Thursday Night Links

Not much going on in Wildcat land tonight. There were a few hits on your Kentucky Wildcats and Derby 135, though.

Rivals has released their updated team recruiting rankings for 2009. Kentucky comes in at #4. Needless to say if we land Wall or Bledsoe, we will be looking down on everyone.

The Bleacher Report has a nice feature on Kentucky called, "College Basketball Bailout: Restoring the Kentucky Wildcats". They reiterate that UK hasn't been a relevant program in 10+ years, and the hiring of one Coach Cal immediately gives us some "street cred."

That didn't take long. The Jodie Meeks Witness Nike t-shirts are available to pre-order. Sorry about that, the NCAA doesn't allow marketing/promotion of their amateur athletes. In that case, my t-shirt will be for Dwight Perry.

Everyone at the Courier-Journal gives their Derby picks, video style.

James Scully, of KentuckyDerby.com, has the bets you need to place for Derby 135, and the reasoning behind each pick.

Oh....my Derby pick is Papa Clem. Here is his bio. Probably be going off about 20/1 or 25/1. There will be some money on the board. Why not, right?

Staring down Derby 135

Not much going on today, so here's ESPN's look at the Derby 135 post draw from Randy Moss. It also gives a list of horses with post positions, odds, trainers, and jockeys.

And try not to get too teary-eyed as we listen to a great rendition of "My Old Kentucky Home."

April 30th: On this date...

... in 1989, rumors were spreading like wild fire (through telegraph/horse & buggy) that P.J. Carlesimo was going to be the next coach of your Kentucky Wildcats. Though UK denied it, many believed the job was Carlesimo's to take, fresh off a championship game appearance with Seton Hall. Carlesimo spent April 26th meeting with University President David Roselle and Athletic Director C.M. Newton. Reports had Carlesimo being offered $600,000/year, triple his Seton Hall salary. Who knows how this would have changed the history of UK basketball, but it certainly would have been a letdown, looking back on everything. These rumor mongers from 1989 have since produced offspring that blog about Billy Donovan being the next UK coach, Coach Cal making it rain, and John Wall trying to choose what he's gonna eat for breakfast.

What a state, right?

The 2009 CATSPY Awards

Tonight was the 7th annual CATSPY Awards at Memorial Coliseum. Cats Scratches covered the event live and has the recap. Some highlights include:

Jodie Meeks with the Male Athlete Performance of the Year
Tim Masthay won the McDonalds Male Community Service Award
Randall Cobb was the Male Rookie of the Year

John Calipari sent the seniors off with one message: "Hopefully, everyone can use their time here at UK to become as rich as I did. Thanks for including me in this family."

He then gave a trash bag full of money to each senior and said something to the effect of, "Who said the economy's bad?"

Students moshed at the library tonight for Finals. My, how the times have changed. Kids.....with all of that Rock-n-Roll music and such nowadays. Video courtesy of KSR.

Yo Coach, gimme your best Wildcat

The first month of John Calipari's tenure as UK coach has been an eventful one. The man has been at it 24/7 and has been in the public eye more than Regis Philbin. One couldn't ask for a better ambassador of the program than this guy. But when it all boils down to it, the Coach has to get players, just ask Tubby and Billy. It's much easier to look like a legendary coach with elite players as opposed to the alternative.

Therefore, we will look at the seeds Coach Cal has planted over this first month of recruiting, and take a look at the new guys listing Kentucky among their leaders.

2009:
Everyone and their mother's know we need a point guard and Cal has been on it hard. The top two point guards left on the board for 2009 have been in touch with Calipari and vice versa. Landing either John Wall or Eric Bledsoe is essential for us to make a run. Wall will be making his decision between now and the turn of the century, while Bledsoe is actually scheduled to visit UK this weekend. And while I love me some Liggins & Galloway, I think we all know that handing over the keys to the Benz-O to these guys would be an epic fail.

2010:
Solid facts Rumor has it, we will see quite a bit of action over these next few weeks in regards to 2010 recruiting. You simply have to look at our roster to find out, we are gonna have a ton of spots open for new players. Therefore, there is a bunch of PT here in 2010, and Cal is going after the big dogs having made multiple/personal visits to players such as: Brandon Knight (#1 PG), Joe Jackson (#4 PG), Harrison Barnes (#1 SF), Dominique Ferguson (#3 PF), Roscoe Smith (#2 SF), and Adreian Payne (#4 C) among others. Here are the Scout and Rivals rankings for 2010.

