PRIDE WEEK

Day 3. And they’re still staying classy in Lexington. (Right.)

Location notwithstanding, UNLV will be 13.5 point underdogs tonight when they take the court at Freedom Hall. Maybe oddsmakers got wind that Earl Clark has worked his way out of the doghouse and back into Pitino’s starting lineup.

Angel McCoughtry had 14 points and 6 boards to lead the No. 13 Cards (13-1) past New Hampshire last night, 82-40. Angel, who was coming off a 4 point performance in a win against Central Michigan Monday, and the Cards open conference play against DePaul Saturday.

Happy New Year. Go Cards.

Cup o' Jones : UNLV Gameday

Hope everyone has a safe and happy new year's celebration tonight. First the Cards must take care of business against UNLV tonight. We don't need another reason to get completely blacked-out (ie: we should be in Memphis or, hell, even Birmingham for a bowl), so please - do your fans a favor and get the job done. Plus, I'm ready to start talking trash about that smell coming from I-64 East. The Kayuts don't have anymore games leading up so they've already started. However, I promised myself not to start the onslaught until after the task at hand - the Runnin' Rebels.

- Coach Pitino held a press conference today at the Yum! Center to preview the upcoming games. He failed to mention the "Dream Game", only listing the Mildcats in a group of good defensive opponents. There may be a Thursday or Friday presser to preview the game, but I doubt it. Here are some of the highlights..

• The Don said that UNLV was was of the better teams defensively that he's has watched on film. They give you "no paint" and make you settle for the jumpshot. On offense, the Rebels have switched to a dribble-drive-motion (DDM) very similar to Memphis. I think the Cards can get some steals if they stay at home against this penetrate-and-kick style. Coach continued to say that whatever you practice, UNLV will stop. Very good test for guards.
• Earl Clark will start which makes me think he's having a better week during practice. Pitino has to keep Earl on his toes or else he'll play unmotivated ball. Earl spoke with the media as well, saying he was happy to be back on the "red team" (starters) and just wants to stay positive, get better and make his teammates better. Proceed Earl. Proceed.
• A question was asked to the effect of "Who is this year's David Padgett aka facilitator/playmaker?". Pitino said obviously T-Will and Clark are the main cogs, but that he would like to see more out of his guards. He questioned if the guards are even playmakers at all, which sounds like another patented Pitino motivational tool.
  
• Edgar Sosa is now the 4th guard according to Coach. As always, he said Sosa has the potential to be a playmaker for this team but let's his emotion get the best of him. If he gets frustrated, he feels like he has to score. Coach P went on to say it might be hard for Sosa to get going ow that he's basically been demoted
• "Samardo wants to learn, he's anxious to learn, but he has a lot to learn." I feel like that quote pretty much sums up our freshman stud right now. You shouldn't complain about a freshman center averaging 15 points and 7 boards, but with Mardo's potential you can. Coach went on to say that Mardo needs to become an Elton Brand-type of player. Pitino said Samuels needs to run the floor better, pass out of the post more efficiently, and play above the rim in the paint to achieve his true potential.
• Few other nuggets...Team has had ample time to prepare for UNLV as opposed to the Minnesota debacle...Coach would be ecstatic if Swop could give 8-12 solid minutes backing up Clark and is very pleased with his play...Swop's game is ready, but his body isn't...Coach won't go more than 10 deep because you lose continuity, this seemed to be directed at Jennings and Kuric.

- UNLV star player Wink Adams, who is averaging a team high 14.5 ppg, has been nagged by an abdominal strain suffered in the Arizona win. He has not practiced all week, but Coach Pitino is preparing for an Adams-led Rebel team. Adams seems like the type of veteran player that can overcome a few missed practices and not miss a beat. However, if he fails to play it would be a huge advantage for the Cards.


- Cardinal recruits Steven Van Treese and Justin Martin led their Lawrence North (IN) squad to a title in the T-Mobile Invitational last night over #1 rated Derrick Favors and South Atlanta. The game, held at Ball St. was televised on CSTV and I watched the future Cards in action. The junior Martin (pictured above) is a slasher or swing player and had a rough shooting night (would you expect anything less?) but was sporting a killer box-top afro a la Will Smith in the Fresh Prince. Martin did show off some good defense and athleticism. The potential is very evident and judging by the picture, will be fun to have in a Cards jersey. The senior Van Treese doesn't get to show off his skills as much as he should due to the amount of talents around him. I know he gets the tag of "slow white center" but so did David Padgett after Kansas. SVT stepped back and hit a 15-foot jumper and was very active on the boards. He is very fundamentally sound and will make for a super power forward one day. Steve had 8 pints and 13 rebounds.

- However much they kill college football, the computer ratings are somewhat of a good barometer for basketball. Well, not really, but I still look at them. My favorite, The Pomeroy Ratings, currently has the Cards ranked a respectable #10. Mr. Pomeroy says we have had the 247th best/worst luck in the nation while playing the 246th rated schedule. On the total opposite side of the spectrum, realtimeRPI.com has the Cards ranked 36th with the 37th toughest schedule. In the middle somewhere, our old friend Jeff Sagarin has the Cards 36th with the 229th ranked schedule. Can these nerds meet at a Star Trek convention somewhere and create one universal computer rating? How hard is it?

- Cards win tonight by 20 with Samardo having a big night at the line. Keep checking back because I got a fever and the only prescription is smacking around the Mildcat faithful.

Show Me My Opponent-UNLV Runnin' Rebels

Location: Paradise, Nevada
Enrollment: 31,000
Conference: Mountain West
Stadium: Thomas and Mack Center
Record: 11-2 (0-0)

Head Coach: Lon Kruger

TEAM STATISTICS UNLV

---------------------------------------------------

• SCORING.................. 942
• Points per game........ 72.5
• FIELD GOALS-ATT.......... 320-745
• Field goal pct......... .430
• 3 POINT FG-ATT........... 98-296
• 3-point FG pct......... .331
• 3-pt FG made per game.. 7.5
• FREE THROWS-ATT.......... 204-300
• Free throw pct......... .680
• F-Throws made per game. 15.7
• REBOUNDS................. 458
• Rebounds per game...... 35.2
• ASSISTS.................. 192
• Assists per game....... 14.8
• TURNOVERS................ 158
• Turnovers per game..... 12.2
• Assist/turnover ratio.. 1.2
• STEALS................... 93
• Steals per game........ 7.2
• BLOCKS................... 57
• Blocks per game........ 4.4

TEAM STATISTICS LOU

---------------------------------------------------

• SCORING.................. 783
• Points per game........ 78.3
• FIELD GOALS-ATT.......... 277-624
• Field goal pct......... .444
• 3 POINT FG-ATT........... 84-244
• 3-point FG pct......... .344
• 3-pt FG made per game.. 8.4
• FREE THROWS-ATT.......... 145-229
• Free throw pct......... .633
• F-Throws made per game. 14.5
• REBOUNDS................. 423
• Rebounds per game...... 42.3
• ASSISTS.................. 186
• Assists per game....... 18.6
• TURNOVERS................ 132
• Turnovers per game..... 13.2
• Assist/turnover ratio.. 1.4
• STEALS................... 87
• Steals per game........ 8.7
• BLOCKS................... 64
• Blocks per game........ 6.4

Notable Alums....

• Veronica Hart, adult film star and director
• Jimmy Kimmel, comedian and talk show host
• Suge Knight, entrepreneur and CEO of Death Row Records
• Kenny Mayne, ESPN personality

• Athletes.....
• Greg Anthony, former basketball player, current basketball analyst with ESPN
• Stacey Augmon, former basketball player
• Keon Clark, former basketball player
• Armon Gilliam, former basketball player
• Larry Johnson, former basketball player
• Anderson Hunt, former basketball player
• Sidney Green, former basketball player
• Shawn Marion, basketball player, currently with the Miami Heat
• Reggie Theus, former basketball player, currently head coach of the Sacramento Kings
• Randall Cunningham, former quarterback
• Keenan McCardell, football wide receiver
• Ickey Woods, former football fullback
• Cecil Fielder, former baseball first baseman and designated hitter
• Ryan Ludwick, baseball right fielder, currently with the St. Louis Cardinals
• Mel Stottlemyre, Jr., former baseball pitcher
• Todd Stottlemyre, former baseball pitcher
• Matt Williams, former baseball third baseman

Head Coach Lon Kruger....

• Longtime collegiate and NBA basketball coach Lon Kruger completed his fourth year as the Runnin' Rebels' head coach in 2007-08, compiling an overall 91-42 mark (.684), after finishing a season that kept the program in the national spotlight.
• Hired at UNLV on March 15, 2004, as the 10th full-time head coach in UNLV men's basketball history. Kruger has led the Runnin' Rebels to records of 30-7 and 27-8, over the last two seasons as UNLV made back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, including advancing to the Sweet 16 in 2007.
• Kruger, who earned his milestone 400th career win on Feb. 9, 2007, with a 68-51 victory over Colorado State at the Thomas & Mack Center, has led UNLV to back-to-back seasons with at least 27 wins for the first time since 1989-90 and 1990-91.
• A veteran of two-plus decades as a head coach on the collegiate and professional levels, Kruger came to Las Vegas after a four-year stint in the NBA.
• Following 18 years as one of the nation's most successful college coaches, Kruger spent three seasons (2000-03) as the head coach of the Atlanta Hawks and then part of the 2003-04 season as an assistant with the New York Knicks.
• At the collegiate level, Kruger has compiled an impressive 409-275 overall mark in 22 seasons as a head coach at Pan American (1982-86), Kansas State (1986-90), Florida (1990-96), Illinois (1996-2000) and UNLV (2004-present).
• His ability to build programs is also evident in the fact that he has led all five of the schools he has coached to 20-win seasons.

Projected Starters

• Guard - Jo'Van J. Adams (nicknamed "Wink")
• Guard - Rene Rougeau
• Guard - Oscar Bellfield (started 8 of 13 games) or Tre'Von Willis (started 5 of 13 games)
• Forward - Joe Darger
• Forward - Darris Santee

They only have two players that are taller then 6-8 and neither one of them play. Wink Adams is their leader and best player (14.1ppg, 25 in win over Arizona, but held to 5 in loss to Cincinnati).The six pplayers before mentioned as the starters all play over 20 mpg, led by Adams (30mpg), Rougea (29mpg) and Darger (28mpg).Darger (31 made at .34%), Bellfield (17 made at .45%) as well as Kendall Wallace (14 made at .41%) are their shooters. Adams has taken 68 attempts from beyond the arc (Darger leads team in attempts at 90) but has only connected on 17 of them (.25%).At 6-6 210lbs Rougeau laeds them in rebounding (8.1 rpg).
U of L has a rematch tonite with the Runnin' Rebels, who the Cards beat last year during their west coast trip. Wink Adam leads UNLV in scoring and is regarded as their best player. Lon Kruger is a coach with experience and he will have his boys ready to play. UNLV doesn't have a player over 6-8. Oh yea, our boy Derek Jasper transferred to UNLV, but won't play til next year.
Prediction: the days of Tark, Larry Johnson, and Stacey Augmon are over. Cards roll 77-62.

PRIDE WEEK

Day 2!

Er, uh, Big East Round-Up:

Conference play just kicked off last night. I told you all it was coming.

No. 8 Georgetown smoked the No. 2 Huskies last night at UConn on ESPN2. The Hoyas opened up 18-3 and never looked back, despite the fact freshman phenom Greg Monroe was in and out of the game a lot with foul trouble. Monroe still finished with 16 points by extending Hasheem Thabeet from the goal and either driving around him or shooting over him.

The final score, 74-63, is not indicative of just how dominant G’town was. DaJuan Summers led all scores with 18.

Interestingly enough, the Hoyas only got 6 points out of their bench.


Down 3 at half, No. 13 Villanova rallied to beat Temple last night, 62-45. Corey Fisher came off the bench to drop 23 for the Wildcats.

Cincinnati got beat by Memphis. Don’t care much for either.


WVU ripped No. 12 Ohio State Saturday, 76-48. But for reasons unbeknownst to the author of this piece, the 10-2 Mountaineers failed to crack the Top 25 in either poll. I guess 9 from one conference is just way too many.

And despite Rob’s pleas to the contrary, it is still football season. For some anyway. And guess who leads the Bowl Challenge Cup, awarded to the conference with the best winning percentage during bowl season? (Don’t answer. It’s a rhetorical question.)

Why, that would be the overrated, weak, outclassed Big East conference at 3-0 after South Florida and West Virginia took care of business this past weekend and Rutgers came back to beat N.C. State last night. You might recall the Big East took this thing two years ago after going 5-0 and amidst a lot of the same criticism it's receiving today.

Up next is Pitt vs. Oregon State in the Sun Bowl, Wednesday at 2:00 p.m.

T minus 5 days. TIP IT OFF ALREADY!

Oh yeah. Beat UNLV.

Best Team Money Could Buy

I'm sure most of you remember when UNLV had it's day in the sun. They won the 1990 national title, beating the Dukies like a drum 103-73. It is still the largest margin of victory and most points in a title game. Coach Jerry Tarkanian had the best team money could buy with future NBAers Larry "Gramama" Johnson, Stacy "Plastic Man" Augmon, Greg "Young Republican" Anthony and Anderson "On the Take" Hunt leading the Rebs to a 69-6 record in a 2 year span. They stormed through the '91 season going undefeated, only to fall to the same Dukies they embarrassed the year ealier in the Final 4. Weeks before the defeat, Hunt and a couple teammates were pictured lounging in a hot tub with the mafia connected and noted game fixer Richard Perry. Perry had also been tied with many recruits and allegedly greased the pockets of many a Rebel. The NCAA struck down with a year postseason penalty. An agreement was made that UNLV would be able to defend their title and miss the next year. Stacy Augmon's ridiculously long arms, Johnson's gold tooth, Anthony's Kid N Play box-top afro, and Hunt's deadly stroke created the perfect storm and one of the best 2-year spans in NCAA history for a team not named UCLA. Tarkanian, however great a coach he was, got every school he coached put on probation (Long Beach, UNLV, Fresno) in a 700+ victory career. This has to be the team they based "Blue Chips" off of.

Even though I don't condone cheating, it did bring us teams like the Fab 5 at Michigan, most of the late 80-early 90s Miami football teams and this great Runnin' Rebel team. All revolutionized their sport but did it in a sleazy way. It is somewhat of a basketball moral dilemma whether or not to pass this team as legit in "greatest ever" discussions. I say cut them some slack, but if UK ever does it they better get the death penalty. That would only be fair right?

Cup o' Jones

I'm going to start trying to give some links and news bytes for you all every morning. Some could be long, some short (twss) but I will give my best to have something Card related in this spot every morning. I decided on Cup o' Jones as the title. if anyone has a better idea send me an email or add it to the comments section. Here you go...

- Rumors are circulating that Coach Pitino is very unhappy with the way Earl Clark has been practicing the last week. Clark's lazy and lackadaisical effort led to Pitino sitting him on the bench in favor of Jared Swopshire against UAB. Sources say Clark spent the better part of two practices this past week running on the treadmill due to his lack of effort. This is an obvious motivational tool Pitino is using to get E5 rilled up. Clark plays his best when angry and on the big stage (just ask OU's Blake Griffin) however Pitino feels if he gave that same intensity daily during practice, Earl would be unstoppable and help his teammates improve in the process. I see Swop starting until Clark's effort increases, whether that be Wednesday or later.

- Coach Pitino will have a news conference today at 2 pm to preview the upcoming games with UNLV and the Kayuts. We will be there and if the stars are aligned correctly, we could have some audio. Knowing the minds around the L Yes! compound that is highly unlikely so expect a transcript sometime this evening.

- I will not start an official countdown to the Battle of the Bluegrass until the UNLV game is over. I would hate to lose to a team we shouldn't just because we are looking ahead to a team that we are clearly better than and shouldn't make the team nervous in the first place. The Rebels recently defeated Arizona and lost a heart breaker to Cincy. This game will be just as important for the Cards' NCAA resume as the a win against the Big Blue Boo-Hoo.

- In case you missed it, LB coach Bill Miller was promoted to defensive coordinator, replacing Ron English. Miller is a 31-year coaching vet who has had stints at places like Arizona St., Miami (FL), and Michigan St. He spent last year as the coordinator for Western Michigan. All I have to say to this guy is good luck and if you have a job a year from now I won't be the only person surprised. To use one of Krag's patented cliches, "He's gonna have to make chicken salad out of chicken you-know-what". God, thinking about football makes me nauseous. Trying to stay positive however hard it may be.

Anybody that has some pictures of goofy looking redneck Cat fans make sure you get them to me and we'll put 'em up. It's Pride Week - there are no holds barred.

PRIDE WEEK

Day 1.

Please don’t accuse me of overlooking opponents. I’m well aware we got a formidable one coming up on New Year’s Eve in the 11-2 Runnin’ Rebels of UNLV. In honor of the transition from '08 to '09, I’ll be there in my Armani suit (and by Armani suit I mean Unseld throwback) sipping bubbly (and by bubbly I mean Miller Lite draughts) in all my glory (and by “glory” I mean screaming profanities at Sosa and mimicking everything T Will does while my girlfriend tells me to sit down, I’m embarrassing her.) But whatever.

That being said, it’s just about peanut butter jelly time. If you’re good, maybe Rob will put up one of those little second-by-second countdowns until Sunday afternoon’s tip-off.

Quick comment (because that’s what I do) on the UAB game: It’s become increasingly obvious that we’re at our best when it’s McGee, T Will, Earl, Samardo, and Preston. Obviously, that’s open to debate. And I understand and appreciate that the owner-operator of this blog is a diehard Jerry Smith supporter, but you can’t play with six, and the numbers don’t lie.


OK. T minus 6 days, and some change. Where’s that countdown?

The Ron English Farewell Tour

Former Louisville Defensive Coordinator, on his way out the door to take the head job at Eastern Michigan, sat down to chat with the Courier-Journal's Eric Crawford.

Crawford concludes we were "fortunate to have English," whose defense gave up 63 points and 671 yards of total offense in its season finale at Rutgers. The Cards D ranked better only than Syracuse among Big East teams, giving up an average of 29.8 points and 368.8 yards per game.

These are just stats, folks. Yes, English coached with a great deal of intensity and his passion for the game was evident each time we saw him out on the field. Yes, he lacked the dogs he needed for the fight and would probably have been able to open up some pipelines recruiting-wise had he stuck around awhile. Yes, our defense was better than it was last year. And yes, EC, we were probably fortunate to have had English.

But let's call a spade a spade. The D was improved; it was far from spectacular. And while, if given the chance, English may have been able to rectify the situation, maybe even catapult our lackluster defense into a top 15, top 10 unit, he didn't. And if he stuck around awhile, maybe he might have been given the reins to the whole kit and caboodle.

But don't look for this blogger (and yes, I use that term loosely) to sit and speculate on what might have been or what should have happened. It is what it is, and this past year's defense was at best mediocre, sometimes less than inspiring, and now its leader has left and is on to greener pastures. (Shut up, you know it's a greener pasture.)

And many people more knowledgeable than I have indicated that he's ready to take on a head job now.

So fare the well, Coach English. The LYes!Report wishes you all the best in your future endeavors. We hope that your successor brings as much intensity, passion, recruiting wherewithal, and potential as you brought.

More Mike Bush

Just give Mike Bush the ball and let him do his thing! The Louisville legend has been unhappy this year in Oakland, mostly due to the fact that they run that team like a White castle at 4 AM and lack of touches. The head coach was replaced early and Bush was asked to play fullback, a position he has never played dating back to grade school. In typical Bush fashion, he did what was best for the team and waited his turn. That turn came Sunday in Tampa as Bush ran for 177 yards and 2 TDs on 27 carries crushing the Bucs' playoff hopes in the process and making one Trevor Kelsey a very happy Eagles fan. It's been a long time coming for #19 and hopefully this opens some eyes around the league.

If the rumors out there are correct, then Justin Fargas is on his way out of Oakland after this season. That would leave the Raiders with Bush and Darren McFadden as the RBs. It seems to me as the perfect scenario for a "Wildcat" offense. McFadden ran it in college and Louisvillians know how great of a QB Bush was in high school. I know the offense might be a tad gimmicky, but the Dolphis made the playoffs using it a good amount and I expect other teams to follow suit. If the Raiders hire an open minded coach, the scenario could come to life. All that is needed is the opportunity. Owner Al Davis missed his first Raider game since 1979 Sunday, so let's hope the TV guys painted a good enough picture for him. Bush was healthy all year and only saw the ball 95 times rushing where he averaged 4.4 yards/carry and caught 19 passes for162 yards (8.5 ypc). Those are numbers worthy of a starting look.

Another possibility is a trade, something I feel Bush would welcome. Teams like Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Arizona, and even the Bucs could be in the market for a featured back this offseason. Judging by today's performance, Bush could handle the load very well. We'll keep our eyes open for any rumors or news concerning Mr. Bush coming up and keep you posted.

Interview w/ Mr. Bush courtesy of CBS 5 in San Francisco

Plus/Minus for UAB Win

Here are your plus/minus ratings for the UAB game. Again, it is calculated by the margin of points the team loses or gains while a particular player is in the game. For example, T-Will started the game with the score 0-0, he left the game with the count 24-17. That's +7 for ol' T-Will. It is a very good judgement as to how one played and used by many coaches across the country as a tool. There are a few huge numbers in this one. Minutes played is in parentheses.

Starters
Jerry Smith (26) EVEN
Preston Knowles (20) +18
Jared Swopshire (14) +11
Terrence Williams (37) +23
Samardo Samuels (36) +25

Bench
Earl Clark (26) +9
Andre McGee (28) +24
Edgar Sosa (6) -6
Reggie Delk (2) -5
George Goode (4) -7
Kyle Kuric (1) +2


- Very impressed with Samardo playing 36 minutes. That is a testament to his conditioning and improvement on Pitino's concerns - passing and rebounding. He improved on his rating against Minnesota (-10) by 33 points.
- Andre "Buckets" McGee proved that his performance against Minnesopta was an aboration due to the travel and improved his turnout by 38 points. i think playing off the ball a little helped, but it could just be a case of his shot finally falling. Great recovery and improvement by Buckets.
- T-Will and Mardo left the game for the first time at the 8:30 mark in the first half with a 24-17 lead. They quickly re-entered the game around the 6:30 mark with only a 24-22 lead. they then finished off the half by building the lead to 9 (+7). That was the only run greater than 3 points that the Blazers went on.
- Edgar Sosa, George Goode and Reggie Delk were subbed in at that 8:30 mark and taken out 2 minutes later with a -5. They tied for the single worse stretch for any player in that timeframe.
- T-Will played the best individual segment in an amazing 19 1/2 straight minutes from the start of the second half to :30 seconds left. The Cards were a +9 during that time and Williams had 11 points 6 boards and 3 assists including 3 trifectas.
- According to this scale the best possible line-up would have been - McGee/Knowles/Williams/Mardo/Swopshire. They averaged a +20.2. The game starters averaged a +15.4. E5 was only 2 behind Swop, so they could be interchangeable.
- No Card that played more than 6 minutes had a segment worse than a -2. Jerry Smith recorded that in the first half when the lead was cut from 5 to 3 in an 8-minute span.

Breaking Down UAB Win

The Cards looked sharp and rested Saturday against Robert Vaden's of Alabama-Birmingham in an 82-62 victory. As he said he was going to do earlier in the week, Coach Pitino shook-up the starting line-up and altered playing-time which turned out to be successful.

This victory was impressive, but could be a case of fool's gold. Mike Davis' Blazers had only 6 scholarship players and looked like they'd been stranded in a desert towards the end of the second half. Robert Vaden is a player and I'd hate to see the Blazers if they lost him. His shooting went cold in the second frame due to fatigue, but the shooting display he put on in the first half was impressive. Good to get back on the winning track even if it's at the expense of a shorthanded team.

The point guard battle between Edgar Sosa and Andre McGee was so brutal that Pitino decided that both shouldn't start. Instead, Jerry Smith got the ball at the point and Preston Knowles took his spot at the 2. This is my ideal backcourt because the tenacity on defense is unmatched by any other combination. Also, it gives Terrence Williams the ability to handle the ball more up top with two good shooters to kick it out to on the wings. Sosa's playing time is diminishing by the second. He played only 6 minutes and to be brutally honest his play wasn't missed. As we all know, Sosa has the potential to be a high-caliber point guard. Yet, if he doesn't buy into the team concept there is no reason for him to play. This might have been a wake-up call to Edgar from his coach - We don't need you to win. On the other hand, McGee answered the bell by scoring 13 points on 3-6 from beyond the arch in 28 minutes. "Buckets" McGee has always been better off the ball. Hopefully if Smith, Knowles or T-Will run the offense smoothly he will get more off-the-ball opportunities.

I hope T-Will's shooting performance was a product of the tinkering of his jumpshot and not just luck (which it could be). It is easy to tell when he gets that elbow in and when he lets it flair out. Len Elmore made a great point about the shot-doctoring on ESPN's telecast saying, "It takes shooting 100's, even 1000's of shots a day to change your body's muscle memory". Well, Williams is the type of gym rat that will go to those measures to improve. Everyone knows if T-Will could develop a consistent jumper like what he displayed against UAB (5-8 3's) he would be absolutely deadly. He's already a great defender, slasher and rebounder as well as the team's leader. If his J continues to drop, it adds a new dimension to the team.

Other Tidbits...

- Swopshire for Clark in the starting line-up doesn't really make sense to me. Other than the fact that it gets the others involved early. Coach Pitino has suggested before that Clark would be better off the bench and I did suggest that Swop start in a post after the Gophers loss, however it just doesn't seem right with Clark in a warm-up at tip-off. It looked like E5 took it well which is another sign of his maturation process and he knows the decision was based on the team getting better, not lack of performance. Swop had a great game - letting the game come to him without disrupting the offense. The drop-off between the 2 is pretty big, but Swop gives Earl the opportunity to stay fresh without hurting the team.

- Coach Pitino's main beefs with Samardo have been his inability to be active on the glass and pass out of the double team. Although UAB had no one taller than Mardo, he looked tremendously better rebounding the ball and throwing his body around. As the game progressed, Samuels began to recognize the double-team and find open shooters. As great as he has been, it must be noted that Mardo is only a freshman and will have growing pains like the games against Ole Miss and Minnesota. Nonetheless, it looks like he is starting to take heed to his coaches demands. I aslo like how he wasn't pouting after a call or miss like he has previously. I can't wait to see him eat Patrick Patterson's lunch Sunday.

- The losses to Western and Minnesota made the Cards look vulnerable to the rest of the nation. This game was a step in the right direction. I am convinced that both those games were set up wrong and doomed to be losses. The team was fatigued after the travel problems in Arizona for the Tubby-ball loss, which was a self-admitted scheduling disaster. And after all the trouble Jurich gave Western for cancelling the home/home a few years back, the Toppers were out for blood in a home environment. If anything, they helped Pitino and his staff know which players had the moxy to get through the fire.

-Another solid non-conference opponent comes into the Hall Wednesday in the form of UNLV. The Cards look to repeat the 20 point drubbing they served the Runnin' Rebels last year in Vegas. The Cards were without both Padgett and Palacios in that game last year, so they basically have the same team back and they're playing in our house. The only problem would be the team overlooking the Rebs in anticipation for KenSUCKy on Sunday. I'm going out on a limb and saying if the Cards show up they should win both games this week by a combined 50 points. That's a big if though...

IT'S RIVALRY WEEK BABY... TIME TO FEAST ON SOME MILDCAT

Mike Bush is Dirty

Dirty in a good sense.

The Louisville product did work Sunday, rolling for 177 yards and 2 touchdowns in the Raiders' upset of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It was his first full NFL game, as RBs Darren McFadden and Justin Fargas were both out with injuries.

Bush rambled for 77 yards on the Raiders' final drive, setting up a Sebastian Janikowski FG that iced the victory and destroyed the Bucs' playoff hopes. He carried the ball 27 times on the day, a career high.

8:28

8:28 left in the first half we have our first Edgar Sosa sighting....hmm

Samuels, keep playing well and why is Earl Clark settling for 3's? And why is Vaden getting so much room?

Keep it going Cards!

Enter Mike Davis

At one time I used to think Mike Davis was a pretty solid coach. Actually, I still do but UAB is a dumpster fire right now...suspended players, unhappy players, etc. The vision that UAB had that Davis was going to come in and immediately bring an upper echelon of players (maybe a few from IU) has never really happened. If nothing else Louisville fans need to hold onto the memory of Davis raising his arms in the air as Darth Vaden burned UK last year...but before we get into today's wide array of games, this is courtesy of RickPitino.com ...just in case you haven't read it.

Ok fans, it’s very disappointing but do not get discouraged. That game was not the real Louisville. I put our team in a difficult situation. Little time to prepare, little time to rest. We arrived at 5:00 a.m. eastern standard time. No bus for 45 minutes. We finally got to bed between 6:30 and 7:00am. Bus ride to practice was 1 hour due to Friday traffic. Minnesota was better and deserved the victory. They had nine days of preparation and out played us at both ends.

Recently Tom Crean texted me about our team last year, pointing out that we were the best quick passing team in the country. He was on the money. That is precisely our weakness this year. Too much dribbling, that is our number one problem. We will cure it by UAB. We need ball movement which leads to player movement. Defensively we played our poorest game. Give Minnesota the credit for creating good shots in their offense. We fouled too much and did not move our feet. We must develop Goode and Jennings at a quicker pace. Both players are struggling picking up the fundamentals. It will get done.

We have been down this road before. This time it will be more difficult. But I have confidence in our veterans and team. We have three crucial games coming up before the start of the Big East conference. All three are significantly better than any team we have faced. With a strong dose of humility added to our basketball team, our improvement will happen at a rapid pace. I am looking forward to this unlimited time to work on improving our team. There will be no time restraints and a lot of hours logged by our team in the next two weeks.

Well, that's what Pitino's been saying and honestly I couldn't agree more.
There are many things that are now obvious with this team. We're actually finding out who this team is...that's why a game like today is so big. Are we simply going to go through the motions and play like the last 2 games? OR are we going to come out fast and knock UAB off the feet? If we do, will we have long scoring lapses where we look very pedestrian? Here are some areas where improvement is vital.
1. Quick Passing - I agree with Pitino in this facet. This team dribbles...a lot! And that isn't good giving McGee and Sosa look very lost. I think today you see a lot of Knowles and Jerry Smith. It's show up or shut up time for our guards...but of course we've heard all of this before.
2. Freshmen integration/development is lagging (and that's an understatment). Not only with Jennings but Swop isn't getting many good touches. Jennings rarely gets touches. Samuels is getting blocked by point guards and can't finish anything around the basket. Today, on December 27, 2008, I'm praying Samuels resembles nothing like Caracter....I'm just saying. Missed layups, weak around the basket, turnover prone...it's something to watch.
3.Attitude. The Courier-Journal had a good story earlier this week about the team's attitude. Do you feel like watching these early season games, whether a win or a loss, that the team feels it should be given a win because at one point they were preseason top 5 and have many capable athletes. This team needs ANGST. They need Earl Clark playing mean, Samuels finishing around the basket and drawing fouls, TWill running the show, Smith being mean on defense and spotting up, and something from the PG position. But, of course, this all comes back to attitude. I'll be interested to see if we're cocky, hungry, or apathetic today.
4. Samuels FACTOR. Let's face it, college basketball has changed. I know freshmen are freshmen but also we need to face the fact that we NEED Samuels. He isn't simply just another good player on our very deep team. He needs to be our first or second leading scorer, top rebounder, and one of our better passers. Right now he's struggling to finish, bringing the ball below his waist and losing it, and letting much smaller guys score on him on defense. I think, whether he would admit it or not, Pitino had his fingers crossed this season because he knew he would have to rely on a true freshmen....enter Samardo Samuels. Today I want to see Samuels have about 20-10 with some nice moves around the basket, solid at the line, but most importantly protect the ball.

**Tomorrow I'll be breaking down the NFL...sorry Rob, it looks as if my GMEN aren't going to be helping your playoff chances...I'm very sorry.

GO CARDS!

p.s...Tom Crean texted Ricky P...I thought the two had some bad blood?

Siva Rolls, Takes KOB

Louisville signee Peyton Siva was named MVP of the King of the Bluegrass tourney at Fairdale High after he and his Frankin High Quakers romped J'town last night, 72-55. Siva led the Quakers, ranked 19th nationally and the first out-of-state team to take the tournament since 1999, with 29 points, 3 boards, 3 steals, 2 assists, and a partridge and a pear tree.

Mad props to the Fairdale and KOB folks for putting on another great show.

Peyton Siva is Ridiculous

Can he just play right friggin’ now? PLEASE!? Seriously, this kid is sick.

In last night’s King of the Bluegrass Tourney at Fairdale High School, future Louisville point man Peyton Siva got downright ridiculous to lead his Franklin (Seattle) Quakers to victory, 91-88, against a very formidable Coral Reef (Miami) team.

Siva’s work included 32 points (50% from trey, 17-18 from the charity stripe), 10 assists, 4 boards, 2 steals, and – get this – zero friggin’ turnovers. He scored from inside and out, played phenomenal defense, and created for his teammates, all to the delight of his future coach, Rick Pitino, who was in attendance.

Siva faces J’town tonight in the KOB final at 7:30.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas….

Big East Round-Up

Reminder: conference play starts (gulp) next week. Moment of truth has arrived, ready or not.

The new polls are out. UConn and Pitt hang on to their No. 2 and 3 rankings, respectively. The Huskies are coming off a big win against No. 7 Gonzaga Saturday, 88-83 in OT. A.J. Price (pictured left) led the way with 24 points and 10 assists.

Louisville dropped to No. 19 in both polls.

Pitt remained unbeaten by knocking off Florida State yesterday, 56-48.

No. 14 Syracuse improved to 11-1 Saturday by knocking off Memphis, 72-65. Jonny Flynn dropped 24 and threw 6 dimes for the Orange.

The 2008 Big East/SEC Invitational ended with a 2-2 split after Cincinnati beat Mississippi State and the Cards took care of Mississippi on Thursday. Marquette and South Florida took Ls last Tuesday.

Georgetown (8-1) has moved up to No. 9 in the coaches' poll after an eleven-point win against Mt. Saint Mary’s this Saturday.

No surprise here, but Notre Dame’s Luke Harangody leads the conference in scoring, averaging 22.6 per. He’s followed by Seton Hall’s Jeremy Hazell (22.2), Marquette’s Wesley Matthews (20.4), and Pitt’s Sam Young (20.1).

That's all I got. Off to buy crap and wrap it. Humbug.

History is on Cards' Side

The Minnesota loss was not something Cardinal fans expected. If you go by the polls, the Cards were supposed to blow through the non-conference schedule of unranked teams with ease. They weren't supposed to lose to in-state little brother Western and especially not to the Tubster. Two was the maximum number of losses expected going into Big East play. Now that is the minimum. I'm here to say that's fine.


Scheduling the game in Arizona with 36 hours to prepare, all the while flying from Cincinnati in bad weather put the odds against the Cards in the first place. Pitino admitted that in hindsight, it was an absolutely horrible scheduling decision by himself. Something else must be wrong, right? Traveling doesn't affect you that bad, does it? What are we going to do? I say calm down and remember what some other memorable teams did early on, before they became great.


What we're going to do right now is go back. Way back. Back into time...


-In 1975 the Cards were 2 free throws away from ending the career of John Wooden with a loss in the semifinals. That team lost to then in-conference rival Bradley and were taken to OT twice in the early going.


-The 1980 national title team took a similar journey out west in the season's early stages and lost to unranked Utah.


-In 1983's Final 4 year the Cards lost to Purdue at home in the non-conference.


-The 1986 national title team started off 11-6 and ended up winnig 17 games in a row to capture the crown with a freshman center who struggled early and a NBA prospect PF having trouble becoming a leader.


-Sweet 16's in '93 and '94 were preceded by losses to Vandy and Virginia Commonwealth resepectively. Both at home. (Not that a Sweet 16 would be gratifying this year, but those were good teams).


-Pitino's Final 4 team in 2005 lost to an Big Ten team, Iowa, on a neutral court before going west to win the Maui. If I remember correctly shooting woes were the cause of that loss as well.


As you can see, the night is darkest before the dawn. Every good team goes through it's struggles (unless you wear Carolina blue this year). Coach Pitino is going to tweak a few things - including different combinations in the backcourt to generate more scoring and different practice methods to toughen up Samardo Samuels - he said it so himself. These guys have been told how good they are since Earl Clark decided to come back in May. Now they sit on the brink of being unranked and a 7-2 record with the tough part of the non-conference schedule yet to come. I, as everyone should, have confidence that Pitino will get the best out of this team. This team's best could be very dangerous when it is reached. Everyone knows the talent is there, but the execution isn't. Don't fret, the necessary changes will be made and this team will get the ball rolling soon.

Emmanuel Yeager Commits to New Mexico

Jody Demling is reporting that QB Emmanuel Yeager from Washington, DC has changed his mind for the second time and is now committed to New Mexico as opposed to the Red Rage. Previously, Yeager had spurned Central Michigan to commit to the Cards so it's not totally surprising. This commitment started rumors of Krag's desire to run an offense centered around a dual-threat QB. With this news, the Cards have only pocket-passers to choose from in Zach Stout, Tyler Wolfe, NC State transfer Justin Burke and recent JUCO signee Adam Froman. Matt Simms hasn't said he's not coming back this year officially or even really unofficially, so I'll add him as well. Not one of those guys has been mistaken as a dual-threat QB. As we saw this season, the QB is the most important position and if a certain level of performance isn't met, the team struggles. I still say Burke takes the job due to his intelligence and decision-making abilities, but honestly any one of the 4 or 5 mentioned could line up under center next season.

Yaeger is the 32nd ranked dual-threat QB and a 3-star player by Rivals and a 2-star, 82nd ranked QB by Scout. Cards fans should not be discouraged by this. I didn't ever see him fitting in with the current offense and he didn't seem like the kind of player you revamp your offensive playbook for (not saying it's not a good idea). He gets annointed with the "buyer beware" sticker after this switch. One time changing your mind I understand. Two is pushing it. Good luck to both parties involved.

Plus/Minus Ratings for Minnesota Loss

One of the only good things that has come out of the sport of hockey, in my opinion, is plus/minus ratings (and Sean Avery, but that's another story). It shows how well your team produced while certain players were in the game. For example, if Preston Knowles comes into the game and the Cards are down 3 and he comes out and they have taken a 5 point lead, his plus/minus (+/-) would be +8 for that particular segment. All you do is simply add or subtract each segment to get a positive or negative figure that represents the teams production while X player is in the game. I also added minutes played in parentheses to show which guys' playing time might be too high or too low. Got it? Good.

Backcourt-
Edgar Sosa (18 minutes) - minus 4 - did not play the last 14:47 of the game after playing a stretch where the cards went from a 5 point halftime deficit to a 9 point margin. I don't want to say anything now for fear I'll regret it later. Not a big fan right now.

Jerry Smith (25) - plus 3 - played the single best stretch of any one player as he came in with the Cards down 12 at the 6:52 mark in the 2nd half and left at the 3:21 mark trailing only by 5. Jerry hit a 3 and grabbed 1 board in that stretch.

Andre McGee (14) - minus 12 - clearly the worst performance by one player as the team never was never above water with McGee in the game (only breaking even once). This was evident by his ZERO points, ZERO assists, and ZERO rebounds all the while fouling out of the game. I hope he didn't have any family from Cali travel to watch that game. Not very good at all.

Preston Knowles (20) - plus one - the Preston/Jerry back court was the most successful as they were plus 7 when in the game at the same time. Pitino said he needed more production out of his guards. It looks to me like either Smith or Knowles needs to learn how to play point...fast.

Reggie Delk (8) - EVEN - played in 3 separate 2:30-3 minutes stretches where he didn't hurt the team one bit. ZERO turnovers with 2 blocks and an assist. Delk did not take a shot, something he needs to look for more often. Could he play point or am I dreaming?

Kyle Kuric (3) - EVEN - played last 3 minutes of second half and got 2 big offensive rebounds. He pulled down more offensive boards than all the other guards combined. Maybe the vets should take some notes when Kuric is in. Look for his playing time to grow exponentially in this next run of games.

Frontcourt -
Terrence Williams (33) - minus 6 - pretty clear-cut that the team goes as T-Will goes. It seemed like he was looking to score more (17 pts on 6-15 shooting) than create for his teammates. He still had 5 assists, which is funny because ESPN said the whole team only had 4 about 5 minutes after the game yesterday, and the squad needed him to score at the end. I'll take 17-6-5 from T-Will every day. His defense was a different story. I hope he's getting it for letting Hoffharber and Busch score all over him. The Cards were a +3 without T-Will in the second half.

Earl Clark (36) - plus 1 - Earl left the game at the 16 minute mark with the Cards trailing by 6. By the time he got back into the game at the 14:00 mark the Cards were down 11 and a win was pretty much out of reach. No explanation here. Clark can't be expected to play the whole game. However, he can take better shots and maintain his solid starts throughout the game. The worst stretch he played (-6) was the first portion where he scored 8 of the team's first 15 points. In all other shifts he played in, the team was +7. Can't complain with 16 and 11 from E5.

Samardo Samuels (27) - minus 11 - Did Mardo really only take 4 shots? I guess when you get blocked by an ugly white-boy they don't count it. Samuels didn't play the last 8 minutes of the first half and the team broke even. In the second half, he came into the game after a short rest with the team down 4 at the 17:49 mark. He left at the 7:49 mark with the Gophers up 12 (-10). the single worst stretch by any player. 7 points 3 boards 4 turnovers and a foul out. I thought it couldn't get worse than Ole Miss, I guess it can. The last Louisville player with such poor passing skill was Cliff Rozier and everybody remembers how much of a "black hole" he was.

Jared Swopshire (5) - minus 6 - Not very good considering he played only 5 minutes. 3 points 2 rebounds. I think it takes Swop a couple minutes to get into the flow of the game. I would almost suggest starting him if it wouldn't put T-Will or Clark on the bench.

George Goode (8) - plus 3 - Goode played the last 5 minutes of the first half and the Gophers did absolutely nothing inside hitting 2 threes though. Goode plays excellent defense and is active the entire time he's in the game. I think when the team is forcing the ball to Mardo too much, Pitino should throw George in there to increase the ball movement and actually improve on the defensive end. However, I'm not a hall of fame coach.

Terrence Jennings (3) - minus 1 - played only 3 short minutes in the first half. Still learning the system. His biggest contribution to the team would be to make Samuels work his tail off in practice, which in turn will make the team better.

Only 4 guys on the positive side this game - Smith, Knowles, Clark and Goode. The same guys I'm sure the majority of fans out there feel played well considering. I'm going to try to do this for every game so we can start getting a better judgement of what is going on. Plus, traveling thousands of miles in 48 hours wasn't a variable in this equation. Based solely on the Minnesota loss the starting lineup should be Knowles and Smith at guard, Williams and Clark at the forwards and Goode at the 5 spot. I do not think that would sit well with Mardo, but it's worth a shot.

Siva, King of the Bluegrass Thoughts

I spent the this weekend watching as much college basketball as one could possibly do. Thursday in Cincinnati. Friday at the King of the Bluegrass at Fairdale for 4 games and Saturday I was only able to attend 3 - the Cards and UCONN/Gonzaga on TV pulled rank. I did see some great high school ball, the sport at it's purest, over the last two days. Of course it was led by the point guard of the future for the Fighting Cardinals, Peyton Siva.

The photo on the left is from my camera phone when Siva went down tonight with an apparent sprained ankle. This happened at the start of the second quarter causing Siva to sit out the rest of the half. He walked off the court on his own power. Seeing his Franklin Quakers only leading by 4 at the half, the gritty Siva decided to fight through the pain and join in a team effort to beat Pleasure Ridge Park 68-57. Siva finished the game with 9 points and 7 assists on only 3/9 shooting. However, Siva will be just what the doctor ordered for the Cards. You see, Siva doesn't have to shoot to be happy. He enjoys getting his teammates involved and will take 9 and 7 and a win any day of the week. Siva does this thing where he points to the air when he makes a free throw or a bucket. But he also does it when a teammate does the same and was definitely the vocal leader even if he wasn't the leading scorer. He makes quick, smart decisions but does try to make the spectacular pass sometimes to a fault. Sources say Siva's ankle is pretty swollen (like soft ball swollen) and will be a game time decision in the semis against Coral Reef (FL) on Monday. At least he has a day to rest it.

Siva, at 5-10 170 pounds, jumped center for a team that fielded no one taller than 6'4 (allegedly). He was 1 for 2 on the tip-offs in the two games this weekend. Pretty good for someone giving up at least 6 inches to both players. He definitely has extremely explosive leaping ability and isn't afraid to go up and dunk in a 7-footers face just by looking at him. He has great rotation on his shot, seems to never get frustrated, and plays like he is having a good ol' time out there. I can't wait to see him in a Cardinal uniform next year so a freshman can teach an un-named senior how to play team ball. Siva makes everyone around him better like a PG should.

Other guys I liked...

Jordan Hickman - Bardstown KY - PG - A 6'3 strong left-handed player who is huge for his position and probably grabbed at least 10 boards to go with his 27 points Saturday. He hit the GW shot to break a tie with a coast-to-coast lay-up that beat the buzzer. He's not top-level material but he will do wonders in the Ohio Valley Conference or somewhere similar. He is thought of as the best player in the 5th region this year

Ryan Kelly - Centennial TN - The 6'7 son of the head coach set a KOB record with 67 points on 26-33 shooting. The kicker is his team LOST 102-95 in OT Saturday. Absolutely amazing. I saw the guy play Friday and didn't think much of him. Proves my point that you have to see a player at least twice before you pass judgement, whether it be positive or negative. Kelly will attend Miami (OH) next season.

Michael Kvam - Cherokee GA - First off, he had the best haircut I have ever seen on a single athletic human being and that includes Dennis Rodman, Anthony Mason and even Cornelius Holden. He looked like he had a "Joe Dirt" wig on, only it was real. Wait until I find a good enough picture. Second, he was very good. Kvum overshadowed his teammate and the supremely overrated Shawn Kemp, Jr. and led his team in scoring with 23 Friday. But seriously...the haircut...i mean you have to see it. My favorite player besides Siva at the tourney for not only his hair but his slick play on the court as well.

Check into my homeboy Jody Demling's blog on the C-J online for an excellent rundown on what has transpired so far at the 28th King of the Bluegrass.

English to Eastern Michigan??

It only took one season for Louisville defensive coordinator Ron English to make huge strides in fixing what was a bad Cards defense and that was enough to convince someone that he was ready to be a Head Coach....that someone appears to be Eastern Michigan. The Eagles coming off a 3-9 season, haven't played in a bowl game since 1987. I am sure that Loyd Carr (English coached under for 5 years at Michigan), who is a special unpaid consultant to the University, had a little to do with the push for English. While nothing is official just yet, it is all but a done deal according to several sources. English stepped into a mess of a defense in his first and what appears to be his only season in Louisville, taking over a unit that had been ranked near the bottom in every statistical category, only to revamp the defense to respectability. Most notably the run defense that finished the season ranked in the top 50 (#40) against the run this season.

Siva at King of the Bluegrass

This is Louisville's future point guard in a photo from kingofthebluegrass.com blocking a potential game-tying lay-up against Louisville Male last night in a win by Peyton Siva's Seattle Franklin team. The team had a rough trip to Louisville with the freaskish snowfall in Las Vegas. Franklin was only able to bring 8 players and 1 assistant coach. Siva looked tired and went 3-12 from the field scoring 14 points and leading his team to a 56-52 victory. Siva plays PRP tonight at 730 in the main gym at Fairdale.

UK signee John Hood's Madisonville team was beaten by PRP as he missed a game tying free throw with 12 seconds remaining blowing the opportunity to play against Siva tonight. Earlier in the week Siva said his team would "crush" Hood's team and Hood responed by saying "he's only 5'10, we'll meet at the rim". Guess we'll have to wait until the Dream game next year.

More updates on tonight's game later this evening.

Jet Lagged Cards Upset by Gophers

Louisville did not look sharp or fresh in their 70-64 loss to Tubby Smith's Minnesota squad in Arizona today. Not to take anything away from the Gophers, who looked like they wanted it more today, but the Cards had to travel cross country after beating Ole Miss in Cincinnati Thursday night. Smith's squad's last game was December 10th. Shots were coming up short and players were getting out-hustled, giving Minnesota the needed edge to outlast the Cards.


The biggest discrepancy in the statistics was foul shooting. The Cards made 20-33 and the Gophers 27-37. A close second was 3-point shooting. The Cards shot 4-17 for 23% and the Gophers made 7-20 for 35%. Aside from the the Cards made two more field goals and were only out-rebounded by one (29 to 28).

The Cards managed only 4 assists the whole game. That is completely uncalled for regardless of how much talent is on the team. Edgar Sosa must not recover well from flights as he played the majority of the first half and let Minnesota guard Al Nolan blow by him like a matador. Samardo proved me wrong, as I thought he couldn't play any worse than he did Thursday. Today his shot was blocked by a Beau Zach Smith type multiple times and I would be surprised if he was able to jump over today's Courier-Journal. Mardo is going to be great, but like coach Pitino says, he will become great through passing. He was double and triple teamed all game and had a whale of a time passing out of them. Even Jerry Smith wasn't his usual rock steady self, making a couple of extremely lazy passes leading to turnovers.

Minnesota just wanted this game more. Players like Travis Busch and Blake Hoffarber just killed us with their energy and shooting. Both players were Minnesota Mr. Basketball and needed this game to restore credibility to the home state program. As was the case at Kentucky, the first team to 60 points wins in Tubby Ball. When the Cards cut it to 4, 58-54, I thought we were going to get there before the Gophers. A Smith turnover and Samuels foul out later, the Cards were done.

Terrence Williams tried to bring the Cards back, scoring 17 points on a questionable 6-16 shooting. Earl Clark scored a lot early, but faded off late making only 1 second half field goal. Too many missed shots and turnovers doomed the Cards. Louisville comes home for UAB a week from today followed by equally tough match-ups with UAB and the friggin Mildcats. Time to do some soul-searching on the flight home.

I'm going to cool off and watch some good ol' high school basketball at the King of the Bluegrass. More to come tonight along with a Peyton Siva update tonight.

Show Me My Opponent - Minnesota Golden Gophers

Location: Minneapolis, MN

Conference: Big Ten
Stadium: Williams Arena

Record: 9-0

Last Season: 20-13

Series (Pitino v. Smith): 6-4 Pitino

Enrollment: 51,140

Notable Alumni: "The Nature Boy" Rick Flair, Bobby Jackson, Flip Saunders, Ben Utecht, and Dave Winfield

Head Coach: Tubby Smith

Projected Starters

G Lawrence Westbrook Jr. 6-0

G Al Nolen So. 6-1

F Damian Johnson Jr. 6-7

F Jamal Abu-Shamala Sr. 6-5

C Colton Iverson Fr. 6-10

Key Reserves

G Blake Hoffarber So. 6-4

F Paul Carter So. 6-8

F Ralph Sampson Fr. 6-11

G/F Travis Busch Jr. 6-4

G Devoe Joseph Fr. 6-3

G Devron Bostick Jr. 6-5

The Cards travel to University of Phoenix Stadium in Arizona to take on the Golden Gophers in a Saturday showdown. The game will be U of L's second within 41 hours. U of L will be without assistant coach Steve Massielo again, following the sudden death of his father. Minnesota is coached by former Pitino assistant and former head coach of the mildcats, Tubby Smith. Smith has the Gophers off to an undefeated start, 9-0. He has an experienced bunch that distributes the scoring duties, with no player averaging more than 14 ppg. Smith's team plays tenacious defense and the same boring style that once had Rajon Rondo coming off the bench.

It will be interesting to see if U of L will play their game and get up and down the floor quickly, or will they fall into the lull of the Minnesota style. It will be tough for the Cards to get up for this game, after playing a tough game against Mississippi on Thursday, and Minnesota has had 10 days to prepare for the Cards. If Earl has another game like Thursday, there is no reason U of L should not dominate on Saturday. Samardo Samuels must man up because he looked awful when a much smaller Ole Miss team got physical with him. He has to be the aggressor and take the ball to hole strong. I have a prediction to make before the prediction for the game: Mark my words, Samuels will return for his Sophomore year. Pitino will make a video of all the shots Samuels missed against Ole Miss and all the other (though few) mistakes he has been making and tell Samuels that he's not ready to go to the NBA. Mardo has faith in Pitino's opinion.

Anyway...my prediction for the game, Minnesota and Tubby get the best of U of L in a nut-knocker 72-71. I hope I'm wrong!

Football Team Signs 2 JUCO Prospects

From the Louisville Sports Information Department...

The University of Louisville football program and head
coach Steve Kragthorpe announced the signing of two highly-rated junior college prospects to National Letters of Intent Friday, including an All-American quarterback.

Adam Froman (Santa Rosa, Calif./Santa Rosa HS) and Malcolm Tatum (Moss Point, Miss./Moss Point HS) have each signed a National Letter of Intent (NLI) to play for the Cardinals. Froman and Tatum are slated to enroll at Louisville in January and participate in spring drills.

*We are extremely pleased with the addition of these two young men to our program,* Kragthorpe said. *They are all tremendous athletes and we believe that each of them possesses the toughness and competitiveness that we are looking for in a football player. I like Adam's
competitiveness and toughness. Malcolm fills an immediate needs on the defensive side of the football due graduation.

Froman led his Santa Rosa Junior College to an 8-3 season in 2008, including a 28-20 win over No. 2-ranked Sierra (CA) C.C. in the West Bank Bowl. Santa Rosa finished ranked 10th in the nation.

Froman threw for 525 yards on 35-of-61 passing with three touchdowns in a win over Sierra and was named the game's MVP. Froman threw for 401 yards in the first half against Sierra. He opened with 229 yards and two touchdowns in his first college start, a road win against 10th-ranked Reedley, and combined to throw 12 touchdowns in his next two games. Froman tied the school record with seven touchdown passes in his third college start.

Froman is the third consecutive SRJC quarterback to sign with a major Division I school, joining Ian Hetrick (2005, Wyoming) and Greg Alexander (2007, Hawaii).

Named a first team All-American by JC Grid-Wire, Froman threw for a state-leading 3,876 yards and 40 touchdowns passes this season and was the NorCal Conference Offensive Player of the Year. He joins a crowded
quarterback picture at Louisville to replace the departing Cantwell. Froman is expected to battle juniors Tyler Wolfe and Justin Burke,sophomore Matt Simms and red-shirt freshman Zack Stoudt for the starting quarterback position in the spring.

A talented defensive end, the 6-foot-4, 265-pound Tatum recorded 30 tackles and 9.5 sacks as a sophomore at Gulf Coast Community College.Tatum, who was named the defensive MVP in Gulf Coast*s (10-2) 41-7 Mississippi bowl win over third-ranked Georgia Military, earned second team MACJC South honors as a sophomore and is rated a two-star prospect
by Scout.com.

The Cardinals have a definite need on the defensive line due to the graduation of Earl Heyman, Adrian Grady and Maurice Mitchell

Cards Escape Rebel Comeback, Win 77-68

I'll start out by stating the obvious - Earl Clark was a man-child/beast/monster/savior last night with his 26 point 16 rebound 5 block 4 assist performance in the 77-68 win against Ole Miss in Cincinnati. Not enough can be said about his production. If E5 doesn't show up, the Cards lose that game - maybe by double figures. Clark scored 17 of the first 24 Louisville points to build the first half lead to 18.

"Earl Clark was spectacular...he had to be Superman for us tonight and he was." said Coach Pitino after the game, "This was his best game as a Louisville basketball player". Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy added, "What a tremendous athlete he is. Long and athletic with the skills of a guard. Everything you could ask of a player."

Earl was doing it in every way imaginable - hitting threes, mid-range jumpers, and banging around down low. Pitino said he gave the effort last night that he did at the end of last year, something I have been harping on all year and mentioned the other day. Coach placed it solely on effort and talked about his NBA days and how scouts would salivate over a 6'10 player with his ball-handling skills.

As good as Clark was, Samardo Samuels was equally as bad. He missed more lay-up then I've seen anyone miss since I can remember. 2-13 for 9 points. Probably his worst game of the young season but he made up for it by grabbing 13 rebounds which masked the horrendous shooting night.

"He needs to learn how to pass out of the post and play above the rim. [Although] I was pleased with his rebounding." Coach Pitino said about Samardo's play.

If a 9 point 13 board game is about as bad as it gets for Mardo, I think the Cards will be fine. I just hope it doesn't discourage the talented Jamaican big man.

Other nuggets..
- Pitino made an interesting comment about Edgar Sosa. He said "If we are going to be a great basketball team, Edgar Sosa has to be a great point guard". If that is the case, Sosa better shape up. There were way too many times when he got lost on penetration and. Got himself in trouble, but what else is new. He did make a big 3 with around 4 minutes to go to put the game away. He is just a very frustating player who makes me hold my breath every time he gets the ball. Not in a Jordan kind of way and not the Michael Porter kind of way, but somewhere in between the two. Sosa needs to take a step back and realize what a PG's true duties are - lead and distribute not shoot and dribble.

- I was very pleased with the turnout of Card fans in Cincy. Ther were plenty of C-A-R-D-S and DE-fense chants, that I'm sure helped the team through the tough stretches. The arena doubled in attendance after the UC/Miss St. game and it was played in the hometown of the Bearcats. I don't know if the Card fans should be commended or Cincy fans chastised. I'd say 3500-4000 fans made the trip. Good work.
- The Andy Kennedy situation was the talk of the press room with a lot of people staying to listen to what he had to say for himself afterwards. One guy was just completely grilling him. First he asked, "What happened lat night?" And Kennedy declined comment. The reporter then said "Well the bartender at 'The Lounge' bar said you were beligerant and asked to leave, is that true?" Kennedy declined comment again. Then the guy asked, "What were you doing out at 1 o'clock the night before the game?" Again Kennedy declined comment. The Ole Miss coach looked hungover and tired saying he had trouble focusing due to the rough previous 24 hours. - that's all I'm going to say about the situation until all the facts come out because the rumors were rampant.

Watching Peyton Siva play tonight. More tomorrow.

Tipoff with Rebels Coming Soon

Sitting here on press row of US Bank Arena in Cincinnati watching the Bearcats and Mississippi St. Bulldogs battle it out. Cincy built a big lead early only to see it cut to 7 presently. MSU went a long time without even making a basket in the first half and the Bearcats caught fire from beyond the arch. We're at the 8 minute timeout. The Fighting Cardinals face the Fighting Cabbies..I mean Rebels about 30 minutes after the conclusion of this game.

A few celebrity sightings so far. Of course Kenny Klein is always good to see, but the real doozies are basketball legends, hall of famers, Gods Oscar Robertson and Bob Knight. The General is calling the game for ESPN. I'd go introduce myself but he'd probably make me pee me pants. The Big O is watching his beloved Bearcats as he does very often. Looks like an approachable guy, but you never know. I'd almost guarantee they don't know or care about a small-time blogger like myself.

Not as much of a buzz surrounding the Kennedy situation. However, I did see the ESPN sideline reporter (who's name escapes me) talking to an Ole Miss official about the details of the investigation. I just can't believe the guy is coaching tonight. Oh well.

The Cards just walked into a chorus of cheers from the 1500 or so Card fans in attendance. The Cards look to break a streak of regular season neutral court losses in just a matter of time.

More on the game at it's conclusion.

Go Cards

Just In: Kennedy Will Coach vs. Cards

OK, last update, then let's put this puppy to rest.

Ole Miss athletic director and Coach Andy Kennedy (mugshot pictured left) just released a statement indicating that Kennedy will coach against the Cards tonight in the second annual Big East/SEC Invitational despite Kennedy's arrest late last night.

The Rebels remain 15.5 dawgs against U of L tonight in Cincinnati. It's unclear what Kennedy's record against-the-spread is for games immediately following late night arrests.

Anyway, GO CARDS!

Kennedy Arrest Update

As reported by L Yes! this morning, Ole Miss head coach Andy Kennedy was arrested and charged with misdemeanor assault following an incident where he allegedly punched a cab driver and shouted racial slurs.

Local Cincy media is also reporting that Mississippi sports director of operation William Armstrong was also arrested. Apparently Armstrong was bombed, got booted from the Lodge Bar in downtown Cincy, then he and Kennedy grabbed a cab. That's when it hit the fan.

Through his attorney, Kennedy entered a not guilty plea in Hamilton County Court today and "emphatically" denied the assault and making racial slurs. The powers that be have yet to determine whether Kennedy, a Bob Huggins protégé (hey, I'm just sayin'), will coach against the Cards tonight.

In other news, Cards are 15.5 point favorites against Kennedy's, or whomever's, Rebels tonight.

Breaking: Ole Miss's Andy Kennedy Arrested

Ole Miss basketball head coach Andy Kennedy was arrested late last night for allegedly assaulting a cab driver in Cincinnati at approximately 12:30 a.m. Early reports indicate he allegedly struck 25 year old cab driver Jiddou Mohammed Ould in the face with a closed fist while shouting racial slurs.

Kennedy, in Cincy to take on the Cards tonight in the Big East/SEC invitational, is a former assistant and interim head coach of the Cincinnati Bearcats.

Show Me My Opponent-Ole Miss Runnin' Rebels

First and foremost, the beautiful ladies of Mississip.

Eli Manning and Britney Spears at an Ole Miss game.

Location: Oxford, Mississippi

Record:7-3

Last Season: 24-11 Lost in NIT Finals

Head Coach: Andy Kennedy

Head Coach Andy Kennedy

Conference: SEC

Enrollment: 17,323

Stadium: C.M. "Tad" Smith Coliseum (I had a professor named "Tad")

Projected Starters

G Chris Warren So. 5'10" 19.8 ppg 1.5 reb 4.0 ast

G David Huertas Jr. 6'5" 21 ppg 4.8 reb 2.2 ast

G Terrico White Fr. 6'5" 7.2 ppg 3.2 reb 1.7 ast

F Murphy Holloway Fr. 6'7" 7.5 ppg 4.8 reb 0.7 ast

F Kevin Cantinol Fr. 6'10" 1.4 ppg 1.0 reb 0.1 ast

Key Substitutes

G Zach Graham So. 6'5''

F Terrance Henry Fr. 6'9"

F Malcolm White So. 6'9"

F DeAundre Cranston Fr. 6'9"

The Cards drew the Runnin' Rebs (one of my favorite team names in all the NCAA) in the second annual SEC/Big East Invitational. Our Fighting Cardinals are coming off a little scare against the Governors of Austin Peay, although they won by 19. Ole Miss boasts a starting lineup featuring three freshmen, a sophomore, and a Junior transfer from Florida. And, off the bench, they bring in two more freshmen and two sophomores. Head Coach Andy Kennedy, who knows the Cards well from his days at Cincy, called his team "the softest group of guys I've ever been around" (Yahoo Sports). It's not very surprising, considering that they play five freshmen and three sophomores. With U of L coming out of the mean Big East, the so-called most physical conference in the country, we'll see if the Cards rough up the younger and weaker Rebs. The Big East is very physical, but to be honest, I haven't seen that out of the Cards yet this season. We are still pretty young ourselves, but if we want to make this season great, we have to be physical. This will be a huge test for Sosa, Knowles, Smith and McGee. Huertas and Warren are excellent players.

Prediction

U of L wins by 15 after another early struggle. Andy Kennedy knows U of L and he knows Pitino. So, they will keep it close for a half. I can also see Huertas running off 20+ against U of L's questionable backcourt. U of L 79-Ole Miss 64.

Baseball Notes

Yesterday Louisville head baseball coach Dan McDonnell was named a member of the 2009 USA Baseball National Team. He’ll serve as an assistant to Tulane’s Rick Jones.

And today Cards third baseman/slugger Chris Dominguez and pitcher Justin Marks were both named Pre-Season All Americans. Dominguez received first-team honors, Marks second-team. Both are juniors.

Coach McDonnell is excited about this season’s team. If you’ve never been out to see them, you’re really missing out on some good baseball, a great atmosphere, and a beautiful stadium. Plus they sell beers.

The Cards’ season begins vs. Florida on February 20 and their first home game is February 25 vs. EKU.

Cards Enter Tough Stretch

OK, I'm sure a lot of you all are wondering why there wasn't an in-depth breakdown of the Austin Peay game. To be completely honest, my computer has the dreaded "blue screen of death" so I've been relying on my phone for 'net use. Sorry and you can put a hold on the SAVE ROB shirts for now because I'll be back all-day sooner than later. I hope everybody is enjoying the posts from the new guys as much as I am. We have some big things happening around here and the best thing is it's free. Tell your friends and fellow Cardinal brethren where to get the best news and views from fellow fans. The one missing link is our boy Trevor Kelsey. I think he left his writing skills somewhere in the Cincinnati area. If you see them, please send them back. Anyways...

- The game was like the other 5 previous wins. The Cards had a few rough stretches but pulled it out in the end. The Final 4 team was a second half team as well, wearing teams down with our depth and conditioning. Although, as we saw against Western, if the shots aren't falling the run isn't coming. In the Western loss, the Cards shot a dismal 26% compared to a collective 48% in the 6 other games.

