Last Weekend In January Already?

Good Morning Cintucky! The weekend is finally here! We have a slew of College Basketball activity this afternoon starting with:

UL @ #9 West Virginia - 12pm on ESPN. Huge game for the Cards vs Hug's Thugs (Anybody notice how before Huggins got there, it was all just country boys playing ball, and once Huggins arrived it is UC thugs all over again?). This is going to be a tough game going into West Virginia for the Cardinals but a victory would go along way in boosting their NCAA tourney resume.

#1 UK vs #23 Vanderbilt - 4pm on ESPN. The world will find out how Cal's Cats bounce back after a lack-luster defeat against South Carolina. Vanderbilt is coming off an impressive win over Tennessee and is currently sitting in first place in the SEC. I would expect UK to come out more fired up than we've seen all year. And of course, Rupp will be rocking.

UD @ St. Bonnies - 7 pm. Obviously not on national TV but you can watch the game by going to www.daytonflyers.com. Dayton's season is on the verge of going off the deep end after back-to-back last second losses in the A-10. The A-10 won't get many teams in the tournament and Dayton has already lost to Xavier, St. Joe's, and Rhode Island. Basically Dayton needs to win out from here, or win the A-10 tournament. And everyone knows they suck in the A-10 tournament. Brian Gregory, you piss me off.

Lets hope for a good weekend of Cintucky Basketball!

In an unrelated story, here is the type of car that Rey Maualuga was driving (drunk) when he slammed into two other cars and a parking meter:


Two important questions:
-Is it even possible for him to fit into that thing???
-31 teams in the NFL have more scouts than the Bengals. That is every team in the NFL. Maybe there is a reason why other teams passed on the College Football Defensive Player of the Year in last years draft...and the reason is: poor Bengals management. (Seriously until you win a playoff game Mike Brown, everything is your fault. Hell, Carson Palmer could get diarrhea before a game and it would still be your fault (It would probably be due to the one-level-below-Taco-Bell grade meat you bring into your stadium. Scrooge.))


But hey it's alright everybody, Rey pled NOT-GUILTY. That MUST mean he is innocent.

-Greg

If I were King (Mike Brown) For A Day

(No that's not me, that's the old King)

So, in response to this article by Dan Parzych detailing how it's no surprise that Bob Bratkowski is coming back for what will most likely be yet another underachieving offense season next yet, I was asked what I would do if I magically took over the Bengals organization. Within about 30 seconds I had scribbled down my top 10 list. Every word I wrote made me madder and madder. Without further ado:

10 Moves I Make If Took Over Ownership of the Bengals

1) Fire Bratkowski

2) I would have hired Hue Jackson before the Raiders. The Bengals receivers loved working with Hue when he was the Bengals WR coach. And really anybody would be better at Brat's job than Brat. But then again I would probably leave this decision up to: (see #4).

3) Hire 10 more scouts and put them to work right away. Not only would I hire scouts but I would provide them with a company credit card that allows them to eat at places other than Denny's. Furthermore, this magic card would also allow them to not have to pay for their own flights, not force them to stay in pay-by-the-hour hotels, and give them the option to rent something other than a sub-compact car to get around in. (I can only assume that this is how Mike Brown operates).

4) Hire a GM.

5) Fire Katie Blackburn and Troy. Worthless. You know, it's one thing when the only money you make is from people CHOOSING to come to a game, or buy merchandise, or buy a beer at the game. When its a choice to spend money on a football team, then yes as an owner you can keep it in the family all you want. You can hire your 10 year-old grand daughter as a scout and your 7 year-old great nephew as a beer vendor for all I care. HOWEVER..HOW. E-V-E-R. The second you start charging taxpayers for YOUR stadium, it no longer becomes a choice for the public. Sure, people can move out of Hamilton County, but then you're negatively affecting peoples lives. Again, THE SECOND you start charging tax payers for your stadium, the goal of the organization should be one thing and one thing only: reaching the highest pinnacle possible for that organization, The Super Bowl. And that means it is no longer a family business. It is about hiring the best people who will give your organization the best chance of success.

6) Hire a real negotiating team that will get the players in on time for training camp. (Real good job in getting Andre Smith to agree to that lesser contract when because of it you lost him for almost the entire first year. Brilliant I say)

7) I would take out a full page ad in the newspaper apologizing for the 19 years the organization has continuously let the city of Cincinnati down without even attempting to put together a winning team.

8) I would restructure the stadium deal to be more like other cities agreements so that its not downright screwing the taxpayer.

9) I would return ticket prices to the level they were last year (they already announced they are raising them for next year) AND I would pledge that no ticket price would be raised until we won a playoff game. (I really like this idea).

10) I would start building an indoor practice facility ASAP so that my team doesn't have to get on a yellow school bus and travel to Mason's soccer facility to get a practice in during the winter.

There that's it. That's what I'd do.

After I got done writing these, I looked back and I realized that none of these 10 things have anything to do with actual player personnel decisions (For example deciding to bring back Odell Thurman or Chris Henry, or suggesting an Offensive Lineman should become a TE). You know why? Because that is the job of the General Manager. NOT THE OWNER. Really only 2 out of the 10 I listed would be decisions that should be handled by the GM. Firing the OC was one, and I justify that because that needs to be done ASAP and no reason to delay the inevitable as any GM would see Bratkowski as worthy of a high school assistant job, and no more. And hiring Hue before the Raiders got him (he really got screwed by Petrino).

I'm curious to see if anyone has other things they would do?

Greg "If I owned the Bengals for 5 years and didn't at least make it to a Super Bowl I would donate the team to charity" R.

UK's Stay at #1 Short Lived

You know what happens when you wait more than a day to post a celebratory "We're number 1" post? You miss the opportunity. The fans saw this one coming a mile away. The talking heads saw it coming. Everyone saw it coming. Just not tonight.

The lethargic attitude that this team approaches games with finally bit them in the a$$. Say what you want about bad calls, unlucky bounces, etc., UK lost this game for 1 reason. South Carolina wanted it more. A lot more.

That crash you just heard was every UK fan returning to earth after tonight's 68-62 loss to the South Carolina Devan Downeys. A quick run through the numbers show that Downey went for 30 points on 29 shots. Wall ended up with 19, 8 of which came with under 2 minutes to go. Thanks for showing up for 2 minutes John. You really deserve all of that priase you are getting! Patterson went for 5 points on 4 shots. Anyone that thinks Patrick Patterson is an All-American or a lotery pick at this time is kidding themselves. He doesn't demand the ball. He doesn't make his presence known. He takes a back seat when he should be driving. Bledsoe had 5 turnovers.. which most likely lowers his average. One silver lining of the game was the STELLAR play of DeMarcus Cousins. Boogie went for 27 and 12 with 3 blocks and was the only player on UK's team that seemed to give a sh*t all night.

The numbers are really irrelevant though. USC wanted it more, and Downey was the best player on the court, and the little things that UK has done in games throughout the year that had the fans sitting very uneasy finally caught up to them. The good news? UK is still 19-1 and the world is not coming to an end. This team has problems sure, but will be there come tournament time.

