John Calipari accomplishes his prized goal: watching Kentucky players get drafted

The Kentucky basketball postseason media guide cover last March featured the following motto:

"All for one goal."

What the media guide didn't tell us was that the goal wasn't some silly national title. It wasn't a 40-0 season and a spot in college basketball history. It wasn't hanging the school's ninth championship banner from the rafters of Rupp Arena.

No, the goal was Thursday night. NBA draft night.

We know this because Kentucky coach John Calipari said so last month. Cal told a group he spoke to in Rupp: "Last year we started the season with a goal. You may think it was to win a national title or win all the games, [but] it was to get eight players drafted."

ESPN's Heather Cox called him on that in the green room on Thursday night, mentioning that Calipari has said the NBA draft is "more important" than winning a national title.

Cal's response (one of his five appearances on camera on the night): "I never said that."

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John Calipari poses with the four Kentucky players taken in the first round. (Getty Images)

Well, not in those exact words. But if there is a difference between what Cox said and what Cal said last month, it's a microscopic one.

So it must have been an immense relief to Kentucky fans to learn that winning the national title was not the goal, since that didn't work out. Now that they know the draft is the goal – watching four Wildcats go in the first 13 picks, and a record-tying six overall – they can properly rejoice.

Mission accomplished! (Well, minus an injury toAlex Poythress that kept him from going pro, plus the NBA's snub of Aaron Harrison.)

I didn't check the police scanner, but I have to believe there was joyful civil disobedience in the streets of Lexington, Ky., right? Couches on fire? Moderate vandalism?

The celebration may rage for days. Certainly, the fans who camp out for days to get into Big Blue Madness in October are not out there dreaming of a Monday night in April. They're dreaming of a Thursday night in June, when the next raft of Wildcats shows up gripping and grinning with Adam Silver.

The fans whose ticket purchases and donor contributions pay Calipari's seven-year, $54 million contract – they're in it for the draft, right? If a national title should happen to go along with a big showing in the draft, that's a little icing on the cake.

Undoubtedly, this NBA draft will draw higher TV ratings in the state of Kentucky than did the Final Four broadcast of the Wildcats vs. Wisconsin. Even though the Final Four semifinals drew a 33.1 rating in Louisville, Ky.

Whatever. The draft number will dwarf that I am sure.

Calipari also said this at that appearance in May: "The mission for me is to be a vehicle to help others reach their dreams, to be the stone that creates the ripple in their lives that goes on and on and on. Now in our state, they want my mission to be, 'win national titles, win national titles.' My mission is bigger than that."

Fortunately he has educated the Kentucky fans on the miniscule nature of the national title mission. They now see the bigger mission: helping guys like Karl-Anthony Towns get drafted No. 1, because he surely wouldn't have had a chance at being the No. 1 pick if he'd been coached for six months by a lesser man and smaller stone than Calipari. Imagine if Towns had made the monumental mistake of playing for Mike Krzyzewski, Bill Self or Roy Williams – he'd probably be an undrafted free agent.

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Aaron Harrison (left) was not drafted while Andrew Harrison was taken 44th. (AP)

But then there is Lake Harrison, a place where the Calipari stone didn't ripple the way it was expected to. Twins Andrew and Aaron Harrison came to Kentucky as projected one-and-done, top-10 picks. Two years later they slid out of the first round, with Andrew being selected 44th and Aaron going undrafted.

Calipari had his two-minute recruiting pitch/interview with Cox during the first round, aiming his comments at future lottery picks. He probably won't be bringing up the Harrison twins on the recruiting trail going forward.

They stayed two years in school, saw their stock drop and didn't win a title. Although that's certainly secondary in the Calipari philosophy.

"We want to win," he told Cox, "but not at the expense of the kids."

Who said winning and getting your players drafted are mutually exclusive? Duke won it all and had three first-round picks Thursday night. Wisconsin played in the title game and had two in the top 20. Yet neither Krzyzewski nor Bo Ryan feel compelled to sell their fan base on the dubious premise that the draft is a higher goal than a national championship.

