Snow was starting to collect in central Arkansas a couple of hours after the Arkansas Razorbacks had lost to Kentucky 80-66 on national television.
The phone was on the charger and the caller ID wasn't noticed until it was too late.
It was an Arkansas graduate, a guy who was a student during the Razorbacks basketball heyday, including the 1994 national championship.
He now lives in another state, works in the media as a controversial, opinionated talk show host who has a wide knowledge of sports.
For some reason, he chose to lament his disappointment of the Hogs' performance to yours truly, who was really more interested in watching the news and the snow fall.
He wanted to vent. Some folks get big bucks to listen to folks; he got about $25 worth before I excused myself to answer another call.
The guy's first question -- and his last because he's a talker not a listener -- was on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the worst possible, what was Mike Anderson's job security.
A 2, he was told. So we are clear here that means there's a better chance of President Obama deciding to finish his presidency fishing in the Arctic circle for 11 months than there is of Anderson losing his job at season's end.
It was not the answer the caller wanted to hear, and he began to rail. Railing is not a favorite of yours truly.
Soon it became obvious the guy only was comparing Arkansas with Kentucky.
He wasn't concerned about Saturday's game with Georgia, which despite poor Arkansas rebounding and shooting -- and free-throw shooting by both teams was awful -- probably should have been won by the Hogs before they lost in overtime.
Right now, there isn't much comparison.
The Wildcats are the storied program; the Razorbacks were several good chapters under Eddie Sutton and Nolan Richardson.
The caller complained -- and don't worry, not every tooth-chipping statement will be repeated -- that it was an excuse to say the Razorbacks lost their top four starters but Kentucky lost its top seven.
Yes, but of the Hogs four, only Bobby Portis was taken in the NBA Draft.
Kentucky had four go as lottery picks, two in the second round who are on NBA Development League teams, and the third made the Charlotte Hornets roster as an undrafted free agent.
John Calipari didn't get his usual haul of McDonald's All-Americans to replace McDonald's All-Americans, but the freshman class was mostly highly touted recruits.
Mike Anderson signed some decent players, but so far the best newcomer is Dusty Hannahs, a junior transfer from Texas Tech.
Calipari was the first to focus on recruits so talented they coined a new phrase for them, one-and-dones. In his first six seasons in Kentucky, he led the Wildcats to four Final Fours, winning one and finishing runner-up another time.
Now, Duke and numerous others are in on the act of actively recruiting one-and-dones, so only time will tell for Kentucky, but the truth is it is just easier to recruit at Kentucky than 98 percent of the schools in the country. The history, tradition, lavish Wildcat Lodge -- where the players live -- and all those NBA players who stopped at Kentucky on their way to the league are why kids such as Malik Monk of Bentonville choose Kentucky over their home school.
Monk will be another freshman phenom at Kentucky. He would have been a superstar at Arkansas, but that's what separates the programs right now -- recruiting.
The Wildcats are a national program, and the Hogs are still trying to claw their way back to the top. A road win against Georgia would have helped.
Sports on 01/24/2016