The Oxford Regional

Each season, the NCAA Baseball Tournament begins with 16 Regional Tournaments, each of which is hosted by one of the top 16 seeds in the field.  This year, Ole Miss -- the overall number 10 seed -- hosted a regional at Swayze Field in Oxford, Mississippi.  Swayze Field is very large by college baseball standards -- it can hold over 12,000 people, and the Ole Miss folks really cram the fans in there for big tournament games.  When Swayze Field is packed, and the bleacher fans are showering themselves with beer, Coke, and other drinks after every home run, it is one of the most intimidating places in college baseball.

And this year's Ole Miss team was quite good.  They went 40-19 in the regular season, and reached the final of the SEC Tournament.  Last weekend, they were the number 1 seed at home, and they were hosting the following teams:

Georgia Tech (40-17), the number 2 seed.

W. Kentucky (46-12), the number 3 seed and champion of Conference USA.

Murray St. (39-13), the number 4 seed and champion of the Missouri Valley Conference.

Together, these four teams played a double elimination tournament for the ages.

Game One:  The tournament opened on Friday afternoon with a pretty easy win for Georgia Tech, who beat W. Kentucky 9 to 2.  No drama so far.

Game Two:  On Friday night, in front of a packed stadium, Murray State jumped out to an early 4-0 lead with two runs in the top of the 1st and two more in the top of the 2d.  But Ole Miss fought back with three runs in the 3d and two more in the 4th to take a 5-4 lead.  Just as the Ole Miss fans started to think they had the situation under control, Murray added one run in the 5th and another in the 6th to take a 6-5 lead.  But then Ole Miss responded with another run in the bottom of the 7th to tie things at 6.  However, Murray still wasn't finished.  The Racers took the lead in the top of the 8th with a two-out single, and added two more in the 9th with a two-out, bases loaded double from right fielder Dustin Mercer.  (Mercer was 4-5 with four doubles in this game).  Down 9-6 going into the bottom of the 9th, Ole Miss tried to rally.  A single and a double put Rebels on second and third with one out.  The next batter struck out, but the next was hit by a pitch to load the bases.  With the crowd going nuts, the next Rebel batter popped up, and Murray had a stirring 9-6 win.

Game Three:  On Saturday afternoon, Ole Miss took out its frustration on Western.  The Rebels led 8-3 after 6 1/2 innings, and held on for an 8-6 win.  That eliminated the Hilltoppers.

Game Four:  On Saturday night, with the Ole Miss fans mostly at home, Murray and Georgia Tech played another game for the ages.  Tech opened with three runs in the top of the first, but Murray responded with five runs in the bottom of the first.  The Racers then tacked on five more runs in the bottom of the fourth, and suddenly they led 10-3.  Amazingly, however, Tech then responded with SEVEN runs in the top of the fifth to tie the game at 10.  At this point, I assumed Murray was out of pitching.  But I was wrong.  Neither team scored in the sixth, but Murray took a 12-10 lead in the bottom of the 7th.  Tech responded with a run in the top of the 8th to make the score 12-11, but a Racer home run made the score 13-11 going into the 9th.  The Racers retired the first two Yellowjackets in the 9th, but Tech then got a walk and a double to leave the tying runners on second and third with two out.   However, Murray State struck out the last Tech batter to wrap up a stirring 13-11 victory and put themselves in the regional final.

Game Five:  On Sunday afternoon, Tech and Ole Miss met in an elimination game.  Amazingly, Tech again opened with three runs in the top of the first -- and again yielded five runs in the bottom of the first.  Tech rebounded, however, and led 8-6 after four.  From this point on, however, the Ole Miss pitching staff rallied, and Tech could get only one more run.  Meanwhile, the Rebels got two in the 5th, one in the 6th, one in the 7th, and one in the 8th for an 11-9 win that finally eliminated the Yellow Jackets.

Game Six:  So now Ole Miss had to beat Murray twice in two days to win the region, while the Racers only had to win once.  The Rebels got off to a good start on Sunday night.  They were up 15-6 after four innings, and they romped home with a 19-8 win.  In three games, Murray State's pitchers had allowed 36 runs.  But if the Racers could win Monday night's winner-take all final, they could still survive.

Game Seven:  And so, on Monday night, the Rebels and the Racers met for the third time in four days.  I don't think anyone who was there will forget it.  Murray led 5-0 after 2 1/2 innings, but the Rebels responded with one run in the bottom of the 3d and two more in the bottom of the fourth.  Leading 5-3 after 4, Murray exploded -- the Racers put up four runs in the 5th, one more in the 6th, and two more in the 7th.  Amazingly, the Racers now led 12-3 -- and they only needed nine outs to win the region.  Unfortunately, they were almost out of pitching.  Ole Miss scored five runs in the bottom of the 7th to make the score 12-8.  And the Rebels whacked a three-run homer in the 8th to make the score 12-11.  Ole Miss wasn't done.  The next two batters singled, and the Rebels suddenly had the lead run on base.  But somehow, Graham Kelham -- the same pitcher who had already given up six hits (including a three-run homer) -- struck out the next two Rebels to end the inning.  Murray couldn't do anything in the 9th, and Kelham had to defend that one-run lead in the bottom of the 9th.  He struck out the first two batters -- that's four strikeouts in a row.  And finally, the last batter flew out to center, and Murray had one of the greatest wins in its history:  12 to 11, and Regional Champs.

Murray State has had many great basketball team, but the Racers has never reached the round of 16 in the NCAA men's basketball tournament.  This year's baseball team, however, is one of the last 16 still playing.  The Racers are on their way to Durham, North Carolina, to face the Duke Blue Devils.  The Dukies pulled an upset of their own, beating Georgia on the Bulldogs' home field, and the Devils will be tough to beat at home.  But if Murray State can win two of three in Durham, they will go to Omaha for the College World Series.  How about that?

The Regionals were full of drama, and we can't do justice to them.  But here you can see the Super Regional matchups -- home teams listed first.  Each series is best two out of three.  The figures in parentheses represent the national seeds who are left:

BRACKET ONE:

Louisville v. Miami (Fla.)

(8) Oregon St. v. (9) Florida St.

(5) N. Carolina v. Arizona

(4) Auburn v. (13) Coastal Carolina

BRACKET TWO:

(15) U.C.L.A. v. Tex-San Antonio

Duke v. Murray St.

(6) Louisiana St. v. W. Virginia

(3) Arkansas v. (14) Tennessee

Southeastern Conference (1932-2024)

In November 1932, Franklin Roosevelt was elected President for the first time, thus launching a new era in American politics.  One month later, in December 1932, thirteen members of the old Southern Conference left to form a new conference:  the Southeastern Conference.  Those members were:

University of Alabama

Auburn University

University of Florida

University of Georgia

Georgia Institute of Technology 

University of Kentucky

Louisiana State University

University of Mississippi

Mississippi State University

University of the South (Sewanee)

University of Tennessee

Tulane University

Vanderbilt University

The founding of the SEC formalized the tripartite division of Big-Time College Sports in the South.  In the East, the schools that would form the Atlantic Coast Conference in 1953, were heavily influenced by the notion that Southerners should be led by an elite caste of high-minded people.  (There is a reason that the University of Virginia is known as the Cavaliers.)  From an intellectual perspective, this viewpoint was well-represented at the University of North Carolina, which has long stood for a form of genteel Southern liberalism.  In the Southwest, the tremendous resources of Texas led to a culture of extremes -- you could choose the elitism of the University of Texas, the devout social conservatism of Baylor, or a variety of options between them that continue to the present day.

But the people who lived between the Appalachian Mountains in the East and the Sabine River in the West had their own views.  Politically, this is country that largely belonged to Andrew Jackson -- and as a result, it has always trusted the views of average people more than it trusts the views of experts.  Because average people tend to love tradition, this region has often been very traditional.  But this region has never been very good at accepting authority, and thus is generally uncomfortable with the type of overt elitism you might find in Charlottesville, Chapel Hill, or Austin.  In 1933, this region was starting to see some glimmers of hope after many years of difficulty, and they knew that their people were very excited about college sports.  So striking out on their own made a huge amount of sense.

In fact, the creation of the SEC was a watershed in the history of the region.  For the next 90 years, millions of people who lived in these states identified with the SEC, and marked their seasons by its calendar.  Sewanee couldn't afford to stay in the conference after a few years, and so dropped out.  But the other 12 original members stuck together until 1964, and by that point the SEC had become a major force in Southern life.  SEC fans didn't just root for their teams -- they rooted for their conference (and their vision of the South that it represented) against the teams from the ACC and the Southwest Conference.

