Calipari 1.14 - Wall Sets Assist Record

Every bit of the conversation in my house before the game was talking about this being the last game we could guarantee some sort of record for Freak Show. It happened tonight as John Wall set the assist record for a single game breaking Travis Ford's mark of 15 set in the '90s. Other than that, it was an easy W for Big Blue Nation, 104-61, as we countdown the days to having intercourse inside of a restaurant.

To the highlights!

Pat had an easy game with 11 points - 3 rebounds - 4 assists. There were no post game speeches though. Pat must be showing the wear-and-tear from 2009.

Big Cuz got dirty again dropping 19 pints - 12 rebounds - 2 assists. His 19 minutes are starting to concern me. Maybe he should of fouling more.

John Wall had 11 assists in the first half (9 points - 16 assists total). The combo of Tony Delk/Scott Padgett let the staff know what he needed to do in half #2. Someone should suggest to him he needs more Oops!

Darnell Dodson surprised with 19 points and 8 rebounds. Seriously thought he was going for the three-point record tonight. We need to get that back.

Homeboy Darius Miller had a very quiet 16 points and 5 assists. More fact that this team is on the path to World Domination.

Big Blue shot 50% from beyond the arc (14-28) and 57% from the charity stripe (8-14).....Yes...and.....No.

We had 30 assists and only 7 TOs. I'll take it.

I hate Louisville. Thanks Dad!

And now, to the hottest headgear in Lexington! And DeMarcus Cousins foolin' with Freak Show.

I Am Woman, Hear Me Nayyyyyyyyyy

Rachel Alexandra let the boys know she is for real by winning the 134th running of The Preakness today in Baltimore. She led the entire way and held off Derby winner Mine That Bird by a length at the wire, becoming the first filly in 85 years to win the second leg of the Triple Crown. The way this race played out ultimately could set up a monster showdown at The Belmont in three weeks between the two. And while Mine That Bird and Rachel Alexandra don't have shots at the Triple, Calvin Borel does. And for a sport that seems to be on life support, marketing the sport around the humble, fast-talkin' cajun may not be a bad idea.

All of this leads me to one question: Was there anyone even there to witness it? The attendance in the infield today was brutal. To have that bad a showing in the second oldest horse race in the land was pathetic. The was a decent turnout in the stands, but that doesn't carry the weight of an overhead blimp shot of an infield during a Triple Crown race. The decision by the powers that be to not allow beer to be brought into the infield was simply a bad move in what is supposed to be a showcase weekend for your city. Keeneland drew better crowds in each of its three weekends. If this is what Baltimore brings to the table to help promote horse racing, bring the race to Lexington.

Preakness 134

"Nice pink hat, buddy!"

The 134th running of the Preakness got about as interesting as it could possibly get with the addition of Super-Filly Rachel Alexandra. You'll remember she dominated the Kentucky Oaks by 20+ lengths the Friday before the Derby, causing many to believe she's the best horse in the land. She will have her work cut out for her as she will be breaking from the outside, unlucky #13 post Saturday.

The previous owners were at fault for the Derby because she was never registered for it. The new ownership, however, are having none of that, as they want to see what their prized possession has against the best colts. Oh......and the last purchase made by the new ownership was Super-horse Curlin from a few years back. Those will be the most expensive babies ever whenever Rachel is retired.

Make no mistake, the only story this Preakness has going for it is Rachel Alexandra. She opened at the huge morning-line favorite for Saturday at 8/5. Mine That Bird, the Derby winner, is just the co-third choice at 6/1. To add insult to injury, the fun loving cajun Calvin Borel has dropped Mine That Bird and picked up the ride Rachel Alexandra, who he rode to victory in the Oaks. The more we see Borel on Saturday, the better for horse racing. Who cares if we can't understand a single word he says.

Preakness 134 post positions and odds.

BBB Kentucky Oaks recap

Cutler at it again

During today's Derby coverage, WLEX decided to poke a bit of fun at the Cutler/Gillispie chase interview. Not bad, considering they were on air for over eight hours today. Also, the Coach Cal interview with the notorious Jeannine Edwards.

Derby 135 - Everybody knows....about the Bird - Wow

Mine that Bird blew everyone's mind away today coming from absolutely dead last to storm through the field down the stretch. I had Pioneerof the Nile (2nd), Musket Man (3rd), Papa Clem (4th) paired with Summer Bird (6th) instead of Mine that Bird causing a momentary jolt of excitement, thinking I'd hit the trifecta. Uh, yeah, notsomuch.

Recap

Breaking sports news video. MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL highlights and more.

Ladies First - Kentucky Oaks 135

Anyone who witnessed the Kentucky Oaks today may have just seen the best 3-year old horse in the world. Rachel Alexandra absolutely destroyed the field in arguably the biggest race of the year for the ladies, leaving many to wonder if she would have been the winner of tomorrow's Kentucky Derby. The filly won by 20+ lengths, nearly broke the track record, and there was not a whip in sight throughout the whole race.

After the tragedy of Eight Belles in last year's Derby, some think the Rachel Alexandra connections didn't want to chance a potentially brutal running in a wild, twenty horse field. On the other hand, one is only left to hope if she will get a chance at the boys in the Preakness or Belmont. If she does, she will be the overwhelming favorite.

Kentucky Oaks recap

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."

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.

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.

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.

Weekend in Review

Find more videos like this on Kentucky Sports Network

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.

Staring down Derby 135

With all but one of the Graded Stakes races completed on the way to Derby 135, here is the updated earnings list going into Saturday's Coolmore Lexington Stakes at Keeneland. The top 20 have the opportunity to race in the Derby if they drop enough coin. So go ahead and take a look at the list and pick your horse based on name, jockey, or trainer. Because lets face it, you don't know anything about horse racing either.

If you'll notice, Square Eddie (#3 on the earnings list), will be running this Saturday in the Lexington. Seems like a bit much for a horse with enough Graded earnings to risk injury this close to the Derby, but this is why I'm not an elite trainer. The updated list of competitors for Saturday's race is here. For all things Derby 135, check out this page for prep race replays, horse workout info, or how to make an ugly Derby hat!

I Want Revenge and his 19-year old jockey, Joe Talamo, had a workout this morning. This was the tweet:

Talamo gave I Want Revenge an easy half-mile breeze :50. Fractions of :12 2/5, :24 2/5, :36 4/5, :50 and out 5 F in 1:04 3/5. 2 hours ago
I Want Revenge is standing calmly at the eighth pole. Talamo is patting his neck. Just began to jog in advance of the move. . .stay tuned.

Yeah, I don't really understand much of that either, but it sounds VERY impressive.

Kentucky Derby 135

It's never too early to start looking toward the Kentucky Derby. As crazy as it sounds, the 135th running is less than 25 days from today. Most prep races are either completed or will be by this coming Saturday night with the only exception being the Lexington Stakes April 18th at Keeneland. Here is a look at one site's Top 10 Derby 135 contenders. Churchill Downs also has a few experts look at their top contenders.

My favorite was The Pamplemousse until he got scratched for the summer. The Breeder's Cup Juvenile winner last year, Midshipman, is also hurt and out of the Triple Crown picture. Easily the most impressive prep race was conducted at Aquaduct for the Wood Memorial last weekend. I Want Revenge stumbled at the start and came from dead last to win with ease.........without the whip coming out...............................with 19-year old hot shot jockey Joe Talamo. Very impressive.