Saturday, November 28, 2009

You Will Never See This Man in Louisville Again, Finally



It is official, Steve Kragthorpe is out as head coach of the Louisville Cardinals. I have waited three years to hear that, as have many of you. Athletic Director Tom Jurich made the news official at a noon press conference after much speculation. Some highlights -

  • Decision was made "probably mid-week"
  • The new head coach will not need previous head coaching experience
  • "I thought he'd be a great fit here, but, it didn't fit. It really wasn't a good fit from day one"
  • Jurich - "This is 100% my responsibility"
  • Kragthorpe will be paid the remainder of his contract
  • New head coaching search will not interfere with anybody's regular season
This really is a day to celebrate for UofL football, and a part of me wishes it would have happened at the beginning of the week so that the seniors could've had a real senior day. The focus too much the past two seasons has been on Koach, and not the players, and not in a good way either. Some player reaction -

  • Doug Beaumont - "If you would have told me 3 years ago the team would be like this, I wouldn't have believed it."
  • Doug Beaumont on the future of UofL football - "...strive to get Louisville football back on the map"
  • Vic Anderson on fans booing - "It really took a toll on the team"
  • Vic Anderson on the future of UofL football - "I have the confidence that we can get to where we were (pre-Kragthorpe)"
More updates as more information comes in, stay posted and celebrate! This news is as good as making a BCS bowl.

Friday, November 27, 2009

Black Friday & Return to Frequent Blogging



You may have noticed the lack of posting lately here at Inside the Cards, well, today that all ends. The build-up to Thanksgiving was hectic as far as work and family goes; we have now quit our jobs and disowned our families to cover Kragthorpe's hopeful firing, and devote our full time to eating Cheeto's and watching sports. You're welcome...

So where do we start?

1. Since we last spoke UofL's basketball team rattled off 3 straight wins in consecutive days, leading to our first 4-0 start in several years. The team shot poorly in the first two games, we all know the reliability on our offense that this young team has, and so it was no surprise that along with poor shooting came a close game. This team will not rely as much on our defense (as we have in the past) to create our offense, instead it will be the opposite. My only concern is that, and many have pointed this out, Samardo looks exactly the same as he did at this point last season. This needs to change for us to be a success, or TJ and Goode need to step up a lot.

2. It is football senior day, and all I can think to say to the seniors is "I'm sorry". Here are some links you might enjoy reading about while preparing to lose for game preparation -


3. My take on the game and our current situation is not positive at all. I think there is no way we are competitive, despite Rutgers losing to Syracuse last week. It hink the crowd will probably be around 20,000 if we are lucky, and this is a true shame to all of our seniors, but the focus isn't on them because of Koach. Simply put, this game had better be an end to the Krag era, but I'm hearing too much about him possibly being brought back to feel comfortable.

4. That being said about Koach, here is our short list of names we hear, discuss amongst yourselves (or email us here if you have heard of anybody else)

Charlie Strong (OC at Florida)
Kyle Shanahan (son of Mike, OC with Houston Texans)
Tommy Tuberville (former Auburn HC)
Turner Gill (HC at Buffalo)
Philip Fulmer (former Tennessee HC)

Of course everything is a rumor until next week (fingers crossed and a prayer sent to baby Jesus), but these are some names we have heard tossed around.

5. Back to basketball, the Cards take on UNLV on Saturday (aka tomorrow), a preview to come shortly.

Happy Black Friday and Happy (Belated) Thanksgiving

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Tuesday Afternoon Updates

Today we are more than making up for lack of posting over the past week, apologies are again in order for that. I figured we'd take this opportunity to hit on some news and give some updates that we may have missed in the past few days.

  • Bag Krag was succesful in a few ways this past Saturday at the Syracuse game, with several students taking part, and a lot of fan reaction. We filled about 20 rows of seats in the actual student section with bags, and most were put to use in one way or another. The main highlight for myself, however, was the reaction before the game, at halftime, and after the game; if Krag thinks he can come back next year he is sorely mistaken based off of the response we received. Time for photos -

These were some lovely Syracuse fans I met right after the Card March, even when they should love The Krag, they were more than willing to all pose with me while Bagging Krag.



A personal favorite, the Texas Roadhouse armadillo mascot loves to Bag Krag. He even attempted to put on a bag, that big armadillo head got in the way though, sorry big fella.



I'm sure you've all seen this on Bag Krag, but it's so good I think it needs to go here as well. Nice group of guys who are obviously against our 15-19 Koach. In fact, I'm pretty sure they could arrest Krag for murdering a BCS program.



Walking around during halftime (as well as pre & post game) holding a sign that read Cooper: 13-20 Krag: 14-19, definetely felt the Krag hatred.

  • Damn you, Jon Gruden, damn you straight to hell! Unless of course this is just a trick you are playing on us and would love to coach at UofL, in which case, my love for you is still as high as the Eiffel Tower. I know it probably wasn't/isn't realistic to think Jon Gruden would come to be the head coach at UofL, but you can't fault me for being hopeful.
  • Koach Kragthorpe isn't going anywhere "voluntarily". Then I guess involuntarily it is, which is actually a lot more fun to us here at Inside The Cards. Words really cannot describe how much I hate this man, as unfortunate as that is to say, it really will be fun running him out of town and moving the football program in a brighter direction.