Congrats to USC on a very deserving win, and for the Cats can we just get back to basketball please? It seems basketball is about priority number 4 for this team right now. No more magazine covers. No more calls with the president. No more YouTube videos. Just go out and win.

Cal you wanted to see what your team would do with the number 1 ranking and you found out. Now go work your magic.

Brian "is there anything more disgusting than wasted talent" Reinhart

What lost the game

By: Evan from Evansville

(This was called a jump ball)

Here are the reasons UK lost their 1st game of the season tonight (in semi-chronological order)

• Daniel Orton called for an offensive goal tend when the ball was clearly off the rim
• John Wall tries to make a sick layup on a backdoor lob instead of coming down with the ball
• Bledsoe misses a wide open layup deciding whether to dunk or not
• Dodson misses a wide open layup trying to dunk
• Shot clock set to 2 seconds after S.C.'s 3 pointer missed. The shot was missed at 2 seconds, but there was a loose ball. Time would've expired, thus it should've been UK's ball
• Every over the back of the game that wasn't called on S.C.
• Every travel by Downey that wasn't called

As you can see, the trend here is stupid decisions trying to be 'cute' and poor officiating. The poor officiating you have to dismiss. It was a road game. Submit a tape to the SEC. Several of these misses were quite obvious, but you'll get that sometimes.

The 'cute' stuff is something these guys need to work on or they will lose in March against a team that always makes the little plays.

Cintucky Bball Midseason Grades Cont.

Yesterday we gave you our mid-season grades for UL and UK (who will be the new #1 team in the country after their dominating performance against Arkansas yesterday). Today we take a look at the other Cintucky Teams: UC, XU, & UD.


UC:
Record: 13-6
Preseason Rank: NR
Current Rank: NR

This was supposed to be the year that UC finally recovered from the debacle left by Mr. Personality Bob Huggins. The #12 rated recruit and all-time leading scorer in New York High School basketball history Lance Stephenson was coming to town, top 100 recruit PG Cashmere Wright was finally going to make his UC debut after tearing his ACL last year, and talented big-man Yancy Gates was back for another year. Throw in 3 year starter and potential first round NBA draft pick Deonta Vaughn and it looked like a recipe for success. But then you need to remember the league they are playing in. The Big East is simply loaded with talent from top to bottom with 5 teams currently in the top 12.

So far this year, UC has been the epitome of a team that frustrates the hell out of their fan base (what else is new in Cincinnati?). They've had great wins (Vanderbilt, Maryland, UConn), bad losses (St. John's, Seton Hall), and then they've had losses that leaving you wondering how exactly Head Coach Mick Cronin managed to screw this one up. Deonta Vaughn has not looked like a clutch senior, Cashmere Wright is only averaging 4 points on 16 minutes per game, and Lance Stephenson, while looking incredible at times, has been inconsistent.

If the Bearcats don't turn it on late this year and make a serious run (unlike last year where they lost their last 7 games after appearing to be poised to make the Tournament) then without a doubt you'll start hearing calls for Mick Cronin's head. When a team has as much talent as this one does, yet it still feels like there is a big piece missing, it falls on the Head Coach. My guess is they'll still be dancing in March, but they've got a lot to prove between now and Selection Sunday.

Mid Season Report Card: C+
NCAA seed prediction: 9


XU:
Record: 13-6
Preseason Rank: NR
Current Rank: NR

Xavier fans weren't quite sure what to expect coming into this year. The team lost senior leadership and production in BJ "B.J." Raymond and CJ "How much for a CJ?" Anderson as well as their head coach Sean Miller hopping off the stepping stone and landing at Arizona. The team turned to assistant and local boy Chris Mack to pick up where Miller left off. Even with these question marks, Xavier fans knew there was one very big positive that would be new to the program this year: Jordan Crawford. Yes, the man who so viciously dunked on Lebron James that Lebron had the video's pulled. Crawford, the sophomore transfer from Indiana, has been everything Xavier could have possibly hoped for. He's a do-it-all type of player with excellent passing and shooting skills currently averaging 19 points for the Musketeers.

The first quarter of the season was up and down, as to be expected with so many new faces around, but Xavier is a team that rarely loses in A-10 play and traditionally heats up as the season gets deeper. I wouldn't be surprised to see the same this year.

Mid Season Report Card: A-
NCAA seed prediction: 6


UD:
Record: 14-5
Preseason Rank: #21
Current Rank: NR

Well I started writing this yesterday. And my main theme was going to be that Dayton was yet to have a bad loss on their schedule (Kansas State, Villanova, Xavier, New Mexico). But then they played at 6-11 St. Joseph's last night and lost by 1. Impressive Flyers. This too was supposed to be the marquee year for Head Coach Brian Gregory and the Dayton Flyers. Only losing 1 senior from last year, getting PG Rob Lowery back from injury and having another year of development for the young stars Chris Wright and Chris Johnson. And after upsetting West Virginia in the first round of the NCAA tournament last year before losing to power house Kansas, hopes grew higher for this year. Granted, had Dayton NOT LOST TO F***ING St. Joseph's last night I would be writing this from a more positive perspective, but the team is still lacking something that it has lacked every year under Brian Gregory. The offense completely disappears at times and the team throws up desperation 3's without having the shooting abilities to be doing so. Free throw shooting has been a chronic problem for years and with as many close games as the Flyers play in, it boggles my mind how Gregory doesn't lock the GUARDS (yes the guards: FT%: Lowery - .682%, Warren - .574%, Perry - .622%, M. Johnson - .548%) in the gym until they make 50 in a row. But I digress.

The A-10 is not known as being the strongest Conference (that was a joke people) and with Temple and Xavier virtual locks to make the tournament (if Xavier and Dayton finish with the same record and only 1 team gets in, it's Xavier due to their tournament history), Dayton has a very small margin of error for the remaining season. Problem is I'm not sure what can be done to improve their situation. They aren't built to be a high scoring offense, they love to play hard defense and keep games close. Most of their offense comes in the transition game and comes in bunches. You could say they are built like the Bengals. I just got pissed writing that sentence.


Mid Season Report Card: B
NCAA seed prediction: 10 (I think they'll be one of the last 5 teams in)

Stay Tuned throughout the remainder of the College BBall regular season as Cintucky Zone gets geared up for March Madness!

-Greg "Seriously St. Joe's?" R.

College Bball Midseason Grades

Happy Weekend everybody! It's hard to believe, but the College Basketball season is more than half way over. This weekend Cintucky Zone will take a look at our local College Basketball teams and give our mid-season grades and predictions on seeding in the NCAA tournament. Today we'll look at UK & UL, tomorrow UC, XU, & UD.

UK:
Record: 18-0
Preseason Rank: #4
Current Rank: #2

The expectations at the beginning of the season were ridiculously high. Now, they're higher. The Wildcats have started the season 18-0 (3-0) and are headed to a #1 ranking for the first time since 2003. Calipari has done such a masterful coaching job that if the season ended now he would have earned Coach of the Year honors. Getting 4 first round draft picks to buy into the team concept and put winning ahead of their personal stats and egos is no easy task. The players have been just as stellar. According to statistics that I made up for this post, John Wall ranks number 1 in the nation in total awesomeness. He is followed closely by Patrick Patterson. Kyle Singler is last.