By the mid-1960's, Atlanta and New Orleans were entering a new era of their own, and so Georgia Tech and Tulane left the SEC.  But the original ten members stuck together until 1991 -- going through integration, negotiating early TV deals, and building the legend.  The SEC never lost its popularity, but in the 1980's there was a marked contrast between the success of the region -- which was enjoying significant economic and population growth -- and the fact that SEC teams usually couldn't compete with Florida State and Miami in football, or with North Carolina and Duke in basketball.

In retrospect, the SEC of the 1980's was a gold mine waiting to be discovered, and Roy Kramer was the person who figured it out.  Kramer became the sixth Commissioner of the SEC on January 10, 1990, and within seven months the SEC had announced plans to add Arkansas and South Carolina.  For the first time, the SEC had reached into the territories traditionally controlled by the Southwest Conference and the ACC.  Even more importantly, the SEC could take advantage of a loophole that allowed any conference with 12 teams to play an extra football game as a conference championship.

From 1991 to 2012, the SEC went through a golden era.  After years of being a scrappy underdog, the SEC finally had the type of monetary and media support that its fans wanted.  The schools took that support and used it to build much stronger programs -- not only in football (which the SEC began to dominate) but in almost every other sport.

By 2012, the SEC had become so strong that both Texas A & M and Missouri were eager to join.  Now at 14 teams -- including one team in the heart of Texas and another from the old Big Eight -- the SEC had truly become a Super Conference.  But still, the SEC's slogan -- "It Just Means More" -- underscored the popular traditionalism that had been key to its success all along.

Over time, however, the Conference that had started as an underdog had become so powerful that its success disrupted the rest of college sports.  This fact created a whole new challenge for the SEC and its region.  For years, the SEC looked out for the interests of its fans, regardless of what that meant for the rest of the country.  But as the 2020's began, that approach became more and more difficult to maintain.  After all, it doesn't do you any good to win the National Championship unless there are other teams across the country that can give you a game.  And as the NCAA faced more and more legal challenges, and the rest of college sports became unstable, the SEC faced hard choices about how to proceed.

A few years ago, the SEC announced its decision:  the league would expand again to include the University of Texas and the University of Oklahoma.  For most of the last 90 years, these were two of the football programs that the SEC had measured itself against -- now, they were acknowledging that the SEC had won, and they would rather switch than fight.  It was, and is, a tremendous victory for the SEC and its fans.  But it was also a loss.  No longer will the SEC belong to our region.  Going forward, it will be a national, and perhaps an international brand -- just like Coca-Cola.

For almost 90 years, SEC fans were proud to be scrappy underdogs going up against the bigger and richer schools in the rest of the country.  Those days have come to an end, and those of us who love this region can be proud of the success that the SEC attained.  But greater power means greater responsibility.  Going forward, fans in the old SEC heartland can't just think about what's best for their school or their region -- they have to consider the whole field of college sports.

Maybe they'll do great.  I certainly hope so.  Contrary to Lord Acton, power does not always corrupt.  Sometimes, it causes people to take more responsibility.  For a long time, folks in the SEC looked out for themselves regardless of what anyone else thought.  They can't do that any more, and maybe they will be wiser and more generous as a result.  But whatever they do, the SEC will never be the same.  Watching the SEC become respectable is like imagining Burt Reynolds's Bandit settling down with a country club membership and a big house in Mountain Brook.  

Becoming respectable always carries a price.  At the end of Huckleberry Finn, Huck says:  "I reckon I got to light out for the Territory ahead of the rest, because Aunt Sally she's going to adopt me and sivilize me, and I can't stand it.  I been there before."  The SEC has always been more Tom Sawyer (let's win within the rules) than Huck Finn (let's do what's right, regardless of the rules), so I'm not surprised to see the SEC strive for respectability.  But I will miss being underdogs.

College Baseball Update

A thrilling day of games to wrap up the regionals.  Every game below decided its region (seeds in parentheses):

(12) Louisville 11 - 9 Michigan

The Cardinals scored four runs in the bottom of the 8th for a come-from-behind victory.

(8) E. Carolina 13 - 4 Coastal Carolina

(13) Florida 4 - 5 Oklahoma

Down 3-1 going into the 8th, Oklahoma scored four runs to beat the Gators in Gainesville.

(14) Auburn 11 - 4 UCLA

(3) Oregon St. 7 - 6 Vanderbilt

One of the best games all year.  Tied 2-2 after 4, then OSU led 6-3 after 5, then Vandy tied it at 6-6 in the top of the 7th, and then OSU whacked a homer in the 7th for the game winner.  In the regionals, Vandy won games by scores of 21-1, 14-4, and 8-1, but lost games by scores of 3-2 and 7-6.  Heartbreak for the Dores, but they'll be back next year.

Louisiana St. 7 - 8 So. Mississippi (11)

Another unbelievable game.  In Hattiesburg, Southern Miss led 7-4 going into the bottom of the 7th, and then LSU tied the game at 7 in the bottom of the 8th.  The Golden Eagles pushed across the winner in the top of the 9th.

Va. Commonwealth 3 - 7 N. Carolina (10)

(7) Oklahoma St. 3 - 7 Arkansas

After scoring at least 10 runs in every prior game of the regional, the Cowboys could only score three runs with everything on the line.

Connecticut 11 - 8 Maryland (12)

UConn took a 6-1 lead after the first inning and then hung on the rest of the way.

(2) Stanford 4 - 3 Texas St.

The regionals ended with yet another thriller.  Tied 1-1 going into the 9th, Texas State scored two runs to take a 3-1 lead.  In the bottom of the 9th, Stanford tied the game with back-to-back homers, and then kept rallying to push across the game winner.

So next week's Super Regionals look like this (home team listed first).  They are going to have some fun in Hattiesburg:

(1) Tennessee v. Notre Dame

(8) E. Carolina v. (9) Texas

(5) Texas A  & M v. (12) Louisville

(4) Virginia Tech v. Oklahoma

(2) Stanford v. Connecticut

(10) N. Carolina v. Arkansas

(11) So. Mississippi v. Mississippi

(3) Oregon St. v. (14) Auburn

The End of the 2020-21 College Sports Season

On June 30, 2021, Mississippi State hammered Vanderbilt 9-0 to take the final series two games to one, and to capture the final college title of a long and challenging year.  It's the first time Mississippi State has ever won an NCAA title in one of the major sports, and the Bulldogs' first title in 12 trips to the College World Series, going all the way back to 1971.  As you can imagine, the folks in Starkvegas went absolutely nuts -- as they should have done.  To win the title, the Bulldogs had to beat three powerhouse programs:  Texas (twice), Virginia, and Vanderbilt (twice).  They are fully deserved winners.

Looking back over the year, there wasn't too much controversy over the big titles.  Alabama smashed everyone to win the football title, and Baylor did the same to win the men's basketball title.  Congratulations to both of them.  We have rarely seen more deserving champions.

Congratulations to the University of Kentucky, which racked up national titles in rifle and volleyball.  The volleyball title was a really big deal, as it was the first time any SEC team had captured that crown.  I complained about Mitch Barnhart when he took over as Athletic Director back in 2002, but I must now admit that he's done a very good job.  There's never been a time where UK was so competitive in so many different sports.  Barnhart and John Calipari have a lot of work to do on the men's basketball program, which had a disastrous year, but they both seem to be working hard in the off-season and for now we will wait in hope.

Congratulations also to Vandy, which reached the final of the College World Series for the fourth time since 2014.  Tim Corbin is probably the best coach Vanderbilt has ever had in any sport, with the possible exception of Dan McGugin, who had a record in football of 197-55-19 from 1904 to 1934, and without whose success Vandy's long history in the Southeastern Conference would have been impossible.  Congratulations also to Vandy for not making the same mistake as Tulane and Georgia Tech, and for sticking with the SEC through thick and thin.

Congratulations to Western Kentucky, who went 21-8 in men's basketball, came within an eyelash of winning the Conference USA Tournament, and won a game in the NIT.  The Hilltoppers also enjoyed big upset wins over Memphis and Alabama, and were entertaining the whole year.

We warned Louisville about joining the ACC, and sure enough the Cardinals missed the bowls, missed the NCAA men's basketball tournament, and missed the NCAA baseball tournament.  I still hope that someday they will return to their senses, and resume their natural rivalries with Cincinnati and Memphis.  And I hope West Virginia joins them.

Congratulations to Mount St. Mary, which pulled two upsets in the Northeast Conference tournament to reach the NCAA men's basketball tournament, despite finishing the year with a record of 12-11.

