Learning Along the Way

So, I can't say that I'm prophetic, but in the past 48 hours, I pretty much nailed it (with the help of Steve Jackson):

a. There will be night racing at Churchill. Holy shit.

b. I told you that UK needed to do what UL won't and fire their shitty coach.

In the article by Eric Crawford today, much credit is given to Mitch Barnhart, and it is well-deserved. As the firing occurred, about half of the Big Blue faithful warned us that we were making a HUGE mistake and no one would ever want to coach at the 'circus' that is the University of Kentucky.

Well, not only were they wrong, but they are much less vocal now. If it were feasible, all the morons who said we shouldn't fire Gillispie should not be allowed entrance into Rupp Arena for two years. They should not be allowed to join in the excitement of ushering in arguably the hottest coach in the nation right now. They should not be allowed access to any message boards, and they all owe Barnhart an apology.

The guy did what he had to do, so he deserves every ounce of credit that he receives. And if someone from the UK PR department didn't write Coach Cal's opening speech, then I am shocked. Here's an outline:

1. Open up with a Keightley reference, they love that crazy old man!
2. Get a dig in on Alan Cutler (sidenote: who is a bigger Cutler-douche right now, Alan or Jay...it's close)
3. Mention Richie Farmer
4. Tell a story where the protagonist (a troubled youth) ends up changing his life for the better, thereby robbing the media of some of the bullets that they will use against you
5. Mention Dunkin' Donuts...you're a regular guy!
6. Deftly make fun of Gillispie without making fun of Gillispie (playing zone, recruiting 12 year olds)
7. Talk about how this is still THE job in college basketball

The dude nailed it.

But, the real point of this, and, sadly, most of my life, is to once again point out that the AD at Kentucky has one HUGE advantage over some other AD's because of his ability to realize when he has erred.

Tell me, what AD that you know does this NOT sound like:

"I hired Billy, went down that path, thought I had a guy who was the hot coach or whatever. I watched him, watched his team, liked the way he played, talked to a lot of people," Barnhart said. "And I missed. It was my fault. I just missed. ... Everybody lives and learns, as do I. Last time didn't work out. Did I learn from that? Hopefully, I got better this time. ... I know I'm happy with where we are and the coach we got."

Really, the beautiful symbolism here is that Jurich's hubris bleeds into other programs. If you were forced to watch the UL-Arizona blood-letting, you would have realized that the preening, camera-fondling, eyebrow grooming, chest thumping, buzzer dunking Cardinals were rife for an upset at the hands of a much sounder, humbler, and (GASP) better coached team. Train/Higdon, I apologize, but you were in the stands, so you didn't get the full effect of the pomposity exuded on the court by the Filthy Cards, and alas, it was the sword that they fell on.

So, Tom, enjoy your trip to the Women's Final Four in St. Louis. We'll see you in Lexington on September 19. Make sure you bring "your guy" with you. We already got ours.