UGA Game Thread

The Cats take on the Dawgs tonight, as Dennis Felton brings his zany personality to Rupp Arena. Expect a close game, because that's how the Wildcats roll.

Official Blue Donkey Prediction: Wildcats by 8.

Make your predictions in the comment section. First person to guess correctly wins a Kentucky Gnome.

National League Preview

Spring has sprung, so the time has come for the official Wildcat Blog Major League Baseball Preview. I know for a fact of our 6 or 7 regular viewers, at least one is a baseball fan!

We'll start with the National League, where the New York Mets appear to be the team to beat after unloading a ton of prospects in exchange for Johan Santanna, a very good southpaw from Minnesota.

Note: According to a fine boxer named Balboa, the term "southpaw" comes from a left-handed boxer facing south Philly when he fought- so, paw is his hand, south Philly - south paw, "southpaw".

Anyway, like I said the Mets are really good and got better in the off-season, so despite their late season collapse last year they should win the East, even though Philly (there's that town again) is good as well.

The Reds got Dusy Baker to manage this off-season, so that means all their oldest offensive players will dominate playing time while their young pitchers will have their arms dangling off their shoulder by the end of the year due to overuse. The Houston Astros made a huge trade for Miguel Tejada, who may or may not be facing perjury charges from the Mitchell Report on performance enhancing drugs. The Cardinals have done nothing and there are rumors of Pujols' elbow possibly needing surgery. The Brewers are coming off a good year, but I don't think guys like Braun will repeat their offensive numbers. And, Ben Sheets is hurt almost as much as my Grandma.

What does this all mean? The Cubs should win the Central. And since it's been 100 years since they won a World Series, I'm predicting that they will at least make it there in 2008. They are deep in pitching and signed their biggest need in the off-season by acquiring left-handed (another 'southpaw'!) hitting right-fielder Kosuke Fukudome. Now, his last name is pronounced FOO KOO DOH MAY, though I prefer the phonetic pronunciation myself. (If you don't see the humor in that, you are far too mature to read anything I ever write on this blog, so go away.) In Japan, he got on base a lot and hit for power, something the Cubs haven't had since Fred "the Crime Dog" McGriff had his tour of duty before retiring to hawk Tom Emanski baseball drills videos.

As for the West, who cares. They don't play until 10:30 at night, so no one will know anything about them until October. Arizona will be good and the Rockies might repeat last year's performance. Whatever.

Up next, the American League.

Baton Rouge Game Thread

Kentucky travels to Baton Rouge today to take on the LSU 'Lucky' Pierre's. The game is a must win for the Wildcats, as any remaining loss (besides Tennessee) will likely put an end to the Wildcats' post season aspirations. Two weeks ago, the match-up seemed like a probable 'W' for the Cats. Since the LSU administration fired John Brady, however, the Tigers have been playing their best basketball of the season.

Last Saturday, LSU held Tennessee's high powered offense to 47 points. The Tigers followed the performance by beating the Florida Gators by 12 in Gainesville.

So what will it be today? Predict the outcome correctly and win your very own Kentucky Gnome. The Blue Donkey predicts a five point LSU victory, ending any NCAA tournament dreams for the Wildcats.

2008 Recruiting Update

Billy Gillispie works underneath a shroud of mystery, which makes following the recruiting of the new Wildcat regime a difficult task. Where Tubby Smith's recruiting style assimulated a snail race, Gillispie's recruiting is more like a game of Where's Waldo. There seems to be no question that Billy Clyde possesses the aptitude of a successful recruiter, but his methods are new to the Wildcat faithful.

With two newcomers signed and two seniors leaving, Kentucky theoretcially has one scholarship to give. However, there will more than likely will be a couple of defections at seasons end. The remaining need for the Wildcats seems to be on the interior. However, there are very few big men left on the table for 2008.

As we enter the home stretch in recruiting for the class of 2008, let's examine some the names remaining on the Cats' radar.