Grateful thanks to Notre Dame, which refused to go along with plans concocted by the Big 10 and the media to cancel the college football season, and thereby eventually saved a whole year's worth of college sports for the rest of us.  Someday we will resume our traditional rooting interest against Notre Dame, but for now we humbly admit that without its support, there may have been no college sports at all this year.  If you doubt this possibility, just look at the Ivy League, which did in fact cancel all intercollegiate competition this year, even spring sports like baseball and golf.

Most of all, congratulations to the fans and athletes across the country who preserved the tradition of college sports at a time when many prominent voices were determined to stop it from going forward.  For over 100 years, American intellectuals have been embarrassed by the presence of big-time college sports, and have played every card in the deck of snobbery and puritanism to stamp it out.  But like the Whos and their Christmas celebration, college sports has survived their Grinch-like efforts.  This year, more than any I can remember, we can say that the neo-Puritans didn't stop college sports from coming (except in their Ivy League stronghold).  It came without cheerleaders.  It came without bands.  It came without tailgating, or parties, or flags.  Somehow or other, it came just the same.

And now we can finally rest for a few months, and in late August -- if the Lord is willing and the creeks don't rise -- it will all start up again.  I, for one, am very ready for the rest -- any season where Vandy plays on the last day of the year is exceptionally long for me.  But in late August, I'll be ready for another season.

College World Series Update

Now updated to reflect a wild weekend in Omaha:

Saturday, June 19:

N. Carolina St. 10, (9) Stanford 4

(4) Vanderbilt 7, (5) Arizona 6 (12 innings)

Sunday, June 20:

Virginia 6, (3) Tennessee 0

(7) Mississippi St. 2, (2) Texas 1

Monday, June 21:

(9) Stanford 14, (5) Arizona 5 (Arizona eliminated)

N. Carolina St. 1, (4) Vanderbilt 0

Tuesday, June 22:

(2) Texas 8, (3) Tennessee 4 (Tennessee eliminated)

(7) Mississippi St. 6, Virginia 5

Wednesday, June 23:

(4) Vanderbilt 6, (9) Stanford 5 (Stanford eliminated)

Thursday, June 24:

(2) Texas 6, Virginia 2 (Virginia eliminated)

Friday, June 25:

(4) Vanderbilt 3, N. Carolina St. 1

(2) Texas 8, (7) Mississippi St. 5

Saturday, June 26:

(4) Vanderbilt def. N. Carolina St. (no contest due to COVID protocols) (N. Carolina St. eliminated)

(7) Mississippi St. 4, (2) Texas 3 (Texas eliminated)

So we are down to Vanderbilt and Mississippi State for the title.  Vandy is going for its third title since 2014.  Mississippi State is going for its first title ever.

It's not possible to overstate the sadness that everyone should feel for NCSU.  The Wolfpack have a great fanbase that is usually overshadowed by their richer neighbors in Durham and Chapel Hill.  For a few weeks, NCSU had the spotlight all to itself, and it is horrible that they were eliminated in such a manner.

Oh, Bardwell

Uh-oh, I might've fallen in love with going driving on Google Maps this weekend. Here are three trips across Bardwell. Come on, and feel the Carlisle County!

NFL72 Update

Welcome to Philly.

Previous and future NFL72 reports:

• Jan. 13, 1968, NFL67 wrap
• Jan. 11, 1969, NFL68 wrap
• Jan. 11, 1970, NFL69 wrap
• Jan. 15, 1971, NFL70 wrap
• Jan. 16, 1972, NFL71 wrap
• Feb. 1, 1972, Draft party
• Aug. 18, 1972, Plimpton! The Great Quarterback Sneak
• Aug. 20, 1972, Dolphins over Bengals
• Aug. 21, 1972, Rest in peace, Ray Jamieson
• Aug. 22, 1972, The GOP comes to Miami
• Aug. 23, 1972, Del Gaizo vs. Morrall
• Aug. 25, 1972, Atlanta Falcons preview (with original Dick Shiner artwork)
• Aug. 29, 1972, Week 1 ("Larry Little and Larry Csonka ... are the symbol of football")
• Oct. 2, 1972, Week 3
• Oct. 8, 1972, Week 4
• Oct. 9, 1972, Are the Steelers ever going to get better?
• Oct. 23, 1972, Week 6 (with the Hartleys tuning in for Monday Night Football)
• Nov. 11, 1972, Week 9 (with NFL Strategy innovation)
• Nov. 23, 1972, Steve Owens's little brother against Nebraska
• Nov. 26, 1972, The Raiders close in
• Dec. 7, 1972, "Pete Roselle had it blacked out"
• Dec. 14, 1972, Bruce Dern is a Rams fan
• Dec. 16, 1972, Week 14 (with prayer)
• Dec. 29, 1972, Divisional playoffs (featuring Partridge Family #freakinweekend kickoff)
• Dec. 31, 1972, Conference championships (thank you, Rob and Sam)
• April 30, 2014, Rest in peace, Earl Morrall and Dotty Shula
• April 16, 2015, Super Bowl VII revisited
• July 27, 2015, Rest in peace, Bill Arnsparger
• Sept. 13, 2015, NFL15 preview (justice)
• Jan. 8, 2017, NFL16 review (perspective)
• Sept. 1, 2018, I love to write

Which of These Is Not Like the Others?

9/1/2016:  W. Kentucky 46 - 14 Rice
9/1/2016:  Louisville 70 - 14 Charlotte
9/3/2016:  Kentucky 35 - 44 So. Mississippi

Here's the deal.  Kentucky hired Mark Stoops to be the head football coach at the end of the 2012 season, so this is his fourth year with the team.  Going into each of the last three seasons, Lexington was full of happy talk about all of the progress Cats fans were about to see.  After three full seasons and a season opener this year, Stoops is now 4-20 in the SEC and 12-25 overall.

At the same time Kentucky hired Mark Stoops, Bobby Petrino was available.  UK didn't want him, so he went to Western Kentucky.  One year later he was hired by Louisville.  Over the last three full seasons, and a season opener, Petrino is 14-9 in conference play and 26-13 overall.

By choosing to hire Stoops over Petrino, the UK athletic department guaranteed not only that Kentucky would continue its losing ways -- but that UK fans would get to watch Petrino continue his long history of humiliating the Big Blue.  Here's how Petrino has done against Stoops:

08/31/2013:  W. Kentucky 35 - 26 Kentucky (Nashville)
11/29/2014:  Louisville 44 - 40 Kentucky
11/28/2015:  Kentucky 24 - 38 Louisville

That's not progress.

All of this was easy to predict -- and was, in fact, predicted.  But the UK Athletic Department just doesn't care.  They didn't care when they got crushed by Tennessee for decades.  They didn't care when schools like West Virginia and South Carolina left their football program in the dust.  They didn't care when Louisville built a better football program than they have.  And they don't care that Western now has a better football program than they do.  They just don't care.  They never have, and they never will -- unless the fans stop coming to the games.

And that's what I suggest.  Don't go to Commonwealth Stadium until UK hires a good coach.  Let it sit empty, as a monument to almost 100 years of futility.  Let them have their luxury tailgating without you.  Let them raise their funds from others.  If almost no one goes -- if they have multiple games with less than 10,000 people in the stands -- well, maybe the SEC will put pressure on them to change.  In the meantime, save your money and use it to support the programs that actually try to win.

Mississippi St. 56 - 74 Kentucky (No. 2,168)

When you've been watching Kentucky play as long as I have, every trip through the SEC schedule is a trip down memory lane, filled with opportunities to reflect on old triumphs or defeats.  This game, for example, tipped off at 6 P.M. Central Standard Time on a Wednesday night, which is 7 P.M. where I live.  Now when I was growing up, UK played many SEC games on Wednesday night, and almost all those games started just about the time we were pulling into the church parking lot for Wednesday night Bible classes.  This was not good for me spiritually, as I could never stop worrying about how the Cats were doing.  Church would end at 8:30, and I would dash out to the car in order to hear from Cawood what was happening.

This was real "life is like a box of chocolates" stuff.  Sometimes you would tune in, and hear Cawood confidently and happily discussing a blowout.  On Wednesday, January 21, 1981, for example, the Cats whipped Florida 102-48 at Rupp Arena.  But often, especially when the Cats were on the road, you would hear a howl of noise from the other team's fans, and Cawood's voice would have the anxious tone that signaled that the Cats were in trouble.

