Calipari 1.37 - "Welcome to Basketball." Regards, Ashley Judd

Calipari 1.36 - More Like the Demon Weakens, Am I right?

Yeah. But Can They Solve A Rubik's Cube?

Yeah. But Can They Solve The Dribble Drive?

Calipari 1.35 - Cats Cruise to Round Two

Calipari 1.31 - Cats Win To Send Off Frosh, Junior on Senior Day

Calipari 1.30 - Cats Get Back on Track in Athens

Kentucky clinches at least a share of the SEC regular season title and will play next Friday at 1:00pm EST in Nashville.

Calipari 1.29 - Vols Hold Up Cats, Not With Guns Though

Magic Doing The Y, Jordan Next?

We're putting together quite the list of Y participants during the 2009-10 campaign. Quick.....name one from the Billy Clyde Era?

Cats Look For Revenge on Cocks, Little People

5'10" Darnell Dodson tries to guard the 2'3" Cock.

The last time these two teams met, it ended with a floor full of cocks trying to raise up on Big Cuz. Tonight, your university of Kentucky Wildcats try and avenge the only loss John Calipari has ever had in Lexington. Las Vegas says Big Blue should win by 16. And while I think that may be generous considering the opponent and its recent history against us, I have a ton of faith our Italian head coach is connected just enough to make those who gamble very uncomfortable as the clock winds down.

5 Game Notes

1. The gameplan is this: Keep Devan Downey from banking in 35-footers, or simply bring in John Hood to take the guy out. Nothing career threatening, just a liver shot to discombobulate him for an hour or two. Kidding aside, if we can get a committee to hold this guy in check, we should be OK, but we've known this for awhile now.

2. Big Blue Booyah Drinking Game: Take a drink every time Eric Bledsoe dribbles out of control or falls down. Take a drink every time they mention Darrin Horn and his association with Lexington/Kentucky.

3. Can Pat build on his past two solid performances? Coach Cal has called him out on it, let's see how he responds. Its getting to be crunch time, something all of our studs have never experienced. Who are we kidding, this guy needs a run to be considered among the elite-elite at this University. He's arguably the most important piece to the Indy puzzle.

4. As The 3-spot Turns: DeAndre Liggins seems to have solidified his role on this team. He knows what his limitations are. Will any of our other small forwards show progression as we get into March? Darius looked improved at Vandy. Darnell did not. Ramon is...........Is Ramon on the team still?

5. You might think I'm crazy, but I'd love to see Devan Downey get a standing O at the end of this game. We consider ourselves the greatest fans on Earth. If this is true, we should recognize greatness (or in this case greatness versus us) and not be afraid to give the Cat-killer his due respect. Now if the game is close, or we lose, screw that guy. But if the game is close to the Vegas spread, I'd love to see Darrin Horn sub for Downey when its out of hand and see Rupp give him some props. Of course, you'd have wake up everyone in the lower arena to do this, but its worth a try. That's why I'd argue we're the greatest. We recognize greatness.

Go Cats.

Calipari 1.27 - Wall's Block Keys Win in Music City

ESPNU Road Trip in Lexington

The In's & Out's of the New Uni

Cat Scratches has video of the new uniforms that tells about the intricacies of the design on the back. Something about freemasonry, secret passageways, hidden treasure, pentagrams, and the show Lost.

Calipari 1.24 - Cats Take Out Bama Via Boredom

Maybe it was the fact we missed the Bama run to start the game, or simply having to sit through another snoozy Rupp crowd, but last night's win over the Tide seemed like a rerun. The Cats, once again, came out flat and uninspired. That is until DeAndre Liggins came into the fold.

Saying this kid is a whole new player is the understatement of the year. Coach Cal was right, he wanted DL to come into the game and not even think about what he was doing when he was on the court. It almost seems like he tunes everything out when he's on the floor. The coach, the team, the fans, everybody. He constantly does his own thing all over the court, with the majority of those decisions being the correct one. Not to mention, he's becoming our most consistent three-point threat. In his 26 minutes, DL finished with 8 points - 7 rebounds. All day.