- The Western loss was a blessing in disguise because we could have gotten away with coasting through this tournament/classic tour and struggled in this next stretch of tough games. Ole Miss Thursday in Cincy then a quick turnaround after a long flight to Glendale, AZ for a match-up with Minnesota on Saturday. The second set of Gophers Tubby Smith has coached is 9-0 against the 186th toughest schedule, in the country but ranked 31st, according to realtimerpi.com. In comparison, Louisville's SOS 136th and we've witnessed who they've played.

- I was surprised when I saw that the Cards are ranked 72nd in the RPI currently with their only loss being to the 23rd ranked Toppers. The strength of schedule has to hurt, but the Cards are ranked below such teams as East Tennessee St. (26), Western Carolina (3-2, 38?), the Evansville Purple Aces (16), and (gulp) the friggin Mildcats. One of two computer polls I somewhat trusted has just lost all credibility. Louisville is 5th in the Pomeroy Ratings -- so they're safe for now. Ranked just above us in the RPI is our next opponent, Andy Kennedy's Rebels.

- The Rebels just beat Alabama St by 4 points Monday coming off a 33-point loss to New Mexico. Their backcourt of David Huertas and Chris Warren are averaging a combined 40 points but no one else puts up over 8. If the Cards can maintain intensity on defense and disrupt the Rebel backcourt, they shouldn't have any trouble. Huertas does shoot right under 48% from long range and we are all too familiar with those kind of guys. A hand in the face will or tap of the elbow will be a necessity when facing the transfer from Florida.

- I'll be interested to see how Preston Knowles plays Thursday after his career high 21 points against the Peay on Saturday. He plays very confidently and should shoot whenever he's open. However, not at the expense of spreading the ball around because this is what fans envisioned of this year's team - the capability to have 1 of 9 or 10 players putting up 20 on any given night. By my calculations and including exhibitions 7 Cards have posted at least 20 once already. That number could grow with Andre McGee, Terrence Jennings and even Kyle Kuric having the ability to join that crew at any time.

- Samardo's foul shooting alone is going to win us a few games this year. He is shooting 78% right now and I think it will only improve as the season goes along. After the Austin Peay game Samuels said he works on his foul shooting because he knows he's going to get fouled a lot. Reminds me of a guy that's about to set the all-time scoring record in Chapel Hill, only Mardo isn't a robotic-lunatic.

- I'm going to finish with this: Earl Clark is borderline unstoppable. Once the games start gaining in importance, his output will do nothing but increase. I asked him at Media Day where that mean streak came from in the tourney last year. He said something like "When the game means life or death, I'm going to lay it all out there...you lose you go home". I wish he could play like that all the time, but we have enough talent to conserve Clark for the UK game (a must win) and Big East play. I understand he is a focal point of our team already, but he could be and will be so much more. He's averaging 11 and 8 right now. I expect that to rise to 14 and 10 once Big East play starts. That's just how Earl is wired. I mean, you can look at the picture and know we haven't seen that intensity from E5 quite yet. Big time players make big time plays in big games.


Keep checking back for a preview of the Ole Miss game, a look at Cards in the NFL, and a chat with basketball signee Peyton Siva who will be in town for the King of the Bluegrass very soon.

SEC 2, Big East 0

I know. It sucks.

Amidst a recently growing sentiment – at least in the local media – that perhaps the Big East isn’t all it’s cracked out to be, two members of the conference had a chance to flex some muscle last night against a couple worthy opponents on national TV in the second annual Big East/SEC Invitational.

But both South Florida and Marquette fell last night to Vanderbilt and Tennessee, respectively, on a “neutral” court. (OK, who we kidding here? Nobody’s really calling the Sommet Center in Nashville neutral when you’re playing Vandy or the Vols. And by the way, boooo you Sommet Center in Nashville.)

The Bulls got thumped by 19 against Vandy and A.J. Ogilvy, who had 20 and 13 on ESPN2. In the “feature game,” Marquette lost 80-68 to Tennessee, despite getting 30 from senior guard Wesley Matthews. Twelfth-year senior (is that right?) Dominic James was held to 8.

Fear not, Big East-backers. We got a chance for redemption tomorrow night. The featured games are Cincinnati vs. Mississippi State at 6:30 and Louisville vs. Ole Miss at 9:00 on another “neutral” court in Cincinnati.

DeJuan Wheat - Mexico's Finest

My all-time favorite college basketball player and the best player Louisville has seen since Dr. Dunkenstein is starring in the Mexicali league.

No, I'm not talking about Jason McClendon or Beau Zach Smith or even Reece Gaines or Cisco Garcia, but the man with the leg-kick at the top of his jumper, the coolest demeanor I've ever seen, and the source of countless memories from my younger days - DeJuan Wheat. Wheat is first all-time in minutes played and second in scoring in his career with the Cards. Currently Wheat is playing for Soles de Mexicali who are 30-6 this season and feature former (ahem) notable players like James Penny (the only American sounding name) and the NBA's first ever Mexican-born player Horacio Llamas. Wheat is averaging around 20 points a game and, from the looks of the video below, is still balling like he always did.

I always wonder why he never made it in the pros. However, like countless players before and after him, size and strength held him back, not ability. Wheat was drafted by the Lakers in '97 who immediately became my favorite team until he was cut and banished to Vancouver, a place where basketball careers went to die. Unable to find the right system, Wheat made a career overseas. Last time I saw him in Louisville, he was operating a lawn care service and allegedly out of basketball. It's an absolute thrill that he is back playing ball like he should be, even though it should be in a Knicks uniform instead of that waste of space Stephon Marbury. I have been trying to get a hold of him for interviews on the radio show and site to do a little reminiscing, but to no avail. If anybody can help out, let me know.

Wheat's number should be retired within the next 5 years. And when I say retired, I mean the #32 needs to sit next to those of Griffith, Unseld, Tyra and Ellison in the "Name TBD" Arena rafters for all eternity. Not honored a la Jack Coleman and Milt Wagner - RETIRED. How can your second all-time leading scorer who took the Cards to 3 Sweet 16's and an Elite 8 in a time where the Cards weren't getting the talent they were in the 80's or are presently no be in the rafters over 10 years since his departure? The '97 performance in the NCAA should alone give him enough. Even though we lost to UNC, Wheat gave them everything he had on a severely sprained ankle. The performance against UK in the Samaki Walker triple-double game stands out as well - I think he had like 25 points or more. For his 4 years, Louisville basketball went as DeJuan Wheat went. Although the '94-'97 era was not the most prosperous for Denny Crum, the team was successful and a force on the national scene. Wheat's leadership was a very big contribution to that success and he should be honored accordingly.

Let's get some comments going....Should Wheat have his number retired?

A Little Mike Marra For the Kids

Mike Marra will join the Louisville basketball team next year. The 6'5 200lb sharpshooter from the New England area is averaging 16 a game while shooting nearly 50% from long range in his senior season. His Northfield Mount Hermon squad is 6-1 currently with their only loss coming in Marra's only sub-double digit game. He's showing off some hops for the kids in Louisville today in the form of a 30 second YouTube clip. Enjoy...

T Will Getting Extra Attention from Pitino

Courier-Journal U of L beat writer C.L. Brown has a good piece on what's plaguing T Will's jumper, and the advice he's getting from Coach Pitino as what to do about it.

Williams is averaging 10.6 points per this season, and is coming off a 20 point, 8-13 shooting outing (3-6 from behind the arc) against Austin Peay. But he's hitting less than 39% of his FGs on the season and is 30% from three.

According to Brown, Pitino has been working with his senior captain to eliminate the twisting motion Williams does with his wrist during his release.

It's the humble opinion of this author that T Will's percentages will improve vastly if he continues to get himself open like he did last Saturday. And that's as close as to "criticism" you'll ever get from me when it comes to Number 1. By the way, is should be noted that, generally speaking, most of T Will's shots are of the relatively "high-percentage" variety. See above.

Buy or Sell: Teen Wolf Ed.

Well, this is hilarious.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers DE Greg White just went all Ocho Cinco on us and had his name legally changed to Stylez G. White yesterday, according to the local press.

His motivation? He just really, really likes Michael J. Fox's best pal and supporting star in the 1985 movie Teen Wolf, Rupert "Stiles" Stilinski, pictured upper right. (Really, we couldn't make this up.)

Buy or sell me getting a judge to approve my name change? I think I'm rolling with Jimmy Chitwood from here on out.

Eddie Werder is a JERK and so are Cowboy Fans

Cowboys Chris...git-r-done.

Big East Round-Up

Upsets, blow-outs, nearly half the Top 15 in the coach’s poll being from the Big East, domestic abuse, …TC’s got cha covered with this week’s Big East Round-Up:

The headliner’s gotta be Syracuse’s shocking loss last night to Cleveland State. The Vikings’ Cedric Jackson got nuts at the buzzer and buried a 60-footer to upset the No. 11 ranked Orange (9-1) at home, 72-69. The ‘Cuse has Canisius tomorrow before traveling down to Memphis to take on the 21st ranked Tigers. In other news, Coach Jim Boeheim and guard Eric Devendorf are seeking to appeal Devendorf’s suspension for allegedly striking a female student.

Speaking of Memphis, Georgetown needed OT Saturday to put down John Calipari’s squad, 79-70. The Hoyas outscored the Tigers 13-4 in the extra period. DeJuan Summers had 21 and Austin Freeman added 18 and were two of four to go for double digits for John Thompson, III. No. 19 Georgetown (7-1) has a couple of yawners before traveling up to Connecticut on December 29.

And speaking of UConn, the Huskies (9-0) and Pitt (10-0) remain the only undefeateds in the Big East. But Connecticut will get a test this Saturday vs. No. 7 Gonzaga. They also welcome back sophomore forward Stanley Robinson from his suspension.


Keep your eye on Villanova. The Wildcats are ranked No. 15 after quietly starting 10-1 on the season. They dropped a big one on national TV to Texas last week, but rebounded nicely to beat Saint Joseph’s.

The Big East/SEC Invitational tips off tonight. The first game features South Florida against Vanderbilt at 7:00 on ESPN2.

The second game features Marquette (8-1), which has won three straight after suffering its only loss of the season to Dayton on November 29. The 23rd ranked Golden Eagles take on Tennessee tonight at 9:30 on ESPN. You should watch it. For sure.

Oh yeah, and the Steelers aren't 11-3 with the most difficult schedule in the NFL because they get calls. They're 11-3 with the most difficult schedule in the NFL because they got the best defense in the league, and because they make plays when it counts. But that's a debate for another blog...

The Daily Spike...What We've Learned Edition

Well, I'm back. Three and a half days stuck in Buffalo with family obligations is enough to make one crazy...not to mention the lack of internet. BUT, with all my time I did get to watch just about any sporting event that happened in the last few days...and yes even Louisville/Austin Peay was on! My weekend wouldn't be the same without Ari.

Anyways, here's what we learned this weekend in the world of sports...

1. I'm calling it right now. Colts @ Steelers in the AFC Championship Game. Let's face it, the Steelers get EVERY SINGLE CALL. I'm not saying Santonio Holmes' catch wasn't a touchdown, I'm just saying NO other team in the NFL would have a play reversed on the road, at a rival, and without indisputable evidence. Honestly, could Pittsburgh get luckier? Somehow, the NFL and instant replay have regressed. It apparently no longer means the right call will be made. Honestly, I think they just want Pittsburgh deep in the playoffs or Super Bowl....the economy needs good ratings and the only way to sell advertising is with GOOD TEAMS.

2. My G-Men are done. No continuity on offense. A defense that plays well but is always trying to hold on becasue the offense sputters. Eli is playing liek last season. The loss of Plaxico hurts more than I thought. He at least had to be accounted for when he played. BUT, we'll see, who knows. Right now, I see us losing to Carolina 27-10 on Sunday Night.

3. NBC Coverage of the NFL is embarassing. Not only is "Football Night in America" awful, but the call of the game is worse AND I don't mean Al and John. I like Michaels for the most part...but Al, when the GMen are down 6 with 5:30 to go in the game it's probably not a good idea to keep talking about the "great" victory by the Cowgirls. Also, every outro was Tony Romo. Every single outro. Who actually likes Tony Romo???

4. Jim Zorn CAN'T coach and Auburn CAN'T hire coaches. The Redskins, who whined about being ignored earlier in the season have lost 5 of 6 with their ONLY win being a 3 point win over the lowly Seahawks. For some reason with the weather turning colder Zorn has decided to run with Portis LESS while using the short passing game MORE.
And Auburn CAN'T hire. How do you hire a 5-19 coach? That would be the equivalent of Florida losing Urban Meyer and then hiring STEVE KRAGTHORPE...talk about regression!

5. Who's overrated in College Basektball? That's easy...Gonzaga and Tennessee. Saturday I watched intently as Mr. Christmas lit UT up...and I can't lie that I loved every minute of it. Despite having no real dealings with UT, I hate them. I know their fans and I hate them. Their fans are the worst...same level as UK basketball. In fact, you know the worst fans in the world reside in Tennessee and I can prove it. There are those who follow UK basketball AND UT football. Could there possibly be a worse combination. But anyways, Bruce Pearle again chokes on the road. It's the same thing with his teams. They have no inside presence. They rely too much on wild 3's and their athleticsim...hmm...sound like someone else? Anyways, UT isn't going far this year and Gonzaga losing Sunday night throws them out of the Top 5. ESPN was blowing smoke up our a$$e$ all weekend about how Gonzaga is now used to being the hunted and that they'll make the Final 4...think again buddy.

6. Your yearly HOCKEY WATCH is right here baby. What have we learned about hockey? Easy, Sean Avery's pretty cool. A man loses his job for saying the truth about his former girlfriend. If I was fired each time I used "Avery language" then I'd be tearing tickets in Kuwait, everybody sucking sand.

7. My Fantasy Football season ended and yes, I did have Andre Johnson on my team...I think it's time for Andre to find "big boy" football. Andre Johnson grabs me about 70 points and I still lose, thus is my life. BUT I think I have Fantasy Football figured out...here's what you need to do. Unless you're a top 4 pick DON'T worry about getting a top notch running back. Almost every team in the NFL splits time. Plus, if that team gets behind they completely go away from the pass. Also, don't blow your load on a receiver. This year Kevin Walter was a beast...yes, Kevin Walter. There's so much depth and with certain teams throwing the ball too much there's a lot to go around. Look at Arizona for a minute, Urban and Breaston are beating out Fitzgerald and Bodlin.
And while I'm at it...Andre Johnson needs to join a big boy football team. Here's a list of teams that should make a serious play for Johnson...Giants, Eagles, Seahawks, Chicago, Tennessee, and Baltimore. All these teams know how to win and are one step away from really upgrading their offenses.

8. Tubby Smith was a BAD coach and HERE'S WHY. Now, Tubby, wasn't really a bad coach. He did OK. But, obviously, in the end he quit recruiting and fell asleep at the wheel. It's fair to say that Rondo is close to becoming a star and on the team he's on right now he may make the all-star game...yes, Boston is pressing hard to get him in. What if Tubby would've known how to communicate and use Rondo? Does anyone remember Rondo was coming off the bench and had to settle into Tubby's boring system? Look at him now. And what if Louisville grabs Rondo? Just a thought.

9. Weathermen in Louisville SUCK! I'm glad I went to bed last night praying that 4 inches of snow and endless amounts of sleet and frozen rain would drop from the heavens...only to wake up to almost NO precipitation. I was praying I could call into work and explain that I was iced in and that I have been feverishly trying to get out of my apartment complex but just can't. As you can see (or read) that didn't happen. There's always tomorrow.

Somebody Buy Krag a Drink

Coach Krag has made a little bit of a splash this weekend on the junior-college and prep level, nearly doubling his recruiting class for next year in the process.Sheltered fans would say "Hey, the guy is actually doing something!", but in actuality it is a mask for a program that isn't making progress. Not since the days of Jay Gruden (who?) have the Cards had this liitle talent coming into a season.

Like I've said before, Krag is holding on for dear life. He needs guys that can play now not later. However, it is not due to lack of recruiting by Petrino (a favorite excuse for Krag apologists) but Krag's lack of tolerence to players with discipline issues, a staple of most competitive college teams - like it or not. The make-up of the team would be completely different if Krag had a little forgiveness in his heart for players not named Tim Dougherty.

Harry Douglas was wild in his early days at Louisville and became the consumate leader. One of Krag's favorites, Scott Long, would have been kicked off for a paintball incident his freshman year. You have to take chances on young men regardless of their moral standards. They're football players. They should have a bit of a mean-streak and they are unfortunately going to be immature at times. As a coach, Krag should see the potential in fringe players and not give up on guys due to a failed drug-test or dreaded "undisclosed violation of team.rules". The program has made its bed the last ten years with players that had talent along with an attitude, swagger and chip on their shoulder. Krag is stopping that rolling ball, pulling out a knife, and popping it like a disgruntled old man.

The reason I'm bring all this up is, while I'm excited about the guys that committed over the last 10 days, I'm not satisfied. JuCo All-American QB Adam Froman from Santa Rosa CA chose the Cards over Colorado St. Isaac and Jacob Geffors, a twin-tandem at safety aka "The Sharp Bros. Part Deux", picked Krag over a couple of Florida schools. No, not Florida or Miami. Not even Florida St. or So. Florida. And if you guessed Central Florida, well, you'd be wrong too. The Geffard's had Florida Atlantic and Florida International on their short list before Louisville won out. The best recruit we have coming in according to most analysts, LB Mike Privott, chose the Cards over ACC teams that I don't want to be compared to, such as NC St and Virginia. There is no reason we should be competing with these lower-tier schools coming off a BCS win and back-to-back top 10 finishes.

Guys like RBs David Oku out of Oklahoma and Deuce Finch of StX are out there and used to be interested in the Cards. Now they have narrowed their lists with neither including Louisville. They want to hear a buzz around the program, not the THUD sound that the team made this year (and last). I know we have Victor Anderson and Bilal Powell, but you can never have enough. Especially when speaking of 5 star- RBs.

I hate being negative, but there is no way we are making even a quivver next year and we're stuck with somone that still thinks he's recruitng for Tulsa. Auburn, Tennessee, Miss St all have new coaches and decommitted recruits. I think it might be a good idea to call them. Hell, if it's legal, I'll call them myself. I just want to get another guy on the team that at least has a scout or rivals player bio. Its time to put on the full-court press before the dead period in a few days.

Krag seems scared of failure to go after top-notch guys who might need a little mental coaching to mature. The Cards will never get out of state 5-stars, but 4s will come if pushed. One and two star recruits combined with some regular JuCo Joe's just won't cut it in the long run.

Theus Out In Sacramento

Former Louisville Assistant Reggie Theus was fired by the Sacramento Kings today, multiple sources are reporting. Theus was named the head coach during the summer of 2007 after serving in the same capacity at New Mexico State for a season.

Francisco Garcia is averaging 10.9 points per game for the Kings, who are at the bottom of their division at 6-18.

Theus becomes the 6th NBA head coach to be fired already this season.

McCoughtry, Cards Topple Cats

Angel McCoughtry had 31 points as U of L rolled Kentucky 75-59 yesterday in front of a record-setting, pack-the-house Freedom Hall. Candyce Bingham added 14 to go along with her 12 boards. The Cards cracked the Top 10 today, coming in ranked 9th in the country by the AP.

New Excitement in the Air at Redsfest

Walking into my first Redsfest last Friday I was largely surprised. I was not sure what to expect when my girlfriend and I got there. People were everywhere and there was a new excitement in the air. I think a lot of it had to do with last years turning of the Ken Griffey Jr. and Adam Dunn page. Either way the crowd was great and so were the players and coaches.

I was able to talk with most of the players (Johnny Cueto, Chris Dickerson, Edwin Encarnacion, ect.). All of these guys were very nice guys, but also very focused at the upcoming season and the tasks at hand. Part of Redsfest was a question and answer session with a few of the executives, the general manager Walt Jocketty, and manager Dusty Baker. Some of the fans were drilling them with some good questions. Of course one of the hottest topics was who is going to fill the void in the outfield and in the middle of the batting order. Jocketty did a good job of basically dodging those questions completely. However he did say that the Reds will either trade for an outfielder or sign one out of free agency. Also Dusty Baker was asked about who his ace would be. He said that although Edinson Volquez had a great season last year, he still views Aaron Harang as his ace. The night was finished off by a live performance from the Bronson Arroyo Band.

A couple of moves that have happened in the last week or so have been the acquisition of new catcher Ramon Hernandez(left) from the Baltimore Orioles. The Reds traded utility player Ryan Freel and a couple of prospects for Hernandez and some cash. Also the Reds made it official on Saturday that they have signed free agent southpaw, 39 year old Arthur Rhodes to a two year deal. This will help fill the void left when Jeremy Affeldt left for the Giants. Also the Reds have just signed outfielder Laynce Nix to a minor league contract. He comes from the Milwaukee Brewers and has battled injuries for most of his career. There are rumors out there saying that a short list of outfielders that the Reds could be pursuing are Willy Taveras, Pat Burrell, and Jeremy Hermida. As new developments come about the L Yes! Report will bring them to you. The Reds are trying to bring in some veterans to put around the young core, which in turn could possibly take them back to the playoffs.

Sleeping with the Enemy

Here's the article I write every week for one my old hosts on SportsNight, Matt Jones, on KentuckySportsRadio.com. I haven't gotten kicked off yet so either they respect my college hoops knowledge or haven't found out I'm a Cards fan who's second favorite team is whoever the Cats are playing yet. Either way, like I say at the end of the post, "Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer" Hope you enjoy and don't despise me.

Five weeks into the season and we have a definitive #1 team, the boys from Chapel Hill. However, the question begs to be asked - Who's #2? I guess it is pretty insignificant in the whole scheme of things, but since you can't really debate the classic "Who's #1?" question this year, then I guess for arguments sake we'll step back a notch. There are a few teams that stick out above the rest, as the polls indicate:

1 - #2 UCONN - The Huskies are one of the few teams that can match up with the Heels, Top 5 against Top 5. They have beaten a couple good teams (Wisconsin, Miami (FL)), a couple bad teams (Delaware St. , Bryant) and had a close encounter with the mighty Buffalo Bulls last Thursday, surviving 68-64. C Hasheem Thabeet doesn't look uncoordinated and lost out there anymore. He's a double-double every night and along with Mr Underrated Jeff Adrien, makes the second most formidable 4-5 combination in the nation. Jerome Dyson and AJ Price take care of the outside scoring and Kemba Walker has been acceptable at PG. However, the freshman Walker has 24 assists and 22 turnovers in 8 games, not the ratio coach Calhoun is looking for I'm sure. UCONN is hoping freshman Ater Majok will be granted eligibility in the next few weeks and become available for Big East Play. He will not be available on December 20 when the Huskies take on...

