We Own Marquette!

Here's proof.....

Would You Rather?

You know the game. You get two options, and you must answer. Would you rather hit every red light for the rest of your life, or always be wrong? Would you rather have the ability to fly or to be invisible? (I’m going with invisible here, because I have a dirty, dirty mind.)

Well, with Rob’s breakdown of how the Cards could land a No. 1 seed in the tourney, I got to thinking. Would I rather have a No. 1 seed and be facing a UConn, Pittsburgh, or even a UNC as a No. 2, or would I take a No. 2 in a bracket that has Memphis as a No. 1?

Would I rather be a No. 1 in the West, staring at perhaps Oklahoma and/or Cal, UCLA, or Michigan State to deal with in Arizona? Or would it be better to take a two or even a three seed in the Midwest, with the Regionals being played in Indianapolis?

Joe Lunardi’s latest bracketology has Louisville the No. 2 seed in the South bracket, with No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 3 Wake Forest, and No. 4 Clemson waiting in the wings. Like I’ve said before, a 2 seed draw in Oklahoma’s bracket isn’t something I fear. Our first games would be in Dayton, definitely not a bad little car ride. The Regionals for the South are in Memphis, and I’d be willing to bet the house, wife and kids that Beale Street would be crawling with Cards fans over Sooners at a 3 to 1 ratio. (I have none of the above, so don’t try to take me up on that.) While Wake and Clemson scare me, this is about just a good a draw as we could ask for.

But would you rather play in the Midwest? Trouble with that is (1) the No. 2 seed plays in Kansas City in the first rounds, and (2) according to Lunardi, Pittsburgh has the No. 1 seed there all wrapped up. I realize we beat them already, but Pitt is in my top 3 of teams I don’t want to see in March. But the Midwest bracket features the closest Regional Championship – Indianapolis, which makes a Midwest draw just a tad sexier than a draw in the South.

But let’s assume Memphis wins out, and Oklahoma and/or Pitt sputter down the stretch. Say the selection committee gives Memphis the nod for the No. 1 in the Midwest. (They wouldn’t put them in the South because that would set up a home game for them if they made the Regionals.) Would you rather have a No. 2 seed in the Midwest with Memphis at the No. 1 and the Regionals being played in Indianapolis?

There’s a lot of basketball left to be played. But the chips are starting to fall into place for Selection Sunday and the greatest sporting event God’s green earth has ever seen – the NCAA basketball tournament. There are a lot of different scenarios that could have the Cards playing as a No. 1, a No. 2, or a No. 3 in any of the four regions. Wherever we end up and however we’re seeded, the most important thing is getting a draw where we have good match-ups and can play in an accessible venue. And it sure is fun to speculate and debate in the meantime!

Cup O' Jones : Roundball roundup

The unpredictability of college basketball continued in this past week. Some teams reassured their NCAA-bid and others left a little work to be done. Then there is always the battle for the best possible seed. As you’ve seen with North Carolina, UCLA, and many other teams in previous years, staying close to home is a recipe for the Final 4 and that is a luxury of being in the top 2 seeds. Of course there are exceptions to the rule. Many teams have been sent thousands of miles from their home and been successful, but it’s obviously far more difficult.

- As it looks right now, 6 teams are battling for the 4 #1 seeds. Oklahoma, PITT, UCONN, North Carolina, Louisville and Memphis. I think just because of what conference they play in Memphis is almost a shoe-in. They should win every game from here on out easily (get to that later). If Blake Griffin recovers from his concussion, Oklahoma is another near-guarantee. Even if he isn’t, Willie Warren has been making his claim for National Freshman of the Year and could carry the Sooners to a conference title, which would almost assure them of a #1. Griffin will be back soon though - hopefully - I know a concussion is nothing to mess with, but I think Griffin is milk-toast and this further proves it. What is disturbing is the next 4 teams left are better than the 2 I just mentioned, but will more than likely be punished because they is a greater possibility of being beaten in their tourney. Only one team out of the 3 from the BIG EAST can win the conference tourney and only 2 can make the title game. There’s a possibility of the committee taking that into account and knocking Memphis or Oklahoma down - but I doubt it. Whoever fairs best in the tough ACC will take the next #1, probably Carolina if they run the table and win a couple in the tourney. My prediction as of right now is - Carolina, Memphis, UCONN, Louisville (let the hating ensue).

- Back to Memphis. They are an enigma to me this year. They feast on a conference full of cupcakes, yet they sit a top the latest Pomeroy ratings. Their biggest non-conference wins are against Tennessee, Gonzaga, and Cincinnati. They are 2-2 against BIG EAST teams (one being Georgetown) and also lost to Xavier. They are also rated as the best defensive team by Pomeroy. Is that a product of their stifling defense or lack of competition? The team has definitely gotten a lot better since moving freshman stud Tyreke Evans to point guard. He’s good, but he’s no Derrick Rose. Antonio Anderson has given leadership, but he’s no Chris Douglas-Roberts. Robert Dozier and Shawn Taggart are active down low, but they don’t amount to Joey Dorsey. Last year’s Memphis team was full of talent and senior leadership - this year it isn’t. The Tigers are a good team, but they would just be another team in what is a down SEC this year. Last night, it took an 0-17 performance from UAB-start Robert Vaden for the Tigers to beat their conference “rival” - and by rival I mean UAB fans just hate Memphis because they always get whipped.

- South Carolina is emerging as the possible team to represent the SEC furthest in the dance. You can’t underestimate the value of veteran guard play in March and the Gamecocks most definitely have that. Devan Downey reminds me a lot of Billy Clyde’s meal ticket Acie Law IV at Texas A&M. He seems to make everyone around him play with more confidence and, when needed, he can completely take over a game. Plus, he has a few good complimentary players surrounding him. Mike Holmes and Sam Muldrow hold it down inside with Dominique Archie and Zam Frederick complimenting Downey on the wings. There is always one team who basically comes out of nowhere to make a nice run out of the SEC. Vandy did it last year. The Gamecocks are the best bet this year.

- The Dominic James injury is a horrible thing to happen to Marquette given the season they were currently having, but I don’t think it will be as crippling as many are making it out to be. Yes, James was a 4-year starter and supposed team leader. However, in my mind he was their 4th option and not necessarily the best defender. I could see some kind of “Ewing theory” coming out of this where a team’s alleged “leader” is hurt and in turn plays better without him. There is no question Dominic James is/was a great college basketball player and I’m not saying it’s a a guaranteed blessing in disguise. Just don’t count Marquette out quite yet. Jerel McNeal, Wes Matthews and Lazar Hayward are really going to have to elevate their respective games up in order for that to happen.

I don’t know if this week is “Rivalry Week”, “Judgement Week” or “Shark Week” on ESPN. All I know is this is what to watch for…

Friday - Such a waste of a good night to have some quality big conference games. As is with nearly every Friday night all year, there is absolutely ZERO good games to watch. The Siena Saints are a team a lot of people are picking to be one of those #12 seeds that upset a #5. They take on their closest competition in the MAAC, Niagra, at 7 on the U.

Saturday
NOON - CBS - Georgia Tech at UNC - The Heels are still the scariest team in the country regardless of what happened against Maryland last week. However, Tyler Hansbrough has been a complete ghost lately and the loss of Marcus Ginyard has been a lot more significant than first believed. Ginyard was their best shut down defender and his loss is evident in the way the other team’s opposing star has been having huge games against the Heels.
2 - CBS - Notre Dame at UCONN - Frankengody and the Irish have their backs against the wall when it comes to getting a tournament bid. A road win against the Huskies would stick out beautifully on an Irish tourney resume. They do match-up fairly well ouside of Thabeet and only need a few shots to fall to have a chance.
4 -CBS - LSU at Kentucky - Two teams with something to prove on national television in the game of the day in my opinion (yea i said it). LSU wants to prove that they are not Paper Tigers who have a jaded record due to a down-conference and early cupcakes. Like the Irish, the Cats have their back against the wall as well. A win here would be enough to get them a ticket to the dance regardless of what happens in the conference championships.
5 - CSTV - Utah at BYU - DVR this one because both teams are unranked and still making the tourney. The Utes sit #9 in the latest RPI rankings with the 20th ranked schedule. This makes no sense whatsoever because they beat Gonzaga by 1 and LSU by 30 - that’s it. Their losses include SW Baptist, Idaho St., and Utah St. BYU is 23rd and has about the same resume, but with their only quality win being San Diego St.
9 - ESPN - UCLA at Cal - Another match-up pitting tournament teams is also a position battle for second place in the Pac-10. Jerome Randle is putting up 18 points and 4 assists for Mike Montgomery’s Golden Bears who lead the nation in three-point accuracy. The Bruins need a strong finish or else they are going to make it very difficult for a 4th straight Final 4.

Sunday
NOON - CBS - Marquette at Louisville - Two top-10 teams tussle in the Hall to start off a huge day of college hoops. The Cards are playing as hot as any team in the country. A win here and they are looking one of those precious top-2 seeds in the face. it will be interesting to see how the Eagles fair without James.
2 - CBS - Missouri at Kansas - The “Boarder War” went down to the last second last meeting a couple weeks back with a Zaire Taylor game-winning shot for Mizzou. The Tigers have won 11 of 12 and find themselves with the distict possibility of a #2 seed. Bill Self should be considered for National Coach of the Year for what he has done with the Jayhawk team who lost more than anyone after last year’s title run.
TBA - CBS - Michigan St. at Illinois - There is a three-way battle for first place in the Big Ten between these two and Purdue. If the Illini hold court, they could clinch the regular-season title with a win against Penn St. in the finally. I really can’t take a team that scored 33 points in a game - as the Illini did against Penn St. previously - seriously.

Monday
7 - ESPN - Villanova at Notre Dame - I have trouble thinking Harangody will be able to be stooped by Villanova’s big guys. In turn, I don’t see Notre Dame’s guards being able to stop Scottie Reynolds and co. This will be a high-scoring affair.
9- ESPN - Baylor at Texas - After starting the season 15-3, Bayor has dropped 8 of their last 9 games and have totally played themselves out of the tournament. Maybe the karma from the sleazy John Wall package deal is oming back to bite them. AJ Abrams and Texas saved their hides with a tainted Oklahoma win and should build upon that against the Bears.

Tuesday
7 - FOXSPORTS - Wake at Maryland - Gary Williams might have saved his job thanks to Grevies Vasquez’ triple-double in the OT win against Carolina. However, the Terps still may have work to do to get a bid. A win here and it’s pretty much sealed. On the other side, Wake needs to get back on track as it looks like Al-Farouq Aminu has hit the freshman wall. Jeff Teague could get hot at any momen, so still watch out for Wake
8 - N/A - Florida St at Duke - An all ACC night is topped off with Toney Douglas and his Seminoles traveling to Cameron. Douglas, brother of Harry and Auburn transfer is getting a little pub for ACC player of the year averaging 20-4-4 for the 24th ranked Noles. Gerald Henderson of Duke may be playing as well as any player in the nation without an A-Rod or T-Mac like nickname. G-Hend really sounds stupid, but so do the others.

Wednesday
730 - ESPN - Marquette at PITT - A horrific stretch of @GTOWN, UCONN, @LOU, @PITT, SYR continues for the Eagles. It’s pretty simple, get DeJuan Blair in foul-trouble and you can beat PITT. In all three losses Blair has been missing action due to foul-trouble. And being undersized he is nt a very good defender, so the Marquette guards need to slash the ball inside and get him to make a mistake. PITT is very beatable without Blair, but with him they are close to unstoppable.
9 - N/A - Oklahoma at Missouri - The battle of all battles in the Big 12 this year. 6-8 225lb DeMarre Carroll will be assigned to Blake Griffin assuming the OU big guy is cleared to play. As has been all year, if Willie Warren’s shot is falling the Sooners are tough to beat. Whether or not he’s on could determine the outcome of the game.

Thursday
830 - FOXSPORTS - Stanford at Arizona St. - How is James Harden not getting National POY hype like he should? The guy is up in the top-10 in the country in scoring, pulls down 6 boards and drops 4 assists on a team that is highly-ranked. Unlike some other candidates, Harden does it all without having to be selfish. I just think no one east of the Mississippi has seen him play enough to judge him. A great player shining for a good team should win the award - not someone who jacks up shots because that’s all their team has, a la Harangody and a few others.
9- FOXSPORTSOHIO - Dayton at Xavier - Always a bitter battle for positioning in the Atlantic 10. The Muskie were sitting in the top-10 nationally not too long ago and have preceded to lose 3 of their last 6 conference games. Derrick Brown leads a balanced attack for Xavier and Chris Wright is a highlight waiting to happen for Dayton.

White-Out the Hall Sunday

From the Louisville athletic department...

Fans are encouraged to wear white for Sunday's game to "white out" Freedom Hall.  Sunday's game will also feature the Cardinals wearing retro white uniforms similar to those worn during the Wes Unseld era of the 1960's, with the exception of short shorts.  Unseld is the Cards' only three-time All-American, earning that distinction in 1966-68.

Broken Foot Ends Career of Dominic James

Sad news.

When the Marquette Golden Eagles travel to Louisville Sunday, they will be without PG Dominic James. The senior broke his foot last night in their loss to No. 2 UConn. The injury ends his stellar career at Marquette.

Let's Go...Marquette?

That’s right folks. The LYes! Report will be halfheartedly and dispassionately cheering for Marquette to topple the Connecticut Huskies when the two Big East powerhouses meet in Milwaukee tonight at 7:00 on ESPN.

My utmost disdain for all things UConn is not the sole reason for this seemingly misplaced enthusiasm for the Golden Eagles.

With Providence’s upset of No. 1 Pittsburgh (12-3 in conference play) last night, Louisville and UConn (both at 13-2) sit alone tied for the lead for the Big East. With a Marquette win over UConn, Marquette (12-3) would ascend to that spot, sharing the conference lead with the Cards.

This means that Louisville would “control its own destiny” (in quotes because I hate that kind of language, like “thinking outside the box”) by beating Marquette on Sunday and winning out for the regular season.

There are of course other scenarios by which Louisville could take the Big East regular season crown. Marquette’s remaining games besides UConn tonight and Sunday at the Hall include a trip to Pittsburgh and Syracuse (20-8, 8-7) at home. And UConn must also travel up to Pitt for a rematch. (Or, in UConn’s case, I guess they’d be traveling “down” to Pitt. But you get my drift.)

But a Marquette win tonight is the most immediate of situations that would allow a Louisville Big East Regular Season Title to materialize. And, not that any further motivation is necessary, it could make Sunday's game even more exciting. So, if you can stomach it, go…uh…Marquette.

Cup O' Jones : Ash Wednesday Edition

Coincidence....I think not


Hope everyone had a gluttonous Fat Tuesday filled with beads, creole food, and all that good stuff. Lent starts today for Catholics with Ash Wednesday - the time of year when you're forced to give something up until Easter as a sign of respect. I am giving up fast food for sure and maybe cursing. For those of you that know me, fast food is easy for a skinny guy to give up - the cursing on the other hand will be pretty difficult. Enough about me, let's talk about something I could never give up - those Louisville Cardinals.

- Providence took care of PITT last night in what should give the Cards and inside track on an overall #1 seed come tourney time if we take care of business. I think 2 teams will get #1 seeds from the BIG EAST and it will come from 3 (maybe 4) teams. Right now, if we somehow get past the Panthers in New York, there is no question we are that second team. The team we play Sunday - Marquette - also has an outside shot of a #1 if they can run the table. Those damn Memphis Tigers are the only team I see with a possibility of spoiling the BIG EAST party. I remember when we played in a tougher C-USA and didn't get as much credit as the Tigers have the lat 3 years. Remember, when we played in the C-USA so did Cincinnati, Marquette, Memphis, and So. Florida. Now the Tigers get to feast on UAB, Tulsa and UTEP and a reaping the benefits.

- Marquette might be the most underrated team in the nation. Their top three guards - Wesley Matthews, Jerel McNeal and Dominic James - have more experience combined than any back-court in the country. James seems like he's been there as long as Clarence Weatherspoon was at So. Miss or Elliot Perry at Memphis. The problem people have with the Eagles is their lack of size. As most BIG EAST fans know, a smallish team can have a great deal of success in the conference. A couple years back Villanova took a team with no size to the Elite 8 -taking a great UNC team to the brink. That team was set around guards - Mike Nardi, Kyle Lowry, Allen Ray and Randy Foye. All but one were first round picks and all had at least 2 years of playing time under their belt. Not saying the Marquette trio is at the same talent level, but it's close. Even with that being said, the Cards should pound the ball down low early and often.

- The way I see it, if the Cards win on Sunday and take care of the final two games against Seton Hall and WestVirginia we are staring the regular season title right in the face. PITT and UCONN face off in the last game of the season and - if everything plays out like it should - if UCONN wins they win the title and if PITT wins UL wins the title. The only thing that could hurt the Cards is if PITT sneaks up and steals our dance seed because of their two wins against the Huskies. All the Cards need to worry about is their own games and taking care of their own business.

- Here's game-winning shot #2 for the Cards against Marquette. Enjoy...



Starting 5
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T-Will: The Case for Big East Player of the Year

Excuse me, Digger Phelps and your occupants on the Luke Harangody bandwagon, but let’s not already assume a repeat is in order.

Don’t cast your vote for your boy Hasheem Thabeet just yet, Coach Calhoun and Coach Boeheim.

No, Andy Katz – contrary to popular belief, this isn’t just a two-man race. (And how quickly you forget Dejuan Blair’s 9-point outing at Freedom Hall only a few weeks ago.)



And let’s not all simply succumb to Seth Davis’ observation that Jerel McNeal is the “best” of his breed in the Big East.



Terrence Williams needs to be in the conversation as Big East Player of the Year. His versatility, his composure, the consistency of his play, and the level of his importance and value to his team render him so.



Yes, I appreciate I may be biased. I know my love for all things T-Will is well documented, that I spearheaded a grassroots campaign to see him voted Senior CLASS Player of the Year. (Polls are still open, by the way.)


But hear me out on this: T-Will must be in the conversation.



The 6-6, 220 pound senior can play like a point guard. You and I know that from watching him in open court. You and I know that from watching him bounce the rock at the top of the key, then suddenly and abruptly thread the needle to find Samardo Samuels or Earl Clark in the paint. Then you and I wonder: “How did he even see that?”

But some folks don’t have the luxury of observing T-Will’s phenomenal court vision and Peyton Manning-type ability to place the ball precisely where it needs to be on a weekly basis. Those folks need only check out the numbers.


