Posts Tagged “strait”
Kristin Kreuk…UH YUMP!!!
By: Carl H | January 24th, 2010 | Category: UH YUMP!!!Likely the only thing good about Monday’s is the Monday night TV schedule. That schedule includes NBC’s spy dramedy ‘Chuck’. Today’s Yump is guest starring tonight alongside Stone Cold Steve Austin at 8pm EST, be sure to tune in. Chuck also stars last week’s Yump, Yvonne Strahovski. From Vancouver, British Columbia, she is known in Canada for her role on the soap opera Edgemont, and elsewhere mostly for her role as Lana Lang on the WB’s Smallville. She is of Dutch-Chinese descent and made her film debut with a cameo in 2003’s Eurotrip, which also starred former yump Michelle Trachtenberg. She is Neutrogeena’s longest-serving spokesmodel. Tune in tonight to catch Kristin Kreuk, Uh YUMP!!
[CLICK HERE FOR KRISTIN KREUK'S FULL GALLERY]
Cards Pound Providence 92-70
By: Miller | January 6th, 2010 | Category: CardsRecap
Edgar Sosa scored a season-high 26 points and Samardo Samuels added 17 points as Louisville held off a first-half charge from Providence to take a 92-70 victory on Wednesday night.
After the Cardinals opened with a 14-0 lead, the Friars hit their stride, rallying to take a 42-37 halftime lead.
But Louisville (11-4, 2-0 Big East) again seized control in the second half with physical play on the boards, grabbing 26 second-half rebounds to Providence’s seven.
The Cardinals outrebounded the Friars 45-21 in the game and scored 23 second-chance points.
Marshon Brooks had 21 points, going 8-for-11 to lead Providence (9-6, 1-2). Sharaud Curry and Bilal Dixon each added 12 points for the Friars.
Jerry Smith added 14 points and Jared Swopshire had eight points and 11 rebounds for Louisville in a game that featured eight lead changes.
My Take
I take a twenty point conference win on the road every day of the week. I realize the Cards gave up a 14-0 lead and were losing at halftime, but the bottom line is they re-grouped and proceeded to beat down a conference foe on their home court.
In the first half, three pointers were the reason for the big lead and ultimately, the Cards giving up the big lead. Louisville took twenty three point attempts in the first half and even though almost all of them were good shots, it still caused them to neglect their big men. This type of thing is what leads Samardo Samuels to becoming disinterested in the paint.
In the second half, the Cards developed an inside presence with Samuels and Terrence Jennings. Once the Cards developed a threat in the paint, Providence had no choice but to defend honestly. Once that occurred, the tide turned for good.
Speaking of post play, the efforts of Sam Sam and Terrence Jennings were what the Cards need. The two combined for 21 points, 15 rebounds, and 4 blocks. More importantly, they were active, particularly on the offensive glass. Samardo grabbed 4 offensive rebounds and TJ added 2.
The good shooting the Cards showed earlier this season resurfaced tonight. For the game, they shot 51.7% (31-60 )from the field, including 40% (12-30) from the three point line. They also shot well from the foul line, going 18-22 on the night.
The formula for success for the Cards this year is not complicated, at least in my opinion: shoot a good percentage from the outside to soften up the defense, then go inside.
On the defensive end, the Cards were poor in the first half, then much better in the second. They dominated Providence on the glass 43-19. Game over.
While the Cards only forced 10 turnovers, they played smarter defense in the second half and made Providence work harder for their shots. The Cards still need to put two good halves of basketball together because against better teams, they cannot afford to play only one good half and expect to win.
Also, for all the fans who clamor for Samardo and Jennings to play together, this weekend’s game against St. John’s may be the game. Slick Rick said after the game he is seriously considering starting those because the match-up. We all know Rick and is “maneuvering”, but it is definitely something to watch.
Individual Breakdowns
Edgar Sosa – Edgar is the guy who needs to put this team on his back when they need a bucket. Edgar had 26 points on 9-15 shooting, but the bigger deal for me were the other things Sosa did. He grabbed 5 rebounds and dished out 4 assists. The Cards can be decent with Sosa scoring, but they can be very good with him scoring and grabbing some boards and distributing the ball.
