The Waiting Game

The alternative picture that I chose for this is a tad inappropriate. If you really want to see it, go here. I recommend that you do. Just sayin'.

And here it comes: The waiting game. This has become a new tradition in the last two years concerning Kentucky basketball. We wait and see which players decide to stay and which players decide to test the NBA waters.

Brandon Knight, Terrence Jones, Doron Lamb and most recently DeAndre Liggins have all expressed possible plans to jump to the NBA. Liggins recently stated that he wants to meet with his family in order to discuss rather or not it would be a good decision to go pro. I hope Liggins does what is best for him. He comes from a tough back round and the money would be good for his family, but one more year at the college level could do wonders for his draft status.

The wild card this year is the possibility of an NBA lockout. If some of these guys decide to go pro and the lockout does happen, they would be stuck in limbo. They would not be playing in the NBA and they would not be playing in college. They would be hanging out, thinking of what might have been.

The NBA lockout is a much more drastic situation than the NFL lockout due to the fact that 17 NBA teams are in the hole. Owners are begging for a hard salary cap and the players want to hear nothing of it. The Bleacher Report has a nice article about it and explains it with much better detail than I can. Where the NFL is making money and fighting about how to spend it, the NBA is losing money with some franchises and trying to figure out how to save them. The fighting between the owners and the players could become brutal because the players are not going to want to take salary cuts, which is being floated as the best solution to the problem.

The lockout could start after the 2011 NBA Finals which end in June. The deadline for college players to enter their name for the NBA draft is April 26. If they do not hire an agent, they can back out. Needless to say the players don't have a lot of time to weigh their options.

My hope is that they research the lockout and understand what the ramifications will be if a lockout does happen. The NBA will be there next year but college basketball will not if they decide to turn pro.

And then there are the always present "Calipari is going to coach at (fill in team here) next year" rumors. We just need to get used to this. As long as Cal is having success at UK he is going to be rumored to be coaching in the pros year in and year out. I don't see it for the simple fact that he got so close this year, has a ton of talent coming in and possibly some of this year's biggest stars sticking around.

It's going to an interesting ride in the next few weeks. Buckle in and check Sportsthat for updates and analysis.

Weep No More My Lady

Don't cry Lindsay Lohnan. Kentucky will be back!

The hopes and dreams of Big Blue Nation were crushed last night by a one point heartbreaking loss to UConn in the Final Four. 56-55 was the final count. The Cats played hard, gave everything they had and came up one point short.

I've watched a few interviews after the game and I don't have the heart to post them. Every player was crushed. Absoulutely crushed. I felt the most sorry for Brandon Knight and Terrence Jones (besides Josh Harrellson of course). The two freshmen had to continue to answer questions about whether or not they are coming back next year. Jones looked hurt and mumbled a few words about not thinking about it right now. Knight actually got a little angry and shut down the line of questioning, telling the reporters that he isn't thinking about any "NBA stuff" now. He was focused on his teammates and what had transpired on the court.

I was definitely sad after the game. I had started watching the game at a local restaurant with some friends but decided to move to another venue because of one obnoxious UK fan that kept yelling and spouting out meaningless cheers and stats. She started the "C-A-T-S" cheer but never made it past the "C" and the "A". She was being goaded by "UConn" fans in the bar. And when I say "UConn" fans, that is code for UofL fans that were cheering against the Cats and for Kemba Walker, despite the fact that their own garbage team had exited the tournament weeks ago. I think you all know how I feel about the Dirty Bird Nation, so I will just leave it at that.

I watched the end of the game at a friends house. Afterwards we both looked at each other and made some comments about how many months it was until November, and that we had months of baseball and NASCAR to endure before football season started. We then started talking about how awesome of a season this truly was. And then my mood started to pick up.

I realized that after all of the adversity this team had been through; the loss of Enes Kanter, a short bench, close losses on the road against inferior teams, a questionable #4 seed despite a SEC championship, and then, despite all of that, a trip to the Final Four and a chance at a title. All of the positive memories of this team flooded my mind. I'd like to brighten your day with them:

• The transformation from bench guy to legit starting center by Josh Harrellson, aka Jorts, aka the Sullinger Slayer. He endeared himself to UK fans and we loved him for his hard work and dedication.


• The evolution of Brandon Knight from a shooter first to a point guard that looks to run the team before scoring. Knight looked lost in Maui at times. He gradually turned into a floor general and a stone cold assassin by the seasons end.


• Terrence Jones also made a major change. He went from "Selfish Motherfu**er" to a player that focused more on rebounding, passing, blocking and defending besides his own scoring.


• The emergence of Darius Miller is on the same level as what happened to Jorts in my opinion. Many will remember Miller passing up a three to win the game against Ole Miss. That has been overshadowed by Miller as a player with confidence who is no longer afraid to take the shot. Darius ended up being the MVP of the SEC tournament.


• DeAndre Liggins became clutch and I don't know when that happened. Liggins smothered opponents on the defensive end and near the end of the season he was nailing shots at the end of games to put the Cats in position to win. He almost did it again by taking a deep three down by two last night and he was inches away from wining the game. INCHES.

I'm not sure what this team will look like next year. I am 100% sure that Liggins and Miller will be back as seniors and with a vengeance. They tasted the promised land and will be ready to go back. I'm 70% sure Lamb will return. He has stated he is coming back but things happen and the NBA draft is a sultry, seductive siren (that's called alliteration, kids). I will be comfortable when the deadline for draft declaration passes.

I have no idea what Knight and Jones are going to do. I am less sure about their thoughts as I was about the 5 guys from last year's team that left early. It seems to me that these two players truly love playing for Kentucky and that they know what they can do next year if they come back with more pieces to the puzzle.

