Bobby Knight

Even though as a child I was taught to dislike Indiana Basketball, I've always sort of liked Bobby Knight. My lack of disdain is probably based on my age, as Bob Knight's Indiana teams never seemed to be that good while I was growing up. Actually, Mike Davis' tenure with the Hoosiers was much more entertaining from a U.K. perspective.

Last night Bob Knight was on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Mix in Larry the Cable Guy and Mr. Knight dressed in a referee uniform, and you have some truly excellent entertainment.

Check it out.

Alabama Game Thread Winner

The first ever My Old KY Gnome game predicition contest was held on Saturday against Alabama. Thank you to everyone that participated. We will be having the contest for each of the remaining games this season.

Saturday's winner was Jon Guess of Paris, TN, who correctly picked the score of Kentucky by 10. Jon is an automechanic at Hank's Auto Care, and attends the Paris Mormon Tabernacle. He has one wife and two kids. The Guess' also have a Boston terrier named Mr. Ferdinand, who they enter in dog shows around the country.

Jon graduated from Marshall County High School. He says he's been a Cat fan since he can remember. His favorite Wildcat players of all-time are Richie Farmer and Rob Locke. Mr. Guess thinks the Cats will make the NCAA tournament this year, behind the leadership of Ramon Harris. Jon also said, "Coach, when you gonna put A.J. in?"

Look for the Vandy game thread tomorrow.

Here We Go!

In the words of the awesome 80's rock band Europe - 'it's the final countdown'. With eight games to go in the regular season, the recent upswing in the Wildcats' play has people wondering what the post season holds for Kentucky. As a fan, I have been unwilling to let myself believe the Cats have a chance to make the NCAA tournament. Yes, Kentucky's name is beginning to be mentioned as a possibly bubble team. And yes, others like ESPN's Jay Bilas seem to be campaigning to keep the Cats out of the tournament. But before you run off and start making anti-Jay Bilas t-shirts, remember that media folk are paid to talk. They are not paid to be correct.

Furthermore, I don't think it does our basketball team any favors to try to predict the future at this point. In the words of my spiritual leader Ramel Bradley "Now is not about making our record look pretty. We just have to keep winning basketball games."

Regardless of what the post season holds for this team, I am proud of what this basketball team has done so far. They have battled through injury and embarassing losses. The have persevered through a difficult coaching change and the transfer of players with lunatic mothers. They have bought in to Coach Clyde's system, and they have come together as a team.

However, there are eight games to go. Tomorrow we play the first. A win at Vanderbilt would be huge for this team, as it would provide the Cats with their first road win over a quality opponent. It will not be easy, but it is possible.

The My Old KY Gnome Game Day Prediction thread will be up in the morning. Have your guesses ready. More on the Alabama game contest winner later in the day.

"I may be bald, and we may not have an athletic department. But we have a funky gym and an Australian player, and that has to count for something."
Kevin Stallings

Another Must See

I'll break from tradition and cover a movie that's only been on DVD for a short while. 3:10 to Yuma is a great one. What makes it work are the two lead characters, Russell Crowe and Christian Bale. These characters make an unlikely connection that is the focal point of the movie.

Bale plays a rancher who struggles with a drought, railroaders running him off his land, a son that wants to run wild, and a wife that's losing her love for him. Opportunity to set all these straight strikes when he accepts a cash offer to aid in the escort of a dangerous criminal to the 3:10 prison train to Yuma.

That criminal is Ben Wade, played by Crowe. Now, you know just from the guy's last name being Wade that he's a badass and a hit with the ladies. But, what becomes surprisingly apparent as the movie goes on is that this man respects the down-on-his-luck rancher who is intent on seeing him off to prison. Enjoy the subtle dialogue between the two as the movie goes on.

As good as those two are, Ben Foster darn near steals the movie as Charlie Prince, Wade's substitute gang leader. This guy dazzles with the sidearms and is one of the meanest hombres north, south, east, and west of the Pecos.

Favorite scene? I'll just say it's right after this verse is sang- "They-re gonna hang me in the morning A'fore this night is done They're gonna hang me in the mornin' And I'll never see the sun".

Is That You, Yogi?

Jorge Posada channeled another great Yankee Catcher yesterday when he said - in regards to the Roger Clemens steroid story - "I just hope whoever is telling the truth is telling the truth. We'll see." Jorge's quote on-line

We will see Jorge, because the story got nuttier as reports are coming in that Clemens' wife got some HGH to prepare for a photo shoot in Sports Illustrated. I've researched the photos, purely in the name of journalistic research, and I must say that if she did take HGH then they outta put the stuff in the public water supply because she's hotter than billy goat with four testicles.

This whole saga makes for good t.v., but I'm to the point where people are gonna have to realize that almost every accomplished athlete has made sacrifices and tried things that most of us wouldn't. In other words, if you think that all baseball players are completely PED - free now that testing is stricter you are wrong. If you believe the NFL is PED - free you are crazy. Just watch the combine workouts on the NFL channel this summer. These are guys coming right out of college and they are freaks. Absolute freaks. It takes more hard work than most of us can comprehend and more mental toughness than most of us can muster. And I think it sometimes means taking drugs, but that last part admittedly is speculation on my part.

But, as more and more of these stories come out, can we really believe that only a very small portion of high level athletes use PEDs?

Come Again?

Over the course of the past 48 hours, I have listened to Rush Limpbaugh's radio show and watched Ann Coulter on the Today Show. There is mention among the conservative ranks that voting for Hillary in the presidential election, with the insinuation that she would ruin the country so quickly, would be more beneficial for the Republican Party in the long run.

First, let me say that I would be happy with any of the three remaining candidates. Beyond that, I have to question whether Limpbaugh or Coulter have been lucid during the past eight years?

Success as a country can be defined in many ways. However, it is beyond me cognitive abilities to define how the past eight years have been in any way a success for the United States. The mistakes are obvious and plentiful, but will be saved for a later post. I do think, however, that the legitimacy of the conservative movement needs to be examined if these two people are truly spokes-people for the cause.

Alabama Game Thread

Seriously, how could you possibly like anybody that looks like Mark Gottfried? His middle name is Fredrick - that seems appropriate. If I was a high school basketball player and this guy started calling me and sending me letters, I would notify the F.B.I. Oddly enough, Mr. Gottfried seems to be an incredible recruiter. For instance, he beat out North Carolina for the services of Richard Hendrix. Unfortunately, Fredrick seems to be as bad of a coach as he is a good recruiter. Despite having good players, Alabama never seems to have a good team. He's sort of like the sober version of John Brady at L.S.U. (who just got fired).

The Cat's should take this game. I just saw Ramel Bradley walking back from class a couple of hours ago. He was all smiles, and seemed to be back to his old self.

My Old Kentucky Gnome Contest - We are introducing a new contest with the Alabama - Kentucky game this weekend. If you predict the correct spread in the game, you win your very own My Old Kentucky Gnome, courtesy of Wildcat Textbooks. An example would be, Kentucky by 3. Only one entry per person. The Gnome goes to the first person to predict the spread correctly - You cannot duplicate someone else's guess. Submit your guesses in the comment section.