Rhythm and Bruise it is for Meeks and Patterson

In a landslide, the public has chosen nicknames for Meeks, Patterson

By Mark Story / mstory@herald-leader.com

Mark Story

The people have spoken.

Kentucky's high-scoring duo of Jodie Meeks and Patrick Patterson have a nickname.

Rhythm and Bruise.

Among scores of suggestions from UK fans who replied to my Dec. 23 column seeking a moniker for Patterson and Meeks, I chose four.

Fans could vote for their favorite among the final four on Kentucky.com and KentuckySports.com.

Almost 3,000 people cast votes. Rhythm and Bruise won in a landslide, getting 54 percent of the vote.

Slam and Swish was a distant second with 19 percent, followed by Bread and Butter (17 percent) and Looong and Strooong (10 percent).

Rhythm and Bruise was submitted by David Vanderpool, 34, a Nicholasville banker.

Vanderpool said he began trying to think of a Meeks/Patterson nickname after the subject came up on a UK sports-oriented blog.

"I was just working off phrases that had the word 'Blue' in them," Vanderpool said. "I thought of 'Rhythm and Blues' then 'Rhythm and Bruise' just came to me. And I thought it fit."

Meeks is Rhythm. "When he gets in a rhythm, he knocks down shots all day," Vanderpool said.

Patterson is Bruise. "Now that he's 100 percent healthy, he doesn't get out-muscled," Vanderpool said. "He puts the hurt on people."

Vanderpool said he thought the only way his nickname would catch on would be if announcers on TV and radio started using it.

Last Tuesday night, during ESPN's broadcast of the Kentucky-Tennessee game, sideline reporter Jeanine Edwards did a segment on the Kentucky.com poll seeking a Meeks/Patterson nickname.

She said Meeks told her he preferred "Shock and Awe" for him and Patterson (but which is which?).

However, color analyst Jimmy Dykes replied by saying he liked Rhythm and Bruise better.

"I saw that," Vanderpool said Friday. "That was pretty cool."

The last time Kentucky played in Rupp Arena (a win over Vanderbilt), someone in the stands was holding a Rhythm and Bruise sign.

"Actually, I have noticed a couple of different versions of the sign in the stands," Vanderpool said. "Admittedly, one is due to a friend of my wife. Whether the nickname actually catches on with the public, well, I guess we'll see."