Michael Jordan is a Moron.
Chad Ford is a busy man these days. He writes today that Michael Jordan isn’t quite sold on MKG and is considering Thomas Robinson instead:
The question is will he (Thomas Robinson) be drafted at No. 2? We’ve had Michael Kidd-Gilchrist as the No. 2 pick for the past few weeks. Sources say the Bobcats still haven’t decided and are seriously considering trading the No. 2 pick to get multiple picks back. However, Robinson is very seriously in the mix, and I’m told right now that Michael Jordan isn’t sold on Kidd-Gilchrist.
MJ, you were a good basketball player… but you need to consider what you’re doing.
Actually, don’t. #MKG4CLE
Cavs Tried to Trade for #1
Chad Ford said today that the Cavs tried to trade every pick they had in the first round to the Hornets in exchange for the #1 pick but got a “firm and quick” no in response. Hey, at least that’s not dumb decision. I don’t think anyone would have been upset about that (had it happened)
This is What Kentucky is All About!
I love my state, I really do. Wouldn’t want to live anywhere but here.
That being said, I’m not alone in those feelings. After all 5 Kentucky starters declared for the draft, they decided to go on a statewide autograph tour. This picture is surfacing all over the internet today:
Lord….
The Wager with @peterfenn
Two yeard in a row. yep.
LET IT BE KNOWN: This, the 30th day of March 2012. Pete and I have made a wager. After Kentucky and Ohio State meet in the national championship game on Monday (whole lotta if’s and when’s), the loser will have to buy the winner a 12 pack of Pabst Blue Ribbon and wear the other school’s shirt for 48 hours.
Example:
Kentucky wins: Pete has to buy me a 12 pack of PBR and he gets to wear a beautiful Kentucky shirt on Wednesday in Cleveland for 48 hours.
Ohio State wins: I have to buy Pete a 12 pack of PBR and wear an ugly ass Ohio State shirt on Wednesday in Kentucky for 48 hours.
SO IT BEGINS. GOOD LUCK, OHIO STATE. YOU’RE GONNA NEED IT.
… so it begins…
As I’ve written on here before, basketball in the state of Kentucky is almost a religion. It is insane. Most retail stores become ghost towns (I know because I’ve worked during a Kentucky game), Facebook and Twitter explode, and people ask me what I think about the ‘Cats. Keep in mind, I blog (mostly) about Cleveland sports. The most hits this site has received on one day is 60. That’s not mind boggling, but for an unadvertised blog (except of social media) I think it is modest.
That being said, with Kentucky’s 82-70 win over Baylor today something happened in the state of Kentucky. Sure, people get excited when Kentucky makes the Final Four. This year, though, something makes it extra special. Louisville. The rival school just 70 miles east of Lexington (50 miles north of me) has also made the final four. What makes it more insane is that the two schools are going to be squaring off on Saturday for a shot in the title game.
You read my post from earlier this college basketball season, right? The one entitled #L1C4? Yeah, we hate each other. Louisville fans hate Kentucky fans because we win basketball games and wear shorts year round. We make t-shirts for everything, and collect them like they’re concert tickets (I have over 50 Kentucky shirts). They hate us for it. Kentucky fans hate Louisville fans because simply put, they think they’re on the same tier of college basketball powerhouses. They’re just not. They are 5th all time in Final Four appearances, and have 2 national championships compared to 2nd all time in Final Four appearances and 7 national championships. We have to deal with each other every day at work, school, and extracurricular activities. We put up with each other because we have to, and Louisville fans haven’t had the easiest time dealing with Kentucky fans. Year round, there is an absurd amount of trash talk to the point sometimes that it is tiring. We just flat- out hate each other.
That being said, there’s much, much more to this game than just the in-state rivalry. Since Calipari was hired at Kentucky in 2009, he has out recruited Louisville coach Rick Pitino and has beaten him three straight years (including beating them in the first year the state-of-the-art Yum! Center was built). Calipari has dominated the NCAA for the most part, rebuilding a program that was on the brink of devastation due to the failed Billy Gillispie experiment where the program missed the NCAA tournament for the first time in 18 years.
Rick Pitino has had moderate success at the University of Louisville, taking them to the Final Four in 2005 and coached them to the number one overall seed in 2009, the same season that Kentucky didn’t even make the tournament and suffered a second- round NIT exit to who I believe was Creighton (I could be wrong here). Rick Pitino was on top of the world. Kentucky had fired Billy Gillispie and the search for a new coach was on. Among the hot names were Michigan State coach Tom Izzo and Memphis’s John Calipari. Had Izzo lost to Louisville in 2009, he would be the coach at Kentucky right now. Kentucky was desperate, they needed a homerun hire right there and then.
But, Michigan State won. And Kentucky hired Calipari who wasn’t exactly Rick Pitino’s best friend as Sports Illustrated goes into depth with here. With the hiring of Calipari, Rick Pitino was forced into a corner as Calipari reeled in the number one recruiting class (the first of three straight). The fists were raised and the fight was about to begin.
Coming into this year’s NCAA tournament, the Cardinals had lost twice in the first round (California in 2010 and Morehead State in 2011) while Kentucky had made Elite Eight in 2010 as the number one overall seed and made an improbable run to the Final Four in 2011.
Fast forward to January 2012 and Louisville was ranked 14th in the nation and were strutting into Providence where Rick Pitino was to be honored for his Final Four team there in the eighties with their chests puffed out and ready to roll. They walked out with their heads held low, their lips bloodied and their eyes blacked after a 90-59 loss.
