Archive for October, 2008
What To Make Of South Florida Free Fall
So what should the University of Louisville football team take from South Florida’s humiliating 24-10 loss to Cincinnati Thursday? The Bearcats handled the Bulls like kittens toying around with mice in the process of devouring them.
South Florida should never have been ranked among the top 20 teams?
South Florida is not the same team on the road that often demolishes the same teams on its home field?
South Florida quarterback Matt Grothe’s skills have been exaggerated?
Losing Long Not Necessarily Fatal
The big question is who replaces injured Scott Long as the University of Louisville football team travels to Syracuse. After scoring two touchdowns in last week’s win, Long suddenly was considered indispensable, the key to a successful season.
Losing Long is regrettable but far from being a season breaker.
Opening 2009 Pitch In Gainesville
As the Philadelphia Phillies were wrapping a World Series title, University of Louisville coach Dan McDonnell was releasing the Cards’ 2009 baseball schedule.
Every fan who shivered through last year’s season opener at Jim Patterson Stadium in February will confirm that sunny Florida is probably a better place to start a baseball season. UofL will kick off the 2009 season at Gainesville against Florida in a three-game series, Feb. 20-22.
The first of 32 home games will be against Eastern Kentucky on February 25. Visiting conference foes will include Georgetown, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame and South Florida. Series on the road are against defending regular season champ St. John’s, Seton Hall, Rutgers, Cincinnati and Villanova.
Big Ten opponents include Indiana, Ohio State, Iowa and Purdue. Other Southeastern Conference foes are Kentucky, Tennessee and Vanderbilt. The games against UK are April 14 in Louisville, April 28 in Lexington.
The Cards finished 2008 with a 41-21 record, including the Big East Tournament championship. UofL will return eight of nine position players, including third baseman Chris Dominguez, conference co-player of the year, and southpaw Justin Marks, an all-conference team member.
Here’s a link to a printable version of the full schedule.
More Bad News
Scott Long Injured Again
No expletives but some real pain here.
The University of Louisville football coaching staff has confirmed reports to WLKY-TV’s Fred Cowgill that wide receiver Scott Long suffered another serious knee injury today in practice, which probably means he is out for the season.
Long returned to action three weeks ago in the Memphis game after missing the first four games because of a pre-season injury. He had five receptions for 134 yards and two touchdowns in the win over South Florida.
The UofL roster lists Long as a junior.
Big Detour For The Tise
Much of the fun of attending University of Louisville women’s basketball games the last two seasons has been watching Chauntise Wright have her way in the middle. With her 6-foot-3 wide body, she is an intimidating force for opposing centers, doing the pushing instead of the relenting, a force with which to be reckoned Unfortunately for Tise and her many fans, Chauntise went down hard Friday, suffering a season-ending torn ligament, a major blow in the gut to the Lady Cards.
By Sonja Sykes
Things that stand out about Chauntise “Tise” Wright: Off the court are her big smile and playful nature. On the court she is calm and businesslike, a warrior dominating the paint on both ends of the court. Tise will need all of those qualities the next few months as she goes through surgery and rehabilitation … not only to keep mind and demeanor in tact, but for the sake of her teammates who begin the season without her in six days.
For Tise, it’s just one more delay in her journey at the University of Louisville and hopefully not her final destination. Tom Collen recruited the Forestville, Maryland high schooler to Louisville with hopes of turning her into the type of dominating center that top teams in women’s college basketball usually have on their rosters. Collen already had a pretty decent pivot player already in Jazz Covington but he envisioned a future battleship in the middle.
The first season was delayed, Tise becoming eligible only after the fall semester. There were things for her to work on — a tuneup, if you will, before she got on the road. Weight to be lost, conditioning to work on, defensive skills to be improved. There were the shining moments, 23 points and 9 rebounds in one game, but she couldn’t keep pace in games against powerhouse schools.
Tise she continued to work on her game along with Angel McCoughtry, another Maryland freshman, seemingly too skinny to have much of an impact. Angel and Tise began together, and they would be counted on as the journey continued.
