Go Cards!!!

If you're reading this you can get our predictions here and here. Now turn off the computer and help cackle the Cards to a victory that, for one night, will raise our coach from the ranks of the undead!

Some goosebumps to go with your coffee...

Morning Cards fans. For my money, the best line of the movie is when chubby friend D-Bob, played by Jon Favreau, yells "Who's the wild man now?!?" during the climactic scene. Real Rudy has said that D-Bob is a real person, the name has been changed, but that the figure is now a federal court judge. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. C! A! R! D! S! CARDS!!!

...and incredibly scary predictions

On this most haunted of hallowed eves, expect truly spooky things to occur... such as the Cards scoring more than thirty points for the first time this season (Boo!) Coach Krags has yet to announce his starting quarterback for tomorrow's game against Arkansas State, but it could be our cagey, undersized third-stringer, Will Stein. Stein was the only thing I could find to cheer last week, so let's give him the nod and call it this way: high-scoring game, manifold defensive miscues on both sides, and at least one premature comparison to Doug Flutie by whichever ESPN 360 color guy calls the game. Given it's ESPN, also expect the commentators to trot out to pasture the "Krags had to clean house" excuses (I say 'to pasture' because something stinks). And if Johnny Patrick makes an interception or Jon Dempsey forces a fumble recovery, and Will Stein plays as well against first stringers as he has against the third-string, then call this one for the Cards, 38-24 (Scream!). Go Cards!

Smile!

Mr. Black has already ably laid out the reasons to keep a positive atmosphere around the Papa despite disappointment, but if you need further incentive, 5-star power forward Tobias Harris is making his official campus visit this weekend. No confirmation that he will be at the Arkansas State game, but it's no stretch to think he'll be in attendance. According to CJ recruiting guru Jody Demling, the Cards have cooled on 3-star commit Josh Langford, partly because of academic issues surrounding Langford, and partly because the Cards believe they have a good shot at the bigger prize in Tobias Harris. The Cards are in a real battle (not a manufactured one) with UK and other elite programs for his services.

**UPDATE** On his blog, Demling reports that Tobias Harris will not arrive in Louisville till Sunday, and will stay till Tuesday.

Haunted and hideous predictions and predictions...

Believe it or not, Steve Kragthorpe is not Louisville's most infamous half-man, half-goat. As most bored groups of teenagers can attest, the Pope Lick Goatman makes its home in the woods near the Floyd's Fork trestle. If you haven't spent a hopeless evening wandering around those woods with a group of friends and a case of warm beer in search of the creature, well I just feel sorry for you. According to the Louisville Ghost Hunters Society, the legend began thusly:

For years, many people have reported seeing the creature that many now refer to as the Pope Lick Monster on the trestles over Pope Lick Creek. It is said to be half human and half Capra Aegagrus Hircus, in layman’s terms, goat. The encounter with it is so startling that anyone daring to brave the walk across the trestle would rather fall the 100 foot drop to the paved road below than to stay in its presence a second longer.

The stories and legends behind the Goatman origins are as varied as the sightings of the creature itself. It is said that the monster was the offspring of a farmer who had unnatural relations with his animals. Another legend states that the Goatman was a farmer who practiced Satanism and would sacrifice his goats for power, when he was close to death he swore to live again. He was then resurrected as a half-man, half-goat being, which is fated to walk the trestles.

In other spine-tingling news, Cardinal football has some self-respect on the line in its matchup with the Red Wolves tomorrow. Look for Will "Franken" Stein to have a remarkably solid outing. Both teams will move the ball through the air with ease. Special teams will be an adventure. Look for the D to come up with a stop late to put a temporary touniquet on the bleeding. 28-21 Cards. Book it.

UK Freedom Hall practice canceled

In a surprise move that I'd be remiss to describe as anything less than unmitigated genius, Coach Cal has canceled the mega-practice scheduled for Sunday at Freedom Hall. Not since Hannibal defeated the Romans at the Battle of Cannae has a leader so shrewdly changed course with such perfect strategy. This is yet another crushing blow for Cardinal basketball who will now be robbed of the opportunity to watch the great general in action. Once the news was raced by courier to the Cardinal team at the campus Subway, a beleagured Preston Knowles responded "Huh?" quickly followed by tiny Peyton Siva meekly saying "Let's go, we gotta lift". No official statement has yet been released by UofL athletics, presumably unable to find the words to capture the somberness of the mood at Cardinal headquarters.