While the Cats have definitely created some unnecessary drama in games against inferior opponents, the important thing is they find a way to get the win. This team is far from perfect though, and there are several areas that they must improve in if they truly want a shot at the title. First, as awesome as John Wall is, he is a turnover waiting to happen. I don't know how this doesn't get reported more, but his turnovers are going to kill UK at some point. Patrick Patterson needs to become more of a force and demand the ball in crunch time. DeMarcus Cousins needs to stay out of foul trouble; Bledsoe needs to stay healthy; Liggins/Miller/Dodson/Harris MUST MUST MUST hit the open 3. Oh, and it would be nice if Orton made a lay-up every now and then.This is all nitpicking, however, and to complain about an undefeated team seems kind of ridiculous. I look forward to watching the Cats tear through the rest of the SEC and tune up for March.

Mid Season Report Card: A
NCAA seed prediction: 1


UL:
Record: 12-7
Preseason Rank: #19
Current Rank: Unranked

Where do we start with this team? Edgar Sosa is the absolute worst "leader" in college basketball. Even the most hardcore UL fans are calling for Sosa's benching to pave the way for the Siva Era. Jerry Smith is a shell of his former self and you have to wonder if he left his jump shot in that jail cell when he did his overnighter in the offseason. Samuels has shown signs of life lately, but his supporting big men have vastly underachieved. Jennings showed loads of potential last season only to show up distracted and unmotivated all year. The team does not have a marquee win on their resume yet. In fact their best victory would have to be Western Kentucky? at this point.

Fortunately for the Cards they still have plenty of quality opponents left, and if they can hold their home court, sneak in a road W or two, they still can and should make the tournament. There has been some Pitino praise from the Cintucky Zone lately as he had the Cards looking strong and cohesive after the winter break, but after this three game losing streak (where the Villanova loss can be placed 100% on Pitino's shoulders) the CZ is starting to rethink things. No one expected this UL team to be great, but we did expect them to be a top 30 team. As of now they are not.

Mid Season Report Card: D
NCAA seed prediction: 10


Check back tomorrow for our mid-season report cards on UC, XU, & UD

Enjoy your Saturday!

Bengals Still Suck; Comments on the NFL

Well if the Bengals weren't kicking themselves immediately after playing horribly against the Jets, they without a doubt are now after watching the Jets take down the "red-hot" Chargers. Personally, I think the only thing that was red-hot about the Chargers was Philip River's backside after getting joyfully slapped in the showers by his teammates. But I'll spare you all and leave it at that. Needless to say, if the Bengals would have had a decent offensive game plan (some people call it Offensive Coordinator) they could very well be facing Indy this weekend in the AFC Championship Game.

For anyone who WAS hoping the Bengals would fire Bob Bratkowski, it's not going happen. If they were going to, it would have happened Sunday or Monday after the loss to the Jets. That is unless Mike Brown has the epiphany us in Bengaldom has been hoping he would have for 19 years now. But barring that, Bob Bratkowski, the mannequin, will be back in the box upstairs pretending to call plays.

By now I'm sure everyone has seen Marvin Lewis was named by the AP as NFL Coach of the Year. Marvin joins the legendary Paul Brown as only the second Bengals coach to win NFL Coach of the Year. Lewis has a career 56-55 record as coach of the Bengals which puts him 6 behind Sam Wyche on the all-time Bengals win list.

My thoughts on Marvin Lewis winning Coach of the Year:

• Marvin should consider himself lucky they vote immediately following the regular season instead of after the playoffs as I'm sure Rex Ryan would win the vote at this point. Sidenote: Rex would also win the award for Head Coach With the Biggest Mouth and Head Coach With the Saggiest Breasts.

• Honestly I'm torn on how I feel about Marvin winning. I'm not torn on if he deserved it or not, I fully believe he deserved to win it (aside from my note above). He had zero players voted to the Pro Bowl initially and "had" to deal with the attitudes of Cedric Benson, Larry Johnson, Chris Henry, Tank Johnson, Roy Williams. Oh and not to mention Chad. I can't think of any team that has a bigger list of "I'm happy if my team wins but if we're losing then you better watch out" players than the Bengals except for any team that has T.O. What I'm torn about with Marvin winning is how easy AND hard at the same time (that's what she said, to both of those comments really) Mike Brown makes it for his coaches to win this award. The Bengals have been a joke for 19 years (since MB took over), the rest of the NFL world knows this. Most people outside of Cincinnati have probably heard them be referred to as the Bungles more often than the Bengals. The Associated Press LOVES giving this award to teams that have been BAD for the previous few (or 19) years and then have a turnaround year (thus the coach did a good job).

Look at some of the recent winners:

2008 - Mike Smith Falcons - 2007 record: 4-12
2007 - OK the Patriots almost went 19-0, gotta give it to B.B.
2006 - Sean Payton Saints- 2005 record: 3-13
2005 - Lovie Smith Bears - 2004 record: 5-11
2004 - Marty Schottenheimer Chargers - 2003 record: 4-12

So theoretically, the Bengals have had more chances since 1990 for a coach to win this award than probably all the other teams combined. The fact that Lewis is the first coach to win the award under the ownership of Mike Brown says 2 things: 1) Mike Brown really goes beyond the idea of a bad owner. He is a terrible owner. He is so bad that even occasionally (call it random luck or statistical variation) the Bengals couldn't pull of a winning season. 2) Marvin Lewis has done one hell of a job working in the situation he is working in and the talent, draft picks, scouting, trainers, personnel, facilities, negotiating team, coordinators, fourth chance cheap players, etc. that he has been given.

Congrats to you Marvin, you definitely earned this award. You probably earned this award more than any other coach who has won it has earned this award.

Quick note on the playoffs:
I had thought about predicting all the games and outcomes for the playoffs. Well I am glad I didn't because I don't think I would have the credibility to even have a blog if I had shared my playoff predictions. It went something like this:

NFC:
Eagles over Cowboys, Eagles over Vikings
Packers over Cardinals, Saints over Packers
Saints over Eagles, Saints in SuperBowl (still could happen)
AFC:
Bengals over Jets
Chargers over Bengals
Ravens over Patriots (woohoo I got one!)
Indy over Ravens
Chargers over Indy

Super Bowl:
Saints over Chargers


All in all, I enjoy rooting for the underdog and the teams that don't win very often (I live in Cincinnati right?). So I will be cheering for the Saints to win this year. They too have suffered through some awful decades in the NFL.

Anybody else cheering for Who-Dat nation???

-Greg "seriously whose a bigger b*tch: Nate Kaeding or Philip Rivers?" R.

Sports Weekend Wrap Up

(Greg's two favorite things in the world.. hopefully this cheers ya up brother)

Hopefully Greg will take a couple days off and not read his own blog because we are going to start out with the A-1o Saturday Showdown that unfortunately for my co-blogger did not go his way. Xavier's Jordan Crawford went for 16, but was upstaged by his running mate Dante Jackson who dropped 19 including 5 from downtown. Dayton fought hard, but in close games you have to hit your free throws and 16-25 from the line isn't going to get it done. This missing free throws thing will be a common theme throughout the post.