Samardo Samuels – Samardo takes a bit too much grief in my opinion. Yes, he still misses some shots around the rim and yes, he still looks lazy at times but, Samardo ended up with 17 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 assists. He’s averaging 15.9 points and 7.7 rebounds for the year, which is nothing to laugh at.
Jerry Smith – Jerry is the key to the season in my opinion. When Jerry is a threat offensively, Louisville is good. Tonight, Jerry became a threat offensively and has started to wake up a bit recently. He finished with 14 points, 4 assists, and 2 rebounds.
Jared Swopshire – Swop takes a decent amount of heat from the fans, so when he has a good game he deserves to be applauded. Tonight, Swop was active and played under control. He scored 8 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, and dished out 3 assists. He will probably never look like the smoothest player on the floor, but he is an important figure on this team.
Reginald Delk – Delk lost a bit of playing time tonight, mostly because Mike Marra played so well. Delk is becoming a bit more consistent and is playing much better defense. Reginald had 5 points and 2 rebounds, in only 12 minutes of play.
Mike Marra – Marra had his best game by far and I’m sure playing in front of his family and friends helped. The Rhode Island native played 26 minutes and scored 11 points, matching his career high for his young career. Marra is starting to play more under control and look more comfortable on the floor.
Preston Knowles – Preston is taking over the role as official stat stuffer of this team. He scored 7 points, grabbed 6 rebounds, and added 4 assists. Preston is also crashing the offensive glass and grabbed 4 offensive boards tonight.
Terrence Jennings – TJ, like last season, is starting to pick up his game when Big East play begins. Tonight, TJ did what he does best: play defense, run the floor, and dunk the basketball. His 4 points were nice, but his 6 rebounds were better. Scoring is not his strong suit yet, so he needs to get on the glass to maximize his playing time.
Rakeem Buckles – Rakeem “the Dream” only saw 5 minutes of action. He grabbed a rebound, but did not get to see the floor too much, mainly because Swop played so well.
Peyton Siva – Like Bucktown, Peyton did not get a large amount of playing time tonight because Edgar played so well. Peyton only played 5 minutes and recorded a steal.
Kyle Kuric, Chris Brickley, and Stephan Van Treese did not play tonight.
Notes from Slick Rick’s 10/27 presser
By: Miller | October 27th, 2009 | Category: CardsCoach Rich Pitino held his pregame presser for Wednesday’s exhibition against Happy Osborne’s Georgetown Tigers and had some very interesting things to say regarding his squad. After opening up by applauding his team’s effort, the Slickster warned everyone the Cardinals are in for a big time battle due to his squad only practicing for eight sessions and just now are installing their defensive schemes. In contrast, Happy Osborne has had since August with his squad and the Tigers should be much more fluid than the Cards.
After expressing concern over the lack of practices and minimal defensive installation, the Slickster then dropped big time praise on the Cards by calling them a “great shooting team”. I kid you not, the man calls this team a great shooting team. This is huge news, mostly because a great shooting team can win a lot of games. If we remember, the 2005 Final Four squad was undersized and was often times not the most talented team, but they could shot very well at three to four positions. Coach Pitino did not directly compare the 2005 squad with this year’s squad, but he did draw parallels and I consider that encouraging. Keep in mind, coach Pitino called last year’s team, which was ranked #3 preseason, a “good shooting team when we take open shots”.
Slick Rick...doing something weird
Two specific players Pitino talked about were freshmen Peyton Siva and Stephan Van Treese. Slick Rick called Siva, the highest ranked freshman recruiting wise, one of the best people he has ever recruited. Pitino promised that while Siva will make some mistakes, he will have a great year and will wow people with how great of a person he is. I would like to add that every recruiting analyst you followed Siva’s recruitment says the exact same thing.
As for Stephan Van Treese, Pitino thinks he will be a contributor this season. The Slickster feels Van Treese’s strengths are his rebounding and ability to play physically. Slick Rick also told the story of how he ended up recruiting Van Treese. Pitino was up in Naptown with his son Richard, Jr to see some of Stephan’s teammates. While there, the elder Pitino asked his son about Van Treese, who at one time was highly recruited nationally. Lil Rick informed his dad that teams backed off Van Treese due to his lack of big time scoring numbers, but he liked him a lot. Big Rick agreed, and some thereafter, Van Treese committed to Louisville.
