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PHOTOS BY TESSA LIGHTY | STAFFA Mud Run participant climbs through the mud pit, made up of a “concoction”with ingredients added to dirt and water.

Should he stay orshould he go? It’s a ques-tion regarding the fate of

UK headcoach Jok-er Phillipsthat hasswept thecommon-wealtheven morevigorouslysince theCats’ lossto WesternKentucky.

But,with yetanother

loss — a shutout at that —in the books after a trip toGainesville, Fla., life maylook to mimic art at sea-son’s end.

One common denomi-nator amongst all that talkis that Phillips is “a goodguy” who bleeds blue.

Both truths.However, when the sur-

face is scratched on hiscoaching career, it revealsthe obvious: KentuckyJoe’s gotta go.

Since inheriting RichBrooks’ squad in 2010,Phillips has been a part ofa bowl team and a winover rival Tennessee thatsnapped the longest losingstreak to any one FBS op-

ponent.Those two accomplish-

ments aren’t all that mean-ingful in reality.

UK’s BBVA CompassBowl team in 2010 consist-ed of many “Brooks guys.”At the end of the day itwas led by now-seniorMorgan Newton, followingthe suspension of MikeHartline, and resulted in a27-10 loss to Pittsburgh,which featured an interimhead coach.

That loss seemingly putUK on track to its presentcondition, which is ar-guably at its all-time worstfor a non-probation squad.

UK’s victory over Ten-nessee last November wassuspected to be a rallyingcry after another season ofdisappointment that con-cluded with a 5-7 finish.

However, in the grandscheme of things, the Vol-unteers haven’t been theirtypical “rocky top” selvessince the days of PhillipFulmer. Dating back to2005 Tennessee has onlytwo seasons where it fin-ished more than one gameover .500. That’s nothing towrite home about, especial-ly when its lone winningrecord of 7-6 since 2008 isthe program’s best.

Kentucky Joe’sgot to go

The UK Army ROTC andWUKY 91.3 hosted the 2012Inaugural Kentucky NationalGuard Bluegrass Mud Runon Saturday.

Teams and individualsgathered at CommonwealthStadium on Saturday morn-ing to participate in the MudRun, a 5K course designedwith 14 different obstacles.

The Mud Run encour-aged physical endurance andteamwork.

“You can have your older

children do it with you. Youcan do it with spouses. Youcan do it as an office. It’s agreat team-building sport,”said Gail Bennett, marketingdirector at WUKY.

Runners made their wayup the ramps of Common-wealth and ran around thestadium before exiting thecourse, which snaked aroundthe sports fields behind Com-monwealth.

Participants could registerfor the 5K as an individual oras a team.

Members of teams, suchas the team titled “50 Shades

of Brown,” found that theMud Run brought out theirinner child.

“I’m 47, almost 48. I getto be 10 again,” said CynthiaParker, a language artsteacher at Crawford MiddleSchool.

One obstacle involvedjumping into a dumpster ofcold water, getting the run-ners wet before they ap-proached the “WildcatSlide,” a slip-and-slide that sent par-ticipants into a mudpit at the end.

Later in the

course, participants were re-quired to low crawl throughmud on their stomachs underwhite wires without touchingthem.

The stench of the mudprovoked many to comment.

“I don’t think this is alljust mud,” yelled one partici-

pant as he crawled. “If I had a

nickel forevery times o m e o n emade thatcomment , ”said JoshCline, UK

Army ROTCcadet and volunteer for the

course. According to Cline, the

mud was a “concoction” withadded ingredients to the dirtand water.

“While I can’t disclosethe full details, I will tell youthat it’s not all mud,” Clinesaid.

“There have been multi-ple comments about thesmell, and they’ve all beenaccurate.”

Participants also encoun-tered other obstacles involv-ing mud.

By the end of the race,participants had to be hoseddown.

While many agreed thecourse was fun, participantswelcomed the finish line.

“Heaven,” said partici-

By Desirae Duncannews@kykernel.com

See MUD RUN on page 2

A muddy challenge

Racers had to go through 14 different obstacles, including mud pits and a 16-foot wall, during theMud Run organized by the UK Army ROTC and WUKY.

PHOTO BY GENEVIEVE ADAMS | STAFFSophomore Kyle Wiltjer signs items Thursday for fans who were waiting for Big Blue Madness tickets.

STAFF FILE PHOTOHead coach Joker Phillips at a 2011 game at Vanderbilt.

Inaugural Mud Run challenges racers to get dirty during 5K

To say the Big Blue Mad-ness ticket distribution lasted35 minutes would not be alie.

