Close but no cigar at the North Texas Final Four

Shabazz Napier and the UCONN Huskies foil Kentucky’s plans for a North Texas Final Four coronation!

With Kentucky positioned to win its ninth national championship at the North Texas Final Four, it appeared that the state of Kentucky was poised to make college basketball history for a third consecutive spring.

If the Wildcats had delivered against the Huskies, it would’ve been the Commonwealth’s third Naismith Trophy in three years (In 2012 Kentucky was triumphant in New Orleans and in 2013 Louisville was crowned king in Atlanta.).

In fact, it seemed to many experts and fans that it was already a done deal. Kentucky was going to win number nine. After all, if “little brother” Louisville had handled UCONN easily in AAC play, “big brother” Kentucky should have no problem with the Huskies. Right?

As it turns out, UCONN never got that script, and they cruised to victory on the back of Shabazz Napier, who tallied 22 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds and 3 steals in his final game for the Huskies.

The championship defeat was the source of much sadness for Kentucky fans but was also a cause for celebration for some Louisville supporters.

Of course, not all Louisville fans were cheering against Kentucky. I, for example, committed the Cardinal sin and cheered for Big Blue back in April. In fact, Wade and I flew to North Texas to document the scene and to attend the championship game in Jerry World.

But even though Kentucky came up just short this season, the state represented itself admirably. Louisville and Kentucky were ranked in the top five going into the 2013-2014 college basketball season, and they ended the NCAA tournament among the top five teams as well.

Next year let’s just hope that the NCAA finally gets it right and puts U of L and UK in opposite brackets. Because if U of L and UK ever meet in the finals you can bet that Wade and I will be there filming it!

HOW TO BUY THE DVD ONLINE?

The DVD and Blu-ray are available from amazon.com as well as our web store.

WHERE TO BUY THE DVD IN A STORE IN LOUISVILLE?

In Louisville most of the DVDs at Walmart and Krogers have sold out and will not be reordered until the start of the college basketball season. We have heard that Alumni Hall in the Mall of St. Matthews is still carrying copies. The DVD can also be rented or purchased at Wild and Wooly Video, the best little video store in Louisville if I may say so myself.

Surreel Films Interview

Director Rory Owen Delaney talked with Surreel Films Chris Ritter about The Rivalry: Red V. Blue.

Here is the podcast in case you missed its original broadcast on Crescent Hill Radio in Louisville, KY a couple weeks back. Rory talks about the movie, the kickstarter campaign and the chance at making Kentucky film history! For more info on Surreel Films click here.

Denny Crum, Joe B. Hall + Adam Lefkoe

Last week’s Red V Blue production shoot couldn’t have been more fruitful. The week started out with an interview with Coach Denny Crum, who led the Louisville Cardinals to two national championships. The next day we sat down with Coach Joe B. Hall, who led the Kentucky Wild Cat to a national championship both as a coach and a player. Then we were off to Paintsville in eastern Kentucky where we interviewed some local diehard fans. Friday night we finished off the trip by interviewing WHAS sports anchor Adam Lefkoe in Louisville, who rocked out some great stories in between his TV spots. Stay tuned for further developments.

Kentucky Basketball

Wade came across this cool compilation of facts about Kentucky basketball on ESPN Classic’s website. Here I have picked out some of my favorites. Did you know that the state of Kentucky is second only to California among states with NCAA championships? California has 15; Kentucky 9.

The Louisville List

1) Louisville is undefeated when it scores a 100 points or more. They are 88-0.

2) The Cardinals scored a school-record 132 points against George Mason in 1994, posting a 132-87 win.

3) Freedom Hall was named “Best floor to play on” by ESPN’s College Basketball magazine in 1995.

4) Did you know that Denny Crum is an avid reader and collector of Louis L’Amour westerns?

5) Pervis “Never Nervous” Ellison holds the school record for dunks in a game. He slammed it through seven times against South Alabama in 1988.

6) Louisville has had two players go in the first round of the NBA draft twice — in 1989 with Pervis Ellison (1st overall) and Kenny Payne (19th) and in 1994 with Clifford Rozier (16th) and Greg Minor, 25th.

The Kentucky List

1) Basketball at Kentucky reportedly started when W.W.H. Mustaine called together some students, took up a collection totaling $3 for a ball and told them to start playing. There was no official coach from 1903 until 1910. Managers ran the team.

2) The Wildcats have the unique distinction of having a tie on their all-time record. In 1918, a game was ruled a tie after a scorer’s error was discovered after the game.

3) Kentucky longest home-winning streak is 129 games. It started in 1943 and ended in 1955. Since then, the longest home streak has been a mere 33 games from 1992 to 1994.

4) The Wildcats have had just one losing record in 72 seasons. Kentucky went 13-19 in 1989, its first losing mark in 61 seasons.

5) Kentucky had five players selected in the first rounds of the 1996 and 1997 NBA drafts. Antoine Walker (6th), Tony Delk (16th) and Walter McCarty (19th) went in 1996 while Ron Mercer (6th) and Derek Anderson (13th) were selected in 1997.

6) Long-time Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp is second on the all-time win list with 876. Only North Carolina’s Dean Smith has more victories with 879.

Denny Crum Interview

Big News: We are interviewing the one and only Denny Crum this July! During his reign Coach Crum guided the Louisville Cardinals to 2 NCAA championships (1980, 1986) and 6 Final Fours. Do y’all have any questions for the legend?

Final Four Shoot

Our dream final four match-up between the Louisville Cardinals and Kentucky Wildcats did not disappoint. And neither did the documentary shoot. We talked with a ton of Louisville and Kentucky fans and even a couple former players. Derwin Webb spoke to us outside of the Super Dome in New Orleans, and Matt Simms bumped into associate producer Aaron Mikel while he was filming in Louisville. In New Orleans we filmed interviews on both Friday and Saturday on Canal Street and throughout the French Quarter. 1 a.m. Friday night we hit Bourbon Street in the pouring rain to talk with some of the Final Four’s most devoted fans and party animals. The next day we hung outside the Super Dome on Loyola Avenue and spoke with fans en route to the historic final four match-up. And along with fan interviews we also documented some of New Orleans’ best street performers. In Shelbyville, KY, Aaron Mikel visited the Main Street Barbershop before heading to Louisville and filming around the city. Below are some production still photographs that producer P.G. Banker snapped on the big day in New Orleans. Thanks to everyone who participated and congratulations to the University of Kentucky for polishing off the Kansas Jayhawks and winning the national championship!

Rupp Arena 2011 Red Vs Blue Fan Photos

Congratulations to producer Wade Smith and Wildcat nation last week for the convincing win of the Louisville Cardinals. I guess I’m eating my crow at this point, but actually this crow doesn’t taste half-bad and thank God there is always next season. But enough of my drivel, producer Wade Smith went out with a great crew to Lexington to film fan interviews outside Lexington, KY’s infamous Rupp Arena. Here are a few of my favorites. I posted more photos on our FB page so for the whole shebang you’ll have to “like us.” If you are a super fan or your family is divided, Man Bites Dog Films would love to connect with you. Please email wade@mbdfilms.com for more information.
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