The painful loss of David Padgett inevitably brings back memories of the 1979-80 University of Louisville basketball season when Scooter McCray went down with a knee problem, lost for the remainder of the year. He was replaced by younger brother Rodney who became a pivotal force in the Cards’ march to a 33-3 won-loss record and the school’s first NCAA championship.

For history to have an opportunity to be repeated, several things need to happen: First and foremost, Padgett’s replacement, Derrick Caracter, will have to be a prime mover. Derrick’s got the talent, and everybody knows that basketball is his first love. He needs to improve all aspects of his game, as he seems to have done already with his free throw shooting.

Court awareness is among the most deficient; he needs to learn getting the ball to open players. He also needs to give U of L a lot of playing time, which will require fewer fouls. Derrick is close, and if anyone can get him there it is Rick Pitino. Not saying it’s on Derrick’s back but it absolutely can’t be done without continuing improvement on his part.

Terrence Williams needs to keep doing what only he is capable of doing, keeping his exceptional athleticism under control. Edgar Sosa just needs to remember he’s the play maker and that the points will come. Jerry Smith, keep being Mr. Consistency. Earl Clark needs to work harder to get open. Andre McGee, after he loses a few pounds, should keep hitting the threes. Will Scott needs to be able to shoot while on the move and become a defensive presence. Terrance Farley, time to show what Pitino saw in you. Above all, these guys need to make defense a top priority, starting against UNLV. And, for gosh sake, please stay healthy.

The exhibitions are over, the lightweights under the belt. Let basketball fever begin.

You have to admire a public figure who refuses to buckle under public pressure, remaining dedicated to the job at hand and doing the right thing. He could very easily have cut and run at the first opportunity. No, not referring to national politics, but to Louisville football coach Steve Kragthorpe.

Coach Kragthorpe describes reports that he has interviewed for the head spot at Southern Methodist University as “absolute fiction.” One could not blame him if he had interviewed with SMU, based on the criticism he has incurred as the result of a disappointing 5-6 season.

U of L fans have heard similar denials before from coaches. Schnellenberger, Smith and Petrino, Petrino, Petrino. Forgive fans if they have problems believing any football coach. The only difference this time is that a vocal group actually wants the coach to be lying.

If Kragthorpe does stick around, he’s a brave soul. You have to admire that in him. And if the rumblings about “off the field” problems are true, you may even thank him some day.

The painful loss of David Padgett inevitably brings back memories of the 1979-80 University of Louisville basketball season when Scooter McCray went down with a knee problem, lost for the remainder of the year. He was replaced by younger brother Rodney who became a pivotal force in the Cards’ march to a 33-3 won-loss record and the school’s first NCAA championship.

For history to have an opportunity to be repeated, several things need to happen: First and foremost, Padgett’s replacement, Derrick Caracter, will have to be a prime mover. Derrick’s got the talent, and everybody knows that basketball is his first love. He needs to improve all aspects of his game, as he seems to have done already with his free throw shooting.

Court awareness is among the most deficient; he needs to learn getting the ball to open players. He also needs to give U of L a lot of playing time, which will require fewer fouls. Derrick is close, and if anyone can get him there it is Rick Pitino. Not saying it’s on Derrick’s back but it absolutely can’t be done without continuing improvement on his part.

Terrence Williams needs to keep doing what only he is capable of doing, keeping his exceptional athleticism under control. Edgar Sosa just needs to remember he’s the play maker and that the points will come. Jerry Smith, keep being Mr. Consistency. Earl Clark needs to work harder to get open. Andre McGee, after he loses a few pounds, should keep hitting the threes. Will Scott needs to be able to shoot while on the move and become a defensive presence. Terrance Farley, time to show what Pitino saw in you. Above all, these guys need to make defense a top priority, starting against UNLV. And, for gosh sake, please stay healthy.

The exhibitions are over, the lightweights under the belt. Let basketball fever begin.

The next big question challenging some Louisville football fans is whether they will make it to the Rutgers game next week. Wanting to make some kind of statement about the coaching staff, as if all the whining and gnashing of teeth could have somehow been ignored.

Don’t want to get weepy on you but there are many reasons to go, including the fact that it’s Brian Brohm’s final college game. It’s the last time to see Harry Douglas, Art Carmody, Gary Barnidge, Scott Kuhn, Malik Jackson, Jonathan Russell, Preston Smith, Breno Giacomini, and Willie Williams. Guys who put their bodies on the line, taking you to Orange, Gator and Liberty bowls.

Unfortunately, it may be the last U of L football game we’ll see this season. No more train whistles, fireworks, marching band, no more tailgating, no more leaving two or three hours before games to avoid traffic congestion, no more Card Marches. Probably no bowl. Won’t see your neighbor seat holders till next year. College football is fun, more fun when you’re winning, and it keeps on giving even during the lean years.

Programs like Michigan, Notre Dame and Tennessee will always thrive and grow. Their fans endure the losing along with the winning — sure they complain if their teams are losing — but they will be there. Sure tradition helps, but they didn’t always have tradition. And you can’t thrive on tradition alone. People passionate about their teams can’t be ignored when crucial decisions are made. Fan bases that dissipate during troubled times can expect the worst.

Fortunately, Louisville football will survive and prosper, despite the turmoil currently surrounding the program. Tom Jurich thinks long term, already taking the first step to get the stadium expanded. He will do whatever is necessary to get things back on track. It helps U of L to know you are there, through good times and bad.