(Cawood was a genius at letting you know how the game was going even if you didn't know the score.  It wasn't just the tone of his voice.  He would throw in comments like "Cats looking very ragged tonight" or "Cats being sloppy with the ball," to let you know that things weren't going well.  On the other hand, if UK scored, Cawood could emphasize the phrase "got it!" in a manner that let you know everything was going to be all right.  I am almost 50 years old, and I have rarely seen anyone who was as good at anything as Cawood Ledford was at calling basketball games.)

In my mind, it seems like a large number of these close Wednesday night games took place in the state of Mississippi.  I don't know if that's actually true -- although it may be, because our games with Mississippi State and Ole Miss were rarely televised live.  But that's how I remember it.  On Wednesday, February 11, 1981, the Cats went to Ole Miss and pulled out a 62-55 win over the Rebels.  Two weeks later, UK was in Starkville, where they edged Mississippi State 78-74.  I don't remember the specifics of either of these games, but there were many Wednesday nights in the car, waiting for my parents to finish talking to their friends, and worrying about whether UK could pull out another win.

So when I saw that UK was scheduled to play at Mississippi State, with a 7 P.M. tip-off on a Wednesday evening, all of these old memories came back.  No matter how good the Cats are, or how bad Mississippi State is, I will never like games in Starkville.  So I sat in Wednesday night Bible Class, and waited to see what news I'd get at 8:30.

Meanwhile, down in Starkville, the Cats were playing a pretty odd game.  In the first place, it snowed, which held the attendance down to 6,795.  In the second place, MSU had elected to do some sort of "blackout" -- their players were wearing black uniforms with maroon trim, while UK got to wear the home whites.  I don't like the crowds at the Humphrey Center, and I like seeing UK in white, so these developments would have made me happy.  And the first half went fine, as UK led 36-27 at the break -- halfway to the 18-point victory predicted by the oddsmakers.  Then the Cats eased up somewhat, and with 15:10 left in the game, the Kentucky lead was down to 41-37.  The MSU fans were excited.  The MSU players were excited.  And then, over the next 6 minutes and 26 seconds, the Cats blitzed Mississippi State -- going on a 19-3 run that left UK up 60-40.  It was like one of those episodes where Wile E. Coyote is just about to catch the Road Runner, only to have the Road Runner go "Beep! Beep!" and disappear in a blaze of smoke, speed, and flying asphalt.  From there it was just a matter of letting the time run out.

28-0.  15-0 in the SEC.  Three games left.

It was the first game all year where Trey Lyles looked like UK's best player.  He went 7-12 from the field, 4-4 from the line, putting up 18 points and 6 rebounds in only 21 minutes.  I still don't have a sense of how good Lyles could be, but I have a feeling we've been underrating him all along -- Coach Calipari seemed to really miss Lyles when he was out with that illness a few weeks ago.

The Cats have now beaten 12 of the other 13 teams in the SEC.  That just leaves Arkansas, who comes to Rupp Arena in the next game.  UK hasn't beaten Arkansas since we had Anthony Davis, and since there aren't usually church services on Saturday afternoon, the whole Kentucky fan base should be able to tune in and see how this year's group does against the Razorbacks.

Kentucky 89 - 86 Mississippi (Overtime) (No. 2,154)

Rocky is the best sports movie of all time, and Apollo Creed is the best part of Rocky.

(NOTE:  In discussing Rocky, I am ONLY talking about Rocky -- the first one, the one that won the Academy Award for Best Picture.  In my mind, Rocky is a standalone movie that really has no connection to any of the "sequels."  Rocky is the best sports movie of all time, and is worthy of serious analysis.  The other movies with Rocky in the title are fun to watch at 11:30 at night while you're eating Cheetos.  So I'm only discussing Apollo Creed as he was portrayed in Rocky, not what a character named "Apollo Creed" did in any other movie.  OK, now let's start again.)

Rocky is the best sports movie of all time, and Apollo Creed is the best part of Rocky.

The other main characters in Rocky -- the Noble Fighter, the Shy Girlfriend, the Shady Friend, the Old Manager -- are mostly stereotypes who follow storylines that are quite predictable.  Does anyone really think that Rocky and Adrian aren't going to get together?  To be fair, the actors do a great job in those roles -- but their stories pretty much go as expected.

But Apollo Creed -- he's different.  In the first place, he is the key to the whole story.  The only reason the rest of the plot makes any sense is because Apollo Creed is supposed to be the greatest fighter in the world -- and possibly the greatest . . . of all time.  No one cares about Rocky when he's fighting a bunch of bums in Philadelphia -- Rocky doesn't even take his own career seriously.  By contrast, everyone cares about the chance to fight Apollo Creed.  Creed's the Heavyweight Champion of the World and one of the most famous people on earth.  He's never lost.  He's never been knocked down.  He is the Gold Standard for everyone in Rocky's line of work, which means that the chance to fight Apollo Creed gives you the chance to find out just how good you could truly be.

Of course, we in the audience have never seen Apollo Creed fight.  And for most of the movie, when we do see him, Creed doesn't seem all that interested in fighting.  He's a genius promoter -- it was his idea to fight Rocky in the first place.  He's a great dresser and a nice guy.  He's really, really rich and really, really smart.  And he knows how to make an entrance -- one of my favorite parts of the whole movie is Creed's arrival at the ring, in full Uncle Sam regalia.  (Rocky says, "He looks like a big flag.")  So the audience can't help wondering, But can he fight?

And that's exactly what Sylvester Stallone wants.  Remember, the audience knows how much the fight means to Rocky.  This is Rocky's only chance, and he's giving it everything he's got.  His whole life -- his whole future -- is tied up in this one fight, and we know he's ready.  But what about Creed?  This is the mystery that keeps us watching -- we know that Rocky and Adrian will get together, we pretty much know what Mickey's going to say and how Paulie's going to act.  But what will happen when Rocky puts everything on the line against Apollo Creed?

Now if Rocky were a mediocre movie, Apollo Creed would turn out to be an empty shell -- a blowhard who can't take a punch, or who cheats, or who generally serves as a Draco Malfoy-type to be foiled by Rocky in the last act.  Instead, Apollo Creed takes everything that Rocky can dish out -- and still wins the fight.  (Yes, I know Rocky had the initiative in the last round, but Apollo Creed was the aggressor and he was in control through the first 14 rounds.  He deserved to win.)  Creed never backs down, never quits -- even after his rib is broken and he's coughing up blood.  In the end, he wants to win just as much as Rocky does.  He's not just a businessman, or a promoter, or a snazzy dresser.  He's a fighter -- and a champion.  His greatness shows the audience just how good Rocky could be.

I had a lot of time to think about Rocky last night as I watched Ole Miss play an amazing game of basketball against the top-ranked Kentucky Wildcats.  In my mind's eye, I could imagine it all in movie form:

SCENE:  A gym in Oxford, Mississippi.  The players are downcast as COACH ANDY KENNEDY berates them after their loss to Western Kentucky.

COACH KENNEDY:  You guys are bums!  You've always been bums!  You'll always be bums!  I'm supposed to take you to Lexington on January 6 to play the number one team in the country -- do you have any idea what those guys will do to you?

Over a montage of blues music, the camera shows the Ole Miss players working out.  Sometimes they're in the gym, running plays.  But other times we see them jogging through the country in twilight, or jumping over bales of hay, or doing fingertip push-ups in their dorm rooms.

SCENE:  In the same gym as before, we see a ball boy feeding balls to LADARIUS WHITE, who makes shot after shot from the far corner.  COACH KENNEDY walks up to WHITE.

WHITE (to himself after each shot):  Forty-eight,  forty-nine, fifty.
COACH KENNEDY:  White, are you telling me that you've made this shot fifty times today?
WHITE:  No sir. (pause).  I've made it fifty times in a row.
COACH KENNEDY (after a pause):  OK, White.  Let's see you do it from the other side of the court.

SCENE:  We see STEFAN MOODY and some teammates going over plays during Christmas dinner, to the annoyance of their girlfriends.  Meanwhile, the screen in the background shows an ESPN announcer interviewing the Harrison twins, who are smiling broadly and wearing blue Santa Claus hats.

GIRLFRIEND NUMBER 1 (Looking at the TV):  Stefan, don't y'all play Kentucky soon?
MOODY (briefly stopping to glance at the TV):  Is Kentucky really a basketball team?  I thought they were a reality show.

SCENE:  The Ole Miss players, led by JARVIS SUMMERS, are walking into Rupp Arena when they are accosted by A CYNICAL KENTUCKY JOURNALIST, looking quite moth-eaten:

CYNICAL JOURNALIST:  Here come the lambs to the slaughter!  How do you feel about the fact that there are 24,000 people here to watch you lose?
SUMMERS:  As I understand it, sir, Kentucky only gets to play five guys at a time.

