State of the Union, Part 1

Well folks, I am sure everyone has been anxiously awaiting my take on this years Basketball Cats. It has been a rough couple of years for those of us in the "Roman Empire," but this season has the makings of the worst since Eddie "He who must not be named" Sutton attempted to drive the death nail into our beloved basketball coffin. Fortunately for Kentucky Fans, Rick "He who must not be named #2" Pitino rescued the Cats and put us back in the National Spotlight. Before season's end, is it going to be Tubby "He who must not be named #3" around the Bluegrass or will Billy Clyde be able to turn it around for the Cats? In fact, if Billy Clyde can't turn it around, he might become Billy "He who must not be named #4" around the Bluegrass. (That's right I just made a Harry Potter reference). Today's State of the Union will be more of a retrospective look at what got the Wildcats tho this particular state of Affairs. I write this on the Eve of the "Dream Game" as a a way to get everyone prepared for the big game. We depart for the big Honeymoon tomorrow, so expect post-game analysis and the other parts of the State of the Union at a later date.

• You probably never thought you would see the day where a picture of Rick Pitino (aka Slick Rick, aka Traitor Rick, aka Benedict Arnold, aka That piece of crap that had the audacity to coach for Little Brother after leading us back the promised land, aka "Cleveland Clinic" Rick, aka 3 game losing streak to Dayton Rick, etc) on derekaburden.blogspot.com did you? Well here it is, and for good reason. Despite the fact that I despise what he did when taking the Little Brother job, he should be credited for bringing the Cats back to dominance in the '80s. Also of note, the 1996 Kentucky Basketball team has to be the best team assembled since Walton or Alcindor roamed the court in Westwood. This team would absolutely destroy people, once notching 86 points in a half. 86 POINTS IN A HALF! And no it wasn't against souteast northern missiouri technical college, it was against an SEC opponent.
  
  Rick deserves his credit for turning us around. We went from a team full of no-talents with one Superstar (the Unforgettables) to a team full of superstars in 1996. The only problem was, he had no intentions of staying. Thinking he would hit the lottery with Tim Duncan, Tricky Dick bolted for Boston. The rest, as they say, is history. He instead got Chauncey Billups (pre Mr. Big Shot era) and tried to run a full court press in the NBA. This doesn't work in a league where 6'8" men dribble like they are 5'10" point guards. Humiliated, rich, and with his ego beaten down he stepped down (got fired) from the Celtics. In a whirlwind move, he accepted the job with little brother and found the college game much harder the second time around. Players no longer listened to their coach, and not everyone wanted to play on a campus whose most attractive feature is a series of silos proclaiming it "The best college sports town in America". The little known fact about this sign is that in small print at the bottom it says : "and by best in America, we mean second best in the state." Little Brudder fans proclaimed that they would be a "top 5 program in no time." This has not occurred, and despite the fact that Rick has a final 4 on his resume for the Tards, it is the only season he has played in the second weekend of the NCAA tournament.
  
  We have digressed a bit into the struggles of Traitor Rick, but who doesn't enjoy reveling in his misery? Moving on to the relevance of our current struggles, here was our recruiting class that Traitor Rick worked so hard to get us while negotiating with the Celtics prior to the 1998 season: Micheal Bradley (who transferred, Myron Anthony (who stole a car), and Ryan Hogan (who transferred). Well, one could excuse that, he was job shopping. So how did he do the year after winning it all in 1996 and sending four (4!) players to the NBA? His recruiting class was: Jamaal Magloire (all time great) and Steve Massiello (greatest ball boy ever). So in Ricks final 2 years while being atop the College basketball universe, he still somehow only got 1 impact recruit in 2 years. The effects of this would be seen a couple of years into Coach Smith's tenure

• So that leads us into the Tubby Smith era. As mentioned previously, the Tubster was left with an absolute ton of talent on his squad, and promptly took that squad to the National Championship in his first year. This calmed some people's fears about having an African-American as a head coach at the University of Kentucky. However, with Saint Rick (as he was known at the time before coaching for da Ville) going to 2 consecutive championship games, Tubby had one more year to live up to his mentor.




• So that takes us to the 1999 NCAA tournament. This is one that really sticks out to me, and I am quite bitter about because I witnessed it in person. In the round of 16, the Cats faced Miami (OH) and Wally's world. What I remember from that game is this: there were about 50 Miami fans there, but they were the 50 loudest and most obnoxious people you will ever meet. It seems like the same cars were doing loops around downtown St. Louis with "Wally's World" flags hanging out of their cars. I must give them props, because they really brought it. The next game we played the Spartans of Michigan State to give Wayne Turner his fourth final 4 in four years. That would have been a helluva accomplishment. It wasn't meant to be as the Cats took at early double digit lead, but fell to the dancing leprechaun, Mateen Cleaves. I hate that man to this day.
  
  Well at this point, the slim recruiting by Mr. Pitino in the last 2 years of his tenure began to show, as the Junior and Senior class was lacking (sound familiar?). The Tubster lost in the second round of the NCAAs to Syracuse, preventing a rematch with Michigan State. This was Coach Smith's first 10 loss season, leading to the moniker "10 loss Tubby."
  
  Contrary to popular belief, Coach Smith landed several good recruiting classes in these early years, but was never able to deliver with a good run in the postseason. Disappointing losses to Southern Cal and Maryland ended the next 2 seasons before Cats' fans would like them to. Then came 2003.
  
  2003 is all the evidence that you need Tubby Smith is a great coach. In 2003 everything clicked. We had a Bona Fide Star (Keith Bogans), surrounded by a bunch of unselfish role players willing to do whatever it took to win. A perfect record in the SEC and a 26 game win streak, the Cats appeared to be the team to beat, after being discarded at the beginning of the season. Looking ahead, it appeared odd that 2 lower seeded teams were playing closer to home than the #1 overall seeded Cats, but that didn't matter.
  
  Then came the Wisconsin game. Wisconsin is perennially one of those Big Ten teams that wins games by just beating up the other team, or boring them to the point where they don't care and just let them score so they can have the ball back. Fortunately this type of game was right up the Tubster's alley, and the Badgers played the Cats close, but finally succumbed under to the much superior Cats. 'Quis played the best game of his career and finished with 28 of the teams 63 points. This was not the story of the game, though. The story of the game was Keith Bogans sustaining a sprained ankle early in the game and only playing 15 minutes. The injury was of the dreaded "high ankle sprain" variety which one time caused football-cat and SEC defensive player of the year Dennis Johnson to miss an entire season. It looked liked the Cats would have to challenge Marquette without their best player. Shouldn't be a problem, though, they only have 2 white kids who can shoot it, some fat guy that transferred from Miss State, and some kid named Wade who can't shoot it from the outside.
  
  Well, we all know what happened. However I feel like a couple of key details from this game are often overlooked. First of all, D Wade did murder us with a triple double totaling 29 11 and 11, but that was not the main factor that killed us. We got behind big in the first half due to some strong shooting from Novak, and Robert Jackson (the fat guy from Miss State) held us off late with some key low post scoring. On the UK side, 2 factors really affected this game other than Bogans' injury. First off, Chuck Hayes picked up 2 fouls about 2 minutes into the game, and Marquis Estill followed his career best game up with an absolute stinker. Jackson dominated him the whole game, and in a situation where the Cats needed Estill to step up he could not produce. Had Hayes been able to stay in the game, he might have been able to slow down Wade. Had Estill not had his head up his butt, he might have been able to be the go-to-guy the Cats were missing with Bogans out.
  
  


• That takes us through the "successful" part of the Tubby Smith era. He tried to get it together with a good run in 2004 (#1 overall seed) but suffered a shocking 2nd round loss to UAB. He also tried to get it going again in 2005 with an Elite 8 run, but could not get a rebound in overtime to make a trip to the Final Four
  
  It has been lamented enough that I need not discuss the next 2 seasons and the messy exit for Coach Smith (including the entire national media calling Kentucky a bunch of racist idiots). This brings us to The Billy Clyde Era which we will touch on in the next post.

