Breaking Bad's Saturday News And Views

“I am the danger!” (Not pictured: Carlos Danger)

Hello all, I hope that your post-game Saturday was full of fun and wonderful times. Before we get into all that is news and views, let’s take a moment to appreciate the masterful artwork that has become Breaking Bad. The series, created by former X-Files writer Vince Gilligan, follows everyone’s favorite chemistry teacher-turned-meth cook, a business venture he creates in order to provide his family with a comfortable life after he is diagnosed with lung cancer.

The series began in 2008 and has reached critical acclaim each and every season, including three straight Emmy’s for Bryan Cranston (pictured above) as lead actor in a dramatic series. Breaking Bad is winding down to its series finale, in three weeks, a finale that Gilligan has described as “triumphant,” “heroic,” “Breaking Bad-esque,” and one that will pay homage to a great television run unlike The Sopranos “fade to black” finale (spoiler alert).

With three episodes left, some have called BrBa (that’s what the kids call it) the greatest television show in history. While others argue The Wire is better, I disagree with those people and too believe that Breaking Bad will reign supreme once the dust settles. If you are a fan who has kept up, you know the situation we find our heroes/anti-heroes in come Sunday night at 9 PM, and if you haven’t started the series yet, go ahead and do that for your own sake. It will change the way you watch TV forever. Moving along…

Today may have been the most beautiful day we’ve had yet in the Commonwealth in 2013 but that doesn’t ease the pain of the 27-13 loss as much as you’d probably like. Do you want to start with the good news? Let’s start with the good news.

The Good

–Defense: The shining light of today’s game had to be the defense; for all the hype surrounding Mr. Bridgewater and the talk of the highly ranked Cardinals, the defense showed that they can take care of their own when needed. The defense has steadily improved over the past 3 games, a testament to Coach Stoops, and kept the game close while the offense…struggled, to put it mildly. (More on that later)

–The New Guys: The new kids on the block (not the ones with a bunch of hits or whose chinese food makes you sick) showed that there is a light at the end of this proverbial tunnel that is UK Football by continuing to produce on both sides of the ball. Za’Darius Smith once again leads the nation in sacks through three games, Jason Hatcher saw positive game action once again and JoJo Kemp and Ryan Timmons produced on the offensive side of the ball. Look, every player that puts on the blue and white has the fan’s support but it is no secret that the players Stoops recruited have shown they can play high-profile college football time and time again. Stay excited for the future.

-We were competitive: If you are the type of person who believes in moral victories, then go ahead and chalk today’s L up as one of those. If you’re not, at least acknowledge that we didn’t get blown out at home by our rivals. If not for some miscues by UK’s own doing, the game could have very well been tied at the half. However, that was not the case, and in the end we lost. But it was only by 14 so keep your head up.

I am a fan of the black jerseys.

The Bad

–Quarterback situation: Today was not a very good day for the offense but things seem to go a little worse for the quarterbacks, as Max Smith tweaked his shoulder and was taken out of the game. Whitlow struggled once again and at one point both Patrick Towles and Reese Phillips were both seen on the sideline warming up. Stoops had nothing to say about Smith’s injury but Maxwell himself said he would be ready to go for the Wildcat’s next game in two weeks.

-Missed Opportunities: The chances were there for UK to stay in this game and even pull the upset, but they vanished with each mistake. The drive before halftime that could have tied the game ended with a turnover and there was one stretch of plays where the radio booth seems disheartened because of careless drops that would have possibly broken open for easy touchdowns. When you lack the talent and depth at certain positions, you can’t afford to make mistakes and let opportunity slip away.

The Ugly

–Offense: There really isn’t much more that can be said that hasn’t been said already, and if you watched the game you know how out of sync they looked at times. It is really hard to win a game when you go 0-13 on 3rd downs, and turnovers proved too costly. While the defense showed up to play, the offense struggled mightily and as a result, the defense was exhausted by the end of the game. As Nick Roush pointed out on Twitter, the offense has been consistently inconsistent this season, something of a let down because of the hype surrounding the Air Raid during the offseason.

The loss stunk but as always you must march on. The team regroups and recovers for the next two weeks before taking on the Florida Gators in Lexington on September 28. As for the rest of the news…

JOVOhnny Football!! Go Time!

— Drizzy (@Drake) September 14, 2013

Drake is Johnny’s biggest fan.

-The much hyped Alabama/Texas A&M football game lived up to its billing, as Johnny Autograph Football added to his repeat Heisman campaign by throwing for 464 yards and 5 touchdowns; it wasn’t enough, as the Aggies lost to the reigning champs and Robot Nick Saban 49-42.

-Tennessee became the latest victim of Oregon and their Power Ranger uniforms today as they lost 59-14. UT took an early 7-0 lead but blinked and that’s all that the Ducks need to fly right past you. 

–The Akron Zips went into Michigan riding an 0-27 road game losing streak and almost left Michigan with a 1-27 mark. Instead, Michigan held them off in the closing seconds. Did you know Akron’s head basketball coach was LeBron James’ high school basketball coach? That’s all I know about Akron.

Tomorrow is Sunday, meaning I will be glued to my TV come 9 PM to see Walter White and friends enemies (dedicated above) but not before a full slate of NFL games. You stay classy KSR readers and remember to always spay and neuter your pets. Just don’t try it tonight.

@TylerJohnsonKSR