Sports Talk: The Perfect Season

As a correspondent sports writer for The Casey County News, I write an weekly editorial column for the publication. Published Apr. 9 , 2014.  
Needless to say, Monday night was a let down to many of us. But, even before the game was underway I began thinking about the idea of a "perfect season". What do we consider that to be and would it be all it's cracked up to?

The Cats came into the season with their fans loving them and everyone else hating them just as much or more than usual. All eyes are always going to be on the pre-season number one, but let's face it... Unless you are in the Big Blue Nation, you pretty much despise it. While everyone else hated on Kentucky, we had the highest of high hopes for our Wildcats and between having the best recruiting class of all time and being the preseason number one, there was no reason not to have our sights set high.
 
The "40-0" idea was the idea of perfection. A perfect season. Obviously that was wiped off the table immediately, but looking back... Despite the losses and despite coming up one win shy of the ninth national title, aren't the imperfections what allow the BBN to thrive?
 
We went from the top, to being the NCAA's joke. No, that stretch of going 5-5 prior to the NCAA Tournament (including not just one, nor two, but THREE Florida losses) was far from 'fun'. But it gave the true blue fans a chance to hang with their team and stand behind them despite the fingers that were pointing and laughing.
 
And guess what? We got the final laugh. No, we did not win number nine, but the national tournament showed the college basketball world there is a method to the UK madness and the flaws and imperfections of the regular season were all just part of a bigger picture and part of what a young team has to go through.
 
I couldn't help but sometimes think of our own Rebel basketball squad from this past season when UK had some of their rough games and rough patches. "Freshman mistakes," we often heard--from Stallworth and Calipari. Despite the talent of a player, sometimes, their early experiences at "the next level" involve growing pains. UK had a lot of those this season, just like we saw from our Rebels; but between those freshmen mistakes and growing pains there were those shining moments. In the case of both teams, CCHS and UK, in the post-season we saw kids grow up. There were still moments of frustration and "What were you thinking?!", but then the moments when natural talent came into balance with the motive of playing for your TEAM came together to shine. Those moments outweighed all of the rest.
 
The Wildcats proved they were what they cracked up to be during the NCAA tournament. Sure, we lost in the end, but if we had one perfect season after another, it would be easy to live in this state and stand behind UK season after season. But these are the seasons that test how thick the blue in your veins really runs. The finish to this season should make all TRUE BLUE fans very proud to be a part of the BBN--even more proud than they would have been had the team come home with a championship--because that would make it easy to claim your Wildcat allegiance.
 
Congrats to all teams and fans on a fun March Madness--and thanks Kentucky schools for keeping the fun alive for us fans to the very end for three seasons in a row now!

Sports Talk: Who will own 2014?

As a correspondent sports writer for The Casey County News, I write an weekly editorial column for the publication. Published Mar. 26, 2014.  
 
Back on New Year's Day I pondered over who the year 2014 would belong to when it came to this state's great college rivalry. I think this Friday beginning at 9:45 p.m. will be the determining factor.

For the second time in three years the Kentucky Wildcats and Louisville Cardinals will square off on the ultimate stage: the NCAA Division-I basketball tournament. While this time it may "only" be in the Sweet 16, as opposed to the Final Four in 2012, I think Cats and Cards fans will agree that victory claimed will be just as sweet.

Every tournament game always matters for a team. Whether you are a number one seed or a 16, fans, coaches and athletes all yearn to keep advancing. (And what I think UK and UofL fans can agree on after this year's seeding is that the seed is arbitrary and arguable.) At the same time, for Kentucky and Louisville fans, the December match-up is oftentimes equally important, so combining the two means this red and blue state is going nuts with anticipation this week.
 
Everyone knew the meeting was a possibility with the setup of the brackets, but aside from the truest UK fans, most felt the odds were questionable with undefeated Wichita State in Kentucky's path to the Sweet 16. However, what has been arguably the most exciting tournament game thus far puts our Wildcats in a rematch with the Cardinals.
 
While Kentucky took down Louisville in their previous season meeting, the Cardinal team saw more success in the late regular season. However, the Wildcats we saw last weekend look hungry for a championship.
 
Speculation over how things will pan out in Indianapolis could go on for days, but the bottom line is it's anybody's game. Not only is it tournament time but it's the biggest rivalry game this tournament will see. Kentucky pulled it off in 2012 and went on to become national champions. Will they do it again?
 
As a fan of all teams of the Bluegrass, I'm excited to know that one of our teams will be advancing to the Elite Eight, regardless of Friday's game; however, who will I be cheering for? Louisville.
 
