A pair of Aggies will do battle in the first round as 5th-seeded Texas A&M goes up against the 12-seed Utah State. Texas A&M is in the Tourney for the third time under Mark Turgeon, who replaced Billy Gillispie when he bolted for UK. The other Aggies, led by Stew Morrill’s motion offense will try and pull off what it almost accomplished last year against Marquette. Utah State has bowed out in the first round in their past four attempts, last winning in 2001, when they beat Ohio State in OT in a first round upset.
B is for “Baylor Bears.”
What a tremedous turnaround Scott Drew has orchestrated since the tragedy and scandal that rocked this team back in the summer of 2003. After only winning a total of 36 games (and only 13 conference games) from 2003 to 2007, the Bears made the NCAA Tournament in 2008 and lost in the championship game of the NIT last year. One could credit some of the Bears’ success to Drew’s apparent recruiting strategy of trying to assemble an “All-Name” team. Tweety Carter, LaceDarius Dunn, Givon Crump, Ekpe Udoh and Quincy Acy could all make at least honorable mention on such a squad.
C is for “Cardinals.”
The Louisville Cardinals are coming off back-to-back Elite Eight appearances and have proved this season, though they are nowhere near as talented as the past two years, that they can compete with anyone. They’ve defeated Syracuse twice and held big and late leads over the likes of Villanova, West Virginia and Kentucky. Leadership is an issue with this team and senior point Edgar Sosa as well as Jamaican postman Samardo Samuels are going to have to show up if they intend on beating Cal and then mowing down the Dookies..
D is for “Duke.”
I feared ESPN may threaten to send some goons my way if Duke wasn’t my “D”. The number one seed in what many are calling the weakest region, the Blue Devils will look to prove they deserved a number one seed despite running through a weaker than usual ACC. However, if you listen to Gregg Doyel, or any other talking head out there, you should go ahead and pencil Duke into your Elite Eight.
E is for “Execute.”
Sure this is a key for all squads in March and in any month if they want to win, but for the Monarchs of Old Dominion, executing their gameplan is a must. The Monarchs finished the regular season fifth in the NCAA in scoring defense (allowing just 56.9 points per game) and fifth in rebounding margin (plus 7.9). Running the shot clock down and hitting shots is what they’ll need to do when they face an equally defensive minded Notre Dame squad in the first round. Though the Fighting Irish have just recently begun to run a stall ball offense, Old Dominion has had the entire season to perfect theirs. This should make for a Big Ten-esque first round matchup.
F is for “Finland.”
That’s the home country of Old Dominion’s best player, 6-foot-10 Gerald Lee. Senior big man, two-time All-CAA First Team and the pride of Uusikaupunki, Finland; Lee leads the Monarchs with 14.3 points per game, shoots 54-percent from the field and 76-percent from the free throw line.
G is for “Dallas Green.”
Green averages only 6.5 points and 4.7 rebounds a game, but in back-to-back seasons has hit the game-winning shot in the NEC tournament, clinching an NCAA bid for the Colonials of Robert Morris .
H is for “Harangody.”
The man is simply a beast. He has led the Big East in scoring for three strait seasons and is Notre Dame’s career leader in points and rebounds. If he can return to 100% and continue to fit in with Mike Brey’s new offensive strategy instituted because of his injury, the Fightin’ Irish may indeed make a deep run.
I is for “Irish.”
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish somehow were given a 6-seed and will open against Old Dominion. With All-American and “H” Luke Harangody coming off the bench due to a knee injury that forced him to miss a month and Mike Brey to turn the Irish’s usual high scoring offense into a stall ball defensive club, Notre Dame will look to continue their recent hot streak. With a physical Monarch team, they may approach their first round matchup with a “first team to fifty points wins” mentality.
J is for “JaJuan Johnson.”
Purdue still has this guy underneath to go along with fellow junior, guard E’Twaun Moore. Though they have looked lost since losing Robbie Hummel, this is still a very talented Boilermaker squad. Johson averaged 14.9 points per game, 7.2 rpg, and 2.0 bpg en route to First-Team Big Ten honors.
