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!

Last week Teddy Bridgewater made news when he landed on an early prestigious list for Heisman candidates. Today he is making news again for being at the top of another list. Several folks came out today with their 2014 NFL Draft predictions. And our guy Teddy QB was considered the first pick on two of those list and the eighth pick on the other. It’s obvious by all of the pre-season hype that Teddy made a giant leap in status from his freshman to sophomore year and if he continues on that path of improvement there’s no question that next year in NYC we will be hearing his name called first. Below are Teddy’s spots on the list and what the analyst had to say about him.

-2014 NFL Draft: Top 30 college football players to watch this fall
Bucky Brooks
Analyst, NFL.com and NFL Network

You can read the entire article here at NFL.com

-2014 NFL mock draft: Teddy Bridgewater, Jadeveon Clowney lead the way
By Dan Kadar “SBNation”

You can read the entire article here at SBNation.com

-Early 2014 NFL Draft Rankings
Braden Gall Athlon Sports

You can read the rest of the article here at AthlonSports.com

Offensive coordinator Shawn Watson has five areas where he thinks his QB can improve next season and these things could also help his draft status.
Reach at least 70 percent completion percentage, become the No. 1 team in America in red zone efficiency, convert at least 50 percent on third down, work on becoming an even better game manager and work on becoming a more vocal leader. I know I’m getting excited to see Teddy this season and have no doubt in my mind that he will improve in those areas and take his game to an even more elite level.

Today was a busy news day for Louisville athletics and it started off with the Rick Pitino press conference where he introduced his new assistant coach Mike Balado. Rick talked about how it was important to keep the chemistry as well as the consistency of his coaching staff going forward, and said that it was a well thought out process hiring a new assistant. Coach Balado is fluent in the Spanish language and he hopes to be able to connect with recruits on the international stage that want to play in the United States. I think it is great that the coaching staff is thinking outside of the box, and hope to keep getting guys like Fransico Garcia and Edgar Sosa.

Coach Pitino on new assistant: “We’ve had great chemistry the last three years with our staff. We took our time hiring with this position.”

Coach Pitino: “By hiring Mike, who worked for Richard, I happened to watch Mike work on a number of occasions…It was an easy hire for me.”

Coach Pitino: “Mike is also fluent in Spanish…We’re already recruiting some Hispanic ball players.”

Assistant Coach Balado: “A lot of young kids on the international stage want to come to the United States. I’m excited to give them that opportunity.”

Coach Pitino also mentioned at his press conference that Luke Hancock and Russ Smith will be team captains next season and talked about a few of the guys and mentioned what he thought their roles on the team will be next season. I found it interesting that he mentioned how Montrezl Harrell was the one he has seen in the gym the most. I think that kid is gonna take his game to a whole new level and will end up being one of the best players on the floor next season. Coach also talked about how recruiting had always been a little challenging because of the competition he had on the team but says that with the recent success of the program that recruiting has gotten much easier and feels like kids are more attracted to Louisville now. The schedule was mentioned in the press conference and Coach Pitino talked about how we would be in some limbo next year due to us having to play in a make shift league before entering the ACC in 2014. We do have UK, UNC and it was hinted that IU may also be on next years slate.

Coach Pitino: “Luke Hancock and Russ Smith will be captains next year.”

Coach Pitino: “Chane is kind of the Pied Piper on the basketball team…Chane’s the guy that rallies the troops.”

Coach Pitino: “To accomplish our goals we needed Russ to score. And now Russ knows we don’t need that anymore.”

Coach Pitino: “Montrezl has probably been the player in the gym the most right now. These guys are very hungry.”

Coach Pitino: “Recruiting for us is never easy because of the competition we have. But it’s become easier because of our brand & success we’ve had.”

Coach Pitino: “Next year will be in limbo a little bit…but it will still be a very very competitive league.”

Coach Pitino: “The schedule going forward is great for our fans…It’s going to be really great for other sports as well joining the ACC.”

Coach Pitino ended his press conference today talking about how great the last three years has been for the basketball program and how he hoped that the run can continue into the future. With it being Derby week Coach had to talk about his horses and the run for the roses this weekend. He also mentioned that we might be hearing about a horse being named for another popular basketball player “Three Point Luke.” I do like that name a lot!

Coach Pitino on what this week is like for him: “I haven’t experienced the horse part yet…I’m hoping to get out there Wednesday morning.”

Coach Pitino on horse Siva: “Siva is going to run Wednesday.”

