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THE BEAK PREVIEW: Cards vs. Golden Panthers

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– The Beak Preview: Louisville vs. Florida International University

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This Saturday is where the rubber meets the road for our Louisville Cardinals. Literally. The Cards leave to comforts of Papa Johns Cardinal Stadium and take to the road for a month. The road has been very good to Coach Strong’s teams as the Cards are 7-4 and were 4-2 last season with a very impressive win on the road at West Virginia. It will be very important for them to continue that success during the next 4 weeks.

Coach Strong: “This next month is going to be a really good challenge for us,” “We are going to see just how strong of a football team we are.”

The Cards have been rolling as they take a 3-0 record down to Florida to face the FIU Golden Panthers Saturday. Ironically, the last time these two teams played FIU beat the Cards 24-17 to go to 3-0 on the season. The Cards will bring in an offense that has had its way over the past three weeks as Teddy Bridgewater is currently leading the nation completing his attempts at a nearly 90 percent rate while Senorise Perry and Jeremy Wright are ranked third and fourth respectively in the Big East in rushing yards, combining for 528 yards this season. FIU enters the game off a road loss and have a 1-2 record. They are lead by senior running back Darian Mallary who has scored a team-best five touchdowns this season, including back-to-back games with two rushing TD’s.

The FIU football program has enjoyed success during Mario Cristobal’s tenure as coach. When he arrived at FIU, he inherited a program that had never posted a winning season and didn’t have a weight room or meeting rooms. Now coming off back-to-back bowl appearances, the Golden Panthers boast solid facilities and will play this season in a newly expanded stadium that seats 28,000.

Coach Cristobal on his team: “I think we have a very well-rounded, motivated, explosive football team that really wants to get things started,” Cristobal said. “They’re a very humble team that knows that this conference is as crazy as it gets. It is anybody’s to win. And we want to make sure that we’re in it, and that we’re in it to win it.”

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Even though this will be considered a road game, it will be a homecoming of sorts for some of the Cardinal squad as 34 of the 104-man roster are from the Sunshine State. . 21 of the 34 Floridians hail from the South Florida tri-county Region. Miami Northwestern will be a featured high school as both teams have a combined 12 players from that high school on their rosters. This will add a new dimension to the competition as some of these guys played with each other in high school.

Coach Strong: “It will be nice to have the extra fan support while away but this is a business trip.”

Louisville will have revenge on their minds Saturday as this two game series with FIU ends. No doubt in my mind that Teddy QB and company want to return the favor of that loss they suffered last year on national TV to the Panthers. They will also have that dismal second half performance last weekend fresh on their minds. I look for our Cards to have a big day and they will roll to their first 4-0 start since 2006.

The Beak Prediction:
Louisville 38 FIU 14

Gorgui to NBA in 2013?

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– Will Gorgui take the money and run

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To say that Gorgui Dieng has developed greatly since his time as a Louisville Cardinal is an understatement. We have watched him turn into one of the best shot blockers in the country. The Louisville defense allowed their conference opponents to make just 42.7 percent of their 2s last season. Dieng was a big part of that number for the Cardinals. He recorded his fair share of blocks, swatting away about 10 percent of the 2s that opponents attempted during his minutes last season. 

Due to that shot blocking Gorgui had a breakout season in his Sophmore year. Dieng blocked a school-record 128 shots and is already No. 4 in school history with 184 career blocks. He led the Big East Conference and was eighth nationally last season with 3.2 blocks a game.

All of the success hasn’t gone unnoticed. In fact the NBA guys have been watching very closely. And after had a solid showing last month at the Adidas Nations event he has seen his stock rise even more. ESPN’s NBA draft expert Chad Ford currently lists the 6-foot-11, 235-pound center as the No. 3 center in the 2013 draft and the No. 21 overall prospect on his Big Board. While he is listed as the No. 19 pick by NBADraft.net and DraftExpress.net still has him listed as the No. 11 pick in the second round.