For logistics sake, BigBlue Madness did sell out in35 minutes, according to UKAthletics.

But to the people whofilled the 595 tents (the lastofficial count when controlcards were distributed at 2p.m. Friday), the ticket distri-bution didn’t just start at 7a.m. when the ticket boothsopened.

The campout, in of itself,was just as much an event asgetting the tickets. Three (orfour) days of time, along withseveral more of planning,

were built into it.Kinesiology sophomore

David Martin camped out fortickets for the first time andwas the 100th person in line.Martin said he had beencamping since Tuesdaynight.

“I love Kentucky basket-ball. There’s nothing else Iwould devote this much timeto or care about so much. Ilove this team,” he said.

Pre-pharmacy sophomoreSpencer Reed camped outwith Martin and describedtheir campout as a “four-daytailgate.”

“I think it’s somethingeveryone should do beforethey graduate at UK. That’swhy I did it. I wanted to do itone of these years, and thisyear was as good as any,”

Reed said. “But I want to bebetter prepared and changesome things before we do itagain.”

Reed claimed classes did-n’t faze his mindset on want-ing to devote his week towardBig Blue Madness.

“Last week was commonhour exams, so we had towork around that. We all hadsports stuff and class andstuff, so we were pretty flexi-ble,” Reed said.

Campers were periodical-ly visited by players over thethree-plus days, includingtouted freshmen NerlensNoel, Alex Poythress andArchie Goodwin.

Many would stay aroundlong into the night playingbasketball and signing memo-rabilia. Noel scared some af-ter a fall while dunking dur-ing a pickup game, but he gotup fine.

“Most of them would

By Nick Grayngray@kykernel.com

Nearly 600 tents pitched for Big Blue Madness tickets

Campout wraps up with player, coach visits

See CAMPOUT on page 2

See PORTER on page 2

CODYPORTER

Kernelcolumnist

Football program’s state ties can’t head future decisions

PAGE 2 | Monday, September 24, 2012

To get the advantage, check theday’s rating: 10 is the easiest day, 0the most challenging.Aries (March 21-April 19) — Today isan 8 — Things will be easier for acouple of days before they gettrickier again. Enjoy what you haveright now, especially your friends.Taurus (April 20-May 20) — Today isan 8 — Dive into an extremely pro-ductive Monday. Focus on the taskat hand, and hide from distractions.You’ll be amazed at how much youcan get accomplished.Gemini (May 21-June 20) — Today isa 6 — Go for it: Step out of yourcomfort zone. One thing that youtry doesn’t work, but somethingelse does. More work equals morepay. Quiet meditation lifts spirits.Cancer (June 21-July 22) — Today isan 8 — Take a deep breath, and letyour partner do the talking. Thebest things in life are still free.Financial planning seems easier.

Friends give you a needed boost.Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) — Today is a 7— Costs could be higher thanexpected. Someone you trust helpsyou see a financial leak so you canplug it. It will require negotiationsand compromise. It turns out to beeasy.Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) — Today isa 9 — What you do for others nowcounts double. Focus on doing agreat job and completing projectstoday and tomorrow. But don’t rushyour decisions. Listen carefully.Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) — Today is a9 — Don’t let others dampen yourcreativity and enthusiasm. Makekey decisions so you can start theproject. Don’t get stopped by regu-lations. You’re bigger than that. Paybills.Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) — Today isan 8 — You’re gaining confidence.Spur others in the right direction,gently. Sand the rough edges. Dothe research to set the right price.Don’t overlook domestic chores.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) —Today is a 7 — Moods fluctuate. Ashort stroll around your neighbor-hood or park helps recharge yourbatteries. Throw your hat over thefence that you know you want tojump.Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) — Todayis a 9 — You’re entering a mentallyactive cycle. Imagination takesover, especially about creating newways to make money. A windowmay be closing, but a brighter oneopens. Keep a lid on the spending.Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) — Todayis a 6 — Notice what’s blocking yourpath. Clear the way or just jumpover it with ease, and gain acco-lades. Great wealth can be yours.Accept encouragement.Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — Today isan 8 — Postpone fun and games fornow, and focus on keeping yourpromises. It doesn’t mean that youcan’t enjoy the process. Othersadmire your work. Don’t buy giftsyet.

“Liberal Arts” — written by, directed byand starring Josh Radnor — is that rarity: acontemporary comedy about maturity. It’s awise, warm tale of an adult coming of age inhis mid-30s.

