Ghana...

Just got bounced from the World Cup in an emotionally crushing loss. Historically crushing. Unspeakably crushing.

With the final play in extra time (still soccer time) in a fiercely fought battle to go to the Final Four (to use bball terminology, no African team had ever gone that far), the Ghanaians had one final free kick. In the ensuing melee with a lot of jostling and strategic stuff I don't understand, Africa's last team standing had a great chance to score, the Uruguay goalie was taken out of the play, and a Ghanaian forward jumped to head in the would-be game winner, except a Uruguay defender, out of desperation, stepped in with a completely advertant handball to keep the ball out of the net.

Red flag card. Penalty kick. A chip shot for the win, with the hopes of an entire continent hanging in the balance.  And Ghana misses...high off the post.

Then loses on penalty kicks.

Not since Gordon Bombay chipped his triple-deek off the sidebar have I seen mere inches decide so many fates.

Heartbreaking. But captivating. A brutal reminder of why we love sports.

The Ms. Red kiss of death

Louisville fans may have been a little bummed last week when 6'8'' power forward Anthony Davis trimmed his list of colleges to UK, Ohio State, and Syracuse. 

I was learning a bit more about Davis, investigating the rumor that he would only play for a "Nike school", when Ms. Red simplified the situation for me. She took one look at his picture and said, "Good, that unibrow is hideous. I can't cheer for that."

And, I kinda agree with her. So, while he may be the #2 rated forward in the country, he may be quick-footed and a tremendous rebounder, he doesn't pass the Ms. Red "cuteness" cut, and thus, much of the sting is removed from him cutting us.

Do we have any other lady Card readers out there? Or gay men, or hell, just men comfortable with their sexuality? Who's the handsomest Cardinal of them all next season??

Voice your thoughts below.

Power 10 in 2...

This one slipped through the cracks a few weeks ago, but I just wanted to comment how awesome it is that UofL will be building a state-of-the-art, 2.65 million dollar rowing facility on Riverfront Park.

I rowed on Murray State's club team in college, one of the few sports I've actually been pretty good at. It feels like another lifetime when I was waking up at 4:30AM to drive out to Ken Lake. Shit, I forgot I hate it when people prematurely age themselves, but still, I can't fathom doing that today. I've grown fond of my 8 hours.

Anyways, though I support all of UofL's successes, watching the rapid ascension of the women's rowing team, becoming a perennial power in its first decade of existence, has brought me particular joy. It's only proper that a river city have a dynamic rowing tradition; now that the Cardinals will have the facilities to match their drive, the future looks bright.

Q&A of the Day

Drew Deener: When you see that expansion, do you look up at that and say, "I was a part of why this is bigger than it was?"

Michael Bush: "Yea. And I also wish I was still able to play in there, in front of all them fans."

Full audio interview here.

(Hat tip Ditchball).

Ohhhhh captain, my captain

Preston Knowles is a fan favorite, but at the moment, that sentiment isn't shared by Coach Pitino. In Monday's presser Pitino even went so far as to hint that Knowles' spot on the team isn't guaranteed.

I have little doubt that Preston will be suiting up, and indeed starting, for the Cardinals next season. But as always with Pitino, messages are being sent.

In addition to the hairbrush melee, there seems to be further rifts between Preston and the coaching staff that we aren't privy to.

Since I've only honked my horn and waved awkwardly at him from my car one time, obviously, I cannot claim to know the man. But one reason for Preston's lack of recruitment out of high school were questions about his attitude and coachability.

By most measure, Knowles has put those concerns to rest throughout his first three seasons. Preston has matured and made a name for himself, as anyone that's watched him play can attest, through hustle and leadership by example. But, as fans, we only see so much.

Pitino is obviously displeased; he doesn't just randomly call out a player like he did on Monday without a strategy behind it. That, in addition to bringing aboard Roburt Sallie, who does many of the things that Preston does so well for this team, I believe Pitino is trying to light a fire under Knowles' ass to spur greater focus and mature leadership his senior season.

