THE CRANKSHAFT GAZETTE: Kentucky apologizes for poor showing in Columbia

THIS IS A "FAKE" STORY - DO NOT TAKE IT TOO SERIOUS!



AUTHOR: RUSTY CRANKSHAFT --

Humiliated and embarrassed, John Calipari and the Kentucky Wildcats left Columbia with their tails between their legs.  The Wildcats barely eeked out an 86-52 win over Carolina, but they are lucky it wasn’t much closer.  Calipari knew exactly where to place the blame for the bad day.  “Kentucky fans who live in South Carolina really dropped the ball today.  I only saw blue shirts in about 11,000 of the 18,000 seats.  That was barely a home game atmosphere.  Truthfully, we’re lucky that thing didn’t drop into the high 20s.  I know we have work to do and we’ll get to it.” 

Gamecock fans had to feel good about the close loss and they were actually heard cheering during introductions.  USC head coach Darrin Horn says even though it is technically a loss, there are many positives.  “They get the win, but they know they were in a fight today.  Sure, they have better players, better coaches and the bigger crowd in our arena, but I wouldn’t say they are a better program.  They don’t want to see us again, I will say that.  The gap may drop into the teens if they aren’t careful.”

When it was pointed out to Coach Horn that his Gamecocks only lost by 15 at Rupp Arena earlier this year, and that some would look at Saturday as a step backwards, Horn said that kind of thinking is just silly.  “Progress is sometimes tough to see and understand, especially for the lay-folk.  We know we’ve got a good thing going and to come out here today and face this kind of hostile crowd and hold it down to a 34 point deficit says worlds about our program and where we’re headed.  Eric Hyman gets the big picture.  Sure, some teams have wins, rankings and championships.  We leave all that to the baseball team.  Basketball is about something deeper and hidden in Columbia.”