Superman

The legend of John Wall is going nationwide faster than a private jet carrying Tiger to a late night booty call in Vegas. How can you argue though? No doubt about it, if John Wall played for anyone else I would hate him with as much passion as I have ever hated anyone. However, the fact is he is wearing the blue and white and I am just going to enjoy these 35 or so games we get with him and hope it brings a new banner to Rupp.

My brother brought up a good point that it is about time we as UK fans start treating Wall the way Florida treated Tebow. So to get us started off the right way I will say:

Tim Tebow wears John Wall underwear.

December 11th: On this date...

... in 2004, your 10th ranked University of Kentucky Wildcats beat Indiana 73-58 at Freedom Hall. Patrick “Booger” Sparks led the way for Big Blue that day tallying 16 points and six assists. Senior Chuck Hayes led the low post guys with 14 points and nine rebounds. The win pushed the Cats to 6-1 on the season and was the fifth straight win in the annual series with the Hoosiers. After Kentucky got out to a 33-24 halftime lead, Indiana cut the lead to five, 42-37, with eleven minutes to play. Kelenna Azubuike (7 points - 5 rebounds - 4 assists) then sparked an 11-0 run to put the game on ice. The candy-stripers from Bloomington were dominated in the post as Kentucky outscored them 38-10 in the paint. Along with Hayes, Randolph Morris (11 points) and 7'-3 Shagari Alleyne (10 points - 5 rebounds - 4 blocks) dominated down low. Bracey Wright led IU with 31 points on 6-12 shooting from 3-point range.

Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach

UP UP AND AWAY!!!!

Diaper Dandies doin' work...



And look at that elevation....

Calipari 1.09 - Tha Gahden!!! Mr. Shulman!!! Mr. Vitale!!!!!

Um......John Wall looked decent, eh? Feels good to witness a March Madness game in December, especially at the Mecca. After coming out on fire, Big Blue made the run it needed in the second half to secure yet another close win, beating UCONN 64-61. For some reason, I'm liking the close games this year. Cal's Cats move to "4-5" on the 2009-10 season in their Quest for 2000.

A few highlights from MSG.........BAY-BAY!

• I really loved the Refs tonight. There was so much flow to the game, especially when we got a lead in each half! Wished we would've had 6-7 foul out tonight. Almost positive Tim Donaghy was on the court.
  

• Love me some Daniel Orton: His line doesn't do him justice.

• Lost one of my lives when Pat went down early. The picture of watching him with a limp scared the begeezus outta me.....BAY_BAYYYY!!

• Demarcus Cousins needs a stomach punch from Coach Cal before every game. He was a monster in the second. He stepped up when Pat was having trouble in the 2nd 20. I will admit to being on his side for the majority of his fouls tonight. This will be my apology to Big Cuz.

• Big Blue Booyah Totem Pole hero Ramon Harris came up YOOOOGGGEEE, as they say nowadays. Darnell looked very iffy with the ball tonight, and in general (could be due to his....ahem....inactivity)

• Randall Cobb is no John Wall ................ per Randall.
  

• I'm still having trouble putting my head around the fact this is our team. John Wall is a 6th grader among infants. The quickness, thievery, and newfound J gives the privilege to the Big Blue Nation to see "LeBron in college". The whole world wanted to see LeBron play in college...................we are the fan base who gets to cheer for it. Think about that for a second.

Patrick Patterson. The Most Deserving Man in the History of The World.

How 'Bout Them Wildcats!

December 10th: On this date...

... in 2002, your 12th ranked University of Kentucky Wildcats outmanned Tulane 76-60 in New Orleans to win their fourth straight game. The Cats traveled to the Bayou as a favor to former Tubby Smith assistant coach Shawn Finney. It would hopefully give the Cats an early look at the scenery for the upcoming SEC Tournament and Final Four. (Dwayne Wade had other plans though, single-handedly taking us out in the Elite Eight with a triple-double: 29 points - 11 rebounds - 11 assists) Keith Bogans led Big Blue by going 5-5 from 3-point range and finishing with 21 points - 5 assists - 6 steals. Kentucky got out early and took a 45-26 lead to halftime and cruised from there. Tulane led for only two minutes at the beginning before UK got into its rhythm. Marquis Estill added 10 points and 7 rebounds. Jules Camara had 12 points and 5 rebounds. Sophomore Chuck Hayes added four points, nine rebounds, and four assists.

Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach

December 9th: On this date...

PaPaw's version of the shocker?

