Jurich's Press Conference

The timing of the Kragthorpe firing was swifter than we had expected... it catches Mr. Red on assignment at an undisclosed location in Florida, stalking Charlie Strong. He has asked me to send his best regards and goodwill amidst the news this morning has brought. My first impressions from the press conference:

- The most visually striking thing was the toll that this morning, the season and the controversy has taken on Tom Jurich. His face was ashen. He seemed exhausted.

- Jurich had no written statement to make, no long announcement, no initial reflections on the decision. The extent of his prepared statement basically was, "I met with Coach Kragthorpe this morning and told him that the football program was going in a new direction. Any questions?"

- When asked about strained relations with the fan base, he corrected the reporter that the relationship had become greatly strained as a result of the Kragthorpe episode, not somewhat strained (or something like that, I'm speaking from memory here... I'll correct it when I can, or feel free to correct the record for me).

- When asked if fans could expect things to improve now, or if relations with the fan base would now be repaired, Jurich was non-committal, saying many times, "I don't know, I just don't know." At least that's what I thought he said, but he was answering questions so quickly and briefly that it was difficult at times to follow along. Jurich could have taken the opportunity to begin the healing with more confident pronouncements. However, he can be forgiven for some flippancy. I'm not ready to hold a pity party for Tom Jurich, but the press conference did allow one to see the toll the loss of fan support has taken on our athletic director. I hope the Jurich-fan base relationship will now begin to heal.

- Too many questions about Kragthorpe and why he was fired (as if that wasn't obvious), not enough questions about the future and what type of football coach Jurich will be looking for.

- If I understood Jurich's logic correctly, the national search for a new coach begins immediately but Jurich won't interview anyone until Dec. 5, the day the regular season ends. Jurich doesn't want to infringe on another football team inappropriately, contacting a coach in secret, etc., since he knows how that feels ("I remember Mobile," he said) Jurich said he will "probably" again employ a one-man search committee.

A final ending for a sad episode in the history of Cardinal football, one that hopefully foreshadows tbe beginning of a promising new era... though, with some of the strongest speculation swirling around is that Phil Fulmer and Mike Leach could take over the program, we continue to have Strong concerns. (get it?)

ESPN reports that Kragthorpe is out

Press conference is scheduled for noon today. Story here. CJ's article here. Message boards already had speculated on the news since early this morning (hat tip: Card Chronicle), then Pat Forde made it more or less official, reporting it at about 10:30 a.m.

The Kragthorpe era is ending. Charlie Strong, Mike Leach and Kevin Sumlin are among the leading candidates to become the next head coach.

Turkey Day and Senior Day

If the gods are indeed merciful, Steve Kragthorpe's final game as the Louisville coach will be tomorrow. Soon after, a new era will begin, one that will bring excitement and hope. No matter what, a very different Cardinal football team will take the field next year. That's a good thing in many, many ways, but not all.

Tomorrow, some fine players will play their last game in a "The Ville" uniform. We'll say goodbye to names like Trent Guy, Scott Long, Jon Dempsey, Joe Tronzo, Richard Raglin, and many others. This class has a unique distinction, participating in UofL football's greatest triumphs, and witnessing our embarrassing decline. While it's proper to note how they continued to battle with a fierce heart, there is the undeniable sense that much of their talent was squandered. As a final indignity, their senior day is tomorrow, at the ungodly hour of 11:00am.

Every season, even a bad one, takes its place in the lore of a football program. Soon we'll be swept up in the energy of a new administration. But we should take a moment to be thankful for those moments, an electrifying Trent Guy return, or a Chris Campa's bone-rattling hit, that made the bad years bearable. These seniors can certainly look back on their contributions to Louisville football with pride.

Enjoy your turkey folks, Wild or otherwise. We're off for the holiday weekend. Join us Monday, things will happen very quickly. Happy Thanksgiving from Cardinal Laws.

Willis

The holidays are upon us, the time of year when everyone you know is obligated to remark, "I can't believe it's Thanksgiving already!" and you are required to nod and say, "I know, crazy right?" Or this year you can reply, "Not me, I've been waiting for revenge against those UNLV bastards all year." Probably stick with the former, but we do have some unfinished business against the Runnin' Rebs on Saturday. The Cards need to clamp down on junior guard Tre'von Willis. The Memphis-transfer scored 16 points in last year's matchup, and has led UNLV in scoring this season through 3 games. I don't want to keep embedding bad memories, so here's a link to the final 6 minutes of last year's game. The Hall was especially rocking that day, and the refs were especially bad. Worth a look if you've got time to kill before taking off for the long holiday weekend. Thanksgiving already, crazy.

