Wall makes history again for the Cats!

The Cats improved to 14-0 on the basketball court with a 104-61 dismantling of Hartford last night at Rupp. There was one reason, and one reason only, that this game was broadcasted on ESPN2 on national tv: ESPN, and almost everyone else, thought that we would lose to UNC and UConn and would be a 2 loss team, with Hartford projected to be the victim of our 2,000th win. Feels pretty good to prove them wrong and force them to show such a one-sided game that they would normally not show, doesn't it? However, ESPN did get to show a piece of UK history after all, as John Wall broke Travis Ford's single game assist record with 16 assists.

The game marked the 2nd this season that Wall has had 14 or more assists, and he continues to make every player on the floor better with his presence. Wall had another unselfish game against a team that he could easily score 30 on if he wanted to, but only finished with 9. He is exactly the type of player that last year's team lacked. Jodie could put up 40 points occasionally, and Patterson would give us plenty of double-doubles, but the team lacked someone who could effectively get other players involved as well. Wall was tabbed by many of his critics to be a streetball-type, selfish player as he committed to Kentucky. He has proved to be the exact opposite of everything he had been stereotyped to be, from the way he plays the game, works in the classroom, and conducts himself off the court. As Kentucky fans, we should enjoy every second that we witness this kid play in the blue and white, because I can't confidently say that he is not the most talented player to ever put on the storied uniform.

We all know who and what awaits the Cats on Saturday, but before then (sometime on the evening of New Years Day), I will break down the year that was 2009 for University of Kentucky Athletics. It has been quite a ride this past year on the basketball floor, hasn't it? It's truly incredible how so much has changed in the past year and makes me feel so grateful and appreciative of this year's team. Pictures of the Bowl Game trip to Nashville are posted on facebook, and I'll also give you any updates, if available, on the status of Rich Brooks. Until then, be safe and have a very Happy New Year!

A reflection on the possible ending of the Rich Brooks era

The Cats came up short Sunday night as they were defeated by the Clemson Tigers and All-American Running Back, CJ Spiller, 21-13 at a frigid LP Field in Nashville. The three straight bowl win-streak has come to an end, as well as the nation's longest non-conference winning streak. The game started out great for the Cats as they seemed to control most of the first half in time of possession, 1st downs, and yardage. They were also doing a very good job of slowing down Spiller. However, the Cats' offense could only come up with 10 points in the first half, despite moving the ball into Clemson territory in six of their first seven possessions.

In a disappointing loss which could have been the last game of the Rich Brooks era, it should be noted that Clemson should have been placed in a bigger bowl and was a heavy favorite by most experts. If Bobby Bowden didn't get his wish to play in the Gator Bowl for his last game, UK would have played a weaker FSU team instead of Spiller and the Tigers, and probably would have won their fourth straight bowl game. It wasn't fair for Clemson to have hopes of going to an Orange Bowl and lose a competitive game with Georgia Tech to fall all the way down to the Music City Bowl. It also wasn't fair that Coach Brooks didn't get the same special treatment as Bowden with an Outback or Peach Bowl in what could have been his last game. After the game, Coach Brooks said there's about an 80% chance that he will not return but will take some time (as early as 4 or 5 days, but no longer than a week) to reflect with his family before making a decision.

This was a game the Cats could have won and the opportunities to win were certainly there, but I think it's safe to say that the better team won and there is not much shame in losing to a team with possibly the best running back in the country that just missed an Orange Bowl appearance. With the news that Rich Brooks was likely leaving we also heard the news that Derrick Locke is likely returning along with the rest of the Cats' offensive weapons. The team has also found a sense of direction with the Quarterback situation, which is a very positive result of this season. There seems to be no more Quarterback controversy, and Morgan Newton has established himself as the guy while getting some very valuable experience. A seven win season with the invaluable experience that Newton has had this year as a true freshman quarterback, in my mind, is more satisfying than an eight win bowl victory with Hartline still playing under center. Hartline is not our future, and it's good to see that the Cats made a step forward with some progress towards the immediate future this season with Newton at Quarterback.

Hopefully, the young Cats will take this loss and use it as motivation for next season. Maybe, instead of celebrating another 8 win season and mid-level bowl victory, it's best that the Cats think about this loss as they go through off season workouts. Maybe, with this loss in their minds, and the returning talent that we have coming back, this loss will motivate us to reach above and beyond a seven or eight win season next year. Hopefully, our eyes will be on a prize much bigger next season. With the uncertainly of the Florida program, the SEC East is very much up for grabs for anyone to take. I hope that Coach Brooks will be around for what could be a very special season, but I also understand that the timing might be right for Joker to take over. I'm confident that Coach Brooks will unselfishly make the right decision for Kentucky Football, and not for himself, because that is the type of man that he is. We will keep you updated this week on the status of Coach Brooks and whether or not Joker Phillips will be taking over the program in 2010.

The Cats face Hartford on the hardwood tomorrow night in Rupp, and I heard there's a pretty big game coming up on Saturday too. Look no further than WildcatWrap.com for coverage of the football coaching situation and this kinda big basketball game on Saturday.

P.S. Either myself or IT Director, Christian Cox (or maybe both of us), will be providing a write up in the coming days of our experience in Nashville along with pictures from the trip.

Music City Bowl

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Sorry for the late post, but tonight is the game the Kentucky and Clemson programs have been playing for all year. The Tigers and Cats will meet tonight in Nashville in the Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl. These two teams have seen each other before in this same bowl game back in 2006. In that game, the Tigers were a pretty big favorite, giving up 10 points in the spread to Kentucky. That year, Tommy Bowden and Clemson were not ready for Andre Woodson and Kentucky's offensive attack, losing the game 28-20. Enough about the past, let's talk about tonight's game.

Kentucky (7-5, 3-5) and Clemson (8-5, 6-2) are both coming into this game after respectable seasons. On paper, Kentucky's record can be misleading. When I see 3-5 in the SEC, I see a losing team, but you have to remember that the Cats had a rough three-game stretch early in the season, playing then-#1 Florida, then-#3 Alabama, and at then-#25 South Carolina. Any team in the country would like to come out of that stretch with one win. While UK lost those games, they played tough and kept the games close (except the Florida). UK really showed what they are made of by winning to big road match-ups, at Auburn and at Georgia. Auburn came into that game at 5-1 and had been ranked in the Top 25, and even in a "down" year for Georgia, those are two big wins for the Cats.

In this game, I expect to see UK utilizing their rushing attack early and often. Kentucky has two primary rushers that can be dangerous when they have the ball in their hands. Junior Running Back Derrick Locke accumulated 843 yards on the ground and 6 touchdowns, but is averaging 4.8 yards a carry. Even though he has the highest total of yards, he's not the runner that the Clemson defense needs to worry about. Sophomore Randall Cobb has 537 yards on 84 carries for an average of 6.4 yards a carry, not to mention his 10 touchdowns. For me, Cobb is the difference to UK winning this game, but he needs to do it on the ground. Clemson's defense has struggled in their last two games against the run. In the regular season finale, Clemson 223 yards rushing to South Carolina, almost 100 yards more than their season average. In the ACC title game, Clemson could not stop Georgia Tech on the ground, giving up a ridiculous 333 rushing yards. In order for Kentucky to be effective on offense, they need to establish the run early. This will give them a chance to open the play-action and put the Clemson Defense on it's heels. Kentucky will be using the inexperienced Morgan Newton at QB and it will be interesting to see how he performs in a bowl-game atmosphere. Newton has played well for the Cats this year, but I think their success tonight relies on how well they can run the ball.

