The Oakland Raiders signed rookie free agent Malik Jackson following the NFL Draft. It was surprising to me that Jackson didn’t get selected to start with, but he will have the opportunity to make the Raiders’ roster now.
Lamar Myles will also have a chance to compete for a roster spot. The Jacksonville Jaguars signed Myles earlier this week. Myles is a bit undersized for a NFL linebacker, but he has above average speed and athleticism compared to other players at the position, and I still think he will fit well in a Cover 2 defense at the next level.
Brian Brohm was the first former Cardinal to be selected in this weekends’ NFL Draft, going to the Green Bay Packers with the 25th pick in the 2nd round. It is hard to say exactly why Brohm dropped to a late second round pick, when many considered him the 2nd best quarterback in the draft (he was the 3rd QB chosen behind Matt Ryan of Boston College and Joe Flacco of Deleware). Personally, I feel that Brohm has the highest football IQ of any quarterback that was available in the draft, and is just as accurate with his passing as Matt Ryan. However, I also believe that questions about his arm strength in comparison to the two quarterbacks selected ahead of him are what caused him to drop to a late second round pick. As for what his role will be with the Packers, I can definitely see him competing for the starting job in a couple of years once he has had time to learn the offense. Aaron Rodgers will start this upcoming year because of his superior knowledge of the offensive playbook and his solid play last season when then Packers’ starter Brett Favre was hurt.
Four other members of last year’s offense were also selected, beginning with wide receiver Harry Douglas in the 3rd round. The Atlanta Falcons selected Douglas with the 21st pick of the round, making him the only receiver taken by the Falcons in the draft. Douglas doesn’t have outstanding speed in comparison to star NFL receivers, but in time I think his crisp route running ability will allow him to have an impact, most likely as a slot receiver. Given the lack of overall talent of the Falcons’ receivers, he may be able to step in and play immediately.
Tight end Gary Barnidge was the next former offensive star to be selected. The Carolina Panthers took Barnidge with the 6th pick in the 5th round. I haven’t seen much out of the other Panther tight ends, but I still feel Barnidge can get the starting job, and at worst be the 2nd string tight end his rookie season. Barnidge catches the ball well, has good speed for his size, and is a solid blocker, making him them prototype well-rounded NFL tight end. His lack of explosiveness is the only downside I see.
Mario Urrutia was the final receiver from last year’s potent offense to be selected. The Cincinnati Bengals picked up Urrutia with the 39th pick in the 7th round. I thought Urrutia would be a 4th or 5th round selection, but it’s obvious scouts are concerned about his overall game. Many pro scouts pointed out that Urrutia lacks focus occasionally with his route running and pass catching, and I agree. I still feel Urrutia can develop into a solid possession receiver at the next level because of his height and athletic ability. He will also be playing alongside Carson Palmer and a talented group of receivers in Cincinnati which he can learn the game from, elevating his chances of success in my opinion.
Offensive tackle Breno Giacomini will continue to be teammates with Brian Brohm. The Packers chose Giacomini with their 5th round pick. I’m not completely sold on Giacomini being a starter for the Packers, yet. He needs to improve his technique and get stronger in order to block well enough to earn a spot on the starting offensive line. I see Giacomini being a backup initially, but if he can work on improving some of his weaknesses, he has a chance to be a solid right tackle down the road.
The most notable Cardinal to not get selected was Art Carmody. The former Lou Groza Award winner was a sure selection to me. I will have to reason that his inability to make long-range field goals is what prevented any NFL team from selecting him. I still think he has a chance to get a roster spot via free agency because of his accuracy from 45-yards in, but as of now the NCAA all-time leading scorer among placekickers isn’t headed to the NFL.
RHP pitcher Thomas Royse will statr for the University of Louisville as they take on the University of Kentucky this Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Royse is a freshman from Lexington’s Dunbar High School, so he is WELL aware of the rivalry. Royse is 2-0 this year with a 4.94 era. He has made 17 appearances and has pitched 27.1 innings.
 This is a big game for a freshman with limited collegiate experience. Jim Patterson is going to be packed seeing as it reading day and UK is nationally ranked. Weather is also supposed to be 70 degrees and sunny. There is really no reason not to go to this game.
