Tag Archives: Kentucky Wildcats

Fan Moments IV: Smackdown in Stokely, Sorta

Basketball, ,

Verbal provocateur that I would consider myself, I’ve never been a street fightin’ man.

Most certainly not now that I’m firmly embedded in my dotage, nor in my youth, frankly, have I ever been inclined toward fisticuffs of the physical variety.*

*As if there is any other manner of fisticuffs.

Truth be told, I came close to being in a fight only once in my life. Ironically, my propensity for using language as an attack tool played a role.

In English class my junior of high school, we were discussing something or another. And apparently I was more than a bit too critical of a fellow student, whose name was Frank, if I recall.

So much so, that Miss Miles held me after class for a moment and admonished me not to be so openly sarcastic in the future about another student’s opinion as I had been.

I walked out of the classroom, and the next thing I realized, I was laying on the floor, having been thrown across the hall against the lockers. Frank was, shall I say, displeased with how I had commented on class input.

He was ready to get it on right there, between 2d and 3d period. I had the wherewithal to suggest we meet after school instead to settle the matter. To which fortunately he assented. Continue reading Fan Moments IV: Smackdown in Stokely, Sorta →

Louisville CardFile: Kentucky

Basketball, ,

To help combat March Sadness, this is the second of series of recaps of significant games in Cardinal history, contemporaneously rewatched, said freshly minted posts to be presented in the coming weeks as if the games were played the night before. — c d k

Four days short of three years to the date, I’ve got an answer for you, Wayne Duke.

“Absolutely. The Cards most certainly are now.”

Checking out of our hotel in Indy that magical morning after the Cards conquered UCLA for the ’80 NCAA title, my gang was bantering with the Big Ten commissioner.

“Sure, you’re #1 in the country,” he kidded with an understanding of the lay of the land in the Dark and Bloody Ground of the Commonwealth, “but will you be #1 when you get back home in Kentucky?”

“Well, Wayne, there’s no question today.”

In a packed, intense and loud Stokely Athletic Center yesterday in Knoxville, the Louisville Cardinals, second fiddle in the minds of Big Blue fans for decades, heck forever, moved the b-ball capitol of the commonwealth 75 miles west from the Lexington to Louisville. Continue reading Louisville CardFile: Kentucky →

Hoopaholic’s Gazette: Perfect Tourney Replacement & Coachspeak

Basketball, , ,

When I was a kid I made up a basketball game played with dice.

I’d play out the games, while announcing them. During the LIT, I’d hand print out the bracket and play out the whole tourney. Somehow the Atherton Rebels, where my brother was, and I’d knew I’d attend years later, somehow would more often than not get a friendly roll of the dice.

That precious memory came to me, when I learned what a couple of twenty somethings — Joshua Safran and Jackson Weimer — are doing. They’re going to play out the entire NCAA tournament, on a now extinct video game, March Madness 2010, using an XBbx 360, and stream it over the net on the Twitch Channel of ebaumsworld.com.

They started with a Selection Sunday show for “Corona Madness,” which they produced in Weimer’s basement.

It’s just damn charming, the kind of thing I used to do. Continue reading Hoopaholic’s Gazette: Perfect Tourney Replacement & Coachspeak →

Louisville CardFile: Kentucky

Basketball, ,

At the 11:54 media timeout of the opening half, the Louisville Cardinals had not scored for 5:45, missed their last eight field goal attempts, had given up an 0-5 run to Kentucky, and were behind 6-9.

But something eerily telling about the game’s outcome had already become evident.

The Wildcats had committed 6 fouls. Louisville would be in the bonus the rest of the half.

Because I am a diehard Cardinal fan as well as a conscientious reporter of the action, along with copious game notes on a legal pad, I also jot down in all caps along the margin, admonitions and exhortations.

Here’s what I wrote at the early juncture of the rivalry tussle: “MAKE FTS WIN GAME.”

