December 25th: On this date...

... in 2009, all of us here at Big Blue Booyah and Tom Leach Productions wish you a Merry Christmas. Eight days and counting. Eight days.

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Merry Christmas from The Booyah's!

December 24th: On this date...

... in 1981, an ultra-fast 6'1 point guard (with one of the sickest crossover’s in Kentucky basketball history) was born in Dumfries, Virginia, by the name of Cliff Hawkins. This year he turns 28 years old, allowing all Big Blue diehards to feel just a little bit older this holiday season. Hawkins holds the record for most steals in a single season by a senior with 74 (2003-04). That number (74) places him fourth on the all-time single season mark for steals. He ranks third on the career list for steals with 199, behind only Wayne Turner (238) and Tony Delk (201). Hawkins also ranks seventh on the Kentucky list for assists in a career with 468, behind only a Who’s Who list of UK all-timers. One of his most memorable games came as a freshman (2000-01) when Kentucky and North Carolina renewed their rivalry in Chapel Hill. He came off the bench to spark the unranked Cats to drub the 6th-ranked Heels, 93-76. He finished the game 5-9 FG - 11 points - 5 assists - 3 rebounds in 18 minutes of action replacing Saul Smith at point guard. Oh, and this happened v. Louisville.

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Calipari 1.13 - Wildcat Win Sets Another Record!

For all the suckers out there gobbling up the UK2K tees, your University of Kentucky basketball Cats quickly outdated those and presented UK2K1 shirts to the crowd after the game today. At this pace, even the boosters won't be out any money for the Calipari signing. Cal's contract will be paid for from simply black Nike t-shirt sales.

The Kids looked a bit lethargic today, but pulled out a win nonetheless against pesky Long Beach State, 86-73. The win moved Kentucky to 13-0 on the season, the best start for a Wildcat basketball team since the 1977-78 season and the longest winning streak since 2002-03.

Unfortunately, the story of the game was terrible officiating for both sides, as the phantom foul seemed to be almost as prevalent as a Boogie temper-tantrum.

To the highlights:

• Pat (15 points - 11 rebounds) recorded the 27th double-double of his career, sixth of 2009-10. He also moved within eight points of passing Jodie Meeks on UK's all-time scoring list. Pat currently sits in a tie at #34 with Tom Parker.

• After another game of early foul trouble, Boogie stormed back into the picture with a strong second half. Cousins notched his fifth double-double on the year (15 points - 10 rebounds) and his first technical! It's a matter of time before he gets thrown out of a game. I'm guessing a road game in the SEC against a veteran low-post guy. Big stretch, eh?

• Freak Show ended the game with a quietly efficient 19 points - 4 rebounds - 5 assists - 4 steals. Early foul trouble hurt Wall, but he finished the game 2-3 from behind the arc and only two turnovers. Ho-hum.

• When all of our studs got in foul trouble in the first half, the role players really stepped up to keep us in the game. Ramon, Harrellson, and DeAndre provided solid(ish) defense and enough competence on offense to keep the game close until intermission.

• The over/under for the phrase "already had their bags packed" on the news or in the paper should be set at approximately 38.5.

Merry Christmas to Big Blue Nation.

Go Cats.

December 23rd: On this date...

... in 1993, Jeff Brassow tipped in an errant shot by Roderick Rhodes as time expired to give your University of Kentucky Wildcats the Maui Invitational Championship. The tip gave Kentucky a 93-92 win over Arizona in what was Big Blue’s first ever trip to Maui. Bill Raftery exploded from the telecast shouting, “BRASS-OW... BRASS-OW... COMES UP BIG!!!" Rick Pitino went ballistic rushing the court in celebration grabbing Brassow and doing a doe-si-doe around the court. He then realized Lute Olsen was waiting for him to shake hands and he quickly wiped the smile off his face. Tournament MVP Travis Ford led all Cats with 25 points on 7-14 3-point shooting in the final contest. As a team, Kentucky went 15-34 from behind the arc, but only 6-7 from the free throw line. Arizona was led by one of the most prolific backcourts in Arizona history, Khalid Reeves and Damon Stoudamire. Basketball Gods took note of this game and Arizona cashed in its voucher a few years later in the most heart-breaking fashion.

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Another Ho-Hum John Wall Highlight

Calipari 1.12 - Y-UK2K? Because We Can

In just eight months on the job, John Calipari won his 2,000th career game for your University of Kentucky Wildcats Monday night with a 88-44 beatdown of the Drexel Drexlers. This epic atmosphere showed what Kentucky basketball is all about. A celebration of its past and present showcasing everyone from descendants of Adolph Rupp to John Wall and everyone in between, except Eddie Sutton and Billy Gillispie!

