SUGAR BOWL CHAMPIONS AND SLAYERS OF THE SOUTHEAST

YOUR LOUISVILLE CARDINALS

CONGRATULATIONS COACH STRONG AND THE CARDINALS FOR DEFEATING FLORIDA IN THE SUGAR BOWL

GO CARDS!

Marsupial Massacre, Punched in the Pouch, Russ & Roo-in; Cards dominate 99-47

Against a pitifully overmatched opponent, the Louisville Cardinals flexed their muscle and hopped over Missouri Kansas City (last kangaroo pun, I promise) in style. Russ Smith recorded a new career high with 31 points, but as important, played his most complete game as a Cardinal with 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 steals to fill out the stat line.

The last stat continues to be the most impressive, as Russ flashed some of the quickest hands I've ever seen on defense, with several pockets picked so cleanly the Cardinal faithful might have missed it if they blinked.

Everyone got in on the action. Kevin Ware and Montrezl Harrell had impressive first halves off the the bench; Luke Hancock chipped in solid play in the second. Otherwise it was a tough one to gauge from leaders like Peyton Siva and Chane Behanan since their services largely weren't required.

But even if it takes a woeful opponent, hopefully this performance will catapult Russ Smith into the national discussion, this time with the appropriate tone. Perhaps the pregame notes for national announcers will replace phrases like "novelty act" and "up and down player" with "All American caliber" and "potential Big East Player of the Year".

I love Russ' colorful persona, like everyone does. But as I've written on these pages before, I just don't want to see his personality eclipse what he really is when it's all said and done; a truly remarkable basketball talent.

It's December basketball in Louisville. A wonderful time of the year.

UK comparison or not, Strong still determined to fix Card March

It's about putting fans in the stands -- or in this case, the pre-game parking lot. From Crawford:

Now, it's not what a person says, it's what they do that is important in these situations. But in each of those instances where Strong discussed loyalty, he didn't just discuss it. He demonstrated it by staying

Nor did he back off of his fan comments. "Some people don't like hearing the truth," Strong said, when asked about his complaints over poorly attended Senior Day festivities. 

Jurich later said that those comments were fueled by disappointment some of his players had expressed after a sparsely attended pregame "Card March" on Senior Day. Strong, according to accounts, acknowledged it to players when he got into the locker room and promised them, "This (expletive) is going to change next season." His prodding of the fan base is the beginning of keeping that promise, popular or not.

Charlie Strong kept his end. Time for us to keep ours. We got to figure this (expletive) out next year.

OUR FUTURE IS STRONG

Strong confirms he's staying, according to Jody Demling's twitter feed. Charlie Strong will remain a Cardinal. 

What a whirlwind. In the course of seven days, our beloved head coach wondered out lout why couldn't we be more like perennial SEC football under-achiever Kentucky, but then turned down former SEC powerhouse Tennessee to sign a long-term contract at Louisville. All while the program earns acceptance into the ACC and a historic bid to play Florida in the Sugar and, as Wilkie notes, Louisville is named the top travel destination in the US. All in all, pretty good week.

Like what someone in athletics said: the guy is simply honest to a fault. And so we have to believe now: Strong wants to be here, build here, win here. Our great paranoia shall be lifted, perhaps, hopefully forever. Charlie's coming back.

A huge day.

Report: Strong Staying at Louisville

From SI's Peter Thamel:

Charlie Strong is staying at Louisville, according to a Louisville source. Strong received a contract offer from Tennessee on Wednesday, but declined it after pondering the decision for a few hours. 

Louisville and Strong are finalizing a long-term extension that could be announced as early as Thursday. It's expected to be a significant commitment in both years and dollars and will reportedly put Strong in the top echelon of coaches in the ACC. 

The Louisville extension ends Tennessee's courtship of Strong, who had one brief meeting on Sunday with Tennessee chancellor Jimmy Cheek in Louisville. That was Strong's only direct contact with another university. 

"It was Charlie's desire to end this constant speculation and re-commit long-term to Louisville," said a source.

Great News if true. Go CARDS.

****UPDATE****

Strong confirms, according to Jody Demling's twitter feed.

