Fightin' Words: Kentucky vs. Louisville

by Joe Cox, Ryan Clark

More than 100 years ago, the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville met for the first time on the basketball court. More than 30 years ago, the intrastate rivals faced each other in the original “Dream Game.” Fightin’ Words has the inside stories of these games and others from the rivalry, as well as tales of how Louisville coach Denny Crum out-recruited Joe B. Hall for the athletes in inner-city Louisville; how Rick Pitino had a dominant tenure at UK, then left to become the Cardinals’ coach; how John Calipari brought UK back on top; and much more.

The book covers everything from the 12 games between the rivals before the 1983 game, the 24-year buildup (and 61 years since the last regular season matchup) to the 1983 game and how it finally became an annual rivalry, and then individual chapters for the 31 UK/UL games since. Each chapter contains pregame analysis, game coverage, and postgame discussion, with firsthand interviews from players involved. The authors reveal the effects of each game on both teams and on the history of college basketball.

Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Sports Publishing imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in sports—books about baseball, pro football, college football, pro and college basketball, hockey, or soccer, we have a book about your sport or your team.

Whether you are a New York Yankees fan or hail from Red Sox nation; whether you are a die-hard Green Bay Packers or Dallas Cowboys fan; whether you root for the Kentucky Wildcats, Louisville Cardinals, UCLA Bruins, or Kansas Jayhawks; whether you route for the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, or Los Angeles Kings; we have a book for you. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Genres: Sports

272 pages, Hardcover

First published March 4, 2014

Reviews

[Mike Harmon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ever sit down and read a book in a day? - Answer: Just did. A history of the most heated rivalry in college basketball with individual chapters for each game since the '83 Dream Game. Reading this book, it was like I was watching the games all over again in my mind - the Great Kentucky wins! the saddening losses. People in other states (cough cough, North Carolina) may think they have rivalries and tradition. ... If you haven't spent time in the Bluegrass then I excuse your ignorance - in the State of Kentucky, whether you wear blue or red, college basketball sustains; it is life. And the only game near as important as Kentucky vs Louisville is a National Championship Game.

[Jay Atwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting subject for fans of either team even if it lacks any appeal for anyone else. Well organized but poorly edited.