May 19th: On this date...

... in 2009, your University of Kentucky Wildcats received a commitment from Freak Show, John Wall. With all due respect for everything else that happened on this day in Big Blue history, this news takes the cake. We were able to witness a point guard with talent none of us had seen before. It only lasted for one year, but the ride was top notch. That's it, I got nothing else for ya.

Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach

May 18th: On this date...

... in 1989, Kentucky Athletic Director C.M. Newton let everyone know he would be going after New York Knicks head coach Rick Pitino to succeed Eddie Sutton as the University's head coach. This news angered New York Knick top brass, as they were in the middle of a playoff run. The Knicks were preparing for a Game 7 in Chicago against Michael Jordan and the Bulls. The New York Times referred to the courting of Rick Pitino as "The Kentucky bombshell." Years later he had restaurant sex while eating linguini.

Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach

May 17th: On this date...

... in 1975, Dan Issel and Artis Gilmore led the Kentucky Colonels to a 3-0 lead in the ABA Finals, beating the Indiana Pacers 109-101 in Indianapolis. Issel had 26 points and Gilmore had 41 points and 28 rebounds to help the Colonels win their first and only ABA Championship just a few days later. The Colonels were the overall #1 seed in the playoffs after winning 23 of their last 26 games. Former Rupp Runt Louie Dampier added 13 points in the victory. The Colonels, ironically, were known for having great crowds and a rabid fan base, and consistently had one of the better teams in the league. In the Championship year, Kentucky was coached by NBA all-time great coach Hubie Brown. Kentucky was a member of the ABA for all nine seasons and amassed the most wins of any franchise with 448.

Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach

May 16th: On this date...

... in 1991, UK-bound transfer from North Carolina, Clifford Rozier, chose to attend Louisville instead. His recruitment by the University of Kentucky was ended after learning of an NCAA violation. On a recruiting visit to Lexington, his host Sean Woods took him to a party in Louisville, violating the 30-mile visit rule. Sources tell me, it was Rozier's penchant for Keith Sweat that was actually the tipping point in determining whether or not he was Wildcat material. This once again proves nothing good ever happens when you visit that filthy city, with the exception of public sex in a booth.

Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach

May 15th: On this date...

... in 1981, former Wildcat great Rick Robey helped lead the Boston Celtics to their 14th NBA Title. They beat the Houston Rockets behind an MVP performance from Cedric Maxwell and Larry Bird's 27 points in the series clincher. Robey was a key bench player who often gave breaks to "The Chief" Robert Parrish. In 17 playoff games, Robey tallied 86 total points. After the Celtics wrapped up the title, it helped make Rick Robey the fourth Wildcat to own both an NBA and NCAA ring. The others being Frank Ramsey, Cliff Hagan, and Lou Tsioropoulos.

Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach

May 14th: On this date...

... in 2008, Johnny Rondo hit back-to-back 3's to help the Celtics win a crucial Game 5 over the Lebron's (Cavs) 96-89. Rondo ended the game with 20 points - 13 assists. Many of the local Boston papers claimed Rondo was the key to the game as he dominated the point at each end of the court. But it was a pair of 3's from the often maligned outside shooter that keyed the run giving the Celtics their first lead of the game. The Celtics went on to win the series and the NBA Championship as Bostonians proclaimed Rondo the perfect piece for their Big Three. After this Championship, many UK fans came out of the woodwork saying they knew Rondo would be this good. Not to mention it gave them another reason to rail on Tubby. In 2010, Rondo and the Celtics made the LeBron's look foolish as they forced him to quit down the stretch. In 2011, the tables were turned as Lebron's new super team dislocated Rondo's elbow, ending the Celtics chance. 

Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach

May 13th: On this date...

... in 1988, King Rex broke the hearts of every little kid in the state of Kentucky by declaring for the NBA Draft. The junior-to-be knew what was on the horizon with NCAA death penalty around the corner. Prop 48 had taken two top prospects away from the upcoming season, and many thought the 1988-89 season was a disaster in the making. Chapman said the pressure of being in the UK fishbowl was the ultimate tipping point in his decision to turn pro. He was selected 8th overall in the 1988 NBA Draft by the expansion Charlotte Hornets. Rex was formerly in the front office of the Denver Nuggets and his son, Zeke (class of 2011), is quite the basketball player (Ball State). Rex can now be found dominating his Twitter game.

Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach

May 12th: On this date...

