Got Beef?

Yep. That's right. I haven't blogged in a while. I apologize. That is something I have been redundant at when it comes to these blogs. Another redundancy is me saying that I have been busy, which in this case is entirely accurate. This blog is going to be "I have beef" blog.

I have a beef with people who say they are a fan of one team when they show up to watch football wearing a jersey of another team who conviently is not playing that day. Don't be that guy. Today, I was watching football at the local wing joint. There was a dude there who is a notorious Jets' fan who showed up wearing a Giant's jersey. He was questioning the Ravens and their ability as a football team to my buddy Mike, who is a Ravens fan. Normally, I am neutral when it comes to banter between fans of opposing teams, but at this point I had enough of the ballyhoo. I asked this Jets/Giants fan if he was talking smack about the Ravens and giving beef to my buddy because he had no excuse for his team (the Jets) sucking. He said he was pro-choice and he meant that anyone was free to root for any team one wanted to root for, bitch. (The "bitch" is because I didn't want to end a sentence with a preposition.)

You guys know me. I think it is a sin for a fan of one team to root for another team just because your team isn't playing them. I.E., I don't root for Louisville just because Kentucky isn't playing them. Louisville sucks. I love the University of Kentucky. If Louisville, North Carolina, Duke, or any other team is playing, I want them all to lose, regardless. This is because I am a Kentucky fan. Period. I think it is okay to have a #2 team as long as it doesn't interfere with your team. My number two is West Virginia University. If at any time West Virginia comes into contention with UK, I say, "WVU who?"

You get my point? Okay. Let's move on.

Yeah, I've been busy. I had the priviledge of going to one of my top-five-weddings-ever a couple of weeks ago. This was my bother Joel's wedding in Arizona. It was an awesome time. You should have been there. I learned a lot about the culture there. All I will say is Nopalitos (prickly pears) and Saguaros. If you don't know, ask somebody. I have plenty of pics to prove the great time. I wish the best to the happily married couple. How about a gritos?

Our house constuction is under way. It will be a pretty tight crib. As soon as there enough construction done for some worth-while pics. I will post them. But, take it from me, we will have room for all if you guys ever want to take trip down to Raleigh to see us. Our tenative closing date is February 19. We look forward to having you.

What about UK getting beat by VMI on Friday? UK had a great comeback in the second half. It just sucks that Jodie Meeks is the only player with heart on the team. I have come to the opinion that Billy Gillispie is a great recruiter, but he is not a good in-game coach. He is pretty much the opposite of Tubby Smith. Tubby was a good in-game coach, but not a recruiter. Billy can bring in the players, but he doesn't know what to do with them once his team is in the game. This really disappoints me because I just shelled out a bunch of clams to get sixth row tickets on the baseline for the UK/UNC for this Tuesday's game at the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill. I think UK will bring a game to Chapel Hill. I just hope it is enough for a good showing.

Well, that is all I have for now. I hope for more to tell you about later. Until then, I guess I will just have to leave you hanging. Until then...

Done

I am sure you have heard by now. Patrick Patterson is out for the rest of the season due to a stress fracture in his left ankle. I think that pretty much bursts our bubble, literally. I really thought the ship had been righted. UK had won 9 of their last 10 games. They got the 10th win on Wednesday (you know, the historical ten wins in the SEC regular season and your in the NCAA tourney?).

Maybe we can get another win in the rest of the schedule. I think we can still give South Carolina a big game. I think the Tennessee and Florida game are out of the question barring miracles for both games.

At least we have a legitimate excuse if the Cats don't make it to the Dance....Gillispie practices his squad too hard.

Sports and More Sports...and 100th post!

I got to meet a couple of my local sports associated heroes last night. I took Beth over to the driver’s license renewal office on Regency Road after work so she could get a new license made. On the way over there, I was listening to The Sports Huddle, a local call in radio show, on ESPN Radio 1300 AM WLXG. I heard they were broadcasting from The Ketch at the corner of Regency and Southland. I always wanted to try the restaurant out. I offered and Beth accepted the challenge.

As soon as we rolled in, I could see Chris Cross and Mike Cameron at the other end of the restaurant doing their show. Cool beans. When their show was over, I had the chance to go over and talk to them. It was pretty neat. Sometimes, Cross can be a jerk on air, but he was really nice in person. Cameron (a horse trainer) and I talked about his horses. Pretty cool. They both remembered me from when I had called in the show. Neat, huh?

So…what happened to Dusty Mills? Yeah, the little blonde elf that sat on the end of Kentucky’s bench. Kicked off the team? For laughing during the famous Ramel Bradley flop at Georgia? What about Morakinyo Williams and Dwight Perry? They were yukking it up as well. They were busted on Raycom sports coverage of the game. I was sitting at Chili’s in Charleston Town Center, W.Va. and I saw it. You saw it. Why was he the only one in trouble?

Mills said Gillispie called him into the assistants’ office in front of the entire team and told him he was through. Mills said he wasn’t even given a chance to explain himself. Gillispie told him he could tell the press whatever he wanted because he didn’t care. The alleged coach also told him he could transfer to some small (named) college and tell them about it because he didn’t want to hear it and he was sick of Mills. Apparently after that, Gillispie gave him a cussing.

Now, I don’t know if this account is entirely true. This is only one side of the situation that has been told. But, I bet we will never hear the other side of the story. I’m not sure I like this. It just doesn’t sit right. Mills was earning status as a crowd favorite. If UK had been winning games by more than 5 points or less, I am sure at the 45 second mark, the student section would probably been chanting to sub in Mills. Instead they have been biting their nails.

For all you Tubby fans out there, when UK got thrashed by Vandy, Minnesota got beat by 24 points at home by a 11-15 Illinois. Feel better? I don’t feel better either. Still sucks.

This will make you feel better. Check out my niece, Paige trying to get used to being vertical. See you later.
And here is my oldest niece Emma helping Aunt Beth get older.

Had About As Much As I Can Take...

Is anyone other than me sick of all the coverage of the Roger Clemens/Brian McNamee steroid hearing? I would like to see a poll of sports fans that asked if they particularly cared one way or the other about the outcome of this hearing. I think the Mitchell Report has lost the direction of its initial intention—the eradication of illegal and performance enhancing drugs. Congress has decided to focus its accusatory beam of justice on one individual. Instead of following through with the entire list of names included in the Mitchell Report, they decide to absurdly chase one name. What was the reason behind the report again?

Honestly, if Roger Clemens is guilty of steroid or HGH use, and I think he may be, what does it mean, what about the other 35% of major league baseball that used it? Would it really matter if he did commit perjury in the hearing? This has come down to one guy and his decisions, alone, not about all the others. What is this going to do to curb the use of performance enhancing drugs? Nothing is the answer you are looking for.

I say the blame needs to be cast on Bud Selig and the rest of the lot of idiots in charge of major league baseball. They are the fellows in charge that turned a blind eye during the great homerun chase of 2000 with Slammin’ Sammy and Big Mac. No one was concerned then. I bet if Barry Bonds was in the home run chase mix that year, there would have been no question whether or not Bud would have attended all the potential record tying games. To stop the steroid and HGH use, MLB must adopt an iron-willed, zero-tolerance policy. “We don’t care if you have used performance enhancing drugs, but if you test positive in the 2008 season, you will be dealt with swiftly, severely, and unfortunately for you, ultimately.” How is that for a statement?

What about this Waxman guy overseeing the hearing? He looks like a character straight out of the Harry Potter movies with his upturned nose and caved-in eyes--a definitely comical sight. And the apology to McNamee for the attitude from the Republican peanut gallery? A tad bit of partiality for the accussee? Definitely.

