March 31st: On this date...

... in 2008 and 2009, something bad and something good happened on these dates, respectively.

On this date...in 2008, we found out that longtime Kentucky Basketball manager Bill Keightley passed away. You don't need me to tell you how beloved and important he was to the basketball program, the University, and the State, as nearly every Big Blue fan has a story or two about Keightley. Mr. Wildcat was on the bench for 1,113 of Kentucky's wins, or approximately 57% of the wins the University had at the time of his passing. Unbelievable.

On this date...in 2009, your University of Kentucky Wildcats ushered in a new era with the hiring of John Calipari as the men's basketball coach. He brought with him arguably the greatest recruiting class in the history of the sport (at the time). Coach Cal parlayed that into a SEC regular season title, a SEC Tournament Championship, a 32-2 record, and a #1 seed going into the NCAA Tournament. Not bad for an NIT team under the previous coach.

Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach