Proud Of My Cats!

I could not be more proud of a team as I am the UK WILDCATS this season. They don't have the talent of John Wall or Big Cuz...yet we are still headed to the SWEET 16! They have struggled this season with our share of ups and downs but they have each improved and it's paying off! No matter what the remainder of the tournament holds for this CATS team...I am totally proud of them!!!!!! Especially Josh Harrellson who proves what you can accomplish when you stick with it! He has had an OUTSTANDING Senior Year is by far the most improved player! U GO BOY!
We have a tough game ahead this week but I have total faith in my boys! GO CATS!!!




From UKathletics.com

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - It's not taking Brandon Knight long to build an impressive resume in the NCAA tournament.

A game-winning shot in the closing seconds of his debut. A career-best 30 points in his next game, helping Kentucky back into the round of 16.

Mark of toughness. Less than 48 hours after his only basket helped the fourth-seeded Wildcats survive their tourney opener against Princeton, Knight led an 11-0 run coming out of halftime and made six free throws in the final minute to close out a 71-63 victory over fifth-seeded West Virginia.

Not bad for a freshman who's coping with the pressure that comes with playing in the NCAAs, while also carrying the hopes of one of college basketball's most storied programs on his shoulders.

"Definitely for me I feel a lot more anxiety, especially coming into today's game, not playing so well (Thursday). But just playing these type of games where you know if you lose your season is done, I think guys really come out and they fight a lot harder, they go after rebounds a lot tougher," Knight said.

"It kind of changes the game," the 6-foot-3 guard added. "Guys play tough throughout the season, but I think they step it up a notch in the tournament."

So has Knight.

And, Kentucky coach John Calipari isn't surprised, comparing the young star's work ethic to that of Derrick Rose, who played for Calipari while leading Memphis to the Final Four as a freshman.

"This young man works like he does. ... Any time you spend that kind of time, you expect good things to happen. If you're trying to get over, if you're cutting every corner, if you're trying to fool around in practice, the minute it goes wrong in the game, you expect it to continue," Calipari said.

"If you're a hard worker and you spend the time, you expect good things to happen, even if I miss two. Everybody says, `why would you give him the ball when he didn't make a shot?' Because I knew he expected to make the last one. ... And he's not afraid to miss the last shot. You can't be afraid to miss it, either."

Kentucky (27-8) advanced to the East regional semifinals in Newark, N.J. against either No. 1 seed Ohio State or eighth-seeded George Mason. It's the second trip to the round of 16 in as many seasons under Calipari.

West Virginia, which reached the Final Four a year ago by beating Kentucky in the regional final, led 41-33 after closing the opening half on a 22-7 run. But Kentucky scored the first 11 points coming out of the break and eventually wore down the Mountaineers (22-12).

Josh Harrellson delivered eight of his 15 points during the pivotal stretch of the second half that Kentucky used to gain control. Terrence Jones overcame a slow start offensively to finish with 12 points and 10 rebounds, and each one of Knight's four assists produced easy baskets for teammates.

"He was really good," West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said of Knight.

"I thought we did a much better job the second half, but there's a reason why everybody recruits those guys; they're pretty good," Huggins added. "Terrence Jones made some huge plays for them, some huge baskets. They're talented ... really really talented."

For Calipari, it was just his second victory in 10 matchups with close friend Huggins. The two embraced after the final horn.

"I just wished him good luck," Huggins said. "I told him go win the thing."
(from me: I knew I loved that Coach!)

Although the game was billed as a rematch of last year's East regional final, it really didn't feel like one.

Da'Sean Butler was the big gun on West Virginia's Final Four team and Kentucky is rebuilding after having five players - four freshmen - selected in the first round of the 2010 NBA draft, including No. 1 overall pick John Wall.

Knight missed his first seven shots before delivering the winner in Kentucky's 59-57 victory over Princeton on Thursday. He drained a pair of long 3-pointer to begin Saturday's game and never backed off.

"I felt more confident," said Knight, who was 9 of 20 from the field and made 9 of 10 free throws. "My teammates continued to have faith in me even though I didn't play such a great game (against Princeton). They still had faith in me, and they really helped me out, finding me and stuff like that. And they really stepped their level of play up, which got me more shots."

Knight scored 14 of his team's first 21 points, and Kentucky was in relatively good shape at the half despite not getting much production from it's other two freshmen starters - Jones and Doron Lamb - or junior Darius Miller. Lamb sat most of the opening half with three fouls and remained on the bench to start the second half, when the Wildcats used the 6-foot-6 DeAndre Liggins to try to slow down Mazulla.