While I am so happy to see Kentucky coming on strong after having some disappointments this season (and I would be cheering for them in any other game), I feel much more invested in the Louisville team. I admire the hardcore Kentucky fans who are not just on the bandwagon on the good days. For the sake of those fans, I want Kentucky to win, because YOU deserve the win. But when it comes to the guys playing, who deserves the win more for their devotion to their school and program? My vote is Louisville and I want to see those guys advance. It's not about "Louisville" but about the individuals. I feel attached to the guys on the UofL team. I want to see those guys--Russ Smith, Luke Hancock--advance. For me, there is such a difference in cheering for a team simply because of the colors they wear compared to cheering for people and what they mean to you.
 
When the day comes that these two teams face each other in the tournament again and both teams have a group of guys taking the court who have been wearing their colors proud for multiple seasons, well, I guess I'll be an individual divided. For now, though, I'll just be living in a house divided... No, not my husband and I. We'll both be cheering for the Cards... But our 5 month old daughter only has a UK onesie so I guess she will be repping the Cats for us. Somebody's got to, right?

Sports Talk: Champions, again... sort of...

As a correspondent sports writer for The Casey County News, I write an weekly editorial column for the publication. Published Apr. 10, 2013. 

Sorry all of your hard core Wildcat fans… one more week of Cardinal love from this sports fan.

On one hand I can understand those that call themselves “true blue” fans who will never cheer for Louisville… because that was me on Monday night, the true Buckeye fan that would never find herself cheering for those dirty Wolverines.

But stinkin’ Michigan being the opponent or not, my reason for staying up late when I had to wake up extra early to work in Louisville in the morning was 100% to do with cheering on the Cards.

Albrecht gave me a scare, but Louisville’s stamina really seemed to win out. When Michigan looked tired, the Cards never seemed to. That and, of course, Hancock’s sweet streak there at the end of the first half. What a cool and unique thing to see a non-starter earn the MVP for the Final Four.  No doubt his performance deserved it.

What is unfortunate for the die hard UK fans, is they miss out this awesome feeling.

In 2011 Bellarmine University won the NCAA Division-II championship. In 2012 the Wildcats took the DI crown and this year it’s the Cardinals… and, if we’re lucky, those Lady Birds will have done it on Tuesday night.

 A year ago I stayed up extra late cheering on the Cats and this year it was the Cards.  I loved seeing the Cats win the title last year, as that is what I grew up with as a child admiring and knowing: UK was the basketball powerhouse.

In high school when I realized that certain people in our state cheered for Louisville and were against the Cats, I kind of found it strange. Why live in Kentucky and cheer for the team that wasn’t as good?

But my seven year tenure in Louisville came on the coattails of Pitino’s hire at the school. Between following the team more closely, seeing them improve, gaining many hardcore Cardinal fan friends, watching many games wearing red, and now continuing to spend time working in that city on a weekly basis, I too have come to understand why it’s so easy to live in this state and love the Cardinals.  

It’s fun to see the kids you’ve been watching for awhile capture this moment. A fan that gets to experience a championship through different teams in back-to-back years must be rare, so I will relish the moment, knowing it may not happen again too soon.

Go Cards!

Sports Talk: A twist on bracketology

As a correspondent sports writer for The Casey County News, I write an weekly editorial column for the publication. Published Mar. 27, 2013. 

I’m always hesitant to fill out my March Madness bracket—mainly because I don’t feel like I have a clue on what is right or wrong, but then again, hasn’t time taught us that not even the experts really know a thing when it comes tournament time?

The beauty of March Madness is you truly do not know what might happen. Even the greatest team may fall unexpectedly due to one bad game.

As usual, I did fill out a bracket—at the last minute. But, as usual, I am glad I did. It’s always 10x more fun to watch and keep up with the games when you have a team to root for or against…. Although, a small part of me sometimes wants the underdog to always win despite what my bracket may say.

One of my biggest disappointments about my bracket usually has to do with my early success that never goes anywhere. I have actually done fairly well certain years in randomly picking the upsets. One year I was even leading at work, which was a pool of nearly 70 people.

However, what’s most disappointing is the early success usually means nothing. You earn so few points in the first few rounds that if you don’t hang on to your final four—or the majority of your elite eight—you’re probably out of luck for winning your pool.

A friend at work has a unique twist on how he and his friends have fun with March Madness predictions and competition. Rather than filling out brackets, they have a draft.

Each person (they have eight total) gets to draft eight teams. Points earned are based on the rank of a team. If your team wins, you collect the number of points of their rank. Suddenly a number one ranked team is not that attractive in your draft.; max, they can earn you six points.

On the flip side, if this year you had drafted Oregon, you would already have 24 points from one team even if they don’t win another game. In this game, it’s a better risk to pick underdogs and hope for upsets than to go with the safe plays.

The 10, 11 and 12 seeds, according to my coworker, are some of the top picks in their draft. They can capture a nice set of points with just a single win, even better with two.