K is for “Karon Abraham.”
The NEC rookie of the year and MVP of the conference tourney, Robert Morris’ Karon Abraham connects on 44.2-percent of his threeballs and strokes 85.3-percent from the line. If he continues his improvement and the Colonials play defense like they have all year, they just might have a shot at becoming the fifth 15-seed to ever win. Led by Mike Rice, a former Pittsburgh assistant, Robert Morris has now made the tourney two out of the last three years.
L is for “Land Down Under.”
Five of the Saint Mary’s Gaels top seven players hail from the Land Down Under, Australia. St. Mary’s has won only one NCAA Tournament game in its history, and that was an opening round game against Idaho State way back in 1959. The Gaels have been one and done in all four appearances since then.
M is for “Mike Montgomery.”
Head Coach of the California Golden Bears, Montgomery led Cal to its first Pac-10 regular season title in 50 years and second strait NCAA Tourney appearance. Led by Pac-10 Player of the Year and Cal’s career scoring leader Jerome Randle, the Golden Bears will be out to prove that they didn’t win the Pac-10 solely because the league is horrible. Expect to see screens, screens and more screens from Montgomery’s offense to set up threes, threes and more threes. And if they find themselves with a late lead, Cal’s 75.7 percent free-throw percentage is going to make it tough for a team to foul its way back into the game.
N is for “No North Carolina.”
A year removed emerging from the South Region and claiming their fifth National Title, the Tar Heels were horrible this year and will be NITing it for the first time since 2003, Matt Doherty’s final season.
O is for “Omar Samham.”
St. Mary’s best player and one of the best centers in the country, 6-foot-11 Omar Samhan does it all for the Gaels. Samhan averages 20.9 points, 11.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game which led the entire WCC in all three categories. The last player to do that? Bill Cartwright of San Francisco in 1978.
P is for “Perimeter Defense.”
Four teams in this region (Duke, St. Mary’s, Richmond and Old Dominion) hold opponents to under 30 percent shooting from downtown.
Q is for “Questionable Placement.”
We’ve all heard the arguments about why Syracuse was sent out west while Duke was given the apparent easiest bracket. Why is Notre Dame a 6-seed and Louisville a 9-seed? Louisville defeated the Irish head-to-head, had a better conference record and downed Syracuse twice on the year. Three seeds lower? Lots of questionable placements made by the committee this year, and not just in the South.
R is for “Richmond.”
The Richmond Spiders are the only program in NCAA history to win as the 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th seed. Beating the likes of Florida, Mississippi State, Missouri and Old Dominion and a 13-3 conference record in a tough A-10 has earned them a shot at getting a win as a 7-seed against 10-seed Saint Mary’s.
S is for “Siena Saints.”
The Saints have pulled the upset for two years in a row now and will go for three against 4-seed Purdue. Siena won as a 13-seed in 2008 and a 9-seed last year before giving top seeded Louisville a scare in the second round. Led by MAAC player of the year and Conference Tourney MVP Alex Franklin’s 16.8 points per game, the Saints have four starters averaging 13.6ppg or more. This is a very talented and experienced Siena squad who should no longer be a surprise to anyone. They also feature the nation’s leading assist man in Ronald Moore, who drops 7.8 dimes each game.
T is for “Three Pointers.”
With an experienced backcourt in Senior guards Corey Allmond and Ashton Mitchell, who should give Baylor’s backcourt of Tweety Carter and LaceDarius Dunn all they can handle in the first round, the Sam Houston State Bearkats have six players who have drained 25 or more threes on the year, and average 8.8 made longballs as a team per game.
U is for “University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.”
After starting their season 0-11, the Golden Lions of the SWAC finished the season 17-4 and won 11 of their last 12 games. It should be noted that they played their first fourteen games away from home and during their 0-11 start, included were losses to UTEP, Oklahoma State, Missouri, Georgia Tech and Kansas State: all tournament teams. If they can take out Winthrop, the Dookies might just be a little nervous…
V is for “Villanova.”
