Brohm performs well...at last

No NFL preseason game is crucial, but Brian Brohm may have very well saved his roster spot with the Green Bay Packers with a solid outing last night.  Playing almost the entire second half, the ex-Cardinal notched a 104.2 passer rating and marshalled the offense on an impressive third quarter scoring drive.  He also earned some kind words from Packers coach Jabba the Hutt.

Louisville football opponent loses opener to NAIA team

Indiana State, Louisville's football opponent next week, extended its losing streak to 27 in its home opener yesterday... Man I'm praying it reaches 28. Another cards fan's take can be found here, though his apparent confidence that next week will be a walk in the park contrasts equally with my own feeling of dread and doom. I'd feel much better if IUS had pulled out the win... those long, snappable losing streaks are not welcome at Papa John's.

Which one of these is more painful?

Whitehead's World is about to get a lot smaller

Dammit L-Dubb!!  You've got five pounds of weed and two guns and you give the cops permission to search?!?  Some scouting advice for Eddyville prison ballers--he loves to camp out directly under/behind the goal for some reason and he can't shoot beyond 7 feet.

Will recruiting suffer?

It's a purely hypothetical question at this point, but that doesn't stop Jeff Goodman from offering his expert prediction in this ill-conceived piece. Namely, both of Goodman's quotes are from prospective recruit's refuting his "bound to" hypothesis. The pipeline to the pros, national TV exposure, and up-tempo play will mean more to recruits than Karen Sypher.

Local coverage revisited

I am glad that Eric Crawford is retreating some from his original hystericals over the Pitino conference, or as he put it, he "understand[s] a little more about where Pitino was coming from after watching the 11 o'clock news." You can find his relevant blog entries here and here.

He's still sticking to the argument that by staging an ill-advised press conference, Pitino allowed a local story to go national. I agree with him to a point... this is not the national headline your basketball program craves. But Crawford and others seem to assume that any further national exposure will be detrimental to Pitino and/or the program, when in fact it might be useful to bring in a less involved perspective. It could even help referee some of the local coverage. For instance, the AP's article underscored some of what Pitino was saying when it reported the following: "As his news conference was carried live on television in Louisville, at least one station split the screen with Pitino talking on the left, and the police video of Sypher on the right." I didn't see this noted by the CJ or any of the local newscasts (certainly not by the perpetrating station!), though I admit I didn't see them all.

Meanwhile, in its article on the press conference the CJ allowed the news director of one of the television stations that didn't air the Sypher tape to defend the nature of its coverage, and by extension all local coverage. But that person was from a station that didn't do what Pitino was griping about. The article needed to but didn't print any comments from the news station (Fox 41) that did break into normal programming to show the tapes (and with which Pitino identified his specific displeasure). Only someone from that news station might have been able to explain how these tapes these tapes were deemed newsworthy, when they presented no new information but allowed Sypher to reiterate, in the flesh this time, her rape allegations that were eventually discarded by the FBI and Louisville Metro Police -- heck not just newsworthy, but "breaking news."

Pitino's gripe with the media

Thoughts on the Pitino presser from yesterday: obviously I'm glad he didn't resign, and am encouraged to see him fighting back (shows he's not slowly becoming more despondent or itching for a way out of town). I do question how helpful was the press conference and its purpose. Speaking to the press to lament to the press the shortcomings of the press is an endeavor destined to fall short of its intended outcome, if for no other reason than because you can fully expect said press to become ultra-defensive in response. Crawford's first blog post and Bozich's article in the paper this morning are testimony to that. It could also re-energize Pitino's detractors on the blogs, though at this point I wouldn't base too many decisions on that criteria. But in the larger scheme of things, this presser will not amount to much, or at least not to the level of hysteria cited by Crawford (worst mistake since not guarding the inbound pass? Oh please...)

After the press conference, I did see one version of the video that especially irritated Pitino, of Sypher describing how he initiated their meeting; it was found prominently on Fox 41's web site yesterday, though I can't find the same one today. A different video more sympathetic to Pitino's side, where Sypher explains why she didn't report her claims until six years later, is now featured. Based on the first video at least, Pitino is right: it befits the category of frivolous journalism and even ventures into tabloid reporting. Fox treated the story as if the tapes had been found along with the missing Nixon recordings. No new information brought forward. Make no mistake, he overreacted -- and yes I admit, like Crawford noted, I probably wouldn't have bothered to see it had Pitino not mentioned it in the presser -- but as I said before, this just doesn't classify as the cataclysmic mistake being portrayed.

Even if the substance of the press conference's purpose wasn't advisable, style points will matter to Cards fans. This is the first time we've seen Pitino with fire in his eye, ready to fight for his job and publicly fight back against the forces that have haunted the program and his family (beyond his own transgressions) the last seven months. For us, it was satisfying and comforting just to see him combative and energized.

So I'm middle-of-the-road on this one... not a great idea, but not the end of the world, and even some points of value to be found. To sum up the whole thing, I am reminded of Tom Arnold's response to Arnold Schwarzenneger in True Lies (I think when Arnold announced he would sneak into an enemy party by walking through the front door... something like that): "Ballsy. Stupid, but ballsy."

And Harry, Jimmy, Trent, wherever you are out there, FUCK you too!

After reflecting upon Pitino going Colonel Frank Slade on the Louisville press yesterday, I must say I feel rejuvenated. While there wasn't any substance to it, and there were more than a few cringe-worthy lines, I'm reassured by the fire on display. What's been most worrying is that Pitino had simply checked out emotionally, and was wearied by the entire humiliating episode. Yesterday we did not see a man tired and meek, not a man that will be intimidated walking into opposing gyms next year. He's broken no laws, he's pissed, and he's our coach. I'm standing proudly behind him. As scripture instructs us, "Let thee who has not fornicated in a restaurant booth cast the first stone!".

Coming Soon...