Herding Cats

Did you ever try to get a cat to do something for you like come to you when you called it's name?  Dogs can't wait to please, they were born to make their masters happy, but not a cat.  That's kind of what it's like to coach a basketball team, particularly a basketball team that has a lot of freshmen players, who just got through being stars in high school, and now come together as stars, in hopes of making millions in the NBA.  That is what Coach John Calipari faces every year as the Head Basketball Coach at the University of Kentucky.

Coach Cal is a victim of his own success.  He has become the top recruiter of talented basketball players in the entire United States.  That's great right?  That's bad as well, since each year he is confronted with checking these enormous egos at the door of the Joe Craft Center{the practice facility of the UK Basketball Team} and get them to buy in to the team concept, and realize that most of the players that are now your teammates are just as good as you are.  And to make it just a little more difficult it has to be done in under six months. 

College basketball has changed.  No more do you see players coming and staying for four years unless they are not the McDonald's All Americans that have become the prize for the big time programs,  There was a time when players could grow and learn in a system that would nurture them into young adults, but now these young lions must come ready made,  with not just a jump shot, but real world experience and maturity.  Coach Cal has become the gold standard of taking the modern basketball youth and renovating them into a team that is not only good but will likely challenge for Final Fours and even National Championships.  A daunting task at best.  In Coach Cal's third season at Kentucky he has manged to do just that.  However at times I bet Coach Cal thinks it would probably be easier just to herd a bunch of cats.

Block Party

If there is a theme or description of this years Kentucky Basketball team it will certainly be defined by defense and of course blocked shots.  The 2011-12 version of the Cats is playing defense and blocking shots at a record pace.  Opposing players speak of their dread in playing them as fear and intimidation.  In fact Kentucky has never been thought of in these terms because of their defense, it was always the attacking pressure that they put on opponents through their offense.  The barrage of 3 pointers from the 90s and the end to end play of the 2000s.  Not now,  rugged defensive pressure from the half court line to the last line of defense the boundless presence of freshmen Anthony Davis.

AD is maybe the most outrageously talented big man that I have ever seen at Kentucky, and that is saying a lot since All-Americans have patrolled the post for 7 decades.  But what he has manged to do to this point has set the record book on it's ear.  I can't wait to go to games to see what this "phenom" will do next.  It's not just the blocks, it's the soaring dunks, and the galactic rebounds, and all of it is done with a humility that is quite foreign to most modern athletes.  Anthony Davis is simply a joy to watch.

We as Kentucky fans are so blessed to have him for this one year.  This time next year he will be doing the same thing for pay.  While I will be happy for him this is the one draw back in Coach Cal's phenomenal recruiting success.  We barely get to know them and than they are gone.  But at this moment AD and his teammates are ours to claim and the thrills are coming at us in waves.  I say let's live in the moment and immerse ourselves in the best "block party" this Wildcat fan has seen in years.

Christmas Pudding

The Kentucky basketball team continues to lick it's wounds after a narrow loss at Indiana last Saturday in Bloomington.  The loss has left many fans questioning the toughness of this team and in particular their pre-season All American, Terrance Jones.  Questions have been raised that can only be answered as this young team hopefully matures.  True the crowd in Indiana was off the charts, but hostile crowds have always been a staple in the SEC.  Maybe they get a pass for feeling this intensity for the first time.

Now Kentucky embarks on what is probably the softness part of their schedule.  Games with Chattanooga, Samford, Loyola-Md, and Lamar precede a show down of top five teams on New Years Eve with Louisville.  The importance of these games is not the Sports Center type plays that are sure to come out of these games against over matched opponents, it's how much this team can take from defeat and apply it to getting better.  Will they bring intensity, and a work ethic that shows a willingness to get better?

It's Christmas time and the fans will be in a festive mood.  Many will come to Rupp to see their beloved Cats for the very first time, and naturally hope to see some spectacular dunks and sizzle.  But don't lose sight of the fact that this can be a time to improve and set the standard for what can be the start of a magical time in the Big Blue Nation.  Christmas pudding is a wonderful treat this time of year, but don't forget the turkey and the trimmings.

Old Friend

Living can sometimes get you down.  The everyday grind of work and turmoil, traveling here and there, makes it seem like there are never enough hours in each day.  Routines become boring and all of us look for ways of escape.  Sports has always been one of those vehicles of escape for many.  All sports mean certain things to different people.  Some can hardly wait for the first "Kick Off" of football season and spend countless hours contemplating what excitement that will bring.  For me I love the opening day of baseball and the promise of not just a good season, but the added benefit of good weather to follow.  Many of us use sports as a way to lessen the tedious road that is life.