The only question mark left in Gorgui’s game is on the offensive end of the floor. If he improves as much in that area of his game as he has done with the rest he will be a beast in his Junior season. Peyton Siva recently said when ask about Dieng:  “Gorgui has gotten really big and he’s holding his own. He’s shown a lot of people his upside. He’s ready for a big year next season.”

If Gorgui does have a monster year and keeps improving his draft stock will he take the money and run or will he stay in Louisville until his senior season and graduate? According to him the most important thing to his father is an education. Will be interesting to see what path he decides to take.

Louisville’s 2013 Recruiting Class now ranked 3rd

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– Louisville’s 2013 basketball class shaping up to be a beast

Today Louisville landed a big time player in Juco PG Chris Jones. The 5-foot-10 Jones was a member of the ESPN 100 in the Class of 2011 and signed with Tennessee but opted to spend two years at NW Florida State. Jones joins a recruiting class now ranked 3rd according to Espn.com. Along with Jones Louisville’s class now features ESPN 100 shooting guard Anton Gill and post-grad point guard Terry Rozier.

Here’s what Espn.com Dave Telep had to say earlier about the Jones commit.
Louisville adds a fierce competitor:
“In Jones, Rick Pitino’s Cardinals landed one of the most important recruits of the year. Typically, that’s a distinction accorded high school talent but in this case, it’s a junior college player. Ranked ESPN’s No. 67 recruit as a high school senior, Jones became a first-team All-American last season at Northwest Florida. The 2012 Panhandle Conference player of the year was the first freshman afforded that distinction since Chris Porter nearly 15 years ago. He averaged 18 points a game for the national JUCO runner-ups. In picking Louisville, Jones passed on offers from a host of programs that had been recruiting point guards, including Kansas, Florida State, Baylor and Oklahoma State.”

Here’s some links from around the country today about the Jones commit.

Photobucket–Sporting News ‏@sn_ncaab

Photobucket–Paul Seaver ‏@TheArenaPulse

Photobucket–AllKyHoops.com

Photobucket–Adam Zagoria ‏@AdamZagoria

Photobucket–Rob Dauster ‏@RobDauster

Photobucket–Jeff Borzello ‏@jeffborzello

Now with three big time recruits signed up for the Cards whats next. Louisville appears to still be actively recruiting 6 or 7 guys but in my opinion there are only three left that could be realistic options. And they are Akoy Agau, Joel Embiid, and Kyle Washington.

Other names out there but very unlikely IMO. Jarrell Martin, Troy Williams, Marcus Lee, Jajuan Johnson, and Beejay Anya.

NEW VIDEO of Chris Jones

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Young Cards learn “it ain’t over till it’s over”

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– Cardinals beat the Tarheels but learn “it ain’t over till it’s over”

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The 19th ranked Cards came out of the gates faster than the thoroughbreds across the street a Churchill Downs today against North Carolina. They would score on their first six possessions to take a 36-7 lead into the break. The Cardinals had 19 first downs and 360 total yards in the opening half. But after the half time show was over the Tarheels QB Bryn Renner put on a show of his own throwing for 363 yards and a school-record five touchdowns outscoring the Cardinals 27-3.

All I could think about while I was watching this game unfold was how many times I heard Coach Strong say that this team was not capable of handling and maintaining success yet. Today his young team learned that you have to keep playing until the final horn blows. And they did just that. Even though North Carolina mounted a great comeback in the second half our Cards did hold on to win the game 39-34. And it was a great learning experience in the process. Sometimes a coaches greatest challenge comes when his team is winning. They often find it hard to have those teaching moments among success. But after this game Coach Strong won’t have any trouble at all.

Coach Strong would say after the game: “It’s not that they lost intensity, it’s all about your focus and going out there and finishing the game,” “At the end of the day we still won the football game.”

Teddy QB after the game: “This week, we learned we have to finish.”

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With the win over North Carolina on Saturday, the Cardinals are 3-0 for the first time since the 2006 and take a 4-3 lead in the series with North Carolina.

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QB Bryn Renner tied the UNC single-game record with five touchdowns, and Teddy Bridgewater went 23-of-28 for 279 yards and three touchdowns. Both of these QB’s had outstanding days for their teams.

