State Tournament: Day Four

OK, so here's what has happened since yesterday:

(8) Lex. Frederick Douglass beat Lou. Male, 58 to 54

(4) Geo. Rogers Clark beat (9) Lyon Co., 60 to 56

In the first semi-final today:

(1) Warren Central beat Woodford Co., 56 to 48

Right now, GRC leads Douglass 34-33 with 4:26 left in the game.

Number 3 Son Has a Villanous Idea

Number 3 Son wanted to share an idea that he had for a new Super Villain:

The Rhymester! He is a villain who speaks only in rhymes, and he is also known as Raymond Hyme. His rhymes are hurtful to peoples' ears, and he gets a charge out of speaking in rhymes as a result. His backstory is that when he was just plain old Raymond E., he, at the age of six, wondered what would happen if he started talking in rhymes.
                 So he tested it. First, it started out small. He was just telling rhymes to kids his age. The next thing he knew, he was doing it to everyone. To parents and teachers and his principal and even his mother. He had grown addicted to it, and he gained lots of mention in the newspapers for the tongue he spoke. But still later he noticed that his rhymes were getting hurtful to people's ears. When he did, he thought, "Well, if my speech goes a killin', it's time for me to be a villain!" And that was the day the Rhymester was born.
                 He has a secret lair in which he plots his schemes. He has lots of henchmen who are obedient, but some of whom think he has problems. For example, he won't accept people as henchmen who don't speak in rhymes. Every time they don't speak in rhymes, he reminds them of his rule via physical harm.
                 To this day, the Perilous Poet is one of the most wanted super criminals in town. His painful speech can so much as shatter glass, making it a cinch to enter a bank through window without leaping into the fray painfully. He has been responsible for the earaches of many citizens, because ears pain at the very hearing of his words. He has used his ability to commit sound-relating crimes, such as, when officers' ears are hurt, putting a lit bomb behind them by sneaking up from behind. The Venomous Villain of Verse is a hard person to keep behind bars, and the best way to handle him is to make him finish the first half of a sentence with something that doesn't have a rhyme, like "orange."
              This has been my idea for a new Super Villain, by Number 3 Son.
                                 -Number 3 Son

Number3Son Presents the National Yankee Times

To supplement our baseball coverage, we are posting Issue 1 of the National Yankee Times, a new publication from Number3Son that focuses on the New York Yankees and the Washington Nationals.  As you will see, Number3Son has developed his own method for calculating the standings.  He gives each team one point for a win and minus-one points for a loss.  Without further ado, here is the National Yankee Times:

The National Yankee Times

Nationals behind, 5-7; Yankees tied with Baltimore & Boston with 8 points

Welcome to the first copy of The National Yankee Times, a newspaper sports article

on the Washington

Nationals and the New

York Yankees. As it

Stands, the Yankees

Are in a three-way tie for first place, and the Nationals are in 2^nd place in their section of the league, thanks to their rivals, the Atlanta Braves. The Boston Red Sox and the Baltimore Orioles rival the Yankees in the standings.

Current Standings

New York Yankee standings:

American League East

Team     Wins      Times Lost   Total Points    Place Value

NYY      21           13                  8                    1^st tied

BO         22           14                  8                    1^st tied

BRS       22           14                  8                    1^st tied

TBR       17           18                -1                     4^th Place

TBJ        13           24               -11                    Last Place

Notes: Quite a fight is going on! It’s a three-way tie for First Place, but the Yankee fans have hope. For should the Yankees win their next game, they’ll be in First Place in the Ranking!

Washington National standings

Team      Wins     Games Lost Points    Ranking

AB          21          14               7            First Place

WN         20          15               5            2^nd Place

NYM      14          18              -4            3^rd Place

PP            16          21              -5            4^th Place

MM        11          25            -14            Last Place

Notes: The Nationals are having issues with their rivals, the Atlanta Braves. They are two points behind the Braves. To make matters worse, Bryce Harper, one of the stars of the team, has surgery for an ingrown toenail! Can the Nationals win the games without their super batter?

Number3Son and the Power Outage

One of the more surprising aspects of life in Northern Virginia is how often the power goes out. As far as I can tell, our power company operates on the premise that they will have just enough workers to keep the lights on under normal conditions -- but any major crisis throws the whole system into an uproar. Since Northern Virginia has some of the worst weather in the civilized world, we experience a couple of major crises per year.

So when a storm knocked out the power on Friday night we knew we were in for it. Sure enough, down the street from us a giant tree had fallen into the power lines, pulling down the lines, snapping a telephone pole, and blocking the street.

Sunday morning we still had no power, but we could hear chain saws coming from the downed tree. Number1Son, SmartMom, Number3Son and I walked down the street to see what was up. There was a crew there chopping up the tree. But they were not from the power company; they were worried about clearing the road. Still, it was good to see some progress.

But not for Number3Son, who has inherited his father's pessimism. He spent the next hour or so gloomily predicting that we wouldn't get power for another two months -- or maybe two years. Finally, in response to his siblings' claims that power would be restored sooner than that, he began to insist that we would "never" have power again.

Frazzled from the heat and with no reason to stay at home, we left our neighborhood and headed downtown, where we spent a pleasant day in various air-conditioned places. Even Number3Son started feeling better after he got some cheesecake. Finally, around 10 o'clock at night, we headed home. As we drove through Northern Virginia, we could tell that progress had been made -- there was significantly more power than there had been the night before. The mood in the van improved -- until we came to our street, which was still shrouded in darkness. We drove down to the fallen tree, where we saw that it had been mostly chopped up and cleared away, although the telephone pole and the power lines were still down.

Number1Son was extremely discouraged by these facts, as he realized that the power would likely be out for longer than he had expected. In fact, a general air of gloom settled over the van as we headed to our darkened house. But in the darkness, I could hear the cheerful voice of Number3Son calling out from his seat in the back: "You know, they've made a lot more progress than I expected."

Number3Son Breaks Down the Nats/Yankees Series

So I pointed out to Number3Son this morning that our beloved Washington Nationals have won six games in a row and are in first place in the treacherous National League East. I also pointed out that the Yankees have won six in a row and are in first place in the AL East. And this weekend the Yankees are coming to town for a rare three-game series against the Nationals.

Number3Son knows all about the Yankees, because his brother (Number1Son) is a Yankees fan who loves to point out that the Yankees have won the World Series 27 times. (Washington has won the World Series one time, in 1924.) After thinking about all of this for awhile, Number3Son came up to me and said:

"Daddy, I think you could rate the difficulty of baseball teams like the difficulty of opponents in Civilization Five." (Note: This is a computer game that gets a lot of attention at our house.)

"Really, Number3Son. What sort of rating would you give to a feeble team, using the Civilization Five scale?"

"Oh, they would be a one or a two."

"What would the Yankees be?"

"They would be an eight."

"An eight! They must be really good."

"Oh, yes, they are very good. The Nationals would be a three or a four."

"Why would the Nats be a three or a four?"

"Well, last year they weren't very good. So they would have been a two last year."

"That makes sense."

"And now they're up to a three or a four. But if they beat the Yankees, they would move up three levels, and the Yankees would move down three levels."

So keep an eye on the Nats/Yankees series this weekend, because Number3Son believes it will tell us a lot about the Nats' prospects this year.

