Where's crazy old guy...is he still with us?

I love the Crazy Old Guy at Freedom Hall, he who hates the refs. He was an icon of my youth. This game may have put the final nail in his coffin.

It's lame to blame a loss on refs, the Cards have lots of fingers to point within their own locker room. But it's also naive to neglect the fingerprints that the zebras had all over the outcome. The entire exhibition was unevenly officiated, starting perhaps from the WORST "charging" foul I've ever seen go against the Cards (Sosa, I think) when he was breaking the Mountaineer press. It was a crapshoot all around, but UofL found themselves on the low end of the totem pole in the final minute of regulation, culminating in WVU being awarded the ball, inexplicably, with 7 seconds left. I'm still flummoxed. Dumbfounded. Twitterpated.

If this did do Crazy Old Guy in, give me the jersey, like Robert the Bruce in Braveheart, I'm ready to take up the cause.

Pitino ain't too pleased...

... with the zebras (shocking, I know... see Mr. Red's thoughts above). Follow the link to see post-game video here.

What's past is prologue: Cards lose to WVU

We are doomed to repeat the past forever; at this point, I don't know how much more Cards fans can take. Another season-defining win, coughed up. Another series of gaffes down the stretch, wasting a gritty team performance and impressive individual efforts this time from Delk, Siva, and Samuels. Another controversial call at the end, sending the ball the other way. Another barrage of unnecessary 3 pointers, stalling the Cards' offense and leaving the Mountaineers with plenty of time to mount their comeback. And mount their comeback the Mountaineers did. That's what we allowed them to do. That is what we always do. Words can't describe how badly Mr. Red and I wanted the Cards to beat West Virginia at home, to silence their slimy "Karen Sypher" chanting fans, to push back against their red-faced coach, and to claim a W that was certain to resurrect our season. But after all the tight spots this team has been through, after losing narrowly to Villanova and losing narrowly to Pitt and losing narrowly to Seton Hall, our guys, remarkably, haven't learned anything about playing in the clutch. After all the incredible effort and gutsy play for 35 minutes, the Cards choked this one up in the final five minutes the same way they've done it all season long. Unclutch. Undisciplined. Spooked. Loss.

Cards up on WVU 44-40 at the half

Come on Cards, keep playing great ball and take down the Mountaineers in the second half!

Some goosebumps to go with your coffee...

Leave it to Terrence Jennings to provide the inspiration for our basketball Rudy, if you will. Here's President Whitmore, perhaps the most incompetent fictional president in history, in all his glory. Did you know that this speech was filmed on August 6, 1995, at the same hangar that once housed the Enola Gay? The Enola Gay dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima exactly 50 years earlier to the day on August 6, 1945.

Also, August 6th is the birthday of my buddy (who I'm sure never reads this blog) named Adam. His b-ball nickname used to be the Adam Bomb. I think this bodes well for us for some reason. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh C! A! R! D! S! CARDS!!!

 

Tick tock on the clock Charlie blow my speakers up tonight gonna fight till we see the sunlight

Newest commit Jamaine Brooks, also out of Miami, weighing in at 6'3'' 290lbs 6'4'' 310lbs...

Answer Key

1) Can you name the starting lineup for the 1986 national championship game?

Milt Wagner, Billy Thompson, "Never Nervous" Pervis Ellison, Herbert Crook, Kenny Payne.

2) Last week we mentioned that UofL has had only 4 head coaches in over 64 years, can you name them all? Their "real" names?

Bernard "Peck" Hickman (1944-1967); John Dromo (1967-1971); Denzil E. "Denny" Crum (1971-2001); Rick Pitino (2001-?)

3) Who is the all-time leading rebounder for the Cardinals?

Charlie Tyra. Passed away in 2006, but still ranks 11th in NCAA history with 1,167 (!!) career rebounds. He was the first Cardinal to have his jersey retired.

4) What is DeJuan Wheat's middle name?

The patron saint for twenty-something Cardinal diehards, DeJuan Shontez Wheat was the first player in NCAA history to total over 2000 points, 450 assists, 200 steals, and 300 three pointers. He currently plays in Mexico.

