Big Blue Nation

This is an April Fool's Day no University of Kentucky basketball fan will forget. While this scenario might have seemed unimaginable in mid-January when Kentucky was 5-0 in Southeastern Conference play and ranked in the top 25, John Calipari really is the new UK basketball coach. It was no joke when Billy Gillispie was fired last week after going 40-27 in only two seasons with the Wildcats because he was not what athletics director MItch Barnhart called the "right fit" for the UK program.

Kentucky’s 2010-11 basketball schedule released Thursday did not contain any major surprises, but it does have a couple of interesting twists. The Wildcats will play 15 regular season home games at Rupp Arena, but they will also play twice in Louisville. The Cats will take on Notre Dame at Freedom Hall on Dec. 8 to renew what once was an annual rivalry in the SEC/Big East Invitational. The Wildcats return to Louisville for a New Year’s Eve showdown at noon against Rick Pitino’s Cardinals in their new downtown arena.

Actor Josh Hopkins, a Lexington native, has a lot going on professionally, but nothing is more important to him this week than Kentucky and Louisville playing Saturday in the Final Four in New Orleans. Hopkins, a life-long Kentucky fan, is not like some UK fans who are apprehensive over playing Louisville for a second time this season - UK won 69-62 on Dec. 31. “What's not to love? Cats, Cards. Cal (John Calipari) and Rick (Pitino). Puts the state on a national stage. I-64 has never been so famous.

Kentucky's national championship has more memories than even the most die-hard UK fan will ever be able to remember. This team's “will to win” was tested numerous time, but 38 of 40 games the Wildcats prevailed and did what they brashly predicted they would do before the season even started by winning the national title. If you are looking for a way to cherish those memories, get a copy of “Elite Eighth.” It's the 128-page, full color book by Advocate Communications published by Triumph Books LLC being sold at Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, Barnes & Noble and Dick's Sporting Goods outlets across the state for $14.99 as well as online at http://www.triumphbooks.com/ for $14.99 plus $6 shipping and handling.

LEXINGTON - While the game mattered and gave Kentucky coach Mark Stoops a chance to evaluate his roster, the most impressive part of Saturday's Blue-White Game had nothing to do with what happened on the field. Instead, it was what was going on in the parking lots during tailgating and in the Commonwealth Stadium stands when an estimated  crowd of more than 50,000 fans turned how to show that they did care about football. Remember, Kentucky went 2-10 last year and had several games with less than 25,000 fans in the stands (the biggest actual attendance all season was 43,174 for the Western Kentucky game)

NEWARK, N.J. — Kentucky has more losses, fewer future first-round NBA draft picks and a lot more doubters this season. Yet the Wildcats are exactly where last season’s talent-laden team was — one win away from UK’s first Final Four since 1998. “I believe in my team. I really like my team. No disrespect for any other team in the country, I’ll  take my team,” said Kentucky coach John Calipari here Saturday. There’s still no way this team is as talented as Calipari’s first UK team that featured John Wall (No. 1 pick in the draft)

For the first time in the John Calipari era, Kentucky won't be dancing in March, and the Wildcats can't blame anyone but themselves for missing the NCAA Tournament for the second time in five years. Instead of defending its national title, Kentucky will spend the rest of the year competing in the 32-team National Invitational Tournament, along with Southeastern Conference foes Tennessee and Alabama. A year ago, Kentucky was a program that was riding high as the overall No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and won the school's eighth national title with a squad that included a solid mixture of veterans and newcomers.

Andy Murray was a fierce competitor when he played fullback at the University of Kentucky and remains a hard-core UK fan. That's why he's become a huge Mark Stoops' fan already and believes that Conner quarterback Drew Barker will pick the Wildcats over South Carolina and Tennessee Friday when he announces his college choice. “He is a lock in my opinion. Kid is a blue blood,” said Murray. Because Murray's son plays at Simon Kenton, he's not been able to get out in northern Kentucky to see Barker play.

Kentucky basketball fans have a lot of opinions about what is going on with coach Billy Gillispie: Mac Yocum doesn't understand how Kentucky could even contemplate buying out Gillispie's contract. "I hope that all of the media types can spin the justification for tuition hikes while paying a winning coach $6 million to leave. If the rumors and reports are accurate, then it is a slap in the face to the exact people that the university exists for, the students.

LEXINGTON - Kentucky coach John Calipari knew two of the players on his Dominican Republic national team, former Louisville players Edgar Sosa and Francisco Garcia, likely would get less than a warm reception at Rupp Arena on Monday night. The Dominicans faced a team of former UK¿players now on NBA rosters and the home fans made sure Sosa and Garcia knew the UK-Louisville rivalry never stopped. Both were booed loudly. “It was fun. I was expecting that. That's how it is in Big Blue Nation,” said Garcia, who now plays for Sacramento and had 30 points in the Dominican Republic's 106-88 win. Sosa, who had 29 points and six assists, rationalized that the atmosphere would prepare the team when it has to play host Argentina later as it tries to qualify for the 2012 Olympics.