My 2009 Halloween: Scary jack-o-lantern and throw in some Miley Cyrus

Above is the jack-o-lantern I carved for this Halloween.  I thought it turned out pretty well.  I made it easier on myself than the previous two years.  A good decision.

We only had 6 trick-or-treaters this year.  At first I thought it was because of my scarier than scary jack-o-lantern.  Not really.  I didn't find out the real reason of our trick-or-treater deficit this year until a Princess, a girl dresssed as a Princess anyway, said "Miley Cyrus has a concert here tonight; that's why many aren't out tonight".  Ahh Haa!  It's Miley's fault.  Now I have a boatload of candy because of her.  Thank you, daughter of 'Achy-Breaky'.

Miley made the most of her trip to Louisville, apparently.  After entertaining the tweens of the 'Ville, she entertained herself at one of our local watering holes.  Yikes!!  A portion of her evening is below.


Miley Cyrus - I Love Rock N' Roll - Phoenix Hill Tavern Bar (Louisville, KY) - Oct. 31, 2009



Which is scarier: My jack-o-lantern or Miley Cyrus on stage in Louisville?

Calipari's 2009-10 Kentucky Wildcats #4 in first AP and #5 in ESPN/USA Today Coaches polls

They need to give out an award every year called the MIT (Most Improved Team).  I feel pretty confident that UK would win that award this season.  John Calipari coming in with the #1 recruiting class on any planet on any universe.  Yes, I checked.  The Cats are playing loosey goosey and are having fun while playing fast and usually good basketball for pre-Halloween.

The polls just came out this morning and UK is ranked #4 by the Associated Press {including 3 first place votes} and #5 on the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll.  Not bad for a team that played in the NIT last year.


Associated Press Poll 2009-2010

1. Kansas (55)
2. Michigan State (5)
3. Texas (1)
4. Kentucky (3)
5. Villanova
6. North Carolina (1)
7. Purdue
8. West Virginia
9. Duke
10. Tennessee
11. Butler
12. Connecticut
13. California
14. Washington
15. Michigan
16. Ohio State
17. Oklahoma
18. Mississippi State
19. Louisville
20. Georgetown
21. Dayton
22. Georgia Tech
23. Illinois
24. Clemson
25. Minnesota



2009 USA TODAY/ESPN Top 25 Preseason Coaches' Poll
Outlook by USA TODAY's Jack Carey.

1. Kansas (27-8)
2. Michigan State (31-7)
3. Texas (23-12)
4. North Carolina (34-4)

5. Kentucky (22-14)
Outlook: Coach John Calipari's arrival in Lexington has already paid dividends with a standout recruiting class, led by backcourt prodigy John Wall and post player DeMarcus Cousins, although Wall's eligibility for the start of the season is in question. F Patrick Patterson is back to pace the veterans. There should be no NIT talk around the Bluegrass State this season. Opens: Nov. 13 vs. Morehead State (ESPNU, 6:30).

6. Villanova (30-8)
7. Purdue (27-10)
8. Duke (30-7)
9. West Virginia (23-12)
10. Butler (26-6)
11. Tennessee (21-13)
12. California (22-11)
13. Washington (26-9)
14. Connecticut (31-5)
15. Michigan (21-14)
16. Oklahoma (30-6)
17. Ohio State (22-11)
18. Minnesota (22-11)
19. Mississippi State (23-13)
20. Georgia Tech (12-19)
21. Georgetown (16-15)
22. Dayton (27-8)
23. Louisville (31-6)
24. Clemson (23-9)
25. Syracuse (28-10)

Download the 2009-2010 Kentucky Wildcats Basketball Schedule in Microsoft Excel

Every year I always like to not only have UK's basketball schedule, but have it in Excel so I can add columns to it.  I've done this again this year. The only difference this year is that I am sharing it with others.  For FREE no less.  That's how us UK fans are, right? 

Just click on the image below to download the UK's basketball schedule in Microsoft Excel:

Enjoy the schedule and the season.

Richie Farmer may run for governor of Kentucky in 2011

Richie Farmer, the beloved member of 'The Unforgettables' University of Kentucky basketball team of the early '90s and the current Agriculture Commissioner of Kentucky, told the Associated Press today that he will do some preliminary political polling and may run for governor of Kentucky in 2011.