But here is my biggest pet peeve of the whole ordeal. I wonder how much of our taxpayer money is funding these hearings? How much time and attention our elected officials, who should be solving real problems, are spending with this non-issue. Think about all the issues that are facing our nation today (economy, Iraq, healthcare, to name a few) and this issue with steroids in a sports entertainment is getting the whole nation’s attention. This is the biggest bunch of horseshit I have ever heard, seen, or smelled. Things like this make me want to throw a vote in for term limits.

Yes, Kentucky blows. The Vandy game was the most embarassing UK game I have ever witnessed. I had flashbacks to the LSU game back in the 90's when UK overcame a 31-point deficit in the second half for a win. This time there were no heroes. Nothing but awfulness (is that a word?...now it is). Total embarassment. No excuses. I guess Uncle Ance is eating crow. That and Arkansas, Ance's SEC team de-la-creme, getting beat soundly by UT.

UK rebounded nicely against a hot LSU team today. Bradley looked like a high schooler(?) against LSU. Good thing my boy Joe Crawford was there to make it happen. Joe Crawford is the guy who is willing to compete at a high level of intensity. UK is still a mediocre NIT team. Not a question. A statement from the truthiness of Island Pond.

Oh well, another day, another time, I will tell you more. Give me a shout.

All About Cats

It seems that I have pretty much given up on the whole blog thing. I thought it was going to be easier to post with our computer at home functioning at optimum potential (a quote that probably only Pigg will understand), but with Beth surfing the net 3 hours a night, it is kind of hard to get in the time. Plus, I have been really busy at work lately and haven’t had the time to even e-mail myself at home with ideas of posts. Excuses, huh?

Anyway, we have had an ill cat. Biggun, Biggie, C-Lo, Chloe, or whatever her name is this week had a problem that the vets kept referring to as “going outside the box.” I referred to it as “pissing on our bed.” I found a couple of sites on the world wide interweb that discussed this problem. The web sites referred to the problem in the same manner as the vets. They did offer some causes such as urinary tract infections, changes to the cat’s environment, and simply a behavioral problem. A behavior problem…let’s see, is this one way when you learn that there is more than one way to skin a cat?

I took Chloe to the vet. The vet said for a plus size girl, she was pretty healthy. Her blood work came back perfect. The urine analysis came back sketchy so the lab is doing a bio culture on it right now. The vet said the easiest problem to fix would be a urinary tract infection—antibiotics, no sweat. The behavior problem sounds like a beast to cure. You have to move the litter boxes around or change them completely. Their food bowls will need to be moved. Beat one and pet the other. Pet one and beat the other. And it is all like test and tune. The only way that we would ever know if the changes work would be if we took the risk to let them come in our bedroom when we weren’t around or not in the bedroom. That is hardly a risk I am willing to take—right now, anyway.

Let me be clear in telling you not to be worried about Chloe. She never seemed ill or acted strange other than us finding cat urine in our bed. Yes, you can feel bad for us, if you wish.

Since one cat gets a story, I will tell you a story about Zoe. Actually, the story is more about Beth. Tuesday evening, I was in the living room watching American Idol while I was waiting for the UK/UT game to start. Beth was in the kitchen standing in front of the pantry. I assume she was looking for something to take to work to eat for lunch on Wednesday. I heard her talking to Zoe.

Beth: “You’re such a pretty cat. I just love petting you. I would never hurt you.”

SILENCE

Zoe: “RRRRRRREEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOWWWWRRRRR!!!!

Beth: “$%*&@#$^*&@%^$*&^#$ stupid cat! You make a %&*$ liar out me every day!”

Me: “AHH, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! That was the funniest thing I have ever heard. You were professing your love for Zoe then you step on her. BWWWAHHHHHH!”

My sides were hurting after I stopped laughing.

Speaking of cats, the UK Wildcats seem to be having a turnaround. I think they have played well for the last four games. They are up against South Carolina tomorrow at Rupp Arena. I haven’t seen the line, but I am expecting more of the (recent) same. Go Cats!

2007 Key West Chicken Wing Tour

Cayo Hueso, Conch Republic, Key West...it's all the same. A little island on the Straights of Florida, 90 miles north of Havana. We had a pretty good time, but for future reference, there isn't that much to do there unless you are into scuba diving/snorkeling. And more info for future reference, Key West isn't kid friendly...well, unless your kid is a functioning alcoholic. There was ample rain so there was no worries about getting sunburned.


We walked all over the island(in the rain) and saw pretty much all there was to see by day two. We went to the southernmost point in the contiguous 48. In the same area was the Hemingway House, yep, the house Ernest Hemingway resided in that has all the crazy six-toed cats. We didn't go in because it was $11 a person to go in and some guy who had just left the house said all there was to see was the cats. We checked out all the famous Duval Street haunts like Sloppy Joe's, Captain Tony's Saloon, and Hog's Breath Saloon. They were fun, but that kind of fun only lasts for a few hours.

At the Hog's Breath Saloon, there was a guy playing music from Nashville. He was taking requests. I asked him if he knew any Verne Gosdin songs...no. How about Gary Stewart? No. But, he did play Country Roads for Beth. The guy told me on the microphone in front of the crowd since he didn't know any of the songs I requested he would play something he knew I would enjoy...Rocky Top. That's what I get for wearing a UK hat and keep in mind this was four days after Tennessee beat UK in triple overtime. A similar scene with the song requests went down in Sloppy Joes. The guy didn't know anything I requested, but, hell, he knew Country Roads.

We ate at some decent restaurants: The Rum Runner, A&B Lobster House, The Conch Republic Fish Market to name a few. They were all decent, but I think I had chicken wings at all of them. Beth claimed I was on a chicken wing tour of Key West. I think she was correct. The wings I had at the Cuban restaurant were the best.

There was a crazy cat trainer guy on Sunset Marina each night behind our resort. He was an older French guy named Dominique. (I tried to post the video on here, but it was too large. Come over to the house and I'll let you check it out.) He seemed to be a sad old dude who went home at night and sipped cabernet and tried to teach his cats the French language. I am sure his show was the highlight of Beth's trip along with the conch fritters. She came home with confidence she could train Zoe to do the tricks. Now she is home, I think she has lost her dream realizing you can't teach an old cat(read "surly cat") new tricks.

And for Chase and Alisha, I caught a wild pirate in action working the tourists. They were having a pirate celebration the weekend we were leaving. Everytime I saw a pirate, I let loose a deep "Yaaargh, me hearties!" It always turned their heads and they usually gave me a "Avast, ye land lubber!" Goodtimes.

It was good to get back to Lexington, though. We came home Friday and watched UK play

horribly against North Carolina. The refs didn't help. We had a quick week of work and then this past weekend we went to our company's holiday party. Before the party we watched UK get thrashed by Indiana. It was really fun, believe it or not. Not the game, the party. The food was really good to be catered. It was a little rednecked in the fact the party was BYOB, but everyone hid their coolers well. The best 80's cover band I have ever watched, Long Duk Dong, was booked to play the party. Actually, I should say they rocked the party. Believe it or not, since back surgery, Beth still has the moves on the dance floor. Me, not so much, but I'll let you judge for yourself in a pic of me dancing with our friend Donna.

See you around.

I'm Awful, I Know.

Yeah, it has been too long. That line is getting a little redundant and I am sure you are getting tired of hearing it. I just seem to be so busy anymore that by the time I get a chance to write a little something, I’m just not feeling it. I hate to force it. This time, since it has been so long, I will actually have a bunch of mishmash.

