Final Four Watch Party - Kentucky v. UConn at Ale House in Coral Gables (South Miami)

Well, the Cats have made it this far, so they might as well go ahead and win the whole thing. They face off against UConn and Kemba Walker in a Maui invitational rematch where UConn handed UK its worst loss of the season. Can't say I blame the Cats for being out of it in that game though; what 18 year old do you know would be able to focus on playing basketball while they're in Hawaii? This is a different story, however, as the Cats have a lot more riding on this game, heading for their 8th National Championship. And let's face it, at Rupp Arena, they're running out of room to hang those measely "Final Four" banners, so we'll settle for nothing less than one that reads "2011 National Champions."

Since we're on such a roll, let's meet up again at Ale House in Coral Gables this Saturday, April 2, 2011. The game tips off at 8:49, so come on through and wear blue.

Final Four Baby!!!

The Cats beat UNC and made it to the final four for the first time since winning the championship in 1998. They face off against UConn on Saturday at 8:49 pm for a rematch with the team who handed the Cats their worst loss of the year earlier in the season. For those of you not traveling to Houston, check back here later in the week to see where we'll be watching the game on Saturday. Alehouse seems to be working pretty well, so that is the frontrunner at the moment. Go Cats!

Kentucky v. North Carolina - Watch Party at Ale House Coral Gables

Ooooooh C-A-T-S, cats, cats, cats! Huge win by Kentucky against the top number 1 seed overall, Ohio State. The wildcats take on their neighbors to the east who wear a lighter shade of blue and have gum on their shoes. The game is a rematch of an early season meeting where UNC pulled out a close win at home. We'll be watching at Ale House in Coral Gables to keep the win streak going and make a push for the Final Four. Game starts at 5:00. Wear blue, see you there!

Kentucky v. Ohio State Watch Party at Ale House in Coral Gables

Kentucky takes on Ohio State in a sweet sixteen battle tomorrow night March 24, 2011 at 9:45. The Cats will have their hands full as the school usually known for its football team has a loaded basketball squad as well. We'll be watching an the relatively new Ale House on Miracle Mile in Coral Gables. Wear your blue. See you there.

Kentucky v. Ohio State

What a great weekend of basketball. The Cats went to work and made it to the Sweet Sixteen. Now they face the overall #1 seed Ohio State on Friday at 9:30 on CBS. I'll be posting in the next day or so with all of the information you need on where to watch Kentucky take on Ohio State in Miami and South Florida. Stay posted.

This Week's Events in Tampa

Courtesy of KSR

Wednesday, March 16th

Team Open Practice
1:30pm at the St. Pete Times Forum

In preparation for their game on Thursday, Kentucky will hold an open practice Wednesday in Tampa. The FREE 40-minute session will start at 1:30pm and will take place at the St. Pete Times Forum.

Reception for retiring University of Kentucky President Lee T. Todd, Jr.
Hyatt Regency Tampa
211 N. Tampa St.
Tampa, FL 33602
7:00pm

Join retiring University of Kentucky President Lee T. Todd, Jr. and First Lady Patsy Todd for a special reception in Tampa. The complimentary event will be held in the City Center area of the hotel, located on the 1st floor next to the lobby. Attire is business casual. Parking is available on site for $10 per car or in the Fort Brooke City Parking garage around the corner from the hotel.

Please let us know if you plan to attend. Reservations can be made online at www.ukalumni.net/hyattreception, by calling 1-800-269-ALUM or at 859-257-7161. Questions? Contact Jill Smith at 859-257-8906 or jhsmith@uky.edu This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Thursday, March 17th

The Luxury Box is the official gathering place for Wildcats Fans!!
490 Channelside Dr - right across the street from the St. Pete Times Forum
Tampa, FL 33602
(813) 347-9938
Open at 9:00am each morning. Choose indoor or outdoor seating or a special tent area for all of your game day refreshments.

Pep Rally!!!!!
11:00am at The Luxury Box

The UK cheerleaders and pep band will be there to get us fired up for the tournament!!!!!

Game Time!!!!!
UK vs. Princeton
St. Pete Times Forum
approx. 2:45 pm

Several local alumni have tickets for sale. Cick here for details.

Single Session Tickets: Tickets for this week were initially only available in an all-sessions book at $231 each, but organizers put single-session tickets on sale Wednesday morning at 9 at a cost of $77 per two-game session. Tickets are available through the St. Pete Times Forum and at www.ticketmaster.com. A few may still be available through the UK Alumni Association. Visit www.ukalumni.net/tickets. You can also try sites like StubHub and Craig’s List. Or hang out after the game before ours and buy a ticket from someone who is leaving.