For Clemson, this game starts and ends with CJ Spiller. This year has been special for the ACC Player of the Year, but has met some disappointment, personified by the lose to Georgia Tech in the ACC Championship. Spiller came back to Clemson for his senior year for a chance to win a bowl game, something that Clemson hasn't done in their last 4 bowl appearances. Spiller is 4th in the country averaging 194 all-purpose yards a game and will be involved in all aspects of the Tigers' offense. Kentucky saw a glimpse of Spiller in their previous Music City Bowl match-up, but the true Freshman was nothing like the Senior who will be playing his final collegiate game in Nashville tonight.

Spiller is certain to give the WIldcat defense fits from the opening gun. Kentucky will be playing without their best defensive player, Linebacker Sam Maxwell, who is recovering from shoulder surgery. Even with Maxwell, Kentucky has struggled against the run defensively. They have given up an average of 183.1 yards per game, which lands them 100th out of 120 FBS programs. In order for Kentucky to slow Clemson's offense, they need to contain Spiller and put the game in redshirt Freshman QB Kyle Parker's hands. Much like Newton for Kentucky, I will be interested to see how Parker handles a bowl game because he has seemed lost at times in big games, most notably the ACC Championship. Against GA Tech, Parker wen 10/17 for 91 yards and 2 INTs. Clemson was only in that game because of the play of CJ Spiller and I expect a similar outcome in Nashville.


This year's game is expected to be even closer than the game back in 2006. Sportsbetting.com has Clemson coming in has a 6 point favorite, which seems about right to me. Kentucky is a "middle of the road" SEC team, but those have been the teams that have caused trouble for the ACC's better teams. If you remember, South Carolina and Georgia upset their ACC rivals (Clemson and Georgia Tech) in the last week of the regular season. For this game, I am not going to make a pick as to who I think will win. It is obvious that I am a Clemson fan, since I go to school there, and I will be pulling for the Tigers, but I also contribute to this site and I don't want to make a "homer" pick. I expect this game to be very competitive throughout and will be a game that both Clemson and Kentucky fans can be proud of. Both teams have had great years, ending in Coach of the Year honors for the coaches on both sidelines and should be a great stepping stone for the programs into the future. No matter who you are rooting for, and I suspect I'm the only one pulling for the Tigers, enjoy the game.


GO TIGERS!

Last minute ticket...Nashville bound.

(Photo Courtesy of SECsportsfan.com of the 2006 Big Blue Invasion of Nashville)

I apologize for the lack of coverage for the Music City Bowl. Hopefully Mike Brown, a Clemson grad student, will get on this sometime tomorrow before kickoff like he was supposed to!

Good news out there, however, is that I've managed to unsuspectingly get a ticket at the last minute and will be heading down to Nashville despite having to work until 3:30 in Lexington. I plan to pack up before going to work at 10:30, then I will leave work at 3:30 and head straight to Nashville in time to make the 8:30 kickoff. I already conveniently have Monday as an off day to travel back.

I will have a key waiting for me at the Days Inn, just a short walk away from LP Field. I will then be meeting some friends right in the seats in the lower level endzone of Section 145. This will be my 3rd straight bowl game that I have attended and the 2nd one at LP Field in Nashville. I did not attend the last matchup with Clemson in 2006, but attended the Florida State game in 2007 and the Liberty Bowl last season in Memphis.

I will be giving a full analysis of the whole trip and experience of hopefully what will become the Cats' fourth straight bowl win. This would be the Cats' most impressive bowl win yet under Rich Brooks. They face a Clemson team that was just a win shy from the Orange Bowl if they had won the ACC Championship. They also face potentially the nation's best running back, in CJ Spiller. I will be bringing my new digital camera as well and bring the game to you straight from my seat and all around Nashville!

Merry Christmas

I hope everyone had a great Christmas all across the Commonwealth tonight. As usual, my Christmas revolved around UK gifts. I also received a digital camera so expect some personalized UK pictures and videos uploaded onto the site! Here's the very first one of me and Lulu flipping through the channels and staying warm at the same time in my new UK Snuggie!

TWO THOUSAND!

(Photos Courtesy of ukathletics.com, kentucky.com, and the CatsPause)

Tonight was one of those nights that will forever be remembered in Bluegrass basketball lore. The game, if you could call it that, was almost secondary to the event that took place tonight, a celebration of Kentucky basketball, past and present. A statement, that we're back and stronger than ever before. If we had reached 2,000 wins in almost any other fashion, it would not have been the same. The fact that we reached it on such a high note, with a 12-0 team, after so much turmoil the last several years as well, makes this 2,000th win that much more special and redeeming.
If we had let UNC catch up to us, I seriously doubt much of a big deal would have been made about 2,000 at all if UK had been the 2nd team to do it. It was so great to see all the former players, Coach Rupp's son, Joe B., and Mrs. Keightly all so happy and proud of this tradition, this program, and this 2010 team. What really got to me was the love and compassion shown by Patrick Patterson to Mrs. Keightly.

And let's be honest with ourselves, as good as we thought we could be, nobody expected this. Words can not describe what a special night for such a special team and season this was. It's been a long time since we've had this kind of feeling about a basketball season, and we deserve this! The players deserve it more than anyone, who have gone through so much adversity the last few years, and we, the greatest fans in the nation deserve it as well! Don't take this for granted, Big Blue Nation! Cherish every moment!

Coaching Carousel

There have been some more changes in the coaching ranks, two of them involving the University of Cincinnati. First, the Bearcats have hired their new head coach, and they returned to Central Michigan to find him. Butch Jones will be the next head coach of UC after leading the Chippewas to an 11-2 mark this season.

Jeff Quinn, the offensive coordinator of Cincinnati and the interim coach for the Sugar Bowl, has been hired by the University of Buffalo. Quinn had hopes to be the next coach of Cincinnati and there were talks that he would rejoin Brian Kelly at Notre Dame if he did not land the UC job. However, Quinn will take over at Buffalo after Turner Gill left for Kansas. Quinn will stay with the Bearcats to coach them against Florida in the Sugar Bowl.

Here is the updated coaching list:

School	Former Coach	New Coach	Previous Job
Akron	J.D. Brookhart	Rob Ianello	Notre Dame Assistant Coach
Buffalo	Turner Gill	Jeff Quinn	Cincinnati Offensive Coordinator
Cincinnati	Brian Kelly	Butch Jones	Central Michigan Head Coach
Florida St.	Bobby Bowden	Jimbo Fisher	Florida St. Offensive Coordinator
Kansas	Mark Mangino	Turner Gill	Buffalo Head Coach
Louisiana-Monroe	Charlie Weatherbie	Todd Berry	UNLV Assistant Coach
Louisville	Steve Kragthorpe	Charlie Strong	Florida Defensive Coordinator
Marshall	Mark Snyder	John "Doc" Holliday	West Virginia Assistant Coach
Memphis	Tommy West	Larry Porter	LSU Running Backs Coach
Notre Dame	Charlie Weis	Brian Kelly	Cincinnati Head Coach
San Jose St.	Dick Tomey	Mike MacIntyre	Duke Defensive Coordinator
UNLV	Mike Sanford	TBA	N/A
Virginia	Al Groh	Mike London	Richmond Head coach
Western KY	David Elson	Willie Taggart	Standford Running Backs Coach

UK Women's Hoops Improves to 10-0, beats Louisville by 34

(Photo Courtesy of ukathletics.com)

If you didn't already know, Matthew Mitchell's UK's Women's Hoops team is also undefeated, with a 10-0 record. Today, they beat defending National Runner-Up, Louisville, by 34 points! Hopefully, today's game was a preview of what we can expect on January 2nd when the men play. These girls are for real, however, and deserve some attention. This Louisville team has had a few early losses and hasn't been performing at the level they did last March, but nonetheless, a 34 point win over a Final Four team from a year ago is very, very impressive. It will be interesting to see how high they can go up in the polls and how they do in the SEC. It's a shame that the Lady Vols don't come to Lexington this year, a game that would bring a lot of excitement and attention to the UK Women's team. They deserve it.