Actually, this year wasn't the first time Calipari tried that line. Five years ago, he said the 2010 NBA draft was the greatest night in Kentucky basketball history, after five players (including John Wall,DeMarcus Cousins and Eric Bledsoe) were picked in the first round. That didn't go over too well with the Big Blue old guard.

Of course, that team had something in common with this most recent team: it was by far the most talented team in the nation, and it didn't win the title. That's certainly a good time to elevate the draft to Program Goal No. 1.

Kim Kardashian Thought the Kardashians Were Done After Kris Humphries Disaster

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Kris Humphries's marriage into the Kardashian family was short-lived. (WireImage)

Kim Kardashian has built a career out of knowing just what the people want, like plenty of photos of her backside. Obviously.

However, when she abruptly split with Kris Humphries in 2011, she incorrectly predicted that her fans were through with her and her family.

"At the time, when I was going through the divorce I did say to everyone, 'You guys, I think our careers are over. I hope you saved your money,'" Kardashian told the U.K.'s The Drum. "'And now we'll just continue to do our clothing stores and continue to do what we did before the show.' I totally thought it was over."

Kardashian's breakup with Humphries was shocking, yes. They'd only been married for 72 days when it happened. Not only that, but their lavish, televised wedding ballooned into a celebrity story almost as big as... her 2014 wedding to Kanye West.

Related: Kim Kardashian and Kanye West Expecting a Baby Boy

Still, the Kardashians were not done after the Humphries disaster. They're arguably more prominent than ever, with even more clothing lines, books, and other products in the works.

Kim, for instance, spoke about her video game, Kim Kardashian: Hollywood, which launched this time last year and was an instant hit. It turns out, the many fans of it should thank her husband, Kanye West, for advising her to do it.

"I had just had the baby... My husband and I had all these talks, just about, not slowing down but only working on passion projects," she noted. "My husband does only everything that he is one billion percent passionate about, and he had seen me do things that were a little bit all over the place. Maybe I wasn't so passionate about everything." (We had no idea she didn't love Midori liqueur with every fiber of her being!)

"I respect him and his opinion, and so I asked him, 'What do you think of this video game, do you think I should do it?'" Kim recalled, "And he was like, 'You have to do this.'"

TMZ estimated last July that Kardashian would rake in roughly $85.5 million in the game's first year. That's more than three times what Forbes estimated she earned the year before that.

Related: What Kim Kardashian Will and Won't Post on Instagram

However, Kim recognized social media as the thing that's really "heightened" her career. She added that she's even considered including a new streaming service in the vein of Snapchat on her new website, which launches this summer.

Doesn't look like we have to worry about the end of the Kardashians at the moment.

Bobby Jindal was supposed to be ‘the next Ronald Reagan.’ Here’s what went wrong.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a potential Republican presidential candidate, addresses luncheon attendees at June’s “Road to Majority” conference. (Photo: Carlos Barria/Reuters)

When I traveled to Baton Rouge in November 2008 to report and write an early national profile of Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, the world was a very different place — particularly for Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal.

Barack Obama had just been elected president. America was still swooning. And Jindal, who had been in office for less than a year at that point, was riding nearly as high as his Democratic counterpart from Chicago.

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Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich had recently referred to Jindal as “the most transformative young governor in America.” Radio host Rush Limbaugh had taken to calling him “the next Ronald Reagan.” GOP White House nominee John McCain had already eyed Jindal as a running mate, and earlier that month, Steve Schmidt, McCain’s chief strategist, had told the Washington Post that “the question is not whether he’ll be president, but when he’ll be president — because he will be elected someday.”

Nearly seven years have passed since I visited Jindal in Louisiana. On Wednesday, during an event titled “Geaux Bobby: A Special Announcement from Governor Bobby Jindal” at the Pontchartrain Center in Kenner, just outside New Orleans, Jindal will finally confirm what his famous Republican fans prophesied way back when: He’s running for president.