So in the same week, Charlie Strong compares us unfavorably with perennial SEC football under-achiever Kentucky, then turns down former SEC powerhouse Tennessee to stay at Louisville. In the same week we earn a bid to play Florida in the Sugar. On the same day, as Wilkie notes, that Louisville is named the top travel destination in the US. All in all, pretty good week.

Like what someone in athletics said: guy is simply honest to a fault. And so we have to believe now: Strong wants to be here, build here, win here. Our great paranoia shall be lifted.

A huge day.

Don't do it, Charlie

Dear Charlie,

Hey. How's it going. You busy? You haven't responded to any of the other 776 letters I've written you, so today I'm going to try a different track. Today, I'm not writing as a Louisville fan. Not as someone selfishly invested. Not as an adoring admirer. I'm not telling you to turn down the Tennessee job because you'd hurt my feelings or any such nonsense.

I'm telling you not to take it because it's the wrong call. It's a bad football move. Just like running it straight up the gut on 4th and 1 or wasting a timeout that comes back to bite you.

The reason it's a bad call isn't because Louisville is great and Tennessee sucks. Doesn't have anything to do with it. It's because of one thing, one individual, really.

Teddy Bridgewater.

Think of the reasons that propelled you into coaching to begin with. There are more than one, for sure. The strategy of the game is compelling, working with youth rewarding, the roaring crowd must be an indescribable adrenaline rush, and the millions of dollars in compensation will provide for your family for generations to come.

But I guessing there's something more to it than that. Underneath it all I'm guessing there's the hope for an opportunity to work with a truly special player. The born leader, the preternatural talent, the old soul. The kind that are only supposed to exist in fiction.

The chance to mold and develop that kind of talent, to help him reach his true potential in this brutally beautiful game is what, in its simplest form, it's all about. Guys can coach an entire career without getting that chance.

And that's what you have in Teddy.

To walk away from two more seasons of guiding this kid would be an unfathomable mistake. Like I said at the beginning, you can forget about fans and facilities and conferences and contracts. I'll concede that the Tennessee Volunteers have a football tradition the Cards cannot match. And it's still a bad football decision.

Chances to coach at football powers come and go. Players like Teddy do not. If I were you, I'd want to see his arc completed and I'd want to be a part of it. As a coach, you'd be cheating yourself if you're not. Ask yourself, is there any conceivable scenario when at the end of your coaching career you reflect back and say, "You know, I really wish I hadn't spent those two extra seasons coaching that Bridgewater kid." Is that even a possibliity?

So stay. Don't do it for UofL fans, for Tom Jurich, or even for team. Do it for yourself.

Warm regards,

Mr. Red

P.S. Be like UK fans? Seriously?

Come down off that Sugar high with a Charlie Strong press conference!

Charlie Strong said he'll be putting his team on lockdown during much of the time in New Orleans in order to focus solely on football. He may want to take his own advice, because based on comments made today, Strong doesn't appear too adept at juggling his own uncertain future with the requirements of the present.

Coach Strong made clear in the first minutes of the presser that he wasn't going to address coaching rumors and that he'll make a statement at the appropriate time (to be clear, if he was staying, case closed, this was the time). That's fine. Apparently he's not ready to rule out any possibilities regarding his coaching future; it's not in his job description that he must say things at all times to make Cardinals fans feel better. But I don't think it's asking too much to refrain from making Cardinal fans feel worse during anxious times.

And that's precisely what Coach did today by taking the fans to task for what he saw as low attendance figures during the Cards' sparkling 9-0 start. Even more disastrous, however, Strong expressed his wish that UofL fans act more like "Big Blue Nation" when it comes to supporting the team.

I've been digesting the comments in a couple of ways, and I must warn you, none of them go down easily. The way I see it, one way to interpret is that Charlie Strong flat out made a boneheaded comment. His train of thought ran off the tracks yet he kept going not realizing how he would come off. Strong is not the most media savvy man as he proved early this year with an ill-conceived 48 hour media "ban". What's worrisome about this is it would seem our coach is completely tone deaf about our program and its history, our community and its insecurities. The fact that he would use this time, one of should be joy and triumph, to instead throw a big hunk of red meat to our hated rivals that salivate over notching another "big brother" line shows an alarming lack of self-awareness.

