All Entries in the "University of Louisville" Category

Earl Clark Returns, Louisville 71, USF 57

By Charlie Springer

The eyes of Card fans would be tightly focused on Earl Clark and Edgar Sosa going into the Louisville vs. South Florida game.

No way Earl Clark was going to take any team lightly Wednesday, not after Sunday’s dismal performance against the Lexington team. Someone was going to feel his wrath.

His team would need him in a huff because South Florida turns out to be a decent team. Disrespect the Bulls this season and you may just go home with your tail between your legs. One gets the feeling that, under Stan Heath, the program will advance quickly, making the Big East even tougher in the not-too-distant future.

Clark kept the Bulls at bay in this game, with his game-leading 22 points, nine rebounds, two assists and a block.

Who knew Clark could shoot three-point shots? Everybody does now, with knocking down three of eight attempts. Nice shooting form this night. So that’s why Rick Pitino has given him the green light.

As for Edgar Sosa, more of the positive vibes he exhibited Sunday. Five of nine field goal attempts, including two three-pointers, and no disparagement. Need to pick up on those assists, however. Just one won’t help much with the killer schedule ahead.

Samardo Samuels doing his Derrick Caracter imitation with all the fouling lately.

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Strangely, Louisville didn’t get to the free throw line in the first half. “We didn’t get fouled,” said Pitino, calling Big East officials “the best referees in America.”

Pitino’s Tuesday News Conference

Who Gives Up Tickets To UK Fans

By Charlie Springer

What kind of person buys season tickets to University of Louisville basketball games and hands them over to Kentucky fans for UofL-UK games? The question is relevant because Freedom Hall will have more than a few blue-clad partisans on Sunday. It’s inevitable.

• The self-serving boss who wants to reward customers out in the state with the ultimate gimme, tickets to the biggest game in the state. They make most of their money in Louisville but take advantage of a rare opportunity to kiss Big Blue butts.
• Transplanted brown nosing employees from out in the state who lay claim to the company tickets three months in advance.
• The Benedict Arnold types, the neuter-genders who say they like both UofL and UK but pull for Kentucky when the teams face each other.
• The spineless wimp who marries a UK fan and gives in to pleas to let the brother’s family in Burgin or Paintsville use the tickets.
• Fans who lost bets to UK fans during the last UofL-UK football game.
• The shameless hucksters who sell their tickets to the highest bidders.
• Victims of clueless people born and raised in Shively, St. Matthews and parts in between who call in favors from UofL fans who owe them big time. Their parents were UK fans so it was bred into them.

You don’t have to go out of your way to be nice to UK fans in Freedom Hall. That may be asking too much. Just make up your mind that you will be courteous and civil with them. Their brains are wired a little differently that ours, and they can be a little looney.

Save your ire for the people who gave them the tickets.

Welcoming A New Year

By Sonja Sykes

Another year has come and gone. We roll into 2009 with a lot hopes and expectations. The men and women’s basketball teams are top 25 nationally and in just a couple of months, the football team begins spring practice. Dan McDonnell is getting the baseball Cards poised and ready for a big season, and the softball team returns a solid group of sluggers and fielders.

As I type this on New Year’s Eve day, a light snow is beginning to fall and the several Cardinal birds that make our Norfolk pines their home are busily zipping about in the cold, windy conditions.  Like them, the Cardinal athletic teams are hard at work also, and I hope their brilliance matches the beauty of our winter friends in the front yard.

Have you got that list of New Year’s resolutions made? I came up with several for 2009 and I’ll share them with you. Can’t say they’ll be successful, but someone once said that any effort is better than no effort at all. Even if you fail, the lessons learned and the opportunities available in defeat are the first steps to success the next time around.

-  I propose to be a little kinder and more understanding of my UK friends and co-workers. Despite our differences and rivalries, we share the common bonds of hope, support and loyalty to the schools for which we root. Blue or red, it is the passion and expectations that define us and motivate us, whether it is sports or life in general.  Being understanding and open minded are two virtues we all could use a little more in our lives.

-  I pledge to “trust in Tom” and hope that our football team can make great strides in the building and rebuilding process.  It’s easy to criticize from the 14th row, I’m going to try and let patience and optimism be my guideposts this fall. Support for the guys in the helmets, always.

-  I will endeavor to bring you the best possible coverage on the Lady Cards basketball team I can. Although my work conditions may be changing soon, and my time for research and reporting could dwindle, I’ve got the support and promise from my husband to help me carry the ball and keep you up on Angel and the gang. Here’s hoping we have a lot of great things to report.

-  Finally, I hope to devote more time to those who need it. Family, friends and neighbors. The way we react with them help define who and what we are in this world.  It’s said that you never really miss someone until they’re gone, so I plan on making some great memories with those around me for future reflection and remembrance while celebrating the “now”.

To you, the readers, I hope for better days, more smiles and positive things to blog about.  Try to walk more and eat less. Attempt to listen more and criticize less.  Keep your faith and beliefs close at hand and always remember that there is someone upstairs who cares.

Thank you for your wonderful comments, ideas and dialogue in 2008. Let’s do it again this year, and have a lot of fun with it. Happy New Year and much love!

Running Rebels On A Six-Game Run

Always dangerous University of Nevada-Las Vegas (UNLV) arrives in Freedom Hall Wednesday riding the crest of a six-game winning streak and an 11-2 won-lost record. Victims this season have included Arizona, Cincinnati and Fresno State.

Senior guard Wink Adams, the team’s leading scorer with 14.1 points per game, is listed as a game-time decision, recuperating from a lower abdominal strain incurred in a game last week against Southern Utah.

If Adams does make a quick recovery, get your arms up and get out on your man: He hit seven consecutive three-pointers in a 79-64 win over Utah on Dec. 20.

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The Running Rebels are mentored by Lon Kruger, who coached the Atlanta Hawks prior to accepting the UNLV position in 2004. It was as head coach of the Hawks that Kruger guaranteed season-ticket holders that the Hawks would make the playoffs or get a $125 refund. The Hawks failed to make the playoffs and Kruger was fired midway through the season.

Kruger also held head coaching positions at Florida, Kansas State, Illinois and the University of Texas-Pan American. He is one of five coaches to take four teams to the men’s NCAA basketball tournament.

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Calendar Girl – The first 7,500 fans to attend the Lady Cards’ season-opening Big East Conference Game against Depaul on Saturday will receive a free Angel calendar, featuring U of L All American forward Angel McCoughtry. Game time is 2 p.m. at Freedom Hall. See ya at the Heavenly Gate on Phillips Lane.

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Baseball Memory – Stumbled onto a real memento at the gift shop at Freedom Hall while attending the Lady Cards-New Hampshire game: a home-plate shaped clock commemorating the Baseball Cards’ appearance in the College World Series. Normally, the clocks go for $45, but they’ve been marked down to $22.50. Only five clocks remained after I got mine. Good way to remember a great time in UofL baseball history.