Today Will Be a Great Day

Bag Krag News & Info

http://www.bagkrag.com/

 

"I'm the Captain of this ship, and it's my job to get the ship righted..."

 

- Steve Kragthorpe

Koach, let's look at some of the highlights of your time here at UofL -

•  Players and coaches leaving the program in mass (either at their own will, or because they were forced to leave).
• 13-18 record as head coach at UofL
• 4-13 record against Big East opponents

During a season where everything was on the Koach's shoulders, let's look at some telling statistics -

• 105th in scoring offense, 71st in total offense
• 78th in total defense
• 110th in turnover margin
• Last place in the Big East Conference at this point of the season

Koach nothing has changed for the better in your three seasons as head coach of our beloved Cardinal football team, it's time for the fans to showcase our displeasure. A world record Krag Bagging is only a day away from us.

For those of you planning on participating in the Bag Krag world record, here is some information for you -

• We have an official tailgating spot before the game, the grassy lot on Central Ave. across from Whip Mix will be the location. We'll be there tailgating and preparing in style to Bag Krag. Join us and pick up your bags...The idea of a  Thousand Bag March is a possibility. Again, as always, offerings of beer or other alcohol will not be turned down, but are not required.
• The fine folks over at Bag Krag have put together a Facebook event page that can be found here. Much more detail about the tailgating including times and such can be found there.
• If you do not have a Facebook account and would still like to get information such as times, well, ask and you shall receive -

12:00 - 3:30

Grassy lot on Central across from Whip Mix

1000 bags will be there on a first come first serve basis

• Follow us on Twitter (www.twitter.com/insidethecards) for updates from our world record day, and be sure to send in pictures of your Bag Krag parties (justin@insidethcards or sidearm@thespottedbass.com).

We're looking to have as big of a crowd as possible tomorrow, lots of bagged heads and Krag hate. If you know anybody heading to the game, inform them of Bag Krag and the world record (which I have now mentioned enough times to qualify that for a record), the more the merrier.

Look forward to seeing everybody out there tomorrow, I'll leave you with this plethora of songs -

Krag Hate Song Numero Uno

Krag Hate Song Numero Dos

Krag Hate Song Numero Tres

UofL v. Georgetown College

Finally we have something to take our minds off of football, ladies and gentlemen, basketball season for the University of Louisville Fightin' Cardinals is upon us. That trademark smell of Freedom Hall is still there, and the fans that packed it for the final season opener in it's history were lively as usual. Coach Pitino said before the game that this would be a learning experience for the team, and it most certainly was. Nothing that we saw was necessarily unexpected, and Georgetown College came in with a team ready to play.

Notes

• Happy Osborne always brings in a team that is tough, a perfect exhibition opponent, this team was no different. Georgetown College is a great basketball school, and Osborne is a hell of a coach. Playing them every year makes us a much better team, no doubt.
• Samardo is going to have a great year, he is playing hard already, this is great news for the team and the fans.
• Obviously the weakness on the team is at the 3 & 4 positions. Delk is really going to have to step up and so is Swop. We have talent at these positions, it's just going to have to come together on the court.
• Preston Knowles does more and more each time he steps on the court to validate our man-crush (ed. note - I will type a variation of this sentence after every game, this is the lock of the year).
• Siva, you are winning us over one hustle play at a time, keep it up and we'll be taking you out to dinner very soon. On a serious note, have we had a quicker more athletic pure point guard in recent memory?
• Sosa still has the itch to pull the trigger, and surprisingly I don't have as big of a problem with this as I have in previous years. Obviously the main goal for Edgar is to pass first, shoot second, but he isn't afraid to take a shot when called upon.
• Jerry Smith = Red Flags...Come on, Jerry, you are better than what we've seen in the scrimmage and exhibition last night.
• Mike Marra will find his shot and be a crucial member of this team, last night was rough, but not a sign of things to come. Tattooed  Talented young kid.
• No Stephan Van Treese, why?
• Rock Buckles is going to make an impact, as is Kyle Kuric...write this down, you saw it here first.

Stats

• Samardo Samuels led all scorers with 20 points
• Samardo also led all rebounders with 11 boards
• Kyle Kuric was the second leading scorer with 15 points and played the most minutes (29)

In the end we learned a lot about the Cards last night, we have a lot of improving to do, but we have a ton of talent on this squad that are sure to improve quickly. Shooting and defense are primary concerns, but our second half offense showed drastic improvements. Defense on the other hand, that may take some time. The Cards take the court against Bellarmine next week, another exhibition that should be a good test.

Bag Krag cont.