Moreover, it refuses to acknowledge just how far the program has come, that UofL is currently boasting its greatest attendance in school history (49,000+) and from all accounts, are swarming to snatch up Sugar Bowl tickets. Those empty corner seats in the Papa are sure to fill out as the Temple's and FIU's give way to Florida State and Clemson in coming schedules. But that's one explanation, at least. That it was just a really stupid thing to say.

The other, I'm afraid, is even worse. It's the preemptive breakup move, Charlie's subconscious talking himself into what he's about to do, to try and justify himself by saying, "Well, if only the fans had been more supportive". This, to me, is the more likely explanation. It's clear he's not ruling out talking to other schools and he's making curious jabs in press conferences towards the fans. It's a far cry from what he could be saying, regardless if he should.

Bottom line, I don't think Charlie Strong knows yet where he's coaching next season. UofL has many pluses and minuses. Other schools do as well. What I do know, however, is that Cards fans deserve better while he figures it out. 

Looking like Cards vs. Florida Gators on Jan. 2

Looks like the Louisville Cardinals are headed to the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. According to the CJ, the Orange Bowl passed on the Cards and invited Northern Illinois, who will take on Florida State.

So instead of heading to Florida, we'll likely be taking on Florida instead -- the fourth-ranked Florida Gators. The school where Charlie Strong once roamed the sidelines and solidified his future coaching career; the school many fans fear Strong would have the most difficulty turning down if there's ever an opening at the top and the stars seem to align behind Strong's candidacy for the job.

I think the team would have appreciated the chance to play in Miami, but as far as our matchup with the Gators is concerned, I couldn't be more pumped, for the same reasons you ought to be. Earlier today, Rick Bozich weighed in on some of the obviously attractive storylines that will surround this game:

Louisville couldn't ask for a better – or more difficult – opportunity to earn respect. The Gators (11-1) figure to be ranked third in the final BCS standings (behind Notre Dame and Alabama) when those numbers are released tonight on ESPN. 

Many of Louisville's top players, led by quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, are Florida natives. U of L head coach Charlie Strong, and several of his assistants, coached the Gators before coming to U of L after the 2009 season. In fact, their final game at Florida was a Sugar Bowl victory over Cincinnati.

To these arcs I would add one more. Notwithstanding speculation that Charlie might already be on his way out (and I gotta say I just don't buy that Strong's jumping at any and every coaching job that comes along just 'cuz it's in the SEC), if Charlie Strong and ACC-bound Louisville can pull of the unlikely feat of beating Florida, would a victory of that magnitude -- against the school that some believe is Strong's dream job -- help ensure that Charlie becomes a Cardinal for life? Could this become that moment?

Let's find out.

Go Cards!

Cards escape Redbirds, nose past Illinois State 69-66

First off, hats off to Illinois State, who played tremendous basketball for 40 minutes, certainly well enough to win. I'll remember their balanced attack when filling out my bracket come March. For Cardinals fans, the biggest positive to take away is that this is exactly the type of game UofL loses in past seasons. It was the perfect recipe for the proverbial early season "bad loss". To date, however, this team finds ways to win. It has the horses to eek out victory even when things go poorly.

A few other instant reactions to the win that left the fanbase with thinner fingernails...

* Holy moly, am I glad that Stephan Van Treese didn't transfer. I have a feeling we're going to be hearing that refrain more than a few times moving forward. When you do the kind of things SVT does, it's hard to describe him as being "in the zone". But with the skills he brings to the table, he's in the zone with those right now.

* I wasn't in attendance, but that crowd sounded amazing. Kudos Cards fans, that was a homecourt advantage. When you move into a new building, I think it takes time for fans to find their comfort zone. It's more than just butts in the seats, there's an organic quality, a pregame, in-game, and post-game ritual that has to be etched for the crowd to truly dial in. Sounds like the Cardinal faithful are finding that groove in the Kayefseum.

* That was the improved jumper from Peyton Siva we have been waiting to see. And as is always the case with Siva, it has as much to do with confidence as it does with form and technique. This Siva, senior Siva, wants to shoot the ball in big moments. Like we've always said, Siva doesn't have to be deadeye from the perimeter, he just needs to be competent to keep defenses from playing off him and taking away the other things he does so well.