2 - #4 Gonzaga - The Zags have 5 guys averaging double figures and have the most unselfish team in America. I know that IU kept it close the other night, but talent took over and the Zags ended up winning by 15. I think the only thing hurting them is their depth. Yet, these guys have been answering the critics and dominating opponents, most recently Washington St. Just as long as their center Josh Heytvelt doesn't serve the team his special batch of brownies or replace Gatorade with some "herbal" tea, I think the Zags have as good a shot as anyone to knock off the Heels.

3- #3 PITT - Lavance Fields is one of those guys like Clarence Ceasar at LSU or Jerald Honeycutt at Tulane that just seems like he's been playing for 10 years. He is always there to make a huge shot and has developed into a smart distributor of the ball (4:1 Asst/TO). Jamie Dixon has hands-down the most physical team in the country. No player this year will go down low against DeJuan Blair, Sam Young, and Tyrell Biggs and come away without a few bumps and bruises. Blair is a monster, averaging 14-14, but I'm wondering if the joke of a non-conference schedule, highlighted by Wash St. and Texas Tech, will come back to bite them. Their first game against a team the garnered ONE vote (one) in last week's AP or ESPN poll is Florida St. on the 21st. The 'Noles received 1 vote in both polls combined.

Other teams that deserve consideration are Duke, Tennessee and Louisville. However, all three teams rely on shooting entirely too much to compete with the other three undefeated teams right now. Tennessee is very young and raw on both ends, but Pearl has the athletes to compete. Duke lost to a very underrated Michigan team. Louisville has the talent to compete inside, but showed that they can be beaten rather easily if their shots aren't falling from the outside. I'm just not sold on teams like Oklahoma, Texas, Notre Dame and Xavier - too many holes and question marks. Feel free to give your two cents.

Other tidbits from the week that was...

- Stephan Curry has what so many good (but not great) players were lacking. That killer instinct and icewater flowing through his veins in crunch time. The ability to rip your opponent's heart out of your chest, Temple of Doom-style, and show no remorse. It was an art perfected by Jordan, but carried by guys like Bird and Jerry West. Curry has it, and showed Bobby Thuggins "it" Tuesday night by scoring 13 of Davidson's final 15 points to give them the win. Curry started 1-12 in the first half, but when his team needed him he turned into Superman. He was not going to be denied. As of this very minute, Curry is the Player of the Year. No doubt about it. Thanks for all the Mom shots too ESPN. You can see his dad, Dell, doesn't really care too much for the attention.

- John Belien of Michigan is starting to prove his worth as a top-notch college hoops coach and one of it's top minds. He has taken a Michigan team that is nothing close to the team he would prefer to coach to a 6-2 record with losses to only Duke and Maryland. The Wolverines have beaten 2 top-5 teams so far (UCLA, Duke) and look like they have a legitimate shot at winning the Big Ten. Belien was blessed with players like Manny Harris (a unique player who I love to watch) and DeShawn Sims (28 points, 12 boards in Duke win) to help with the transition. Be that as it may, they are a far cry from Pittsnoggle, Gansey, and A-BARE. If he can implement his 1-3-1 D and spread offense with the caliber of athlete he'll get in Ann Arbor,Michigan could become a force again sooner than later.

- Syracuse looks like they have to cope with life without G Eric "I Wanna be like Ike" Devendorf, who may or may not play again, due to the fact he is appealing a season-long suspension dealt to him by the school for a beating incident involving a girl. A definite no-no. You never know in situations like that though until the evidence is looked at, but his future is looking bleak. The Orange take on Long Beach on the U Saturday at noon. It may be addition by subtraction as I always thought 'Dorf had way too many awful-looking tats that probably distracted and embarrassed his teammates and took the "White-Chocolate" gimmick to a ridiculous level that would bewilder Jason Williams. No offense to those of you with tats, but if I ever have a daughter and a guy looking like Dorf rings my doorbell, I'm sending her to a monastery.

Here's what to look forward to this week..

Friday - No games scheduled on TV. #25 Miami takes on Florida International in the only Top 25 action. If you need something to do come to Brownie's The Shed and we'll play alma mater trivia for beers. A lean night.

Saturday - Since there's no college football to hold us back, a full slate of games is on tap. Aside from Louisville/Austin Peay and IU/UK at 1 and 4, there are some very intriguing match-ups. At noon, The Ladies Man and his Vols take on Temple on the Mothership. I don't know if temple still runs that slow down ball, but it could get ugly against Tyler Smith and co. The best match-up of the day is Memphis at Georgetown at 2 on CBS. Both teams are coming off recent losses and are still trying to replace departing stars. However, guys like Tyreke Evans and Robert Dozier going up against the stifling Georgetown D will be entertaining. I just see a veteran defensive team like the Hoyas forcing a lot of turnovers and handling the inexperienced Tigers. The Crosstown Shootout between Xavier and Cincinnati is always entertaining. Sean Miller has the Muskies in the top 10 early behind the play of G/F BJ Raymond and F Derrick Brown. Plus, PG Terrell Holloway is back from injury. The Muskies start a nice three game stretch of @UC-@Duke-Butler against a Cincy team that is having a tough time scoring points.

Sunday - Arizona has an interim coach in Russ Pernell and will almost surely be looking for a coach in the next 6 months. A name that has been thrown out there is Gonzaga coach Mark Few and Arizona has always been a spot people thought might have the clout to get Few to bolt Spokane. Few's Zags visit Tuscon at 6 on Fox Sports. Could the 'Zona brass be cheering for their team and also scouting a possible replacement for Lute Olsen?

Monday - Syracuse and UCONN take on jobbers who they will slaughter by 40 and gain nothing from in Cleveland St. and Stony Brook respectively at 7. Another night this week with no games on TV, however if you are luck enough to have ESPN 360, the UCONN clash and Charleston Southern - Cincinnati are the feature games of the night. Also, keep your eyes on the Anderson-Liberty score. Liberty features Seth Curry, brother of Stephan and Anderson is not very good. The younger bro is averaging 21 points for the Flames who play in a familiar conference to teams around here - the Big South.

Tuesday - A skirmish between two Top 25 teams comes at you at 9:30 as the Ladies Man reappears against Marquette. A lot of good slashers in this game - Jerel McNeal and Wesley Matthews for Marquette, Smith, Scotty Hopson and Cameron Tatum for the Vols. I predict a mild upset in this game as the Vols are due for a let down with all the young talent they rely upon. The under card is South Florida/Vandy which features two guys you'll probably see in the league one day playing on sub-par teams. South Florida's dynamic guard Dominique Jones and Vandy 7-footer AJ Ogilvy. Both teams are struggling, but these guys try to keep them above water. Vandy does have 5 guys averaging double figures, which is surprising to me.

Wednesday -The Dukies look to bounce back from their loss by taking on the giant Tony George-less UNC-Ashville team at 7:30 on ESPN2. I know George is the only reason this joke of a game is on TV. Plus, it gives ESPN another chance to "pleasure" Coach K. PITT takes on one of the preseason mid-major sleepers in Siena at 9:30. The Saints lost three straight to OK St., Wichita, and Tenn in Orlando, so PITT should have no trouble. At least PITT is finally playing on TV, over a month into the season.

Thursday - I will be off to Cincy to watch the Big East/SEC Challenge double-header of Miss St./Cincy and Ole Miss/UL which starts at 6:30 on ESPN2. Ole Miss has two guards, David Huertas and Chris Warren, averaging over 20 a game but haven't faced anyone with Louisville's defensive ability yet. Miss St. has maybe the best defender in the country, Jarvis Vernado, and Ballard product Twany Beckham. I'm looking forward to watch how Beckham improved in prep school and just how vicious Vernado is in person. He'll be facing Yancey Gates of Cincy, a formidable big man who should see the ball a lot.

Until next week, remember what Don Corleone once said, "Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer".

Thoughts From the Desk of TGIF Already

I think I'm ready for the weekend and a few ice cold $1 drafts at my favorite eatery. (You're welcome for the free advertisement, girls.) I think it's weird we park on driveways and drive on parkways. I think Fridays were made for long lunches and web-browsing. Needless to say, I'm really full right now, and well, here you go...

E5 sits atop the list of impressive future NBAers, at least according to ESPN’s Chad Ford.

Anybody find it amusing that Bobby Petrino is so terribly unequipped to handle media speculation he has to refer questions to his attorney? I do.

Interested in how each college football coach voted his final Top 25? USA Today’s got cha covered with this fancy link. And Thomas Neumann’s got a few things to say about it.

Starting Syracuse guard Eric Devendorf and Coach Jim Boeheim haven’t quite come to grasp with the centuries-old, well-settled rule that you can’t hit girls.

Imagine that! A former UK Wildcat accused of cheating. Unfortunately, looks like he could be facing a steeper penalty than a few years NCAA probation this time around.

Not sick of the media’s tireless infatuation with the Dallas Cowboys and the surrounding “drama?” Then you’re not watching enough SportsCenter.

So, who’s gonna win the Heisman? My money’s on Sam Bradford, but I got the inside scoop.

Finally, some early bowl game spreads (and dates) of interest:

• Magicjack St. Petersburg Bowl: South Florida – 13 vs. Memphis (12/20)


• Meineke Car Care Bowl: WVU +1 vs. UNC (12/27)


• Papajohns.com Bowl: Rutgers – 7 vs. NC State (12/29)


• Sun Bowl: Pitt +3 vs. Oregon State (12/31)


• FedEx Orange Bowl: Cincinnati – 2 vs. Virginia Tech (1/1)


• Rose Bowl Presented by Citi: USC – 10 vs. Penn State (1/1)


• AutoZone Liberty Bowl: East Carolina – 2 vs. Kentucky (1/2)


• Allstate Sugar Bowl: Alabama – 10 vs. Utah (1/2)


• International Bowl: UConn – 4 vs. Buffalo (1/3)


• Tostitos Fiesta Bowl: Texas – 9.5 vs. Ohio St. (1/5)


• FedEx BCS National Championship: Florida – 3 vs. Oklahoma (1/8)
  

OK you knuckleheads. Get back to work.

Syracuse Hires Marrone

After going 0-2 vs. Syracuse's Greg Robinson these past two seasons, Coach Kragthorpe and the Cards will try their luck against New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator Doug Marrone.

Multiple sources are reporting that Marrone is scheduled to be named Syracuse's next head coach. Ironically, I'm sitting here watching Marrone's current offense on TNF, hoping he doesn't draw something up to get Lance Moore the rock, as I'm up against him in my fantasy league's playoffs. Earlier today, it was reported that ECU's Skip Holtz removed his name from consideration for the Syracuse job.

Marrone played for the Orange in the '80s.

That's all. Carry on.

No Surprise Here: Deuce is Mr. Football

Louisville St. X running back and U of L recruit Deuce Finch was named Kentucky's Mr. Football by the AP yesterday after rushing for 1,397 yards and 30 TDs this season.

While his Tigers fell to Trinity in the state-semi, it was inescapably obvious how comfortable Deuce looked on the turf at the Pizza Palace last Friday night.

He'd be a great complement to his former teammate and Big East Rookie of the Year...

On Angel's Wings

Haha. You like that article title, don't you?

Angel McCoughtry recorded her 5th career triple-double (where you at, T Will?) last night as the Cards rolled Hartford, 70-42. Angel dropped 18 points, snagged 10 boards, and led Coach Jeff Walz's suffocating full-court press with 10 steals. What's more is the fact that she only needed 26 minutes on the hardwood to put up those numbers. The Cards (8-1) also got 13 and 6 from Deseree Byrd and Brandie Radde came off the bench to drop 11.

Be sure to come out this Sunday, December 14 (also this author's birthday), at 2:00 to support the No. 13 Cards as they try to pack the house versus that one-school-down-I-64.

Derek Fathauer Gets Tour Card

Louisville has their own pro golfer to brag about now as Derek Fathauer finished T-2 at this year's PGA Tour Q-School, granting him a tour card for this upcoming season. Fathauer is coming off a year where his qualified for the U.S. Open (making the cut) and helped his Cards to great successes in the Big East.

Derek shot 24-under in the 108 hole tournament played at the Jack Nicklaus courses in LaQuinta, CA (PGA West, Alcatraz, ect.). The top-25 golfers this week received a year exemption on the tour. Other notables who qualified were Harrison Fazier (shot a 59 in round 2), Notah "Shooter" Begay, and John Huston. Derek becomes the third former Louisville golfer to qualify for the Tour along with Cardinal Club pro Ted Schulz and Jim Ferriel, Jr.

So congratulations to Derek from all the hacks here at L Yes! Hopefully one day he wil represent his country in the Ryder Cup like fellow Kentuckians Kenny Perry and JB Holmes did at Valhalla this past year and we can get some C-A-R-D-S instead of that god-awful chant that almost ruined my time out there.

According to U of L, Fathauer's first tournament will be the SONY Open in Hawaii January 12 - 18 at Waialae Country Club with a purse of $5,400,000. Good Luck to him and keep checking back for weekly updates on the Cards lone Tour player.

Rumor Mill: English to Washington?

As you may know, former USC offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian was recently anointed head coach at Washington. Reports are rampant in L.A. and elsewhere that Sarkisian has his sights set on none other than U of L's own Ron English to lead the Huskies' defense next season.

English is also reportedly a candidate for the head job at Eastern Michigan, where his former Michigan boss Lloyd Carr serves as an "unpaid advisor" to the AD. His name has also been tossed around discussions regarding the opening at San Diego State.

Stay tuned to the LYes!Report for more on this developing story.

Vic Anderson is Top Conference Rookie

From the Athletic Department:

The 2008 All-BIG EAST football teams were announced on Wednesday the University of Louisville was well represented as red-shirt freshman was named the BIG EAST Rookie of the Year and senior center Eric Wood earned first team honors for the second straight year.
Anderson is the first Louisville player to earn BIG EAST Rookie of theYear honors after he finished fifth in the conference in rushing (87.2yards per game). Anderson ran for 1,047 yards and eight touchdowns in a freshman season in which he had five 100-yard games. He was the Cardinals' first 1,000-yard rusher since Michael Bush rushed for 1,143 yards in 2005. Anderson also earned second team All-BIG EAST honors.
Wood earned All-BIG EAST honors for the third straight season. He earned first team in 2008 and 2007, and was a second team selection in 2006. The product of Cincinnati, Ohio, ended his career with a string of 49 straight starts, the second-longest streak in school history. Wood was recently named one of the finalists for the Rimington Award, which goes to the best center in the country.
Senior guard George Bussey also earned All-League accolades for the third straight season. After earning second team honors a year ago, Bussey was a first team selection this year, as well as, in 2006 when the Cardinals won the league. This season, Bussey started all 12 games, showing versatility by playing both guard and tackle.
Sophomore wide receiver Doug Beaumont was a second team honoree after leading the Cardinals in receptions and yards. The 5-10 speedster caught 62 passes for 750 yards in his first full season at the wide receiver position. Beaumont also averaged 9.6 yards a punt return.
Despite injuries that kept him in and out of the lineup, junior Trent Guy was a second team selection as a kick returner. Guy averaged 24.5 yards a kick return this season and returned one for a touchdown. The junior from Charlotte, N.C. returned a kick 95 yards in a 35-28 win over Memphis. It was the fourth special teams touchdown in his career.
Despite a much-improved defense in 2008, junior linebacker Jon Dempsey was the lone selection on the defensive side of the football, earning All-BIG EAST second team accolades Dempsey, a junior-college transfer at linebacker, led the Cardinals in tackles with 80 and had eight tackles for loss.

Mad props from the LYes!Report to these 6 Cards!

The Daily Spike

1. Stephen Curry is just magical. I put myself through actually watching that entire game. Curry misses, misses, then he hits a couple, then he blows a layup. At halftime he had 10 points and 8 dimes...at HALF...and all the talking faces were speaking of Curry struggling...yes from the field but not all around...he gets his teammates involved! He makes the team better, it's as simple as that. In the second half he struggles more, turns the ball over, in and outs 2 three pointers, but then it happens. He knocks in Davidson's final 13 of their 15 points, including 2 huge three pointers which put the nail in the coffin. He's simply amazing!

You know the real weird thing about Curry. He's not overly athletic. Watching him I feel like sometimes I could guard him...THEN he crosses it over or puts it behind his back and strides to the basket against a top defender and you're sitting there scratching your head. Besides athleticism, he's just so small. He's not a big guy, he's just not. Remember how much Tayshaun Prince was ridiculed about his girth and look how it worked out for him. I think Curry's the same kind of guy. He can guard, he has a super quick trigger from anywhere in the gym, hits his free throws, handles the ball above average (but needs to get better), and most importantly has that IT FACTOR. In other words, he's clutch.

2. Whenever Joey Porter's in the news then you know it's gotta be good. Whether it's swinging at a casino, calling a teammate gay, or just being an overall creep...Porter's always good for a quote AND I actually am with him on this one. In a taped interview which will air TODAY on Cold Pizza or whatever the hell they call it now...Porter shares that "Until you've been in that situation, when you've been robbed at gunpoint or you've had a gun waved in your face or had your house broken into before or been carjacked, you really don't know what it's like."

For once, I agree with Porter. Who is the media to say if an athlete should/shouldn't carry a gun. These guys are noticeable figures. I couldn't point out a CEO of most major companies but I could a pro athlete. Hey, I'm the guy who pointed out Thebo Shefolosha at a restaurant in Chicago. Anyways, Porter's right. Honestly, how many of you feel safe in Louisville late at night? How many feel safe wandering the streets of Creekside Apartments at night? Point taken yet? These guys have tons of cash, tons of bling, tons of poon, tons of everything. Plus, when you're in the limelight like a Plaxico, you don't wanna go down like a bitch. Plax ended up going down like a bitch but in a much different way.

3. Lastly, what is going on with Digger Phelps and Bobby Knight...really. I mean c'mon. It's going to be tough watching Digger and Knight take fake friendly jabs at one another and then laugh about it while a national audience is watching. Even John Saunders last night had the look of "what the hell". At halftime of the Davidson/WV game they talked more about Bobby Knight refusing to wear a suit and tie his entire life. One may now ask...who cares?

I'm starting to think these two have something together. Whatever it may be...don't let them room together the night before college game day!

Cards Rout Lamar, Take Marques Maybin Classic

Louisville, who jumped to No. 9 in the most recent AP poll, thumped Lamar last night in what can be fairly assessed as a less-than-spectacular ending to the 2008 Marques Maybin Classic, 78-56. Samardo Samuels led the way with 16 points and T Will grabbed 13 boards. Jerry Smith was the other Card in double digits with 12.

E5 followed up 2 double-doubles with 6 points and 6 rebounds and was named the event’s MVP. Said Coach Pitino: “Earl was just waking up about the eleven-minute mark. We got him out of his coffin.”

Edgar Sosa had an assist to go with his four turnovers. He plays very passionate basketball and it’s obvious he’s trying to create; sometimes I think he sees things that just aren’t there. There’s no reason to think that he won’t eventually come around and provide the type of consistency we need and be a nice complement to Andre McGee at the point.

Will Scott came in off the bench and, for the second game in a row, immediately banged home a triple. His ability to light it up like that fresh off the pine is reassuring. He went 2-2 from trey and had 6 points. Preston Knowles also provided a spark with his tenacious D. He added 6 as well.

Speaking of tenacious D, both George Goode and Terrence Jennings were especially impressive, combining for 5 boards and 2 blocks in only 15 minutes between them. Hopefully we can get that kind of production from these two on a consistent basis.

The loudest ovation of the night came when Marques Maybin appeared on the big screen. The 4,000 or so of us that stuck around for the award ceremony enjoyed the privilege of hearing the man address the crowd and offer some kind words for Sports Information Director Kenny Klein and the Cards. The former guard dropped 2,460 points during his tenure at U of L and is, well, awesome.

The Cards take on Austin Peay this Saturday at 1:00. Look for a Show-Me-My-Opponent later this week on the LYes!Report.

Who Would Be Better than Krag??

The question has been raised to me after I called for Krag to resign after the Rutgers debacle, If he resigns, who would come in and do a better job? 4 names popped in my head really fast. They all have the credentials that Krag doesn't and all 4 would come in and have the immediate impact that our current coach has dreams about. Pictured from the left, we have former Rams coach and UL offensive coordinator Scott Linehan, Florida co-offensive coordinator Dan Mullen, ex-NFL coach Steve Mariucci, and former Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville. Here's why each guy would work...

Scott Linehan - We all know how unsuccessful Linehan was with the Rams. Well, Rick Pitino was unsuccessful in the pros, so even the greatest of coaching minds can struggle with the big money egos of professional athletes. Once the offensive coordinator at Louisville for 3 years under John L. (99-01), Linehan has strong Louisville ties and knows the "lay of the land" pretty well. He would bring a great offensive mind and demand respect from his players through intimidation, much like a former coach of ours. Linehan had the same problem Petrino had in the NFL, unless your name is Bill Parcells players could care less about you and are just looking for someone that will get them paid. Linehan made about 2 million per year with St. Louis. Jurich could get him for less than a million with incentives.