Be sure to check back with me later in the week for coverage of the 2,000th win that I hope to be attending tomorrow night vs. Drexel at Rupp Arena. Also, someone else who deserves some recognition is John Wall. In summer school, John earned a 4.0 GPA and just finished up this semester with a 3.4 GPA. He has so far been the example of what every major D-1 player should be, on and off the court at UK. If he wanted to, he could do the bare minimum to just stay eligible, drop out of classes when the season is over, and go straight to the NBA and make millions. Instead, Wall has plans of coming back to Lexington for summer classes each summer during the NBA off-season until he graduates. Something tells me Bob Knight won't have anything to say about this.

Coach Cal shows more class, doesn't fire back at Knight.

Since when was recruiting the most talented players "doing it the wrong way"? Since when was it a bad thing to help kids reach their dreams of playing in the NBA and winning with the best of talent? John Calipari runs a players-first program where he truly believes that kids should have fun and enjoy playing basketball together as a family. His players love him and he loves his players and helps them achieve their dreams more effectively than any coach in the college game. A player or administrator for any school that he has been with has never said a bad word about the guy. You will only hear criticism of Calipari from outsiders, the media, or from rival fans that don't really know the guy and simply refuse to look at the facts regarding him and his personal clean record with the NCAA.

I'm not just talking about at Kentucky, but with every school he has been at, Calipari continues to maintain great relationships with everyone he has worked with in his career. Memphis knew about the allegations of Derrick Rose cheating on the SAT, but still offered Calipari more money than Kentucky did for him to stay at Memphis. They knew that the coach was not involved in the scandal and begged him to stay. Fourteen years after leaving UMass for the NBA, Calipari still has a tremendous relationship with the school and still comes back to Amhurst to speak and help his former school, as he did this off season at a UMass Alumni Event. His Alma Matter, Clarion University, to this day also has a great relationship with Calipari and traveled to Rupp to play an exhibition game this year where the school's current President and Calipari's former coach honored him before the game.

Bob Knight's relationship with Indiana is non-existent since his firing. Perhaps, Bob Knight would still be coaching if he had just a fraction of the kindness, compassion, and selflessness that Calipari has shown to the people of Massachusetts, Memphis, and now Kentucky while touring all corners of the state since last April, from Pikeville to Paducah. Perhaps, if Knight was a players-first, fan friendly, coach who was active in the community and emphasized the importance of players having fun instead of being bullied, he would still be at Indiana. Instead of throwing chairs, choking players, and chastising the media and even his own University's administration (at both Indiana and Texas Tech), he would still be coaching somewhere. Bob Knight isn't exactly the right person to be pointing fingers on the subject of Integrity.

In the grand scheme of things, what are the most important aspects of running a successful major D-1 college basketball program with integrity? The model coach would put his players interests and futures above his own by running a players-first program focused on hard work, fun, togetherness, winning, and getting players to the next level and achieving their dreams. A model coach would be active in the community, a family man, a man of faith, and he would graduate over 90% of his players. He would tell a player to leave after one year and go to the NBA, if that is truly in that players' best interests, and he would also encourage that star player to come back and take summer classes while playing in the NBA to work on eventually obtaining his degree. All of these things encompass the values of John Calipari's program at Kentucky.

Togetherness, community, family, and fun are not exactly words that come to mind when describing Bob Knight. When running a program of integrity, are these aspects that we would want from a coach? Or is it better for our young athletes to be exposed to physical and verbal abuse to "toughen them up" or the immature misconduct that Knight exhibited on the sidelines for forty years? Knight's supporters will bring up his graduation rates. My response to them is that Calipari and many other coaches also have career graduation rates of over 90%. The only difference is that when they leave, they look back on their time with Coach Calipari with fond memories. Memories of happiness, togetherness, community, family, fun, wins, and championships. If only there were more coaches out there like Calipari, more student athletes would look back on their playing days with fond memories instead of horror stories of choking, chastising, embarrassment, and emotional pain.

John Clay wrote the following in today's Lexington Herald Leader, "But imagine the tables are turned, and it is John Calipari who is out of coaching and says, 'We've gotten into this situation where self-control is really lacking, and that's why I'm glad I'm not coaching. You see, we've got a coach at (Indiana/Texas Tech) who throws chairs, puts his hands on his players, berates administrators, and he's still coaching. I really don't understand that." Or, what if Calipari was at any school other than Kentucky? Would Knight have made the comments to an Indiana crowd if he wasn't UK's coach just after they demolished the Hoosiers a week ago? Are you still jealous of that one team you could hardly ever beat, Bobby?

I don't think I could put it in any better words than Mr. Clay. What is the real problem in college sports today, coaches like Calipari? Or coaches like Knight? Just for the sake of argument, let's say that Calipari was indeed involved in a few petty NCAA violations (Camby, Rose's brother forgetting to pay for a trip). Calipari has been cleared of any involvement, but even if he was, are these petty violations worse than the abuse of players? The SAT deal was not petty, but that was not even under Calipari's watch as he was in high school and uncommited to anyone! The NCAA needs to set its priorities straight in what's really best for college basketball and best for it's student athletes: a coach that will inspire them to achieve their dreams or a coach that will physically, mentally, and emotionally abuse them? Calipari chose the high road today by not criticizing Knight and his comments. Instead, he gave respect to Coach Knight and showed that he has too much class to stoop down to that level.

On February 13th, ESPN's College Gameday crew, including Bob Knight, comes to Lexington for the UK-Tennessee game. Coach Knight, you have a very, very long and frustrating day ahead of you with that Rupp Crowd right behind you during the Gameday broadcast. You will be chastised worse than you ever chastised any player, administrator, or referee. You're going to be as miserable that day as any player that ever played for you. But one positive thing comes out of all of this: it will certainly be very entertaining television on the morning and afternoon of February 13th at Rupp Arena.

Congratulations Coach Brooks: SEC Coach of the Year!

Despite having the least amount of returning starters from 2008 in the entire conference, an unexpected loss of All-SEC Defensive End Jeremy Jarmon, only three healthy games from All-American CB Trevard Lindlay, both starting cornerbacks injured and unable to play against South Carolina, and then Mike Hartline getting knocked out of that same game in Columbia after a stellar first half against the Gamecocks, the Cats' season looked to be spiraling out of control loss after loss and injury after injury. And I haven't even mentioned the injuries of Randall Cobb, Derrick Locke, and Micah Johnson which sidelined each player for at least one game.

True Freshman third string Quarterback, Morgan Newton, was literally thrown out to the wolves when he made his first career start and first ever college appearance on the road at Auburn. Somehow, someway....the Cats left with a win, and continued to finish 5-2 with a true Freshman third string Quarterback. Michigan was 5-7 with a true freshman quarterback, Southern Cal was 8-4, and Kentucky played a tougher schedule than each of those teams and faced more injuries, but managed to be 5-2 with road wins over Auburn and Georgia, despite starting a third sting Freshman Quarterback and numerous other injuries throughout the season.

The above reasons make Rich Brooks the obvious choice for every SEC coach of the year award. Today, he was awarded the honor by Collegefootballnews.com, who also placed Derrick Locke on the 1st Team All-SEC team as a return man. Look for Coach Brooks to be in the running for his second career National Coach of the Year Award next season, if he is successfully able to replace his offensive line and his playmakers stay healthy. Those two things could mean ten or more wins for the Cats next year.

Even though Hartline could be healthy by the time the Cats face Clemson in the Music City Bowl on December 27th, Coach Brooks as well as Joker Phillips have indicated that Newton will most likely be the guy and stay the starting quarterback going into next season. Newton should emerge as a star playing with Sophomore sensation, Randall Cobb, in the next two seasons.

UK Basketball Notes:

• The UK WOMEN'S hoops' team is also undefeated with a 9-0 record and hosts defending national runner-up Louisville at Memorial Coliseum on Sunday.