Kentucky 67 - 59 Kansas (NCAA Tournament) (New Orleans) (No. 2,090)

Kentucky wins the national championship. A three-part discussion.

Part One: The Game.

Last night, as Number3Son and I sat in the rec room (that Theater of Dreams where I have watched so many Kentucky games) waiting for the national championship game to begin, something happened that I cannot remember in all my years as a fan. I am a petulant, nervous fan, the sort of person who truly, genuinely worries about home games in December against teams like Loyola of Maryland. And with good reason, as I have seen Kentucky lose almost every type of game under almost every type of condition. But last night, as they were introducing the players, I was suddenly hit with an enormous wave of confidence. For the first time in my life, I had this feeling that it was Kentucky's night, and I almost felt sorry for the doomed Kansas players who, I was convinced, had no chance.

I don't know where this feeling came from. Maybe my subconscious has been analyzing the games all year, and had figured out that KU couldn't score enough to beat UK. If so, my subconscious is pretty smart, because the Cats truly outclassed Kansas in the first half. Terrence Jones was quite effective at guarding Kansas's All-American Thomas Robinson one-on-one, which freed up Anthony Davis to cause defensive havoc all over the place. And because Kansas wasn't used to Kentucky's pace, the Cats repeatedly beat the Jayhawks down the floor for easy possessions that turned into dunks or free throws. The Cats even showed they could shoot in a dome, with Marquis Teague (!) hitting a three-pointer, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist making a long jump shot. At halftime the Cats led 41-27, and they appeared completely dominant.

Number3Son and I enjoyed it very much. For this game, Number3Son was using little cardboard figures to symbolize Kentucky and Kansas, and he moved them around on a table depending on the score. By halftime, the UK figure had opened up a nice gap on the KU figure.

Of course, we knew Kansas would come back, and they did. In the second half, they defended UK as well as any team has defended the Cats all year. They held Anthony Davis to 1-10 shooting for the game, and they did a great job of keeping Kentucky off of the offensive glass. Calipari had Kentucky holding the ball deep into the shot clock, so the Cats were no longer getting the transition opportunities they had enjoyed in the first half. But unfortunately for the Jayhawks, they were running out of time. Kentucky was in a slow-down mode, and for the most part Kansas was not able to pressure Teague into the sort of mistakes other point guards have made against the Jayhawks. And Kentucky still had Doron Lamb, who ended up with 22 points to lead all scorers, and who hit some enormously important three-point shots in the second half. But most of all, Kentucky was playing ferocious defense, and Kansas doesn't have the type of offense that can generate a lot of points in a hurry against a good defense.

Kansas eventually got to within 63-57 with 1:05 to go, but then UK's defense slammed the door. MKG made a spectacular defensive play -- coming out of nowhere to block what appeared to be a wide open layup by Kansas's Tyshawn Taylor. With 24 seconds left, the Cats were up 65-59, and Elijah Johnson -- Kansas's best three-point shooter -- appeared to be open behind the arc for a shot to make it a one possession game. Suddenly, in the last great play he would ever make for the Cats, Anthony Davis came swooping toward Johnson -- startling him so badly that he jumped and landed without taking a shot. Traveling. Kentucky's ball. And after Lamb had made two more free throws to put Kentucky up 8 with 17 seconds to go, I told Number1Son (who had heard the yelling and wandered into the rec room) to go upstairs and get his mom, so we could all watch the celebration together.

Kansas is a great team -- an almost perfect example of the sort of defense-first, battle-to-the-death-for-every-rebound philosophy that dominates most of college basketball these days. But Kentucky, as they did so often this year, not only matched Kansas's defensive intensity, they also showed a wonderfully old-fashioned ability to play offense. At halftime, the Cats were on pace to score 80 points, and they might have made it if Calipari hadn't taken the air out of the ball. (He did this all year when he was in the lead, and I never really understood why, but it worked every time except during the final of the SEC tournament, so I'm confident he had a good reason.) In the end, this season featured some great offensive teams (like Indiana and UNC), and some great defensive teams (like KU and U of L), but no other team showed an ability to play both offense and defense like Kentucky.

Davis had only 6 points, but he had 16 rebounds, 6 blocks, and three steals, and he was a worthy choice for Most Outstanding Player in the Final Four. Lamb, Number3Son's favorite player (and perhaps mine as well) had 22 points on 7-12 shooting. Marquis Teague had 14 points, Jones had 9 points (and 7 rebounds), MKG had 11 points (and 6 rebounds), and Darius Miller (playing his 152d game for the Cats), had 5 points and 6 rebounds. It was the consummate team effort from the consummate team.

Part Two: What It Means for College Basketball.

A paradigm shifted last night. Up until game time, you could still hear Serious Basketball Commentators stating that Cal's "one-and-done" philosophy wouldn't work on the Big Stage of a National Title Game. This was an absurd argument, as Cal would have won the title in both 1996 (with UMass) and 2008 (with Memphis), had he not run into two of the best teams of the last 20 years, and last year, UK lost to UConn in the Final Four by only one point.

But now we have commentators who act as though Cal and his magical pipeline of talent will dominate college basketball for years to come. This is also absurd. Even if a team did get the number one recruiting class every year, not all such classes are created equal. Anthony Davis and John Wall were both the number one recruits in their years, but Davis's skills are better suited to a one-and-done tournament where teams can control the tempo and prevent a player like Wall from getting to the rim. You also need the right combination of talents to go all the way. For example, you need a real three-point shooting threat like Lamb, and you probably need guys who can make free throws. Not every collection of recruits will fit this bill. And besides, this was not a Fab Five situation where UK was starting a team of freshmen. Jones, Lamb, and Miller all went to the Final Four last year, and their experience was critical to UK's success. Finally, you need to avoid injuries and have guys who are willing to play together as a team.

In short, while Calipari has had a recruiting advantage in recent years -- and has used that advantage with great success -- there is no reason to believe that the basic principles of basketball have changed. In fact, one of the great things about Cal is that he hasn't just bought into the recruiting hype -- he understands that a winning team has to play the same type of fundamentally sound basketball that great teams have always played. In time, most other people will figure that out as well. But there will be a lot of silly rhetoric in the meantime.

Part Three: What It Means for Kentucky

For some time now, in reflecting on this season and this team, I've been thinking of the words of Bruce Springsteen:

Everything dies, baby, that's a fact

But maybe everything that dies

Someday comes back.

This has been a great season for famous old programs that were thought to be dead and buried. Indiana had a great year, and ESPN projects them as the number 1 team for next season. North Carolina State went to the Sweet 16, and some people are predicting that they could win the ACC next year. But perhaps no program has had a more remarkable turnaround than our beloved Wildcats. Only three years ago, the Cats were coming off of an appearance in the NIT -- and that was only the latest in a series of failures going back to their last Final Four back in 1998. UNC, Duke, UConn, Michigan State, Florida, Kansas -- these were the big powers of the last decade, and we could do little but watch and complain.

But that complaining, hectoring, demanding rage for which the Big Blue Nation is famous turned out to be just what the doctor ordered. Afraid of their own fans, the folks at UK finally took a chance on John Calipari -- a guy who had been effectively blackballed by the so-called "blue blood" programs, forced to ply his trade at UMass and Memphis. And that made all the difference.