Roderick Flemings - 6'7", 210, SF - Roderick (pictured)attends Weatherford Junior College. He was a high school All-American from the class of 2005, who orginally committed to Oklahoma State. Roderick is averaging around 20 points and 10 rebounds a game. Some analysts consider Flemings to be the best junior college player in the country. Roderick ranked 26th in the Rivals Top 150, Class of 2005.

Tyrone Appleton - 6'3", 190, PG - Tyrone attends Midland Community College in Texas and is known as being a excellent on-ball defender. He is currently being recruited by Kansas, Kentucky, and Texas.

Verdell Jones - 6'4", 160, PG - Verdell is from Champaign, IL. He considered a three star prospect by Rivals. Verdell has been on the Wildcats' radar for several months, and attended Big Blue Madness in October. Jones is also being recruited by Minnesota and Tennessee.

Brad Tinsley - 6'3" 180, SG - Tinsley, a Rivals' four star recruit, is a recent addition to the Wildcats' list. He is ranked 93rd in the Rivals Top 150. Tinsley is also being recruited by North Carolina, Tennessee, and Marquette.

And of course there is also the Scotty Hopson saga. Hopson, one of the most highly touted Kentucky players in recent history, originally commited to Mississippi State while Tubby was still at U.K. Since the arrival of Gillispie at Kentucky, Hopson has backed out of his verbal commitment to the Bulldogs. Although, reports are conflicting as to whether Kentucky is actively recruiting Hopson. Hopson is known as being incredibly talented and for his poor work ethic. Besides the Wildcats, Hopson is also reportedly interested in Tennessee and Louisville.

Wednesday Whispers

If you didn't get enough of Kevin Stallings last night, you can see him in King of the Hill on Sunday. As crazy as it seems, no one correctly predicted Vandy by 41 in the Dan Langhi Prediction Contest. However, Coach Billy Clyde did oblige Jon Guess' request to put A.J. in the game.

Add Jimmy 'Butch' Dykes to my list of media members that are too stupid for television.

"Kentucky has enough talent. Joe Crawford, Ramel Bradley, and Patrick Patterson were all McDonalds's All Americans."

Nothing wrong with this statement, except that it's not true.

During an Illinois/Minnesota game update, Dykes stated , "Kentucky fans aren't going to want to hear this, but Minnesota is doing really good right now."

Oddly, at that moment Minnesota was losing at home to Illinois, and eventually lost by 24. The game was Minnesota's worst home loss of the season. Illinois improved there record to 11-14.

"Kevin Stallings is one of the top five 'offensive minds' in basketball."

Really?

"I got my hair cut yesterday. It cost me $41.00. Rascal Flatts gets their hair cut there."

Wow!

"I love coming to Nashville; it's all about the music. If Randy Travis was here, I would sit in his lap."

That I can believe.

If you didn't know, Jimmy Dykes was an assistant coach at Kentucky under Eddie Sutton. The University of Kentucky fired Dykes after Billy Ray Cyrus filed a restraining order against him.

Ouch!

That one is going to leave a mark.

Dan Langhi's Vandy Prediction Thread

The Wildcats head to Music City this evening to take on the Marshall County Commodores. With the spirit of of Dan Langhi, Barry Goheen, Aaron Beth, and Dan Hall behind the Commodores, it may be a tough task for the Wildcats.

Billy Clyde will be coaching his first game in Vandy's funky gymnasium. Gillispie down-played the significance of the court design, claiming the he and Ramel Bradley have been able to communicate on a telepathic level since Ramel suffered his concussion.

Tonight's game predictions should be varied, as the Cats will not be favored. Vegas has the Dores by 2.5. What do you have?

The winner will receive their very own My Old Kentucky Gnome statue. Only one guess per person. Point spreads cannot be duplicated. To win, the exact spread must be guessed. No submissions allowed after tip-off.