Thursday and Saturday

Fans who can’t make it to the games will be at Beef’s South Tampa, of course!

South Tampa

2819 South MacDill Avenue
Corner of Bay to Bay Blvd and MacDill Avenue
(813) 835-9464

Cats in Tampa!

Well, we called it. The Cats play in Tampa on Thursday March 17 at 2:45, and on Saturday, March 19 if they win. All of you UK fans in SoFlo (the Big Blue Peninsula) try your best to be there and show the country why they call it the Big Blue Nation.

UK v. Alabama - watching at Hooters in Coral Gables

Cats take on Bama for the Sec semifinals in another rematch with a team that beat the cats during the regular season. Come join all of your fellow UK fans in Miami at the new Hooters in Coral Gables. Great place to watch the game with outdoor seating and 75 degree weather. Game starts at 1:00. See you there!

UK v. Ole Miss

Ok, since the game is at 3:30 today, it's obvious that not many people can get out and about. If you're stuck at your desk like me, you can catch the game on ESPN3.com. After the Cats win today, we'll meet up with the other Kentucky basketball fans in Miami and watch the Cats play the winner of Alabama and Georgia (currently in OT) tomorrow at 1:00.

Cats Likely to Play in Tampa!

Great news for all Cats fans in SoFlo: the cats will likely be playing the first set of NCAA games in Tampa! See CBS Sports fort the article.

- As a personal aside, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank my best friend Craig for getting married in Johnson City, TN during the first round of NCAA games. Craig, I am honored to be your best man, but come on man! I haven't seen the Cats play in 2 years! Not to mention you scheduled your wedding for the same weekend as the Nascar race in Bristol (a/k/a the only time of year anyone ever goes to Johnson City), which makes hotel prices of JC's finest (Motel 8 and Red Roof Inn) rival the likes of the Gansevoort and Fontainebleau in South Beach. Sigh. Don't worry, I'll still be your best man, Big C.

Cats Fans Around the World

Great articles in the Lexington Herald and KSR on Cats fans around the world. Hopefully we can gather enough support to one day have our own steady spot for UK fans in Miami to come watch all of the games. For ease of reference, check out WhereToWatch.com, which lists all of the UK viewing parties nationwide and allows you to search by zip code for the nearist watch party.

UK v. UT Watch Party at Beer & Burger Joint in Mary Brickell

Come watch the Cats take on the dirty Vols this Sunday at noon (March 6, 2011) at your favorite burger and beer joint in Miami at the aptly named Burger & Beer Joint in Mary Brickell Village. This is a bigger game than usual because UK is playing for second place in the SEC East and a bye in the SEC tournament. Plus, we always like to beat our foul-colored neighbors to the South and get up for the game anytime we get a chance.

So come join some of the other UK fans transplanted in the southernmost region of the U.S. for a good day of drinking, eating, and Vol hating.

Cats Win a Nail-Biter

Congrats to the Cats for winning a close one last night against Vandy and blowing my previous theory out of the water. They are now 1-6 in games decided by 5 points or less.

We had a very small group attend the Hooters gathering Tuesday night, but hope to have more on Saturday at noon to watch the Tennessee game at a location to be decided soon. Let me know if you have any suggestions.

Cats 13 Points Away From Being 26-2

One interesting stat I noticed while looking at UK's season to date was that 6 of UK's 8 losses are by a combined total of 13 points. Those losses are:

UNC - Lost by 2
Bama - Lost by 2
Ole Miss - Lost by 2
UF - Lost by 2
Vandy - Lost by 4
Arkansas - Lost by 1(OT)

The positive way to view this is by saying that the Cats have had a very good chance to win in almost every game they've played. A made free throw here or a loose ball there could very well have changed the outcome of any of those games.

The contrary view would be that UK can't win close games. Being an optimist, I tend not to follow this view, but here is a telling stat: Kentucky has lost all of its games decided by 5 points or less. Namely, those games listed above. Those that follow UK know that the Cats have had trouble closing out games this season, but somehow, in the games that are seemingly close that UK wins, UK seems to bump the score up a bit at the end.

I like to view these stats as UK stepping on the gas during the close games they win and narrowly missing out on the close games they lose. What do you think?

Oh, and by the way, Happy "Jorts Day" everyone. Our friends at Kentucky Sports Radio are doing a tribute to Josh "Jorts" Harrelson the lone UK senior on senior day. Check it out for yourself: www.kentuckysportsradio.com.