Hard to Watch: Wildcats Defeat Georgia 76-68

In a game which many thought would be a blowout, the Wildcats needed a lot of help from their Cousins to pull out a victory over the Georgia Bulldogs. Additionally, DeAndre Liggins continues to impress and has given some more depth to the UK bench. The Wildcats played horrible at times, but managed to win. Certainly, this proves that the Wildcats will need to bring their best game to the court every night in order to remain undefeated. However, I do not see the Wildcats going undefeated this season. I've always bought into the theory that it's best to get a "wake-up" call during conference play than to go undefeated and get caught "off-guard" in the NCAA tournament.

Florida is up next for the Wildcats on Tuesday night - the Wildcats might just earn their first L. However, given how tight the Georgia game was, I expect the Wildcats to come out pumped up. I'm sure that Coach Cal will use film from yesterday's game to show his young Wildcats what they can't do from here on out if they truly wish to go undefeated this season. Should the Wildcats not come ready to play in Gainesville, the trip back to Lexington could be a rather long one.

Purrfect Night for 2,000

I can’t imagine a better way to kick off Christmas week – that is, if you’re a Kentucky Wildcat fan. Tonight the Wildcats take on the Drexel Dragons for win number 2,000. Rupp Arena should be packed and I wouldn’t be surprised to see a few well-known faces in the house – Oh Ashley!

Not only should Rupp Arena be packed, but a national audience will get to witness as history is being made – thank you ESPNU! It only seems fitting that the Wildcats will hit win number 2,000 in Rupp Arena in front of the Big Blue faithful. Coach Calipari and the team should really take the time to treasure this moment. Once the 2,000th win has been recorded, it will be awhile before another milestone like this will be within reach. Of course, winning an 8th national title would be a great way to distract fans from thinking about how long it could take to reach 3,000 wins.

Coach Cal and the Wildcats Party Like it’s 1999

It’s time for the Wildcats to party like it is 1999 – because it is. The Wildcats now sit at the threshold of 2,000 total wins after taking down the Governors of Austin Peay 90-69. The Wildcats will take on the Drexel Dragons this Monday night at 7:00 eastern to become the first college basketball team to reach 2,000 total victories. Equally noteworthy is the fact that Coach Cal has now broken the record for the best start by a UK coach during an inaugural season. Coach Cal and his young Wildcats are now 11-0. If there has ever been a time to party like its 1999 – this is it.

-Johnny Blue

A Blog is Born

Blue Observations is a Kentucky Wildcat fan blog. Yes, I (Johnny Blue) am a Kentucky Wildcat fan, but that’s where the relationship between this blog and the University of Kentucky ends. Did you hear that NCAA? Zero Affiliation!

You see, you have to be clear about every little detail whenever you mention the University of Kentucky because there are always a bunch of chatty, jealous types waiting and sifting through the minutiae in search of anything which could be turned into some kind of potential NCAA violation. Moreover, whenever Kentucky is having a particularly good year (UK is currently 10-0) you can bet your bottom dollar that the “haters” are going to be crawling out of the woodwork, and fast.

Interestingly, the birth of this blog can (in part) be attributed to those who take every opportunity they get to criticize the Wildcats and their fans. Oh yes, UK fans are called crazy lunatics who know little more of the world than the fact that it is round (like a basketball) and that everything in the state of Kentucky is, to some degree, a shade of blue.

Even the Louisville Cardinals have managed to find a way to incorporate a little “blue” into its red-feathered program. How you might ask? Rick Pitino became forever a part of the UK program when he led the Wildcats to an NCAA division 1 title in 1996. He will carry this piece of “UK Blue” with him for the rest of his life. Unquestionably, Louisville fans have long hoped that the former UK coach would bring a title back to Louisville. Yet, Pitino has never been able to give to Louisville what he accomplished in Lexington – a national title. In fact, Pitino has often looked like a man who lost his best friend since his return to college coaching after a forgettable stint in the NBA. Certainly, the UK/UL rivalry was bolstered by Pitino’s decision to cross over into enemy territory, but Pitino has never seemed to shine at Louisville quite the way he did at UK. Nevertheless, UK fans can thank Pitino for keeping the rivalry between UK and UL interesting. The next meeting between UK & UL should prove to be one of the more intriguing meetings of the intrastate rivalry given that new UK coach John Calipari and Rick Pitino are two of the most well-known coaches in all of college basketball, and that both have forever etched their names into the UK history books.

To close out this first post, it’s worth mentioning (barely) that the latest jab at the Wildcats and the blue faithful was hurled by the one (and thank goodness the only) Bobby Knight. How a man with such a sordid past found the gall to lambaste another coach is beyond comprehension. Pot, meet kettle. Kettle, meet pot. Not surprisingly, Knight has found a home at ESPN which has a knack for hiring sports bobble heads with a penchant for disparaging the Wildcats and their fans. I understand that putting down heavyweights in the world of sports is a common practice, but I personally believe that those slinging the mud should take a look around their own backyards before pointing their soiled fingers at anyone else.

Signed,
-Johnny Blue