'd fill Polk's demands Saturday afternoon, saying the attention should belong to John Cohen - who was hired Saturday to replace Polk.
Polk, 64, coached his last game at MSU last month after announcing his retirement in March. He had strongly endorsed his top assistant, Tommy Raffo, to take over.
Cohen didn't shy away from the Polk issue, addressing it in the opening statement at Saturday's press conference.
"I want to thank Ron Polk," Cohen said. Then he paused. "I wouldn't be standing right here right now if not for Ron Polk."
But Cohen appeared to take a veiled shot at Polk, a longtime antagonist of the NCAA, later on.
ClarionLedger.com
6/7/08
Polk’s harsh opposition unfair to Byrne, Cohen
http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008806080347
John Cohen has accepted his dream job, the one he always has wanted.
Nothing wrong with that. Who wouldn't?
Greg Byrne did what he was charged to do: Hire the best baseball coach possible at Mississippi State. Certainly nothing wrong with that. From here, it looks like Byrne belted a grand slam.
But Ron Polk threw Byrne and Cohen, his former player, under the bus, tarnishing nearly a lifetime of splendid service to college baseball. Polk had publicly supported his assistant (and Cohen's former teammate) Tommy Raffo for the job. Byrne hired Cohen, a former National Coach of the Year, instead.
Longtime readers of this column know of my respect for Polk and all he has achieved. This time, however, he is wrong, wrong, wrong.
To their credit, Byrne and Cohen Saturday stayed above the fray. They chose not to get down in the mud with Polk. Both received loud, prolonged ovations from a huge crowd of State supporters at a news conference at the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. Interestingly, cheers for Byrne were every bit as loud as those for Cohen.
Clarion Ledger.com
6/8/08
For Cohen, a dream come true
http://www.djournal.com/pages/story.asp?ID=274582&pub=1&div=Sports
By Gregg Ellis
Daily Journal
STARKVILLE - Why leave Kentucky? Why now? After all, he had built the program into a national contender practically overnight, and was about to welcome one of the top recruiting classes in the country to campus this fall.
And had he stayed to continue the rebuilding process, he would have received a pay increase that would have made him one of the highest paid coaches in all of college baseball.
Those were some of the issues John Cohen faced this past Thursday night as he sat down with his family and weighed the pros and cons of leaving Kentucky for Mississippi State.
And they were certainly questions he entertained Saturday afternoon when he was officially introduced as the Bulldogs’ 15th head coach in school history, replacing Ron Polk.
But rather than provide his own take as to why the timing was right for change, he felt his wife, Nelle, summed it up best in a conversation he overheard her having with her sister, Alice, explaining the decision to return to Mississippi State.
"She said, 'The greatest musicians want to play at Carnegie Hall, and Dudy Noble Field is the Carnegie Hall of college baseball,'" Cohen recalled.
And with that, the 200 people in attendance at the Bryan Building erupted with cheers, while at the same time Nelle, who was sitting with daughters Jordan Baker and Avery Lawson, fought back tears.
For Cohen, who leaves Kentucky after five years, 175 wins and the school’s first SEC title, it was all about coming home.
Growing up in nearby Tuscaloosa, Ala., he played baseball for the Bulldogs under Polk from 1988-90 and has always dreamed of returning to campus one day as the man in charge of the program.
Well, that day is today.
Northeast Daily Journal
6/8/08
Budget bill would cover Saints and Hornets shortfalls
http://www.wdam.com/Global/story.asp?S=8437772&nav=menu123_1
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - The House budget committee agreed that Louisiana should pay the New Orleans Saints and Hornets $26 million in state surplus cash to meet the state's contractual obligations.
The dollars for the pro sports teams are tucked into a budget bill that received approval Thursday from the House Appropriations Committee.
If the state doesn't meet the payments required by the contracts, the Saints and Hornets could leave the city.
Reasons for the shortfall include lower-than-projected revenue from the New Orleans area hotel tax and the state's inability to sell naming rights to the dome.
WDAM.com
6/7/08
