SOURCE

NEW YORK (AP) - The New York Times is reporting that the NCAA is looking into Nerlens Noel, a top prep recruit who has committed to play at national champion Kentucky next season.

The newspaper said Tuesday that two members of the NCAA enforcement staff went to Everett, Mass., this week to inquire about the 6-foot-10 Noel, who attended Everett High School for two years but is now at the Tilton School in New Hampshire.

Everett High principal Louis Baldi told the newspaper he met with NCAA investigators for 75 minutes. He didn't reveal specific details, and said the NCAA officials "didn't ask me any investigative-type questions."

Tilton headmaster Jim Clements said he had not heard from the NCAA. He said he expected Noel to graduate at the end of next week.

-

Doesn't sound like this will amount to much at the moment, but was worth noting. That nuke is hovering over Lexington....

Did a mod delete it, or did the author of the post remove it himself?

Need to know before I speak.

Continue reading this post »

I mean seriously -- at this point I don't think it's a question of IF someone else from the Louisville roster goes down nearly as much as WHEN?  And more specifically, WHO?

Like most of you, I spent the last couple years looking forward to this season.  We were supposed to be LOADED with players, both talented and experienced.  Not unlike most every season at Louisville during the Pitino era, the rebuilding and bridge years were comprised mostly of next year thoughts.  Not just with hopes and dreams, but with a sure knowledge of a great recruiting class coming in to join one of the best point guards in the country.  After the baptism our blood and guts crew went through last year to harden their wit and battle test their game from the inside out, alot of people thought this could indeed be the year Louisville hangs banner #3.

I won't lie -- the feeling of sabotage was always lurking in the back of my mind when I dared to think of this season and the great potential this team has of dancing into the month of April.  I always had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that something would happen to hinder if not cripple the chances of this highly touted group.  It started early.  News of Kevin Ware not becoming eligible until mid-December, if at all.  The annual rash of early-season injuries that always, always plagues this program at every given opportunity.  Half a dozen players were already sidelined and forced to watch the rest of the team from the bench in practice and exhibition games.  Then, of course, Wayne Blackshear, our star recruit, goes down with an injury that threatened to kill his entire freshman season.  I don't care that he's supposed to be back in 6-8 weeks.  Getting back, and actually BEING BACK are two totally different things.  Everyone always says:  "Ah, just wait until (so-and-so) makes it back -- LOOK OUT!"  Seldom do people ever take the time to think about the extra weeks it takes to get a player back up to speed and gelling within a team that has been accustomed to playing without him during his absence.  And, totally keeping in mind this IS Louisville -- home of the INJURED BIRDS.  One cannot fathom getting Wayne back without being haunted by the possibilities of him getting hurt again (and again).  Same with Buckles (and Marra, and SVT, and Swop, and everyone else for that matter).

When Marra went down last night, before I even had a chance to comprehend what happened and what the injury could likely be, I said aloud:  "Well, that's it for him.  See ya next year."  And, I wasn't joking.  I actually would've been surprised if he just suffered a sprain.  I knew better.  Our guys never get off that easy.  It's pretty damn sad when us as fans are this accustomed to watching players get severely hurt that we can pretty much predict the situation and the outcome, all without feeling one single element of surprise.  Already, I've heard some fans chattering about next year.  As if all the momentum and build up for this season has been for nothing.  As if it's already been shattered.  And we haven't even played our third damn game yet.

Remember 2006 in football?  Louisville was ready to take on the whole country.  We had a favorable home schedule that put two of our three big games at home.  Talk of a possible national championship game was in the air.  And then, the very first game of the year -- Michael Bush goes down with a broken leg and his season over, just like that.

Grr.......

I guess I'm just really pissed right now.

But, when the emotion wears down, and the focus returns -- there will be one lingering question in my mind each and every time our boys take the court:  Who's Next?  I was seriously tempted to create a poll.  But, common decency got the better of me.  This team will be just like every other Louisville team we've watched under Pitino.  They will bite, scratch, and claw for every inch and fight for every possession.  It's just what we do.  We seemingly have no choice.

Sorry for the rant, friends.  I'm just seriously sick of watching this year after year.

Will you GODD*MN basketball gods get your rocks off on another school, if even for just a season or two.

The Motorola DROID RAZR came as the thinnest smartphone around to prove to the naysayers that an LTE handset can be slim and sexy. Kevlar, steel and aluminum accents fuse to create a handset that is a worthy successor to the extremely popular RAZR line. Add a 4.3" qHD Super AMOLED Advanced screen and a powerful dual-core chipset, and the Motorola DROID RAZR has successfully taken the RAZR paradigm to the new Android smartphone realities.

