Backtime Dateline: Rupp Arena

There are better venues for college basketball: Allen Fieldhouse and Cameron Indoor come to mind. But for imagery, color, and pure fanaticism, it's the Big Blue Nation at Rupp Arena hands down.

Twenty thousand Kentucky fans go to the game, and half of them stay to hear Coach Calipari do the radio postgame show afterward.

And unlike the aforementioned basketball museums, Rupp is still a multi-purpose facility. Last night I wheeled into Lexington and the area was swamped because of the Rascal Flatts concert.

So after I finished my prep for the game I went over and checked out the teardown at Rupp, they only had 16 hours to get the house reset for hoops.

I wonder if they have hockey games here because they had one for Saturday's Auburn-Kentucky game, without the ice. It was a chippy foul-fest that featured a couple of technical fouls, some cheap shots, and one ejection.

But Kentucky kept their composure and what once looked like a lost season is turning into a very good one. The Wildcats now have won 5 straight to go to 8-2 in the SEC, and are headed to Gainesville for the conference game of the year Tuesday against Florida.

Spy vs Spy: Cold War Edition

In Mad Magazine, it was the two mortal enemies throwing all their gadgets at each other to create as much destruction as possible. In The Americans, agents fight each other with their wits, trying to stay one move ahead in the Cold War.

***CAUTION - SPOILERS***

The second episode of the new series didn't have as much of the flavor or the music of 1981. "Phillip" and "Elizabeth" are much more in their day-to-day duties as KGB sleepers. They're working more as a team and the tension between them isn't as great as the pilot.

But the tension with their work is very real. Complete with sexual manipulation, cool disguises, and lots of violent acts. They are superspies.

Like poisoning the son of Caspar Weinberger's maid and leveraging the antidote just to get a bug installed in the Secretary of Defense's study.

They both understand their orders, the stakes of this assignment, the innocence of their captives, and that soon their own children could be orphaned if they stray off the tightrope.

Meanwhile, the FBI's tactics aren't that much different in identifying a Russian embassy worker they can turn.

Agent Stan Beeman masterminds this plan, while still exploring his intuition about his neighbors. He even brings some high-end Russian caviar over, seeing if it may expose something in his curious counterpart.

At the end, both opposing sides advanced their agenda. The KGB got surveillance in the Weinberger house, and the FBI got a body inside the Russian embassy. So the spy game's afoot, a much more nuanced battle than the one you'd find in Mad Magazine.

See Ya, Dick

Well when you're wrong, you're wrong. And not only was Dick Morris (way) wrong about the 2012 Presidential election, I was wrong about how he had nothing to lose by being a pandering assclown.

My blogpost on October 31, 2012, titled Horserace Handicappers: Double Standard Edition misread the election prediction business. Not completely, I was right that Nate Silver's reputation was on the line and that his models were based on science and almost certainly correct. But I also said that Dick Morris had nothing to lose by forecasting a Romney landslide, that he'd be back at the same racket.

Lo and behold there were consequences, Dick Morris was exiled from Fox News shortly after the election. Even the author of Here Come The Black Helicopters was too outlandish for the demographic.

Last night's video montage of Morris's greatest hits on The Last Word With Lawrence O'Donnell diminishes the significance of the move by FNC. With the ousting of Morris and Sarah Palin, Fox will be looking (theoretically) for a more moderate approach.

Lets look who's out there:

Even though Scott Brown is kind of a dolt, he has some appeal and isn't off the rails. His popularity is reasonably high, especially higher than if he were to lose a special election this spring.

I think the cable news outlets should be in a bidding war for Gary Johnson, the 2012 Libertarian candidate for President. His views are conservative and small-government enough to reflect the will of the audience, or to offer contrast. Yet, he still will go off the party line on a number of issues. He's got a mind of his own, which makes for good TV.

Then there's Chris Christie. Maybe his ambition hasn't allowed him to step aside to be a 7-figure talking head, but it's clear he can opine in any forum. It would be easy for him to step aside as Governor of NJ (think something innocuous like "health reasons"). He is capable of throwing bombs at either party if that's what Fox is now going for.

But let's not forget that Morris's second career begins this evening on Piers Morgan Tonight, when the Columbia grad and former Clinton advisor becomes the most refined guest on that show since every gun nut came out of the woodwork after Newtown.

Let's see if Morris tries a new approach, or continues to spout senselessness. I'm sure there's a contract waiting for him somewhere.

Gonna Be Swamped

Looking forward to spending a February Wednesday in the lobby of a college football stadium.

As far as non-event TV coverage goes, I have some some experience. The days are grueling and claustrophobic. I've worked 9 NFL Drafts, 5 NBA Drafts, and one MLB Expansion Draft. But this will be my first National Signing Day.

Florida is expected to have the #1 recruiting class in the nation so the network sent their #1 field producer (yeah, right).

So we'll be watching a fax machine, gathering information and reactions, and feeding the beast.

I can't talk about our meetings with the Florida coaches or the Recruiting Nation gurus, just know that my Wednesday will begin (well) before sun-up. The nation's #1 recruit Robert Nkemdiche, a defensive end from Loganville GA, will announce at 7:30 AM ET. Florida is in the mix, though Ole Miss is expected to be the choice.

That kicks off nearly 12 hours of coverage. I've already researched our content for tomorrow, now I've got to make sure we have food and there's a bathroom nearby. You know, producer stuff.