GameDay Update

That's right folks, College GameDay is in Lexington. Let me say that again, COLLEGE GAMEDAY IS IN LEXINGTON. After 7 years of hard knocks, so far this year I have seen: the Cats break the losing streak to the Cards, the Cats given retribution to LSU for the Bluegrass Miracle, and now the boys of College GameDay and Mr. Corso of headgear fame have come to LexVegas. Don't adjust your TV sets, hell has not frozen over this is the alternative universe known to many as Kentucky Football 2007.

• Is it a sign that today's dictionary.com word of the day was jocund? Here is the excerpt: jocund \JOCK-uhnd; JOH-kuhnd\, adjective:
  Full of or expressing high-spirited merriment; light-hearted; mirthful.
  Is it possible that I willbe jocund after the game once again, or will it be the stupid gator fans that are?
• Today is another Saturday in a great string of Saturdays this year. One could argue that there have been 3 games termed "the biggest game in Commonwealth history," including this one. As a Cat fan, we have experienced too many hardships in the previous years to believe that this could possibly be real, but I just pinched myself and it is really happening. Could the Cats break the NCAA's 3rd longest current losing streak to an opponent and beat the Gators for the first time since '86?
• GameDay is without a doubt the greatest TV show in the history of time. Chris, Lee and Kirk really have it rough travelling to campuses all over the country every week and talking about college football. How does one end up in their position? Word on the street is that Jack Bauer envies the GameDay trio and was unable to even get a tryout for the show. Expect cameos from Billy Clyde himself on the set. From the looks of yesterday's update on the grass outside Willy T, it looks like Lee is going to be putting the Gator head on instead of the Wildcat head. That is not necessarily a bad thing as Lee's record with the mascot head pick is not very stellar.
• The one thing the Cats have going against them is the fact that ESPN simulation picked the gators by 14 over the cats. So far this season, the simulation is perfect in picking the winner, including the Cats over the Cards in week 3.
• I'm about to take off for the gameday run, but here at derekaburden.blogspot.com we have some breaking news. Steve Brown, DC for the Cats, has been spent every waking hour researching how to stop the Cyborg known as Tim Tebow. We have just learned that coach Brown discovered a substance deep inside Mammoth Cave that will render the Florida QB ineffective. Just remember you read it here first.
• Despite the fact that Florida has 2 losses and a ranking much lower than the Bayou Bengals last week, I feel a little less confident in the Cats this week. 2 of the things that kill the Cats are mobile QBs, and trick plays. With the combo of Urban Meyer and the Cyborg Tim Tebow the Cats will face both. We just need to roll the dice and hope for a few breaks. Thus far this season, the Cats have proved that their offense is only stopped when they make turnovers, so prevent those and hopefully we will have a chance in a shootout. I say Steve Brown unveils his secret weapon late in the 3 quarter and Tebow makes a couple of mistakes that give the Cats the chance to take the lead and hold on to it until the end. I say Cats 38 Gators 31.
• By the way, those wondering about Sam Bright's thoughts on the game: "Basically we completely outman this team. With Vegas setting the spread for this weeks game as the Cats a 45 point favorite, I plan on turning it off at half-time. They have no team speed and they have no history in football. It has been years since Florida competed for the SEC, much less the NCAA championship. They fold under the pressure of GameDay and the Cats win by 100."

Have fun folks and feel free to stop by the tailgate if you come out today.

Game Day Update

It's quarter til 6 and time to get hyped up for the #1 Tigers to come into commonwealth. UK hasn't beat a #1 team since the 70's when they were cheating so needless to say a victory today would be probably the biggest in the program's history. Hopefully the house will be rockin' and the Cats will be able to keep it close and have a shot at the end to avenge some of the terrible losses we have had to the Bayou Bengals in the past.

• Sam Bright on today's big matchup: "LSU is probably the most overrated #1 team in the history of time. I would say they have only 1 or 2 guys that will play on Sundays. The talent discrepancy between Kentucky and LSU is huge. They do not belong on the same field with us."
• Am I the only one that is bothered by the fact that there are 2 teams nicknamed "Tigers" in the SEC. Sure there are 2 "Bulldogs" in the SEC as well, but there are bulldogs living in the United States. The last time a tiger lived in the US area was of the saber tooth variety in the Pre-Cambrian era. Seriously, should Auburn and LSU have to fight it out to be the "real tigers" when the animal is not even indigenous to the area? It's not like there is a lack of mascots out there. Surely, one could change and become the "Weebles" or something
• Speaking of revenge, let's review the last 3 times the Tigers and Cats have hooked up on the gridiron. Last year, LSU housed us from beginning to end putting up 49 while shutting us out. I am not yet convinced that they could have scored 200 on us if they wanted to. In 2001, the Tigers went down the field on a long methodical drive throwing a touchdown to break our hearts 29-25. And everyone knows about the Bluegrass miracle in 2002. The Cats had the team beat that won the National Championship the following year as idiots hung from the goalpost when Devery Henderson crossed the goal line.
• As always, it sounds like Big Blue Madness was an over hyped practice that turned out to be a little cheesy. It's great to bring in Billy Clyde with a bang and let the fans meet the new recruits, but unless you are 1o years old it doesn't live up to the billing.
• Short post this week cuz I've got to get rolling for my pregame run. In order for the Cats to do what they need, I really feel like Raffie has to play. He brings an element to the game as a complete running back that none of our other backs give us. He doesn't have to be 100%, but we need to see some production out of him. Dre' and the rest of the team have to play mistake-free ball and we finally have to get some production out the kicking game. The Tigers have amazing athletes all over the field, and we have to contain any crazy trick plays they try to pull off. When under pressure, Dre' needs to get rid of the ball and get back in the Heisman race like he was before the USC game. He throws for 3 TD's and Dixon runs for 1 and the Cats pull it out 31-28. GEAUX BIG BLUE!

Game Day Update

Today is the big game versus the Cocks. Despite the fact he might be the greatest football mind of our era, you have to hate Steve Spurrier when he is the coach on the other sideline. In the clutch, you know he is going to pull out a stick and draw up a play in the sand to win the game. The difference is this year the Cocks have the D to back up Spurrier's O. This D has yet to come up big against the run, and with rain likely in Columbia they will face a big test with Little, Dixon, and trush frosh Derrick (what a terrible way to spell an amazing name) Locke. And let's be serious, their QB is a frosh named Smelley. That can't bode well for them.

• Sam Bright on today's game: "In my expert opinion, this should be a pretty, dull, predictable running game for USC. Their coach doesn't seem to have much experience playing in the SEC and i think they will choke when exposed to big, D1 football. Rich Brooks needs to reign in his defense because it's going to be a ho-hum evenin of rushing."

That's all the time we have for today. As for the game, I say the Cats take it 41-27 adding a TD late to make the game seem like a bigger blowout than it was. Dre' throws for 3 TDs and takes the lead in the Heisman race. Little punches 2 more in and Lones Seiber even makes a couple of field goals.

Update from the Dirty

I am here in Atlanta, getting ready to head out the door for the Clemson Georgia Tech game, to this is gonna be a short post.

• Sam Bright on today's game: "FAU has such a great track record in the NCAA as a long time power, I am not sure how UK can keep up. The only thing we have going for us is that their coach hasn't had very much success at his other stops in Florida"
• Bobby Dodd Stadium is a cool place to watch a football game. The sightlines of the buildings of downtown Atlanta while a college football game is pretty awesome.

On today's game, I say the boys don't overlook FAU and Dre' only has to play through 1 series in the 4th quarter. We put 'em away early and let the young guys get some playing time. Cats 56-14.

Bizzaro World

That's right folks, we are now entering an alternate dimension. In this alternate place, the University of Kentucky football team wins SEC games on the road (not including Vandy and Miss St), makes 4th quarter comebacks, and bounces back when adversity hits them. What causes this? Leadership of course. The national media all thought the Cats were ready for a fall after the big win over Louisville. What the national media forgot to factor in was that this Kentucky team is chock full of leaders that will refuse to allow a collapse to happen. Dre', Tamme, Little, Woodyard, Leger these guys will not allow our team to lose focus for one minute and take the eye off the prize. This weekend is the classic "trap game," coming off a big road win with a big road game on a short week to look forward to. Normally a game like this would make me very nervous for UK, despite the fact we are favored by over 3 touchdowns. Not with this group of leaders. We snag victory from the jaws of defeat instead of the reverse usually seen with past UK teams.