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Today was the fourth largest crowd to ever watch a game at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium. The place was rocking and it was another great day to be a Louisville Cardinal fan. Not only did our Cards find out what they were made of they also found out “it ain’t over till it’s over.” Very proud of our team for finding a way to grind it out. I’ve said all along that these guys are going to be special and so far they haven’t disappointed.

Battle of the Bluegrass “Soccer Style”

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– Soccer’s version of the Blue and Red rivalry

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Friday night UofL and UK soccer took center stage in front of the second largest crowd to ever watch a match in Cardinal Park. There was a buzz in the air as these teams took the field for their version of “The Battle of the Bluegrass”. On this night it was the guys in blue who would win the battle.

Despite finishing the game with a 11-5 shot advantage and a corner kick advantage of 9-2 the Cards couldn’t find the back of the net. UK played solid defense throughout the match coming up with answers every time it appeared that Louisville would have an advantage. The Cards played some great defense as well and it took a penalty kick for UK to get on the board. Late in the first half Ade Akinsanya went for the ball outside the box and took down a UK player then was called for a foul. UK’s Matt Lodge took the free kick and found the back of the net to put the Wildcats up 1-0. This would be the only goal of the night.

The Cards had won the last three meetings with UK. And they hadn’t allowed a goal since 2007. Louisville has been the dominate soccer program in Kentucky for several years and even made a trip to the 2010 NCAA Championship game. But on this night it was a UK squad that was off to one of their worst starts in the programs history who would be victorious. Every dog, or in this case cat has their day I suppose.

Coach Ken Lolla would say after the game: “The name of the game is scoring goals,” “We got some great opportunities but just never converted,” “I thought our guys battled especially in the second half we just didn’t get any goals.”

Coach Ken Lolla on where his team is at this point in the season: “We are still finding ourselves,” “I loved this atmosphere tonight, a lot of our guys have never played in this type of atmosphere,” “We are still making gains and finding ourselves,” “I like this team and I know we are going to be very good come the end of the year.”

Tonight was a great sports atmosphere at Cardinal Park and perhaps the one thing that I took from it was how much these guys give back, especially to the kids. These guys had just lost a heart breaker to their instate rivals and they stayed over for 20 minutes to sign autographs for the kids. That really was a cool thing for them to do. The Louisville fan base has really rallied around the Olympic sports and tonight it was very apparent that Cardinal Nation loves their soccer team.

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THE BEAK PREVIEW: Cards vs.Tarheels

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– THE BEAK PREVIEW: Louisville vs. North Carolina

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Our Louisville Cardinal Football team is on a roll. They are 2-0, ranked 19th in the country with big wins over in-state rival Kentucky and FCS member Missouri State. But the question still remains whether or not this Louisville football team is as good as it has appeared in recent weeks. That question is likely to be answered on Saturday as ACC member North Carolina rolls into town. 

Coach Strong: “You look at it, it’s an ACC opponent coming in here that just has some tradition about them. It’s a big football team and they’re going to look good. It has to be a physical game for us.” “This is great test for our program,” “I think this weekend we will find exactly where we are as a football program.”

North Carolina is 1-1 after beating up on Elon in their opener and getting beat by Wake Forest last week. The Tarheels are lead by first year coach Larry Fedora who used to be the head man at Southern Mississippi. Fedora took over the job at UNC after they were hit with a one-year bowl ban and a reduction of 15 scholarships over the next three years for violations involving illegal agent activity, improper benefits and academic fraud. He was able to convince 19 seniors on the roster to stay, even though they were eligible to transfer and play right away under NCAA rules. 

Fedora on his team:  “All we’ve done is come in and try to implement a philosophy, basically, a whole new offense, a whole new defense and a whole new special teams unit,” “We’ve worked hard at doing that. We’re not anywhere close at this time. But I think our guys have an understanding of what we’re trying to get to.”