• Seth Davis has picked the Cats to be the last team to stay undefeated this year. He says they will stay unbeaten at 19-0 before getting upset in Columbia to South Carolina.
  
• Wildcat legend Jamaal Mashburn will be broadcasting the 2,000th win on ESPN U with Jimmy Dykes


• UK Athletics has announced that they WILL continue to sell eRUPPtion Zone tickets to the general public while the students are away on Christmas Break for only $5. Classy move by UK Athletics- they could make so much more money for those tickets if they wanted to.


• The tickets will be sold an hour and a half before gametime for all games during the break except, of course, the Louisville game. Something tells me there will be another campout for the 2,000 win game against Drexel (I wish work didn't prevent me from having much of a chance to get out there early enough to get tickets).

Last but not least, it's time to start to get into the holiday spirit!

Oh....... the weather outside is frightful, But the Cats are so delightful. And the Louisville fans should know. 10-O, 10-O, 10-O They’re showing no sign of stopping. Two thousand wins we’ll soon be topping. While beating every top-10 foe, 10-O, 10-O, 10-O The Louisville season is... dying, and their fans will...... allll start crying. But the record of the CATS, although, 10-O, 10-O, 10-O!

News and Notes: 12-14-09

• Kentucky has now reached all-time win #1,998. They face Austin Peay on Saturday and then the December 21st matchup with Drexel will likely be win #2,000. Any ideas on finding tickets, anyone?
• John Calipari was contacted by Madison Square Garden officials about playing an annual home game there, after UK arguably had more fans than UConn and St. Johns combined, in their own backyard at the SEC/Big East Invitational last week against UConn. I would personally love to see a UK/Duke matchup at MSG, since Coach K won't come to Rupp.
• UK moved up to 3rd in both polls today and received one first place vote. #2 Texas faces UNC on Saturday, which could push the Cats into the #2 spot with a Tar Heel win.
• #1 ranked Kansas plays Michigan and California the next two games, then plays a solid Belmont team, then Temple (who just knocked off previous #3 Villanova), and then faces Tennessee on January 10th. Look for the Cats to be ranked #1 after these stretch of games for the Jayhawks.
• John Wall received SEC Freshman Player of the Week honors for the fourth consecutive week. This is a streak that might not last the entire season by John Wall, but I wouldn't be shocked if Cousins and Bledsoe contribute to this award being won by a UK freshman every single week of this season. Which is really, simply amazing.

Last but not least, I want to thank Kentucky Sports Radio for this Youtube video they posted. Really, really funny stuff!

Shout out to the Colonels!

Let me give a much deserved shout out to my Alma Matter: the Eastern Kentucky Colonels. The EKU Men's Basketball team has had a very impressive start (definitely more impressive than a certain school 65 miles west of Lexington), and if you get the chance, you should go see them play.

After losing Adam Leonard a few years ago and now losing Mike Rose last year, the Colonels were not expected to do much in the OVC this year. Especially since OVC Defending Champion, Morehead State, returned all key players from their NCAA Tournament team from last year. It also didn't look good for the Colonels when Murray State opened up at #12 California and only lost by 5 points.

But the Colonels have started off with a 7-3 record, including a pair of hard fought 11 point losses at Pittsburgh and at Maryland. The Colonels also fought hard on the road in a 2 point loss to Murray State on the road. EKU is undefeated at home, including a 14 point win over Isiah Thomas' Florida International squad. Justin Stommes has led the way so far for the Colonels with 15.1 ppg. Make no mistake, the Colonels have withstood the departures of key players over the last few years and will remain a contender for an OVC Championship this spring in Nashville. The Colonels will try to defeat the Ohio Bobcats for the 2nd straight year in Athens on Saturday.

Coaching Carousel

The last couple days have seen a lot of action among the coaching ranks. Kansas has made their choice, tapping Buffalo's Turner Gill. Kansas, who fired Mark Mangino earlier this month, brings in Gill who was 20-30 at Buffalo and took Bulls to the 2008 MAC Championship and the school's first Bowl game. Gill has been a hot candidate the last few years, being in the running for the Nebraska and Auburn jobs.

The biggest coaching news involves the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame has selected Brian Kelly to be their next coach. Kelly has been the front-runner for the job for the past month and the hiring became official last week. Brian Kelly is a perfect fit for Notre Dame - he's been a winner every where he's gone (2 D-II National Champions at Grand Valley St., 2006 MAC Championship at Central Michigan, Back-to-Back Big East Championships at Cincinnati); he has strong ties to the Midwest, which Notre Dame needs desperately; he runs an offense that I could succeed in (remember, Cincinnati played four different quarterbacks in 2008 on their way to the Orange Bowl); and he's an Irish-Catholic. For the first time since Lou Holtz led the Golden Domers, it seems that Notre Dame has the right guy.

The situation gets more interesting for Cincinnati, when Houston's coach Kevin Sumlin declined to interview with the Bearcats. Cincinnati has named Offensive Coordinator Jeff Quinn as the interm coach for the Sugar Bowl, but it remains to be seen if Quinn will be a candidate for the full-time gig. Other potential candidates for the Cincinnati job include Central Michigan's Butch Jones and East Carolina's Skip Holtz. As a Cincinnati fan, I was pulling for Sumlin to get the job since he runs an offense in Houston that is similar to the high-powered offense the Bearcats have been known for under Brian Kelly. Out of the potential remaining candidates, I would like to see Skip Holtz get the job. He has is a proven coach and has won the last two Conference USA Championships with East Carolina. This may not seem like a great accomplishment, but this year they were considerable underdogs to Sumlin's Houston team.

Anyway, here is the latest list of coaching changes so far:

School	Former Coach	New Coach	Previous Job
Akron	J.D. Brookhart	Rob Ianello	Notre Dame Assistant Coach
Buffalo	Turner Gill	TBA	N/A
Cincinnati	Brian Kelly	TBA	N/A
Florida St.	Bobby Bowden	Jimbo Fisher	Florida St. Offensive Coordinator
Kansas	Mark Mangino	Turner Gill	Buffalo Head Coach
Louisiana-Monroe	Charlie Weatherbie	TBA	N/A
Louisville	Steve Kragthorpe	Charlie Strong	Florida Defensive Coordinator
Marshall	Mark Snyder	TBA	N/A
Memphis	Tommy West	Larry Porter	LSU Running Backs Coach
Notre Dame	Charlie Weis	Brian Kelly	Cincinnati Head Coach
San Jose St.	Dick Tomey	TBA	N/A
UNLV	Mike Sanford	TBA	N/A
Virginia	Al Groh	Mike London	Richmond Head coach
Western KY	David Elson	Willie Taggart	Standford Running Backs Coach

Adolph Rupp is looking down and loving what he sees!

John Calipari became the first UK coach since Adolph Rupp in 1931 to start out 10-0 in his first season in what is possibly the most coveted job in all of college sports. He's doing it with speed, talent, hard work, focus, and discipline....just how Coach Rupp used to. Also like Coach Rupp, Calipari has a lot of controversey and false accusations surrounding him and his wins. Nobody likes a winner, and when other teams' fans are taking shots at Kentucky, it usually means one thing: all is well in Big Blue Nation.

In this case, it means "weee're baaack"- and win number 2,000 is just two games away!

In the last few years, Rupp probably wanted to roll out of his grave and have a word or two with Billy Gillispie, but now the legendary coach can rest in peace along with his friends, Caywood, and the one we affectionately knew as Mr. Wildcat. The Cats have beaten three schools who have won a combined 12 National Championships in an 8 day stretch, and all is well once again in Big Blue Heaven.

Not only did the Cats beat one of their biggest rivals on the road today in their first true road game to stay unbeaten, but they did it in convincing fashion. Indiana played their hearts out and punched the Cats right in the mouth early with a 9 point lead and Assembly Hall was rockin. They shot over 60% from the field and behind the arc as well in the first half, but UK kept knocking down shots as well, almost like a never-ending game of HORSE, and went into halftime with a one point lead. Indiana had tried to slow the game down and force the Cats to get into their halfcourt offense as opposed to running and pushing the ball up the floor, but the Cats slowed it down just a little bit and their halfcourt offense looked as efficient and well-run as it has all year.