Time to UPGRADE, Baby!!!!!!!!

This is a thread for your top worst losses of all time.  We all have'em.  I call it the "Sting List".  Losses that still burn years later when you think of'em.  Not confined to just Louisville athletics.  It can be any sport, any team.  Not sure if it's ever been done here before, but, should be interesting nonetheless.

Continue reading this post »

From UofL's Facebook page:

"Fans, be in your seats early on Saturday for the football game because Country Music star, Trace Adkins, will be singing the National Anthem!"

I love my fellow Card fans, but this shouldn't be necessary.  Why, even on the weekends, does PJC Stadium not fill up until well into the game?  Not a country music fan (well, not modern country anyway), but hopefully this will at least help the cause.

Can someone who is photoshop savvy take this pic:

and make into something very similar to this one:

Maybe darken in the Cardinal head on Dexter's helmet.  And the text can be whatever you want.

Would make a sweet desktop background among other things.  I'm sure Card fans everywhere would love it.  Anyone who is interested in the project is welcome to give it a go.  I'm really intrigued to see what you come up with.  Thanks to anyone who participates.

Post finals in this thread.

So, I finally had a little extra time earlier tonight to pop in NCAA '12 and pick up on my dynasty.  And, ironically enough, the next game up was against Kentucky. 

The game has both teams sized up nearly equal, as Louisville is rated B- overall, and Kentucky B overall.  I won the toss and chose to defer.  I stopped Kentucky cold on their first drive.  Sacked Newton nearly right out of his cleats on 3rd down.

I moved the ball well on my first drive with the Cards.  Had success running the ball and a couple pitches put me just outside the red zone.  Things were looking good.  Then............yep, you guessed it.  The O-Line began to fail.  Must've tired out quickly.  Stein got sacked before he could get his feet set and ate turf.  Kentucky's D stepped up further on 3rd down and stopped us dead in our tracks.  Actually missed the FG from only 36 yards.  Nipped it just a little too far right.  Philpott must've been feeling the jitters of the hostile environment.

UofL's D remained strong on Kentucky's next drive and stopped them short of mid-field.  Another punt.

End 1st qtr

Score 0 - 0

2nd qtr was more of the same.  Back and fourth with neither side really gaining an edge.  Kentucky managed to secure a FG near the end of the half and finally tickle the board a little.  I could feel some frustration on the part of the Cards who once again had success moving the ball, but could not stay consistent and finish the drive.

End 2nd qtr

Score UL 0  UK 3

After another stalemate series, I finally got Louisville on the board toward the end of the 3rd qtr with a 48 yard FG by Philpott.  Finally tied the game.

End 3rd qtr

Score UL 3  UK 3

Both teams turned up the heat in the 4th.  Stein and Newton both got smashed probably 4 or 5 times each, as neither team's O-Line could seem to handle the D's constant pressure.  Despite the setbacks, I scored another Philpott FG and took the lead for the first time, 6 - 3.  I nearly killed Newton on UK's next drive.  Three huge sacks in a row nuked their drive and pinned them deep which set me up with great field position after the punt.  A 35-yard missile from Stein to Josh Bellamy set up a Jeremy Wright rushing TOUCHDOWN!  Cards lead 13 - 3.  Finally some breathing room (or so I thought).  With the clock working against Kentucky, those dastardly cats put together their best drive of the game.  Capped it off with a quick passing TD which brought them within 3 with two minutes left.  A failed onside kick gave me and Louisville the ball back with one objective -- run the clock.  With Victor Anderson out before the game began, and Jeremy Wright now out with an abdominal strain, Senorise Perry came in and took advantage of Kentucky's gassed defense.  I kept the ball on the ground the rest of the way, forcing UK to burn all their TO's. With the clock winding down and one play remaining I thought about taking a shot at the end zone to really try to drive the dagger in when I remembered the Petrino days haven't returned just yet.  With my luck we'd turn it over and they'd run one all the way back and steal it.  Yea, screw that.  QB kneel closes the game and the UK streak is finally broken.

End game

Final score - UL 13  UK 10

Of course, it's only a video game.  But, lots of things happened in this that were highly indicative of both teams' situations right now.  Kentucky had trouble moving the ball at all and Louisville couldn't keep Stein from running for his life every other snap.  The low, low score is truly a possible preview of what we could really see this weekend.

Either way, very competitive game and one that was finally decided by the time running out.  Could've easily went the other way had there been another series or two.  But, if this is any indicator of what might really happen when the two teams take the field on Saturday, I'll take it!

GO CARDS!