Fast forward to the UK-Auburn game. The Cats jumped out to a 19 point lead in the first half, and as expected went on to blow out the Tigers. Oh wait.. they didn't? They went 23-35 from the line allowing the Tigers to come back in the 2nd half. Oh my mistake. I thought they did what a true National Championship contender does. A win is a win I guess, but please Cats one time just put a damn team away! Oh memo to Patrick Patterson: You are the senior (I know he's a junior, shut up) of this team. You are supposed to be an All-American. GROW A PAIR AND ACT LIKE IT. DEMAND THE BALL! 0 shot attempts out of PPatt in the second half is unexcusable.

The real heart breaker of the weekend occured in hell.. ahem, Pittsburgh. The Louisville Cardinals had the game in hand, but decided meh here ya go Panthers. Take it. And they did. Leading by what had to be 15 with just under 4 seconds left the Cards went 1-323 from the free throw line, Pitt hit some shots, the game went into OT, and we all know the rest. There is a silverlining in the loss, however. Tip of the Cintucky hat to Samardo Samuels who FINALLY appears to be playing with a bit of an edge. If Sosa can live up to his talent (which he won't) and Sam stays strong I still think this team can be dangerous. With near victories vs. Villanova and at Pittsburgh it's easy to see the ability is there. They just need to learn how to deliver in the clutch.

NFL games are happening. Teams won. Others lost. Who gives a f*ck. Nah just kidding. I really don't have the heart to describe other teams excellent play and ensuing fan happiness though, so Greg will be on later tonight or tom. to wrap up a rather mundane divisonal playoff weekend even though I'm sure he's in "F the NFL Mode" too.

Dayton - Xavier, Flyers Look to Snap Streak

Tomorrow marks the season's first meeting between I-75 rivals Dayton Flyers and Xavier Musketeers. The Flyers travel to the Cintas Center hoping to get their first win at Xavier since Jan 10, 1981. Yes, almost 30 years. If any streak is ready to be broken it is this one. This game will be aired on ESPN2 at 11am tomorrow morning giving the nation it's first chance to watch either of these teams play.

There is a long history between these two teams dating back to 1920. Dayton leads the all-time series 81-68, but in the last 15 years Xavier has 22 wins versus Dayton's 10.

Xavier enters the game sitting in 1st place in the A-10 (3-0 conf; 11-5 overall) with Dayton a 1/2 game behind (2-0 conf; 13-3 overall). Xavier's marquee win this year was in the Crosstown shoot-out thriller against #21 Cincinnati. Although you can almost count the debacle that happened against Butler as a win also. Dayton's big win came early in the year against #19 Georgia Tech with Dayton's 3 losses coming to #6 Villanova, #17 New Mexico, and Kansas State. A win on Saturday would give either team a resume builder come NCAA tournament seeding time.

The Flyers are led by junior Chris "Top Flight" Wright whose averaging 14 pts, 7 rbds, and 758757075 dunks per game. Supporting cast includes sophomore Chris Johnson (13 pts, 7.5 rbs) and Senior guard Rob Lowery who is looking for revenge after blowing out his knee against Xavier last year. Xavier is led by sensational sophomore transfer from Indiana Jordan Crawford whose dropping 19 pts/game and adding 5 rbds and 3 assists. Big man down low who will be key to Xavier winning is Jason Love who is average 11pts and grabbing 9 rbds/game.

Like most of the games between these two teams, this one will probably be neck and neck and come down to the final minutes. Key for the Flyers is pretty clear: put London Warren on Jordan Crawford until London picks up 5 fouls (should be in the first 10 minutes or so). In the meantime, that should create ~5 TO's for Dayton leading to five Chris Wright dunks. For Xavier to win, they need to take Chris Wright out of it early. Chris has very up and down games (season high of 25, season low of 2) so if Xavier can pickup some quick fouls on Wright that will go along way to keeping the crowd loud and the momentum with them.

For those who haven't heard of Chris Wright, simply youtube him. You won't forget. Here, I'll save you the time. What some consider as one of the best dunks in the history of College Basketball:





Go Flyers!



Greg "wish I was at Timothy's Bar & Grille right now on Brown Street" Richter

Random Thoughts, Notes, and Anecdotes

(A little Erin Andrews makes everything OK!)

With nothing too important going on this week in the world of Cintucky Sports I thought I would throw out a few questions, ideas, etc that have been floating around in my head for the past week.

1. Thanks to all the readers who have stopped by the site and continue to check back. We've gotten lots of positive (and some negative) feedback over our first month and a half, but the new viewers continue to show up and we just hope you enjoy reading our ridiculous ramblings as much as we enjoy writing them.

2. UofL Basketball is starting to show signs of life, but moral victories only go so far. They stood toe-to-toe with two different top 5 teams in the past couple weeks, and although they lost both, the chances to win were there. If Pitino can make a few more tweaks to the half court offense this team could be dangerous come March.

3. Tennessee football lost their coach, and has since gotten turned down by a Texas assistant, Air Force Coach, and the Duke Head Coach. Needless to say this is starting to get embarrassing for the Vols. Which I love. Word on the street is they will now look to Little Giants HC Danny O'Shea, but only if he agrees to bring Becky the Icebox with him.

4. Evan Turner is back for Ohio State. Incase you haven't heard yet, he's good at basketball.

5. Upon getting home from the game last Saturday, I set my Bengals AFC North Champion T-Shirt on fire and urinated on the remains. True story.

6. Xavier and Dayton square off this Saturday the 16th at 11am on ESPN. I know 11am is a little early for a Saturday, but if you can you need to watch this game. It should be an all out battle showing off two talented squads that should both be dancing come March.

7. What is the difference between Bob Bratkowski and Shayne Graham? One is an old a$$clown that couldn't put an offensive game plan together for the '07 Colts, and the other is a ginger (I can say that because I have a red hair) d*uchenozzle who misses 37 yard field goals in the biggest game of his life. Best joke ever? Probably not... but I think it expresses my feelings nicely.

8. Erin Andrews was the sideline reporter for Tuesday night's UK/UF game. I saw her twice and saw Dick Vitale what seemed like a dozen times. This is 100% unacceptable ESPN. You will be receiving my letter within the next couple days.

9. I still hate Shayne Graham.

10. The Reds appear that they want to win? or something? Maybe they actually give a sh*t about their fanbase? Clearly I'm slightly bitter towards Cincinnati.

11. UK still hasn't lost.

Brian "I hope I see that picture in my dreams tonight" Reinhart

Bigfoot sighted at the Swamp, Scores 17 - Cats still win 89-77

By: Evan from Evansville


Well, I wish Greg hadn't deleted my game preview because it was pretty much dead on. The Cats pull out another tough one, this time in Gainesville. Bledsoe and Wall ran like stallions, and Florida's strategy of shooting from the 4-pt line came up short. The Cats threw out a balanced attack yet again with 47 points between Wall, Patterson, and Cousins, the star of the evening was Eric Bledsoe who absolutely went off for 25 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, and 3 3's. That is a Kobeesque line in a college game.


That being said, I'm just going to make a few points.

• Daniel Orton needs some more attitude. Practice this week should just be watching old Dikembe Mutombo videos.
  

