"AIRBALL" and other thoughts on the Vandy loss

Look, it's my new BFF! Hello, friends. While you were cussing at the television and pacing around the room yesterday, I was fortunate enough to be at the game. A few rows from the floor, in fact. Since I don't get to go to many Kentucky games these days (how dare they play all of their home games in Lexington and not Nashville!), I was in Big Blue Heaven. Until Vandy won, at least. Here are my quick hits from the game: -Coach Cal was frustrated with Doron Lamb. As the team headed into the tunnel at halftime, Cal basically told Lamb to "talk to the hand cause the face ain't listening" as Lamb attempted to explain his actions (or inactions?). At one point during the first half, while the Cats were shooting free throws on the other side of the court, Cal called Lamb over to talk and mocked the freshman for leisurely jogging over to him. Like BTI mentioned earlier, Lamb has been slumping lately and Calipari is not happy about it. He may have the prettiest shot on the team, but Lamb needs to stop whining and start hustling if he wants to be one of the reasons this team turns it around come March. -Wow, Jarrod Polson is tiny. I'm only 5'3", but yesterday at the game, I could have sworn I was taller than Polson. Maybe it's the long shorts? Or the tall socks? -One thing I noticed late in the game yesterday was how the Cats continue to freak the f' out in the last few minutes of a close game. Cal mentioned in his Lexy audio tweet about the psychological impact of looking at the score and the clock during games; this was obvious with about three minutes left...with panic in their veins, the Cats passed the ball around the perimeter as though they were playing hot potato. Finally, Knight and Jones attempted to save the game with threes, but you know that's probably not what Cal had planned. -Ashley Judd is still hot (says the straight girl). She sat a mere 20 yards from our seats and, when not taking pictures with fans around her, seemed to enjoy the game and sneaking in sly glances at Tony Delk (I was watching, Ashley). -I hate Vandy fans. The rich old ones around us reeked of snobbery and bad sportsmanship. Granted, my brother-in-law was pretty loud (those "miss it!" and "airball!" chants while the Vandy kids hit free throws? That was him), but leaning over and yelling "NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL AN AAAAYRRBAWL" in my ear after Jones' bad shot? Good grief, old man. And the girl in front of me with the Vandy sweatshirt and Duke hat? Needless to say, we did not get along. -Vandy accepts all shapes and sizes to their cheerleading squad. Okay, I'm a nice girl, so I'm not about to go hate on another lady for her weight, but man...one of the Vandy cheerleaders was struggling to keep her curves in her tight dance squad dress (not in a good way). It didn't help that the dress looked like a trash bag. -You can't stop a player like Jenkins when he's on fire. Except for a four or five shots, the Cats defended Jenkins pretty well the entire game. Jenkins was apparently in the Vandy gym two hours prior to tipoff shooting threes, according to Larry Vaught's Droid. -Calipari is flat out entertaining to watch during a game. His body language and "courtside manner" are mesmerizing. I was exhausted just watching him. -Jorts got his groove back. Maybe it was the lady in the "Happy birthday JORTS" tshirt behind the bench or the fact that Ashley Judd was in the house, but Jorts found his touch around the basket again. -This team needs a new mentality. Maybe it's time to put the "Refuse to Lose" shirts away and go back to the drawing board. How about "Play to Win"? Or "Stop freaking out and run the play"? This group of Cats look like they are so desperate not to lose that they don't even think about ways to win. Hopefully this will change before the postseason. That's all, folks. I'll be with you a little longer, then Beisner will be by to tuck you in with the night post.