I mean seriously, I read about it all the time.  Stuff like:  "There's definitely no love lost between those two," and  "It's no secret Pitino and Calipari absolutely despise each other." 

I don't see it.  Not at all.  When you see them right after a game, they are engaging in long hand shakes, sharing conversation, and all smiles.  Sure, some will say they're putting on an act and being civil in public, but I call B.S. on that.  Contrast Rick and Cal's post-game exchanges with Rick and Jim Calhoun and you'll clearly see two guys that don't like each other easily showing.  They're quick, nonchalant, and the two barely look at each other.  They almost remind me of Weber and Sampson.  Meanwhile, it's easy to see Rick and Bob Huggins' fondness of one another as they converse and even embrace after the games.  Rick and Calipari don't quite go that far, but there is still no indication whatsoever that there's any animosity between the two.  At least not to me.

Where do these opinions come from?

Rick Pitino is upset with Louisville's conference lineup handed down Thursday by the Big East, a schedule that includes a pair of games against two of the league's top projected teams UConn and Syracuse, and a road game against Cincinnati for the second consecutive season.
The University of Louisville's 2011-12 men's basketball season in the BIG EAST Conference will include another challenging slate of 18 games, including two games each against Syracuse, Pittsburgh and DePaul.

Louisville's home conference opponents will include Connecticut, DePaul, Georgetown, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, USF, Syracuse and Villanova. The Cardinals' nine league road games will be at Cincinnati, DePaul, Marquette, Pittsburgh, Providence, St. John's, Seton Hall, Syracuse and West Virginia.

Louisville is one of seven BIG EAST teams which have received mention in the early rankings (also Syracuse, Connecticut, Pittsburgh, Marquette, Cincinnati and Villanova), including two of the Cardinals' repeat opponents. U of L is fifth nationally in an early FOXSports.com preseason ranking, seventh by CBSSports.com (Gary Parrish), ninth by ESPN.com (Andy Katz), 11th by SI.com (Luke Winn) and 12th by SportingNews.com (Mike DeCourcy). The Cardinals will also face three non-conference foes among the early top ten teams in Kentucky, Vanderbilt and Memphis.

"We have one of the premier commissioners in athletics, but whoever's doing our scheduling must be doing it with a Ouija board," said U of L men's basketball coach Rick Pitino. "How can you play two of the top three (projected) teams in the league twice and have to play another top team that's a rival game (at Cincinnati) on the road for a second straight year? It just doesn't make any sense to me. West Virginia has a similar argument. They must be doing it with a Ouija board."

U of L will welcome back three starters and 10 lettermen, as well as adding a stellar four-person recruiting class for the upcoming season. The Cardinals exceeded expectations last season by tying for third in the BIG EAST Conference, earning 20 wins for their ninth-straight season, reaching the title game of the BIG EAST Championship, defeating seven Top 25 teams and rising to as high as 11th in both the AP and ESPN/USA Today polls.

A complete schedule, including dates and times for the BIG EAST games, is expected in early September.

http://louisville.scout.com/2/1083630.html

Keeping with the AM theme, I saw BRIAN BROHM yesterday at Jason's Deli.  Looked to be having dinner with the family.  Seemed to be in great shape.  He is a salad eating MACHINE!  Funny thing, I was wearing a black polo shirt with the Cardinal logo.  One of his relatives (possibly his mother?) and I made eye contact for a couple seconds.  She smiled with a slight "Oh no, I hope this guy doesn't recognize Brian and blow our quiet meal" look about her.  I didn't bother the group with my gitty fanship.  I had my usual roast beef sandwich and two over-sized servings of vanilla ice cream and peacefully took my leave without saying one word.

It was cool to see Brian back in the Ville.  Believe me, I was tempted to scream ORANGE BOWL, BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But, I didn't......

Louisville coach Rick Pitino contemplated retirement at the end of the season, but his wife, Joanne, talked him out of it, he said Thursday in a radio interview on WHAS.

Pitino, 58, added he was committed to coaching for at least the next few years and has a successor in mind he would recommend to athletic director Tom Jurich. The coach he likes to replace him isn't 28-year-old son Richard Pitino, who could soon join the program as associate head coach, but rather Butler's Brad Stevens.

"About two weeks prior to the season ending, I was really, really pleased. I sat back. I was very content, and I thought about my future and when I would pack it in. For the first time since I've been a coach, I thought about it. I talked it over with my wife. I really seriously thought about stepping away for the first time, and she would have nothing of it. She said, 'You have so much to give to these kids and the program, and you are not packing it in.' She said, 'You'll know when it's time, and now is not your time.' She said, 'I've watched you for years, and you probably had more energy this year than any other time I've known you, so don't even think about it.' And I put it to rest.