I can start back with the week after the LSU football game. Not much to report. Other than the stupid stuff I have been doing in the past few weeks. By stupid stuff, I mean injuring myself by not thinking things out. I was making a pot of chili and I was dicing up a fresh jalapeno pepper to add to the mix. I had washed my hands at least four times between then and bedtime when I was taking out my contacts. It didn’t matter. I know what pepper spray feels like, now. No resisting arrest for me. Stupid…more of that later.

That weekend was the Florida game. The tailgating was pretty cool with the masses walking by our tailgating spot to go to the library where ESPN’s College Gameday was filming. We saw some funny signs and t-shirts. The funniest one read, “Tim Tebow rhymes with douche bag.” Clever. It had to be a UK student that thought that on up. There was a pregnant lady tailgating beside us with a sign in the shape of an arrow. She held it pointing down to her belly. The sign said “Hey Kirk (referring to Kirk Herbstreit, of course) sign my future Wildcat!” And closer to gametime, she came back showing us where Kirk actually signed her stomach. Lunacy.

David W. and DK stopped by our tailgating spot on the way to the game. It was good to see those guys. Other than that, not much excitement was going on. I retained all my chest hair, anyway. The game was tense. Beth almost killed some guy. Long story. Ask her if you want details. I will say this, I always thought if Beth started a fight with some guy I would have to finish it. No, now, I think she could handle her own. UK lost. Douche Bag made Kentucky look very JV-ish.

That following week I was sort of busy getting ready for the fall fishing trip. A few of us met on the Lost Creek Plantation that Friday night so we could head out early Saturday morning. A couple of the crew, well, at least one person “dadn’t” (yeah, I said it) understand what early means and 8 a.m. means 9:30 a.m.

We made it to our cabins on Cherokee Lake around noon, just in time to watch the UK-Mississippi State debacle. The first beer was opened around 1 p.m. The Breeder’s Cup races I wanted to watch started around 2 p.m. I had spread about $60 across 5 races. UK’s game was over around 5 p.m. Eighth beer opened shortly thereafter. I didn’t win a single bet on any of the races. The fifth of Jim Beam Black Label was opened about 6 p.m. I will clarify this upfront, when the night was over just a little past the neck of the bottle was emptied.

Later on that evening after a few games of Texas Hold ‘Em, (not sure whose idea it was, could have been mine, I am just not pointing any fingers) my cousin Jarrod and I decided to arm wrestle. (I was on the right in the picture.) Remember earlier when I told you about getting hurt doing stupid stuff, well, this falls directly in that category. I was at a disadvantage from the get-go. When we got our grip, I was already in a Wolverine Wrist Lock where my hand was already bent backwards. When we started, instead of trying to pull my arm over the normal way, he was pulling towards himself as well. Doomed. Then, everyone in the cabin heard something pop. My arm. So, I just let it go. It tingled immediately then I couldn’t move it without pain. After playing three more games of Hold ‘Em, I decided to take a bunch of ibuprofen go to bed. When I woke the next morning, my arm felt a little better, but I couldn’t cast with it to fish or swing a golf club. My only options were to stay in Tennessee and drink or go home and heal. For the first time, I made the right decision. I headed home.

The drive home was painful. Every time I had to shift gears, the pressure I put on my elbow brought great pain. That was the longest three and a half hours of my life. Long story short, I went to the doctor the next day and she thought I had just sprained my elbow and wrist simultaneously. Don’t worry, it is feeling much better now. I would say I am at 90 percent. That’s my excuse for not posting more often, yeah.

We traveled to see the in-laws the following weekend. It was a really fun time. My nieces are growing like weeds. Emma cracks me up because watching her helps me see what Beth was like as a pre-adolescent girl. I am sure the way Emma acts isn't far off from Beth. Dennis and Jo Anne could probably confirm this for me. My niece Paige is so much bigger than the last time I saw her, which was the time when I held a door up for Dennis and Chris while they outsmarted the doorframe. Man, that was times. I also got to eat at my favorite wing joint, Quaker Steak and Lube.

Excited for the basketball season? I am. Well, I was…until the meltdown in the Bluegrass. There was a lot of grief when Charlotte’s Web or Gardner-Webb or whoever it was that thrashed the Cats last Wednesday. Billy Gillispie took the heat for the loss. I went on record two weeks ago saying I am not a Billy G fan. In my opinion he is another Tubby—an unproven coach with one team making a run in the NCAA Tournament. Had anyone honestly heard of Billy G two years ago. I’ll bet you heard of Acie Law IV before you hear of the G Man. Whatever, I don’t think we will be buying season tickets next year. A little early to say? Maybe.

I was a bachelor this weekend with Beth in Gatlinburg on a golf trip. Friday night I visited Brandon and his family in Frankfort. We hustled back to Lexington on Saturday to watch the football game at Buffalo Wild Wings. It was packed so we went to Harry's. The football Cats dropped it on Vandy in Nashville this past weekend in what seemed like the longest game ever. Both teams looked like OVC also-rans. There were penalties and injuries all over the field. Nasty football at best. The Cats were lucky to come out on top. With Beth in Gatlinburg on a golf trip with girlfriends, I had a few people over after the game. We had times. That’s about it.

I am looking forward to the Georgia game this weekend. I may make a huge pot of chili to bring in this cold weather. UFC on Saturday night. I will have to roll in to Buffalo Wild Wings a little early to get a good seat Saturday night. Come over and I will save you a spot. See you around.

P.S. Jess, I apologize for not calling you on your birthday. I hope you had a great one!

Not Again

I’ll be brief with this. It shouldn’t take long and I am sure most of you will agree with me on this. I am not a perfectionist, at least when it comes to sports and sports performance. But, for the love of Pete and his dog, what is the UK football coaching staff doing? I know UK won 56-20, but hear me out.

Andre Woodson, labeled preseason as the best quarterback in the Southeastern Conference, only threw one pass downfield in the first half of Saturday’s game against Kent State and it was for a touchdown. What does that mean? Was Brooks just running the backs to build their confidence? What about Woodson’s confidence? Is he not the most important cog in the machine that is Big Blue? (See the last line of my latest post.) These past two games, Woodson has only averaged a little over 200 yards passing per game. I can tell you right now, and this opinion is probably congruent with all the other Cat fans across the Commonwealth, if he doesn’t get at least 320 yards passing this Saturday, there will, for sure, be another Governor’s Cup trophy sitting on UofL’s campus come Monday. The guy has a cannon attached to his shoulder. Let him use it so UK can get an early lead over these early season pushovers and the underclassmen can get some good minutes in before the big games.

Steve Brown, (a.k.a. Mr. Fancy Pants Offensive Coordinator or should I dare say...a.k.a. Mike Archer, Jr?) why, oh, why would you not blitz against a quarterback that can’t throw the ball downfield? The only pass Kent State’s Edelman threw downfield was intercepted. The rest of the time he handed the ball off, scrambled, or threw short passes in the flats or over the middle. The only real threat was the ground game. I knew that, my buddy Duane knew that, and even his 14 year old daughter knew that. Shove four down lineman and a couple of linebackers in the box, they will be forced to throw and Edelman did throw poorly, 12-28 for 129 yards and one interception.

UK, of all the years to jerk the fans around, do not do this to us again. All the puzzle pieces are all there. Coach like you belong in the SEC. Louisville won’t run out of gas in the second half like the first two teams you played. If anything they play better in the second half. Think about it.

The Weekend? Already?

