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Tim Cowlishaw mocks University of Kentucky degrees

Tim Cowlishaw mocks University of Kentucky degrees

The old adage that any press is good press may not apply to Tim Cowlishaw and his Twitter following. During Wednesday's taping of Around the Horn, the Dallas Morning News writer turned heads while discussing Steve Masiello's college degree controversy when he joked: "What's the difference between having a degree from Kentucky and almost having a degree from Kentucky? Is either one of those things really relevant?"

Host Tony Reali immediately pointed out the obvious to Cowlishaw: UK fans are going to "eat you up." As the rest of the panel speculated on the over/under of Internet hatemail that his remark would generate, Cowlishaw conceded, "I need to pick up some followers." The conversation quickly turned to a case-study on social media decorum, with Los Angeles Times columnist and fellow ATH regular Bill Plaschke echoing Cowlishaw's point by saying, "You never lose [followers] when you do something controversial."

It seems both men were wrong, as Cowlishaw's Twitter following appeared to dip in the immediate wake of the comment. As for Cowlishaw's insistence that the Kentucky Wildcats are "going to beat Louisville" — possibly to deflect attention from the inflammatory quip on UK diplomas — we'll have to wait and see.

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