Coming off a Final Four appearance, the best dressed coach in the country Jay Wright and his Wildcats will try to navigate the South to get back. Led by soon to be 2,200-point scorer Scottie Reynolds (and just 50 points away from passing Kerry Kittles as the schools all-time leading scorer), ‘Nova will try and break out of their slump which has seen them lose five of their past seven games.
W is for “Winthrop.”
Winthrop will be making its second appearance in the Opening Round Game (2001), joining Florida A&M (2004, 2007) as the only two teams to earn that prestigous honor. This is the Eagles second appearance in coach Randy Peele’s three years at the school.
X is for “X Factor.”
Supposedly you have to have it to win in March. What is it? I have no idea, Algebra and Calculus were never my thing. I was more of a “Y” guy….
Y is for “Yumps.”
(1)vs.(16)
(8)vs.(9)
(5)vs.(12)
(4)vs.(13)
(6)vs.(11)
(3)vs.(14)
(7)vs.(10)
(2)vs.(15)
Z is for “Zone.”
You will see lots of zone defense in the South. Louisville’s Rick Pitino likes to drop back into a zone after his token press takes teams deeper into the shot clock. Richmond plays a tough matchup zone, Baylor institutes a stingy 2-3 zone. Old Dominion switches from man to zone often, and is helped by their length when in zone.
Earlier this season, John Wall made the cover of Sports Illustrated. This week, on SI’s annual regional NCAA Tournament issue, DeMarcus Cousins is one of six player featured. Pretty cool for Big Cuz.
Also, Cousins clearly has good taste in shoes. In the picture, DeMarcus is wearing (at least I think so) Air Jordan XI’s, also known as my favorite shoe of all time. I remember getting a pair back in elementary school and protecting them as if my life depended on it.
There has been some unhappiness over the last 24 hours about UK’s draw in the NCAA Tournament. On the face of things, it does look pretty bad. UK could potentially lace ‘em up in the second round, Sweet Sixteen, and Elite Eight against a former number one team in the nation in the second round (Texas), a team that can grind it with the best and could trouble the ‘Cats (Wisconsin), and almost assuredly the two seed with the best case to be a one (West Virginia).
Honestly, though, I’m not nearly as upset some. Yeah, it would be nice to be down South where Duke is sitting, but sooner or later, a national title winning team is going to be stiffly tested. I kind of like the fact that UK will be a little mad about their draw. A mad Kentucky team is a focused Kentucky team and for the first time in a while, the games are going to be just as important to the ‘Cats as their opponent.
Enough of that, let’s take a look at what Kentucky’s potential path to winning the national title will be.
First Round East Tennessee State Pirates (16)
Nick will be delving a little more deeply into this matchup in his preview on Wednesday, but what’s the deal with the Pirates? They won the Atlantic Sun conference title this year and make their second consecutive trip to the NCAA’s. You may remember them from last year, because they went punch for punch with top seeded Pitt before falling by ten.
This season’s Pirates make their living by forcing turnovers. They will mix in some zone looks and get in the passing lanes. They average 12 steals a game, 33rd in the nation. Offensively, they struggle a bit, but they do get after it on the boards. They are not very effective from three point range. If UK can close out possessions with defensive rebounds and limit turnovers as they did effectively in Nashville.
Second Round Texas Longhorns (8)
There just aren’t many teams more talented than Texas. There also aren’t any teams who have done as little as Texas has with the talent on their roster. We all remember their number one ranking back in January, but they closed the season 7-9, beating only one Tourney team over that stretch (Oklahoma State twice).
Texas and Kentucky have a lot of similarities on paper: veteran four men (Damion James and Patrick Patterson), giant big men who struggle with foul trouble at times (Dexter Pittman and DeMarcus Cousins), and big time freshman classes. Texas doesn’t have John Wall though. Also, Texas is one of the better open floor teams in the country, but any time a team has tried to run with UK, it just hasn’t worked.
Wake Forest Demon Deacons (9)
Wake has lost five of six and there’s a pretty good chance, with Ishmael Smith running things, that they’ll try to run with the ‘Cats. They don’t shoot well from the outside and they aren’t very good in the turnover department on either side of the floor. They get after it on the offensive boards, but are not very good on the defensive glass. They have some glaring weaknesses, not much confidence, and will have one day to prepare to play UK. I think UK can exploit them.
Yep, the Deacon drives a motorcycle all the time
Smith and Al-Farouq Aminu are elite players, but they have a bunch of losses that make you scratch your head. If they knock of Texas, there probably stands a chance UK could overlook them, but this is a pretty good matchup for UK.
Sweet Sixteen Wisconsin Badgers (4)
Lots has been made of how the slow it down style of a team like Wisconsin will give UK trouble. I don’t really give as much credence to this thought as some. UK has been well trained in the take the air out of the ball philosophy throughout SEC play. Yes, Wisconsin is better practiced at implementing it, but SEC opponents have grinded (ground?) it out all year and UK has dealt pretty well with it.
Wisconsin is a conservative team in most every way. They stay home on defense, contest shots, and rebound. On offense, they are mostly happy with holding on to the ball and getting back on defense after a missed shot. Like any team, they are much better when their guards (Jason Bohannon and Trevon Hughes) are hitting shots. They rely on their starters a bunch, with their bench playing just over 25% of their minutes. They are also not a particularly big team, with just one guy over 6-10 (Jon Leuer).
If UK were to stay within themselves in this matchup and a couple outside shots fell, I think UK would handle the Badgers.
Temple Owls (5)
According to Ken Pomeroy, Temple is the third best defensive team in the land. Opponents shoot about 28% from three against them and 42.5% from inside the arc. If they play Wisconsin in the second round, it will really be a match made in heaven. If you really like defense and you really don’t like more than 60 possessions in a game, tune in. I think it will be a toss-up between those two teams if it happens. They are a slightly worse shooting team that Wisconsin, but defensively better, at least according to stats.
Long Shot – Cornell Big Red (12)
A lot of people are pinning Cornell as the hot 12 seed that could do some damage…I don’t see it so much. Yeah, they played Kansas well and yeah they shoot it well from three, but they don’t play good enough defense to make a sustained run. Also, Temple is the second best three point defense in the nation, which will limit the damage they do from deep.
Elite Eight West Virginia Mountaineers (2)
West Virginia is the highest rated two seed on the S-Curve according to most, so they are the very clear favorite to emerge from the bottom half of the East bracket. Shooting is an issue though. They will run 6-7 guys at you like it’s their job and get after you with Bob Huggins patented man defense. Guard play leaves a bit to be desired, which would give the ‘Cats an advantage. Also, they lack a big who can match up with DeMarcus Cousins.
Nevertheless, they are atletic enough and talented enough to stiffly test the ‘Cats and maybe even make it come down to shooting. They create mismatches for opponents (and themselves) all over the floor, so it would be very interesting.
New Mexico Lobos (3)
New Mexico has been highly rated all season, but they play out west in a non-BCS conference, so most people around these parts don’t know much about them. The Lobos are out to change that. Steve Alford has them playing some serious ball. Darington Hobson, in addition to being quite awesomely named, is a big time player on the wing and does a little bit of everything.
They aren’t really going to scare anybody on defense, but they have a bunch of guys who will take and hit the three. They have a bunch of tweeners on their roster who can do a lot of good things. Even though they don’t have a ton of size, they can rebound the ball very well.
Marquette Golden Eagles (6)
Pretty much anytime you turned on SportsCenter this season, they were giving somebody in the Big East everything they wanted. Unfortunately, they lost a lot more close ones than they won early in the year. Of late, though, they started to win them, closing the season 10-3 with three OT wins. Go ahead and pencil them in as a team likely to be featured in the “One Shining Moment” montage, because their games always come down to the last possession.
Buzz Williams team does it with almost no bench. Lazar Hayward carries a very heavy load for them on offense and defense, including guarding guys way bigger than him. They will hit a lot of threes on you and they just don’t turn the ball over. Their lack of size causes them to struggle on the boards, but they make up for it in heart. Whoever beats them in the Tournament will not do it without dealing with a fight.