From the harrowed halls of learning in Jonesboro

Here's the view from Arkansas State's campus in Jonesboro of this saturday's football game, and one thing is clear: both the Red Wolves and the Cards will be playing with their backs to the wall amidst disappointing seasons. Meanwhile, Arkansas State officials have their hands full putting down a rumor that students not on scholarship don't have to attend class...

You're too kind...seriously, way too kind

Here's what Red Wolves coach Steve Roberts had to say about us this week...

ON THE LOUISVILLE OFFENSE:
Looking towards this week, we have a tremendous challenge going to Louisville, a team that has great athletes, great size, good speed, and playmakers offensively that can make things happen each and every time they touch the ball.

ON THE LOUISVILLE DEFENSE:
Defensively, they again have great speed and play very physical. We don't anticipate seeing the same number of looks that we've seen the past couple of weeks, but they're still a multiple defense that will play four down lineman, zone coverage and man coverage. They blitz well, very good personnel defensively.

ON THE LOUISVILLE SPECIAL TEAMS:
Special teams wise, probably the biggest concern is kickoff return. They do a great job in kickoff return, and set up some great scores for their offense with the job they do in their returns.

ON THE LOUISVILLE GAME:
We know it's going to be a challenge, a challenge that we're looking forward to. We hope to compete and play well and challenge for another victory on our schedule.

ON LOUISVILLE'S RUNNING BACKS:
He's (Victor Anderson) a heck of a football player. They do a lot of things with him in the running game and get him the ball in the passing game as well. He is a very, very good player. The other guys behind him have gotten a lot of carries and are very physical backs. The redshirt freshman is more like Anderson. The other running back, big 215-220 pounds, he's a bruiser . . . a very physical runner.

T-Will's View of Things

Terrence Williams made an impressive NBA debut on Wednesday. Coming off the bench, TWill put up a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds. He logged 30 minutes of PT in the Nets losing effort. He was also the feature of a lengthy New York Times article yesterday. The pretense of the piece was to detail Williams' lavish new condo overlooking the Manhattan skyline; included are the typical details that will make Cardinal fans smile (he owns 78 pairs of Jordan sneakers and has a downstairs game room that apparently he is yet to visit). But the article also delves into T-Will's personal history, into his difficult childhood and the murder of his father. The author also seems to give a warning hint that TWill may be falling into the common pattern of spending too much too soon, but that is open to interpretation. If he keeps producing double-doubles, that certainly won't be a problem. Good to see Louisville's favorite Net doing well.

The future is when?

I don't want to read too much into one exhibition game, nor do I want to come down too hard on Sosa (I like Edgar, and no one played particularly well last night). But watching the offense struggle last night got me thinking that in the past Sosa's unique brand of point guarding has been masked by larger players like Terrence Williams and David Padgett who directed the offense. Without a nontraditional creator, the spotlight is going to fall heavier upon Edgar to get the offense going. For three seasons we've heard the refrain time and time again, "If Sosa could only stop thinking like a scorer, what a player he could be". The first few weeks of the season will be telling, because right now I'm thinking that maybe his hidden talents have been overstated all along. Maybe the reason he doesn't play that way is because he can't. That's not to say he doesn't have abilities he can give to the team. But if the offense begins to run smoother when Siva is in the game, it won't be long before Pitino is forced to make some tough decisions.

(Photo hat tip to hellinthehall.com, follow the link for more hi-res images of last night's action)

What's at stake

Brian Bennett picks the Cards to win 17-14 on All Hallows' Eve, and opines that Kragthorpe may not survive the weekend should the Red Wolves prevail.

A poem for Freedom Hall

**Something about the melancholy in these lines seems appropriate to keep in mind as we say farewell to the hallowed Hall this season.