* UK lost, which is always nice. Stunningly, it's entirely possible the Cards won't be facing a ranked opponent when we host on December 29. One more note on the Wildcats, I've been drawing parallels between Samardo Samuels and Nerlens Noel, two #1 ranked big men out of high school that, thus far, have fallen short of "surefire" status in college. It's amazing to me how different they are. Noel has tremendous quickness and athleticism, can probably touch the top of the backboard, but has zero touch around the rim, and while he is a great shotblocker, struggles with defensive footwork and can be bullied when a body is on him. Samuels was the polar opposite, the yin to Noel's yang. He struggled just to dunk the ball, but you could throw him an egg in the post and he could catch and score without breaking it such were his hands and touch around the rim.

Now Gorgui, on the other hand, probably isn't the athlete Noel is or have the offensive moves Samardo had. But he's without a doubt the best center of the three. Get better, big fella.

* That was a foul on the final play. The Redbirds should be rightfully pissed they didn't get a chance to send the game to OT at the line.

* Speaking of the pesky 15-footer, I wrote before the season started that Chane's free throw percentage is one of the hidden keys to the kingdom. Behanan is so physical he is going to get contact, but he's a couple inches undersized and will struggle to finish. Chane played with great heart and hustle today, and trust me, he's poised for a breakout game soon. But his abysmal outing from the stripe is not a good sign.

* It's past time for Wayne Blackshear to step to the plate. The Cards are getting above average play from the guard combo of Russ and Siva and adequate play in the paint. We're missing a slasher, and Wayne is lacking in that department. He needs to get that size and strength moving towards the rim.

* Russ provides so much more than his stats indicate. When his team is in the "danger zone", the 8-12 point deficit when the door could really come crashing down, Russ keeps his poise better than anyone, puts the team on his back, and keeps the margin manageable until the rest of his teammates settle down. He's a completely fearless basketball player; it's easy to love guys like that.

* It's December and it's Rick Pitino. So don't get bogged down by the strange lineups, some scoring droughts, some choppiness. Look for individual improvement, for defense, and for desire. We have the ingredients, but Chef Pitino is still in the assembly stage for this feast. It could be his masterpiece.

CHAMPS: Cards Seize BCS Bid, 5 Moments to Savor

Last night's victory, its significance, its improbability, its instant-classic status will all be gleefully digested in the coming month. Frankly, I'm still in the processing stage. But here are five moments in last night's game that I'll never forget...

5) DeVante Parker's TD. There have been a lot of playmakers come through and wear the UofL jersey, I'm not sure I've ever seen one that makes it look so goddamn easy as Devante Parker. His 20-yard touchdown snag was pure poetry; leaping through two defenders, his lanky frame extended while maintaining total concentration, and landing softly as a gazelle. It was a breathtaking moment, the spark UofL needed to fuel the fire the rest of the way. 

4) Will Stein picks up the first down. UofL doesn't win this game without the diminutive veteran. I can't even remember if it was on 3rd or 4th down, but Stein picking up the bootleg first down was awesome. He was so jacked up afterwards, it pumped me up on my couch. It's easy to see why he is so beloved by his coach and teammates. Also, it's important to note he had a man open in the flat for a fairly routine completion. But knowing the down, knowing the stakes, Stein left nothing to chance, tucked it, and took care of business himself. Heady play.

3) The fake field goal. Make no mistake, if that play stands, the Cards go down 21-3 and we're looking for Belk Bowl tickets today. And it was a completely broken play. Preston Brown said afterwards his role was to cover a receiver in case of a fake, but when he saw that no one was moving to stop Rutgers' J.T. Tartacoff from rushing for the first down, Brown attacked and strung out the play. Tartacoff was forced to back off and buy time before unleashing a would-be TD pass. It was those precious few moments that delayed the fake just long enough for Rutgers tackle Devon Watkis to jump the gun and head downfield early. Yellow flag. Rutgers punts. Cards survive.

Serendipity, folks. It's ain't just a crappy movie with Cusack.