2011:
Coach Cal has already laid ground work for the overall top player in small forward Michael Gilchrist. Vinny Zollo should also contribute heavily as a freshman. The scholarship offered to Vinny Zollo, by BCG, will most likely be snatched back later this summer.

Obviously, we will not get all of these guys, but being able to land professional-level talent each and every year will be critical to landing your beloved Cats back into the nation's elite programs. With enough talent, everything else will fall into place. If not, I'm blaming Billy Clyde.

Staring Down Derby 135 - Post Draw today at Noon

Why the long face?

KentuckyDerby.com has the live post draw today at 12:00 pm. In recent years, it had been a big production at Fourth Street Live, but after Billy G and Hank Goldberg were running around hammered in '08 trying to hit on Jeannine Edwards, the Derby handlers thought it'd be best to change it up a bit. Billy G was also on WLEX last night talking about how he couldn't wait to go the infield this year. Glad to see everything is going well for Billy.

Win Willy out, Zito's horse In.

A wizard's look at every horse.

***UPDATE***

Here is the post position draw from today, along with morning line odds from Mike Battaglia at the top of the page. Only four horses are below 5-1, with I Want Revenge the favorite at 3-1. The remaining sixteen horses are at 15-1 or higher. Should be a big pay day for Derby 135.

April 29th: On this date...

... in 1998, Kentucky fans snatched up 75,000 Maker's Mark cigars commemorating the recent NCAA title, once again proving that UK fans will purchase absolutely anything in association with their team. The cigars were made through the Spalding Group and were sold through Maker's Mark for the Cats 7th National Championship. Maker's Mark would ultimately give $54,000 of the profits to the Tubby Smith Foundation, a place kids could go dismantle and build computers among other things. On the other hand, rabid fans would dismantle bottles of Maker's Mark, then litter Tubby's lawn with For Sale signs. Priorities people. Jeff Sheppard was named Most Outstanding Player after scoring a total of 43 points Final Four weekend for the Comeback Cats.

Cutler Out

Just found out Alan Cutler has been laid off by Clear Channel in an unfortunate turn of events for the Cut Man:

Cutler, had hosted WCKY-AM mornings for 18 months, also lost his jobs as WLW-AM weekend sports talk host and Bengals radio network host after eight years.

“I had a feeling my time was going to come just because of the economy,” said Cutler from Lexington’s WLEX-TV, where he has been sports director for 21 years.

Everything is still fine at WLEX, plus we get to see this again!

Braxton to Denver

Braxton Kelley is the latest of the 2008 football Cats to sign a free agent contract with an NFL team. He will be joining high school and college teammate Wesley Woodyard in Denver. My guess is they loved Wes Woodyard's game so much, they put him charge of player personnel.

Here's an updated list of signings:

DT - Myron Pryor - Patriots - Draft
P/K - Tim Masthay - Colts - signed as free agent
FS - Marcus McClinton - Patriots - FA
DE - Ventrell Jenkins - Bills - FA
CB - David Jones - Ravens - FA
OL - Garry Williams - Panthers - FA
LB - Johnny Williams - Jaguars - FA
LB - Braxton Kelley - Broncos - FA

Six, count 'em six, members of the 2008 defensive unit are signed with an NFL team. Not bad for a basketball school, eh?

April 28th: On this date...

... in 1964, former Kentucky great Frank Ramsey helped lead the Boston Celtics to their sixth straight NBA Championship and Ramsey's seventh overall. One of the leaders of this Celtics era, Ramsey finished with 18 points in the 106-99 win over the San Francisco Warriors. The first title of this run was in 1957 against Cliff Hagan and the St. Louis Hawks. In the Boston area, Ramsey was known as "Sixth Man", and this was before these words were ever invented. He retired after the 1964 Championship and was later inducted into the basketball Hall of Fame in 1982. The last time this man had to buy a beer in New England was 1958, possibly the most impressive part.