As UK has gotten better, we've seen more and more wailing and gnashing of teeth from the fans of other programs, who decry our "win at all costs" mentality and who long for the more innocent days of the past. But everyone has his own past, and Kentucky's version of basketball history is different from most people's.

That Coach who yells at his players, feuds with the media, and is quick to spot slights from rivals and NCAA officials alike? He's not that different from Adolph Rupp, who had many of the same traits and was involved in many similar controversies (recruiting, grades, worries about "overemphasis") decades ago.

And those players with their dreams of NBA success? They're poor kids, for the most part, trying to make a better life for themselves and their families -- just like so many Kentucky legends of the past who came from the hills and hollows of eastern Kentucky, seeking to escape generations of poverty.

Most people in the national media don't understand the Kentucky program, because they never look beyond Lexington. Yes, there are a lot of rich folks who support the program, because Lexington has always been relatively rich, and those people play a disproportionate role in everything that happens in Kentucky. But the whole point of the UK basketball program -- the whole reason that it ties the Commonwealth together with such intense fervor -- is that no matter how unfair the rest of life may be, the basketball court is a place where honor, and hard work, and talent -- from whatever background -- will be rewarded. (Unfortunately, UK did not always apply this principle to African-American athletes. But I think everyone now realizes how horrible that was.)

For decades, poor kids have committed themselves to basketball as a means to better their lives. And for decades, the Powers That Be have worried that all of this passion and effort will somehow violate "the spirit of the game." But in Kentucky, we believe that the spirit of the game is that kids like Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist should have the chance to win, and win, and win -- that as long as you play within the rules (not the "spirit of the rules," which is a construct made up by rich people, but the actual rules written down so average people can see them), you deserve all the success you can achieve.

Bear Bryant (who knew Adolph Rupp very well) took this dream down to Alabama, and it is not surprising that the Alabama football fans are the only major fan base on the Internet who has consistently shown great kindness and support for the UK basketball fans. The Crimson Tide suffered through dark times before hiring Nick Saban, just as we suffered in the pre-Cal era. But both fan bases believed in their tradition, and both were rewarded this season.

One of the best things about a living tradition is that you constantly find echoes of the past in the present. And it says a great deal about Cal, and his strong instinct for the Kentucky Way of doing things, that when the big bus pulled into Rupp Arena, and the players were announced to over 20,000 fans one by one, that Anthony Davis -- the potential legend, the Naismith Player of the Year, the NBA Number One Draft Pick -- wasn't the last one named. It wasn't Kidd-Gilchrist, or Teague, or Lamb, or Jones -- none of Calipari's star recruits. The last player to get off the bus, the one who actually carried the trophy into the arena, with the SuperDome net hanging around his neck, was Darius Miller. Our native son. Only the second Kentuckian (after Darrell Griffith) to be Mr. Basketball, win the High School Championship, and win the NCAA Tournament. The kid who came to play for Billy Gillispie, who stuck with the program through thick and thin, who took all sorts of grief from Kentucky fans, and who eventually accomplished everything we wanted for him. Miller got the biggest cheers, as he should have. Because he is living proof that as long as Kentucky is true to itself -- as long as the fans and the young people of Kentucky care about the program, and work to keep it on top -- the tradition will continue. And we'll have more nights like last night.

Finally, a personal note. I will miss all of these kids enormously. For the past five months, they have been a source of constant joy to me. There never was a season like this one: three wins over Florida, two over Louisville, two over Kansas, wins over North Carolina and Indiana. Never did I worry that they wouldn't do their best, or play selfishly, or not play as a team. Six victories in the NCAA's -- without ever trailing in the second half. So much fun. So many memories. Fans like me are sometimes referred to as "supporters." But this year, as in so many others, the team supported me a lot more than I supported them -- carrying me through the bleakest months of the year, and giving me a championship in the spring. I thank them, I honor them, and I wish them all the best.

Kentucky finishes with a record of 38-2. They went 16-0 in the SEC regular season, and were the runner-up in the SEC Tournament. They won the NCAA South Region, defeated Louisville in the National Semi-Final, and beat Kansas to win their eighth NCAA Championship, and their first since 1998. A new group of Wildcats will take the floor next November, and it will all start again. But until that time, and for many years to come, we can remember one of the best seasons in UK history.

A Story from Number3Son: Spaceman -- The New Criminal

Here is another story from Number3Son, who is in the fourth grade, about those great heroes: Spaceman and Security Girl. You can read more about them here.

SPACEMAN: THE NEW CRIMINAL

Spaceman and Security Girl were down in the Space-Quarters. Security Girl's computer gave her the I.D. of a new criminal: LAZY MAN. He looked forward to ruling the world by giving people "Lazy Vitamins," or blasting them with his "Lazy Laser." These things make people too lazy to resist Lazy Man's wicked schemes.

Our Daily Heroes jumped in the Spacemobile and went to the Center Church and saw stairs leading to a place that had not been seen in hundreds of years. A priest walked toward the two, but then he slumped when he was hit with Lazy Man's "Forever Lazy" stomach laser.

The next day, our Daily Heroes went to Alaska, looking for Lazy Man, but he was not there. Instead, the people in Alaska were having their daily raffle. The winning number was 167513, and a man in a Slaking outfit (that's a type of Pokemon) said, "Yep, that's me!" He flew to Mexico.

Next Spaceman and Security Girl went to Spain, where they saw the Torre del Oro (Tower of Gold). The Two Heroes saw Lazy Man; they were about to see him in action!

He fired his laser while getting shoved and kicked around by Spaceman and Security Girl. But then he hit Security Girl with his laser and she started "loafing around." But then Lazy Man accidentally fired his laser at Security Girl again, and the effect was reversed. She stopped loafing around, and she put up a mirror so that Lazy Man would be hit by his own laser and cause himself to loaf around.

And so Lazy Man was jailed!

THE END

Kentucky 82 - 70 Baylor (NCAA Tournament) (Atlanta) (No. 2,088)

Let's start by putting this game in perspective:

03/21/1999: Michigan St. 73, Kentucky 66 (Elite 8) (St. Louis)

03/18/2000: Syracuse 52, Kentucky 50 (Second Round) (Cleveland)

03/22/2001: USC 80, Kentucky 76 (Sweet 16) (Philadelphia)

03/22/2002: Maryland 78, Kentucky 68 (Sweet 16) (Syracuse, N.Y.)

03/29/2003: Marquette 83, Kentucky 69 (Elite 8) (Minneapolis, Minn.)

03/21/2004: Ala-Birmingham 76, Kentucky 75 (Second Round) (Columbus, O.)

03/27/2005: Michigan St. 94, Kentucky 88 (2 OT) (Elite 8) (Austin, Tex.)

03/19/2006: Connecticut 87, Kentucky 83 (Second Round) (Philadelphia)

03/18/2007: Kansas 88, Kentucky 76 (Second Round) (Chicago)

03/20/2008: Marquette 74, Kentucky 66 (First Round) (Anaheim, Calif.)

2009 -- No NCAA Bid

03/27/2010: West Virginia 73, Kentucky 66 (Elite 8) (Syracuse, N.Y.)

