Juan Palacios may get a red shirt year after suffering an injury in basketball practice Saturday morning. The early diagnosis was a sprained MCL and depending on the severity of the injury, Palacios may redshirt this season, coach Rick Pitino said. Red Shirt
Things to watch for as Louisville visits Cincinnati in the Battle for the Keg of Nails, a game that will provide some clues about whether things are going to turn around anytime soon:
— An actual sold out stadium at Nippert Stadium where Cincinnati fans will actually outnumber U of L folks for the first time anyone can remember. The bandwagon is still taking on passengers. Good thing the Bengals are off to bad start, huh?
— Cards to choose to play defense if U of L wins the coin toss. Brian Brohm seems to get off to a slow start against better teams, especially those with animals on the defensive line. With our unpredictable punting game, three-and-out inside our 30 could be bad news indeed.
— Will Harry Douglas actually play? We’ve been disappointed the last two games with Harry deciding in the last few minutes that’s it’s not going to happen. I think he plays even if he’s still hurting.
— Will Patrick Carter continue to perform like Harry Douglas, as he did against Utah, catching nine passes for 154 yards? It would be great to have two Harries out there.
— Will U of L gain over 50 yards on the ground? That depends on which versions of Anthony Allen and Brock Bolen show up. They have been unstoppable at times, practically unused in some games. If they gain 120 yards combined, it will have been a good day for the Cards.
— The ESPN-U television crew will spend much of time in the broadcast booth and on the sidelines throwing down food before, during and after the game.
We’ve wondered for several years why sportswriter Earl Cox gives so much ink to University of Kentucky athletics in the Voice-Tribune (formerly the Voice of St. Matthews), a Louisville suburban newspaper. Visitors to town would think UK was the local team by the amount of space given to the Cats.
This week’s edition, like so many others, features bold headlines on UK athletics, this time on the South Carolina loss. In a long-winding co
lumn, he also writes at great length about the upcoming schedule and the SEC and interviews long-time friends about their UK football memories.
The Irvine, Ky., native and former CJ sports editor relishes his state ties and obviously enjoys hyping UK sports in a community where, in football, U of L fans outnumber UK followers by 61.3% to 20.8%, according to a 2005 CJ Bluegrass Poll.
Okay, so Kentucky is winning this year and Cox can argue that UK has fans in this area. But the coverage has always been overtly generous.
Cox is unable to resist proclaiming the “demise’ of U of L football, stating that Steve Kragthorpe inherited a “pot problem” and lamenting a report that Tom Jurich turned down an interview opportunity with ESPN. Then he suggests that the media should “not cover U of L athletics until current restrictions are lifted.”
This week U of L announced that injury reports will be released weekly. Cox may have been suggesting that the media needs to be investigating the use of pot. I’m fine with that, as long as it includes the marijuana at both universities. The final straw was his suggestion that there were problems with another U of L team and that we should “stay tuned for another shoe to drop – loudly.”
Really.
As far as the UK administration is concerned, Earl can hang on to those Wildcat press passes for life, along with that spot in the UK School of Journalism’s Hall of Fame.
We’ve wondered for several years why sportswriter Earl Cox gives so much ink to University of Kentucky athletics in the Voice-Tribune (formerly the Voice of St. Matthews), a Louisville suburban newspaper. Visitors to town would think UK was the local team by the amount of space given to the Cats.
This week’s edition, like so many others, features bold headlines on UK athletics, this time on the South Carolina loss. In a long-winding column, he also writes at great length about the upcoming schedule and the SEC and interviews long-time friends about their UK football memories.
The Irvine, Ky., native and former CJ sports editor relishes his state ties and obviously enjoys hyping UK sports in a community where, in football, U of L fans outnumber UK followers by 61.3% to 20.8%, according to a 2005 CJ Bluegrass Poll.
Okay, so Kentucky is winning this year and Cox can argue that UK has fans in this area. But the coverage has always been overtly generous.
Cox is unable to resist proclaiming the “demise’ of U of L football, stating that Steve Kragthorpe inherited a “pot problem” and lamenting a report that Tom Jurich turned down an interview opportunity with ESPN. Then he suggests that the media should “not cover U of L athletics until current restrictions are lifted.”