Square Eddie out of Derby 135

The often injured Square Eddie has pulled out of Derby 135 Tuesday morning due to shin problems. Square Eddie finished second in the Breeder's Cup Juvenile last fall, and finished third in the Coolmore Lexington at Keeneland. He had one of the strongest moves I'd seen on the Derby 135 circuit this year, and was hoping to add this little guy in on my trifecta or superfecta. Eddie was a strong horse..............one who would've been an awesome play at about 20-1. Therefore, if anyone even read the updated contenders list from the last post -- yeah, that's wrong.

The day that was........April 27, 2009 edition

Rob Gidel has a preview of the linebackers for the Cats' this upcoming season, along with links to his other previews.

Tru over at A Sea of Blue has started a series called John Calipari -- Myth, Legend, and Fact (Part 1 -- Part 2). Please use this as a reference whenever speaking to any UofL fan.

Coach Cal's Twitter account now has over 10,000 followers. That's nice and all, but any website that has 1.5 million followers of Ashton Kuchar, I will refuse to join. You should check it out!

Mary Jo says on WLEX 18 that Donald Williams won't be back on the team next year. Exactly, I wasn't for sure who he was either, but its a scholarship! Calm down, we all wish him great success next season, wherever that may be.

Quality Road is out of Derby 135. Looks like the post draw will take place online at KentuckyDerby.com Wednesday at 5:00pm. Here's the updated list of contenders.

These are all very good reads, but probably not the meat and potatoes you were looking to find. Patience, my friends, patience. In the meantime, check out your favorite 80's wrestler intro's below.

Beaumont Center Kroger Marketplace Grand Opening

Video from this weekend's grand opening of the new Kroger Marketplace in Beaumont Center. IT WAS A MAD HOUSE!

OK, it's actually video from Ireland, but still.

April 27: On this date...

... in 1993, UK assistant coach Billy Donovan told Marion County's own Anthony Epps that UK was "not ready to commit" to him for the 1994 season. The Cats had focused most of their efforts on Charles O'Bannon, who later committed to UCLA. Epps, eventually received a scholarship offer, ended up being the starting point guard for the most dominant team in my lifetime, the '96 Cats. Epps followed up the '96 campaign by leading his final team to the NCAA title game in 1997. On rosters full of Parade and McDonald's All-Americans, Anthony Epps was arguably the most vital part of these Championship teams. John Wall would be nice next year, but someone like Anthony Epps would be more than a serviceable leader for this upcoming team.

Sunday Wrap

Myron Pryor goes at the end of the 6th round to the New England Patriots. If Belichick likes him, you know he has potential.

Rob Gidel at KSR has the free agent signings of the rest of UK's Draft day hopefuls: Masthay/Colts, Johnny Williams/Jaguars, Marcus McClinton/Patriots, among other possibilities.

Johnny Rondo has another triple-double (25p-11r-11a), but the Celtics fall short in 2 OTs. Series ties 2-2 going back to Boston.

Chuck Hayes takes a key charge on Brandon Roy at the end of the Rockets win over Portland. Rockets are up 3-1 going back to Portland.

Tayshaun Prince has a rough outing in the Pistons loss to Cleveland. The Lebrons sweep the series 4-0.

Look at the Big Fella rumble.

April 26th: On this date...

... in 1996, Nazr Mohammed was the victim of a burglary at Wildcat Lodge. The freshman was robbed of his championship ring by three teens. These teens were later arrested, after a young boy on a school bus saw the attempted sale of said ring. The police recovered the ring, which had "1996 NCAA Champions" and "Nazr Mohammed" engraved on it. To this day, whenever Nazr is walking down the street in Lexington opposite 13-year olds, he instinctively crosses to the other side of the street, to avoid confrontation.

Big Blue Notes

Scottie and I headed down to the UK Yard Sale today and it was a madhouse full of Kennedy Book Store type stuff 50% off, which means its still only halfway affordable. We did get some free Big Blue Q (Dave McCauley 859.229.7927), some awesome barbeque from Dave giving out free samples since he didn't have a permit to sell food. He told us to mention he does parties, so if you barbeque, go Big Blue Q. The ladies were in mid-summer fashion. Very good crowd for a spring football game.

Recaps of today's Blue-White game are below, along with a Mr. Calipari tease.

Cat Scratches gives a wrap-up of today's activities.

Bryan the Intern at KSR gives some highlights from the day, with some video.

John Clay's got the stats from the Blue-White game.

ESPN has a feature on the Silent Assassin Trevard Lindley.

