Fightin' Words

Over 100 years ago, the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville met for the first time on the basketball court. Over thirty years ago, the intra-state rivals faced each other in the original “Dream Game.” Fightin’ Words will have the inside stories of these games and others from the rivalry, including a discussion of how Louisville coach Denny Crum out-recruited Joe B. Hall for the athletes in inner city Louisville; how Rick Pitino won the city back for UK, then left to become Cardinal coach; how John Calipari brought UK back on top of the rivalry and the basketball world, and much more.

The book covers everything from the 12 games between the rivals before the 1983 game, the buildup 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 pre-game analysis, full-game coverage, and postgame discussion, with firsthand interviews from major players involved on both sides. The authors reveal the effects of each game on both teams as well as the history of college basketball. No matter your allegiance, this is a book for the shelf of any fan 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.