2) Jeremy Wright absorbs the hit. It was a rough night for Wright, who could get next to nothing going  on the ground and had fans clammering for Corvin Lamb. It would have been easy for Wright to hang his head, get down on himself, or (gulp) revert back to his bad habit of fumbling in big moments. But even though no space was opening for him, eventually Wright wouldn't be denied, and absorbed a huge hit in the backfield before spinning out and turning it into a nice gain (that almost could have been a touchdown). It wasn't "gamechanging", but it was symbolic of the night, if not the entire season. The will to win personified.

1) Teddy's signals TD. A moment I'll never forget. Bridgewater hobbling his team on a 90-yard touchdown drive. On a night when the endzone may as well have been in Mongolia for all the Cardinals struggles to reach paydirt, Bridgewater capped the drive with a nifty bit of improvisation, flashing what little mobility he could muster before flicking a shovel pass to Jeremy Wright who headed for the goal line with a full head of steam. When Wright reached about the 5, still with a few men to beat, Teddy already had his hands raised signalling touchdown. Part exhausted, part broken, part confidently defiant, Teddy knew. It was our time. 

We s'posed to be ACC

In the opening montage for UofL basketball games, there's a part I don't particularly care for. It's not a big deal, but it's the part when Rick speaks to the team in the locker room, saying something to the effect of, "You play in the finest basketball arena in all of college basketball, in front of the greatest fans in the world, in the most special yada yada yada".

It's the kind of pandering that always seems, to me, out of place in UofL athletics. Maybe it's because I enjoy a healthy dose of self-deprecation, or maybe it's because I've grown up around so many UK fans where ceaseless self-congratulation is ingrained in the DNA, but I always cringe at that kind of talk. 

All I ever wanted, all any program can truly ask for, is a chance. There's been so much posturing and so many posers in the endless conference reshuffling, and I've partook in my fair share. But feeling "wanted" isn't what this is really about. UofL is not "better than" UConn in any way now (and as we proved in football last week, perhaps worse). There's no Cardinal team, from basketball to rowing, that is more worthy now that we've been tapped by the magic wand of the ACC.

But what we do have, the great gift of today, is a place at the table. It's a place where your successes and your failures are your own, a place where media markets or geographic condescension cannot dampen ambitions or preclude our passion from meandering into areas that are supposed to be off limits for a school like UofL.

Words like the Collision Course. Phrases like "longtime head coach Charlie Strong". Possibilities like "The Cardinals have had their way with Roy Williams and the Tarheels in recent years".

We are guaranteed nothing, of course. But we're not hamstrung anymore, either. The safe harbor of the ACC provides us the opportunity we always wanted as a program. Opportunity itself. 

Some belated thoughts on UofL's no good, terrible, very bad Saturday

Some whiplash between basketball and football below, but use your context clues...

* These last two football games have been extremely frustrating and disappointing, and brought to the surface underlying feelings of anxiety and malaise that have been present all season, even after wins. But still, we're 10-2 with a chance to play in the Orange Bowl going into the final week of the season. That's certainly still on the shiny end of the bell curve for what we could expect heading into the season. It's frustrating to watch, but I don't think fans should expect any sea changes at this point. Our coaches seem to sense that and are trying to project poise and coach 'em up as best they can moving forward. That's where I am too. This is still a rebuilding job in progress and the Cards are a good but flawed team with two games left. I plan to stop worrying and enjoy them.

* It's tough to knock a kid essentially playing with half his appendages at game's end like Teddy was on Saturday, but his final interception was heartbreaking. Even if we just get 3 there, I really liked our chances. The game had been so emotional and taxing, it was almost like the game was starting to feel surreal and Teddy just threw it up and hoped for the best.

* In order for UofL basketball team to reach its potential, we need to have two different ways of approaching the game. There needs to be one for overmatched teams, where the Cards can play witheringly aggressive defense, encourage Siva and Russ to gamble, and press tempo for 40 minutes. We're going to win a lot of games that way. But we need to have another in our arsenal, a strategy against competent teams that can take care of the ball, that can hit dagger threes, that are efficient from the free throw line. That was Duke, and we didn't have a gameplan for that. Trying to get them to break under our pressure was like forcing a square peg in a round hole; they were too disciplined.

