Awaiting the Madness of March

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Basketball fans in Kentucky have got to be giddy with the fine meal they are being served right now. With the conference tournament appetizers, high school sweet 16s for the first course, and the main course NCAA tourney just around the corner; things are heating up. There will be plenty of exciting basketball to watch.

Louisville Looks to Solidify High Seed

While the Cards won’t play their first game in the Big East tourney until Thursday, Rick Pitino will be watching closely to see who they will face. The Cardinals will face the winner of West Virginia vs. Providence/Marquette game on Wednesday. The idea of a third meeting between the Cards and Mountaineers is exciting and scary, but come this time of year anything can happen. The Cardinals are looking at a worst-case five seed in the tourney should they lose  in their first game, but a Big East Championship could give the Cards a two seed. I see the Cards marching to the final but losing to a resurgent St. Johns team that will be playing at home.

Kentucky Needs SEC Wins to Bolster Resume

The Wildcats go to Atlanta off their most important victory of the year at Tennessee. Coach John Calipari will be hoping that the momentum of winning an SEC road game will transfer to the conference tournament. The Cats will either play South Carolina or Ole Miss on Friday. The Cats could use a couple of wins if not the tournament championship to get a good seeding for the NCAAs. I like Kentucky’s chances at winning the tournament and I’ll take them over Mississippi State in the final.

Kara Wright goes to the basket in the 7th Region final. PHOTO: COURIER JOURNAL

Girls Sweet 16 Set to Kick Off in Bowling Green

The Kentucky high school girls’ basketball bracket is filled, and it is shaping up to be one of the more exciting Sweet 16s in a long time. Ten of the top 20 teams in the state have made the trip to Diddle Arena at Western Kentucky University. duPont Manual will certainly be the favorite, the Lady Crimsons have played at top form all season and have yet to lose to a Kentucky team. Marion County is also an excellent team with three future Division I players, and they potentially face Manual in the semifinals. Call me a homer all you want, but Coach Stacy Pendleton is the hardest working coach in the state and has a tremendous group of young ladies this year and I have to pick them.

Aaron Rodgers Takes a Bite Into the Ville

Multiple sources tell me that Super Bowl MVP Aaron Rodgers was at Molly Malone’s at Bardstown Road on Friday night. Rodgers was accompanied by former Green Bay Packers teammate and Cardinal Brian Brohm, whom he befriended while standing in Brett Favre’s shadow. Patrons were restricted from making a lot of interaction with the NFL star but I was told that many were signaling to Rodgers with his signature championship belt motion. No trouble came about, and the two enjoyed a pleasant night out.

Louisville Soccer Team Chooses an Alternative to the College Spring Break

Many college students in Louisville will be counting down the hours, minutes, and seconds, until they swarm various beaches in search of parties and good times. Instead of participating in the traditional spring break hooliganism, Coach Ken Lolla and 26 Louisville soccer players are headed to Brazil to build two water purification pumps. The team will be playing five games in Brazil and will be teaching the local residents how to set up and operate the pumps that will provide clean water to countless residents of Sao Paulo’s infamous favelas. This is another tremendous move on the part of Lolla, who continues to do nothing but good in representing Louisville.