UK Athletics has PaPaw Brooks post-game quotes.

Finally, from Coach Cal's new Twitter account, he pops off with this message from today's individual workouts:

Patrick Patterson will be unbelievable in this offense. People won't be able to recognize him. Today, Jodie missed three shots in 45 minutes.

How do you take this? Patterson "will" look good in this offense. Will Pat be back? Stay tuned.

Sorry, no Cats news.

As a longtime 49ers fan, the fact Michael Crabtree fell to us at the #10 spot is ridiculous. The one thing 49er fans have always wanted since Jerry's departure, whether its good for the team or not, is a big time wide receiver. Today was that day. Most excited NFL Draft day I've ever had, bar none. Happy Birthday Leon, couldn't imagine a better present.

April 25th: On this date...

... in 2005, Mr. Wildcat was honored at the CATSPY's, receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award for his services to the University and its basketball program. He was a staple of Big Blue Nation for over 45 years, and was the ultimate fan and genuine person in the most public of spotlights. The man witnessed over 1,100 UK wins and was on board for three National Championship runs. Mr. Bill wore one championship ring on each hand and kept one in his pocket. Legendary broadcaster Cawood Ledford and Keightley remain the only non-player/non-coach in Kentucky history to have a jersey retired in their honor.

The Extortioner - Fridays on CBS

Here, Pitino blows Anthony Epps, literally.

The details of The Extortion Job was uncovered by ESPN today, only because every news station in Kentucky is too scared to report the news. The news isn't usually supposed to take sides, but in this case, no one is on the lady's side.

I'm not saying what she did is wrong or right, or if she's innocent or guilty, but this lady is on Exile Island all by herself. I mean, what if Pitino really did do something to her. Would we ever find out?

Shouldn't it be innocent until proven guilty instead of:

money + power = automatic innocence

Meet your newest Cat

Darnell Dodson, previously committed to Memphis, has now signed on to play for the Cats this fall. So far, our farm team in southwestern Tennessee has paid huge dividends. Hopefully this will stay the same. Here is our previous post on Mr. Dodson.

Morning Links

Here's what going on in the land of the Wildcat:

• Jonny Rondo (far left) got the Celtics back on track with a beatdown of the Bulls at Chicago. Celtics lead the series 2-1. Rondo finished with 20p-11r-6a-5s and a flagrant foul on Joakim Noah, making UK fans everywhere smile.
• Tom Beisner at KSR has an interesting take on the Xavier Henry decision yesterday, and it gives the view of Kentucky basketball from your average 18-year old recruit. i.e. Coach Cal changes everything.
• The basketball Cats can have supervised workouts during the offseason, who knew? Eric Lindsey was at one 4-player session yesterday and says Coach Cal is starting to throw a few more wrinkles into these workouts, trying to get the players ready for Fall 2009. Very good read.
• For all you Tweeters out there, Coach Cal set up his own Twitter account, giving you up-to-date info on where he is and how many bowel movements he has each day.
• The draft was held for this weekend's Yard Sale/Blue-White game.

Gonna be a perfect weekend weather-wise. Throw some support behind those football Cats this weekend and show your appreciation. These seniors have had a postseason game every year.

April 24th: On this date...

... in 1986, friends, former players, and UK officials gave a retirement send-off to Joe B. Hall after 13 seasons as the UK head coach. Joe B. compiled a record of 297-100 while manning the sidelines for the Wildcats. Add to that 3 Final Fours and the 1978 National Championship and you have yourself one heckuva coaching career. Hall also played on the 1947-48 Kentucky National Championship team coached coached by Adolph Rupp. Known as one of nation's top recruiters, Joe B. landed the names Dan Issel, Jim Andrews, and Tom Payne (Kentucky's first black player) in Wildcat blue. He currently has a radio show with former UofL coach Denny Crum, its called the "Joe B. & Denny Show". Hall is listed first because Kentucky is better than Louisville.

News of the day

Nothing really of note today in the Big Blue World we live in, so here's a few sports nuggets for April 23, 2009.

• Kansas City traded longtime Chief, Tony Gonzalez, to the Falcons today for a 2nd round pick in 2010. Note to self for Fantasy draft.
• Stephen Curry, Wayne Ellington, and Ty Lawson have all declared for the NBA draft, with agents for everyone. Welcome back Jodie!
• A veterinarian in Florida has admitted to giving 21 polo horses a lethal mixture of chemicals in vitamins and supplements they were supposed to be getting just hours before their polo match.
• The Northern Kentucky Reds are currently 6-3 on their 10-game road trip.