Not expecting a two-fer, huh? Two in one week? What a privilege has been given to you? I like to keep you on your toes. Again we have found ourselves facing the weekend with an awkward stare. All week long, wishing and, in some cases, praying for that day to come, yet, we are asking ourselves, “What am I going to do now?” Beer? Always a viable option.

I don’t know if the ‘Pond faithful have heard the bad news coming from UK’s campus today. Apparently, UK’s injury-prone big man, Jared Carter, has re-injured his shoulder and is awaiting test results to determine the severity of the injury. To me this feels like salt poured in the open wound left by Randolph Morris. So, we are now looking at starting freshman, Pat Patterson, and still green, sophomore, Perry Stevenson, to control the inside? Someone, please give me some better options.

San Antonio kept it real. A four game sweep of Cleveland and viola, new NBA champs. A lot of people don’t like the Spurs because of their boring style of play. It almost seems like James Naismith is their coach. I guess he sort of is. Gregg Popovitch and James Naismith, inventor of the game of basketball, went to grade school together. Not really, that was a joke, but both coached basketball at the University of Kansas at some point in their careers. Popovitch and his old school style of play, ha ha, get it? Not funny? Moving on, then.

I honestly can’t understand how a team like Cleveland even made it to the NBA Finals. For the life of me, I cannot remember the last time a team with one marquee player lead a team to the finals. Refreshers, please? How did this team beat the talent packed Pistons in the semifinals? A few will disagree, but the officiating in the series with Detroit was horrendous with most of the bad calls going on way. “Do you believe?” In bull honkery, now I do. I still am sticking to the notion that David Stern decided since LeBron James was the league’s most exciting and franchise-able player, that he would get the Cavs to the Finals and, once there, would be on their own. (In my best Yoda voice) “Fell like the Empire, they did.”

I had called Dad the day after Cleveland beat out Detroit in the semifinals. I asked him who he thought would win the championship. His reply:

“Whoever the NBA wants to win.”

The bottom line from your Daddy!

I honestly like to watch LeBron James. I would consider myself a fan of his. I’m not a fan of the Cavs, just James’. I didn’t even like Cleveland when Tim Couch played for the Browns. Cleveland may rock, but it is not my song. Anyways, in the finals, James just wasn’t clutch when the great ones need to be great. He kept a turnover average that would have made UK’s Ramel Bradley look like All-SEC first team material. He’s just not “King” James material, yet. He’s getting better, though. He has a lot to take away from this four-game sweep--a great learning experience.

Our company golf scramble is tomorrow. I have been assigned to a drinking team with a golfing problem. It might be a long day. I just hope I make it to B-Dubs in time to watch the UFC 72 pay-per-view at 3 p.m. Who you got? Franklin or Okami? My money is on Yushin Okami. Check it.
P.S. Les, I haven’t heard any rumors about a contract for a Perdue/UK basketball series.

From the Top of Clinch, I Can See into the Mystic

“When that foghorn blows, I will be coming home
Yeah when the foghorn blows, I want to hear.
I don’t have to fear it and...
I want to rock your gypsy soul, just like way back in the days of ole.
And magnificently we will flow into the mystic”
--Van Morrison “Into the Mystic”

This great little ditty was playing as I began writing and I figured I would remind you guys of this nice laid-back tune. There is just something about this song that sort of sets me adrift. I don’t know why.

The Derby came and went once again without me cashing a ticket. I had a $60 tri part wheel picked (three horses on top, 5 in the middle, and 7 on the bottom) that would have paid about $220 if I had only bet it. A buddy of mine from work, Tom, talked me into going halfers on a $120 tri part wheel (5 horses on top, 5 in the middle, and 8 on the bottom). After we picked out the horses, I went and placed the bet. When I returned, I told Tom, “You realize that we left the early line favorite out of the entire trifecta.” He looked at me and shrugged, noting his discontent with my notion. “We’re going for the big bucks, here,” he chuckled. We parted our ways after the seventh race with the promise to call the other when the ticket hit. There was no call.

Beth did hit the trifecta with a $36 dollar tri part wheel. I was super excited for her. I really didn’t care that I didn’t win. It was great race. My final pick, Hard Spun, ran second after setting a driving pace the entire race until the stretch and still rode out strong. Street Sense had me awestruck has he pounded down the stretch, passing Hard Spun. He looked good. He looked real good. This horse is as real as Barbaro, Smarty Jones, Afleet Alex and the like. You might just see a Triple Crown winner this year. You may or may not have heard it here first.

I got down to Tennessee for a little bit this past week. The bad news is that I didn’t get to make the first cast. Not for lack of want to, it just didn’t fit into 899’s schedule. You have to ask him what his schedule was. I did play a round of golf at one of my favorite courses, Clinchview Golf Course. It is near Bean Station, Tennessee lying in a valley under the watchful eye of Old Man Clinch Mountain. Great views.

We also rolled in 18 holes at Millstone Country Club outside of Morristown, TN. This course was something else…not in a good way. For a Tuesday afternoon, the course was packed. So, the round was pretty much hurry-up-and-wait-golf for the entire 18 holes. There were as many hackers there as can be found at The Rock (Meadows) in Clay City. There was housing development going on in the area. This brought a parade of dump trucks hauling dirt in 30-minute cycles. There was a set of train tracks on the backside of the course with trains running around every 25 minutes. On the other side of the train tracks was an airport. This airport was fairly busy. There were smaller prop planes coming in around every 5-10 minutes. I’m not sure what all that was about. In between the “fores”, trains, planes and dump trucks, there wasn’t much golf to be found. Sounds like a country song if I ever heard one.

I let the cat out of the bag on my grilling skills down in Tennessee. Some of my uncles were accusing me of this trip being my first down there since I had never “Bobby Flay’d” before. Don’t worry. I didn’t let their applause get to me. “I’m the most humble person I know.” Who said that for a dollar?

This past weekend was one of the funnest weekends I have had since I don’t know how long and it included at Morehead State Graduation. How can that be? It involves the fam and cooking out on Da Pond. I am going to throw a few words out there for you: barbecued chicken, baked beans, potato salad, oriental cole slaw, candy apple salad, grilled shrimp, pineapple casserole. Get the picture? If you were there you know it. If you weren’t there, then, you just missed it. Nuff said. Except for congratulations to my little sister, L-Beezy.

I just heard that Pat Patterson had signed with UK. My jury is still out on that cat. I watched him play three games this year and I wasn’t overly impressed. He played pretty well, but for his size playing against smaller teams, he just wasn’t that good. If he is that good, don’t fall in love with him. Plus, West Virginia guys don’t hang around Rupp Arena too long—each seems to have a different reason.

Killer, a.k.a., DK, a.k.a. David Kyle will be dancing across the commencement stage Friday night in Jackson. I’ll be there to give him a hearty handshake and an absurd congrats card, of course. I have to run for now. More later, hopefully.

Playing Catch-Up

For the dedicated readers, I apologize for not touching base with you sooner. I have been really busy over the past couple of weeks. So much has been going on and there have been items I have really wanted to get your feelings on. I’ll start off with our trip last Friday to Keeneland.

There were several people there with us, most of them from work. Beth and I had a really great time despite the snow. We set up camp in the second level sports bar so we could stay out of the snow. Snow? Yes, a white out hit the track around the seventh race. It was snowing so hard when we were walking back to the car that I had to put on my sunglasses just to keep the snow out of my eyes. What about the handicapping? I did pretty well considering. I went with $130 and left with $124. I bet 7 out of the 10 races on the card and, well…let’s just say the bartenders weren’t asking for my ID by the time I left. I hit a couple of tickets that paid $50 or better. Not a bad day all in all.