Distant Voices by Alfred Noyes

Remember the house of thy father,
When the palaces open before thee,
And the music would make thee forget.
When the cities are glittering around thee.
Remember the lamp in the evening,
The loneliness and the peace.

When the deep things that cannot be spoken
Are drowned in a riot of laughter,
And the proud wine foams in thy cup;
In the day when thy wealth is upon thee,
Remember the path through the pine-wood,
Remember the ways of thy peace.

Remember - remember - remember -
When the cares of this world and its treaure
Have dulled the swift eyes of thy youth;
When beauty and longing forsake thee,
And there is no hope in the darkness,
And the soul is drowned in the flesh;

Turn, then, to the house of thy boyhood,
To the sea and the hills that would heal thee,
To the voices of those thou hast lost.
The still small voices that loved thee,
Whispering out of the silence,
Remember - remember - remember -

Remember the house of thy father,
Remember the paths of thy peace.

Post game Twitter

(Warning: Not safe for English teachers):

Peyton Siva:

Had an ok game today thanks all yall for the love 8 pts 8 ast 6 stl 7 t.o come on Siva u gotta do better than that

Edgar Sosa:

Tough game.Tough win.Like my boy @JerrySmith34 said,reason why we have exhibitions. Dinner with my teammates

Tough game. Tough win. Learn from this game and make the next one better.Thanks to all the fans for coming out. Class and practice 2morrow.

Stephan Van Treese:

scrimmage went well..thanks to every1 who supported us

Da na nah, Da na nah

We are...go?

Flight: Can we review our status here, Sy, let's look at these things from a... from a standpoint of status. What have we got on that spacecraft that's good?

EECOM: I'll get back to you, Gene.

I'll get back to you. What else can be said? We knew Georgetown was fundamentally sound, we knew the Cards would show the rust of only one week of practice together. But despite the lowballing, I don't think many Cards fans expected this much of a slog. Not basketball at it's finest, that's for sure. This team will mature, but the embryo sure is in its initial stages. My random thoughts...

* Samardo dominated as he should have. I don't want to belittle this, because last season if you recall he struggled even against the early season opponents. Last night he looked confident and aggressive. Maybe too agressive? I can't tell if this is just because once he established his game, I was clamoring for other Cards to showcase something, or if he was forcing.

* Our defense has a long way to go. Georgetown did not seem to be hampered by anything the Cards were doing. And here I thought Jay Bilas's rambling about "length" on NBA draft day was just creepy analyst-speak. But the Cards stubbiness (?) was apparent last night.

* The effort was great, but the energy was not. In my book, energy is effort + chemistry. There was plenty of individual effort, but none seemed to gel into any greater good. Valvano made an apt point when he said that last season the players competed hard, but by and large they knew they were going to log minutes. Last night there were a bunch of players auditioning for playing time, and the nerves showed.

* Except for Kyle Kuric. He will see major minutes this season. The word poise springs to mind.

* Telling sequence(s) of the night. Edgar Sosa was thrown a turnover, had a three-on-one break, but took it himself and was luckily bailed out with a blocking call. Peyton Siva was recipient of a breakaway pass from a Kuric-induced turnover. Siva seemed prime for a layup but instead drew the lone defender and gave a beautiful wraparound pass back to Kuric. Siva is a point guard. Sosa is a Sosa.

* Is it offensive to African-Americans or to the Irish to say that Georgetown's black player with red hair looked strange? Let's move on.

* Our enigma squad of Reginald Delk, Jared Swopshire, Mike Marra, Stephan Van Treese, and Rakeem Buckles remains so. Delk looked observant, Swopshire looked unimproved, Marra looked scared, Van Treese looked rested, and Buckles looked the part, but didn't play basketball. Two of those five must post some major stats for the Cards to have deep March aspirations.

* In case you're wondering, Mr. Red's first beer of the evening came right after Marra's badly missed 3 followed by Kuric's airballed putback.

* Siva will be a Cardinal legend before his time is done. Think what Carlos Hurt might have been minus...everything.