... in 2002, in what has easily become a blessing in disguise, Kentucky head football coach Guy Morriss resigned from his position at the University of Kentucky. It was a move that even the most loyal Kentucky fans knew in their heart he couldn’t be blamed. The NCAA was on the verge of coming down hard for the transgressions of the previous coaching staff, and Morriss didn’t want to be around that one bit. Scholarship numbers would be destroyed for the near future and Morriss had already spoke to Baylor about their head coach opening. The Wildcats would need a super-human. A man that even the great Chuck Norris would be impressed. A man that loved the outdoors. A man that would not be afraid to flip over in a boat on a fishing trip. A man who loved to watch tomatoes grow like an average human likes to watch television. A man who knew what he was getting himself into. A man looking for a challenge. This man’s name was Richard P. Brooks. The “P.” of course standing for PaPaw. It was a decision that gets held against Mitch Barnhart to this day, which is impossible to understand. Look who’s laughing now.

Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach

December 8th: On this date...

... in 2001, all-time Kentucky great Tayshaun Prince had his signature day as a Kentucky Wildcat. As Bill Raftery so duly noted, Prince had his “puppies set off the bus” as he came out on fire in Kentucky’s game vs. North Carolina in Rupp Arena. He started the game 5-5 from 3-point range, ending with a dagger from 105 feet away. The fifth had to simply demoralize an outmanned North Carolina bunch. Big Blue went on to win 79-59 in what was North Carolina’s first trip to Rupp Arena. Prince actually hit his sixth straight 3-pointer eight minutes into the game and ended the day 7-11 behind the arc. The line for the Compton, California native was 31 points - 11 rebounds - 4 assists - 4 steals. Seeing ya boy shaking his head after the second one gives me goosebumps to this day. It was an outstanding way to welcome the boys from Chapel Hill to Lexington. While the Heels were in their Billy Clyde-esque Era, I’m sure no Kentucky fan lost any sleep over it. Enjoy.

Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach

Having Trouble Waking Up This Monday Morning?

December 7th: On this date...

... in 1996, fresh off winning their sixth National Championship, your University of Kentucky Wildcats thrashed Robert Montgomery Knight and Indiana University in Freedom Hall, 99-65. The Hoosiers were ranked #8 that day, so it sent a message to everyone in college basketball that Kentucky was coming out swinging in defense of its title. Derek Anderson (30 points) and Ron Mercer (26 points) proved too athletic for the Chair-Throwing Candy-Stripers as the lead had grown to 55-31 by halftime. Even the human victory cigar Steve Masiello got in for three minutes and scored three points, all on free throws. I’m not going to lie, watching a young Rick Pitino blast Bobby Knight and Indiana each year was one of my favorite memories of the Pitino Era. The amount of frustration of Knight’s face during the games was abundant, as I’m sure we got to witness almost all of his “game-faces.”

Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach

December 6th: On this date...

... in 2003, your ninth-ranked University of Kentucky Wildcats took a road trip to Los Angeles to play UCLA in the John Wooden Classic. The outcome was a 52-50 slugfest win for the Good Guys. Some called it a game of defensive mastery, others called it a poor shooting effort from both teams. Big Blue shot only 27 percent from the field, as a hot Bruin team made 34 percent of their field goals. Erik Daniels finished the game with 14 points and nine rebounds, while Chuck Hayes added nine points and 13 rebounds. Hayes, Cliff Hawkins, and Gerald Fitch finished the day a combined 6-32 from the floor. The embarrassing 27-17 score at halftime was awful, except for the fact we were leading. Ben Howland’s team cut the lead to three multiple times in the second half, and the final tally was the closest UCLA ever got. Kentucky never trailed on the day. Something even John Wooden could appreciate.

Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach

THIS IS WHY THE BIG XII IS A JOKE

Because when they're best team loses, they put time back on the clock.

Calipari 1.07 - Cackalackee

December 5th: On this date...

... in 1953, Cawood Ledford called his first game as “The Voice of the Wildcats”. Coach Adolph Rupp led Kentucky to a 86-59 rout of Temple. The game was played in Memorial Coliseum. All-time great Cliff Hagan led the Wildcats that day with memorable performance of 51 points. Frank Ramsey (10 points) was the only other player in double figures. Cawood had to be smiling from ear-to-ear after witnessing Hagan score that many in his debut. The 27-year-old Ledford wouldn’t leave the radio broadcast for the next 39 years, as impressive a run as we’ve ever seen. Radio broadcasts would start off by Cawood signing in, “Hello everybody, this is Cawood Ledford.” He is also one of, if not the first, radio personality to announce which way the game would be played on the radio dial. His last game was in 1992. I’ll leave it at that.

Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach

December 4th: On this date...

... in 2008, your University of Kentucky announced plans to celebrate the life of long time equipment manager Bill Keighley during a December 7th game vs. Mississippi Valley State. Mr. Wildcat’s jersey would be retired into Rupp’s rafters for the final time during halftime. The University wanted to mark Keightley’s legacy in a multitude of ways. Among them were: a permanent spot on the Arena floor in front of Mr. Wildcat’s seat at the head of the bench; a black “K” on the uniforms; a silk ribbon on the shoulder of the uniform that read “Mr. Wildcat”; a Mr. Wildcat Catspy Award; an annual golf tournament; and a scholarship fund set up for future UK men’s basketball managers. The most visible difference on December 7th would be the black uniforms with each player’s number, but with Keightley’s name on the back. A very classy tribute for an all-time Wildcat legend.

Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach

Where is Rob?

December 3rd: On this date...

... in 2006, your University of Kentucky Wildcats accepted its first bowl bid in seven years after they were invited to the 2006 Music City Bowl in Nashville, TN. The seven year bowl drought, along with the fact Nashville is a morning drive away for most people, all but guaranteed Big Blue Nation would come out in full force for the December 29th showdown with Clemson. Big Blue finished the season on a strong note, after getting blasted by LSU 49-0 in Baton Rouge, winning four of their final five games. Those four wins gave UK a 7-5 overall record, and a 4-4 mark in the toughest division in college football. That record was good enough for a third place SEC East finish, but still not good enough to beat Tennessee or Florida. It was good enough, though, to beat any trash coming over from the ACC.

Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach

Because The Driver Gets More Distance?

Something tells me Tiger's gonna have a few less friends on Tour this year.

Jesper Parnevik, the Swede golfer who set Tiger up with his current wife, has a few things to get off his chest. When asked about Tiger-Gate recently, this was his reply:

"Maybe not just do it, like Nike says,"... "I would be especially sad about it since I'm kind of -- I feel really sorry for Elin -- since me and my wife were at fault for hooking her up with him," Parnevik said. "We probably thought he was a better guy than he is. I would probably need to apologize to her and hope she uses a driver next time instead of the 3-iron."

Boom. Roasted.

AOL FanHouse

December 2nd: On this date...

... in 1972, Kentucky great Joe B. Hall coached his first game as the head basketball coach for the University. The #8 Wildcats faced Michigan State at Jenison Fieldhouse in East Lansing, with the good guys winning 75-66. Jim Andrews led the way for UK, scoring 20 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. The honeymoon was over after game one, though, as Hall lost his next three games. I’m going to go out on a limb and say the rabid Kentucky fan base took these three losses with a grain of salt and moved on with their lives. What, you don’t think that’s how it went down? Joe B and kids rebounded nicely and ended the season 20-8, including a 10-game win streak from February-March. The last loss of the season was Regional Finals loss to Indiana. Hall went on to coach 13 seasons at the University and compiled 297 wins, losing only 100.

Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach

Calipari 1.07 - UNC Asheville

John Wall's left-handed "Kiss The Rim" was easily the second best highlight of the night.

What tops that, you ask?

The near universe-shaking Hood-to-Krebs fast break ally attempt. Just the attempt is enough for me to be the top highlight o' the night! If they throw that down, then turn around to John Wall and throw a DX "Suck It", it's the best moment in the history of Kentucky basketball. That's inarguable. It's physics.

December 1st: On this date...

... in 1950, your University of Kentucky Wildcats played their first basketball game in Memorial Coliseum, beating West Texas State. Bill Spivey led the Cats that day with 18 points, hitting seven field goals and making four free throws. The official attendance was 8,000 to see Adolph Rupp usher in what would become an overwhelmingly difficult place to play for Kentucky opponents. The Wildcats hold an all-time winning percentage of (.890) in Memorial, with a 307-38 record. The most recent win coming in the Spring of 2009 as there was a conflict between Kentucky’s NIT game vs. UNLV and the KHSAA Sweet Sixteen. It was a raucous atmosphere, as the tickets were given out in a first come-first served basis, virtually guaranteeing no one sleeping during the game, like most Rupp Arena crowds. Memorial Coliseum cost $3.9 million to build, roughly equivalent to how much John Calipari makes per win.

Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach