whine (hwn, wn)

v. whined, whin·ing, whines

v.intr.

1. To utter a plaintive, high-pitched, protracted sound, as in pain, fear, supplication, or complaint.

2. To complain or protest in a childish fashion.

3. To produce a sustained noise of relatively high pitch: jet engines whining.

v.tr.

To utter with a whine.

n.

1. The act of whining.

2. A whining sound.

3. A complaint uttered in a plaintive tone.

Mike Bianchi. Whiner. Ignorant. Incessant Boor. There are probably a hundred other explanations or definitions of Mr. Bianchi's rants that would be appropriate, but then I would sound like a whiner. Oh why not.

ChildCats. That's a new one. Of course it requires a certain amount of tumerity to refer to Anthony Davis, Terrence Jones & Co. as children, does it not? I mean anyone who could look at the body of work that those young men have accomplished and make that kind of a "childish" remark, if you can pardon the pun, must be some kind of angry at something other than those men who have pushed the very limit of the college athletic world to the heights they have. So maybe it is anger. He is upset that his Florida Gators got manhandled twice this year by these young men, so he thinks that a personal assault on their character, their coach,and their accomplishments will make him feel better. That must be it.

I am 47 years old. I have 2 kids. Everyday I have to say things to them they don't always like. I have to make them do things they do not want to do. It makes me unpopular with them sometimes. Having said that, I also understand from time to time when they get upset and say things they do not mean when they are having to do chores, or some sort of menial punishment that won't change their lives, but maybe it will make them think the next time they start to do something juvenile that is beneath the wonderful people that they really are. As a parent I have to accept that I am sometimes going to be the bad guy. I do that because I want my children to be well-adjusted, productive members of society. I also want them to understand that the world does not revolve around them. It is a basic principle of society. The Bible tells us to do unto others as we would have others do unto us. So why attack the accomplishments of these young men and their coach? Was it to draw attention to his abilities as a writer? Surely not. The man has been doing his job for quite sometime. He is established and well written.

So that only leaves us with the last option. And I wanted to think that this was not the case, simply because of the irony of it. Bianchi refers to to UK as the "ChildCats". Cute, catchy, right? But in truth it is Bianchi who comes off as childish, petty, jealous, and fearful of the accomplishments of these young men and their coach. I would like to think that I can get through life and not become so blatantly ageist, that I simply complain about things because they are new and different, or better than what I have. After all, once you start whining about newfangled, state of the art gadgets and toys, you really are becoming bitter and detached from the rest of the world, right?

Of course Mike Bianchi could have simply said that the Kentucky Wildcats were better than the Florida Gators yesterday. He could have said that Florida, without one of their key players was undermanned and outgunned through no fault of their own. After all, everyone else has been as well. But no, he chose to be "childish". Unfortunately I do not have a witty and whimsical adjective to label his actions with. But then again, I am not a professional journalist with a lot of years of experience doing my job. I am just a fan. A fan of one of the greatest teams of talented college baksetball players ever assembled. I just watch them. I don't check their I.D.'s at the door to make sure they are old enough to suit me, and I do not require that they be of drinking age to approve their talent and accomplishments. Silly me. I guess I have my priorities fouled up. But hey, I am a fan of these "ChildCats". So thanks for your submission, Mike. We have been looking for a nickname all year that accurately describes these spectacular young men. We will take yours under consideration.