Let's go all, the way tonight, no regrets, just love, we can dance, until we die, Charlie and I, we'll be young for-eva

Louisville has its first top-25 recruiting class in the history of its football program. And we're still climbing the charts.

Charlie Strong received excellent news today, getting a commitment from four-star safety Gerrod Holliman out of Miami. Holliman is projected as the 4th best safety in his class, and the 93rd player in the country. He made the announcement on national television during the US Army All American game.

And for good measure, the Cards also got a huge commitment from Holliman's teammate, four-star cornerback Andrew Johnson.

Charlie Strong is flat out cleaning up in the Sunshine State, this is the 7th blue-chip commitment the Cards have received out of Miami alone.

Add this to watching the Wildcats get drubbed by a coachless team from the lowly Big East, and this is shaping up into a nice little Saturday for Louisville football.

We're going to be good. Like, really good. Something special is happening here.

Pitino: "They didn't hang their heads after UK"

On Gorgui: "I think he's going to be one of the better big men I've coached. I've just got to keep him around and develop his body."

On Terrence Jennings and rebounding: "I think he could be much better. He's got to be passionate. He worked very hard in practice this week, but it was more working hard trying to score than it is rebounding. I've coached some real good ones who have been terrific rebounders,, like Charles Oakley. T-Will was great at it. I would say, 'T-Will, I need 12 tonight, and he'd say, 'you got it.' And he was very passionate about it. But we'll keep working on that."

On Big East play: "I don't know if its going to be true because nothing anymore in this Big East makes sense, but we said ten wins is what we're striving for in this conference, 11 or 12 probably gets you a [first round] bye, and 14 probably gets you a championship. So it doesn't matter who you play. You just got to fight for a victory."

Chicken Guy and other people

Cards handle Seton Hall 73-54

Well, I feel better. A little bit anyway.

The Cards debuted in the Big East in spectacular style, building a 24 - 2 lead against Seton hall. Gorgui Dieng was dominant early, making spectacular blocks (perhaps including a few uncalled goaltendings) and providing that inside presence so sorely lacking against... awww, forget it. Think happy thoughts. Gorgui had 6 boards and 5 blocks.

With every game he plays, Gorgui justifies why we Cards fans were so excited about him in the first place, even as some commentators made fun of us for over-celebrating his gained eligibility. The game goes better for us with Dieng on the floor.

My crucial player award for this game, however, goes to Stephan Van Treese. He ain't pretty (managed to foul a guy while laying on the hardwood -- twice), but he hustles and gets the job done on the glass which is the only New Year's Resolution I care about right now. Van Treese pulled down 10 rebounds tonight including 5 offensive. If he can keep up that effort, the 27 minutes he saw should become the norm for the next few weeks.

I asked before where the rebounding boost was going to come from. Answer for this game -- besides SVT -- the backcourt. Preston Knowles had 9 rebounds, Peyton Siva had 7, Chris Smith had 5. And Terrence Jennings had one. George Goode started and Pitino only gave Jennings 11 minutes in a game that wasn't really close, so I'm laying off TJ for the time being until events or mood swing dictate a change.

Has anyone ever seen his sky hook go in? Sorry, mood swing.

Stats here.

Rebound, rebound, rebound. The Cards won the battle of the boards tonight 45-33. Up next: South Florida on Sunday -- the Cards first game outside the state of Kentucky.

Good game. Conference win. Go Cards.

Another one bites the dust

Beware, Brian Kelly, Randy Edsall, Dave Wann-- well no, not you Wanny, you're special. But for the rest of you, please take note. Yet another cowboy who headed out west for "greater tradition" and bigger dollar signs has stumbled, fallen and failed. Rich Rodriguez is gone at Michigan.

Per ESPN's take:

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Michigan fired coach Rich Rodriguez on Wednesday, ending a disappointing three-year tenure marred by too many losses and NCAA violations at college football's winningest program.

Athletic director Dave Brandon announced the decision after meeting with Rodriguez on Tuesday and again Wednesday morning. He said the two had an "open, honest and direct exchange."

"I believe this is the best decision for the future of Michigan football," Brandon said. "We have not achieved at the level that I expect."

Rodriguez was just 6-18 in Big Ten play, 11-11 at home and 15-22 overall.

So there it is. Whereas at West Virginia Rodriguez was king, head of a strong and respected football program that was a competitor for BCS glory every year (and that damn near played for the national championship in 2007), in Ann Arbor he was disliked, embattled and in some circles despised. And now fired.

