Whatever comes of the mess in Memphis, whatever does or doesn’t stick to John Calipari, one thing is really clear: people in and around Lexington see things very differently than most of the rest of us do.

While John Clay and company have busied themselves assuring Kentucky fans that this is all on Memphis and Derrick Rose, columnists around the country have taken different stances.  Kirk Wessler, of the Peoria paper, thinks Calipari should be punished even if anything happened after the fact.

Mike Hutton of the Gary Post-Tribune questions why Kentucky would hire a guy they knew had a shaky reputation. 

Massachusetts-based Buddy Thomas remembers Calipari’s reign at UMass and
suggests that the
vacated wins at Massachusetts and any at Memphis should come off of his personal
record as well.

Meanwhile, here’s a pretty different take on Rep. Steven Cohen’s suggestion that the NCAA and the NBA forget the minimum-age rule.  Lordnick says: 

"Steve represents the City of Memphis and the University of Memphis. He has written a letter. In this letter he is asking NBA Commissioner David Stern to repeal the league’s rules governing the minimum age of players. Brilliant! What’s the easiest way to avoid problems with college students faking scores on entrance exams? Let them skip college entirely! You don’t have to take a test to join the NBA. All they want is to measure you without shoes–hard to cheat on that (although I am sure Calipari would find a way).

"But more importantly, please tell me Lord Baby Jesus how many games Memphis would have won in conference over the past five years if high school seniors didn’t have to spend a year touring Graceland and eating barbeque before going pro? Maybe they would have split a series against Rice.

"So here’s to you, Congressman Cohen, for trying to finish off a program that John Calipari has already put squarely in the crapper."

He’s having some fun with the whole business.