More Bag Krag Information

This week is a huge week here at Inside the Cards, in fact, it's a big week for UofL athletics. The basketball team kicks off exhibition play tonight, and then there's some fan mutiny type of thing against Koach this Saturday for the football game; anybody heard about that? Something about people wearing bags over their heads, hmmm...

A few things to note while planning to Bag Krag -

• Along with us, the fine folks over at Bag Krag are planning on an official tailgating area to be at before the game. We'll have more on the exact location later, but if you don't have a bag or you just want to meet up and Bag Krag as a group before the game, join us.
• At the tailgating location we'll have bags for those who were unable to bring their own, and markers with which to decorate the bags. Basically, bring your own bag if you can, if not we'll have 1000 on hand to give out.
• I'm probably beating this into the ground, but if you won't be at the game, plan your Bag Krag party at your house. You can be a part of the record in the comfort of your own home, of course we'd love to have you at the game with us, but that is always an alternate idea. Send pictures of your Bag Krag party to sidearm@thespottedbass.com or justin@insidethecards.com.
• If you will be attending the game, bring a bag of your own to wear, from the sound of things the 1000 we are bringing might run out fairly quickly. But our goal is to have a bag for anybody and everybody who wants one, so bring your own, use our's, share with friends; it's time to take a stand against The Krag.

A big thank you to everybody in advance, the reaction so far has been great. Saturday should be a great day for UofL fans to Bag Krag. Dare I say a World Record day?

Inside The Cards Raffle

UK vs. UofL Basketball Tickets

We are going to raffle off 2 tickets to the UofL v. UK basketball game at Rupp Arena on January 2nd. The raffle will occur on December 25th (that's right, we are giving out a Christmas gift), and is open to anybody. There is no limit to how many times you can enter, so feel free to come back daily and sign up.

To enter, just go to the actual site, here, visit our comment box and enter your email address & phone number.

Good luck, and thanks for visiting Inside The Cards

Yes, Basketball Season is Here

UofL Red/White Game

Finally basketball season has arrived in the city of Louisville. The Krag can only take away so much optimism before Rick Pitino shows up with his outlandish claims, statements, and optimism (sometimes pessimism). Basketball is a fresh start for UofL fans that have been crushed by the football season. Anybody who followed last year's team at all has been waiting for this moment since late March.

We finally have our first glimpse of a team that is flying under the radar despite being the reigning Big East regular season and conference tournament champions. The returning players we all know, but the new impact players are sure to be just that.

Stats

RED 89 – Delk 2-5 4-6 10, Swopshire 1-5 2-4 4, Samuels 9-12 2-5 20, Sosa 8-12 3-4 25, J. Smith 3-10 1-2 8, Marra 5-8 0-0 14, Van Treese 3-4 2-2 8. Totals 31-56 14-23 89.

 

 

 

WHITE 93 – Buckles 7-13 2-2 17, Kuric 8-15 0-0 18, Goode 3-8 1-2 8, Knowles 8-14 0-0 21, Siva 6-10 8-8 21, C. Smith 1-3 0-0 2, Brickley 0-0 0-2 0, Jennings 3-8 0-0 6. Totals 36-71 11-14 93.

 

 

 

Halftime––Red 50-35. 3-point goals––Red 13-27 (Delk 2-5, Swopshire 0-1, Sosa 6-9, J. Smith 1-5, Marra 4-7), White 10-25 (Buckles 1-2, Kuric 2-5, Goode 1-4, Knowles 5-8, Siva 1-4, C. Smith 0-2). Rebounds––Red 32 (Samuels 13), White 34 (Buckles 10). Assists––Red 24 (J. Smith 6), White 24 (Knowles 8). Total Fouls––Red 13, White 20. Fouled Out––Kuric, Goode. A––10,247.

 

Notes

• Preston Knowles did nothing to damage the man-crush we have on him here at Inside the Cards, in fact, he probably made it much worse. Anybody who leaves it all on the floor in a intrasquad scrimmage should be applauded, and PK did just that. Cramping up at the very end, and being an emotional leader from the bench as time expired. Not only that, he played a huge part in leading the White team back from a rather large deficit to win the game. Preston will no doubt be the best sixth man in the country, and I'm willing to put my money on him being the starter at the 2 sooner rather than later.
• Edgar has changed his game, but he still has the same fire and spirit as always. Don't be fooled though, when the game is on the line and he's needed, he will not hesitate to pull the trigger.
• Jerry Smith makes me nervous with every pump fake and lack of taking the open shot. I hope he gets off to a good start this season, but after seeing him in the scrimmage I saw a lot of what opened up last season. Jerry, you are a huge asset to the team, a leader in every way, this is your time. 
• Samardo, TJ, and Goode are going to be a force in the post this year. We are deep at guard and center this season, I just hope the forwards can pick up the slack of missing Clark and T Will.
• Inside the Cards Prediction - Buckles will work his way into the starting five very soon, nothing against Swop, but Buckles looked like a man-child at times. If he can avoid as many freshman mistakes, then this prediction will come true. (ed. note - could this be the most obvious prediction ever? Possibly so)
• TJ dunking on Samardo, and then Samardo trying to cram in as many token dunks of his as possible was a personal highlight, just wanted to mention it.
• Peyton Siva, you might get flowers from us as the season progresses, we need to start planning ahead to two years from now when PK leaves.
• Optimism, meet reality, Pitino style.

