You know there is not much media love for the gridiron Kentucky Wildcats. This evening, I went searching for treasures without a treasure map. I wanted to share what I found for all of you that are interested in football. Even if you don't like football, you should appreciate this first story.

Just like last year, the Joker Phillips and company awesome goodwill trip to Ethiopia is barely mentioned, mostly not at all. This year, accompanying Coach Phillips are team members Mikie Benton, Matt Smith and Larry Warford. Matt said he didn't even hesitate accepting the chance to go after hearing Danny Trevathan and Stuart Hines talking about their experiences last year. Larry hesitated leaving the US, at first, but didn't pass up the chance. I know everyone here doesn't have a Facebook account, but if you do, check out Joker Phillips' Fan Page for lots of photos. I am so sorry if you cannot access them, just be patient. The local media probably will cover this eventually sometime this summer.

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It happens every year. It is inevitable. I think we realize it more as our fan 'age' of the Kentucky Wildcats increases. Much like the dog days of summer, it is a seemingly boring, droll time where little is new and the current day is much like the previous eight.

We were pleasantly obsessed for months to follow the Blue. Days were filled with fun as we tuned in twice a week, sometimes more, to watch or listen to our team. The awesomeness of the defense and the talented offense kept us anxious for the next thrill. Most of us got in the line to wait for the next ride by the following morning, if not sooner. We happen to love the thrills and chills. Now, those thrills are gone. There is nothing much new to look forward to when it comes to our team as we fondly remember the excitement we were able to witness a few weeks ago.

Now mind you, we don't just give up on feeding our blue. We will fight for it. We know we will find a way to manage this time. If you are like me, and if you are reading this you probably are, you find yourself at ASoB everyday searching for that little blue tidbit to feed on. A new story, a new video link, a new photo to hold us over until Madness a few months away. How can we fill our time now that our thrill park ride is closed for renovations?

Go Big Blue!!!

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Yeah, I suppose it might be getting old to you by now, my love for the odd-shaped ball game. Don't hate me, because I am excited. The Kentucky Wildcats football team takes the field to practice against themselves this Saturday in the annual spring Blue/White game. If you really have to ask, of course I am going. It's one of my only chances per year to sit on the 50-yard line to watch my other favorite sport.

I tossed around in my head going to Thunder over Louisville again this year, which I really enjoy, but when I found out the game was the same day, the choice was made for me. Football it is. This year they are teaming up with the Bat Cats and offering an entire day of Blue fun. I have morning obligations and I am not sure I have time for both, at this point, but I will try. Whens and wheres after the jump.

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Tonight we find out which schools Nerlens Noel and Shabazz Muhammad, among others, will choose. Kentucky.com is reporting that Cal will be interviewed during tonight's ESPNU special as well. For all the info on the players, you can read jc25's excellent post here.

The festivities are scheduled to commence this evening on ESPNU around 7:30pm ET. Use this place to chat about your hopes, all surprises you didn't see coming, and everything in between. Maybe we will have a couple of good surprises to add to our beloved Kentucky Wildcats.

I fully believe Cal knows exactly what he is doing. He is a master recruiter and like he says, Kentucky is not for everybody. I just hope no one picks up the wrong hat this year by mistake and has to scramble to make a call.

Go Big Blue!!!

Editor's Note: As part of my 8-year old daughter's homework every week she has to use her spelling words in a sentence. One of the words she has this week is "unbelievable." Unprompted, she wrote this sentence: "It's unbelievable that a basketball player would choose UCLA over Kentucky."

Tell it like it is, Alex!!

Okay, somebody help me out. I can't be the only one that has a problem with this shirt.

via images.footballfanatics.com

I have a HUGE problem with this shirt, Nike. If you meant it as a dig at our haters, I guess I get it, but it is just more fuel for the fire, IMO. The biggest problem, to me, is that somehow, someone at the University of Kentucky actually approved the design, complete with an (*). At least I know all designs had to be approved by the University at one time, especially the licensed ones.

I am not happy about this one, not happy at all.

What say you?

Dance, dance, dance to the music. I'm too excited for words. Just celebrate. Wooooooo hoooooo.

Twenty more minutes, folks. Twenty more for all the marbles. Hope you finished all your halftime necessities and are settled in for the duration. This game is fun. Go Big Blue!!!

First off, let me add this.

Secondly, let the hype begin. ESPN's Myron Medcalf points this out,

The Kansas-Kentucky national title matchup features a multitude of fascinating storylines. Robinson versus Davis in a battle of national title candidates. John Calipari versus Bill Self, who led Kansas to a win over Calipari's Memphis squad in the 2008 national title game. The two teams with the most wins in college basketball. And this is the first time that the Final Four has featured three rematches, per ESPN Stats & Info.

There will be a ton more added today and tomorrow, I'm sure. Don't forget that Cal met Ellen, his wife, while he was an assistant coach at the University of Kansas, under Larry Brown. Feel free to share more links that you spot around the interwebz. Go Big Blue!!!

Well, that was fun. I opened up a new spot to have a little more fun. If we bog this one down, I can make another. We will use it to celebrate and to watch the next game to find out who our next victim will be. Go Big Blue!!!

Another 20 minutes of this and things will be a lot clearer. You can do this guys. 20 more good minutes of team ball is all it takes. Show the nation why we cheer Go Big Blue!!!

Good morning. fellow members of the Big Blue Nation. Well, the day we have been waiting on is finally here. It is Saturday. Our Kentucky Wildcats are about to take us on another exciting journey. Remember my little story I read you back in October? When I wrote that tale I felt we could make it to the Super Dome, but I was anxious see if we would actually make it to the Blue Bayou. And now, here we are.

There were so many reservations in October, for good reasons. We had heard of the talent and we were told youth might not have what it takes. Our Wildcats had something to prove and they have passed the tests. They entered this tournament riding high. Sitting at the top spot in the polls for weeks and grabbing the overall #1 seed for the dance.

Now, what is our role and how do we help?

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You asked and now you have received. It is almost Saturday. Go Big Blue!!!

The Madness continues again today. Just a little spot to talk about today's games, last night's win and tomorrow's match-ups. Our Kentucky Wildcats are making me smile. I have absolutely nothing else to say, but I did find a picture. You tell 'em Cal!

I am not sure how many will be interested in tonight's game, but it is the Sweet Sixteen round of the Tourney. We should see some exciting games tonight. If you feel inclined to wander in and take a seat, I'm sure you will not be alone. Pop in for a quick look or pull up your favorite game chair and share it with your fellow Wildcat fans here. We will have fun even if the games seem not so fun. Go Big Blue!

7:15 PM ET CBS Wisconsin vs. Syracuse, Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery/Lesley Visser
7:47 PM TBS Louisville vs. Michigan State, Kevin Harlan/Reggie Miller/Len Elmore/ Marty Snider
9:50 PM CBS Cincinnati vs. Ohio State, Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery/Lesley Visser
10:22 PM TBS Florida vs. Marquette, Kevin Harlan/Reggie Miller/Len Elmore/Marty Snider

Good morning Kentucky Wildcats fans. Last night's open thread is a little bogged down, so here is another fresh one to talk about the games, wins and losses, the upsets and shockers, and anything related to Nuttiness as your hearts desire. I'm sure there will be something up a little later. Hope you all are wearing your blue today! Go Big Blue!

I am opening another thread to talk about all the games going on today. The Kentucky Wildcats second half game thread is getting a little slow. Talk about the Cats, the games, the players, March Madness, or anything to your big blue hearts desire. There should be a good game or two coming up.

We members of the BBN are often looking for early hints to help predict how our post season will turn out for our Kentucky Wildcats. Breaking down what can be expected for March Madness can be a difficult task. Ask anyone that has ever tried to fill out a bracket prediction how tough it is. March Madness is on like Donkey Kong as every serious team is even more focused on bringing their all to every game.

Some have questioned Cal's request for teams to 'go all nutty on us'. My theory about his wishes is that he wants our team to face an opponent that is playing as if the game were a win or go home situation, now. What better way could he prepare our young guys for the Nuttiness of March? You know how it is, often a team lights up in an area or areas where it was never expected. Facing that now requires the team to make important how-to-win decisions on the court. Studying tape or stats does not prepare you for any game of nutty.

I wanted to know more about Kentucky's history of do or die time so I went searching on Jon Scott's website for any trends I could find about March games. I never knew he had info of wins and losses for a specific date though. Light bulb moment right then and there. Yes, you read that right, I am delving into reading the tea leaves of past game dates. I thought it would be fun, especially when we are looking for another reason to be a little more excited this season. We are after all ... aren't we? So now, if you ever wanted to know if the past Wildcat calendar in March is revealing, let's all jump and take a look.
[Insert Jaws theme music here.]

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On Monday morning, March 30th 2009, the BBN awoke to face another day of wondering what we were going to do. Our Kentucky Wildcats had lost during the NIT just five days earlier to Notre Dame. First, the mere fact of playing in the NIT was not acceptable to most. Two days after that, we were informed that now we were without a head coach. We had already heard rumors of unhappy players thinking about the possibilities of a transfer. Needless to say the Big Blue faithful were no where close to being atop a cloud. Flooding thoughts of this nightmare could not be pushed aside no matter how hard we tried.

In years past when a season ended way too soon, we started the process of moving on. We always fought it for a while, discussing the reasons we felt it ceased too early, how we could have done it better, and sometimes pointing out which parts were good. Fairly soon we would sway our attention to October and begin to hope for a deeper run next time. March of '09 was different though. We had found ourselves in a bit of a pinch, again. Above all else, we knew we had to get our beloved ship up-righted and on course or we could not begin to turn our focused hope. We did not have a skipper, though.

How would we do this and where would we start? I am sure we all wondered this. The thoughts of most of us were to turn to our fellow fans and think this through. Obviously, we could not think of any better place than the blue confines we call A Sea of Blue. The place we knew we could discuss possibilities, find real facts, up-to-date information, and seek comfort from others who understood exactly how we felt. With our crystal balls in hand, we flocked in numbers to help and be helped. We could not have imagined the journey we were about to experience. Well, I am positive we never thought about watching a door for hours, that turned into days.

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This is a must see shot. In a Saturday night game against Georgetown, Lindsay Wilson senior Chase Spreen dribbled once and heaved a three-quarter court shot towards the goal, down by two. Remarkable shot. Absolutely remarkable.

Use this post (instead of JLev's excellent piece) to congratulate the 9th ranked, until next week that is, UK Hoops team, the Lady Cats, or Matt's Cats, whichever you choose to call them. They are one tough group of tough Cats. They defeated the 6th ranked Lady Vols tonight in Memorial Coliseum with a final score of 61-60.

I don't have any links to post, as nothing is showing up yet. Linky. The game was a nail-biter, that is for sure. A'dia Mathies, career high 34 points, scored a bucket with 4 seconds left to put UK up by one then UT missed a shot at the buzzer. With this win our Hoops team ended the Lady Vols 36 game winning streak in the SEC. Way to go ladies. Job well done! Congratulations!

[Added by Glenn] I just want to add my congratulations to the team, and to coach Mitchell. Kentucky women's basketball, or "Hoops" as it is known, has now reached elite status. Defeating Tennessee as a closely-ranked competitor was something that had never occurred to any of us as a real possibility even as few as four years ago. Yes, UK Hoops has been on an upward trajectory for awhile, but this is truly a momentous occasion.

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