- SPORTSBYBROOKS reports that ESPN The Magazine will be doing a “nude” issue this fall featuring Danica Patrick.

- NO GUTS NO GLORY informs us that former Kentucky head coach Billy Gillispie got popped for a DUI. No word on whether or not Gillispie was drowning his sorrows over his inability to close the deal with ESPN sideline reporter Jeannine Edwards.

- THE COOLEY ZONE describes a new insurance that is hitting the market — fantasy football insurance.

- EPIC CARNIVAL has video of the 10 best one-kick knockouts in MMA.

- With all the recent talk about NBA scorekeepers inflating certain numbers, DAILY THUNDER wonders if this is happening to Kevin Durant, who averages far more assists at home than he does on the road.

I wrote earlier today about Billy Gillispie being in limbo, and now he’s not. He’s just been fired.

Billy Gillispie is out as coach of Kentucky in his second season at the helm, and the school has called a 4:30 p.m. news conference to announce the change.

School officials had been quiet about Gillispie’s job status after the Wildcats tumbled through the second half of the season to finish 22-14, tied for the second-most losses in the program’s 106-year history.

When something like this happens, I wonder if his fate was sealed after the team missed the NCAA tournament or if a NIT championship would have been enough to buy him another season.

Let the rumor mill begin…Billy Donovan? Rick Pitino?

You have to think that UK wouldn’t make this move unless they had a plan in place.

Despite a internet report that he had been fired, Billy Gillispie is still the head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats.

School officials have been quiet about Gillispie’s job status after the Wildcats tumbled through the second half of the season to finish 22-14, tied for the second-most losses in the program’s 106-year history.

University president Lee Todd said recently Gillispie’s position would be evaluated at the end of the season. Todd attended the loss to Notre Dame but did not respond to requests for comment by The Associated Press on Thursday.

Athletic director Mitch Barnhart was planning to meet with Gillispie, though the coach said during his radio show Thursday night no meeting had been scheduled.

In response to an Internet report Gillispie is going to be let go, the University of Kentucky issued the following statement Thursday night: “UK men’s basketball coach Billy Gillispie has not been fired. There have been no meetings between Gillispie and UK officials today, and there is no scheduled press conference for tomorrow.”

When asked after the loss to Notre Dame if he expected to be back, Gillispie said the decision wasn’t up to him.

“You’re asking the wrong guy,” he said. “All I know is to go to work, recruit, coach and that’s what I did, that’s what I’ve done and that’s what I’ll continue to do.”

The folks at Kentucky are considering two questions:

1) How good of a coach is Billy Gillispie?
2) Can we get anyone better?

It used to be that a coach would have three or four years to guide a program, but in this day and age when the top players are only stopping at the college level for one or two seasons, the leash seems to be a lot shorter. Two years ago, Kentucky thought so much of Gillispie that they signed him to a seven-year deal. UK fans and boosters are notoriously fickle about their team, but if you feel strongly enough about guy to sign him for seven years, it’s hard to justify letting him go after a 22-win season. Granted, his team lost 14 games this season, but still.

I’m not a big fan of his after seeing how he treated a sideline reporter that reportedly rebuked his advances, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to understand why a school would fire a guy after two seasons of his seven-year deal. Unless, of course, they’re firing him for being a jerk to sideline reports. Then I understand completely.

3:31 PM ET Update: It’s official — Gillispie has been fired.

- In case you missed it, TONY BLOGS has video of Shaq dancing with JabbaWockeeZ before the All-Star Game. What’s a JabbaWockeeZ, you might ask? Exactly.

- YARDBARKER has video of USC head coach Tim Floyd going nuts as he’s thrown out of a game at Arizona State. Geesh, take a chill pill, Tim.

- For Presidents Day, SPORTS CRACKLE POP listed all the Presidents and their closest sports equivalent. It’s pretty funny.

- SPORTSBYBROOKS was told by a source that there might be more to the weird dynamic between Billy Gillispie and sideline reporter Jeannine Edwards than meets the eye.

- UNCOACHED discusses what A-Rod might say at his first post-steroid press conference today.