Bag Krag

What is the Exact Opposite of Winning?

The best answer for this question would be what the UofL football program has been consistently doing over the past three seasons. Of course, the other answer would be losing. Either way you have a very solid answer to the question. The UofL football program has been losing in a way that you can't even be proud of (not that those of us here at Inside the Cards are fans of moral victories, but we would settle at this point), we are embarrased on a regular basis, we are homecoming fodder, we are back to where we were more than ten years ago.

The saddest example of how far we have fallen as a program is the fact that many UofL fans would openly be happy about a bid to the Liberty Bowl, or even the International Bowl at this point. Three years ago this would be the worst statement you could make, now it is considered a lofty goal. Mediocrity is here for the short term, and unless we as fans make an impact, it could be here for a longer period of time.

This team is well on it's way to UofL's first consecutive losing seasons since the Ron Cooper era. How has this happened? Surely the conference we play in must be strong? No! And yes, that exclamation point was joined with a clinched fist and a loud tone. We are in, arguably, the weakest BCS conference; a conference where we should be competetive always. We haven't been competetive (seriously) since The Krag took over. Hell, at this point, we aren't even competetive against non-BCS schools, so really the Big East is the least of our concerns.

How Can We Right the Ship?

By making a statement on Saturday against Arkansas State. We here at Inside the Cards, with an assist from the fine people at BagKrag.com are making Saturday the Official Bag Krag Game.

Think about it, do you even want to leave it up to chance that The Krag can march into PJCS next year? Do you want him to leave without knowing the anger of a fanbase? Do you want to voice your displeasure and force him to answer the tough questions after the game?

We have purchased 1000 brown paper bags and will be writing Bag Krag on them in red marker. We will be handing them out to whoever wants one, and we urge all other fans to bring their own and do the same. We've had blackouts, whiteouts, & redouts, it is now time for a bagout. Buy Bag Krag shirts if you would like, as much anti-Krag sentiment as we can get at this game the better.

Why Would You Humiliate Steve Like This?

The Krag is not a concern of ours, in fact, he deserves this. Better yet, how can you even ask of this question? Watch all of the games from before The Krag, and then watch all of the games after he became the Koach. Look at his record, see how dismal he has been in his time here and at Tulsa. Relatively successful at Tulsa, and a complete flop at UofL. You still want to defend him? Read his quotes, listen to his interviews, or our personal favorite, listen to the call-in show. How can you be this bad and not take responsibility or change things? If you do all of these, and you still want to ask this question, do us all a favor put a plastic bag over your face this Saturday.

Why Do This to the Players?

The players of this team have played their hearts out all season long, they haven't given up the way most of us would given the circumstances with these coaches. Here at Inside the Cards we have the utmost respect for every player on this team, we want a brighter future for the underclassmen and we want to apologize to the seniors for what they have been put through. There is a brighter future for UofL football, we need to make an impact to make sure The Krag is never seen again in Louisville.

Make your impact today, email Tom Jurich at jurich@louisville.edu

This Saturday we want this to be a success, and it will take each and every one of you to make it possible. Be outraged, be angry, and express it with us this Saturday.

If you can't make it to the game, have a Bag Krag Party, take pictures and send them to sidearm@thespottedbass.com or justin@insidethecards.com and you will be featured on our sites. Better yet, mail them to The Krag so that he can see this too.

Help UofL football come out of The Krag's grasp and back into the BCS spotlight, DO YOUR PART!

Scandal Appears To Be the Item of the Day

Big East Media Day

Big East Media Day has come and gone, for us UofL fans, basketball is finally upon us. With the scrimmage this weekend being our official first look at the team on the court. Yesterday, in New York, was our first preview of what is to come.

Follow these links to read up on what you need to know about our season, be warned that most of the talk is Pitino based. We'll cover some quotes and notable information below the links.

New York Daily News

Herald Leader - It's All About Pitino in New York

FanHouse - "Blinders" discussion

USA Today - "No More Distractions"

Some notable quotes and information that came out of yesterday's media day -

* It doesn't look like we'll see Samardo and TJ on the court at the same time, our Twin Towers dream ended before we ever saw it materialize.