All this leadership lends to the question: what will happen to the program next year when all of our seniors are gone? That remains uncertain. UK would have to have a major collapse to not have a second consecutive bowl appearance this year, and a third consectuve post-season appearance would be great for recruiting. The main questions focus on 2 positions: QB and WR. At QB, there are several names in the possibility. Number one is Curtis Pulley (back-up QB/WR last year). Curtis will be a redshirt junior and gives the Cats athleticism and the possibility to run the spread-option made so famous by Mr Vince Young at Texas. Mike Hartline (RS-Soph) and Will Fidler(RS-Soph) are both on campus now and appear to be making strides but not to the point where they could start in the SEC next year. The x-factors remain Matt Lentz(RS-Fresh) and possible junior college transfer and former E-town QB Chris Todd. Who will win the job? My money is on Pulley or Lentz with Todd being a dark horse depending on his performance this year at JUCO. At WR, Dicky Lyons will be a legitimite threat in the slot. We just need two guys to step up on the edges. I see Kyrus Lanxter (Soph) and True freshman Aaron Boyd giving us some young threats on the edges and Senior Demereo Ford being a solid presence to keep the young guys straight.

Suey!

Big game for the Cats. We have not had an SEC road victory over a team not Miss St or Vandy since 2002. A win today and it is looking like the Cats will be ranked inside the top 15 with a Thursday Showdown against the Gamecocks in a week and a half.

• Today is the my niece's first birthday party. On this day I am a proud uncle of a beautiful little girl, but she will not remember a thing. This is a day for her parents (my brother and sister-in-law) to show her off and for her to see how much cake she can get all over her face and clothes
• Sam Bright on today's game: "I really feel like Kentucky should dominate this game, the only problem is their vaunted passing game. Luckily they really don't have anyone that can run the ball very well so I think we should be OK"
• If you really want to make a ton of money on a business, open some sort of a business involving weddings. It doesn't really matter how much your product is or how outlandish your idea is, someone will pay tons of money for it

For today's game, I see DMac taking his 28" rims and running all over our defense. Fortunately, the Hogs defense may be just as bad as UL's. They have a starting DT suspended this game for using his helmet to hit another player last week, and one of their starting corners is converting from the safety position (where he played last week). Dre' continues the black horse Heisman march, and throws for 350 and 5 tds. Cats 45-Hogs38

My Worst Nightmare

As an aside, my worst nightmare is that Andruw Jones will not get any attention on the free agent market and will end up re-signing with the Atlanta Braves. I am not officially in Jayson Stark's corner in saying that he is one of the most overrated center fielders ever. His whopping batting average of .221 this season is one of the main reasons the braves will not be in the playoffs for the second straight year. Despite the fact he has the second most at-bats with runners in scoring position this year, he does not have 100 RBI yet. (He is hitting 10 points above his season avg for a whopping .230 w/ RISP). Atlanta, PLEASE save your money and use it to lock up Teixeira long term

The Aftermath

No, no, I am not talking about the failed Dr. Dre Album. I am instead talking about the fallout from the big win last week. The picture you see above is the beloved Cards favorite symbol. I must say I walked out of the stadium with that happily thrown in the air. The last gasp for duh ville did bring back some bad memories of hail marys gone bad in UK's history, but it turned out for the best. Instead of giving you my commentary, I will allow you to read comments I have copied and pasted from the UL message board on http://louisville.rivals.com. Enjoy!

• On that last play for UK, I was watching Woodson, seeing if we were going to get pressure. When I saw him turn to throw the ball to his left, I looked over there and was absolutely sure I saw the UK receiver running out of bounds along the UK sideline, and he wasn't anywhere near Woodny, so I didn't think he was pushed out.
• I know, every game is full of blown calls and it's just part of the game. But we really did the get the short end of the stick in this game even though we let that guy be that wide open with 34 seconds to play. We should have won.
• Ok the Cats got us, our defense is a work in progress, and we continue to make mistakes. But now is not the time to scuttle the ship and jump. The fact that UK beating UL is called an upset, shows where our program is compared to theirs. They will slink back to the dog$hit leagues next season when all their playmakers graduate, while we will be talking about better things like possibly being 2 time defending Big East Champs.
• Theyve won 2 out of 9 games against us...pretty impressive. Our program is still far ahead. This stuff always seems to happen with a new coach and new system. Like Howie said last night "the blind squirrel found its nut". We'll go on next year to dominate them again as they go back to the 3 and 4 win season with only like 3 or 4 returning starters on offense. We'll have every running back returning, 3 of the oline, another top 5 QB in the country, Spillman and Mario will take over WR, and our defense returns the majority(not that its a good thing right now).
• but saying that UK was much better than UL is simply not true. I believe if UL had played a real good team on the road and played like that, it wouldn't have been close. The whole game was a recipe for disaster and UL nearly came away with a win. The bad penalties, turnovers, dropped passes, not making tackles, and blown coverages will get you killed usually against a really good team. I give credit to UK for playing a better game than UL. They didn't turn it over, but that goes to dropped passes by UL's defense. There were three passes that were picks if UL's secondary had any hands. I just feel like it was apperent UL has more talent, but the coordination is suspect. That falls on the coaches and the QB. It is not pee wee football where the coaches can make sure there are 7 guys on the line of scrimmage, that is the QB's job and Brohm blew it. The whole game was a series of disappointment for me. Congrats to UK though, they did earn it, but it would have been humiliating to show up at WVU with that kind of effort. UL would have lost by at least 30. I could easily see 5 losses if the coaches don't A) solve the penalties, B) teach the D how to tackle, C) tell Mario to catch the ball or he is riding the bench. UL has way too many playmakers sitting on the sideline for Mario to continue to drop pass after pass. Sorry, but I just had to vent. I'm done. Go Cards! Get it fixed against Syracuse.
• This is what irks me...this kind of crap-it is obvious that the refs were bias, the commentators were bias, the clock guy was bias. That win cost UK a lot of $$$$
• YES!!!***** HOME TOWN CLOCK KEEPER! HE ROBBED US THE REST OF THE GAME*****The WR was two steps in the end zone with 35 seconds left...the clocked was let go down to 28 sec*Guy returned the ball out of the endzone and was laying on the ground with 24 sec....but the clock didnt stop until 21 sec*Brohms next long pass that was almost picked was bouncing on the ground with 16 sec...the clock ticked on until 14 sec remained.*The next pass to Guy was pretty accurate, he ran out of bounds with 6 seconds, and the clockeeper stopped it at 5 seconds. I can understand it takes a second for human error.That totals up to 12 seconds lost. HUGE!!!!I counted in my head how much time would been left after Douglas was tackled...and the play went on for about 5 seconds after the regulation time was run out. Thanks to college football stopping the clock with a first down, that would have left us with 7 seconds. Plenty of time.
• We are one lucky play away from being a shoe in for the National Championship

And those are comments all taken from the message board today! Planet Red was in a state of distress on Sunday, but here's to the Cats moving on from a big W and taking down the pigs

Game Day Approaches

T-minus 12.5 hours to kickoff and I do not know if I have ever been this psyched for a game. The town is just electric and ready to carry off the Cats to be big victory. Who needs this game more? I have often wondered that myself. If duh ville loses then there goes their NC chances and a possible death spiral could ensue. If UK loses it is 5 in a row to an in-state rival which can't help recruiting. Then again if Kentucky pulls the upset over City College it could vault the Cats into uncharted waters for the rest of the season; A solid run in the SEC this year and a January Bowl would become a lot less far-fetched. If duh ville wins then it is a step they were supposed to take to become the "national powerhouse" the fan base thinks they are. So UK needs to win the game while little brother doesn't need to lose it. How does that work out to who needs it more? Who knows.