Did you ever see the terrificly terrible movie "The Quick and the Dead" with Sharon Stone?  Anywho, the movie, the film really, was about a March Madness-like gunslinger tournament fought in a lawless western town to the death. Leonardo DiCaprio plays the precocious cocky youngster who depends on blazing hand speed to intimidate his opponents. And it nearly worked for him, he makes it pretty damn far before running into Gene Hackman, the cold-hearted cold-blooded "mayor" of the town (who also may be his father, it's a bad movie). Leo gives him a close call, but Hackman is too poised to be threatened by the charismatic kid and guns him down in the street.

All this is a long way of saying I'm afraid of UofL being too much Leo; entertaining, a force to be reckoned with, but ultimately "handleable" once you get past their pesky press. So, Rick, if you're reading this, feel free to deebo the metaphor. Less Leo, more Hackman. Got it?

* Like UK after falling short against the hated Blue Devils earlier this season, it's tough to find anyone in the Commonwealth sweating the loss too much or that wouldn't be feeling confident in a rematch. I feel the exact same way. The game reminded me sooo much of how we've played against UK during the Calipari Era. The Big Games always come with a little tightness, continually shooting ourselves in the foot, yet somehow putting ourselves in a position to win but not finishing the job. It was textbook.

This season, however, I sense a different dynamic. I think next time, the epic clashes we'll have this year, we'll be more prepared mentally to seize that moment. It's a question of getting from, "We can win this game" to "We will win this game". More than any team in Pitino's tenure, I have faith this team to get there. Soon.

* I don't like the new catch-all euphemism for a beatdown is that that coaching staff "Didn't prepare his team to play today". What does that mean? That the team is playing like shit? Why not just say the team is playing like shit? The Cards were ready. They knew what was at stake. I doubt the coaching staff had been telling the team, "Don't sweat this next one, we got it, now let's hit up some Call of Duty and call it a day" all week.

The Cards got whipped. They didn't play well. They have to play better in order to end this skid. Simple as that. So unless you have inside locker room info, let's save all the "they weren't prepared to play" talk for when the team forgets to wear cleats.

* Nothing bad happening to Gorgui Monster could ever be described as a good thing, but still, it's not difficult to envision some February banter between commentators like, "In checks Zach Price/SVT, who really started to come on when Dieng sat out earlier this season". There's lots to be learned and tinkered with in the next few weeks. I love December basketball.

* Van Treese, in particular, is well on his way. Impossible not to like the way he plays the game, the yeoman's work in the post. Best transfer-return in school history.

 * I know it's small consolation after such a disappointing loss, but I always look in at coach's post-game comments to see how correctly they diagnose what went wrong. Kragthorpe's diagnoses were often so out there that I quickly lost confidence not only in his acumen but his ability to change course. How can you correct what you cannot even evaluate?

So in that vein, I take solace in Coach Strong's seeming ability to figure out what the hell is happening to his squad. His first instinct, that the game was lost in the trenches on both sides of the football was certainly correct. Like he said, Senorise Perry couldn't have made a difference.

We knew that UConn was stiff against the run, so our o-line's inability to get much push didn't shock. The real story, and probably the biggest disappointment of the season, has been our defensive line's inability to get any pressure sans blitzing and leaving huge gaps for opposing backs to gallop through (particularly cut backs).

There was a lot of hype for the guys up front entering the season, and I thought B.J. Dubose in particular was due for a breakout season. But except for Marcus Smith (though Roy Philon has also been solid) it's been an underwhelming year for our big guys on defense. There's really no polite way to say it.

* Nate Silver projecting there is a 89.4% chance that Gorgui makes a comeback in time for the UK game on December 29th. Not really, but if you've learned anything from Rick over the past decade, that number might even be a little low.

* The difference in the defense this year is that opportunities literally keep slipping through its fingers. More interceptions, clean breaks on footballs, passed the Cards by on Saturday. Game of inches, yada yada yada.

* Well, it wasn't the 24 hours we hoped for; the Cards emerged battered and scarred, but emerged nonetheless. We'll be back. Who wants to die without a few scars, anyways?