“It will hurt their scoring potential if they do (play together),” he said. “I think it could hurt the team if both of them, in the final five minutes, are in foul trouble. We can't stretch the defense with both of them in the game. … It hasn't made us better defensively if I play them together.”

Who will play the 4?

Pitino added that sophomore Jared Swopshire's ability to play power forward helped sway his decision. He said Swopshire is a good passer and can put the ball on the floor.

SWOP! Part of me is excited, but then that part is put to shame by memories of myself yelling at Swop from my seat or from my couch. Swop was the most hated man on a much loved team last season (Earl Clark would've taken that crown, but his productivity negated the anger towards him), let's hope he is ready to fill a huge role.

* Reggie Delk is going to have to come out of that shell this season. First sign that he is doing this, Pitino calling him the most improved -

"Reggie seems like he's a totally different person," Pitino said. "I think T-Will kicked his butt so much in practice every day that he didn't know how good he was. I think that turned out to be a good experience for him and made him a much better player."

* The Big East gets tougher and tougher with each passing season. I am anticipating a good year out of us, and I love the fact that we are flying under the radar. That being said, when Rick Pitino makes quotes like this one, I get nervous -

“Now I think the top teams like us, Syracuse, Pittsburgh come to the middle,” said UofL coach Rick Pitino, whose Cardinals were picked fourth. “And the bottom teams like St. John's, Cincinnati and South Florida are going to come to the middle, and we're all going to meet somewhere in the middle and compete.”

* Gear up and follow the Cards by following the team on Twitter -

Edgar Sosa

Jerry Smith

Chris Brickley

Terence Jennings

Peyton Siva

Stephan Van Treese

Samardo Samuels

Some Compelling Krag Information

Krag By The Numbers

Instead of doing a game review of whatever you call that sport played in Hartford on Saturday, we here at Inside The Cards will choose to look at The Krag a little closer than normal. What can we even say about the UCONN game anyways, did we look any different than we have for the past year and a half? No, it is unacceptable and let's face it, UofL football has been lowered to a level few of us thought we'd see ever again.

Not since the Ron Cooper era has UofL been in the dire of a situation. Want proof, allow me to show you -

Ron Cooper, 1995-1997 = 13-20

Steve Kragthorpe, 2007-present = 13-17

What does that tell you? The program hasn't seen mediocrity like this since the Cooper era, and remember the uproar at that time? Of course you do, did anybody defend Ron Cooper (exceptions to Louis Coleman & Al Sharpton after the firing) to the extent that some still defend Kragthorpe? No. If that's not enough of for you to see my point, allow me to bring this to the table -

UofL has not had back to back losing seasons since the 1996 & 1997 seasons. At this time Ron Cooper was the head coach (his next to last, and last, season's)

Want more? Let's take a look at Krag by the numbers, because when it comes to coaching it is about win's and losses.

Big East Record = 4-12

Coming Off a Loss = 7-8

Coming Off a Win = 4-8

Nationally Televised Games

On ESPN = 1-6

On ESPN2 = 3-3

Nationally Televised When We Are The Only Game On

Thursday = 3-2

Friday = 1-4

Sunday = 0-1

The proof is in the record - UofL is no longer a nationally relevent. We built a program off of playing when nobody else would play (ie. Thursday & Friday night games), the eyes of the nation were upon us, and we would look good. As you can see by the current record on nationally televised games, weeknight games, etc. we are not looking good and we are losing more than we are winning.

Next point, do we see this changing anytime soon? Let's take a look at the rest of the season and give an honest view of how we see things going -

@Cincinnati - Do we realistically see victory in this game? No chance, in fact, I'm expecting being embarrased.

Arkansas State - This is a possible victory, and I'm hopeful. Something that makes me doubtful is that Arkansas State looked pretty good against an Iowa team that would beat us by 40 (for the record, I think Iowa is overrated).

@West Virginia - WVU is in a down year, and they are still very impressive. Morgantown has never been kind to us, and this year will be no different; another blowout loss at the hands of the Mountaineers.

Syracuse - I am getting more and more nervous about this game. Being 0-2 against much worse Syracuse team's, while our team's have been much better, helps nothing. I am going to say we win, mainly for the reason that I can't wrap my mind around going 0-3 under The Krag against the Orangemen.

@South Florida - Blowout loss, now chance of victory. I am getting more and more upset typing this many losses in this article.

Rutgers - I don't see us winning this game, but again, I am hopeful the senior's can pull it out. Still will call this a loss.