• This UK squad is highlighted by a slew of senior leaders including Dre', Tamme, Little, Burton, Woodyard, and others. These leaders need to step it up, keep the emotions in check, and whoop some ass today. We need to take it to the Cards from minute one, and never let them get comfortable. Sure City College is going to make a few big plays, but everytime they do, our leaders have to be there to respond with a big play of our own.
• In a change from the norm, Sam Bright actually did something good for a change. To help our team this week, he snuck a jar of his secret "muscle balm" that is "all natural" and "so new it is undetectable" to each one of the players. Go Sam and way to take one for the team
• As I was preparing to go for the customary pre-game run this morning I thought my iPod was giving me a sign. I put it on shuffle and the first song that came was Diddy's "Victory." Unfortunately the next song that came on was Beck's "Loser." My iPod is playing with my mind
• As for today's game the key lies in the trenches (I know that's what everyone says), but the winner of this game since it was restarted in 1994 is the one who got more out of the running game. If the three-headed monster of little/dixon/smith can establish the inside running game and break a few on the outside it bodes very well for the cats. The threat of our deep passing game with the combo of Burton and Woodson should be enough to keep City College honest enough to consistently only keep 7 in the box. If the depleted defensive line for the Cats can buck up and keep the cards to a relatively low rushing output and get off the field on 3rd down, the Cats will have this one in the bag. As for the final prediction, I say Cats 41-34 in a reversal of the score from 2005.

By the way if you want some material a lot funnier than mine about little brother, go to http://www.kentuckysportsradio.com/. If you are out today stop by the Orange Lot and say hello.

L, NO!

Let me say this. I HATE LOUISVILLE FANS. There is literally no one more annoying than a pompous fan who thinks he is entitled to more than what they are. If Alabama, Ohio State, or USC fans were running their mouths at the rate that UL fans were, I would still be annoyed yet they would at least have a leg to stand on. Just remember, Louisville fan only a short 20 years ago you could get free tickets to see Little Brother play in a minor league baseball stadium when you bought $200 worth of groceries at Kroger. Claiming that you are among the national elite is a big stretch with the lack of quality wins they possess. Yes they have been to bowl games in 9 consecutive years. But in those 9 years they have defeated the stalwarts of: Wake Forest, Boise St, and BYU. They also have losses to Virginia Tech, Marshall (twice), Miami (OH), Colorado St, and Boise St. Is Little Bro a national power? No way. Are they a legit top 20 program? Of course they are. If only duh ville fans would act like they are a top 20 program and not the greatest college football team in history I could possibly stand it a little more.

That being said, duh ville has some legs to stand when talking smack to the cats. This is my 7th year at the University of Kentucky, but I have only seen the cats beat the Cards once. (This was a glorious day in 2002 but I digress). There is nothing more annoying than your rival talking smack, unless your rival is a fan of duh ville. (Allow me to preface this statement by saying my wife-to-be is a UL alumnus and there are people in my family who are UL fans). All fanbases have those nut jobs that ultimately becomes the caricature for all of their fans. For UK this would be the mullet wearing, toothless, redneck with a Kentucky basketball shirt from the 1996 national championship (1998 doesn't count, Tubby did it with Rick's players). Also the UK fan has no knowledge of football whatsoever. They are throwbacks from the Hall Dumme era that wants to fake every punt, throw on every down, and lose an "entertaining" game 68-40. This UK caricature also includes doing the wave while a player lies injured on the ground, cheering when our team is on offense and attempting to call an audible, and not cheering when our team is on defense. (Just for reference, the typical UK Bball fan wants to shoot 40 3's a game, press for 40 minutes, and "put Ritchie in"). I realize these stereotypes are what most people think of me as a UK fan, and I am OK with that because despite the fact that they have a lot to learn about football, they come out in droves and that is a start. So go brush those teeth you have let, get ready to buy a new t-shirt when Billy Clyde hangs another banner, perm the end of that mullet and show up to commonwealth on Saturday and scream your brains out.

After some pondering, I have come up with a title that I feel befits the annoying fan of duh ville: "the urban redneck". It's a bunch of white men with jean shorts, K-Swiss, scripted "L" hats, and throwing up the universal hand signal for loser which is supposed to be a gang sign for your team. This just in: you are not Kanye West trying to dress "hip" makes you look like an idiot. Despite this gear, their fans still guzzle just as much Natty Ice as UK fans, they just try to hide it a little better. Just 'cause you come from the "big city" doesn't mean your necks are not as red as ours, you just have your collar popped to try and hide it.

That's it for this post, expect a couple of more with updates including the Coach Durbin Locks of the week.

Game Day Update

Well folks it is game #2 of the season and the Big Blue Bus is set to depart shortly. I just wanted to give a couple of tidbits before taking off.

• This is the first football game I will be attending and I am unbelievably psyched. I am about to take off for the traditional morning run to work out some of the adrenaline that builds up on gameday
• Sam Bright will not be attending this week's UK-Kent State battle on the gridiron b/c he prefers to "stay at home at watch 'real football' (aka MLS) on TV." On a side note, with Rick Ankiel and Troy Glaus recently being involved in the internet pharmacy steroid controversy, he better hope his lawyer can keep the lid on better than those current MLB stars.
• Just a random thought: I love Ewoks. I caught return of the jedi on tv last night, and I raise the point that the Ewoks might be the most loved characters in the history of film. If you don't like the Ewoks, than I don't think I really like you. Seriously, we are talking about little furry guys no taller than 3 feet that whoop a bunch of emperial soldiers with nothing more than a couple of sticks. Despite their lack of firepower, they do not lack courage in the least. And is there any sadder moment in the Star Wars series than when the Ewok thinks his comrade is merely sleeping only to discover he has moved on to a better place. I challenge anyone to watch that scene and not get a little choked up.
• I know I'm about a month too late but I feel like it is time for me to weigh in on the whole Micheal Vick thing. There are a number of ways one can approach this issue, as those in the media have. The arguments that the government going after him are racially motivated or the fact that it is a North-South cultural issue are both valid. That is not the angle I wish to take, though. First of all, I want to talk about his boys absolutely rolling over on him. We are talking about an entourage that has absolutely nothing going for them in life other than being the friends of Micheal Vick. As a member of an entourage, your only requirement is to just make sure no one gets to close to Mike. I'm sure many of these barnacles have been on board since Vick was in high school and it was obvious that his talent transcended another level. So the first thing that you do when faced with these charges is roll over on top of your boy that has given you everything while requiring absolutely nothing from you? That is pretty weak and very un-Sicilian. Just remember, keep your friends close and your enemies closer. The trouble is determining who fits into which category
• As for the game today, Dre' throws for 4 TDs, the defense stubs its toe a bit but bucks up in the second half to allow the Cats to come out with a comfortable win, 38-21

To come tomorrow, a post game wrap-up and NFL takes. Also an update on my trip to the braves game, and the State of Tommahawk Nation

The Blog: Redux

Well folks, I'm back. After a 4+ month hiatus I have decided the return of derekaburden.blogspot.com was imminent. I have received many demands from my scores of fans to continue to update the blog. (Actually it was a couple of questions from 2 people). Sure it takes time out of my already busy schedule but here at derekaburden.blogspot.com we are all about what the fans want. As a return to my status as a blogger I will make a contract with you, loyal reader and adoring fan, and myself, owner and operator of this blog. I will promise the following:

1. I will update the blog on a minimum of once every 10 days
2. With every update I will make fun of Mr. Samuel Allen Bright
3. I will give you the latest in the world of UK athletics including updates before every regular season football and basketball game
4. I will give you the latest in the comings and goings of the upcoming Ivey-Durbin nuptials