Radnor plays Jesse, a Manhattan universi-ty admissions counselor who returns to hisleafy, idyllic Ohio alma mater to attend a re-tirement dinner for favorite English professorPeter Hoburg (Richard Jenkins). “Nobodyfeels like an adult,” says a weary Hoburg,who’s not sure he wants to retire. “It’s theworld’s dirty secret.”

Jesse, who finds himself hanging aroundcampus long after the dinner, is drawn to theidea of starting over again as a college student— or, perhaps, with a college student. EnterZibby (Elizabeth Olsen), a sunny, ever-skippingbut wise-beyond-her-years 19-year-old who’scharmed by Jesse; like Joyce’s Molly Bloom(this movie’s haunted by literature majors), shekeeps on saying “yes.” A nervous Jesse — whocalculates that when he was 19, she was 3 —retreats into an old-school, handwritten corre-

spondence with her; they discuss books, classi-cal music and life itself. Should he ditch NewYork and reboot with Zibby? Or can you reallynot go home again?

For anyone who looks back affectionately atcollege years — the time, says Jesse, of “thefeeling that anything’s possible, of infinitechoices ahead of you” — “Liberal Arts” is asmart, snappy pleasure. Radnor and Olsen ban-ter irresistibly; Jenkins is perfect as a pricklyprof afraid of the blank page of retirement; anda hilariously arch Allison Janney, as a fellowfaculty member, puts the best cranky spin onthe one-word line “And?” that you’ll ever hear.(If this movie were an enchilada, she’d be thehot sauce.) Radnor, who previously wrote anddirected “happythankyoumoreplease” (but isperhaps best known for starring in TV’s “How IMet Your Mother”), finds both wit and truth inhis characters as they face, in their differentways, growing up.

“I think being old is OK,” Jesse finally con-cludes. “It’s getting there that kicks your ass.”

‘Liberal Arts’ finds wit, truth

MCT

Horoscope

pant Joe Hisel when askedwhat it was like to see the fin-

ish line.Tim Kang, a UK Army

ROTC cadet and volunteerfor the course, said hethought the mud run was agreat opportunity to let thecampus and Lexington know

about the UK Army ROTC,the National Guard andWUKY.

“It’s just a great way toget the word out and alsohave fun while you’re doingit,” Kang said.

come over and sign auto-graphs and come chill for alittle bit,” Martin said. “Itwas pretty cool. So manypeople wanted autographsand they signed them all un-less they were going toclass.”

The biggest star to greetcampers was head coachJohn Calipari, who had notbeen in Lexington duringthe week because of recruit-ing. Calipari spoke to thecrowd on Friday night inwhat many called the high-light of the week.

“I hope you enjoyedyourself here,” Calipari said.“I apologize. I just got backand picked up my wife andcame on over. The flighttook a little longer than Ithought, but I did want tocome over and say thankyou all for doing this and be-ing here and being a big partof what we do and being abig part of what we recruit.”

The crowd cheered.“You have inspired

them, no question,” Cali-pari said. “Because everyteam I’ve coached, thinkabout it, if you’re them andyou’re saying, ‘Six hundredtents and 3,000 peoplewaiting on tickets to watch

me practice. This must beserious.’ ”

No matter who was vis-iting or speaking or camp-ing, it was clear what thethree days represented.

A love affair.

MUD RUNContinued from page 1

UK fans got a rare treatwhen they camped out forBig Blue Madness ticketsFriday night. First there wasfree pizza, then the Nerlens

Noel dunkshow, andthen thenear catas-trophe forthe fresh-man’s fu-ture.

Thefive-starcenter,Noel, wastaking onlocallyknown

Stone Cold Willow in a one-on-one challenge.

Things went well at first,with Noel and Willow trad-ing points before the youngstar began to turn things onwith a series of video-gameworthy dunks that delightedthe hundreds of onlookershuddled around the bluecourts behind Memorial Col-iseum.

After about five minutesof play, Noel sought the helpof teammates and fellowfreshmen Alex Poythressand Archie Goodwin whilsttwo children were pluckedfrom the throng of fans topartner Willow in a three-on-three.

Moments after the light-hearted game got under way,Goodwin dished the ball toNoel, who drove toward thehoop before leaping overone of his young opponentsto attempt a thunderousslam, when disaster almoststruck.

After completing thedunk, Noel lost balance afterbecoming tangled with theyoung fan he jumped over,

falling hard to the asphalt,landing flat on his back.

Landing an inch thisway or an inch that waycould have resulted in seri-ous injury for the star ofJohn Calipari’s 2013 basket-ball squad.

