Spring-A-Ding-A-Ling

Boing-oing-oing! That is the sound of spring, so I am told. My grass is green today where it was not last week. The grass is growing at an exponential rate, which will probably result in me firing up the lawn mower this evening for the first time this year. I have already sharpened the blade, changed the oil, and installed a new sparkplug. I am ready. My allergies won’t be, but I am.

Keeneland. What? Who said that?

Yep, next Friday is opening day at Keeneland. We will be there along with a few friends from work. I am getting excited for the upcoming Kentucky Derby. The Derby-prep races have been exciting. The Tampa Bay Derby I had mentioned before was a doozey. My pick, Any Given Saturday, ran neck and neck from the top of the stretch to the wire with Street Sense. Street won by a nose, but really it was a head bob by either horse for the win. This sets up an awesome meeting between those two in the Bluegrass Stakes in a couple of weeks.

The Bluegrass Stakes will probably be a better race than the Derby with the concentration of talent being nominated to the field. Street Sense, Any Given Saturday, Nobiz Like Shobiz, Hard Spun, Great Hunter, Zanjero, and Ketchikan are all capable of having a stakes-winning day. If there were some heat coming to Lexington from the west coast, it would be one of the best Bluegrass Stakes ever. My pick right now for the Bluegrass Stakes is Hard Spun. I watched him blister an average field of wannabe Derby runners last weekend in the Lanes End at Turfway. He motored on the pace for the first 7/8ths of a mile then shifted into overdrive at the top of the stretch. Even better than his move to win was that it was done on the polytrack at Turfway. Polytrack to polytrack is a good move by his trainer, Larry Jones, if his only aim is the Bluegrass Stakes. I am not looking for much from him beyond that.

The Florida Derby is this weekend at Gulfstream Park. This is the same taboo race that Barbaro came out of to win the Kentucky Derby. This race doesn’t produce a lot of Derby winners. The horseplayers accept the postulate that five weeks is too long to lay off before the Derby and it would take an exceptional horse to complete the task. Anyway, there is a ton of talent in this race, as well. I am standing firm Scat Daddy scat-daddling across the finish line first in that race. Stormello will probably follow him across the wire along with my long-shot pick, Birdbirdistheword. Got to love that horseracing.

Enough of that, how are everyone’s brackets doing? My brackets were going south after Louisville and Wisconsin were defeated in the second round. When Tennessee and UNC got beat, I knew I was finished. I had them in my Final Four and UNC winning it all. Tennessee in the semi-finals was for Uncle David and his boy Lofton. Better luck next year.

So, who is going to be Kentucky’s next men’s basketball coach? My pick is Billy Hicks from Scott County High School. If we could get him to bring along Matt Walls and Bud Mackey, the deal would be all right with me. Just kidding…or am I? How about Mike Anderson, former head coach of the UAB team that upset UK in the NCAA tournament a couple of years ago? Do you remember how he had the UAB Dragons flying all over the court that game? The UAB fans dubbed his game “the fastest 40 minutes of basketball”. He learned this style of play from Nolan Richardson when he assisted under Richardson at Arkansas from 1985 to 2002. He was hired as head coach of Missouri last year and lead them to an 18-12 record his first year. This is what Orlando had to say about him last year after his hire.

TUBBY SMITH - Head Coach, University of Kentucky
"Mike Anderson is a shining star. He is the total package. A man of high integrity, class, confidence -- a winner! I have battled Mike Anderson teams over the years and I can tell you that his style of play will make the Big 12 coaches feel uneasy. I have so much respect for him and when the team, the University and the fans meet him - they will too. Congratulations to Missouri on a blockbuster hire!"

You know Tubby knows what he is talking about.

You guys let me know what’s up. I’ll be cutting grass in a few. Sneeze ya later!

I Can't Believe It

Oh my gosh! I can't believe that the Tubbster is gone. If you didn't know, Orlando Smith is on his way to the University of Minnesota for the head coaching position. I am literally in shock right now. My head may explode a la dude from The Running Man. It's almost like the people of California when they found out Arnie was their governor. I can't believe. People at work are reacting as if they just announced they caught Osama bin Laden. What do you think will happen next?


Go Salukis!

It's A Roller Coaster

So much has been going on in the past few weeks. I almost don’t know where to begin the tale of my past couple weeks. I think I will hit you with some great news first. Knock that down with a little bit of crap. Bring it back up the hill with some more good news, a dash more of bad news, and then finish it off with a “What do you think?”

First of all, I am a new uncle. Beth’s brother Chris and his wife Erin had their new baby on the morning 28th of February. Paige Noelle(sp?), not to be confused with sister Paige “Sgt. Carter”, weighed 6 lbs. and 7 oz. The Saturday after she was born I finally got to see her. She is one of the sweetest looking babies I have seen in a while. As I looked down on her in the bassinette, she appeared to me like a doll in the sense that she looked perfect. Congratulations Chris and Erin on your little one. It’s a good thing her big sister Emma has experience at being a big sister. Hopefully, she can help you guys out. Plus, in six or seven years, you’ll have a babysitter other than Grandma and Pop.

