Possible UK Headlines

Here are some possible headlines for tomorrow's paper. Jodie Meeks outscored the entire Kansas State team in the first half, 24-23

Meeks Outscores Kansas State in First Half, Heads to Casino at Half-Time

• Meeks Peaks, Squeeks Past K-State in First Half


• Meeks Bounces Shots Off Opponents Heads in Second Half Just To Make It Interesting.


• Michael Beasley Returns, But Puts on Wrong Wildcat Uniform

Late Night Basketball....zzzzzzzzz

Kentucky plays in Las Vegas tonight against Kansas State. Tip-off is just after midnight (9pm in Vegas). I have been listening to the pre-game show via Kentucky's athletic website and found someone who is streaming live video of the game on the Internet (the game is on ESPNU, which I do not get). Hopefully the broadcast will go smoothly and I don't fall asleep with my head on the desk.

I am looking for a big UK weekend. A win tonight against K-State, a win tomorrow against West Virginia in basketball (or Iowa if we lose to K-State) and Tennessee in football would go a long way to help me forget the horrible UK sports week a few weeks ago.

Kentucky vs. Longwood

Once again, games like this usually don't offer much to analyze. Kentucky fans expected a blowout and that is what happened. Here, however, is what I did take away from this game on a player by player breakdown.

Patrick Patterson: Patterson showed he is no longer feeling the effects of the surgery. Though he will still improve, his foot work looked better and did a better job of creating his own shots. He also showed he has a great eye for the court and what is going on around him.

Jodie Meeks: Once again showed he is the best athlete on the team and a knack for anticipating on defense. His shot from 3-point range was off tonight, but did a good job of taking the ball to the basket and getting to the free throw line.

Perry Stevenson: Perry is as good as he will get. He shows an ability to pass and play defense against smaller players, but gets pushed around by bigger players and has a hard time finishing plays underneath. He is a good player to have coming off the bench (even though he is a starter) and can contribute in small doses.

Ramon Harris: Harris plays hard and may still improve, but he doesn't have much talent. His shot is mediocre and passing and movement on the court are average. His defense is fairly solid, but still has holes.

Michael Porter: Once again Porter confirms he'd be good as an off-guard playing around 15 minutes a game. He plays hard, but god bless him...he's just not that good.

Darius Miller: Miller didn't play as much tonight as he did Saturday. He didn't match the game he had Saturday, but that is to be expected as a freshmen. He will be good and get more consistent over the year.

DeAndre Liggins: This "colt," as Gillispie called him, showed he is the point guard of the near future. Still a few mistakes, but they were errors due to hustle. He has great court vision, knows how to pass the ball and can knock down the open 3 pointer. I am excited to watch him play over the next few years.

Josh "Jorts" Harrellson: I like Harrellson's hustle underneath. He has good hands (which you can't teach) and a good shot. Sure, maybe he can't jump over a folded piece of paper, but he can be an effective player in a half-court game.

Kevin Galloway: Galloway must be pathetic in practice. He showed in his brief appearance tonight he also has the ability to pass the ball and handle the ball well. It looks like Gillispie may just be waiting for his defense to catch up to his offensive skills.

A.J. Stewart: Once again, Stewart must really be in Gillispie's doghouse. He still makes mistakes that he immediately comes out of the game for, but he brings energy on defense and goes after loose balls just as well as anyone on the team. I get the feeling he still gets lost...no to mention the off court mistakes he makes to tick off Bill Clyde.

I won't go over any other players, however, an interesting note in the last 5 minutes of the game. At one point, the lineup was: Jared Carter, Josh Harrellson, Michael Porter, Mark Krebs & Landon Sloane. That is the first "all-white" lineup I've seen for Kentucky in a long time. I just thought it was interesting.

The Chili was Decent.

Our scramble team did reasonably well. Kevin & Monty putted well. Jim didn't play to his potential, but still hit plenty of shots to help. I hit a few shots that helped, but nothing spectacular. Golfers with good mechanics and a consistent swing can still play well, but I'm a "feel" golfer. If I don't feel comfortable (especially in 4o degree weather with several layers of clothes on), I just don't do it. It's just as well. We scrapped together for a -12 par of 60. The winning team posted a score of -18. I also heard they had 10 mulligans each...that equals $40 per person spent on mulligans. A little too rich for my blood.

Hummus

I had hummus for the first time tonight at the Diamond Club party at Slugger Field. I didn't even realize it was hummus until I was done eating. It wasn't great, but maybe that's as good as hummus gets, I don't know. Besides, if I knew what it was before hand, I may not have tried it.

One 20 Pound Frozen Turkey and One 160 Pound Frozen Turkey

I will be playing in the annual Dare to Care scramble tomorrow morning at Quail Chase. The team this year is Kevin, Jim, Monty and me (I have never played with Monty...I hope it is Colin Montgomerie, but I'm guessing not). We somehow ditched the Wagner connection, which I am sure we will end up regretting (nothing personal Mark...I just play where I am asked). As usual, the entry fee is a 20lb turkey, 5 canned goods & $10. I know it's for a good cause, but it will be frigid. I have spent the evening planning my wardrope for maximum swing efficiency as well as warmth. Our team looks pretty good and I want to make sure I contribute to my full potential.

I have a strong feeling about the success of this combination. I will be disappointed with anything worse than 10 under. The weather will play a factor, but I am predicting a lucky 13 under tomorrow. But, as long as I get some chili, I'll be pleased.

In God We Trust, if the APR is Good.

If He lived in Indiana you may find the "In God We Trust" license plate on ol' JC's Holy Roller (probably a Toyota Pious). Unlike the numerous other license plate designs Indiana offers, if a person requests the "In God We Trust" plate, they do not have to pay the $15 administrative fee (to be fair, the "Lincoln's Boyhood Home" is also available). The ACLU filed a lawsuit, not to have the plates banned, but to simply have the state charge the normal $15 fee.

State Rep. Woody Burton, who sponsored the bill that created the plate, said there was no reason to impose a $15 fee because the plate costs no more than regular plates. Then why, Mr. Burton, charge for the other plates if they do not cost more? Burton also said '"[o]ver half a million people have bought these plates already, so somebody must like them."'Actually, "bought" is not quite right, Woody. They were given the plate with the normal registration renewal. That is what this lawsuit all about.

Assuming 75% of those who own the license plate would still have it if the state charged the $15 fee, this would mean nearly $7 million more revenue for the state. If 75% retention is unreasonable, then maybe they should change the license plate to read "In God We Trust, if the APR is Good." Now if we can just get those churches to start paying taxes, we may just dig out of this recession.

UofL - Courier-Journal Snip-its

I read these two statement in todays Courier-Journal and found them to be funny...especially taken out of context.

"I don't feel the expectation level of our fans has been unrealistic at all
[...] I would be the same way if I were a fan of Louisville
football."' -Steve Kragthorpe discussing UofL fans expectations (bold added for emphasis).

I always thought Kragthorpe seemed like a decent guy, now I know
why.

'"There's no need to point any fingers," Jurich said yesterday. "If you want to point any fingers, point them all at me. I hired Steve, and I hired that whole staff."' -Tom Jurich reacting to the criticism of Coach Kragthorpe.

Yep, point your fingers at me for hiring this bozo...my bad.

Vhat A Vonderful Veekend.

This weekend, being a Kentucky fan should qualify me for sainthood. One can almost substitute Vanderbilt for VMI in the post below. Maybe we just have trouble with teams that begin with the letter 'V'. Next, the North Carolina Tar Holes on Tuesday night at 9:00. That just means I have to stay up late to watch Kentucky lose (No, I'm not staying optimistic...but GO CATS!)

Heartburn, Indigestion, Upset Stomach, Diarrhea...

The new UK fight song is the Pepto jingle. Kentucky was completely unprepared for VMI in the season opener. I did not see any defense. I did not see any offensive sets. I did not see any blockouts. I didn't even get to see Ashley Judd!

Here is what I did see (other than several missed layups and horrible passing). I saw one ticked off Jody Meeks looking for some help. I saw the only help came in the form of two freshmen, Darius Miller and DeAndre Liggins, and you can't have that.

Kentucky was buried by poor 3-point defense early and did not recover until half-way through the 2nd half. Then, when they took the lead, they didn't finish it off. They resorted once again to sloppy ball handling, poor defense and laziness on the boards.

I'm glad we're a football school. Go Cats!

Joe Scarborough and the F-Bomb

Sitting on the couch this morning eating my Cheerios, I watched MSNBC's "Morning Joe" with host Joe Scarborough. The panel was talking about Obama's Chief of Staff pick, Rahm Emanuel.As Scarborough discussed Emanuel's notorious no nonsense and often abrasive approach to dealing with people, he stated Emanuel can't just go around saying "F-You" to everyone he meets. Only Scarborough didn't say "F-You." He said THE word. The F_ _ _ word! The panel looked stunned, looking at each other with sheepish smiles. I think I may have even shot a Cheerio out my nose. Scarborough didn't realize he said it, meaning to just say "F." He didn't realize he said it until a few seconds later.

This incident lead me to this thought. How much more entertaining would the news be if they could cuss as much as they wanted? I realize they do it all the time off camera...there has been plenty of evidence. This would at least save Bill O'Reilly's staff a lot of headaches.

Daddy's gonna kill Joey...

A Boy and His Train

I came across this video on youtube and thought it was pretty funny. It does have a little cussing, so if you are offended don't watch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5bkfSMc7zs

Straitpinkie.com

A few guys I work with have launched a new website...geared towards guys. It is straitpinkie.com
It is mostly local sports, pictures of good looking women and anything else they find funny or interesting. I also contribute by sending material to the main editor-in-chief or checking for errors, but that's about it. So if you need to kill some time check it out.

Kentucky vs. Ouachita Banana Baptist

Exhibition games are pointless to predict. However, seeing that my blog is pretty pointless, it will fit right in. I didn't expect Kentucky to put 111 points on the board against Missouri-St. Louis and I don't expect them to do it tonight. Wh at I'm looking for out of tonights game is what I looked for in the first. Ball movement. I was most impressed with the passing and court vision and look for that to continue tonight. If a team stands around against a Div.II, it won't get any better during the season.

Score prediction:

Ouachita Baptist - 58

Kentucky - 92

VS

Ghost Hunters

My favorite weekly show, Ghost Hunters, has been exceptionally exciting and productive this past season. As I have said before, I like the crew of investigators on the show because they try to find reasonable explanations for why a place may be "haunted." The two main guys, Jason & Grant, are Roto-Rooter plumbers during the day, so they always check loose pipes and the like to see if they may be causing those bumps in the night. They also measure the amount of electromagnetism coming from wires and electric devices within the building to see if that may cause people to feel a certain way or see certain things. I have always felt the show was credible and they were honest in their findings. Being the skeptic that I am, I appreciate this. However, this past season my skepticism about the legitimacy of the show and it's findings has grown. It seems the strange occurrences taking place during investigations are becoming more frequent and intense, leading me to feel this may be manufactured in some way. I hope these are real and unexplainable, but I will continue watching with a little more doubt. I have noticed several comments on youtube that other people are starting to doubt the realness of the events. Someone even commented they thought Jason (the founder of TAPS) looked really angry during the Live Halloween show, thinking they had taken the special effects too far. I wonder. (Note: I still enjoy the show and the "evidence" they capture is still pretty neat, even if it is made up).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idqiv-8QIAs

So Close, Yet So Far

While attempting to type my blog address into my browser bar, I accidentally switched the "s" & "p" in "blogspot" and entered the site below.

http://www.buckleb.blogpsot.com/

Interesting.

Halloween Party

Beth and I went to a Halloween Party last night at the home of a co-worker. Here are some pictures of the frivolity.

Cats & cards

First, let me start by congratulating the UofL Cardinal football team on their performance in Syracuse this evening. I didn't think it was possible to lose to the Orangemen in football two seasons in a row. If only Georgetown Toyota's 2nd shift could have made a few more free throws, it would have been a perfect day.

"On paper looks very winnable, don't take that for granite! GO
CARDS!" (underline added for emphasis).
-quote in the Courier's fan forum.

Nice to see UofL fans don't deal in rocks...even though their 401k is probably worth as much. I also bet this guy gets French benefits.

Now on to more important collegiate athletics...

The University of Kentucky Wildcats became bowl eligible for the 3rd consecutive season with a win over their sister football program, Mississippi State. Thanks defense (wow, did I really just thank UK's defense? Holy crap!). I still have little confidence in the next three games against Georgia, Vanderbilt & Tennessee. Georgia was humiliated at home today by Florida, but that still doesn't make me feel any better. Not even about UK's loss to the Gators. Vandy and Tennessee look dismal, but Kentucky football is Kentucky football. I know better.

P.S. Kevin, I didn't see any of the Blue/White scrimmage, but like to see what you thought.