I am very sad after typing that up, but honestly, it really is a best case scenario. This puts us at 2-4 for the rest of this season, assuming we can beat Syracuse (big assumption). A 4-8 season would solidify the first back to back losing seasons since Cooper, and a third declining season under The Krag. What more do you need?

The program is in dire need of rebuilding, we are not a good football team, we aren't even close to average at this point. This needs to end, and it needs to end soon.

UCONN Preview

Why Should You Hate UCONN?

1. This - One of, if not the, worst blown call's in college football history. Had this play not occured, we probably win that game. Watching it again made me irate, how can you not hate UCONN after watching this? Here at Inside The Cards, we wish nothing but the worst for the UCONN Football team, this whole thought is based off of one not called fair catch.

2. Jim Calhoun & Geno Auriemma - Is there any fanbase that can stand these two coaches besides the UCONN fanbase? I am willing to bet the farm on answering no to that question. They win, they whine, they drive you crazy. Hate them for this, if today's game goes like I imagine it will, hate these two guy's along with The Krag (spreading your hatred around makes it easier to cope, it is a fact). This and this, should be thought of in case thoughts of the coaches themselves don't do the trick.

3. Moby - Moby is a douche, if you like Moby you are a douche, and more importantly - if you accepted Moby at your University and graduated him from your University, you are a douche. UCONN, you are a douche.

Why UofL Will Win

1. ...

Why UofL Could Lose

1. The Krag is 0-2 against UCONN

2. UofL is traveling to Hartford...Under Kragthorpe, UofL has a record of 3-9 on the road, and has dropped five in a row. I cried as I typed that.

3. UCONN's defense is ranked #20 in the NCAA. Our offense, #70. UCONN relies heavily on their defense, as their offense is worse than our's, what does that tell you?

My optimism is low for the game today, but that will not stop us here at Inside The Cards from rooting whole-heartedly for UofL. Adam Froman is looking for his first Big East win today, UofL is looking for their first Big East win of the season, and UCONN football holds a dark corner of my soul that I would like to reclaim some small part of today.

It's Getting Close to Basketball Season

Actual basketball games will be starting up in a little over a month in the city of Louisville, meaning the final season at Freedom Hall, and a distraction from whatever you call the sport being played at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium, is upon us. Wanna be amped up for the season? Check out some of these articles and links -

• Dana O'Neill has a great article on ESPN.com talking about the offseason distractions for the Cards. Some great quotes from Pitino, Preston, Edgar, and Samardo. Definetely worth a read, here's an excerpt of what Preston Knowles had to say:

"No, I didn't lose respect for him,'' junior Preston Knowles said. "Everybody makes mistakes. If we talked about all the mistakes I've made, we'd never get up from here. The only thing that matters is you don't bring that into the Yum! Center [the team's practice facility]. His personal life is his personal life. It's not about me, and he didn't make it about me.''

When I read a quote like that, I automatically start feeling better about the basketball season. My thoughts on us slipping due to the distractions and missing 2 lottery picks + McGee all don't seem so negative. Thanks, Preston, our official man-crush.

• The team had their first official practice this past week, and according to Rick Pitino, it was a three hour practice. Any doubt that we'll be the most well conditioned team in the nation? A non-stop three hour practice makes me tired just thinking about it, these guys will be ready by the time the season starts. Hearing about their drive to excel and succeed, as well as their toughness puts me in my happy place. Check out the article from RickPitino.com here.

Speaking of RickPitino.com, what's up with the music on the site? If you thought he was anything but a stone cold pimp, check out track 2 on the radio at the bottom of the screen and second guess yourself.

• Since these are the worst mug shots ever, for UofL fans at least, we have to show them and put good news beside them. Yes, Rick Pitino confirmed it, Terrence Jennings & Jerry Smith will not miss any game time due to the arrests. This is huge for the Cards, missing 2 projected starters for any period of time would hurt the team tremendously. A case of wrong place, wrong time, two good kids who made a mistake.

• It's the return of the Swop - Great article by The Courier Journal's C.L. Brown about Swop. I'm calling it, Swop is going to have a huge impact on the team this season, you heard it here fifteenth. But how can we talk Swop without some proof of his brilliance? Boom!

• Finally, the Red & White Scrimmage is just a week away (from Sunday). Be ready, get your tickets, let's get this season started off right.

Hey, Inside The Cards, Why Are Your Pants Off?

Oh, for no reason in particular, except for this -

AOL FanHouse caught up with Gruden at the South Florida-Louisville Cincinnati game last night and got the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach to comment on the situation. While he refused to confirm any type of interest in the job if it became available, he added a whole helluva lot of fuel to the fire by what he didn't say.