The 5, 6 and 7 seeds are also popular, as they have a chance at advancing into the elite eight. The 1 and 16 seeds are usually the last to go. A top seed maxes out low and a 16 seed’s odds of earning any points are too low.

This game’s winner is usually determined within the first three, maybe four rounds, but I like the new twist it adds to the excitement. I also appreciate that it puts the value in the early wins rather than the final four.  I mean, I might as well try it out next year right? See if my early luck works out for me?

As for this year, I’ve survived the opening weekend of nonstop games with my final four still in tact. OSU and IU gave me a scare there for a minute, but those Cards are staying steady.

Sports Talk: A fun hypothetical game thought

As a correspondent sports writer for The Casey County News, I write an weekly editorial column for the publication. Published Nov. 28 , 2012.

I’ve held out hope for the last week and a half that I would have reason to write this Sports Talk piece, and, as predicted, I was not let down.

Regular college football season has come to an end and only two teams have maintained a crisp, clean record: Notre Dame and Ohio State. Too bad they will never get the chance to face off.

Anyone who follows college football closely knows that Ohio State was ruled ineligible for post-season play (aka, the BCS) this year and the simplest summary of it I found comes from Allan Brulett, a Bleacher Report correspondent, who wrote:

“The NCAA banned Ohio State from poststeason play this season because five players admitted to receiving freebies and discounts in exchange for memorabilia, and it turned out the Ohio State coach knew about it.”

I understand rules and regulations. I worked three summers with the Governor’s Scholars Program where there are black and white rules and if one is broken, no level of justification, begging, or pleading changes the result. If you start to make exceptions, you are headed down a slippery slope, so I am not here to gripe about the NCAA’s enforcement of a rule.

However, I do think it is necessary to note the punishment received is up for debate. First, the punishment is coming down on a team completely remove of the violations. Second, the violations were not harmful. Just kids being COLLGE kids.

With their faces and names plastered on ESPN, Sports Illustrated, and throughout sporting goods stores, it can easily be forgotten that these guys are not yet pros. While they may have their college paid for, they aren’t exactly rolling in the big bucks and every college kid is up for making some extra cash. So they violated an NCAA rule? Punish them, but I hate that it’s being brought upon a group entirely removed from the scandal of two years ago. (And I’m 99% sure those involved hate that their actions are affecting an innocent Buckeye crew.)  

All I am saying is, it’s too bad the stellar group of athletes this year is paying the price for something they had no hand in.

Honestly, it’s too bad for every team in the Big 10 and NCAA division 1.  Ohio State would likely be a top ranked team in the BCS standings, but instead we will say they just “don’t count” and one lucky team will be spared having to face the Bucks.

I suppose, in the bigger scheme of things, being that college football does not have a playoff system in place (and won’t for another two years), and the BCS is simply a bunch of sports analyst “experts” choosing each individual BCS matchup, it takes away some of the blow. Ohio State just won’t earn a match up from by a so-called expert this year.

Reality is even if Ohio State was playing a BCS game, it wouldn’t necessarily be Notre Dame but one can’t help but wonder how a game would turn out. Their last meeting was the 2006 Fiesta Bowl where OSU took the title; however, when I asked former Casey News sports writer (and big brother, Buckeye fan), Nic Dixon, his thoughts on a hypothetical meeting, he bowed to Notre Dame’s defense, accepting that OSU’s defense would have trouble stopping the Fighting Irish. Then again, that may have been a standard prediction prior to many of Ohio’s 2012 games, but somehow they always pulled out the ‘W’. Bottom line is, we will never know.

For me, there is a bittersweet side to the fact Notre Dame and Ohio State will never play this season: I truly love both teams. (Of course, on the occasion the two do play, I’ll be sporting scarlet and silver every time.)

I’m proud and excited for both undefeated teams. I am so happy that Urban Meyer has found a way maintain the Buckeye Nation I love, no matter what stipulations the NCAA casts upon the powerhouse. No BCS playoffs? Who cares! We had a tremendous season of cheering O-H-I-O in their come-from-behind wins and can now close it out with a victory over Michigan that rounds out a loss-less season. Not too much to complain about.

Believe it or not, rooting for Notre Dame has not just come about due to my Hoosier husband. Whether it’s the Catholic thing, the incredibly beautiful campus, or the inspirational tale of Rudy, I find it impossible to dislike Notre Dame football. With their legacy of championships, it was only during my college days I began to question why “Notre Dame football” was held in such high esteem when, in fact, (cough) they weren’t all that good…

I’ve enjoyed their returned power in the past few seasons, peaking (so far) with this one. Nothing would make me happier than seeing their first national title since 1988 come with a victory over Alabama, if planets align for such a match-up in January.