He’s fifth in the Big East in assists at 4.8 per game. He’s behind some familiar names: Levance Fields, Johnny Flynn, Dominic James, and Troy Jackson. These gentlemen are the state of the art. Cream of the crop. Top of their field. The only thing that separates T-Will from these folks is that their “field” is the point guard position – their function is to distribute the rock. 6-6, 220 pound forwards aren’t bred for that kind of work. But T-Will does it, and does it with consistency – the 6-6, 220 pound forward has dished out 5 plus dimes in 14 games this season with an average 2.06 assist-to-turnover ratio. In a word: remarkable.




But T-Will can also play like a big man, averaging 8.4 boards per game. You and I watch him sky up in and through a crowd of trees to come down with the basketball. You and I watch him use his quickness to chase down hard rebounds and turn those rebounds into immediate transition offense. And everybody should recognize that he’s 9th in the conference in that category.



When you’re Hasheem Thabeet (7-3, 10.5 rpg) or DePaul’s Mac Koshwal (6-10, 9.8 rpg), rebounding is a given. You live under the basket. You’re taller than your competition. You’re expected to come down with missed shots. When you’re a 6-6 wingman, when your team expects you to run the offense, when you’re called upon to defend and challenge your opponents’ three point shots, it’s a

little different. Rebounding isn’t a given. It’s a chore. It requires an aggressive, “want-to” attitude. It takes pride to declare that that ball coming off the iron is yours, the 7-3, 6-10 trees already standing under the basket ready for it notwithstanding. Rebounding is a hustle stat. At 6-6, 8.4 rebounds per game speaks volumes of your attitude and commitment to hustle.

But let’s be honest. We aren’t big on passing and hustle. We live in a basketball age where people want to see points. The more the score board flickers the more entertained we are. Which may have something to do with Harangody (Big East-leading 24.2 ppg) taking BE Player of the Year honors last year and figuring to be a frontrunner this year. And T-Will has had his games of 2 (Morehead State), 3 (St. John’s) and 4 (Ohio, South Florida). Against DePaul he didn’t even take a shot.

But since coming off that wrist injury, as the Cards enter the homestretch (and when it was very, very evident at Notre Dame that offense was desperately needed if this team was to make a run at anything this post-season) T-Will’s averaging almost 16 points per game and has hit 52% of his shots. Harangody is a phenomenal scorer who can drop jumpers from anywhere on the court and is a forceful presence inside the paint, which is why he averages 18 shots per game. To put things in perspective, T-Will only averages 11 field goal attempts per game. While you and I know and recognize T-Will as a scoring threat every time he touches the ball, he knows that he can make his team more dangerous by crisp execution and efficient ball movement. Even so, his 12.5 points per game puts him in the top 30 in the Big East.




That’s 12.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game. He’s the only player in the country averaging 12, 8 and 4. And that, Mr. Calhoun, Mr. Boeheim, Mr. Katz, and Mr. Davis, puts Terrence Williams in a class all by himself.


Which is why the conversation for Big East Player of the Year should – and indeed does – include T-Will.

Cup o' Jones : En Fuego Edition

- Dan Patrick is one of my favorite sports personalities of all-time so I'm going to borrow one of his phrases just this one-time. The Cards were - dare I say - en fuego to start the game last night. They came out of the gates 9 of 9 with 4 3-pointers. Their first miss came around the 9 minute mark on an Earl Clark flailing baseline jumper. 8 different players scored in that stretch led by Jerry and Samardo with 5 a piece. You would assume the Cards had an insurmountable lead after a red-hot start like that. They were up 13, but it could have been more if it weren't for some careless ball-handling. 14-20 for 70% is the best half I've seen from the Cards in a while.

- The hot-shooting performance over-shadowed and helped the Cards overcome not taking very good care of the ball. However, the game was played at a frantic pace at points and both teams were forced to make quick decisions which led to turnovers. I have no idea why John Thompson III decided to let his team run with a team that is obviously deeper and used to playing that pace. With the exception of UCONN, the Cards losses have been against teams that didn't let the Cards control the pace. Minnesota, Western and UNLV all slowed down the pace and didn't let the Cards take advantage of their depth. For some reason, JTIII thought his 6 man rotation was going to last against Pitino's 10-man-rotation. I was expecting him to slow it down and milk the shot-clock. However, he let the Cards dictate the pace and it was curtains from there.

- Everyone played exceptionally well tonight. Earl had 22 points and 8 boards. T-Will almost dropped a triple-double...again (10-12-7). Samardo and Jennings had 10 and 7 respectively, going a combined 5-7 from the field and 7-10 from the line. Preston Knowles continued to play without a conscience and dropped 10. Jerry and McGee filled their role as always, hit some big shots, and manned-up the head of the press. Sosa didn't play carelessly. Swop and Goode gave some respectable minutes and even Will Scott grabbed a rebound. Everyone did their part which led to the victory.

- T-Will continues to play at a level matched by very few (if any) players in the country. He is so calm, cool and collected with the ball and seems to always make the right decision. Even when he turns the ball over it is evident he isn't being careless, but simply trying to make something special happen. His joking demeanor shades the fact that he is playing some of the best ball in the country. The only man averaging 10-8-4 in the land and the only person that knows where every camera is. Did you see him mug for the camera after his dunk-and-a-foul late in the game? Ridiculous. Yet he can get away with that attitude with the way he is playing. Hell, he can do whatever he wants.

- 5 days of practice and then Marquette on Sunday at noon on CBS. I have a feeling this is going to be one of those classic games between two teams that don't care for each other too much. It is going to be the time where we need Clark, Samuels, and Jennings to show up more than ever. Marquette concedes too much height not to be taken advantage of. Here's just a little something to get you fired up even though the game isn't until Sunday. I have been waiting all year to put this up. My favorite part is when he knocks that poor lady on her ass while celebrating...



Starting 5

1. Carson - More Hardball - Gratuitous Crotchitular Activity (Do baseball players really grab their package a lot or is that just a myth from too many baseball movies? The staff at More Hardball did a little research and came up[ with some interesting findings)
2. Howard Beck - New York Times - Powerful Agents' Blunt warning About Future of the NBA (Supposedly, a lot of NBA teams are losing money and might be ready for a 2 YEAR work stoppage. 2 years is too long, but I wouldn't mind if one year they just skipped right to the last 20 games of the regular season and playoffs when the players actually earn their outrageous checks)
3. Joseph Gerth - Courier-Journal - Bunning: Justice Ginsburg will likely be dead in 9 months (Wow. Just a bit outside in that comment Jim)
4. Michael Hiestand - USA Today - With Emmitt out, Could ESPN get Favre? (You'd have to put him in a cage to keep Peter Kong, John Madden and Chris Berman's hand off him, but I think he would do a great job. Anything is better than Emmitt)
5. Ron Cooke - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - A big decision looms for Blair after this season (By all means DeJuan, the door is right there. We can't keep you in foul trouble for two more years. The money is too good to pass up DeJuan. Go. Go Go...)

Cards 6th in Both Polls

The Georgetown Hoyas will be playing the No. 6 team in the country tonight, at least according to the latest coaches’ and AP polls. The Cards moved up one spot from No. 7 after Michigan State’s 18-point loss to Purdue last week. The Spartans fell from No. 6 to No. 9 in both polls.

Meanwhile, after beating No. 1 UConn last week, and with No. 2 Oklahoma and No. 3 North Carolina both losing, Pitt retook the No. 1 throne the Cards stripped from it back in January at Freedom Hall. The Coaches' top 10 looks like this:

1. Pittsburgh (30) 25-2
2. Connecticut (1) 25-2
3. Oklahoma 25-2
4. Memphis 24-3
5. North Carolina 24-3
6. Louisville 21-5
7. Duke 22-5
8. Missouri 23-4
9. Michigan State 21-5
10. Marquette 23-4


And here's your AP:

1. Pittsburgh (69) 25-2
2. Connecticut (1) 25-2
3. Oklahoma (2) 25-2
4. North Carolina 24-3
5. Memphis 24-3
6. Louisville 21-5
7. Duke 22-5
8. Marquette 23-4
9. Michigan State 21-5
10. Villanova 22-5

Also, in Joe Lunardi’s latest bracketology, Louisville remains the Midwest’s 2 seed with UNC at 1 and Michigan State at the 3. The Cards’ first round opponent would be the North Dakota State Bison of the Summit Conference.

Show Me My Opponent - Georgetown Hoyas

NAME: Georgetown University



LOCATION: Washington, D.C.

ESTABLISHED: 1789 by Jesuit Priest John Carroll

ENROLLMENT: 14,148


MASCOT: Hoyas (origin unknown)



DATE: February 23, 2009

TIME: 7:02 p.m. EST

SITE: Verizon Center (20,600) Washington, D.C.

TELEVISION: ESPN "Big Monday" feature; Mike Patrick play-by-play, Len Elmore commentary

RADIO: 790 WKRD; Paul Rogers play-by-play, Bob Valvano commentary

OFFICIALS: Ed Corbett, Karl Hess, Bob Donato



SERIES HISTORY: Georgetown leads 5-3 all-time; U of L has never won in D.C. (0-2)

LAST MEETING: Georgetown 55, Cards 52 (March 8, 2008, in D.C.)


CARDINAL CONNECTION: Pitino's son Ryan is a freshman at Georgetown, where he writes for a local sports blog that covers Hoyas basketball. Ryan Pitino maintains his loyalty to the Cards.


HEAD COACH: John Thompson, III, 5th year, 101-44

ASSISTANTS: Robert Burke, Keenya Hunter, David Cox

OVERALL RECORD: 14-11, 5-9

NATIONAL RANKING: N/A


RPI: 44

SOS: 1

SPREAD: Louisville -1.5

NOTABLE ALUMNI:
Georgetown boasts a plethora of distinguished alumni, from congressmen to judges to ambassadors to business leaders to royalty. Here are a few:



Bill Clinton (Former U.S. President)
Antonin Scalia (U.S. Supreme Court Justice)
Patrick Leahy (U.S. Senate, D-Verm., Chairman of the Judiciary Committee) George Tenet (Former CIA Director)
General David H. Petraeus (Commander, United States Central Command)
Sarah Albert (America's Next Top Model contestant)

BASKETBALL: Patrick Ewing, Dikembe Mutombo, Alonzo Mourning, Sleepy Floyd, Allen Iverson


PROBABLE STARTERS:

F 3 DaJuan SUMMERS 6-8 240 Jr. 14.0 4.5

C 10 Greg MONROE 6-11 250 Fr. 13.0 6.8

G 4 Chris WRIGHT 6-1 205 So. 12.9 3.0

G 15 Austin FREEMAN 6-4 220 So. 12.5 4.3

G 21 Jessie SAPP 6-3 210 Sr. 6.5 3.9

BENCH: Jason Clark (5.4 ppg); Omar Wattad (3.0 ppg)

OUTLOOK:
While the Cardinals are flying high after winning three straight, the young Hoyas are coming off a devastating loss against Marquette Saturday, a game that was tied at halftime. It was Georgetown's second loss to the Golden Eagles and 8th of its last 10 games. A disappointing month for a team that was in the top 10 only a few weeks ago.



Louisville will see another team fighting for its post-season life Monday. The Hoyas are looking for another signature win for their resume - their first being a 11 point beatdown at UConn back in December.

The Hoyas aren't very deep, but their starting 5 is very tough. DeJuan Summers and Austin Freeman are two household names in Big East country. Chris Wright is coming off a 17 point performance against Marquette and can fill it up - he's hit 75 threes on the season.

Greg Monroe is arguably the best freshman in the conference. He'll test our bigs with his versatility and physical style of play. Samardo and TJ will need to block out and keep him off the offensive boards.

With their backs against the wall, expect the Hoyas to come out swinging. They average 72 points per game, so the Cards will have to keep up the defensive intensity and hopefully the newly-found offensive will resurface as well. With T Will healthy, Earl playing his best ball, and Preston Knowles emerging, give me the Cards in this one, 77-69.

Cup O' Jones : Big Monday Edition

Thoughts from Cincy game...

- Even though he had only 9 points and 4 shot attempts, I thought Samardo Samuels showed more grit than he has all season. He played with a fire that we haven't seen from him quite yet. Mardo showed emotion after big plays and got after rebounds with a newfound tenacity. You look at the stat-line and see 9 points 3 boards in 20 minutes, but watching the game it looked as though something had clicked. there was one point where it was evident when Samuels missed a hook, fought for the rebound, and put it back for an and-1 late in the game. The bench and Mardo went nuts because both parties know that is what will make him an All-American player. Maybe when Pitino said Samuels might just not be that good of a rebounder prior to the game it motivated the Jamaican big-man to prove his coach wrong. That's why Coach P does that. Right?

- The reason his playing time is diminishing is not because of his play. It's due to the play of Terrence Jennings, especially on the defensive end. However, if he didn't before, Jennings now officially looks like he's fully in tune with the offense. He's starting to make quicker decisions with the ball and finds the right spot to receive a pass. His defense has and will always be there - shot blocking is an inherited trait that some people just have as a gift. Also, Jennings' rebounding on both ends is getting better by the game and he almost always seems to come up with a huge offensive putback in the most opportune time.

- Preston Knowles is slowly becoming a somewhat of a cult-hero amongst Card fans. He has that old West gun-slinger mentality on the court - if you give him room to take the shot, he going to take it and 46% of the time he's going to make it. You can clearly see the confidence oozing from him on the court. That confidence rubs off on the team once he enters the game and you can see the group's energy level rise. He has been the Cards' most consistent guard on both sides of the ball for the majority of the year. Knowles has earned a spot in the starting line-up based on his play the last few games. However, the mini-microwave is best served to come off the bench and spark the team on both ends. A perfect day for Preston - 4-4 FG 3-3 3FG in 11 minutes.

- When it was looking like the Bearcats weren't going to go out easy, in came Terrence Williams to save the day. Williams helped the Cards answer every flurry Cincy threw at them whether it be a huge offensive rebound, a jumper right in a defenders face, or a beautiful pass to someone for the dunk. It also looks like the wrist is fully recovered and he has his stroke back. There is no one in the country I would trade T-Will straight up for right now - not Blake Griffin, Ty Lawson, Stephen Curry or even that overrated joker Jodie Meeks. One is because neither can equal his all-around output. Two, without T-Will no one on the team would be able to get the new star the ball. T-Will looks like he is on a mission and is making all the right moves right now. 20 points 8 rebounds and 5 assists - all while playing every minute of the game.

- You have to take the good with the bad when dealing with Earl Clark. The good - 14 points. The bad- 4-15 shooting. The good - 3 assists and 9 rebounds. The bad - 6 turnovers. The good - he only took 3 trifectas. The bad - he only made one. The good does outweigh the bad with Clark because he also ripped down 5 offensive board and went an acceptable 5-6 from the line and I couldn't thing of another bad to off-set it. I guess I could always revert to the fact he doesn't play with his back to the basket enough...

On to Georgetown...

- This games has not lost any of it's luster at all due to the fact the Hoyas are unranked and on the outside looking in on the NCAA tournament. John Thompson III will have his team ready to play at home and if anything the Hoyas will play better than in previous year just because they are up against a possibly miserable offseason. The Cards have had trouble playing in the MCI Center ever since joining the BIG EAST. Just because the Hoyas' record indicates they aren't the preseason top-10 team they were predicted to be doesn't mean they don't have the capability of playing up to that potential. It's painful to think, but Georgetown is in the same boat as Notre Dame was last week. A team that came into the season with a lot of hype, losing all the close games they play and facing a possible NCAA snub. Both are Cards road-games against teams with seniors that would be very upset with no post-season berth.

- The Hoyas have 11 losses and only 3 have come by more than 10 points - 2 of which were in overtime. Losses to Cincy and Seton Hall really tarnished their record and will be hard to overcome. They still have one of the top-3 freshman in the country in Greg Monroe, a great hybrid forward in DeJuan Summers, two excellent guards in Jessie Sapp and Chris Wright and a former McDonald's All-American in Austin Freeman. The problem the Hoyas have currently as opposed to previous years is depth. Those five players can by themselves match-up with any 5 players in the country. The question is whether those 5 players can match-up with the 8-10 Louisville is going to bring.

- The Hoyas would like nothing more than to have a win against a top-5 team to hang their hat on come selection time. The Cards must realize this and treat this game as if they are playing against another top-5 team. The Hoyas ended the Cards winning streak at the end of last year, so maybe the team can use that as fuel. They can also build off the fact they have an outside chance at a #1 seed with no more than 1 loss the rest of the way. The Hoyas seem to have hit a stoke of bad luck here lately. Pitino need to make sure the troops don't let the good luck come back with us.

More news from the weekend...

- Eric Wood had an extremely good showing at the NFL combine this weekend and is headed back to California to continue training before Louisville's pro-day in March. Wood did 30 bench-press reps at 225 pounds, showed of his Darrell Griffith-esque hops at 30.5 inches, a blistering 7.56 seconds on the 3-cone drill and 4.51 seconds on the 20-yard shuttle. Numerous teams have been in contact with Eric, but I really hope he gets to play for his hometown Bengals. It would be a dream scenario. NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock currently has Wood as the 2nd rated center and NFLDraftDog.com has him projected as the 38th overall pick to his Cincinnati Bengals.

- The baseball Cards started their season in disappointing fashion, as they were swept by perennial powerhouse Florida in a season-opening three game set over the weekend. Senior All-American 3B Chris Dominguez had a terrible series - going 1-10 with 2 walks, 2 K's and a RBI. The Cards pitching staff led by Matt Lea and Justin Marks pitched fairly well, but the offense just couldn't score enough runs to get the job done resulting in the first 3 game losing streak the Cards have had under coach Dan McDonnell. The Cards look to rebound as Marks takes the hill in the home opener on Wednesday at Jim Patterson Stadium against the Colonels of Eastern Kentucky.

- Lastly, Jody Demling gave us some news from Pitino in his Recruiting Insider for the C-J. Coach said we want at least on McDonald's All-American a year and that all will ideally stay 3-4 years. "Earl stayed three years. We'll have Samardo three or four years, and we'll have Peyton for three or four years." Samardo for three years? I would have called you crazy if you said that after the Red/White scrimmage, but now it makes sense. Not that it is definite that he is coming back or I was even worried about it in the first place, but it's pretty reassuring coming from the coach's mouth.

Starting 5

1. Liz Clark - Washington Post - With Little Time, Hoyas Are Facing A Long Climb (Further providing evidence that the Cards are going to get about everything they want from the Hoyas tonight)
2. Aaron Wilson - Pro Football Talk - Andre Smith went AWOL? (Very peculiar story about the Alabama OT who was projected as a top-5 pick and then decided to leave the scouting combine without hvaing the smarts to tell someone. it goes without saying that his stock has plummeted is the past few days)
3. Jeff - March Madness All Season - Road to Selection Sunday (Fellow blogger breaks down who's in and who's out and who needs to do what to solidify themselves. i think it's funny that the best and only ranked team in the SEC is still a bubble team)
4. Jeff Goodman - FoxSports - Source: Renardo Sidney headed to USC after all (one of the best players in this year's class spurned UCLA and Ben Howland at the last minute. Word on the street is the guy won't make the grades and is possiblt headed to Europe barring a miracle SAT score)
5. John Helsley - NewsOK - Status of OU's Blake Griffin uncertain for Kansas game (I can't decide who is softer - Griffin, Ramon Harris or the Pillsbury dough boy. I watched the game and a didn't see any hit that looked like it would cause a concussion)

Cincy Recap and Preston Being Awesome

The Cards continued their winning streak yesterday by beating Cincinnati 72-63. They earned their practice uniforms back, which Pitino stripped from them after that humiliating Notre Dame loss.

T Will had 20 points, 8 boards, 5 assists, and 3 steals and played all 40 minutes. Earl had 14 points and 9 boards and was 5-6 from the charity stripe.

Preston continued his streak of being awesome, coming of the bench for to hit 3 of 3 three-pointers and finishing with 11. Did I mention he's awesome?

What else is awesome is that this team is starting to show some signs of life on the offensive end of the court. The Cards shot better than 48% from the field. This comes after a 55% shooting and 94 point outing against Providence, and a 59%, 99 point performance against DePaul. Making shots is cool.

Pitino said after the game that he emphasized hitting the boards against UC, and we won that category, 33-24.

Very little time to celebrate as we head to Georgetown for a 7:00 Big Monday tip-off tomorrow. More on that later.

Preston Knowles is awesome.

Show Me My Opponent - Cincinnati Bearcats

DATE: February 21, 2009
TIME: 2:04 p.m. EST
SITE: Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio

TELEVISION: BIG EAST Network (WHAS-11 in Louisville); Anthony Calhoun play-by-play, Jack Armstrong commentary

RADIO: 790 WKRD; Paul Rogers play-by-play, Doug Ormay commentary

OFFICIALS: John Cahill, Mike Kitts, Jeff Clark

NAME: University of Cincinnati
ESTABLISHED: 1819
LOCATION: Cincinnati, Ohio
ENROLLMENT: 36, 415

SERIES HISTORY: U of L leads 51-39 all-time (28-16 in Louisville, 21-21 in Cincinnati, 2-2 neutral)

LAST MEETING: Cincinnati 58, Louisville 57



CARDINAL CONNECTION: Keith LeGree. (Didn’t see that coming, did you?) The former Card-turned-Bearcat spent a few seasons on the UC bench as an assistant as well until a 2005 DUI knocked his coaching career of track.


HEAD COACH: Mick Cronin. Cronin is a Pitino prodigy, serving as an assistant to the Cards from 2001-03 before taking over the head job at Murray State, where he went 69-23 in three seasons. He is 1-2 against Pitino.

ASSISTANTS: Larry Davis, Chris, Goggin, Tony Stubblefield; (side note): Louisville Male High grad Chris Shumate is Director of Basketball Operations

OVERALL RECORD: 17-9, 7-6
NATIONAL RANKING: N/A (fancy abbreviation for “not applicable,” which means they’re not ranked)
RPI: 49
SOS: 26

Notable Alumni:

Sandy Koufax (Hall of Fame MLB pitcher)
Oscar Robertson (Hall of Fame basketball player)
Kenyon Martin (No. 1 overall pick in 2000 NBA draft)
Chris Collinsworth (Law) (Former NFL QB, Sports commentator)
William H. Taft (Law) (Only person to serve as both United States President and Supreme Court Chief Justice)
Stephanie Heinrich (Playboy Model) (pictured left)

Probable Starters:

F 21 Mike Williams 6-7 240 SR 10.0 5.7
F 22 Rashad Bishop 6-6 225 SO 5.4 4.1
C Steve Toyloy 6-8 255 JR 4.0 4.0
G Deonta Vaughn 6-1 190 JR 15.7 4.1
G Larry Davis 6-3 195 SO 6.8 1.6

Bench: Yancy Gates (10.4 ppg, 6.0 rpg); Dion Dixon (7.3 ppg); Alvin Mitchell (6.3 ppg)

Outlook:
Tomorrow the University of Cincinnati is calling on its faithful to wear red for what it’s calling the “Ring of Red” Game. The L Yes! Report thanks them for being so accommodating.

You’ll remember last season when the Bearcats came into Freedom Hall and upset the Cards by 1 on New Year’s Day. It was David Padgett’s return game after coming off his 48th knee injury.

Cincy is protecting a 4-game home winning streak. It’s won 5 of its last 7, dropping its last game at Pitt. Like Providence before and Georgetown next, it’s a bubble team playing for its NCAA Tournament life.

Deonta Vaughn is their man, leading the team in both points and assists. He must be defended on the perimeter – he’s hit 64 triples on the season thus far.

Yancy Gates (6-9, 255) is a beast. The freshman comes off the bench and gives Cronin 22 minutes per game, averaging 10.4 and 6. It’ll be interesting to see how he matches up with our freshmen bigs.

Cards are looking to win their 3rd straight and stay in the hunt for the regular season Big East title. T Will’s wrist is officially fully healed, look for him to be back to his old self, and for Earl to have a big game. I like the Cards in this one, 79-66.

Pitino-Laettner Duo Makes Great Team

If that’s not a headline sure to drive a stake through the hearts of Kentucky Sports Radio readers everywhere, I don’t know what is.

The Courier-Journal’s Rick Bozich is reporting that Pitino is teaming up with Christian Laettner for a Vitamin Water commercial. Pitino has been a spokesperson for the company for a year.

The commercial is scheduled to air during the NCAA tournament.


In an unrelated story, Vitamin Water's Kentucky Marketing Director was fired after sales dropped 975% in the area in only two days, and fires to Vitamin Water warehouses in Lietchfield and Pikeville are being investigated as arson.

Cup O' Jones: Roundball Roundup

I've been pretty busy with The Freak Show thsui week and have been having the usual connection problems. Here's a sneak preview of my weekly piece on KSR. Hope this helps hold you over...

We’re a little over 3 weeks away from one of the best days of the year, Selection Sunday, and this week will either make or break teams depending on how they perform. Some games you could even call “elimination games” because of their significance for either side. An example from this past week would be Florida St./Miami or Ohio St./Northwestern. It’s not that the loser is officially eliminated from the dance, but it could be a turning point or the single game the committee needed to see to pick Team X over Team Z. If it is true and the selection committee doesn’t hold into account the conference tourneys as much as ‘last 10 games’ or ‘regular season wins’, then this week is almost the most critical time of the season to do a last-minute resume building and posturing for the postseason. Just as teams are fighting just to get in the tournament, the teams that are solidified up-top are fighting just as hard for the easiest possible draw.

- The UCONN/PITT game was about as good as it gets outside of the madness. Two top-5 teams battling for about 38 minutes until PITT pulled away at the end behind a couple bombs from Levance Fields. This game was Final 4 caliber and the best thing about it is there’s a rematch still to come. DeJuan Blair put up the best performance of the season thus far with 22 points and 23 rebounds. The reason it is better than other great performances is that it came against the best defender in the country, Hasheem Thabeet, playing for the hands-down #1 team in the country. Thabeet had been getting POY pub all weekend prior to the Monday match-up because of his spectacular 25-20-8 game against Seton Hall. Right from the tip, Blair took it to Thabeet - going through him as opposed to under him (Jay Bilas). He almost broke the man’s arm in an early game tie-up. If Blair stays out of foul trouble, as he didn’t in losses to Louisville and ‘Nova, PITT is deadly. Sam Young and Fields are two of the most wiley veterans in college basketball and Blair is a complete force. Also don’t count out the Huskies. The loss of Jerome Dyson might take a minute to adapt to, but his replacement Kemba Walker is arguably the better player and was just waiting his turn. Both teams have #1 seeds if the season ended today.

- I find it hard to believe that a team should be punished for what conference they are in. It is obvious to me that a team in the BIG EAST or ACC would have a much better record in any other league in America. That being said, I think a team like Miami, Florida St., Georgetown or Notre Dame is going to get pushed aside for a school that plays against weaker competition causing an inflated record. All 4 teams have quality wins in and out of the conference and seem like victims of the “somebody’s gotta lose” theory in most of their defeats. Just like the Big 12 and SEC in football this year, sometimes one or two conferences are just head-and-shoulders above the rest of the field. In my opinion, the BIG EAST/ACC should get 14 of the 31 at-large berths at the minimum. It is impossible to look at a team from either conference on paper and tell really how good they are. It will be proven in March as the majority of Final 4 contenders - outside of Memphis and Oklahoma who play in weaker conferences- are from one of the two leagues.

- The significance of the Stephen Curry injury is huge on Davidson, but also proves the point that he is the most valuable player in America. Curry turned and ankle and was on crutches as he saw his team lose to The Citadel this week. What are the requirements for the Naismith/Wooden Awards? Is it scoring ridiculous amounts of points? Is it being the best player on a good team? Or is it who’s team would suffer the most in his absence? If it’s a combination of all, Curry should have the thing won easily. Blake Griffin, Meeks, Thabeet, Harden, Hansbrough, and Harangody all have at least one NBA-caliber player around them to take some heat off. Curry doesn’t have that- every team knows he’s going to shoot when he gets it and he still pours in 30 a night without any supporting cast. And those that question his competition level must remember that he did the same thing against the likes of Duke, Oklahoma, and West Virginia earlier in the season. Stephen Curry is the Player of the Year.

What to watch for in the week to come….

Friday - Always the worst day of college basketball out of the week. However, there are two “Bracket Buster” games on the ESPN family of networks. I don’t know what the consensus is around the country, but I am a huge fan of the “Bracket Buster” weekend. It is almost essential to watch if you want the inside track in this year’s office pool. Illinois St. might be a 10-12 seed that’s a candidate to pull of an early round upset. they take on Niagra on the deuce. Nevada is in action against former Cinderella VCU on the U following at 9. Also, don’t sleep on Mercer who ran through the state of Alabama this year, pulling off non-conference upsets on Bama and Auburn. The Bears take on Nashville’s Lipscomb at 7 on ESPN360.

Saturday
12 ESPN Butler at Davidson - The marquee match-up of Bracket Busters pits two teams that are almost surefire locks to make it to the tournament. No word on whether Stephen Curry is in or out at post time, but I can see a hobbled Curry putting up a courageous effort against a Butler team that seems to reload every year. Lexington’s Shelvin Mack, who will possibly be assigned to Curry, is averaging double-figures for the Bears.
330 ABC North Carolina at Maryland - The Terps are fighting for their lives and Gary Williams’ job security is the hot topics around College Park these days. Their meltdown against Clemson this week could have been the final nail in the coffin, but a win against a red-hot Carolina team would leap-frog them back into the hunt. The only problem is the Terps have great wings and guards, but no big men for support.
900 ESPN Oklahoma at Texas - I have been looking forward to this game until recently when Texas decided to take a serious nose-dive. I can’t remember a time in Rick Barnes’ tenure that the Horns have been this bad. We’ll see if the Horns play like a team with their backs against the wall. The key match-up will be Damien James trying to throw his weight around with Blake Griffin.
1100 CBS-CSTV BYU at UNLV - Top two teams in the Mountain West square off in a late-night affair for east coast viwers like myself.

Sunday
745 FSN Wake Forest at Duke - The Dukies looked pretty bad at St. John’s last night, but they are a different team at home. Deacons guard Jeff Teague has not been getting as much hype because if a few losses, yet he is the type of player that can come into Cameron and set the nets on fire. He reminds me a lot of former Wake guard Randolph Childress - only Childress had Tim Ducan to play with.
1000 FSN Arizona at Arizona St. - The Pac 10 is fairly underrated in this part of the country, partially due to the fact we never get to see games. Arizona looks to continue the longest streak of consecutive tourney appearances (25) and a win against one of my sleeper teams will solidify that. 3 potential lottery pick in this game with Arizona’s Chase Budinger and Jordan Hill and State’s James Harden.

Monday - Big Monday doesn’t disappoint yet again as Louisville takes on Georgetown at 7 and Kansas travels to Oklahoma at 9 on ESPN. The Cards are vying for a top-seed in the dance and a bye in the conference tourney and the Hoyas don’t even know if they are in or not. Kansas will be the best test for Oklahoma in months. Cole Alderich shouldn’t back-down from Griffin and teams with a player like that are usually pretty successful when facing the Sooners. Kansas is my upset-special of the week, but given how I’ve been picking games lately the Sooners will win by 30.

Tuesday
7 ESPN Penn St at Ohio St. - This could very well be an elimination game as both teams sit around the middle of the pack of a Big ten that is not as good as was previously thought. The Lions sit at 19-8 with big road wins against Michigan St, Wisconsin and Illiinois. The Buckeyes are 17-7 with wins over Butler, Purdue and Notre Dame.
9 ESPN Florida at LSU - The Tigers and Trent Johnson are shocking some people around the country withe their play, but many aren’t sure whether it is because of the lack of firepower in the SEC this year. The Paper tigers have two guys, Marcus Thorton and Tasmin Mitchell, that account for the majority of points scored and neither are anything to write home about. Calathes and his Gators should give the Tigers a good test.

Wednesday
7 ESPN UCONN at Marquette - These are two contrasting styles if I’ve ever seen it. UCONN brings guys like Thabeet and Jeff Adrien that love to get physical and pound the ball inside. Marquette doesn’t play anyone over 6′8 and is loaded with tough, scoring wings. It will be interesting to see how first year coach Buzz Williams attacks the Huskies’ defense with Dominic James and Jerel McNeal.

9 ESPNU Kansas St. at Missouri - Did anyone else realize that Missouri has risen all the way up to #10 in the land? That is crazy to me, but the Tigers have beaten who they were supposed to a snuck in a last second win vs. Kansas. K-St is yet another team fighting for there life and I’m sure all the people wearing purple are hoping those animalistic survival traits come out and they pull the upset.

Thursday
9 ESPN Purdue at Michigan - Robbie Hummel returned for Purdue after missing games with back spasms to lead the Boilers over an overrated Michigan St. team last week. The Boilers have always been one of my sleepers and look like they are back on tack going into the homestretch. Add Michigan to the list of teams that need to win and win now.
11 FSN Arizona St. at Washington - Watch simply to see two players - Washington freshman PG Isiah Thomas who is named that because his dad lost a bet…seriously and first team All-American James Harden. Both are worth staying up to watch and both are playing for top 20 teams.

Until next week - Check out how good Louisville’s basketball team is at The L Yes! Report

Louisville Signee a McDonald's All-American

The McDonald's All-American teams were announced last night, and, much to the delight of the L Yes! Report, Louisville signee Peyton Siva was included on the East's roster.

Mike over at Card Chronicle has the full rosters.

Congrats to Mr. Siva from your friends here at the L Yes! Report.

Tale of Two Halves

Louisville could have had a let down game against a good Providence team coming off their massacre of DePaul and at halftime it looked like they might.

First year coach Keano Davis has done a great job this season, taking over a Friars team that was 15-15 last season, having already won 16 games this season (16-10 overall). The Friars weren't going to come into Freedom Hall intimidated. Providence would come out firing - hitting their first four shots of the game and with every first half blow the Cards threw at them, Providence would answer, finishing the half shooting 18/24 from the field and holding a 46-45 lead.

The Cards couldn't have played better offensively in the first half, doing a great job of attacking the smaller Friar line-up in the post and utilizing both Williams and Clark in the high post. Louisville's inside success early allowed good looks from the outside and Louisville for the second straight game took advantage of the open threes.

Unfortunately, as good as the offense looked, the defense struggled slightly. Yes...46 points and 75% from the field and I say the Cards only slightly played bad defense. Here is how...Louisville's four guard rotation did a great job of speeding up Providence's guards, forcing 9 turnovers before intermission but unlike most of the season, Louisville allowed the Friars guards to penetrate with ease and that of course opened up Providence with easy shots in the first half and contributing to their hot start.

I don't know what coach Pitino said to his team in the locker room but I can probably guarantee it wasn't even pg-13 rated. Louisville came out in the second half with the same sharpness on offense and continued to hound the Providence guards, forcing them to play at a speed they couldn't control but when Louisville stopped them from getting into the lane, the Cards went on a 18-1 run highlighted by the play of Preston Knowles. He (Knowles) is 8-12 from behind the arc over the last two games and has returned to be that energetic spark that the Cards really need. I have always thought that Preston as never seen a shot he could turn down. I think last season he would get so exited to play that he would shoot right away just to shoot the ball but over the last few games he has become smarter at knowing what is and isn't a good shot. Don't get me wrong though, Knowles still has no fear in taking any shot no matter what.

It seemed that Terrence Williams has regained his shot, going 7-11 and scoring 17 points with 8 assists and 6 rebounds. Williams wasn't the only triple double threat on this night though. Earl Clark contributed 13 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists as well. Clark who biggest problem has been his shot selection only took 2 of his 12 attempts from beyond the arc and only one of those was forced. He (Clark) did a great job attacking the Friars zone by hitting the offensive boards (5 offensive rebounds) and making great decisions in the high post.

I wasn't surprised that Providence hung in the game with Louisville, I in fact thought that the Cards wouldn't pull away until closer to the six minute mark but they weren't that patent making their run at the thirteen minute mark to pull away.

This was an important home stand for Louisville. They now must travel to Cincinnati, who despite getting pimp slapped by Pittsburgh recently have been playing as good as anyone in the Big East over the last month and then to Georgetown, who while have underachieved record wise this season are still talented and are a young team that plays better at home.

Editor's Note - For those of you that saw the headline "Tale of Two Halfs", just know that the L Ye! Is an equal opportunity employer

Show Me My Opponent - Providence Friars

Name: Providence College
Established: 1917
Location: Providence, RI
Enrollment: 8,878

Cardinal Connection - this one was easy as Coach Pitino reached the Final 4 with the Friars and Billy the Kid Donovan in 1987. Pitino coached the Friars for 2 seasons - compiling a 42-23 record. Assistant Richard Pitino also coached as an understudy/manager to Tim Welsh in his last two years as a student. It's obvious that the Pitino family has strong ties in Providence and both sides have a mutual respect and admiration for each other.

Head Coach - Keno Davis (1st season) (44-14 in 2nd year as HC - 28-5 last season at Drake)
Assistants - Chris Davis, Rodell Davis and Patt Skerry

Overall Record - 16-9 (8-5 in BIG EAST)
RPI - 67 SOS- 268 (kenpom.com)
Pomeroy Rating - 71 Sagarin - 66
Bracketology - #12 in East vs. #5 Purdue

Notable Alumni

Doris Burke (part of the Axis of Evil involved in tonight's game)

Christopher Dodd (U.S. Senate, D-Connecticut) (Interestingly, like TC, Sen. Dodd received his law degree at University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law. While I can't speak for the distinguished Senator, TC assures me he will not be rooting for the Friars.)

Billy Donovan - second favorite coach behind Pitino for the way he spurned Cat fan a couple years back

Patrick Kennedy - U.S. House of Representatives, D-Rhode Island

Lenny Wilkins - NBA's All-Time Wins/Losses Leader as head coach

NBA Alumni - Marvin Barnes, Ausin Croshere, Ryan Gomes, Herbert Hill, Eric Murdock, God Shammgod, Dickie Simkins. Michael Smith, John Thompson, Otis Thorpe, Jimmy Walker, Eric Williams

Probable Starters

G - Jeff Xavier (6'1 185 SR) - Mostly known for getting elbowed in the face in a game earlier in the year only to have his drug-charge-carrying brother walk out onto the court in the middle of the game and give the officials a piece of his mind. Aside from that problem, Xavier has not lived up to expectations he had as a transfer from Manhattan averaging 17 ppg. His 9ppg is 3 points less than what he averaged last year. It is always a possibility that Xavier goes off for 20 though.

G- Sheraud Curry (5'10 170 JR) - Friars PG missed all last year with injury and has came back strong, especially the last 10 games. Curry has scored 10+ points and dished out 4+ assists in 9 of the last 10 and has gone over 20 twice. That has boosted his PPG to over 10 to go with a shade under 5 assists. his true test will how he handles the pressure Louisvile is going to throw at them.

F - Geoff McDermott (6'8 235 SR) - A guy that seem like he has been there forever (Clerance Weatherspoon-style) is having somewhat of a down year, but if the Friars make the dance I'm sure he won't care. He has been hovering around 10/10 all 4 years and will do all the dirty work for his squad - a la Jeff Adrien on UCONN. He scored 18 points and grabbed 7 boards in defeat against the Cards last year. A bruising-old-school type of player with a nice mid-range game and good rebounding instincts.

F - Weyinmi Efejuku (6'5 210 SR) - The player with the hardest name to say will probably be the hardest for the Cards to stop tonight. He is coming off a 25 point effort against Rutgers on Saturday and is leading the team with 13.7 PPG. Out of the remarkable 5 Friars with 1,000 career points, Efejuku leads with 1,325. He seems to disappear on occasion and teams with good guards like Marquette and UCONN have been able to slow him down.

C - Jonathan Kale (6'8 245 SR) - Kale takes about 7 shots a game and makes them at a 59% clip. He is an undersized center who gets by with smarts and strength. Has been somewhat of a liability on defense and seem to only play well when the other team doesn't have someone bigger than him (remind you of someone?). Kale is putting up 10 points and 6 boards a game.

Bench -
G/F- Marshawn Brooks - Sophmore SF brings some youthful exuberance to the team,
C - Randall Hanke - 6'11 big guy helps Friars match up with bigger teams off the bench
G - Brian McKenzie - gives backcourt help - not a very good shooter

Television - 7:30 tip on ESPN2 (Dave O'Brien & Doris Burke)
Side note: So let me get this straight - we have played on ESPN twice in the last week and both times one of the analysts is an alma mater/icon of the opposition. Does that seem unfair to anyone? I didn't see Will Perdue calling the UK/Vandy game and Clark Kellogg isn't calling the Ohio St./Northwestern game tonight. Why do we have to get stuck with pitiful Doris Burke?

Officials - Tim "I love scotch...scotch,scotch,scotch" Higgins, Ed "Pitino must have slept w/ my wife for the way I treat his teams" Hightower and .....who cares? Those are the two worst possible officials we could have been given. Both have a reputation for calling some of the touchy-est fouls in the country and the Freedom hall faithful dogging them all night is just going to make it worse. I could see Samardo getting 3 quick fouls and becoming a non-factor. Not due to stiff competition, but the officiating crew.

Outlook - Samardo Samuels and Earl Clark should have there way inside whenever they want tonight. Providence's tallest player is Randall Hanke at 6'11, but he could become a human tea cup (if you know what I mean) tonight. The ball needs to get pounded inside every possession to get easy buckets and free up the outside shooters. T-Will is set to return 100% so expect him to slice and dice through the defense like TC cutting up onions for his chili. The guys in Las Vegas have this at 14 points, which seems a little high. the reason behind it is that UL completely over matches the Friars and the only way a loss could occur if if Providence is red hot and the Cards are ice-cold from the outside. You also can't discount the fact that the Friars are fighting for their tournament lives so all bets are off. I see Providence covering the 14, but Louisville still winning by double-digits.

Cards 77
Friars 67

UNC Favorite to Win NC

Visiting Vegas during March Madness is something I’ve not yet had the pleasure to do, but it’s on the Bucket List. (So is a Super Bowl, the Masters, and a Nile River safari.) Anyway, here’s what the oddsmakers are saying about who’s favorite to cut down the nets in Detroit - as of February 18. If you're interested.

UNC: 5-2
UConn: 7-1
Pittsburgh: 7-1
Oklahoma: 7-1
Louisville: 16-1
Wake Forest: 20-1
Duke: 20-1
UCLA: 20-1
Memphis: 25-1
Villanova: 30-1
Marquette: 35-1
Kentucky: 50-1
West Virginia: 55-1
Syracuse: 65-1
Cincinnati: 150-1
Virginia Military Institute: 1,500-1

If any of you suckaz from Kentucky Sports Radio want any action, I’ll give you that 50-1 all day.

Pitino: Things Starting to Click

At his weekly presser yesterday, Coach Rick Pitino said the Cards are showing some promise in recent practices, specifically with working the ball around to get good shots. The Cards, who got 25 assists in their last game against DePaul Sunday, play Providence tonight at 7:30 at Freedom Hall on ESPN2. More on that later.

Pitino said that passing has been this team’s number one weakness but he’s seen vast improvement in that area in the past three days. "Things are starting to click for us in terms of focus and the young people coming around and understanding what it's all about," he said.

Senior CLASS Award Candidate (polls are still open!) Terrence Williams will be back in action tonight at “100% or very close to it,” said Pitino, which is convenient because Reggie Delk suffered a sprained ankle at practice yesterday and will not play tonight.

Louisville enters the game as a 13 point favorite.

The Women’s basketball team clinched the coveted “double-bye” for the Big East Tourney last night by beating St. John’s, 89-60. The No. 8 Cards were led by Angel McCoughtry’s 28 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 steals.

We’ll see if they can make another run at the Big East Championship, where last year they lost to UConn, 66-59.

Hell Hath No Fury...

Like a Kentucky basketball coach scorned.

(What? It's the only picture I could find....)

Tonight’s uk/Vanderbilt match-up promises to provide a particular type of awkwardness that will draw me to ESPN at 9:00 to watch these teams square off.

No, maybe not like a 41-11 halftime score type of awkwardness like we saw in 2008, or even the type of awkwardness that was achieved when the mighty kay-uts went 0-2 against the bottom-feeding Commodores back in 2007.

I’m talking about the type of awkwardness that exists only between a scorned basketball coach and the object of that contempt.

Ladies and Gentlemen, are you ready for Gillispie vs. Edwards, Round III?

In case you missed it, uk coach Billy Gillispie has – twice now – been less than accommodating with regard to questions posed to him by ESPN sideline reporter Jeannine Edwards at halftime.

The oddity that is Billy Gillispie and his courtside mannerisms has sparked much humor, in both the screenplay and the musical variety.

There’s also been much speculation as to why, exactly, Billy Clyde feels compelled to abuse Ms. Edwards. Is it impatience? Just poor interview etiquette? Sheer arrogance?

No. There’s more.

Multiple sources are reporting that Jeannine Edwards spurned Billy Clyde’s advances, which is why Gillispie continually ridicules and demeans her during her halftime interviews.

I couldn’t make this stuff up.

Apparently, Gillispie asked Ms. Edwards out on a date and she pulled a Billy Donavon/Rick Barnes – which, as you folks from Kentucky Sports Radio know, means she turned him down.

Now, the folks at ESPN – bless their hearts – have assigned Ms. Edwards to work tonight’s game in Nashville, where last season uk suffered its worst SEC loss in its proud history.

Should be an interesting subplot to what’s expected to be a close game, as the kay-uts are favored by 2.

On a more “responsible journalism” note, it’s still unknown whether Patrick Patterson will play. He sprained his ankle against Florida last Tuesday. Or something like that.

That’s all for now. Carry on.

Time to Shine for E5

It's time for E5 to show up like he did down the stretch last year and it needs to happen now. Hopefully that's not too much to ask from a person who seems to have one eye on the green and one on the red right now. I always revert back to what he told me at Media Day - he gets up for big games and the tourney is a one-and-done scenario, so you have to play your hardest. I'm not downplaying his near triple-double against DePaul, I just know (as I'm sure he does) that he could have had monster game if he stayed inside. He is a freak with his back to the basket, yet he loves gunning threes at a 27% clip. His bread is buttered in the paint.

In March last year, Clark would grab every rebound, dunk at any chance, and rarely shoot from beyond 15-feet. In the second round he absolutely dominated Oklahoma's Blake Griffin in the paint and left the current projected #1 overall pick and Wooden Award winner looking like a broken player. Clark looked "mean" and was tossing people around like a bouncer at a bar fight. Did Griffin decide to step out and become a three-point shooter because of this whoopin'? No. He decided to work on his post moves and has become a great player. Did Clark become a lottery projection off his three-point shot? No. But, for some reason that is what Clark decided to work on. Pitino deserves some of the blame because of his tolerance to the constant negligence to gameplan and lack of plays designed to get Clark the ball in that zone, but it's mostly on Earl to realize he is a 6'10 beast who belongs inside.

Clark needs to realize that he is being left open behind the arc because he shoots such a sub-par percentage. There are 1000's of players that can guard his three-point shot, but only a handful that could even dream of containing him from the elbow in. It was about this time last year that you knew Earl was on a mission. He showed flashes that it was coming back against DePaul, but then he reverted back to his old ways. If Clark we're to understand what Pitino and every fan has been trying to tell him, there is no telling what could happen. It would free up Samardo from double-teams, get shooters wide open looks and give the Cards their best option when in desperate need of a bucket.

As I've said before, I am a huge Earl Clark fan and, at highest intensity, he is one of the all-time great talents to wear a Louisville uniform. The frustration kicks in when he doesn't stick with what got him in the position he's in right now. He went from a McDonald's All-American point guard to an All-Big East power forward in only two short years. Now he looks like he's trying to become an NBA small forward. I'm sure Clark has a lot of passion for the team and school. He also chose UofL because it would help propel him into the pros. Clark's legacy in college will benefit him more than any pre-draft camp or workout. If he plays like he did in March last year and shows a year's worth of maturity, the Cards could be special.

T-Will is the senior leader and playmaker and Samardo is the freshman phenom. That being said, this team goes as Earl Clark goes. It has been evident in every loss - T-Will had 26 against UCONN and we lost by 16 because of Clark - and win - Clark phenomenal performance against Ole Miss - this season. A strong finish for the junior from Rahway, NJ could give his coach another Final 4, the Cardinal faithful joy, and his pockets crazy amounts of cash. The "mean" Earl must come out in order for that to happen.

Cup O' Jones : Go PITT (?) Edition

Short and sweet today. More on Earl Clark's play later...

- PITT handed UCONN their 2nd loss in BIG EAST play last night in a great game to watch if you are a college basketball fan. Both teams played great in a typical slobber-knocker between conference powerehouses. DeJuan Blair basically treated UCONN's Hasheem Thabeet like dirt the whole game - going around him instead of through him. More or less, he did what Samardo would have done to the UCONN big guy. 22 points and 23 rebounds added to Benjamin Button's (Sam Young) 23 points led to yet another #1 falling. This puts the Cards in a 4-way-tie in the loss column for the conference lead. As long as they can hold their ground, the Cards will earn a coveted "double-bye" in the BIG EAST tournament a most likely secure a at least a #4 seed in the dance.



- Terrence Williams' injury is the biggest concern for the Cards right now as they face some stiffer competition in Providence on Wednesday. The Friars are viewed as in the NCAA's right now, but they would like to remove all doubt with a win against a top team like the Cards. Williams leadership and guidance will be needed against a hungry team like that. However, if the bruised wrist is something that needs time to heal before his return Pitino's best bet might be to sit his star. All indications from team doctors say that the wrist needs to stay loose and warm to prevent stiffness and tendinitis. Even if he gives us what he did against DePaul, I think the Cards can pull off a victory. Also, it could be a blessing in disguise to get some of the other players (a la Knowles) involved more offensively.



Starting 5

1. Sports By Brooks - ESPNer Turned Down Gillespie's Amarous Advance (This night desreve it's own post - I called that the first time I saw it. Edward and Gillespie looked too awkward for there not to be something behind it. BILLLLYYY CLYYYYYYDE)
2. Michael Lewis - The New York Times - The No-Stats All-Star (Michael Lewis is famous for writing the baseball book Moneyball about the stats A's GM Billy Beane used to form his team. Here's his NBA version of it. Shane Battier - greatest player alive??)
3. Dennis Dodd - CBSSports.com - Twelve-year-old QB's ascent toward NCAA already under way (If Billy G wasn't so busy losing games, telling Jodie Meeks just to shoot every time down, and making passes at sideline reporters he might have enough time to go out and get this kid..oh yea it's football)
4. AZfamily.com - Suns player suspended, clocked at 90 mph with toddler in car (Read it. Bottom line is J-RICH is a J-OKE. What an idiot)
5. Mondesi's House - Mike Tomlin's college career (This one is for TC and all you Steeler fans out there who are lucky you have such a good young coach who looked to be quite the ball-player back in college at William & Mary)

Miscellaneous

I titled the article "miscellaneous." That's just a fancy word for covering a wide variety of topics, which I intend to do. Right now.

Because Rob was so thorough and insightful, nothing from me on the Cards’ manhandling of DePaul yesterday. Except 25 assists is awesome, and I don’t know why Pitino didn’t succumb to my “Lee Steiden” chants during the waning minutes of the game. Earl Clark doesn’t listen to me very often either.

Despite dropping their second conference loss in South Bend last Thursday, Louisville remained at No. 7 in the latest coaches’ poll. The AP wasn't as kind. We dropped two spots from 5th to 7th there, leapfrogged by Memphis and Michigan State.

ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has released his latest bracketology. The Cards got the 2 seed in the Midwest matched up against Sam Houston of the Southland Conference. Which begs the question: how is one man going to guard five?

The 1 seed in the Midwest is the North Carolina Tar Heels, a team that tops my list of squads-I-don’t-really-want-to-see-in-March. A caveat to Roy Williams, however: the Midwest Regionals are to be held in Indianapolis, unlike last year when the Heels didn’t have to leave their backyard to make that Final Four run.

A close second on my list of squads-I-don’t-really-want-to-see-in-March is UConn, who would have been first but for the season-ending injury to Jerome Dyson. You’ll remember Dyson as the Huskies point man who dropped 14 on us back on Groundhog’s Day. Connecticut has the No. 1 seed in the East (Boston), Pitt the No. 1 seed in the West (Arizona), and Oklahoma the No. 1 in the South (Memphis). Despite the hype and constant media adoration of Blake Griffin, Oklahoma is not very high on my list of squads-I-don’t-really-want-to-see-in-March. Neither is Duke.


According to Lunardi, the Big East and the ACC each get 8 teams in the tourney, with Providence, Syracuse, Villanova, Marquette, and West Virginia rounding it out for the good guys. For those of you joining us from Kentucky Sports Radio, uk makes the tourney as a 10 seed and would face 21-3 and No. 21 RPI Butler in the first round. Good luck with that.

Looks like El Camino Junior College won’t be Matt Simms’ last stop. It’s being reported that he’d like to play his final two years at either Oklahoma or Penn State. You’ll remember Simms as one of the 18 University of Louisville football players that quit, transferred, or was booted from the team during Kragthorpe’s two years at the helm.

Finally, a real treat for you. Big Monday tonight features two top Big East teams in what could decide the regular season title and perhaps a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tourney. Pitt goes to Connecticut tonight for a 7:00 tip-off to be televised on ESPN. The Panthers will need a big day out of DeJuan Blair. It'll be interesting to see if he can pull Hasheem Thabeet away from the basket, a la Greg Monroe in UConn's only defeat of the season. I like UConn to cover at minus 3.5. If I’m right, I’ll remind you in my next article. If Pitt covers, I’ll never bring it up again.

OK you knuckleheads. Get back to work.

Cup O' Jones : The Other Side of Ass Kicking

I wish there was somewhere I could look up if there ever was a time where a team lost by 30 then the following game won by 40. If it has happened, it is only a couple of times over the course of history. The embarrassing part about watching the Cards dismantle DePaul was that the Cards more or less looked the same as the Blue Demons against Notre Dame. The Cards completely destroyed the Demons in all facets of the game besides windmill-alley-oop dunks which was 1-0 DePaul. Cards 99 Demons 54

- Preston Knowles had his best scoring game as a Cardinal as he was oozing confidence while making 5 of 7 3-point attempts. Even one that he missed, he followed his shot and layed the ball in."When I'm in a zone like I don't think I can miss, all I need is a little space to get open, and my teammates got me the ball," PK said after the game. He still might not be the best long-range shooter on the team, but he sure has been the most consistent. Unlike Jerry who likes to weigh his options and make the best decision with the ball, Preston relies on his instincts. He has no remorse when it comes to taking shots, which is a characteristic all guards should have. It also further proves the point that the Cards have 9-10 guys who are capable of putting up 20 in a game - more than any other team in the country. 19 points and 2 steals for George Rogers Clark county's finest.

-This win was also without Terrence Williams even taking a shot. It was mainly due to prevent further injury to his fragile wrist, but I have always been a believer that the less Williams shoots and the more he creates for his teammates the better the team is. Not to say he shouldn't get his fair share of shots, but especially with the wrist injury, he needs to be the facilitator and not the scorer. I didn't think he was going to or should have played because of the deep bruise in the shooting wrist, but he logged a season low 15 minutes and was basically out there playing around with DePaul. Pitino said he played him so the wrist would stiffen up and become arthritic. Let's just hope this doesn't become an issue down the stretch.

