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Sort of looks like Louisville's infrared NCAA tournament uniforms, right?

Lexington's Triangle Park fountain -- located conveniently next to Kentucky's Rupp Arena -- flowed with water dyed blood-red Wednesday afternoon.

When this photo was first posted to Twitter by Rivals.com's Brett Dawson, some Kentucky fans worried that Louisville fans had pulled quite the prank on them. And some Cards' fans wished it were true.

Some of the funny tweets that followed:

@UKBIGBLUENATION: Surely someone from Louisville, true or not, will take credit for the red water outside Rupp

@C_John55: Maybe Adidas had something to do with the water color in front of Rupp arena lol. #InfraRED #CardNation

@HaleyOSomething: Guess they don't bleed blue after all

Apparently, the color has nothing to do with the Cards. Or the Cats. (But the contrast between red and Rupp still created quite a scene, regardless of its meaning.)

According to the Lexington Herald-Leader, the water was supposed to be temporarily dyed pink to promote the Downtown Lexington Corporation's new Fountain Films on Friday series that will feature the "Pretty in Pink" movie in the park.

Whoops!

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– Before the offensive player (with the ball) becomes airborne, the defender must have two feet on the floor, be facing the opponent and be stationary to draw a charge. Otherwise it should be a blocking foul.

– Secondary defenders (help defenders) moving forward or to the side are also in violation, and these should be blocking fouls.

– Contact that is “through the chest” is not de facto proof of a charge. The rule in its entirety must be considered before determining a foul.

– In some cases, it appears that a defender is being rewarded solely for being outside the arc, without considering the other aspects of the rules.

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Lexington police arrested a former UK basketball player on sex charges early Tuesday morning.


According to court documents, Michael James Porter, 25, had sexual contact with a 14-year-old and 15-year-old on several occasions. The police reports indicate Porter met the minors when he was serving as a group leader at a church function.


Police charged porter with six counts of sodomy and two counts of sexual abuse, according to the Fayette County Detention Center website.


Porter played point guard at UK three seasons from 2006-2009. His junior year, he played in 36 games, averaging 4.1 points and 2.5 assists per game. He left after his junior season, saying he needed to spend more time with his wife and baby.




http://www.lex18.com/news/former-wil...n-sex-charges/

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Earlier this week, the New York Times reported that the NCAA was looking into Nerlens Noel, the No. 1 recruit in the class of 2012 and a Kentucky signee. The paper said the NCAA was "inquiring" about Noel's relationship with various people in his circle.

There was a lot of smoke, certainly. Fingers started pointing at John Calipari and Kentucky once again, with people over-exaggerating and saying that only Calipari seems to recruit "these kinds" of kids.

Well, here's the thing: Nearly every high-profile recruit could fit into that category.

"Just change the name and you've got a new story," one high-major assistant coach said.

Over the past several years, the recruitment of top 25 players has become more and more complicated, leading the NCAA to look into several of them. Does anything come out of these investigations? Not usually. Prospects nowadays have larger inner circles, with multiple "advisers" trying to sway the player's college decision. When it comes to shadowy relationships, it's often difficult to prove wrongdoing.

There are parents, AAU coaches, high school coaches, friends from the neighborhood, teachers, counselors, runners, family friends, etc. Most top-25 recruits have some combination involved in their recruitment in one way or another.

"On average, a top-25 recruit probably has six people in his circle," a high-major coach said.

Earlier and earlier, top-notch high school basketball players are being pulled in different directions. They are pegged as a major-conference talent well before college, and NBA dreams begin to form in their minds -- as well as those of people looking to get their hands in the pot.

"It's definitely more prevalent now. It's a big business," one coach said. "There's a lot of money to be made off these kids."

"It's all about money," another added. "People see dollar signs. It's the human version of a lottery ticket."

The rein lies the problem: Whom can a kid trust? Does anyone have the prospect's best interest in mind -- or is everyone simply looking out for his or her own end game?

One adviser might want a kid to go to a certain school because it has promised a job on the coaching staff. Another might steer a prospect to build a relationship with an agent. Still another could be trying to steer the recruit to a Nike or Adidas school. In any case, someone is attempting to make money off the player.

Look at the story of Brian and Dwon Clifton. Brian started the D-One Sports AAU program, which had players like John Wall and Quincy Miller over the past few years. Brian's brother, Dwon, was a coach in the program. Once Wall went to Kentucky, Brian started a management company, eventually signing Wall as his only client. Meanwhile, Dwon Clifton got a job with Wall's agent, Dan Fagan, after spending two seasons in basketball operations at Baylor. When Miller left Baylor and entered the NBA Draft last month, he signed with an agent. It was -- guess who? -- Dwon Clifton. The Cliftons might have had Wall's and Miller's best interests in mind, but they also made money off them. The bottom line is, we don't know if these kinds of relationships are sinister or shady.

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Football and basketball players accounted for nearly four of every 10 students enrolled in 54 classes at the heart of an academic fraud investigation at UNC-Chapel Hill, according to figures released Monday.

The classes were all within UNC’s Department of African and Afro-American studies. An internal probe released Friday produced evidence of unauthorized grade changes and little or no instruction by professors. Forty-five of the classes listed the department’s chairman, Julius Nyang’oro, as the professor. Investigators could not determine instructors for the remaining nine.

University officials say they found no evidence that the suspect classes were part of a plan between Nyang’oro and the athletic department to create classes that student-athletes could pass so they could maintain their eligibility. They said student-athletes were treated no differently in the classes than students who were not athletes.

But the high percentages of student-athletes in the classes suggest to some that academic advisers, tutors and others in the athletic department may have guided them to the classes.

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