So on with the first blog post in 4 months

• I would like to make my first bullet point by congratulating the Spaztoskis on their new child, Drew. They have not officially picked him up yet but all the documents are in order and Kerney will no longer be an only child soon. Congrats to the Spaztoskis, you will make great parents. Follow the status of Drew on Mrs. Spaztoskis blog at http://ponablogski.blogspot.com/
• This just in: doing pharmacy rotations at UK is not easy. They expect a lot of you and you learn a ton, but get ready to work your butt off and not have much free time. It has been pretty much a preview of what life will be like for 2 years as a pharmacy resident, and I am ok with it. You feel like you really make a contribution and you are very much appreciated as a member of the health care team
• Moving on to Sam Bright. As most of you should know, he somehow convinced someone of the female gender to marry him over the summer. That is a miracle in itself. A little advice to Kristin: if Sam goes into the bathroom with a syringe and comes out with his eyes bulging out of his skull: stay away
• On to football: As I type this, Michigan just lost to App State. That is an upset of monumental proportions and yet another example of how the Big Ten is WAY overrated. No one plays the antiquated three yards and a cloud of dust style anymore. When you play real teams (mich vs USC and ohio st vs FLA last year in the BCS) the big ten will always be shown to be the step-children that they are.
• Today is the season opener of the Cats. As many of you know, I will not be attending. This has been pretty hard on me. I guess I am getting to that point in my life where you have to make grown-up decisions and attending football games is not the most important thing. Although as a compromise I do get to attend the braves and the mets tomorrw (glavine vs smoltz)
• For today's game I feel like it should be pretty simple (seeing the Mich App St game almost makes me wonder though). Here is the way I see it breaking down: Cats 49 Colonels 10. Woodson will play the first half plus one series in the second before handing the ball off to Hartline. The Colonels will score all of their 10 points in the first half. Although only scoring 10, they will move the ball at will using the spread option system we have seen cause problems (ala La Monroe). Once again the cats show their opportunism on defense forcing a couple of key turnovers and special teams plays to make the game a yawn fest in the second half. Woodson throws 3 tds (1 to buron 4-star steve johnson and tamme each), big micah johnson rushes for another goal line score, and the running game shows some consistency. It should be a nice tune-up for Kent State next week (who defeated Iowa St on the road this week)

That's all for the first blog post in 4 months. Look for a post-ballgame update tomorrow including the update from our first wedding shower, post-game analysis, and my take on the Ewoks.

My newest Man Crush: Billy Clyde

That's right folks I have a new man crush. To sum up the list it currently consists of Chuck Hayes, Tom Brady, Jack Bauer, and Billy Clyde Gillispie (note the spelling, I have misspelled it in the past and for that, Billy, I apologize.)

• What a great time in the Bluegrass! Only at Kentucky can you announce that you will have a pep rally for the newly inked men's head basketball at 9 am and have about 2000 people attend that pep rally at 12 pm, during the work week, on Kenneland's opening day. You can say Kentucky fans are imbalanced or demand too much from their coach, but there is NO other program with that type of support.
• Here at derekaburden.blogspot.com we feel that Billy was a "good" backup plan to Eddie Munster at the beginning of the coaching search. After hearing him speak at the pep rally and ensuing press conference, he was THE choice maybe even above Eddie Munster. That's right, folks, I said THE choice not the backup. Sour grapes you say? I say no. Hear me out here: Eddie would have loved to come to UK and would have had a statue erected in his honor if he could get us back on the right track. BUT, he has already reached the top of the mountain, twice. Maybe he is not as driven as he once was. Maybe that magical class he landed in '04 will never be repeated and he will go back to being a terrible postseason coach as was his reputation previous to the last 2 seasons. I don't know but it is to be considered.
• There has not been a press conference in which the coach won over the fans and reporters since TCFEBUK (the coach formerly employed by UK) manned the podium. He commanded attention with his personality and "aw shucks" attitude. Questions were answered with clever responses, people were laughing, and most importantly all of big blue nation was buying every word that he was selling. Don't fool yourselves, folks, being a great salesman is one of the top qualities for being a great college basketball coach. No one does it quite like TCFEBUK, and it is something that Tubby Smith struggled with. Here at derekaburden.blogspot.com we believe it is the ultimate reason Tubby Smith was never quite embraced by UK fans. Many claim it was race, but UK fans only see one color when it comes to their head coach: blue. TCFEBUK is a master of the PR game and Tubby was not, let's hope that Billy Clyde's audition is the rule and not the exception during his tenure here at UK.
• The national media hates UK. I'm not sure why, but there are many people that have been waiting in the weeds assuming we were not going to land Eddie Munster and they have begun to pounce. Maybe it is because of Coach Rupp and his alleged racist past, but no one wants to see UK succeed. Bad news national media: Billy Clyde is here to stay and will not stop until he hangs some banners in Rupp Arena. One of his assistant's at Texas A & M was quoted as saying he wasn't sure where coach lived because he never saw him leave the office. Also, the national media is quick to report that not only did Eddie Munster turn us down, Rick Barnes also did. This is despite the fact that there is NO EVIDENCE TO THIS BEING TRUE. It appears that UK may have asked for permission to talk to Barnes, and Barnes complied, but when it became apparent that Billy Clyde was our man and not Barnes, he pulled his name out. Does that sound like Barnes turned us down to you? I cannot wait for Billy Clyde to shut all these talking heads up.
• Here are some moments from the press conference/pep rally. When asked what type of player he recruits, Billy said the biggest, fastest, quickest, best shooting, smartest player you can get. If they aren't as tall as you like, you go down a couple of inches. Also when asked about being the second or third choice for the job, Billy replied he was just hoping he was in the top 7 or 8. Also when being introduced Billy Clyde used the word "honored" about 7 or 8 times. In case you haven't figured it out, I love this man.
• To address Coach Gillispie's previous brushes with the law, let me say this: anyone who gets behind the wheel of a car after drinking is an idiot. It's one of the most irresponsible things a person could do. However, he was never convicted of a DUI in either instance and I am willing to give him a second chance. And coach, if you have too much to drink and need a driver my phone # is: 270-929-2921.
• Sam Bright, after being asked about Gillispie's hiring said that "I still feel like Eddie Sutton should have been the man. His first time around at UK he was misunderstood and I think he is the most underrated coach in UK history. I think I am going to become a Louisville fan like my father now"

Bill D, Billy G, Pharm D

Well, it sure has been a crazy week around here in the bluegrass state. Got through the latest set of block exams, UK has hired a coach, and the Mr. Pharm D pageant finished without too much of a fiasco. Here's what is on my plate right now.

Who is this man? Hopefully it's the man that will lead UK back to the position where it belongs atop the world of college basketball. Here at derekaburden.blogspot.com we are very pleased with the hire. Earlier it was reported that Mr. Gillespie was out of the running for the job after agreeing in principle to a contract extension with Texas A & M. As it turns out, he delayed signing the contract just in case this situation arose where it would be possible for him to come to UK. Many stories report that Billy G is a man completely obsessed with his job and a great X's and O's guy. Not only that, he is also a tireless recruiter. He was integral in recruiting the big names that lead Illinois to the national championship game against North Carolina in 2005. This guy is truly "married to his job" as his wife divorced him because he obssessed over his job too much.

• Who are these two men? I can tell you right now. Public enemies #1 and #2 in Lexington. Rember to wear your helmet next time you roll in to Rupp fellas, beacuse Kentucky fans don't take kindly to being mocked (in Dickie V's case) or strung along and used to get a raise from your employer (in Billy D's case). I used to love Dickie V and his passion for the game of college basketball, but he just went off the deep end on College GameDay. And Billy, no one likes you and when the 'Cats house you in Rupp next year with the next great college basketball coach, you are gonna wish you didn't string Kentucky along.
  
• Everyone is excited for the new coach and I will probably be attending the pep rally later in the day, but that is not the only thing going on right now. Last night was the Mr. Pharm D pageant and I was selected as Mr. Congeniality. Overall it was a great time and I just made a big idiot of myself througout the evenin' (what else is new)
  
• Lindsay Ivey decided to dedicate her latest blog post entirely to mocking me. You can view it at http://lindsayivey.blogspot.com. Despite what she says, I AM funny, just most of my jokes involve her. Despite being the target of most of my jokes, she still puts up with me most of the time.
  
• In case you forgot, no one likes Sam Bright
  
• It is reported that Billy Gillespie was option C for UK, T-money would have reported that we hired option E.
  
• Sorry about the short post, I've gotta get to the pep rally. Expect another post this weekend.

