That Was Totally Worth Falling Asleep at My Desk

Last night’s game was the most fun I’ve had in such a long time. Not that the rest of my life isn’t always fun, but you’d be hard-pressed to beat the experience of your lifelong favorite team, down on it’s luck, beat the Number 5-ranked team in the nation that also just happens to be a serious conference foe as of late. To do all of that at home? On ESPN prime-time? With over 23,500 fans in attendance? Many of those fans divided in their loyalties between the hometown kid they love and admire and respect and the team who’s blood flows in their veins? Maybe that sounds over-dramatic to you, but not to me. It was excellent.

I was worried all day, that the game would turn out like last year’s. Thankfully, it didn’t!

The game started out a bit rough and I worried about our chances to beat such a talented, athletic team. Tennessee was on a winning streak, Lofton always shoots lights out at Rupp Arena, and we haven’t been playing to our full potential. The hustle and the heart was there for the Kentucky players, though. There were some tough calls in that first half, but the Cats persevered, hustling and continuously working to get the ball to the open man. I was incredibly impressed with Patrick Patterson. When I watch the game on television, I tend to concentrate on the ball, not really noticing a lot of the work that goes on elsewhere on the court. At the game, it’s hard not to notice how hard Patterson has to work the lane and the low post to get position. I was really impressed.

This might be a product of the four hours of sleep, but, to me, the second half was just magical. We fought tooth and nail for a lot of loose balls (like Jasper and Meeks both still recovering from injuries, both diving on a loose ball late in the game when we were up by 8). We stood tough at the foul line to maintain our lead. Ramel Bradley did a great job of handling the pressure of that late-game situation where free throws were key, especially since Lofton started getting hot right there at the end with the three pointers.

I think what made this game so much pure fun, though, was the way the crowd really got into it during the second half. There was some definite sixth man stuff going on. Rupp crowds are normally pretty great, but last night’s was the best of any of the games I’ve attended. During one of the TV timeouts, they turned on the “Boogie Cam” or some other nonsense and the fans just started having fun and it didn’t stop. The crowd was on its feet, cheering for a team that, too often this season, has been harshly criticized. We love to win, but I think we also were loving the heart and the effort that our guys were showing.

It was just, all around, a really FUN game. With three minutes left and a little bit of a lead, I started to think we could pull it off. A big win! I started smiling and didn’t really stop until we were out in the icy traffic, headed home at 12:30 (a mere 3 hours past my bedtime!). I’m glad that Chris Lofton, the hometown (state?) kid, set a record tonight in the gym in which he’s always been so good. I’m more glad, though, that this might be the start of something beautiful for the Wildcats.

(Pictures to come tonight or tomorrow, I’m going on three-four hours of sleep, here, guys!)

The most important thing about today!

How could I forget to mention this?!?

I’m going to the UK game, tonight! YAY! I, normally, only get to go to one game each season. A friend has season tickets a few rows behind the band, near the eRUPPtion zone. They’re fun seats. This year, I’m getting to see the Tennessee game, the one I’ve been wanting to see EVERY year. That’s because I’m a Chris Lofton fan. Of course, I hope Kentucky is the winner, tonight, but I’d love to see Lofton have a great game (may he be the only Volunteer who scores!).

Lofton in Rupp is just a fun time. I saw him play in high school vs. Lexington Catholic at Memorial Colissuem. While that was great, it was no comparison to when he lit up the floor and the baskets at Rupp during the two Sweet Sixteens that I got to go to. He’s just a good kid that’s fun to watch.

I’d also like to see him do well in front of the “home” crowd. There isn’t a lot of animosity toward him among Kentucky fans, it seems. Rather, there is a sense of regret (that he isn’t playing for us) and admiration (that he’s a Kentucky kid who is representing well).

I’m super excited. I’m also super hopeful that my mom (who is getting my other ticket) will spring for the more expensive parking, again, this year. It snowed this morning. All I need is too fall and bust my ass on the way in from the parking lot. It’s a good 80% chance that I’d fall. I’m clumsy. See below.

Boogers, Basketball and Bowl Games

I just realized that I haven’t blogged about anything sports-related in a while. I don’t want anyone to think that sports aren’t my #1 favorite thing to watch on television, my #1 favorite thing to Fantasy-ize about or my #1 favorite thing involved muscle-bound men in tight pants or sleeveless shirts. So, here’s a post about sports.