Ari Wolfe served as the University of Louisville’s football and basketball play-by-play broadcaster from 2005 until 2009. Just as fans do with referees, they often unjustifiably degrade the announcers calling the game. Unfortunately, Ari Wolfe received some criticism during his tenure at U of L, and a lot of that was at the hands of this website. We poked fun at Wolfe because it was the easy thing to do and then he called us out on it. After exchanging some e-mails, we realized that we both shared one passion. A passion for college athletics. We were lucky enough to sit down with him and discuss the NCAA Tournament, his time in Louisville and his career in general.
Wolfe, a Southern Cal graduate, has also spent time with the Philadelphia Soul, Albany Firebirds and the Minnesota Vikings. He is currently calling games for both the Mountain West and Big Ten Conference.
nickev: Ari, first off we would like to thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to talk with us.
nickev: There is always a lot of discussion involving the last few bubble teams to make the NCAA tournament. Are there any selections, or non-selections, that really caught your attention?
Ari Wolfe: I am still in a state of shock that San Diego State won the MWC title, beating New Mexico and UNLV, and got a #11 seed. I totally disagree with that. I think they warranted a seed of eight or nine.
nickev: Are there any higher seeds that you could see making a deep run into the tournament?
Ari Wolfe: I rarely am in the prediction business. As a play-by-play announcer we usually make the analysts make these calls. I do have Siena and San Diego State in the Sweet 16.
nickev: Minnesota was clearly one of the last teams to get in the tourney, while Illinois was left on the outside looking in. Which of these teams do you think is more deserving, or do you believe that both, or neither, should have received an invite?
Ari Wolfe: I think both should have been left out. Illinois was too inconsistent with too many losses to get in. I believe that Minnesota was helped by all of the early success of the Big Ten and the NCAA wanted to recognize the overall strength of the Big Ten.
nickev: Many believed that Michigan State should have received higher than a 5-seed. This is a team that is coming off of an appearance in the National Championship and still has Kalin Lucus and Tom Izzo, one of the best tournament coaches in the field. Do you think Bill Self and the Jayhawks have reason to be concerned if they face off in the Sweet 16?
Ari Wolfe: Yes, the should be very concerned. MSU is a tough team with a determined head coach. Could be the best match-up in the Sweet 16.
nickev: The Mountain West Conference has four teams in this year’s dance (UNLV, BYU, New Mexico, San Diego State), which is the most in it’s 11-year history. The MWC has really struggled in past NCAA tournaments. Do you think they will have more success this season? What team is most likely to make a run? What MWC player is most likely to make an impact in the tourney?
Ari Wolfe: It was my first year covering the MWC and I was extremely impressed. New Mexico can make a run. Darington Hobson is the best player that no one knows outside of the MWC. BYU really needs a win in the tournament. The Cougars have a wonderful head coach in Dave Rose, who overcame pancreatic cancer last summer. They have not won a game under Rose in the tournament, but they won’t let their coach down this time. I am not guaranteeing a trip to Sweet 16, but they will beat Florida in the first round.
nickev: I’m sure you have done your best to keep up with the ‘Cards this season despite not calling their games. What do you think are the reasons for their inconsistencies? What do they have to do to make a run in the tournament?
Ari Wolfe: Very difficult for me to judge because I only saw them play three times. This team lacks on-court leadership. I love Edgar Sosa, but when your point guard is inconsistent, it creates a lot uncertainty for the whole team. They have a bunch of good players, but no one that really scares people. They need maximum effort and they have one thing that the rest of the team’s don’t have. Rick Pitino. He is a winner in March, period.
nickev: Many so-called analysts are predicting Kentucky to fall before they get out of the East Region because of their inexperience. Do you think their inexperience will prevent them from getting to Indianapolis?
Ari Wolfe: No, I don’t. I think youth and bravado can be a good thing at this time of year. If you are unaware of all of the pressure, you can just play. Calipari is another terrific tournament coach. I have the Cats in the Final Four.
nickev: Other than Kentucky, who else do you have in your Final Four and who is your eventual champion?
