If we can win TSF 2011, I hope I can turn to you to help win TPRP July 2011.

Only because I know how much CC loves democracy, I ask you go to the following link and cast a vote for Wrap Up America, a Louisville-based non-proft organization, competing in this months Pepsi Refresh Project:

www.refresheverything.com/wrapupamerica

Quick note on Wrap Up America: Established in 2009, Wrap Up America is a national organization empowering college students to join the movement to end homelessness. The organization is driven by 'Fort Building Competitions' on college campuses, where competiting teams collect as many blankets as possible to construct massive blanket forts. These blankets are then distributed to homeless shelters in the community they were collected from. The University of Louisville was home to the first ever Fort Building Contest. Last year's event collected 2,800 blankets for Louisville area homeless. To learn more www.WrapUpAmerica.org

I am officially fascinated by the Caldwell/Bender saga.

It is perfect timing, as I received my ESPN the Magazine yesterday reviewing the 'Most Corrupt Year in College Athletics.'

My gut feeling is that there is a Master Shredder in all of this and Caldwell and Bender are simply BeBop and Rock Steady. I had some time to kill and wanted to do some investigative work.

Here are the amateur athletes Ken Caldwell follows on twitter. Seeing as there are thousands of NCAA-D1 players, it is interesting that there are the 20 or so he has taken particular interest in:

(In no particular order)

• Braeden Anderson - Kansas
  • Canadian athlete hosted by Bender in Louisville.
• Robert Goff - Marshall
  • JUCO who made last minute commitment change from Oklahoma to Marshall
• Twany Beckham - Kentucky (walk-on)
  • Transfer from Mississippi St. to UK. Ballard grad.
• Kevin Ware - Where?
  • Has been documented
• Tristan Spurlock -  UCF
  • Highly rated recruit who transfered from UVA to UCF
• DeMarcus Smith - TBD (only football player he follows)
  • Has been documented
• Erik Murphy - Florida
  • Arrested for burglary
• Quincy Miller - Baylor
  • Has been documented
• Keith Clanton - UCF
• Khem Birch - Pittsburgh
  • Transferred from Montreal, Canada to Notre Dame Prep.
• Angel Nunez - Louisville
  • played for 2 different prep schools. Including Notre Dame Prep
• Dion Dixon - Cincinnati
  • From Chicago Area
• Stan Simpson - Memphis
  • (Top Rated JUCO from Illinois)
• Jeffrey Jordan - UCF
• Marcus Jordan - UCF
• Jacob Pullen - Kansas St.
  • From Illinois
• Dwight McCombs - UCF
• LaQuinton Ross - Ohio State
  • Senior year transfer from Mississippi to New Jersey Prep School
• Chandler Parsons - Florida

Not any prevailing trends, but a few big names and a number of athletes who have had a lot of drama following their recruiting, have transferred or attended a prep school.  

Also, in last night's interview, Bender (BeBop) mentioned he was a fan of the following schools:

Kentucky, UCF, Kansas, UCLA, UConn, Memphis, Georgetown, Mississippi State, Tennessee, Ohio State, Auburn and UNLV

11 of the 20 athletes above committed to one of those schools at one point.

Additionally, Georgetown is the only school on that list to not have a major NCAA violation either punished or pending in the past decade.

Call Rodney Purvis and invite him to join the event as the first-ever Junior to participate.

With UofL fans in mamby-pamby land about him potentially reneging on his verbal as a result of Fuller departing, they would show up in the hundreds and maybe even thousands extra if Purvis were involved in the event.

As of right now, I am on the fence whether to attend or not. If Purvis were there showing off his skills and I were able to show my support for him (along with the rest of the Cards) I would definitely attend.

I just jumped on the Twitter trend. I also just got a pair of Adidas Sambas and a pager.

My lateness to the party aside...my "twit fam" and I are looking to post in-game comments under a common #thread

We haven't come up with the perfect one yet, so I wanted to come to CardChronicle to see if any of you have some gold you are willing to offer.

So far the front runners include:

#nomeatdefeat

#NYC-A-R-D-S

#GraveDigger

What ideas have you?