It was probably their best overall performance of the season as a balanced scoring attack defeated Indiana 90-73. Five Wildcats scored in double figures and Darius Miller added a solid 7 points. Eric Bledsoe led the way with 23 points and Patrick Patterson had yet another double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds. It was the first great game Bledsoe has had since the very beginning of the season when he was the team's starting point guard while John Wall was sitting out. When both Bledsoe and Wall are playing at their full potential together, on the court at the same time, this team is unstoppable. There simply isn't an effective way to defend these two guys when they are both playing under control and making shots while Patterson and Demarcus Cousins combine for their typical 20 rebounds in the post.

Demarcus Cousins grew up a little bit today too as he was in a situation that could have potentially started a fight. He simply put his hands up and walked away after tangling up with a Hoosier while battling for a loose ball. Even the turnovers were limited to only 13, which is pretty good considering the fast paced offense that we run. Wall had eight assists and only one turnover. There was hardly anything to get upset with today about the Cats' performance. Even Coach Cal was pleased!

"He actually said we were 10-0 today," freshman forward DeMarcus Cousins said. "I guess he was worried about that three game streak. We knew we were a good team but we're trying to prove it to everyone else." Coach Calipari said we would find out where we are as a team after this 3 game stretch. We did, indeed, learn how good this team is and it's probably better than most thought, even with the sky high expectations. It's been a while since we've heard much from Pat Forde. Interesting, huh? Now, the Cats must continue to bring it each night against lesser competition until that January 2nd matchup with "you know who".

Coaching Carousel

There have been a number of coaching hires since I last updated the coaching changes for next season. There are also a handful of jobs still open and certainly more to come. The biggest coaching news out there is still Notre Dame's search for their next Head Coach. It seemed like a forgone conclusion that Brian Kelly would be leading the Fighting Irish into the 2010, but the school also has interest in Connecticut top man Randy Edsall. We will keep you up-to-date with all the coaching moves, but here is what we have so far:

School	Former Coach	New Coach	Previous Job
Akron	J.D. Brookhart	Rob Ianello	Notre Dame Assistant Coach
Florida St.	Bobby Bowden	Jimbo Fisher	Florida St. Offensive Coordinator
Louisiana-Monroe	Charlie Weatherbie	TBA	N/A
Louisville	Steve Kragthorpe	Charlie Strong	Florida Defensive Coordinator
Marshall	Mark Snyder	TBA	N/A
Memphis	Tommy West	Larry Porter	LSU Running Backs Coach
Notre Dame	Charlie Weis	TBA	N/A
San Jose St.	Dick Tomey	TBA	N/A
UNLV	Mike Sanford	TBA	N/A
Virginia	Al Groh	Mike London	Richmond Head coach
Western KY	David Elson	Willie Taggart	Standford Running Backs Coach

Isn't this funny?

Kentucky 64, UConn 61

The Legend of John Wall continued with 25 points tonight, as he scored 12 of the last 15 points in the game. Kentucky is 3 wins away from #2,000, all-time. John Calipari's 9-0 start is the best start for a new UK coach since Adolph Rupp started out 10-0 in 1930, but even though the last two wins have been against top 15 teams, Calipari has hardly anything positive to say about his team. I love it, because we're KENTUCKY. This is how things are supposed to be and this is the way we are supposed to carry ourselves (as players and coaches) until we bring home #8. Everybody has nothing but praises to give about this team, and the second that Calipari starts to praise them too, our team will be feeling TOO good about themselves and probably lose a game. Cal knows the Indiana game on the road is another new test for this young team and he isn't going to let them feel overconfident.

As a fan, however, doesn't it feel great to finally be able to "pump our chests out and claim our rightful place atop the mountain of college basketball"?

Sorry I'm not able to post much on the game tonight, but isn't this funny? Just skip the beginning and click at the 1:34 mark on the video. Nice prediction there, Hubert.

Instructional video for DeMarcus Cousins

I love Boogie to death but good Lord, someone please tell him he does not have to shoot the ball once it is in his possession.  Hopefully he visits the site and watches this video......and then doesn't look me up on Facebook, find me out downtown, and absolutely beat me to shreds.  Big win tonight for the Cats.  I am sure Wilmhoff will give a recap here shortly.

I heart you Boogie!

John Wall, the greatest?

This week an ESPN insider article suggested that John Wall could be the best college point guard ever. I don't think anybody can really argue that it's not a possibility if he can lead the Cats to a title. Here is a great video of his dazzling moves Saturday against Carolina. Below the video, check out a few other must-read links. One of them is on John Wall, the person, and the difficult childhood he had and the young man off the court that he has turned out to be. It also mentions that Wall, like another famous basketball great, was cut from his high school team as a sophomore. Another link below is a great article written by a UNC fan on his experience at Rupp Arena on Saturday. Tomorrow night the Cats have another fierce battle on their hands in Madison Square Garden with the Connecticut Huskies at 9:30 on ESPN. If the following video doesn't get you pumped up for the game tomorrow night, I don't know what will.




Behind John Wall

A UNC fan's experience at "the cathedral of college basketball".

A Rematch with Clemson and CJ Spiller

A few months ago, when Mike Brown joined the staff here at Wildcat Wrap, we were hoping that he could give a neutral, unbiased outside perspective on national college sports picks. Little did we know that the Erlanger, KY native and Clemson University Graduate Student would give us the perspective of the opposing team in UK's bowl game just a few months after the launch of Wildcatwrap.com! This will certainly be a fun bowl game for our staff and I think I can honestly say that no UK site, anywhere, will give you better coverage of this game. Mike probably knows the most about these two teams than anyone as he is a student at Clemson and also a contributer to this site, so I'm looking forward to what he has to say about the matchup.

The critics have been silenced

Kentucky 68, North Carolina 66

(Photo Courtesy of the CatsPause)

In the first half, the Cats showed their full potential for maybe the first time this year as they blew the Tar Heels out of the gym and broke away with a 19 point lead. John Wall amazed everyone in front of a record setting Rupp Arena crowd of 24,465 fans and Patrick Patterson led the way with 19 points and 7 rebounds. The Cats improved to 8-0 for the first time since the 1992-93 season and it was the first monumental victory in the Calipari era. After the Cats rallied on a 28-2 first half run, Wall was cramping and had to leave the game for an IV shot, Bledsoe was still favoring his ankle and only played 17 minutes, Demarcus Cousins was again in foul trouble, and the Tar Heels were just too good to fall down flat on their face. They came back, but the Cats made key free throws down the stretch to seal the victory. The young Cats finally had the opportunity against a top 10 team to prove that they were as good as their #4 ranking indicated, and they did just that!

Savor the victory while you can, Big Blue Nation, because in just a few days the Cats will face UConn at Madison Square Garden in the SEC/Big East Invitational. It will be the first true neutral site game of the year. A game in which I believe will be more difficult to win than UNC at Rupp. Yes, there will be a lot of Kentucky fans making the trip up to New York, but it won't be the same atmosphere that helped the Cats beat UNC in front of a record frenzy crowd at Rupp. The players responded very well to the crowd and played off of their intensity yesterday. They need to play with that same intensity Wednesday night in a building that UConn is very familiar with playing in. If the Cats play with the intensity, desire, and passion that they exhibited against the Tar Heels, they cannot be beat. They must keep this same intensity on Wednesday night and going into SEC play. After UConn, the Cats will have their first true road game of the season at Indiana, which will surely be another great learning experience for this young team. It's always great to win while still learning, and with 21 turnovers committed against UNC, there is still a lot to learn. However, this team has a will to win, and that's what they do: win. It's scary to think how good they can be in March.

