National Championship Game Thread

[OFFNY]

Yup, 67-59 final.

I expected the outcome, but still egh.

That was the EXACT score that I had in the OH yahoo pick' em pool for the championship game !!! Except that I had North Carolina over Marquette, in a reverse of the 1977 National Title Game.

[BaltimoreTerp]

Don't worry guys this title will be vacated soon. I HATE Coach CAL and his dirty money

Pretty much.

The bad guys won.

[Pedro Cerrano]

Well, Kentucky was the most talented team in the country from day 1 and on the final day they remained in that position. Perhaps a Fab Melo Syracuse squad could have hung with them but this title was the Wildcats' to lose. Now 5 of their players will commit to the NBA and Cal will go back and bring in 4-5 more 1-and-dones. The nature of the sport these days...right or wrong, it works for Cal and he will be long gone from Lexington by the time this banner gets taken down.

[ccbird]

Pretty much.

The bad guys won.

The bad guys won me money. Thank you bad guys. Now, that that is out of the way yahoosports needs to go ahead and get on with that article that exposes Calipari and his shadiness.

[clapdiddy]

The bad guys won me money. Thank you bad guys. Now, that that is out of the way yahoosports needs to go ahead and get on with that article that exposes Calipari and his shadiness.

...which seems to follow AFTER he leaves the team he is coaching...so that THEY pay the price.

[glenn__davis]

I don't know. The media has been pretty in the tank for Calipari for the past few years. I think this one stays. Now it certainly would not be surprising to me if there are reasons why it should NOT stay, but I think a lot of people will look the othe way.

[EagleOriole]

I don't know. The media has been pretty in the tank for Calipari for the past few years. I think this one stays. Now it certainly would not be surprising to me if there are reasons why it should NOT stay, but I think a lot of people will look the othe way.

You know that the other guy had 13 secondary violations in his last spot...not many of them are clean...everyone hates on Cal and I get it, but he did a pretty great job of taking star athletes and making them play as a team. That team was the most selfless team offensively that I have seen in some time. He did a nice job of COACHING them and he doesn't get enough credit for his coaching.

[ThisIsOurHouse]

Pretty much.

The bad guys won.

If the 2009 2010 UK team won the national championship then I could honestly agree with you. But this team is far from being a villain. Every player on that team put the team in front of themselves. If you listen to interviews from players like Davis or MKG you would see that this UK team is probably one of the most loved teams we've had in Lexington in awhile.

I don't know. The media has been pretty in the tank for Calipari for the past few years. I think this one stays. Now it certainly would not be surprising to me if there are reasons why it should NOT stay, but I think a lot of people will look the othe way.

IF Coach Cal did anything wrong with this team then I could see the media downplaying it. Like I said earlier this team is a very likable group of young men. If it was John Wall and Co. different story, but it is nearly impossible to hate on MKG or Davis as a person. The media tends to pick and choose things based on likability.

Anyways I'm glad Darius Miller won a championship in his last game as a Wildcat; he has really been the glue to stick this team together after the Gillespi years.

[Frobby]

First of all, congratulations to the Kentucky players, coaches and fans. The Wildcats were clearly the cream of the crop in 2012.

That said, why do some sports fans feel the need to start a riot when their team wins a game? That's twice in three days that Lexington has had to deal with terrible behavior by a subset of its fans. It reflects very poorly on the school when this happens.

[beaner]

The obligatory "The banner will be taken down" jokes aside, as much as we all know Calipari is shady, I like this group of kids, and they don't seem like bad guys like some of his players in the past.

Congrats to those kids.

[glenn__davis]

You know that the other guy had 13 secondary violations in his last spot...not many of them are clean

Sure, many of the great coaches pull some shady stuff. Even Coach K has. There aren't many who have totally avoided any controversy re: violations.

I'm pretty sure Illinois didn't need to vacate any wins, though.

IF Coach Cal did anything wrong with this team then I could see the media downplaying it. Like I said earlier this team is a very likable group of young men. If it was John Wall and Co. different story, but it is nearly impossible to hate on MKG or Davis as a person. The media tends to pick and choose things based on likability.

Again, I've got nothing against the team or the players. Before Calipari was there I would tend to pull for Kentucky a lot.

But either way, the likeability of the players shouldn't be a determining factor in whether or not to expose wrongdoing. But you're right, in many cases it probably is.

[BaltimoreTerp]

If the 2009 2010 UK team won the national championship then I could honestly agree with you. But this team is far from being a villain. Every player on that team put the team in front of themselves. If you listen to interviews from players like Davis or MKG you would see that this UK team is probably one of the most loved teams we've had in Lexington in awhile.

That's a fair point. I have no quarrel with those kids. They're all great players, and Davis is going to be a monster in the NBA.

I'm fine with those players winning, and with "Kentucky" winning. I'm not fine with a guy who has two vacated Final Fours getting another chance and winning.

[ThisIsOurHouse]

First of all, congratulations to the Kentucky players, coaches and fans. The Wildcats were clearly the cream of the crop in 2012.

That said, why do some sports fans feel the need to start a riot when their team wins a game? That's twice in three days that Lexington has had to deal with terrible behavior by a subset of its fans. It reflects very poorly on the school when this happens.

I'm glad you asked this question because as a college student I am very embarrassed by the behavior of my fellow classmates. The first hour or so was fun, people were in the street chanting and celebrating. Pretty much that whole deal. Once beer bottles started being thrown and couches started being burned I left and watched it all from the attic of my friends house. It's a shame because I talked to some people who were afraid to go out on the streets Monday. State street was really the only street where all the mess happened. Their were other areas in Lexington that celebrated appropriately that night.

Pretty much the only answer to your question I can give you is alcohol. On Saturday the cops let us have open containers and all was well until people started acting irrationally after the game. Monday cops started handing out PI's and MPI's. Also they made dozens of arrests. I would say they did a pretty good job controlling the riots on Monday. Yes there still were burning couches and all that but there were photographers who captured pictures of the people lighting the fires. The police will probably release a report soon of all those involved.

It may be hard to believe but the Lexington police department did an excellent job this weekend. They were tough when they needed to be. All you had to do was just stay out of everything and you were still able to hang out on your front lawn and enjoy the experience. Unfortunately they were people who wanted to push the limit and it is a shame that they did so.

Either way this weekend really reflected poorly on the University. This weekend was a great opportunity to get our university on the map in a positive image with our support of our athletic teams. Instead we just look like a bunch of degenerates. I can promise you that the actions of the individuals involved do not represent our student body appropriately.

I am excited that Kentucky won the national championship and now for the seamless transition into baseball season.

[crissfan172]

Either way this weekend really reflected poorly on the University. This weekend was a great opportunity to get our university on the map in a positive image with our support of our athletic teams. Instead we just look like a bunch of degenerates. I can promise you that the actions of the individuals involved do not represent our student body appropriately.

Don't worry about it. Anybody that can't see that these are the acts of the minority aren't worth a second thought.

[Orioles4Life21]

I don't know about anybody on this team, but I do know that Syracuse has something very fishy going on with top recruit Nerlens Noel and I hear Kentucky does too. I am a Georgetown fan and we are the other team in the running for Noel and it just frustrates me how things go in recruiting these days. Nerlens clearly fits at GTOWN best because we are Big Man U afterall. Nobody develops a center like the Hoyas do.