• Did you notice how little Dicky V talked about Billy Donovan? John Calipari has that effect on announcers.


• Can this team be pressed? Florida's full court press was tame, but if anything, it allowed a few transition opportunities. This is like the cool side of the pillow after a 2 years of having Michael Porter bumble upcourt.


• Ppat didn't come up 'short' on any dunks this game.


• Great game for Darius Miller. He can be tentative, but you can tell he's an unselfish guy who just wants to win. He stepped up with some big shots tonight.


• Have you seen a more awkward hairline than Alex Tyus'? Not even mine or Reinhart's....


• Bold statement: If Bledsoe plays like this, UK can go undefeated. This may be the biggest story of the night. Few people have talked about his ankle injury, but he hasn't been right since the opener. Tonight he had a burst that he hasn't had all year.

Great Game! Next up, Auburn.

Update: Ravi Moss' facebook status after the game:

Ravi Moss Is that Florida dude tyus serious with those braids??? Give it up brotha. Haha

Reds Save Cincinnati In Midst of Depression

The Cincinnati Reds today announced the signing of 21 year old (or 22 according to some people, or 34 according to the woman who gave birth to him) Cuban defector Aroldis Chapman to a 6 year, $30.25 million deal. Chapman is a flame-throwing left hander who the Reds are hoping will become a staple in their starting lineup within the next couple years. Chapman (I'll just keep calling him that since I really have no idea how to say/type his first name. Arr-ole-dis?) gained notieriety on the National stage during the 2009 World Baseball Classic where he recorded 8 strikeouts in 6.1 IP, regularly throwing around the 100mph mark.

Scouts are torn on whether Chapman is big league ready right away. All agree he has a fire fastball, a good slider, but would like to see him develop a change-up to counter his fastball.

Most baseball analysts were convinced that Chapman would sign with the usual suspects Yankees or Red Sox but the Reds seemed to make an offer that the Yankees and Red Sox perhaps thought was too risky. If you listen to any baseball analyst talk about the deal, they are simply shocked. I think they are just as shocked that they are actually talking about the Reds in January on national TV as they are shocked that the Reds signed Aroldis.
My theory to explain the signing:
Cincinnati actually does have an owner that cares about the city. After watching the Bengals embarrass themselves, their families, Cincinnatians, Northern Kentuckians, the NFL in general Saturday night, Bob Castellini thought this city needed a pickup. Thus, the Reds entered the race for Chapman at the last minute as the dark horse team. Aroldis Chapman knew as much about the Reds as Mike Brown knows about NFL player personel moves. However, Chapman saw the Reds had a "C" on their hat that looked similar to his Cuban "C", and that their nickname at one point was "The Big Red Machine" (The same nickname as his Cuban national team). And that's how Chapman ended up with the Reds.

It won't be known until deep into spring training whether Chapman is an immediate starter, or at least bullpen member, or if it's a year or two down the road. But the thought of a starting lineup consisting of Chapman, Cueto, Volquez, Harang, Bailey, and Arroyo makes me smile. It's nice to see the dedication to pitching in Cincinnati. To think just a couple years ago, our 3rd starter was Matt Belisle. It's also nice to see ownership in Cincinnati who cares.

Just Ouch....

I've been following sports in a die hard fashion for the past 15 years. I've never felt so hurt as I did tonight. Greg's post sums it up just about perfectly. My voice is gone, the whole day/night is a blur, and all I can feel is pain. Just ouch. 1 playoff win. Thats all we wanted. We weren't asking for a SuperBowl. Just one fucking win over a rookie QB on the road in the playoffs. Thanks a lot Bengals. We appreciate it. Fuck Cincinnati; I'm glad I moved. We'll have a post Sunday with a bit more detail on the game but for now... just fuck.

Fuck YOU bengals, FUCK YOU

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HAPPY BENGALS DAY!!!!!!

For the 2nd time in 19 years the Bengals are in a Playoff game!! The game is at 4:30 on NBC, and unfortunately (or fortunately for us) Cintucky Zone won't have any coverage today after this post, unless its late night and everything is misspelled. That's because we're heading down to Paul Brown today to lose our voices, minds, and any food we've eaten in the last 24 hours! It's gonna be rowdy down there, and cold. If you too are heading down, leave now and start getting liquored up! Remember to dress like this:



Hopefully tomorrow we can all celebrate the Bengals win and Cintucky Zone can bring you our thoughts ("why was there two of everybody on the field?") and reactions to the game, and look ahead to playing next weeks opponent (either San Diego or Indy).

Who Dey! Who Dey!


-Greg "I am going to have to take care of Reinhart today I can already see it" Richter

Ryan An Idiot/Waffle, Bengals Fired up

It was less than 3 weeks ago that Rex Ryan said his Jets were, "obviously out of the playoffs." Yesterday Rex Ryan made stupid comment number 10753749.5 on the year and announced, "I think we should be favorites. I mean the whole tournament, I think we have the best defense. I know we do. I know we have the best rushing attack. Those are two huge factors in our favor. I want this football team. If I had the choice to coach any team in this tournament, I would choose this one.” My, my my how the tune has changed Mr. Ryan. If I had a picture of a waffle, I would add it to our Rex Ryan photo gallery below for being a waffler. But only if it was marinated in syrup, topped with fried chicken, and loaded with sour cream.

Luckily, Ryan's comments are EXACTLY what the Bengals needed. Following Sunday's embarrassing loss to the Jets, the Bengals acted like they were confident things would be different this Saturday, but I think they were struggling to convince themselves of that and to find the motivation. Enter Rex Ryan. After hearing Ryan's proclamation about his magnificent Jets, Bengals safety Chris Crocker responded, “I don’t give a rat’s ass what he says. Honestly, it doesn’t matter. One thing I will say is that they definitely have our attention. We do respect them, but we have a lot to prove this game. We don’t care what he says though.” Left Tackle Andrew Whitworth continued, “To think that they’re that confident … yeah, that’s definitely insulting. You would think that a team would you respect you before you play and not assume that they’re better than you.”

Folks, I couldn't be more excited. Not just because us writers at Cintucky Zone just landed row 9 seats at the game Saturday, but because these latest revelations give me hope that the Bengals will be fired up enough to win!!

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you, Rex Ryan: yummmmmmm









WHO DEY!!!



-Greg "won't be able to talk for a week after Saturday Richter"

Bengals Trivia Revealed

Two days ago Cintucky Zone offered some Bengals trivia from the last year the Bengals won a playoff game (1990 season, ironically Mike Brown took over as Owner/GM/Czar before the 1991 season) in hopes of the Bengals winning Saturday.

Your answeres are revealed:

1) Q: The Bengals had 4 Pro Bowl Players from the 1990 season. James Brooks, David Fulcher and Anthony Munoz were 3 of them. Can you name the 4th?
A: The 4th player was Bengals Tight End Rodney Holman. Holman finished with 40 catches for 596 yards (14.9 yrd/catch average) and 5 TD's.

2) Q: The Bengals lost in the 2nd round of the playoffs in 1990 vs the Oakland Raiders. This was Bo Jackson's final game in the NFL after suffering a hip injury. Which Bengal LB ended Bo Jackson's career?
A: Bengals LB Kevin Walker. And thus began the Bo Jackson Bengals curse..