To the highlights:

• Freak Show (22 points - 10 rebounds - 3 steals - 2 assists - 6 TOs) has his highest point total since The Garden. He also went around the world one more time to make sure Bama knew he was the man.
• Freshmen had 12 of the 16 turnovers.
• Seeing Daniel Orton get to play with Pat instead of Big Cuz was very intriguing. If for no other reason than us being OK when Big Cuz gets tossed in the future.
• Speaking of Big Cuz, he seemed uninterested again, but still got a double-double (16 points - 13 rebounds). Dangerous combo.

All in all, a very boring game. Just the way we like it.

23-1. That's insane. Man.......I bet Memphis is PISSED.

Go Cats.

New Unfiorms Inculde New State Spleling

I'm not gonan lie, the new state speeling is vrey frseh. Cheers to Nike sweatshops!

Coach Cal has now gone a PR run via Tittwer. We amdire the efofrt Cocah.

Calipari 1.23 - Cats Dominant. Tigers Bleaux.

After spotting the Cajuns a few points (6-1) to start the game, Big Blue went on a ridiculous run (22-0) to put things away during the first half. The lead by the end of the first 20 was 42-14.

The highlight of the day included a three play stretch of a Big Cuz tip in, an Eric Bledsoe cram on a Big Cuz miss, and an around the world from Freak Show. Highlight number four was the fact Ramon made two separate shots.

No one played over 31 minutes and all 13 guys saw court time.

Liggins (7 points - 8 rebounds) balled again out in only 18 minutes of action.

Big Cuz (19 points - 13 rebounds) got his.

Pat (16 points - 5 rebounds - 2 blocks) played solid.

All in all, a very boring game. And that's just fine with me.

Go Cats.

Calipari 1.22 - Well-Rounded Cats Pounce on Rebels

Seriously? Seriously.

Kentucky got out fast and never looked back Tuesday night at Rupp to get past formerly ranked Ole Miss, 85-75, and run their record to an insane 21-1. Multiple first half runs pushed the margin to 18, but a game Ole Miss squad cut the lead in half by intermission. After the Rebels trimmed the UK lead to three in the second half, Coach Cal & Co. got the offense to perform when it was needed down the stretch.

To the highlights:

• The 26 NBA scouts that were on hand for the game got a little bit of everything and had to be impressed from nearly everyone they came to see, even the Ole Miss guys. Fast breaks, And-1's, blocks, step-back 3's, reverse alley-oop layups. Meh, just another day at the office.
• Big Cuz (18 points - 13 rebounds - 4 blocks) has single-handedly entered his name into the National Player of the Year discussion after absolutely destroying any SEC comers. Come to think of it, he's dominated everybody this year and it's not even close. The scouts have to LOVE this guy. Attitude be damned, you have to think there aren't five better players in the country at this point.
• Freak Show (17 points - 7 assists - 4 TOs) got back on track and hopefully silenced ESPN & friends for the time being after showcasing a complete game offensively and defensively. The four turnovers are hated, but it's become the norm for Mr. Wall. I repeat: He is a Freak.
  
• The missing piece seems to be Darnell Dodson (14 points - 3 rebounds, 4-5 3PM). He started off the game 4-4 from behind the arc and is exactly what we need from the three spot. Double D's defense isn't to be celebrated, as he gets abused by all comers, but the offense is sorely needed. I love Darius, but to see court time, it's apparent you have to offer something offensively. Right now, Darnell has the edge.
• DeAndre Liggins (5 points - 5 rebounds) put together another beastly game off the bench as he was all over the court doing anything the Cats needed. His energy off the bench is unmatched and it's easy to see how much more comfortable he is compared to 2008-09.
• I think it's safe to say everyone holds their breath when Eric Bledsoe (8 points - 8 assists - 4 steals - 7 TOs) is involved with any play. Sometimes good, sometimes bad.
• It almost seemed to me that something was wrong with Pat (12 points - 6 rebounds - 2 assists - 2 steals) tonight. Like he was keeping an injury on the DL. Something just didn't seem right. Coming out of the under 12 timeout, though, he played like a man possessed. They fed him the ball on back-to-back trips, he had some nasty rebounds, and filthy block to shut me up.
• Daniel Orton (4 points - 5 rebounds - 16 minutes) played some much needed minutes tonight and was able to give Pat a fairly long rest. He played solid, got some key rebounds when Ole Miss clawed back into the game and only had one foul!