Previewing Carolina and Kentucky

(Photo Courtesy of Kansascity.com...yeah, I know, random huh?)

If you havn't heard yet, there's a pretty big basketball game tomorrow.

It's between college basketball's two winningest programs that are both chasing each other to be the first to 2,000 all-time wins this season. I'm not sure if it's actually Kentucky vs. North Carolina, or Kentucky vs. The World; however, because it seems like the Cats still have a lot of doubters and a lot to prove to the college basketball world, despite their #4 ranking, 7-0 record, and the fact that they are a 3 point favorite in this game.

Yes, it's the first really big and nationally hyped-up game for Calipari's young team this year. On a national stage, it's almost like this is the real beginning of the Calipari era. North Carolina has certainly played a much tougher schedule to this point, but I'm really not sure if they've look much better than the Cats. UK had close calls against Miami (OH) and Stanford, but the Cardinal could end up actually being a solid team this year out of the PAC 10, only time will tell, and I'm not sure if there's any team in the country that would beat that red hot Miami team by double digits on that given night. But what about Carolina's lackluster 1st half performance against Florida International? What about their 11 point win over Valparaiso and their seven point win over Nevada? Oh yeah, they also lost to a rebuilding Syracuse team by 16 points. And if you think UK's defense has been bad, they've given up 7 less points per game this season than UNC has. After the amount of players the Tar Heels lost from a year ago, it seems to me that they have just as much to prove as Kentucky does. They're a young team too, not as young, but still a young team.

I'm not doubting UNC is as talented of a team that Kentucky will face this year and maybe their biggest test, but I'm not more worried about UNC than I am about a handful of other teams such as UConn, Louisville, Tennessee, and even Florida after their suprising start of the season. Don't get me wrong, this is a HUGE game for both teams, but it's not the end of the world either way. We could win and have the best feeling in the world about this team, but then we play UConn at Madision Square Garden a few days later and could lose to the Huskies. We could also lose to UNC, but then redeem ourselves against UConn. If Kentucky just wins 2 of their next 3, they shouldn't fall too much at all in the rankings, if at all.

I see this game playing out in a couple of ways. If UNC shoots anywhere close to the way that a couple of teams have already shot against the Cats behind the arc, UK could get embarassed and lose by double digits. If UNC has a good shooting day, coupled with a productive game in the paint (which UK has not seen from anyone yet), it could be a long day. If both teams are on top of their game, I see the Cats winning by single digits with John Wall making a clutch play to end it, maybe in the final seconds. If UK plays to their full potential, plays stiffling defense, limits turnovers, plays under control, and doesn't let the hype of Rupp Arena get to them....I see UK winning by double digits. Remember though, this is the first really big game that these freshman have played at Rupp, and I'm not sure if they really know what to expect or not. The key is for them to stay focused and not get too hyped up or destracted from a few certain celebrities that could be in attendance. They don't need to be running up and down the court at 200 miles per hour either. UNC is too good of a team to do that against, and they will force too many turnovers.

If I had to pick an outcome out of the previous possibilities already given, I believe the Cats guard play will be the difference in the game. Everyone knows that UNC has a great frontcourt. Everyone knows that UK has a great frontcourt as well. Both teams are very talented and very deep down low. Both teams' big men must stay out of foul trouble as well, especially Demarcus Cousins and Patrick Patterson for UK and Deon Thompson for UNC. It's obvious, however, that UNC's guards are not at the same level as Kentucky's. The Carolina kid, John Wall, will save the day once again in the final seconds of this one as Kentucky wins a thriller at Rupp.

Brown's Picks - Championship Week

It's Conference Championship week in College Football and a number of games of BCS Bowl Implications. I will be back on later tonight to give a break-down of each game.

Cincinnati (-2.5) vs. Pittsburgh

Pick: Cincinnati, 38-35

Conference USA Championship: Houston (-3) vs. East Carolina

Pick: Houston, 42-24

Big 12 Championship: Texas (-14) vs. Nebraska

Pick: Texas, 28-17

ACC Championship: Georgia Tech (-1) vs. Clemson

Pick: Georgia Tech, 35-28

SEC Championship: Florida (-5.5) vs. Alabama

Pick: Florida, 28-24

Mangino Resigns

(http://rankthatcoach.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/mark-mangino.jpg)

It was reported Thursday that Mark Mangino is out as the head coach of the Kansas Jayhawks, so that throws another name/position into the Coaching Carousel. Here's the updated list.

School	Former Coach	New Coach	Previous Job
Akron	J.D. Brookhart	TBA	N/A
Florida St.	Bobby Bowden	Jimbo Fisher	Florida St. Offensive Coordinator
Kansas	Mark Mangino	TBA	N/A
Louisiana-Monroe	Charlie Weatherbie	TBA	N/A
Louisville	Steve Kragthorpe	TBA	N/A
Marshall	Mark Snyder	TBA	N/A
Memphis	Tommy West	Larry Porter	LSU Running Backs Coach
Notre Dame	Charlie Weis	TBA	N/A
San Jose St.	Dick Tomey	TBA	N/A
UNLV	Mike Sanford	TBA	N/A
Virginia	Al Groh	TBA	N/A
Western KY	David Elson	Willie Taggart	Standford Running Backs Coach

The Un-official SEC Bowl Picture

With six 7-5 teams, it was virtually impossible to predict who would go where, as it all has come down to one thing: politics.

You could probably make a case that all 5 other seven win teams are more deserving of going to the Outback Bowl than an Auburn team that finished 2-5 in their last seven games, and lost at home to a Kentucky team that was battling injuries and starting a true freshman quarterback for the very first time. However, it appears that the Outback has picked Auburn over Tennessee to prevent a rematch of the game two years ago in Tampa between the Vols and Wisconsin. In fact, even after Tennessee had beaten Kentucky, the Outback Bowl was still strongly considering Kentucky over UT because of the large amounts of fans that UK has been known to bring to Bowl Games...but somehow in the end they've apparently came up with Auburn? As much as I try to sit down and think of a logical reason why, I simply can't. Maybe this is just a big joke, and we'll hear something differently during the official Bowl Selection Show on Sunday night.

Anyway, the strange pick of Auburn has caused the Chick-fil-a Bowl to pick Tennessee. If the Outback had picked Tennessee like everyone had expected them to, it very likely could have been the Cats playing on New Years Eve in Atlanta.

LSU is slotted to play in the Capital One, Arkansas has accepted a bid to the Liberty, South Carolina is going to the Papajohns.com Bowl in Birmingham against a Big East team, Georgia is headed to the Independence Bowl, and of course Florida and Alabama are BCS Bound.

That of course only leaves one place for the Cats: the Music City Bowl. Yeah, it's a little disappointing, but I'm fine with it and it could be worse (just think how Georgia Bulldog fans must feel about playing in Shreveport, LA). When you really think about it, there are no "bad bowls" associated with the SEC. If you just go down the line, and look at the programs that play in each of these games every year, it's impressive. Especially this season when one overtime game meant the difference between going to the Outback or falling as far as potentially the Independence or Papajohns.com Bowl, the Cats are lucky to be where they are. And the Music City Bowl IS NOT a bottom tier Bowl Game. The Music City has their pick from the SEC before the Liberty, Independence, and Papajohns.com Bowl. It's definitely not where we want to be each year, but it's a better Bowl than people think it is.

We have played big time programs there and defeated them, and may have another chance to beat another huge program this year to add to our resume: the Miami Hurricanes. The Cats will either play Miami or North Carolina, or possibly even the loser of the ACC Championship Game (Clemson or Georgia Tech). Florida State would have been another likely opponent for the Cats again in Nashville, but the Gator Bowl is going to grant Bobby Bowden his wish for a Florida Bowl Game in his last game of his career (pollitics again). However, a win over "The U" would be huge for recruiting and definitely would make this season a successful one as this young team heads into next season.

