Four Words I Never Thought I Would Say

Thank you, John Calipari. Seriously, I mean it. I'm not supposed to post about Coach Cal anymore (my husband thinks I should just let it go, and I am getting there,) but sometimes I just can't help it. Allow me to explain.

Thank you, John Calipari, for bringing the Memphis Tigers basketball program to national prominence

Thank you, John Calipari, for hiring Josh Pastner as an assistant coach. He has been an excellent addition to our Tiger family and has made us proud to be Tiger fans. He is a first class coach and human being, and we love having him on our side. He did an outstanding job this year, considering you took everything with you to the Bluegrass State. (Well, everything but an NCAA investigation.)

Thank you, John Calipari, for taking your "one and done" recruiting style to Kentucky. That way, we can root for a fantastic team each year and not have to begin worrying if our star players will be back for another season. (Sorry, Kentucky fans, we went through it with Derrick Rose and Tyreke Evans and you have to rebuild every year. It's tough.)

And lastly, Thank you, John Calipari, for blowing a 9 point lead and not calling a time out in the 2008 national championship game against Kansas. It hurt at the time, and I still have issues with it, but in the long run, it has been better for us Tiger fans. You see, it is much easier to vacate the wins, great tournament run and a Final Four appearance, versus a national championship. Right, UMass fans? (Calipari did the exact same thing at UMass: left amidst the NCAA investigation and ran for the hills of the New Jersey Nets, leaving UMass to pick up the nasty pieces. He, of course, was unscathed.)

On behalf of Tiger fans everywhere, we thank you, John Calipari, for making it easier to digest the NCAA-imposed vacated wins and Final Four Appearance/National Championship Runner Up. It may be the way in the record books, but we will remember how much fun that season was: for the university and for the entire city of Memphis. And in some strange way, we have you, John Calipari, to thank for that.