All in all, another solid win for Big Blue as we lead the SEC, Big East, and whatever other conference you want to lead. Our tough stretch is around the corner, so rest up Big Blue Nation and get ready for Mardi Gras Saturday.

Go Cats.

Calipari 1.21 - Cats Rebound v. Commies, Take Control of SEC, Big East

Arguably the Cats greatest four-year player ever.

Kentucky got back on track against a recent nemesis with an impressive beating (85-72) of one of the hottest teams in the country. Vandy was leading the SEC with an unblemished mark, had won 10 straight, and had crept into the national polls. None of this mattered to the Boys in Blue as they focused on not losing their second game in a row.

The big story on the day was Lebron wearing a Kentucky-blue Harry Potter/Waldo cardigan during the Kentucky cheer in the second half. Very cool scene to have the greatest player in the World be a part of our own Path to World Domination. It's an unstoppable duo. The game as a whole, though, had to be one of worst ever to have the superstar witness. There was no flow in the game, it lasted eight hours, and the crowd was its usual sleepy self. With the exception of the run at the beginning (essentially putting the game away), the Rupp crowd showed LeBron they can nap with the best of 'em.

It was also apparent Freak Show knew LeBron was courtside, as he was seen talking to LeBron & Co. while he was on the bench. Seeing Wall get giddy on the bench and mouth, "Let's do it," to LBJ, leads me to a few points:

• I know LBJ isn't going to be at many games, but do the talking before or after the game. As rabid as our fan base is, if something goes wrong, we'll look for things as to why they did. And if we don't, Jerry Tipton will.
• Wall saying, "Let's do it," to LBJ, can only mean two things. Either LBJ said, "me & you next year, " which we all would love to see, or he said, "let's go to Camelot West on my way back to the airport." Not for sure what was said, but it was most definitely one of the two.
• With the Cutler report out that you're not having fun and you're not listening to coach, it doesn't help to be doing your own thing on the bench. It's hard to tell the exact context of Wall's statements to the Cut Man, just be careful. We haven't been relevant in a while.

The second story of the day for me was the start of Darnell Dodson over Eric Bledsoe. I'm not gonna lie, I kind of like it. Getting Dodson involved early on was key to the first half run that ultimately won the game. Easily his best game as a Cat (16 points - 7 rebounds) at a very crucial time. The defense is suspect, but who cares at this point. If the person gets by you, they have to face Pat, Big Cuz, or Orton. I'll take my chances.

Now we get to Big Cuz. The dude is a freak of nature and seriously has a chance to be an all-timer, but the attitude is costing him millions. Every game it's something...........every......game. Coach Cal needs to tell him before they take the floor each game that. "I know DeMarcus, it's not your fault." Then again, it's hard to convince the kid he's doing something wrong when he sees his stat line after each game. All it's gonna take is for a ref to be having a bad day before one of our games to cost the team for a week. Come on Big Fella, we love ya.

A few other notes:

• Pat got back on track via points (12 points - 4 rebounds), but something just doesn't seem right. Even when Big Cuz was on the bench, Pat was never in post-up mode. It seems like an eternity since Pat was taking people to school on the block. Is it a confidence thing? He does have to go up against DC every day in practice. That has to chip away at your confidence, right? Maybe I won't old Pat back, and have yet to come to grips that it's not going to happen. What say you?
• Eric Bledsoe (13 points - 7 rebounds - 3 assists - 3 steals - 1 TO) had a solid game off the bench. He still got his minutes (33) and we got someone else involved in the offense (DD). It will be interesting to see if Cal keeps this lineup Tuesday.
• We destroyed those poor Commies on the boards. We had 39 rebounds (18 offensive) to Vandy's 21 rebounds overall. Looks like we got the message.
• Liggins had another solid game (9 points - 4 rebounds - 2 steals - 25 minutes), while Darius is becoming an afterthought. Even Ramon got more minutes (9 vs. 8).
• I love Daniel Orton as much as he loves to foul.