Those were the most noteworthy comments I took from the presser. Pitino did sound genuinely concerned over his team’s potential defensive shortcomings in this opening contest. However, Slick Rick did not seem concerned with the outcome of the game as he admitted he would be coaching this game as if it were a NBA preseason game. We’ll have our game preview up tomorrow with recaps to follow.
Manday Musings: the Weekend that was in Pinkie Sports 10/26 edition
By: Miller | October 26th, 2009 | Category: Cards - CatsAnother weekend in the books with a lot to talk about. The Cards—well, they were in Cincinnati for a football game, the Cats took out the Warhawks 36-13, and Slick Rick brought his boys out for the Red-White scrimmage. First, the football Cardinals.
It’s just getting ugly. The Cardinals were completely outclassed at nearly every position by Cincinnati, and I’m including the ‘Nati’s back-up quarterback in that assessment. I am not going to address the head coaching situation regarding coach Steve Kragthorpe again, but you can read my thoughts here in last week’s article. Louisville is now 2-5 and 0-3 in Big East play, and have two winnable games left on the schedule, Arkansas State and Syracuse. The Red Wolves come into the ‘Ville this Saturday and Syracuse two weeks later.
Anyone who watched the 41-10 beat down the ‘Nati put on Louisville knows the story. Cincinnati gashed Louisville pretty much at will and Louisville was powerless to stop them. However, I did find two positives coming out of the game. The first was the play of running back Darius Ashley.
Ashley, a redshirt freshman from the ‘Nati, has been bothered by a shoulder injury this year, but on Saturday he showed his ability that people from the football program have been raving about since he stepped on campus. While he finished with an okay 67 yards, Ashley averaged over five yards a carry and showed his immense ability. There are definitely signs of a high quality backfield with Ashley and Vic Anderson, along with Bilal Powell.
Such a polite looking young man
The other positive coming out the game, at least as far as I’m concerned, was the comment made by coach Steve Kragthorpe after the game in which he stated he was trying to not pull redshirts off true freshmen, despite the lack of depth and injuries to the defensive backfield. That statement was highly encouraging because if there was ever a situation in which pulling redshirts was necessary, it is now.
By my count, Louisville has five true freshmen, listed as either safety or defensive back, that would be eligible to play and probably could help out in the secondary. If you play them for the final five games of this season, which looks to be lost, then their freshman season is a waste. For example, former Louisville coach John L. Smith completely wasted Elvis Dumervil’s freshman year for EIGHT plays. If that does not occur, then Elvis Dumervil is on the 2006 Louisville squad.
My point is this, Louisville has a problem with depth and preserving redshirts is a way to build depth. Coach Steve Kragthorpe is doing the right thing by trying to avoid burning redshirts. It is an encouraging sign because Kragthorpe’s job status is obviously in question and for his immediate benefit he probably should burn a few of those redshirts, but it is not the right thing for the long term success of the program. So I applaud him for that, but if he turns around a burns several of them at some point this year, then it will be a bad thing for the Louisville program and I reserve the right to take back my statement of applause.
In Lexington, the Cats played a solid first half of football against the Warhawks of Louisiana-Monroe, but then seemed to mail it in for the second half. It almost seems like we can say this after every single game; Randall Cobb is a big time player. As far as I’m concerned, go ahead and mark him down as first team All-SEC. All the man did on Saturday night was rush for 41 yards on 3 carries with a touchdown, catch 4 passes for 27 yards, throw 2 passes for 46 yards, and a 73 yard punt return for a touchdown. He’s Kentucky’s best player, period and he should be in the discussion for the best player in the SEC.
Big time playmaker is Randall Cobb
As for the rest of the game, I’m sure most Kentucky fans would have preferred to see a better second half. In my mind, Kentucky won the game and there were no season ending injuries, so the game should be considered a success. I know Micah Johnson has a MCL issue, but coach Rich Brooks, once again proving his dominance in the hilariousness field, says it’s not a “major, major”.