The 2003 Kentucky Derby winner, Funny Cide, was running in the feature race, The Transylvania Stakes. My better(or) instincts told me to leave the horse out of my trifecta. Really, the horse hasn’t done much outside of his four year old campaign. As I was in line to bet it, there were some people in front of me discussing the same predicament I had playing out in my head.

“He’s trash! He hasn’t done squat in two years!”
“He was the Derby winner.”
“That was four years ago!”
“True. But, I am going to bet him for old time’s sake.”

Dumbass. That’s what I felt like saying. But, call it nostalgia, beer talking, or stupid man walking, for “old time’s sake,” I threw Funny Cide in the bottom of my trifecta wheel. Burn central. I think Funny Cide is still trying to get to the finish line. If I had kept the other horse in my wheel that I kicked out to put in Funny Cide, I would have hit the trifecta. Thank goodness I backed my bet up with a $10 across the board ticket on the winner Marcavelly that rolled in at 7-2. Not a long-shot, but he wasn’t the favorite, either.

I spoke too soon about the Bluegrass Stakes turning into a great race this weekend. The race has practically fallen apart. My favorite to win the race, Hard Spun, and my favorite for the Derby, Any Given Saturday, have defected. Hard Spun will train up to the Derby and AGS ran last weekend and was embarrassed in the Wood Memorial by a Barclay Tagg horse, Nobiz Like Shobiz. I guess Street Sense will romp the Bluegrass field, unless there is one horse...Love Dubai is all I can say. What about Giacomo’s half brother Tiago winning the Santa Anita Derby? Please, no more Giacomo’s!

Billy Gillispie as UK’s head coach? I smelled a senses of desperation and haste in this decision. I think there could have been a better coach selected for one of the highest offices in the basketball land. I assume that the administration wanted a head coach in place by the national signing day to lure in potential recruits and Gillispie is what they selected. He is still unproven in my books--another Tubby Smith, if you will. However, it may have paid off with the one of Gillispie’s recruits that had signed with Texas A&M, a big man named DeAndre Jordan. Word abuzz here in Lex is that he has already worked out with some of UK’s players. Good luck Gillispie! I hope you do well with UK, just no post game celebrating with your driving record.

What about the one that might get away? Mr. Kentucky Basketball, Steffphon Pettigrew from E-Town, has expressed interest in UK and said he would sign if UK came to him with a scholarship. Pettigrew is a 6-5 forward who averaged 33.9 points and 13.3 rebounds a game for E-Town. Tubby Smith told him he could walk on at UK, but offered no scholarship. (Lofton…what?) Billy Gillispie said he wanted to recruit the state’s best players. Can you tell a difference already? Maybe, Pettigrew will see some Wildcat Blue after all.

What about this Don Imus situation? What was that guy thinking? I hope he will eventually learn to just shut up. I know he has to fell really bad bout what he said. I think his main problem came when he went on Al Sharpton’s show. It was definitely not a great calculated risk on his part. I would have apologized to the Rutgers’ women’s basketball team and left it at that. No. He felt the need to apologize to the world and try to voice his actions to the deaf and obstinate. Idiot. I hate to say this, but Ann Coulter nailed this one.

I hope you guys had a great Easter. Due to circumstances, we stayed around Lexington. Go watch 300. It won’t win any Oscars, but I guarantee you will be entertained. I am leaving you with a list. I think you will find it quite interesting. I have put together an “Island Pond’s All-Time Greatest Country Music Hits”. I know there may be a few that should have been included on this two-disc set that aren’t there. Let me know what they are and we will include them on the third volume. Holla.

Volume I
1. Lucky Man--Montgomery Gentry
2. Had Your Leaving Coming--Vern Gosdin
3. I'm Gonna Miss Her--Brad Paisley
4. Lord, I Hope This Day is Good--Don Williams
5. I Miss A Lot Of Trains--Tom T. Hall
6. Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain--Willie Nelson
7. I Never Go Around Mirrors--Keith Whitley
8. Wasted Days and Wasted Nights--Freddy Fender
9. What I'd Say--Earl Thomas Conley
10. I Tell It Like It Used To Be--T. Graham Brown
11. The Old, Old House--IIIrd Tyme Out
12. Country Bumpkin--Cal Smith
13. If Drinking Don't Kill Me--George Jones
14. Old Dogs, Children, and Watermelon Wine--Tom T. Hall
15. Pancho And Lefty--Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson

Volume II
1. Too Cold At Home--Mark Chesnutt
2. That's How I Got To Memphis--Tom T. Hall
3. I Can't Win For Losing You--Earl Thomas Conley
4. Sad Songs And Waltzes--Keith Whitley
5. Good Old Boys Like Me--Don Williams
6. Before the Next Teardrop Falls--Freddy Fender
7. Somewhere Between--Keith Whitley
8. I Wouldn't Want To Live If You Didn't Love Me--Don Williams
9. Just One More--George Jones
10. I'd Be Better Off In A Pinebox--Doug Stone
11. Dragging Shackles--Gary Stewart
12. Yesterday's Wine--Merle Haggard/George Jones
13. He Was a Friend of Mine--Willie Neslon
14. Drop Kick Me, Jesus--Bobby Bare
15. Songs About Rain--Gary Allen

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!

What Would You Do? And Don't Lie.

Kentucky basketball is the topic once again for this post. I know. “Who would have guessed?” You. Now, don’t you feel smart? The direction I am steering this semi is toward recruitment or the lack thereof. What I am about to say may dissuade you from your original line of thinking. Maybe it won’t. It will give you an outlet on something I, sort of, figured out on my own in a discussion about this year's team. Hear me out.

If I could only count the number of times I have heard the following statement in the past two weeks: “We coulda had Lofton and Brewer!” This is referring, of course, to Tennessee’s Chris Lofton and Florida’s Corey Brewer. Both claim to have expressed interest in attending the University of Kentucky to play basketball. Both claim the athletic program and, more importantly, Tubby Smith were not interested in their efforts. Lofton also claims to be snubbed by the UofL program and Rick Pitino.

I honestly would say that these statements do contain various amounts of truth and fallacy. I have no doubt that both parties wished to attend UK to play basketball. Chris Lofton having lived in Kentucky for his entire life (assumption), like any other Kentucky boy, dreamed of wearing the Wildcat Blue on the floor at Rupp Arena. Corey, on the other hand, grew up in the Volunteer State. He knew of Kentucky’s hardwood legacy and eventual domination of UT in basketball. He probably thought UK would be an excellent program to fit into—one rich in heritage and consistent in performance.

Corey Brewer was a McDonald's All American. He was on Parade magazines all-American 4th team and an honorable mention from Slam magazine. He was a consensus top 30 in every major resource. Chris Lofton was McDonald's All-American nominee. He was voted as Mr. Kentucky Basketball after his senior year at Mason County. Set various school and state records his junior and senior years.

To say these programs/coaches were not interested cannot be farther from the truth. How could a coach at any level of the game not give some attention to each of these guys? Of course Tubby and Pitino were interested…they just couldn’t figure how each of these players would fit in their system. Tubby already had a boatload of guards. Patrick Sparks, Josh Carrier, Brandon Stockton, and Ravi Moss were already on his bench. He had a solid commitment from Saint Albans, W.Va. junior guard, Adam Williams, son of the legendary coach, Tex Williams (also the coach of a former Florida player, Brett Nelson). Tubby had recruited two guards, who were McDonald's All-Americans, in Rajon Rondo from Oak Hill Academy in Viginia, and Joe Crawford from Renaissance High School in Detroit. There was also the New York City recruit from the IMG Prep Academy in Florida, Ramel Bradley.