My career as the sports editor is coming to an end and I wanted to relive one of the wildest rides I had during my time here at The Louisville Cardinal.
 Prior to the football game against the University of Kentucky, which U of L ended up losing 40-34, I wrote a column entitled ‘Why they sUcK’. The entire piece was about how difficult it is to deal with the UK fan base.
I’m from Toledo, Oh. so I grew up in the heated rivalry of Ohio State and Michigan. As much hatred as their is between these two foes, it pails in comparison to the Bluegrass rivalry.
The Commonwealth clash pits ‘The City’ vs. ‘The State’ and people adamantly support either or and hold a great deal of disdain for the others.
I attempted to use this column as a hyperbole to get the U of L students excited about the game. I wanted to make it entertaining, which from what Louisville students tell me I did. But I suppose along the way I upset Big Blue Nation.
Following the column, a whirlwind of hate was thrown my way from Lexington. I received countless e-mails, facebook messages and comments. The column got linked on numerous blogs and became the most read story in the history of The Cardinal with over 5,000 reads.
I showed many of my close friends the e-mails I received, but I decided it was about time to share them with the readers.
These have in no way been altered and have been posted in the exact state which they were sent to me. I must warn you that there is some aggressive language used. Do enjoy.
Message #1
I am from daytona beach, fl and am attending UK, my parents alma mater. I did not understand the passion in the rivalry until reading your article. You mr friend are a tool and you have a lame football team. We won you lost. Just so you know big time football is played on saturdays not thursdays.
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Message #2
And unless the city of Louisville, Colo., has begun fielding a college football team, Phillips must mean the same Louisville that UK beat five days ago. He must mean the same Louisville that has a 2-1 record. He must mean the same Louisville that has a stop-nobody defense, an overmatched head coach and a classless student newspaper.
Side note: If you didn’t read the garbage piece of hack journalism about UK fans in last week’s edition of the Louisville Cardinal, be sure to look it up on the Web. What an embarrassment for that publication and the student who wrote the piece. Trevor Joelson, you should be ashamed - KY Kernel 9/20 - Just an excerpt from todays Kernel just in case you didn’t get a chance to read it. Heres a link for ya TJ..
http://media.www.kykernel.com/media/storage/paper305/news/2007/09/20/Sports/Despite.Big.Win.Poll.Voters.Disrespect.Cats-2979895.shtmlÂ
Message #3
hey moron how does that crow taste. really tasteful article. it is really great of the ul paper to put someone in the position to do nothing but publish hatred for people. you are a stand up guy for certain. who looks like the bigger idiot now. i will now generalize all ul fans as people who become completely overconfident and cocky morons at the slightest taste of success. ul fans love to talk about how much they love their team, yet last home game for them was dreadfully underattended and after this loss the trend will continue. but yet they want to expand a stadium they can not fill. they have a basketball program that is now being run by former uk coaches and players and yet they still can not come anywhere near the success in that sport that uk enjoys.
yourself, eric crawford, howie lindsey, tony vanetti, and all of the other ul writers that have done nothing but spew hatred for uk and done nothing but belittle the fan base should all be stand up men and apologize for your utter ignorance and arrogance.
meanwhile i will bask in the glory of this victory knowing that ul fans are now crushed, wanting to fire their new coach after three games, and will continue to stay home from crappy thursday night games when traditionally the only teams that played thursday nights were high school freshman teams.
sorry for the crudeness of the message but reading your article sparked so much rage and fury in my mind that i am just typing this as i go along without any true regard for organization. hopefully my point that you are an arrogant, cocky, stupid, moron for printing your ridiculous generalizations comes across and that in your next garbage article you mangage to admit you were wrong in every single subject of that miserable excuse for a piece of editorial work.
Â
you must be a big man to write such an inexcusable article and then you will not respond when it comes to light that every single word you published is wrong. if you think you are big enough to write the piece then you should be big enough to handle the backlash when all of your incorrect facts and moronic opinions are proven completely false.
by the way this moron uk fan graduated from that craphole ul and is now earning his masters, actually by only working on my masters i have the least amount of education at this point as the rest of my family. by the way we are all uk fans. so continue writing about how stupid we are.