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This is the seventh meeting with UNC in a series tied at three. Last season, the TarHeels defeated Louisville 14-7 in Chapel Hill. The TarHeel defense limited the Cardinals to 273 yards to win a defensive struggle. Louisville missed a pair of field goals in the first half. This is the 11th straight season UNC has faced a Big East opponent. Since 2002, Carolina has played 16 games against Big East teams and is 7-9 in those contests with three consecutive victories.

Strong and Fedora were the defensive and offensive coordinators at Florida from 2003-04. In 2010, with Fedora coaching Southern Mississippi and Strong in his first season at Louisville, the two met in the Beef O’Brady’s Bowl with the Cardinals rallying for a 31-28 win.

UNC will come into Papa Johns Saturday energized by their high-octane new coach with his aggressive new offensive and defensive schemes. And the Cardinals will be fired up bringing in the momentum of a 2-0 record and a 19th ranking in the AP poll. This should be a great game and a great battle.

The Beak Prediction:
UofL 24 UNC 17

TWO FUTURE CARDS

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– Two guys who will be Cardinals

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Chris Jones, a 5-foot-10 point guard from Northwest Florida State College, has narrowed his list to Louisville, Baylor, Florida State, Kansas, Memphis and Oklahoma State. In my opinion there is only 1 team on this list that ultimately lands Jones and that is Louisville. They have been very persistent in the recent months in his recruiting process and have been in on him for the longest with the exception of Baylor. Louisville is the best fit for Jones and is a very good option for him. He has a good relationship with both assistant coaches Kevin Keatts, Rick Pitino, and his friend Kevin Ware whom originally committed with him to play at Tennessee. The Cards up-tempo style would fit Jones like a glove and he would have a chance to contribute right away, as star point guard Peyton Siva will graduate after this season. Jones can look at Siva’s production and know exactly how he would fare for the Cardinals. Jones has made it known recently that since he only has 2 years of eligibility left that he needs to go somewhere that he could have an immediate effect. I would be completely shocked if Jones did not commit to Louisville pretty soon after he takes his visits. This past weekend Pitino was in Florida watching Jones. This coming weekend Jones will be on the Louisville campus for his official. Just remember I have been calling this one for many months now. You can check out Jones assessment and video on the recruiting page.

Moses Kingsley, a 6-foot-9 center from Huntington, W. Va., Prep School has narrowed his to North Carolina St., Florida, Memphis, Tennessee, Arkansas and Louisville. In my opinion there is only one team on this list that ultimately lands Kingsley and that is Louisville. Louisville assistant Wyking Jones went to the hospital yesterday to see him as he is recovering from having malaria. Wyking Jones has been watching Kingsley play since last summer during the AAU circuits and has been recruiting him heavily. Jones compares him to Dieng. Due to Louisville’s persistence, the Huntington Prep connection and the Gorgui Dieng comparison Louisville is the team to beat. And it seems that Kingsley is pretty high on the Cards. Rick Pitino is expected to be in Huntington to watch him participate in an open gym on Sep. 18, and Kingsley will make the trip to the UofL campus on Sept. 28.

CARDS TAKE IT TO THE BEARS

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– Cards take it to the Bears and Teddy QB leads the way.

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It was a great day for football in Louisville at Papa Johns Cardinal Stadium. And there was a great crowd on hand to watch the Cardinals take on the Bears. Missouri St did provide some competitive spirit but they were no match for a stingy Louisville defense and offense that wouldn’t disappoint as QB Teddy Bridgewater lead the team to a solid victory 35-7.

Teddy QB had a career day completing 30 of 39 passes 344 yards and touchdowns to tight ends Nate Nord and Ryan Hubbell. He would  connect  with 10 different receivers to help keep the Cardinals in control throughout the day. Louisville racked up 475 yards of total offense and was a combined 11 of 17 converting on third and fourth downs.

Charles Gaines had a game-high 73 yards including a 55-yard deep ball in his first time seeing action for the Cards. Eli Rogers had six receptions. Senorise Perry led the team in rushing again this week with 72 yards and one touchdown.