3) Q: During the 1990 season, the Bengals finished 25/28 in total defense (yards). Which three teams finished behind the Bengals? (hint: 2 of them are in the playoffs for the AFC this year and have won Super Bowls in the last 5 years)
A: The three teams are the Colts, Patriots, and the Lions. The Bengals gave up 350.3 yards per game and 19.2 pts/game.

4) Q: In the Bengals last playoff win against the Houston Oilers, Boomer Esiason threw two touchdown passes. Which two players were on the receiving end of the TD passes?
A: RB Harold Green caught a 2 yard pass and TE Eric Kattus caught a 9 yarder.

5) Q: During the 1990 season, the Bengals had the 9th best offense in the NFL. The season before they finished with the 3rd best under this Offensive Coordinator who took the New York Jets head coaching job prior to the 1990 season. (very timely question eh?)
A: Who is Bruce Coslet...man i swore I'd never utter that man's name again.

WHO DEY!

- Greg

Rex Ryan Photo Gallery

(Rex, How high is your cholesterol?)

While we at the Cintucky Zone always respect our opponents, we also always make fun of them. Rex Ryan has become, and will continue to be the (extremely large) butt of our jokes over the next few days. You may be saying that you're not a big football fan but man Ryan looks familiar. I think I may know why.....

They say his jaws are strong enough to crush a car....

Ronald McDonald is his homie....

He has his own orbit...

He has been caught eating his own

ear wax, toe jam, but lacks the cool Scottish accent....

That is a lot of neck...

Speaking of chins that look like balls...quite the similarity eh?

You're lucky we don't have an exact match of this look-a-like, but you can imagine..or not













Rex could I possibly get your thoughts on this post?

Sorry dude it was just a joke...
Man he sure likes to make that face...
All in all, Rex shouldn't feel so bad, at least he's not as flaming as his starting QB



More all week!!! GO BENGALS!!!!

Brian "I need a picture of him in red for Kool-Aid or yellow for a bus" Reinhart & Greg "Seriously Bengals you can't lose to the Jets after looking at that picture of Sanchez" Richter

Happy Playoff Week!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In preparation for only the Bengals 2nd playoff game since 1990, Cintucky Zone will be celebrating all week with different articles/fun Bengals things/making fun of Rex Ryan. You know us Cincinnatians are going to live this week up to the fullest, since in all likelihood it will be another 19 years before the Bengals make the playoffs again.

Today, we're going to give you a little Bengals trivia from the last time the Bengals had a playoff win! Remember no cheating!

1990:
1) The Bengals had 4 Pro Bowl Players from the 1990 season. James Brooks, David Fulcher and Anthony Munoz were 3 of them. Can you name the 4th?
2) The Bengals lost in the 2nd round of the playoffs in 1990 vs the Oakland Raiders. This was Bo Jackson's final game in the NFL after suffering a hip injury. Which Bengal LB ended Bo Jackson's career?
3) During the 1990 season, the Bengals finished 25/28 in total defense (yards). Which three teams finished behind the Bengals? (hint: 2 of them are in the playoffs for the AFC this year and have won Super Bowls in the last 5 years)
4) In the Bengals last playoff win against the Houston Oilers, Boomer Esiason threw two touchdown passes. Which two players were on the receiving end of the TD passes?
5) Jeopardy Style: During the 1990 season, the Bengals had the 9th best offense in the NFL. The season before they finished with the 3rd best under this Offensive Coordinator who took the New York Jets head coaching job prior to the 1990 season. (very timely question eh?)

Feel free to leave your answers in a comment

Check back tomorrow for all the answers and more Bengals fun throughout the week leading up to Saturday's game against the Jets!


-Greg

Rich Brooks Retires From UK

(We will miss you sir!)

Rich "pawpaw" Brooks announced this afternoon that he will be stepping down from the head coaching position for the University of Kentucky football team. This brings the end to a long and respected career.

Brooks leaves UK with a 39-47 record that greatly undermines his impact on the program. Before Brooks arrived in Lexington in the only word that could be used to describe the team was "joke." He took over before the 2003 season and although he inherited a 7-5 team, he also was left to deal with the oncoming NCAA sanctions for recruiting violations under the watch of complete jacka$ Hal Mumme. After Guy Morriss (no that's not a typo, that's actually how he spells his name) couldn't bring respect to the UK program, Brooks was given his shot.

Although his first three seasons were far from what the fans and administration were looking for, it was easy to see that things were headed in the right direction. Brooks was bringing in his guys, and setting standards for recruiting, practicing and playing that future teams could build off of. All of this hard work came to fruition in the 2006 season when the Cats finished with a 8-5 record, a Music City Bowl win over Clemson, and upset of the previous SEC champion Georgia Bulldogs. It was UK's first bowl victory in over 20 seasons. The next two seasons were also highlighted with bowl wins over perennial powerhouse Florida State, and Conference USA front runner East Carolina.

In 2009 Brooks lead an injury prone team to another trip to the Music City Bowl that was highlighted along the way with road victories over Georgia and Auburn. Lets not forget his win over #1 LSU either. He has also won 3 games in a row versus rival UofL... although that's not saying much as a trained monkey could have out coached Steve Kragthorpe. He will now turn the program over to 46 year old coach in waiting, and UK alumn Joker Phillips. Phillips started as recruiting coordinator and receivers coach under Brooks in 2002, and has been the Offensive Coordinator since 2004. While his play-calling is often questioned (do we really need to run 25 screen passes a game?) his recruiting ability and character never have been.

While we look forward to watching Joker take the reins, we will miss Brooks deeply. He got the state interested in UK football again and has turned the university into more than a 1 trick pony. Just remember that anytime you want to come back, and pay the Cats a visit, you are always more than welcome. Enjoy your retirement sir, you have earned it.

Brian "Joker vs. Strong will be fun to watch" Reinhart

Bengals Gameday!

(I will see Reinhart's Jessica from last Sunday, and raise him another Jessica)

My Final update before I have to return to work tomorrow.. booooo:

• Well, what can you say? Yes I was rooting for the Bengals to lose, but I would have at least liked to see them a) do something offensively, and b) keep it semi-close so that the Jets would have to show us more of their playbook.
  
• I really honestly believe the Bengals were trying to win this game. Pathetic. Embarrassing.
• Which defeat was more embarrassing this weekend? Bearcats or Bengals?
• I hope Chad's knee is OK, because without him, we might as well not even show up next week.

The Bengals will play the 4:30pm game Saturday afternoon against the Jets. Check back throughout the week for updates!

Haltime Update:
hmmmmm.....the recievers must have been reading Cintucky Zone before the game... lots of dropped balls. Thats really all I got. Jets - we'll see you in our house next week!


End of 1st Quarter update:

• Well I certainly hope the Bengals aren't actually trying to win, because they look like sh*t. 3 offensive plays in the first quarter and the Jets are currently 7/8 on 3rd down.
• DT Pat Sims was carted off the field and is apparently undergoing X-rays on his right forearm. Hope he's OK
• Our D-line is made up of guys pulled from a Walmart parking lot right now. Better than it being our starters though
• Jets seem to be doing a lot of wildcat plays. I don't know if that is typical of them or if they are trying to mix things up and try to beat us in a different style than they would play against us next week.
• I swear if Carson takes one more shot I'm going to jump through the TV and drag him to the sidelines.
  