- Will Earl please play with his back to the basket? Please. There was a stretch where Clark would post his man up and demand the ball - drawing a couple of and-one buckets in the process. Then all of the sudden he decided to start gunning up bombs, finishing the game 1-5 from downtown. Pitino even says openly that Earl needs to quit straying to the perimeter and yet every game Clark reverts back to shooting 3's. I know he has to keep the defense honest, but it's almost like he and Pitino made a deal that if Earl came back he would be allowed to showcase his outside game for pro scouts. In all actuality, Earl is going to pay the bills on the inside by rebounding and showing an assortment of post moves. Scouts aren't going to be impressed with his 27% 3pt FG%, but they will with his tenacity around the basket.


- I love the Cards depth at the 5-spot this year now that George Goode is back to 100% healthy. Samardo is playing a lot better after being overwhelmed for a few games. Jennings has shown he is one of the best offensive rebounders and shot-blockers in the conference and is gaining confidence in his knowledge of the system every game. George Goode is extremely underrated and will come up big for us in at least one game down the stretch. Both he and Mardo showed today that they can step back and hit a 15-footer to keep the defense honest. Next to Jennings, George is the best interior defender on the team. All three have their strengths, all three are interchangeable and neither disappoints. Like The Girls Next Door, Hefner's former girlfriends only a lot uglier.

-Very upset with Pitino that he didn't let Lee Steiden get some clock in such a blow-out. The crowd was chanting "WE WANT STEIDEN!....WE WANT STEIDEN!..", the players on the bench, most notably T-Will, Smith and Sosa, were getting into it as well. Pitino and Steiden have a weird relationship. Pitino was once heard saying that out of all his years coaching basketball, he has never coached a player that didn't enjoy the game as much as Lee Steiden. Ouch. Lee might still be in the doghouse for almost getting a tech called on him after Sosa's UK shot for running on the court. ATTN PITINO: Give the man a break. PUT HIM IN THE GAME FOR 30 FRIGGING SECONDS AT LEAST!

- DePaul, quite frankly, is the worst team in the league and maybe all of the 6 major conferences. I would love to see them go up against Indiana just to see what happens. The Cards should not take anything out of a win against an 0-13 team. This doesn't prove that we are back-on-track, however it is a step in the right direction. The lone bright spot for DePaul was SG Dar Tucker, who allegedly was very close to signing with the Cards a few years back. He had two monstrous dunks. One was right in Swopshire's mug for an and-one. The second was the best dunk I have ever seen in person - an alley-oop full-windmill dunk with authority. It officially dethroned former Louisville Ballard star Adam Chiles dunking on St. X's Peter Walker our junior year in high school as the "best dunk in a game I attended".

Starting 5

1. If you haven't seen this yet, you missed out....


2. Jerry Crasnick - ESPN - Sources: Braves in mix for Griffey (It was alomst a foregone conclusion that the best-player-not-to-have-ever-been-caught-using PEDs would spend the rest of his years where he started in Seattle. Now, the Braves are making a push to get him back in the NL. Unfortunately, I think Griffey would benefit being a DH, so this may not happen)
3. Matt Watson - Fanhouse -LeBron James 'Preliminarily' Commits to the 2010 Slam Dunk Contest (My 4 man dream dunk contest: LeBron James, Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady, and - of course - T-Will)
4. Jason Whitlock - FoxSports - Go straight to the top with steroid outrage (I rarely agree with Whitlock who seems to think everything is racist in one way or another, but on this issue we see eye-to-eye. Bud Selig, Don Fehr and team owners shouldn't be able to sit back and let all their cash-cows fall under the bus on this steroid thing)
5. Brian Bennett - ESPN Blogger Nation - Louisville's Mount Rushmore (Bennett went along with the ESPN gimmick of the moment and picked a Louisville football Mt. Rushmore. He is right on everybody but Jurich. He doesn't hold a nickel to what Bobby Petrino or John L did for this program. You also have to think about Chris Redman or even Amobi Okoye. Tom Jurich on the football Rushmore? I completely disagree)

"Ass Kicking," Indeed

Blah.

Coach Pitino hit the nail on the head with his post-game observations, calling Notre Dame’s 90-57 rout of the Cards as such.

Yeah, they were desperate after dropping seven straight. Yeah, they probably needed it to keep their NCAA tourney hopes alive. Yeah, T Will and Samardo were playing hurt. Yeah, the Joyce Center is a tough place to go into and escape with a win. And yeah, Crawford, we walked into a hornet's nest last night.

But let’s not sugarcoat this one. That was a beat-down from the get-go.

The Irish jumped out to a 17-4 lead after the tip and never looked back, going on to outscore us 37-19 by halftime. That’s the second straight game the Cards failed to crack 20 in the first half. In the past 3 games, we’re averaging barely over 21 points per in the first 20 minutes.

Coach Pitino warned us that we’re “not a good offensive team” on several occasions. What he’s doing to fix that issue continues to be a mystery.

Coach Pitino has also consistently preached defense. But UConn hit better than 47% of their buckets in their win over the Cards at Freedom Hall last week. And Notre Dame made a whopping 54% of their field goals and rolled for a 53-point second half to drop 90 on us. Where’s that in-your-face, wear-‘em-down defense we’ve seen all season?

Part of that is hitting shots. You can’t set up your press if you don’t knock ‘em down, and 39% from the field hardly qualifies. (But it beats Sunday’s performance of 19-61.)

And Notre Dame is hardly touted for its defense. In its last three outings before last night, it gave up 93 points at Pitt, 93 points at Cincinnati, and 89 points at UCLA. And we could only muster 57? To put things in perspective, we haven’t topped the 70-point mark in our last four games.

I could have taken a loss last night and not lost any sleep. I didn’t have a good feeling going in. But to come out with no pride, no passion, and so unbusinesslike against a formidable team on the road after almost four days rest and just get humiliated on national TV is downright pathetic.

We can turn it around, learn from this, and make that run a lot of folks say we have the potential to make. But if we continue to be unable to get the ball in the hole, and continue to forget the defensive intensity we had mastered back in January, we’ll be in for a few more “ass kickings” down the road.

Happy Valentine’s Day.

Turning point...

Let's face it...this team is either going to get hot and make a nice nice run in the tournament or the season officially ended on February 12. It's either rebound, get mad, and play hard or give up like last night for the remainder of the season...it's one or the other...no middle ground.

I have nothing to say about last night really.
No one could do anything that needs to be done to win a Big East Conference game. And Notre Dame played amazing.

I still hate Digger Phelps.

Read This While Cooling Off

I don't feel like talking about the debocle that was last night, so here's my column from KSR for your viewing pleasure. Don't worry, I don't mention those green-and-gold pieces of sh....nevermind. I'll arap up the game later today...


This week showed us there are two and only two formidable championship contenders. The rest of the teams can lose and lose big on any given night - perform like world-beaters then deliver a gutter-ball. North Carolina and UCONN are a few lengths ahead of the field going into the homestretch. Both have a ton of talent and enough depth to overcome foul trouble and fatigue. The duo also has the senior leadership needed to make big decisions and take tough shots down the stretch. All have 4 or 5 legitimate scoring options. However, UCONN was dealt a serious blow yesterday with the injury to guard Jerome Dyson's knee. He is listed as out indefinitely. Guards Craig Austrie and Kemba Walker can pick up the slack scoring wise and freshman Scottie Haralson will fill the minutes.

As we all know, Cameron Indoor is a tough place to play and Carolina went in took a punch in the face - down double-digits, then came back with a series of incredible runs and won by 14. Ty Lawson is the best pure point guard in the country (Stephen Curry doesn't count) and Hansbrough gets more calls than anyone, besides Jordan, has received in history. It just adds to how good Psycho T is - he gets 50/50 calls, makes his free-throws, shuts-up, and runs back down the court. I hate it, but it works and teams must gameplan accordingly. Aside from Wayne Ellington getting his stroke back, Deon Thompson has risen to the occasion and become yet another scoring threat. Rumor has it, freshman Tyler Zeller is shooting around after recovering from the broken wrist he suffered against the Cats and will possibly be returning in the near future. A decision must be made whether to still sit him out. It would be tough for him to lose a redshirt for a 10 game stretch, but a title would cure that.

I'm not forgetting about Oklahoma. Like I have said before, they are a good team, but are not worthy of the seed they will get. They have great athletes and are in the midst of a great rum, but when put up against a team like UNC, UCONN, PITT, Louisville, Duke, ect. that match-up, they are complete toast. I know they make SportsCenter every night with their windmill dunks and beatdowns, but when it comes to being able to successfully execute a gameplan against a top team in the tourney - I don't find coach Jeff Caple capable (I know - that was bad).

- I really want to know why UCLA jumped up to 6th place in the coach's poll and moved slightly to 11th in the AP. Not saying the Bruins aren't a potential 6th team, but right now that is a ridiculous statement. Last night the Bruins lost to Arizona St, completing the regular-season sweep. This just goes to prove that the ESPN/USA TODAY coach's poll is a complete joke in both basketball and football. The coach's have no time to watch games, especially of 25 different teams and neither do the SIDs, trainers, mistresses or whoever fills that form out every week. The good thing about it is the selection committee allegedly doesn't take it into account , where as in football the weight of the world depends on it. They might as well have Joe B. and Denny do it - just another thing to laugh at unintentionally.

- Is it just me or has this basketball season been a little more chippy than in years past? By that I mean, more elbows, stomps, suspensions, technicals, problems with sideline reporters, and arrests for beating up a girl with your pasty white tatoos. Just recently, a member of my All-Frosh team, Arkansas' Courtney Fortson was suspended indefinitely by UK alum John Pelphrey (perfect timing right?) for the always cruel "unspecified reasons" aka "quit acting stupid". We all saw what Walter Hodges did to a Cat in Tuesday's game and Tom Crean even suspended IU leading scorer Devan Dumes for excessive elbows. I'll always enjoy a little rough-housing on the court and an elbow to send a message here and there is permissible in my book. However, when it starts getting the attention of your coach and warrants a suspension it needs to stop.

What to watch for this upcoming week...

Friday - The hottest team in the country right now is Villanova and they go into Morgantown to play a West Virginia team that is fighting for their tournament lives. These Wildcats have averaged a shade under 100 points in win against NCAA caliber teams (@PROV, SYR, MARQ) their last 3. Dante Cunningham has to be the most-improved player in the nation this year as he has gone from BIG EAST jobber to a potential all-conference accolade. Expect Huggy bear to be extra-pissed as the 9 PM start seriously cuts into his drinking/kicking-the-dog time.

Saturday - Start off the day with a classic BIG EAST rivalry as Georgetown looks to get a resume win at the 'cuse (12 ESPN). These two team baffle me with their inconsistency so I don't know whether to expect an old-school bruise fest or a series of jacked-up threes. At 4, Wake will try to get back on the right track against #25 Florida St. The Seminoles are on of those middle-of-the-pack ACC teams that makes the conference so tough.

After that I will be carrying on the tradition ever since I saw Jordan dunk from the foul-line and age 6 - NBA ALL-Star Saturday Night on TNT. You got your Rookie/Sophomore game which is like an upgraded version of the McDonald's AA game - always some sick dunks. An awesome added feature that Bill Simmons has been harping for years about, an ole game of HORSE, will feature Kevin Durant, Joe Johnson and OJ Mayo - not a bad field at all. Then you have your old-faithful 3-point and Dunk competitions. As long as you can get through the 2-ball, it should be a good night.

Sunday - As good as i think the Heels are, this emotional high I'm sure they're on could come back to bite them against MIami. The Canes are playing well and just throttled a Wake team that previous has beaten Carolina. Two of the silkyest jumpers in America go face-to-face as Wayne Ellington meets Miami's Jack McClinton.

Monday - A doozie of a game to off-set that case of the Monday's. #1 UCONN v. #4 PITT. There is going to be some paint traded down low and I wouldn't be surprised to see DeJuan Blair and Jeff Adrein get into a fist fight. Possibly the best one-two combos at PF/C in the land as Hasheem "Shagari Alleyene on HGH" Thabeet joins Adrien and the real life Benjamin Button, Sam Young, joins Blair.

Tuesday - Michigan St. travels to West Lafayette to face a Purdue team that might not be at full strength with the injury to Robbie Hummel. the super-soph has been having back problems and is out indefinitely. The Spartans are starting to turn the corner and become the team experts say they could be, despite a loss of their own in F Raymar Morgan to pneumonia.

Wednesday - Memphis might be the 2nd hottest team in the country next to Nova. they dominated in the win against Gonzaga last week and have been a more complete team since moving freshman Tyreke Evans to PG. Having a guy that can get to the basket handling the ball is essential in Calipari's dribble-drive-motion offense and I'm surprised it took him this long to figure out the answer was Evans. The Tigers headline a dull day in hoops against So. Methodist.

Thursday - Game of the night has to be UCLA/Washington at 11 on FSN. The Bruins are trying to bounce back from a loss to ASU that ended their recent hot-streak and Washington, like numerous other teams I have metioned, are up aginst the wall when it comes to an at-large bid. I'm putting the upset-alert on this one. UCLA is streaky and vulnerable after the loss. Washington just might capitalize on the road

Final Thoughts on Irish

Spread is up to 4 now (or 3.5, depending where you check), from 3 earlier in the week. Seems a little low still. Low enough to make me nervous.

Terrence Williams needs 14 points to reach 1,400 in his career and 2 dimes to become 6th on U of L’s all-time assist list. Here’s to hoping he reaches both of those milestones tonight, and then some.

Last time we saw the Irish, Luke Harangody got 28 points, 13 rebounds, and a facial served up on him by Earl Clark. There’s absolutely no reason to believe he won’t get his tonight. To counter that, we need to heat up the pressure again and force point man Tory Jackson into another 7 turnovers like the last outing. Mike Brey generally only rotates 6 – we should be able to capitalize on our depth.

Back in January the Irish lit us up for 45% from beyond the arc. With Harangody in the middle, it’s tough to expect Earl and T Will to jump out to defend the 3-ball. So we’ll need better perimeter D from Jerry Smith and Preston Knowles. If they’re on, I’m fine with it, so long as it’s challenged shots they’re throwing up.

Need a spark off the bench. The first time against ND it was Andre McGee with 10 points in 26 minutes. Last Sunday at St. John’s it was Jerry with 21. Who’s it gonna be tonight? My money’s on Terrence Jennings. You're up, TJ.

Let’s put ‘em away in regulation this time, shall we? All this drama is bad for the heart.

Go Cards.

More Football Talk

Yes, I know it's basketball season. I know we got a big game tonight against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. (Hence the above picture.) But after listening to Jurich, Kragthorpe, and the Afternoon Underdogs toe the company line day in and day out, it's refreshing to see another media outlet tell it like it is: The Louisville football program is a (complete) disaster.

On another note, big sister is calling on all its faithful to go vote for Jerel McNeal for the Senior CLASS Award (I'm assuming in between boos designated for Michael Porter and Ramon Harris), because they think he has a chance to catch Terrence Williams. How's that working out for you, by the way?

(Footnote: In their defense, if I ran a uk website, I'd also allocate 95% of its posts to anti-Louisville propaganda and football recruiting news - anything to take the attention away from the mediocrity that is uk basketball. I'd also hire a Louisville fan to cover the national landscape of college hoops, as most blue-bellies have little to no knowledge as to what goes on outside Rednex - er, Lexington.)

So once you get done venting on the football team with the Card Chronicle, go vote for T Will for Senior CLASS Player of the Year. Both exercises are therapeutic.

Cup O' Jones : Irish Gameday

Sorry about the lack of pics and Starting 5. I lost power and am writing this on the Blackberry. Somehow Louisville turned into a haven for bad weather in the last 6 months.

OK, I'm starting to get a little scared about this game with the Irish tonight. Not because I don't think the Cards have the better team, but the fact that all signs point to a Irish victory. Notre Dame is not a team that should lose 8 in a row. They still have the same Top-5 talent that they did earlier in the year and one of the best players in the country in Luke Harangody. On the other side, Louisville has two of their top players banged up - Samuels with his dental problems and T-Will with a nagging wrist injury. Also, even though they got the win, the Cards looked sloppy on Sunday against St. John's. If they play the same tonight, the Irish could snap their streak.


Another thing that scares me is Vegas . The spread is only the Cards by 3. That is a rather small spread for a Final 4 contender over a team on a 7-game losing-streak - even if it is on the road. As I'm sure most of you know, Vegas is correct a vast majority of the time, however the insiders could be just as baffled about the way Notre Dame is playing as the rest of the nation. I still went with my heart and bet on Louisville in my Pick of the Night on the Freak Show. I think everyone (including myself) is looking way too far into this. ND had their shot at a top-10 team last weekend to redeem themselves and got absolutely pummeled by UCLA.


Frankengody is going to get his 25 and 15, but the place where Louisville will separate themselves is depth. Like I said yesterday, Mike Brey's squad has little-to-no depth. The Cards will surely try to exploit that by pressing as much as possible and tiring out PG Torey Jackson and G Kyle McAlarney. Both are great players with the ability to go-off at any time, but once the fatigue sets in Louisville will have their chance to pounce. I wouldn't be surprised if the Cards pull their patented keep-the-game-close-then-pull-away-at-the-end tonight.


The Cards had only 9 turnovers in the last game against Notre Dame. Being on the road, that number could possibly increase, but due to their lack-of-depth, the Irish don't pressure the ball full-court very often. If Louisville doesn't have too many unforced errors they should keep the number of TO's around the single digits. There is always the possibility the Bizarro Edgar or Earl shows up though.


All in all, this game is going to be a doozie regardless of how large of a slump the Irish are in. Never discount a team with their backs against the wall like the Irish right now. A loss could put them out of the tourney. A win could bust the Irish back in and possibly catapult them to a stellar finish. The Cards are ready to prove they have improved since the last match-up and exposed the Irish during the 16-point beatdown in OT. The Irish haven't been the same since and - with the exception of the hiccup against UCONN - the Cards have continued to roll. Cards win by pulling away late 83-70.

Banged-Up Cards Head to South Bend

The Cards are on their way to South Bend as we speak. The fact that the Irish have been struggling a bit lately does nothing at all to ease my concerns about playing at the Joyce Center tomorrow night. And the fact that two starters will be playing less than 100% doesn't do anything to alleviate those concerns either.





Notre Dame's 45-game home win streak was snapped back on January 24 by UConn, part of an on-going 7-game skid for the Irish, set off by their loss to the Cards in Freedom Hall. And yes, the Cards and ND have been going in opposite directions ever since. But it's never good to see a team backed into a corner, especially one that plays as well as these guys have played consistently at home for the past three years.



