Run, it's Crumageddon!, cnt'd

It's a story tailor-made for radio hosts. In that, it's a story that can eat up hours of passionate conversation without ever really saying anything. There's a lot of blather, a lot of dumb things being said and more dumb things being said moments later that contradict what was just said moments before. It's a manna-like story for media where people speak solely from emotion, and logic need not present itself.

But I don't want to be dumb. And I don't want to pretend to be dumb. But I will continue to highlight and mock dumb. So, without further ado, from my limited intake, here's my favorite Top 5 dumbest responses to the Denny Crum-"Legends" story...

5) "If Crum goes through with this, he's dead to me." --UofL message boarder

You've been "in the field" too long my Cardinal friend. Because that's insanity. By "field" I mean message board wars, radio smack, twitter nonsense, etc...

The reason I hold ZERO ill-will towards Crum for choosing to partake in this event is this: HE DOESN'T THINK LIKE THAT.

He's 74. He's loves UofL, but he doesn't hate UK. He's not following the day to day volleys of the blogosphere, he's scarcely aware there is a blogosphere! He hasn't even been in town since this whole thing "blew up". That kind of message board-animosity, scheming to "wipe a rival off the map", that kind of thinking is utterly foreign to him. As it should be, it's probably why he's primed for a long and healthy life and I'll be dead by 50.

I do believe that Calipari does care about such things, so yes, in that regard I think he's using Denny to try and further his obsessive one-sided war against Pitino. But that reveals Cal's character, not Denny's.

4) "I might have lofty standards for my trash-talking, but I’m a little underwhelmed by this.  If Cal wanted to take shots, he’d take shots. That’s what he does and he doesn’t leave any room for interpretation." --Thomas Beisner, KSR editor

A quote made without apparent irony, one in the longstanding "if wishing makes it so" practice of KSR trying to create its own reality.

This quote was actually in response to another of Cal's twitter "slams" vaguely directed at Coack K of Duke, but it fits into my repeated retorts against Calipari being described as "tough" and ballsy", as he has been by almost all throughout this Denny story.

No, Thomas, Cal doesn't "take shots". He skirts, insinuates, pokes, prods, but he doesn't "take shots". He's not a badass, he never has been, nor will he ever be. He's not even a confident, well-adjusted, adult by most definitions. True to form with this Denny-"Legends" thing, Cal is only interested in flexing his "big brass balls" from the shadows. Then turn it over to Matt Jones. And then if enough people repeat it, it becomes true.

3) "The flipside of this is that it reveals UofL's obsession with Coach Cal." --Chip Cosby, Wazoo Sports Buzz

Facepalm. So when someone is pathologically obsessed with irking, stalking, and scheming against your program, and if some fans register annoyance to that fact, all the sudden it really says more about you?

Very zen of you, Mr. Cosby. Moronic, but zen.

2)  "It’s a basketball event in a basketball town in one of the nation’s best basketball arenas. If I’m a UofL fan, I want rival fans and players in there at every opportunity, just to show the place off." --Eric Crawford, CJ blog

It's a weird statement, something I'd expect my wife to say rather than a sportswriter: "C'mon in everyone, make yourself at home. Our new arena is cuuuuuuuuute!"

1)  "I’ve heard it said that this is one way for Calipari to slap U of L, but I don’t think so. How does it hurt U of L? I just don’t see it. Joe B. Hall has been coming to U of L events for years and is welcomed with open arms. It hasn’t changed his standing as a UK icon (though, let’s face it, UK fans had to grit their teeth when he was wearing a U of L hat watching his granddaughter play softball there.)" --Eric Crawford, same blog linked above

Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd, we have a winner! Dumbest comment by a few miles. I mean, if Crawford actually believes what he's writing, he has his head in the sand and isn't very good at his job. If he's just ignoring the reality of the situation for whatever reason, he's professionally dishonest and isn't very good at his job.

You don't believe this to be an affront (albeit a small, petty one) to UofL? You think Cal is actually just sincere in his appreciation of Denny Crum's fine accomplishments?

And what's worse, you think this is akin to UK fans having to "grit their teeth" when Joe B. Hall once wore a UofL cap during his granddaughters softball game??? WHAT. PLANET. ARE. YOU. WATCHING. FROM?

There's probably 10 people in the state that remembered that Joe B. Hall's granddaughter played softball for UofL. There's probably 4 people that were "upset" over it. Zero were "gritting their teeth" over the fact.

To compare the situations is absurd and intellectually dishonest. And the only way Crawford could be surprised by the fact that some fans are upset when Calipari begins using a UofL patron saint as a pawn in his petty war against Pitino is if he pretends to be less shrewd than he is.

But to play dumb is to be dumb.