5) Who lead the Cards in scoring in the Elite 8 comeback against West Virginia in '06?

Larry O'Bannon put the team on his back and led the Cards with 24 points. Dean was close behind with 23.

Know your Cards

Good fans know their team, great fans are, let's face it, a little sad, but my kind of people nonetheless. So which are you? Take the quiz and find out. For the record, this is for edification purposes, not in an annoying, "Stump the Schwab", know-it-all sort of way. Mr. Red only managed a paltry 3 of 5.

1) Can you name the starting lineup for the 1986 national championship game?

2) Last week we mentioned that UofL has had only 4 head coaches in over 64 years, can you name them all? Their "real" names?

3) Who is the all-time leading rebounder for the Cardinals?

4) What is DeJuan Wheat's middle name?

5) Who lead the Cards in scoring in the Elite 8 comeback against West Virginia in '06?

Answers at 1:00.

What we're up against

Scrappy ballhawking, physical paint play, sprint back downcourt and don't let this happen to you...

I ain't heard no fat lady!

Sometimes writers use these things as contrivances, but I don't care, I haven't received as much joy from reading an article in a long time. From C.L. Brown's piece in the CJ on Terrence Jennings coming of age...

"He (Pitino) has a clip of Will Smith talking about how hard he goes, how much loves what he does and how he'll outwork anybody. Pitino told me I have the talent, and if just outwork people, I'll be a great player."

The idea of Terrence Jennings watching Will Smith with rapt attention, as the lessons of hustle and hardwork start to click is just too funny. That's it, I'm watching Independence Day before every game the rest of the season.

On UK and Useful Idiots

I've got a confession, I've broken my New Year's resolution. The prospect of watching Big Blue nation lose its mind in the wake of UK's loss to South Carolina was just too tempting, and I'm glad I did. After the game several high-profile UK players, from John Wall to DeMarcus Cousins, and most forcefully, Patrick Patterson, wrote Facebook updates or sent twitter messages expressing dismay at how quickly Wildcat fans could turn and start spewing negativity.

The most humorous thing about the situation is watching Coach Cal and more mature UK fans like Matt Jones at KSR try to control the horde, and gently castigate the critics within their own house. It's humorous because no athletic program gets more mileage out of their "insane" fandom than UK. You cannot whip the crowd into a frenzy with a steady diet of "UK basketball is the most high pressure job is sports!" or "Let's broadcast Cal's State of the Union in 8 languages!" or "Is this the greatest assembly of talent EVER?" or "UK could beat the New Jersey Nets!" and then expect your fans to react rationally to even one loss.

The whole thing reminds me of the look on John McCain's face at a late campaign event during the last election, when after weeks of insinuation from his camp that Obama was "pallin' around with terrorists" etc., the crowd turned ugly and unruly, and started yelling "Kill him!" in reference to Obama. McCain got this uneasy look on his face like, "Good god, who are these people?"

I wonder that about UK fans often. But whatever you do, don't let your UK acquaintances spread the problem to other teams like they always do. "Everyone does it", "Everyone has fans like that." Maybe, but everyone doesn't derive as much benefit from their useful idiots like Big Blue.

Dude

Getting over the hump

It's only Wednesday of a week that seems to be stretching on and on, perhaps because the anticipation for the Cardinals trip to Morgantown Saturday is already mounting. It's not a must-win, but certainly it's an opportunity for the Cards to seize fate by the horns, turn their season around, and send a message to the rest of the Big East that the defending champs aren't to be dismissed.

While I hate the long week layoff from a fan perspective, I think it's exactly what the team needed, to exhale after the season-saving win over Cincinnati. Get a gameplan, work on it, get your head right, work on it again. Then go take care of business.

Cherry on top?

Signing day is rapidly approaching and Charlie Strong is wrapping up an unbelievable run of recruiting success. This weekend he may show that he's saved the best for last, hosting 4-star Ohio athlete Dominique Brown. He's currently committed to Cincinnati, and usually I don't like to get ahead of myself, but check out the blazing speed on the 6'3'', 215lbs Brown below, and you'll see why he merits a little special attention.