I saw every single one of those games. And every time, I thought that Kentucky had a chance to win. And they lost them all. Something always went wrong. Sometimes the other team was just better. Sometimes they were hot and we were cold. Sometimes we complained about the officiating. Sometimes we complained because, no matter how good the Cats were, the NCAA sent them to a hostile region. (True fact: this was only UK's second appearance in the NCAA's South Region since 1998.)

The point is that even for a great basketball program like UK's, trips to the Final Four are rare. This is my 38th season following the Cats, and it's only the ninth time I've seen them get this far. And yes, I remember how we would have met Louisville in the 1986 Final Four -- but we were upset by LSU in the Elite Eight. So on a day like this -- when our team has done such a great thing, you take time to be grateful. Many seasons I have watched the clock run out on UK with the disgruntled feeling that I was more upset than the coach or the players. Not this year. These kids and this coach have given us everything they have. The team they have created not only plays a beautiful style of basketball, it is also one of the smartest teams I have ever seen. They have made us all proud, and I for one am ecstatic that we get to hang a banner in Rupp to celebrate their accomplishment.

Next up we have the re-match with Louisville. This is not the time to discuss that game in detail -- there will be plenty of time for that. Personally, I don't mind playing Louisville. I respect Louisville's program, its fans, its players, and its coach. No two teams from the same state have met in the Final Four in 50 years, and these teams and this state deserve that honor.

But we'll have more time to think about Louisville. What about this game? There's not a whole lot to say, really. Or, rather, there is one big thing to say: this game shows what happens when a normal good team with a normal good coach goes up against this UK team. For months now, it's seemed like we've either been playing conference foes who are obsessed with beating Kentucky, or emotional rivals with deep basketball traditions and great coaches, like Louisville, Western Kentucky, and Indiana. We've also played a high number of repeat games against teams we've already beaten. No team can really look its best under such circumstances. The opponents know you too well. They know where on the floor to shoot from. They know where you want to go and where you don't want to go. They know who to guard and who to leave open. It makes everything more difficult -- as we will see next Saturday.

Baylor, on the other hand, didn't seem to know anything about UK. Scott Drew, their coach, said after the game that the Cats were much better than he had expected -- and that was pretty obvious from the way Baylor played in the first half. The Bears are a fine team -- they were 30-7 going into this game, ranked number 9 in the country, and they had at least two really solid players in Perry Jones III and Quincy Acy. After a few minutes, they were up 10-5 and felt pretty good about themselves. (At this point, CBS put up a graphic showing that this was UK's "largest deficit of the tournament." Thanks, CBS!) Baylor seemed to feel like they could treat UK like any other good team -- Missouri, say, or maybe Kansas State.

The results were fascinating. Suddenly the Cats were playing a team who didn't have a detailed game plan designed to beat them, and who weren't showing the sort of religious fervor Indiana brought to Friday's game. And so Kentucky just slaughtered Baylor. The Bears would go driving into the basket as if Anthony Davis was just another good center, and suddenly the ball would go steaming back the other way and quickly become a slam dunk. The Bears would sag off of Darius Miller, and he would nail a jump shot. They wouldn't get back quickly enough on defense, and Michael Kidd-Gilcrist or Marquis Teague would beat them down the floor. They would make typical passes in the lane -- and see them intercepted and turned into run-outs. By halftime, their offense had completely broken down -- they looked as though they were more concerned with not having the ball stolen than they were with scoring.

The numbers were staggering for a game between two top-10 teams. In the first half, UK shot 55.2 percent from the field; Baylor shot 32 percent. Baylor made 9 turnovers; UK had only 3. At one point I think UK made 10 consecutive field goals. Kidd-Gilcrist and Davis together had 31 points, nine more than the whole Baylor team. The halftime score was 42-22 -- the biggest halftime margin in the Elite Eight since UConn beat Alabama in 2004.

By the second half, Baylor had learned their lesson. They played with a sort of sullen rage that looked much more like we normally see from our opponents. The Cats looked sort of bored -- and a bit nervous after Anthony Davis went down with what appeared to be a painful knee injury, but from which he quickly recovered. The referees, who seemed terrified that violence would break out unless they kept blowing their whistles, called foul after foul. (UK ended up going 30-44 from the line, and you could hear the folks in Indiana resentfully counting every miss.)

It was all pretty desultory -- but it was wonderful, as every Elite 8 game you win is wonderful. You had time to think about all of the Kentuckians who had bought tickets to the Atlanta Regional hoping UK would get sent there -- or who had just driven down after Friday's victory over Indiana. And you saw the tens of thousands who filled the Georgia Dome -- just as they had filled so many stadiums in so many places all year, and for so many years. And you thought: Those fans are what made this possible. They're the reason Coach Calipari left Memphis. They're the reason we have those great facilities the recruits like so much. They're the reason everyone who plays at Kentucky instantly becomes famous. And all of us suffered for so long, and had so many people tell us that you couldn't expect to win them all, that times change, that the big football schools like Florida were the future. But we didn't believe them, and we fought until we got the coach we wanted. And we were right.

But of course we can only do so much. So on this great and glorious day, we thank Coach Calipari -- who picked up his 100th victory since coming to Kentucky. His all-time record with the Cats is now 100-14.

We thank Eloy Vargas, who plays hard every chance he gets, and who always seems to be saying something funny when we see him on the bench.

We thank Kyle Wiltjer, who really is getting better, and who could be truly great once he convinces Coach Cal he can play defense.

We thank Marquis Teague, who took so much grief at the beginning of the year, but who is, in many ways, better at running the offense than John Wall or Brandon Knight were.

We thank Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, whose work ethic will become legendary among Kentucky fans, and whose soft touch around the basket destroyed Indiana and Baylor.

We thank Anthony Davis, who I honestly believe is the greatest UK player I have ever seen, and whose competitive spirit and decent personality is a living rebuke to all of those cynics who believe that today's kids don't respect the game.

We thank Doron Lamb, Number3Son's favorite player, who is the best outside shooter we have had at UK, and who scored 14 points in the second half to hold off Baylor after the rest of the team had gone cold.

We thank Terrence Jones, who made everything possible by coming back for his sophomore season, and who is one of the most unselfish great players I can remember.

And finally, we thank Darius Miller, the kid from Maysville, Kentucky who took Mason County to the State Championship, who spent his freshman year watching the program fall apart, who hung in there as big stars like John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins came on board, who kept getting better and better, who this year became a true leader, and who started the game by yelling at the rest of the team that he was not ready to see his season end!

We aren't either, Mr. Miller. See you in New Orleans.

