All Entries in the "Downtown Arena" Category
Pick Your Louisville Arena Seat
Picked out your seats yet?
The University has unveiled an impressive new web site that enables you to select your dream seats. Prospective ticket buyers — and wishful thinkers — can go directly to any seating section for a view of the court. The place is going to be spectacular, matching the cost of the tickets.
Maybe there will be a scholarship program or a financial aid package? You wish. Anyway, go here for your 3D view.
Louisville Arena By Night
The lights are on at the construction site of the new downtown arena, which will serve as the new home of the University of Louisville basketball team. The opening will be Nov. 1, 2010, a mere 486 days away. President James Ramsey awarded the U of L Presidential Medal to Chairman Jim Host and board members of the Louisville Arena Authority this week. Here’s a link to the arena web cam.
Louisville Gear Attracts Friends, Foes
By Paul Sykes
Wear the gear and people will comment. We recently went on a “mini-vacation” to Nashville and Gatlinburg…a chance to relax, get away from it all and enjoy the splendor of the Great Smokies. I packed several Cardinal hats and shirts and proudly wore the colors as we toured.
More than ever, total strangers were coming up to me out of the blue to discuss University of Louisville sports. I heard several positive comments about Lady Cards hoops, the baseball team and the prospects of Earl Clark and T-Will in the NBA draft. An Atlanta resident informed me she was so happy that Angel McCoughtry was playing for the Atlanta Dream.
One young man, wearing a questionable pink University of Kentucky baseball cap, assured me that UK would sweep football and basketball this year. I laughed good-naturedly and commented that he looked good in pink, which drew the laughter of his sidekicks and produced a scowl and verbal obscenity from him as he slinked off.
A young lady later that evening, sporting a John Calipari T-shirt, smugly informed me “those Cardinals weren’t no damn good.” I chuckled and offered her a couple of dollars to take off the Calipari shirt and let me use it to clean off the table where we were sitting.
Rejected.
We were in an English pub on the outskirts of Gatlinburg, sampling some very tasty porters and stouts, when the proprietor of the pub walked over to our table, grinning broadly and informed me he was a transplanted Cardinal and bought our next round. Discussion turned eventually to the prospects of the football team. “Joe” isn’t a candidate to start the Gatlinburg Steve Kragthorpe fan club, believe me. If you read this, Joe, remember Sonja’s motto: Love the players, love the game.
* * *
Minutes later, the news flashed about Michael Jackson. For the rest of the night, the sudden death of the “King of Pop” was the buzz of the city. The band playing in the bar even played a nicely done four or five-song tribute to the icon. Say what you will about the headline grabbing Mr. Jackson, “Rock With You” and “She’s Out of My Life” are two songs that will always bring back the memories of the beginnings of my life long love affair with the cagey lady who shyly agreed to go out on a date with me over 3o years ago.
The album “Off The Wall” was released in 1979 and several months later, UofL won its first National Championship in basketball. It’s the only Jackson recording I’ve ever bought. I’ve even owned it in eight-track, cassette and CD. Good times.
Kragthorpe Sorry For Missing Football Camp
The apology tour has begun for Coach Steve Kragthorpe after inexcusably missing an opportunity to represent the University of Louisville program at the Kentucky Football Coaches Clinic on Thursday. About 120 high school football coaches were stood up when Kragthorpe failed to make an appearance.
The observer was reminded of his first impression of Coach K about two weeks after he took the U of L post, the coach showing up more than an hour late for his first meeting with fans at the Neutral Zone in Middletown. Said he couldn’t find the place. Bad omen, the observer was thinking at the time. New guy, new town, let this one pass.
But this latest faux pas is flat out embarrassing. Take it, Coach K:
Mixing It Up, Cards Style
Advance Ready Mix knows how to customize the cement mixing vehicles for its work on the construction project, scheduled to be completed in November 2010. The same company decorated its trucks in a similar fashion following U of L’s first NCAA basketball championship in 1980.
