Hot and Cold, UK Edition

Back in the field of journalism's infancy, there existed an oddity among the media's forms of publication. A bizarre halfway step between the pamphlet and books, the primitive people of that long-past time called these strange items "magazines." Many magazines touted popular, albeit gimmicky sections and pieces, such as the beautifully mysterious "Celebrity Gossip" section and the ever-present "Up and Down" style columns, the latter of which centered on the rise and fall of various trends. Sadly, like its cousins the Beta Tapes and Newsletter, the "Up and Down" column went extinct. It simply couldn't adapt to its natural habitat, the "magazine," being bulldozed in order to put down the pipework that now makes up the internet.

Or so we thought, at least. It's recently come to light that one such column persists in the wild, and a group of brave bloggers have found a new habitat for this rare yet unquestionably beautiful form of pop-writing: a sporting blog.

And so, here is the inaugural Hot and Cold, UK Edition:

Hot

• Doron Lamb. This kid can shoot - he has the teardrop floater, is a sniper from behind the arc, and his ability to pass the ball cannot be overstated. Simply put, he has been the biggest key to success this year for Kentucky - when he's on the floor, the Cats are more comfortable in their jerseys. When he is shooting the ball, the offense flows. Without him, you get a stagnant look back to what seems to be Tubby Ball 2.0. Most importantly, he makes his FTs when they count.

• Deandre Liggins' D. I know a lot of people want to rag on Liggins for this or that play, for making his always-entertaining wild gestures to the refs whenever the whistle blows unfavorably in his direction, for his European Dribble. But the one thing you can't complain about is his suffocating defense, which has smothered some of the best shooters of the SEC. If you'll notice, Ole Miss was able to rally past the Cats after Liggins' fouled out. The reason - their only real outside threat, Warren, had the ball and no lanky, ink-painted Liggins draped over him. That resulted, of course, in a tragic road-loss for Kentucky.

Cold

• The road. While this Cats squad has done a sterling job at home, recording nothing but wins in Rupp Arena, the same cannot be said for the road, where they've fallen five times already. While some of that was to stiff competition - UConn, UNC, and UGA are all teams that will be at least fighting for a spot in the Big Dance come March - two losses are virtually unforgivable. A team this talented shouldn't ever lose to Alabama or Ole Miss, nor should it fall behind by 20 to either, no less 15 to both. There's something in the water away from home..

• Harrelson's hands. Look, I'm not gonna fault the guy for not being an offensive powerhouse - we know there are going to be nights like Tuesday when the big man can't put in a bucket. That's fine. But his eight rebounds are misleading - that number should be at least 12, and probably more like 15 or 16. Instead the ball was knocked away, he was out-hustled, or was just flat-out in terrible position to make an easy board. You make one - one more rebound, we win the game. This team needs senior leadership, and since the Louisville game, it simply has not had it.

Lukewarm

• Hair in the SEC. I'm disappointed this year - with Florida's Alex Tyrus having shaved his Pred-Dreads, the ridiculous hair ratio in the conference has plummeted. Gone are the Calatheses, the Ogilvies, the Steven Hills of follicle-friendly days past. Hell, our own Brandon Knight had the chance to add a trophy to his growing collection: best hair in the SEC. Sadly, it appears to be the year of the buzz-cut.