Florida 59 - 74 Kentucky (No. 2,082)

In our rec room downstairs, we have a big blackboard showing the standings in the SEC. As I have updated it week by week, Number3Son has gotten increasingly excited about the possibility that Kentucky could go 16-0 in conference for the first time since 2003. But I kept telling him that the schedule-makers had saved the hardest game for last. The folks in Florida don't really care that much about basketball, but they do enjoy coming out once a year to shake their pom-poms and embarrass UK on national television. And they've generally been successful. Look at these scores since Billy Donovan got going down there (home team listed first):

02/04/1999: Florida 75 - 68 Kentucky
02/08/2000: Florida 90 -73 Kentucky (Florida plays in the national championship game)
03/04/2001: Florida 94 - 86 Kentucky
01/29/2002: Florida 67 - 70 Kentucky
03/08/2003: Florida 67 - 69 Kentucky
02/03/2004: Florida 65 - 68 Kentucky
03/06/2005: Florida 53 - 52 Kentucky
02/04/2006: Florida 95 - 80 Kentucky (Florida wins the national championship)
03/04/2007: Florida 85 - 72 Kentucky (Florida wins the national championship)
01/19/2008: Florida 81 - 70 Kentucky (OT)
03/07/2009: Florida 60 - 53 Kentucky (say good-bye to Coach Gillispie)
01/12/2010: Florida 77 - 89 Kentucky
02/05/2011: Florida 70 - 68 Kentucky

Putting it all together, the Gators had a 9-4 record in the last 13 match-ups, and were 4-1 in season-ending games in Gainesville (like this one). Plus the Gators were playing to hold off Tennessee and finish second in the SEC -- a result that could have huge implications for their NCAA seed. Plus they were trying to avoid losing their third straight game. Plus we were playing at noon Eastern, which meant that most of our western Kentucky fans would still be in church. Even Pomeroy gave Florida a 32 percent chance of pulling the upset, although he liked UK by the score of 75-69. On the whole, I was prepared for a difficult afternoon.

And then Kentucky played the best basketball they've played all year. They smothered Florida's three-point shooters, and shredded Florida's defense by sending Terrence Jones to the hoop time after time against Erik Murphy. With 5 minutes left in the first half, UK was up 38-22.

But Billy Donovan is a great coach -- no matter what some Kentucky fans say -- and Florida is a solid team. The Gators closed the half on a 10-2 run, making the score 40-32 at intermission. And then the Gators opened the second half with a 12-6 run. Suddenly, with 16:30 left, UK led by only 46-44. Calipari called time-out.

Calipari explained in the post-game show that Florida's run was caused, in large part, by the fact that he was slow to recognize what Donovan was doing. According to Calipari, Donovan had pulled out an old-fashioned tactic of sending only four guys to the defensive boards and having the fifth guy break for Kentucky's basket. Since the Cats weren't getting back to guard that guy, Florida got a whole series of easy shots. But Calipari made the appropriate adjustment, and that flow of points dried up for the Gators. Instead, they were forced to run their half-court offense. With their guards under constant pressure from the UK defense (UF went only 6-22 from three-point range), the Gators struggled to score for the remainder of the game.

Meanwhile, UK slowly pulled away. On one possession after another, the Cats ran their offense as if they were in a textbook. They didn't always score, but they almost always ended up with good shots. A jumper from Miller made the score 48-44. Kidd-Gilchrist hit another jumper to make it 50-44. MKG hit one of two free throws: 51-44. Then Davis hit his second three-pointer of the year (!) and the Cats were up 54-44. Florida fought back one more time, making the score 59-55 with 9 minutes to go, but then the Cats put them away:

8:38 left: Davis makes a layup (61-55)
7:42 left: Jones makes a three-pointer (64-55)
6:57 left: Teague makes two free throws (66-55)
6:07 left: Davis makes a layup (68-55)

Notice that those four plays took over two-and-a half minutes. Time after time, the Wildcats would hold the ball deep into the shot clock, and then score with less than 10 seconds on the clock. Such possessions were doubly harmful to the Gators, who needed time almost as much as they needed points. Even when UK didn't score -- and the Cats scored only six points in the last six minutes of the game -- they used up a lot of time, thus killing any chance for Florida to make another run.

Finally, with 50 seconds left, I called upstairs to Number3Son (he was eating Sunday dinner) and he came running down. He looked at the score, and the time remaining, and then he said (with a huge grin on his face): "Well, it looks as though we will do something that has not been done since 2003."

And he was right. The Cats finish 16-0 in SEC play for the first time since 2003. They are also 30-1 -- the first time UK has ever won 30 games in the regular season. Davis had his usual spectacular game: 9-13 from the field, 22 points, 12 rebounds, 6 blocks. Jones played one of his best games of the year: 9-13 from the field, 19 points, 4 rebounds. Teague had 12 points, four assists, and only one turnover. It was just an outstanding team performance -- Calipari said it was the team's best game of the year.

Three other notes:

First, the shooting. The Cats went 5-12 from three-point range (41.7 percent), and 7-11 from the line (63.6 percent). The three-point shooting percentage is excellent for a road game, and I think they would have done better at the line if they'd had more chances.

Second, the road wins. This year, there were 96 basketball games played in the SEC. Only 29 of those games were won by the visiting team, a winning percent of just over 30 percent. Eight of those 29 road wins belong to Kentucky.

Third, after the game Tom Leach asked Coach Calipari what he thought of the fact that ESPN has been showing Indiana's last-second shot to beat UK over and over throughout the season (they are now even using it in a commercial for their mobile application). Calipari said he was glad they kept showing it, because it gives the team an incentive to improve. So he doesn't sound like a guy who's satisfied.

The Daytona 500, Take Three

I came home to find that Number1Son, Number2Son, and Number3Son are all awake, and all wired over the track explosion. It was a stunning event, which you can see here (at least for now).

But remarkably, the NASCAR people have almost finished their repairs, and they expect to re-start the race tonight. So NASCAR will join baseball in having its major event conclude after midnight on the East Coast.

Everyone is very excited, except for Dave Blaney, who has been leading the Daytona 500 during this red flag because he had not yet taken advantage of the caution to go into the pits.

All credit should go to the emergency crews at Daytona, who did a remarkable job of putting out the fire and repairing the track. And maybe there's a silver lining here. If my sons are representative, nothing promotes NASCAR like giant explosions where no one is hurt.

The Westminster Dog Show

We are extremely happy to report that all three poodle breeds were eliminated from the Westminster Dog Show last night during the group stages. This is like having Duke and UNC eliminated before the Elite Eight -- it doesn't happen all that often, and you should just be happy when it does. Here were last night's winners:

Hound Group: Dachsund (Wirehaired)
Toy Group: Pekingese
Non-Sporting Group: Dalmatian
Herding Group: German Shepherd

Tonight, we have the Sporting, Working, and Terrier Groups, followed by Best-in-Show. At my house, we are rooting for the Dalmatian so far.

Number3son Reviews Lego Star Wars the Video Game

Hello everybody, it`s Number3son here. Today I would like to do a review of a Video game that's for the PlayStation2.

Now, what you should know is I do my Video game reviews after I beat the games. So this time around, I have decided to do a post of the prequel to Lego Star Wars II. This game I will talk about is named Lego Star Wars the Video Game.

If you should know, I got a different Star Wars game for Christmas, but I was kind of jealous because my 15-year old brother, Number2son, started a file on the game and there was nothing I could do about it, and do you know what? He beat the game's entire Story Mode in ONE DAY! I didn't care for the game, so I hid it in our van, and that`s where it is to this day.