Anatomy Of A Red Flag

There was a fascinating game-within-the-game moment in the 4th quarter of the Super Bowl. Niners head coach Jim Harbaugh made a real winning gamble and should be commended as such.

With under 8 minutes to play and the Ravens leading 31-29, Joe Flacco found Anquan Boldin on a 2nd & 8. Boldin put his head down and was tackled right around the line to gain. He got a favorable spot, and after the measurement Baltimore was awarded a 1st down.

CBS showed one high-angle, non-definitive replay, and Nantz & Simms went on to a human interest story on Flacco with a token hat tip to Boldin's effort on the play. They made no mention of the spot, and if the crowd was pensive about it we certainly didn't see it.

So what would make Jim Harbaugh, at ground level, challenge the call? He was sticking his neck out in a huge moment in the biggest game of his life, risking a time out he couldn't afford for a possible 3rd down & a half-yard.

Harbaugh obviously trusted his staff, the eyes in the sky. But how does that all work? CBS didn't really give them a definitive look, and they had to challenge before the next play.

Does the team receive access to all 30+ camera feeds that the network uses to broadcast the Super Bowl? If so, do they assign someone to watch each of them? Then how do they get the word to the head coach to pull the trigger on the red flag?

Fascinating stuff.

My guess is that there's a protocol in place. There's a specific assistant coach or quality control or operations guy who has to use the right verbiage (think "code red" or something like that). Then they have to get the word to a higher-up assistant who has direct access to the channel on Harbaugh's headset.

And most of all, Harbaugh has to know the risks and alert the officials that they're going to challenge the play. That triggers a TV timeout, and allows the production team to generate all the pertinent angles.

The call is ultimately overturned and Harbaugh's gambit is a winner. But again, the schematics of the decision is something that can't be underestimated. Leave it to a coach that thinks of everything.

Baltimore converted the 3rd & short, a back shoulder completion to Boldin. The drive resulted in a FG which made the game 34-29. San Francisco's would-be game-winning drive obviously came up short. And you can question Jim Harbaugh's temperament or play-calling. But not his guts, or his command of all phases his team.

Feeling Powerless?

The NFL is kind enough to give the Super Bowl participants an extra week off to prepare. Because of the intense focus and the hype, everything is heightened when the soup's on. 

Everything football related is scrutinized and over-analyzed. The teams live in the familiar structure of a 60-minute football game so that they're not distracted by all the extraneous nonsense that comes with being in the Super Bowl, and the supersized halftime. But nothing prepares you for a power delay.

Even with a 28-6 lead, playing defense on a 3rd & 13, John Harbaugh completely lost it on what looked to be an NFL rep in about the 26th minute of a 35 minute delay.

And you feel for him. Power surges and half-hour delays are forgettable tap-dances that happen at the Tad Smith Center in Oxford, Mississippi (I was there two weeks ago), not at the SuperDome during the SuperBowl. 

Meanwhile, the Niners were completely on their heels. The Jacoby Jones kick return let the air out of them coming out of halftime. But the second halftime (as it were) gave SF a chance to recharge their batteries. 

Bill Cowher on the CBS set even questioned whether they should go to Alex Smith. You wonder whether it crossed Jim Harbaugh's mind for a split-second (he seems to think about everything).

Harbaugh (Jim) didn't waver and Kaepernick was brilliant. What happened in the game's final three minutes was remarkably similar to the end of the NFC Championship game, but on the other side: wasted time on the clock, misspent timeouts, confusion right up until the end of the play clock, turnover on downs with no time left to do anything of substance. Does that about cover it?

It was also very similar, on the flip side, to San Fran's 41-34 win at New England when they blew a 28-point lead.

Congrats to the Ravens, but tomorrow on Backtime: The game's most fascinating moment, and why Jim Harbaugh is worth every cent.

Groundhog Day At Iowa State University

Welcome to Ames, Iowa, the home of Iowa State University and the famously inaccurate Iowa Straw Poll.

Every year the trip to Ames worms its way onto my calendar. Not that life's so terrible, it's a good basketball team in a really good basketball venue at Hilton Coliseum. But you can cut and paste the above picture for just about every Iowa State trip I've ever made during hoops season.

There's going to be temperatures in the teens, wind gusts in the twenties, and a thin-to-medium layer of snow and/or ice on the roads. It will be bleak, but a sliver of sun can change your whole mood.

I say this mantra about most Big 12 towns, it's not too bad once you get there. A late dinner at the West Towne Pub yielded some surprisingly good bar food and a solid local IPA, Hop Wrangler from the Peace Tree Brewing Co. in Knoxville, IA. And of course the lunch staple is Wallaby's, one of the best college town bar and grilles in the nation.

Another thing you can count on at Iowa State is they'll win at home. Especially since Fred Hoiberg returned to coach his alma mater. And they're having another fine season, even though Royce White left school early for the NBA - though he hasn't played in the NBA - but that's a story for another blog post.

On this trip, the Cyclones defeated Baylor for their 19th straight home win, and 11th straight home win in the Big 12. And Kansas even lost at home today, so that's pretty impressive.

They call it Hilton Magic, where Iowa State repeatedly stymie opponents. There was even a sign declaring "six more weeks of Hilton Magic." And it snowed 3+ inches outside while the sellout crowd cheered another Cyclone home win. Groundhog Day indeed.