To the highlights:

• BREAKING: John Wall is apparently a freak of nature. The final six points of half number one left Big Blue Nation in a "rabid" state.

• Pat hurt his rebounding average tonight with only one rebound, but finished it up with a post game speech. We'll call it even.

• Big Cuz padded his stats throughout the game banking bunnies back to himself finishing the game with 18 points and 13 boards.

• DeAndre Liggins could make things interesting in 2010.

• We only committed seven fouls. I know there's a homecourt advantage, but seriously.

• I loved seeing The Cat and Big Cuz doing the John Wall Dance in the celebration afterwards. Its sweeping the nation.......and the team.

• I also loved seeing Pat call Bledsoe out (sarcastically) on the bench after Bledsoe left the game due to injury. Pat yelled, "He's weak!" Bledsoe looked at him and shook his head. Minutes later, while everyone was sitting on the bench, Pat stood up and checked himself in the game. The advantages of being The Man.

In other news, Derek Anderson is making a documentary about the '96 Untouchables due out in February.

What a night.

Go Cats.

December 22nd: On this date...

... in 2001, your 7th ranked University of Kentucky Wildcats took out an unranked Indiana squad, 66-52, as 12 Cats saw action in Indianapolis’ RCA Dome. Kentucky was led by all-timer Tayshaun Prince’s 17 points and 11 rebounds and Cliff Hawkins’ 17 points and five assists. Once again Tubby’s defense was the story of the game, holding the Candy-Stripers to 32% shooting on the day. Hoosier head coach Mike Davis let his feelings be known days leading up to the game when he announced he, “hated Kentucky with a passion...in the worst way.” That was great and all, as his team apparently did more hating than scoring. Tayshaun bottled up Indiana star Jared Jeffries by holding him to 4-15 shooting, while dominating him on the offensive end. It was Big Blue’s ninth win in eleven tries in the storied basketball rivalry. Kentucky shot a solid 46% from the field and held a 43-36 rebounding edge to keep things in check.

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December 21st: On this date...

... in 2002, a border war between Kentucky and Indiana contained a meltdown of epic proportions as Indiana head coach Mike Davis stormed the court to protest a non-call from the officials. To this day, it’s the longest an official has taken to give a coach a technical foul in the history of the universe. Davis was literally flailing around on the court for what seemed to be an eternity before he got the first technical. Then, the referee (Bert Smith) tried to get Davis to “Walk away” numerous times before finally ejecting him. The sixth ranked Hoosiers came into Freedom Hall on a high note, but walked out shell-shocked. The 16th ranked Kentucky Wildcats took down the candy-stripers 70-64 in Freedom Hall to push the series run to eight wins in nine seasons. Big Blue grabbed 19 offensive rebounds that day to key the win. Keith Bogans (17 points), Gerald Fitch (16 points), Marquis Estill (14 points), and Chuck Hayes (8 points - 9 rebounds) helped the Cats to the memorable win.

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December 20th: On this date...

... in 2003, sixteen different Wildcats saw action as your University of Kentucky blasted Indiana, 80-41, in Indianapolis. Only four Hoosiers scored on the day as Kentucky exploded after what was only a six point halftime lead. The Kentucky defense held Indiana to a paltry 24% shooting in what was a basketball clinic in the second half. Chuck Hayes (22 points - 10 rebounds), Erik Daniels (19 points - 10 rebounds), and Kelenna Azubuike (11 points - 8 rebounds) dominated the post on their way to helping UK have a ridiculous 54-25 rebounding edge. The second-ranked Cats (top-ranked in ESPN/USA Today poll) shot 55% and held IU to just 15 second half points. The 39-point margin was the biggest win ever in the storied history of this rivalry and was Kentucky 11th win in 13 tries in the series. Azubuike mad the only three-pointer on the day to keep the streak alive, as Big Blue was only 1-8 from behind the arc. A classic game for Wildcat fans everywhere and a season where Tubby’s guys would earn a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

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December 19th: On this date...

... in 1891, prior to a football game with Centre College, students of your University of Kentucky Wildcats adopted its school colors......................Blue and...........Yellow? The shade of Blue of was decided on when a student asked “What color blue?” A football letterman, Richard C. Stoll, then took off his necktie and raised it into the air. The particular shade of blue on Stoll’s necktie was then adopted as the school’s official color. The yellow part of the school color was a light yellow and lasted less than a year. The second color (White) was adopted in 1892 and has stayed ever since. Blue-White rolls off the tongue a bit better than Blue-Yellow you have to admit.

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December 18th: On this date...

