Today kicks off the official hoop season for both the Kentucky Wildcats (6:30pm v. Morehead, ESPNU) and the Tennessee Vols (9pm v. Austin-Peay, SportSouth).

These two programs are not only picked to contend for the SEC East and Overall titles, but are both preseason top-10 and have Final Four expectations.  And that's about where the similarities end.

Kentucky is sporting a #1 overall recruiting class inundated with talented newcomers, including suspended John Wall, a purported one-and-doner, and big man DeMarcus Cousins.  The Vols, on the other hand, return nearly all of their production from last year's East Division championship team, including preseason All-Conference power forward/wing Tyler Smith (another supposed first rounder next year).

More after the jump.

I'm sure Bru will be getting his shots in soon enough so you might as well hear it from me.  Three Tennessee Football team members, all freshmen recruited by Lane Kiffin (he of "we haven't had anyone arrested since I took over" fame) were taken in by the cops for attempted robbery this morning on the UT Campus "Strip."  Apparently with a pellet gun in tow.

Follow the breaking news here at VolunteerTV.

Also at EDSBS, where the jokes are already rolling like Ramar Smith on a Friday night in 2008.

Just for grins... what the twitter world is saying:

@Nastinchka: IF PHIL FULMER WAS STILL HERE THEY'D'VE USED A LOT MORE THAN A PELLET GUN THIS PROGRAM'S GONE SOFT I TELL YOU WHAT. #thatfeelsbetter

@DawgterFeelgood: Richardson should be lucky he didn't choose UF. If he had, he'd be staring down a suspension for an ENTIRE HALF.

@andydarty: Remember when boosters just gave players money?

@edsbs A green robbery! RT @GoVolsXtra: They were riding in a 2010 Prius and attempted to rob someone driving a 98 Elantrahttp://bit.ly/4rNIO5

@edsbs "Lane Kiffin will discipline his players. Or not."

@Jerkwheatery: Gotta tell ya, I'm excited about the increased rep our Prius will have thanks to UT! I AM SO ECO-HOOD!!!

Oh dear...

Still nothing from @LaneKiffinUT or @utadmike

UPDATE:  Gotta love this... regarding last week's suspension of Janzen Jackson... from YESTERDAY!!

Jackson said he appreciated that UT's coaching staff was willing to forgive him of his recent transgression.

"I appreciate that a lot," he said. "You don't want to have your coach mad at you for any reason. You don't want that to linger. It's always about looking forward with these guys. That's a good thing."

For guidance, Jackson said he spoke to his father, Lance Guidry, who coaches defensive backs at Miami (Ohio).

"He just told me to keep my head up," Jackson said. "Look forward and it will be past sooner than I think. And it already is."

Today was a big day in college basketball.  National Signing Day brought a lot of action across the board.  Kentucky only has one commitment for the 2010 class and that is four star small forward Stacey Poole.  That's not meant to slight Poole in the least.  The kid is the #11 ranked small forward in the class (as ranked by Scout.com).  The thing is, some UK fans have been a bit down in the dumps due to the lack of top 100 talent coming into the 2010 class.

For example, my buddy Aaron sends me the following text today, "...u surprised only one bball player signing today?"  To begin with, no, that's not a surprise.  Kentucky pulled one Hell of a recruiting class last year.  Getting John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins (two guys that everyone expects to be one-and-dones) was a major coup for first year coach John Calipari.  With Eric Bledsoe sitting in the driver's seat for being the point guard of the future (once Wall exits), I would assume many of the major PG prospects decided to take their services elsewhere.  The ones that have Bledsoe's competitive streak (he has said on many occasions he wanted to come to UK and play with/against Wall) may wait for spring to sign.  Why wait for spring?  To see if Coach Cal will play Wall and Bledsoe in a pseudo-two-point-guard system.  That's a shout-out to you Brandon and Josh.

The other thing Kentucky fans need to be reminded of is that Kentucky is in the top five for 7 of the top 40 recruits in the nation (again, according to Scout) for the 2010 class.  There are a lot of kids still on the market and waiting to make Spring decisions.  Kentucky is sitting pretty good at the guard positions.  Bledsoe will be back leading the team next year and Darnell Dodson looks to be a solid scoring option at the two guard.  Darius Miller will develop into a solid wing player, so that leaves UK with only a couple of questions at the big positions. 

Storming The Floor, and Yoda of all internet media, has the Heels at #6, the Vols at #5, and the Cats at #4 all happily grouped together.

Our favorite DI rap star, Swiperboy, has lost his spot in Bruce's 10-man rotation for the moment to newcomer Kenny Hall, according to govolsxtra.com.

The Heels are off and running to the dismay of at least one Isiah.

John Wall leads UK's two of the top four freshmen in the country, according to Rivals.  Also on the list, Carolina's John Henson.

For now, Lexington's John Clay is focused on football.  That will change, rest assured.  And when it does, we'll be there to, um, bring it to your attention...

Ok- I was going to stay away from this Brandon Spikes thing. I really was. I love Florida, and I love Spikes, but what he did was wrong. There's no excuse for playing amateur eye surgeon on the football field. He should, and is, being punished for a stupid act. Should be the end of the story. Right?

Maybe not.

Turns out when you're the defending champs and you get more TV coverage than President Obama, then everybody is going to voice their opinions. In one week, Spikes has gone from the All-American linebacker for the Gators to the poster boy for all that is wrong in the world. I've heard it all at this point... about how Florida should suspend him for the season, or Florida should have to forfeit games, or Spikes should be placed in front of an execution squad, or how Urban Meyer is actually Hitler's grandson. You know- typical message board fans weighing in with their always unbiased and credible thoughts.

Was the original punishment doled out by Meyer pretty tame, even though the SEC agreed with it? You could argue that. You could also argue that very few people who critcized it have access to Florida's locker room or practices, meaning they have no idea if he was being punished internally.

I remember reading an article a few years ago in which Florida State coach Bobby Bowden, who has had his share of player trouble, said "Everyone wants to see a public hanging, when half the time, we can do much worse behind closed doors." He talked about a player who had gotten a DUI, and the message-board faithful were all over the coach to suspend him. Instead, Bowden said he made the player run stadium steps for three, two-hours practices that week. That's six hours of running up and down the steps at Doak Walker Stadium in the Tallahassee heat. Ever run stadium steps? It's not exactly a cake-walk. I don't know, but I'm betting that kid learned a little lesson somewhere in there. Of course the public didn't see it, so they continued to kill Bowden and talk about his lack of control over players. Gotta love college football fans right?

Now I don't know if Meyer does this kind of stuff. But I do know there are tons of ways to punish a kid that don't involve punishing the team. Why should the team be punished for the actions of one, when you can just as easily punish the guilty party?

And now that Spikes has said he will not play at all against Vanderbilt, people are still over him. The common theme now is that "he wouldn't be doing this if they were playing Alabama or LSU next week." Well, as it happens, Vanderbilt falls next on their schedule. What is he supposed to do?  Should Florida only schedule one week at a time, leaving some wiggle room so that if a player gets suspended,  they can bring in a big-name opponent to show that they will uphold the suspension?

Another interesting chapter of the story is that the "victim" here, Georgia RB Washaun Ealey, has said he doesn't think Spikes should be suspended. Interesting. I would assume this guy would be on his deathbed from the way some have described the incident, but apparently, the victim of this supposed atrocity isn't all that worked about it. Could it be because just a few plays earlier, this happened?

That wouldn't happen to be Ealey's hand inside Joe Haden's helmet would it? Weird. I wonder why the Georgia fans and Gator haters aren't bringing this up?

Look, this doesn't make what Spikes did right. But maybe the moral outrage should be tempered just a bit. This kind of thing was happening all game long, from both sides, and Spikes just happened to be the lucky one caught on the TV cameras. Again- this doesn't excuse his actions. I'm okay with him being punished. But let's not act like this was an isolated incident from one rogue, out-of-control player.

Oh well. No one ever said trying to defend a title was easy. 

No it wasn't pretty but UK won easily over Campblesville on Monday night to the tune of 74-38.  With John Wall sitting on the sidelines, Erik Bledsoe and Darius Miller ran the point position for the Cats.  The two combined for 13 points, 7 assists, and 7 rebounds.

Bledsoe also made several of the most exciting plays in the game.  He made a fast break drive off the right side of the lane and floated to the rim with a little scoop shot that seemed to stun everyone watching.  He also had a ridiculous blocked shot in the second half when a Tiger player thought he had an open layup.  Erik also had several nice passes, and overall played a solid game.

Miller; however, seemed to be absent most of the game.  He made several good drives into the 10 to 12 foot area and took his pull up shots.  Unfortunately they weren't falling for Darius and he only scored four points on the night.  Miller's shooting touch has seemed absent in the first two scrimmages and he'll need to find it to contribute solidly for this year's team.

One player who didn't get lost in the shuffle Monday was Darnell Dodson.  Converting half of his 14 attempts from the field, Dodson did not appear gun shy in the second scrimmage on his way to leading the team with 19 points.  Dodson has now been the leading scorer in the first two scrimmages and seems to find a way to get the ball in the bucket.  If he can continue shooting well from the outside and taking the drive when it's given to him Darnell will contribute a lot in the scoring column this year.

The three big men had decent nights, but none really put on a spectacular show.  Demarcus Cousins missed a few buckets inside that he should have made, but played well defensively and controlled the paint while he was in.  Daniel Orton hit the boards hard just as he did in the blue/white game.  Orton finished with a team high 7 rebounds to go with his four points.

Patrick Patterson's line on the game was one of the smallest ones he has posted as a Wildcat.  Four points, five rebounds, and a block didn't offset the six turnovers Pat Pat had on Monday night.  UK fans, don't panic.  Patterson didn't see more than a play or two in the post with his back to the basket.  He was ranging on the perimeter all night in the dribble drive against Camblesville.  When UNC and conference play shows up Patterson will definitely be seeing more scoring opportunities in the paint.