While Noel was riskinginjury playing in the pickupgame, Kyle Wiltjer was atthe opposite end of thecourts possibly doing thingscorrectly in signing auto-graph after autograph for thehundreds in attendance.

What if Noel hadn’t gotup and said he was OK?Could he have injured hislower back? Yes. Could hehave landed a differently andsnapped his head onto thehard surface beneath him?Yes.

Either would have beencatastrophic not only forNoel, but also for the entirebasketball program. Couldyou imagine, one year off ofa national title led by even-tual No. 1 overall draft pickAnthony Davis, the Cats’new go-to guy gets hurt in agame with fans before theseason even started?

In 2009 Ohio State for-ward Evan Turner missed alarge chunk of the season af-ter breaking two vertebraedue to falling hard after adunk. That, however, wasduring a game — an actualgame that counts in therankings, not a pickup gameon the onset of the season’sopening tradition.

I’m not criticizing Noelfor attending the event, oreven for taking part in thechallenge. Overall it was afun night; many camperswere rewarded for their sup-port by getting to see thestars of this year’s team up

close. But perhaps looking

ahead into the future, playersshould avoid allowing them-selves to get into situationswhere they could get hurt.

Giving fans the apprecia-tive treatment in signing au-tographs and shaking handsis a lot less risky then play-ing in unofficial pickupgames that result in awk-ward falls from 12 feet inthe air.

There’s no doubt the twoyoung fans had their yearmade by being involved in agame with Noel, Poythressand Goodwin.

Although in the future itmaybe be wise to save theacrobatics for Big BlueMadness or other officialopen practices — in a saferenvironment with medicalstaff on hand in case theworst occurs.

Even after falling hardon Friday, nobody was thereto check on Noel’s condi-tion. Instead, it was the deci-sion of Noel, four monthsremoved from his 18th birth-day, to decide he was fineand to continue the game.

This time it was only amatter of “what if,” but itwouldn’t be surprising tolearn that Calipari has had aquiet word in the ear of hisyoung players advising themto stick to handshakes, sign-ing autographs and kissingbabies.

Campout game couldhave resulted in injury

Players should stick to handshakes, autographs

TOMHURLEY

Kernelcolumnist

As has been the casewith the history of UK foot-ball, the ability to bring in aprogram-changing headcoach is a difficult task.There has to be some provenability to build a winner inthe past before there’s anylure for an outsider.

Many, not all, of UK’scoaching hires have had tiesto the program. Others haveeven had the local ties thatfans may have loved.

Phillips’ predecessors ofthe post-“Bear” Bryant era,who were either fellow Ken-tuckians or alumni, includedParis-born Blanton Collier(1954-61) and Bryant disci-ples Charlie Bradshaw(1962-68) and Jerry Clai-borne (1982-89).

Given what he has ac-complished thus far,Phillips’ timetable for recov-ery doesn’t bode well com-pared with his cohorts’.

Collier took over in1954 for Bryant and led the

Cats to a 7-3 season, whichhe backed up with two addi-tional .500-plus seasons. Hisfinal five seasons compriseda series of three-, four- andfive-win seasons. Sound fa-miliar?

Far from Phillips’ men-tality was the infamous UKThin Thirty, derived fromBradshaw’s hard-knocks ap-proach to practice that re-sulted in 58 players leavingthe program and 1964 pro-bation for illegal off-seasonworkouts.

Claiborne completed acomplete reversal of the pro-gram after taking the Cats totwo consecutive Hall ofFame Bowl appearances.

When their tenures end-ed, Collier was the onlycoach with a record over.500, and that was by theslimmest of margins.

The situation for Phillipscould be even bleaker if notfor the transition into thehead coaching slot providedby UK athletic directorMitch Barnhart. That previ-ously mentioned bowl sea-son provided him half of hiscurrent win total.

Projecting ahead into theseason, it would take an up-set for the Cats to evenreach the three-win mark,given they defeat Samford,as expected.

His potential 13 winswouldn’t be the leastthrough three seasons for aUK coach, nor among themen previously mentioned,but it would be the firstwithout just cause.

No loss of players, pro-bation or any other unfore-seen reason has hobbled theCats under Phillips.

Yet the future is brightfor one of his own blue-blooded players, the highlytouted freshman quarterbackPatrick Towles.

If he leaves because of alack of playing time, as aCourier-Journal report indi-cated Sunday, Phillips’ simi-larities to Bradshaw mayend up blaring.

From one Kentuckian toanother, fans won’t care hownice or loyal you are if an-other one of their own, asaid “sure thing,” departswhen most other aspects ofthe program are fading.