And as Rob told you earlier, Terrence Williams and Samardo Samuels are battling some injury woes. T Will went 0-7 with a hurt wrist Sunday at St. John's. Samardo had a tooth knocked out and another severely loosened. And, although Samardo was expected to miss practice the whole week, he did in fact do some individual instruction today. According to Pitino: "He's a tough kid."





Let's hope we stay tough enough tomorrow night to keep the ball rolling in the right direction up in South Bend against a team on the ropes and looking for revenge.





P.S. This picture will never, ever, get old.

Dalton Cissell to Walk On

From Jody Demling:

Dalton Cissell, one of the most prolific running backs in state
history, has turned down a scholarship offer at the Naval Academy and will
walk-on at the University of Louisville.The North Bullitt High School standout
said he "has always wanted to play for Louisville" and told assistant coach Greg
Nord of his intentions to walk-on Tuesday night."If it takes me going there for
a year, paying my way and earning a scholarship then that's what I am going to
do," Cissell said. "It's where I've wanted to play all my life."The 5-foot-10,
195-pound Cissell rushed for more than 6,500 yards during his career at North
Bullitt. He ranks among the state's top 10 rushers all-time in yardage.Cissell
said he had a number of schools contact him, but his only offer was from Navy.
He would have had to go to a prep school for one season before entering
Navy."It's far away and I would have had to have a year of prep school," he
said. "And they wanted me to play fullback. Louisville said I can come in and
play any position to try and prove I can play. And it's a 10-minute drive from
my house."

Cup O' Jones : Is Notre Dame Done?

"They'll never get me Luck Charms..."

- It wasn't too long ago that Notre Dame was one of a handful of teams you would hear in preseason Final 4 teams. Now they are 12-10 and are about to watch all the the Big Dance on TV like everyone else. Since the Cards laid the absolute worst OT whooping since the original Dream Game, the Irish haven't won a game. Not one. Their closest margin of defeat in the stretch is 7 to Marquette. 7 is also the number of games they have lost in a row. How can a team with all that talent just take a complete nose-dive? What in the name of LaPhonso Ellis is going on in South Bend?

1. Team is relying too much on Frankengody- I think coach Mike Brey realized that and played him only 7 second half minutes in the 26-point loss to UCLA. 'Gody had a career-low 1 rebound to go with only 5 points - snapping his 48-game double-digit scoring streak. The Bruins were throwing double teams at him all game and he shot 2-12 from the field.
2. Lack of Depth - The Irish only have a 7-man-rotation which doesn't match-up well against most BIG EAST, especially the Cards. They have as talented a starting 5 as nearly anyone, but their bench is not acceptable. They are forced to play guys they don't want to because of fatigue.
3. McAlarney Lost his Lucky Charm - Kyle McAlarney has hit 5 or more 3 balls in 8 games this year. He has only 10 in the last 5-games. Certainly shooters go cold every now and then, but the Irish rely upon him to score 18-20 a game. In the last 5 games, McAlarney is averaging just a shade over 10.

Those are just a few things that have been hampering the Irish. However, they still should scare the bejeesus out of the Cards. Before the streak hit, the Irish were a dangerous team. Frankengody might turn into a psycho-path after seeing the Cards - the team the sent his last season into a tail-spin. Despite the 7 game losing streak, the Irish still have the same weapons they had when they came into Freedom Hall January 12th and took us to the brink.

- Caught a few segments of the Pitino Show tonight. Here are a few nuggets...

• He said that Samardo will have to have root-canal surgery after the season is completed to fix the injuries he suffered against St. John's. Mardo will play against Notre Dame and Pitino is very pleased with the way he is playing. He won't practice before Thursday.
  
• Stated the obvious that Earl Clark spends too much time around the perimeter and taking threes. Said Eal will play 32 minutes tops. Any more than that and he isn't as effective.
  
• Said he's a little concerned about how long it is taking T-Will to recover from a nagging wrist injury. It's well taped, but has a little tendinitis. Hasn't seemed to effect his play one bit. A deep-bruise in the wrist was the diagnosis and Pitino said he shouldn't have played, but did.
  
• Terence Jennings is a great game player, but not a very good practice player. Said they are working with him very hard to turn him into a good practice player.

Starting 5

1. AP - USA TODAY - Durant, Mayo, Johnson in All-Star H-O-R-S-E game (this could be really, really awesome, really, really stupid or really, really long. All I know is I'm still going to watch)
2. Bryan Mullen - The Tennessean - UT reports recruiting violations by new coach (How long has this guy been coach? Already getting reported to the NCAA for a "mock press conference" and use of "fog machines". Did I mention his wife is smoking hot?)
3. AP - Barkley to Return as TNT Analyst (It will be good to see what the Chuck Wagon has to say after all the time he has missed due to a DUI charge. Despite his transgressions, Barkley is one of the straightest shooters in sports TV history)
4. Chris Chase - Yahoo's the Dagger - The coaches poll's strange infatuation with UCLA ( I was thinking the same thing when they moved up 7 spots in a week. That is uncalled for.)
5. Jack Kuenzie - The State - Columbia SC - Eight Arrested in Michael Phelps case (This has Duke lacrosse team written all over it. How can one photo of a guy hitting a bong turn into eight people getting arrested? None of which were photographed in the picture. I'm going to need TC to help me out on this one.)

Moth to Call City Championships

Sources close to the L Yes! Report are saying that the voice of Cardinal basketball, Sean Moth will be the courtside announcer for the CSAA city championships this year. Word is that Moth will call the games for 5th and 6th graders and 3rd and 4th graders because if he called the 8th grade games, it would be a recruiting violation. How cool would it have been to be a 6th grade baller having John Tong (R.I.P.) call your game? Good for him and all the kids involved.

Cup O' Jones : R.I.P Brohm Edition

A Sunday 1:30 away basketball game seemed like a great occasion to get most of the L Yes! Report crew together for a couple burgers and a few cordials. Hence the lack of updates on Monday. My post probably would have looked like straight jibberish. However, Monday was a huge day for all the wrong reasons yet again for the Louisville football team.

- I told you here a few weeks back what the university announced yesterday. I hope it didn't come as new news to anyone who reads daily that Jeff Brohm has been forced out by Krag and has decided to take the QB coach job at Florida Atlantic. This is an embarrassing scar on a program that just seems to not get anything right. The Brohm family has done so much for the program and Krag somehow doesn't comprehend that. Now that the announcement has been made officially, multiple sources tell me Brohm didn't even call the plays after the UK game where the Cards failed to score an offensive point. The same sources can verify that the flight home from Rutgers was near mutiny as the players had to be calmed down by the flight attendants. Doesn't really sound like a program in good hands, does it?

- Tom Jurich is being extremely hard-headed and stubborn right now and it is making me slowly forget about all the good things he has done for the school. The football program should be thriving in a conference that has BCS ties and fair competition. Instead, he has divided the fan-base by mocking us to ESPN writers about a coach that he hand-picked to continue on the road Schnellnberger, Smith and Petrino laid. He is manipulating through the media the idea that Krag was dealt a bad hand (5 NFL Draft picks, Heisman candidate at QB, top 5 all-time WR) and the fans shouldn't set the bar too high (9 straight bowls). It's time to admit your mistake Mr. Jurich. I can't speak for everybody, but I can see right through the political BS. Don't insult the intelligence of Cardinal fans by saying we don't know what's going on and shouldn't expect "an Orange Bowl every week". Jurich must really think we're stupid. There is no way to sugar-coat what's going on here.

- Florida had the Spread offense, Florida St. had the Fast Break, Penn St. runs the HD offense. What do you think the nickname of an offense with Krag calling the plays would be called? The Milk Toast? Vanilla? 8-yard route on 3rd and 12? I guess the only good thing about this whole situation is that the fate of this team and his career is on head coach Steve Kragthorpe. I hope he proves me wrong like Edgar Sosa did or how Jerry Smith is TC, but there were times last year where I wanted to commit crimes after seeing the play-calling. Turns out Krag was the one calling them and Brohm was up in the booth wondering what he ever did to deserve this. That would be like your boss taking over your workload, telling you to still come in anyway, and when he screws up the paperwork, you get fired for it and are forced to take a huge pay-cut and move your family to another job. Oh, and your dad and brothers also worked for the company and you were once considered a great ambassador for the company and......I think you get the point.

- It's going to be hard, but this isn't a situation where fans should give up on the team and almost hope for losses so a change can be made. You never know what can happen these days and I'll be damned if Krag is going to make me lose touch with my Cardinal football. Don't sell your season tickets. Just be thankful you're still not freezing on the bleachers at Old Cardinal and get out to the Pizza Palace. A hit in football profits will have a trickle-down effect and hurt other more enjoyable sports. I'll be at every game as should you even if I'm laughing at them like the Bengals. Plus, maybe if you stick around Jurich might let you upgrade when he redeems himself and hires Jon Gruden in less than a year.

Starting 5
1. Peter Gammons - ESPN - A-Rod admits, regrets use of PED's (I know you're probably already sick of hearing about it, but there are 103 more names out there that are going to come out sooner or later)
2. Jody Demling - Courier-Journal - Privott was a big catch (I like this guy's attitude. He says he has started his whole life and isn't planning on breaking that streak at Louisville. Hopefully he walks the walk too.)
3. CoEd Magazine Online -Letterman Reveals Bar Refaeli is 2009 SI Swimsuit Issue Cover Model (Maybe not safe for work. Leo DiCaprio, who has been know to wear Louisville hats when sitting court-side at Lakers games, is seeing her right now. Doesn't seem very fair to me)
4. Awful Announcing - Another Golf Channel Analyst in Hot Water (He said, " I just saw a guy with a t-shirt that said 'I got kicked out of the Boy Scouts for eating a brownie'"....uhhh I don't get it.)
5. J.E. Skeets - Ball Don't Lie - 2-on-2 All-Star tourney (NBA jam like gimmick by the guys at BDL. I would put E5 & T-Will against a few NBA teams)

Wasn't Pretty but I'll take it

Louisville got out hustled, shot 38%, shot 3-17 from downtown, and played the second half without Samardo Samuels.

So after playing a C game at best and still walk away with a road win....I'll take it but it doesn't mean Card fans shouldn't be worried.

Over the last 100 minutes (2 and a half games) of basketball, the Cards have played the lazy and complacent basketball that led to 3 losses in the month on December.

I was pleased with the aggressiveness of Jerry Smith through out the game. Scoring a season high 21 points but the thing I liked the most that he was 11-11 from the free throw line.

Louisville for the second straight game did not control the tempo and allowed the opposing teams guards to control the game. St. John's as a team came into the game averaging 14 turnovers a game, but with the return of Malik Boothe( 3 assists and 1 turnover) the Red Storm only had 10 turnovers (7 in the second half).

While Terrence Williams went 0-7 from the field, that didn't bother me as much as it was his shot selections. He settled way to many times for 18 footers when he could have kept his dribble and made it a 12 foot floater attempt instead. A shot that he has been showing a better touch on over the last 8 games. A shot that when its on, he is nearly unstoppable.

With 5 minutes left roughly, a loose ball was grabbed by Sean Evans leaping out of bounds...as he turned in mid air to throw the ball off a Cards player (a old school favorite by everyone). The Cardinal he aimed at was Earl Clark. As Clark saw Evans aim the ball at him, he (Clark) didn't prepare to grab the ball or even move out the way to allow it to stay in play. No, Clark flinched turning his back to the ball and Evans. Something your 8 year old brother would do in a game of pick up. I tell you this story cause as I watched it I thought to myself...that one play summed up the Earl Clark career to this point.

St. John's struggled when forced to go against the Cardinal 2-3 zone in the half court. But Louisville's half court defense has been their (Cards) most consistent attribute. Paris Horne, who has been on fire over the las t 5 games was held to 9 points and was never able to get into a groove or get a good look, going 4-15 overall and 0-7 from three point land.

Cards better shape it up before they head on the road again on Thursday to Notre Dame. A team that has their backs against the wall and has been on a downward spiral since losing to the Cards back on January 12th.

Breaking Down the Johnnies

Name: St John's

Nickname: Red Storm

Location: Queens, NY

Record versus Cards: 3-6

Head Coach: Norm Roberts (5th season)

This season: 12-10 overall (3-7 Big East)

Guard - Malik Boothe - Sophomore - 5'9 180 #3

The man that makes this young team go. The Red Storm were 2-7 while Boothe was injured, compared to 10-3 with him this season. A pass-first point guard, true floor general, that is lightning-quick and bulldog strong on both ends of the floor. Is not a threat to shoot the ball, but can score. Averaging an impressive 8.1 points, 4.9 assists, and 3.5 rebounds a game. Not bad for a guy 5'9.

Guard - Paris Horne - Sophomore - 6'3 185 #23


OK, first off the guy is from Delaware....yea....Delaware. Now I got my Wayne's World out of the way, Horne has been on fire. He can be a game-changing scorer who loves to take it to the rim. Is averaging 20 points a game over the last five games, including dropping 27 on Rutgers. A game (Rutgers) were Horne went 12 of 13 from the field, including 3 of 4 from deep. Is a slasher who possesses the ability to score in transition and can also knock down the mid-range shot.

Forward - Justin Burrell - Sophomre - 6'8 240 #24

Is averaging 9.8 points and 4.6 rebounds a game this season, coming off a Freshman season that earned him BIG EAST All-Rookie honors. Can score in the post and has a good touch on his mid-range jumper. Put up 18 points in a win over Notre Dame. Does struggle defensively. Has a tendency to get into foul trouble.

Forward - D.J. Kennedy - Sophomore - 6'6 210 #1

The best overall player on this young St. John's team. A poor mans Terrence Williams, putting up 13.3 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 3.1 assists a game. A versatile athlete, who does a great job of getting to the free throw line, where he is shooting a solid 70%.

Forward - Sean Evans - Sophomore - 6'8 250 #5

A strong combo forward who can face-up or post-up on the offensive end. Has recorded 5 double doubles this season. Had a 11 point and 10 rebound effort in a win over South Florida and 10 points in 9 rebounds in the Red Storms last game against Seton Hall (a loss).

Breaking down the Redmen...uh, I mean the Red Storm - They may not be the Fab Five of Michigan but Norm Roberts does have a roster that starts all 5 Sophomores and uses 2 other Sophomores (Dele Coker and Rob Thomas) and a Freshman(Quincy Roberts) primarily off the bench. There are a total of 9 Sophomores on the roster. Injured gun Anthony Mason JR being the only Senior or even upperclassmen that got minutes on this team is of course out for the season but will be redshirted and most likely be back next season. That scares me...this team isn't as bad as their record shows. They can play, especially with the return of their point guard Malik Boothe. Kennedy and Horne do a great job of spreading the wings Boothe running the break. Evans and Burrell are both slightly undersized but can hold their own. Thomas (Rob) and Roberts (Quincy) both offer a scoring punch of the bench, each are averaging 6 points a game. Paris Horne (my opinion their best player) is the only threat that St John's has from deep and he still isn't the best (shooting 37%).

Taquan Dean Reigning in Spain

William Gay Gets Down

Friday Chatter

Coach Pitino is delivering his weekly presser as we speak. More on that later. In the meantime, here’s your Friday afternoon college hoops fix brought to you by your friends at the L Yes! Report:

The Cards are one of only six squads that Jay Bilas thinks can win the National Championship. For the record, last year he picked four teams – Memphis, Kansas, UCLA, and UNC. Sound familiar? Anyway, here’s what he had to say about Louisville:

This team has the most question marks on the offensive end, with no true or reliable point guard and a very young player in the pivot. But Rick Pitino has a pair of special playmaking forwards in Terrence Williams and Earl Clark, and a couple of tempo-changing defensive terrors off the bench in Preston Knowles and Andre McGee. When we get to NCAA tournament time, I would not be surprised to see Louisville make a run to Detroit.
However, March is supposed to be owned by guards, and Louisville does not have trustworthy guards. The Cardinals can really defend, with full-court pressure and an extending matchup zone that can be difficult to solve. They can speed you up and wear you down, and the team has really bought into Pitino's system and way of thinking -- to the extent that the Cards can figure out what Pitino is thinking. Louisville is a great defensive team … not good, but great.
Louisville's only issue is its consistency on the offensive end. It is not a good shooting team, and the Cards are not consistent getting the ball inside and finishing. Louisville passes very well, and with its defense and ability to force the tempo it wants, I think that Louisville has a chance to get to Detroit if some shots fall. But, because of its offensive shortcomings, Louisville is the least likely of the six-pack to cut the nets down.


Mike over at Card Chronicle’s got his “Unofficial Midpoint" Big East Awards for your reading pleasure. There are a lot of good players in that league.

Lack of bench, bad outside D, mediocre half-court offense are just a few of the reasons why Jeff Goodman thinks that UNC is, at the very least, beatable.

Last year, for the Selection Sunday Show, I bought my blue-clad friends Bubble Yum as we anxiously watched to see where Louisville would wind up, and if their ka-yuts would wind up. This year I may be playing the same joke. This just in: Kentucky isn’t very good.

End Appears Near for Jeff Brohm

What began as mere speculation is now probably a foregone conclusion.

It appears that Jeff Brohm will be out of work at the University of Louisville.

Multiple sources are reporting that he was not in attendance at the annual signing day party with the rest of the coaching staff. The L Yes! Report has confirmed that Brohm was certainly in town, so his absence speaks volumes as to what the “big announcement” will be next week concerning the coaching staff.

Jeff Brohm was crowned 1988 Kentucky Mr. Football before going on to team up with his brother Greg at U of L. Jeff is still 7th in all-time passing yards, 5th in TD passes, 8th in completions, and 6th in total offense and completion percentage in Louisville’s record books.

Jeff’s been on the coaching staff since 2003, tutoring All-Conference C-USA and C-USA Offensive Player of the Year QB Stefan Lefors.

His dad, Oscar, played QB for the Cards during the 1968-69 seasons, and you may have heard of his little brother Brian, who won the Big East Offensive Player of the Year – among other distinctions – under Jeff’s tutelage.

‘Tis a sad day for University of Louisville football when it’s stripped of a member of what’s come to be known as its “First Family.”


Now go vote for T-Will.

Trivia Time

Shall we?

What do Duke, Troy, Tulsa, Southern Miss, IU, Central Florida, Kent State, Houston, UAB, Memphis, and Akron all have in common?

You guessed it.

They all have better 2009 football recruiting classes than your Cards. At least according to Rivals, which has U of L tied with Louisiana Tech as the 76th best recruiting class. Just above Rice and Florida International. And at the bottom of the Big East - save Syracuse, who landed only 14 players.

What's that you say? Don't read in to it so much? Ben Roethlisberger and Kurt Warner weren't five-star recruits coming out of high school?