Go to the Rutgers game, enjoy the chairbacks and college football. Surely, we’ve seen the worst. Might even win.

To Louisville Football Fans:

You deserve better than what you saw on the football field this season.

You’ve seen defensive players not lined up correctly, inexplicably out of position on crucial pass plays, unable to put pressure on quarterbacks, forgetting how to tackle, wilting in the path of big backs, getting injured at an unprecedented pace, spending too much time on the field, and giving inconsistent effort from one play to the next.

You’ve witnessed former offensive stars becoming sub par, dismissed, suspended, injured or just plain missing, often without any explanation. You’ve seen Brian Brohm, a hometown favorite, go from having a legendary college career to an embarrassing senior season. You’ve grimaced as Harry Douglas, Mario Urrutia and other talented receivers always seem to be covered like glue. The tight ends, as well.

You’ve endured an offensive backfield that includes Brock Bolen, Anthony Allen, George Stripling and Sergio Spencer (remember him?) now struggle to get 80 yards a game. You’ve wondered why a talent like Bilal Powell was limited to mop-up action.

Still, most of you have bent over backwards to give the new coaching staff the benefit of doubt much of the season. You’ve waited, patiently, for the light to go on, for this team to show glimpses of past greatness. But it hasn’t happened, and you’re wondering how many more future seasons will resemble this one.

If this writer could offer any ray of hope, it would be that the deficiencies we have seen this season are so obvious that they can’t be ignored. My gut feeling, and I don’t have any inside information, is that major changes will be forthcoming when this season concludes. The program has come too far to be allowed to further embarrass the university.

— If you muff the opening kickoff on the road, the odds are good that it’s going to be a long, long night.
— A laugher is a game where the TV cameras stay focused on the South Florida quarterback for much of the fourth quarter. Were the Bulls having fun, or were they just laughing? At who or what? Don’t want to know.
— The producers could have used a still photo of Kragthorpe; his body profile and facial expression rarely changed.
— That flash of excellence you saw late at running back late was Bilal Powell.
— Was there ever a longer, more frustrating football game?

The basketball Cards did what was expected in dispatching Hartford 104-69 in the University of Louisville’s season opener. Some impressions:

— Terrence Williams looks like Darrell Griffith-plus, with even more athleticism than we remembered. A reverse double-clutch dunk, 14 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds. He will be legendary simply for his dunks but his other contributions are so much more valuable.

— Edgar Sosa will start again, and soon. For this team to come close to its potential, Edgar must realize his talents extend far beyond shooting; that’s when basketball will become fun again.

— Will need more than 16 minutes from Derrick Caracter as the schedule toughens. Still seems foul-prone. Officials expect him to foul, too, so they tend to anticipate.

— Can’t wait to see David Padgett against a good post man, brings out the best in him.

Still not quite into basketball, football grieving continues.

Louisville has never beaten South Florida in Tampa. There’s no logical reason to expect the outcome to be any different this time around. But fans can hope

— That Harry Douglas is able to be the Harry Douglas of old, at least one more time before he graduates.

— That U of L opens with a two back offense, with Brian Roche living up to the hype that accompanied his signing, creating holes as big as trucks for the running backs.

— That junior college transfer Woodny Turenne has finally adapted to major college football and picks off at least three interceptions.

— That George Stripling is not running up the middle on third downs; he’s more effective on screen passes.

— That neither Brock Bolen nor Anthony Allen pull disappearing acts.

— That a Rutgers win can cap a winning season.

Why is it that the worst possible news about Louisville football always seems to be relayed by Kentucky fans who don’t otherwise acknowledge the program’s existence?

Early this year, it was a brother-in-law shoving a sports section my way over eggs and bacon with the shocker about Bobby Petrino’s departure. A decade ago it was another Cat lover breaking the news that Howard Schnellenberger was off to Oklahoma. Yesterday, it was a recorded message from a UK grad about the demise of Peanut Whitehead’s football career.

What’s worse than getting the news from UK fans is the realization that this week’s events, including the suspension of Rod Council, have to be damningly disconcerting to the players. All season long, they’ve had fans berating their coach, their skills, and their desire to win, accompanied by an unprecedented rash of suspensions and injuries. Now Peanut is gone.

Peanut is just one player but he was a symbol of a the talent and potential that returned this year. His loss to the team and his personal loss of an entire football career are dreary confirmation that a black cloud has engulfed the U of L football program. Anyone expecting a late season turn around is likely to be disappointed.

Every so often, much too often, you hear the notion floated that the ratio of U of L fans to UK fanatics in the Louisville area is evenly divided, about 50-50 between the two schools.

Not so. Not even close, according to the results of a Courier-Journal Bluegrass Poll released in February 2005. The poll should have settled the issue once and for all. But UK fans and some media types, who either don’t read the front page, don’t do any research at all, or count on the forgetfulness of the general public, persist in verbalizing untruths.

Predictably. That’s why this writer kept a copy of the results, to ensure that folks are aware of the facts. The poll indicated:

— Fans of U of L basketball outnumbered UK fans by 53.7% to 33.3% in the Louisville area.

— U of L football fans weighed in at 61.3%, as compared to 20.8% for UK pigskin followers.

The Courier-Journal poll did not take into consideration the bandwagon jump factor, which includes people whose loyalty often wavers, depending on well a team is faring during a particular season. They will jump from a losing team to a winning team in a heartbeat. But even with a plus or minus error factor of 5%, Louisville wins the local favorite debate hands down.

Keep this information handy. The issue will resurface.