Every fall after the brilliant colors have had their day, and a north wind starts to blow the leaves away, I start to look forward to a season that gives me a buttress to combat the everyday harshness of winter, and that season is basketball,  more specifically Kentucky Basketball.  For months fans from all across the bluegrass, have discussed, speculated, and dreamed about a magical run for the Wildcats.  Can the freshmen blend with the veterans and create a memory that all Kentucky Fans will speak of for years to come?  In the midst of our boring routines a season comes around that gives us pause, and something to look forward to at least twice a week until spring comes again. It is a great distraction.

Tonight the Kentucky Basketball season "Tips Off" and I for one could not be happier.  I need this distraction to help fight off the prospect of spending far to many days inside instead of out.  I need the excitement that a winning season can generate.  I need a friend to help me ward off the chill of that old north wind and the shortening day light.  I need a break from the mundane of all that.  So I say welcome back Kentucky Basketball, what took you so long to arrive?  Things seem a bit brighter looking ahead, now that you are here.  Welcome back Old Friend.

The Hundred Years War

For the first time in a hundred years the University of Kentucky and Transylvania University will square off in a basketball game.  There were only 77 million people in the US, President McKinley was shot, Queen Victoria had just died, and federal spending had just topped the $500 million mark.  Sportswise the first World Series was yet to be played, Harvard was the best football team in the land, and His Eminence won the Kentucky Derby.  Technologically Marconi had just sent the first radio signal across the Atlantic, and this new idea of a horseless carriage was all the rage.  That was some of what was going on the last time Kentucky and Transylvania met in scheduled basketball game.

How does this happen and why is it happening now?  I know that these two universities play on a completely different level when it comes to college basketball.  I know that the economics are not the driving force behind this athletic contest and even pride seems to have little to do with it.  There has never been a ground swell from the fans or the media for this game to take place, so for a century it just never happened.

I must confess that the idea of Kentucky playing a game against a neighbor like Transy never occurred to me, but now that it is happening, I am excited.  You might say I am looking forward to it, not for the expected outcome or the rivalry aspect, but for the idea that this just might be a really good time.  When you stop and think about it that's what college sports is supposed to be about.

Scary Good

Tonight is game seven of the World Series.  This is the first time the Series has gone to a game seven in nine years.  Hard to believe, since most of our fantasies about the great game of baseball seem to revolve around that mythical game seven, and for me it is among the greatest spectacles in sports.  One of the definitions of drama is the seventh game of the World Series.  I know most of you can come up with other moments or events that may rival this, the Super Bowl, the National Championships in football and basketball, and of course the Kentucky Derby.  But for me I just like saying GAME SEVEN OF THE WORLD SERIES!

I don't have a heavy rooting interest in this game, in fact I like both teams and their players, but I will not miss this.  This is what makes sports fun.  Baseball is different from most sports in that the players in tonight's game take the field and linger on the game at a slower pace, they have time to think, to fret between pitches, which ultimately lends more pressure to a simmering cooker.  Mistakes will happen, magical moments will as well, and goats and heroes will share this stage.  Nothing can be much better then that.  All of the players, coaches, and fans spent countless hours in their backyards simulating what they are experiencing tonight, and when you stop and think about it, it is downright scary!  But on the other hand it sure is good!

Basketball Madness

We are only a few short weeks away from another college basketball season, and no place anticipates it more then the folks here in the bluegrass.  A record number of people and tents camped out just to get free tickets to the first practice.  Practice is hardly what Big Blue Madness is all about.  It's more about a celebration of basketball, a way to honor a team, a program for so many memorable moments that occured the last time our basketball team took the floor.  It's an outrageous display of affection for young men who put on our colors and carry us into battle.  It's a time to get behind our General and put our faith in his ability to bring more glory to a pride that is already running over.

Madness is not just the first practice, perhaps at other programs, but not at Kentucky.  Madness is a time to honor and respect a thing that will ultametily get us through the bleak winter weather just ahead.  For more than seventy years basketball has kept a light burning for all of us when the promise of spring seems a distant point.  Pride in something done well, year after year, puts us Kentuckians in a rare class of elitist who "get something" that few groups ever experiance.  Many of our critics think of this as arrogance, and perhaps it is.  But most of our critics have never experianced the longevity of excellence that is Kentucky Basketball.

So, you insane fanatics of Big Blue Madness, who camped out for days and will drive for miles to just watch practice, enjoy.  Does it realy matter to you if someone doesn't understand?  When you paint your faces and scream until you throat is sore for practice, and constantily get reminded that basketball is just a game. Remember this, those that don't get it have proably never had anything in their lives to be proud of.