When asked about SVT's 10 rebounds on radio post-game show, Rick said he "should have had 16 or 17." What a jerk! First, I cannot see how putting down the kid for being the game's leading rebounder does any good for anybody. Second, Rick needs to fess up and admit he was wrong for not playing SVT and Goode against UK (they were only good for 10 points and 13 boards last night), but he's too much of an egomaniac to do so and would rather put down a 19 year old. I can tell you right now, if I was a recruit, I wouldn't want to play for a guy that's going to publicly belittle my career high rebounding performance, especially on a team full of big men who can't rebound.

I was destined to be a Louisville fan, a destiny that I've embraced since I was able to recognize a Louisville uniform. My first memory (literally) has to do with Louisville basketball - sitting at the foot of my parent's bed, watching a game, I asked my dad, "Why does Louisville always win when they wear white and lose when they wear red?" I was three, and didn't understand the difference between a road and a home game. But I know that was a road game, because my dad was watching it on TV.

My family's had the same season tickets in Freedom Hall since 1956, when the building opened. My great-grandfather, whom I never met, bought two tickets in Section 334, right on the aisle. My dad tells me he can remember going to a few games with his him to see Wes Unseld dominate for the Cards. Eventually, my family bought two more seats right behind the first two. All four tickets passed to my grandfather, and eventually to my dad.

I started going to games very young; the first one I can remember today was one where my favorite player - Felton Spencer - was out with a knee(?) injury. I don't have many game specific-memories between in the next decade; like most of you, my memories are thematic: the Cardinal bird jumping out of the ceiling; the smell of the caramel popcorn; the (very) old man who sat in front of us and whispered "blow it baby, blow it" whenever the other team would shoot free throws (I think he bought his tickets at the same time as my great-grandfather, and I'm almost certain he's since passed away).

A few games stand out from that period: the infamous triple overtime game against Marquette for one, and beating Memphis when they were in the top 5 in 96(?). The second one I didn't even attend - my parents went, and left me in charge of my younger brother, telling us we could only watch the first half since it was 9p tip on a school night. As you might imagine, that didn't happen, and I got grounded for a week (totally worth it). 

After the turn of the decade, games start to stand out in more vivid detail. I know I witnessed the miracle against Tennessee in '01, though I've watched the Youtube clip so many times that the memory gets confused with it. I remember winning the CUSA tourney in Freedom Hall with Reece and Luke, and I remember how weird it felt to not be in our usual seats. I remember the Ellis-ACL game all too vividly. 

Things changed when I went away to college. It was weird watching Freedom Hall on TV, from the "right" side of the court. I'd always try catch glimpses of my dad in his seats. Some of the best (and worst) memories I have in the Hall are from the precious games I'd squeeze in over breaks: the first UK game I ever went to, where Patrick "Happy Feet" Sparks drew a bogus foul to win the game; the Marquette game in '06 that went to OT and finished with the first (but not last) T-Will windmill dunk in a Louisville uni (to my eternal  happiness, the C-J snapped a picture of T-Will in mid-air, ball behind his head, and me clearly visible in the background); the Villanova game that same year when we came oh-so-close to upsetting them in the top 5.

The past three seasons have been different. I've been to almost every home game since I moved home full time in December 08, and I've loved every one. Games from this era, like the white-out victories against Pitt and Georgetown, Sosa's three against UK, and the overtime clashes with Notre Dame, are incredibly fresh in my mind. I'm unbelievably lucky to have experienced so many incredible games in that building.

As we all know, Saturday will likely be the last time any of us files into the Hall wearing red to cheer on the Cards (side note: how awesome would it be to have retro night once a year? Change the center-court logo to the old-school dunking cardinal, paint the half circle at the top of the key white again, and break out those throwbacks! Yeah, it'd be confusing for some, but it'd also be crazy fun). I hope we go out with a win. I hope the new place will have new banners in it someday soon. But more than anything, I hope I never forget how much fun it is to watch basketball in Freedom Hall. 

after a loooooooooooong drive home from indy, i've been stewing on this team's legacy and i think i found it: they will forever be the team that couldn't quite put it all together. think of how many times this season we found ourselves saying things like: "just wait till they play two good halves" or "just wait till everyone shows up on offense." well, we had one game like that in 36 - the arizona game. but we still couldn't put it all together, because we came out and folded in the next game. i think this team will forever go down as one that came far short of its potential, despite winning the big east regular season and tournament. i would trade both of those to be going to detroit right now, no question.

but still, this is the best season of uofl basketball i've ever witnessed (i was out of the country in 2005, and didn't see any games after mid-january or so), so i want to say thank you:

to Edgar: thanks for burying that shot against Kentucky and saving earl's ass, which alone should cement your place in cardinal history. i think you may have single-handedly saved the season with that one shot. can you imagine what the fan base would've been feeling if we'd lost that game, and entered BE play with 4 losses and the fan's so mad at earl they couldn't bear to see him on the court?

to Preston: thanks for an intensity unmatched by anyone i've ever seen, and for an out-of-nowhere shooting stroke that i'll dream about for the next 6 months, when pre-season basketball rumors start floating up from the stench of football.

to TJ: i don't think i've ever seen a player improve so much over the course of the season, and frankly, i can't wait to see how you improve in the offseason. your speed and talent are incredible.