... in 1997,  the man who enjoyed taking a bath replaced (the newly departed) Rick Pitino as the head basketball coach of your University of Kentucky Wildcats. Orlando "Tubby" Smith formally accepted the offer for his dream job, leaving SEC foe Georgia. As critical as I was during Tubby's last few years, the decision to hire him was the perfect choice. No one can deny this if for no other reason than he won the National Title in year one. You can say all you want about Pitino's players, yada-yada-yada, but we also had the best team in 1997 with Rick and didn't win it all. Nothing is guaranteed, and even most irrational UK fans should know that. Obviously, its much easier for me to say this after experiencing the last 166 weeks of Kentucky basketball under John Calipari, but whatdoyado. Orlando was the first African-American basketball coach for the University and it was a seminal moment in our program's history. His first team went 35-4, won the SEC with a 14-2 record, and won the SEC Tourney by 30. Whether or not you're a Tubby guy or not, the man can coach and will forever be a part of UK lore. His day in Rupp, or wherever we are, will come and it will be well deserved. No man or his family should have to go through some of the things they went though during their time here. Time heals all wounds and that is especially true for Tubby Smith. Also last year (May 12, 2011), we learned Tubby had been diagnosed and beat prostate cancer. Cheers!

Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach

May 11th: On this date...

... in 2011, junior pitcher Alex Meyer continued to be showered with National Player of the Week honors after a complete game shutout of #1 ranked Vanderbilt. The season as a whole hadn't gone as the Cats intended, but Meyer was having quite the season. Meyer led the SEC in innings pitched (87.2), strikeouts (96), complete games (4) and complete game shutouts (2). The win was UK's first over a #1 ranked team since 2007, a team featuring the great David Price, the overall #1 pick in the MLB Draft (Tampa Bay Rays). Meyer didn't allow a runner to reach second base until the 7th inning, faced the minimum through six, and only allowed five singles on the afternoon. The 6'9", 220 lb junior was drafted 23rd overall by the Washington Nationals. He is currently pitching for Hagerstown of the SAL and will throw against the Legends in Lexington tonight.

May 10th: On this date...

... in 2009, your University of Kentucky Wildcat head football coach Richard P. Brooks (P = PaPaw) was not going to be outdone by the newly popular basketball coach John Calipari and his publicity tour. PaPaw chose not to shy away from this Internet/Twitter world and dipped his toes into the scary scene. Brooks had not been to the Calipari school of branding, or so we thought. It turns out PaPaw may have invented that school, or at least graduated with honors, because his tweets were magical.

From Mother's Day 2009:

"Planted some tomatoes yesterday and can’t wait for them to start. I love fresh tomatoes."

I dare you to find a tweet or twitterer that can get a fan base more fired up than that. God Bless Rich Brooks. Thanks for all you did, and everything you harvested.

Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach

May 9th: On this date...

... in 2009, your University of Kentucky head coach attempted to grab more followers for his Twitter account by holding a raffle. What was the item? It would be an autographed t-shirt from a close friend and new Big Blue Nation member, Lebron James. What would the chances be of winning such an item? The days leading up to the raffle pushed him over the 20K mark for Twitter followers, and the winner would come from that pool. While most national media would say this was a shady salesman bribing people to like him, a new fan base saw an opportunity to cash in from the coach they were super-excited to have on board. Coach Cal continued his giveaway throughout the summer, and in doing that, became the most popular coach in any sport on Twitter. He currently sits with just under 1.189 million Twitter followers. Who was the winner? It wasn't me, so who cares. Below is video from the presser announcing the winner.

Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach

May 8th: On this date...

... in 2009, your University of Kentucky Wildcats and new head coach received word that Patrick Patterson would in fact return to Lexington for what would be his third and final season. Once this news hit the wire, the bookie's in Las Vegas bumped Kentucky from third choice (15/1) to win the 2010 Championship to second choice (10/1). Even weirder, Louisville's odds changed as well. They started the offseason as clear cut second choice at (8/1), behind only Kansas (7/1), but when news of Patterson broke, the filthy ones moved from 8/1 --> 10/1. This information can be used as verification that all things basketball go through the city of Lexington, not Louisville, in the Commonwealth and throughout the World. And if you remember accurately, it wouldn't be the last time these odds would move before the season started. Coach Cal would snag one more person before the month would expire.

Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach

May 7th: On this date...

... in 1998, slender '96er Walter McCarty made his on-screen debut playing "Mance" in Spike Lee's basketball movie, "He Got Game." The film featured Denzel Washington, Ray Allen, Rick Pitino, Rosario Dawson, Jim Brown, and a personal favorite John Turturro. The Spike Lee joint opened to 1319 movie screens across the nation and finished with a $7 million opening weekend. Which in 2012, is the equivalent to approximately $7.6 millions. Kudos Waltah.

... in 2003, Waltah kept his entertainment career alive by releasing the above album, Moment For Love. The R&B record featured dope songs such as: It's On Tonight, Freaky Wit Me, and Love You The Right Way. Walter had a habit of being in front of the microphone, as he was popular for singing the National Anthem at each stop in his basketball career. Louisville sucks.

Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach

May 6th: On this date...