Tubby had seen Lofton play for at least three years. But what kind of competition was Lofton playing against? Bishop Brossart? Pendleton County? Bracken County? Rowan County? Lewis County? His size was questionable. His speed on defense was questionable. Lofton was a question all together. Brewer was on the national watch as a tall and lighting-quick guard. Excellent shooter. Nothing questionable to speak of unless…you already had signed three guards and had four waiting in the wings.

Rick Pitino had several guards in his camp as well. Taquan Dean, Ellis Myles, Brandon Jenkins, Larry O’Bannon were established. He had also the recruit committed that everyone wanted in Sebastian Telfair. Of course, we all know now that Telfair skipped out on Rick to go into the NBA draft.

So, does anyone see now, how these guys could have been passed over? I think, no…wait, I hope, Tubby Smith didn’t overlook the talent in either of the two players. Not knowing what you know now, can you honestly say that you possibly would have chosen different? I seriously doubt it. Other than the problem of Tubb not recruiting players from The Commonwealth, I honestly would say I would not. But, Tubby had been burned by Kentucky’s home grown before, i.e. Josh Carrier and Brandon Stockton, both of whom were the previous Mr. Kentucky Basketballs.

It is difficult to think that, yes, these players could have been Kentucky boys. Who knew about Lofton? As for Brewer, there were already two McDonald's All-Americans committed. What do you guys think? While I was watching the Tennessee-Alabama game Wednesday night on Lincoln Financial Sports, I was flipping back and forth to the Houston Rockets-Miami Heat game on ESPN. It made me think about David Kyle and his story about Uncle Dave and the "Lofton-esque" quotes all the time. My advice to DK is to tell his dad:

"Watch Tracy McGrady play for a game. No just a half. That is long enough to figure out...Chris Lofton is 'T-Mac-esque'."

Word-em-up.

Unable or Unwilling to Compete at a High Level of Intensity

Most of my three loyal readers know that I am a huge Kentucky basketball fan. What I write seems to be typically redundant and usually revolves around the players not getting the job done. Well, this post will be no different. The past two games, Florida at home and Tennessee in Knoxville, of the team that I follow so enthusiastically, have been great on one hand and, to use the words of Simon Cowell, absolutely dreadful, on the other hand.

For the Florida game, UK displayed the best defense I have seen this season. The team held the undisputed #1 team in the nation to 64 points and lost only by three. They out-rebounded the Gators. They held the Noah/Horford duo to 15 points and forced 14 turnovers. On the other hand, the Cats’ shooting was awful. They had only one three-pointer in the game until the final couple of minutes. Even worse, the free throw shooting was horrendous. The SEC leading free throw shooter, Ramel Bradley, made 3 of 10. Bottom line…the Wildcats did not put together two good halves of basketball—something they haven’t done all year.

For the Tennessee game, UK’s first and last ten minutes of the game were some of the best minutes I have seen them play. The shooting was remarkable. UK shot 56% from the floor and made just shy of 80% of their free throws. Obviously, they out-shot the Vols and out-rebounded them 39-27. Something else UK had more than Tennessee was…drum roll please…turnovers. If you were to combine the turnover totals of two of UK’s best players, Bradley and Morris, you have already equaled the turnover total of Tennessee. That’s right, UK 19 to UT's 8 TO's. I know of two times in the final couple of minutes I saw Bradley, who lead the turnover charge for the Cats with 6, directly hand the ball to UT players. You can’t have your team’s core turning the ball over so blatantly at crunch time. That, my good friends, was not Tubby’s fault. What was his fault, however, was the ugly pinstriped, checkered shirt with blue tie he rocked to combat Bruce Pearl’s neon orange blazer.

UK was doomed from the get-go last night. First of all, Pearl kept commenting that Lofton wasn’t at 100%. He kept mentioning 80%. Is that so, Bruce? Is that why you played him over 30 minutes in the game? Cousin J. Will said Lofton wasn’t at 100%. Yes, over at Idle Hour Country Club, at this exact moment, he is eating his words.

Second of all, the referees were cooking up some of that hometown stuff. It was pretty obvious when the botched the no-call-goaltending in the first half. D. Crews for UT had reached over the cylinder of the rim to dunk the ball, a goaltending call by definition. The officials reviewed it and determined it wasn’t goaltending. I knew then it would be a long night for the Cats. There were several no-calls and bull-sh** foul calls. Yet, the Cats still hung in there giving us all false hope, in hindsight.

Lastly, UK cannot beat Bernard King. If you watched the game, I am sure you noticed that they were showing more Bernard King than the actual game. Every time the Vols would make a shot, get a big block, or do something replayable, the camera would flash to King to show his facial expression. UK beat UT when he was a freshman. King vowed to never let Kentucky beat him again. For five straight games during his playing career (early to mid-70's) in Knoxville, his team beat Kentucky. Last night made it six, huh? Here is a side note for you: Bernard King was there because they were retiring his jersey.

Brandon, Jason, and I watched most of the game at Buffalo Wild Wings. Adam, Laura’s boyfriend, was there with his roommate, so we got to chill with him for a bit. About midway through the second half, we walked over to Cocktails to finish watching the game in a “not-so-crowded” environment. It was not crowded, but there was some misguided soul at the bar dressed head to toe in nauseating, neon orange. He was cheering like the game was for the national championship. Jason really wanted to tell him that he should move back to Tennessee, the sooner the better, but he thought better of it in the end. I am sure Jason wasn’t the only one. Hell, I even wanted to tell him. I think the next time UK plays Tennessee, a bunch of us should drive to Knoxville and watch the game in a sports bar near campus, all decked out it blue. What do you think?

I hope you have made all of your Valentines’ arrangements by now. Beth and I have reservations for tonight at Sal’s Italian Chop House on Tate’s Creek. It should be pretty good. I am ready for a good meal. I feel like I have been starving since I left Joel’s on Sunday. I think I need some more of Alex’s sausage balls. Tasty. Holla at your boy!

I Can Smell You, Friday. I Just Can't See You.

"When I die let my ashes float down the Green River
Let my soul roll on up to the Rochester dam
I'll be halfway to Heaven with Paradise waitin'
Just five miles away from wherever I am.

And daddy won't you take me back to Muhlenberg County
Down by the Green River where Paradise lay
Well, I'm sorry my son, but you're too late in asking
Mister Peabody's coal train has hauled it away "

--“Paradise” by John Prine

This is an oldie, but a goodie. John Prine is coming to the Lexington Opera House on February 16th and 17th. Fast Eddie Hazlette, a scratch golfer hailing from Paintsville, introduced Prine to me when I was young and quite impressionable at Morehead. He asked me to go to the Lexington show with him and his wife, but I looked for tickets and the venue said that none were available. If you aren’t familiar with John Prine, he is a Grammy winning folk singer. I am not that familiar with all of his music, but what I have heard, I definitely like.

We have a Colts/Bears Super Bowl coming at us in a couple of weeks. I am glad the Colts made it, finally, with Peyton Manning’s leadership. Anybody can knock him all they want, but he proved his worth on Sunday leading his team back from a 21-6 deficit after the first half to win 38-34 over the Patriots. You can’t argue what happened. Man, he looked solid. You will hear it here first during this edition of Da Pond Biznass. Super Bowl XLI will go down 31-14. Colts win.

I don’t want to take anything from Tom Brady. He played a great game. He is one bad mofo on the field, a proven quaterback. But, like the Highlander said, “There can be only one.”

