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Archive for March, 2010
Generations Of Cards Come Together
Posted: March 11, 2010 by Bacon in Louisville Basketball, Louisville Football, Posted by Larry Loobers
This Saturday, March 13th at Brownies the Shed two generations of Cardinal greats will come together to host the Weekend Sports Buzz on 970 am WGTK at 11 am ET.
Former Cards center and Bills 1st round draft pick Eric Wood will be on site to join former Cards QB Dave Ragone to bring you a football players view on March Madness as well as all the going the rest of the nation’s top sports stories.
Come-out to Brownies the Shed (237 Whittington Parkway) this Saturday to meet two generations of Cardinal greats, watch basketball on one of Brownies big screen TVs while enjoying Brownies great food and drink prices.
Raindrops! will be out with injury until NCAA
Coach Rick Pitino said Jerry Smith will be forced to sit out of this week’s Big East tourney due to a thumb injury he suffered after a dunk during Saturday’s win against Syracuse
. In patented Jerry fashion, the thumb was not actually injured in the act of dunking, yet in an act of celebration following the jam. Smith scored 8 of the Cards’ first 10 points Saturday before leaving the game and making way for that crazy cracker Kyle Kuric.Whether or not Pitino is being straight-forward about Smith’s status remains to be seen. It was almost as if Pitino thought the injury was more of a mental thing than anything else. As we have all seen over his 4 years in red, Smith’s game feeds off his shot. Jerry could be effective in other phases, but since his shot won’t be on point Pitino is worried it will hamper his game. A similar situation occurred with Preston Knowles and his thumb injury earlier this season. Normally, Knowles would be as tenacious of a defender as they come. However, the injury made him tentative and afraid of re-injury.
Where does this leave the Cards in the historic MSG this week? I say Kyle Kuric steps into Knowles’ back-up slot and Knowles moves into the starting line-up. With Kuric’s epic performance Saturday, Pitino would be crazy not to give him more clock. Many could argue a healthy Knowles is just as effective if not more than Smith this season. Pitino even said Edgar Sosa, who played the 2 in high school, actually looked comfortable playing there in practice, but sounded like he didn’t want to be forced into that scenario. This is not as bad of a situation as an outsider would think. Remember, if Smith doesn’t get injured on Saturday, you never have Kuric’s legendary performance and the Cards are possibly…possibly… fighting for their NCAA lives this week.
The thing to worry about is how Smith missing such crucial games will affect team chemistry when he finally comes back. Pitino is loyal to his upperclassman almost to a fault. Regardless of how well Knowles and Kuric play in his absence, Smith will be inserted back into the line-up when Pitino feels he is ready. If that’s in a pivotal NCAA second-round game or even Big East championship, you can only hope his return doesn’t cause a hiccup. However, if anyone on the team can fit right back in after missing a few games, it’s Jerry Smith.
Louisville is tentatively scheduled to play at 9 PM tomorrow (that’ll never happen). Thinking it’ll be more like 9:30. Their opponent will be determined tonight when Cincinnati takes on Rutgers at around 9;00 as well.
- Someone sent me this picture today and it is awesome. Sorry if I’m not crediting the right person out there, but whoever and wherever you are… good work.
The picture is in response to an article in the LEO yesterday by veteran sportswriter CD Kaplan.
Kaplan is known as Seedy K in the publication and has a reputation to push the envelope in his writings. This time I don’t think he’s pushing it too far because the news has been around for months. Of course, the piece involves our favorite cheaters down I-64 and their two prized recruits – John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins…There are now two sources, one a member of the national media, who indicate there is a race to reveal some NCAA transgressions by UK frosh stars, John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins.
I am told, though I have no personal knowledge nor evidence myself whatsoever, that the investigations concern cash money and, perhaps, real estate.
There are two nationally known media sources who are, according to sources, scurrying to obtain the last bit of evidence that will allow them to publish the story. One, I’m advised, is the New York Times. The other, one of the major online sports sites.
As per usual, neither of my sources mentioned UK coach John Calipari by name. Only the players were named. This is all I have at this time. Frankly, it’s not much. But, the facts are these. 1) John Calipari has a track record that would not rule out such a situation. 2) These two players, by their actions, indicated they would have played for Calipari at North Dakota A & M, if that’s where he was coaching. 3) None of the Tobacco Road schools surprisingly gave a serious look at Wall, though he was a local
kid.
Now this isn’t new news to anyone that is as obsessive about the situation as most UK and UL fans are in this state. There has always been the strong rumor that either Pat Forde of ESPN, Jeff Goodman of FoxSports.com, Pete Thamel of the New York Times or someone else had some serious dirt on Calipari and was just waiting to double, triple, even quadruple his sources before his paper/website decided to take on one of the more powerful fanbases, coaches, and programs in the country. It’s been months since this news first came about and I have been waiting for it to finally hit print. That day hasn’t come… yet.
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However, you’d have to be blind to think the major news outlets aren’t trying to get to the bottom of how all these big-time recruits are being filtered to Calipari. UK fans will dismiss this as a jealous witch-hunt done by guys who are either lacking credibility or would just like to see UK suffer. Yet, those are the same fans that asked the same questions about Cal when he was at Memphis. You just don’t go from a program losing it’s luster, coming of an NIT season with a recruiting class headed by Jon Hood and Daniel Orton to a powerhouse with 4 first-rounders in the starting line-up without doing something drastic. Right?
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Like Kaplan said, there has to be a reason that a North Carolina boy like Wall wasn’t coveted more by the big, in-state Tobacco Road schools. Remember, Wall wanted North Carolina to come calling, but a strained relationship with his handler Brian Clifton turned Roy Williams off. Why did Coach K not put up more of a fight for such a transcendent player right in his Durham backyard? Could it be because they knew something was fishy and weren’t in as desperate a position as Kentucky to risk NCAA heat for his services?
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Why was DeMarcus Cousins so in love with Mike Davis at UAB, knew he was only going to play for a year, but still asked that his letter of intent be amended in case Davis left? Davis had just signed a contract-extension through the 2012-13 season and had his 2rd straight 20 win season. Why would Cousins think Davis was leaving unless someone else sweetened the deal for him a little? These are the questions an article of this magnitude should answer and why it is taking the piece so long to be printed.
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Something is up in Lexington and everyone knows it. There is a reason that Cal has been to two Final 4s that aren’t in the record books anymore. He recruits players who are great, but not necessarily legal. Whether to the extent of what Kaplan said remains to be seen.
All I have to say is UK fans better hold on to those UK2K shirts because they could become a collectors item in the near future. For all the wrong reasons.
Laid back chillin'
Listen to the Evening Buzz with Trevor and Rob tonight at 8 PM. Call in with any questions or comments at 646.381.4206.
And people tried to say there was no talent on last year’s team.
Scott Long was one of the few bright spots in the Krag era, and might have earned himself a spot on an NFL roster next year with his impressive performance at the Scouting Combine this weekend in Indianapolis. Among all the wideouts in attendance, Long had the highest vertical leap (41.5 inches) and fastest three-cone drill (6.45 seconds) & 60-yard shuttle (11.06 secs). Long tied for most bench press reps at 225 lbs (20) and was second in the 20-yard shuttle. The 6’2 219-pounder finished in the top 10 of every drill done by the wideouts and scored highest overall.
Even though he was dealt a bad hand in his time at Louisville, Long’s performance this weekend bodes well for his pro chances. Many players have gone from Mr. Unknown to Mr. Popular solely based on their performance at the combine. TE Vernon Davis of the Niners via Maryland made himself some serious scratch with his combine freakishness a couple years back. Not that Long got himself into the first round, but scouts and GMs alike know who he is now.
With all the attitude problems surrounding the NFL these days, Scott Long is a GMs dream when it comes to respect and discipline. According to Aaron Wilson of the NationalFootballPost.com, Long has drawn interest from teams that are operated by no-nonsense guys. New England (The Hoody), Miami (The Tuna), New York Jets, Carolina, and Kansas City. I could realistically see Long seeing the field for any of these teams with the exception of New England.
The man they called “Baby T.O.” at the Schnellenberger Complex put up a T.O.-esque performance in front of every NFL scout/exec/coach/writer who matters in Indy. Good thing is, I don’t think Long will follow T.O. when it comes to attitude.
Hopefully the karma police pay Long back for his tumultuous times here and he spends some time cashing those big NFL paychecks. He deserves it.
Louisville Sports Buzz 