Efficiency

One other thing jumped out about the stats, and that was Peyton Siva's numbers against Cincinnati: 10 points, 3 assists, 3 steals, 0 turnovers, 12 minutes. This kid's going to be a star.

Cards-Bearcats stats breakdown

Looking at the box score of Louisville's win over Cincinnati, a few stats stick out. Louisville shot 7 of 19 (36.8 percent) from three-point land. Compare that to their numbers during the three game skid: 7 of 27 against Seton Hall (26 percent), 9 of 25 against Pitt (36 percent), and 7 of 33 against Villanova (21 percent). So out of the last four games, the Cards have shot the highest two percentages from beyond the arc when taking fewer shots, all the while hitting at least the same number of three pointers. Suggesting that this team should take fewer three point attempts contradicts the sacred teachings of Pitino-ball. Far be it from me to spread any such heresies. Our guys at least should make sure the threes they take are good shots, squared up, the result of the ball passed into the post and back out, or the product of a Sosa or Siva drive-and-dish.

The Cards hit 15 of 19 free throws, almost 79 percent. Not only a good percentage, but also a healthy number of attempts, especially when compared with their opponent: the Bearcats only shot 4 free throws. Ballgame.

Cincinnati outrebounded us, but we still held our own on the offensive glass: 11 to their 14. Still, with Jennings and Samardo playing together at last (and assuming that continues), shouldn't we expect better rebounding? Each had five boards.

Louisville-Cinci Highlights

Midnight Memories

Here something we posted back in October. I'm not trying to toot our own horn (okay, maybe a little), nor am I trying to canonize a coach that's yet to win a game for the Cards. But...there's a feeling going on, and it's irrepressible. Charlie Strong is a genuine guy, a cool guy, a guy that can recruit. He's the head coach for the Louisville Cardinals and he fits seamlessly into the conviction of our community. We don't just like him, we like like him. Breath deep and feel optimism. We will see much-improved football from what we've seen for three years.

But, fast-forward. With realism and common sense you can forsee "big fish" calling in a few short seasons. If we want him to take the Howard Schnellenberger mantle, if we want him to become the next Louisville legend, we need to show him that the Cardinals is job worth staying for...

SELL. OUR. X-TRA. LARGE. PIZZA. OVEN. Louisville is poised to again become a stellar job in college football. Bobby Petrino and his oranges paved the way. We have the requisite media cache. The Cards play in a BCS conference, one weak enough to provide a fast-track to glory. We enjoy state of the art facilities, and have a fanbase waiting to explode. These aren't platitudes; the more energy, the more sellouts Cardinal Universe can display, the better chance we have of graduating from stepping stone to bedrock.

Go Cards.

My Teague, my Teague, my kingdom for a Teague

Louisville target, and best talent in his class, Marquis Teague was in attendance watching the Cards dispatch the Bearcats on Sunday. Coach Pitino has put a lot on the line in hopes of landing him, hinting to fans of a mega-recruit for the 2011 year, and going so far as to hire his AAU coach, Shabaka Lands, to some job whose duties remain unclear. Listen, I want Marquis Teague as much as anybody, any b-ball fan would, but I won't go into a depression should he land elsewhere, nor do I think it would reflect poorly on Pitino.

First and foremost, the Cards have a point guard in waiting. The city is poised for the Peyton Siva Era, and should Teague come aboard, we'd have a bizarre scenario on our hands where Siva leads the team next year, hands it over the following season for Teague (inevitable one-and-done) and then give it back to Siva for a senior campaign. Stranger things have happened, but I don't see it in the cards.

Teague has long been thought to be a Louisville-lean, but events are unfolding in a way that makes it increasingly unlikely. One, the aforementioned Siva-scenario. Two, watching John Wall storm the nation with his overexposure campaign must be appealing to a young stud like Teague. Truthfully, even Marquis Teague doesn't know at this point, so it's fruitless (yet fun) to speculate. I want to see him in a Cards uni to be sure, but if it doesn't happen, there's no need to summon the men in white coats. That's all I'm sayin'.