"I think I can do it for anywhere from three to five more years. I don't know who the successor would be. My first guy on the list I would recommend three to five years from now is the coach at Butler. He would be the type of person that I would recommend. It's that type of person I think would be great at the University of Louisville. I'm sure there are other guys out there like him that will develop that we'll move on."

Pitino, who won a national title at Kentucky, said he wanted to leave Louisville on top and that his son, Richard, was too young to be a coach-in-waiting for the Cardinals.

The retirement talk had also recently surfaced in the moments after Louisville lost in upset fashion to Morehead State in an opening-round NCAA tournament game.

"My window is closing in coaching," Pitino said last month. "I said I could leave this year and be a happy man. And I could have with this team because they were just a sheer delight to coach the whole season. You always want to coach a team like this in your last years that you coach the game."

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/29817/rick-pitino-seriously-considered-retirement?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Uh oh.......

There was a big write up about it in the Courier Journal the next day, and inside there was a picture of Francisco Garcia and Gerald Fitch embracing, where Fitch consoled Cisco about recently losing his brother, Hector.

I know it's probably a long shot, but does anyone happen to still have that article?  I had saved it myself, but chances are it was lost during a recent move.

If so, a scan and email would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

Well, the time has come.  Cardinal Nation has heard the legend, seen the inscriptions on the proverbial wall, and will soon bear witness to the magnificence that is Bryce Cotton (g*dd@mn, is Providence really 0-6 in league play!??!?).

Our Cards have talent, heart, are driven to excel as a team, and sport a hall-of-fame coach.  A unit.  A well-oiled machine oozing with chemistry and fire.  Bryce has a 16.7% 3pt rating.

It's gonna be close.

via www.lordkayoss.com

Was down at the new arena earlier and I must say it is a beautiful piece of architecture.  If I can just get passed that stupid name, I could easily look to this place as I did at Freedom Hall and hail it as the new church.  On the other side of the building you can see Louisville Basketball banners that really give it that special novelty.  Unlike Freedom Hall, when tourists see this building and visit the inside they are definitely gonna know this is the home the Cards.

Looking forward to the scrimmage on Oct 24.  That'll be my first visit/tour on the inside.

GO CARDS!

Wear. It.

The No. 23 University of Louisville softball team scored five runs in the first inning and never looked back en route to a 6-0 win over visiting Kentucky 6-0 Wednesday evening in front of a record crowd of 1,134 at Ulmer Stadium. The Cards improve to 25-12, while the Wildcats drop to 22-16.

"I was very proud of our team's effort tonight," said U of L head coach Sandy Pearsall. "We played a solid game across the board."

After all the baseball talk, I figured 'Hey, why not?'

Here is Part II of my commentary on ol' Con Man Cal.  The new piece isn't quite as deep as the first, since it's only covering this passed season, and Part I chronicled several.  In light of the news of Cal trying to snub Elisha Justice away from Pitino and the Ville, it's my pleasure to bring another analysis on this sack of (expletive).  Hope you guys enjoy it.

_________________________________________________________

April, 2010

Analytical View On John Calipari - Part II

Alright, so last year I offered a factual perspective along with personal opinions woven in about John Calipari's track record and exposed that despite the bloated sports media whoring, consistently overrating him and his teams, he's never brought home the Big One and hasn't proven he's worthy of the accolades he gets these days.  Here we are after his first season as the head coach of the University of Kentucky.  Let's take a look at what the year has taught us.

As expected, Calipari made an immediate impact at UK, bringing in the best recruits he could get his hands (or cash-stuffed envelops) on.  Despite his second collegiate program (Memphis, with UMass the first) being forced to vacate their season (2007-08) and subsequent Final Four due to rules violations, the media (both locally and nationally) had verbal orgasms on a daily basis, and the Wildcats were seemingly right back in the thick of things with a top 5 pre-season ranking.  Landing freshmen-sensations John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins, along with other highly touted prospects like Eric Bledsoe and Daniel Orton, promised UK would be ready to not only contend for the National Title during Cal's first year, but jargon of going undefeated actually began to swirl.  Calipari himself was seemingly caught up in the hype when he uttered the words "We will be UN-BEAT-ABLE!"  during the annual Big Blue Madness season kick off event in Lexington.  HA!  Although the Wildcats cobbled together a 29-2 regular season record and went on to win both the SEC outright and tournament titles, I was one of the (very) few spectators doubting the Cats' chances of reaching the Final Four.  How did I have the nerve?  Let's take a look....