8:19 Update: If Marvin needs more of a reason to not play any good players tonight, reports are out that Patriots Pro Bowl receiver Wes Welker tore his MCL & ACL in today's game versus the Texans.

The Bengals should realize that even with losing tonight and playing the Jets next week, they still have a shot of playing San Diego the following week as opposed to the Colts. If The Ravens beat the Patriots next week (who just lost Wes Welker), then the Ravens would be the lowest remaining seed and thus would play at the Colts.

time for kickoff! J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS!


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With about an hour to go before kickoff this evening Marvin Lewis and the rest of the Bengals' staff have a large decision on their hands. Win and face Houston in round 1 as the number 3 seed or lose and face the NYJ in the first round as the number 4 seed. I think we can all agree that the Jets would be the easier matchup next week. They will have a rookie QB on the road in the playoffs.. enough said there. Week 2 is where it gets interesting though. Would we rather go to San Diego or Indy? It is my opinion that we would have a better shot at the Chargers. Regardless the AFC's road to the Superbowl is going to go through Indy though so does it even matter? These are the questions that Lewis and company are going to have to answer. I, for one, would like to see us rest our starters, play it safe and take our chances with the Jets in the first round of the playoffs.

Either way it will be interesting to watch and debate. Check back during and after the game for thoughts and a recap.

Interesting note to point out: Shitsburgh is sittin at home crying this year during the playoffs! Sorry Big Ben!

GO BENGALS!! Or not?

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Headlines from the 1pm games

• Houston beats Patriots 34-27. Houston needs 2 of 3 to lose between Jets/Broncos/Ravens. Patriots can remain the #3 seed if the Bengals lose. The potentially huge headline out of this game was Wes Welker hurting his knee on the Patriots first drive. No word yet on the seriousness of Welker's injury, but he did not return in the game.
• Cincinnati can clinch the #3 seed with a win over the Jets tonight.
• Jacksonville lost to the Browns (who have impressively won 4 straight). Jacksonville is officially eliminated.
• Steelers beat Dolphins 30-24. Pittsburgh needs all three of Jets/Baltimore/Broncos to lose. Dolphins are officially eliminated.

4pm games now underway:

• Ravens at Oakland...Ravens win and they are in
• Chiefs at Broncos...Broncos need a Jets loss or a Ravens loss.

All signs from throughout the week point to Marvin and the Bengals wanting to go for the win tonight now that the Patriots have lost. Lets just hope the Cincinnati curse doesn't continue and that nobody gets hurt.

How I would love to see it playout:
Ravens lose to Raiders thus eliminating them. Broncos beat the Chiefs, and Bengals beat lose to the Jets. Thus there would be no Ravens or Steelers in the playoffs. I believe that would mean a Bengals Jets rematch next week, but I wouldn't mind facing the Broncos to get some immaculate reception revenge as well.

Stay tuned!

Greg

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The Bengals take on the New York Jets tonight, kickoff at 8:20 pm on NBC's Sunday Night Football. By the time the Bengals kickoff tonight, they will know exactly which seed they can and can't get (#3 or #4) and which teams will make the playoffs or miss the playoffs depending on what the Bengals do.

Stay tuned with Cintucky Zone throughout the day with all the important NFL action and updates with our thoughts as to how the Bengals should handle their game tonight.

The games that most affect the Bengals are:

Patriots at Houston (1pm on CBS) - If Patriots win, they clinch #3 seed and Bengals probably don't play any starters vs Jets. Also if the Patriots win, that keeps Pittsburgh's hopes alive of sneaking into a wildcard spot (Pittsburgh would then also need the Bengals to win tonight). If Houston win the Bengals might choose to shoot for the #3 seed to avoid having to go to Indianapolis in the 2nd round.

Ravens at Raiders (4pm on CBS) - If the Ravens win they are in. If the Bengals also win then that will match the Ravens vs Bengals in Wild Card weekend next week.


Who Dey!

Wildcats Win In The Battle for the Bluegrass!

After a rough start to the game, The University of Kentucky Wildcats were able to hold off the Cardinals (71-62), thanks to the freshman stars John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins. Louisville had won the last 2 years in the Battle for the Bluegrass, but with this win the Cats improved to 15-0, matching their best start in 40 years. The game set a new attendance record for Rupp Arena (24,479). In one of the best rivalries in college basketball, the importance of this game was introduced very early on.

Eight seconds into the game, a foul called on Eric Bledsoe led to a quick outburst of displeasure by the 4 star freshman point guard. This resulted in his being benched by Coach Calipari, and the game's rough nature began. With the score still 0-0, one of the many loose balls was called a jump ball with Cousins on top of Cardinal's forward Jared Swopshire. In the heat of the moment Cousins gave Swopshire an elbow that required further review. Two cardinal players received technical fouls and Cousins luckily got away with only a technical for unsportsmanlike conduct. Officials tried to take control of the game early, and it showed with many quick fouls called early on. The game stayed chippy, but Cousins regained some composure and scored UK's next 6 points to lead 0-6.

Louisville players came out nervous and made for a sloppy beginning. The Cards started out 1-18, and scored only 12 points with just over a minute remaining in the first half. A wide open 3-point air ball and two missed lay-ups for Louisville added to the sloppyness. However, Kentucky did not take advantage of this and had their own problems with turnovers and shooting the ball, especially from the 3 point line. Kentucky's defense does deserve some accolade for the 19 point first half of the away team. Even with the bad start for Louisville, they were still only down 8 at halftime.

In the second half, Kentucky continued to turn the ball over, and Louisville started hitting some shots. Louisville took the lead 42-41 with 9:51 left after a free throw by forward Terrence Jennings. Then, John Wall decided to take over. Kentucky went on a 8-0 run where Wall scored 6 straight. The size and athleticism became too much for Louisville, and Kentucky proved to be the better team.

Jerry Smith and Edgar Sosa led the way for the Cards with 11 points a piece, while Cousins scored 18 points to go along with 18 rebounds, tying his career-high. John Wall and Patrick Patterson each contributed 17 point as well.

Rick Pitino's squad will continue to get better, as will the Cats. Pitino said that they did a good job of slowing down John Wall but, without making many shots, it was hard for them to get into their full-court defense. Calipari said that it was good to get such an intensely competitive game this early in the season so that he can figure out which players can handle it the best. Come tournament time, every game is intense!

UK Off to Fast Start, UL Hanging Around

1st half report:

By the time the first TV timeout rolled around at 15:56, it felt as if an entire game had already been played. It was 6-1 Wildcats, with 7 fouls already been called, two technical fouls, and the players were acting like they had been watching too many College Football Bowl Games. It started with a foul on Kentucky's Eric Bledsoe 8 seconds in and Bledsoe getting pulled to the bench, clearly upset about the foul. Within 30 seconds, 3 fouls had been called, and before the 19:00 minute mark could hit, two technicals had been called after Kentucky freshman C DeMarcus Cousins appeared to elbow Louisville's Jerod Swopshire in a battle for a loose ball. Cousins was lucky not to be ejected.

