Weekly Red review and preview

Well, post-Derby depression has officially set in. All the festivities have passed, the hangovers weathered, bank accounts destroyed, and now we’re stuck staring at a long hot summer of counting down days till September 3^rd when the Train runs over Joker Philips and puts him out of his misery.

That’s a long time from now. But that doesn’t mean that all is quiet on the Cardinal front. How do we occupy ourselves till then? We rank things arbitrarily of course.

This week The Sporting News ranked every coach in college football, and our beloved Charlie Strong checked in at #51. As in, the one right after #50. Really? There are 50 coaches is in the country right now that UofL fans should be happy to trade up for? With all due respect to Wake Forest’s Jim Grobe, I think we’ll stand pat, thanks.

UofL also found itself in the Top 30 in the country with a Spring Game attendance of 15,000. Not too shabby, especially with the downpours that morning, I think without them Card Nation would have easily reached the 20K mark Charlie Strong aspired too. If the program continues on its upward trajectory, this event will take off in the coming years.

Just where the future of Cardinal football will unfold is still up in the air, of course. On Monday Big East commissioner John Marinatto called it a career, resigning his position at the urging of several college presidents. The move further muddies the waters as to the future of the conference, though it was used by UofL as a chance to make its position is clear.

Our secret is out, and that’s that the Cards want out. Marinatto was reportedly well-liked by both Jurich and Pitino, and though our overtures towards the Big 12 have been known for awhile, Jurich (reported by Andy Katz) took this opportunity to make it plain that UofL will continue to seek an exit to the Big 12 or ACC.

I applaud Jurich for putting it out there like that, since it was all the scheming and skullduggery that got the Big East into the shape it’s in in the first place. Though our future hopefully lies westward, there’s no denying the Big East has served UofL well over the past half decade and has allowed our athletic programs to achieve and grow at a rate that would have been impossible in Conference USA.

It’s never a bad thing to show some respect and (fingers crossed) exit with a little bit of dignity.

The big news on the basketball front was the cancellation of the historic Hoosier-Wildcat rivalry, which John Calipari controversially decided was no longer is his “nontraditional” program’s interest as a home-and-home series. So UofL fans can all engage in some good ole Cal bashing, but also may benefit more practically if it spurs a renewal of our own rivalry with the Hoosiers.

Unfortunately, it’s being reported that it is unlikely to happen next season (which I don’t understand, frankly) but could commence in 2013. With Indiana becoming more old school, powerhouse Indiana again, I think it would be an awesome addition to our nonconference schedule.

Also, Jody Demling of the soon-to-be-charging-for-online-articles CJ reported that UofL is heavily interested in Nigerian-born big man Moses Kingsley and appear to be turning up the heat on his recruitment. An unpolished African center with long arms and a penchant for blocking shots? I dunno, sounds crazy to me.

UofL commences a HUGE series with Big East leader St. John’s tonight. The #22 ranked Cards find themselves two games out of first with two weeks left in conference play, so what transpires over the weekend will go a long way in determining if UofL, as a whole, can add a ninth conference title to its resume for the past calendar year.

The softball team continues in the Big East tournament, facing off against DePaul at 4:00 this afternoon after skunking the UConn Huskies yesterday 8-0. You can follow along at BigEast.tv.

And finally, a big congratulations to Cardinal legends DeJuan Wheat and Marques Maybin who will earn diplomas from the University of Louisville tomorrow after finishing their education as part of the Houston-Bridgemen Degree Completion Program. It’s a big accomplishment that sets a powerful example to their many fans in the community.

And Wheat’s quote to Maybin during their press conference after seeing Maybin was in a sport coat while he was in a tee-shirt, asking: “What, are you getting drafted?”  may be the best of the year to date.

That’s the week that was. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a strongly worded letter to deliver to The Sporting News. Tommy Tuberville over Charlie Strong? For chrissakes.

Go Cards.