On the first of March, Unit 899 was in the hospital for some surgery on what originally appeared to be an appendectomy, but ended up being a partial small intestines removal due to a Crohn’s Disease inflammation. This happened to be a real ordeal for me to handle. At first there wasn’t a great deal information being relayed the night of his surgery. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. There just wasn’t much information to pass on. Out of the hospital now, Joel’s recovery is still ongoing, but he sounds really well when I talk to him on the phone. If you wanted to pick a fight with Joel, now is your chance. I got a feeling, though. He still wouldn’t be the underdog! I hope we will see him this Friday night when Beth and I visit Mom and Dad at the LC Plantation. Maybe, we can get the Cats to win a game that matters and spare Tubby another year at the helm.

And speaking of UK basketball... (Don’t flinch. You knew this was coming.) Another 8 seed for the Cats for a second year in a row in the NCAA tournament is niiiiiice and not niiiiiice in a good way. I guess that is the State of the Big Blue Union these days. I have finally put my finger on the reason everyone is so down on the Tubbster. He placed himself on the pedestal with the NCAA Tourney win his first year of coaching. Then a downturn started when he lost 39 games over the next four seasons. Dissidence began to grow. After a great season in 2003, reaching the Elite 8 (defeated by Dwane Wade and Marquette), and signing the best recruiting class in the nation, pressure was starting to lift. But, with early departures from the NCAA Tournaments in 2004 and 2006 with a 13 loss season and already 11 losses this season, the trend is pretty evident. Someone in the tenth year of tenure at a…well, what used to be a perennial powerhouse, shouldn’t be having back-to-back seasons like this.

There are wars and rumors of war running rampant around the Bluegrass this week. With Charlotte Bobcats’ dismissal of the head coach, Bernie Bickerstaff, there is an opening for the position. If you recall, last summer there were rumors that Tubby would leave UK to take over that position in Charlotte. I am not sure what the circumstances were at that time. The word is Tubby is a real close friend to the majority owner, Robert L. Johnson, quite an admirable fellow with all his charity work. Also, Tubby is in good with the Basketball Operations Manager and “His Royal Airness,” Micheal Jordan. I even heard MJ’s kid wants to play for Tubby at UK next year. The career move is, no doubt, looking better and better. I am sure Tubby Smith will not be fired from his head coach position with Kentucky and he will leave on his own terms.

I am willing to bet anyone any amount of money the Wildcats will win tomorrow night. Any takers? Yeah, I knew it. You guys are so clever. You know Villanova’s mascot is the Wildcat, also. Man, I can’t get anything over on you. Seriously, Kentucky is my pick for this game. Biased decision? Definitely. Care? Not a dang bit. Go Blue!

On the saddest note of the past two weeks, there has been a death I must report. A dear friend of mine died a few days ago. Although we had only known each other since the end of December, we became really close. We had spent hour upon hour hanging out. A few of you had met my special friend who is no more. I know that you, too, had cherished the time spent with the departed. My Xbox 360 is no more. The flashing red lights came on around the power button appeared like a tear on Monday. Then, I shed my tears as a customer service rep from Microsoft said it had to be sent off to be re-instilled with life. The service rep’s thick Indian accent just held no comfort for me as I searched my feeling to see my friend gone. “Why?” I asked, over and over. There was no answer, only promises of free shipping and free repair. Sadly, I had to accept the fate my little Xbox 360 was dealt. Three weeks, including shipping and repairs? Too long, I went to Wal-Mart on Tuesday and bought a new one to play in the absence of my old one. Yep, some friend I am. MWUUHAHAHA!!!

All right, the “What would you do?” portion of the show is now commencing. After filling out the South Regional part of your NCAA bracket and realize you have placed Tennessee and Louisville in your regional championship, which team would you write in as going to the Final Four? Or would you throw your brackets away and start again? Tough questions. I am full of them.

My watch list for the Kentucky Derby starts this week with two dandies. Any Given Saturday, a Distorted Humor colt, is trained by Todd Pletcher. In his short career, AGS is 3 for 4 with wins in a maiden, an allowance, and the Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs. His only misfire was a second place finish last November in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill Downs. This weekend he is back on the pledge at Tampa Bay Downs in the Tampa Bay Derby. He will be facing some stiff competition in the Breeder's Cup Juvenile winner Street Sense andKeeneland's Kentucky Futurity Cup winner Great Hunter, but my money is still on AGS. The other dandy is a filly (Whoa, you said filly? Yes, I did.) named Rags to Riches. She is out of A.P. Indy(cha-ching) and since breaking her maiden is undefeated and her last two wins were Grade 1's. Her last race, the mile and 1/16th Santa Anita Oaks, she won by five and 1/2 lengths under a hand ride. Also trained by Pletcher, Rags has already earned enough earnings to qualify her in the Kentucky Derby. Will she make it? Time will tell. Giddy-Up!