The plan worked.

Kentucky opened the second half with an 11-0 run, taking the lead when Harrellson rebounded an airball and scored to bring Kentucky fans to their feet. Knight hit a layup and a 3-pointer during the surge, while also opening things up inside for the 6-foot-10 Harrellson, who left the game with a little over two minutes to left with a cut near one of his eyes that required four stitches.

UK 2011 Tournament Pictures


IS IT JUST ME OR DOES COACH HUGGINS LOOK JUST LIKE ALEC BALDWIN? LOL































TO MY LOUISVILLE FAN FRIENDS....

THERE IS ALWAYS NEXT YEAR.



OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO C A T S CATS! CATS! CATS!




DAY 13

LOVE FIGHTS FAIR

If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. – Mark 3:25

Like it or not, conflict in marriage is simply inevitable. When you tied the knot as bride and groom, you joined not only your hopes and dreams but also your hurts, fears, imperfections, and emotional baggage. From the moment you unpacked from your honeymoon, you began the real process of unpacking one another, unpleasantly discovering how sinful and selfish each of you could be.

Pretty soon your mate started to slip off your lofty pedestal, and you off of theirs. The forced closeness of marriage began stripping away your public facades, exposing your private problems and secret habits. Welcome to fallen humanity.

At the same time, the storms of life began testing and revealing what you’re really made of. Work demands, health issues, in-law arguments, and financial needs flared up in varying degrees, adding pressure and heat to the relationship. This sets the stage for disagreements to break out between the two of you. You argued and fought. You hurt. You experienced conflict. But you are not alone.

Every couple goes through it. It’s par for the course. But not every couple survives it.

So don’t think living out today’s dare will drive all conflict from your marriage. Instead, this is about dealing with conflict in such a way that you come out healthier on the other side.

Both of you. Together.

The deepest, most heartbreaking damage you’ll ever do (or ever have done) to your marriage will most likely occur in the thick of conflict. That’s because this is when your pride is strongest. Your anger is hottest. You’re the most selfish and judgmental. Your words contain the most venom. You make the worst decisions. A great marriage on Monday can start driving off the cliff on Tuesday if unbridled conflict takes over and neither of you has your foot on the brakes.

But love steps in and changes things. Love reminds you that your marriage is too valuable to allow it to self-destruct, and that your love for your spouse is more important than whatever you’re fighting about. Love helps you install air bags and to set up guardrails in your relationship. It reminds you that conflict can actually be turned around for good. Married couples who learn to work through conflict tend to be closer, more trusting, more intimate, and enjoy a much deeper connection afterwards.

But how? The wisest way is to learn to fight clean by establishing healthy rules of engagement. If you don’t have guidelines for how you’ll approach hot topics, you won’t stay in bounds when the action heats up.

Basically there are two types of boundaries for dealing with conflict: “we” boundaries and “me” boundaries.

“We” boundaries are rules you both agree on beforehand, rules that apply during any fight or altercation. And each of you has the right to gently but directly enforce them if these rules are violated. These could include:

1. We will never mention divorce.
2. We will not bring up old, unrelated items from the past.
3. We will never fight in public or in front of our children.
4. We will call a “time out” if conflict escalates to a damaging level.
5. We will never touch one another in a harmful way.
6. We will never go to bed angry with one another.
7. Failure is not an option. Whatever it takes, we will work this out.

“Me” boundaries are rules you personally practice on your own. Here are some of the most effective examples:

1. I will listen first before speaking. “Everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger” (James 1:19).
2. I will deal with my own issues up-front. “Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:3)
3. I will speak gently and keep my voice down. “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Proverbs 15:1).

Fighting fair means changing your weapons. Disagreeing with dignity. It should result in building a bridge instead of burning one down. Remember, love is not a fight, but it is always worth fighting for.

TODAY'S DARE

TALK WITH YOU SPOUSE ABOUT ESTABLISHING HEALTHY RULES OF ENGAGEMENT. IF YOUR MATE IS NOT READY FOR THIS, THEN WRITE OUT YOUR OWN PERSONAL RULES TO "FIGHT" BY. RESOLVE TO ABIDE BY THEM WHEN THE NEXT DISAGREEMENT OCCURS.

(In your Love Dare Journal or a notebook)
If your spouse participated with you, what was their response? What rules did you write for yourself?