Of all the coaches in the NFL, I think I despise Bill Belichick the most. First of all, the guy is a slob. He comes to games, games broadcast nationwide, wearing big-necked sweatshirts and looking like he just rolled out of bed. Secondly, he doesn’t seem to think good sportsmanship is important in football. After New England beat the Chargers, his team mocked Ladainian Tomlinson’s touchdown dance on his field after the game, which almost started a really ugly incident when LT took real offense to this gesture. Belichick saw nothing wrong with the act. Lastly, after Sunday’s game while players were crossing the field to shake the opponents hands, Manning tried to shake hands with Belichick. The coach just ignored him as he stormed across the field. Classless. Period.

Enough of that. Beth and I discovered a new restaurant a couple of weeks ago that ranks easily in *The Lexington Top Five. The Jean Farris Winery and Bistro is located on Old Richmond Road about five miles from Jacobsen Park. The setting is modern, but lacking in atmosphere. The food and wine, however, makes up for the missing ambience. Under the advice of a friend from work, we selected the Tempest (a blend of Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc) for dinner. It was probably the best local wine I have sampled. The bouquet alone was intoxicating. The taste was enough to make me want to drink my dinner. But, the menu told me not to. Every thing looked fie fie delishe.

We selected the crab cakes for an appetizer. They were pan-fried crispy around the edges and filled with actual crabmeat—not much filler and probably the best crab cakes I had ever eaten. We shared a frisee salad after the appetizer. Not sure what this was when ordering, we were surprised by the arrangement of garden weeds and fried pieces of batter involved in this creation. With peaches flanking the greenery, the toasted walnut vinegar dressing painted the most exquisite picture on the palate. Nice.

Next, it was time for the entrees. I had a filet prepared medium rare served on a smashed new potato topped with a mushroom merlot reduction sauce. The ornamental green beans were the centurions commissioned as flare. The beef was melt in your mouth delectable. Beth selected the Sweet Chili Glazed Salmon with coconut sticky rice and baby bok choy. The salmon was a little overcooked, but Beth said she preferred it prepared that way. The rice was my favorite part of the dish--sweet, but not too sweet. I took the salmon a long way. The bok choy was eye candy, only. Does anyone really eat bok choy?

For dessert, we shared a bourbon and pecan bread pudding. It was a real treat. The bread pudding was swimming in what almost seemed like a shot of bourbon mixed with syrup. Yes, after that dish, I was finished. Jean Farris Winery and Bistro is a definite must. Do it.

That was my audition to be a food critic. What do you think? And be honest, dammit!

*The Lexington Top 5
1. Jonathan at Gratz Park
2. Rossi's
3. Portofino
4. Jean Farris Winery and Bistro
5. Malone's

Honorable Mentions: The Mansion at Griffin Gate, Annabelle's

After watching UK suffer defeat on Saturday to Vandy at home and the loss last night to Georgia on the road after leading 13 at halftime and by 17 at one point, I snapped. I honestly think this team may be throwing games on purpose. That would be the only explanation as to some of their losses. When Stevenson lost the ball on the fast break near the end of the first half, a “You freakin’ goober!” spilled out of my consciousness and materialized into audible tones right there in my living room. I can’t honestly tell you the last time a called someone a goober before last night. But, this was after Bradley passed Stevenson the ball at the free throw line and it went through his hands and drilled him in the face. Nice hands, feet.

You will get one last rant from me. Jodie Meeks, all you had to do was block out the free throw shooter. Really, just one step in the lane in front of Sundiata Gaines with your arms extended and maybe defeat wouldn’t have been so close at hand. No, you had to be an enabler because you really enabled the Bulldogs to win the game. Turd.

Beth and Pop’s birthdays are next week. You had better let them know that you know. Peace from Da Pond!

Buckeyed and Busted

You have no idea how great I feel to be so wrong about something in all my life. At least 99.999% of the time, it physically pangs me to be wrong about something. I should be used to being wrong. I am wrong a lot. Yeah, I know it takes a big boy to admit it, but this time I will gladly say, “Yes, I am wrong!” And I will do this with enthusiasm. You see, what I am wrong about is a little college football bowl game that happened in a little town called Glendale, which is in a little state called Arizona.

There were two teams, one a little university from the state of Ohio and the other a little university from the state of Florida. Ah, crap…enough of the drama. I can’t hold it in anymore. FLORIDA kicked the shiz-nizzle out of OHIO STATE! And I was so wrong about it, but do I care? Not it the least. I just knew that the Buckeyes were going to stomp Florida. I was one of the biggest advocators for the OSU/Michigan rematch.

Aside explanation:
Yes, I was wrong about that one and that did make me mad. I didn’t think the Gators were half the team Michigan was. Imagine if Florida would have been beaten by Arkansas in the SEC Championship game. It was a close game to start with. Would Arkansas get a shot at Ohio State? The answer you are seeking is “Negative, Ghost Rider, the pattern is full.”

I was still convinced of the assured ass kicking even after the kickoff. Even when Florida marched down the field and scored, I thought OSU is still going to bring it. Then, it happened. I saw the person who I attest to as being the fastest man ever in college football, Ted Ginn Jr., was limping with a trainer back to the locker room. I told Brandon that this was not good. Ginn returned to the sideline about 20 minutes later with hopes of returning to the game, but by the end of the third quarter, he was on crutches. What did Ohio State have other than TG, Jr.? Don’t be so quick to say Antonio Pittman. Without TG, Jr., Florida’s speedy defense keyed on Pittman with vengeance. What about the other receivers? That didn’t matter as well. You remember the speedy defense of Florida? The pocket crumbled on Troy Smith time after time. He was sacked five times when he was only sacked 14 times all season. This team ended up with only 82 total yards of offense. I can’t go on any further. There is no excuse and no argument.

Homer: "We can eat for free because they think I am Krusty the Clown."
Marge: "I don't know, Homey..."
Homer: "Why don't you think it can work?"
Marge: "I didn't say it wouldn't work. I just think it's not a very honest thing to do."
Homer: "If we both agree, then why are we arguing?"

After the final touchdown in the first half, Brandon’s buddy Tony called this conversation ensued:

Brandon: “Yeah?”
Tony: “Three words for you.”
Brandon: “Okay?”
Tony: “Tim F’ing Tebow”

What else could you say? Tony said it all. Congratulations, Florida. We will see you in Commonwealth Stadium sometime this fall. And to you Ohio State, UK played Florida closer. Nya, Nya! THHHBBBBPPPPTT!

I hope everyone’s resolutions are going well. I read some good ones from Chase the other day. Mine are the same as usual. I am going to be a nicer and a more understanding person. I think everyone should add that to their New Year’s resolutions. And the whole diet thing. I am working on a diet right now, but it is not necessarily a diet for me to lose weight. My goal is to just eat better. I am sure there will be some weight loss involved and I am okay with that. I will try to keep you updated on how that is going.

Has anyone been watching UK basketball? Honestly, I think the Cats are playing far better now than at this point last year. I think it does not have as much to do with Tubby as the other factors involved. I think the factors are the team being more mature as a group and their mental aspect, the unheralded group of freshmen defining their roles with the team earlier in the season, and the force that is Randolph Morris. If you have watched Morris play in the last five or six games you could equate him to Dad Randall-El playing with us on the tough courts of Lost Creek circa 1994. Dominant is the word you are looking for. UK has a good chance of being undefeated through January. There will be a tough game at Georgia and an even tougher game with Tennessee (with Uncle David's boy, Lofton) at home to deal with, but I can see UK coming through it unscathed. Then, no doubt, will they securely be in the top 25. Go Cats!