Who didn't see this coming?

As I have said all along, Xavier Henry and his brother are going to Kansas. All the sites across UK land were chasing their tail on this story, but not Big Blue Booyah.

The only time BBB was confused was when Xavier said he wasn't going to Kansas and wanted to visit Kentucky, except he didn't want to visit Kentucky, but said he would, then prom came up, and wouldn't be able to visit, then said he wanted his Momma happy, and she went to Kansas, so he decided not to visit Lexington, and go to Kansas............. just like I said. It's almost as if I have a sixth sense about these things.

Big Blue Booyah: They've done studies, you know. 60% of the time we're right, every time.

Good day.

April 23: On this date...

... in 2007, UK alum Chuck Hayes scored a career high 12 points and helped the Houston Rockets win 98-90 over Utah in the playoffs. Chuck started tons of games for the Rockets in 2007, averaging 27 minutes a game. In the 2005 NBA Draft, every team passed on Hayes, but Houston gave him chance and he made the most of it, playing 40 games during his rookie season. The team has picked up his option every year since and Chuck is again on the playoff roster in 2009. Whatever happens in the video below can be blamed on the rabid UK fan base.

Henry brothers to Kansas - Oh well, next!

With news of the Henry clan going to Kansas (announcement Thursday), the focus of Big Blue Nation goes elsewhere. Well, we might as well try and steal a prospect or two from Memphis. Enter Darnell Dodson. He "confirmed" via text message to Kentucky Ink of his release from Memphis and subsequent commitment to Kentucky.

Looks like a 6'7" swingman type of player from Miami Dade Junior College. ESPN has him graded highly, although "high grades" is not a priority to him. Welcome to the new Kentucky basketball. Grades will not be an issue as long as we're winning, right?

Speaking of grades, the UK basketball team was the only publicly recognized SEC team during the latest NCAA grade evaluations. Jodie Meeks, Mark Krebs, Matt Scherbenske, Dwight Perry, and Michael Porter were all on the SEC honor roll for the winter semester. Oh, that's why those guys are on the team. For a complete list of all UK Athletics academic standouts, click here.



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UK Football Marketing = Genius

This was last year's crowd at the big event.

If I were to ask you what the biggest, most popular event is in the state of Kentucky every year, what would your answer be?

Not sure about you, but my answer would be the Highway 127 Yard Sale.

Having said that, the University of Kentucky marketing department has issued an all out blitz to UK fans everywhere by having an all-UK yard sale this weekend, enticing them to come watch the Blue-White game at Commonwealth Stadium. Tons of UK apparel at rock-bottom prices will include apparel from multiple sports, tons of items and sizes.

This had to have been the ace up their sleeve for decades:

UK gear + UK sporting event = awesome

but

UK gear + UK sporting event + Yard Sale = Life-changing

Cat Scratches broke the story. Stay tuned for more info. Add this breaking news to "Sunny & 80", and you've got something brewing.

Cats in the Garden

It's official. Kentucky will play Connecticut December 9th as a part of the SEC-Big East challenge. The game will take place at Madison Square Garden in NYC. It will be the second of two games, following the high octane showdown between St. John's and Georgia.

The two conferences have combined to produce four of the last seven NCAA Men's Basketball Champions (Florida - 2007 and 2006; Connecticut - 2004; Syracuse - 2003) and seven of the last 14 national champions (Connecticut - 1999; Kentucky - 1998 and 1996).

Tickets for the 2009 SEC/BIG EAST Invitational are expected to go on sale in early summer. For more information, visit the official Web site: secbigeastinvitational.com.

*****BREAKING NEWS*****

Sources have confirmed to me, just minutes to go, that Xavier and C.J. Henry have decided they might or might not attend Kansas this coming fall. My unnamed source is pivotal to the decision making of these two kids.

This is how I thought it would go down all along, so be thankful I didn't steer you wrong during this recruiting process. Once again, Big Blue Booyah puts the reader first and is always the first to break the news, whether the outcome is 50/50 or not. We will put all possibilities out there before everyone else, therefore we win because one part of my brain was correct.