"I'm just here to support the Bulls," Gruden told the website when asked about the rumors/reports.

Boom! Outta here...

The Case for Jon Gruden

We can call it a dream, and perhaps that is really what the Jon Gruden rumors truly are, but as fans we have the right to fully dive into this speculated story. Over the past three years we have dropped from a top ten team, to a bottom ten team. We need hope, as a program, in fact all we really have left is hope. Hope that Tom Jurich will do the right thing and end the Kragthorpe era; hope that our program can be led back to greatness under a new, top notch head coach. Since speculation began, I have been hoping that Jon Gruden made the list of potential coaches. Better yet, I hoped he would be number one on the list.

I must confess, I have been a Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan since I watched them lose to the St. Louis Rams in the NFC Championship game; and I have followed their every move since that day. Seeing Gruden get hired and lead them to the Super Bowl was like watching a son succeed to me. I was along for the whole ride, and felt like a member of the team (as cliche as that is to say). At the end of last season when Gruden was fired, I felt betrayed in a way, but I felt excitement in another - What if UofL could do the unthinkable and lure Jon Gruden to the college game?

As soon as that thought entered my mind I have been compiling reasons to give myself hope.

• He has ties to the UofL program - Jay Gruden could be the biggest asset we have in this situation. Jay QB'd for the Cards from 1985-1988. According to Wikipedia (which is always correct) -

Gruden was a four-year letterman at Louisville (1985-1988). He finished his collegiate career with 7,024 passing yards, completing 572 of 1049 passes for 44 touchdowns. All four stats still rank in the top five in Cardinals' history. As a senior, Gruden led the team to an 8-3 mark, their first winning season in 10 years.

"Gruden has never been a college head coach, and I am hopeful that this is appealing to him (I'll go into detail why I think it will be later), so having a connection to a university surely isn't hurting our odds."

• National publicity - Let's face it, this was a rumor that we had all hoped had some proof behind it, but did we ever really think it was a possibility. Now, I don't know how you all feel, but once I hear it in the mainstream media, I am more inclined to believe it is a possibility. Last night, all of my hopes and dreams came true. Thanks to Michael Lombardi of the NFL Network -

"The University of Louisville has pegged Jon Gruden as its No. 1 candidate should the school decide to fire coach Steve Kragthorpe, sources told NFL Network’s Michael Lombardi."

Upon reading this, my first thought was that maybe some of the rumors have validity now. I am fully aware that this is lofty, and probably very far fetched, but I am going away from my usual pessimistic ways and staying hopeful.

• NFL Coaching situation - The coaching situation in the NFL will be very competetive towards the end of the season and after the season ends. Let's look at who is available -

Mike Shanahan

Mike Holmgren

Bill Cowher

Gruden would arguably be the 4th best coach on the market, at the highest, this is all assuming some teams don't decide that an up and coming coordinator isn't a better fit. Let's go out on a limb and say maybe 5 NFL coaching positions open up this offseason, would Gruden want to have the last option out of those? I don't see it happening if there are quality college positions open. UofL could potentially offer a competetive salary, and give him an opt out in a few years if he would want to pursue a position in the NFL again.

• His interest in college gameplanning - After he was fired he looked into the spread offense, and actually set up shop in an office and studied Florida gametape. He has a man-crush on Tim Tebow, and showed interest in a potential college coaching career. See this article -

"The man has a new mission (and it's not to lower his golf handicap).


"I want to learn the spread offense," Gruden said. "This is exciting for me."

Whether that means Gruden's next job — and he'll definitely have one — will be in college or the NFL is anyone's guess. And don't make the assumption that a crash course in the sexy spread means Gruden has his sights set on coaching Saturdays."

All of this being said, I would be lying if I said it wasn't a dream to see Gruden in UofL gear walking the sidelines next season; I'm just having hope, and so should you.

The Ten Commandments

Inside the Cards

Ten Commandments

Let this be our informally formal introduction, we saw you from across the room, all decked out in red and black; how could we not say hi? Here in the blogosphere, this is the equivalent of the "feeling out" conversation before we ask for you phone number. Except we have no way of finding out about you yet. So first, a few things about us - 

* Contrary to popular belief, we do not live in our parent's basement. 

* We do eat, sleep, and breathe all things Fightin' Cardinal related. 

*Our goal is to be the most interactive, complete, and informative UofL blog out there...all the while not taking ourselves too seriously.

Hopefully after we give you our number, we get a call back...

Now on to more important topics, how will we operate? Here at Inside The Cards, we will use a few rules to determine how we conduct ourselves, a list of ten commandments. The rules we will abide by are as follows -

I. Thou shalt not make a comment or statement about our football program without first considering the following quote - 

"We're on a collision course with the national championship. The only variable is time." - Howard Shnellenberger

II. Thou shalt always keep clean the name and poor fashion sense of a one Denzil E. "Denny" Crum. 

III. Thou shalt only reference Porcini's when speaking of their fantastic pasta.

IV. Thou shalt consider the following locations as holy grounds, these areas shall be treated with the utmost respect and held in the highest regards -

 Freedom Hall

 The Old Cardinal Stadium

V. Thou shalt hate any and all opponents and opposing fans on game day. (ed. note - this commandment may very well be the most important of all)

VI. Thou shalt only refer to Steve Kragthorpe by his alter-ego, The Krag. The Krag survives by devouring BCS winning football programs, and drinking the collective tears of a fan base.

VII. Thou shalt not call themselves a true fan of the Cardinals unless they have a man-crush on a member of the team. This blogs man-crush's -

Basketball - Preston Knowles

Football - Victor Anderson or Chris Campa

VIII. Thou shalt allow your significant other the option to carry Rick Pitino's lovechild, then ye shall entrust Tom Jurich to be the Godfather of said child.

IX. Thou shalt never allow jokes on how our logo is the only known bird with teeth, instead ye shall take pride in this fact, and defend the logo at all times.

X. Thou shalt remember that our little blog, like fine wine, will only get better with time. Bear with us as we work out any kinks and fix any issues. If you have any questions, comments, or issues contact any of the following -

Chris@insidethecards.com

Justin@insidethecards.com

Aaron@insidethecards.com

info@insidethecards.com

Southern Miss Game Notes

This Is Winning Football at UofL Now

For those of you lucky enough to be in attendence at Saturday's scrimmage between two intramural teams football game, you witnessed something that is hard to come by at UofL, a Division-1 football victory. 8 straight losses to Division-1 opponents, a sad state of affairs, that was ended with Ryan Payne's game winning field goal. Gone are the days of 40 point beatdowns, impressive victories, statistically unbelievable games; in their place has come happiness over beating a below average C-USA team who was starting their backup QB.

• Maybe it was just my vantage point, but the stadium didn't look like it had 37,000 people in it, as the official recording stated. I saw a lot of empty seats, and some sections were nearly a quarter of the way empty in the top of the end zone.

• The excitement level during the pregame was at a 0...The volume of the fans was as low as I've heard during the players coming out and the video they play beforehand.
  
 
• What can you say about guys like Vic Anderson & Scott Long besides how much they have given to the football program. Both of those guys have earned a spot in the hearts of Card fans everywhere, when they are healthy they are hard to beat. I wish we could have hope to get them both some postseason play again before their time's at UofL are up, but that might be a lofty goal.
  
 
• Take nothing away from Bilal Powell, his scoring run was just what we needed at exactly the right time. Here at Inside The Cards you will probably see us be critical of Powell, but when he breaks plays like that (which he has potential to do every time he touches the ball), it helps you forget the fumbles or lossed yardage.
  
 
• For God's sake, Krag, quit calling deep pass plays for Froman! That's not his game, he is good on the intermediate passes, but his accuracy is JaMarcus Russell-esque on the deep ball.
  

• Does anybody else feel like the real turnaround point of the game, for the crowd at least, was when the guy won the Punt Pass & Kick contest at halftime? This was amazing. I'm sure this guy probably has some eligibility left to play football, no way he is any worse than any current players on our roster. The field goal he made was unbelievable, far hashmark, from a solid distance out. Things like this always impress me, if for the only fact that after the pass and punt I would probably still be at the 45 yard line (on the beginning side).

• Questionable Play Call of the Game - This play call had no real effect on the outcome of the game, but it made not sense whatsoever. Why did we go for 2 to make it a six point game instead of a four point game? I understand that it doesn't really matter at all, but what is his thought process? Either way we are still trying to hold them to a field goal. Is The Krag really putting enough though into the fact that we can hold them to two field goals, and technically based off of that make it a two score game? Why go for two when it doesn't matter here, when against Utah we opted against it when it was actually a necessary decision? Too many situations like this in 3 years.
  
 
• Our defense played lights out...Johnny Patrick stepped up again and left it all on the field. He came up with some clutch tackles in crucial situations. Campa, defensive MVP, week in and week out he is the best player on that side of the ball.
  
 
• Can we have a safety lay a hit on a receiver and not be injured afterwards?
  
 
• In the section where I sat, we were all in agreement before the kickoff that led to our game-winning drive, that Southern Miss would surely not kick to Trent Guy. As the ball was in the air, happiness came over us, and Trent delivered as we had hoped he would. Trent Guy deserved to be the one responsible for a victory, not blamed for a loss. This was perfect redemption for the UK fumble.
  