I'm not going to think about that for a while. I'm going to enjoy the memories of this wonderful team and let the cards fall where they may. John Calipari has been at the helm for just two seasons but he has brought the Cats from the NIT to an Elite Eight and a Final Four. He has made the Commonwealth's team a contender again and we are all excited about the future.

Weep no more my lady. The Cats will be back and they are going to win it all. Soon. Very soon.

Bozich and Crawford Pick the Cats

The fellas at the C-J pick the Cats. They say UConn's one man show (they don't talk about Jeremy Lamb for some reason) is not enough against the weapons and the sharp shooting of the Cats. Have I ever said any ugly things about these two? I take it all back.



Eminem, Do your Thing:

Know Your Enemy: UConn Huskies

You really didn't think I was going to jinx us and not post this, did you? So far the Cats are undefeated everytime I post Know Your Enemy. Let's keep the streak alive. I have already outlined the keys to victory against the Huskies. Let's learn a little bit more about the UK opponent. UConn Huskies: Location- Storrs, Connecticut Enrollment-30,00 Famous Alumni-Meg Ryan, Ray Allen, Richard Hamilton, Rebecca Lobo, Sue Bird, and Diana Taurasi. I know, athletes and that is about it. Rather boring. School Motto- "It's not hell, it's just Connecticut." Everthing You Need to Know about UConn-You can see in this Horrifying Documentary:

Things They Tell Recruits-

• "I'm not trying to scare you but if you say "chowder" instead of "chowda", Jim Calhoun will cut off your fu**ing head. Just sayin'."


• "Yes Jim Calhoun cheats and yes we are going to be punished by the NCAA, but haven't you seen "He Got Game"? Ray Allen was awesome in that!"


• "Sure there are plenty of things to do in Connecticut! You can throw rocks at passing cars, climb trees, smoke a pipe, read the paper. We know how to party here."


• "Our women's team is better than our men's team. So what. Do you think we are a bunch of girls around here? Well, ok we are but that's beside the point."

Most Famous Sports Moment- It's not their most famous but I thought this was pretty awesome:

Reasons why Kentucky will Beat Them to make it to the National Championship game-

• Jorts, Jorts and Jorts


• Kemba Walker is a gun and when the Huskies get behind he is going to start shooting the ball waaaaay too much.


• John Calipari REALLY hates Jim Calhoun. He hates him more than he hates Ricky Three Stacks.


• DeAndre Liggins is about to regulate on Shabazz Napier or whoever he wants.


• Brandon Knight will show that he is better than Kemba Walker.

Regardless of the outcome I think this team has done way more than anybody anticipated. That being said, the Payback Cats are a different team than what UConn faced in Maui. Brandon Knight grew up, Terrence Jones is no longer the focal point of the offense, Liggins and Darius Miller have confidence and Josh Harrellson is playing like Shaq.

Kentucky is undefeated when they are avenging a loss. They will continue to be after today.

Hey Cal - "What's it like to be in your first Final Four" - Gulp

CBSSports.com's Dennis Dodd asked Calipari during his press conference, what it was like to be in his first Final Four.

Calipari said the reporter told him he was being facetious but was not amused, answered with, "I don't deal with that. We've been here 3 times...Those players played those games and did what they were supposed to do. I'm proud of what they've accomplished. It's been fun. It's been a good experience, and this has been a good experience."

Now that that's out of the way, I'm sure we'll never hear another jerk ask it again.

BREAKING NEWS: Rick Pitino Caught with his pants down AGAIN

In BREAKING news from the New York Times, Rick Pitino has been accused of another sex scandal. The Times is reporting that while in the studio for CBS, Ricky P was seen flirting and mingling with an intern named Jamie Bishop. Bishop, a 23 year old graduate student from Florida, was in charge of wardrobe.

According to the Times, Pitino, who was contracted out by CBS as an analyst after his UL Cardinals lost in the first round to Morehead State, had the sexual encounter late on Saturday at the Hilton near the CBS studios. Bishop met Pitino at the hotel bar for drinks before they promptly excused themselves to her room. Bishop used her cell phone to snap this picture of Pitino in his underpants before the act went down.

While no laws were broken and both parties were consenting, it's just another embarrassing blemish on a lack luster season.

Fittingly the news comes after the USA Today report that listed Rick Pitino as the highest paid coach in college basketball.

The Eve Before the Final Four: Keys to Victory

Just in case you didn't know, the Wildcats are playing in the Final four a little over 24 hours from now.

The main things the Cats need to do in order to ensure victory:

• Contain Kemba Walker as best as they can. He is going to get his, that's inevitable, they just need to make sure he doesn't put up 50.


• If Walker does his thing, don't let Lamb or anybody else get more than 10 points. We saw this when the Cats played Ohio State and North Carolina. Jared Sullinger had a big game, but no other OSU player did. Tyler Zeller had a big game and Harrison Barnes played ok, but the rest of UNC did not.


• Hold the Huskies to 64 points or less. The Cats have done this in every game in the tournament so far. Their defense has been outstanding and it needs to continue.


• Brandon Knight needs to limit turnovers and Josh Harellson needs 15 points and 8 rebounds. So far this has not been an issue.


• Terrence Jones needs to keep doing what he is doing. And what he is doing is trading scoring for passing, rebounding, blocking and defending. Jones has morphed into more of a role player and it has been working like a charm.


• Liggins or Miller need to score in double digits. So far one of them has in every game in the tournament.


• John Calipari must keep his team's heads clear and focused. The killer instinct and the chip on their shoulder they have exhibited must continue to be a part of their game.


• Guard the lane and the post. UConn is not a very good shooting team. Most of their points come from Walker, Lamb or Shabazz Napier driving into the lane. They either score, get fouled or dish it to a big man for an open look under the basket.

If these things happen, pencil the Cats into the title game.

Go Cats. #revenge