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His timing couldn’t be worse.

To say that Jindal is “barely registering” in the latest 2016 polls would be an overstatement. According to RealClear Politics, he currently averages 0.8 percent support among Republican primary voters, placing him dead last among the 15 contenders typically considered serious enough to merit pollsters’ attention. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham outpolls Jindal. So does Ohio Gov. John Kasich. And former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum. And former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina. The most recent NBC/Wall Street Journal survey pegged Jindal’s support at zero percent.

His standing at home in Louisiana is even shakier. In May, Jindal’s job-approval rating hit “an all-time low” of 31.8 percent; his disapproval rating, meanwhile, soared to a record high of 64.7 percent. A survey released last week showed that if the 2016 presidential election were held today, Jindal’s fellow Louisianans, who aren’t known for their liberalism,would choose Democrat Hillary Clinton over their current governor . Even President Obama, who lost Louisiana by 17 percentage points in 2012, is more popular than Jindal in the Pelican State. As the Washington Post recently put it, “ Bobby Jindal is at the nadir of his political career.”

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What happened? Why hasn’t Jindal become the next Reagan — or, as my profile posited, “the GOP’s Obama”? On the eve of the governor’s big announcement, I revisited my 2008 reporting in an attempt to recall what initially made him such an exciting political prospect. (Portions of this piece are adapted from that profile.) I also reviewed his record over the subsequent six-plus years.

What I found was a story of real promise — promise that many in Louisiana say he has squandered.

Gov. Bobby Jindal delivers the Republican Party’s official response to President Barack Obama’s address to a joint session of Congress in 2009.

France calls in US envoy over spying, holds security meeting

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PARIS (AP) — France summoned the U.S. ambassador to the Foreign Ministry and the French president held a high-level emergency meeting Wednesday following revelations by WikiLeaks that the U.S. National Security Agency had eavesdropped on the past three French presidents.

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President Francois Hollande called the U.S. spying an "unacceptable" security breach.

The documents appear to capture top French officials in Paris between 2006 and 2012 talking candidly about Greece's economy, relations with Germany, and American spying on allies. While there were no huge surprises, the release of the documents late Tuesday angered and embarrassed French officialdom.

U.S. Ambassador Jane Hartley was summoned to the French Foreign Ministry, according to government spokesman Stephane Le Foll. Hollande is also sending France's top intelligence coordinator to the United States shortly, to ensure that promises made after earlier NSA spying revelations in 2013 and 2014 have been kept, Le Foll said.

Calling the spying "incomprehensible," Le Foll told reporters "France does not listen in on its allies."

The U.S. Embassy had no immediate comment on the WikiLeaks revelations.

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En esta fotografía del 21 de agosto de 2013, un partidario de WikiLeaks protesta afuera de la embaja …

U.S. National Security Council spokesman Ned Price released a statement Tuesday evening saying the U.S. is "not targeting and will not target the communications of President Hollande." Price did not address claims that the U.S. had previously eavesdropped on Hollande or his predecessors, Nicolas Sarkozy or Jacques Chirac.

Hollande convened two emergency meetings Wednesday as a result of the disclosures: first with France's top security officials, then with leading legislators.

At a Cabinet meeting Wednesday, Le Foll said "we reminded all the ministers to be vigilant in their conversations."

Two of the cables — dealing with then-President Sarkozy and his predecessor, Jacques Chirac — were marked "USA, AUS, CAN, GBR, NZL" suggesting that the material was meant to be shared with Britain, Canada and other members of the so-called "Five Eyes" intelligence alliance.

The disclosures, which emerged late Tuesday in French daily newspaper Liberation and investigative website Mediapart, mean that France has joined Germany on the list of U.S. allies targeted by the NSA.

"This involves unacceptable acts that have already given rise to discussions between the United States and France," Hollande said in a statement after an emergency defense council meeting. The statement said France has reinforced protective measures, without elaborating.

