OK, the last bowl game of the year -- at least for me. Texas A & M v. N. Carolina. I used to really love the Orange Bowl, but it hasn't been the same since it moved from the original stadium and they stopped having the really wild halftime shows.
OK, the last bowl game of the year -- at least for me. Texas A & M v. N. Carolina. I used to really love the Orange Bowl, but it hasn't been the same since it moved from the original stadium and they stopped having the really wild halftime shows.
The 80's countdown continues.
ReplyDeleteNumber 69, REO Speedwagon, "I Can't Fight This Feeling"
I remember Billy Gillespie's last team at UK, which was one of the worst teams the Cats have ever had. But that team had Jodie Meeks and Patrick Patterson. It won at Tennessee, and at Alabama. I think it went 8-8 in the SEC. It would crush this team. To be honest, I'm not sure this team has anyone who could play for that team.
ReplyDeleteHere are the main players on the 2008-09 Wildcats:
ReplyDeleteJodie Meeks
Patrick Patterson
Perry Stevenson
Darius Miller
Michael Porter
Now Porter was the big problem on that team -- he was terrible, and that was a huge problem for the Cats all year. They had no point guard. But the other four guys would certainly start on this team.
Number 68: Journey, "Open Arms"
ReplyDeleteA & M spent a lot of time complaining about how they should have been in the playoff -- they better show up for this Orange Bowl.
ReplyDeleteAggies in white; Carolina in blue. I agree with those choices.
ReplyDeleteCorey Hart, "Sunglasses at Night." At some point in 1984, I was driving through McCracken County at night and listening to this song on the radio -- and that was the absolute coolest I ever was in my entire life.
ReplyDeleteThis was number 67.
DeleteApparently three of Carolina's best players are skipping the game. See, I think in that situation your invitation should be revoked. I think we should go back to the old days where players voted on whether or not to go to a bowl game. If they don't want to go, they shouldn't go -- and that's fine. But if they vote to go, everyone has to go and do their best to win.
ReplyDeleteNumber 66: Prince, "Little Red Corvette"
ReplyDeleteNumber 65: Pat Benatar, "Love Is a Battlefield."
ReplyDeleteIn Knoxville, the number-7 Vols lose to Alabama by 71 to 63. That is hilarious.
ReplyDeleteNumber 64: Thompson Twins, "Hold Me Now." See the comments above about English hipsterdom.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, in Starkvegas, the University of Kentucky Wildcats HAVE DEFEATED THE MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY BULLDOGS 78 TO 73 IN DOUBLE OVERTIME!!!
ReplyDeleteThe Cats stormed back into the game in the second half after Coach Calipari was ejected and Bruiser Flint took over the coaching. They were led by Dontaie Allen of Pendleton County H.S. in Falmouth, Kentucky. Allen went 8-14 from the field, including 7-11 on three-point shots. He had 23 points to lead all scorers and was the difference in the game.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I believe I had that.
DeleteUK is now 1-0 in SEC play. Tennessee is 1-1. The Cats' next game is against Vandy at home.
ReplyDeleteNumber 63: Mr. Mister, "Kyrie."
ReplyDeleteAll-time wins list:
ReplyDelete1. Kentucky: 2,320
2. Kansas: 2,310
Number 62: Asia, "The Heat of the Moment." I remember about 20 years ago I was listening to the Sports Junkies and their producer started playing this song in the background -- and they stopped the show and cranked it up for about 30 seconds. And who can blame them?
ReplyDeleteBeautiful song. This song's album was among the first set I got from those eight-records-for-99-cents music services. I signed up for those things several times over the course of my youth, and I never felt like I got ripped off. In fact, I still have a number of the records--but not Asia.
DeleteDouble-OT games are rare. I think this was the first time the Cats have gone to double overtime since they won at Texas A & M in 2015.
ReplyDeleteAt the Orange Bowl, A & M leads 7-0 with 9 minutes left in the first quarter.
ReplyDeleteNumber 61, REO Speedwagon, "Take It on the Run."
ReplyDeleteBest opening lines of '80s pop radio.
DeletePomeroy had the Cats winning this game 67-66, so they stay at 52 in his rating.
ReplyDeleteNumber 60, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, "Relax"
ReplyDeleteNumber 59, Guns 'N' Roses, "Sweet Child O' Mine."
ReplyDeleteSomewhere, there is a parallel universe where Guns 'n' Roses and Nirvana keep putting out great albums all through the 1990's, much like Led Zeppelin did in the 1970's. And that is a very different universe.
