Blue Devil makes trick shot video about "buckets"

A few months ago, we posted video of UConn quarterback Johnny McEntee throwing all manner of trick passes--blindfolded, from the rafters of the gymnasium, at pizza delivery vans.

It pains me to inform you that Duke basketball player Kyle Singler has now done the same thing. Making his own trick shot video to the apparent chosen theme of "buckets." Thus rendering the entire trick shot youtube video enterprise very uncool.

Damn you Duke.

Hat tip: Diane Bulpett

Thoughts on asterisks and indictments while reading about Lance Armstrong

Not really related to Louisville athletics, but this irked me when I read it so I thought I would post and maybe (or maybe not) it will irk you too. From Eugene Robinson of the Wash. Post, coming to the defense of maybe-about-to-be-indicted Lance Armstrong:

Let’s suppose the new doping allegations against cyclist Lance Armstrong are true. Should his seven Tour de France victories be marked with an asterisk, or even erased? If so, then the unofficial title of greatest-in-history would revert to Belgian cyclist Eddy Merckx, who won the Tour five times — oh, and who tested positive for banned stimulants on at least three occasions.

Let me think about the answer to that question. Okay, got it. YES. Mark Lance Armstrong's seven titles with the asterisk. Don't just put it on his name either. Put it next to every year he won the Tour de France. Then dot Merckx guy's name and titles with asterisks too. Then go into the baseball record books and start decorating Bonds, McGwire and Sosa's names. It's all the same to me. They all cheated.

Okay, that bothered me a little, but this really got me worked up:

The more I think about it, the more I am convinced that trying to police the use of performance-enhancing substances by professional athletes is pure, Sisyphean folly. I’m even more convinced that threatening to throw the accused in jail — as might happen with Armstrong, slugger Barry Bonds and pitcher Roger Clemens, and did happen with sprinter Marion Jones — is a gross misuse of criminal statutes intended to sanction actual crimes.

My memory of the Jones and Clemens and Bonds legal fiascoes is only passable, but I seem to recall that their criminal charges were for lying to federal and congressional investigators, not for violating the rules of their sport. If you lie to the feds about crimes committed, you get charged will perjury or obstruction of justice. I would like to think that that's the case no matter the context, sports, politics or otherwise. (Alas, I'm not so naive). But I for one am happy to apply the law as it relates to sports.

Professional athletes are businessmen and businesswomen, pure and simple. Often there's as much money at risk for athletes as there is for those in the corporate world, in part because both worlds are now one and the same. NBA players in particular never cease to remind us that "this is a business." So in enforcingthe law, I make no distinction between the two, as Robinson seems to later in the article.

The Bender-Caldwell Comedy Duo

Just finished listening to the "scathing" Bender/Caldwell interview on a UCF/Orlando radio program (if you ever hear me complain about Louisville radio hosts being "amateurish", whew, please re-link this post to serve as a reminder) where he was supposed to destroy Rick Pitino and UofL basketball, and let me first just say...

Hahahahahahhhaahahaha.

Most of it was surreal. For me, the funniest part of these Bender interviews, first with Matt Jones, now this one in Orlando, is the dramatic setup that each host relishes in, how it's built up with Frost/Nixon-like seriousness.

And then Bender gets on. And then it's like, "Brandon, um, are you an agent?"

BB: "Nope, don't know nothing about that".

Awkward pause. Then 20 minutes of filler-fluff.

And, ladies and gentlemen, let's hear it for Ken Caldwell, another AAU-shadow figure that I knew nothing about until 48 hours ago. He's the Abe Simpson of college basketball recruiting! He goes on and on, with obvious animosity in his voice towards, I dunno, someone, yet he makes no points, has no arguments, and goes off on tangent after tangent about how he taught XX recruit how to crossover dribble and watched XX kid play pickup ball, etc. etc.

And in case you didn't realize, not only are these two men not slimy, they're saints!

From Caldwell: "I'm a family man. I've got kids. I got a wife. I got all of those intangible things."

Everything they do they do out of the goodness of their own hearts! Caldwell sends kids UCF-bound because he's just that impressed with their facilities and the beauty of the campus.

(Oh, that's what both kept going on and on about, the UCF campus is beautiful, gorgeous, how can I recommend a kid to go anywhere else after I've seen it?)

Alright, I could ramble on this thread, so I'll limit myself to five final thoughts...

1) Bender bitched out. He said nothing. Certainly nothing damaging towards Pitino or Louisville after talking such a big game. In the immortal words of that dickhead coach on Mighty Ducks to Gordon Bombay: "You're not even a has been, you're a never was."

Bender is a never-was.

2) Quote of the show, from Caldwell:

"All this is about my past. Have a been convicted of a felony? Yes. But you know who else has been? Robert Downey Jr., Paris Hilton...umm...Don King. But you know what they have in common? They're difference makers, and that's what I am."

3) Louisville fandom is a lot about figuring out our place in the college sports universe; inferiority and superiority complexes battling within our collective stomachs. For better are worse, the term "little brother" is a part of our lexicon, one that will be battled against into perpetuity.

So being overlooked, or not treated with enough respect nationally is nothing new to the Louisville Cardinal.    But then you hear a show like this one, and you're introduced to a whole new society of collegiate underdweller.

UCF; wow, beautiful though you're campus supposedly may be, you've got a severe Napoleon-complex going on.

4) And the hosts. Wow. The hosts. They asked the hard hitting questions (gotta maintain credibility) like: Have you ever taken money from a University? No? Terrific, glad we got that cleared up...will you go on a 15 minute rant on how great a guy you are?

5) Go to hell, UCF. I never had anything against you, but like most people in my life, once I've got to know you a little better, now I hate you.

Free Damarcus Smith. He doesn't want to go there.

Listen to Brandon's media bender...

At the link HERE, if you're so inclined. Mr. Bender, who recently went on Matt Jones' radio show only to claim that he knows nothing, NOTHING about reports of his wannabe-kingmaker role in local recruitment, will tonight be doing an interview on 740 "The Game " from Orlando to express that he now knows everything, EVERYTHING, and will "tell all" about Rick Pitino and expose him.

An ass clown, but an ass clown I'll be listening to at 6:30 PM nonetheless. Damn, I gotta make some life-changes.

Good pickup, so-so movie

Famous Villanova-slayer Luke Hancock announced he will be transferring from George Mason to the Cards.

He's no drunken superhero, but I think it's a solid addition nonetheless. At 6'5'' he has good size on the wing, is fairly athletic, and will enter as a seasoned junior with NCAA tourney experience. Not much not to like there; I think he can contribute solid backup minutes.

My mind has been more on the post lately, because with the departure of TJ and Woods, a supposed strength is looking like a potential weakness next sesason. And while we don't need to worry about perimeter play right now, with Kuric and Blackshear filling it up nicely, after sitting out his year, Hancock will be valuable in 2012 when we're without either (if Blackshear lives up to his potential or if he listens to TJ).

Having an experienced, sizable, perimeter player on the roster with a year of major college conditioning under his belt could pay off nicely. Good investment.

Well done new coach Keatts. Now go get a blue-chipper; Penny Hardaway, perhaps?