Eureka! That's the answer, and it just hit me as I was typing.

The team next season has much promise, but who is the leader? Siva will be the one with the ball in his hands, TJ has the mileage but not the maturity yet, much is expected from Buckles but not in terms of leadership next year, and don't get me started on Swopshire. The rest is the youth movement.

The team needs a captain. On Monday, I believe Admiral Pitino was sending salvos, strategic aggression to provoke a positive response from would-be Captain Preston Knowles.

You got designer shades, just to hide your face, and you wear them around cuz Charlie is cooler than me...

Eddie Johnson. Linebacker. 2011. Two-star. 6'1'', 224. Some highlights from his coach/legal guardian, Brian Montgomery, via the CJ...

* I'd definitely say he's the best linebacker in the state (Georgia). He brings the total package. He's a run-stopper, and he's not an arm tackler. And he can drop back in coverage, too.

* As a junior he recorded 78 tackles, eight sacks and one interception and also had 560 rushing yards, 137 receiving yards and eight touchdowns while playing running back.

* Louisville is getting an awesome player. He already looks like he's in college when you see him. He's very explosive.

His blurb from the ESPN Rise High School camp...

LB -- Eddie Johnson, 6-0.5, 218, Selma (Selma, Ala.)
Might have been top sleeper to emerge at camp; great athlete, physical and makes plays

Cardinal greetings from India

Greetings from the Punjab! As Mr. Red previously alluded, I'm in India at the moment. At left is the Golden Temple, the holiest shrine of Sikhism -- reminds one of Freedom Hall at night, doesn't it? Ostensibly I'm here to participate in a language learning program. (Namaste, Cards fans -- yes, I know you're impressed. As it happens I'm studying Punjabi rather than Hindi, so the requisite greeting in these parts is Sat Sri Akal).

But in the context of my role here at Cardinal Laws, anticipating the most critical year for Louisville athletics in ages -- launching the Strong era, breaking in a revamped football stadium, opening a new basketball arena, enduring through thick-and-thin with Pitino's "new brand" basketball squad, to say nothing of all the news we learned on Monday -- I like to think that I've arrived on the subcontinent in order to isolate myself, to find peace and serenity, a la monk or Jedi, to reflect and meditate and achieve inner balance. So that when the battles and victories and letdowns and agony of Cardinal fandom do inevitably arrive this fall and winter, I'll avoid the stress and cope with zen-like focus.

Sound good? Not buying it? Well then... here, delivered Letterman-style, are the other rationales.


Top Ten Reasons Mr. Black went to India

10. Hopped on the wrong flight on my way to stalk Kyle Kuric in Egypt.

9. Was searching for a new men's basketball assistant coach NOT formerly a player, family friend, or relative of Rick Pitino.

8. Doing some prep work after hearing that Charlie Strong is interested in coaching the rest of his career where they serve tasty North Indian food.

7. In search of a new Kashmir turtleneck for Tom Jurich.

6. Jumped the gun on the Cards making it to the College World Series, accidentally told my rickshaw driver to head to Goa instead of Omaha.

5. The athletic department asked me to lay down the groundwork for some new Cardinal Caravan stops.

4. Trying to find parking at the downtown arena.

3. Jurich finally read our blog and promptly banished me from the city, state, and country. (Strangely, I supported his decision.)

2. Lost another bet to Mr. Red.

1. Pitino is playing another one of his mind games on me.

Think of any other reasons, post 'em in the comment box. Until next time, Namaste.

Cliff Rozier

Big ups to StraitPinkie for finding the excellent but heartwrenching story on the fate of memorable Cardinal Cliff Rozier, who has spent much of his adult life battling schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and drug addiction.

He now lives in a halfway house, nearly penniless, in Bradenton, Florida. It's some of the best sportwriting I've read in awhile. An exerpt...

By then, early in 2002, everyone had heard the whispers: Clifford was on drugs. He was homeless. He was hearing voices.