The winning idea will receive a custom song written and performed by former Creed lead singer Scott Stapp

I do not have an opinion on this topic and am eager for the Card Chronicle community to sway me in one of the two directions.

Would you prefer to see the Big East Tournament in New York City every year, or would you like to see a bid process for it by Big East cities?

The NYC Argument

Madison Square Garden is the mecca of basketball and the center of the sports Universe. The allure of having the conference tournament in New York City helps draw fans from all of the teams and also gives people and annual trip and tradition to look forward to.

Holding the BET in NYC can also be a recruiting advantage, as the BET is widely known as the most watched conference tournament and allows top talent a very large stage to play on annually. I think to players like Johnny Flynn that made millions of dollars because of his performance in the BET.

The Rotation Argument

First off, the BET could still be hosted in NYC on a regular basis. Through a rotation, Big East communities would be able to gain the financial benefits of hosting such a prestigious tournament. The Louisville Sports Commission makes big dollars off hosting the BET for Field Hockey...imagine what basketball would bring in.

A week long tournament could have a huge impact on area hotels, restaurants and attractions.

The tournament could have a very positive impact on communities like:

• Louisville
• Milwaukee
• Syracuse
• Hartford
• Cincinnati
• Tampa

It could also be hosted in mega cities like:

• Chicago
• Philly
• Washington D.C.
• NYC

While St. John's would lose their annual competitive advantage, the downside would be that one team would gain a significant home-court advantage on an annual basis.

I am eager to hear the thoughts and opinions of CardChronicloids Near and Far.

Speaking of far...I would be all for a BET in Tucson so we can all shack at our man Austin's house. I call dibs on fist shower. I need my ME time.

(Editor's Note: I'd like to add to all of this that Digger was wearing a Notre Dame sweater and referred to the Fighting Irish as "we" on multiple occasions. Truly a low point for ESPN's fling with professionalism)

I know it was discussed on the thread, but I wanted to extend the discussion.

Never have I been more frustrated with the commentary in a game.

Specifically, the vendetta that was taken by Digger Phelps and Bob Knight against Kyle Kuric was sickening.

Going into the game, Kyle averaged 8 PPG. Before the technical, he had 17 points and then finished with 18.

Then, according to Phelps and Knight he had a 'mindset shift', resultant of the technical, that affected his game.

Kyle scored 8 points in the second half, including a clutch three and three free throws in front of a very hostile ND student section.

Knight and Phelps created a false villain in Kuric.

Did anyone else notice when Kuric missed a three in the second half, Digger said 'short' in the most vindictive manner? Or maybe you noticed the celebration in Diggers' voice when Kuric missed a lay-up in overtime.

I find it difficult to blame refs...it is difficult to make real-time decisions and is easy to get caught up in the atmosphere, especially at a place like Purcell. That said, I put a little more faith in the commentary team, who has the opportunity to see replays.

Simply put, I feel that this commentary team was extremely skewed in their bias towards ND.

Some other moments that bothered me:

• Saying Preston had no business taking a three pointer he hit in the second half after lauding Hansborough all first half for having such range.
• Making no mention of the Abromitis 'hook' or 'travel', which were both blatantly obvious on replay
• Making no mention of the injuries suffered to three of our starters until Rece brought it up with 6 minutes left in the game...you think that would have been a story line.
• Did they even refer to Kuric as King Kyle?
• Using the terms 'we' and 'our' when referring to Notre Dame
• Digger having a Notre Dame logo on his sweatshirt
• Digger passing out student tickets to the Notre Dame student body on campus this morning

I want to open the floor for discussion, but I really wish ESPN would adopt a policy where commentators who have been affiliated with a University are not allowed to be a part of the commentary for a game including that team. I am alright with 'analysis' or 'College GameDay' type events, but when you involve them in the play-by-play or color commentary, you are simply making the game a painful experience for 50% of the viewership.

I feel better now.

I head up a charity blanket drive based out of Louisville, Wrap Up America

This Friday at the Women's basketball game the Student Athletes will be collecting blankets to use in the upcoming Fort Building Contest.