Coach Pitino on the Derby: “The Derby is a lot of traffic. And sometimes the best horses don’t win the Derby. The horse in the least amount of trouble wins.”

Coach Pitino ends press conference by welcoming Mike Balado. He also thanks media: “It’s been a fun 3 years and we hope it can continue for long time.”

Coach Pitino mentioned in his press conference today that the Cards would face UNC next year. Louisville and North Carolina will headline the 2013 Hall of Fame Tip-Off tournament. The tournament is put on by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and will be played for the third season at the Mohegan Sun arena in Connecticut. The tournament also will include Fairfield, Hartford, Richmond, Holy Cross, Hofstra, and Belmont. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame’s Tip-Off Tournament features college basketball’s top programs. For twenty-five years, the Tip-Off Classic was the inaguaral start of the college hoops season. For the past several years, the Tip-Off Tournament, delivers top ranked basketball in November. Last year No. 3 Ohio State beat Washington in the championship game of the season’s tournament. The 2011 tournament was won by eventual national champion Kentucky.

For more information on the 2013 Hall of Fame Tip Off visit website here:

Today ESPN.com and CBSsports.com came out with their early pre-season college basketball polls for next year. I usually don’t get too excited about these early polls but when they have The University of Kentucky ranked #1 and The University of Louisville ranked #2 that will get a rise. I had a dermatology appointment today and even the Doctor and I shared a little fan fodder about the looming 2014 basketball season. He was a UK fan and I’m just glad he was gentle. I don’t agree that a group of untested AAU studs should be ranked ahead of a group of grizzled veterans but do agree that both teams do deserve to be in the top 5 entering next season. Just hard to imagine any media members not having the defending champs at the top to start the season. I just don’t understand the logic behind it not being like that. But who knows maybe they will see the light and change their minds as the summer wears on.

Here is our ranking and what they had to say:

CBSSPORTS.com:

ESPN.com:

There was also another pre-season poll that came out today and unlike the basketball poll the school down the road isn’t in this conversation. ESPN.com released their early top 25 football poll today and our Louisville Cards are ranked 4th. This is great news especailly if the polls end up looking like this to start the season. Even with the weak schedule one has to think that if the football team goes undefeated starting the season in the top 5 that they will get the shot to play in the main Bowl Game. How awesome would it be to play in that game? Below is the ranking and what they had to say about our upcoming football season.

Like I said earlier Cards fans, it was a pretty busy day in the Cardinal Nation. It is great to share in the enjoyment and excitement of one of the greatest athletic programs in the country. And I’m looking forward to another exciting sports year to get under way. GO CARDS!

In the wake of his terrible injury, Kevin Ware has had an outpouring of support from people in all walks of life. And this past weekend he got to meet some of those folks as he was invited to the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Ware received his invite to the dinner from CNN. He got to hang out with President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, congressional leaders, some of the nation’s top news-makers and members of the Washington press corps. Kevin was dressed for success and he represented Louisville very well. This was a great opportunity for him and if anyone deserves it, he does. If Kevin doesn’t end up making his living playing basketball I don’t think he would have any trouble finding a job and Senator Kevin Ware does have a nice ring to it. Way to go Kevin, you make us all very proud.

The 2013 HeismanPundit/CBSSports.com Heisman Trophy Watch List (post-spring edition) was released today and as many expected our very own Teddy Bridgewater is on the list of candidates for the prestigious award. This prestigious annual list gives football fans an early glimpse at the great crop of Heisman contenders for the coming season. This year’s post-spring watch contains 28 players.

TJ Yeldon, So., RB, Alabama

You can read more about the Heisman here and keep up with the updates through the season.

Tonight is wasn’t about basketball and Luke Hancock and Stephan Van Treese were shooting for another goal. Tonight it was about saving lives and helping others.

It is always very refreshing to see people band together for something greater than themselves or to try to do something to change the world we live in. Especially in this what have you done for me lately society. Cancer has affected the lives of many people in this world and often takes the ones we love. I dream of a world with a cure and hope that someday I will get to see it. Tonight some very special young men gave their time and their beards to help make that dream a reality. Luke Hancock and Stephan Van Treese both took their turns tonight in the barber chair and the facial hair turned to gold as they help raise over eight thousand dollars for the American Cancer Society. That money will help them keep the research for a cure alive. I would like to personally thank Luke, Stephan and all the Cardinal athletes that helped with this as well as the members of Card Nation that donated the money.

If you still want to donate to this worthy cause there is still time to do so and you can click here to find out how you can make a difference.

You can also check out the video of the event below.