One left

After a long, frustrating season, are you having a hard time getting pumped for the Rutger's game? If you can stomach it, watch this video, then use your aggressive feelings, let the hate flow through you.

Brian Bennett, master of the obvious

Here's some game notes for the Friday finale, courtesy of Brian Bennett at ESPN. My favorite is the last one, a late candidate for understatement of the year...

* Rutgers' response: The Scarlet Knights were truly awful in a 31-13 loss at Syracuse last week. Greg Schiano said overconfidence played a role, but the Orange also exposed a lot of weaknesses in his team that Louisville might also try to exploit. If Rutgers wants to salvage anything out of this season, it absolutely cannot lose to both Syracuse and Louisville in back-to-back weeks.

* Kragthorpe's last game? All indications are that Louisville coach Steve Kragthorpe won't have that job after Friday's game. An announcement on his dismissal would likely come no later than early next week. So what does Kragthorpe have to lose against Rutgers? Why not empty the playbook and put everything on the line in the season finale and try to go out on a high note.
 
* Remember when the Cardinals used to put up video-game numbers on offense every year? Seems like a long time ago. Louisville will likely end the season without a quarterback throwing for 1,500 yards, without a running back surpassing 600 yards and without a receiver topping 850 yards. Yes, injuries have played a role, but the old Cards offense ain't what she used to be.

You can't spell Cards without...

ESPN has graded the Big East recruiting classes, and the Cards aren't wrecking the curve. We're sporting a gentleman's C, the lowest grade handed out, alongside conference bottom-dwellers Rutgers and St. John's. Here's what they had to say about our additions...

Point guard depth is the foundation of this class. Coach Rick Pitino again has been successful in New York by signing lead guard Russell Smith (Briarwood, N.Y./South Kent ). Smith will bring excellent athletic and passing ability to Louisville's attack. Also, true point guard Elisha Justice (Pikeville, Kent./Shelby Valley) is an invited walk-on. He will be a dream come true for the Cards wing and post. He simply makes teammates better with his off-the-charts basketball IQ and feel for the game.

Syracuse is the only team to get an A+, fresh from the bounce from notorious scumbag Tobias Harris' committment (click here for the complete grades). Look, I like arbitrary rankings as much as the next guy, but even I take umbrage with this list, at least without qualifiers. The only way to grade equally is to focus only on the recruits added. But in doing so, teams that add more players have an immediate leg-up, regardless of quality. Also, you cannot take into account the talent already on the team, the needs of particular squads, and no way to factor the scholarships available, distinguish between four-year players and those departing early, or between impact freshman versus long-term projects. I'm calling bullshit, but at this point, I think I'm putting more thought into this list than the author did. It is slightly unsettling though; I don't think Coach Pitino is very accustomed to seeing "C's" next to his name when it comes to recruiting. I don't think Cards fans will be completely at ease, completely confident that Pitino's still got "it" when it comes to recruiting, until he lands a 5-star. C'mon Mr. Teague! Whatcha waiting for?!?

We WON'T screw this up! (right?)

Losing is miserable, but you have to admit, talking about our next coach is fun, isn't it? It's an exciting time for a football program, everyone has an opinion, and the possibilities seem endless. There are veterans, long-shots, dark-horses, hometown heroes, and up-and-comers out there just itching for the opportunity to lead us back to glory. It's a hopeful time, when with the sweep of Jurich's wand, the negativite vibes can disappear and hope spring forth once more.

But it's also high-stakes. If you believe the maxim (and I do) that a team takes on the personality of its coach, you're selecting not only a leader, but the type of team you want to see for the forseeable future. It's undeniable at this point; Jurich wiffed badly with the Kragthorpe hire. The hasty manner in which Kragthorpe was introduced, combined with the bravado of Jurich's "committee of one" mentality made the decision appear even worse in retrospect. But nevertheless, I have complete confidence in Jurich's ability going forth in the search process...nearly. Why? Because his desire to win is unparalleled, and his top-of-the-line, spare-no-expense, attitude is the perfect reflection of Louisville's "little program that could" mentality. When the Jon Gruden rumors first surfaced, the reason that the idea wasn't completely dismissed out of hand, was Jurich. No one doubts that his abilities are equal to his vision. He thinks big. Period. That's what has made his tenure at Louisville so successful.