Let's take a peek at the prominent names on UK's OOC schedule as we did with Memphis last year:


First up, we had the annual rivalry matchup with usual-powerhouse North Carolina.  UNC were blasted in the 1st half, but clawed their way back in the 2nd before narrowly losing 68-66.  The Tar Heels went on to a 16-15 regular season record and found themselves in the NIT for the first time since 2003.  Oops.

Second, the Cats went up against the mighty UConn Huskies, who just last year were a #1 seed going into the Big Dance, reaching the Final Four.  Result - another narrow victory for UK, 64-61, and the Huskies, now without star players Hasheem Thabeet and AJ Price, wound up 17-14 and back in the NIT for the first time since 2001.  Ouch.

Next up, was the legendary Indiana.  Unfortunately though for Tom Crean and the Hoosiers, the days of Bobby Knight's dominance are just a distant memory.  Indiana is still rebuilding in the wake of the nuclear explosion left by Kelvin Sampson and his many NCAA violations that set the program back 15 years.  Needless to say, UK won easily, and Indiana finished up 10-20 before getting blasted out of the Big Ten Tournament by Northwestern, effectively putting the dagger into their season.  Damn!

Finally, it was the Louisville Cardinals who just one year ago ended the season with the Big East outright and tournament titles, the #1 AP ranking, and the #1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament.  But, without NBA lottery picks Terrence Williams and Earl Clark, the Cards uncharacteristically spent the majority of the season unranked and struggled all year to find consistency in every aspect of the game, dealing with several lopsided upsets.  They lost to Kentucky 71-62 for the first time in three seasons, barely avoiding the NIT by making the NCAA Tournament by the skin of their teeth.  See where this is going?

It was easy for anyone not caught up in the hype to conclude that UK's non-conference schedule was extremely weak.  The road ahead:  The broken-down SEC.  Undoubtedly a far cry from the power league of old, the Southeastern conference boasted just two other prominent teams besides the resurrected Wildcats.  The Vanderbilt Commodores & the Tennessee Volunteers seemed to be the lone threats in a sea of mediocrity that awaited Kentucky.  But then, as fate would have it, the Vols would suffer what many thought of as a crushing blow on the night of New Year's 2010 when players Tyler Smith, Cameron Tatum, Brian Williams and Melvin Goins were all arrested and subsequently suspended from the team.  Although three returned, only one saw significant minutes in the first meeting with UK which ended with a 73-62 loss for the Vols.

When UK suffered their first loss at the hands of South Carolina (who didn't even make the NIT) and blew their #1 ranking within hours of getting it, the Big Blue Nation's pain could be felt from miles around.  Their dream of an undefeated season shattered which prompted the usual fan backlash that the Wildcat program is sorely accustomed to.  Calipari and Co. responded with an easy thrashing of Vanderbilt, a win against Tennessee, and smacked around a handful of cupcakes until the rematch with the Vols.  Result - 2nd loss.

By the end of the season things were looking like the usual Calipari song and dance.  Inflated record, cupcake conference championship, & bloated NCAA seeding.  The media was all over it.  "Kentucky may have the toughest road in this tournament."  Um, what?  E. Tenn St, Wake Forest, Cornell?  You kiddin' me?  In my bracket, Calipari had his usual easy stroll all the way to the Elite Eight where they'd meet the one team in the region to fear -- West Virginia.  Even I was surprised at some of the smack talk I was reading when sharing my Cat-less Final Four prediction.  "The Big Least!  UK will steamroll West Virginia and whoever is in the Final Four, etc."  Really?  The Big Least?  "So, what you're saying is Kentucky has had their season ended three out of the last four years by a team from what you call the worst league (that is what 'least' means, right?).  Ok.......well, the joke's on me I guess?"  Make that four out of five.  The Mountaineers, whose starting five consist of two seniors and a junior, exposed the one thing John Cal's supergroup lacked -- experience.  And I'm not the kind of guy to say I told you so, but g*dd*mn it, I told everyone who'd listen at the beginning of the season that a freshmen team isn't gonna win a National Championship.  I got laughed at.......

And this is the result of a program's actions when they agreed to shell out an asinine $4,000,000 a year to lure Calipari away from Memphis.  Sure, he can recruit (at what cost).  But, can he get his one-and-dones to stay in school?  If not, this problem will continue to recur at Kentucky.  A consistent rotation of freshmen, no matter how touted, will not pack the mentality required to go all the way (as the UK-WV game clearly showed).  'Superman' John Wall looked like Clark Kent out there in the 2nd half, mentally rattled by the Mountaineers' relentless offensive surge and poised consistency.  Eric Bledsoe, who buried eight 3-pointers in the opening round against East Tennessee St, went 0-5 that night.  And Cal's Kryptonite, the free-throw shooting.........not one Wildcat was over 50%.  All these things are why West Virginia was in my Final Four from the start.