It was not hard to spot Rozier on the street. He was a 6-foot-11 man in a basketball jersey who would walk miles a day in search of drugs.

He lived in the woods and got money where he could. He had a string of run-ins with the law, including one arrest on charges he assaulted his mother.

There are some things Rozier saw on the street that were so bad he will not talk about them.
Sometimes he would stop by Green's barbershop in Palmetto. He never really looked unkempt but he always looked tired, Green says.

Rozier would make jokes like when they were 10 years old and hanging out at the Bradenton Boys Club.

"He used to tell me, 'Green, it's OK. Don't worry about me,'" Green says.

"It used to hurt me. This was my friend and I can't do anything to help him."

That is why Green was so happy to see Rozier at the charity game.

Rozier squeezed his 300-pound frame into the only extra uniform. His shorts were "stripper tight" and the jersey looked like his "little brother's shirt," says Ward, his former teammate.

When he walked onto the court, some in the crowd pointed and laughed, but Rozier quickly quieted them.

"He threw some no-look passes like he still had it," Green says.

"It was vintage Cliff," Ward says. "The footwork, the moves, everything. It was like he hadn't lost a step."

But he had and he knew it. When the team returned to the court after halftime Rozier remained behind. He had peeled off his tight blue uniform, left it on the floor and slipped out of the arena in search of something else that could quell the voices inside his head...

Full article here.

Quote of the Day

"I feel that God has created an opportunity for me to touch the lives of young men through the game of basketball. I take full advantage of opportunities to share my gifts with all who are receptive."

-UofL assistant coach Tim Fuller, when asked what inspires him,
cool USA Today article on his hiring here

On UK and existential bad faith

With our friends at KSR, sometimes it's tough to tell what is true opinion, and what is willful ignorance. Case in point, Matt Jones' take on some recent UofL developments...

Louisville made two additions to its program today, adding Memphis transfer Roburt Sallie and a new assistant coach, who comes to the team from Nike, where he was a team representative. I find both additions interesting, not because of their effect on the program (Sallie has been a disappointment at Memphis but could excel at a new home and the Nike guy will probably help recruiting because of his relationship with NBA players), but because of how they take away some Louisville fans line of argument. If Calipari is so bad and “shoe deals” are what has cost UL, then how do you go get a former Calipari player and hire a guy from a shoe company?

Really? Distaste for Cal is tantamount to disavowing all recruits he's ever come into contact with? And when exactly was the Kenny Klein press release against "shoe deals"? Are we playing barefoot next season?

Matt Jones is a lawyer; he knows about "straw men" arguments. And since it's the off-season, there's some time, and it's my party so I'll gnash and wail if I want to. End your read HERE if you're not in the mood for a rant...

Annnnnyways, in between marathon lovemaking, some of my time in college was spent pursuing a philosophy degree...and yes, smartasses, I'm poor.

I don't remember much, but one lecture I do recall was by a gifted professor on "Existentialism and Literature". He spoke about Jean-Paul Sartre, some of his theory, and especially his concept on living in "Bad Faith".

In the lecture, Professor Kennedy described Sartre's famous example of a Paris waiter he once witnessed, who he saw trying too hard to be too "waiter-y", too dramatic, too much flourish in his movements.

The waiter wasn't being genuine, not true to himself, in existentialist terminology, he was denying his freedom.

I don't know if it's what Johnny P. Sartre had in mind when he came up with the idea, but for me, I always remembered that lecture because it described so many people I knew, people that were trying too hard. Trying too hard to be X; it could be from Indie Rock to rock-climbing as the variable, but the display of contrived personages was always the same.

Enter one John Calipari, and the ensuing experiment on how one of the most strident programs in sport can engage in a collective exercise in existential bad faith.

Just like Sartre's waiter, since Cal assumed the UK throne, Big Blue Nation just seems to be trying too hard; too hard to be the most ultimate fans, too hard to deny their previous unease with Calipari, too hard pretending love for one-and-doners, too hard contriving legends around kids that barely learned the campus.