Game Day Approaches

It's the eve of test day, and that means several things. First off, the fear that I will flunk my Therapy test and end up getting kicked out of pharmacy school is ever present. Secondly it means T-money and his crew are busy in the basement reading notes to each other. Third off, it means there are dozens of pharmacy students spazzing out at the last minute about which body weight to use, whether we need to know the dose, and are we going to get the normal lab values attached to the back of the exam. That being said, here's what we've got going on right now.

1)Well, let's go ahead and get the UK head coaching search out of the way.

• As reported earlier it is rumored that UK has offered Billy D a contract with the terms 7 years, 3.5 per. Whether this is true or not only Billy D and his people and MB know for sure. Either way, he is without a doubt the #1 choice for the job. Here at derekaburden.blogspot.com we believe that billy d will be here by April 5.
• The question is, if billy is using UK to strong-arm cash from the 'Cats: who is #2. Since it appears that UK did not show interest in Johnnie C (to our demise) and Billy Gillespi just signed an extension with A&M, who is the backup plan? The names include Izzo, Crean, Few, Barnes?. Those aren't going to cut it. In my opinion if we strike out on option #1, and it goes on to the next candidate, we are officially weighing in for John Pelphrey. His speech at the Kentucky Hall of Fame induction should be evidence enough. I know we are taking a chance here, but how is hiring Tom Crean not taking a chance? I say if you're gonna gamble, throw all your chips on the table and see who's got the biggest cajones.
• It seems the Cats Pause report did not grow legs on the national scene like many thought it would, so hopefully that won't change the chances to get Billy D. The management of the story by the local media was beyond a joke, however.
• Message board guy has taken this rumor thing to a whole new level. The newest development involves tracking private jets to and from Gainsville, St. Louis, and any other location Billy D could be at. As stated on the message board, "if there were more UK Fans in the FBI, 9/11 would not have happened."

2)Today it was raining. This allows me to state my opinion on the use of umbrellas. I can understand why they are necessary, that it not where my main complaint lies. It lies with people not being able to use them properly. First off, I stand about 74 inches off the ground, taller than the average person. This puts the average person's umbrella right about eye level for me. This puts me in serious danger of getting my eye poked out at any moment. Also, when someone is carrying an umbrella, they do it without regard to anyone else on the face of the earth. If involved in conversation, they will just wildly rotate their body, eager for their umbrella to attack my eye. Another problem I have is this: people with umbrellas have no regard for those walking around without umbrellas. Because they are free from the rain, they feel they can walk side by side (taking up the entire sidewalk) as slow as they want. Never mind the fact that I am attempting to walk as fast as possible while getting soaked, it doesn't matter to them, they have a canopy keeping them dry. I HATE umbrellas. The only way I will even consider using them is a) on the golf course and b) if I am dressed up for something important like an interview

3)Sam Bright is having a post block soiree Friday night. Surprise, surprise he's doing something useful for a change.

4)Expect a post-test update this weekend sometime. Obviously the coaching search will be featured, along with T-money's secret life, the status of the Ivey-Durbin weddin, and plans for apothecary ball.

The Worst Day of the Year

Before addressing why this is the worst day of the year, I would like to address the current situation with the UK coaching hunt. I'll try to keep it as brief as possible.



1)After having perused the internet for all info and rumors pertaining to the UK head coach, i have developed the following opinions:

• Without a doubt the number one choice is Billy D, as he should be. At first I thought this was a pipe dream for the 'Cats and MB. I am beginning to believe more and more that this could get done. Rumors of Billy D and his family shopping for houses in the Lexington area abound (Remember a couple of years ago there were very similar rumors about Steve Spurrier buying a horse farm in Lexington.) It does appear that his wife and daughter have a legitimate interest in the Lexington area with both of them being world-class equestrians. Not sure I buy all of the scuttlebutt, but UK is going to at least get a sniff at Billy D and he will get a significant raise one way or another. ********EDIT**********The Cats Pause is now reporting that Billy D has agreen in principle to become UK's head coach after the season is over. Big stakes, 7 years 3.5 per with a 3.5 bonus at year 7. Supposedly brokered over thursday and friday by Billy D's agent in lexington. Only problem, its not signed yet. Could still be a guise to get more cash out of Florida. We will see.


• As I said before, John C. should be the #2 choice. No one else should be considered. Unfortunately, I feel that MB is going to shy away from him. No rumors seem to be leading to his being a possibility. This is a shame, besides Billy D I feel like he is the only other candidate out there that really fits all of UK's needs right now.


• From what I am hearing, the remaining candidates are: Tom Izzo, Rick Barnes, Jay Wright, and Tom Crean. In my opinion the only choice approaching acceptable from this group is Jay Wright, and I am not too excited about him

2)I promised an explanation for the title of this post. That's right folks, this is the anniversary of possibly one of the worst events in the history of time. The anniversary of the birth of none other than Sam Bright, or as those close to him affectionately call him: "idiot." This has been a big year for Mr. Bright. He has decided to enter "big people world" this year and I am very proud of him for it. Somehow he bamboozled a poor young female this year into getting engaged with him. Obviously an enormous mistake. This August our little boy becomes a man, and I follow him in December. I am not sure we know what we are getting into. Despite him being an idiot, using steroids, and various other things I have spoken about in previous blog posts, Sam is my boy and I wish him the best on the anniversary of the worst day of the year.

The REAL March Madness

It's been about a week since my last post (not coincidentally the same day the Cats fell to the Gayhawks.) Much has transpired since that unfortunate day, and I will attempt to synopsize the events and give my take on the situation.

1)First things first, on Sunday the Cats were absolutely outclassed from the opening tip-off until the final whistle. Despite all of the defenses of Coach Smith, Sunday's game was a microcosm of the current state of affairs in Big Blue Nation. Kansas exhibited big time NBA talent at every single position on the floor while the Wildcats continue to have holes at several key positions. Kansas' athleticism allowed them to create fast break opportunities off of a simple missed jumpshot. To this day I am still baffled how you can get a fast break off of a jump shot, but I guess it doesn't hurt when you have a roster full of 6'8" guys who love to run.


2)On Monday, Coach Smith was interviewed and quoted as saying "I expect to be back." The following day, he traveled to the NIT to watch his son play, and was seen on Wednesday at the Sweet 16 in Rupp (ironically his last time in the arena as the head coach of UK.)

Wednesday evenin' MB and Coach Smith had a meeting to discuss the direction of the program. I have seen no credible reports that claim MB gave Coach Smith an ultimatum at this time. It is however, apparent that MB wanted an action plan from Tubby detailing how we would get the Cats back to the top. At this time, Coach Smith makes no mention of Minn or any other job opportunity. Later on, Minnesota's AD asked for and received permission of MB to talk to Coach Smith.


By Thursday mornin' Minn AD was chartering a private plane to Lexington to come pick up Coach Smith. Early Thursday evenin' (around 1 pm) rumblings were floating around circles that something was happening in regards to Coach Smith. At 1:30 he called a meeting with the players. A couple of hours later, it was being reported by several media outlets that he had accepted the Minn job.

At 4:30 UK released this statement: "The Associated Press is reporting that the University of Minnesota is confirming the appointment of Coach Smith to their program. However Coach Smith has not confirmed with UK officials that he has taken the job."

The next mornin' Coach Smith is on Mike and Mike and various other national media outlets talking about his new job and being introduced at a press conference as the new coach at Minn around noon Friday.


3)There are several issues in the above timeline that I would like to address, but first let's say this: Tubby Smith gave this University its 7th national championship. If right now you are thinking that it was with Pitino's players, please slam your head into your computer monitor as hard as you can. I understand he did not recruit the team, but I firmly believe that Slick Rick could not have pulled off the run that Coach Smith did. Remember, he lost in the National Championship game the year before with a more talented team. Not only did he lead us to the national championship, but the 2003 and 2004 basketball seasons were two of the most enjoyable seasons I had as a UK fan. Maybe if Bogans doesn't sprain his ankle and Dwayne Wade doesn't all of a sudden decide to become a superstar we aren't having this conversation. Or maybe if we can get a rebound off a missed free throw against Michigan State it's a different story. I don't know, but I do not consider Coach Smith's tenure a disappointment. I do feel, however that it was time to go. Both sides were ready for a change. Despite the last two seasons, and leaving the cupboard pretty bare, thanks for the memories, Coach Smith.

