Cats Lose a Quarterback for Bowl

As the Kentucky Wildcats are preparing for their fifth straight bowl appearance they will do so without starting quarterback Mike Hartline, after being arrested early Friday morning.

Hartline was taken into custody outside a Lexington bar and was charged with second-degree disorderly conduct, alcohol intoxication in a public place and failure to notify the department of transportation of an address change.

After news of the arrest got to head coach Joker Phillips he went on to suspend Hartline from what would be his last game in a Wildcats uniform.

“Mike Hartline has had a good record here conduct-wise, and I regret that this happened,” Phillips said. “I really hate that it happened because of what he did, leading this program to our fifth straight bowl, and he’s done a great job at that. But we have clear expectations for how we want our players to act and for them to behave.”

This has been a big blow to the Wildcats going into the BBVA Compass Bowl without Hartline. He started all 12 of Kentucky’s games this season and put up some of his best numbers in senior season. So far on the year he is ranked sixth in the SEC and 24th nationally, in pass efficiency. Hartline also lead the Cats to a 6-6 record.

Since Hartline will not be allowed to play the Cats will look to Sophomore Morgan Newton to take the reins and lead them to a victory. Newton has thrown seven successful passes on season and will be expected to get the start.

The Wildcats will take the field on January 8 against Pittsburgh who has had problems of their own in the firing of former head coach Dave Wannsted after six seasons there.

Ridin' the Rail to the Roses

It was an exciting but very rainy first Saturday of May, as they ran the 136th Kentucky Derby in Louisville, Kentucky at Churchill Downs. The day was full of some exciting races but none was as exciting as the main event with the field of 20 horses in the “most exciting 2 minutes in sports”. It was a wide field of owners of these fine animals from a group of everyday people from Kentucky, to baseball manager Joe Torre, to politician Jack Conway. This race shows that anyone can have a chance at owning one of the fastest and most beautiful horses in the sport of kings. The race began around 6:30 PM when the jockeys hop on their horses for an exciting ride but before starting they hear the state song “My Old Kentucky Home” which brings a tear to the jockeys and all Kentuckians. This is their super bowl their moment of greatness.

The story coming in to the derby was the record of horse trainer Todd Pletcher, who coming in to the race had not won with 24 different horses prior to this year’s run. Some people start to wonder about his ability to train a horse to get them ready for the derby, he is a great trainer and had horses win other stakes races but never the big one. This year his luck had changed at Super Saver made his way in to the winning circle with now three time derby winner Calvin Borel upon his back, this was also the first win for the Winstar Farm group.

How did Super Saver make it to be the one horse with the roses around its neck? Well Super Saver got a great jump out of the gate has he moves to the inside rail and seats in fourth place up until about the one mile mark as he passes only one horse and all of a sudden Borel kicks into another gear as he does like last he rides the rail to win. Borel has made a name himself as being a jockey who loves to ride the inside rail but he is also puts in the work. He works seven days a week at Churchill Downs watching horses and preparing for the run for the roses. He becomes the first Jockey to ever win three derby races in four years, and he says that this is his year to win the Triple Crown. He was one race away from being the first jockey to win the Crown on two different horses last year. I will him the best of luck in the Preakness Stakes race in Baltimore, Maryland on the 1 and 3/16th mile race on May 15th.

Dancin' Their Way To the Sweet 16

Well it is a sweet time to be a basketball fan in the state of Kentucky, as both the men’s and women’s teams have reached the Sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament. This is the first time the men have made it to the round of 16 since 2005 and the first time the women have done it since the expansion of the field in the tournament. This is the first time in my life that I can remember this happening, both teams start there seasons together with big blue madness can they end the season together as national champ? I think this may be asking a lot for Coach Matthew Mitchell and his Hoops team since they have never done it. Both of these teams spoiled wildcat fans as both the men and women was perfect at home, how many schools can say that both of their programs can do that.

These teams took way different paths to get there as the men’s cats team started the season expected to win, while the women hoops team was expected to have a good year but not as great as they have both teams started the seasons winning 13 straight and both beat in state rival Louisville, but they are not the same the Cats are 34-2 on the season the a number one seed in the tournament. While the hoops went 27-7 to be a number four seed in the tourney. The Cats have plowed over their opponents while the hoops had a couple close games verses Liberty and Michigan State but they looked good doing it.

These teams also have some things in common as they both have the SEC player of the year in John Wall and Victoria Dunlap, as well as SEC freshman of the year with DeMarcus Cousins and A’dia Mathies. So this year’s teams showed they are in the top of the SEC, I’m excited to see what happens as both of these teams finish the big dance.

Athlete of the Week: John Wall

I decided this week I am going to start a new segment that I’ve had in mind for a few weeks now called Athlete of the week. I am going to look over the high lights of the week and season the chosen athlete has accomplished.

This week’s Athlete of the Week is going to be University of Kentucky freshman John Wall. Wall lead the Wildcats to an 80-68 victory over Georgia, were he scored 24 points 3 assist and 1 steal. This freshman star has taken this team by the reigns and become its leader, he is not the leading scorer most nights but he always makes his showing. With the NCAA tournament coming up in a few weeks I feel he will come out and show his true colors to lead his team to the final four. On the season Wall averages 17 points per game, 6 assist and 1 rebound and he is said by some to be the 2010 NBA overall number one draft pick. His leadership skills on the court and his ability to take control of the tempo of the game are why he is this week’s player of the week.