Fatefully enough, early reports suggest Rodriguez may now seek redemption back here in the lowly Big East. According to the video at the link, he may go after coaching vacancies at UConn or, more likely, at Pitt. If it comes to pass I say terrific. Welcome back Rich-o! I know how happy this will make those feisty fans and boosters at West Virginia -- you know, those hillbillies you ditched then tried to make 'em pay for it to the tune of $4 million? (which you should not feel guilty about -- it's well known you had few ties to the university or state, other than growing up in West Virginia, attending WVU and playing defensive back for the Mountaineers, then signing a long-term contract the year before you bolted -- yeah, the fit just wasn't right).

Those lovable sports crazies in Morgantown will be delighted to host you whenever Pitt comes to town. I'm rooting for you.

On chupacabras, the End of Days, and Seton Hall

Now WLKY is reporting that the creepy little critter that met its end in Nelson County last week was nothing more than a hairless raccoon. Whatever. It sure doesn't look like one to me, but admitedly my experience with hairless raccoons is limited. But if Louisville ever does woo an NBA franchise, I'm leading the charge to name us the Hairless Raccoons. You get yourself an ugly little mascot, refer to yourselves as the Fightin' Chupas, and even get Yum! Brands to come through with a special promotion, the Chupa Chalupa, sold at discounts at all local Taco Bells after Louisville wins. I'm actually talking myself into this as I type.

Cryptozoology aside, there's other paranormal crap going on. Beginning in Arkansas, for the last couple days there have been reports of massive die-offs of blackbirds, falling from the sky by the thousands. Today similar reports are coming in from other parts of the world like Sweden, birds and fish biting the dust with no explanation. Scientists have proposed a number of rationales ranging from disease to firework noise, but they're really at a loss. The whole thing is eerily reminiscent of M. Night Shamalan's abomination of a movie "The Happening", when biological stressors cause global collapse. Who knows, but I'm stocking up on tin foil and Cambell's Bean Soup. Our chances of ever seeing Rodney Purvis suit up for the Cardinals in 2012 are getting slimmer.

But if you want a real, immediate dose of apocalyptic fervor, just wait and see what happens if the Cards don't bounce back tonight in our Big East opener against Seton Hall. We know all too well, but St. John's knocking off Georgetown reminded us once more; there are NO gimmies in the Big East. Even though they're undermanned, if the Cards come out playing the kind of unselfish basketball that earned them their first 11 victories, we should be fine. If not, well, cue the Four Horsemen.

It's cliche I know, but the Cards can't afford to let UK beat them twice. Nothing's "must-win" at this point in the season, but in terms of importance to a team and its confidence, this one is the next rung down.

Rebounding numbers update

Might as well include Preston Knowles and Mike Marra in the equation too:

Marra -- 2.6 rebounds per game, .11 rebounds per minute, 2.75 rebounds per 25 minutes.

Knowles -- 3.5 rebounds per game, .13 rebounds per minute, 3.25 rebounds per 25 minute.

* Knowles, like Chris Smith, rebounds well for his size. We're lucky to get that kind of production out of 6 foot 2 and 6 foot 1 guards.

* Kuric and Marra are virtually indistinguishable as rebounders. If one wanted to establish oneself from the other, rebounding would be a good place to start.

Food for thought as we see who steps up rebounding in the next few games. Starting tonight.

From whence came thy mighty glass warrior?

Below are the averages of our "big men" (loosely defined) for rebounds per game, rebounds per minute, and rebounds per 25 minutes -- the last so as to provide a useful point of comparison if a player were given roughly a starter-like full game of playing time with usual substitution patterns. The players:

Rakeem Buckles (injured) -- 7.5 rebounds per game, .35 rebounds per minute, 8.75 rebounds per 25 minutes.

Terrence Jennings -- 5.2 rebounds per game, .23 rebounds per minute, 5.75 rebounds per 25 minutes.

Gorgui Dieng -- 4.8 rebounds per game, .33 rebounds per minute, 8.25 rebounds per 25 minutes.

Stephan Van Treese -- 2.9 rebounds per game, .28 rebounds per minute, 7 rebounds per 25 minutes.

George Goode -- 1.1 rebounds per game, .15 rebounds per minute, 3.75 rebounds per 25 minutes.

Kyle Kuric -- 2.8 rebounds per game, .12 rebounds per minute, 3 rebounds per 25 minutes.

Chris Smith -- 3.9 rebounds per game, .19 rebounds per minute, 4.75 rebounds per 25 minutes.

Complete and current player statistics here.

