Afuera

Well, it's over, and that's good for my dear blog readers. They (all 3 of them) don't care about the 'Cats, and instead want bike content.

I can't pass up posting this from a column from Gene Wojciechowski from ESPN.com.

...except at Kentucky, where, said Wildcats junior guard Joe Crawford, "people expect us to be in the Final Four every year." Those expectations, no longer realistic in an age of Winthrops and George Masons, ARE why Smith should think long and hard about a change in hoops venue.

Hmmm, the expectation of the Final Four every year isn't realistic. I totally agree with that. There is no team since Duke of the early '90s and UCLA of the '60s-'70s that has visited the Final Four every year. Kentucky fans don't expect a FF every year; they expect a FF on a similar rate as that of the Big-5: UK, UNC, Duke, UCLA, and KU. Those are the 5 winning-est programs and Kentucky should perform on par with those programs. I found this on good ol' Wikipedia , records for total FFs:

• 16 North Carolina, UCLA
• 14 Duke
• 13 Kentucky
• 12 Kansas

Ah, the Big 5. Tubby's, no UK's, last FF was in 1998, using Rick Pitino's recruits. UNC was also in the FF that year. Since then:

• UNC- '00, '05 including Nat'l Championship
• UCLA-'05
• Duke-'99, '01 including Nat'l Championship,'04
• KU- '02, '03

I guess 'Cats fans have too high an expectation. UNC has 2 with a Championship, UCLA 1, Duke 3 and a Championship, and KU 2. And Tubby? None. Are expectations are just too high? We should be satisfied with making the tournament, right? It's '07. This year's is over for UK. We have 2 more this decade.

I did a little more research:

1990s:

• UK- 4 Final Fours/2 Championships
  
• UNC- 4 Final Fours/1 Championship
• UCLA-1 Final Fours/1 Championship
• Duke-5 Final Fours/2 Championships
• KU- 2 Final Fours

1980s:

• UK- 1 Final Four
  
• UNC- 1 Final Fours/1 Championship
• UCLA-1 Final Four
• Duke-3 Final Fours
• KU- 2 Final Fours/1 Championship

1970s:

• UK- 2 Final Fours/1 Championship
  
• UNC- 2 Final Fours
• UCLA-7 Final Fours/4 Championships
  
• Duke-1 Final Four
• KU- 1 Final Four

1960s:

• UK- 1 Final Fours
  
• UNC- 3 Final Fours
• UCLA-6 Final Fours/5 Championships
  
• Duke-3 Final Fours
• KU- 1 Final Four

1950s:

• UK- 2 Final Fours/1 Championship
  
• UNC- 1 Final Four/1 Championship
• UCLA-
  
• Duke-
• KU- 3 Final Fours

1940s (+ '39):

• UK- 3 Final Fours/2 Championship
  
• UNC- 1 Final Four
• UCLA-
  
• Duke-
• KU- 1 Final Four

As college sports have become more important the Big Programs have had even more success. Their tradition and focus lead them to get the best coaches and best players. Right now UK doesn't have the best players and the results show. He also has no recruiting class to speak of, and after these last two weeks, has no chance at gaining good late-year pickups. It's all bad!