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Message #4
sweet article dude.. hows it feel? must be pretty humiliating.
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Message #5
hey dork, are you writing a rebuttal to your own piece? Maybe you should name it, Why they sUcK, but we still got our ass beat? Or maybe you should use facts to back up what you say and not what 1 fan says. But I guess the Louisville Tardinal doesn’t teach objective journalism.
Â
Message #6
As you will see we will continue to beat UofL’s ass in basketball like we ALWAYS have. Now we will also continue to show the world year in year out Louisville is OVER-RATED. It doesnt matter how good you and other Louisville fans think you will be Top5,Top10,National Championship hopes, Heismen hopes…ect… Kentucky will always be here to put you in place and show past/present we have and will continue to do things Louisville wishes it could do. Face it Louisville will always be our bitch.The best part is seeing the Louisville fans faces after the game it was very similar to Patrick Sparks free throws that beat Lousiville in Freedom Hall.
p.s Can’t wait to read what you write now that your team has lost. Global Warming looks like it’s affecting Louisville the most.
Â
Message #7
40-34. I wasn’t sure if you saw it yet……I mean I’m an ignorant UK fan and my children are going to bring down the kentuck public school system and I have Adolph Rupp tourette’s etc but I saw it and I’m pretty sure that means UK just beat U of L. You’re the smart Louisville student so would you mind telling me if that’s right? Just making sure since you’re no doubt a very respectful newpaper writer and all. I don’t understand how you still have a job, man! I mean who writes an article like that. More importantly what kind of newpaper would allow that to actually be printed. So I’m supposed to be the ignorant one? Who’s the guy who over looked UK. I sure as hell didn’t think U of L was going to be a breeze. I gave them credit for how good they are and was nervous thinking that the team would try to prove to everyone that their defensive performance against Middle Tennesee State was just a fluke. What did you do? You were an ignorant asshole that make a ignorant prediction and now you’re eating your words so SUCK IT!
Â
Message # 8
38-35…. and UK is 4-0. i guess our shallow gene pool is better than yours.
Â
Message #9
hi,
the article you wrote was as ignorant as Rick Pitino leaving Kentucky. your assumptions obviously got you nowhere, because when searching for your name, a Trevor Joelson- disgrace to louisville came up as well. Bud, you counted your chickens before they hatched…. we beat the cardinals this season. And thanks to all of Kentucky’s ” ignorant” fans, we can now make sure that people like you never forget that.
“My biggest fear is that UK could do something crazy, like actually beat a ranked opponent. The repercussions for the Bluegrass State would be horrific. Drunken Wildcat fans would celebrate by procreating with one another and we would see an abundance of children nine months from now.
( again, this makes me giggle. You say procreation like its something only drunken stupid people do. )
Ignorance breeding with ignorance would lead to retroactive steps in the evolution process and would lead to even further struggles for the Kentucky public school system.”
YOU ARE A HORRIBLE JOURNALIST, AND SHOULD END YOUR WRITING CAREER IMMEDIATELY. YOUR ASSUMPTIONS ARE IGNORANT AND DISRESPECTFUL AND NOT WELCOMED AT THE UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY. UNLIKE U OF L, UK IS NOT ONLY PRIDED FOR ITS AMAZING TEAM SPIRIT, BUT FOR ITS EXCELLING ACADEMIC PROGRAMS. SO SUCK MY DICK. AND ON BEHALF OF THE WILDCAT HIMSELF, SUCK HIS TOO. AND SUCK DICK VITALE’S DICK JUST BECAUSE ITS HIS FIRST NAME AND HE WOULD LAUGH AT YOU. LEARN HOW TO WRITE.
and youre right, we slapped you in your face just like global warming. wake up to both of these issues. they are going to effect you for the rest of your life. think before you write.