Dan Mullen - Everyone who's a college football fan knows that Urban Meyer runs one of the most exciting and complex and this guy has been working side-by-side with him for the better part of ten years. Mullen ran the Utah offense with Alex Smith in 2004 and was coordinator for the Gators national championship run 2 years ago. He would bring back our strong Florida recruiting ties we developed under Schnellenberger, Smith and Petrino and have lost under Krag. A buddy came up to me at the basketball game this weekend asking if I'd heard a rumor about this guy being the next coach. I hadn't heard anything but I did say, "That would be awesome". To paraphrase Kliche Krag, Mullen could 'make chicken salad out of chicken you-know-what', something he'd surely have to do with Krag's leftovers. Mullen is battle tested, coaching in one of the toughest conferences in the country and recruiting against Ohio St., USC and Texas as well as the other Florida powers. Mullen would be my top choice right now. I don't think there is very much risk involved and he comes from a winning program.

Steve Mariucci - This is the trendy pick right now among fans I have talked to. They also say there isn't a chance we get the guy who has coached 3 Hall of Fame QBs (Montana, Young, Favre) and studied under the John Wooden of football, Bill Walsh because we've lost our luster. If Jurich can get Pitino to come back at his former school's bitter rival, he can get an old Louisville assistant to come on board. Mariucci coached here 1983-84 as a receivers coach and I'm sure he holds a special place in his heart for the 'ville. In my opinion, this would be the big-splash hire we need to get back on the national map. Mooch has connections from everywhere in the US and recruits would recognize him from his NFL network work. He would rejuvenate the fanbase and possibly make enough noise to warrant the PJ expansion. People forget he was a hot commodity after taking Cal to a bowl in his only season as a college coach in 1996, leaving for the Niners. Mariucci is a little bit older and wiser now and is looking for a place to settle down. Why not here?

Tommy Tuberville - The only reason I like this pick is recruiting ties. Auburn had one of the top classes every year in Tuberville's tenure and a bunch decommitted after his ouster. He is a solid coach who just couldn't live up to expectations in Auburn, even though he dominated Alabama during his stay. With his coaching away from the SEC microscope, Tuberville could thrive. Plus, wouldn't it be ironic if Tuberville came here only a couple years after our former coach was secretly in talks for the Auburn job behind his back. This would work well, Tuberville would be able to prove he is a great coach and the Cards would gain someone with ties to the whole Southern region as well as Texas as well as someone not afraid to push the envelope on offense. Fans would appreciate a hard-fought 8-5 season here, not in Auburn.

There you go. 4 guys who would come in and get us a little national attention, breathe new life into an angry fanbase, and possibly sell and/or retain enough season-ticket holders to make the stadium expansion worthwhile. But here's the catch, Tom Jurich (the guy with all the power) is "sticking with" Krag and "staying the course", so this is all just wishful thinking. Maybe ol' TJ will take a gander at L Yes! and a light-bulb will go off, but I doubt it. If that anvil also know as a 50 point loss to Rutgers and back-to-back losses against Syracuse didn't knock some sense into him, some logical ideas from someone not named Joe "Booster" or Johnny "Donor" would go in one ear and out the other.

Bottom line is: If any one of these guys came in before the new year, they would be able to put together a decent recruiting class (surely better than the one we have currently), retain some staff members if necessary, and establish local ties with both fans and recruits. Just a suggestion because something needs to be done soon.

Winter Meeting's Heat Up

Hello my name is Michael Vanover and I just recently signed on to become a writer for The L Yes! Report. Just for a little background on myself, I have been around sports my whole life, from playing them, to watching my Dad coach, and of course as a fan. My passion for sports carried over into the sports broadcasting and journalism field. I was one of the broadcasters for the Louisville Fire this past season and have worked with 93.9 the Ticket in the past.

I am predominately going to be writing about baseball, although I will touch on other topics. This will give the L Yes! even more variety and will hopefully improve an already great website. I will be covering the closest team to Louisville, the Cincinnati Reds. I also will be following the Louisville Bats and the University of Louisville baseball team. I am excited to become a part of the site and hopefully get great feedback from all of you. Enough about me let’s talk baseball, hot stove edition.

Although the economy is in the worst shape it has been in years the salaries of these MLB players haven’t seen much of a hit. Players like C.C. Sabathia are having to debate over contracts between 90 million to 140 million dollars, and he’s not the only one. Players like K-Rod getting offered a massive contract from the New York Mets, and Jake Peavy has a salary that makes most teams cringe. All of this news is nice, but what about the Reds.

New General Manager Walt Jocketty has gone into Las Vegas (home of the meetings) like a man on a mission. After the Reds dealt outfielders Adam Dunn and Ken Griffey Jr., they are in much need of a right handed bat, preferably an outfielder. There have numerous rumors about a possible trade of Homer Bailey and another prospect to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for outfielder Jermaine Dye. This was reported as an almost done deal by the Dayton Daily News, but was quieted by Reds General Manager Walt Jocketty and Manager Dusty Baker. Also rumors surfaced today about a possible trade involving the Reds utility player Ryan Freel to the Baltimore Orioles for veteran catcher Ramon Hernandez. I feel like both of these moves would benefit the Reds. Homer Bailey (left) is only 22 years old, but could still be a bust. I don’t think he will be, but his value is still relatively high and I think both clubs could use the divorce. As far as Freel goes, he has had injury problems. Not to mention the Reds as of now have the young Ryan Hannigan as their starting catcher. He has upside, but should not be their everyday catcher yet. Today, the Detroit Tigers acquired Rangers catcher Gerald Laird today via trade for some pitching prospects.

As the news and rumors continue to flood in I will keep you posted. I will post again towards the end of the week. Hopefully there will be some interesting news from around the league and for the Reds. But one thing is for sure, any contracts signed or moved will not be small ones.

Cards Blown Out...Lamar Cards that is

A lot of unnecessary Card-on-Card crime committed tonight as the Louisville Cards beat the Lamar Cards 78-56 to win the Marques Maybin Classic. Things weren't as easy as they were the first two nights and TC will come with a more in-depth breakdown of the game in the morning. However, two things need to be said tonight - Lamar coach Steve Roccaforte is a complete nut-case, getting a technical and a sideline warning tonight after he was given a technical for yelling at his own players against the Kayuts last Wednesday. He looks like a cross between Meatloaf and Dwight Schrute with a little Tom Crean sprinkled on top and was truly entertaining to watch tonight.

Second, I was really digging the play of Lamar Mighty-Mouse guard Kenny Dawkins, who only scored 14 and tired out at the end, but looked great in the first half. Dawkins came into the game averaging 16 points, pretty good for a 5'9 155lb guy. He was penetrating the Louisville D pretty well early and showed off some great range. I will look forward to seeing how Dawkins plays against in-conference competition as he was picked as a preseason All-Southland conference selection.

When the game is so one-sided, I have to look for the little things - like Dawkins and Coach Roccaforte's temper. I don't think it's going to get much closer with Austin Peay coming to town on Saturday.

Matt Simms Contemplating Transfer

It has been rampant on the message boards for the last few days, so I looked into it a bit. My sources close to the Louisville football program say redshirt freshman QB Matt Simms is "shopping himself around" to various schools to see what sticks. He is NOT transferring yet, but a decision could be eminent."It's all up in the air right now" a source told us here at the L Yes! Simms is just testing the waters and has not asked the university for a scholarship release.

In my mind, this stems from one of two things or even a combination of both. First Krag said at his final presser of the year that the QB job is "open" for competition next year mentioning Tyler Wolfe, Zack Stout and Simms. Maybe Simms thought the job was his to lose. Also, with Emmanuel Yeager coming in as a mobile option, Krag might be debating over a scheme change to a mobile QB (ah, don't get me started) and Simms definitely doesn't fit that bill.

Simms first committed to Bobby Petrino, decommitted whn he left, and then recommitted after a visit with Krag. I'm sure that he, like the rest of us,was fooled into thinking Krag wouldn't be much of a drop-off. Boy, were we wrong. Obviously, Simms comes from a good QB lineage with his father winning two Super Bowls with the Giants and his brother starting all 4 years at national power Texas. The scouts seemed to think that the younger wasn't as good as the previous Simms, but had the potential to make some noise as a starter if given the right opportunity. However, even with Cantwell's struggles this year, Simms was only given a shot in one game (PITT). This couldn't have set well with him.

Simms' career at Louisville has been somewhat tumultuous. He was suspended for 4 games earlier in the season for the dread "undisclosed violation of team rules" aka "if you're going to roll a doobie and want to play college football, make sure there aren't any cameras around". He has a nice arm, but a strange low delivery that I'm surprised hasn't been altered with all the attention I'm sure he received as a prep. I would think that he would be #1 going into the spring and that Krag is just posturing to get maximum effort in the offseason from guys like Stout, Wolfe and NC State transfer Justin Burke (my wildcard/sleeper/dark-horse). This decision by Krag, like most he's made, could backfire.

We'll see how this transpires over the next few weeks. For right now it looks like Simms is shopping around for the right suitor. Possibly a D-II school so he doesn't lose a year or a place where the offense isn't so boring and stagnant. Keep checking in for updates.

The Daily Spike..David Akers and Bodie Edition

Yeah, those UL kickers making it big!
It was a tough weekend for me...yes, I know Louisville dominated the likes of Indiana State and Ohio but my GMen get physically dominated at home to the Eagles...a tough one to take no doubt.

So, what does anyone think of UL on this Monday? Honestly, right now we're in what you call a HOLDING PATTERN. We tripped up against WKU and have rebounded nicely by showing the ability to penetrate, shoot, and dominate on the boards and in the assist game. With Lamar tonight (who the hell is Lamar and whose Odom did they suck to get into the prestigious Marques Mayin Classic?!) Louisville will be back in better graces with their coach just in time to see Ole Miss and Minnesota around the bend.

What we need to see tonight?

1. Defensive intensity - especially when playing much inferior opponents it will be important for UL to control the tempo early and kill any hope of an upset. The main diferrence (besides the obvious ones) between UK and UL this season may be the ability to get a lead and keep your finger on the defensive trigger. It's also the difference between a good team and a bad one.

2. High % Shooting - this is a basketball basic but when this team can hit spot up 3's and then can hit the 3 where they are moving to the side, then they're unstoppable. I want to see Sosa, McGee, TWill, Clark, and Knowles keep that swagger they currently have.

3. Injuries - Screw everything else. Louisville MUST continue to keep their main attractions on the floor and healthy. With a nice 6 game stretch of Austin Peay, Ole Miss, Minnesota, UAB, UNLV, and UK it will be vital for UL to stay healthy, continue improving, and most importantly get these youngsters all the time needed to continue maturing.

Oh yeah, while you're at it, meet Lamar...and THANK YOU Jack McClinton!

Have fun watching the Cards.

Show Me My Opponent-Lamar Cardinals

Location:Beaumont, Texas

Record: 6-2 (0-0)

Last Season: 14-16 (8-8)

Conference: Southland

Enrollment: 13, 469

Stadium: Montagne Center

Notable Alumni: Janis Joplin (world famous rocker), Kevin Millar (World Series Champ with the BoSox), Colin Ridgeway (first Australian to play in the NFL)

Projected Starters

Head Coach: Steve Roccaforte

G Kenny Dawkins 5'9" Sr.

G Brandon McThay 5'11" Sr.

F Jay Brown 6'7" Sr.

F Tristan Worrell 6'7" Sr.

F Ashton Hall 6'6" Jr.

Key Reserves

G Charlie Harper 6'4" Fr.

G Anthony Miles 5'11" Fr.

C Coy Custer 6'10" So.

F Justin Carter 6'8" Fr.

G T.J. Riley 6'1" Fr.

In the last round of the Maybin Classic, the Cards face an experienced Lamar Cardinals team that got crushed by those scrubs down the highway. The other Cardinals have a Senior-laden starting group, but after that, they get thin, with a lot of freshmen. No one has given U of L a game since the loss in Nashville, and I don't see much changing tonite. Lamar might be able to hang around, but if they get into foul trouble, it will be a long nite. Prediction: UofL 91-62.

Big East Round-Up

Happy Monday! Some news and notes from around the league…

Notre Dame suffered its second loss of the season versus Ohio State last Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The Irish dropped from 7th to 13th in the polls as a result.



No. 3 Pitt is still rolling, but it looks like its first real test might not come until January 3 when they travel to Georgetown to take on the Hoyas. Senior forward Sam Young continues to impress; he’s averaging almost 21 per and the Panthers are 9-0.



The Big East’s other top 5, UConn, got a scare at Buffalo Thursday night, but was able to weather the Bulls’ storm by riding Hasheem Thabeet’s 21 and 18 night. The Huskies remain at No. 2 in the polls.









Like Pitt and UConn, Jay Wright and Villanova remain unbeaten and sit currently at 16 in both polls. While the Wildcats, who’ve played all eight of their games in Philly, haven’t had any real threats as of yet, they got an interesting one tomorrow night vs. No. 6 Texas (6-1) in Madison Square Garden. That game will air at 9:00 on ESPN.






Also on ESPN tomorrow night look for WVU to take on No. 24 Davidson at 7:00. The Mountaineers (6-1) will try to slow down Stephen Curry, who’s is averaging 31.3 per game.







On a final note, this Saturday night Cincy (6-1) hosts No. 9 and intracity rival Xavier at 8:00 on the Deuce.

Jack McClinton is the Man

I thought his 40 points in the tourney would be enough to satisfy me as a college basketball fan. Then Miami guard Jack McClinton went into Lexington and laid 23 on the Kayuts as "the U" took down "the Big Blue boo-hoo" on Saturday. I know the Cards had two wins over jobbers the last 2 days, looking impressive, but the UK loss made my week of sports just that much better.

Oh and by the way, Michael Porter is the best thing to happen to UK basketball since the days of Saul Smith. If you haven't seen his wizardry on the basketball floor you are missing out on something special. He will join Larry Bird, Pistol Pete, and Brent Barry (just because of the dunk contest win) on Mt. "Overacheiving White Guy" when his playing days are over. The thing that upsets me the most is that he doesn't get to play with Mark Coury. Some things are just too good to happen, I guess.

McClinton was coming off a game against Ohio State where he was ejected just 8 minutes into the game for slapping a Buckeye in relaliation for a previous slap. At the time of the smack McClinton was 4-4 from three for 12 points. Outside of Stephan Curry, McClinton might be the most prolific scorer in the country. UK witnessed that first hand Saturday. Miami's lead ballooned to 20 at halftime behind the slick shooting Jack. Final score 73-67 'Canes. I can't wait until January 4th.

So here's to you Jack McClinton. The L Yes! Report's Player of the Weekend. We appreciate your service.

12 Thoughts from Basketball Weekend

Back to the way things should be for the Cards this weekend with 2 blowout victories against Indiana State and Ohio on Saturday and Sunday. I was fortunate enough to attend both games. Here are 12 takes/thoughts/observations on what I saw...

1 - First and foremost, T-Will's scissor-kick-windmill dunk against Indiana State goes down as one of the nastiest I have ever seen in person. His eyes were level to the rim and Dominique Wilkins would have been proud. Remember, this comes from a guy that had knee surgery something like a month ago. Here's the link - thanks to reader Jerb for posting it.

2- Jerry "Raindrops" Smith is back on track after an extremely rough start. I have always said that the team goes as Jerry goes. If he's hot, we win games. If he's off, we struggle more. Plus, Jerry is the type of player that feeds off his offense. He hits a big three and usually a steal is in the near future. I am concerned with the amount of tikky-tack, nickel-dimers (fouls) that are being called on him. It has to be taking him off his game.

3- We all should be fortunate that Earl Clark is playing for us right now and not riding the pine for the Charlotte Bobcats or some other joke of an NBA team. 16 & 10 Saturday, 17 & 14 Sunday. His maturity level is surprising to say the least. E5 is making smart decisions and helping the team in all phases of the game. I would like to see Earl get the ball more with his back to the basket. he seems to thrive more as a post player than as a hybrid wing. I know when he gets the ball up top he is a threat, but he gets himself in better position and less trouble in the block.

4- Samardo was rather quiet for his standards for most of the game Sunday, until he went on a personal 12-2 run midway through the second half. He was 10-12 from the line this weekend. His foul-shooting is obviously very important due to how much he gets fouled and so far he is shooting over 82%.

5- Kyle Kuric got the start on Saturday. I don't know if it was a gesture from Coach Pitino because they were playing his home state school or if he earned it through practice. All I know is he looked as if he belonged and will be great to add much need back court depth. He plays hawk defense, has a smooth Jimmy Chitwood-esque stroke and is surprisingly athletic. Glad to see he has recovered fully from an early season ankle sprain.

6- LadyBirds are looking as good as ever - performance-wise of course. Makes me take the 'Smoking Area Ban' at the Hall a little easier during halftime. I wonder if any of those girls come to the L Yes!? You never know...

7- George Goode has been getting after it on the defensive end. He had three blocks in each game and altered just as many. His long arms make him play a lot bigger than he actually is. Team's need to take note that it's a bad choice to bring it into Goode's hood because it's coming back just as fast. Plus, after seeing him in practice and now 5 games, he can knock down an open 15 footer with ease. I am completely confident with Mr. Goode in the game.

8- Edgar Sosa just baffles me sometimes. One trip down he makes an incredible play and I'm praising him. Next time down he takes a contested shot or dribbles into a double team and I'm cursing him. I guess you must take the good with the bad with Edgar and just hope that the successes outweigh the mistakes. He does have a 2.5 to 1 assist/turnover ratio which is best on the team. As long as he keeps his cool, he will be fine.

9- The depth on this team is ridiculous. Therefore, we can did what we did last year and in 04 which is just wear the opposition down through pressing and pushing the ball at all times. If in a bind, Pitino could go 13 deep with really only Terrence Jennings and Will Scott being liabilities in certain spots. This will be very valuable in the cases of injury and foul-trouble. When a guys like Preston Knowles and Reggie Delk are having trouble finding PT, you know you're deep.

10- Speaking of Reggie Delk - Doesn't he remind you of Brandon Jenkins or is it just me? Same long frame, same motor, same decent three-point stroke, and a spark-plug off the bench. I like Reggie's game a whole lot and think he has all the tools to be a great player. However, he is entirely too unfamiliar with the Pitino scheme to be stealing any minutes away from Jerry Smith and Preston. As the season goes along and he becomes more in-tune to what's going on, he will come up huge. I see a couple game-changing plays from Reggie this season.

11- Shooting is our Achilles-heel. If we can't hit shots, the dreaded trickle-down effect occurs where defense, rebounding and tempo suffers. A Pitino team is going to shoot the basketball, but I'd like to see them pound the rock inside to 'Mardo and E5 if the shot isn't falling. Sometimes a couple of lay-ups or dunks can help the shooting woes get back. Fortunately for the Cards, the shots were falling at a staggering pace this weekend as they put up 52% against Ohio and 48.4% on Indiana St.

12- T-Will is going to have a couple more triple-doubles this year. He is the definite team leader this year and is minimizing his mistakes. Last year there would be times where he tried to do too much, whether it be throwing an ill-advised pass or taking an arrogant, contested shot. this year T-Will is letting the game come to him, looking to pass first and becoming the consummate teammate. Sometimes it seems his cockiness is overshadowing his play, but no - it's just T-Will being T-Will.

More on the game against Lamar tonight as the Cards hope to keep the ball rolling.

Show Me My Opponent-Ohio University Bobcats

Record:3-2

Last Season:20-13 (9-7)
Conference: Mid-American

Location: Athens, Ohio

Enrollment: 8,100+

Stadium: Ohio University Convocation Center (''The Convo") whatever the hell that means

Notable Alumni: Bob Brenly, Arsenio Hall, Bob Huggins (but he transferred), Matt Lauer, and Jay Mariotti, Ted O'Neal a.k.a. Al Bundy

Projected Starters

Head Coach: John Groce

G Steven Coleman Fr 6'4" 41.7% 3pt 12.8points 5.5 rebs. 3.2 assists

G Tommy Freeman So 6'5" 61.5% 3pt 1o.5 points

F Justin Orr Sr 6'6" 56% 3pt 12.2 points 5.8 rebs. 2.2 assists

F Jerome Tilman Sr 6'6" 40% 3pt 20.3 points 11.5 rebs. 1.2 assist

C Kenneth Van Kempen Jr. 6'10" 2.8 points and 1.5 rebounds WOW!

Reserves

F Devaughn Washington 6'7"

G Frankie Dobbs 6'3"

F Adetunji Adedipe 6'5"

In the second round of the round-robin Marques Maybin classic, our Fighting Cardinals take on the Bobcats of Ohio University. The 3-2 Bobcats lost to Lamar after U of L smashed Indiana State. Frankly, U of L should do the same against the Bobcats. A first year-coach and a lack of size and depth, and then your have to come into Freedom Hall; things don't look promising for OU. There is always the chance that U of L lets one of the scrubs go Travis Diener on us because four starters are shooting better than 40% from behind the arc. This team makes their free throws too, so we better hope the refs let the game be played and not won at the charity stripe. The Cards just have to stop Jerome Tilman and wear down their opponents, then Ohio's lack of depth will give the game to the good guys. UofL 89-55.

Show Me My Opponent-Indiana State Sycamores

Record: 0-5 (0-0)
Last Season: 15-16 (8-10)

Conference: Missouri Valley

Location: Terre Haute, Indiana
Enrollment: 10,487

Stadium: Hulman Center

Notable Alumni: Tommy John (former MLB pitcher with a surgery named after him today), Larry Bird (probably the greatest white boy to pick up a basketball)



The 0-5 Sycamores of Indiana State, the alma mater of the great Larry Bird, invade Freedom Hall in the first of the three game Marques Maybin Classic. Fortunately for the Cards, who are trying to bounce back from the ugly loss to WKU, the days of Larry Bird are long gone. ISU is off to its worst start since 1993. Off the court issues have plagued the Sycamores, evidenced by their winless record. Harry Marshall cannot play until next semester due to academic issues, and Marico Stinson was kicked off the team. There are seven new players on the roster this year, and they are still trying to find their chemistry. Although the Sycamores are 0-5, their biggest defeat came at the hands of North Texas by eleven points. The Terre Haute Tribune Star reports that coach McKenna has said that there have been instances of players not running called plays and not executing plays called during timeouts.

In my opinion, I think their problems stem from the six freshmen on the roster and the off the court issues. Dwayne Lathan, a transfer from Louisiana Tech, is practicing with the team, but he cannot play for a year due to NCAA transfer rules.