DeleteMy breathy karaoke performance of this song got the 10th reunion of the HHS Class of '86 off to a blistering start.
DeleteNumber 58, Men at Work, "Down Under"
ReplyDeleteOn Ken Pom, UK moves from 357 in luck to 354 in luck.
ReplyDeleteNumber 57, Survivor, "Eye of the Tiger."
ReplyDeleteNumber 56, Cyndi Lauper, "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun." OK, the countdown is getting pretty serious now.
ReplyDeleteHere is how I would rank UK teams in the 1980's, from best to worst:
ReplyDelete1984 (Final Four) (SEC Tournament Champs)
1980 (Sweet 16)
1986 (Elite Eight) (SEC Tournament Champs)
1983 (Elite Eight)
1988 (Sweet 16) (SEC Tournament Champs)
1981 (Round of 32)
1985 (Sweet 16)
1987 (First Round)
1982 (First Round)
1989 (Missed the tournament)
Kentucky's loss to LSU in the 1986 Elite Eight is the most disappointing loss of my life as a UK fan. But there were a lot of painful losses in the 1980's.
DeleteHere's the thing: I was never able to enjoy that 1986 team. I never believed in Eddie Sutton. I never believed in Kenny Walker. I had been burned in 1984 and I wasn't ready to commit in 1986. And then they won and won and won, and they beat LSU three times, and they were one game away from meeting U of L in the Final Four, and so I was ready to believe. And it turned out that my instincts had been right all along.
DeleteGeorgetown was the most painful loss to me. I watched that game at Pennyrile State Park, and I've finally had enough positive experiences of catfish buffets and warm banana pudding to overwrite my feelings about that place.
DeleteThat was pretty bad, but I never really thought we were going to beat Georgetown. Right up until the end, I thought we were going to beat LSU in 1986.
DeleteNumber 55, Bon Jovi, "You Give Love a Bad Name"
ReplyDeleteA & M leads 7-3 with 11:54 left in the first half.
ReplyDeleteNumber 54, Wham!, "Careless Whisper"
ReplyDeleteNumber 53, Scandal featuring Patty Smyth, "The Warrior."
ReplyDeleteLove it.
DeleteNumber 52, Eddie Money, "Take Me Home Tonight"
ReplyDeleteLove it.
DeleteA & M leads 10-6 with 7 minutes left in the half.
ReplyDeleteNumber 51, Bonnie Tyler, "Total Eclipse of the Heart." I have always liked this song in a non-ironic way. I don't care what anyone else thinks.
ReplyDeleteYou and Tony Kornheiser.
DeleteNumber 50, Pink Floyd, "(Another Brick in) the Wall" It really feels like this song wandered in from another countdown.
ReplyDeleteWith 4:56 left in the first half, UNC leads 13-10. A & M has been pretty feeble so far.
ReplyDeleteNumber 49, O.M.D., "If You Leave." At one point, I thought about showing some of the old John Hughes movies to my kids, but I realized that (a) they would be embarrassed to watch them with me, and (b) they would find all of the characters in the movies to be pretty horrible. And they're probably right.
ReplyDeleteThat was a great-looking prom.
DeleteHaving pulled UK through to two victories today, the retired 1974 desk is kicking back with one of the made-for-TV movies we didn't get to last year, Roll, Freddy, Roll!, starring Tim Conway as a roller-skating, recently divorced computer programmer for a military contractor.
ReplyDeleteNumber 47 (I missed a song somewhere): John Parr, "St. Elmo's Fire." I have a lot to say about this movie, but not enough time to say it now.
ReplyDeleteNumber 46: Spandau Ballet, "True." Another Anglophile hipster song. I just couldn't pull off this whole attitude, and I really wanted to.
ReplyDeleteAt the half, A & M leads 17-13. I don't think anyone watching this thinks that we really missed anything by leaving A & M out of the playoff.
ReplyDeleteNumber 45: Dexy's Midnight Runners, "Come On Eileen." I always hated this song. But on YouTube, you can find a video of Sugarland and Sara Bareilles doing it, and their version is fantastic. It changed my whole opinion of the song, and caused me to realize that I really just hated the video.
ReplyDeleteNumber 44: Kim Carnes, "Bette Davis Eyes."
ReplyDeleteThis seemed like it was going to go down as one of the most enduring pop songs of all time, and it really didn't. I'm really surprised you can hear, for example, "Brass In Pocket" more often on the radio than this one today.