Currently, democratic Gov. Steve Beshear is the only major candidate in the governor race thus far with Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson as his running mate.  If Farmer runs he would be on the Republican ticket.  Good luck to Richie, excuse me, Mr. Farmer.

Soon we may be saying, "Put Richie in for Governor!"

I was a sophomore at UK the season of the "The Unforgettables".  He along with Sean Woods, John Pelphrey and Darren Feldhaus were huge fan favorites who almost upset Duke in 1992.  Don't get me started on that game.  Anyway, great season and great memories.  Heck, the season was so amazing that a DVD was made and sold of the season.  I still have the DVD.  It will mean even more if Farmer can win the title of Governor of the great state of Kentucky.   I for one will be pulling for him.

I need a new jack-o-lantern design for this Halloween

I need your help. I need a new design for this year's jack-o-lantern for Halloween.  I don't think my wife would like a Calipari jack-o-lantern, so that's out.  Anyway, I would like any of your suggestions.  My previous designs are below.

This is the first design that I did in '04 and '05. I was going for the big scary face. After two years I moved on.

In '06 I did this one. I turned the degree of difficulty up a little. The little kids seemed to really like the bat.

In 2007 I did the most difficult so far, "The Headless Horseman". I felt I had to throw in the bat again. It's all about the kids.

So, if there are any suggestions you could give me, I would greatly appreciate it. I am open to about anything, so bring it on. Maybe jack-o-lanterns you've done or others you have seen. You can send me pictures, patterns, or even your own description of great ideas. Thank you.

Funny joke: How I learned to mind my own business

I was walking past the mental hospital the other day, and all the patients were outside shouting,

'13...13...13.'



The fence was too high to see over, but I saw a little gap in the planks, so I looked through to see what was going on...



Somebody poked me in the eye with a stick!



Then they all started shouting,

'14...14...14'...

Book review: "The Lost Symbol" by Dan Brown

This is the third in the Robert Langdon series by Dan Brown.  If you've read Dan Brown's other Robert Langdon novels, "Angels & Demons" and "The Da Vinci Code", you're probably expecting the third in the series to be a fast moving, tour-de-force of ancient wisdom and secrets. You would be 100% correct.

"The Lost Symbol" reads like a movie with colorful characters and Robert Langdon is again running against the clock. This time he finds himself in Washington, D.C. in search of the Ancient Mysteries hidden by the Masons. As in the other Dan Brown books, this is a matter of life and death with his mentor, Peter Solomon, in dire need of Robert to solve the puzzle before it's too late.  Oh yeah, and of course the love interest for Robert as well.

While reading the book I felt that it was great, but that it seemed too close to the other two in the series. But with further thinking, I came to the conclusion that how else could he do it?  To make his stories as interesting and heart-stopping as possible he needs to have a unique and controversial topic, a life-or-death situation depending much on time, new and smart characters and a pace that rivals any other novels.  He has done that again with "The Lost Symbol", a great page-turner that has many unforeseen twists.  It makes you think about your beliefs and the need for more research on the matter

There are however, two things you need to know and do before reading:

1) Remember that this is just a novel and nothing to take personally.  He says he writes his stories to push readers to open their eyes to other possibilities and to get people to discuss these topics.  This book may make you want to research Masons more as well as the Bible.

2) Have a pencil and paper handy.  There may be items you will want to look up as well as puzzles and other little things you may want to solve or figure out for yourself.

All of that being said, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who liked the other two books in the series.  As long as you follow the above 2 "rules" you will thoroughly enjoy this novel.  The only thing that took away from this great read is previous reading the first two in the series, "Angels & Demons" and "The Da Vinci Code".  They are so good and cast such a big shadow, it is hard for Dan Brown to escape from it.  He has done a remarkable job in doing that with "The Lost Symbol" and after reading it you can see why it took him years to get it finished.  We will probably have to wait many more years until his next one.  Be patient.

