Ira Combs
Cats vs. Cards not a dream game this year
When neither program has won an NCAA champ-ionship in 10 years, and only one of the two has even been to a final four in the same span of time, it can hardly be considered a dream game when these two schools get together this Saturday at (4:00 o’clock CBS) in Rupp Arena. It hurts for this columnist (who was born and bred right here in the Bluegrass) to admit this, but it’s the cold hard truth. 
Gillispie’s Cats continue slide; Brooks’ Cats prepare for another Holiday bowl
Up to this point in Billy Clyde Gillispie’s inaugural season as the head hoopster of Kentucky’s tradition rich basketball program, he’s been pretty much excused of the lackluster season provided to the Commonwealth, (many even turned their head to the mind-boggling Gardner Webb loss), and the last two Saturdays defeats to the Tar Heels & Hoosiers, well, nobody expected an Oral Roberts-type miracle against those two top 20 teams with the present UK roster as it stands. However, now all the critic’s, naysayer’s and “Tubby Lovers” can line up for Billy “G’s” weekly Monday evening call-in show and the internet chat rooms should be real interesting reading.
Frustration is setting for Big Blue Nation as UK battles elite with Tubby’s recruiting mistakes
In what had to be the most lopsided matchup of pure basketball talent between UK and any other college basketball team since the early probation years of Rick Pitino, UK fought and battled #1 North Carolina last Saturday to a blue-collar 9-point loss 86-77. Thank God it was in Rupp Arena. Kentucky is now 4 - 2 in it’s injury-ridden and talentless season while North Carolina stands 7 - 0 and ranked #1 in all of college basketball.
UK Comeback Falls Short Cats End Season 7- 5
The Kentucky Wildcats football team gave arguably it’s most gallant comeback effort to date last Saturday against border rival Tennessee, but at the end of the day it came up short 52 - 50 in four overtimes. It was a long day (4 hrs. & 45 minutes) of gut wrenching; emotion-filled SEC football at it’s best. UK trailed 24 - 7 at the half when most teams would have chalked it in but not the Wildcats.
2007 - 08 Boys 14th Region Pre Season Player Ratings & Team Rankings
1st Team: Combo Guard - Clark Stepp - 6’ 3″ - Sr. - June Buchanan Lead / Point Guard - Josh Whitaker - 6′ 1″ - Soph. - Hazard Combo Guard - Tate Cox - 6′ 0″ - Soph. - June Buchanan Forward - Michael Campbell - 6′ 3″ - Jr. - Hazard Forward / Center - Zach Gay - 6′ 7″ - Sr. - Buckhorn Center - Travis Smith - 6′ 7″ - Sr. - Breathitt Co.
(Could not decide between Gay & Smith so we listed 6 instead of 5 players on 1st team)
2nd Team: Combo Guard - Stuart Stamper - 6′ 2″ - Soph. - Knott Central Combo Guard - Zach Hurt - 6′ 2″ - Sr. - Cordia Combo Guard - Justin Holland - 6′ 2″ - Sr. - Breathitt Co. Forward - Jason Kelly - 6′ 3″ - Sr. - Perry Central Center - Garrison Collins - 6′ 8″ - Jr. - June Buchanan
Cats overcome obstacles to get SEC road win
UK and Vanderbilt met for the 81st time on the gridiron last Saturday on a beautiful southern fall afternoon in front of 39,773 spectators and many of those fans wore blue & white, an educated guess would be at least half were bluebloods. It wasn’t as impressive as the Music City Bowl last winter but it had to be helpful to the difficult challenge of winning on the road in the SEC.
Upcoming week can help Football Cats bowl scenarios & Hoop Cats toward a 20-win season
Rich Brooks said at the UK pre season media day festivities that he would be terribly disappointed if his team wasn’t a major factor in the 2007 SEC football championship. Then his players took center stage and almost everyone down the roster said they expected the same, plus an increase in the level of bowl they would appear in. Brooks has pretty much upheld his remarks at this point in the season no matter what happens the last three games.
It was a perfect setting, a college football fans dream. What Big Blue Nation had dreamed about for decades. With a win, UK’s football team more than likely would have been in the Top 5 in all polls, with the toughest part of it’s schedule behind them and a solid contender for (dare we even say it) a legitimate shot at a national championship.
Cats - 43 LSU - 37 Now Everybody Believes
Old Blue (a.k.a. Rich Brooks) and his players warned us
Brooks said in August, ” I will be terribly upset if we aren’t a factor in the race for the SEC championship.” Then the players one by one calmly and confidently without being brash, said at media days ”We’re going to do something special this year”. But you know what even after upsetting #1 LSU don’t you in a strange kind of way get a feeling that special thing still may not of happened. Now, let’s set the stage. The old saying goes if you live long enough you’ll get a chance to see something special in life whether it be in the everyday walk of life or as in some of our lives, especially mine, the all important world of sports.
UK licking wounds, set to battle # 1 LSU
UK head coach Rich Brooks said it best several weeks ago just before the Arkansas game, when asked how important the first SEC battle would be against the Razorbacks and its prize hog Darren McFad-den, college football’s Heisman Trophy front-runner. “It’s a marathon folks, not a sprint”, said the old veteran coach with many pigskin battle scars, when referring to what laid ahead for his team.