to Samardo: yeah, you drive me crazy dribbling it in the low post and finishing soft when you should go strong, but i have no doubt that we'd have been a lot worse off without you. i'm counting on you and TJ to be super sophs.

to will scott: thanks for being the smartest player to ever wear a cardinal uniform. the half-court buzzer beater against oklahoma last year has been replaced by scott-to-swop as your legacy in cardinal history.

to kyle, jared, george, and reggie: you guys did your part this year, and next year we're going to rely on you a lot. work hard this summer.

to jerry: thanks for your energy, your sweet shooting, your increasingly-believable ball fake, and your towel waving. we need you to be our leader next year, and i'm hoping to see you take the reins from t-will.

to andre: thanks for working as hard as any player i've ever seen. your defense is incredible, but every game this year i thought to myself "i can't believe how much his shot has improved."

to earl: thanks for being the most consistent player on an inconsistent team. your turnovers are excruciating, but your impossible shots and incredible rebounds more than make up for it. you'll be missed (are you sure you don't want to stay one more year?)

to t-will: i hate that your last game was a reversion to the t-will we all loved/hated of years past, but that (hopefully) won't erase the season you had. thanks for being our leader, for singlehandedly saving us from siena, and for being an absolute joy to watch. thanks for your dunks, your incredible passes, and your antics. you'll be sorely missed.

no one can take away this year's accomplishments:

- beat UK

- beat the #1 team in the country

- big east regular season champs

- big east tournament champs

- first #1 ranking ever

- #1 overall seed in the tournament

- 30 wins

- elite eight

yeah, we're all sad that we didn't live up to potential, but look at the total season and it's hard not to smile. i'm sure that after the pain of this loss wears away - and it always does (even the UNC loss last year, which, i'm disgusted to say, was closer than this one, wore off) - 08-09 will live on fondly in my memory for many years to come.

cardinal basketball - we will miss you for the next 7 months. but we will wait patiently, as we do every year. GO CARDS!

i have tickets waiting, and i'm trying to figure out how early i need to get there. anyone that stood in line yesterday - how long did you have to wait? i've heard some crazy stories about how long the lines were. thanks in advance.

word limit: GO CARDS  GO CARDS  GO CARDS  GO CARDS  GO CARDS  GO CARDS  GO CARDS  GO CARDS  GO CARDS  GO CARDS  GO CARDS  GO CARDS  GO CARDS  GO CARDS  GO CARDS  GO CARDS  GO CARDS  GO CARDS  GO CARDS  GO CARDS  GO CARDS  GO CARDS  GO CARDS 

I'm trying to pump up the white out as much as possible because I'm going to go all out and I don't want to be the only goon who shows up in all white clothes. Here's what I'm going to be rocking:

1. White linen pants that I had to wear for a friend's wedding in Florida last year.
2. My white w/ red trim basketball shoes
3. A white T-shirt with the Louisville logo (same as the one that's center court of Freedom Hall)

What about you?

When my dad and I found out that the unholy duo (Ed "The Lord of the Dance" Hightower and Jim "Highwaters" Burr) would be working the Providence game, we resolved to be especially mean to them (my dad even considered busting out his h-bomb insult of "dumb jerk," which is a lot for him).

A little background: my dad is somewhat notorious in section 334 for being a great ref heckler. His voice is loud and piercing (much better than mine, which is too gruff at loud volumes to be understood), his timing is impeccable, and he usually says hilarious (but clean) things. As I mentioned above, "dumb jerk" or "buckethead" is about as profane as he gets.

Anyway, we were disappointed in the first half as Hightower and Burr stayed relatively under control. They must have not gotten warmed up, because despite a few questionable calls in the first, they didn't really try to take over the show until second half.

So as we're letting our irritation at Burr/Hightower stew in the second half, I notice that Jim Burr continually jacks up his pants so they're sitting a good 2 or 3 inches above his navel. When I pointed this out to my dad, he knew we'd found the chink in the armor. Once the game was firmly in hand, dad waited for the opportunity to strike. It came with about 2 minutes to play when Sosa stepped to the line for 2 shots. Jim, who had been working the opposite site of the court for most of the game, wandered over and stood at midcourt on our side. As the crowd quieted down (or started to leave) for Edgar's shot, my dad let fly:

"HIKE THOSE  PANTS UP, JIM! LOOKING GOOD, JIMMY!"

After Edgar hit the first one, my dad let another volley fly, but much to our delight, Jim reached up and scratched the side of his head facing us using only his middle finger. Yes, my dad got Jim Burr to lose his cool and flick him off during a game.

I've been asking my dad if he's going to retire from ref heckling, since I doubt it can get any sweeter than getting a guy like Burr to lose his cool like that. He says no - he thinks the bar's been raised to a new level, but that doesn't mean it's time to quit.

Did anyone else at the game happen to catch it (or hear it)?

...was the legendary game against East Carolina in the snowstorm?

I don't remember the year, or even who was on the UofL squad at the time, I just remember showing up for one of the best games in Freedom Hall history - anyone have any more details than me?

Hopefully tonight is a reprise of that feeling, with 10000 hardcore fans rocking the Hall like 20000 normally do. Who's going?

Word limit: GO CARDS!