Bowl Schedule

As the College Football regular season is coming to a close, teams are starting to accept their bowl invitations. Much like the coaching carousel, I will keep you updated with the teams who are going bowling. Here are the teams so far:

Central Florida - St. Petersburg Bowl vs. (Big East)

Army - EagleBank Bowl vs. (ACC)

Southern Methodist - Sheraton Hawaii Bowl vs. (WAC)

Navy - Texas Bowl vs. (Big 12)

Be sure to check back this weekend as the bowl picture should become a little more clear after the Conference Championships.

Coaching Carousel

With Charlie Weis being fired after 5 years at Notre Dame and Florida St. head coach Bobby Bowden expected to announce his retirement today, the coaching carousel in college football is back in full swing. Throughout the offseason I will keep you up-to-date with the latest coaching moves. Here's what we have so far.

School	Former Coach	New Coach	Previous Job
Akron	J.D. Brookhart	TBA	N/A
Florida St.	Bobby Bowden	Jimbo Fisher	Florida St. Offensive Coordinator
Louisiana-Monroe	Charlie Weatherbie	TBA	N/A
Louisville	Steve Kragthorpe	TBA	N/A
Marshall	Mark Snyder	TBA	N/A
Memphis	Tommy West	Larry Porter	LSU Running Backs Coach
Notre Dame	Charlie Weis	TBA	N/A
San Jose St.	Dick Tomey	TBA	N/A
UNLV	Mike Sanford	TBA	N/A
Virginia	Al Groh	TBA	N/A
Western KY	David Elson	Willie Taggart	Standford Running Backs Coach

Next up: Tar Heels

Let's be honest, as entertaining as tonight's game was against UNC Ashville...it was basically an exhibition for our great fans in Louisville.

And speaking of playing in Louisville, isn't it great? I love the inferior feeling it brings to all the Card fans, and it's very entertaining how much it irritates them. Most importantly, however, it's an opportunity for a lot of our fans in Louisville to be able to see the Cats play who normally could not. Growing up in Northern Kentucky, I attended the annual game in Cincinnati each year and loved it. As a kid, it was about the only chance I ever got to see the Cats. I wish they would bring back that game.

I don't know what is more immature, a few college freshman stomping on UofL's midcourt logo during a shootaround, or all the UofL fans whining about it? If you ask me, the Cardinal fans whining about it is much more immature. It's not their building. They do not own Freedom Hall. UK does not own Rupp either and the Cardinals could play at Rupp if they wanted to, but we all know that nobody would show up. Below is a video of Calipari speaking to the fans at practice last night of the possibility of playing multiple games there, including an SEC game. Now that UofL is moving into their new arena next year, Pitino will not be able to try to stop us anymore like he did by scheduling a game the same day as our Indiana game way after it was already scheduled several years ago, putting an end to what was a great neutral site location for that game.



Next up: the Cats host North Carolina in a battle between the nation's two winningest programs of all time. UK is six wins away from becoming the first program to 2,000 wins. The Tar Heels are ten wins away and looking to pick up a game on the Wildcats. This game marks the first real, high-intensity game in the Calipari era- and Rupp will be rockin!

On a side note, the Tar Heels could also be the Cats' next opponent on the gridiron. The bowl representatives would love for the two basketball heavyweights to settle things in football as well, and it could happen in the Music City Bowl.

Rocky Top Rolls Again, Maybe Next Year...

Once again, it appeared that Kentucky was going to end the streak. We've felt this way so many times before, but this time, the stakes were bigger than ever before. At halftime, they appeared to be on their way to making history with an almost perfectly executed first half of football on both sides of the ball. They were playing for 2nd place in the SEC East and a New Years Day Bowl Game, and to end the 24 year losing streak to the Volunteers. After the 1st half, everything was going according to plan and Commonwealth was about as loud as it had ever been.

Tennessee would not give up without a fight though. They rallied and took a three point lead and appeared to have the game won late in the 4th quarter. Then, something happened: a UT fumble in their own territory. Something that UK fans had been accustomed to happening to them in this series so many times before with the game on the line. This time, however, it was Tennessee fumbling the ball and giving UK the chance to win it. It was the complete opposite thing that Cats' fans have been accustomed to in this game, but it turned out to be just another tease.

Kentucky had the chance to win it, but after Morgan Newton fell shot three yards of a first down conversion on third down, UK settled for a field goal to tie it and bring the game into overtime. The decision to run a option keeper with Newton, instead of Randall Cobb, was definitely a puzzling one. If I was in Rich Brooks' shoes, however, I would not have passed the ball and risk a turnover. I would, on the other hand, have elected to put the ball into the hands of Randall Cobb on that third down play. His speed would most likely have picked up the first down, or at least make it close enough to be able to go for it on 4th down. If it would have been 4th and 1, instead of 4th and 3, Brooks said after the game that he would have gone for it and try to go for the win, instead of overtime. Overall, however, I thought the play calling in this game and in the entire second half of the season with a true freshman quarterback has been good for Joker Phillips. As this young offense matures, the more things they will be capable of doing and the more exciting they will be. They have already shown improvement in each and every game.

In overtime, the Cats lost the coin toss and had the ball first. The very first play looked to be a perfectly executed out-route 7 yards deep to the sideline, but the ball was dropped. It would have been a first down. Next play was a sack that pushed UK almost out of field goal territory. Newton had running room on 3rd down and could have put the Cats in better position to make a field goal, but instead threw an incomplete pass. Lones Seiber then missed a 49 yard field goal. It would mark the 2nd time in 3 years that a missed overtime field goal cost UK the game against the Vols, and also the 4th loss by less than 7 points in the last 5 years to the team that somehow, someway, ends up beating the Cats in ridiculous fashions for 25 years in a row.

(Photo courtesy of The CatsPause)

Not only did UK lose, but they didn't get any help from Georgia Tech or Clemson either. If the two best teams in the ACC would have been able to beat Georgia and South Carolina like they were supposed to, the Chick-fil-et Bowl would still have been a likely destination for the Cats on New Years Eve in Atlanta. But now, with six 7-5 teams in the SEC, who knows? UK could go anywhere from the Independence Bowl to Atlanta, but now it seems like another Music City Bowl against Florida State or Boston College is the most likely destination.

To sum up everything that happened on Saturday, here are a few truths that should make us feel a little bit better, some honest opinions and facts that I think should ease the pain of possibly the most heartbreaking loss in the history of Kentucky football:

• Kentucky could be in the Orange Bowl if they played in the ACC or Big East. Look at what two middle of the pack SEC teams did to the two teams that will be playing for an Orange Bowl bid next week in the ACC Championship.



• Kentucky was 4-1 on the road this season, winning very big SEC road games for the first time in a long, long time...against Auburn and Georgia



• There's still a chance the Cats are picked to play in Atlanta against the loser of the ACC Championship game. If not, we should still get another chance at a big time program like FSU or BC in Nashville.
  
  
• Unlike many of the other heartbreaking losses to Tennessee, including the 2007 game, this year the Cats return all their star players on the offensive side of the ball. All five touchdowns in last week's win over Georgia were scored by players that will be returning next year. Locke returns for his senior year, Cobb returns for two more years and aspires to be the Chris Lofton of football before he graduates, and Morgan Newton still has three more years to beat Tennessee. I wonder if Lane will still be around in Morgan's senior year?



• The Cats were just an overtime away from finishing 2nd in the SEC East. With our returning players, and Tim Tebow leaving Florida...the SEC East will be wide open next year. It's not ridiculous to think that the Cats could be a preseason #2 pick in the SEC East (Florida will still be a favorite, but not a heavy favorite) and could contend for the division title and SEC Championship appearance with a little more luck and less injuries next year.