If you have used blankets lying around your attics, basements or closets that you don't use...and you are going to the game on Friday...please bring them with you.

We will in-turn distribute them directly to the homeless in Louisville who have a significant need.

Want to get the CC community's thoughts on the possibility of serving alcohol at Cardinal Park (men's and women's soccer, track and field and softball). Particularly interested in those of you who have attended such events in the past.

As many of you know, I act as the SGA student athletic director and I am currently in the process of researching student opinion on instituting such a service.

Hear is an article from the student newspaper that explains more in-depth:

Alcohol at Cardinal Park?

Many students are writing letters to voice their opinion (on both sides). If you are so moved, please send all e-mails to tmjoel01@louisville.edu

Thanks for all of your continued input. 

In an effort to help develop student spirit in Freedom Hall, the University of Louisville athletic department and Student Government Association have worked together to develop the first ever 'Sign Out', in which all students are encouraged to bring a spirited or creative sign to the Jan. 4th game. 

This will be the first of many themes, but is especially crucial as it is the final Bluegrass Blowout in Freedom Hall. The decision of the theme was made off of the past successes of College Gamedays, the ease of the theme as students come back to campus and the understanding that anyone carrying a sign automatically increases their spirit level by a minimum of 14.6% (Duke, 1999). 

A partnership has been developed with Gray's Bookstore allowing students to come into the store with a student ID and receive up to 4 free poster boards prior to the game.

The two students who create the 'most spirited' and 'most creative signs' will be taken on the floor at halftime and given a half-court shot to win free tuition in the Spring Semester. This fiscal burden has been picked up by the athletic department.

Now I come to CC Nation with the understanding that most of the readership is not students, but I hope you are still willing to have a little fun and support this effort. I will be bringing together a team of about 20 students prior to the game to make around 100 signs to ensure this event is a success. I have a number of signs prepared, but need to tap into everyones creative juices.

Please, run wild and give me your best sign ideas. Please keep them PG-13 and I will do my best to get it transplanted into the 'student section'.

As the SGA Student Athletic Director, I wanted to reach out to the Card Chronicle community once again to tap into your creative geniuses. 

My main goal this year has been developing student spirit. At what we commonly refer to as a 'basketball school', we have been planning to institute a lot of new initiatives during the basketball season.

Honestly, you won't see anything new until the UK game on Jan. 4th, because of the difficulty getting students out to games over break. However, once the nationally televised games start, we are going to institute some very creative 'themes'. 

While we have a lot set (please feel free to contact me at tmjoel01@louisville.edu to discuss privately) I want to make sure we exhaust all options. 

If anyone has any themes they have wanted to see, please pass along the idea. While I can't promise anything, there is the possibility you will see your theme realized at a game this year. Now how exciting is that.

Best theme idea receives free season tickets to baseball this year. 

Second best theme gets half off tickets to the next Nappy Roots and/or Code Red concert

Voting for the official name of the student section at University of Louisville athletic events will take place all this week. It kicked off this morning and will go until Friday at 5 p.m.

Everyone is encouraged to go to uoflsports.com and vote. While this will be the name of the 'student' section, both SGA and the athletic department feel the life of the name will far extend the current student population and accordingly have opened the voting to the entire Cardinal community. Students are fully encouraged to vote and promotions and publicity have been developed to ensure current students are/will be aware of the voting. 

If you have questions please direct them to myself, Trevor Joelson, the SGA Student Athletic Director. I can be reached by e-mail at tmjoel01@louisville.edu.

The results of the vote and the new name of the student section will be announced at the football game on Sunday. 

Vote Here

We are currently developing a rebranding of the student section for this coming year, with a focus on unity and intensified spirit. The name will be used to signify students at all U of L sporting events.

I seek your suggestions on a name for the new section. We have developed a list already, but I would like to get more ideas. While students will ultimately vote on the name come August, I think alumni and die hards are full of great idea and love the idea of living vicariously through the drunken 20 year olds.

Any other ideas on how to incite student spirit would be greatly appreciated as well.