Media hype, money, and a rabid fanbase doesn't win championships.  It takes a special coach who can take every aspect of this great game and put it all together.  Thus far, John Calipari hasn't shown me he has what it takes.  There are those (including myself) who would say and have said:  NIT-to-Elite Eight in one year is awesome!  True.  But, if I'm inside the head of UK's athletic director, Mitch Barnhart, I'm thinking I didn't blow this kind of cash on yet another season without a Final Four, much less a National Title.  Calipari is expected to bring home the gold.  That's the only reason he's there.  And if he ever pulls it off, I'll be the first to congratulate him and give him kudos for making these commentaries of mine look foolish, all the while keeping an eye open for the NCAA to uncover yet another dirty scandal and force him to vacate the season.

~LK

Below is a piece I penned on my blog last year, shortly after John Calipari was announced the new head coach at UK.  A year later, I have just finished Part II, and will be posting it here shortly for your reading pleasure.  But, I thought some of you might get some enjoyment out of digesting the first piece beforehand.  Before you read, please bear in mind that my opinions are based solely off the things I have personally witnessed and reflected upon on my own time, along with the facts presented.  I typically don't base my words off anything else I've read or anyone's opinions but my own.

_________________________________________________________

April 09, 2009

Analytical View On John Calipari - Part I

Well, let me correct that -- it's more like thoughts about how the media has portrayed Calipari moreso than John himself.  And just to clarify from the get-go -- this piece has nothing to do with the fact that I'm a Louisville fan and the subject at hand is Kentucky's new coach.  I'm a Cards fan yes, but due to several things in my life I no longer spend my time wishing death on UK's basketball program as I did in the past.  I've grown up a lot since the early part of the century, things have changed in my point of view, not to mention my fiancee is a Cat fan and I took her to Rupp for her first live game this passed season.  I even find myself rooting UK on when my future wife and I are watching the game.  And if Calipari had gone to Indiana, Arizona, or hell -- even Appalachian State, I'd still have this beef to get off my chest because the media would still be all over John C's nutsack.

Ok, with that out of the way -- John Calipari is a good coach.  I've always liked the guy and thought his Memphis teams always showed up to play hard.  But, let's get down to some cold hard reality.  He's not the Moses of collegiate coaches.  And his track record does not justifiably indicate he's the proven messiah that will ultimately save UK basketball.  As a matter of fact, his track record isn't much better than Billy Gillispie's when you get to the bare bones of it.  What the hell am I talking about, some of you media-preyed victims may ask!?  Allow me to bring some undeniable TRUTH to you...

First thing -- every broadcast I've seen or heard that covers this story can't help but mention Calipari's win/loss record over the last four years (137-14 in case you didn't know).  This era is comprised of four trips to the NCAA Tournament where Calipari led Memphis to the National Finals, two Elite Eights and one Sweet 16 including four conference Regular Season & Tournament Championships totaling four 30+ win seasons making him the first coach in the history of division 1 men's basketball to break 30 wins four years in a row.  Impressive?  More like convenient.  Reason?  The last four years (2005-2009) Memphis has played in a league called Conference USA (C-USA) and has been the lone standing top 25 program in it since the Big East expanded in the 2005-06 season, when C-USA heavyweights Louisville, Cincinnati, Marquette, & Charlotte left town for bigger and better things.

Would anyone like to know Calipari's record the last FIVE years that C-USA was competitive (2000-2005)?  Answer -- 115-55.  An extra year in the comparison and still 22 less wins and 41 more losses.  How many National Finals, Elite Eights, and Sweet 16 finishes did John Cal and Memphis achieve?  Answer - ZERO.  In fact, Memphis MISSED the NCAA Tournament three times during that five year stretch and settled for the NIT all three years (a one-time event that led to the firing of already former UK coach Billy Gillispie).  How many C-USA Regular Season Championships did Memphis achieve?  Answer - 1.  How many C-USA Tournament Championships?  Answer - 0.  And keep in mind that even in those days C-USA was never considered an elite league (hence the 2005 transition).  It was top-heavy with four or five good teams (varying by season) with the 2nd half of the league often below .500 in the RPI which usually put C-USA about the 6th or 7th toughest conference in the nation at best -- falling well behind power leagues like the ACC, SEC, Big Ten, Big East, and Big 12.