And most importantly, trying too hard to be unperturbed by an Elite 8 finish with NBA first-rounders abound on a roster.

For UK, it's gone beyond love for team colors, it's become worship of team colors; no place for rational critique. In a desire to be "relevant again", our once proud rival has become a camp of Cali-cheerleaders, and little more.

In two words. Bad faith.

In two more. Go Cards.

On outside chances...

Well, that's what I get for being optimistic for once. In his press conference today Coach Pitino would only comment that there's "an outside chance" for Justin Coleman, he of the heavenly hops, to qualify academically to start next season. Since I've always said there's an outside chance I might stop drinking and complete an Iron Man competition, let's just say I'm not holding my breath for Coleman to suit up as a Cardinal.

So it appears the Roburt Sallie transfer was a move to insure against this outcome, and the glass-half-full side of me must say--what a pickup. This late in the process, with such a unique situation, the stars really aligned in our favor; Sallie is a tremendous talent, backup plan or not.

So, in an otherwise exciting and promising day, news on Justin Coleman's academic status was the one bummer. Now if you'll excuse me, there's an outside chance of a weekend-beer leftover in the fridge.

The Forgotten Man

Somewhat overshadowed by the higher profile Tim Fuller and local favorite David Padgett, the shakeup to the basketball staff also includes Mark Lieberman, our new director of basketball operations.

Lieberman has been coaching the Monsignor Pace Spartans out of Miami for 14 seasons. He compiled a 343-92 record, won 4 state championships, including 6 consecutive finals' appearances from 2003-8. He was co-coach for the McDonald's All-American game in 2009. And if he needed further sugarcoating for his resume, this was his response to a question during a Q&A with Inside the Games in 2009 before said game...

ITG: Who is your favorite coach of all time; the coach you look up to most?

ML: Rick Pitino. Ever since I was young, I’ve always admired him and how hard he got his team to play. Also, his pressing and attacking nature - on offense and defense - is something I’ve model my teams after.

Whirlwind

Aghh! Too much happening at once! Our basketball team has not one new assistant coach, but three, one being former center David Padgett, who may have secretly gone to UK, I think I know where Coach Strong lives and am reviewing the stalking prohibitions in the Kentucky Revised Statutes, Roburt Sallie can really really shoot, but he's playing with a heavy heart because his dad is battling prostate cancer, and his commitment is non-binding because it's predicated on his graduation, we've picked up a linebacker from USC who also has some sadness in his past and still has a USC tattoo on his arm to deal with, and our football team is really smart and Demar Dorsey may be even faster than we thought.

Got all that?

Good.

Hello, Sallie

Roburt Sallie has made his transfer from Memphis official. An unusual situation, since he will have already graduated and won't have to sit out a season. Just out of curiousity, does anyone know what he will actually do on campus in between practices? Does he have to take a minumum number of hours or something? The NCAA is crazy.

I think the move was spurred by a few things.

* Experience. Despite some head scratching quotes from Pitino about the Cards being a "young team" last year, a lot of mileage and minutes were lost. Sallie has experience, most importantly, tournament and crunch time experience.

* Size. At 6'5'', 200lbs, Sallie will be a versatile player for the Cards and can play multiple positions. I just learned that Sallie is 24 years old. He's got the physical maturity to play Big East basketball.

* Defense. Listening to Josh Pastner speak about the Sallie transfer below, my ears perked when he referred to Sallie as "the best defender on our team". The Cardinal teams that succeed under Pitino have all bought in to his defense-first philosophy. Sosa and Smith didn't have the lateral quickness to play the pitbull style of perimeter D expected from Louisville. That looks to change next season with Siva-Knowles and now Sallie.

* Pressure. Kind of an extension of above, but Pitino has made no secret of his desire to return to fullcourt kamikaze pressure next season. That kind of 40-minute commitment takes bodies. 6'5'' 200lbs bodies are even better.