Anyway, here's Lego Star Wars the Video Game. I watched someone play it on YouTube, and he is known as Acegamer. I do like this game, but my brothers liked Lego Star Wars the Clone Wars better, and they said my game uses "Stiff" combat. In this game you must tackle Episodes 1, 2 and 3. There's also a bonus level marked with a ? and it's a level where you play as Darth Vader and a Stormtrooper, but I never unlocked that level. The level where you do the Mos Espa podrace is annoying. How so? You get pod racer destruction cut scenes whenever:

1. You lose all your hearts, obviously;

2. You run out of time to get out of the Crystal Cave to the Tusken Raiders;

3. You run out of time to get to the final part of each lap;

4. You run out of time to hit the Finish Line or;

5. Sebulba gets to the finish line before you do in the 3rd lap.

The level where you retake Theed Palace isn't that bad, but it's kind of long. Then you have to fight Darth Maul. (Strangely enough, all the last levels of each Episode are named after the boss in that level.) In the 1st part, you must force objects at Darth Maul till all his 3 hearts go blank. He doesn't do it until you kill the battle droids. Then in the 2nd room, you must chase him as he jumps from platform to platform.

Then there's the third room. For some reason, I always end up dying at least once in that room. Here's what you have to do to survive. Darth Maul's going to force the platform to the 4th area down. Two battle droid commanders say "Roger roger" and four boxes of battle droids fall to the platform. To get these battle droids to stop summoning, kill their commanders. After the battle droids are dealt with, 2 Droidikas on platforms show up. The best strategy is to deflect there gunfire at them. Then touch the 2 switches. The platform appears-sally forth!

The gunship cavalry level (Episode 2 mission 4) is pretty hard. If you didn't know, prepare to deal with Death cut scenes! At the end, you must destroy the Tractor beams and their systems . . . . Within 45 seconds. Shoot the droids to get extra Health.

Darth Vader is the final level. You must have skills by now, because they're going to be tested. In this level you have to go through five rooms, counting the Grand Finale. The 1st room tests you on Jumping. Be careful. The 2nd room is a test on out-speeding the timer.

Room #3 is a test on Force usage. Anakin destroys the switch guards, then you step on the switches. A Minikit platform appears. Then you must get a wheel going to bring up this tower surface. Then you and Anakin go down to a Spider-shaped platform.

Room 4: Yet another test of jumping. Jump onto a tower. It sinks, so leap to the Rocky island, where your partner is about to turn its back on you.

The Grand Finale: Yes, Anakin (also known as Darth Vader) is the final boss. He's going to try to sink sections of the platform you fight on. This fight can really make you think of the Champion fight from Pokemon's remake of Red and Blue. Now, it's also the ONLY point in the game where you can have 10 hearts.

Well hope you enjoyed this. Please check the game out at your local game store.

Kentucky 73 - 51 Arkansas-Little Rock (in Louisville) (No. 2,066)

Over the course of any basketball season, I tend to build up fairly elaborate game-time rituals -- especially if the Cats are winning. Last year, our run to the Final Four contributed to the creation of a whole set of rituals that involved apps on my iPad and iPhone, various channels on XM radio, and a basketball in my rec room. This year's rituals involve a cap, a blackboard, a laptop computer, and a (different) iPhone app.

One of the many reasons that Christianity is better than superstition is that the demands of Christianity are much less onerous. If you have wondered about Jesus's teaching that His yoke is easy and His burden is light, try keeping up the pagan rituals that can be generated by superstition.

Now tonight's game started at 7 P.M., which meant that I couldn't get home for the opening tip. Given that the Cats were playing the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, I thought that maybe I would skip the usual formalities and just watch the game on a different TV without all of the rituals. Of course, when I turned on the game UK was trailing 8-7 with seven minutes already gone. I turned everything off and ate dinner. But when I checked in again, UK trailed 30-27 at the half. And so -- back to the rec room, the blackboard, the hat, et cetera. Number 3 son trailed along to watch with our new mascot -- a stuffed white seal with a "UK Wildcats" logo made by Number 3 son. (It was a Christmas gift to me.)

Having mollified whatever spirits care about sports rituals, I waited for the results. They were not long in coming. With support from me, the hat, the blackboard, Number 3 son -- and the seal -- the Wildcats crushed the Trojans 46-21 in the second half, and cruised home to a 73-51 victory.

I'm sure that Coach Cal and the players think that the difference was that they out-rebounded the Trojans 47-19, that they finally started hitting some three's, that they stopped making turnovers, that Anthony Davis went 9-11 from the field and finished with 22 points and 16 rebounds, that Terrence Jones scored 10 points and chipped in 6 rebounds, that Doron Lamb was a more effective point guard than Marquis Teague, and that UK played amazing second-half defense. But what makes superstition so insidious is that to me, it feels like my rituals made a difference.

Anyway, the Cats are now 14-1 for the year, and conference play is up next. I'm very concerned about their outside shooting -- they were 6-16 from behind the arc tonight, which is OK but not great -- and I'm very nervous as to how they will play on the road in conference. Teague's game is also all over the place -- he was pretty bad tonight, which is the main reason UK had 19 turnovers. And I'm worried about Jones.

But I'm amazed at Cal's ability to consistently get effort out of young players. This is a long season, and it is only natural for young guys to get bored or lose focus from time to time. Nevertheless, they did come out in the second half and smoke UALR -- and my guess is their hard work was a lot more important to the final score than my hat.

One final note: congrats to Darius Miller for scoring his 1000th point as a Kentucky Wildcat. He really is one of my very favorite Cats, and I hope Eric will say more about him as the year goes on.

Number3son Completes His List of Villains

Number3Son is back to complete his list of the 10 best villains. Previous installments can be found here and here.

Number3Son's Villain's List: Part III

We're going to finish the list, so don't worry. I hope there are three thumbs way up! So, to make my Uncle happy, let's finish!

3. The Riddler
The Riddler is obsessed with word games, puzzles, and, of course, riddles. He tried but fails to trick Batman into dying. He decides to use the games and riddles all the time. One time, in the Animated Series, he made a device called the "Hand of Fate" to fly around the amusement park, but when Batman uses it to reach the maze's center, the Riddler calls "Grand-scale cheating!" He is a good villain.

2. Darth Vader
Darth Vader is a Sith Lord and no laughing matter. He command his stormtroopers under the command of Darth Sideous, who has now become the evil lightning-faced Emperor. He commands their Lord Vader to fight all Jedi, even his son Luke Skywalker! He uses his stormtroopers to guard the Death Star, but when the X-Wing destroys each part of the Death Star, a computer says, "Death Star self-destruct: 3, 2, 1 . . ." BOOM!! The existence of Vader is ended after he kills the Emperor.

Now, who is . . . # 1? Here he is!

1. Black Knight
The Black Knight is one of the villains in Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn and Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance. He commands Begnion armies and uses them to try but fail to kill some heroes. He uses a bad voice in Path of Radiance, in which he kills Greil, but in Radiant Dawn, my brother Number1Son uses a Darth Vader voice to say his words. He is my favorite villain because in Radiant Dawn, he's kind of awesome without question.

AND THAT IS IT!

U.S. Open -- Day 3 Wrap-Up

Notes from a day at the U.S. Open with most of my family:

1. After the usual two-hour commute, we got to the course around 11:20 AM. It was a bright clear day; warm, but not too hot. As the day wore on, we got the sort of hazy cloud cover so common on hot summer afternoons, but it never turned to thunderstorms.

2. Of course, we immediately started at the Trophy Club with another round of concessions. Number 2 Son went for a BBQ brisket sandwich, while Smart Girl stuck with her hot-dog order from yesterday. Smart Mom had what appeared to be a very nice salad, while Number 3 Son had a chocolate chip cookie and a meat-lover's pizza slice. I had my usual two hot dogs. The place was packed as always. I can honestly say that in three days at the U.S. Open, almost every concession stand I saw was absolutely packed. Americans must be the hungriest people on earth.