Case in point -- the 2004-05 season saw Louisville entering the NCAA Tournament with a 29-4 record which boasted several non-conference wins over top 25 competition along with both the C-USA Regular Season and Tournament Championships.  The Cardinals were "rewarded" by the NCAA selection committee with a 4 seed for tournament play.  Ouch.  Reason given of course was the much agreed upon consensus that Louisville played in a subpar conference for which they were penalized by the committee.  Interesting.  FYI -- Louisville responded by blazing their way to the Final Four, easily taking down the top seeded team of the region.  But back on topic, after the power programs left C-USA at season-end of '05 -- Memphis, who had just lost in the NIT suddenly became a top 10 program overnight.  Despite playing in what had become one of the weakest conferences in the nation, they were rewarded with two 1 seeds and two 2 seeds over those four years.  Ridiculous.

Why?  The argument generally presented in Memphis' defense of justifying their bloated seeding is the out-of-conference schedule they play to attempt to compensate for their cupcake league.  Let's take a deligent look...

2005-06 was Memphis' first year alone in C-USA as a top team.  Only other decent program present was a UAB team coached by Mike Anderson (more on him later).  In non-conference play Memphis beat ranked UCLA and ranked Gonzaga whom I hesitate to even mention because like the Tigers, the Zags also play in a crap conference and are usually overrated every year as well (check their NCAA tournament history for more) and Memphis always beats these guys.  It's almost a gimmie game to enhance their tournament resume.  Anyway, Memphis lost to Duke and on their home floor to Texas before also dropping a game to Mike Anderson (more on him later) and UAB in league play who were unranked at the time.  This is hardly a resume that screams #1 seed but alas, John Cal and Memphis got it which allowed them to ease their way to the Elite Eight where they were nipped in a rematch with UCLA.

2006-07 saw the Tigers lock up a 2 seed after losing in non-conference to unranked Georgia Tech, unranked Tennessee, and 9th ranked Arizona.  Their lone top 25 win came at the hands of a #20 Kentucky Wildcat squad who were already on a skid out of the polls.  Memphis' annual win at Gonzaga was jaded by the Zags failing to get themselves ranked most of the year.  Memphis then blasted their way through C-USA (now without Mike Anderson at UAB -- more on him later), earning a 2 seed which again provided a proverbial cakewalk to the Elite Eight where they were dismantled by Ohio St.

2007-08 -- ok, I'll give the media this one.  Memphis was a great team and deserved that #1 seed.  Besides their annual shellacking of Gonzaga (who were unranked again that year) Memphis lost only to #2 Tennessee and beat #24 USC, #5 Georgetown, #17 Arizona, swept their poopy conference, and aside from a 2nd round scare with Mississippi St blazed a path to the National Championship game in the NCAA tournament finally succumbing to Kansas in a tightly contested game that went into overtime and saw Memphis' achilles heel, the poor free-throw shooting, bite them in the rear.  Great season though.  The best of Calipari's career.  Too bad the entire season was ripped away from the record books when the NCAA discovered star-player Derrick Rose had a stand-in take his SATs.  And I'm sure ol' John Cal knew nothing about it (just like the trouble he got UMass in).

2008-09, John Cal's final year with the Tigers was perhaps the most intriguing to me in terms of ranking/seeding/expectations.  Memphis lost to unranked Xavier, NIT-bound Georgetown, and #11 Syracuse in non-conference play.  Their one win over a ranked opponent?  #18 Gonzaga!  Surprise!  I remember watching the end of the C-USA Tournament (which several unbiased broadcasters correctly nick-named the "Memphis Invitational") where the Tigers swept the murky conference for the 3rd straight year and listening to the interview with Calipari where he was asked what seed he thought Memphis deserved.  He said "one of one", meaning #1 overall.  HA!  Based on what, I ask you Sir!?  One win against a ranked team (the annual gimmie) and sweeping a conference so horrible that no national network would touch a game your team isn't involved in!?  Give me a break!  The end result, Memphis gets a 2 seed (which was more than generous) with just about every on-air "expert" picking the Tigers to make it to the Elite Eight and defeat #1 overall seeded Louisville, head to the Final Four and eventually challenge North Carolina for the title.  And what happened?  Memphis fell in round 3 to who?  Mike Anderson and the Missouri Tigers.  Fitting end to an overrated season as well as an overrated era in college basketball.  And I guarantee you had Mike Anderson stayed at UAB, Memphis would have never compiled a three-year win streak in C-USA.  He was the only other quality coach in the league (hence him getting the offer from Mizzou) and gave Calipari his share of headaches over the years.

