Day 82

What an amazing 24 hours I just had. After a rough week, I'd say I deserved it. Last night after work, Leah and I headed to Kansas City on a 5:45 Southwest flight. We arrived and headed straight to Plaza III, one of our favorite Steak restaurants. The meal lived up to all of the hype. Nothing like a Kansas City strip in Kansas City. After the long meal, we headed for Lawrence, just a 45 minute drive from KC. Before we checked into out hotel, we did a quick drive through our old college town. Through campus, and down the main drag - Massachusetts St. We woke up early this morning to bright sunny skies. Like I said to Leah, "the sun always shines on Lawrence." We drove down to Mass to hit Jock's Nitch apparel store and bought some KU gear. We went for a bagel and then drove by our old apartments and took some photos. It was then, we headed to on of my mecca's, Allen Fieldhouse for the big game against Kentucky.

The Kansas/Kentucky tip time was at 11 am cst, so I told Leah we had to be there in our seats by 10:20ish. Anyone who has been to a KU game knows that you have to be there around a half hour early to make sure you don't miss any of the pageantry. There is something so great about being in a college town on the day of a big game. Whether it be football or basketball. Everyone was in their KU gear, us included. There is a buzz in the town, especially walking into the Fieldhouse. My friend Ags is a hug Ohio State fan. He said to me the other day that "there is just something about seeing those gray helmets running out of the tunnel." I feel the same way about the Jayhawks. There seriously is nothing better than seeing the team run out onto the court in the home whites, 16,300 fans screaming for more in the old barn called Allen Fieldhouse. The traditions after the national anthem is sung and the teams run back into the locker room are spine chilling. The school alma mater is sung in chorus by the whole crowd, who sway from side to side arm and arm. The alma mater ends with "Hail to thee, our alma mater. Hail to old KU" and everyone holds up their arms in a "U." Next comes the most chilling of them all, the Rock Chalk Chant. It is one of the great traditions in all of sports and to hear it live is an amazing experience. Its hard to describe in words, you just have to hear a crowd of 16,300 do it in unison. When game times hits, the Fieldhouse is at a fever pitch. Today was different than most games. You had to of the teams on the Mount Rushmore of college basketball meeting in one of the mecca's of college basketball for the first time since 1989.

The game for us was great. KU fed off the crowd early and dominated the game. This was the Brandon Rush coming out party. The Freshman small forward from Kansas City showed why NBA scouts love him. For the first time all year, he decided to be dominant and he busted out for 24 points and 12 rebounds. At one point late in the first half, Rush was actually tied with Kentucky 16-16. It was by far our most complete game. We did it on both ends of the floor and didn't turn the ball over. I saw today that we are the #1 ranked team in the country out of 300 plus D-1 teams in team defense. What I like about this team is that we seem to be improving game by game. This was a game we had to have for a bevy of reasons, and we came out and blew Kentucky away 73-46.

That being said, this is one bad Kentucky team. Other than their all American guard Rajon Rondo, who didn't do anything today, they have nothing. Their low post players wouldn't dominate the Patriot League. They chuck up more three's than any team this side of Indiana, but the difference is that Indiana makes their shots. Kentucky was 3-25 on threes today and has struggled all year. The lack of talent is disturbing. Tubby Smith should be ashamed of his recruiting efforts of late. Other than Rondo and Joe Crawford, there isn't one guy on this team worth a lick. Kentucky is like Kansas in that they should never be bad and always be challenging for a national title. With KU this year it is different because of our coaching change three years ago. Tubby has been there 10 years now. There is no excuse for Kentucky to be this bad. It is the same way I feel about Michigan Football. They lost 5 games this year and severely underachieved. That should never happen at Michigan.

Back to the day, Leah and I had an absolute blast. She had said to me how much she missed the town and how amazing it was that we lived in this small town USA city for 4 plus years. Everyone there is so nice, they drive slow, the stop for pedestrians walking across the street, and everyone waves when you let them into a lane. We left the game and walked to our car (free parking by the way - gotta love Lawrence) in 60 degree and sunny weather. During the game we discussed where we should pick up food from on the way out of town. We called old reliable on the way out of the game, Rudy's for a "pocket za" pizza pocket. This was a Lawrence delicacy that we had to have. Not only do they have the best ranch and the diet cokes with crushed ice, but the magic bar deserts are the whup. It was on the way out of town, so we picked it up, Leah cut the pieces up for me and dipped them in the ranch for me while I drove to the airport. The magic bar was a soft warm brownie with a full Reese's Peanut Butter cup baked in the middle of it. Nice.

We flew home and had a nice dinner at Rosebud with Jessica and Justin and now Leah is sleeping quietly with Casey the dog in the bedroom where I will be heading after finishing this blog entry. Its been a long but incredible day. Not many things make me happier than seeing a KU blowout win live and great food. More than anything, I am so glad I got to share it with Leah.

Song of the Day: "School Spirit" by Kanye West