... in 2004, a Freedom Hall record basketball crowd of 20,088 witnessed Patrick “Booger” Sparks hit three free throws with 0.6 seconds left in regulation to push #8 Kentucky past #13 Louisville, 60-58. Sparks had two Louisville big men running at him with time running out and (instead of getting blocked) faked a three-pointer to draw the most crucial foul of the afternoon. The day didn’t start out so great, though, as Kentucky shot 5-24 in the first half and trailed 32-16 at halftime. It tied the largest halftime deficit UK had overcome to win a game (with the 1994 Mardi Gras Miracle) in program history. Sparks was on fire from deep going 5-8 and finishing with 25 points and 5 rebounds. Kelenna Azubuike added 12 points and Chuck Hayes gave a solid 6 point - 9 rebound - 4 assist effort to keep everything under control down low. Tubby used his bench to the tune of thirteen players seeing floor time, compared to seven on the Rick Pitino side. The win stopped a two-game losing streak to Rick Pitino and the Restaurants.

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December 17th: On this date...

... in 1930*, legendary basketball coach Adolph Rupp got the first of his 876 wins as the head basketball coach of the University of Kentucky. The game occurred in Alumni Gymnasium v. Georgetown College and Big Blue dominated the Tigers 67-19. The break neck fast-break style of game led to many uncontested baskets for Kentucky as the outmanned Georgetown squad looked on in amazement. Harrodsburg, KY-native Forest “Aggie” Sale led the Wildcats that day with 19 points, further proving the point that you don’t mess with Mercer County. After dominating the first half 38-9, Georgetown rallied to only lose the second half 29-10 for the final tally. Coach Rupp went on to post a .961 winning percentage for the rest of his time in Alumni Gym and a career mark of 876-190 over 41 seasons (an .822 winning percentage). The Cats started Rupp’s first season with 10 straight wins and finished the season 15-3, losing in the Southern Conference Tournament Championship to Maryland, 29-27.

* - Actually happened on December 18th, but you have to include this, right? You’ll see why tomorrow.

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Wazoo Sports Releases Schedule, Christmas in Kentucky Delayed

In a bold move that will surely make the wives' of Big Blue Nation members irate, the people at Wazoo Sports have released their TV schedule for December 25th. Apparently, they are some sort of extremist group trying to put an end to Christmas in Kentucky, or at least delay it. Families all across the Bluegrass best be high alert and/or have a clean DVR. Without further ado:

Wazoo Sports Classic Basketball for December 25th (Digital Channel 18.2/Insight Cable Channel 524)

7:30 am - Kentucky v. Syracuse (1996) - spending quality time with family, opening stocking, presents, etc.

10:00 am - Kentucky v. Duke (1992) - upon arriving at first family function of day, spike egg nog and start hittin' it hard. Sit quietly in corner and rock back and forth until lunchtime.

12:30 pm - Kentucky v. Duke (1998) - after engulfing lunch, abruptly leave table, stopping along the way for more Nog.

3:00 pm - Kentucky v. Stanford (1998) - Either speed back home or to the next house, obviously with your wife driving. Bum-rush the Nog and sweet treats at the new location. Don't try and hide the liquor any longer, we're on the verge of a Championship!

5:30 pm - Kentucky v. Utah (1998) - Your entire family is in the corner now, fearing for their life. This was supposed to be Little Timmy's most memorable Christmas. Instead, you've let him in on a dirty lil' secret. Daddy is maniacal about this Blue basketball team. And will celebrate his love at anyone's cost. Big Blue Nation grows by one as you approach the 8:00 pm hour.

8:00 pm - Louisville vs. Duke (1986) - Really? Be sure and check the ratings dip for me Wazoo.

10:30 pm - Louisville v. UCLA (1980) - Seriously? Even Louisville fans care nothing about this.

1:00 am - Louisville's other big win? - Sorry. Didn't catch the rest of it. You won't be watching anyway.

Jeff Sheppard and his boys over at Wazoo sure are testing their limits pushing all of this on Christmas. Congrats Jeff, you may have just become Grinch to all the ladies of this Blue Dominated World. Don't worry, though, the fellas of Big Blue Nation have your back.

December 16th: On this date...

... in 2006, was the last time Kentucky beat Louisville in basketball. It was also Orlando “Tubby” Smith’s last time playing Louisville as the University of Kentucky head coach. The 61-49 victory wasn’t pretty, but a win is a win against those filthballs down I-64. Freshman Jodie Meeks scored a career-high 18 points (4-7 from beyond the arc) and junior Ramel “Smooth” Bradley added 15 points and a team-high six rebounds to key the Wildcats. It was Tubby Smith’s third consecutive win in the series after starting an uneasy 3-4 against the Red Birds to start his UK coaching career. Tubby’s defense led the way, holding the Losers to 27% shooting (3-24 from 3 point-range). Randolph Morris was out of the game by the first TV timeout due to fouls, which allowed the Polish Nightmare Lukasz “Woo” Obrzut to get some quality minutes. His line: 3-5 FG - 6 points - 5 rebounds - 4 fouls. Solid.

