NCAA final four a big thing in KY. GOOOO BIG BLUE.

[powderman]

Governor to switch sides, mayors wager as Cards, Cats meet in Final Four       by Joe Arnold WHAS11.com Posted on March 26, 2012 at 6:09 PM
Updated today at 5:17 PM
      Related:

• Tickets for Cats, Cards match up in Final Four sell outadd to reading list

  (WHAS11) - Governor Steve Beshear is caught in a simultaneous no-lose and no-win situation as the Universities of Louisville and Kentucky men’s basketball teams meet in the NCAA Final Four.

“This is a great opportunity for commonwealth to have our two great universities playing,” Beshear said. “The only thing that could be better is if we were opposite sides of the bracket so that we could play in the final game.”

The governor is a graduate of the University of Kentucky. His Lieutenant Governor Jerry Ambramson was Mayor of Louisville for 25 years. Though Beshear is not openly rooting for UK to beat UofL, he is not denying his UK allegiance.

“You’ve probably said where we are,” Beshear conceded. “We can’t lose because somebody from Kentucky is going to win and be in the final game.”

Appearing together on a veranda outside the governor’s office, the University of Louisville and University of Kentucky presidents focused on their common goals, except on Saturday.

“We look forward to the game on Saturday. We’re playing a great opponent,” said James Ramsey, the University of Louisville president. “It’s going to be a tough game and we hope to win; expect to win. But if we lose, the sun will come up.”

“I’m not sure if he lives in Kentucky because he said the sun would come up the next day, if they lost,” retorted Eli Chapilouto, the UK president. “It may not come up in Lexington. We’re hopeful.”

The cities’ mayors were far less collegial – at least in their public posturing.

“You guys are over confident,” jabbed Mayor Greg Fischer of Louisville. “We’ve got you exactly where we want you. We are unpredictable.”

Fischer offered Lexington Mayor Jim Gray a bottle of Whitford Reserve Bourbon, distilled by Louisville based Brown-Foreman, to take the sting out of a Kentucky loss.

“You know, you all recognize that this is very high octane material, right,” Gray said as he accepted the bourbon. “Which encourages fantasies.”

In a wager on the national semi-final game, Fischer and Gray agreed to stay in New Orleans regardless of Saturday’s outcome and wear the winning team’s colors for the national championship.

“The lieutenant governor and I are both going,” Beshear explained. “And hopefully, if we can work this out, he’ll sit on one side for a half and I’ll sit on the other side and then we’re going to switch.”
 
 
I'm UK all the way, I don't even allow cardinals at my bird feeders, I do however have some very pretty redbirds. POWDERMAN. 

[powderman]

UK won today, great game. The 2 coaches hate each other, I think it's because neither had ever met anybody more rude or arrgant than they are. POWDERMAN. 

[guzzijohn]

Great behavior by the Kentucky students too.
GuzziJohn

[powderman]

 Two monster alley-oop finishes highlight historic night for Kentucky’s Anthony Davis     By Ryan Greene 

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By Ryan Greene | The Dagger – 10 hours ago      They're highlights that might live on forever in Kentucky lore.
Freshman star and National Player of the Year Anthony Davis thundered home a pair of ridiculous alley-oop finishes in Kentucky's 69-61 national semifinal victory over Louisville to kick off a big night in New Orleans.
  The first was a two-handed throw-down that he had to reach behind his head to grab — a conversion maybe a handful of big men in the nation could complete. The second was a transition lob that was actually tipped in mid-air by Louisville's Gorgui Dieng before Davis grabbed it with his right paw and put a final exclamation point on Kentucky's 37th win of the season.
The dunks went down as the signature moments of a performance that ended with Davis caught by CBS cameras yelling "This is my stage!" as he flung the ball into the stands at the final buzzer.
Davis' total damage? Eighteen points, 14 rebounds, five resounding blocked shots. He became the first player since Kansas' Danny Manning in 1988 to record at least 18 points, 10 rebounds and at least five blocks in a Final Four game.
[ Video: Anthony Davis celebrates Kentucky's victory ]
And even though Kentucky's Monday night foe Kansas has elite front-court talents, it's hard to not give a significant advantage to a Kentucky team that not only has the 6-10 Davis in the middle, but a 6-10, long, athletic, versatile Davis who clearly is not fazed by the moment.
With the exception of trailing 2-0 in the opening minute, Kentucky led the entire way against Louisville, and despite shooting 57.1 percent from the floor compared to the Cardinals' 34.8 percent, the talent-rich Wildcats simply don't win the game if it wasn't for Davis.

Why not, specifically?
Well, on top of altering several more shots than simply the five that he blocked and keeping Dieng from getting comfortable inside early for Louisville, 12 of his 14 rebounds came on the defensive glass. That was huge because Louisville was able to hang around much longer than it should have been able to largely because of its ownership of the offensive glass, despite Davis getting 12 defensive caroms. The Cards got several second-chance points off of their 16 offensive boards.
[ Related: Kentucky too strong for Louisville, reaches title game ]
Davis' overall presence made up for freshman Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and sophomore Terrence Jones being taken out of the game for much of the half due to foul trouble. Both had a tough time getting going in the second half, too.
The biggest question now is whether Davis can do it again in 48 hours. If he does, it's Kentucky's title to lose.

[littlecanoe]

No doubt that there is a bit of arrogance in the coaching staff but I don't see that as such a great issue or problem.
Pitino was very gracious in a post game interview.
Much of what is seen in Calipari is just an majorly outgoing personality.

This season in both meetings of these teams we witnessed a higher degree of sportsmanship than I've ever seen in this rivalry.  That's coaching coming through on both sides. 

I hope that the students responsible for burning the car face the full penalty of the law for their idiocy.  Unbelievable and inexcusable.  In spite of that, the game was a great game.  Pitino showed why he is arguably in the top tier of College BB coaches of all times. 

lc