PORTERContinued from page 1

CAMPOUTContinued from page 1

PHOTO BY GENEVIEVE ADAMS | STAFFThe UK men’s basketball players served fans pizza outside Memorial Coliseum on Thursday.

PHOTO BY TESSA LIGHTY | STAFFFans line up to get their tickets for Big Blue Madness on Saturdaymorning, after having camped out since Wednesday.

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kernelclassifieds

monday 09.24.12 page 5

gary hermann | opinions editor | ghermann@kykernel.comkernelopinions

kernel editorial

The UK football team has never had ahigh ceiling for success in the Bluegrass. De-spite playing in the almighty SoutheasternConference, home of the NCAA’s last six na-tional champions, the Cats have never had todo much more than finish at .500 and reachbowl eligibility to appease its fans.

But no matter how low the ceiling is, italways hurts when that very ceiling is infreefall, swiftly approaching a destructive col-lapse around the entire program and its fanbase.

Four weeks into a new season, that iswhere head coach Joker Phillips and the UKfootball program is heading.

The consensus throughout the common-wealth is that Phillips is a good assistantcoach and a great person, but certainly notthe right man to be commanding the universi-ty’s football program.

Phillips took over the program in 2010following the retirement of former UK headcoach Rich Brooks. At the time, UK was inthe midst of four consecutive seasons of bowleligibility and superstar wide receiver RandallCobb was on the brink of the biggest seasonof his college career.

So if you were to tell fans at the time thatin just three short years Phillips would takethe team from consistently competitive to na-tional bottom-feeder, what would you expecttheir reaction to be?

UK already has lost to the Western Ken-tucky Hilltoppers of the Sun Belt Conferencethis season, arguably the program’s worst losssince one at home to Ohio University in2004.

But that 2004 team still was recoveringfrom NCAA sanctions handed down follow-

ing former head coach Hal Mumme’s recruit-ing scandal at the turn of the century. Fanscertainly weren’t pleased with the disgracefulloss, but they at least understood.

To say that Phillips, who took over fol-lowing somewhat of a renaissance, faced thesame challenges as Brooks early in theircoaching tenures would be dramatically refut-ed by most in the Bluegrass. While Brookstook the team from scandal-prone to a consis-tent winner, Phillips has dragged the teamback to its old, inconsistent, unsuccessfulways.

Before the start of the season, startingfreshman cornerback Marcus Caffey was sus-pended for the season because of academicissues. He is not the first player in the Phillipsregime to miss critical games for unnecessaryoff-the-field issues, and he certainly wouldnot be the last.

A month and a half later, three weeks intothe season, just minutes before the kickoff ofthe game against WKU, it was announcedthat two UK players — junior running backRaymond Sanders and freshman wide receiv-er Bookie Cobbins — would sit out the gamebecause of a violation of team rules. The twowere dressed and back in action just oneweek later. Their momentary absence waslikely because of their Sept. 13 citation formarijuana possession in which the two wereaccompanied by Caffey.

This kind of off-the-field trouble is nevergoing to fix UK. At its best, the ceiling wasstill low. At its best, the UK football programwas celebrating appearances in bowl gamesthat most other SEC teams would consider afailed season. So unlike teams such as Geor-gia, South Carolina, Auburn, LSU or any oth-

er perennial powerhouses from the south, UKcannot afford off-the-field issues, and Phillipsshould know this.

What’s worse is that UK is more talentedthan the product on the field would lead fansto believe. While serving as Brooks’ offensivecoordinator, Phillips was among UK’s mosttalented recruiters. Phillips has brought inUK’s best recruiting classes, but it does nottranslate to the field because of coaching,lack of experience or lack of confidence.

Still, with a wealth of talent on the rosterand a program on the upswing at the time,Phillips showed a lack of authoritative controland coaching discipline en route to leading

the program into the ground. Even with his job on the line, players do

not look like they are playing for Phillips,and Phillips also does not seem to be takingany extraneous measures to preserve his ownjob.

Athletic director Mitch Barnhart has al-ready expressed his desire to pay big moneyfor a high-profile coach to come to UK andturn around the program. For a program likeUK, that is easier said than done.

But no matter who Barnhart has in mind,it can’t be Joker Phillips: a good man, aproud alumnus, but a mediocre head footballcoach at best.

UK football needs to make a head coaching changePOLL: What should the future hold

for UK football head coach Joker Phillips?

GRAPHIC BY MATT YOUNGER | STAFF

120

PAGE 4 | Monday, September 24, 2012