The Cats are now 4-3 and have a somewhat decent Mississippi State squad coming into Commonwealth on Saturday. I think this is a huge game. Mississippi State feels like they got robbed by the officials against Florida on a questionable fumble no-call and will most likely be coming into Lexington fired up. Mississippi State’s first year coach Dan Mullen has done a good job and looks like he could have that program rolling in a few years. I think Kentucky is better than the Bulldogs, but Miss State has shown the ability to play with Florida and they should have beaten LSU so the Cats need to be on their game.
On Sunday night, Slick Rick unveiled his 2009-2010 basketball squad for the Red-White scrimmage. Over 10,000 fans came out to the Hall of Freedom to see this team play an intrasquad scrimmage with maximum offense and minimal defense. I take no stock in these contests, but I’ll pass along a few thoughts from the Slickster himself as to how he felt about the performance.
- felt freshman Rakeem Buckles, nicknamed Rock, had the best performance of the night and has a ton of potential
- loves this team offensively, feels this team will be special when the defense catches up to the offense
- loves the effort from this team
- Jared Swopshire will start at the four spot, but Rakeem Buckles will see time
The basketball Cards take the floor for their first exhibition game against NAIA power Georgetown (Ky) on Wednesday night. After the two exhibition games, there will much more substance to talk about. Time for the quick hits:
-The St. Louis Cardinals, or as I refer to them, the Whiny B*tches from Missouri, have hired Mark McGwire as their new hitting coach. My initial response was uncontrollable laughter. But after thinking about it, it’s just stupid.
Big Mac is back in MLB
-Are we entering an unprecedented era in NFL football? I don’t want to jinx it, but there are some fantasically awful squads currently. My evidence is the Browns (1-6), Bucs (0-7), Raiders (2-5), Chiefs (1-6), and Rams (0-7); simply wretched. Oh, and the Bills, Panthers, and Redskins aren’t too strong either. By my math, that makes eight squads that are terrible, which constitutes 25% of the NFL.
-On a positive note, the Cincinnati Bengals are now 5-2 on the year and flat out embarrassed the Chicago Bears on Sunday 45-10. Obviously, there’s no need to get too hyped over a single win, even though I acknowledge it was a huge win, but the Bengals have beaten some good squads this year. With Carson Palmer, Cedric Benson, Chad JOHNSON, and co., we knew there was always potential on offense. However, the Who Deys have a defense this year that appears legit, and they look to be a real threat.
Nasty ‘Nati QB Pike won’t play against Cards
By: Miller | October 24th, 2009 | Category: CardsPer ESPN.com’s Joe Schad, Cincinnati quarterback Tony Pike will not start today against Louisville. The Cards will now be up against sophomore Zach Collaros who does not throw the ball as well as Pike, but Collaros can definitely run the ball. It will be imperative for the Cards, to have any chance at winning, to keep Callaros in the pocket. So it appears the Cards will not see Tony Pike today, no word yet on what this development does to Cincinnati’s beatability index; P Crush will provide that as soon as he finishes his calculations.
No. 4 photog on a google image search for Zach Collaros
The Pinkie Previews: Louisville (2-4, 0-2) at Cincinnati (6-0, 2-0)
By: Miller | October 23rd, 2009 | Category: CardsDate – October 24, 2009
Time – 3:30 pm
Site – Nippert Stadium
TV – ESPNU
Radio – 790 AM
Nippert Stadium, home of the Bearcats
Louisville knows its a big underdog, they know they are walking into a hostile environment, and they know everyone thinks this game will be over by halftime. I want to see them come out and play with fire. I want to see the offense take some shots down the field and the playbook to be as wide open as possible. I want to see the defense hit people. So what if the nasty ‘Nati gets a 15 yard gain, hit them hard. I want to see the defense hit the quarterback if they get a chance. Who cares if you lose? You’re supposed to, so at least go down swinging.
If Louisville comes out flat and uninspired, it will be a telling sign that this team has given up. This is a prime opportunity to show everyone that this team has not called it quits and they still want to play. JUST SHOW SOME FIRE!!!!!
That's right coach, GET FIRED UP!!!
Louisville Football; Time For a Change
By: Miller | October 20th, 2009 | Category: CardsThe Louisville football Cardinals are becoming more and more difficult to watch with each passing week.
