The Wildcats head to California to take on the Marquette War Beagles this Thursday. Despite being a much lower seed, the Cats actually match up very well with Marquette. The game should be a close one, as Kentucky looks to avenge the loss to Marquette in the 2003 Elite Eight game.
Gnome Contest: An NCAA Gnome is on the line. Guess correctly and be the spiritual healer of Keith Bogans' ankle. First to guess winner and spread correctly wins a Kentucky Gnome.
According to ESPN, UK will take on Ole Miss tonight, with the winner getting an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. Unfortunately, the Rebels are runnin' to the NIT instead, along with the two-time national champion Florida Gators. It was an unpredictable first day of SEC tournament action. Had I been filling out a bracket, I would have gone 1-3 on the day.
Tonight, the Cats take on Georgia for the third time this season. A SEC Tournament Gnome is on the line. Let's have it. The spoils go to the first person to predict correctly.
We've been inundated with e-mails calling for the second installment of my MLB preview, so here it is.
The Detroit Tigers went to the World Series in 2006. In 2007, pitchers got hurt, hitters got hurt, and a team in their division (Cleveland) was awesome. They still almost won 90 games, but missed a return to the playoffs. Pissed beyond belief, their owner and GM combined to work a deal for Edgar Rentieria, a really good shortstop. This allowed Sean Casey to go bye-bye and capable bat Carlos Guillen to move over to first from shortstop and keep from getting dinged up as much.
But, that wasn't enough. They then traded 6 minor leaguers for Miguel Cabrera and Dontrell Willis. Willis is a durable left-hander with a funky delivery, which in the baseball world makes him as big of a lock for a full-time job as the mayor's son in a small town. Cabrera, well, on a list of "most similar batters in the history of baseball at age 25" Hank Aaron turns up number one in comparison to Miggy. In case you don't know, Aaron has more career homers than anyone with a size 10 or smaller head.
What does this mean? The Tigers should win 95-100 games if things shake out right, but that may not be enough since Cleveland's so damn good. The AL Central should be a great race, and will likely feature the Wild Card winner.
Defending Champ Boston is still sending out an awesome offense, but they have pitching concerns that will make their annual race with New York typically tight with both teams likely besting 90 wins.
In the West, I think the Angels are pretty good.
In summary, look for the Tigers to face the Cubs in the World Series this year.
Brett 'The Hitman' Wooton wins the Senior Day Gnome contest, becoming the first person other than Jon G. to receive the honor. Mr. Wooton is a native of Owenton, KY. He is a big Kentucky fan (and by that we mean he is a really large person). Brett said that he really looks forward to receiving the gnome, and that it will finally give Mr. Wooton someone to hang out with.
Big weekend for sports in the Bluegrass. Billy Donovan returns to Rupp Arena for the first time since he turned down the Kentucky job. Sunday is also Senior Day for Joe Crawford and Ramel Bradley. Most pundits believe a Wildcat victory will ensure Kentucky's chance to dance. A loss for Kentucky, however, will make the Big Blue Nation question the angle of their NCAA dangle. Good article about the turnaround of this season in the Kentucky-hating Herald Mis-Leader.
Weather Update in Lexington: Raining Ice Bullets
On Tuesday, I had the opportunity to sit down will my old friend Danny Trejo. You may recognize Dan from his roles in Con Air, Heat, and Spy Kids. Despite his intimidating appearance, Danny is actually a very friendly guy. We discussed politics and the upcoming presidential election. Mr. Trejo likes Barrack Obama, but doesn't think Obama will be able to beat John McCain in the general election. I personally think who ever wins the election should appoint Danny as the Director of Homeland Security.
On Wednesday, I took part in a round table discussion with Andre Woodson, Wesley Woodyard, and Stevie Johnson. We discussed the upcoming NFL Draft, 40 yard dash times, and the slumping of Swedish tennis since the departure of Bjorn Borg. This was my first interaction with Stevie Johnson, and I was very impressed. Not only did Steve provide some very thought provoking discussion, but he also gave us all a hug when he left. Check out Stevie's pregame performance in the video below.
Yesterday, I had the opportunity to visit Rafael Little at his apartment in Lexington. Rafael just had knee surgery this week, after tearing his ACL and MCL in the Senior Bowl. Despite being immobilized, Rafael was in good spirits. His rehabilitation will take around eight months, so we won't be seeing Rafael in the NFL until the year after next. Rafael said he thinks Joker Philips will be an awesome head coach, and that he fully expects the new version of Knight Rider to be as good as the orginal.
My Old Kentucky Gnome Game Prediction Contest: This is a big one. Be the first to guess winner and spread correctly, win your very own Kentucky Gnome.
The Wildcats head to Columbia's Steak House tonight to take on the South Carolina Odomites. Las Vegas doesn't think the Cats will leave Columbia with a victory. The Blue Donkey disagrees. Ramel Bradley will lead this team to two more regular season victories. If not, the basketball gods be damned.
Offical Blue Donkey Prediction: Cats by 3.
First person to correctly predict winner and margin wins a Kentucky Gnome.
Klive Jr. here - filling in for the one and only Blue Donkey. But lets get down to business. The orange and white wearing Volunteers of Tennessee are predicted to win this game.... but if you remember correctly they were suppose to oust Kentucky on January 22 at Rupp Arena, but failed to do so. They also failed to conquer Vandy shortly after gaining the #1 rank in college basketball. I guess they don't know a whole lot about PRESSURE. That's right, PRESSURE! As an attempt to prepare Kentucky for tough "Pressure" filled games, coach Billy G calls in a special motivational speaker before every game against a ranked team. And not just any motivational speaker, but wildcat textbook's very own Christopher Milisor (aka House). You may be asking yourself "what makes House so special?" I'll tell you what - 4 years of running track on scholarship for U.K. . House has stared down Olympians such Tyson Gayand taunted them with his homemade shirts that say"get used to the view" on the back. Now that's what i call pressure.Off the track House can usually be spotted proudly wearing his letter jacket and "all S.E.C" watch. If you see him on campus and you don't find yourself thinking "What a stud" you might want to go ahead and schedule a CAT scan at your local doctors office.
I'm sure you all know by now that star freshman, Patrick Patterson, will not be playing for the rest of the season because a stress fracture in his left ankle. Sad.... you bet it is! Patterson's the only freshman ranked among the SEC's top 10 scorers (16.4 points per game) and rebounders (7.7 per game). Kentucky not having Patterson is equivalent to Pamela Anderson not wearing make-up (google search it if you dont believe me). What I'm trying to say is, U.K.'s going to need to find a way to "donkey" kick up their performance if they want any chance of making it into the NCAA Tournament. They are gunna need to take serious action - and im not talking about taking action like GW Bush did when hurricane Katrina first hit.
As always, don't forget to make your predictions in the comment section. First person to correctly guess the score of the game wins a Kentucky Gnome.
Official Blue Donkey Prediction: Tennessee by 23.
Official Klive Jr. Prediction: Kentucky by 7 BYAAAHHHHH!!
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