Head Coach: Kevin McKenna

Projected Starters

G Rashad Reed-6'1" Junior 14.4 pts 3.6 rebs. 3.4 assists

F Jay Tunnell-6'8" Senior 11.6pts 6.2 rebs 1 assist

G Aaron Carter-6'4" Sophomore 11.6pts 4.6 rebs. 1.8 assists

F Josh Crawford-6'11" Junior 8.6 pts. 5.2 rebs. 1.4 assists 2.2 blocks

G Carl Richard-6'4" Freshman 8.2 pts. 4.6 rebs.

Key Reserves

G Jordan Printy-6'4" Freshman 3.8 pts.

G Tyler Cutter-6'1" Freshman 3 pts 1.6 rebs. 2.2 assists

F Isiah Martin-6'8" Sophomore 2.8 pts 3.2 rebs.

Prediction: Hopefully, Godfather Pitino will have the Cards playing with a chip on their shoulders after that ugly loss to Western Kentucky last weekend. ISU is very young and from all reports, they are having problems on and off the court. Freedom Hall should be rockin' and the Cardinal birds should be rollin'. U of L 87-ISU 60.

Does Embarassing Even Do It Justice?

I would compare it to being at a party on a cold winter night, I'm talking everybody who's anybody is there from hot women to your boss to your old buddies.Stepping out of the bathroom and walking through the party you realize people are laughing at you. You look down and you don't have any pants on, exposing yourself to what you think is the whole world. You cower in fear, wondering if anybody is going to look at you the same.

The Cards football team got caught with their pants down last night, allowing 63 points to a Mike Teel led Rutgers squad.

I don't know what is worse. Giving up 49 points in a half (35 in one quarter), letting a sub par QB throw for Tom Brady type numbers, or the fact that it happened as the feature game on ESPN's Thursday night football. It is a far cry from when the Cards avenged the "stomping of the bird" 52-5 a few years back. Somewhere Bobby Petrino is snickering.

Enough is enough and it is time for a change. The product on the field is crap and fans are starting to lose interest at a crucial time. The stadium expansion will soon be a thing of the past if Coach Krag continues to lead this program. No one in their right mind can say he has done a good or even average job as a general. His teams have laid enough eggs to fill up the chicken coup at John L Smith's farm. He is completely destructing our program from the ground up starting with his refusal to recruit anybody that is worth anything.To paraphrase Pitino "Amobi Okoye and Nate Harris aren't walking through that door". Well neither is even the likes of Kerry Rhodes or Peanut Whitehead. The door is slammed shut under Krag.

Krag needs to do us all a favor and call it quits within the next week. I heard his beloved Southeast Christian is looking for a new youth minister. That would be a perfect job for him. He is up to his neck already and the skies are dark ahead.

Coach Pitino apologized to fans for one poor performance against Western citing a bad week in practice. Krag's way of apologizing would be to pack his stuff and get the hell out of here. That's the only way he could atone for the losses he has dealt a program that was in the stratosphere when he took over.

I don't want to hear the "give him time to get his recuits" or "he was dealt a bad hand" rhetoric that local media types throw around all the time. We all know after the 939 the Ticket situation that you can't speak the truth around here or the hand of the almighty Tom Jurich might come crashing down. Its all BS used to cover up the fact that a once great AD in Jurich made a decision that might cost him the revenue producing program that made him look like such a great innovator. In actuality, without a successful football team, the rest of the sports will suffer with the exception of basketball. Jurich is stubborn beyond belief in this situation. Not taking away from what he has done, but Winston Churchill once said, "The price of greatness is responsibility" and Jurich needs to be responsible enough to eat his mistake for the greater good of the football program.

If Jurich is preaching patience then tell us specifically what we need to be patient for. Is it the Midwestern recruiting ties which have had 2 years to come to fruition but have produced nothing? Is it the discipline that comes with kicking most of the best players off an Orange Bowl team (we are the most penalized team in conference)? Is it the fact that we have a solid recruiting class of 9 players coming in with over 20 departing players? Is it the effort and improvement we saw from the team all year? Or could it be the high-octane offense Krag promised us? What is it Tommy? Please fill me in.

I have never been so insulted as a fan than I was last night. That was atrocious and there is no forseeable light at the end of the tunnel. I'm so sick of seeing a 5 yard route on third and 9 or a sweep (a f'n sweep) on 4th and 1. The play-calling is terrible, the work ethic is terrible and terrible would be a compliment to Krag after the way the team has performed the last two years. For example, a rival site for that redneck bunch up I-64 had a live blog last night just to clown the program. That is just ridiculous.

What would even be more ridiculous is if Jurich hangs with this joker for another week, let alone another year. Do us all a favor Tom and sit your buddy down, tell him you appreciate his effort, and then hand him his walking papers. You might just be able to rescue the program.

Dude

Oh yeah, one more question: WTF was that?

I’m not going to rant and rave about the inefficiency of the offense, the run-it-to-the-short-side-of-the-field-where-the-defensive-is-overloaded-on-third-and-three play-calling, the OMG-they-just-did-that-where’s-the-safety-over-the-top secondary, the can-we-please-send-more-than-four-down-linemen-so-Teel-doesn’t-get-ten-seconds-to-sit-back-there-and-pitch-a-tent pass rushing, or even the ineptitude of the special teams (saving Dane Mattingly, Long Snapper Nation for Life).

What I want to know is this: Coach Kragthorpe has been adamant since the WVU game that, if we were to go up to Piscataway and get a W, the Cards could be bowl-bound. (Frankly, I never bought that jive. Anybody who goes .500 and finishes last in arguably the worst BCS conference in the world is, to put it mildly, undeserving of the post-season.) But that’s what the man said to us, so you’d think he’d have the troops ready to go. Right? Maybe one of those “This is your last chance, seniors. It’s do or die time, let’s put the women and children to bed and go out looking for supper” speeches? I mean, this was our chance of redemption for spoiling those NC title hopes just a couple years (seems longer, I know) ago. I thought, based on Coach’s representations to us – the fans, the ones who endured the 150 degree heat in August to watch our offense fail to score against our most bitter rival, the ones who braved the downpour against our other bitter rival to vehemently defend some wooden keg filled with nails and leave only with a soaking wet L, the ones who shivered out in the cold a couple weeks ago to support the Cards and the seniors against another bitter rival, only to get laughed out of our own stadium – and the urgency of the situation, that we would come out fired up on national TV, with a chip on our shoulder and with something to prove. But that didn’t happen.

Instead, like so many times in these past two years, our boys came out flat. We seemed bored. We had didn’t play with any urgency at all; if Coach was serious about that playing for a bowl berth, we sure didn’t act like it last night.

As Sweeney and Crawford both point out, fans deserve answers. My question is simple. And anybody can respond.

The Daily Spike

All I can really say is, I wished my 31-14 score held up. In one word that game was....embarassing. Honestly, I thought about writing something last night but couldn't find the right words. This morning, nothing has changed. That was embarassing on all accounts. This team, this school has NO organization and NO plan...and that rests with coaches and administration.
Eric Crawford of the Courier-Journal had a good article about this same thing.
Check out the article, it makes sense. We NEED and MUST DEMAND ANSWERS. Where is this program going guys?
What is coming back next season?
Who is the quarterback next season?
What is the secondary going to look like next season?
My guess is he won't BUT will Ron English be back?
Even if he is can we really believe we'll win roads game at UK, UConn,
Like Crawford asks, what is the recruiting plan?
Why in 2 years have top athletes in high talent states started ignoring our program?
These are serious questions. They need to be answered.
Let me ask a couple more...
Why are we the worst team in the Big East...and Big East that includes Rutgers, Syracuse, UConn, South Florida...why are we the WORST team out of all those teams?
Why are we the new home for JUCO's?
Why does Jeff Brohm catch NO heat? After all, isn't the offense as tough to watch as the defense.
Why does Cantwell have a major flaw in his throwing motion BUT nobody bothers to fix?

Why am I still talking about this?...it's time for basketball...drown your sorrows in that!

The Deuce is Loose

Louisville recruit Deuce Finch was named Gatorade Player of the Year today, another highlight for the already stellar career the bruising senior tailback of Louisville St. Xavier has enjoyed. Finch, who shared carries with Victor Anderson when Vic was at St. X, has declared he would not make a college selection until the end of the season.

Besides U of L, Deuce has scholly offers from Boston College, Cincinnati, Illinois, N.C. State, Stanford, Vandy, Northwestern, and some school down I-64.

The L Yes! Report congratulates Deuce and wishes him the best of luck for the remainder of the playoffs. His St. X Tigers face Trinity tomorrow night in the state-semi.

The Daily Spike...Tom Izzo Edition

I'm going all over the map today....here's some tidbits for your morning. I'll be quick, corporate types coming in to work today...I look like a million bucks.

1. Michigan State - I'm getting a little sick of Michigan State already this season. Usually they annoy me by playing hyped up ESPN games...let's face it this is a true Big 10 team. UNC dominated Michigan State at FORD FIELD 98-63. That's 2 early season loses for the fighting Spartans. Let's face it the Big 10 is the same for football and basketball. It's a lost cause. Here's an idea for Izzo...GET THUGS. The 6'8 guys that look like Trevor Kelsey need to go. Why does UNC dominate? Why has Memphis, UCLA, and UNC been so dominate....athleticism. I'm not sure Michigan State has much of that. But of course in the Big 10 I KNOW that IU, Wisconsin, Penn State, Northwestern, etc have NONE!

2. Tommy Tuberville OUT at Auburn. No big surprise here. Also no big surprise that the War Eagle want "our man" Bobby Petrino. It took 12 football games before Petrino's name comes up to move again. But this time he's stuck. Due to his contract, yes his contract, he CANNOT leave the Pigs to go to another SEC West team...sorry Bobby P.

PS - I think this tattoo is real. I have 100 dollars to any female who would do this....100 bucks straight cash $.

3. Important Bobby Petrino NOTE. I would like to say this is the last time this blog or any other blog/paper/internet site/radio station would STOP mentioning Petrino. What other school, besides LSU, mentions their former coaches as much as Louisville? Let me fill Louisville fans in on one thing...we ARE NOT LSU. Here's your assignment...find me 5 other BCS conference teams that nag and whine about their former coach. The fact is until Louisville fans can move on beyond Petrino they will NEVER be considered a big time program and will NEVER accept a new coach (unless he immediately wins). Michigan goes from pre season number 1 in the nation last season to a dismal performance from Rich Rod and you don't even heard murmurs from them!

4. Important Steve Kragthorpe NOTE. IF this man does resign, which is an obvious rumor, who gets the job? I have no idea where Louisville would even look. Here's my thought...find a real good coach (either former NFL or college) who has a track record. Louisville fans need to be coddled and told "we are going to win". That's one reason why Pitino doesn't always win but makes everyone feel warm and fuzzy that we CAN WIN if we believe in him and his system. Right now Louisville fans have NO system in which to believe.

We need someone who will restore recruiting (screw JUCO), restore pride, restore a fan base, and more importantly must have a plan. What is the plan at UL right now? Sit around and hope the Orange Bowl win continues to reap benefits. Again, how do UL fans/administration continue to prey on a win that happened under a different staff and not really in recent history. What recruits are we going after? What is the quarterback situation looking like? Is Bilal Powell happy? How do we replace Eric Wood? Why are we the laughing stock of sites such as Rivals and Scout? A 5-7 Tennessee team with a dead beat coach and coming off 2 straight losses has more 4 star guys committed than we have total...embarassing!

5. Rutgers prediction. This is where I will differ from anyone else on this blog, most likely. I am what you call a "realistic" fan. For instance, I'm a Giants fan. We're probably the strongest team in the league but this past week I really thought we were going to lose. Unfortunately, same for Louisville. Rutgers has better coaching, better QB play, home field advantage, and tons more mojo than Louisville. I hope the Cards can hang on and be considered for a bowl game BUT if not then Louisville is looking at 2 straight stations without bowling and this season a sub .500 record.

Welcome to Louisville football. Hey, at least it's basketball season!

Oh yeah, one more thing...

The End of Another Mediocre Season

"I think there are some [bowl] spots that are going to be open. Obviously it depends on the BCS; does the Big 12 get 2? Does the SEC get two? It's certainly conceivable that if we win this game we could get in a bowl game"

You gotta love the resiliency of Coach Krag. His approval rating is at a Bush-esque level among fans right now and his team has made more mishaps than Michael Porter this season. Half the seats in Papa John's Stadium were empty last week and this guy still thinks we are going to make a bowl game with a win against Rutgers tonight. Great way to get the players riled up and ready for blood, right? It's also wishful thinking. Our chances are slim and none even with a 70-0 victory. A bowl committee wants a team that will bring 25,000 fans. I think 20,000 showed up on Senior Day. Krag is hanging on for dear life right now.

This sounds like a guy who is trying to mask what is really going on; a win and maybe the fans will get off his back, soothing the burn of this mediocre campaign and possibly saving his career as head coach. There are rumors out there that Krag will resign soon after the game. True or not, the past two season seem to have taken a emotional toll on him and whether or not he feels in over his head is something only Krag knows. I think he will be back for another year. Coaches like to finish what they start. However, with the lack of recruiting and passion shown from the guy in the last few weeks, I would not be surprised to see him go.

A couple guys I will be sad to see go are two guys who's time at Louisville will be overshadowed unfairly by the so-far dismal Krag era. Team captain and leader throughout his 4- years and 50+ starts Eric Wood will be sorely missed. His shoes will be the biggest to fill next year. Both a general on the field and in practice, Wood should go down as the best center to ever don the red and black. If it was up to me, Wood's 77 would hang in the Papa John's Stadium rafters next to the jerseys of Roman Oben and Joe Jacoby.

Second is Ron English, the defensive coordinator who took an awful unit and turned it into something the fans could be proud of. English is as good as gone with both San Diego St. and Eastern Michigan having him on their short list of head coaching candidates. I've heard Eastern Michigan's list is very short - like one person short. I like every other card fan will be dissappointed to see him go. He does deserve it and hopefully he doesn't take 3 or 4 of our 7 recruits for next year with him. I know for a fact Hakeem Smith (safety out of GA) and Titus Teague (DB - CA) are English guys. We'll see how it transpires in the next few months.

I will be right by the TV tonight watching and cheering as every true U of L fan should. I'm just not buying what the football program is selling right now. Another .500 campaign would match what I have been seeing - mediocre football - for the last 2 years. Too many mistakes, too many penalties and WAY too may excuses combined with vanilla play calling and the intensity of a Georgia stoner have led to this product. We're just good enough with guys like Victor and Johnny Patrick that there is a glimmer of hope for success in the future. Yet, we're just bad enough to realize that the chances for success are against us. With the stadium expansion due to begin soon, butts shall be needed to occupy seats. The butts will just stay (as you can see they did at the WVU game - this is the when the most fans were in the stadium) at home and watch in HD if this is how they are going to continue to play.

Win or lose tonight, the next month should still be very interesting if you're a fan of Louisville football. Recruits need to be signed and changes need to be made and for Christ's sake someone please CALL TIM PATTERSON!!

Blake Griffin Wears Panty Hoes

"Watch out America! Blake Griffin is frolicking through the meadows to wreck havoc on your team's big man"



Oklahoma star PF Blake Griffin has been playing like a man possessed this year. He is averaging 25.7 points and 19.2 rebounds and is at the top of Naismith and #1 pick talks for an undefeated Sooner team. It looks like he might have a John Amaechi jersey in his closet though or is channeling his inner Dennis Rodman (he rebounds like him). These pictures have been traveling around the blogosphere for the last couple of days and were first posted on LostOgle.com. Don't get me wrong, Griffin is still a man to be feared, but some guys might be afraid to post up too hard against him. Earl Clark is probably taking a shower like Ace Ventura when he finds out Einhorn is Finkel and Finkel is Einhorn since E5 was all over Griffin in the tourney last year. I guess Griffin thought, since Earl treated me like one, I guess I should dress like one too. I know in a couple of days I'm going to hear a knock at the door and the Griffin brothers are going to beat the crap out of me all the while wearing fishnets and bustiers. I gotta stop. The jokes could go on for days. Let the jokes continue in the comments section located below every post.

Arena Update

Bored at work? Got your laptop with you on the john? Check out this fancy link that updates - daily - the progress of the new downtown arena from an aerial view.




And the countdown to 2010 begins!

The Daily Spike...Elisha Cuthbert Edition

Give me 5 minute, maybe even four. Yeah, Elisha Cuthbert is number 1 on my list, always has been. Big ups to Sean Avery...that's all I'm saying about that. But the NHL has lost control. Not only is the sport dead, but now it's suspending players...the only players worth watching.
Sean Avery is the renegade of the NHL. He has been asking for this for some time...but I mean, come on, if you're going down at least go down for making a "video" with Elisha Cuthbert...give us something.

Check out this video...

More funny videos from the "ryanparkersongs's channel" channel at Heavy.com

Oh yeah, just in case anyone forgot. Louisville football is still playing. I'm not sure if "playing" is the right word. They're suffering through the rest of the season. For a team that was once 5-2 and should've been 6-1 this is where we're at. Finishing off another season with the Scarlet Knights who are a 10 point favorite at home. Let me reiterate that this is the same team that lost to Fresno State at home by 17, lost by 32 at home to North Carolina, lost to Navy at home by 2, and just like us got beat by WV and Cincy.
So yeah, we're top 10 point dogs to them. And you know what's even better...a win that takes us to 6-6 probably WILL NOT be enough to get into a bowl game but we'll have to wait and see.


Enjoy the sloppy seconds of college football...aka the Big East.

Buy or Sell? (Canadian Ed.)

So, you've probably already heard the news. NHL Commish pulled the plug on the Dallas Stars' Sean Avery after he made reportedly inflammatory remarks targeted at his ex-beaus and their new hockey boy toys. Avery's former girlfriends Elisha Cuthbert (left) and Rachel Hunter (mad props Sean, btw) are now dating other NHL stars, and Avery wondered aloud to reporters why other leaguers were so hung up on his "sloppy seconds" before telling them to enjoy the game last night.

I gotta sell on the NHL's immediate and indefinite suspension of Avery. First of all, the dude's talent clearly transends what he does on the ice, and that should be taken into account. And second, while I'm not a hockey fan, I'm a huge fan of witty, awkward call-outs, and well, that's just funny right there.

Football Recruiting Woes

Local recruiting guru Jody Demling has an excellent piece today on Louisville Central’s Tim Patterson. The 6-5, 225 pound junior OLB is getting all kinds of crazy hype. He’s been contacted by USC, Alabama, Tennessee, and has an offer from that one school down I-64. Apparently, Patterson (Rivals’ only Top 250 player from Kentucky for 2010) is a big Cards fan, but nobody from U of L has shown any interest.
Just a suggestion…maybe, just maybe, somebody should drop him a line. Sigh.

The Daily Spike...Trevor Kelsey Hater Edition

I feel that I'm compelled to somewhat try and protect my team on this one...at least somewhat. One of the founders of this illustrious site, Trevor "Bacon" Kelsey is what you would call a hater. He's a lot more than a hater but that's for a different post. Not only is he a hater but he's an Eagles fan. We all can feel his pain....you know, not being able to make the playoffs, having Donovan McNabb as your quarterback, having me as your wideout, having a tight end that can't catch an STD from a hooker, and a coach that is growing fatter by the day all while having his sons traffic cocaine and pills throughout the city of Philly.

BUT I understand the hating on Plaxico. Here's all I want to say. Plaxico is Plaxico just like TO is TO and just like Ocho Cinco is Ocho Cinco. These guys are all from the same mold. They have huge egos, can't handle the fame and money, and lack confidence. They're actually pretty weak people. The thing to remember is that Plax isn't part of this Giants team. All season they've played Plax-free and that has opened up opportunities for Steve Smith, Kevin Boss, Dominik Hixon, Sinorice Moss, etc.

What's unfortunate about this situation is that Plax is off the team. He now will have no chance of being on a team that has a legit shot at making a few runs deep into the playoffs. He no longer will be coddled by a staff and organization that gave him way too much. Not only this but do you think Roger Goddell is going easy on this fool? Hardly not. My estimation early on, and I will probably be completely wrong, is that Plax will somehow get off major charges but will take the heat from the NFL. I think with his past and this situation he could lose an entire year of playing. That would mean a sub par year this season and no season next year. A guy getting ready to hit 30 years old, he's truly in the prime of his career. That is flushed down the drain.

Sure, he will get another job. Just like the Giants will add more wideouts....Boldin or Andre Johnson, please, either one. Also, Plax is getting ready to drop millions, not to mention bonus' and playoff bonus'. He blew it, he won't care, and I doubt the Giants will.

What kind of trouble will he be in? Plax will report to the Giants today to get treatment for his hamstring injury. At that point the GMen will decide what "unable to perform list" they'll put him in. This decision will tell us which direction the GMen will go. They will most likely put him on the unable to perform list so they owe him NOTHING. He would lose pretty much his contract, giving the Giants all sorts of money to play with...very dangerous with Jerry Reese.

Now, if the Giants were to deal with Plax and say he gets suspended for only 4 games, they may just suspend him the rest of the season. I can't see this happening. Tiki shunned the team and he was out. Shockey talked big and he hit the door. Anyone who has too much to say hits the road. I don't see how this is any different.

Real quick, any Eagles fans remember this >>>>>>>>>>>>>

Most likely, it all will be knocked down to a Class D Felony, which can carry up to 2 years. Obviously, since Plax only shot himself (through his sweats), a first time offender, a sleezy lawyer (Levy from The Wire anyone), and a bankroll he may only see heavy probation. Plus, he'll be shipped out of NY soon enough.

Hopefully the Plax saga is over but I have fear it's just beginning.

LOUISVILLE NEWS: Big Louisville news! The Marques Maybin Classic kicks off Saturday with Indiana State then followed by power houses Ohio, and Lamar. And oh yeah, we're now 11th in the nation...not that it matters, just a frustrating start.