The latest episode of the ongoing saga, which is the 2009 Cardinals, features an offense moving the ball extremely well, but ultimately deciding to give it to the opposing team. It features a defense refusing to stop a vanilla offense with a marginal quarterback. And my personal favorite, a placekicker who thinks kicking shoeless helps.
I have waited to the last possible second to make a final determination, but I’m afraid I can no longer withhold judgment. Louisville is simply not getting better under head coach Steve Kragthorpe.
For the record, I believe Steve Kragthorpe is a good football coach. His performance at Tulsa was extraordinary, especially when you consider the circumstances that program faced when he took over. However, his job performance at Louisville has been sub-par and in my mind his team is not improving enough to warrant bringing him back for a fourth year.
Sorry coach, but its time
My personal feeling is he should be let go sooner, rather than later. Up until literally this morning, I was of the opinion firing him mid-season does no one any good. And while I still believe that type of move is usually pointless, I do think there is an element that cannot be overlooked and needs to take priority.
The state of the Louisville fan base, which is currently a complete mess.
The people I consider the Louisville fan base are not the ones who trash the coach with personal attacks on message boards. But rather, the people who are educated football fans and have reasonable expectations. Before people get into an uproar about what I mean by reasonable expectations, let me explain.
I believe reasonable expectations for Louisville are anywhere from eight to 10 wins a year, a bowl game, and being competitive every game. Given those boundaries, Kragthorpe obviously has not gotten it done.
Regardless of any off the field or behind the scenes problems with the Louisville program that Kragthorpe inherited, the fan base is directing their disapproval directly at the coach.
Louisville fans are not unlike other fans, except for perhaps a refusal to show up on time and a love for mock turtlenecks, they just want a good product on the field. Fans are currently not getting that and on the collegiate level, the coach takes the blame.
Kragthorpe knows that and readily acknowledges it.
Therefore, considering the state of the fan base and the lack of improvement, I hereby submit this as my proposal to improve the Louisville football program.
At some point in the next two weeks, athletic director Tom Jurich calls a press conference, in which he announces coach Steve Kragthorpe has been let go or has resigned as head coach of the Louisville football Cardinals. Jurich cites a lack of progress on the field as the reason and announces he will bring in the right guy for the job.
In terms of what to do for the remainder of the season, defensive coordinator and former Utah State head coach Brent Guy takes over as interim head coach. Current tight ends coach and former Southern Miss offensive coordinator Jay Johnson takes over playcalling duties for the remainder of the season.
The reason this is done is to unite the fan base once again. I generally do not believe the athletic director should simply do what the fans want because the AD is around the athletics programs much more than fans. However, the moment Kragthorpe is let go, the fan base will immediately come together and the focus can turn to supporting the players and finding the new coach.
On another note, releasing Kragthorpe during the season will allow him to find another job elsewhere. Steve Kragthorpe is highly respected in the football community and will be sought after by many schools. I believe he will be successful again, it just will not be here at Louisville.
Terrence Williams riding a bike through Target wearing the Joker mask
By: Miller | October 20th, 2009 | Category: Cards
This was posted on T-Will’s twitter account. He was apparently in Target looking for a Halloween costume and decided to ride a bike…while shopping…while wearing the Joker mask. I love T-Will.
Manday Musings; the Weekend that was in Pinkie Sports 10/19 edition
By: Miller | October 19th, 2009 | Category: Cards - CatsAnother weekend in the books from the Pinkie Sports world. I won’t be addressing Big Blue Madness since Guy already has and I did not watch it all. However, we’ve got plenty of football action to address, let’s get into it. The Cards took another ‘L’ on Saturday as they lost for the third strait year to UConn 38-25. I have a post coming tomorrow about the Kragthorpe situation, so I won’t get into that here. I’m going to just focus on the things that happened involving the game itself.
Louisville has their quarterback in Adam Froman. The red-haired gunslinger finished 24-31 for 295 yards and a touchdown. He also had 21 yards rushing and quite frankly, he makes plays. Yes he threw two picks, but I like the fact he tries to make something happen. The way Louisville’s season is going, there is no reason not to take chances in the passing game and Froman can do just that.