PGA coming back to Valhalla in Louisville in 2011 and 2014

Good news, Kentuckiana sports fans. The PGA just announced that the PGA Championship and the Senior PGA Championship are coming back to Valhalla Golf Course.

The Senior PGA Championship will occur in 2011 and the PGA Championship will occur in 2014.

Like many I've gone to every PGA event at Valhalla. From Mark Brooks winning the PGA over Kenny Perry, the stormy Senior PGA in 2004 with Hale Irwin won, Tiger's showdown with Bob May to the United States winning the Ryder Cup last year. It is a great venue and the PGA know how to put on a well-run tournament.

My Valhalla highlights are getting to the magnificent course for the first time, in 2004 when the course was flooded and walking the course as the officials were trying to get the tournament back on, Tiger's comeback in 2000 and the Ryder Cup where the U.S. team pulled off the win.

I am so happy to have the PGA coming back to Louisville. Do you have any Valhalla stories?

Calipari unleashes CoachCal.com, new Facebook page and book

from wildcatdcorner.com

UK Coach John Calipari is proving to be the busiest man in sports. He is not only recruiting and coaching, but he is seems to be techno savvy and is everywhere on the internet. I mean everywhere. Not only does the prolific tweeter have almost half a million (as of today) on Twitter, but he now has a website and a new Facebook account. Oh, did I mention he has a book coming out soon.

The new website coachcal.com contains articles, videos and a blog. It is free, but it has various memberships to sign up for which does cost money. The proceeds will benefit the Calipari Family Foundation For Children. When the season starts it ought to be a great place to learn all things UK basketball.

Become a fan of Coach Calipari's Facebook page. There are almost 20,000 fans of that page already.

Lastly, he has a book coming out on Sept. 1 called Bounce Back: Overcoming Setbacks to Succeed in Business and in Life.

Like myself you probably can't wait for basketball season to start. With the about outlets you can get your Calipari fix in many different ways.

John Wall coming to Kentucky

This morning it was announced that John Wall, the No. 1 rated high school player in the country will go to Kentucky. If you are a UK fan, like myself, you are pretty much beside yourself with the possibilities of next basketball season. The roster for next year, even if Jodi Meeks doesn't return, is pretty incredible. It is definitely the #1 recruiting class in the country.























This roster is brought to you by John Clay from the Lexington Herald-Leader. You can see his post here: http://johnclay.bloginky.com/2009/05/19/updated-uk-basketball-roster/

Notice from the roster the five freshmen: DeMarcus Cousins, Jon Hood, Daniel Orton, Eric Bledsoe & John Wall. It is definitely the Fab 5 of the 21st century. I joke that with this roster the NCAA will announce that Kentucky will have to play in the NBA next season.

Now we have to see whether Jodi Meeks will return to Kentucky or not. I hope he does, but it wouldn't be the end of the world if he pursues his NBA dreams this year. Go Cats!

I'll leave you with a little taste of John Wall.

General Quarters & Tom McCarthy Will Try It Again In The Preakness

General Quarters, with Julien Leparoux aboard, didn't have a good race at the Kentucky Derby (he came in 10th). The muddy track conditions were hard on the horse. After the race GQ had a mud ball in his nostril the size of a tennis ball. He also was bumped at the gate, like most other of the horses in the race.

Now both are off to run in the Preakness. His odds are 20-1, the same as when odds were first released for the Kentucky Derby. This time out he will have to go against many of the same contenders, including Derby winner Mine That Bird. However, now the overwhelming favorite is Rachel Alexandra, the filly who won the Kentucky Oaks by 20 lengths.

I hope that the race conditions for the Preakness are better than the Kentucky Derby. Good luck to family friend Tom McCarthy and his horse General Quarters.

General Quarters Wins Toyota Blue Grass Stakes & Will Go On To The Kentucky Derby

The "upsets" are over for General Quarters, the horse who is owned and trained by Tom McCarthy, the retired principal from Louisville. He has had a great run this year and has deserved a spot in The Kentucky Derby. What makes his story more unique is that he is 75 and General Quarters is the only horse in his stable. He had had many offers for GQ, but his answer back is always "You don't sell a dream". It is a great story and one that will be known very soon by millions of people.