4)There are a couple of issues I had with the whole situation transpiring. First off, let me say that by no means am I privy to everything that went on, but with what I know here are my major issues:

• It seems that Coach Smith's agent was contacted in December to feel out his interest in the Minn job. Apparently at that time Coach Smith said he was interested. Was his head really into the UK job if he was already shopping for the next career stop? I'm not so sure. To be the head coach of a major DI school is a full time job 365 days a year. Maybe he could have spent more time on the recruiting trail than he did.
  
• By the time Coach Smith had landed in the Twin Cities every major media outlet was commenting on his departure. Yet he still didn't have the decency to notify his former employer (that made him the highest paid basketball coach in the country)? This leaves a bad taste in my mouth. This is especially considering that Coach Smith just had a meeting with his boss MB the previous evenin' and there was no mention of the Minn job.
  
• UK STILL paid Coach Smith his 1.5 million dollar bonus that he was due to receive on April 3rd. WHY?? It appears it was his decision to leave, so why should we pay him a bonus? Moving expenses?

5)So that sets the table for where we are right now. UK finds itself hunting for a coach for the 6th time in 76 years. Many talking heads on several national media outlets are claiming that the Kentucky job is not worth it. Dickie V says as a fanbase we are delusional. I guess you might be able to make a case for that, but there is no fanbase in college basketball that even comes close to matching UK's passion. All you have to do is go to the SEC tournament and see that the Big Blue Nation completely dominates the attendance (even after coming off 2 bad years). You will have 24000+ at every home game. Any neutral site east of the Mississippi will magically feel like a home game. That fact is lost on a lot of people when considering UK. At other programs, one of the main jobs of the head coach is to excite the fan base enough to sell tickets. That is not necessary at UK, the tickets sell themselves. And there is one other thing: Other programs experience success with 1 or maybe 2 coaches, but UK boasts 4 different coaches with National Championships. We already had the highest paid coach in the NCAA, what makes you think the new coach won't be paid even more than that? So you can come to Kentucky, play in front of sold out crowds, get paid more than anyone in the nation, and the odds say you will win a national championship. Considering the current roster and situation at Kentucky, the new coach will be given a pass in the first year. So if you come here in the first year and shock the world, you are considered a coach of the year candidate; if you come here and don't have an amazing season you get a pass. Also in this landscape of all players having to attend college, you are only 1 recruiting class away from being back in the final four hunt. So anyone that says the Kentucky job isn't worth it simply does not know what they are talking about.

6)The short list that MB has in the file cabinet probably includes the following names: Billy Donovan, John Calipari, Billy Gillespie, Mark Few, Rick Barnes, Tom Crean, Tom Izzo, and Kentucky boys John Pelphrey and Travis Ford. Here is my personal opinion: First off, throw out Crean and Izzo because we have tried a defensive-minded coach once before and it didn't work out. The fanbase would throw a fit. Obviously Donovan is a slam dunk: Slick Rick disciple, up-tempo offense, great recruiter. I feel like the same thing can be said for Calipari. Gillespie is a little more unproven, but has shown that he can go out and get the top athletes and has turned A&M from winless in their conference to a sweet 16 appearance in 3 years. Donovan, Calipari, and Gillespie are my 1, 2, and 3. I think there is no way it gets to #3. According to Jeff Drummond, Calipari is already letting UK know he is interested in hearing what they have to say. Also Gillespi was in Lexington to interview after his Aggies fell to Calipari's tigers. My gut says that Billy D is gonna stay put and the Cats get John C. Although don't count Billy D out. Certainly, his recent comments have not ruled him out as a potential replacement. Also there are rumors that he was unhappy with the Gators' attendance this year, only selling out one non-conference game all season.

7)Sam Bright was contacted to ask who he thought should replace Coach Smith, and he replied with "Eddie Sutton is an obvious choice. It is clear from his first stint with Kentucky that he is a big time coach. His past as a moral leader and ability to run a squeaky clean program is exactly what we need during this transition."

8)T-money has spent more time in the last 2 days on the phone with Option E than he has spent watching high school basketball, and that is really saying something.

9)Lindsay and I put a wager on our NCAA brackets this year. The loser has to make dinner from a menu completely designed by the winner. At this point we are tied and if the gators pull it out tomorrow I will win. I find myself caught in a conflict of interest here.

10)Lindsay spent some time this weekend looking at the church we are getting married in and talking with Margie to get some decorating ideas. I was also informed that we need to take "engagement pictures." This getting married stuff is serious. I feel like it’s really gonna happen.

Rock, Chalk, Wildcat

Perhaps one of the cooler chants in college athletics is the one that Kansas fans do. Despite that, I hate Kansas. I went to the NCAA tournament in 2002 when we played Valpo and Tulsa (when Tay Daddy dropped 40). Kansas was also playing in that "pod." I have never encountered a fan base that was collectively a bigger set of jerks than them. My father and I would stand up and cheer on the Cats and we would receive snide looks from all of the Kansas faithful. But as soon as their team came out they reacted in the same way we did for our Cats. Needless to say, I hope they always lose and I have a special reason to root against them today. So today is day 4 of the NCAA tournament and the last day of the first weekend. Here are my current thoughts:

1)Friday was spent at Shane's house watching all of the games. 16 games in about 13 hours. The setup is unbelievable too. 61 inch lcd in the basement. We had the dual CBS feeds from high def and the mysterious channel 5 and also with march madness on demand feed on the computer. Despite the awesome setup, the games were really not up to par for a typical day 2 of the NCAA. Winthrop over the fighting irish was the only real upset of the day, but the Cats pulled it out at the end of the night, so overall it was a good day.

2)On a side note, work called me on Friday morning and asked me to come in. The pharmacist from the day before heard me talking about how i was planning to go to my brother's house and watch basketball all day. I reluctantly agreed to come in and help them, but 30 minutes later the pharmacist called me back and told me they had it covered.

3)On friday Lindsay called me around 4 or 5 to inform me she was on the side of the road and her care was overheated. The good news is she was close to the Berea exit which is only about 30 miles down the road. Luckily she got her car started again and made it to a gas station at the exit. Triple A came and reached her car to S&S tire and shane and I went to pick her up. It's gonna cost $650 to fix it, but the whole situation could have turned out much worse.

4)On saturday Lindsay and I went to visit Sam at work. He said he would "call me when he got off" which of course he didn't. There must have been a steroid dealer in town he had to meet up with.

5)Big day of games yesterday. 3 went into overtime and it seemed like there was a 2 hour stretch where basketball was being played at an amazing level. Where was this on the first 2 days of the tournament? I don't know, but I sure hope it is here to stay for the rest of the tournament.

6)Once again, a coach was faced with the foul or don't foul dilemma up 3 with very little time on the clock. I still say don't foul because that brings the possibility of losing into the situation but I might be waffling on this decision. I can for sure see both sides.

7)Ohio State and UCLA really lucked out yesterday to still be breathing today. I don't know how Thad Matta and Ben Howland can get recruits because they both play maybe the most boring brand of basketball in the history of time. 20-13 in the first half??? That is simply ridiculous. I am convinced that the UCLA Pitt game in the sweet 16 will set college basketball back at least 20 years.

8)Kentucky faces Kansas today in what is probably the second worse matchup for this team behind the Gaytors. The Jayhawks have athletes at every single position on the floor and other than Morris I really don't like our matchup against any of them. Despite this, I think that Cats will come out completely out of character and take this game from the Jayhawks. The key once again will be the big guy in the middle. If Crawford can figure out how to not shoot pull up threes and stand out top pounding the basketball and instead pass it to Randolph, we will have a great chance to pull it off.

9)Despite the fact that I promised Trissel fireworks, 3 free trips to Gattitown, the famous Chuck Hayes tear-away pants and my first born, he refused to come back to Lexvegas and watch the game with me. What an idiot.

10)The Coach Durbin Writ it Down Guarantee of the year is the Volunteers minus 2.5 against the Cavs today. Put the house on it

11)We have some sort of varmint running around in the attic. From time to time, it will scamper from one side of the attic to the other. To me it sounds larger than a squirrel, but Don Parker is on the case so I'm not worried.