So now John Cal is the head honcho of Kentucky basketball and the highest paid collegiate hoops coach in the nation.  Hey, that's great.  I'm glad UK athletic director Mitch Barnhart got the guy he wanted (after Billy Donovon turned him down for the 2nd time).  I hope Calipari brings the Wildcats back to national prominence.  From a UofL/UK rivalry standpoint it'll be nice to have the Pitino/Calipari wars reignited and see that game mean something again.  But, for those who have already branded John Cal as king of the bluegrass and are betting the farm (no pun intended) that UK will dominate next year and retain their title of winningest program of all-time..........you're getting a little ahead of yourselves.  Maybe even a lot.  

A Cat fan on a popular local forum I often frequent recently pondered the question:  "Why does (North Carolina) who has top pick of all the best talent every year still trail Kentucky in (all-time) victories?"

The answer -- because UNC didn't become a consistent power program until the Dean Smith era in the 60's, over 30 years after Adolph Rupp began his mighty reign as emperor of UK. That's a LOT of catching up to do.

He also balked:  "And with our new coach they'll continue to trail!"

Wanna bet??? Unless UK gets it going, and I mean QUICK -- they're gonna become the 2nd winningest program next year. UNC only trails UK by four victories after their title win last Monday and Roy Williams is averaging 30 wins a season over the past five years. UK has only broke 30 once in the last decade.

John Cal is a good coach and better suited for UK than Gillispie was.  He has established solid recruiting ties and his dribble-drive style of ball should entertain the Big Blue Nation as long as he's winning and not only gets them back to the big dance, but takes them DEEP.  But his resume from the competitive years of C-USA doesn't stack up so well when thinking of the grand expectations in Lexington.  Three NIT's, two early exits from the NCAA, and no conference titles ain't gonna get it done out there.  He'd be gone well before he could stink up the place to that degree.  BUT!  The good news is UK's league, the Southeastern conference (SEC), isn't the stellar cast of elite level programs as it was in the 90's when Rick Pitino was resurrecting the program.  As a matter of fact, these days it isn't too far from the likes of C-USA when you get right down to it so that bodes well.  Calipari's success seems to be measured by the difficulty of the conference he coaches in.  Look at the info provided in this piece about the dark years of C-USA.  Look at the gimpy Atlantic 10 conference during his UMass days.  Then, look at C-USA's competitive years.  Then finally, look at Calipari's brief stint in the NBA as head coach of the New Jersey Nets.  Fired in the first half of his 3rd year for leading the team to a 3-17 record (yes, much worse than Pitino at the Celtics).  Ouch.

So, it breaks down like this IMO.  If the SEC stays down, UK will be back -- almost guaranteed.  If the league rebounds into anything near the mold of years passed, maybe not.  The combination of UK & John Calipari has the potential of eventually putting the coach over as one of the all-time greats, but to those who feel he's already cemented himself in that class of certified, grade A, battled-tested legends and it's gonna be clockwork getting the Kentucky program back to where the rabid fans want it.........not so fast.  He still has a lot to prove.  He couldn't even smell the top 5 list of active winningest coaches until that four year cupcake stretch in C-USA.  That era built the name he's currently living on (and raking in the millions with).  Only time will tell if he's truly ready to step up to the plate and fill the hefty shoes waiting for him at the place people used to call the roman empire of college basketball.

LK out!

Not that it's terribly important at this point with the Cards coming off a good win with beating UConn as well as the reports of the Big East investigating the horrible officiating during the UofL/WV game, but I covered this story quite extensively on my weekly "Shoot" video.

For anyone not completely abreast to the recent screw jobs the Cards have been the victims of, or if you just have some time to kill, here it is.

~LK

Florida reportedly won't look Strong's way

Though Charlie Strong is the top assistant for the University of Florida football team, and though head coach Urban Meyer stunned the college football world by announcing his resignation tonight, don't expect Strong, now the head football coach at the University of Louisville, to head back to Gainesville.

University of Florida sources have told the Orlando Sentinel what U of L sources have been saying here, that Strong is not expected to be in the mix of potential successors to Meyer. [UPDATE: The Sentinel's Mike Bianchi now citing sources saying that UF's next coach will not be Strong, click the link to the story here.]

Evangelist Oral Roberts, founder of Oral Roberts University, dies at age 91.

Not sure what extra motivation (if any) this might give the basketball team to come in here and put the dagger in the Cards tomorrow night, but it certainly doesn't do us any favors.

The university was founded in 1963 with Roberts claiming it was a direct order from God and remains today a "Charismatic Christian' comprehensive university.  For those who adopt religion, sure hope God doesn't ask Mr. Roberts to command the Golden Eagles to lay the holy smack down on our Cards.  We desperately need to rebound with a big win this week.