Daily chatter

As many of you all know, I am a University of Kentucky graduate. I also have a degree from Transylvania University, a small four-year school down the street from UK, though the Pioneers aren't in the SEC. The Wildcats are. So I claim UK when it comes to sports.

I tell this story because people in the community know me either as a UK guy or a Transy guy depending on my mood or topic of conversation.

I met my lovely and patient wife at Transy. So that's good, too.

Anyway, I think UK did the right thing by signing former TAMU coach Billy Gillispie to a 7-year contract worth $2.3 million per year. Florida's Billy Donovan was at the top of the list -- both for UK and yours truly -- but he elected to stay at Florida. Gillispie turned around programs at both UTEP and TAMU in short order. Kentucky isn't really down, but it needs to be more aggressive on the recruiting market. Gillispie can make that happen.

Some will rag Donovan for staying at Florida. Look, he's won back-to-back titles there. He makes good money. His job security is basically unparalleled now. And he's working for the most innovative and forward-looking athletic director around in Jeremy Foley.

Everyone here wins.

ON THE AUBURN TIP: Freshman starter Taylor Thompson, he of the one SEC start, has been moved into the No. 2 spot in the rotation. Sophomore Justin Bristow, he of NO conference starts, now is in the No. 3 hole.

I still think Auburn has a chance to get back into the postseason picture. There are enough leaders, bats and arms (though they're scattered all over the place) to make this an above-average team. Tiger fans oughtn't give up too quickly here.

ON THE NON-AUBURN TIP: I love Allen Iverson. He's been my favorite NBA player since he left Georgetown early for the draft. His classic rant about practice remains one of my favorite moments in sports history.

I even captured the footage from YouTube, turned it into an MP3 file and listen to it while I work out each morning. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you definitely want to check this.



ON THE BASEBALL TIP: Some of you all recall the days when I wrote a fantasy baseball column on Sundays during the season. I enjoyed it quite a bit. Unfortunately, some readers who enjoyed my information were guys in my various leagues. I ceased the column after the 2003 season.

I'm still totally into baseball. I cannot muffle my enthusiasm much longer.

So as a release, let me go through a few things that have piqued my interest through the first five days of the season:

• Boston SP Daisuke Matsuzaka, aka "Dice-K", was awesome in his debut against Kansas City on Thursday. Then again, it was KC. Matsuzaka is a fine pitcher, no doubt, but I think his effectiveness will fade during the second half as hitters get used to his unusual approach. He begins at-bats with sliders, then goes for strikeouts with fastballs. That's opposite of how North American pitchers work. He's in the 92-95 range, which is excellent, but his slider doesn't blow me away.
  
• Can you believe Arizona is batting 2B Orlando Hudson in the No. 3 hole? Talk about hard times. That team needs to let OF Scott Hairston get maybe 100 ABs in the 5 hole (where he is right now) and move him into the 3 hole in May. I know the organization doesn't love Hairston -- his defense is not good -- but the kid can hit if they leave him alone.
  
• I'm glad to see RP Al Reyes become Tampa Bay's closer. He's been good for a long time. He definitely can handle that job. Finally -- a thoughtful move by the Rays!
  
• I hope the Rays leave OF Elijah Dukes in the lineup. He's there right now ostensibly because OF Rocco Baldelli is struggling with a hamstring injury that's limiting him to DH duty. Dukes is a good defender in his own right. Why not just leave things the way they are?
  
• Atlanta 2B Kelly Johnson is off to an awful start at the plate. He's 1 for 14 right now. I've always had questions about his bat. I don't see him as anything more than a .270 hitter with a 15-homer ceiling.