The surprise of the night has to be Perry Stevenson.  Coming into the game late for mop-up duty, Perry did his best Ramael Bradley impression by dropping 11 points during scrub time.  Perry knocked down a three, but we've seen him do that before.  What was most surprising was that Perry attacked the basket like a man possessed off the dribble.  I think that will be a point of emphasis for Cal leading into the next game.  He'll be able to point to Perry and say if a 6'10" guy can go past his man to the basket, why weren't my guards and wings doing it all night?

Overall a good showing by Kentucky.  The first half defensive intensity against an overwhelmed opponent was stellar.  While the second half was ugly, it can be a learning experience for the team.  The Cats play Clarion (motels?) on Friday.  Expect them to continue to work on the things they need to get better at and tune in to watch John Wall sit in street clothes (again).

Thanks to some help from some local friends I was able to attend last night's UK blue/white basketball scrimmage in Rupp Arena.  The atmosphere was pretty electric for having 14,000 people in the building and some of the guys looked pretty electric themselves.  Here's a quick run-down, player by player, of the action I caught last night.

John Wall - Any review of this year's UK basketball starts and ends with Wall.  I watched the Madness scrimmage and he looked impressive, but you can't understand how talented this kid is until you see him in person.  Everyone talks about his first step being lightning quick, but what amazes me about the kid is that "first step" isn't always on the first move.  What I saw Wall do, that I've never seen anyone do, is take two to three dribbles at normal speed and then in one step absolutely blow past his defender to get to the rim.  He seemed to be able to turn it on and off when he wanted.  The most scary thing is it seems like he has a talent for letting his defender stay close until the help side defense relaxes, thinking his man has him locked down, and then blowing past to finish at an open rim.

Patrick Patterson - Patterson looked much like he did last year except he does appear to be in much better physical shape than last year (due to his training in California over the summer).  He also showed an improved jump shot.  Pat Pat made two of four threes in the game, but the extended range wasn't  the most improved part of his jump shot.  That was the quickness with which he got the shot off.  Last year Patterson could make the 15 - 17 foot jumper consistently, but he took forever to get the shot up.  Last night he showed he can pull the trigger quicker and still have a good release.

More player run-downs after the jump.

Last year at this time, Florida was coming off of a 63-5 pounding of Kentucky, Oklahoma had just hung 58 points on Kansas State to improve to 7-1, Alabama was headed home after a 20-point victory in Knoxville, and Texas was in the middle of a three-game stretch in which they put up 129 points.

Now, fast forward back to the present. There's Florida, surviving an abysmal offensive performance to hold off an average Mississippi State team. Oklahoma, who re-wrote the offensive record books last year, is 4-3. Alabama needed two blocked field goals to hold off Tennessee at home, and Texas is just one week removed from a three-turnover, 16-point performance in a win over an Oklahoma team without its starting QB.

Get the picture? This year hasn't exactly produced the most aesthetically-pleasing performances by some of the naton's top teams. And while Florida, Alabama and Texas are all still undefeated, none of them look unbeatable. Florida's offense is shockingly average and predictable. Alabama's offense is not much better. And then there's Texas, who has seen QB Colt McCoy struggle at times from trying to carry the entire load by himself.

Add to that the surprising undefeated records of Cincinnati and Iowa, as well as the annual "BSC busters" in TCU and Boise State, and we have a bundle of teams still technically in title contention. Granted,  Boise State and TCU would likely need a miracle to climb to the top, but it's not entirely far-fetched to think that in one month, we could be arguing the merits of a one-loss SEC team vs. an undefeated Cincinnati team.

So with a little over a month left in the regular season, here's where we stand.

After a huge road win against Auburn last weekend the University of Kentucky football team hosts Louisiana-Monroe this weekend.  Monroe doesn't have a host of athletes the Wildcats need to watch out for this weekend and their starting QB is out.  Yet, the Cats have to make sure their emotions from the Auburn game don't get the best of them.

On the positive side, Monroe's biggest offensive weapon is their misdirection and trick play calling.  Kentucky looked great against Auburn's offense last week.  The Tigers used multiple looks last week but Kentucky's defenders stayed home and did a great job of staying with their assignments.  Monroe won't put Auburn's athletes on the field, and if Kentucky can continue to stay put on defense Monroe will have problems scoring.

Monroe comes into the game with a 4-2 record.  Their two losses were bad losses against a great Texas team and a good Arizona State team.  Their wins; however, aren't against anyone near Kentucky's talent level.  Coming into Commonwealth Stadium on Saturday looking for a win looks to be a tough task for Monroe.

So Kentucky has better talent, home field advantage, and I'll take their coaching staff over Monroe's.  The only thing left for UK to do is over look their oponent after a big win.  It's happened before to better teams than the Cats, but if Kentucky can just stay focused and take care of business this week they should be set up for a good run over the next four games.

Here's one more ploy for home-and-home jerseys on Saturday.  It got 3SIO on the cover of SI in 1967.  Get with it Bammers.  Stop being such snitches.

And now, a word from one of the more famous Alabama... er... alumni?

Not a dog person you say?  Or a grammar person for that matter.  To each his own.

Hate Bama!