Perhaps you're right. But the perennial leaders in recruiting just so happen to be the perennial BCS contenders - USC, Texas, Alabama, Ohio State, Florida, etc.

We here at the L Yes! Report are disappointed, but we know that we can all alleviate this problem by going to vote for T-Will for 2009 Senior CLASS Award. Go now!

Have You Voted for T-Will Today?

If not, you're a sinner.

And he's losing to Jerel McNeal of Marquette. Is that what you want?

Go here now and repent.

Cup o' Jones : Paperwork Edition

National Signing Day brought a few surprises to the Louisville football team and, in usual form, they were pretty negative. 2 players that were pretty much set-in-stone to ink with the Cards had paperwork problems. Krag's "sleeper-promising-need-filling" class ranks around 70th in both Rivals and Scout.com's class rankings. Keep in mind there are only 65 BCS teams...

- One, JUCO DE DeQuin Evans was reported to be all-over the Cards last week and narrowed his choices to the Cards and those SEC bottom-feeders in Lexington. Then, as we all should have expected, Evans hit a snag with his academic paperwork to enroll at Louisville, but somehow was able to be cleared by Kentucky. Of course, the Cats were then the clear favorite. Yesterday morning, the school was able to mend the snag and, per Jody Demling, hit him with the all-out blitz to entice Evans to join the class. It was all for nought and now we have to wear blue during his college career. Is it possible for the athletic department to get one thing right this offseason? How does this happen in the first place? You never know at the Schnellenberger Complex these days.

- Secondly, DL Peni Fiuangaihetau did not sign due to academic issues. That makes the second 4-star JUCO d-lineman (basically the 2 jewels of the class) to not ink with Krag due to a non-football issue. Peni chose us over West Virginia. I would almost bet he would be enrolled and ready to roll if he would have gone with the Mountianeers instead. Won't ever be able to prove it, but is a hypothetical question worth asking. The Cards lost two recruits at their weakest position to one rival and possibly another due to a lack of organization and communication among the football staff and admissions.



- Just when you thought the bad news was over, a "big announcement" is set for sometime Monday. I am almost positive it will be to announce the new offensive coordinator will be former administrative assistant Jay Johnson and Jeff Brohm has been "re-assigned" inside the athletic department. I'm still under the assumption that Brohm will join Coach Schnelly at Florida Atlantic and become the "coach in waiting" ala Joker/Brooks. I have nothing on this Johnson guy other than he was hand-picked by Jurich and Krag, which recent memory has shown isn't such a great thing. I'll let you know more as I find out.

- OK, time to be a little positive even as hard as it is. Mike Privott (pictured above) could be a 4 year starter at LB if we can get him to redshirt. Hell, we might even start him next year although LB is one of our stronger returning positions. He's stuck with us through the thick and thin of this recruiting process and should be commended for it. Krag said he likes to "hurt people" which is always good for a LB. Depending on how he is a s a decision maker, JUCO QB Adam Froman could be the starter next year. He has all the other attributes (mobility, strength, laser arm) and a player on the team told me yesterday he was, "a baby Tebow" as a dual threat QB. I'll believe it when I see it. Froman was a JUCO All-American out of CA, is enrolled, and will participate in offseason workouts and Spring ball. I have a feeling those two will pan out. The other 21 are basically a flip of a coin.

-I think most fans have gotten to the point where they see through the BS of Krag saying today, "overall from top to bottom, this class is what we needed in terms of addressing some immediate needs and in terms of some of the younger players providing us some quality depth." That makes no sense. We need playmakers, not role players. If anyone tells you this class has promise - laugh at them. 20 Kentuckiana players signed with high-level D-1 schools and Krag was able to snag a whopping 2. His son's team, Trinity, had at least 4 players that were as good or better than who we brought in. National Signing Day should bring fans hope for the future. All it did to me was reiterate the fact I'm glad it's basketball season.

Starting 5

1 Ross Siler - Jazz Notes: Salt Lake Tribune - A Dying Breed (The great white hope has turned into the great white joke. I guess that's what you get when all you bring to the table is JJ Redick and Adam Morrison in the last 10 years)
2. Ken Kosky - NWI Times - Fan attacks ref who also is a state trooper (Yea..really smart buddy. But to his credit, why would someone be a referee AND a cop? Seems like you wouldn't have too many friends and a boat-load of enemies)
3. Associated Press - ESPN to help create NYC sports-themed high school (That would definitely have gotten my attention in high school)
4. John Kim - PGA.com - Tiger Woods: Full-Bore Practice Sessions Going Well (He's baaaaaaaccck)
5. Jeff Goodman - FoxSports.com - Meeks, Kentucky Fading Fast (Gotta love Mr. Goodman. He calls it like he sees it. UK sucks and he's letting the nation know about it)

Go Vote for T-Will!

Terrence Williams is a finalist for the 2009 Annual Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. He's one of 10 seniors chosen by Lowe's based on his accomplishments as a student-athlete.

The winner will be decided by the results of a nationwide balloting process.

SO WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? You can vote once a day. Go vote here now!

National Signing Day Complete

This from the Athletic Dept.:

Louisville Signs Class of 23

Louisville, Ky. - The University of Louisville football program hassigned
23 student-athletes to National Letters of Intent for the 2009season, head coach
Steve Kragthorpe announced Wednesday, the first dayof the national signing
period. He also released the four newcomers whoenrolled in school back in
January.

The 2009 class consists of players from eight different
states,including seven from the state of Florida and six from California.
TheCardinals also gained commitments from Texas, Maryland, Kentucky,Virginia,
Georgia and Mississippi.

Facing a need to add depth on the defensive side of the football,
theCardinals went out and signed 15 players on defense, including sixdefensive
backs , two linebackers, five defensive linemen, and twoplayers who are listed
as athletes. Louisville shored up the defensiveline by signing three
junior-college standouts in Joseph Townsend (SanJose, Calif.), Tim High
(Compton, Calif.) and Malcolm Tatum (Perkinston,Miss.)

Townsend and Tatum are both enrolled in class and going through
theCardinals* winter workout program. High is another talented JUCOplayer from
El Camino who also played one season at UNLV. The Cardinalsalso landed talented
defensive linemen in Roy Philon (Lexington, Ky.)and Malcolm Mitchell (Stone
Mountain, Ga.)

The Cardinals landed some talented players in the secondary in ChampLee
(Lakeland, Fla.), Preston Pace (St. Petersburg, Fla.), Titus Teague(Pomana,
Calif.), Shenard Holton (Bowling Green, Ky.) and Zed Evans(Seagoville,
Texas).

Horace Miller (Baltimore, Md.) and Mike Privott (Norfolk, Va.) are
twooutstanding linebacker prospects who have excellent credentials.
Millerrecorded a school record 29 sacks a year ago, while Privott recorded
132tackles at Lake Taylor High School.

Twins Issac Geffrad (Oakland Park, Fla.) and Jacob Geffrad
(OaklandPark, Fla.) are listed as athletes, but will likely help out in
thesecondary or at linebacker.

Offensively, the Cardinals landed one of the nation*s topjunior-college
quarterbacks in Adam Froman (Santa Rosa, Calif.). A firstteam All-American,
Froman threw for 3,876 yards and 40 touchdowns lastseason. Froman is on campus
and working out with the team.

The Cardinals landed a pair of high school running backs in JeremyWright
(Clermont, Fla.) and Boogie McCray (Norfolk, Va.). Wright wasthe leading
rusher in Florida and rushed for 4,133 yards and 43touchdowns in his career.
McCray totaled 1,627 yards and 18 touchdowns ayear ago at Lake Taylor High
School.

At the wide receiver spot, Kragthorpe and staff added three
talentednewcomers in Damian Copeland (Bradenton, Fla.), Sean Farr
(Baltimore,Md.) and Andrell Smith (Miami, Fla.). Copeland caught 52 passes
for 718yards as a senior, while Farr led Dunbar to its third state title in arow
after recording a 1,000-yard receiving campaign. Smith enrolled inJanuary after
a standout career at Palmetto High School.

The Cardinals landed a pair of talented offensive linemen in JoeEvinger
(Brazil, Ind.) and Hunter Stout (Tampa, Fla.) Evinger was ajunior-college
All-American at the College of the Canyons, while Stoutwas a two-year starter at
the Wharton School.

National Signing Day is in the books people. You can get back to work now.

National Signing Day Notes

Here's a quick run-down of some National Signing Day highlights:

As predicted, Boogie McCray signed with the Cards today. The 2 star RB, who rushed for more than 1,5000 yards this past season, joins his high school teammate, 3 star LB Mike Privott, who committed to the Cards back in May.

Kragthorpe also landed 6-7, 340 pound OT Joe Evinger. Evinger is a four-star juco who chose Louisville over IU and uk.

The L Yes! Report is awaiting word on other recruits and will keep you posted before the ink even dries.


UPDATE: If only they ranked recruiting classes on the basis of name-coolness. We'd be up there for sure. Some of our signees: Zed Evans, Champ Lee, Boogie McCray, Preston Pace, Titus Teague, Malcolm Tatum...Top 10, maybe? And no doubt Jeff Saturday would have been the first six-star recruit in collegiate football history.

UPDATE #2: It's being reported that the Cards will not be signing juco prospect DE DeQuin Evans and that Evans will land instead instead with uk. Sources close to both schools have reported that Evans' first choice was Louisville, then Kentucky, a la Rajon Rondo. For some reason or another, the administrative powers that be at U of L would not accept Evans' transfer to Louisville so as to have him enrolled within the next two weeks, so he opted for uk (a la Rondo.) While it pains me to see a young man be forced to live with his second choice, perhaps he'll find success once he realizes that he made a mistake and moves on to greener pastures. (A la Rajon Rondo.)

Stay tuned for more updates.

Cup o' Jones - UCONN Aftermath

I had to take a day off to let my senses get back in order after the Cards looked uninspired and exposed at points of the game Monday. Here are 5 thoughts/concerns coming out of the loss to the Huskies...

1. Samardo can't compete with 7-footers - Whether it be Minnesota's Colton Iverson or Hasheem Thabeet of UCONN, Mardo struggles against the bigger centers the Cards play. I don't know if it's due to intimidation, lack of leaping explosion, or inexperience, but our freshman sensation has had his worst games as a Card against 7-footers. 2 shot attempts? That is uncalled for. According to Pitino, Mardo is going to be spending more time on the pine in favor of Terrence Jennings.

2. Guards that handle pressure - Dyson, AJ Price and especially Kemba Walker got through the Cardinal pressure pretty easily - as high-caliber guards should. What the cards need to do is come up with a way to prevent easy buckets after the pressure is broken. The UCONN guards didn't hit a three, but made up for it by breaking the pressure and creating easy opportunities.

3. E5 & NBA Scouts - I really don't want to believe this, but with 30 NBA scouts in the building it looked like Earl Clark was trying to show-off more than play his part. It wasn't necessarily the poor percentage as it was the contested shots he took. Very uncharacteristic from the previous games. However, with Earl you never know what to expect next. He could take those same 16 shots against St. John's, hit 12 and drop 30.

4. Substitution Patterns - I understand T-Will was in foul trouble, but Kyle Kuric was basically thrown into the wolves by Pitino and asked to play his first significant action in several games against the #1 team in the country. Although he looked overwhelmed at times, Kuric deserves to play. My suggestion would be to give him spot minutes at the 2 and 3 positions to prepare for something like that happening again. The Cards were close and then the Sosa-Kuric-Swopshire-Clark-Jennings lineup came in - next thing you know were down 10. Not saying those guys shouldn't play, I just think it should be against UCONN.

5. Life Without T-Will - Someone on the team needs to step up whenever T-Will is absent. Whether it be Andre McGee or someone else, Pitino needs a general on the floor in the chance Williams gets in foul trouble or - God forbid - gets hurt. He had 26 points and nobody on the rest of the team had over 8 (Knowles). We are not Kentucky. that is not how the Cards roll. Someone else need to step up to the plate and take control whenever the Cards are without Williams or they are going to get burnt against like they did Monday.

I feel like I'm being too harsh, but with how good the team was playing it's good that some weaknesses were exposed. Now Pitino and his coaching staff can get in the Yum! Center war room and tweak everything that is wrong. It was embarrassing, but could also be a stepping stone for something greater in the future. The loss most definitely will bring the Cards a little more down to earth as well. The last few weeks their heads have been in the stratosphere. All I know is I'd be extremely scared if I were Norm Roberts or St. John's right now.




More Tuesday Nuggets...

- Like I mentioned above, there will be a line-up shake-up starting with St. John's Sunday. Jerry Smith and his shuffling feet hit the pine in place of Preston Knowles. No arguments here other than the fact we don't know how Knowles will fair starting as opposed to being the microwave off the bench. Jerry - as much as i love him - was simply being outplayed on both ends. Terrence Jennings will replace Samardo at the 5 spot. Same as the guard switch, Jennings is playing better and with the talent the team has, the competition of knowing your starting spot isn't ever safe could bring out the best in a player.

- I know it's National Football Signing Day, however our friends at "Inside the Hall" (IU blog) posted a video of potential Louisville basketball recruit Marquis Teague (brother of Wake's Jeff). the guy looks like a smooth, game-changing guard just like big bro. I don't think these Hoosier fans know the cards have been stealing most of their in-state talent. It's been widely rumored that Teague is nearly a lock for the Cards, as his father played for Pitino at Boston U. Take a gander at what could possibly be the next best thing in the 'ville...


Marquis Teague from Inside The Hall on Vimeo.

- Have to address the UK loss. Teams are finally starting to figure out that if you stop Meeks (meaning holding him under 30), you win the game. The fans are standing firmly with a finger placed on the PANIC BUTTON and a loss to Florida next game could send the Blue-Bloods overboard. Darrell Byrd of TCP is reporting that there was a verbal brawl amongst the team after the loss to Miss St. last night and Billy Clyde just sat back and let it go. The team is in disarray, my UK insiders tell me not one player likes Billy Clyde, and they have lost 3 straight in the weakest conference in the country. Ain't life grand?

Starting 5

1. Darren Rovell - Sports Biz on CNBC - Why Michael Phelps is a Good Endorser (The dude is wearing like a $20,000 (maybe more) Omega watch and having a good time. Give him a break. He can do whatever he wants. With that lung capacity, maybe his next venture will be the Weed Olympics)
2. The Big Lead - Dan Patrick Somehow Managed to Get Bob Uecker Treatment for Springsteen’s Halftime Show (I want to be that one day. The life of a national sports guy has to be like heaven on Earth. Also, a treat for you Rod Tidwell fans)
3. Brian Bennett - ESPN Blogger Nation - Anything I Write About Louisville (I like Brian's work, but I have to call him out on something - Why do you say Krag is the right option for Louisville right now yet everything you write is completely detrimental to the team? Just read his UL stuff in his last few posts. If it's that bad, go ahead and hop on the band-wagon with us. Good blog though.)
4. Vince Grzegorek - Sporting News First Cuts - Blagojevich's Natural Next Move: Wrestling (Pretty self-explanatory and pretty hilarious. I might start watching wrestling again just for this)
5. Eric Fisher - Sports Business Journal - Selig's Pay Climbs Past $18 Million (You've got to be joking right? The man that has made the national pastime an embarrassing mockery makes 18 mil a year. that makes two jobs - baseball commissioner and weatherman - where you can be wrong most of the time and still get paid. What a joke)

Reds Off-season Grade so far…

The Reds pre-season action may have come to a close after one of the more recent signings of former Rays outfielder Jonny Gomes. The Reds have added and may continue to add some minor league contracts with possible spring training invites. An example of that type of signing is outfielder Laynce Nix. The re-signing of utility player Jerry Hairston Jr was also a big addition as he will be competing with Gomes and Chris Dickerson for the left field spot. The center field spot is locked up by free agent signee and former Colorado leadoff hitter Willy Taveras.

The immediate major league level impact players the Reds have re-signed utility player Jerry Hairston Jr., outfielder Norris Hopper, and pitchers David Weathers and Mike Lincoln. A new addition to the pitching staff was the addition of left handed free agent Arthur Rhodes. Rhodes had a spectacular year last season posting a 2.04 era.

In my opinion the two biggest additions to the Reds team is the addition of speedy outfielder Willy Taveras and catcher Ramon Hernandez. Hernandez whom was aquired from the Orioles for utility player Ryan Freel. Taveras and Hernandez will become immediate staples in the Reds starting lineup in the upcoming season. Taveras hit only .251 this past season with the Rockies, but led the league with 68 stolen bases. He had his best season in 2007 when he hit .320 for Colorado.

The starting rotation looks pretty much set as four of the five spots are a lock. Returning Reds starters Aaron Harang, Edinson Volquez, Bronson Arroyo, and Johnny Cueto are the locks. While guys like Micah Owings and Homer Bailey among others battle for the fifth spot.

The Reds will open spring training in their final year in Sarasota, FL on February 25th against that Tampa Bay Rays at 1:05. I will be attending some of spring training and I will bring you the inside scoop on what I see and hear. Opening day for the regular season is on April 6th at 1:10 at Great American Ball Park.

Although the Reds seem to be finished making moves I think this will be an interesting season. Going from a homerun hitting team to a small ball type of team with pitching and defense will be intriguing. Although most Reds fans say, "this is the year", I will say even if it is not I still believe they will be improved. My grade so far for this Reds off-season is a B-. I would like to know your opinion of what grade the Reds off-season deserves.

Football Recruit Watch

No, it's not something I do on a regular.

But I'm bored, no men's basketball game til Sunday (but the No. 5 ranked women take the floor at home tonight against Syracuse, tickets are $2 if you wear pink, you should definitely get up and go), and I still got a sour taste in my mouth from last night's debacle.

So let's talk football.

In case you didn't know, or care, "National Signing Day" is tomorrow. (The real journalists use the caps so I am too I guess. Not sure that the day is a proper noun, or has the significance of say Veterans' or even Flag Day, but I'll roll with it because the pros are.)

And poised to announce his decision is Rivals' No. 15 ranked juco prospect DeQuin Evans. Evans is a 4-star DE out of Los Angeles Harbor C.C. Why does this interest me? Because Evans' decision is between us and some other school down I-64, whose faithful are reporting that Evans will come to U of L if he is able to enroll this semester. (At least that's what they're doing while praying not to drop their 3rd straight tonight against one of the 12 unranked teams in the Soft, er, South Eastern Conference.)

And this blogger does not like losing anything to that other school down I-64.

So yeah, DeQuin, come to Louisville.


Another party of interest is Virginia RB Antonio McCray. He's interesting because he hasn't made his decision public yet, although Louisville hosted his only official collegiate visit. He's also interesting because his nickname is "Boogie," and the L Yes! Report is particularly fond of it. (I don't think it's in reference to the Patrick Patterson variety of boogie, however.)