... in 1997, Richard Pitino resigns from the University of Kentucky under the cover of nighttime, and slithers his way on up to Boston to destroy one of the most storied franchises in the NBA. It probably didn't come as a complete surprise to UK fans, but the feeling of your college team losing its leader, in the middle of an historical run, still upsets me. No less than five Boston television stations carried Pitino's UK resignation news conference (during the day). Immediately, Wildcat fans turned the page and have never looked back, totally understanding Pitino's motives that day. Speculation on who the next coach would be immediately filled the airwaves with the consensus looking at former Pitino assistant, University of Georgia head coach Orlando "Tubby" Smith. Tubby would inherit the Comeback Cats and lead the team to its 7th National Championship the following spring. To this day, most all Kentucky fans have forgiven Richard Pitino for the events of this day just 15 years ago. And if you're free this weekend, don't forget to watch The Extortioner, Friday's on CBS!

Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach

Cinco de Mayo: En esta fecha ...

... en 2009, la Universidad de Kentucky Wildcats estaban recibiendo un base que necesitamos urgentemente ya que comenzó a difundir la palabra de un compromiso inminente de un chico de Alabama simplemente querer "tener derecho de mierda." Nadie sabía lo que Eric Bledsoe estaba hablando, pero sabíamos que era un armador de primera categoría en la Clase de 2009 y se llena un hueco que necesitaba con urgencia. Él no tenía la competencia por el puesto de armador de partida, y tenía unos cuantos monstruos abajo bajo (en otros Alabaman DeMarcus Cousins ​​y la leyenda Patrick Patterson). La era de Gillispie había terminado y la nueva lista estaba empezando a tomar forma. Una de las cosas de nuestro nuevo entrenador que todos lo sepan: Si usted va a ser un gato montés de Kentucky, el mejor que tenga la capacidad de extraño o si no están jugando.

Big Blue Booyah sobre Tom Leach

Champs Visit The White House

May 4th: On this date...

... in 2007, your University of Kentucky Wildcat fans swarmed Memorial Coliseum dumpsters once word broke UK was replacing the floor and throwing the old one away. Kentucky.com broke the story and within hours a steady line of cars formed, dying to snatch up a piece of the splintered maple floor. By 9:00pm the same evening, the dumpster was completely empty as the "rabid UK fan base" wanted to get a piece of history. The University saved the keys, center court, lanes, and nearly 700 square feet, including the spot where Kentucky's Vernon Hatton made a shot in double overtime to help the Cats take down Temple.

also,

... in 2007, some "rabid" Kentucky extremist fans started showing their impatience with Patrick Patterson as he continued to drag out his recruitment. Everyone knows how this turned out, right? Just two years later, these same extremists started showing their disapproval of the time it was taking Freak Show point guard Jonathan Henry Wall to make his decision on where he would go to college. I'm almost certain that is not his real name, but it came off the tongue easy, so we're sticking with it. In conclusion, whenever you see/hear one of these people in public, feel free to smack them upside the head.

Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach

May 3rd: On this date...

... in 1982, your University of Kentucky Wildcat great Frank Ramsey was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Known as the "Kentucky Colonel", the 6'3" guard from Madisonville was best known for virtually creating the role of Sixth Man in basketball. Ramsey was a three time All-American, was a member of the 1951 NCAA Championship team, and led UK's 1954 team to a 25-0 record. He currently sits #27 on the all-time scoring list, compiling 1344 points in just three years. Frank Ramsey also was a key cog for the Celtic's dynastic run of NBA Championships. He ended his career with seven titles, including six straight from 1959-1964. Ramsey had 18 points off the bench, retired later that summer on top of the world.

Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach

May 2nd: On this date...

... in 1989, your University of Kentucky Wildcats were told "no" by Seton Hall head coach P.J. Carlesimo after mulling over the head coaching job for a few days. Of course, to save face, UK says the job was never officially offered. Where have I heard this before? Carlesimo had just led the Pirates to the NCAA title game. From this point on, no one really knows what happened to Mr. Carlesimo, as he apparently went back to a life of irrelevance. Either that, or he tried to fight the Predator monster (Sprewell) and lost. This decision would put the Wildcats on a new search for a head coach, leading to a slick-haired car salesman with a penchant for Italian eateries. His name: Richard Pitino. The Extortionee, Friday's on CBS!

Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach

May 1st: On this date...

... in 1967, your University of Kentucky Wildcats guard/forward Pat Riley was selected 7th overall in the NBA Draft by the San Diego Rockets. Riley is a six time NBA Champion -- once as a player (1972), and five times as a coach (1982, '85, '87-'88, and 2006). Many people forget that Riley was drafted as a flanker by the Dallas Cowboys in the 11th round of the NFL Draft. One of the most versatile athletes in this era, Riley helped lead Kentucky to the 1966 NCAA title game, falling to UTEP. Pat Riley is one of the most well-known Kentucky alumni, as he has been a Blue face for many decades of the NBA.

Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach