Big Week in the Ville.....

I am not sure if it was my decision to move into the area or just the desire to avoid the barrage of political advertisements, but someone made the decision in my new town of Louisville to have one huge sporting week. With the Battle for Big East supremacy, the Breeder's Cup, the beginning of college basketball season and of course the debut of Kentucky Sports Radio on ESPN Radio all in a four day period, the sporting scene here in the Ville is somewhat exciting. Of course I will be abandoning ship this weekend (I mean you cant expect me to miss the "White Castle Eating" Contest at the UK game), but the three events do deserve some coverage. UL basketball season opens --- What can we say here? The Ville BARELY escapes Georgetown College, not the Patrick Ewing variety, but the Happy Osborne version in a game that saw me up and cheering for a scrappy bunch of Division I transfers who I used to jeer during my days at Transylvania. The Ville hung on down the stretch, buoyed by their superior inside game and Georgetown's frigid free throw shooting to save the embarassment of an early season loss and keep Ricky P from having to get another hair transplant. Ultimately the game will be of little interest in a few weeks, but I found it fascinating. From it we learned that the disappointing players on the UL roster (specifically Palacios and Farley) are just as disappointing and worthless as before. However the Freshmen for the Ville looked quite good, even surprisingly to me, Derrick Caracter. I think Caracter is beyond a goober and was one of the more unlikeable players on the high school scene in some time, but he looks slimmed down, a bit quicker and he had a solid game. This team will ride its freshmen hard and in Caracter, Sosa and Jerry Smith, they have a good group. They should be interesting to watch. Breeder's Cup ---- I have always liked the Breeder's Cup as it gives folks a chance to watch a ton of races, gamble and see the non-thuggish Randy Moss on our television screens. Of course this year, being in my hometown, I take particular interest in the festivities. Unfortunately it is supposed to be cold and rainy Saturday and no one I know who loves horse racing is getting anywhere near the track. Barbaro broke his leg and I think Smarty Jones is either dead or to stud so there is no horse for me to focus on. But nevertheless there are lots of rich people walking around town and it has taken Rick Pitino off of the television, so it is an event for which I approve. UL-West Virginia --- Never have I wanted a game to end more than this one. I honestly cannot stand to hear another word about it. The weather is supposed to be nasty tomorrow night, which is perfect for how I feel about the game. I think it is an open debate as to what UK fans should root for in this game. Do you pull for Louisville to lose, just so we dont have to hear about national championship possibilities anymore and we can focus on more important things, like UK-Vandy? Or do we pull for Louisville to win so that (a) it makes our state look good or (b) they get closer to being embarassed and ridiculed in the national title game. I think its a close call. I want to say West Virginia will win as I do believe they are the better team.....but the game is in Louisville, the fans are amped and I think the Ville pulls it out....maybe even by a decent amount. We shall see. After these three events, the sporting world will of course continue to ignore Louisville until time for the NIT rolls around. But for these four days, we are in the spotlight. The River City is shining folks.....can you feel it?