The good news is this performance will play right into Pitino's hands. He sounds The Great Prognosticator for telling everyone that this team was not ready for the game, and our defense was poor enough that he can rightfully get back on that soapbox. While longtime fans may recognize Pitino's mind games, if you listen to the players you know that they remain fully bewitched by the Pitino magic. We are all the better for it. Last night I saw a bunch of (well-conditioned) sponges. All seemed unselfish, ready to go back to practice, ready to get better. My hopes remain unchanged. Go Cards.

Pitino check-up and eval, part I

Given Coach Pitino's long and stressful summer, I think Cards fans will be forgiven if they are more curious than usual about his mood, demeanor, outlook, etc. Here at Cardinal Laws -- where we have adamantly defended Coach Pitino and the way he dealt with the backlash at its worst -- we will try to track how coach is doing as best we can... by calling attention to his press conferences, which have ranged in the past from Pitinoesque humorous to Pitinoesque furious.

Below is yesterday's presser discussing the game tonight against Georgetown (as always, the link is here in case of internet malfeasance). The verdict: Rick seems happy finally to be discussing basketball (as opposed to other, more sordid topics), perhaps is still a little cautious around the media, but otherwise appears relieved. Maybe a little tired. The requisite Kenny Klein joke reassured my sense of normalcy. I get the sense that he's connected himself with this squad maybe more than others, definitely because of who they are, but perhaps also because of these past few months. The start of this season may be the first real salvation Pitino has found from the scandal... which is why suspending him for the season's beginning (as was wildly suggested in the media at one point) would have been disastrous for all involved (university, team, Pitino). Go Cards!

Dungy Me

UofL beat writer C.L. Brown reports that former Colts coach Tony Dungy will be addressing the Cardinal football team on November 3rd. Unless Dungy is planning to cold-cock Kragthorpe and put on his headset, I'm not sure how much impact this can have for the remainder of the season. I do agree with Brown, however, that the appearance will provide a welcome morale boost for a Cards team that has to be mired in the losing-season doldrums.

Careful not to step in all the catshit

Hyperbole, thy name is Wildcat. In case you haven't heard, UK basketball will hold a practice at Freedom Hall on Sunday night after the UofL women's exhibition game. Cause for a CJ article and a couple of jokes with coworkers about calling the exterminator, right? Apparently not. In the new basketball landscape, where no move by Calipari is anything short of "genius", and no negative headline about the Cardinals is anything short of "devastating", this is cause for some existential soul searching.

Matt Jones at KSR, not surprisingly, lauds the move as "absolutely brilliant", in furtherance of UK's quest to "own the state". He goes on to describe the two-hour practice as "yet another blow for a Louisville program that has been grasping for some positive headlines...This is a definite shot across the bow of the Louisville ship". That, dear readers, must be one hell of a layup line.

Nevermind the fact that it's common knowledge that Louisville is home to a large contingent of Kentucky fans. Nevermind the fact that UK has played non-UofL games at Freedom Hall often in its history. In the high-fever delusions of Calipari-mania, common sense, facts, and history are irrelevant. Only in the grips of such hysteria could a team ranked #12 in the nation, defending its regular season and tournament championship, a team blessed with state-of-the-art practice facilities and a palace of an arena rushing towards completion, a team consistently ranked in the Top 5 of revenue-producing programs, be described as in crisis-mode. I'm quite certain that no matter how many Calipari-gimmicks are cooked up, Cardinal basketball will confidently carry on its noble resistance to the evil empire in perpetuity.

Kragthorpe Kwote of the Day

“If that guy can stand back there and pat it a couple of times and make decisions, boy, it's that much easier to play.” --Coach Steve, on UofL's lack of a pass rush

A Look at the Red Wolves

In all your basketball excitement, don't forget about the football Cards this Saturday. Especially if you happen to like the feeling of winning football games, because this may be the last best chance to experience the sensation for quite awhile. That's not to say that Arkansas State is a pushover. Far from it. They've already played road games this season at Nebraska and Iowa, so don't expect them to be cowed coming to the Papa. Here's a few more FYI heading into Saturday.