Have any of you noticed a change in Lexington, lately? You can breathe. The final remnants of the holiday shopping season have dissipated. It is no longer too congested for a venture to the Hamburg areas for shopping or dining. Free at least. Free at least. Thank God, the Almighty, we are free at least until next December.

And speaking of trips to that area. Last Friday night, I ventured over to Harry’s with Beth for some victuals. Upon turning into the parking lot, some douche in a Chevy Avalanche was in the middle of the entrance. I thought I had enough room to get by him, but I didn’t. I rode the curb like a surfer hanging ten. I thought it had definitely burst my front passenger side tire. We looked at it when I parked. It scuffed my rim nicely and tore a gash out of the sidewall, but it had not burst.

Saturday morning, I called the store where I purchased my tires. They said there was one tire, the same brand (Kumhos baby!) and size, in Lexington at their South Broadway location and the price would be $129.99 plus tax. Ouch! Better to be safe than sorry (sorry for the cliché, that is). We went over there to drop it off, then, we walked to Logan’s for lunch. During lunch, the manager called and said it was finished. He went on to say that lucky for me I had purchased the Tire Protection Plan when I purchased the tires. With the TPP, the price for the tire, mounting, and old tire disposal was only $48.15. I said in the best Matthew McConaughey’s character’s voice from Dazed and Confused, “Well, alright!” Lesson learned. Always buy the tire protection plan.

Bonus points are going to the first person to tell me who the character was. There are extra bonus points if you throw in a quote of your favorite lines he said. Even more bonus points if you tell me who was another Hollywood big shot in the movie that gets painted up. Holla!

Updizzle Fo Da Pizzle

(Update for the People)

For those who have been uninformed, Beth’s back surgery went fine and she is recovering nicely. For the next six weeks I have assumed the roll of Beth Attendant Number One. She is not allowed to bend, twist, or lift anything over 5 pounds per orders from the doc. I will be the medium for all her motor activities that are not approved. This seems to be all too convenient for the Christmas shopping season.

Sunday, I spent 5 ½ hours at Fayette Mall, and for those of you who know me, you know that is about 4 ½ hours too much. I had to be the pack mule for Mule Train Conductor Rhodes. We arrived at the mall a little after 9 a.m. and didn’t leave until 2:30 p.m. I had to make three trips back to the car to drop off bags during the spree. Thankfully, this covered about 90% of the Christmas shopping we had to do. It is a good thing that I will be off work on Thursday and Friday because there are a lot of presents to be wrapped.

Ellen Griswold: “What’s wrong, Honey? Clark, what is it?”

Clark W. Griswold: “It's a one year membership in the Jelly of the Month Club.”

Cousin Eddie: “Clark, that's the gift that keeps on giving the whole year.”

UK beat UofL this weekend in hoops in a really ugly game. Not much hope in that ever being on the football field. Tubby said of the win, “Despite what Paigey Poo says, a win is a win.” And more importantly, JDeezy says it is a LOSS for Loserville. So Cards fans, how is your football school doing? It’s too bad you have given up on basketball. UofL’s nice recruiting class that was so highly touted over UK’s freshman class shot the lights out at Freedom Hall with an ever impressive 3 of 19 shooting. UK's relatively untouted freshmen class was 10 for 16. I read the nice apology by UofL’s AD Jurich. You can check that story out here. Tell me, “What was that guy thinking?”

Beth and I had been mulling over when we were going to purchase a new TV. We had picked one out for the downstairs and one for the upstairs in the game room. I read yesterday at work the smaller of the two TV’s we were going to buy was on sale at Circuit City. Sold. I rolled over there yesterday and picked up a 32” Olevia LCD-HD. It took me forever to reconfigure the entertainment center up stairs so I could hook up the TV. I had my XBox, Game Cube, DVD player, and cable box hooked up through a Terk Pi, 4-input, RF Modulator. The cable box and RF Modulator sat on top of the old TV. They wouldn’t be able to sit on the new flat screen, so they had to go up a shelf. If only I had known what I was getting myself into.

It took me almost two hours to get all the cords lined out. Once I actually went to set to the TV in the entertainment center, I realized it was going to be a very close fit. Try about a quarter of an inch on each side. I had to rub down the sides of the TV with Vaseline to get it to wedge in. Once I got it in, I fired it up. Money. I cranked up the XBox with a little Star Wars: Battlefront II. I would have bought a new TV sooner if I knew how much better it was going to look. Joel, I can only imagine how good the XBox 360 is going to look on the screen in HD. Get ready for some Gears of War!

This will be the last post of the ‘Pond News until after the New Year. Please, travel safely this week. I hope you all have the holidays for which you are hoping. And let us not forget the Reason. See you in ’07.

Say It Ain't So, Joe!

Jumping Joe Crawford has to be stopped. He is endangering the lives of married and co-habitating women across the state. In his efforts to shoot himself into and out of shooting slumps, he is causing domestic disputes--enabling the wife beaters, if you will, by enraging them due to his prolific Grade D shooting. He is a menace to the Commonwealth's society. Unit #899, arrest that jumpshot felon.

Brandon and I were at the game last night. He had bet his buddy Tony V. , a Miami of Ohio alumnus, the Cats would win with the spread of 13 1/2. With around two minutes left in the game and the Wildcats up by 7 with the ball, I told Brandon his bet was probably a bust because no one in their right mind would come down the floor and pull up without running some of the clock off. Wrong. One interior pass, one kick-out-to-the-perimeter, and 8 seconds later, Mr. Detroit was jacking one up, a clanger, no less. Off subject, but do you remember how the mind-shattering clang produced from a brick would echo through the old gym at Marie Roberts Elementary?

I just came up with a joke to go along with this theme. A Kentucky fan goes to see his doctor about his recent hair loss. The doctor asked him when he first noticed his hairloss. The Kentucky fan said it was a couple of weeks ago around the first of November. After a few questions concerning his lifestyle, the doctor leaves the room and then returns a couple of minutes later with a prescription. The Kentucky fan thanks the doctor and walks out of the office. Once he got in his car, he read the prescription.

"STOP WATCHING UK PLAY!!!"

Because watching Kentucky makes you pull your hair out. Hello? Is anyone out there? Is this microphone on? I know. It needs work. You can make it your own, if you wish. Just insert team of choice.

Another note of interest from the game last night. Brandon's aforementioned buddy, Tony V, went to the game with us last night to watch his undergrad alma mater play. He got to sit right behind the Red Hawks' bench. As the game goes to halftime, Tubby and the Wildcats are walking by the visitor's bench. Tony yells at Orlando and the following conversation ensues.

Tony V: "Hey, Tubby! You can't recruit!"
Orlando "Tubby" Smith: "What did you say?!?!"
Tony V: "You can't recruit!"
OTS (to Assistant Coach Reggie Hanson): "Get him out of here!"
OTS (to Head Assistant Coach David Hobbs): "He had better shut the hell up!"

Thankfully, or not, he didn't get thrown out of the game. So, he got to watch his team get beat or beat themselves the second half. He claims there was one pivotal play when Perry Stevenson pinned a ball on the backboard(one of his seven blocks in the game), which should have been called goal tending. Nice try, but no. Yes, I will confirm your suspicions, he is a Duke fan.

I hope you do realize Turkey Day is in T minus 6 days. And even better news, in T minus 9 days I will be on a boat in the middle of the Carribbean. Soaking up some rays and sipping on Yellow Birds. And feeling no pain....

See you Wednesday evening on the Creek.