From that moment on, everyone knew what type of game it was going to be. Louisville's offense struggled to get going most of the half, finding themselves 0-15 from the field until Samardo Samuels tip with 10:48 left made it a 15-5 Kentucky lead. Louisville finished the half shooting5-29 (17%).

Kentucky was given the opportunity to pull away in the first half, although sloppy play combined with poor shooting themselves, kept Louisville in it. Kentucky was 1-9 from 3pt range and shot only 33% from the field.

Key Performers first half stats:
Kentucky: Wall - 3 pts, 2 assists, 1 steal; Patterson - 12 pts, 1 rbd; Cousins - 8 pts, 12 rbds, 3 assists
Louisville: Samuels - 3 pts, 4 rbds; Sosa - 0 pts, 1 rbd; J. Smith - 5 pts, 4 rbds, 3 steals

Key stat going into 2nd half:
Louisville had a combined 12 personal fouls in the first half with 1 player with 3 fouls and 3 other players with 2 fouls. We'll see if the foul trouble comes back to haunt UL in the second half.

Stay tuned for a post game update!

-Greg

ITS UK vs. UL DAY!!!!!

(Heros from battles past)

You know what the best part about Christmas is? It means were usually only a week or so away from the UK/UL basketball game!!! Remember how Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson felt about wedding season? That's how I feel about UK/UL Day. Couldn't sleep last night. Can't sit still right now. These 4 hours will be longer than the second half of a Thursday afternoon before a 3 day weekend. I will attempt to write a preview, but imagine yourself asking a 6 year old about his day at school after he's had 3 Mountain Dews... that's most likely what this will sound like.

To start lets take a look at the match-ups....

Both teams are lead by their point guards. One a senior, the other a freshman. John Wall is currently the leading candidate for National Player of the Year and will (not likely) WILL be the
#1 pick in next years NBA draft. If you haven't seen him play think of superman in a UK jersey. Edgar Sosa is a New York streetballa that has been a bit of a disappointment during his career at UofL. The talent has always been there but words like "uncoachable" and "headcase" are too often associated with Sosa. In an attempt to remain as unbiased as possible I should mention that Sosa was the hero of last season's matchup, draining a 28 footer at the buzzer for the win. The senior will have one of the biggest chips on his shoulder entering Rupp today considering he is constantly the butt of UK jokes and center of UK hate. I expect an excellent game out of Sosa, but even at his best he is no John Wall.
Edge: UK

At shooting guard the Cards throw out another senior in Jerry "No Way This Dude Is Younger Than Me" Smith. The Cats counter with.. shocker.. another freshman, in Eric Bledsoe. The numbers for Smith and Bledsoe are pretty similar with the freshman having slightly better shooting numbers so far this season. That can mostly be attributed to Smith's slow start, and Card and Cat fans both shouldn't read too much into it. Smith is a shooter, and when he gets hot he can knock down 5 or 6... in a half. Bledsoe is the faster player, handles the ball better, and is a better defender, but has been hampered by an ankle injury for the past month or so that actually caused him to miss UK's last game. A 100% healthy Bledsoe would get the nod here, but do to Smith's experience and that ankle uncertainty...
Edge: UL

At small forward UL will run out Reginald Delk while UK will start Mr. Kentucky Basketball Darius Miller. Delk can knock down the 3. That's about it. Miller, while not as accurate as Delk, is also shooting the 3 ball nicely this season. Miller also offers an excellent pull up jumper and floater in the lane. He can usually be counted on for several rebounds and assists per game as well. This is a matchup that UK should really try to exploit as Delk is probably the weakest of the UL starters.
Edge: UK

The power forward matchup couldn't be more of a UK edge. Patterson will be an All-American, lottery pick, and works harder than any player I can remember watching. Jared Swopshire spent his entire off season in the practice gym, and it has defiantly paid off. Looking at him last year the words "senior role player" came to mind, but if he keeps improving at the rate he did between his freshman and sophomore years, UL could have a serious player on their hands. Regardless of Swopshire's potential he will be lucky not to get ran over by Patterson. Here's to hoping that he doesn't leave the floor crying. Or bleeding. Or vomiting. Or all of the above.
Edge: UK

At the center position we see a matchup of two players that have combined for a total 5632 fouls so far this season. DeMarcus "Boogie, Big Cuz, Carl" Cousins will do battle with Samardo "SamSam" Samuels. If either of these players plays over 20 minutes I'll be surprised. The difference is Boogie drops 15 and 10's in under 20 minutes pretty regularly. If Samuels has a backbone.. which UK and UL fans alike are saying he does not.. now would be the day to show it. UL will need Sam to come up HUGE on the glass if UL has any chance of making this a game.
Edge: UK

The bench/intangibles category is an interesting one because the intangibles, UL's experience and UK's home court, should cancel one another out. Maybe. Or the UK fans will have that place so loud that even LeBron would crumble at the sight of the Eruption Zone. In regards to the bench players, UL's Jennings will need to have his best defensive/rebounding effort to help combat the size discrepancy UL faces. Freshman Rakeem Buckles should also contribute in that area as he is an all out workhorse. Unfortunately for the UL back court, freshman Peyton Siva will most likely be out today due to John Wall.. ahem.. "stomach" flu. Convenient timing don't ya think? UK will throw out defensive stopper Ramon Harris, freshman big man Daniel Orton, sharpshooter Darnell Dodson, and "undoghoused" DeAndre Liggins. Just so that I don't sound like a complete homer I'll call this one "even"
Edge: Push


The coaching matchup pits two former friends, now rivals, maybe even enemies, most likely both members of the Italian Mod against one another. All Karen Sypher jokes aside this really should be an "up and down" game. I expect to see both coaches rotating their players "in and out" very frequently. After a big win one would think they could celebrate with "sex in an Italian restaurant." OK that last one was a little obvious, but asking a UK fan to not take a few jabs at Pitinogate is just completely unreasonable. All jokes aside Pitino is still one hell of a coach, and this is usually the time of the year that he gets his teams rolling. He has coached in huge games before and is more than equipped to handle the most likely hostile environment that Rupp will deliver to him today. Calipari has coached in the NBA. He has coached in a National Championship. I can honestly say that he hasn't coached in a game with expectations like this one. There are a large group of UK fans that will say a National Championship without a win over Louisville is a loss of a season. Now that is clearly ridiculous, but just think about it for a second. If Cal has never felt the weight of an entire state, correct that, "big blue" nation on his shoulders he will today. Pitino has won the big one, and Cal has not and until he does the edge should always go to Pitino. Should. Hmmm yeah I don't care.. its too easy to see that Ricky boy has lost his magic touch and the torch has officially been passed down I-64 to Cal as king of the state.
Edge: UK

Even with the edges favoring UK, I still expect a very close game. If we looked at this type of analysis last year all of the edges would have gone UL's way, and that was still a 3 point game. The fact is in a rivalry game this heated you can throw talent out the window. This game will be won on heart. Edge: UK.

UK 76, UL 72