Siva-Sosa

Great photo from yesterday's W at Freedom Hall. Edgar Sosa and Jerry Smith have been linked in fans' minds throughout their Louisville careers, but at the moment, I'm most interested in the guy wearing the #3 jersey walking away from the scene. Peyton Siva is the future leader of the team no doubt, and a bright future it is, but I think he has more to offer in the present as well.

Adding Terrence Jennings to the starting lineup yesterday was perhaps coach Pitino's final, dramatic shift at this point in the season. That's fine with me, I concur with Pitino that it doesn't matter who starts. But the offense runs smoother with Siva in the game, and the 12 minutes he logged yesterday just isn't enough. We've said it before, Sosa is a natural scorer and a better fit at the shooting guard position. Jerry Smith's struggles makes increasing Siva and Sosa's time on the court together even more logical, perhaps imperative if we want to find ourselves on the good side of the Bubble come March.

3 Things

3 Things that make me sad...

1) Kyle Kuric playing for only two minutes. Pitino baffles me with his choices sometimes, I never seen such strong play translate into such meager PT.
2) Preston Knowles' receding hairline. I would have been less upset had it been my own hair.
3) Jerry Smith's shot. It's like watching Ali fight in later years, or Pam Anderson slowly succumb to gravity. It's just hard to watch.

3 Things that make me happy...

1) Jerry Smith. The reason I can never get too down on Jerry is that his attitude is so great. Did you see him going nuts on the sidelines after a key offensive rebound? Bouncing up and down, pumping fists, good-naturedly punching Kuric in the chest and almost knocking him over. Just tremendous.
2) Any possession when Jennings and Samuels both touch the ball.
3) Samuels new bushwacker strut. It just slayed me.

Midnight NFL

We'll delve into the Cardinals crucial victory over Cinci and the looming, season-changing, matchup with West Virginia in the morning. But I've got a couple NFL things on my mind after watching the Saints-Vikes NFC championship, though I have ZERO rooting interest in either team.

One, the overtime rules are just dumb.Period. They've got to be amended, and the NFL suffers so long as they remain intact.

Two, the Vikes got screwed in OT, in my humble opinion. Twice. First, the 4th down play when the Saints went for it and Saints RB Pierre Thomas went airborne for the 1st down. It was reviewed for the spot, yet called wrongly. The ball was dislodged when a Vikes defender hit Thomas helmet-first, but he recovered and held on to the ball. The refs incorrectly granted him the 1st based on forward progress. Once he fumbled, it's a live ball, forward progress is irrelavant. The ball should have been placed at the spot where he regained control, which was well short of the first down marker.

Three, I hate pass interference. It's the bane of the sport of football. Way too much rides on the arbitrary trigger when a ref decides that wideout-cornerback contact has reached breaking point. It's a gray area, and it always seems to be decided the wrong way; either a ref is too timid to throw a game-deciding flag on a true penalty, or he throws it too quickly for fear of missing the big call.

Sports are a rewarding hobby, but when important games come down to random refs it's maddening for me. Oh well. It's just a game. But, Patrick Sparks walked dammit! See you in the morning. Go Cards.

P.S. What's with the stupid "overwhelming video evidence" standard for reviewing calls? What's wrong with just saying, "Wow, that was a close one, let's go back and see which way it should have gone." The arbitrary standard seems to provide refs a cop out for sticking by questionable calls.

Old School

Louisville got an old school victory over an old school rival Sunday, triumphing over the Bearcats with defense and hustle. It was a true team effort, the best display of Cardinal chemistry since the Western Kentucky game. If I could cut the game ball in two, I'd give half to Reginald Delk and half to Samardo Samuels. Delk held the Cards together in the first half, and was there for every clutch glue play. Samuels is playing with great confidence and energy, and even looks happy out there. How bout that new high step strut after getting fouled? I like it. The story of the game is how well Jennings and Samuels play together, so try to supress your frustration that it took Pitino so long to get to the party, and just celebrate the fact that he showed up at all. Definitely a step in the right direction. Savor the moment, I'd forgotten what winning felt like.