DeleteNumber 43, John Mellancamp, "Jack and Diane." I underestimated this song when it came out.
ReplyDeleteNumber 42, Pet Shop Boys, "West End Girls." Again, I really, really, really wanted to like this stuff, and I just couldn't do it. There was a lot of stuff happening over in the UK during the early 1980's -- maybe even more than was going on in the United States -- and I never really understood it. To this day, people my age who were young conservatives back then have strong disagreements over exactly what we wanted Reagan and Thatcher to do, while people my age who were on the Left have strong disagreements about what they disliked about Reagan and Thatcher. These disagreements have exploded in the last ten years in ways that have had major implications for the USA and the UK. That's a lot to put on the Pet Shop Boys, but I'm doing the best analysis I can.
ReplyDeleteExcellent.
DeleteNumber 41: 'Til Tuesday, "Voices Carry." Years after this song came out, I became a big fan of Aimee Mann. I strongly recommend "Live at St. Ann's Warehouse," which is fantastic, and which has great versions of "Wise Up" and "Save Me."
ReplyDelete"Save Me" opens with the line "You look like a perfect fit / For a girl in need of a tourniquet." That may be my favorite line in any pop song ever.
Number 40: J. Geils Band, "Centerfold." I think we all remember this song very well. Personally, I preferred "Freeze Frame."
ReplyDeleteNumber 39: Prince, "Let's Go Crazy." "'Cause in this life, things are much harder than in the Afterworld / In this life, you're on your own." Another of my favorite lines.
ReplyDeleteThis song would be in my top 5 for the 1980's.
DeleteAbsolutely.
DeleteNumber 38: Night Ranger, "Sister Christian." One of the things I liked about pop culture in the 1980s is that everyone was constantly falling in love.
ReplyDeleteNumber 37: Huey Lewis and the News, "Power of Love." "Back to the Future" is one of the few 1980's movies that my kids (mostly) liked.
ReplyDeleteWe watched that this summer, and I was surprised how much I didn't like it.
DeleteNumber 36: Steve Perry, "Oh, Sherrie." I really liked this video when it came out.
ReplyDeleteGreat video.
DeleteCarolina leads 20-17 with 8 minutes left in the 3d quarter. Heels playing hard without some of their best players. Florida should take a lesson. Heels also don't have a silly Ram cartoon on their helmets. NCSU should take a lesson.
ReplyDeleteNumber 35: Cars, "Drive."
ReplyDeleteNumber 34: REO Speedwagon, "Keep On Loving You."
ReplyDeleteNumber 33: Tommy Tutone: "867-5309/Jenny." I was wrong about "Working for the Weekend." This song came out in November 1981, and it was actually my favorite song for that Holiday season.
ReplyDeleteNumber 32: AC/DC: "Back in Black."
ReplyDeleteNumber 31: Soft Cell, "Tainted Love." Now I really did like this song -- a lot. So there were glimmers of overlap between me and the Anglophile hipsters. I also really liked ABC's first album.
ReplyDeleteThe 15-minute version was a WKU dance favorite.
DeleteAnd that's it for me. I'm tired, and I'm old, and I'm not going to watch the rest of this game -- or follow the rest of the countdown -- just for a sake of closure.
ReplyDeleteA good 80's song https://youtu.be/1LWhHXztkAU. Suzanne Vega put out a live album this year and the version of "Some Journey" is excellent. It's a solid album, just never got a chance to write it up.
ReplyDeleteAfter many, many years of listening to Suzanne Vega, I have decided that "Some Journey" is my favorite of her songs.
DeleteMy favorite Suzanne Vega songs:
Delete1. Some Journey
2. The Queen and the Soldier
3. Left of Center
4. Calypso
5. In Liverpool
6. Men in a War
7. Tom's Diner
8. Bound
9. Freeze Tag
10. Small Blue Thing
In 1994, Suzanne Vega did an a cappella version of "Tom's Diner" for BBC-TV, which you can now see on YouTube. That's my favorite of her videos.
DeleteSpeaking of 80's music the latest Miley Cyrus album has an interesting take on 80's music. Usually when you hear stuff inspired by the 80's it's stuff that was on alternative radio in the 80's. She goes all in on radio rock of the 80's and it works well. She even partners with Billy Idol https://youtu.be/xeEtfHz5D3c.
ReplyDelete