As with all of our breaking news, we will never name our sources, or at the very least we will strike through the name. Whenever we use the word source, it just means we're making it up so we can be first.

Stay tuned for more. We will bring it to you as soon as we get it.

April 22nd: On this date...

... in 1995, Coach Rick Pitino decided his team had too many good players, leading him to create a JV squad. This gives you an idea of how freakish we were with bench talent. Pitino thought this would give the young guys on the bench valuable playing experience. Nazr Mohammed was easily the player that benefited the most from this idea. It was such a great idea, to this day we still have one it lasted only one year. Although it wasn't around long, the three straight Final Four's, along with two National titles are a direct result of this futuristic thinking. If nothing else, it helped make Nazr a bunch of money and kept him from transferring.

We're a Football School!

"Get your ass to Commonwealth this weekend!!!!"

Lost in all of the hubbub about what Xavier Henry will be wearing to prom, whether or not he and his brother will be visiting Lexington, and wondering if John Wall will decide before 2010 is the fact the football Cats are almost done with Spring practice.

This Saturday is the Blue-White game at Commonwealth and meteorologists across the world have designated Commonwealth Stadium as the place to be for the most ideal forecast. And to get you excited about this, I've gathered a slew of information about spring practice and the upcoming season.

After further review, all I could find was two mini-tidbits about football......and a forecast.

Eric Lindsey at Cat Scratches gives us 10 reasons to love Kentucky football.

Rob Gidel at KSR trots out his mid-afternoon football fix from April 21.

And now, for your local 8's.

Rondo at it again

In case you missed it last night, Johnny Rondo led the Celtics with a triple double (19p-12r-16a) in their Game 2 win vs. Chicago. The Celtics were faced a must win game after the referees inexplicably didn't give them Game 1 (everyone knows this is how the NBA works).

It shaping up to be a freakish series for Rondo, who got off in Game 1 as well. He has clearly set himself apart from the field and become an elite NBA point guard. Much of the same could be said about his opposition in round one too, Derrick Rose. Both players give all the credit for their success to the rabid Kentucky fanbase. Well done, everyone, well done.

Staring down Derby 135

Having seen news this morning that C.J. Henry doesn't know anything about a visit to Kentucky this weekend, I thought we'd move on to something a bit more predictable........horse racing!

Here is an updated earnings list through this past weekend for all horses involved.

Horses are also starting to choose their jockeys for Derby 135 -- yes, they can do that.

Yesterday's daily activity report gives workout results, overall looks at horses, and latest updates for some of the contenders.

ESPN talks of everything you need to know about Derby 135 from A to Z.

Will we know the winner of Derby 135 or where the Henry's will commit first? Discuss below.

Daniel Orton

Larry Vaught has news tonight that Daniel Orton is now 100% committed to UK. This apparently was the case after Coach Cal visited with Daniel at the Jordan Brand Classic this past weekend. This is nice and all, but the way this recruiting season has gone, get back to me when he sends in his signed letter of intent. Who's with me?

Like sands through an hour glass

The latest comes from Zagsblog.com quoting Carl Henry, father of Xavier and C.J. Looks like a visit to Lexington, for the Henry's, is in store this weekend:

“Now they’re going to visit Kentucky at the end of this week,” Carl Henry said early Monday afternoon. “My youngest son [Xavier] called me and said he wanted to go visit. It just happened thirty minutes ago.”

Seems to me recruiting is much like the weather in the Bluegrass, if you don't like it, wait five minutes and it will change. Now get back to work.

Continuing our march to World Domination

Don't ask how, but I came across a great article from the San Jose Mercury News about an AP writer's experience on Kentucky's Bourbon Trail. It seems to be a slow news day and it's an easy read for any of you wanting to feel proud about living in Kentucky. I cannot imagine a better way or time of year to showcase the state of Kentucky more than spring time around horses and whiskey:

Spring is a popular time for tours, with visitors treated to Kentucky landscapes bursting in color from budding trees and flowers. Bourbon tours mix well with another signature Kentucky industry for a day of bluegrass bliss. Some people combine bourbon tours with visits to area thoroughbred farms or spend an afternoon at horse races. Keeneland race track at Lexington has live racing for most of April, followed by the spring meet at Churchill Downs in Louisville, home of the Kentucky Derby.