* Arkansas State, located in Jonesboro, has an enrollment of 11,001

* The university celebrates it's centennial this year (at least it's not their homecoming week)

* Senior tailback Reggie Arnold is only the 8th player in NCAA history to rush for over 1,000 yards in all 4 seasons

* The ASU defense has not allowed a 100-yard rusher against them this season

* Punter Ryan Wilbourn was named national punter of the week for his performance last Saturday, averaging 48 yards

* Freshman wideout Allen Muse survived Hurricane Katrina, and had major heart surgery a little over a year ago after a physical revealed restricted blood flow was making his heart pump harder than it should. He's now a key offensive playmaker.

* This Saturday will be the first meeting of the two schools

They aren't the Hoyas, but...

Georgetown is pretty good. I was checking out their starting lineup in the CJ today, expecting to see a bunch of shrimps, only to be greeted with 6'9'', 6'6'', 6'4'', 6'4'', 6'1''. They've been practicing for three months! How are we supposed to win this game?!? The sky is falling, cancel the season...

It's Tipoff Time

Fish in the Sea: Charlie Strong

The number of exciting coaches out there is astounding. Perhaps none moreso than Florida defensive coodinator Charlie Strong. In addition to his national championships, Strong is best known for comments he made suggesting that his interracial marriage has hampered his landing a head coaching job, especially in the South. It's a claim that's becoming harder and harder to refute with every off-season that goes by without Strong being snapped up, because the guy can flat out coach. Charlie Strong became D coordinator for the Gators in 2002 when they were ranked #22 in total defense. The next season they improved in interceptions, pass deflections, forced fumbles, fumble recoveries, and sacks. Presently, the Gators are #1 in total defense. He has been an assistant coach for 21 years, in both college and pro. He runs a sophisticated, aggressive, NFL-style defense and has an ability to get the best out of his unit almost by force of personality. He was recently lavished praise by Steve Spurrier, and last week Urban Meyer received so many questions about Strong on his call-in show that he joked, "It's the Charlie Strong show!" Meyer went on to echo the platitudes stating, "He's on top of his game right now as a coach."

Fitting for a city named after a king, Louisville has historically shown affection for dominating personalities like Howard Schnellenberger, Tom Jurich, or Oscar Brohm. Take a look at Charlie Strong's photogenic family (pg. 2) and tell me you don't see "First Family of Louisville" potential. The number of African-American coaches in Division I is embarassingly small (7); the Cards can generate momentum with potential recruits by making Mr. Strong the 8th. You think those Florida ties may prove valuable? He's ready, past ready, to lead a program. Hire. This. Man. Soon. He will not be available much longer.

The NBA minimum age rule

Read this jarring take by Buzz Bisinger, who suggests the NBA, rather than raise its age minimum from 19 to 20 (as it is currently considering), should abolish the limit altogether. I'm not convinced, but I'll follow with my comments in a later post. For now, let me just call attention to some of the facts that caught my eye... 1) 60 percent (!) of NBA players eventually go broke, 2) more than half of all players recently arrested (as of 2005) spent four years on a college campus, 3) Lebron James hangs out with a guy named Buzz Bissinger.

Not exactly a snub

Three Big East coaches are among the finalists for the Bryant National Coach of the Year Award. Brian Kelly, Wannstache, and Bill frickin' Stewart made the cut.

Impact Player Alert

Arkansas State linebacker Demario Davis was named Sun Belt conference defensive player of the week for his performance last Saturday. The 6'3'', 240lbs sophomore recorded 8 tackles (2 for a loss), 2 sacks, and a forced fumble in the Red Wolves' win over Florida International. He also seems to shine against high-profile nonconference opponents (do we still qualify?). Earlier this season against #8 Iowa, Davis was a one-man wrecking crew, forcing 3 fumbles and returning an INT 75 yards for a touchdown in their narrow defeat.

We howlin and s*#$

One of the stranger things about searching the interwebs during football season is coming across bizarre, heated rivalries that I never knew existed. Check out this mockery of Arkansas State football apparently made by a Razorback fan. It's so bad it's actually funny (language very NSFW).