Vic Anderson is a freakin stud. The Louisville St. X product has been battling a groin strain which obviously hampered him, but he still finished the UConn game with 58 yards rushing on only 5 attempts with a touchdown. He had a 37 yard gain in which he would have normally taken to the house, but Vic had no ability to get into the last gear to pull away because of the injury. Regardless, he looks to be an all-time Louisville great in the making.
The defense just doesn’t have enough bullets. These guys are playing hard, but are on the field way too much. The linebackers, as expected, have played pretty well this season. However, the front four have not produced an effective pass rush and the opposing quarterbacks have way too much time to throw the ball. Placekicker Ryan Payne, God love him, you know he’s trying his best, but for crying out loud WEAR A SHOE!!!!!
Big win for the Cats at Auburn. Beyond the fact it was their first win against the Tigers since 1966, this win showed a lot of maturity and poise from the Cats. I thought the quarterback duo of Morgan Newton and Will Fidler did exactly what you asked them to do, mainly don’t turn the ball over and make simple plays like a screen pass or hit an underneath receiver on a 5 yard in or crossing route.
Randall Cobb and Derrick Locke once again showed their talents. Those two have special ability and they will continue making plays barring injury. To me, the success of the Cats season now hinges on the the arms of Newton and Fidler. If those two can do exactly what they did on Saturday, then I think Kentucky wins 8 games.
The Kentucky defense flew to the ball and hit Auburn, which is a great thing to see. However, the one thing that did concern me was watching Auburn have many chances late. If Auburn had a quarterback who could throw the ball to a wide open receiver 20 yards down the field, then they probably tie the game. Fortunately for the Cats, by reviewing the schedule they have left, it is not loaded with good quarterbacks. For some reason, the name Jonathan Crompton immediately comes to mind when talking about bad quarterbacks.
After watching the Auburn game a second time, I have come to the conclusion wide receiver Chris Matthews has been largely over-hyped. Coming from junior college, Matthews was touted by the coaching staff and fans as the missing piece offensively who could stretch the field and give the Cats a legit deep threat. However, Matthews has been disappointing, particularly when the preseason hype is taken into account. That being said, the physical abilities are obviously there and once the light comes on, the Cats will have another playmaker.
Quick hits time:
-The Tennessee Titans lost to the Patriots 59-0 on Sunday and are still completely defeated in 2009. Unreal, particularly when you consider the Raiders have won twice.
-The New Orleans Saints look ridiculously good. Drew Brees throws for nearly 400 yards almost every week and now it appears they have a defense with Gregg Williams as defensive coordinator. Plus, he produces hilarious photogs like this one when he was with Jacksonville:
Gregg Williams is either mimmicking a fish or he's messed up
Moore’s visit to Louisville “tremendous”
By: Miller | October 19th, 2009 | Category: CardsJ.J. Moore, one of the two remaining recruits Louisville is looking at to finish their 2010 recruiting class, visited Louisville this past weekend with his AAU coach and mentor. According to them, the trip was ”tremendous”. According to an interview with NYCHoops.net, Moore arrived in Louisville late Friday, but spent all day Saturday and most of Sunday with the team and the Slickster.
Moore’s AAU coach, Gary Charles, said they watched the Cardinals first practice at 10:00 am on Saturday, then went to lunch and toured the city with Slick Rick. Moore mostly hung out with Samardo Samuels and Terrence Jennings, toured campus and played some sticks, in which Moore allegedly beat Samardo Samuels in NBA 2K10 by thirty. That would be embarrassing for Sam Sam, except Pinkie contributor Carl H was just defeated 92-43 in that game on Sunday, so he’s off the hook.
J.J. Moore, future Cardinal?
Moore and his crew then watched the Cards practice at 6:00 pm before going to dinner with the Slickster. According to Charles, they were all “really feelin’ it” and Moore’s confidence grew because “he now knows he can play with those guys”. Moore’s official list now reads three: Louisville, Pitt, and St. John’s. Moore will visit St. John’s on Halloween weekend and back to Pitt on November 6 in order to compare the teams and practices.
I think Louisville is in great shape with Moore and we will obviously keep you updated on his recruitment. However, the attention now turns to Tobias Harris, who will visit Louisville soon. Harris and Moore are it for Louisville in 2010 so this will be an important next several weeks for the 2010 recruiting class.