• One last thing: after last night's game, I've made a personal commitment to attend every UK-Tennessee game for the rest of my life, in Knoxville and in Lexington, until the streak ends.

Biggest Game, Ever?

Just like the LSU win in Commonwealth a few years ago, a win over Tennessee tonight could be one of those defining moments in the rebuilding of Kentucky football under Rich Brooks. This win would not only break the 24 game losing streak, but would give the Cats a 2nd place finish in the SEC East and almost guarantee an Outback Bowl appearance on New Years Day. For those reasons, it would be an even more overall significant win than the one against #1 LSU two years ago.

Year, after year, after year, after year...when you ask Kentucky fans, "What is the one team on the schedule that you want to beat more than anyone else in the world?" The answer is always Tennessee. I've even heard some fans say they'd trade away a Final Four in basketball to beat Tennessee in football.

To put it simple: tonight could be the best night in the history of UK football. Even though the Vols are not ranked and have won one less game than the Cats have so far, the goalposts will be brought down if the Cats win tonight. To outsiders, this might seem ridiculous. But for a Kentucky fan who has never witnessed a win over Tennessee in my lifetime, I understand the significance of ending the streak and finishing off the best season Kentucky has had in 30 years. This win will propell the Cats very close to the top of that SEC mountain that we've been climbing for so long and we're not finished yet (just ask a certain sophomore qb/wr/punt returner). Commonwealth will be rocking tonight, possibly like it never has before.

High School Football Championships are set...but it's just not the same.

As a kid growing up, the day after Thanksgiving was always a special one. Every year in my childhood, the day after Thanksgiving was always a big day for football. I grew up during the incredibly ugly era of Bengals and UK football known as the 1990's (minus a few years of Tim Couch). There was only one football team I really cared about growing up, and that was the Beechwood Tigers.

I had the privilege to attend a small and unique K-12 Independent School District in Fort Mitchell, Ky that somehow dominated Kentucky high school football at all levels in the 1990's. I really doubt if there's a place anywhere like it in the world, where kindergartner's are in the same school building as the high school football stars that they look up to and idolize and then they eventually grow up to be in those same shoes and wearing that same uniform. They beg their parents to buy them a red or white Tigers' jersey with their favorite players number on it and tiger paws on their shoulders so they can wear them to school on Fridays like all the other kids.

At that time, the elementary kids at that school idolized Beechwood Tigers players more so than even professional players, certainly more than any Bengal player in that era! The day after Thanksgiving was always a day for Beechwood football. It often included a trip down-state to Pikeville or Middlesboro and a win would mean a day off of school (for the high schooler's and the elementary kids) the very next Friday to play in the State Championship Game at old Cardinal Stadium in Louisville. During this decade, Beechwood won 7 Class A State Championships and only missed the Championship Game once, in 1998.

I know what a lot of you are probably thinking..."so what, it's Class A football".

Well, back then....when there were only 4 divisions, Class A football was solid, and Beechwood was the smallest of smallest schools, with graduating classes of about 60 to 70 students. It didn't matter, as they played big, powerful schools from Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky and consistently embarrassed them. In 1999, Beechwood blew out a Harrodsburgh team in the State Finals that had two future NFL players (and future UK Wildcats) in Craig Yeast and Dennis Johnson. Beechwood had an 8 year winning streak against 3A power Covington Catholic during this stretch. CovCath was considered one of the best programs in the state at any level at the time, and won several 3A State Championships in seasons in which they lost to the small little Class A school down the road in what would become a heated neighborhood rivalry between two schools not even close in size. In 1994, Beechwood became the first team in the state of Kentucky to win four straight State Championships, and to my knowledge, was the first and maybe only ever school in the country of it's size to appear in the USA Today Top 25 National H.S. Football Poll (the only school in Ky ranked that year).

A lot has changed since then, and mostly all for the bad. Not only has Beechwood lost it's luster (they lost 38-0 to Mayfield tonight), but so has high school football all-together in this state. When the KHSAA decided to change football from 4 divisions to 6 divisions, they ruined it all. They ruined it from the very top to the very bottom. Instead of rewarding true champions, the KHSAA decided they wanted to make kids feel better about themselves by providing more teams the opportunity to win, make the playoffs, and compete for one of six "state championships". While other states were competing and preparing their athletes to play at the next level, Kentucky was worried about handing out undeserved trophies and making kids feel good (like Little League Baseball) and ultimately losing credibilty and falling behind other states. Class A football especially had now lost all credibility, losing schools like Danville and Newport Catholic, and also ending playoff regional rivalries like Beechwood vs. NewCath.

Winning Class A meant something back then. Now, it's a walk in the park until at least the state semi-finals. Beechwood blew out teams that had no business even playing in the post season up until tonight. Tonight, they faced the first decent team they've played in months and they weren't prepared for it because they've played meaningless games against worthless Class A football teams since district play began. With 4 divisions, Class A was a challenge, with 6....it's a joke, which is why Beechwood is not attracting the same caliber of athletes for football that they used to and why they do not still beat the bigger schools during the regular season.

Not only did the KHSAA screw up small school football, but it also put an end to the classic big school State Championship Game which usually ended up being between 2 of the 3 big Louisville schools: St. Xavier, Trinity, and Male. This game always attracted 30,000 plus fans and was one of the biggest high school football games in the country. Remember the classic shootout between Brian Brohm of Trinity and Michael Bush of Male? Andre Woodson also was a senior that year in Radcliffe. Kentucky high school football was competing, in terms of talent and top recruits that season, with just about any state in the country that compares in size (not California or Texas obviously), outside of the Southeast. For a few years, all the Louisville schools were on the same side of the bracket to give other teams a chance (luckily they changed that this year, the only good change they have made). However, when they finally let the Louisville schools play each other for the title, they make the brilliant idea of moving the game from Louisville to Bowling Green....

No more excitement. No more fun. No more competition across the board. Every year, you had your same dynasties in each division competing with each other for a well deserved prize. 1A was always between Beechwood, Danville, Mayfield, Murray, or New Cath. 2A belonged to Belfry or Fort Campbell, 3A belonged to Highlands, Boyle County, or CovCath. 4A was between Trinity, St. X, or Male. Now, all these teams are playing in different divisions or put in the same region or district to provide opportunity for others to win. There's no longer any big rivalries in each division and there's also no heavyweight's anymore (besides nationally ranked Highlands), and that's not a good thing. Just ask college recruiters who are not making visits anymore to Kentucky. Just ask Rich Brooks who has to rely on the state of Georgia to be competitive in the SEC, and has done quite an exceptional job of doing so as evidenced by his Peach State players showing the Bulldogs last week why they should have been recruited to play at UGA.

This year, they made the State Championships an even worse event, by moving the site from Papa John's Stadium in Louisville, to WKU's stadium in Bowling Green. What is the KHSAA's plans for next season? Roy Kidd Stadium? How does the KHSAA do such a tremendous job with the Sweet 16 Basketball Tournament at Rupp, and act so clueless when trying to put together the state football playoffs? Well, here are those "exciting" matchups that everybody is "dying" to travel all the way to Bowling Green to see....

1A: LCA vs. Mayfield (actually a better matchup than recent years in Class A)
2A: Desales vs. Fort Campbell (Desales, are you kidding me? Should be ugly.)
3A: Paducah Tilghman vs. Somerset (2 schools that probably should not be playing for a title)
4A: Lone Oak vs. Boyle County (Lone Oak?)
5A: Highlands vs. John Hardin (Highlands wins this one by 40...the old system would have had a Highlands/Boyle Country showdown)
6A: St. X vs. Trinity (would be a great game and great atmosphere if played in Louisville)

High School football may not be what it once was in this state, but we are extremely lucky to have the Cats playing in quite possibly their most meaningful game in November, possibly ever tomorrow at Commonwealth Stadium against Tennessee, which is probably where my attention should be right now. I'll try to give a preview in the morning. GO CATS!