Sunday Morning News and Views...

I'm so glad ESPN kept Barry Booker around for the SEC Network games. It wouldn't be the same without him. The former Vandy great just offers the very best commentary on all things SEC basketball, even though he now does it from the sports desk and not the sidelines. While I think Mark Gottfried has done a pretty good job, I'd much rather have the rhythmic styles of Barry Booker any day.

Well, now that that random introduction is over, let's get down to the news and views of the morning. First of all, it was nice seeing our boys in blue dominate a team that it's supposed to dominate. As good as we are, we've failed to do what we did yesterday on a regular basis, so the LSU game was a positive sign of what's hopefully to come in the second half of the SEC schedule.

Next up is Alabama on Tuesday night in Rupp Arena. The Crimson Tide fell to Ole Miss on the road today. While no where near as bad as LSU, Alabama is only 3-6 in the SEC and will be a heavy underdog against the Cats. Let's hope for another beatdown by the Cats.

Also around the SEC today, Tennessee blew out South Carolina, which makes our only loss of the season look worse. They were able to do what we couldn't by keeping Devan Downey in check. Brian Williams rejoined the team today, meaning that three of the four players that were busted on January 1 are once again available to play. Forward Tyler Smith was the only player to be permanently dismissed from the team.

Elsewhere in the land of college basketball, the Cats were closer to reclaiming #1 than what people realize. #1 Kansas got all they wanted from Nebraska and #2 Villanova lost to Georgetown. Kansas found themselves down by four in the second half before Kansas turned up the pressure and the Huskers simply ran out of gas. Meanwhile, the Hoyas dominated Nova, meaning Kentucky will most likely bump up to number 2 in the new rankings on Monday.

Also on Monday is another test for #1, as Kansas takes on Texas for a Big Monday match up on ESPN. This game won't have quite the luster most thought it might when Texas was #1 and Kansas #2 just a few weeks ago. Texas has lost 4 of their last 6 and are in danger of falling out of the top ten for the first time this season. Still, the Longhorns are talented and are more than capable of knocking off the Jayhawks, and I for one hope they do. While being #1 has been a bit of a curse so far this season, it'd still be cool to see Kentucky back on top. What can I say? I like to live dangerously.

Well, time to wrap this up. Apparently there is some sort of football game going on today, and my wife invited people over to watch it. I guess I better find something for them to eat.