This was a great game, so we're going to go through it old-school style, one quarter at a time:

1st Quarter:  Kentucky 23 - 20 Mississippi

The Cats were 22 1/2 point favorites, and they started off as if that number was too low.  The Cats were up 10-0 after only two minutes, and Andy Kennedy had already called his first time out.  With 16:29 left, Aaron Harrison hit his third three-pointer in a row, and the Cats were up 18-5.  The Champ is really just toying with Rocky -- he wants to make sure the fans get their money's worth.  Then this happened:

15:59 left:  Jarvis Summers puts back a missed shot (UK leads 18-7)
15:23 left:  Summers makes an old-fashioned three-point play (UK leads 18-10)
14:55 left:  A UK turnover turns into a dunk for Dwight Coleby (UK leads 18-12)
14:34 left:  Stefan Moody hits a three-pointer (UK leads 18-15)

A 10-0 run in less than two minutes.  The Cats dug in after that, and led 23-17 with about 11 minutes to go.  And then there was a long sequence where UK had several chances to score but didn't, and after that Ole Miss was off to the races.

2d Quarter:  Kentucky 13 - 18 Mississippi (Ole Miss led 38-36 at the half)

With 7:59 left in the half, the Cats -- whose offense had stopped almost completely -- still led 26-24.  And then Stefan Moody came down and hit a shot that I never expect to go in -- a running, contested three-pointer.  (Both Kansas and UCLA shot themselves out of their games against Kentucky trying to make that shot.)  Then less then a minute later, he came back and hit another one.  Suddenly Ole Miss was up 30-26, and soon afterward, a dunk by Aaron Jones put the Rebels up 36-30.  At that point, they were on a 31-12 run against the Number One Team in the Nation.  The Champ is down!  He's down!  That's the first time Creed has ever been knocked down in his career.

At this point, Kentucky seemed to calm down and regain its focus.  The Cats cut the Ole Miss lead to 38-36 at the half, and pulled off a nifty steal to prevent the Rebels from taking the last shot.  Interviewed on his way to the locker room, Coach Calipari expressed concern about UK's intensity, and I was pretty sure that UK would come out ready to play in the second half.

3d Quarter:  Kentucky 21 - 19 Mississippi (Game was tied 57-all with 10 minutes left)

Kentucky opened the second half with Dakari Johnson, Devin Booker, Tyler Ulis, Aaron Harrison, and Willie Cauley-Stein.  It took only five seconds for WCS to wipe out the Ole Miss lead with a dunk, and 25 seconds later an Ole Miss turnover quickly became a three-pointer by Devin Booker.  A left from the champ!  Rocky is staggered.  Ole Miss called time.

UK eventually built a 51-45 lead, and I thought they were finally about to pull away.  But Ole Miss quickly tied the score, and the two teams started trading haymakers back and forth.  They're going toe to toe!  By this point, it was clear that Moody was putting on a show for the ages -- he eventually made five three pointers, and scored 25 points in only 29 minutes.  But Aaron Harrison was on his way to making five three-pointers as well.  And so the game see-sawed back and forth.

4th Quarter:  Kentucky 20 - 20 Mississippi (Game was tied 77-all at the end of regulation)

With 8:05 left in the game, Calipari pulled Ulis and replaced him with Andrew Harrison.  In his 23 minutes against Ole Miss, Ulis had done his usual solid job on offense -- he had 7 assists for the game.  But he was really struggling on defense, as Moody and Summers continued to rack up the points.  Ole Miss led 61-59, and this was no time for platoons.  Instead, the Cats relied heavily on the old heroes from last year:  Aaron Harrison (who played 40 minutes), Willie Cauley-Stein (39 minutes), and Aaron Harrison (32 minutes).

I was transported back to last March, when I had watched the Harrisons play one of the best series of games I have ever seen.  Different people will have different memories -- but whatever happens, I will always think of the Harrisons running the offense late in a big game where Kentucky absolutely has to score.  I know their story -- all the close games they lost in the SEC last year, all the close games they won in the NCAA's, all the pressure that they have faced since arriving on campus.  It was exciting (but nerve-wracking) to see them in another late-game drama.

But would even the Harrisons be enough to save the Cats?  Time after time, Ole Miss held the ball deep into the shot clock, only to make yet another amazing jump shot.  (At one point, LaDarius White made a running shot with a hand literally about six inches from his face.  In the heat of the moment, the officials gave him three points, although the officials finally -- two TV timeouts later -- figured out that White's foot was on the line.  I still can't believe he made that shot.)  They made bank shots, shots from both corners, and lots of free throws.  (For the game, Ole Miss went 9-17 from three-point range and 19-22 from the line).

With only 3:34 left, the Cats had a 75-70 lead, and Aaron Harrison was on the line to add another point.  Rocky is down here in the 14th round!  Creed raises his hands to celebrate.  But Aaron missed.  A minute later, WCS was at the line for two free throws and a chance to give UK a seven point lead.  He missed them both.  I had long since quit listening to Tom Leach (who makes me nervous in close games), but I knew that he and all the other Kentucky fans expected those missed FT's to haunt us.  Rocky is getting up!  He's still ready to fight!  And they did:

2:25 left:  Jumper by Jarvis Summers (UK leads 75-72)
1:55 left:  Missed jumper by Trey Lyles (White rebound)
1:36 left:  Three-pointer by White from deep in the corner (He seemed completely guarded -- you couldn't even see him on TV) (game tied at 75)
1:14 left:  WCS makes one of two FT's (Auggh!  Missed free thows!) (UK leads 76-75)
59 seconds left:  Summers draws a foul from WCS and makes both FT's (Ole Miss leads 77-76)

At this point, I wanted Aaron Harrison to shoot a three-pointer, but he drove inside the arc and pulled up for a jumper that missed.  And now Ole Miss had the ball -- and the lead -- with 37 seconds to go.  Given that the Rebels had literally not missed a free throw in the game, my hopes at this point were not high.

But this particular UK team is mentally tougher than I am.  They pressured Summers as he attempted to bring the ball up -- and suddenly the ball had skittered into Trey Lyles's hand, and then Andrew Harrison was going in for a layup with 25 seconds to go.  He was fouled.  He missed the first free throw (augh!) but made the second.

All tied with 25 seconds left.  Ole Miss ball.

And here, for the only time in the whole game, I thought the Rebels got too cocky.  During the whole game, UK had struggled to defend the quick Rebel guards.  If Ole Miss had attacked, there is a good chance they could have scored -- either by making the shot or getting to the line.  Then the pressure would have been on UK to keep the game alive.  Instead, Ole Miss not only held for the last shot -- they tried another contested three-pointer by Summers.  This effort pressed Rebel luck too far -- the ball banged off the back of the rim, and we were headed to overtime.

Overtime:  Kentucky 12 - 9 Mississippi (UK won 89-86)

I was very happy that UK had survived in regulation, although I never truly expect the Cats to win in overtime (too many bad memories).   So I wasn't surprised when, one minute into overtime with the score tied at 79, WCS was called for a foul on Stefan Moody.  Three free throws coming up.  And the Rebels hadn't missed a free throw the whole game.  (Moody himself was 4-4 from the line).  But Moody had been suffering from cramps throughout the second half, and now he was done.  He literally had to be helped from the floor (Cut me, Mick!  Cut me!), and he didn't return.  After the game, Coach Calipari said that the Cats would have lost if Moody had stayed in the game, and it's hard to disagree.

But Moody was out, and M.J. Rhett (who took his place at the line) missed two of free throws.  Soon afterward, Dakari Johnson scooped up a huge offensive rebound and put the Cats up 81-80.  Now both teams were in a great offensive flow, and the points came quickly:

3:22 left:  LaDarius White makes ANOTHER three-pointer from the corner (Ole Miss up 83-81)
2:56 left:  WCS gets an offensive rebound and scores (83-all)
2:22 left:  Dwight Coleby is fouled and makes two FT's (Ole Miss up 85-83)
2:08 left:  Andrew Harrison makes a HUGE three-pointer (UK up 86-85)
1:40 left:  Summers is fouled but makes only 1 FT (86-86)  (Note:  This was an outrageous call -- Summers actually lost the ball in the lane.  He fell on the ground trying to keep the ball, and Andrew Harrison went in to tie him up -- the possession arrow was in UK's favor.  They never call fouls in that situation, but they did here.  I can only assume that Karma forced Summers to suffer his only missed FT of the night -- he went 10-11 from the line.)
1:29 left:  Aaron Harrison makes two FT's (UK leads 88-86)

And now, with 1:13 left in the game, LaDarius White came down and . . . MISSED!  Willie Cauley-Stein grabbed the rebound (he had 12 rebounds in the game), and the Cats had the ball.  With 40 seconds to go, Andrew Harrison missed a layup, but Cauley-Stein got another rebound, and Andrew Harrison made one of two free throws to give UK an 89-86 lead with 32 seconds to go.

