Monday Evening Random Tidbits...

Gomez here with some random notes...

First of all, a shout out to the very funny John C Reilly who turns 45 years old today. He's probably best known as Will Ferrell's partner in crime in both Step Brothers and Taladega Nights, but has a long career of fine work on both the stage and the silver screen, as well. We know he's a big fan of the site so we hope this little salute makes his life complete. Now, on with the news...

:: Jeff Goodman of Fox Sports is reporting that its more or less a done deal for Kenny Payne to replace Rod Strickland on the UK bench this fall. Payne is leaving the same job at Oregon for the opportunity to work for Cal, and reportedly, is taking a pay cut to do so. Again, this is on Twitter, so you know its true.

:: Matt Jones of KSR fame is reporting that Daniel Orton did not complete his spring semester at UK, which will certainly hurt Kentucky's APR. However, Jones also reports that the other players leaving the program did in fact complete their semester work, so he doesn't expect the APR to dip so low that it might hurt Kentucky's scholarship situation. Still, it doesn't really help smooth things over between Orton and the Big Blue Nation as he moves on in his career. Alot of us (not me, but still alot) didn't ever make a connection with the big man, and thought he'd be better served with another year in Lexington; so this will just add more ammo for the people intent on bad mouthing the kid. We certainly hope that doesn't happen, but deep down, know that it will on some level.

:: A federal judge has denied a request to move the trial of Karen Sypher away from the Louisville area. As I'm sure you know, (but I will remind you anyway) Sypher was charged with trying to extort $10 million from Rick Pitino. She is also accused of lying to the FBI, which is never a good idea. Anyway, U.S. District Judge Charles R. Simpson III ruled Monday that Sypher couldn't show that pretrial publicity warrants the unusual step of relocating the case. Her trial is set to start July 26, and you can guarantee it will be a circus that we will cover for you right here at BBNR.

:: Mike Brown has finally lost his gig as the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, so we can expect the rumor mill to kick in high gear (again) about the possibilities of Cal joining LeBron in the professional promise land of the NBA. I don't think it'll happen, but I'm still prepared for the onslaught of rumors, and you should be too.

Well, that's all for now. We'll have lots more later, so stay tuned.