Martin Scorsese's Monday News and Views

I, like you, watched the Oscars tonight and enjoyed it again. I liked Ellen in her role and was glad to see Forest Whitaker and Jennifer Hudson win. But the moment of the night goes to the moment where Martin Scorsese finally wins his first Oscar. Scorsese has one of the best catalogs of movies ever and it was great to see him honored. "The Departed" was a great movie....although it sort of ended with nonsense for the last ten minutes....but it was so good until then, that I forgive it. Most people will focus on that movie now, but make sure you see fellow nominee "Babel".....it is also great and shouldnt be forgotten. And oh yeah, Jack Nicholson went all Brittney Spears and shaved his head.... Been a relatively crazy weekend around here with a wide-ranging span of emotions. Saturday's show was great (look for it this afternoon) with interviews with Draymond Green and Jai Lucas.....I spent Sunday morning with my mother at a great church in Louisville, St. Stephen Church, which was uplifting and a great experience that you folks ought to check out if you are in the area. Then I went home to the UK-Vandy game which.....well you saw it. Ugh. Then we finished the night by seeing Barack Obama, along with 3,000 of my closest friends, here in Louisville. Crazy weekend with lots of good.....and the Kentucky game. But hey, there are always the News and Views to begin the week. This is a big week around here. Stay tuned. (1) In some ways, things really couldnt have gone much worse for the Cats this weekend (as you will be able to see after you read the first three news tidbits). The UK-Vandy game had all the makings of a season-altering game. Had the Cats been able to win.....on the road....while controlling the entire contest.....against a team that had just upset Florida....well that is a season-altering win. But now the loss may be just as important in the other direction. This was a game that the Cats had....up 10 in the second half, the Cats rolling on offense.....even getting great play from Bobby Perry and Woo. And then, the Dores went zone....and then, the Cats looked awful. At that moment (around the 11 minute mark), the offensive flow stopped....the team got THREE shot clock violations....and the vast majority of the points were fairly fortuitous....a Woo left handed three point play, Bradley fouled on a three, Bobby Perry with a rebound put back. Nothing came from the offense and the team died on the court. Throw in some Memorial Magic (Allan Houston all over again) on the free throw and the Cats lose again. I simply dont get what happened at the end....our players seem to be required by international treaty to fall down on key late plays and the decision to have Crawford bring the ball up at the end.....well I dont get it. It is very odd as I like virtually all the guys on the team.....individually they are all good guys and represent the school well....but collectively they produce one of the most unlikeable teams in years. Tough to say....even tougher to watch. (2) In many ways, the weekend from a recruiting perspective, could not have worked out worse. Jai Lucas is making two more trips before he decides a school....one to Maryland and one to UK. HE took the Maryland trip this weekend....only to see the Terps fall behind, make a miracle comeback and beat UNC in one of the more exciting games of the year......Yippee. I know for a fact that UK is one of Lucas' final two choices....I have been told by those I trust that the other may be Maryland. If so, this weekend isnt great for UK. But, Lucas told me on the radio show that "he is looking for a school that may be struggling to show they really need me." Jai Lucas, meet UK. (3) And what about Patrick Patterson? Well he took a visit this weekend to Virginia....only to see them make a comeback and get an exciting win against Georgia Tech. When Patterson makes his final three school announcement, it would not surprise me in the least if Virginia is one of those schools. I dont see him ending up in Charlottesville, but Virginia is really in the race. The announcement that PAtterson and Lucas will be in the McDonalds All AMerican Game in Louisville adds intrigue no matter what they decide. In Pat's case he may still be undecided....think that will sell some tickets? (4) Now how about some good news? I did a lot of digging on Draymond Green this weekend and was told almost universally that he will end up being a GREAT recruit for UK. Two connections in Michigan said that Green has "had an unbelievable year and is the best player in the state at this point." Folks say Green has developed offensively and is "better than Josh Southern right now...and he has a year to grow." I have had multiple people describe him as a Ron Slay esque player and one with a nose for the ball. Finally, one coach said, "Fans may be upset now because they dont know him....but trust me, when they do, there wont be anyone complaining." (5) Tubby made the rather out of character response of essentially saying that the players simply arent doing what he says and he doesnt get them. I have never been a fan of calling out players publically....I dont see what it does positively. I understand where Tubby is coming from, but I think it is a mistake....especially at a time like now, when the team is struggling. Do me a favor and talk about issues other than whether Tubby should be fired. Feel free to talk about Tubby's actions today in the post-game conference but there is plenty of time for the firing talk and later this week, we will have some scuttlebutt on Tubby's future. But for now, dont bore America (and me) by making the same points over and over on both sides. And oh yeah, you can talk about the other topics as well. ;) Until tomorrow.....