It's also why I worry. In this scenario, Jurich's instincts could work against him. The "big names" out there, Phil Fulmer and Tommy Tuberville, remain on the table as Kragthorpe's successor. They strike me as just that, names. Respected names, but ones who's best coaching is behind them. Don't forget, despite the successes that both coaches had, they were asked to leave their respective schools for a reason. Both would command a considerable salary, which is often equated with quality, but shouldn't be (I'm looking at you, Charlie Weis). I fear that Jurich may take the wrong lessons from the Kragthorpe debacle; that taking a shot on an up-an-coming coach is too risky. I agree that it is a risk, but one that's worth taking. The old "proven" coaches like Phil Fulmer and Tommy Tuberville seem uninspired choices, ones that may achieve some success, but never relive the glories of their formative years. With a new coach and new expansion, this should be a time of great energy and awakened passion for Louisville football. It's not a time for retreads. The right person could harness that energy into something truly remarkable. It sure is an exiciting time, though, and in Jurich I trust...almost.

So what the hell happened to Rutgers?

Somewhat lost in the 72 hours of basketball attention, Rutgers, the same team that destroyed solid South Florida 31-0, was stunned on the road against Syracuse. So what happened? Tale of the tape says Rutgers was beat through the running game; Syracuse gashed the Scarlet Knights for 216 rushing yards, better than 4 yards a carry. But as Cards fans are painfully aware, one simply does not lose to the Orange without there being a little more to the story. Coach Greg Schiano quickly fell on the sword, taking a cue from the Kragthorpe playbook and taking full responsibility. And just like every other play from that book, it ain't working. Fan discontent is pretty rabid. It seems like a classic case of overconfidence; this from from the fallout:

Human nature is what it is. There is no doubt that it was bound to happen - that a group of 18-22 year olds were going to look at a team like Syracuse and lose focus, reveling in the spoils of a nationally televised win. That is fine. They had a long weekend last week. Greg Schiano had to see this coming, and it his job as the CEO of this program to have found a way to manage that human nature. He gets paid a lot of money to figure out a way. If it was pulling out the videos of New Hampshire or Cincinnati, or perhaps reading some of the quotes of Syracuse players, coaches, and fans to understand this wasn’t any ordinary game for them, or even watching film of themselves to show they weren’t all that good. Whatever it took. He had to get the message across and he didn’t.

Rock Star?

A solid three days of basketball from the Cardinals, who showed noticeable improvement in each game. Plenty to digest from the series. But first, the development of Rakeem Buckles, the unpolished but immensely talented freshman, is perhaps the difference between these Cards being a really good team, and a Final Four-caliber team. A pretty clear picture is emerging of how victories will be earned. High-level of play from our four guards, an aggressive Samardo Samuels wearing the varnish off behind the free throw stripe, and intense defense. We know what good play looks like from almost every Cardinal, from an individual-level, with the exception of Rock Buckles. The team lacks another threat from the post, and rebounding is going to be a challenge. Buckles' 10 boards yesterday in limited minutes was extremely encouraging. If the Cards develop an interior passing tandem of Buckles-Samuels as another option when the threes aren't falling, UofL could reach a whole new level.

BEast

It seems that the stories of the Big East's demise this season have been greatly exagerrated. The conference is now 51-4, a ridiculous total for a league this large. Defending champs UNC were knocked off by Syracuse, and there are now 7 ranked Big East teams in the latest polls. For good measure, Cinci knocked off #24 ranked Vandy yesterday after the polls were released.

Hodgepodge

The Cards claw ahead to #16 in the b-ball polls. Vic Anderson must have surgery to repair his injured shoulder, a fitting cap to a disappointing season. Get healthy Vic, and be ready to christen the X-tra large Papa as the veteran half of the Anderson-Ashley two-headed monster. Steve Kragthorpe thinks he'll be back, but honestly, what else can he say? A once-hot Rutgers team crapped out against lowly, Paulus-led, Syracuse. So expect them to be either really pissed-off, or really tired, for the 11:00am kickoff on Friday. And finally, I don't care about your politics, but President Barack Obama's op-ed on our local patron saint, Muhammad Ali, should be required reading for all Louisvillians...