In my mind, I was invoking a personal spirit force I call the Two Arts. That would be Arthur Kaplan, my father who introduced me to Cardinal hoops, and with whom I sat at games for the last 11 years of his life. And Art Zubrod, who had the seats right behind us in Freedom Hall.

They were obsessive about the importance of accepting the charity of freebies.

“Make the first one” still rings in my ears whenever a Cardinal steps to the stripe.

And so, sigh, it came to pass. Or, actually, didn’t.

Though it is a somewhat simplistic breakdown of how UK’s 78-70 win evolved — there were obviously other factors including the Wildcats tougher play and execution during critical moments — had U of L made its free throws, it would have won the game. Continue reading Louisville CardFile: Kentucky →

Contemplating the Cardinals Trip to Rupp

Basketball, ,

The holiday joyeux dissipated when, in the middle of last night, it struck me that it was big game week.

I awakened from slumber to relieve myself sometime in the early a.m..

From out of the blue — Literally? Figuratively? — I was humming the Chiffons’ “He’s So Fine” in my mind. But, instead of “Doo lang/ Doo lang/ Doo lang” it was “Juzang/ Juzang/ Juzang.”

Not that I haven’t started obsessing consciously and unconsciously about Arch Rival and will be for the next few days, or anything like that.

So, yeah it’s not just big game week, it’s Big Game Week.

No matter how much levity and maturity I’ve tried to muster through the years about this annual affair, no matter that I really don’t interact with any fervent members of the BBN on a regular basis, no matter how long it’s been clear to me that the outcome does not in the long run affect a season’s success, I. Still. Get. Too. Nervous. Too. Soon.

Especially in years like this, when U of L has to travel to Lexington for the game, but has a justifiably legitimate chance to prevail.

So, what I’ve done is gone back and taken a peak at the Cardinals’ victories in Rupp, since the annual series began after the one and only Dream Game in ’83. Which W is known to most Louisville fans simply as “Knoxville.”

 * * * * *

Saturday’s tilt in Rupp will be the 18th in the series. Of the previous 17, U of L has conquered the Wildcats only 4 times. Against 13 Ls. Uh, not so good. Continue reading Contemplating the Cardinals Trip to Rupp →

Louisville CardFile: Kentucky

Football, ,

Saturday evening, with the sting of the Cardinals’ loss still in need of some prescriptive to lessen the pain, with the cloud of the defeat at the hands and feet and speed and strength and dominance of Arch Rival still hovering, I got a message from the person I’ve known longer than anybody else in my life.

RVY and I met when when we were 6 or 7 years old, and our older brothers were playing football at Atherton HS. We’d pitch and catch the pigskin and play along the edges of practice, when our dad’s took us. Which was often.

He went to Belknap. I went to Longfellow. But our paths crossed again at Highland Jr. High, and we schooled together through our own years at Atherton, then again when we were law school classmates.

Through the years, we hooped in alleyways, and, as adults, played racquet ball.

As his older brothers were, so was RVY a football player. His father always reminded me of Bear Bryant, his carriage, his demeanor. A man’s man. A football guy.

RVY moved to SEC Country a few years back. Which makes sense.

He always loved the Cats. As I have always loved the Cards. Continue reading Louisville CardFile: Kentucky →

Seedy K’s Peerless Pigskin Prognostications: Week IX

Football, Gaming, ,

I remember being at some party back in the day, and there was a fellow I didn’t know who had obviously been trying to hook up to no avail with an attractive lady, whom I also didn’t know, but very much intended to try and meet.

“I’ve been trying to get in touch with you,” he told her as I eavesdropped. “But you never return my calls.”

“Listen,” she replied, “if your phone doesn’t ring, it’s me on the line.”

She turned and walked away.

Which is how I felt — kinda — after another perfecto weekend, my second in the last three weeks, third of the season.

Did I hear from either of my arch nemeses, Badger Billy or Doppelgänger Boris, offering some props?

Of course not. Mum was obviously the word.

(And, should I deign to mention the latter’s name again, it will simply be Boris. The rest is too unwieldy and umlautian.)

