NCAA Tournament: Kentucky Wildcats Revenge Tour 2011

4M a year. That’s 10,958.91 a day. That’s 456.62 an hour. Still think that he is overpaid? Not me. Because he is now the ringleader in the Kentucky Wildcats’ 2011 Redemption/Revenge Tour. And he is making a believer out of everyone.

I was probably one of the most vocal and maddest people on the planet when I saw the Cats’ seeding in this tournament. Paul Jordan, Ken Howlett & myself all discussed the fact that there is no way that Kentucky should be facing West Virginia in a second round game. And there isn’t. Unless you subscribe to the theory that this is the year that the Cats slay all the old dragons, get rid of all of those demons that hang out there in NCAA Tournament history, as well as recent regular season history that people pull out when they want to find some obscure reason for the Cats to lose to a particular opponent in a particular game.

As of today, we got through the “Princeton” offense, and made short work of the Calipari-Huggins connection. I am not sure what the paramedic is going to say to Huggins if a heart attack ever happens again. Our reward for slaying that dragon is THE Ohio State University Buckeyes.

Worried? Not me. You see we owe Ohio State. Just like we OWED West Virginia. They are 5-0 against the Cats in the NCAA’s. We owe them big time. The Wildcat game plan? Simple. DeAndre Liggins and Brandon Knight are going to harass, confuse, agitate, and exacerbate the OSU guards. And Josh Harrellson is going to prove to NBA scouts all over the country that he deserves a shot to play in the big time. He is going to give Sullinger from OSU the game of his life. He is going to grab every loose ball, cut off every back door cut, and control the paint for 40 minutes. And Mr. Sullinger is going to know what it is like to face the Cats. Kraft is not going to get 15 assists against the Cats. Diebler and Lighty are not going to go off like it’s Saturday Night in Tijuana against the stingy UK Defense. Is it going to be a war? Sure. But we like wars. And this team is starting to live for them. Gone are the demons of earlier this year when the Cats could not win a close one. Now we are not going to lose one.

So, who could remain out there for the Cats to face in rounds to come? Anyone want to stick it to Duke? Lest we forget the 1992 Tournament? Or maybe we can exact revenge on UConn for that little brouhaha in Hawaii earlier this year?

Or how about Kansas? Yes, Kansas who has a three game winning streak against the Cats going lately? Not to mention that game they played against Cal at Memphis a couple of years ago.Or better yet, how about a nice dish of fate served to Arizona for that little overtime game back in 1997 that cost the Cats a Threepeat of NCAA Championships?

We have already seen some of our regular season opponents fall on their swords this year. Louisville, Georgia, and Tennessee are already sitting at home. Another W over the Gators would not be bad this season either, since they wrested the SEC Regular season crown from us.

Marquette is out there too. I think we need to discuss that game where Dwayne Wade made a limping Keith Bogans and a young Chuck Hayes look bad. I still cringe about the 2003 Tourney.

And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention UNC still out there with Harrison Barnes lurking in the shadows, just waiting for the Cats to come knocking to discuss that early season loss.

So, this weekend was just another stop on the Tour for the Cats and Coach John Calipari. It looks like they have decided to get rid of all of those demons in one year, and who are we to say them nay?

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