Timeout Ole Miss.

The Rebels got the ball to Summers (23 points for the game), but he missed.  There was a wild scramble for the ball, but it went off of Ole Miss, and UK had the ball.  The Rebels fouled Trey Lyles, and I thought for sure he would put the game away, but he missed both FTs.  Still 89-86.

And now there were only a few seconds left, and the ball was in the hands of Martavious Newby, who is not LaDarius White, Stefan Moody, or Jarvis Summers, and who took a wild, off-balance three-pointer.  It missed, and the Wildcats ran out the last few seconds.

Still undefeated.  14-0 overall.  1-0 in the SEC.  17 conference games to go.

The huge crowd at Rupp had been standing for a long time, and they let out a stupendous, joyous roar.  I joined them from my rec room.  Because, you see, here's the biggest difference between Rocky and Apollo Creed.  Rocky has one big fight -- his one chance at fame and fortune.  Not surprisingly, he goes all out to win.  But every fight is big for Apollo Creed -- he can never take a night off.  All of those Kentucky fans wanted to win that game more than the typical Ole Miss fan has ever wanted to win any basketball game.  At UK, Every game counts.  Years ago, when I started writing about the Wildcats, I decided to keep a running count for their all-time wins, and to include that number in every write-up of a victory.  Because we keep track, and we want to win them all.

And this year, we have a great group of players who apparently want to win just as much as we do.  Before the Louisville game, the Cardinals warmed up in shirts that said "Heart over Hype," and I can understand how people who don't know these Cats could see them as a bunch of pretty boys pumped up by the national press.  But last night they faced a team that played outstanding basketball -- Ole Miss made 48 percent of its 2-point shots, 53 percent of its 3-point shots, and 86 percent of its free throws -- and the Cats still won.  That's not hype.

Anything can happen in this crazy game, and probably will.  But as long as the Cats play as hard as they did down the stretch last night, I will be proud of them however the season ends.  And in the meantime, I have another set of great memories.

Living For The City

This poet, Etheridge Hunter, spent a significant part of his youth in Paducah.

And here's a poem by him:

A Poem For Myself

I was born in Mississippi;
I walked barefooted thru the mud.
Born black in Mississippi,
Walked barefooted thru the mud.
But, when I reached the age of twelve
I left that place for good.
My daddy chopped cotton
And he drank his liquor straight.
Said my daddy chopped cotton
And he drank his liquor straight.
When I left that Sunday morning
He was leaning on the barnyard gate.
Left my mama standing
With the sun shining in her eyes.
Left her standing in the yard
With the sun shining in her eyes.
And I headed North
As straight as the Wild Goose Flies,
I been to Detroit & Chicago
Been to New York city too.
I been to Detroit & Chicago
Been to New York city too.
Said I done strolled all those funky avenues
I'm still the same old black boy with the same old blues.
Going back to Mississippi
This time to stay for good
Going back to Mississippi
This time to stay for good-
Gonna be free in Mississippi
Or dead in the Mississippi mud.

And here's another (warning: explicit language).

This Week's Games

Here are this weekend's games in Western Kentucky -- home teams listed first.  It's hard to believe that many teams are already playing their fifth game of the year. 

This Saturday, all roads lead to McCHS as McCracken County hosts a triple-header.  I hope they get good weather.  Eric, how would you get from Southaven, Mississippi to West Paducah, Kentucky?  And how should the Russellville and Todd County Central fans get there?

One more thing:  After Coach Haskins retires, the "McCracken Bowl" should become the "Haskins Bowl."

Friday, September 19:
Ballard Mem. (4-0) v. Hopkins Co. Cent. (0-4)
Crittenden Co. (2-1) v. Webster Co. (1-3)
Fort Campbell (1-3) v. Caldwell Co. (4-0)
Fulton City (0-3) v. Eldorado (Ill.)
Graves Co. (1-2) v. Mayfield (3-1)
Henderson Co. (2-2) v. Madisonville-N. Hopkins (2-1)
Hopkinsville (2-2) v. Warren East (3-1)
Marshall Co. (1-2) v. Murray (2-2)
Union Co. (2-1) v. Trigg Co. (1-3)

Saturday, September 20:

Calloway Co. (0-3) v. Bullitt Central (3-0) (at McCracken Co.) (McCracken Bowl)
McCracken Co. (3-0) v.  Southaven (Miss.) (McCracken Bowl)
Russellville (4-0) v. Todd Co. Cent. (0-3) (at McCracken Co.) (McCracken Bowl)
Ft. Thomas Highlands (3-0) v. Paducah Tilghman (1-3)

College Baseball Update

It was a veritable offensive explosion in Omaha last night, as Ole Miss and Texas Christian combined for 10 runs in their elimination game.  ESPN was much happier.

Only two teams from the SEC -- Vandy and Ole Miss -- survived the regional tournaments.  Now there are only four teams left in the country, and both the Dores and the Rebels are still playing.  Good for them!

BRACKET ONE:
UC Irvine 3, Texas 1
Vanderbilt 5, Louisville 3
Texas 4, Louisville 1 (Louisville eliminated)
Vanderbilt 6, UC Irvine 4
Texas 1, UC Irvine 0 (UC Irvine eliminated)
Vanderbilt plays Texas at 2 P.M. Central today

BRACKET TWO:
Texas Christian 3, Texas Tech 2
Virginia 2, Mississippi 1
Mississippi 2, Texas Tech 1 (Texas Tech eliminated)
Virginia 3, Texas Tech 2 (15 innings)
Mississippi 6, Texas Christian 4 (Texas Christian eliminated)
Virginia plays Mississippi at 7 P.M. Central today

Kentucky 85 - 63 Mississippi St. (No. 2,122)

First, the score by quarters:

1st:  Mississippi St. 20, Kentucky 14 (MSU actually led 18-8 with 11:33 left in the 1st half)
2d:  Kentucky 23, Mississippi St. 20 (MSU led 40-37 at the half)
3d:  Kentucky 25, Mississippi St. 11 (UK led 62-51 with 10 minutes to go)
4th:  Kentucky 23, Mississippi St. 12 (UK won 85-63)

There was, as you can imagine, a great deal of angst on the UK message boards when the Cats -- who hadn't played a game in 11 days -- immediately fell behind a very weak Mississippi State team.  However, it should be noted that over the last thirty minutes of the game, the Cats throttled the Bulldogs 71-43, which is a pace that should satisfy even the most ravenous fan.

The Harrisons struggled last night, going a combined 2-6 from two-point range, 1-6 from three-point range,  6-9 from the line, for only 13 points.  But the rest of the team played very well.  James Young got the most attention with 26 points and 10 rebounds.  Julius Randle had 14 rebounds to go along with 8 points.  (The Cats out-rebounded MSU by 44-28).  Alex Poythress had 12 points and 4 rebounds in only 22 minutes, including an array of alley-oop dunks.  Willie Cauley-Stein had 12 points and 4 rebounds in only 25 minutes.  And Dakari Johnson had 8 points (on 4-4 shooting) in only 8 minutes.

Add it all up and the Cats did almost exactly as Ken Pomeroy predicted (he said they would win 82-61, not far from the final score).  UK is now Ken Pom's 14-ranked team, and he still has them ranked as the top team in the SEC.  Their biggest problem remains defensive efficiency, where they are 39th in the country (they are seventh in offensive efficiency).  Their defense got off to a poor start last night, giving up 40 points in the first half.  But we will hope that was just rust -- they were much better in the second half.

For now, therefore, the UK fan base is relatively calm.  But this may not last long.  UK has three very difficult games coming up:

On Saturday, the Cats travel to Vandy for the Dores biggest game of the year.  Ken Pom gives UK a 73 percent chance of victory.

On Tuesday, UK will be in Fayetteville to play a Razorback team that can be devastating at home.  Last year, the Razorbacks crushed UK in Fayetteville.  Ken Pom gives UK a 61 percent chance of victory, but I will be shocked if the Cats win this game.

And then next Saturday (January 18), the Cats will be home to face a red-hot Tennessee team.  The Vols are 10-4, they've won four straight, and they just crushed LSU by 18 points in Baton Rouge.  Ken Pom gives UK a 68 percent chance of winning.

