An 11 a.m. start time for a Big East conference game on the second Saturday in October is complete and utter garbage. And it's garbage without even taking into account the fact that one of the participants is ranked the top 20 of both national polls.
ESPN could not be coming off like more of a scorned ex-lover this season.
Bye week spread check: DePaul by negative three.
The Sporting News names Peyton Siva as a preseason third team All-American.
Third Team: Peyton Siva, Louisville, PG, 6-0/180, Sr.
For the last month of the college hoops season, Siva might have been the best point guard in the country. In nine postseason games, Siva averaged 11.3 points, 6.0 assists and 1.7 steals as he led the Cardinals to the Big East Tournament championship and then on
Attention male students at U of L: I'll be a guest panelist for the "Meat & Potatoes" program on campus tonight. The program runs from 7:30-8:30 and will be held at Community Park. There will be free food. Also, this will probably be your only shot to see me doing anything university-related since there's like a 95% chance that I turn the entire hour into a Saved by the Bell discussion or do something else to make everyone involved mad.
ESPN's Eamonn Brennan - who was also spending a fall Saturday at a wedding last weekend - has a really nice take on Mike Marra's unfortunate twist of fate.
But when you talked to Louisville fans about it, their concern was about more than the upcoming season. Nearly all of them were genuinely gutted by the news. It wasn't just about the basketball, about the national title hopes, about crude lineup calculus. It was about a guy who had fought for nearly 12 months to return to the game and finish his career, and who had that return -- his rightful and deserved payoff after what must have been an excruciating year -- immediately and ruthlessly taken from him. After missing a Final Four run, he didn't even get to enjoy the nonconference season, or get to fling shots up at Midnight Madness, or any of it. And now, not only is Marra's season lost, his career is almost certainly over, too.
Perhaps the only redeeming thing about this injury is the way Marra has handled it. According to WDRB's Eric Crawford (via Pitino), Marra told Louisville trainer Fred Hine, "You know, Fred, it wasn't meant to be. So I'll get a head start on coaching."
If that was me, I'd be cursing the fates, shaking my fist at the basketball gods, and all the rest of it. But Marra is taking his utter misfortune -- and there is no other way to describe it -- in stride.
There will be no "Louisville 21, Southern Miss 17" post this week since I didn't DVR the game and CBS makes you pay for a subscription if you want to watch their replays online. Pretty lame.
Heard it was wet.
Speaking of which, this picture was the second most popular link on Reddit's college football page:
Pretty cool to hear both Mario Benavides and Teddy Bridgewater talk after the game about how the team has "wet ball Wednesday" every week in order to be properly prepared for situations like the one they faced on Saturday.
Benavides said that every Wednesday the coaches and trainers hose the ball down (and spray him in the face) so that he and Teddy will be well-equipped for QB/center exchanges in cases of inclement weather. When asked if he ever thought "wet ball Wednesday" was sort of a silly idea, Teddy said "no, I never question any of the things the coaches have us do."
CBS still has Louisville atop its Big East power rankings, but the gap between the Cards and Cincinnati/Rutgers is thinning.
1. Louisville (5-0, 0-0 Big East): At this point, inertia is really the only thing keeping the Cardinals at the top. Louisville struggled mightily on the road against winless Southern Mississippi on Saturday, winning 21-17 after a late touchdown in rain-soaked Hattiesburg. The Cardinals again showed a tendency to sleepwalk through most of the game against a far inferior opponent, something that must cease once conference play begins. Also, Louisville's defense, especially against the run, looks pretty beatable. Last week's power ranking: 1. Next up: at Pittsburgh, Saturday, Oct. 13.
They could pass 500 additional health inspections and be voted best restaurant in the world next year and I could still never eat at this Chinese restaurant in Williamsburg.
I'm not sure this bye week could come at a better time for Louisville. Not only are a there some banged up players on the roster, but I think a lot of guys have been frustrated by having to play these grind-it-out games in nasty weather the past couple of weeks.
Now is the perfect time for everyone to regroup, realize they are still undefeated, and then prepare for a seven-week gauntlet in which every game could be the difference between winning a conference title and going to the BCS or winding up with the disappointment of playing in a lesser bowl.