 
• That being said, why is Southern Miss kicking to Trent Guy! I'm happy they did, but if us fans can see it, surely their coaching staff can see not to kick to him. A guy looking for redemption, and who is a real threat everytime he touches the ball anyways. No way UofL pulls out a victory without that return, Trent Guy is the hero for the week.
  
 
• My heart and stomach were somewhere in my throat before Ryan Payne's kick. I would be lying if I said I had faith, in fact, I was hoping we could get the guy who won the car back out there to attempt this field goal, he had nerves of steel. Payne won me over though, that guy is clutch, at least for now.

• Postgame Krag Quote of the Week -

(On whether it's been difficult for him to block out off-the-field distractions) "It's actually not real difficult for me. I think it's more difficult for my family than it is for me because I come to work every day at 6:30 and I leave here at about 10 o'clock at night. By the time I get home, I go to bed before all the newscasts come on at 11:30 or 11:20 or whatever it is, so it's a lot easier for me. It's hard for my wife too. She calls me and says 'what the heck is going on?' I say 'I don't know.' She says 'have you talked to Tom.' I say 'no, I haven't talked to Tom.' She says 'well, everybody thinks you've talked to Tom.' I say 'well, I haven't talked to Tom.' It's not easy for me and it's not easy for anybody, but I'll be at work tomorrow."

Be sure to register for the UK v. UofL basketball game tickets that we are raffling off.

Follow us on Twitter @insidethecards

No Way This Is Good For Business...

Just when you thought things might be turning around for the basketball program, and we are ready to focus on actual games and practice, this comes out.

Jerry Smith & Terrence Jennings Arrested

Southern Miss Preview

Southern Miss Game Preview

It's time to face facts, Cardinal fans, this season has officially gotten ugly. The team is 1-3 and we are the 2 point underdog at home to an unranked Conference USA opponent. Oh, and did somebody start some rumors about our coach? Yes, we are now that program. We aren't here to discuss that issue yet, but we will surely get there. 

Why are we a 2 point underdog you might ask?  Well, allow me to throw some stats at you to help us all understand -

UofL's Total Offense Ranking - 85th out of 120

Southern Miss's Total Offense Ranking - 28th out of 120

The playcalling against Southern Miss has to improve, this is a must-win game for the Cards. In order to pull of this "upset", we have to play to win the game. So far this season the playcalling has not showcased that need. Get the ball in the hands of your playmakers (ie. Victor Anderson, Scott Long, Trent Guy), keep the other team on their heels, all things that The Krag has failed to consistently do. If I hear one more player, or The Krag himself say after this game that we were "just a few plays away" I will shoot myself!

UofL's Total Defense Ranking - 39th out of 120

Southern Miss's Total Defense Ranking - 22nd out of 120

However, the Cards are 69th against the rush, and with a battered secondary, our pass defense will surely be put to the test as well...On a side note, is anybody else completely shocked our Total Defense ranking is this high?

UofL Sack's Allowed - 109th out of 120

Southern Miss Sack's Per Game - t-11th out of 120

No doubt this statistic will be a huge factor in the game. Southern Miss knows how to get to the QB, and it just so happens that UofL's offensive line is terrible at protecting the QB.

UofL's Penalty Average @ Home This Season - 12.0 penalties per game

UofL's Penalties For The Season - 35 penalties for 311 (77.8 ypg) yards

This statistic is enough to make me sick. We give up so much yardage on poor penalties, how is this anything but a coaching problem? Southern Miss is our 4th game of the season, and if there is no improvement shown then how can we expect to have a somewhat less embarrassing season?

For those of you out there hoping that The Krag can hold on to any remaining streaks that UofL has, here is one that we can watch for on Saturday - UofL has won 3 straight against Southern Miss. While Southern Miss holds the all-time record against that the Cards (18-8-1), we can stake claim to the previous 3. Keep us somewhat optimistic Krag, leave us with just one streak that is positive, please? Is that too much to ask?

_________________________________________________________________________

To anybody planning on attending the game, look for 2 somewhat goofy looking gentleman walking around in InsideTheCards.com shirts (offering us beer or free food is not required but will not be turned down), we will be taking pictures and meeting with whoever will have us. Check back with us Sunday for a full game recap as well as winners of a few contests we will be having pertaining to the best fan & the best tailgate at the game.

In case you missed it, we will be raffling off a pair of tickets to the UK v. UofL basketball game. Leave your name, phone number, and email address in our comment box to sign up.

In conclusion, I will leave you with a happier time in UofL football history - Hopefully we get back to this soon.