12)About the Dwight Perry starting the game situation, I thinks it's kind of funny that Billy Packer said "that's the sort of thing you laugh about and then fire the assisstant who did it." Ironically, Billy you are probably correct about that one.

Beware the Ides of March

When the soothsayer Titus Vestricius Spurinna spoke those famous words to Caesar, he blew him off as a crazy old bat and refused to take precautions on the day of his assassination. That being said, the Ides of March turned out to be as expected for me yesterday.

1)Thursday and Friday of the NCAA tournament are the 2 best days of the year. What other time can you see this many buzzer beaters, Cinderellas, and passion-filled games in a short span? There is no sporting event that approaches the first 2 rounds of the tournament.

2)Unfortunately I was scheduled to work today. This really upset me to begin with because (as I stated before) I consider Thursday and Friday of the first weekend of the NCAA tournament to be the 2 greatest days of the year. I guess I could use some cash to pay for this weddin’ I’ve got coming up so it will probably work out for the best. However, work today was a fiasco. When I got there at 12:30, I found out that our computer system was down. This means that we were unable to run any prescriptions through. They did not come back up until about 5:00. This means that we were backlogged about 160 prescriptions and had to put all of them in as soon as the computers came back up. Needless to say, it was a little hectic for a while. Despite this, we got caught up by the end of the night and I got home in time to watch the end of a few of the games.

3)Luckily, I arrived home in time to see the Dukies fall to the Rams of VCU. I think it’s kind of funny how the media makes a big deal about Duke not losing a first round game since 1996 when the Cats have not lost a first round game since they were eligible for the NCAA tournament in 1992.


4)Today is the Cats opening round game, and they will face another set of Wildcats from Villanova. Reports from Chicago say that Mike Nardi will be playing at close to 100%. In order for the UK to win, Randolph will have to show up and be able to pass out of the double team. Every possession must go through him. ‘Nova cannot even get close to matching up with him one and one so he should expect to be surrounded when catching the ball. Smooth, Bobby Perry, Joe and Jodie have to be there to knock down shots when Randolph kicks it back out. If we work that to perfection expect a big win for UK, 78-65.

5)I attempted the “sagarin ratings” method for picking against the spread yesterday and the experiment turned out to be less than stellar with a 7-9 record. I am flying solo on the picks today. My big suggestions of the day: Ark +2, GT -2, Tenn -7.

6)Sam Bright claimed that he stayed home for spring break to “work.” I have developed a theory that he has just been staying at home, eating laced creatine, and dreaming about Jack Bauer.

7)I am spending the whole day at Shane's watching NCAA games on his 61 inch TV. Should be an amazing day.

Catlanta, Day 3

For all of my adoring fans expecting an update from day 2, I must apologize. I feel like i needed at least 48 hours to recover from the Cats heartbreaking loss to the Mississippi St wiener dogs. As I write this I am watching the NCAA selection show, so you can bet that this will be a major topic of conversation in this post. That being said, here are my thoughts as of right now.

1)As I am typing this the Cats received an 8 seed in the west region. This marks the second consecutive year that a) we received a seed of 8 in the NCAA and b) we had to play on the first day of the SEC tournament. Simply said, this is not acceptable. At UK, the minimum expectations should be a yearly trip to AT LEAST the SEC tournament final with UK winning at least 3 out of 5 tournaments. Also, the minimum acceptable finish in the NCAA in ANY single year should be the sweet 16. Obviously Coach Smith has not lived up to these standards in the last couple of years, and this is the major cause of dissension amongst planet blue right now.

2)Perhaps the biggest tragedy in the whole NCAA tournament draw is the fact that UL is the #6 seed and playing in Lexington for the first 2 rounds. Obviously I am completely biased when it comes to this subject because I hope UL loses every game they play from now until eternity, but the NCAA established the "pod" system several years ago to benefit the #1-4 seeds from each region. So if our beloved Tards make it past Stanford (which they obviously won't because the ghost of Adolph Rupp will not allow it) they would play Texas A & M (the #3 seed) a mere 78 miles from their campus. This might be one of the most ludicrous things I have ever heard. So Texas A & M is rewarded by receiving a #3 seed by having to play a game within the shadows of their campus. This rivals the tragedy seen when a #3 Miss St. team had to play Texas in Dallas ( a game which Miss St was defeated).

3)Despite the fact that the brain trust of Layne Sleighbaugh and Whitey endorse the firing of Tubby Smith, I am to this point just yet. Wait til after the season. Randolph Morris is showing flashes of putting us on his back and could STILL lead to a big run in the NCAAs. This will however require Smooth and Bobby Perry to actually show up the day of the game (something that did not happen against Miss St)

4)Sam Bright is still the biggest wuss on the face of the earth

5)The last time the Cats lost to Miss St in the NCAAs, we went on to cut down the nets for #6. Here's to history repeating itself for #8.

Catlanta, Day 1

Arrived in Atlanta yesterday around 830 pm. After getting unpacked Linds and I watched the latest survivor on DVR. While watching, I decided I would be an amazing Survivor contestant despite the fact that I tend to be little bossy and cannot stand stupid people. Both of these characteristics would work against me and reduce my ability to "Outwit, Outplay, Outlast."

The final total to stay at Lindsay's apartment is 10 (including Lindsay and myself). The residents for this evenin' will include: Prof, T-Money, Revenge of the Stith, Whitey, Arnold, Bildo, Layne, and Beavers. Should be an interesting crew. As predicted by me Mr. Sam "I hate fun" Bright wussed out and decided not to come, citing his inability to find his manhood in time to pack for the trip.

The 'Cats (for a change) actually put it together and played an almost complete game yesterday. Morris going after the ball and attacking the glass on the defensive side of the ball was a great sight to see. Is it just me, or does our boy from Landmark Christian Academy come to play when he faces big time post players? If he could put it together for the next 6 games, my Cats might be able to make a big run in March.

Is it just me or am I the only one that thinks Derek Jasper playing more minutes for this UK team a bad thing? Despite the fact he has an amazing first name, DJ makes plays for this team and gets easy baskets for himself and others. His ability to make amazing passes and find the open man at all times is not present in any other player on our team. He struggles with his shooting, but that is offset if he is aggressive with the ball and looks for the open man.

Also on a good note, Bobby Perry continued his hot shooting and Smooth seems to like the Georgia Dome, hitting several deep threes. I didn't like the fact that we depended on the 3 so much early, but it was good to see the Cats respond when facing an early double digit deficit. We are off to the Georgia Dome for a quarter final matchup with the Bulldogs, and I like the 'Cats chances to pull this one out.

Online Debut

So I have officially decided to enter the world of blogging and declare myself a computer nerd. I have been resisting the urge for a long time now, but I finally succumbed to urge and it shall begin. These are the things currently on my plate:

Spring break is currently approaching and a crew of us are rolling to Catlanta for the SEC tournament. Approximately 10 people will be invading Lindsay's apartment and I am going to go out on a limb here and say that she breaks down at least once over the weekend. She tends to struggle when things are not in perfect order (why is she marrying me?) and it could be a trial of her character to see how it works out. I make a bold prediction that there are a couple of hiccups along the way but she will make it through just fine.

Faculty auction was last night and we raised a lot of money for KAPS and had a good showing from the faculty. I won or was part of 5 items (tailgate with Dr. R, Homebrewing with Dr. Bummer, Homemade Pizza with Dr. Piecoro, Dinner with the Dean, and a sweet UK COP golf pullover). Prof and I gave the extra food to the Salvation Army so our good deed for the week was covered. On a side note, I received a backhanded compliment from Prof by him saying I wasn't the "most incompetent person alive" so I've got that going for me.

I was supposed to work out with Sam this mornin' but as usual he wussed out and didn't call me last night

Tonight marks the beginning of the "big time" conference tournaments and the mid-majors are still going on, so with no offense to xmas, the most wonderful time of the year has begun.
More to come on the SEC and my rant on the state of that 'Cats. That being said, I leave you with this picture of T-Money, Tudor, Clyd and Myself from the cover of the Kernel.