Trevor, I love you.

Big East Round-Up

Greetings fellow Cards fans. I’m TC, a big fan of and the newest wannabe-sportswriter to join this loosely organized entity known as the L Yes! Report. Later, I will wow you with my hilarious and witty journalistic ability. For now let’s hit some Big East highlights from the past week.

UConn (6-0) looked good this past week, dumping No. 19 Wisconsin by nineteen before rolling first-year DI team Bryant.

The BE’s other Top 5 team, Pitt, remains unbeaten after edging out Pat Knight’s Red Raiders and Washington State back-to-back nights.

After a fifteen point loss to UNC, Notre Dame bounced back to handle the Furman Paladins by thirty-two. They got Ohio State this Saturday.

Nobody rep’d the BE better than Syracuse, beating Florida and Kansas at the CBE Classic in Kansas City. They followed up with a home win against Virginia on Friday and found themselves, deservingly, in the Top 25.

The Georgetown Hoyas took care of Maryland, but not before dropping its first of the season to Tennessee.

This weekend Marquette hosts intrastate rival No. 22 Wisconsin.

Finally, following up Rob’s piece, allow me to be the first to publicly accept Coach Pitino’s apology. How forgiving I’ll be if we drop one of the next four (Indiana State, Ohio, Lamar, and Austin Peay) is, well, yet to be seen.

The Day That Was In College Basketball, Monday December 1st

Monday was as slow as a day could be in college basketball, with only three top 25 teams playing (two of them Big East). Here's a quick break down of what you may or may not have missed....

- In a game that was as close as me in a foot race against Usain Bolt, Connecticut demolished poor Delaware State 79-49. Hasheem Thabeet (who looked like he was 2 feet bigger then anyone on Delaware State's team) put together a 10 point, 17 rebound, and 4 block game, while reserve forward Gavin Edwards scored 17 points to lead a overall balanced attack by the Huskies. Donald Johnson led Delaware State with 25 points, including 16 in the first half, when his teammates had just two. UConn has won 92 consecutive regular-season games in Storrs in November and December. The Huskies have a record of 120-17 in Gampel Pavilion, 57-4 against non-conference opponents.


- In the best game of the night, Trevon Hughes (pictured hitting shot) hit a leaning floater in the lane with 0.9 seconds left and #22 Wisconsin survived a late rally by Virginia Tech, winning 74-72 in the opener of the 10th Annual ACC-Big Ten Challenge. Wisconsin led through out most of the game, until the Hokies A.D. Vassallo's sixth 3-pointer capped a 14-5 run that pulled Virginia Tech even with 7 seconds to play. The Badgers finished the game shooting 12 of 18 from behind the arc and were led by Marcus Landry (18 points) and Jon Leuer (17 points). Vassallo led the Hokies with 30 points, getting 24 in the second half. Jeff Allen (16.8 points per game), the Hokies' leading scorer, fouled out after scoring just two points.


- Syracuse entered the top 25 this week (#20) and did so with an impressive beat down of Colgate (former home of the great Adonal Foyle), 86-51. Syracuse beat Colgate in the 161st meeting between the two schools. The Orange have now won 43 straight games against Colgate and lead the all-time series 116-45. Colgate has not defeated Syracuse since the 1961-62 season. The Orangemen were led by Paul Harris (22 points and pictured left and right), who was showing off an afro that would have made any kid from the 70's jealous. Johnny Flynn finished with 12 points and a season-high seven assists for the Orange (7-0), while Colgate had zero players score in double figures.

- The #25 Kansas Jayhawks got 19 points from Sherron Collins and double double's from both Marcus Morris (14 points/10 rebounds) and Cole Adrich (10 points/13 rebounds), as they cruised through Kent State, 87-60. The Golden Flashes got double digit points from four different players ( led by Chris Singletary, 13 points and 9 rebounds) but couldn't overcome 19 turnovers and being out rebounded by the Jayhawks 37-29.

- This sure isn't your parents St. John's team anymore and that is really clear. Those teams would never had struggled with St. Francis (which I was almost sure was a all girl school before yesterday) as this Red Storm team did, hanging on for a 69-61 win. D.J. Kennedy had 17 points and 13 rebounds to lead St. John's (6-1 on the season). This was the 30th victory in the last 31 games by the Red Storm against the Terriers. St. John's leads the series against its fellow New York City school 63-12. The only Terriers win in the 31-game stretch came in 2004, on the night St. John's honored Hall of Fame coach Lou Carnesecca by renaming the arena in his honor.

- While today was a slow day in the hoops world, tomorrow will not be. There are several great games to watch, as the Big Ten/ACC challenge continues. Here are some games you shouldn't miss.

Top 25 action....

- #4 Duke at #10 Purdue at 9pm ET (ESPN-TV, ESPN360-Internet)

- South Dakota at #7 Notre Dame at 7:30pm ET

- Marist at #15 Memphis at 8pm ET

- #16 Villanova at Pennsylvania at 8pm ET

- Florida A&M at #21 Florida at 7pm ET (ESPN360-Internet)

- Ohio State at #22 Miami (FL) at 7pm ET (ESPN-TV,ESPN360-Internet)

- Georgia at Western Kentucky at 9pm ET (ESPNU-TV)

Other Big East teams in action.....

- Monmouth at Seton Hall at 7:30pm ET

- Central Michigan at Marquette at 8pm ET (ESPN360-Internet)

How dumb can you be??

I know this is supposed to be about mostly Louisville sports but when you have a slow day in CBB and the only news about Cardinal sports is regarding the Woman's Volleyball team (that makes me miss being on the radio), I am left to dwell into the rest of the world of sports and one thing today has stuck out to me so much so that I felt like ranting about it.

Plaxico Burress, could this guy be any dumber? It's one thing to take a gun to a club but to take an illegal gun, how stupid is that. This guy has a personality that falls somewhere between a manatee and the fat kid from Head of the Class (pictured left). Your Plaxico Burress (pictured proudly right) in New York City!! You just caught the game winning touchdown in the previous Super Bowl. Did you think people wouldn't know who you are? It's not like you can just hangout in a bar unnoticed as if you were Trent Tomlinson (pictured left and a close friend of Rob Jones). So here is what I am certain of....Plaxico is a moron. Here is what I am not certain of....what really happened. I do have two theories though and here they are. First theory, he takes gun to club with him (remember we do know he is stupid), and while there thought it would impress someone to show off his "piece". But in the process Chedder Bob (pictured right) shoots himself in the leg, left to hobble out of the club, crying like a Kentucky fan after a loss to Gardner Webb or VMI. Second theory, he goes to club with illegal gun, runs his mouth to someone (most likely a Jets fan) and instead of just walking away, stuff goes down. Burress gets shot by someone but he wastes the guy. He and others (Antonio Pierce I assume) get rid of the body. They claim Plaxico shot himself but the bullets don't match so he gets rid of the gun as well. OK, I know the second one is really off the wall but the guy was dumb enough to put himself in the situation so is anything really that far fetched?

Pitino Apologizes for Cards' Performance Sunday

I will give my thought on the bad loss to Western later tonight. Coach Pitino wrote an apology on his website today explaining why the squad looked so bad in defeat. It comes from his official website, RickPitino.com :

Before victory is achieved, you earn it through practice. We had five practices to get ready for WKU. WKU, a dedicated group of young men who play with great purpose. Although we had only five practices, only one deserved victory. That’s a shame. Was it the arrogance of mild success? Or the ugly side of ego coming into play? In the twelve step alcohol and drug program ego is described as edging God out. In sports, ego is edging greatness out.

Our offense was to create ball movement and attack inside. Keep our challenged shots under five. We were 0-12 on challenged shots and our assist total was 8. I’ve had disappointing losses but none more disappointing than this one. Lets not take a single thing away from a better team that night. Western played with great purpose. There 1,2, and 3 men totaled 27 rebounds. Four of our guards Andre, Will, Edgar and Jerry totaled 61 minutes and grabbed 0 rebounds.

Defensively, our press could not be much of a factor due to our absurd 26.8% shooting percentage. Our 24 deflections total did not help either. Our bigs did a poor job of blitzing the pick and role allowing WKU to shoot 50.0% in the second half.

We also knew that the two Kentucky players would bring a great deal of emotion and talent to the table. And they did in a big way.

They beat us 48-36 on the glass. Without question that is our most glaring weakness. The only real rebounder is T-Will. We must collectively do something about this weakness.

In other seasons we could point to injuries or suspensions early on which led to our demise. Now it is very simple. Practice habits create a winning formula. We did not earn the victory. WKU earned that one. They should be congratulated. Very few players can practice without purpose or intensity and suddenly bring it game night. Although Iverson maybe the exception from what is rumored. But then again his record since joining the Pistons is 6-6 and there are no Allen Iversons walking through the YUM! Center.

We will improve our practice habits immediately. We have not sustained our intensity on a consistent basis. That all changes today. We apologize to the fans who paid hard earned money and had to witness such poor execution.

We need you in Cincinnati. The SEC/BIG EAST Challenge is a big game for us. We have only sold 1,000 tickets. Your support is much needed and appreciated!

The Daily Spoke...Beyond the Box Score Edition

We're getting close to one full day separted from what we saw in Nashville. Here's the problem...I'm angrier now than when we lost. If you were there, I'm sorry. I was almost there. In fact, I was coming home from Nashville and saw many of you on I-65 representing! That's about all the good I can say about the day. If you suffered from the drawl of the redneck announcers on TV then I'm sure today you're as angry as myself. Here are some ideas floating around in my brain.

1. Same ol' shooting story. Listen guys, we've got NO better in this area. Bring in Reggie Delk, he takes no shots and plays 5 minutes. Jeremy Smith shoots ZERO times, 0 points in ONLY 14 MINUTES?!? Louisville shoots 6-30, that's 20% folks. 20 percent for a team that's supposed to be in the top 5 in the nation...no way, sorry!

Here are the players I scoff at this morning.

*TWill 5-14. Terrence, I thought you were athletic? I thought you could get to the bucket whenever you wanted? I thought you could throw down over people and were the best athlete in college basketball? Why is TWill settling for 7 three pointers...drive the ball...we know SOSA and MCGEE CAN'T!!!
* Earl Clark 3-9. Way to take 3 shots in a game where your team was losing or tied throughout and they really couldv'e used those "NBA skills" you possess.

* Samuels. Too many profane words will be written if I continue but I will say this...ONLY 7 shots for the supposed frosh of the year and possible NBA talent. Again, too many outside shots that are taking away from Samuels and Clark's strengths.

*McGee. Maybe Andre McGee should gain his weight back. I think he lost his jumper along with his fat cells. 0-7 from the field with 5 missed threes. His poor play put the nail in the coffin. The guy can't drive and if he can't shoot then he needs to be replaced. Knowles can guard better, Smith can shoot better, Scott actually hit 2 threes!, and Sosa can drive and somewhat finish better. McGee, wake UP or this will NOT be your team.

*Will Scott. He shoots 2-8! Yeah, that's right he shot 8 times. I love Will Scott but should be playing vital minutes and taking more shots than Knowles, Samuels, McGee, Delk, Sosa, Smith. The answer...NO! Actually, hell no. And Will, when you do get a chance make more than 2 of 8, thanks.

2. Foul problems? Tell me how in a team with a rotation of 12 people we have 2 of our main guards foul out? Here's the catch...Smith and Preston Knowles are our defensive stoppers at guard. They run well and defend incredibly tight, obviously, maybe too tight. How do we not move them around to keep them out of foul trouble? Preston is a complete hustle and momentum player. Not having him in stretches hurts. Jerry Smith, I thought, would be the MVP of the team besides Samuels...not so. He's been pathetic. If he can't guard, fouls too much, sits the bench, and can't hit spot up 3's then he needs to ride the pine. Smith MUST realize that him fouling gives more minutes to Knowles and Scott. Not that it's completely bad but these guys can't do what he does on the floor.

3. Rebounding. I think two or three posts ago I wrote how the rebounding, specifically from Samuels was poor. Here we are again. No heart. No jumping. No boxing out. But more frustrating than any of that was the pure lack of hustle. Somtimes rebounding isn't about whose bigger, faster, stronger, or position. Sometimes it's simply heart and hustle....both things were absent on Sunday. Samuels MUST be better inside. This isn't high school. You aren't playing guys my size...you're in college now. You may have to position yourself better or actually jump to get a rebound. The days of raising your arms and being bigger than everyone is GONE!
*TWill and Earl. Big ups to these guys. 9 boards for TWill and 11 for Clark. They could've done better but at least held up their part of the bargain.

You know what's the most frustrating part? This team was beaten by Steffphon Pettigrew. He gets 12 boards with 10 of them coming on the defensive end...and yes that's more than Samuels.

4. This isn't WKU of last season. One lingering problem I have is that we lose to a team that IS NOT WKU of last season. They just aren't. You drop Courtney Lee, Brazelton, and Rogers off their team and they DOMINATE Louisville...they punched us in the mouth!

5. Hustle points. They were there all day guys. The play that ended it for me was when Scott hits a big 3 to bring us to within 6 or 7. WKU comes down, has an awful possession, loses the ball under the goal but hustles, gets it and scores a lay up. Again, more heart. They played this like a big game...like a tourney game. They kept the scoring low and let our awful outside shooters fire away.

6. Bigs just aren't ready..at least for now.
*Clark isn't scoring enough. I was hoping we could at least get 13-15 per game. We'll have to wait and see on that one.
*Goode got some "good" minutes in the past few games but logged 1 minute Sunday...that's his only non-zero in the box score.
*Jennings almost saw playing time...3 minutes, no affect on the game.

*Samuels played nearly the whole thing, which I love, but can't get me 15 points. He's only a frosh, give him some games and hopefully we'll see some nastiness and consistency!

7. Positive outlook. The positives are endless. We'll still be ranked in the top tier of the country but have some big work to do. The good thing is with the Big East schedule and teams such as Kentucky, Ole Miss, UNLV, Minnesota, and UBA...Louisville CAN get people's respect back. Plus, let's be honest the talent is top notch still. There may be some gelling issues, let's wait and see. Coaching wise I think we have to trust Pitino.

8. Negative outlook. Here's my main negative I keep seeing in my head. Last season early season loses killed us. It hurt our seeding in the tournament which meant having to play UNC in Charlotte. UNC playing there is unfair anyways but that's a different topic for a different blog. I would really hate to see this team peak too late and get ripped off again because they can't beat teams like WKU.

9. Finally, go to the GO- TO's! I love the team, don't get me wrong but when the "you know what" hits the fan the TOP NOTCH guys MUST be in. I'm not saying Pitino did a bad job of this on Sunday. He worked with what he had. But if Smith gets in foul trouble then that gives more time to Preston and Scott. We need Jerry Smith in the game! I'm sorry but if McGee can't shoot then it's Sosa's job.....I hate how we're playing musical point guards. It rarely works for quarterbacks in football so why would it work here?!?!

We need to have Earl Clark, Terrence Williams, Jerry Smith, Samardo Samuels in the game as much as humanly possible. One of the point guard jokers needs to wake up and take the job...this is your chance Sosa. This is why you DIDN'T transfer.

Get the good players in the game and keep them there.

10. One final thought: Notre Dame, Gtown, Tennessee, Gonzaga, Marlyand, Michigan State, Oklahoma, UN freaking C, Indiana, etc. all played in big time invitationals with big time teams.

So, what's the point? These teams have played big time teams and have won. Even if they lost they lost in respect. Louisville schedules cupcakes...Morehead State, South Alabama (not a complete chump), WKU, Indiana State, Ohio, Lamar, Austin Peay, and Ole Miss on a neutral site. Honestly, I'm not sure we can win that Ole Miss game.

What if we would've been tested early? What if we weren't bored with the monotomy of this schedule? We would probably have a loss but at least it woudln't be to a NON TOURNMANET MAKING SUN BELT TEAM!

The Day That Was In College Basketball, Sunday November 30th

Some what of a slow day in the College Basketball World today. Louisville losing and a good game and match up between top 25 teams, Tennessee and Gonzaga pretty much highlighted the day. The best game I watched on the day had to been the Wake Forest and Balylor game. Individually Jame Harden of ASU was as impressive as usual and UNC and Georgetown treated their opponents like S&M victims at a German Sex Club. So here's a look at what the Top 25 did today (not including Louisville, I said enough about them in a earlier post) and Big East play......







- In the best match up of the day, Tennessee met Gonzaga in the Old Spice Classic title game at Lake Buena Vista, Fla. A game that went back and forth, the Zags outlasted the Volunteers to stop Bruce Peal from getting his 400th career win, 83-74. Five Zag's players scored in double figures and three of them were not starters. Steven Gray (19 points and pictured) led the charge off the bench as Gonzaga shot 51%, while holding Tennessee to 35.5%. Tennessee did out rebound Gonzaga 44-25, 23 of those on the offensive side and got a great game from Kentucky native Freshman Scotty Hopson, who finished with 16 points and Tyler Smith added 17 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. This was the first of two meeting between these teams. They will meet again on January 7th, when Gonzaga visits Knoxville.

- OK....North Carolina beat UNC Ashville 116-48. What can you say? Tar Heels led 53-19 at the half and all five UNC starters scored more then 13 points, led by Ty Lawson with 22. Oh yea...by the way Tyler Hansbrough didn't even play. It didn't matter, North Carolina was over 100 points with five minutes to play in the game. UNC will get a much harder challenge when they meet up with #6 Michigan State on 12/5.


- Georgetown bounced back from their first loss of the season to Tennessee last week with a impressive 75-48 spanking of Maryland. The Hoya's led by as much as 38 at one point. Georgetown held Maryland guard Greivis Vasquez, who entered averaging 20 points, to just two points. Freshman Greg Monroe (pictured) added 12 points and 6 rebounds to help Georgetown improve to 4-1. The Freshman center has scored in double digits in five consecutive games.

- Alex Tyus recorded 25 points and 8 rebounds as #18 Florida beat up UMKC 86-65. The Gators shot better then 50% for the game and despite turning the ball over 22 times, had no problem at anytime with the kangaroos. Florida is now 5-1 and their next four games are against all Florida teams (FAMU, FSU, FGC, and UCF).

- Wichita State led at the half and gave the #6 Michigan State all they wanted but couldn't get it done in the long run as the Spartans fought back to beat the Shockers 65-57. Wichita St. PG Clevin Hannah did all he could in an upset attempt, getting 19 points and dishing out 6 assists with zero turnovers. The Spartans were paced by Marquise Gray (12 points and pictured), Kalin Lucas (10 points), and Durrell Summers (11 points) as Michigan State scored 43 points in the second half after only scoring 22 in the first half. Michigan St. out rebounded WSU 39-22 and are now 4-1 on the season with their next game coming up against #1 UNC on 12/3.

- #7 Texas Longhorns had no trouble with in state opponent Rice, beating the Owls 77-56. Five players scored in double figures for Texas, led by Justin Mason with 14 points. Texas will now wait till December 4th, when the Longhorns will meet UCLA in Austin.

- Probably the best game other then the UT and Gonzaga game (which wasn't on TV for some reason) had to have been a fast up and down track fest of a game between #24 Wake Forest and Baylor. A game Wake Forest would win 87-74. Four different players on each team scored in double figures, while reserve guard Henry Dugat led all scores it 19 points. The game was a lot closer then the score shows, with Wake consonantly keeping Baylor at a five or six point deficit, a deficit the Bears never could overcome. The best part of the game though had to be that the gym they played in had less people in it then a Waggener High School basketball game. So you could hear everything being yelled by both teams. Every time Al-Farouq Aminu of Wake accused Curtis Jurrells (pictured) of traveling, you heard it. Everytime Scott Drew (Baylor Head Coach) warned his team to watch the "stunt" by Wake Forest on free throw misses, you heard it loud and clear. It definitely made the game a lot more entertaining. Both these teams have talent and while I cant see them being contenders, I do see them as a serous threat to anyone they play.

- If you haven't heard or seen Arizona State Sophomore James Harden (pictured) play then you don't know what your missing. UTEP wish's they never had to see him after he dropped a tournament record (76 Classic, yea I know it's no NIT) and career high 40 points to lead the Sun Devels to a 88-58 routing of the UTEP Miners. Harden made 14 of 25 shots, 6 of 7 from 3-point range, and added eight rebounds and four assists for the Sun Devils (5-1). Randy Culpepper scored 24 points for the Miners, who shot a season-low 30.2 percent.

- If I wasn't writing about all Big East teams then I wouldn't have had a reason to talk about the St. Peter's Peacocks and what a depressing world that would be. Thankfully Rutgers felt it best to schedule the powerhouse school. Oh yea....Rutgers won 68-47. Only thing worth saying is that Freshman guard Mike Rosario, who has been lighting everyone up this season was held to single digit scoring (8 points) for the first time this season. He has been averaging 17.8 points and 4 rebounds a game so far.

- When you have a guard that shoots 9 of 17 from behind the arc and puts down 32 points, then it doesn't matter if your missing the reigning conference player of the year, as #8 Notre Dame rolled over Furman 93-61. Kyle McAlarney (pictured) showed why he is considered the best shooter in the country, carving up the Paladins (By the way what the hell is a Paladin??) on 11 of 20 overall shooting. Ryan Ayers added 19 points and Tory Jackson 17 points to help in the win for the Irish.

- The Providence Flyers fell to 4-3 after they lost to St Mary's 81-75 Sunday night. The Gails never really struggled with the Flyers as Patrick Mills scored 24 points and Diamon Simpson had a season-high 18 points. Jonathon Kale led Providence with 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, 8 of them offensive.

Games to watch for on Monday December 1st.....

- #19 Wisconsin at Virginia Tech at 7pm ET (ESPN2-TV)

- Delaware State at #2 UCONN at 7:30pm ET (espn360-Internet)

- Kent State at #23 Kansas at 9pm ET (ESPNU-TV)

Other Big East teams in action.....

- Colgate at Syracuse at 7pm ET

- St. Francis (NY) at St. John's at 7:30pm ET