The release appeared to be timed to coincide with a vote in the French Parliament on a bill allowing broad new surveillance powers, in particular to counter terrorist threats. The Senate approved it Tuesday and the lower house of parliament is expected to give it final approval Wednesday.

There was no instant confirmation on the accuracy of the documents, which covered intercepts from 2006-12. WikiLeaks, however, has a track record of publishing intelligence and diplomatic material.

An aide to Sarkozy told The Associated Press that the former president considers these methods unacceptable. There was no immediate comment from Chirac.

France is among several U.S. allies that rely heavily on American spying powers when trying to prevent terrorist and other threats.

1st service held at black church since 9 slayings

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CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Members of a historic black church worshipped at their sanctuary Sunday for the first time since a gunman opened fire at a Bible study, killing nine people, and uniformed police officers stood among the congregation as a measure of added security.

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The service started with a message of love, recovery and healing, which will no doubt reverberate throughout churches across the country.

"We still believe that prayer changes things. Can I get a witness?" the Rev. Norvel Goff said. The congregated responded with a rousing "Yes."

"But prayer not only changes things, it changes us," Goff said.

Sunday morning marked the first service at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church since Dylann Roof, 21, sat among a Bible study group and opened fire after saying that he targeted them because they were black, authorities said. Among the nine killed was the church pastor, the Rev. Clementa Pinckney, who was also a state senator.

Events to show solidarity are planned throughout the city and beyond. At 10 a.m. EDT, church bells rang throughout downtown this "Holy City" — which garnered the nickname because of the numerous churches here.

Visiting Pastor: 'We Need God's Help'Play video

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Mayor Joseph Riley attended the service at Emanuel.

Despite grim circumstances the congregation has been faced with, the welcoming spirit Roof exploited before the shooting is still alive, church members said.

"I think just because of what people have gone through emotions are definitely heightened, not just in Charleston but with anyone going to church because it is such a sacred place, it is such a safe place," Shae Erdos, 29, said after a multiracial group of women sang "Amazing Grace" outside the church Saturday afternoon.

"To have something like that completely shattered by such evil — I think it will be in the back of everyone's heads, really," Erdos said. Erdos was planning on attending Sunday service in nearby Mount Pleasant.

The suburb is connected to Charleston by the Arthur Ravenel Bridge, where people are expected to join hands in solidarity Sunday evening. The bridge's namesake is a former state lawmaker and a vocal Confederate flag supporter.

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Parishioners sing at the Emanuel A.M.E. Church four days after a mass shooting that claimed the live …

Roof had been photographed with the flag several times before the shooting.

Unity Church of Charleston the Rev. Ed Kosak said delivering his own Sunday morning sermon would be emotionally taxing but he felt empowered by the strength and grace Emanuel members have shown — a demeanor he said has set the tone for religious leaders everywhere.

"I've gone into Sunday sermons before like when Virginia Tech happened, and when the Sikh shootings happened" Kosak said. The situation in Charleston may be harder to give a sermon on because it hits so close to home. But, Kosak said, "I am more ready than ever to speak to this tragedy in ways I didn't think I could before."

For the family of Cynthia Hurd, Sunday's service will be especially poignant. Hurd, a longtime librarian, would have been celebrating her 55th birthday and was planning a trip to Virginia with her siblings.

"Sunday will not be a sad day for me; it will be a celebration for me. It will be a celebration for our family because our faith is being tested," Hurd's younger brother Malcolm Graham said Friday. "She was in the company of God trying to help somebody out. She was where she needed to be."

Felicia Breeland, an 81-year-old lifelong Emanuel member, said she sang in the choir with Susie Jackson, 87, who was also fatally shot Wednesday.

"It's going to be sad. She sits right on the front row, too," Breeland said. "She had a very soft soprano voice. It was beautiful."

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Associated Press National Writer Allen Breed contributed to this report.