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The Cardinal defense did its part as well, holding the MSU offense to just 249 yards of total offense on the day. UofL was really effective in stoping the Bears’ rushing attack, limiting MSU to 99 yards on 31 carries. Calvin Pryor led the defense with eight tackles and one interception. Lorenzo Mauldin had one sack.

Coach Charlie Strong seemed pleased with his teams effort but was a bit discouraged by the execution. The Cards had 9 penalties in the game. 

Strong: “I am very pleased with the victory, but what’s frustrating is that we played hard but did not play smart,”  “If you look at last week, our offense ran pretty well and then this week we sputtered in the first half. Defensively we were able to make some plays.”

It was another great day to be a Louisville Cardinal fan. Much has been said about changing the culture of the football program. During the last two weeks I have experienced that culture change first hand. You can see the pride that Louisville fans have for this team and this system. Fans show up early and they leave late. The Cards have not disappointed and are now 2-0 ranked 23rd in the nation. Up next is North Carolina.

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THE BEAK PREVIEW: Cards vs. Bears

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– THE BEAK PREVIEW: Louisville vs. Missouri St

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Our Cardinals had no trouble in the home opener last weekend against instate rival Kentucky. And now its time to move on to the next opponent Missouri St. Missouri St gave Kansas St all they wanted last weekend for 3 quarters of football. They appeared primed to pull off a major upset tied 9-9 midway through the third quarter at then No. 22 Kansas State. However, the Bears gave up 35 points in the fourth en route to a 51-9 loss.

Here are a few things to consider:

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The Bears and Cardinals have never met on the football field; Saturday’s meeting will also be the first for Missouri State against a Big East foe. I will play devils advocate and say that anything can happen Saturday, and we all know that Louisville had their share of difficulties against lesser opponents last season. However, a sign of growth and maturity for this team would be to handle the teams it should, particularly with a game against North Carolina looming. I think this Cardinal team is destine for greatness and will get the job done.

Score Prediction:
Louisville 55 Missouri St 7

JUST 39 DAYS UNTIL BASKETBALL SEASON

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– Basketball season is just 39 days away here a a few things to look for in 2012

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With just 39 days until the college basketball season starts here are a few things that we should be looking for at the start of the 2012 season.

My best guess is that our Louisville Cardinals will start the year ranked either No. 1 or No. 2 in the nation, on their way to a No. 1 seed in the 2013 NCAA tournament. Those are the expectations you work under when you reach the Final Four and bring back stars like Peyton Siva, Gorgui Dieng, Russ Smith, Chane Behanan and Wayne Blackshear.

Most assume that Siva, Dieng, Behanan, and Blackshear will be in the starting line up. The biggest surprise may be the starter at the shooting guard position. Kevin Ware has been turning heads all summer and buzz around the program is that he’s taken his game to a new level. Rick Pitino has called Ware Louisville’s most improved player this offseason. All this would suggest that Ware will crack the starting line up. Ware came to Louisville as a four-star recruit, ranked among the ESPN 100 for 2011. The talent was clearly there all along. 

And what about those newcomers? Louisville has two new recruits hitting campus this season, including ESPN 100 prospect Montrezl Harrell and 6-10 Mangok Mathiang. These guys should help provide some good depth in the front court. Another guy making his debut on the court this season and who is expected to have a big impact is 6-foot-6 guard Luke Hancock. The transfer from George Mason averaged 10.9 points, 4.3 assists and 4.2 rebounds as a sophomore. He sat out last year due to the transfer rule. Coach Pitino recently told CBS Sports Jeff Goodman that Hancock would be ready to play again in few weeks. He’s currently rehabbing from shoulder surgery he had in May. Pitino also told Goodman that he intends on having Hancock be Siva’s backup.

Another year of great defense ahead? Last season, Louisville held opponents to a sickly 0.95 points per possession in conference play and refused to allow opponents make shots inside the arc holding them to 42.7 percent. With the addition of two big men and added depth it would be safe to say we’ll see more of the same this season. 

It’s September and we are at the beginning of a hopeful football campaign. But it is never to early to look ahead to the hoops season. And with just 39 days until basketball season begins these are just a few things to look forward to.