An alliance be made between the House of Cards and House of Slyders

Apparently, not everyone got the memo that the new downtown basketball arena is going to be frickin' awesome. According to an article in the CJ, a recent report stated that the arena already has generated nearly $100 million in downtown investment and construction. However, when asked for comment, the Seelbach Hotel and the Gillispie (some wedding rental place), both of which have recently expanded their facilities, didn't agree that the new arena had played a major factor in their expansions. A third company running the Fairfield Inn & Suites and Springhill Suites in downtown Louisville didn't return phone calls for comment.

I think I see what's going on here... and I am going to need to see the name on the diploma of every working stiff at these businesses (though I should have known from the start about a place called "Gillispie's"). Okay, let's assume for a moment that Louisville's entire downtown hospitality apparatus is NOT somehow being controlled by a Big Blue conspiracy directed from Lexington (I harbor deep-rooted suspicions). How else do you explain their ignorance? Look at the facts: fifteen times a year, the new arena will attract 22,000 folks downtown, many of whom haven't exactly been what you would label "frequent visitors" to downtown in recent years. A great many of these fans will be Kentuckian, the genetic makeup of which endows inherent appetites for post-game dining as well as "spiritual" beverage enlightenment. And that's to say nothing of the special events and postseason tournaments that will attract more out-of-towners to downtown than ever before, outside the first Saturday of May. Knowing all of that, these "facilities operators" claim the arena has had no major impact on their company's expansion plans? I find that difficult to believe.

In fact, there was only one businessman willing to shoot straight. Eddie Smith, the regional director of operations for White Castle, said that the arena "certainly had played a major role" in the decision to renovate its downtown location. Take note, Cards fans, of the loyalty shown by the House of Slyders. May all good Cards ambassadors retreat to First and Market for a nourishing feast of Cravers and cheesy fries following each battle in our new arena, and may they enjoy their fill before embarking on the long, gastro-intestinal-perilous journey home.

Red-White Scrimmage

Talk of the town

Word is trickling out from the over 10,000 in attendance at Freedom Hall yesterday that freshman Peyton Siva is the real deal. Playing only a day after a serious collision with assistant coach Walter McCarty, Siva led the White team to a victory with 21 points and seven assists. Led is the operative word; Siva has a command on the floor that is truly remarkable for a freshman. Taking his role of floor general seriously, Siva said after the game “I'm not going to let anything like that keep me from playing...I don't want to show these guys any softness, any weakness.” He plays with a boundless, yet controlled, energy at all times. He has a flair for the dramatic but is never reckless. It just seems like it would be a blast to play ball with him. Check out this old highlight video I just ran across; the move he puts on at the :38 second mark is awesome.

A Bruising Battering Bearcat Beatdown

My four points on the Cincinnati game:

1) As far as offensive play-calling was concerned, we were totally and overwhelmingly outmatched. The Bearcat offensive schemata was resourceful, efficient, inventive. By comparison, our play-calling was, is... boring. Bottom line, Cincy calls plays that work; we don't. I see now the comparisons between Bearcats coach Brian Kelly and Bobby Petrino.

2) In both halves, the timeouts that Louisville used up were ridiculous. With only seconds to play in the first half, the Cards were forced to call a timeout rather than allow Cincinnati to attempt a rushed fifty yard field goal because we didn't have the right personnel on the field. Stupid. (Cincinnati missed the field goal). More of the same in the second half, when Louisville burned through all its timeouts before the third quarter had ended and the Cards were still within striking distance. According to Rick Bozich:

"U of L burned its first timeout four plays into the third quarter because Kragthorpe didn't have the right players on the field for a first-down play. They burned another after there was more confusion on the first play after a 75-yard UC kickoff return. The final timeout was gone with 5:02 left in the third quarter. By then Cincinnati was cruising..."

Stupid... and also the latest evidence of the failed experiment that is head coach/offensive coordinator merger. Kragthorpe seems utterly incapable of filling either roles of play-caller or sideline presence.

3) Despite Louisville's season-long defensive woes, this was the first game that I thought our defensive players were completely overmatched. In other games, Louisville's defense was mildly successful at keeping the game close for at least a half, eventually cracking only following the total lack of point production by our offense. Not so against Cincy, who made moving the ball and putting it in the end zone look easy (for which -- having accepted our shellacking -- I am actually a little grateful, as I had forgotten how beautiful a thing that could be).