And on a personal note, I get to put wedding season behind and me and look forward to the comfort of watching Louisville games on actual television channels.
The fans in Spain are attempting to make Kyle Kuric feel as at home as possible.
You may have noticed Saturday that for the first time in his college career, Teddy Brigewater did not wear gloves.
Texas Tech chancellor Kent Hance was behind Louisville receiving the invite to the Big 12, and probably still is.
■ While he had no issue with Dan Beebe personally, Hance felt the former Big 12 commissioner didn't lead strongly enough during the crisis.
■ The craziest rumor might have been one that had Texas going to the Big Ten Conference. That, or Texas Tech to the Atlantic Coast Conference.
■ Hance likes West Virginia being part of the Big 12, but he thinks Louisville makes even more sense - and still might.
With the football game for that day set at 11, Louisville basketball has announced that its first Red/White scrimmage on Oct. 13 will tip-off at 4 p.m. The other two scrimmages are set for Sunday, Oct. 21 at 4 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 27 at 2 p.m. Tickets to all three events are available at both U of L ticket offices.
So DePaul is apparently tossing around the idea of playing its home games in the United Center beginning in 2013-14.
Jordan....Pippen....Wainwright.
On a related note, I'm told an opportunity to travel with the Louisville basketball team for its game against DePaul this season sold fir six figures at an auction Sunday evening.
Deal. Of. The. Century.
Rick Pitino doesn't think this Louisville team will be as reliant on the 3-pointer as most of his past ones.
Though Mike Marra hadn't shot a high percentage from the 3-point line in his time as a Cardinal, the University of Louisville senior at least was a threat to be able to knock down three or four in a given game. His loss to a second ACL injury in as many seasons leaves the Cards looking a bit more suspect from the outside.
But speaking with ESPN's Andy Katz, U of L coach Rick Pitino said he expected his squad to make only 6-7 three-pointers per game anyway, and did not expect it would be dependent on three-point shooting.
The Cards have a couple of slashing scorers in Kevin Ware and Wayne Blackshear, and should have one of the nation's better frontcourts, led by Gorgui Dieng, Chane Behanan and freshman Montrezl Harrell.
The women's soccer team played to a 1-1 draw with South Florida over the weekend, moving heir Big East record to 2-2-1 and their overall mark to 7-3-1. Angelika Uremovich netted the equalizer late in the second half for U of L on a PK. The Cards are back home Friday night at 7 against Villanova.
Eric Crawford with a solid tweet:
According to Adam Zagoria, Wyking Jones spent his afternoon watching class of 2015 star Isaiah Briscoe of St. Benedict's Prep.
The Cards fell to No. 3 in the four letter network's Big East power rankings.
1. Rutgers (4-0): The Scarlet Knights were off last week, and remain in the top spot with what I think is the best defense in the Big East and an improving offense.
2. Cincinnati (3-0): I moved the Bearcats up for a few reasons. First, they have a win over a ranked team -- Virginia Tech was No. 25 in the coaches' poll last week. Second, they have a conference win over an improving Pitt team. Third, they have looked better than Louisville has in the past three weeks.
3. Louisville (5-0): I understand the weather conditions were terrible in Hattiesburg, and Louisville is thankful it came out with a victory. But the Cardinals trailed for a majority of the game and have shown a lack of a killer instinct in three straight games now. When I do these rankings, I factor in how each team looks week to week. Louisville still has a great team but has not played up to its potential.
I was going to make another scorned lover reference until I realized, you know, Cincinnati and Rutgers are in the Big East too...Ok, but I still don't like it.
And finally, I know we may not have gotten to this place in as sexy a fashion as we all would have liked, but let's remember to celebrate the fact that Louisville has made it through its non-conference slate unscathed and is 5-0 for (I believe) just the second time in program history. I'd be lying if I said before the season that I expected this to happen.
Now we get to enjoy a weekend of Card-less football with the peace of mind of knowing that our guys are undefeated, ranked in the nation's top 20, and have a very good shot at making the program's second BCS appearance.
These are good times.