It was the winter of 1959, six months before he would take the sport of boxing by storm at the Rome Olympics, and Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. was on the move. Rising at 4 in the morning, before the first glimmer of daylight broke the horizon, Clay would put on his sweats, lace up a pair of old steel-toed Army work boots and run out into the biting cold. He would crisscross his beloved Louisville, often racing the school bus for 20 blocks down Chestnut Street. “Why doesn't he ride to school like everybody else?” one student asked. “He's crazy,” replied one of Clay's classmates. “He's as nutty as can be.”

As the world would come to know, that young man would always chart his own course. I was too young to remember Clay before he became Muhammad Ali, when he was not only the heavyweight champion of the world but also at times the object of controversy and even scorn. And I was still in grade school when Ali made his extraordinary comeback after nearly four years of exile and later shocked the world by winning his title back. It was this quality of Ali's that I have always admired the most: his unique ability to summon extraordinary strength and courage in the face of adversity, to navigate the storm and never lose his way.

This is the quality I'm reminded of when I look at the iconic photo I've had hanging on my wall of the young fighter standing over Sonny Liston. And in the end, it was this quality that would come to define not just Ali the boxer but Ali the man — the Ali I know who made his most lasting contribution as his physical powers ebbed, becoming a force for reconciliation and peace around the world.

We admire the man with a soft spot for children, who, while visiting a hospital in Philadelphia many years ago, picked up a boy with no legs. Gazing into the child's eyes, Ali said, “Don't give up. They're sending men into space. You will walk someday and do this,” and proceeded to do the famous Ali Shuffle with the giggling boy in his arms.

We admire the man who has never stopped using his celebrity for good — the man who helped secure the release of 14 American hostages from Iraq in 1990; who journeyed to South Africa upon Nelson Mandela's release from prison; who has traveled to Afghanistan to help struggling schools as a United Nations Messenger of Peace; and who routinely visits sick children and children with disabilities around the world, giving them the pleasure of his presence and the inspiration of his example.

And we admire the man who, while his speech has grown softer and his movement more restricted by the advance of Parkinson's disease, has never lost the ability to forge a deep and meaningful connection with people of all ages
Asked why he is so universally beloved, he holds up a shaking hand, fingers spread wide, and says, “It's because of this. I'm more human now. It's the God in people that connects them to me.”

This is the Muhammad Ali who inspires us today — the man who believes real success comes when we rise after we fall; who has shown us that through undying faith and steadfast love, each of us can make this world a better place. He is, and always will be, the champ.

There's an App for that

Yes, the Cards should take of business tonight. But keep an eye on Appalachian State point guard Donald Sims. He sank 90 three-pointers last year, while still shooting better than 40 percent, in his sophomore campaign. He's got a history of making clutch shots, knocking down buzzer beaters, and had 29 points going head-to-head with Davidson darling Stephen Curry.

2 for 2

This 3 games in 3 days is wearing me out! And I don't even leave my couch. It sure has been fun though, and I expect the good times to keep rolling tonight. So far we've seen just what you'd expect. Ups and downs, some wow-plays, some groan-inducing, good effort, different lineups, and a feeling that the outcome was never in doubt even when the Cards struggled. We're winning, the crisp leaves have fallen, life is good. Some random thoughts on the initial steps thus far...

* Edgar Sosa is playing like a veteran more concerned with showing young Peyton how it's done rather than worrying about PT. He's playing with poise, sporting a surprisingly improved shooting stroke (which was good to begin with), and has minimized "Sosa-moments".

* Samuels has put up good numbers, and sometimes I feel I'm a bit hard on the Incredible Hulk, but I can't say I've been impressed with his play. Except for an eagerness to flash his jump shot, he seems to be the same player he was a year ago. I worry how he'll fare when the competition steps up. His free-throw shooting, however, is terrific, and that's no small compliment.