Some quick observations, in lieu of any hard conclusions and skipping the usual warning about the misleading nature of statistics:

* There's no sleeping giant on this bench. Without question, Rock is our best rebounder, Dieng our second best. Without them, there's a significant dropoff in rebounding ability, shedding further light on how screwed we were when both went down with injuries last week.

* The numbers also underscore what we already know -- Terrence Jennings isn't getting it done on the boards. When you set playing time at 25 minutes, Gorgui Dieng is pulling down almost three rebounds more; even Van Treese is outrebounding him significantly. TJ -- 6 foot 10, highly recruited out of high school, until recently our starting center -- is at present our fourth most efficient rebounder? Hell, Chris Smith barely trails him in rebounds per minute. TJ, come on!

* Van Treese's averages are higher than I would have expected. Until Buckles comes back, it might be time to step up his minutes significantly (he averages 10 minutes per game).

* In light of Jennings' rebounding woes, this blog and others have been clamoring for George Goode to receive more significant playing time. If granted, he would have to step up his level of performance. To this point, he's averaged the least amount of Louisville's legitimate big men. However, he's also seen the least amount of PT.

* At 6 foot 4, can we realistically expect Kyle Kuric to pull down many more rebounds? I'd like to see him step it up especially on the offensive glass, but there are limits at that height for players not named (or not as rotund as) Charles Barkley. Then again...

* Chris Smith, all of 6 foot 2, is a rebounding dynamo. Maybe we should start him at the 4.

* Where are we going to get more rebounding while Rock's injury heals?

Big East bowling a gentleman's game; Randy Edsall luuuves crab cakes

Don't look now but the much-maligned Big East is faring fairly well in bowl season.

Despite UConn getting the axe that everyone saw coming on the BCS stage, Louisville, Syracuse, and South Florida have all logged wins. West Virginia fell hard, but perhaps most importantly, newbie/media darling TCU went up against old-school/media darling Wisconsin and came out smelling roses. Things get interesting when you add the Horned Frogs to the Big East equation.

The future remains just that, but for now, the embattled football conference is hanging in there.

Despite ups and downs, Pitt and WVU will always sport decent teams, both have rich tradition, and more importantly, both have sizeable athletic budgets that they dedicate to football.

South Florida can be dangerous just finding the talented scraps from southern-football-talent-heap. Cinci's got potential; I can't shake the fact that if Louisville had whiffed on Strong, Butch Jones was my second choice. Syracuse is also building towards something, finding their guy in Doug Marrone.

And of course, don't forget the Louisville Cardinals and our resurgence, perhaps the most well-positioned program to wake up the echoes.

But the news of the day, except for Pitt not having a coach, is Randy Edsall moving on from UConn to take the Maryland position. He called it a "dream job".

Really, Randy? Ok, well, good for you. But...really?

I know UConn's not Alabama, but they've enjoyed far more success than Maryland has in the last decade. And since Edsall had essentially built the program himself, he was untouchable in Storrs.

I'm not pollyanna-ish about these things, if a coach wants to advance, go ahead. I'll understand it even if I don't like it. But Maryland? Really?

I don't understand what's going on in some of these coaches' heads, but if a definitive "profile" could ever be written on what drives these men into bad decisions, I'm all ears. Or eyes, whatever.

Louisville as Nottingham

I lied, I'm not over it. I've been playing this song on repeat on my laptop all day...

Fan favorite

As I said below, there was little reason to believe a comeback was possible as long as Louisville proved helpless against Kentucky's big men down low.

So the only real moment for cheering came when the scoreboard monitor showed Charlie Strong watching the game with his family. Charlie gave a quick wave and a wide smile. He received a standing ovation.

The supposed threat that Calipari poses to Rick Pitino is exaggerated. For my money, it's Charlie Strong who may soon own the enthused hearts of the Louisville faithful. If he doesn't already.

That second half run, brought to you by Terrence Jennings

U of L may have mounted their big run in the second half, allowing Cards fans reason to hope. But I wouldn't allow myself to get optimistic until they proved they could stop Kentucky down low. With staggering consistency, they could not. The few times they did, someone failed to block out, wasting a rare defensive stand and a chance to seriously shift momentum.

I have never seen a team answer an offensive explosion bucket-for-bucket like Kentucky. Only we were hitting long jump shots, and they were slamming home dunks.

Guess which one was destined to give out first?

The simplest formula for competing in the game was to rebound. We had to rebound. We did not rebound.

When Gorgui Dieng got hurt and had to sit, Terrence Jennings got an undeserved opportunity to own the second half. In a way he did -- his failure to show up and commit himself to what was needed to win pretty much encapsulated the team's effort as a whole (exception of Knowles and Dieng).