3. After eating, we set out in search of golf. Smart Mom wanted to see McIlroy, but he didn't tee off until 3:50 PM, which left us with quite a bit of time. We started by going to the 10th hole, which was an absolute madhouse with people everywhere. (The crowds today were simply enormous.) Then we wandered up to the third green, where we watched a few holes. And then we tried the fourth green.

4. By this time, it was getting close to 2 PM and morale was very low among the kids. So we left Smart Mom at the fourth green and went back to the concession stand. This time we got three bottles of Mountain Dew, one bottle of Pepsi, one bottle of water, and four Blue Bunny Lemon Chills. The latter is basically a very tangy, very thick lemon sherbet, and it was excellent.

5. But our location at the fourth green was not ideal. Smart Mom could see the green, but not the hole. Plus spectators were constantly having to work their way around the kids, who had taken to sitting on the ground. So we worked our way over to the second hole. This time we found a perfect location for Smart Mom where she could see the entire green complex, including the hole. Plus, about 50 yards away, between the second and third fairways, was a small cluster of shade trees far enough from either hole that no spectator ever walked there. The kids and I settled into this area, which we called "The Grove." We lay on the grass. We watched the Met Life blimp. We talked about a version of Plants vs. Zombies set at a golf course. I explained to the kids that the Grove symbolized the virtues of rural life; there's not as much to do or see in the country, but folks leave you alone and let you live as you please. Number 3 Son later decided that the Grove was the high point of the day, and that the trees were happy to have had someone finally sit under them. (Smart Girl and Number 2 Son went with the Trophy Club as the high point.)

6. Finally, at around 4 PM, it was time for McIlroy. We left the Grove and strolled over to the 2d fairway. We saw him hit his drive, watched him walk up to the green, and then headed over to the ropes used to mark a path from the 2d green to the 3d tee. We knew from past experience that the golfers would have to walk along that path -- and so we were within a few feet of McIlroy as he headed to the 3d tee. After watching his tee shot, we met up with Smart Mom and headed for home.

7. Of course, we had to make one more stop at the Trophy Club. Brownies, cookies, fruit and Pepsi were the order of the day, as we restored ourselves for the homeward journey. And then we went to the merchandise pavilion, where Number 2 Son got two polo shirts, Smart Girl and Smart Mom got tee shirts, and Number 3 Son said he didn't need anything.

8. We ended up getting home about 7:30 PM. All in all, it was an excellent day, and I am already curious about the possibilities of getting to the 2013 Open in Philadelphia.

9. As far as I could tell, the crowd today was very pro-McIlroy. This makes sense, as all of us in Washington tend to be very good at spotting when a new leader is on the horizon and in rallying behind that leader.

10. Oh, and the South abides. While on the course I saw people wearing gear from 10 of the 12 SEC schools; the only ones I couldn't find were LSU and Mississippi State.

11. There's really not much to say about the golf until after the fourth round, at which point I have a feeling that there will be quite a few things to say. For now, I will simply note that we are on the verge of a new era in golf history:

1. R. McIlroy (NIR): -14 (65+66+68=199)

2. Y.E. Yang (KOR): -6 (68+69+70=207)

T3. R. Garrigus: -5 (70+70+68=208)

T3. J. Day (AUS): -5 (71+72+65=208)

T3. L. Westwood (ENG): -5 (75+68+65=208)

T6. S. Garcia (ESP): -4 (69+71+69=209)

T6. M. Kuchar: -4 (72+68+69=209)

T6. F. Jacobsen (SWE): -4 (74+69+66=209)

9. K. Kim (KOR): -3 (69+72+69=210)

T10. D. Love III: -2 (70+71+70=211)

T10. H. Slocum: -2 (71+70+70=211)

T10. B. Jobe: -2 (71+70+70=211)

T10. H. Stenson (SWE): -2 (70+72+69=211)

T10. B. Van Pelt: -2 (76+67+68=211)

U.S. Open -- Day 2 Wrap-Up

There were a number of short thunderstorms this afternoon, so there are still a very small number of groups that haven't finished the second round. To be honest, none of these people matters. At this point, the only thing that matters is whether Rory McIlroy can finally capture the major title that his talents clearly merit. If he does, and given that he's only 22 years old, then I think he may make a run at Nicklaus's major record himself.

Jeff Overton went 72+72=144 and is only two over par and in a tie for 33d place. He made the cut.

Chris Williams of Moscow, Idaho went 76+73=149, which left him in a tie for 97th. He missed the cut, but he will feel good about his effort.

Other players of interest who are projected to miss the cut include Rickey Fowler, Hunter Mahan, Paul Casey (ENG), Stewart Cink (who shot 70 yesterday and 77 today), Ian Poulter (ENG), Ernie Els (RSA), David Toms, Jim Furyk, Angel Cabrera (ARG), and K.J. Choi (KOR).

Here are scores of prominent players who will likely make the cut but who are out of the top 10: Charl Schwartzel (RSA) and Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) are both at even par; Phil Mickelson and Lee Westwood (ENG) are at one over; Padraig Harrington (IRE), Martin Kaymer (GER), and Steve Stricker are at two over; Retief Goosen (RSA), Dustin Johnson, Luke Donald (ENG), Bubba Watson and Anthony Kim are all at four over.

Here is the leaderboard:

1. R. McIlroy (NIR): -11 (65+66=131)

2. Y.E. Yang (KOR): -5 (68+69=137)

T3. R. Garrigus: -2 (70+70=140)

T3. B. Snedeker: -2 (70+70=140)

T3. M. Kuchar: -2 (72+68=140)

T3. Z. Johnson: -2 (71+69=140)

T3. S. Garcia (ESP): -2 (69+71=140)

T8. A. Quiros (ESP): -1 (70+71=141)

T8. R. Palmer: -1 (69+72=141)

T8. K. Kim (KOR): -1 (69+72=141)

T8. R. Rock (ENG): -1 (70+71=141)

T8. H. Slocum: -1 (71+70=141)

T8. D. Love III: -1 (70+71=141)

T8. B. Jobe: -1 (71+70=141)

Oh, and coverage tomorrow will be delayed as Smart Mom and Number 3 Son will be joining Number 2 Son, Smart Girl, and myself at Congressional.

Champions' League Final: Barcelona v. Man Utd (at Wembley Stadium, London)

OK, so we are down to the final game of the 2010-11 soccer season, and it is a cracker: Barcelona (Champion of Spain and European champion in 1992, 2006, and 2009) versus Manchester United (Champion of England and European champion in 1968, 1999, and 2008). These are far and away the two best teams in the world -- whether you are looking at club play or national team play -- and so this is the best possible ending for the season.

Barcelona will be following their usual strategy of dominating possession, working the ball to their wizard-like Lionel Messi (the best player in the world), and falling down to seek penalties when necessary. Man Utd will respond with their intense passion and home country advantage (we are in England, after all).

No one ever plays a regular game against Barca; they are so good that most folks just try to hold the ball and keep it away from them. But Man Utd can't really use that strategy; they are an offense-oriented team themselves. So my own belief is that United have very little chance today. The team Barca really had to worry about was Real Madrid, who had the same manager whose Inter Milan team knocked them out last year. But thanks to a timely red card, Barca had 20 minutes to play against a 10-man team for Real Madrid -- and that was the difference. Today, I think they will win 2-0 or 3-1.