* Siva is the only freshman that looks ready to contribute on a regular basis. Buckles seems hesitant, despite his obvious athleticism. Marra needs more touches to get into a rhythm. I hope Sosa looks to him more tonight, there were a couple of plays when Sosa could have kicked it out to Marra yesterday but didn't. Van Treese may be valuable down the road, but this season his role will be to give good energy and eat up minutes when his name is called.

* Rebounding will be this team's downfall.

* I thought Swop and Delk could be important "glue-guys" for this team, but they seem to have higher aspirations. Both have been assertive on offense and active on defense. If they keep pushing each other for playing time, I think we'll see a lot more from them than anticipated.

* It's way too early to comment intelligently on the effect that Ralph Willard has on Pitino, and by extension, the team. But, hell, that's never stopped me before. There does seem to be some slight change in the coaching dynamic. Pitino has always used subs like a madman, and this season has been no different, but so far he experiments with the lineups but allows each unit the time to get into a flow. The freshman have been allowed to make mistakes without fearing being yanked from the game. I have no idea if Willard has any impact in this regard, but his role will be an interesting subplot this season.

Bad Break

It looks like Brian Brohm's rotten luck has followed him to Buffalo. His friend and longtime center, Eric Wood, broke his leg in the Bills game against Jacksonville on Sunday. Both tibia and fibula were fractured, and Wood remained in Jacksonville to undergo major surgery. Let's wish Eric as swift a recovery as possible so that he can continue his promising career. Click here if you care to see the graphic video, you sicko.

The Legend of LaBradford Smith

Hearing Scott Spicer (aka the Boogie-Cam guy) mention his favorite basketball player got me waxing nostalgic for the Louisville legend. Since we showed you Derek Smith owning a young upstart named Michael Jordan last week, I figured we'd just keep piling on His Airness. Here's LaBradford going off, torching Jordan for 37 points when he was with the Washington Bullets...



But, NBA afficionados know that's not the end of the story; Jordan did not take being shown up lightly. Here's how Michael Wilbon described their next matchup, forever known as "The LaBradford Smith Game":

To this day, my favorite one is the LaBradford Smith saga. The story goes that back when Smith was playing for the Bullets, he scored 37 against Jordan and the Bulls one night in Chicago. Jordan put out the word that Smith had mocked him by saying, "Nice game, Mike." Jordan said he wanted all 37 back in the first half the next night in Capital Centre, and he got 36 of them. By halftime.

Now, here's where the good stuff starts. Jordan, with that signature wink, finally admitted last year he'd made up the whole thing. What's even more amazing is that the Bullets players were so in awe of him, Smith never denied the story and his teammates believed Jordan. In fact, Bullets who didn't even play with Smith had passed on the story and believed it. Even more amazing: Jordan used a fictional story to fire himself up, meaning more than likely, he had to believe the story.

Either way, good for him. Lots of players got lit up by Jordan, very few can say that they once returned the favor. Here's a couple more of LaBradford's classic dunks...

The beat goes on

The sad reality is, Saturday's 34-22 loss to South Florida was probably UofL's best performance of the season. The overmatched Cards competed hard in the unfriendly environs of Raymond James Stadium, and the outcome was very much in doubt late in the 4th quarter. Some random thoughts...

* Our defense may be lacking in some of the fundamentals of tackling, but they sure have a knack for the big hits. That's always fun.

* Great to see our underused, some might say wasted, playmaking seniors get a chance to shine. Trent Guy finally breaking his touchdown was truly remarkable, and Scott Long, push-off or no push-off, made an astounding snag.

* Speaking of Trent Guy, two things crossed my mind during the game. First, how dumb are the opposing coaches for continuing to kick to him? A quick glance at the box score would show that his returns are basically all of our offense. Second, it really reveals how inept our offensive playcalling has been; Guy consistently puts UofL in great field position, with little to show for it.

* Krathorpe's much-maligned comment after the Cinci loss, that he would have rather played against Tony Pike than Zach Collaros because of the latter's scrambling ability, may not have been as dumb as it first sounded. The Cards simply have no answer for scrambling QBs.

* Only 4 penalties? John L. Smith would be appalled.

* One more. Glad UofL took my advice and held on to those black facemask helmets from the "Black Out" game. White on white? Black facemasks? No stupid "The Ville" on the uniforms? Looking sharp.