The IronDog Chronicles

With the Hill in the rearview mirror, I finally grabbed some time for this post that I thought you might enjoy…

The trip resulted in a I-70-77-64-71-80 whirlwind this past week, and I was able to hit Huntington, WVA, Lexington, Champaign-Urbana, and Iowa City.

I’ve been to all towns but Huntington, WVA, and I was actually stunned
by the scenery in Huntington…Pretty cool town, and when you think of the
talent (Randy Moss, ‘White Chocolate”, O.J. Mayo, Patrick Patterson) that has come out of there over the past decade, I left highly impressed that a town of that size produced that great of talent.  Plus, how can you not respect a town that has a major thoroughfare named after Hal Greer.  That feat is as every amount of class as Ezzard Charles Parkway in Cincinnati.

With that said, I stopped at a Waffle House outside off of Lexington, I pulled a major convo on Kentucky basketball, which escalated into a fairly heated UK/UNC discussion with a guy at the counter and the cook.

After having this conversation, there are three things that I learned.

1.)  In the state of Kentucky, they think that UK was/is and always will be the class of college basketball.  Then again, I’m in Lexington, should I be surprised.
2.)  They like Billy Gillispie a helluva lot better than Tubby Smith.
3.)  If you ever get in an agitated discussion with a UK fan about UNC/UK lore, just mention Rasheed Wallace, and the discussion ends.

If you ever wonder why Rasheed earns a gold standard in North Carolina lore, drop his name to a UK fan.  His name shuts any back-talk about UNC/UK hoops down.  That
Birmingham loss is a crusher for them.  (I just wish that we could have played them in the ‘98 Final.)

I actually impressed myself with my diplomacy, but I have to admit that I stopped diplomacy when conversation turned to how strong of a players Kenny Walker and Ron Mercer were…I threw some softballs on Winston Bennett, Sean Woods, and Sam Bowie, but with those two, I just couldn’t do it.

I didn’t heat things up too bad…At an early age, I learned to not let convos get too heated in diners and Waffle Shops.  At the age of 18, I was able to slip away from a Greensboro melee with one thrown haymaker and a thrown waffle, I learned if there is ever a time to
judge how fast the gumshoed men in blue will show up, let things get out of hand in a highway or local all-night diner…;)

Also, after hitting up some series facts, this is the best article that I found from my man, Thad Williamson.

And another interesting tidbit is that we’re on for November 18th…Wow, that is early.  With that said, this blogga may be on soft ground on this one, but didn’t UNC/UK renew the rivalry for seven more seasons this past year?

This blogga really wants to run them by 20 for payback on the UNC/UK 2001 game.

P.S. I think I paid a penance for my heated anger over “Stickergate” this past year.  I shared a picnic table with a guy at the Iowa State Fair with a #30 Julian Wright/Greg Dreiling/Adonis Jordan jersey who had a Jayhawk tattoo on his right arm…That was almost as disgusting as watching the state’s prize-winning 1,250 lb. boar wallow in his
pen.

Further,
BD