Ira D. Combs Syndicated Columnist
Tri State Sports Media Service Inc.

The University of Kentucky's two marquee sports teams (football and men's basketball) head into this weekend with much anticipation for their respective seasons.

The football Wildcats are shorthanded at several positions and desperately need a little luck from the football gods, that have been so cruel to them over the years, when they invade Nashville Saturday. The basketball Wildcats are shorthanded for their opening game with Morehead State as well (PG John Wall is out and PG Eric Bledsoe is not 100%) but Cal's Cats are stacked at all other positions up and down their roster, they don't need any devine intervention, just time and patience for what appears to be one of the more entertaining basketball seasons on the horizon in its storied history.

Let's look at the gridiron Cats first.

Remember back in the ole days when our grandmothers and mothers used to take the rugs out on the back porch and beat them mercifully with a broom handle until they were clean? Well, that's about how UK and Vanderbilt's football players feel now that both have been through eight consecutive weeks of extremely physical football. Both have lost their starting quarterback plus several other key players on both sides of the ball and virtually everyone on both teams is playing at about 80% physical capacity. Kentucky may have been hit harder with the injury bug than Vandy since its top 3 offensive players (QB - Hartline, RB - Locke, WR - Cobb) didn't even take a snap last week.

Doesn't matter, nobody feels sorry for anybody in SEC football this time of year. As NFL Hall of Fame coach John Madden used to say, "You can't worry about the horse being blind or hurt, just load the wagon and see how far down the road we can go."

How far UK's football season goes past Thanksgiving weekend may be based on winning or losing in Nashville this weekend. A win gives them six victories and makes them bowl eligible. That's still a far cry from getting a bowl bid, especially this year with the present possibility mathematically of 10 SEC teams getting bowl eligible.

Lose in Nashville and the next two games look bleak at best against Georgia and Tennessee if you can't handle the Commodores. This may be the most pivotal game of the 2009 season in order to continue building the solid winning foundation Brooks has established in the UK recruits mind.

Vandy has to be tired mentally and emotionally also since there is nothing on the table to play for however, you just wish Brooks had all his bullets ready to fire away early and set a tone but sometimes you just have to play the hand your dealt and let the chips fall where they will.

Cal Takes Center Stage

Other than proclaiming Morehead State as a scary/formidable opening game foe (they were the 65th team taken in the Big Dance last March coach), John Calipari has punched all the right buttons, he has said all the right things since taking over as UK's men's head basketball coach on April 1st, he's traveled the commonwealth and been as positive an ambassador for UK in general as any coach in recent memory.

He seems to understand the grand scheme of what it takes and means to be in the position he's in.

However, the rabid UK fanbase known as Big Blue Nation won't tolerate any set backs early with the momentum he's built and the recruiting class he's brought to Rupp Arena in his first year.

The foundation for his early years at UK has been laid (Wall - Bledsoe - Cousins - Orton - Hood - Dodson) and the bar has been set high in the expectations department.

Now all Cal has to do is the following:

#1 - Wear a brown suit on game night or something to create your own identity.
#2 - No losses in November and whatever you do don't let Carolina catch you in all time wins.
#3 - Beat Louisville and Indiana.
#4 - Win SEC.
#5 - Return UK to Final Four.

Welcome to the Bluegrass Coach Cal let's all have some fun this winter.

Go to www.combsbrothersonkysports.com for more coverage of the Kentucky Wildcats and KHSAA sports.