The Cats take on Marquette today

The Cats make the tournament in 2008 as an 11 seed in the West Region. A 12-4 run in the SEC regular season makes it possible.

First opponent: Marquette. 2:30 EDT in Anahem, California
UK has met Marquette in the NCAAs 9 times. This will be the 10th. Marquette has won the last two meetings with UK in the tournament. The last being the year that Dwayne Wade showcased his NBA Superstar potential and Bogans broke his ankle in the Wisconsin game. I haven’t seen any Marquette games this year. But from all I’ve read, UK is a slight favorite for an upset bid in round 1. If UK loses this game, it will be the first 1st round loss in over 15 years.

From the UK presser today, an interesting tidbit. Perry Stevenson was asked about UK fan expectations. Here’s the quote:

Or as Kentucky forward Perry Stevenson remarked when asked what Wildcats fans expect from their beloved basketball team: “Seven championships in six years.”

Hilarious and a nugget of truth as well.

“We became a blue-collar team,” Stevenson said. “We come out and scrap and fight.”

As you can see, Perry Stevenson is UK’s shot blocking phenom. Here’s to him swatting a dozen or so Marquette shots today. His emergence along with Jasper and Ramon Harris are the reasons that UK can still win minus Patrick Patterson. Perry really picked up his play though. A fairly amazing transformation from his Frosh campaign.

Perry has benefited from the loss of Patrick Patterson somewhat. Pat being out has given Perry room to grow and experience this year. I don’t think he would have been forced to grow as much if Pat was still in the game. Next year should see those two wreaking havoc down low and inside/out on teams. With the additions coming in, I think UK will be in fine shape for 2009.

But first this season must be played out:

GO CATS!!! BEAT MARQUETTE!!!

For all of you doubters, I’ll leave you with this:

“He just had so much belief in us,” Bradley said. “It was hard to doubt ourselves.”

Ramel Bradley on Coach Gillispie

I say the Cats advance in a bruiser.  Final Score:  Cats – 56  Golden Eagles – 50 

Barack Obama and Malcolm X

Anyone who criticizes Barack Obamas admiration of Malcolm X is speaking strictly from ingorance. Malcolm X was killed because he started to speak of reconciliation. After his pilgrimmage to Mekkah, Malcolm X was coming around to the same beliefs as Martin Luther King Jr before he was murdered. In Mekkah, he saw men of all races worship together in a common love for the creator. I’m paraphrasing him here from memory. When the great charlatan Elijah Muhammad murdered Malcolm X, he did this nation a great dis-service by depriving us of a great and charismatic leader who was coming around to a more peaceful message of integrity, courage and understanding in the human and civil rights movement.

Not a well known fact but fact nonetheless. Alex Haley’s auto-biography of Malcolm X is a powerful book. Well worth the read. How can I fault Obama for saying that it is his favorite book when it is one of my favorite books as well.

(I’ve read the drivel that the Black Muslims hands out as the history of black people as well. A great scientist from another planet creates white people in a cave. Elijah Mohammad and his lackey Louis Farakhan are a plague upon America. If Obama has any association with the Black Muslims, he has no business running for Congress. But it is rare for a non-American black person to associate themselves with those crackpots. )