Bourbon and horses mature near one another at the Woodford Reserve Distillery, nestled in Kentucky's Bluegrass region. Visitors heading to the distillery on country back roads drive past picturesque horse farms bounded by miles of black wood fence snaking along the countryside.

Enjoy.

Maybe he doesn't realize Cats > Birds

According to the Lawrence Journal, Xavier Henry and brother C.J. have decided not to visit Kentucky this weekend and make their college choice within two days.

"They told me they want to get it over with and really don't need to make a visit to Kentucky," former KU player Carl Henry said. "They know the styles of play of both coaches and will make a decision without making any more visits. That's what they told me."

Obviously, this could be interpreted either way, but my first feeling was of the "Uh Oh" variety. Then again, he's already chosen Coach Cal once, so he wouldn't necessarily need to make a visit to Kentucky to "learn his style of play." If he does commit to UK without ever setting foot on campus, this means Coach Cal is more influential than the Lexington campus. So much for the $30 million Craft Center.

Cattle Call

Brett Dawson of the Courier-Journal lets us know that even though Jodie Meeks and Pat Patterson may be spending time in the gym for the NBA scouts, they most likely won't be playing any 5-on-5 games for the scouts. In something of an NFL move, the NBA has adopted more of a cattle-call, or Keeneland horse sales, type of format for the collegiate athlete. Jodie and Pat will be probed, measured, critiqued on their horse lineage, go through agility drills, and interviewed more than anything else. This is something John Calipari says is a great change for these pre-draft camps, citing players in the past hurting their stock by not having good 5-on-5 games. Best of luck to Jodie and Pat. I hope the scouts say your both one year away from realizing your dream. That's not at all selfish, is it?

April 20th: On this date...

... in 1995, the University of Kentucky received letters of intent from Wayne Turner, Ron Mercer, and Nazr Mohammed. These three players were key cogs in the run of 1990's dominance for the Cats. Ron Mercer chose the Cats over the Vols, deciding to play with elite players as opposed to having to wear the color orange. Mercer had arguably the best start to a UK career in my lifetime. Wayne Turner, a McDonald's All-American from Boston, ended up playing more games than any other player in NCAA history at the time of his graduation. Nazr Mohammed, mostly known for his dominant performances on the JV team, developed into a pro prospect and was named 1998 All-SEC. Big day in UK recruiting lore.

UKcal.com

Weekend in Review

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Fairly uneventful weekend for Big Blue Nation. If anyone has any rumors about anything, I'll be glad to post them to start controversy. These are some highlights from the weekend that was, April 17-19, 2009.

• Cat Scratches has a recap of Friday's practice. Fans galore at Nutter to watch the practice. You wouldn't see fans showing up like this for any basketball practices. No word on whether or not said fans we there to watch football or simply hoping to see Calipari there.
• UK Athletics has a report on the football Cats second major scrimmage of the spring. The offense looked better. The only bad thing is that means the defense looked worse.
• The Jordan Brand Classic seemed more like a UK marketing campaign than anything else. Kwame Brown DeMarcus Cousins looked good, whenever he decided to follow his teammates down the floor. Henry, Wall, and Orton all looked like top high school prospects. Henry, Wall still toying with UK fans. Typical All-Star game.
• The Coolmore Lexington Stakes yesterday had the second largest crowd ever at Keeneland. Advice won at 15-1, giving Todd Pletcher possibly his third horse for Derby 135. For a recap, along with Derby 135 contenders, and Triple Crown notes, follow the link.
• Saturday night's UFC PPV was easily the worst main event in the history of human existence. Anderson Silva and Thales Leites probably threw a total of 18 punches in a full five rounds of "fighting". They circled each other for 25 straight minutes, leaving UFC President Dana White to issue an apology to all fans. It also looks like we've seen the last of the Iceman as well. At least he went down swinging.

April 19th: On this date...

... in 1968, University of Kentucky alumnus, actress, and superfan Ashley Judd was born. From the picture above, I will say I'm in the boat that says she has aged really well. Do not go telling too many people today is her birthday, as her Hollywood actress birthday is July 23, 1974. Ashley is most famous for her movies with Morgan Freeman and being the damsel in distress. She is also an AIDS activist, sister/daughter of The Judds, and looks very good in blue. She attended UK in the late 80's and early 90's, during the "Pitino's Bombinos" era.

