The University of Louisville continues their complete domination of the Big East Saturday as the baseball team wins the regular season title outright finishing the sweep of #16 Pittsburgh beating them 7-4. The Cards finish their regular season 46-10 and 20-4 in the Big East.

This is Louisville’s fourth Big East Regular Season Championship in 5 seasons (2009, 2010, 2012, 2013). They finish off their regular season now 31-5 at home setting a new single season record for wins at Jim Patterson Stadium (211-75, .736 all-time).

The Cardinals own the nation’s longest active winning streak at 16 games and it’s the second longest in school history, trailing only a 20-game streak in 1950. I’ve been hearing for weeks that Louisville will host a regional if it wins the Big East regular-season title; the Cardinals are up to No. 16 in the updated Warren Nolan RPI rankings, and their red-hot finish will look great to the committee. They’ll host count on it.

When Kentucky won the national championship last season they took their trophy on a tour through the back woods and Hollars of the Bluegrass state. The University of Louisville’s championship trophy has taken a different journey this off-season and it has been the symbol for many celebrations along the way.

Of course the trophy has made stops at the usual places, but it is the unusual places that have created the most buzz. The publications were in a frenzy when the trophy made a stop at a local tattoo parlor for Coach Pitino to get his “champ stamp”, then the trophy found its way on a fishing trip in the Bahamas with coach Pitino and his friends.

Today Total Frat Move news called Pitino the coolest coach in America as he took the national championship trophy for a spin on the town for his daughters 21st birthday celebration.

It’s great to see so many folks writing about the Cards symbol of excellence and it’s great to see so many celebrations being held around the trophy. Who knows where it’s going to end up next but by the time it reaches the Louisville trophy case it will have many stories to tell.

To continue my series looking at impact players that will be playing for the first time in the 2013-14 season today it’s Mangok Mathiang. I think he oozes with potential and think he could provide valuable minutes next season in the front-court. I think he will be a dominate player down low for the Cards before it’s all said and done.

(name is pronounced MANG-go like the fruit, with a silent “K” MATH-ee-ang)

Mangok Mathiang started his life in the war-torn Sudan but when he turned 5 his father decided to move him and his family to Egypt. The family soon realized that life there wasn’t going to be much better and they eventually ended up in Melbourne Australia. Soccer ruled in that part of the world and Mangok loved the game but by the time he was sixteen his height had reached 6 foot-5 inches and it was obvious what sport Mathiang was destined to play. By the time he was seventeen he was being offered scholarships by top US high schools.

Last August the lanky, shot-blocking Australian signed with the Cardinals but due to the NCAA’s strict rules, Mathiang was unable to produce his school transcripts quick enough and was ruled ineligible for the 2012-13 season. He was allowed to train with the team, and even got to show off some of his potential in last years Red & White game. It was very obvious watching him in those games that he is going to be a good one and he will make his way into the rotation this season.

Mathiang is a very long, active and mobile post player with great upside. He can score around the basket, rebound in his area and block shots on or away from the ball. As his skills continue to develop so will his production but the potential and upside are present.

Rick Pitino on Mangok: “Mangok is extremely quick and agile for a 6-10 player,” “He has a great future because of the way he moves at both the offensive and defensive ends. We’re excited to have him as a part of our program.”

In the West Indies, the expression “to go mango” means to steal another person’s mango fruits. There’s no doubt in my mind that after a few years in Louisville’s strength and conditioning program the expression “To Go Mango” will mean to steal another player’s basket. Because Mathiang will be a premiere shot blocker. There have been lots of comparisons between Mangok and Gorgui and the two have even been mistaken for one another around town. Just like Gorgui I expect Mangok to soon make a name for himself among college basketball’s best. The Mango is often referred to as the “King of Fruits”, before it’s all said and done “The Mango” will be the king of Louisville’s front-court.

Coach Rick Pitino has had the year of his life. First as a father he got to watch his son have great success at his first coaching stop and then got to watch Richard parlay that into landing a Big Ten coaching job at Minnesota. Then he and the Louisville basketball team have a magical season winning the final Big East Tournament and a National Championship. While in Atlanta for the Final Four Rick got his name added among the greats and was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame.

The road of the college basketball season ends at the Final Four but not Rick Pitino’s good fortune. After he got back from Atlanta he was able to enjoy the Kentucky Derby as a 5% owner of one of the Derby favorites. That horse wouldn’t win but it had to be a huge honor nonetheless. Then this week on a trip in the Bahamas with some buddies coach Pitino goes Marlin fishing and catches an 80 pounder.

So how do you put a bow on a run like that? Well around these parts you get your face on a Makers Mark bottle. That’s right Cards fans its time to add to the bourbon bottle collection as Makers Mark announced today that an upcoming bottle will feature Coach Rick Pitino. The bottle is the second of a three-year commitment by Maker’s Mark, that has pledged over $500,000 in support of the Academic Center of Excellence. 12,600 bottles will be available to the public, and details on how to purchase the bottle will be announced at a later date.

This Makers Mark series started last year with a bottle featuring Coach Charlie Strong. That bottle was a hot item last year and flew out of every Liquor Store store in the state of Kentucky. They sold over 8400 of the Strong bottles and will have 12,600 of the Pitino bottles available when released.