I was laying in wait for Badger Billy, had he reached out. He would have given me shit as usual for picking another slate of easy games. Even though Oregon was an underdog at UDub, and Michigan really needed a W in State College, and almost came back and got it.

Then I’d have said, “Hmmm, yeah, I guess I could have picked your Badgers, the biggest sure thing on the board over the Fightin’ Illini.”

Mic I didn’t get a chance to drop.

So, yeah, 5-0 pushes me to 28-14 for the season, a hefty 67% on the correctitude meter.

This week’s winners: Continue reading Seedy K’s Peerless Pigskin Prognostications: Week IX →

Seedy K’s Peerless Pigskin Prognostications: Week VIII

Football, Gaming, ,

Realizing that much of the time — some would say most all the time — my predictions are less than estimable, I try to keep this weekly exercise you are reading as entertaining as my feeble wordsmithery can provide.

So, about sundown last Saturday, an idea for this lede came to mind.

The week got off to a less than auspicious beginning, on Wednesday no less, when App State two-stepped out of my beloved bayou country with a W in Lafayette. Boomer Sooner confirmed it presently holds title to the Red River, and that it has some D to go with that O, and it was Horns Down in Dallas.

I had a feeling after those two miscues that my projection of Khalil Tate into the Heisman discussion with an Arizona W later over UDub was delusional. And so, it came to pass.

Kentucky was down at the half to the Razorbacks, and it looked like my only hope for a W on the weekend was my Cardinals, in whom I had full faith they’d indeed down Wake Forest.

So I would have been 1-4 had Woooooo Pig Sooey held on, and a noted Harry Nilsson tune came to mind, and how I could riff on how one isn’t the loneliest number when the 1(one) is your favorite squad. (FYI, Three Dog Night didn’t write it, they just had a big hit with it.)

Buuuuut, even that didn’t work out. Kentucky prevailed, causing the entire membership of the Little Rock QB Club to call an emergency session to figure out a way to provide one Robert Petrino in Exile a second second chance.

So, 2-3 it was but a few days after a perfecto. 23-14 on the season is 62% correct. Not bad, but, as is always the case, I expect to be back totally on track this weekend, after a slight careening off the rails.

This week’s winners: Continue reading Seedy K’s Peerless Pigskin Prognostications: Week VIII →

Seedy K’s Peerless Pigskin Prognostications: Week VII

Football, Gaming, ,

Before moving on to this coming weekend’s predictionary proclamations, let’s take the traditional one last look, shall we, at last week’s results?

I believe it would be prudent and informative.

Cincinnati ✔︎

Nebraska ✔︎

Florida ✔︎

Liberty ✔︎

Louisville ✔︎

Pulling out the slide rule — I remain old school in some regards, most regards actually — let’s do the math. Five predictions. Five winners.

My oh my, seems after all the tabulations have been calculated that I was 5 for 5, which is, no rounding up necessary, 100%.

As the U of L Cardinal broadcaster of my youth Uncle Ed Kallay would say, “You can’t get much better than that.”

Which brings my season stats to 21-11, and, rounding up, that means I’ve been 66% correct for the campaign. 65.625% if you’re picking nits.

Just sayin’.

This weekend’s winners: Continue reading Seedy K’s Peerless Pigskin Prognostications: Week VII →

Seedy K’s Peerless Pigskin Prognostications: Week IV

Football, ,

Quick recap: Purdue’s defense played like they’d been drinking boilermakers instead of engineering and building them. The Tar Heels came back to earth. Florida State self destructed. Again. Kentucky did what Kentucky has traditionally done. And the University of Louisville Cardinals continue to show improvement, but that they still have a way to go.

Which is to, in an oh so subtle manner, advise that the kid was a perfect 5-0 last weekend.

Not bad for someone who believes the shtick is more important than the predictions.

12-5 for the year rounds out to 70% correctitude. I’ll take it.

No reason then to prattle on verbosely.

Hear me now and believe me later, here are this week’s winners: Continue reading Seedy K’s Peerless Pigskin Prognostications: Week IV →