Nice win and a good way to get back on track. There are a ton of underground stories with this team, and I am very interested to see how we come out against #18/#20 Ole Miss Tuesday night.

Go Cats.

Calipari 1.20 - Cocks Go Downey On Cats

Well, hello there Big Blue Nation!

President Barack Obama and NBC Nightly News got the last laugh on the Boys in Blue and jinxed our undefeated season. Mr. President made the fatal error of saying Kentucky should be able to get by USC, as they posed no real threat to our 20th win. One thing is clear after tonight's result...........the season has begun.

Our fearless leaders were exposed tonight in Columbia as Kentucky-killer Devan Downey poured in 30 points (9-29 FG) to help Cocky get a huge win over the #1 Cats. South Carolina outhustled, outworked, and outplayed a top-ranked team that simply looked uninterested the entire night.

To the highlights:

• Big Cuz improved his draft stock tonight with another insane performance (27 points - 12 rebounds - 3 blocks, 9-10 FT). Cousins also played a season-high 34 minutes tonight, smashing his average of just over 20 minutes/game.
• Freak Show gave us some flashes of brilliance again, but they were few and far between. He finished with 19 points and four big turnovers.
• I'm all for Pat playing passive and roaming around the court, but at some point he has to get involved. A player of his stature cannot only take four shots in a game. It's as if he's been invisible during the last month. If that continues, so will the close games/losses.
• Darnell Dodson got eight shots. If he can get eight, you can get eight, Pat. He's definitely not scared to shoot.
  
• How many bunnies did we miss tonight?
• You simply cannot let a team with the size of South Carolina beat you on the boards. They got 20 offensive rebounds. TWENTY! We got a bit friskier at the end, but it too was little too late. The only intensity that we saw during the entire game was when it really started to look dire.
• Here's to hoping the Cocks don't shoot the ball well in Rupp, which is destined to happen. They shot 34% from the field and only 25% from 3-point range. Uh oh.

We all knew it was going to happen. We probably even knew it would be soon. But it always hurts when it does. In other words..................It is what it is.

Cats are 19-1 going to Nashville coming to Lex. Bring your A game fellas. We'll need it.

Go Cats.

Cats #1, Coach Cal Thinks SportsCenter Anchor is a Jagoff

All that was wrong in the World of College Basketball has righted itself with the release of both the AP and ESPN/USA Today rankings. Your University of Kentucky Wildcats have unanimously taken over as the #1 team in all the land with their destruction of Arkansas.

And to celebrate the occasion, ESPN invited Coach Cal to be on SportsCenter today about 12:30 pm. Without a hitch, anchor John Buccigross asked Coach Cal how he thought the new #1 ranking correlated to Kansas making a three in the Championship game Memphis lost a few years ago.

Cal responded with (paraphrasing):

Now why would you go and bring up something like that. Are you from western Pennsylvania? Cause it seems like your a jagoff.

Everything seemed to be in good fun during the interview, at least on Cal's side. Not sure we can convince Mr. Buccigross it was good fun to be called an asshole/jagoff live on national television. Oh well, if they don't like it, I guess ESPN should have had someone beat us.

It's good to be back.

Go Cats.

***UPDATED (via Fanhouse)***

Here's the Transcript:

Buccigross: "You talk about luck and bouncing the ball, and certainly had you had that against Kansas, certainly your Memphis team would have been national champion."

Calipari: "Now why would we bring that up? That was two years ago, John. What are you trying to bring up memories of a three that goes through a rafter? And 'Why didn't you call a timeout?' And 'You should have fouled earlier.' I thought we were going to talk about Kentucky.

Buccigross: "Let's take a 20-second timeout."

Calipari: "You must be from Western PA, John. Where are you from?"

Buccigross: "Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania."

Calipari: "OK, so you're a jagoff. Basically, you're a jagoff."

With that, Calipari laughed, Buccigross changed the subject, and the interview went on.

***UPDATE #2***

Coach Cal makes sure everyone knows he and Buccigross go back 10+ years and were ribbing each other before they went on air. (Twitter)