Ari Wolfe: So far I have picked three of the four regions. I cannot for some reason, find a team that I like in the West. Kansas vs. ?, Kentucky vs. Villanova. Villanova wins it all.
nickev: In their regular season finale, Louisville upset Syracuse in the last game in the history of Freedom Hall. What is your fondest Freedom Hall memory?
Ari Wolfe: My first game there. I was completely thrilled that I was going to be the TV play-by-play announcer for the Louisville Cardinals in Freedom Hall. Way beyond my early dreams of being an announcer. Best game I called there is easy, it was 2006 vs. Marquette. The place was buzzing from the opening tip. The game went to overtime on Dominic James’s desperation 3, with the Cards eventually winning in overtime. Awesome. Working with Bob Valvano was really fun. It took us a few games to gel, but eventually working together was one of the highlights of my time in Louisville. One other note, Kenny Klein will go down as the best person I met during my time in the ‘Ville. Classy guy. I miss Kenny.
nickev: You hosted both Rick Pitino and Steve Kragthorpe’s shows. What is your impression of these two coaches, who at least in the public’s eye are at the complete opposite ends of the success totem pole?
Ari Wolfe: Steve got some very bad advice early on with dealing with the local media and fans. He was on the defensive from almost day one. The University told everyone that he would be the opposite of Bobby Petrino and be very media friendly. That changed almost immediately. He had an us against the world mentality and it really hurt him and the entire program. Steve is a great guy and is almost universally liked in the NFL. Maybe that is where he belongs. As for Coach Pitino, he was always fair with me. I would have liked to have more of a relationship with him, but that wasn’t the case. I admire his success and I wish him and the Cards future success.
nickev: You won an Emmy award for your time spent here in Louisville. Where does this rank on your list of accomplishments, and what is your finest achievement to date?
Ari Wolfe: As a play-by-play announcer, I never thought once about winning an emmy. I did not even know that there was a category for announcers. All the credit goes to WHAS-11’s Debbie Harbsmeier. She submitted the entry and I was fortunate to win. It does not rank very high on my list of accomplishments. I am most proud of the fact that I can earn a living doing something that I love. I get to be a part of sports history all of the time. It never gets old. Best moment of my career was the Albany Firebirds winning the title in 1999. Best group of people that I have ever been around. I still think about those guys all the time.
nickev: Speaking of the Firebirds, in a 2008 interview you listed the AFL’s Albany Firebirds’ coach Mike Dailey as one of your mentors. Who are some other people who have had an impact on your career?
Ari Wolfe: My mother is my biggest influence. She followed her own path to being a very successful professor at the University of Wisconsin and she always supported my dreams of being an announcer. Best Mom ever. I admire guys who do their homework and don’t rest of their athletic accomplishments. Two guys from the NFL Network that represent those values are Mike Mayock and Charles Davis. Hard workers and better people.
nickev: What was it like to work for Jon Bon Jovi?
Ari Wolfe: It was amazing. He was not only the owner, but a huge fan. He regularly listened to our broadcasts when he was on the road and told me once that I was his father’s all-time favorite announcer. Gave me a feeling of job security rarely felt in broadcasting.
nickev: Once again we really appreciate the opportunity to sit down and talk with you. We wish you the best of luck and hope to sit down and talk with you soon.
In honor of St. Patrick’s Day I have to break out one of the most hilarious videos I have ever seen. Residents of Mobile, Alabama thought for certain that there was a leprechaun roaming around.
“To me, it look like a leprechaun to me. All you gotta do is look up in the tree,” said one man. “Who else see the leprechaun, say YEAAHH!”
However, other residents were skeptical.
“It could be a crackhead, that got hold to the wrong stuff,” said a lady in her car. “And it told him to get up in the tree and play a leprechaun.”
Luckily, for the residents of Mobile, there is a man with a special leprechaun flute, a flute he received from his great, great, great grandfather, who is taking charge of the situation. Also, they have a pretty good sketch of the elusive leprechaun.