Pitino on Blast?

Kind of a crazy story going on with Rick Pitino and Louisville right now.

Thoughts from reader Chris

I asked and I received. Chris sent me an email summing up his feelings of the past three weeks.

"Okay, I was one of those guys that said Gillispie should be able to stick around for at least one more year. Fine. I was wrong. Calipari was brought excitement back to UK and he hasn’t coached a game.

Coach Cal has brought in more talent in the last few weeks than BCG ever did. I am including Scott Padgett and Tony Delk in that statement. However, the signing period isn’t over and we still have a shot at the best PG prospect out there. And if he doesn’t come, we have a shot at the next two best available PG. That’s what Coach brings to the table.

FoxSports already has UK at the number 9 team in the nation. SportingNews has UK as number 3. That’s UK basketball and we have John “baggage” Calipari to thank for it.

Speaking of baggage. This guy actually only has a duffle bag for carry on. No luggage check. Why? Because he hasn’t done anything wrong. And I for one, am tired of hearing about this so called baggage.

Alright, thanks for reading. This is my first try so hang in there and I will try to get better.

CRN

PS - Plus Coach Cal had enough sense to buy a house in Lexington, not Nicholasville. What was BCG thinking?"

If anyone else has thoughts on anything or wants to give an opinion, send it my way and I'll throw it up. Enjoy your Saturday wherever you are and don't forget to check out the Jordan Brand Classic tonight at 8:00 pm on ESPN2 to watch some future Cats. We'll have a full recap later.

We're a Football school!

Rob Gidel over at KSR has your afternoon football fix if anyone's looking to kill some time. If not, get out and enjoy this weather.

April 17th: On this date...

... in 1996, the two senators from Kentucky got it right. Mitch McConnell and Wendell Ford sponsored a motion, following our sixth National Championship, declaring Kentucky to be "rightly known as the basketball capital of the world." Ford's speech went a lil' something like this:

"They rib us for taking our basketball too seriously in Kentucky. And apocryphal stories, about fans being buried in their Wildcat sweatsuits or calling on Coach Pitino to help settle their marital spats, sometimes make it seem so."

There were no objections to the resolution and there weren't even objections from the senators of North Carolina, Kansas, Indiana, and California.

In conclusion, we are not only the "Horse Capital of the World", but also the "Basketball Capital of the World", putting us one step closer to world domination. At least the senators of the great Commonwealth got their priorities straight on this day.

Fall 2009 can't get here soon enough

Reader Leon sends us the updated recruiting link from Rivals.com. The Cats currently sit at the #5 recruiting class for 2009, and you'd have to think we aren't close to being done yet. The current grade is based on Cousins, Orton, and Hood. With the addition of two or three more top recruits, you could probably go ahead and pencil us in as the 31st NBA team:

Lurking at No. 5, however, is Kentucky, who is now led by recruiting wizard John Calipari. The Wildcats are in the hunt for No. 1-ranked prospect John Wall and top-10 prospect Xavier Henry. If Kentucky lands just one of these prospects, they will jump straight to the top of this list.

Idle Hour Country Club it is!

If you haven't seen Coach Cal's new diggs, here are the details, pictures, and virtual tour.

Calipari has also already offered Lebron's two kids scholarships.

And only because you haven't heard it enough. Thanks to Andrea for the link.

Giggity Giggity Giggity

Some afternoon highlights from around the UK sporting landscape:

• Daniel Orton is coming to Kentucky. He and DeMarcus Cousins are all over Xavier Henry and John Wall to join them. Orton also thinks Pat's coming back. Did I mention they were talking 2010 Final Four?
• DeAndre Liggins says he would have left if Gillispie came back.
• The Jordan Brand Classic is on ESPN2 this Saturday night at 8:00 pm. The game will be played at Madison Square Garden. Daniel Orton, Xavier Henry, and John Wall are on one team. DeMarcus Cousins is on the other. No word if there are any other participants.
• Xavier Henry will make his college choice after he visits UK on the weekend of April 25-26.
• Coach Cal says he is confident DeMarcus Cousins will deliver. He tells the haters not to be too quick to judge.
• ***UPDATE*** - Jody Demling talked to Daniel Orton father and he said Daniel's recruitment will end soon.