And with Jennings, I'm not talking about those bad double-teams -- those were strategic blunders poorly executed in my view. I'm talking about his complete indifference to rebounding the ball. Eric Crawford pointed out that Gorgui pulled down as many rebounds (4) in 12 minutes of play as TJ did in 28. That is PATHETIC. Gorgui's a freshman; TJ's a junior. Show some leadership man. Every time a shot goes up, Jennings seems to be out of position. How is that possible? Who's coaching this guy?

And then there was his controversial and ugly-looking swipe at Liggins as the game ended.

With Rock hurt and then Gorgui having to leave the game, Terrence Jennings had a unique chance to prove his mettle and lead the Cardinals in the second half of a huge game. He HAD to play well, had to show defensive toughness, had to rebound for us to have any chance to win. He did not, which is really not surprising -- he hasn't focused on defense and rebounding all season. As a consequence, I agree with Mr. Red: George Goode should be moved ahead of Jennings in the rotation.

UConn coach Edsall to Maryland

I saw it first on Crawford's blog.

Well, good luck Randy. At least you kept a lid on it during the Fiesta Bowl. How do you do that, by the way? Doesn't the athletic program get suspicious when you insist on not booking a return ticket?

My usual mantra on these hires is that I don't understand the ultimate appeal of ditching your Big East program with its BCS bid where you've established your reputation and are beloved in order to head off to greener pastures, only to spend three years mired in mediocrity and controversy at a "higher-profile" program and then get canned.

This article in the Globe details Edsall's rise at UConn. Sounds like he had a good thing going. Now he starts over with a fan base whose only knowledge of him is that his team got blown out during the Fiesta Bowl.

Then again, maybe that whole problem with UConn having trouble selling its BCS ticket allotment these last few weeks was the last straw in Edsall's mind.

All I can tell you about Maryland is, Southwest has excellent flight options to anywhere in the country out of Baltimore. But the Orioles suck.

****UPDATE ****

Mr. Red seems to have a much clearer perspective on how much the Maryland job had to offer -- not much according to him. At best, a lateral move. Mystifying.

Seriously Siva?

All season long, I've defended to fellow Cards fans the play of Peyton Siva -- reassuring certain fans that his potential is through the roof, reminding them that he's still a sophomore, that our expectations for him are sky high, that there are bound to be bumps in the road but that our offense is in good hands for the next three seasons with him at the point.

To those who asserted that the likable Siva of last season had somehow been transformed into a perverse, shorter reincarnation of Edgar Sosa (unfortunate that that's become a put down, but so be it), I pronounced with confidence to just wait: Siva was going to prove you wrong.

Boy, was that confidence shaken on Friday.

Officially, Siva scored 7 points on 2 of 9 shooting and doled out 4 assists while turning the ball over three times. But those who watched know that that hardly tells the story of how badly he played. Dribbling off his foot. Failing to find the open man. The out of control drives to the hoop. My fiancée is no basketball guru (though she is the one with the season tickets, the ultimate "who wears the pants" moment for a Cards follower), but she captured my sentiments exactly when she exclaimed in horror after yet another wild Siva drive, "why does he keep doing that?!"

To which I would also add: how was he so mentally unfocused and poorly prepared that he continued attacking the basket in half-court sets as if he was some kind of 6 foot 5 slasher?

I get now that Pitino's game plan was to attack the basket in the half court and get the ball inside to magically create shots. In abstract, sounds great. In practice, if Siva's your guy to solely execute said game plan (and at 5 foot 11, he ain't), then he has to balance that need with playing under control. When you wade into the paint and find yourself hopelessly stuck among bigger bodies, be patient. Pop the ball back out. Don't throw up those wild double-pump prayers just to have them swatted back in your grill.

I hate to claim to be a Jeff Goodman-like mind-reader, so let me just say that it looked like Siva was thinking shot first, pass second. If that's the case, it's disappointing.

I didn't think Siva would have a big game, but I expected that he was capable of playing with poise and within himself. He's supposed to be our floor general out there! Unfortunately, he wasn't poised, wasn't in control, and was not effective. He wasn't even functional. I would have rather accepted invisibility than total ineptitude.

I'm confident that Peyton will bounce back with some strong games down the road. However, redemption won't be earned until he plays with poise and control during a HUGE game, when the odds are stacked against us, when we need him most.

The Cards can't look past anybody on their remaining schedule, but for Peyton Siva the next opportunity for a clutch performance probably comes Jan. 12th when the Cards play 8th ranked Villanova in their house -- their top three scorers are all guards (gulp). That's Siva's next chance to show that he's a prime time player.