Louisville head basketball coach Rick Pitino had not had a break for months and decided to step away from basketball and Louisville after the Kentucky Derby celebrations had ended. Pitino and a group of friends headed to a remote island in the Bahamas for a little rest and relaxation. On this trip, Pitino and his group decided to do a little deep-water white marlin fishing. This was the first time Coach Pitino had tried his luck at the elusive fish. So what happens when coach sinks his lure for the first time? He lands an 80 pounder that’s what. How about the luck of this guy? According to the information I was able to look up the average size of the white marlin is 45 to 65 pounds and it is not a common thing to catch one bigger. I’m glad to see Coach P’s lucky streak is still intact and I hope it stays that way until around this time next year. Hat Tip to Jody Demling for tweeting out these pictures tonight. Great stuff!

The College Baseball season is nearing the time of year when post season play will get under way. Today Baseball America broke down their scenarios on who will host regional sites and who is in and out of the college baseball playoff picture. Our Louisville Cardinals have had a very good season and made history with their 8th shutout victory of the year beating EKU today and are 38-10 heading into a big game hosting No.15 Indiana at Jim Patterson Stadium tomorrow evening at 6pm for Cancer Awareness Night. The Cards are currently ranked #10 in NCBWA poll, #12 in Baseball America Poll, #10 in Collegiate Baseball Poll and #11 in the USA Today Coaches Poll. Below is what the folks at Baseball America had to say about Louisville’s post season chances.

“BASEBALL AMERICA:

Regional Hosts

SECURE TEAMS: The eight national seeds listed above; Indiana, Florida State

ON THE BUBBLE (IN): UCLA, Arkansas, South Carolina, Mississippi State, Clemson, Louisville

“We’re sticking with Louisville as a second host in the Midwest (along with Indiana). The Cardinals remain in third place in the Big East (a game behind South Florida and Pittsburgh), but we expect them to finish strong (at UConn, vs. Pitt) and win the Big East regular-season title. They probably need to do that in order to beat out the likes of South Alabama and Kansas State for a hosting spot. Right now, the Jaguars are higher in the RPI (No. 16) than Louisville (No. 23), and they sit in first place in the No. 5 RPI conference. But Louisville has better records against the top 50 (7-4 vs. 4-4) and top 100 (15-5 vs. 10-10), and South Alabama has the more challenging schedule remaining (at Louisiana-Lafayette, vs. Troy). If one of those three Sun Belt teams emerges as the clear-cut top team in the conference during the next two weeks and the conference tournament, it could beat out Louisville (or a fifth ACC or SEC team) for a hosting spot. But right now, we still have more faith in Louisville’s talent, so we’re sticking with the Cardinals.”

PROJECTED BIDS FOR NCAA

Big East (4 bids)

SAFELY IN: Louisville

ON THE BUBBLE (IN): Pittsburgh, South Florida, Notre Dame

ON THE BUBBLE (OUT): Seton Hall”

The folks at Baseball America do have Louisville as a current lock to make the post season NCAA. The only question seems to be if Louisville will play host to a regional site. The Cards still have some big games to make their case. If you haven’t done so yet try to get out and support these guys over the next couple of weeks. They have 4 home games left in the regular season including tomorrow night at 6pm against Indiana and then will have a 3 game home stand against Pittsburgh to end the regular season that starts on May 16th. The weather will be getting better and admission is free to all of the home games.

To read more from Baseball America’s article College Stock Report: Week 12 click this link.

Future Cardinal point guard sweeps the National Juco Player of the Year honors today as he was named NJCAA POY. Last week the future Card was named the NABC POY as well. The NJCAA Men’s Basketball Coaches Association announced their selections for the 2012-13 Player of the Year awards today and here’s what they had to say.

It’s very impressive to win one player of the year award but to win two is really a big deal. Jones was the most dominate Juco player in the nation for the last two seasons and now he is getting that validation. I can’t wait to see how that Juco domination transitions to the D1 level. Coach Pitino said in an interview last week that Jones will start in the back court with Smith next season.

This has been the year of the Louisville Cardinals and Cardinal Nation has enjoyed living in the spotlight of the college sports world this past season. Today all eyes will be on Churchill Downs and the annual “Run For The Roses.” And the 2013 Kentucky Derby will have a lot of Cardinal Flavor as well. Coach Charlie Strong will deliver the “Riders up!” call to jockeys in the paddock, Gorgui Dieng, Peyton Siva and Mike Marra, will walk the garland from the paddock to the winner’s circle 69 minutes before post time, and the U of L marching band, with 16 U of L choir students, will perform “My Old Kentucky Home.” Oh yea, and Coach Rick Pitino is a 5% owner of one of the Derby favorites Goldencents and it would be icing on the cake to see that horse in the winners circle.

Today will end Peyton and Gorgui’s whirlwind of appearances and celebrations and the two will head on to their future ventures after this weekend. Both are expected to start working out and they hope to continue their basketball careers in the NBA. Gorgui is predicted by most sources to be around the 22nd pick in the 2013 NBA draft while some expect Peyton to go somewhere late in the second round. Coach Pitino will also head out of town on a little hiatus with a group of friends to a remote Island in the Bahamas after the Derby weekend.

The Derby will be a grand finale to a wonderful year of sports in Louisville and what a way to put a bow on it by seeing the University of Louisville play such a big part in such a meaningful and historic event. Go Cards and Go Goldencents!