But, when it comes down to it. All the residents of Mobile really care about is where the gold is.
“I wanna know where the gold at!”
Check out the video and then drink some green beer.
The Daily Beast just released their list of America’s craziest cities. The 57 largest metropolitan areas were ranked — using four criteria: psychiatrists per capita, stress, eccentricity and drinking levels. The Craziest Cities in America were then revealed.
The Methodology:
• Psychiatrists per capita: How many shrinks there are to fill the therapy demand per person, with data from the Census and Citysearch.com. Read: The lower the score, the more psychiatrists per capita.
• Stress: Emotional and mental health, based on a 2008 national survey by Gallup-Healthways.
• Eccentricity: How crazy, wacky, and weird each city is, compiled with help from travel writer, and student of all things eccentric, Mike Barish
• Drinking: Whether the metropolitan area’s residents are heavy drinking, defined as two drinks a day or more for men, and one drink a day or more for women. With data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System 2008.
Louisville earned the honor of fourteenth on the list. It wasn’t “Sin City” (5th) that came in atop the nuttiest though, it was a different type of “cin”: The Queen City of Cincinnati came in as the number one wackjob city on the list.
St. Louis, MO hit blackjack at number 21, while Nashville finished 32nd, partly due to the fact it is illegal to roller-skate and listen to a CD at the same time… Indianapolis barely staved off being the sanest of the bunch, finishing in 52nd out of the 57 cities ranked.
Join the StraitPinkie.com Bracket Pool Right Now! The password is “pinkie”. IT’S FREE…and the winner will receive a $100 Gift Certificate to FansCloset.com. FansCloset.com specializes in University of Kentucky and University of Louisville college apparel, which means it is perfect for the six Pinkie readers out there. If you don’t like the ‘Cats or the Cards, the $100 can be used for anything on the entire website.
We will also be giving away some Strait Pinkie T-Shirts and Koozies along with some Jeremy Sharfe and Timmy Lickteig CDs.
If you don’t have a CBSsports.com account and you don’t want to make one, e-mail me your name and your picks to nickev14@yahoo.com and I will find the time to input them for you.
If you are impatient and want a Strait Pinkie T-Shirt now, e-mail me us at info@straitpinkie.com and we’ll tell you how to get one for $10.
If you are impatient and want a Jeremy Sharfe or Timmy Lickteig CD, buy them on iTunes at the links below.
Today’s Humpday Yumpday Yump is best known for her role on one of nickev’s favorite shows “Bones” as Dr. Temperance Brennan. Her biggest movie roles have been “It Could Happen To You” and “Glory Road”. She also filmed an AWESOME slumber party video with Alyson Hannigan, Jaime King, Minka Kelly, and Katharine McPhee for the website funnyordie.com to promote regular breast cancer screenings for the organization Stand Up 2 Cancer. Emily Deschanel, Uh YUMP!!
I know the focus right now is March Madness. As well it should be. But, football is right around the corner as well. Spring Football starts for UK on March 31st with the Cats holding their annual Blue vs. White Scrimmage Game on April 24th. Spring Football for both UK and Louisville will be extra special this year as both have new head coaches. Both Joker Phillips and Charlie Strong will try to set a new standard among their players AND coaches.
For UK, the talk of spring practice will be the Quarterback competition. Based on feedback I have received, Morgan Newton is leading the team and most players expect him to be the starting Quarterback when the season opens. Now, could that change? Absolutely!
I’m more concerned about UK’s Offensive Line and Defense heading into spring. Who’s going to repace Corey Peters, Micah Johnson, Sam Maxwell and Trevard Lindley? We all have ideas, but sometimes what looks good on paper doesn’translate to the football field. One thing is clear, we’ll have a better idea once spring practice is in full swing.
Below are a few links back to my blog (Aaron’s UK Football Blog) from the past few days regarding UK Football.
vs.(16)
vs.(9)
vs.(12)
vs.(13)
vs.(11)
vs.(14)
vs.(10)
vs.(15)
