I have had to wait to write this until I have regained a portion of my sanity and a hope, however small, for the future. Being at the YUM! last night certainly wasn't Yummy. This was a Titanic loss to a team that had not won a single away game this season.

Here are a few observations about daggers to the heart that did us in.

Of course I have to lead with free throws. We shot 63% and Notre Dame shot 76%. We were outscored by five at the line. This however is only the tip of the Titanic's iceberg. Please Captain John (Pitino) Smith turn this damned ship around before it is too late. In the first OT we missed our first three FTs and finished three for six. 50%!!! All we had to do was hit a lousy four for six (OK, that's 66% which is pretty good for us but still lousy for most teams) and there is NO SECOND OT. WE WIN IN ONE. GAME OVER!

And then there is the shot count. We took 52 shots. Note that is essentially only one per minute. We like a fast tempo. Is a shot a minute fast? Let's look at Notre Dame. They ran the clock down every possession to the point men, women, and children were falling asleep. But they took 63 shots! That's eleven more than us which certainly offset their lower FG%.

Sometimes a team gets more FG attempts because they shoot fewer free throws. That makes sense. But Notre Dame actually shot two more free throws than us. That means they had more scoring opportunities from both the field and the line. How awful is that, especially for a slow down team?

And then there is our play selection which I tend to think of in the singular given that the high screen, drive the lane out of control seems to be our primary weapon. We even had the last shot twice and never even got one off (I know some people who can get off in 15 seconds). We had the ball out of several timeouts and didn't score a single time. Where, oh where, are the Denny Crum timeout plays? We used to score almost every time when the ball was put back in play. That ship has sailed.

Watching this team play (and I will continue to do so and cheer as loud as possible) is like being in the dentist scene in The Little Shop of Horrors where there is drilling without anesthetic. My favorite sports were Cards basketball followed by basketball recruiting followed by football. It seems after yesterday football recruiting is the most uplifting. Thank God for Charlie Stong.

I have been on his side but his comments criticizing Russ for not rebounding are asinine and perhaps even borderline insane. Russ had five rebounds. Little Russ who is 6' with lift shoes. How does this compare to the other guys? 6' 4" Kuric 2 rebounds (in 38 minutes no less). 6' 6" wide body Behanan 5. 6' 11" Dieng 5. 6' 7" Buckles 3. 6' 8" Swopshire 2. Let's recap. Russ tied for our high rebounder. He had as many as Kuric (I think based on this game he could star in a remake of The Invisable Man) and Buckles combined. Or MORE than Kuric and Swopshire combined! Russ hit half his shots. The rest of the team shot 24%. Rick get your head out of your posterior and figure out how to get Russ some help instead of criticizing the only guy on the team who can play offense.

In Pitino's press conference today he says that when he told Driscollthe call was absurd, Driscoll replied that he called the T because Kuric said something to the Notre Dame player.  Driscoll then walked away and talked to another official.

 

Fifteen seconds he returned and said he was wrong and that Kuric hadn't said anything but it had to be a T because he looked at the other player.  That's the same as a cop writing you up a ticket and half way through he realizes you weren't guilty of a violation but once he starts writing that's it, he can't tear it up.  Driscoll knew he was wrong but couldn't rescind the T. 

Dave the stash is out.  It wlll be interesting to see who Pederson hires.  His last football coach hire came when he was at Nebraska.  He fired a long time Nebraska assistant who had become the head coach and had a pretty good record.  But he didn't win a championship so he was gone. 

And Pederson hired Callahan, the Nebraska equivilent of Kragthorpe.  Neither Callahan nor Pederson lasted very long.  Pederson tucked his tail and returned to Pittsburgh from whence he came. 

I have to wonder if he has Krackpipe on speed dial or if he is just going to pick his clone.  He may do better (hard not to) but he sure doesn't have much of a track record.  If he follows the past that's one school we won't have to worry about for a while.

I was reading the box score of last night's game and saw "Kimbro" who I know to be the son of Tony Kimbro.  There is also a "Minor" playing there.  Does anyone know if it's Greg's son? 

That is all I have to say but my post has to be thirty five more words so I am now simply filling empty space which turns out to have somewhat the same degree of difficulty as filling up a black hole.

 

I have had season tickets to UofL since my ninth birthday in 1953.  While I have heard moments of loudness that even the hearing impaired could feel they were moments.  A single play, a single moment during a two hour period is one thing.  The entirety of the two hours is something else.  Never in my 57 years of Cardinal games have I heard a continuous level of sound equal to that of The Game. 

What a great way to turn out the lights. 

Freedom Hall is gone.  Long live the new hall.

 With only 21,000 at the Arkansas State game (and probably only 15,000 at the beginning of the third quarter and perhaps 3,000 at the end of a one possession game) a message has been sent to the powers at UofL.  Fans are saying by their absence that they are fed up with Kragthorpe.  My wife and I left our season tickets which I have had for almost fifty years in the desk drawer.  And we certainly had company with almost as many no shows as attendees.

If we lose to WVU next week how many do you think will be at the Syracuse game?  Yes, Mr. Jurich you can announce during the season that Kragthorpe will not be here next year.  Such an announcement would go a long way towards putting people back in the stands.  As it stands now, many will not return until it is known that Kragthorpe is officially going to be gone.

 

Let me furnish some content from the October 21 on line edition of The Sporting News which had four references to UofL football. 

The first was simply that someone we had offered chose to go elsewhere.  We have been mentioned in that area almost weekly.

The second was in the "Feeling the Heat" article which lists Krags as on the number one hot seat.  Some comments were "His teams are 13-17 in 2 1/2 years and have lost their last eight games against BCS teams and 10 of the last 12.  Arrived in 2007 with with 17 starters returning from an Orange Bowl champion team and couldn't build on the momentum..... Lowlight: Two losses to a horrific Syracuse program in two tries; three losses to rival Kentucky."

Third is in the BE review which says last year we "appeared overmatched at times against quality competition.  The problems that plagued the Cardinals then - penalties, turnovers and a decided lack of depth are the same ones that plague them now" which says things are not getting any better.

The fourth was in the "What We Learned" article which in part featured UC.  It concludes with "It's probably safe to say that Cincinnati can find a way to beat Big East LIGHTWEIGHT (my capitalization) Louisville this weekend with Collaros.  Or frankly, with you or I under center."

Lest you think one individual at TSN has a vendetta against us I point out that these four references were written by four different individuals.  We have become a punching bag for analysts.  And a laughing stock for opponents' fans. 

Thank you Steve Kragthorpe.