Photo: Anne M. Eberhardt

What makes the story so cool for me is that Tom McCarthy is a long time family friend. We couldn't be happier for him and his family. It is so surreal to have this happen and needless to say we all can't wait until the first Saturday in May.

To learn more about General Quarters go to http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/thoroughbred/general-quarters/2006?source=BHonline

or "Retired principal hopes to catch Derby break"
http://www.kentucky.com/285/story/757872.html

John Calipari is Kentucky's new basketball head coach

It is official. The wait is over (that didn't take too long). John Calipari, former Memphis coach, says "I want to go there" and now is the new Kentucky basketball coach. He reportedly will be paid in excess of $5 million a year. He and Pitino will try to coexist in the same state. More details to come.

Here We Go Again Kentucky Fans, We Need To Find A New Basketball Coach

Kentucky is once again looking for a new basketball coach. They just canned Billy Clyde Gillispie after just two years on the job. UK President lee Todd and UK Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart said that it didn't have much to do with wins and losses, but more to do with what he did and didn't do off the court. Part of me still thinks that he should have received more time as coach, but there are a few things that I was not aware of until today.

Among these miscues by Gillispie were that he missed basketball camps and social functions that the head coach of UK has led for the past 50 years. There are also reports that past and current players really aren't too fond of him. I think everyone knows that the media didn't care for him either. This is seen loud and clear by looking at the video in this article. There are obviously many in Lexington that are happy to see him go.

It is a real shame that it didn't work out between Gillispie and Kentucky. He seemed to be the perfect fit for Kentucky. A guy with no family could give his heart and soul to his team and the university. That obviously didn't happen. I don't know what is in Gillispie's future, but I do wish the best for him.
Now what for Kentucky? Well the same names as two years ago are popping up: Billy Donovan, Travis Ford, Tom Izzo and others. As I'm writing this Donovan hnas supposedly said "No" and that he is staying at Florida. I know many fans who would like for our new coach to be Travis Ford. I've always liked Travis Ford. He went to UK when I was there. He is an intense guy and a good coach. he probably would be a good fit, but we shall see. A lot can happen in a short period of time.

Here's to a quick and painless search. Put us out of our misery soon. Also, let's hope that we aren't in this same situation in two years where we have to "run out another coach" out of Lexington.

Twitter

I'm now on the internet social phenom that is called Twitter. For most it is very addictive. It is mini-blogging . . . short bursts of words no more than 140 characters long at a time. You probably know all of this.

You can learn a lot from people you "follow" on Twitter. Give it a try and try not to waste too much time.

http://twitter.com/ClayInKy

Yo Yo Yo Spacy Joaquin Phoenix on Letterman Announces New Music Career

Joaquin Phoenix went on Letterman on February 11, 2009 and announced he is retiring from acting and is starting a new hip hop career. If that wasn't enough he shows up on the show doing a Grizzly Adams impersonation on heroin. He was very lethargic and non responsive most of the time. This was a huge change from Joaquin's appearance on Letterman in 2006. His 2006 and 2009 Letterman appearances are below so you can see the huge difference.

Honestly I don't know if this is a trick or not. Is he pulling a joke on everyone a la Andy Kaufman or did his life just plummet before our eyes? Doesn't he have friends and an agent to prevent this debacle from happening on national TV? I really like the guy and I know he has an odd sense of humor, so who knows? We know his brother obviously had a drug problem. Let's all hope he is fine and he was just bored and wanted to "liven" things up.

The new hip hop artist Joaquin on Letterman in 2009:


A very sane Joaquin on Letterman in 2006:

Book Review: Stone Cold by David Baldacci

This is the third book in The Camel Club series by David Baldacci. A killer is trying to take out all of the former Triple 6 members. This is kind of disheartening for "Oliver Stone" because he once was a member of the secret group. Stone with the help of The Camel Club and Annabelle Conroy and even her father will try to get things back in order again.

This book isn't as interesting as the previous two in the series. There is an unexpected death of one of the main characters, however. A decent enough story to get the series moving. I hoping that the fourth book Divine Justice will be a little more intriguing. A series that I still truely enjoy.

Again though, I do recommend this series if you are into spy stuff.