Calipari kept on winning, and the Louisville fans noticed. They started questioning whether he was the right guy for the job, questioning if he could keep up with the 51 year old Calipari. The pressure was on Rick, and he had nothing left to lose especially after spending the previous summer in Federal Court due being extorted. I won’t go into detail, but just Google “Rick Pitino Karen Sypher” and you’ll get it.
Fast forward to Selection Sunday. The talking heads were saying the tournament was “Kentucky’s to lose” and the Wildcats had everything to lose while the Cardinals had everything to gain. Another first round exit for Pitino would surely put him on the hot seat while fans in Lexington had a “National Championship or Bust” mentality that would surely have pundits and college basketball fans nationwide screaming that Calipari can’t get it done in March.
Then, the stars aligned and both teams win their regions, setting the way for a Final Four matchup. For the first time, the roles switched. The pressure rests largely on Calipari’s shoulders, who needs this win more than any other to quench the thirst of the Big Blue Nation and Pitino is the guy who has nothing to lose. Pitino is now in a chance to get the ultimate revenge on Calipari for the past three years of drumming on the recruiting trail and on the sideline. A win for Calipari means a National Championship berth, and a win for Pitino means that he can prove he can still get it done when the odds aren’t in his favor.
Much like last season’s Kentucky team, a four seed who had regular season struggles and killed a number one seed, Louisville has made the Final Four. The milestone speaks volumes for the dedication of the players on Louisville’s roster, who could’ve just given up after the drubbing at Providence in January. Since, they’ve won the Big East Championship and are on an eight game winning streak. It’s a nice surprise, much like when you break out your winter coat and find a $10 bill in the pocket. It gets you pumpin’ your fist and your spirits high.
But for Kentucky and Calipari, it’s a completely different story. They’ve been expected to win the “big one” all season, and there’s just two games left. Calipari has never one the national championship and is considered by many (including a writer on this blog) to be a liar, a cheater, and a downright bad person. People on Twitter want him dead. People at ESPN put him in the same boat as LeBron, a talent who can’t win the “big one”. The pressure’s on Calipari and his fate is in his own hands.
On Saturday, March 31st at 6:09 PM, the entire state of Kentucky is going to shut down. I’ve requested off work that day (I put in the request in January… as well as April 2nd and 3rd, just in case Calipari wins the big one) and the trash talk has already started. I was sitting in a parking lot earlier today (keep in mind during basketball season I always have a UK car flag flying) when a white car zoomed by me and drifted back around to where he was facing me. He stopped for a few moments, revved his engine, flashed his lights and raced back by. While doing so, he rolled down his window exposing a red flat billed hat with a calligraphous L on the front. He proceeded to stick his hand out and make the L symbol, followed by the middle finger and yelled out “YA’LL ARE GOIN’ DOWN!!!” I’m expecting much worse as the week rolls on.
Meanwhile, I’m going to hold my tongue and smile. It’s going to be hard not to talk trash, but I’m going to do my best… because if Calipari and his Wildcats win on Saturday, I’ll have the ultimate trump card. The “Dream Game”. But I’m holding my tongue because I don’t want to eat crow, just in case.
This week is going to be insane, and honestly I can’t wait for it to be over.
A Message to the #BBN…
A common question the last few weeks around the state of Kentucky has been “Does Kentucky NEED to lose?” Simply, the answer is no. Let me get this straight… Kentucky is 31-1 (16-0 in conference regular season, 1-0 in SEC tournament), and you want to know if Kentucky needs to LOSE? That is just simply absurd. Listen: WE ARE KENTUCKY. Losing should not be a part of our vocabulary. If we win, we’re supposed to shake the opponents hand, look them in the eye, and say good game (under most circumstances). If we lose, find an alibi. Sure, Peter is going to quickly read this and start making fun of Kentucky, saying that we always make up excuses when we lose, but yet every team in America has an excuse when they lose. Would you, as a presumably UK fan, rather have Kentucky 30-2 right now, or 32-0? If Kentucky were undefeated, would you still be asking the question if Kentucky needs to lose? The answer is no.
Fact of the matter is, as a Kentucky fan, I want to win EVERY game. Not just win every game, I want to absolutely demolish every team that faces up against Kentucky. Do you remember that feeling after the Christian Watford shot at Indiana went in? That was a feeling of defeat. I don’t want to feel that again. I pray to whatever Lord is in the cloudy heavens that you don’t either.
Do you think Ohio State fans were saying that they needed to lose last year when they started like 21-0? Nah. It’s every program’s dream to chase the elusive undefeated season… and Kentucky is one last second shot away from it.
Shut up, enjoy the ride, and for the love of ALL THAT IS HOLY… stop asking that question and enjoy the ride to GR8NESS.
Anthony Davis is on a Billboard!
h/t http://www.kentuckysportsradio.com and UK Sports Info
Anthony Davis has his own billboard in New Orleans for the SEC Tournament and (hopefully) Final Four. This billboard will probably be in Cleveland in a few months… and it is just awesome.
Wheels Up!
Good morning, sleepy heads! Rise and shine! I’m on my way to Cleveland with David to enjoy a weekend of podcasting and general debauchery with he and Peter. Peter, if you read this… post something. The well of posts is running dry. Replinish it! If anyone is interested in our trip (codename: #blogsohard roadtrip), follow me on Twitter. @white_millz
RT, PLZ?????
Cleveland State of Mind 