Number3Son's Top 10 Villains: Part II

(Number3Son, my eight-year-old, continues his list of villains.)

Hello, folks, I'm back. Sorry the list isn't done, but it's about to continue.

Enjoy. And with that said, let's continue.

7. Flusifer
The villain of Rocket Slime, this villain is trying to destroy Boingburg, the capital of Slimeia. He has been trying to eliminate a heroic slime as he proportions attacks and not only a group of monsters called the Plob is attacking Boingburg. But he {Flusifer} doesn't die.

6. Jafar and Iago
Jafar is Agrabah's true friend. Since he doesn't die in the first Aladdin, he does in the second. He clutches two scarab beetle parts, which causes the magical Cave of Wonders to rise, and one of Jafar's servants goes in. But the cave says only a "diamond in the rough" can enter. (Aladdin is my brother Number1Son's favorite Disney hero. He also likes "Beauty and the Beast," but enough with Number1Son.) It's time to talk about Jafar. If you want to learn about him, WATCH THE ALADDIN MOVIES!

5. Gaston
Gaston is the villain of "Beauty and the Beast." The dream of his life is that he marries Belle, but it will never come true. Later in the movie, this proves he's evil: he decides to kill the Beast! Number1 and 2 sons think he's a jerk, but he is not! He uses a tree to break down the castle gates and succeeds, but after that, few of his Frenchmen survive! In the door, he waits to fire. What I like is the real fight because it takes place in the rain. He dies.

4. Green Goblin
One of Spider-Man's villains, the Green Goblin is a good villain. He's probably better in the books than the movies because in the movies he's just Willem Defoe in a mecha-goblin suit (though Number1 son thinks he's beter in the movies!) He also has such a thing as stun-bombs, but what can stop ol' Spidey twice? Nothing! However, he uses other deadly tricks, even his flying broomstick! But, he is not one of the Sinister Six who appear in a Spider-Man comic book I read, needless to say.

Number3Son's Top 10 Villains: Part I

Number3Son responds to Matthew's request for a list of top villains (again, I'm just the typist -- although I have added some information in brackets). This entry covers numbers 10-8 on his list:

Hello, folks, this is Number3Son. Because my uncle wants me to do this, I will make a list of the top ten best villains. Hope you enjoy it, I'll just tell 3 rules:

1. It can be from anything, but, from Lord of the Rings, the Witch-King of Angmar does not count.

2. They have to be smart, so the Germans from The 39 Steps do not count.

3. They have to look serious, but even if he does, Clayface doesn't count either.

So, with that said, let's start the list.

10. Mr. Freeze

With his freeze ray, this scientist is deadly. He, of course, hates Batman and always tries but fails to kill him. Mr. Freeze is always working for one of the best of Batman's villains, the Riddler. Unfortunately, the Goofy Batman Movie lacks him, but that movie will make you laugh out loud!

9. Voldemort

This was one of SmartGirl's ideas. This is the most powerful of Harry Potter's villains. His name is Voldemort and although he is a powerhouse, Harry has learned a bunch of spells. No one alive can defeat the Evil Lord of Magic, like I think, but Harry is really powerful and he ends Voldemort's existence.

8. Krios

Villain in the Campaign of Age of Mythology: the Titans, Krios is one of the best villains, so you should be surprised to see him this high. He is Kronos's servant and most of his plans involve proving that he hates Kastor, Arkantos's son.

At the beginning, Kronos has a look at the Earth even from his prison of Tartarus. After Kastor proves that a mortal stands upon the peak of what the Greeks thought was the Home of the Gods, Krios says that Zeus's power was the only thing keeping the Titans in tartarus, but Kastor was told this: he {Krios} went around destroying Greece's temples and killing its people. After Kastor says, "Why would you do this," Krios reveals his true form: a Demonic Winged Fiend!

Krios says that Kastor did it {destroyed Greece's temples and killed its people} and flies off. When an Egyptian queen named Amanra says that most people in Egypt have joined Krios, a lesser Titan calls down a meteor storm and destroys the Osiris pyramid!

After both lesser Titans are dead, the Heroes return to Greece to heal it {Greece} and kill Prometheus (the Titan half). When Prometheus the Titan is dead, automatons attack Atlantis. But, of course, they are stopped. Then, the Atlanteans must destroy the Evil they have unleashed, so they go to Old Atlantis, which is now under the ocean.

When Krios says Kronos is the conqueror before all lesser Gods, Kronos busts open the doors, but Gaia was there. She busted out of her boulder prison and destroys the gates and comes in Kronos's stronghold for an epic showdown with her son {Kronos}. She knocks him back into Tartarus. Krios tries to escape during the epic music, but Kastor finally ends Krios's existence.

A Story from Number3Son: Spaceman and the Battle in Dragoncrawler's Lair

Number3Son, who will be 9 years old in July, has written the following adventure story, which we pass along for your pleasure (Dad helped with the spelling and punctuation, but the rest is all Number3Son):

SPACEMAN AND THE BATTLE IN DRAGONCRAWLER'S LAIR

One day, in the Spacequarters, Spaceman was making amends, saying, "Listen up, Security Girl! It's time to arrest someone!"

"Yeah," said his sidekick, Security Girl.

When ready, Spaceman said, "To the Spacemobile, Security Girl!"

But then, glaring out at Spaceman, she said, "Why can't we ever take the Spacewalker that can fly?!"

Spaceman said, "It's abilities are deleted quickly."

"Okay, fine, I get it. Let's take the Spacemobile," said Security Girl.

So they drove to the basement at the Police Headquarters. There, a worker explained the situation: the evil Dragoncrawler, their nemesis, was ready for mortal combat. With warm and cool protection suits on, Spaceman opened the door to the Lair of Dragons.

Everything on Dragoncrawler spelled chaos to our Daily Heroes: from Dragoncrawler's firebreath to his crumbling mouth to his chaotic power . . . then the fight began.

There was shoving and kicking in the stomach and punching in the faces and kicking clear across the room. But, unfortunately for Dragoncrawler:

(A) Spaceman is as fast as a bullet.

(B) Security Girl is like a cat. She can see perfectly in the dark.

(C) Dragoncrawler was unsuspectingly pounced on the head by Spaceman.

"Yeow!" he screamed.

Dragoncrawler then tried to strike back but then he was kicked clear across the room.

But then, Spaceman was knocked through the floor, which sent him into the deadly Space-Eater. A single thought came to his mind: "Oh, no."

With his sidekick tied to a tree for Death to kill, with Spaceman trapped to lose his powers, our Daily Heroes were indeed in the need of help!!

What can be done?! Can our Daily Heroes stop Dragoncrawler in time to save the earth?

Fortunately, yes, they got out of the traps and performed a trick. Spaceman tied a box full of baseballs to a rope. Dragoncrawler made a dive at Spaceman. But Spaceman was ready, dropping the baseballs. Dragoncrawler screamed the word "Ow" 56 times.

So, with Dragoncrawler arrested, our Daily Heroes have once again saved the day!

Tune in next time when Dragoncrawler curses Spaceman.

THE END