Â
Hunter Cantwell went 11/18 with 103 YDS and 1 TD as the Cardinals’ offense defeated the defense 38-17 in the annual Spring Game on Friday. Cantwell wasn’t the only player on the offensive side to perform at a high level, as running backs Brock Bolen, Bilal Powell, and Vic Anderson combined for 207 YDS on 30 carries.
Powell continues to show the potential to be a top back in the Big East. His 8 carries for 69 yards were highlighted by a 22 yard run on 2nd & 2 where he broke left for a first down. Anderson had an equally impressive stat line, with 86 total YDS and 1 TD.
The receivers helped balance the offensive attack with 200 YDS & 3 TDS on 17 receptions. Scott Long led the team with 4 receptions, while Maurice Clark’s 35 YDS were the highest individual total.
Richard Raglin and Bobby Buchanan led the way with 6.5 and 6.0 total tackles respectively for the defense, which is looking to improve vastly from last year under first-year coordinator Ron English. Earl Heyman and Adrian Grady each had 2 sacks, but the defense was unable to produce any turnovers. However, they were able to force the offense to 3 & Out on three occasions, the most notable of which occurring on the offense’s 10th series when Heyman sacked quarterback Matt Simms in the end zone for a safety.
Each time the Cardinals’ football team took the field last year, fans questioned how the defense would perform. When the Cards take the field for the annual Spring Game on Friday however, most fans will likely be more focused on the new-look offense.
The Cards were fourth in the country last year in passing yards per game at 341.9, but it is unlikely that first year starter Hunter Cantwell will be able to put up the same numbers, given that the top four players on the receiving end of those yards, including Harry Douglas and Mario Urrutia, are gone.
Cantwell does have the potential though to lead this team far. Last spring he was listed by ESPN as the best junior quarterback prospect in the nation, before ever being a full-time starter. He also had several promising performances during the Brian Brohm era, including in 2006 when he stepped in and went 3/4 for 113 YDS and 1 TD against Miami after Brohm broke his thumb, and then led the Cards to consecutive road wins at Kansas St and Middle Tenn St.
Thus, the success of the offensive will most likely depend on the running game and play of the receivers. Last season’s leading rusher Anthony Allen will not be returning, leaving Brock Bolen and George Stripling to carry the load, at least initially. The backfield should be solid, especially if sophomore Bilal Powell can continue to progress from last season, when he averaged 7.8 yards per carry.
If the running game can anchor the offense early in the season while Cantwell develops chemistry with the new receiving core, the Cards definitely have the potential to go far this season. Eight of the team’s twelve games will be at home, including against conference front-runner West Virginia on November 22nd. The game could very well determine the Big East champion.
Note: The Spring Game will be played Friday, April 18th, at 7:30 PM at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium.
ESPN analyst Dick Vitale just listed the University of Louisville as his third best team to start the college basketball season next year. He recognized the loss of Earl Clark, but said the Cardinals would still be loaded. Obviously, Vitale is putting a lot of weight in the incoming freshman Samardo Samuels and Terrence Jennings who are expected to make up the starting frontcourt along with George Goode who couldn’t play this year because of academic reasons.
Vitale had UCLA and North Carolina ahead of the Cardinals.
It’s early, but obviously the Cardinals are still on the 2009 national championship radar even with the significan losses. It is important to remember that U of L still has scholarships available with the loss of Caracter and Clark, so Pitino will likely continue on the recruiting/transfer trail.
Kyle Winslow- Junior - History/Pre-Law
“They’re the hottest team in the tournament behind Clark and it’s an exciting time to be a U of L student.”
 Derek Vaughn - Sophomore
“Saturday will be a real test for the Cards. They will finally meet a player in Tyler Hansbrough that plays with the same level of intensity and urgency that the Cards have played with thus far in the tournament. Earl Clark has to continue to be the dominating presence against Hansbrough and the Heels. Saturday will be the day that he starts to get the national recognition he, and the rest of the Cards, deserve.”
 Scott Ruhlig- Freshman - Sports Administration
“There was a lot of hype leading up to the Tennessee game and UofL came through with a solid performance after overcoming a slow start. Earl Clark led the way off the bench and I look forward to a great match-up against North Carolina. The excitement from this win is so overwhelming it is intoxicating.”
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