I'm hopeful, but not certain anymore, that he is.

Programming note in the aftermath and ashes of our destruction

This is my first chance to comment on last week's atrociously uninspired showing that we get to call this year's contribution to the 2010-11 so-called "Dream Game." We got our asses handed to us. Congrats to Kentucky for cleaning our clocks.

And to the Cards, I say thanks a lot for ruining my New Year's Eve. I know that sounds self-involved, but I figure since you played the biggest rivalry game of the season like it was all about you, well then I can blog about it like it's all about me. What was up with all the one-on-one play in the first ten minutes? The way we opened the game will haunt me most because we could have opened up a sizable lead if we had played our usual brand -- UK came out ice-cold. We didn't play that style of one-on-one dribble-drive ball against Morgan State, against Chattanooga, against any other team on our schedule. Why debut that against Kentucky?

Man that game sucked. I wouldn't have minded losing so much if we had fought hard, shown some basketball competence and a little toughness, and lost due to lack-of-talent. But that was just uninspired. We played scared.

I agree with Mr. Red about the need to move on. Looking ahead to my posts, I'll try to keep the outright venting to a minimum, look ahead to the future where I can, and should have it all out of my system by the end of the day. If Mr. Red's ahead of me in the healing process, it's only because we shot him with tranquilizers after he passed out at 8 p.m. on new year's eve he got to watch the game from the safe confines of CL headquarters while I had to soak in the shellacking in person at the game. Where the only respite from the agony came when Denny Crum and Charlie Strong received well-deserved ovations, or when Cal waddled into my sightline and obstructed the view from our section. Thanks for that along with the drubbing, Big John.

Emerging from the shame spiral

This Cardinal fan's gone through the gambit of emotions since Friday, but I've finally come full circle, arriving at the same place I began: very disspirited.

Not just in the loss, which certainly was conceivable heading in, even if unexpected. But the meek manner in which we went down stings. For the moment, it appears that the Rivalry Game has gotten too big for the Cards.

Unlike football, when nerves can be expelled through the sheer physicality of the game, basketball demands poise. If you can't conquer your nerves, the game's already over, or at least it'll be out of reach by the time you finally compose yourself.

Until the Cards find a way to prepare better mentally, or until they bring in guys with cooler water coursing through their veins, Louisville could be staring at a long and ugly losing streak in this annual matchup.

A couple other thoughts before waving goodbye to my pity party...

* Tim Fuller appears to be the only assistant that's earning his paycheck at the moment; Fuller for his recruiting prowess, and presumably, playing a key role in the recent commitments of Rodney Purvis and Negus W.C. Steve Massielo, on the other hand, the coach primarily charged with scouting the opposition did not have a good day on Friday. The Cards seemed legitimately surprised by UK's length once the ball was tipped and struggled mightily figuring out how to handle it on the fly. I cannot fathom why the offensive gameplan didn't seem to reflect preparation for a taller, rangier team. Easier said than done, I know, but I've watched team's more diminutive than the Cardinals, Indiana for instance, have more success against UK than the Cards were able to muster.

And don't get me started on Ralph Willard, who's role on the squad remains largely a mystery; Pitino's now even cracking jokes about it in post-game pressers. They'd be a whole lot funnier if Willard wasn't the highest paid assistant in college basketball, making 350K a season.

* Rick Pitino, true to form, left fans with a few questions afterwards about the way the game was coached. I got the half wrong, but I'm still taking credit for calling the Tim Henderson appearance. When you're getting whooped by a lengthy athletic team, it's hard to fathom what Pitino thought Henderson was going to bring to the table. And if he's substituting for the sake of substituting, that's a problem in itself.

But that's not even the biggest beef I have. From a personnel standpoint, I don't understand never playing George Goode. He's a large body that plays with effort, the same can't be said for Terrence Jennings. I've defended Jennings in the past, but have no defense for his performance on Friday. Except for dunking the ball, it's tough to point to anything he does well on the basketball court. Unless there's an undisclosed injury (Pitino's bogus injury reports are also getting frustrating and stupid), George Goode's absence is hard to explain.

And from a strategy standpoint, I understand double-teaming Terrence Jones, who at times has struggled to pass the ball, that's all well and good. But I don't understand continuing to do so once he proved he was up to the task, passing out of it and leading to uncontested basket after uncontested basket.

If one guy, or play rather, is killing you, you gotta adjust and make them beat you some other way. Once again, adjustments could not or would not be made.

* Alright, time to begin the healing process. Don't bitch, don't moan, don't make excuses. Get better.

Go Cards.