First, I’ve hashed and re-hashed the UNC vs. UK game with a couple of people. Frankly, I’m tired of talking about it. However, I do have to say that the boys in blue (the real blue, not that crappy sky blue) looked much better than they have in previous games and much better than I expected them to. Turnovers are still happening much too often. I’m still not sold on Billy G., but I’m trying to keep my mind open.

One of the most interesting things to come out of the UNC/UK game was a possible submission to the You Idiot! You’re On National Television Awards. It should rank right up there with William Hung and any of the Tara Reid wardrobe malfunctions. I give you UK’s best player, Patrick Patterson, and the grossest thing kids in first grade used to do:

Yesterday, the BCS bowl games were announced. As expected, Kentucky is going back to Nashville for the Music City Bowl. I’m sure many people were hoping for a “better” bowl in a warmer climate, but I think Nashville is a great city for Cat fans, and getting the chance to beat Bobby Bowden and those jack-assy Seminoles is great. The sad part: THE GAME IS ALREADY SOLD OUT! I’m not sure when it sold out, but I tried to scope out some tickets on Ticketmaster as soon as I heard and they were gone. Darn you early buyers! How awesome would it be to watch the Cats whoop up on some ACC trash and spend New Year’s Eve in Nashville?!?! Pretty damn, I think.

There you have it, folks. My latest sports-related blomit.

22 shopping days until Christmas!

Oh, Good Grief

You’ve probably all heard about it, by now. The Wildcats lost, last night, to Gardner-Webb.

“Who’s that?” you’re thinking.

No, it’s not the newest prospect in Billy G’s recruiting machine, it’s not even a person. It’s a school in North Carolina, apparently, 5000 students strong, that has been in the NCAA Division I for eight years. Yeah. EIGHT YEARS. Last season, they only won six games. Last night, they relied on backdoor cuts and three point shooting to look like a pretty decent high school team. Oh, yeah, and THEY WON! WHAT THE HELL!

As I watched the GW kids shoot out to an early lead and the Cats do absolutely nothing on either end of the court, Jason snoring on the couch next to me, I called my mom and said, “Are you watching this game? What’s going on?”

Once again, there was no offense. Mr. Makes-Me-Nervous (a senior leader, doncha know?) would streak up the court, play hot potato with the ball and turn it over. Mr. Joe We-Should-Have-Let-Him-Transfer-to-Michigan-State-When-He-Wanted-To Crawford would dribble around, maybe make a weak fall-away shot or throw the ball out of bounds. Basically, everyone who was a recognizable face to me generally douched the game. The guys who I’m not as familiar with their faces yet…guys like Patrick Patterson (and I just realized he really is a Pat-Pat), Alex Legion and Mark Coury (flurry)…seemed to try the hardest and had some success. Even Jodie Meeks, who I am a faithful believer in, didn’t do very well. What’s the deal?

I’ve heard so much about Billy G’s new “system” and how much adjustment it takes. From what I can see, it’s pretty much last season, as usual — good to great defense and offense my grandmother could defend against. So, what’s new? Oh, wait. Late night, game-eve film sessions? Game day full practices? What’s that about? Who can expect to play well, this early in the season, when you have two games, a film session, and a full speed practice in the span of 30 hours (also, when are these guys going to class?).

All in all, I’m glad that I fell asleep during the first half. I ended up going to bed thinking, “Yeah, this is Kentucky! We’ll pull it out.” This morning, as I sat down in front of the TV at 4:30 and ESPNU was replaying the game, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Yeah. We didn’t pull it out. Gardner-stupid-Webb beat the crap out of us. I’d wager that the top high school team in the state could have beaten GW, and probably pounded last night’s Cats, too.

If the trade-off at Kentucky is good football team, bad basketball team or vice versa, I’ll take the vice versa, again, please.

P.S. Are commentators going to harp on the “expectations” again, this year? I thought all that was through with the exit of Coach Smith. Additionally, can we petition Congress to outlaw any and all former coaches/assistant coaches/players/lovers of Duke basketball? It’s incredibly annoying. Oh, and finally, what’s the deal with the comment relayed from Coach Hall, last night, that winning the 1978 Championship wasn’t as much joyous, as a relief? Can we save the fan-bashing for another season, please? I think this one will be long enough, as it is.