Add it all up, and there is only a 30.3 percent chance that the Cats will win all three games.  Personally, I would take a 2-1 split right now -- I'm afraid UK will be swept at Vandy and Arkansas, and then face UT in a crisis atmosphere.  But whatever happens, we will know a lot more about this year's Kentucky team by the end of next week.

Emma Talley Moves Into the Round of 16

We've already had one person from Western Kentucky win a USGA event this year, as Kenny Perry won the U.S. Senior Open a few weeks ago.  Now we're hoping for another winner, as Emma Talley is competing in the U.S. Women's Amateur at the Country Club of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina.

This morning, Ms. Talley took on Tatiana Wijaya, a high schooler from Indonesia.  This match was over almost as soon as it began.  Talley won seven of the first nine holes, as she played the front nine in two-under par, while Ms. Wijaya went five over for the same stretch.  Soon thereafter, Ms. Wijaya bogeyed the 11th hole to lose that hole -- and the match.  At that point Ms. Talley was 8 up with 7 holes left, and she was onto the Sweet 16.

Ms. Talley's next match will start at 1 P.M. Central Time this afternoon.  Her opponent will probably be Ally McDonald of Fulton, Mississippi, who is 3-up through 9 holes in her match against Maria Fassi of Mexico.  Ms. McDonald plays for Mississippi State, and Ms. Talley plays for Alabama, so they are probably very familiar with each other.  Eric will be interested to know that it's 275 miles from Itawamba Agricultural High School, where Ms. McDonald went to high school, to Ms. Talley's old stomping grounds at Caldwell County High School -- and you get to cross Tennessee on U.S. Highway 45, one of my favorite roads in the world.

College Baseball Update

Last night, the best-two-out-of-three final of the College World Series got underway, and UCLA cruised to a relatively easy 3-1 victory over Mississippi State.  With a win tonight, the Bruins can capture their first ever NCAA Baseball Championship.

College Baseball Update

Ding, dong! UNC has been eliminated from the College World Series.  The Heels were eliminated last night, as UCLA beat them 4-1.  So the opening brackets have been completed, and only two teams are left:

Bracket One
Mississippi St. 5, Oregon St. 4
Indiana 2, Louisville 0
Oregon St. 11, Louisville 4 (Louisville eliminated)
Mississippi St. 5, Indiana 4
Oregon St. 1, Indiana 0 (Indiana eliminated)
Mississippi St. 4, Oregon St. 1 (Oregon St. eliminated)

Bracket Two
N. Carolina St. 8, N. Carolina 1
UCLA 2, Louisiana St. 1
N. Carolina 4, Louisiana St. 2 (Louisiana St. eliminated)
UCLA 2, N. Carolina St. 1
N. Carolina 7, N. Carolina St. 0 (N. Carolina St. eliminated)
UCLA 4, N. Carolina 1 (N. Carolina eliminated)

Neither Mississippi State nor UCLA were among the top 8 seeds when the NCAA Baseball Tournament began, and both had to go on the road to win their Super Regionals.  But in a College World Series dominated by pitching, their pitching has been the best so far.

Neither UCLA nor Mississippi State has ever won the NCAA baseball championship.  UCLA is in the final for the first time since 2010, when they were beaten by South Carolina.  Mississippi St. is in the final for the first time ever.  This is the sixth year in a row that an SEC team has made the final -- the SEC is 3-2 so far in those final series.

The ACC still hasn't won the NCAA baseball title since Wake Forest pulled the trick in 1955.

College Baseball Update

With all the excitement surrounding the U.S. Open, as well as the Drillers' 24-17 upset victory over the Hawks, we haven't been keeping up with the College World Series.  So here's where everything stands in Omaha:

Bracket One:
Mississippi St. 5, Oregon St. 4
Indiana 2, Louisville 0
Oregon St. 11, Louisville 4 (Louisville eliminated)
Mississippi St. 5, Indiana 4

Louisville's performance makes Vanderbilt's loss in the Super Regionals look even more pathetic.  But wouldn't it be something if Mississippi State actually went all the way?

Bracket Two:
N. Carolina St. 8, N. Carolina 1
UCLA 2, Louisiana St. 1

No result all year has surprised me more than N.C. State's win over UNC.  I can't remember the Wolfpack beating the Tar Heels in a meaningful game since the 1983 ACC basketball tournament.  But the Heels aren't finished yet -- they have a huge elimination game with LSU this afternoon.

Kentucky 85 - 55 Mississippi St. (No. 2,110)

I'm very happy that Rick Stansbury wasn't able to bring his version of the Mississippi State Bulldogs to Rupp Arena last night.  Stansbury, who coached at MSU from 1999 to 2012, was a throwback to a more eccentric era in SEC basketball.  Stansbury was always putting together these teams full of amazing athletes who didn't always seem to care what happened on the court.  Every year, MSU would have a lot of talent, but would throw away games against schools like Auburn or South Carolina, until they almost always ended up on the NCAA Bubble.  Then the Bulldogs would rally together in a desperate effort to beat UK and/or win the SEC Tournament.  For UK, at least, these were extremely intense games.  Who could forget John Wall's team beating MSU in overtime -- both at Starkville and in the final of the SEC Tournament?  Or the 2011 game at Rupp, where UK fell way behind in the first half before pulling out an 85-79 victory?  Or last year's game at Starkville, in which MSU led 41-28 (!) at the half, and 60-53 with only 6 1/2 minutes left (!!) -- only to fall apart down the stretch?  Now those were some games.  If Stansbury had shown up with his usual squad, he would have given the Cats fits last night.

But evidently the eccentric Mr. Stansbury was a little too eccentric even for the cowbell-ringers in Starkville, and he was let go after the 2012 season.  In 14 seasons, he won 54.5 percent of his SEC games and made the NCAA's on six different occasions.  It will be interesting to see if MSU can match that performance over the next 14 years.

Certainly they have not done so this year.  Coach Rick Ray has had all sorts of bad luck, including losing two players to ACL injuries.  And he does not seem to have the sort of D-League quality talent that always made Stansbury's teams so dangerous.  The results have been terrible for MSU -- they have now lost 13 SEC games in a row, and Ken Pomeroy says that they are the 276th-best team in the country.  They may be the worst SEC team I've ever seen.

As a result, they were not likely to give the Cats too much trouble, and in fact they did not.  Kyle Wiltjer, who has been in a slump lately, went 1-7 from the field (including 0-3 from behind the arc) and finished with only 2 points and 3 rebounds.  But that was pretty much the only good news for MSU, as the rest of the Cats torched them.  In fact, UK's players (other than Wiltjer) went 24-36 (66.7 %) from 2-point range, 9-19 (47.4 percent) from 3-point range, and 8-11 (72.7 percent) from the line.

Naturally, UK's intensity faded somewhat down the stretch -- the Cats were up 67-37 with 10 minutes to go, and then played even with MSU the rest of the way.  But after so many close games, it was nice to see them have an easy time for once.

Unfortunately, as I pointed out to Number3Son, this will probably be the last time all season that UK enjoys such a big lead.  They have three very difficult games to finish out the schedule:

1.  On 3/2, UK goes to Arkansas.  The Hogs haven't lost to an SEC opponent at home all year, and they will be PUMPED as usual to play the Cats.  K-Pom gives UK a 56 percent chance of winning, with a projected score of 76-74.

2.  On 3/7, UK goes to Georgia, which always plays us tough.  K-Pom gives UK a 68 percent chance of winning, with a projected score of 66-61.

3.  On 3/9, UK ends the regular season at home against Florida.  We already know how tough they are.  K-Pom gives UK only a 22 percent chance of victory, and he thinks UF will prevail 70-62.

Amazingly, if UK could run the table, the Cats would be either the champion or the co-champion of the SEC.  Given all that's happened to Kentucky this year, that would be an incredible accomplishment.  But believe me, winning any of these three games will be difficult.  As Eric says, we'll just have to take it one game at a time.

Mississippi 74 - 87 Kentucky (No. 2,104)

Normally, UK's once-every-two-years trip to Oxford is one of my least favorite games on the schedule.  Traditionally, Ole Miss is the poor man's Alabama -- they usually have a bunch of tough, athletic guys who play hard but who aren't very good at basketball.  However, on their home ground, in front of a rare sell-out crowd, and in that weird dark gym of theirs, they are often tough to beat.  In 2009, UK was  ranked number 24 in the country, and was 5-0 in the SEC when they rolled into Oxford.  At halftime, the Cats were up 39-37 when Coach Gillispie got into a silly argument with the ESPN halftime reporter.  Ole Miss came back to win 85-80, and the Cats went into a tailspin that cost Gillispie his job.  Coach Calipari's only prior trip to Oxford as UK's coach was on February 1, 2011.  The Cats were 4-2 in the SEC after being upset at Georgia and at Alabama, and they needed to beat Ole Miss to stay in contention for the SEC title.  Instead, they were beaten at the buzzer, 71-69, and ended up going 2-6 on the road in SEC play.