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Calipari 1.10 - Second Half Spurt Hoses Hoosiers

The Blue's look on point again as Eric Bledsoe showed Big Blue Nation that he has a lil' Tayshaun in him. Some highlights from Bloomington:

• Bledsoe's performance (8-10 FG, 4-5 3PM, 23 pts)

• Pat's double-double (19 pts - 11 rebs) and Freak's near triple-double (11 pts - 8 assts - 7 rebs).

• Trying to find celebrities while the Cats were shooting free throws.

• Big Cuz showing his potential with another gritty second half performance (14 pts - 8 rebs - 5 offensive)

• Ramon is finding his niche with this team. Its amazing how much better he looks when he's not depended on for 36 minutes/game.

• Liggins finally getting some PT, 60 seconds, and being seemingly lost for 58 of them.

Oh, and this Freak on the fast break:

December 15th: On this date...

... in 2003, senior offensive extraordinaire Derek Abney was named a second team All-American by the Associated Press. He was named to the team as simply an all-purpose player, as you had to get him in the fold somehow. Abney led the Southeastern Conference in all-purpose yardage averaging just under 152 yards per game. Big Blue used Abney in almost every facet of the game, as he ran, caught, and returned his way to the record books. All of this came on the heels of a consensus selection as a first team everything across the board in 2002 (AP, ESPN, Football Writers, Walter Camp, CBS Sportsline, CNNSI, to name a few)after returning a record six kicks for touchdowns. Abney ended his career with five NCAA records, 11 Southeastern Conference records, and 14 University of Kentucky records for returns and all-purpose yards. He was also the first player in NCAA history to have 2,000 receiving yards, 2,000 kickoff return yards, and 1,000 punt return yards in a career.

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December 14th: On this date...

... in 1924, your University of Kentucky Wildcats played their first ever basketball game in storied Alumni Gym, beating Cincinnati, 28-23. The Gym was completed for the 1924-25 season after the Board of Trustees complained the Barker’s Hall Buell Armory was unsafe for the amount of fans trying to see the game. Near riots occurred as fans were turned away game after game because of safety concerns. Known as the “White Elephant”, the 2,800 seat, $100,000 structure is considered the birthplace of Kentucky’s storied basketball tradition. In 1928, torrential downpours flooded downtown Lexington and Alumni Gymnasium, which included all of the basketball offices in its basement. Any and all records for Kentucky basketball were thus lost. (After a bit of research, I concluded that Kentucky basketball went 126-0 and won 22 National Championships.) In 1930, Adolph Rupp came in and started the official reign of dominance. In 19 seasons, Rupp’s record at Alumni Gym was 201-8.......seriously. The University’s overall record in 26 total seasons was 247-24, a .911 winning percentage.

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December 13th: On this date...

... in 2003, in a game that would be titled “Basketbowl”, your University of Kentucky Wildcats played the Michigan State Spartans at Detroit’s Ford Field. The reason the game was called “Basketbowl” was because the schools were attempting to set a World Record for basketball game attendance. And they did. The official attendance was 78,129, setting a mark unmatched by anyone else in the history of the Universe. Big Blue never trailed throughout the contest and won the game by a score of 79-74. Tubby Smith proclaimed, “We aren’t intimidated by this kind of atmosphere.” No word on whether 2009 Tubby would be intimidated by 2009 Detroit, a shell of its former self. The Wildcats were led by Gerald Fitch’s 25 points (4-6 shooting from 3-point range) and Chuck Hayes’ dominance down low (17 points - 12 rebounds - 4 assists - 2 blocks - 2 steals). The uncommon atmosphere proved no big deal for Kentucky, as they shot a fiery 60% from the field.

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December 12th: On this date...

... in 1987, your #1 ranked University of Kentucky Wildcats moved to 4-0 as they escaped with a 76-75 squeaker over unranked rival Louisville. Cedric “Swoop” Jenkins tipped in a basket as time was running out to give the Wildcats a victory in front of 23,489 fans at Rupp Arena. After racing out to a 45-32 halftime lead, Kentucky allowed Denny Crum’s Cardinals to cut it to 60-59 with just under nine minutes left to play. Louisville’s Pervis Ellison ( 20 points - 13 rebounds - 5 assists - 4 steals - 3 blocks) was a big part of the comeback as he dominated the low post for 39 minutes and 59 seconds of the rivalry game. That lone second turned out to be huge as Ellison left Jenkins under the basket alone (to cover a wide open Rex Chapman) for the winning tip. High scorers for the Good Guys were: Rex Chapman (21 points); Ed Davender (20 points); Winston Bennett (14 points), and Eric Manuel (8 points).

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