4) Ever since he played late in the game against Indiana State, I have been curious about walk-on quarterback Will Stein. His performance against the Bearcats only piqued my curiosity. Stein entered the game after Froman and Burke went down with injuries, and ended up throwing for more yards than the other two combined -- 98 yards on 6 of 9 passing. Of course, by that point Stein was playing against the Bearcats' third-stringers. Still, I do wonder if our undersized third string quarterback -- who is no stranger to the big stage, having won the Kentucky 6-A state championship with Trinity High School where he threw for more TDs in a single season than did Brian Brohm -- might have a little bit of that Doug Flutie dynamic in him. I thought this quote from Coach Kragthorpe was especially apt:

“Will came in the game and did some good things... He was great. He looked up and said, ‘I played before more people than this in high school.'"

None of this is to suggest that I am dissatisfied with the play of either Burke or Froman this season, as it seems to me that our offensive output has been plagued more by inconsistent and unimaginative play-calling. However, we may soon reach a point when there's little left on the line we can accomplish this year. If that happens, it might be interesting to allow Will Stein to show what he can do against Division I defenses.

Darius...Whoa.

No offense to Vic Anderson, he's a teriffic back, but the only athlete on the field that Cinci coach Brian Kelly was jealous not to have was freshman tailback Darius Ashley. The sometimes disgruntled runner had an excellent game on Saturday. At 5'8'', 185lbs, he's no sprightly sprinter; he's got the lumber to finish what he starts. There IS talent on this team. Please, Tom, don't waste it.

I'm pumped

And not only because our football season is effectively over. C'mon. We're a b-ball state, always will be. I'm excited in that patient, Card-like fashion that intuitively knows a good team lies dormant on this roster. The only variable is the time for that right chemistry to percolate. No team can suffer the loss of a talent and personality like Terrence Williams and not experience a drop-off. We will witness a carousel at the small/power forward spot for the first month, and it won't always be pretty.  But if you were in attendance at the Red/White scrimmage you know that we have 6 players on this team that can shoot the lights out of the gym. Defense and shooting is going to be our identity. Let UK steal the headlines, they will be quite awesome, but hold a quiet confidence that shooting, their only weakness, is our greatest strength. There is talent abound on this squad. Enjoy the ride, because the kinks will be worked out in time for the Cards to aggressively defend our crown in the toughest conference in college basketball.

Can a coach be cursed?

It's that time of year for hexes and curses. Hauntings and evil. Kragthorpe and offense. And as much as I would love to pile-on our sad sack coach, I'm going to take a pause and at least recognize that Coach Krags has had an inordinate amount of bad luck since assuming the Cardinal helm. Whether it's been injuries, bad calls, missed calls, or ill-timed mistakes; Krags can never seem to catch a break in those desperate, crunch-time moments. Call me superstitious, but I do believe that individuals, especially leaders of men, can emanate either positive or negative energy. Read a biography of any great figure--Julius Caesar, Robert E. Lee, Vince Lombardi, George Washington--sure, they had talent, but they also had moments in their lives when the future hung in the balance, when forces outside of their control aligned in their favor. Whatever that quality is, Krags has the opposite. I believe he is a good man with a somewhat decent football mind; but a cursed Cardinal coach he be. Those negative forces have now spawned and multiplied beyond his, albeit limited, control. An exorcism must be performed.

Sour grapes...

Can we please get rid of this thing. It's ridiculous, it means nothing. No one outside of a 100 mile radius (and most within) has even heard of it. It's not even filled with nails. Melissa Knowles (no relation to Preston) was mocking it. It weighs two pounds and is half-rotted.

Ohhhhh. I'm soooooooooooooryyyyy! I miss you! I didn't mean it. He means nothing to me! He can't coach and often has weird facial hair! Who runs out of timeouts in the 3rd quarter? Wha...Bearcats!?!  What are those? They can't possibly satisfy you, they're not even a real animal. Come home. We can change! I miss you so much (pathetic sobbing...)...

Coach Kragthorpe interview following Cincy

Just seems like there's no fire in his belly (here's the link if the video doesn't work).