As an amateur bloggerist, er, whatever, it is incumbent upon me to attempt to provide an insightful, possibly witty post about something like carpenter ants, last night Game of Thrones premiere, or, I don’t know, how the Puddinette has sworn to curse to the afterlife and beyond if I don’t stop snoring like a hippopotamus with a head cold on a nightly basis. Unfortunately, today there will be no such post.
I’m much to preoccupied with today’s sporting topics to write a decent post. As if UK tipping off for an 8th NCAA National Championship in just under two hours isn’t enough (more on that in a minute), reports from Major League Baseball are saying that the Reds either have already signed or are close to signing Joey Votto to an extension though 2023.
Considering it was nearly a foregone conclusion that Votto would be traded mid-season because, as the 2010 MVP, retaining his services long term would be cost prohibitive for a small market team like the Reds, this is incredibly exciting news. Of course, it could mean that the Reds won’t have to money to pay Brandon Phillips what he’s going be asking at the end of contract this season, but if you can only keep one, I suppose keeping the league MVP is a good place to start.
So, with Opening Day a mere three days away and now this, it’s hard not to think about baseball constantly.
Then again, there is the whole matter of the NCAA Tournament Championship game tonight. The Wildcats are favored, and let’s all be honest here, it’s completely their game to lose. Still, anything can happen in one game (see: 1980 Olympic Gold Medal Hockey game), so it’s a bit early to start measuring for that new banner for Rupp Arena.
None of that is my problem, though. My problem is that I’ve only got about an hour and a half to decide if I’m going to watch the game. I know, I know, how can I not? But if you’ll recall, I’m not the luckiest penny when watching UK basketball games. I haven’t seen a game since the end of the SEC Tournament, and that’s worked out pretty well so far. Then again, can I really not watch the game with an 8th Championship hanging in the balance? What could I possibly do with myself during that time if I didn’t, and could I look at myself in the mirror as even a moderate UK fan in the future?
But…but.
What if I watched the game and the unthinkable happened (words I will not even commit to print)? My son, a hardcore member of the Big Blue Nation Youth, is shivering with delight as tip-off gets closer. His eyes are alight with the kind of religious fervor typically only seen in perspiring young men at country tent revivals and old ladies watching hypocritical televangelists begging for Nanna’s Social Security check. He knows about my, um, history watching UK play on TV. I’m not sure I could live with myself if I had to watch that excitement in his eyes change, to be leveled with a look of bitter accusation*.
I guess I need to make up my mind soon. Either way, though, I have to make sure I’m ready at the end of the game. Win or lose, I’ve got an old loveseat in the basement that I’m prepared to lug upstairs and out into the streets of suburbia. Because one way or the other, there’s probably going to be furniture set on fire in the streets of the Commonwealth tonight*. And like they say, when in Rome…
Regardless, as you can see, my mind is pretty busy tonight. Not time to put together a post.
Except, um, I guess I already wrote one.
Good luck, Wildcats! Do us proud!
Pud’n
*I really wish that was a joke
Puddintopia 