Anyway, stay tuned to the L Yes! Report for your up to the minute National Signing Day coverage.

Well That Sucked

It wasn’t supposed to go down like that.

We had just won 9 straight games. 8-0 in conference play. Ranked No. 5 in the land by the AP. We’d already toppled one No. 1 team that came to our house.

They weren’t supposed to come in here, into Freedom Hall, and deliver that kind of beat-down.

But nobody told that to the Huskies. 68-51.

The tale of the tape: inside presence. Earl and Samardo combined for 2-18 shooting. Connecticut’s 7-3 Hasheem Thabeet out-scored, out-rebounded, and out-muscled BOTH of our big men by himself and at times looked more like a volleyball striker than a Big East center. He intimidated Samardo into taking only 2 shots, and neither he nor Earl drew a foul in the paint. We shot 2 free throws. Yes, part of that was poor officiating. More of that was Hasheem Thabeet. With the exception of T Will, who had 26 points in only 28 minutes, we played scared offensively. Samuels was downright petrified.

Pitino is correct: We are not a very good offensive team.

On the other end of the court, forward Jeff Adrian worked Earl Clark, finishing with 18 and 11. They also shot 24 free throws. Did Louisville foul 12 times as much as UConn? Probably not, and the boo birds were out amongst the 20,069 to let the stripes hear about it. But what was more frustrating was watching Clark settle for mid-range jumpers all night, instead of putting the ball on the floor and going strong to the hole. Perhaps Thabeet had something to do with that. Perhaps Earl was trying to show the countless NBA scouts in attendance he’s got a stroke in his arsenal. Probably not a good call for a guy that shoots only 36% from three. His 1-for-6 from trey last night didn’t help that percentage.

I’m not putting it all on Earl and Samuels. There’s plenty of blame to go around. Jerry and McGee combined for 0 points, 1 assist in 32 minutes. No productivity out of the front-court plus no productivity out of the back-court generally equals disaster, especially when you’re matched up against the top team in the country. Pitino used an “interesting” line-up at the end of the first half, opting to go with Kyle Kuric and Jared Swopshire, and the Huskies scored the last 10 points before heading into the locker room. I understand T Will had 2 fouls, but…man.

Edgar Sosa continued to be a bright spot with his 4 assists to go with only 1 turnover. We got good minutes out of Preston Knowles. Pitino hinted at his press conference that he’s going to use him more, which works for me. The inconsistency that is Jerry Smith has gone from baffling to frustrating to straight-up infuriating. Pitino also said Terrence Jennings will be used more as well. We’ll see what exactly that means in due time, I guess.

At any rate, that game did nothing to alleviate my sheer hatred for all things UConn, including but not limited to Jim Calhoun and Larry Taylor.

Next, it’s on the road again. Up to St. John’s Saturday and then Notre Dame the 15^th. If somebody besides Terrence Williams doesn’t step up, it’ll be sad, sad little trip.

Thoughts on UCONN

Since the Cards joined the BIG EAST, the game against UCONN was the one you circle on your calendar whenever the schedule comes out. This year's version might be the best so far. Big Monday doesn't ever get as large as it will tonight.

- We got our wish. UCONN is #1 in the new coach's poll, giving the Cards an opportunity to beat the top ranked team for the second time in 15 days. Louisville somehow stayed the same (7th) as last week even though they didn't lose and 3 teams still ahead of them (Duke, PITT, Wake) all suffered defeats. This just enhances my argument that the ESPN/USA Today poll is a complete joke in both football and basketball. The man that should have his finger on the pulse of college hoops - Dick Vitale - voted the Cards 9th last week in a poll after they had just beaten 3 top 10 teams. 9th? Can he see past his Coach K briefs and Hansbrough underoos? Guess he can just blame it on the eye or the old age or the fascination he has with the ACC. Please boo him if you see him tonight. Like Jim Burr, Tim Higgins, Digger Phelps and countless others - Dicky V should hang-em up. Can't wait to hear his suck-up tonight when he's sees the defense in person. The AP (aka "guys that actually watch multiple games a week") did the right thing and moved the Cards up to 5th.

- The thing that worries me the most is our ability to make shots in the halfcourt setting. UCONN's guards will be able to withstand the pressure of the Cardinal guards better than any opposing team all year. Kemba Walker, AJ Price, Jerome Dyson, and Craig Austrie size up well with what the Cards bring on the perimeter. Separation will be made by whoever can hit shots in the halfcourt setting. If Louisville can at least play even, the Cardinal front-court should take care of the rest.

- Hasheem Thabeet is going to get his blocks - that's basically a given. The Cards need to worry about securing the ball after those blocks. If they panic, the Huskies could get a run-out. If they stay poised, they could get an easy lay-up or at least another opportunity. Samardo, in particular, needs to keep his wheels turning even if he gets a couple shoved back in his face. UCONN is great at securing the loose balls Thabeet creates, but if the Cards could steal a couple it could be give them a few extra buckets.

- The crowd is most definitely the x-factor tonight. The Cards can overcome a bad start (PITT) or a rough patch (WVU) due to the Freedom Hall faithful helping them overcome obstacles. The Cards are 2.5 point favorites, so Vegas knows that the Hall crowd is a huge factor. Rarely do you see a #1 team as an underdog. The boys in Sin City don't pay attention to that kind of stuff though. They look at the product on the court. According to them, the Cards are an equal or better team. We'll see at 7 PM.

Breakin' It Down, Big Monday Style

I hate UConn. I don’t know why exactly. Maybe it’s the arrogance that is Jim Calhoun. Maybe it’s that New England elitism.

It’s probably Larry Taylor and his fake fair catches. Damn you, Larry Taylor.

UConn enters Freedom Hall tonight at 20-1 and poised to be the No. 1 team in the country.

The Huskies, like the Cards, haven’t lost a game since December, when they dropped their conference opener to Georgetown at home for their only loss of the season.

To have success against UConn, Louisville will have to do a lot of the things G’town did well.

1. MUST get off to a good start. Against South Florida and then again against West Virginia, the Cards looked sluggish coming out of the gate. We’ll need to play 40 minutes of basketball tonight. That means you, too, Earl. The Hoyas jumped out to an 18-3 lead in their upset at UConn and never looked back. Come out focused and ready to play and the faithful will respond. I’ll make them.

2. Hit open shots. UConn plays very, very good inside defense, with 7-3 Hasheem Thabeet (owned and operated by David Padgett) clogging up the paint. He averages 4 blocks per game. But tonight look for Louisville’s ball rotation to get their guards some open looks on the wing. If we’re hitting on the 3 ball, we got a chance in this one. Hopefully Jerry’s found that magic and is back for good now.

3. Free throws down the stretch. We’re shooting under 66% on the season. That’s not very good. I expect this game to be close – one thing the Cards have done with consistency this season is tested my cardio – so hitting from the charity stripe is a must. I also expect T Will to be a senior and hit better than his average of 60%. Terrence, you’re better than that. But I still love you.

4. Playmaker. Who’s it gonna be? Against WVU T Will turned it over on back-to-back possessions in the final 2 minutes of a close game. That shouldn’t happen. And after coming off performances of 4 and 8 points, he’s due for a big game. UConn is a good match-up for T Will; nobody can hang with his athleticism and quickness. I think he’ll get off.

5. Force the issue. Turnovers aren’t really UConn’s thing (they average less than 12 per game), but if we can steal a few early it’ll frustrate their guards. A.J. Price is susceptible, let’s get on him, make him cough it up, and get in his head.

6. Wear ‘em down. Price, Thabeet, Jeff Adrian and Jerome Dyson is where they get most of their points. They’re a veteran team, starting 3 juniors and 2 seniors, but don’t look for them to play 11 in the first half ala Pitino last Saturday. Play Louisville ball: pressing, in-your-face defense against their guards, and let’s test their endurance. I’ll take our bench vs. UConn’s bench every day of the week.

7. And finally: The Unseld. The No. 31 jersey will be on tonight, you can bet on it.

In other news, the Pittsburgh Steelers are Super Bowl XLIII Champions. For those of you keeping track at home (ah-hem, Sweeney, Jones), that's 6. "One for the other thumb," we're calling it. Not that other thumb Rob. You're gross.

Tip-off at 7:00. ESPN. Big Monday, indeed.

Calm Before the Storm Reading

Luckily for you, you found this site which actually has more information on tonight's colossal match up than most national outlets. Just in case you missed any...here you go.

1. Rick Bozich of The Courier-Journal gives his thoughts about tonight's game in his blog...check it out daily! He's right...UL is a 2.5 or 3 point favorite which means Vegas can't decide who will win but gives the Cards the edge because of the home court.

2. UK, Notre Dame, Pitt, Syracuse...Eric Crawford agrees that this is just another big game for the Cards.

3. Storrs, Connecticut doesn't have a daily paper (I don't think, I've been scouring). So, you're left with a student newspaper. It's the Daily Campus.

4. And if this doesn't make you happy, then nothing will. Here's a blog entry on Saturday afternoon from Jeff Goodman of FoxSports.com.

KENTUCKY STILL HAS WORK TO DO

Don’t pencil Kentucky in as an NCAA tournament team just yet.

In fact, the Wildcats still haven’t beaten a lock NCAA tournament team this season.

Billy Gillispie’s team, which lost at home to South Carolina on a last-second shot by Devan Downey, is now 16-6 overall and 5-2 in a mediocre SEC.

The Wildcats got into the Top 25 this past week and responded with a loss at Ole Miss and then a setback at Rupp to South Carolina.

The two resume wins for Kentucky are a neutral site victory against West Virginia – which was a quality win – and also a road victory at a Tennessee team that is 12-7 and has lost five of its last nine entering tonight’s home contest against Florida.

Show Me My Opponent - UCONN Huskies

Date: Monday, Feb. 2
Time: 7:02 p.m. ET
Site: Crum Court / Freedom Hall (18,865). UofL 665-136 all-time in Freedom Hall.

TV: ESPN will televise the game with Dan Shulman (play-by-play) and Dick Vitale (analyst)
Radio: WKRD (790 AM, 101.7 FM) with Paul Rogers (play-by-play) and Bob Valvano (analyst)

Series History: U of L trails 2-4 all-time (1-1 in Louisville, 1-1 in Hartford, 0-1 in Storrs, 0-1 neutral)
Last Meeting: UConn 69, U of L 67 (Jan. 28, 2008 in Hartford, Conn.)

National Rankings: U of L is ranked 7th in both the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' and Associated Press Polls this week; UConn is ranked 2nd in both the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' and AP polls this week.

University of Connecticut Huskies

Location - Storrs, CT
Arena - Gampel Pavilion
Head Coach - Jim Calhoun (788-338 overall & 539-201 in 23 seasons at UCONN)
Assistants - George Blaney, Andre Lafleur, and Patrick Sellers

Famous alumni - Moby (crappy muscian0, Meg Ryan (former film star), Leigh Montville (legendary sports writer), and that's about it outside of sports. Kirk Ferentz (Iowa football coach), Tom Penders (Houston basketball coach with curly mullet), Charles Nagy (former picher w/ Indians)

Basketball alumni - Ray Allen (smoothest J in recent memory - Jesus Shuttlesworth), Richard Hamilton (the masked-man), Emeka Okafor (Bobcats), Rudy Gay (Grizzlies), Cliff Robinson (ex-tall sharp-shooter for Portland), Ben Gordon (Bulls), Caron Butler (Wizards), Josh Boone (Nets), Hilton Armstrong (Hornets), Donyell Marshall (4th pick in '94 draft), Tate George, Charlie Villanueva (Bucks), Marcus Williams (Nets) & countless former women's basketball greats.

Shot-blocker Extraordiaire - Hasheem Thabeet is the best interior defender in the country. On top of averaging 4 blocks a game, the 7-footer alters nearly everything brought into the lane. A guy like that can take over a game subconsciously by always being in the oppositions head whenever they think of attempting something in the lane. Earl Clark and Tereence Williams play above the rim, so they can deal with Thabeet, but a guy like Samardo might have trouble getting his shot off against the big guy. Samuels' best bet would be to play physical and get Thabeet in foul trouble so he's not in the game as a disruption. Thabeet is coming off a triple-double against Providence last week.

Lunch Pail Kinda Guy - It's as overused a saying as anything in sports, but UCONN PF Jeff Adrien is a "blue-collar"/"lunch-pail" kind of guy if I've ever seen one. He's built like a truck at 6'7 245 and is your prototypical BIG EAST power forward. Adrien can hit the open jumper, guard a quicker or taller player, and lead without having to fill up his stat sheet. Put it this way, Earl Clark averages 14 & 10, Jeff Adrien averages 14 & 10. Only twice this season has Adrien been held in single digits in the scoring column and he has recorded 10 double-doubles. He will make life difficult for Clark, Samuels, and Terrence Jennings when it comes to rebounding. Someone needs to put a body on him as soon as a shot goes up or else he will make them pay dearly.

Deep Impact - Both teams have ridiculous amounts of depth and which team gets the best production could determine the outcome of the game. Louisville's pressure will force UCONN to dig a little deeper than usual, especially if fatigue becomes a factor. Seven of UCONN's top 8 could start almost anywhere in the country. Stanley Robinson is Calhoun's 7th man and has the capability to go for 30 any particular night. Much like Louisville, you never know where it's going to come from specifically. Also, UCONN rotates their PG's a lot like the Cards with freshman phenom Kemba Walker splitting time with Craig Austrie.

Prediction - CARDS 76 HUSKIES 70

Congrats to William Gay - Super Bowl Champ

What To Read While Not Caring About the Super Bowl

UCONN IS COMING TO TOWN.

I think I was 16 or 17, a sophomore or junior, at Jeffersonville High School over in Indiana. I'm sitting in the right corner of William S. Johnson Arena on the campus of JHS. I'm covering the game for the student newspaper, The Hyphen. Ballard High School is rolling into town pumping their chest as Kentucky's number one team and one of the top national acts. JHS, on the other hand, is a really good team but we're not sure how good yet.

About ten minutes before the game a legendary figure comes and sits down directly in front of me. None other than the ghoulish figure of Jim Calhoun. Calhoun was scouting Ballard guard Adam Chiles and no doubt taking a look at former UL big man Brandon Bender. Funny how both of their careers ended up. Anyway, I actually got to speak with Calhoun. I asked him about what he saw in Chiles, Bender, etc., how the team looked this year, you know "media" type questions.

In about 30 hours Calhoun will be back in the Bluegrass state...this time trying to knock our Cards off their high pedestial. UConn is as good as any team in the country. They're as good or better than Pitt, much better than Notre Dame and 'Nova. In other words, we haven't see anything yet. Here's your DO's and DON'Ts for the game.

1. DO get Terrence Jennings in the game. I have a hard time thinking Samuels won't be in foul trouble by the first, to the latest, second TV timeout. Jennings has repeatedly shown he will get inside, rebound, and finish around the basket...precisely all the things Samuels WON'T do. Jennings is quickly becoming a crowd favorite and I think he will be elevate and knock a shot or two back at Thabeet.

2. DO lather Samardo Samuels' hands with pine tar. I know I'm really hard to Samuels a lot in this blog. But his inability to catch the ball and make a quick move is finding him time on the bench. Honestly, at times didn't everybody not want to see Jennings in the game and Samuels ridin the pine? Jennings can rebound and runs the floor so much better than Samuels. What we need from Samuels is his ability to draw fouls and effectively pass out of any double teams. But for me I just want him to catch the ball and not bounce it off his foot and out of bounds.

3. DO pray Terrence Williams is OK. My heart stopped for about 30 seconds with TWill's knee/ankle injury. I'm still not sure which one. I saw it immediately when his left knee buckled late in the game. At first, I thought he may have hit knees with someone from WV but then I saw the buckle. If he is OK ,all things considering this lingering knee problms, then we're all lucky. We MUST have the TWill from the ND and Pitt game and not the one we saw yesterday. He always will pass and rebound but he will have to score around 20 points for us to win.

4. DO feed Jerry Smith the ball on the wing. Finally, Jerry breaks out of his shooting slump. With his defense and teamwork, alongside great shooting, we will Smith badly on Monday (maybe another 20 pts). The great thing about Smith is that even if his 3 shot isn't falling then his ability to D up anyone, his ability to rebound, and his ability to quickly cut to the basket for back door layups warrants him playing time! TWill and Sosa need to get him the ball on those wings and let him sink some 3's.

5. DO take extra time to practice free throws. 15-25 for 62.5% is NOT good enough. TWill and Clark squandered all their opportunities at the line. Giving that those two have the ball in their hands the most they need to convert on Monday. We need to be up around 75-80 percent if we're winning Monday.

Now, for your DON'Ts.
1. DON'T by ran over. What do I mean? This is going to be an intensly played game. It is going to be physicaly, real phyiscal. It doesn't get meaner and more physical than Thabeet, Adrien, and company. We can be physical but don't always show it. We need the Earl Clark of last year's tourney run, we need a mean Samuels/Jennings combo, and we need TWill or a guard to play with passion....Sosa?

2. DON'T settle, go right at 'em. Foul trouble will be a key to this game. If we can get Dyson, Adrien, or Thabeet (especially him) in foul trouble the game could swing our way. On the flip side, Samuels and Sosa need to stay out of trouble. By Sosa being out, see WV game, it puts McGee in a situation where he thinks he needs to score more...he doesn't.

3. DON'T WORRY ABOUT THE STEAL, GET THE DEFLECTION. Eric Crawford had a good article about this same point. Pitino says 33 deflections is good enough to win. I would say we need every one of those 33 in this game. We beat WV yesterday by not stealing but by tapping it and then out running WV to the ball. That same hustle will be needed Monday.

4. DON'T BE SURPRISED IF A GUARD STEPS UP. Sosa..please? Remember the sit down with Ricky P before UK? We need the same sort of performance. We need to see slashing, 3's, and solid D. I'm hoping Sosa can again be this guy otherwise it could become a long day with Price.

5. DON'T PULL A MCNABB! Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers! UConn had 7 yesterday, we had 26. We must be more patient with the ball. And please, TWill, let's not throw each pass at your guy's feet.


Prediction: Louisville scared me yesterday when it about gave a game away to West Virginia and Huggins. On the other hand, Louisville is still hot....so is UConn. I've been picking that UL will lose the Syracuse and possibly ND game. I will pick against them again in hopes of another win....78-71 Uconn.


Super Bowl....In other posts I've made it clear my disdain for everything Pittsburgh..from their colleges to their pro teams. Cardinals straight up 20-17.