So I don't like this fixture very much.

But this year was different.  Going into tonight's game, Ole Miss was 17-2 overall, 6-0 in the SEC, and ranked 16th in the country -- the highest ranked Ole Miss team UK has played since the Cats beat the Rebels in the final of the 2001 SEC Tournament, and the highest ranked Ole Miss team UK had ever faced in Oxford.  I was happy that, for once, Ole Miss faced some pressure of their own going into this game.  I was also happy that Marshall Henderson, Mississippi's shot-hungry guard, was getting so much attention, as I thought it would help our guys maintain their focus.  I was even happy that Ole Miss improved the lighting in their gym, making it easier to tell what was going on. (There have been years when I could barely tell the teams apart.)

This felt like the biggest game the Cats had played all year, and I was anxious to see how they would deal with the big-game atmosphere.  Unfortunately, the referees were not ready for prime time.  From the beginning, they were blowing their whistles as if they got a bonus for each foul called.  It took only a few minutes for Alex Poythress to get his second foul, and then he was gone for most of the first half.  In fact, much of UK's team was in foul trouble -- the Cats were forced to rely on Jarrod Polson and Jon Hood for much of the half (and I thought they did pretty well).  To be fair, however, the officials called lots of fouls on Ole Miss as well.  The result was an awkward, chaotic, stop-and-go sort of game with almost no flow.  I think this hurt Ole Miss -- it was hard for their crowd to get going, and impossible for Henderson to get into any sort of rhythm.  Finally, with about 10 minutes to go in the half -- and both teams either in or close to the double bonus -- the officials seemed to calm down somewhat, and the teams started scoring.  Ole Miss was struggling from the field, but they started dominating the offensive boards.  Meanwhile, UK was having their usual free throw problems -- they went 10-20 in the first half.  But the Rebels could never put together the run they needed to pull away.  At one point they were up 6, and at another they were up 5, but at halftime UK trailed by only one:  38-37.

Now, here's the thing about big-time basketball.  We want these kids to be nice, and to be good sports, and to love the game, and so forth.  But winning hard-fought games on the road requires a sort of relentless toughness that is not natural to many people.  Of course, the greatest players instinctively realize that you have to go all out on every play.  For this team, however, this has been a difficult lesson to learn.  So it was very encouraging to see them open the second half with the type of ruthlessness good teams must have.  Poythress was back, and together he and Wiltjer tore apart the Ole Miss defense.  Wiltjer was on fire -- he made five three-pointers and finished with 26 points and 7 rebounds.  And when Ole Miss tried to pressure Kentucky, Poythress got one layup after another -- he had 15 points and 7 rebounds in only 20 minutes of game time.  The whistle-happy refs were helping Archie Goodwin, who was not only getting to the line but was making his free throws (he went 12-14 from the charity stripe and finished with 24 points, although he missed his only two three-pointers).  Remarkably, UK scored 34 points in the first 9 and one-half minutes of the second half.  With 9:52 remaining, the Cats were up 73-56.

But the referees weren't finished yet.  Somehow, Nerlens Noel had gone the entire first half without being called for a single foul -- and he had wreaked havoc on the Ole Miss offense.  However, in the second half the officials started calling fouls on Noel left and right -- they called four fouls on him in just over 10 minutes, and he had to leave the game at the 9:52 mark.  A few seconds later, Marshall Henderson took another silly shot, which missed -- but with Noel gone, Reginald Buckner of Ole Miss grabbed the rebound and slammed it home.  73-58.

Suddenly, the Rebels' focus had returned.  No longer were they letting UK get easy baskets in transition, or taking foolish shots of their own.  Instead, they kept working the ball inside over and over, and they started to gain on the Cats.  Meanwhile, UK had gone ice cold.  Here is what UK did with the ball after taking a 73-56 lead:

9:22 left (UK up 73-58):  Mays missed a three-pointer
8:21 left (UK up 73-60):  Wiltjer missed a three-pointer
7:30 left (UK up 73-62):  Goodwin missed a jump shot
6:40 left (UK up 73-64):  Harrow missed the front end of a one-and-one
6:13 left (UK up 73-66):  Wiltjer missed a three-pointer (he was wide open, too)
5:41 left (UK up 73-69):  Poythress missed the front end of a one-and-one
4:58 left (UK up 73-69):  Polson missed a layup

With 4:25 left, Ladarius White made a three-pointer to make the score UK 73, Ole Miss 72.  The Rebels were on a 16-0 run, and the crowd was going absolutely bonkers.  You could imagine UK's whole season falling apart after blowing a 17-point lead.  The Cats called time.

After the game, Calipari said that UK's big mistake during the Ole Miss run is that the Cats kept settling for jump shots instead of going hard to the rim.  As you can see above, there is some truth to this -- although the Cats missed some big free throws as well.  Anyway, after the timeout, the Cats did not go inside.  Instead, Ryan Harrow -- who had not made a three-pointer in over four games -- found himself all alone at the top of the three-point arc, as Ole Miss had (wisely, in my opinion) left him alone.  He took a three-pointer.

And nailed it.

Suddenly, the Ole Miss streak had stopped and UK was up 76-72.  But now the Rebels came tearing down the floor and it looked as though Murphy Holloway had an easy dunk.  By this point, however, Noel was back, and Noel went up (despite his four fouls) and blocked Holloway's shot.  Goodwin ended up with the ball and was fouled in transition.  He made both free throws, and the Cats had a 78-72 lead.

Ole Miss kept going inside, trying to draw Noel's fifth foul.  It didn't work.  Here are some excerpts from the play-by-play:

3:34 left (UK up 78-72):  Reginald Buckner missed Slam Dunk, Blocked by Nerlens Noel
2:55 left (UK up 78-72):  Murphy Holloway missed Slam Dunk, Blocked by Nerlens Noel
1:31 left (UK up 82-74):  Jarvis Summers missed Layup, Blocked by Nerlens Noel

I am certain that the Ole Miss fans are convinced that the officials were trying to protect Noel and refused to foul him out.  It certainly seems odd that the same guys who called four fouls on him in 10 minutes didn't call any at the end of the game.  Of course, it seemed odd that they didn't call any fouls on him in the first half, either.  The only thing I can figure is that the officials believed -- correctly, in my opinion -- that Noel was going straight up and blocking the ball cleanly.  His fouls almost all came on plays where he tried to reach in for a steal or where he was battling for a ball on the floor -- on those plays, for some reason, the officials were eager to call touch fouls.  Thus encouraged to focus on blocking shots, Noel finished with one of the oddest lines you will see:  0-1 from the floor, 2-8 from the line, 2 points, 7 rebounds, and 12 blocks -- the most blocks ever by a UK Wildcat in a single game.  It was a spectacular performance.

Marshall Henderson also ended up with an odd line, although I think it's pretty typical for him:  5-19 from the field, 2-11 from three-point range, 9-12 from the line, 21 points and 1 assist.  Some people have been touting him as the SEC Player of the Year, but I didn't see it tonight.  However, his misses don't hurt the Rebels as much as you might think -- they are a formidable rebounding team, and often score on put-backs after Henderson has pulled the defense out of position.  Tonight they finished with a remarkable 26 offensive rebounds, and they took 85 shots to only 56 for Kentucky.  But they went 28-85, while UK went 28-56.  The Cats had the advantage in three-point shooting (8-23 to 5-16) and in free throws (23-37 to 13-20).

So the Cats were able to pull away over the last few minutes.  In fact, they finished the game on a 14-2 run and left the Magnolia State with an 87-74 victory -- their biggest margin of victory in Oxford since 2003 (when the Cats were on a huge roll that resulted in a 16-0 conference record), and the most points UK has scored in Oxford since a 98-66 win on March 3, 1993.

Of course, the 1993 and 2003 Cats turned out to be really good -- the 1993 team went to the Final Four, and the 2003 went into the NCAA tournament as the number one team in the country.  I don't yet know how good this team can be.  For now, I am very happy that they have moved to 5-2 in the SEC (with three road wins).  We'll just keep taking it one game at a time.  Next up:  Texas A & M.