This week U of L announced that injury reports will be released weekly. Cox may have been suggesting that the media needs to be investigating the use of pot. I’m fine with that, as long as it includes the marijuana at both universities. The final straw was his suggestion that there were problems with another U of L team and that we should “stay tuned for another shoe to drop – loudly.”
Really.
As far as the UK administration is concerned, Earl can hang on to those Wildcat press passes for life, along with that spot in the UK School of Journalism’s Hall of Fame.
Such animosity on the message boards these days, one post after another calling for Kragthorpe’s scalp. Some fans want it today, can’t wait another game. A few even want a piece of Tom Jurich. The same ones wanted Pitino’s hide before the basketball team started winning last season.
Message boards are a blessing and a curse. They give fans a chance to discuss the latest developments 
and rumors with fellow fans as well as outlets for venting their frustration. This is a godsend in a town where the media has been historically lazy in covering local teams or devoting an inordinate amount of space to a rival school.
Unfortunately, the amount of redundancy and drivel on them often makes it difficult to find anything meaningful. You also have to sort through all the untruths and rumors, many times by rival fans. Inside the Ville makes it possible to ignore some posters but the sheer number of them is a challenge at ITV and Rivals.
Administrators and coaches must be careful about who they share information with, fearing that any comment will wind up on a message board. Sources are drying up because inside information is difficult to obtain on the boards these days.
Still, the message boards provide a useful exchange of views. There are plenty of people who are able to keep things in perspective. And there are a few who are actually knowledgeable about football and basketball. I will continue to frequent the message boards as long as those guys are around.
Stop complaining. Listen a minute.
Brian Brohm has never been known for making overly optimistic predictions. In fact, he rarely makes predictions. Brian avoids the cameras or microphones when possible, preferring to do his talking on the football field. When he does talk, people listen.
“The thing about our team is we do have the capability of beating everyone left on our schedule. We have the talent, we have the offensive firepower to go out and outscore teams. So if we’re coming to play, teams better be ready because I think we can beat anyone. We feel good going into Big East play that we can play with all these teams and pull out some big wins.”
That’s what he told Russ Brown in a Lexington Herald-Leader story, insisting that all is not lost and that the Cards can still salvage their season by bouncing back to win the Big East title.
Another reminder of the importance of college football in Louisville came when U of L basketball coach Rick Pitino devoted 11 minutes of his pre-season remarks to the football coaching issue.
Pitino said any time you see a coach suspending players, it means he “won’t sacrifice his principles for winning games, he’s building a program, he’s not trying to win a half, and you know he’s doing the right thing.”
Pitino is right. He also recognizes that football fever has gripped Louisville over the last several years and the community expects to win. Be patient, he is saying, we’re thinking long-term here.
So we hear that Black Coaches Association has awarded an “F” to U of L for the process through which the university hired the new football coach. The BCA gets the headlines it seeks but you have to wonder whether the group did its homework. Did they not know Ron Cooper was our coach for three years? Or does history not count?
Among the BCA’s criteria was the racial composition of the search committees. The problem with search committees is that they often include well-meaning faculty reps with not a clue about football, as we learned when Schnellenberger departed.
Even though the football season has disappointed, we still prefer to have Tom Jurich make those decisions for us. By the way, he reportedly had Karl Dorrell, the black coach at UCLA, on his short list. Did the BCA even think to ask?
Another reminder of the importance of college football in Louisville came when U of L basketball coach Rick Pitino devoted 11 minutes of his pre-season remarks to the football coaching issue.
Pitino said any time you see a coach suspending players, it means he “won’t sacrifice his principles for winning games, he’s building a program, he’s not trying to win a half, and you know he’s doing the right thing.”
Pitino is right. He also recognizes that football fever has gripped Louisville over the last several years and the community expects to win. Be patient, he is saying, we’re thinking long-term here.
So we hear that Black Coaches Association has awarded an “F” to U of L for the process through which the university hired the new football coach. The BCA gets the headlines it seeks but you have to wonder whether the group did its homework. Did they not know Ron Cooper was our coach for three years? Or does history not count?
Among the BCA’s criteria was the racial composition of the search committees. The problem with search committees is that they often include well-meaning faculty reps with not a clue about football, as we learned when Schnellenberger departed.
Even though the football season has disappointed, we still prefer to have Tom Jurich make those decisions for us. By the way, he reportedly had Karl Dorrell, the black coach at UCLA, on his short list. Did the BCA even think to ask?
UofLCardGame 