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I’m not even in the mood for an interesting fact, today. I will say that the earliest I can remember being a University of Kentucky basketball fan was at the age of four. The seniors, that year did a barnstorming tour. These seniors included, in my recollection, Sam Bowie and Melvin Turpin (maybe Kenny Walker, but I don’t remember him, particularly). I went to the Henderson County High School leg of the tour. My cousin made friends with the players and got to sit on the bench with the team. I remember getting my picture taken with Melvin Turpin (I sat on his lap and I remember him being a LOT bigger than me). My uncle unearthed this picture a couple of years ago and gave it to me as a Christmas present. I wish I had a scanner so I could show you all how incredibly EXCITED I was to be in the presence of the Kentucky players. It’s one of my favorite pictures, ever.

On the Eve of Greatness

Printable bracket (PDF)

Tomorrow begins the field of 64’s pursuit of a championship in the 2007 NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament, and yours truly will be there to witness a portion of it. That’s right. The day has finally arrived that I will get to fulfill one of my dreams of going to the NCAAs. Okay, so I might not be playing and I might not get to be seeing my favorite team, but those weren’t really qualifiers in the dream, so it’s all good.

Here’s a little preview of tomorrow. I’ll be wearing a nice, not neutral at all, blue Wildcats t-shirt. The tournament site I’ve got tickets for is Rupp Arena, and here are the teams playing there:

• Ohio State (1) vs. Central Connecticut State (16) — Will this be the year a 16 seed finally upsets a 1 seed? I’d love to be there for it, and I’ll definitely be rooting against the Buckeyes.

• Brigham Young University (8) vs. Xavier (9) — I don’t have a dog in this fight, but 8/9 games are always exciting. I’m going to cheer for Xavier since a) they are geographically closer to me and b) their Catholicism trumps BYU’s Mormonism.

• Louisville (6) vs. Stanford (11) — I find the matchups of these two mascots interesting. The Cardinals go up against the Cardinal. I’m excited to see the big conifer mascot, interested to see how Rick Pitino will be welcomed back to Rupp Arena in a non-competition atmosphere, and interested to see if I can really cheer for the Cards inside the home of the ‘Cats. I think I can. I really do. I will not, however, be sporting any red and white gear.

• Texas A&M (3) vs. Pennsylvania (14) — In this one, I’m going for the Quakers of Penn. I’ve never liked the Aggies, mostly because I don’t like their mascot’s name, I’m not a fan of schools from Texas, and my college roommate had a crazy boyfriend that went to school there.

If the above seem like odd reasons to pull or not to pull for a team, see the College Football Rhyme or Reason post. The point is that there is no rhyme or reason, but it’s always easy for me to decide who to root for.

On Selection Sunday, I was really hoping that Notre Dame would be slotted for Lexington, but it wasn’t to be. Since the South Region was announced last, I was also super excited about the possibility of Tennessee rolling into town (seriously, two years ago and you could have killed me on the spot by telling me I’d one day say this!). Alas, it wasn’t meant to be, either. However, I’m really really really excited about the prospect of seeing some great basketball live and in person tomorrow and Saturday. I’m also really really really excited about great basketball all weekend!

One quick note about completing your bracket. I heard one interesting theory today from the lovely Duchess. Her criteria for completion is determining which mascot could eat the other mascot in a real life contest. Interesting. Other theories I’ve heard are:

• Kentucky, then SEC schools, then Catholic schools, then underdogs (my mom)
• I don’t care. It’s basketball. (my sister)
• Study the stats for hours upon end, at work, of course. Then, remember that a number 12 seed always beats a number 5 seed. (EdLove)

Then, there’s my theory: resolve to print a bracket the minute the Selection Show is over, pore over it, do research on the internet and choose the winning teams in time to turn in the bracket, then, in reality, print out a bracket, lose it, print out another one, leave it in the car until 15 minutes before you have to turn it in, race out there, agonize over whether your going with your heart or your brain this year, choose winners with very little apparent thought, and hope for a lot of upsets, then, fill out another bracket where Kentucky wins and hope for glory.

Ah, I love the tournament.