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Arkansas Basketball Preview



Louisville Cardinals vs. Arkansas Razorbacks
Scott Trade Center, St. Louis, MO
7:35 pm

Louisville Projected Starting Lineup

F Jared Swopshire #21
C Samardo Samuels #15
G Preston Knowles #2
G Jerry Smith #34
G Edgar Sosa #10

Arkansas Projected Starting Lineup

F Jemal Farmer #2
F Marshawn Powell #33
C Mike Washington #00
G Rotnei Clarke #15
G Julysses Nobles #23

News & Notes

  • Last Meeting: Arkansas 100 - Louisville 83 (December 9, 1997)
  • Series History: 3-3 (Louisville has won 3 of the last 4)
  • Probably the most talked about story leading into this game is the suspension of five players, one of which may have been the star of the team, Courtney Fortson. Another starter, Stefan Walsh, was suspended as well. This leaves the team lacking in depth, and turning to a member of the golf team, as well as a former football player to fill space.
  • Even with the suspensions, Arkansas won their first game against Alcorn State 130-68. Granted it was Alcorn State, but that is an impressive point total and margin of victory for a team so lacking in depth. In that game, guard Rotnei Clarke set an SEC record by draining 13 three-pointers on the way to putting up 51 points.
  • For the Cards, what should be an exciting season starts tonight. After losing 2 starters to the NBA (lottery picks at that), some players have to step up (Jerry & Edgar I'm talking to you). We are deep at the guard and center positions, and will probably play a lot of 3 guard lineups until we see some improvement at the SF position.
  • Wait! John Pelphrey played for Rick Pitino at UK!?! Thankfully the media will be sure to tell us more about this breaking news event that is sure to have a huge impact on tonight's game.
Tonight should be an exciting beginning to a great season (hopefully). Containing Rotnei Clarke should will be a good test to our defense, and of course seeing the young guys against better talent is never a bad thing. How deep are we? How will our big men look? Will we see Good or Bad Edgar tonight? Will Preston Knowles make it impossible for us to get up from our seat multiple times throughout the game? These questions and more are up to be answered tonight. Our prediction -
Louisville 89 - Arkansas 76

Thursday, November 12, 2009

WE WANT YOU



Are you a UofL student and sit in the student section at football games? If so, WE WANT YOU! What do we want you for? Help us Bag Krag as a large group, be a part of unanimous Krag Bagging.

The gameplan as of now is to have students either bring their own bags, or get them from us (whichever you prefer, but the more bags the merrier), and at a point in the game to be determined soon we will all put our bags on. Sounds cheesy and generic, well it is, but it sends a message.

Join us as we Bag Krag at the Card March as well, and for tailgating. We'll post a tailgating location on here shortly, and more plans for a unanimous Krag Bagging.

Contact justin@insidethecards.com for questions or ideas, or check back for more information as the game approaches.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Apologies for Lack of Posting the Past Few Days



My apologies for the lack of posting the past few days, my good health was Kragged and I have been down for the count ever since. A busy few days in the world of UofL athletics, let's see what I've missed -


  • Another Big East loss under the lead of Koach Steve Kragthorpe. The team did play with heart, and it was our game to win as it came down to the wire, but once again, Koach did not play to win the game. Will Stein "played his tail off" against WVU and earned our respect as a starting QB, and almost led us to victory. We here at Inside the Cards could not feel more sorry for the players on this team for having to play for such an incompetent Koach, these guys play hard and do not give up when so many of us would. The Krag had this to say this week -
“They may be upset with the things that I've done or they may not like me — and that's OK,” Kragthorpe said Monday on the Big East teleconference. “Everybody can have an opinion. They're entitled to an opinion, but what I would like our fans to do is come support these players.”

  • Koach, there is a huge difference in supporting the players (which I think we can all agree, we are supporting this team more than some previous UofL squads), and being upset with you. Bagging Krag is not a slap in the player's faces, it is nothing against them, if anything it is a show of support for them.
  • Arkansas basketball is suspending multiple players (including some big names) for the UofL game coming up next week.
  • Mike, of Card Chronicle fame, posted the best Big East basketball preview that I've seen this season. Check it out here. While you're there be sure to check out The Best Louisville Game of the Decade tournament, great stuff and a great site.
  • I've been meaning to mention this for a while, but Elvis Dumervil is making a huge name for himself in the NFL. Those of us who remember him from his days as a Card are not surprised by his career so far, but we certainly are proud.
Look forward to more posts now that the sickness is gone (knock on wood), and get ready to Bag Krag again this Saturday against Syracuse.

*Also don't forget to sign up for the UofL/UK basketball tickets we are raffling off, go to our site, InsideTheCards and leave your name and email address in our comment box. Sign up as many times as you'd like, and if you can get on the air during Krag's call-in show and give him a "real question" and a shout out to us, we'll give you 20 extra sign up's in the raffle.

Thanks for supporting us

Friday, November 6, 2009

West Virginia Preview



Let's get straight to the point, my hope of winning is at an all-time low, and there is no such thing as a moral victory in my book. That leaves me with no positive feelings, and zero excitement, so let's get this depressing game preview over with.

Why You Should Hate WVU


1. "Take Me Home, Country Roads" - For those of you who are unfamiliar with John Denver, watch this and get sick to your stomach. If you had to watch that to realize who John Denver was, because you have never heard the song, get out from under your rock and join civilization. Back to the point, as you can see from the video, WVU fans sing this after all victories. How can you not hate this?

2. Idiot Kickers & Pacman - Mike Vanderjagt and Adam "Pacman" Jones are some notable past football players who took the field in Morgantown. My opinion on Mr. Vanderjagt is much the same as Peyton Manning's -

"I'm about to go in and throw a touchdown to Jerry Rice, we're honoring the Hall of Fame, and we're talking about our idiot kicker who got liquored up and ran his mouth off."
Those comments were made at the Pro Bowl after Mr. Vanderjagt made some statements about Mr. Manning. This comment about a so-called idiot kicker may or may not be true, but saying somebody from West Virginia got liquored up and ran their mouth, and that they are an idiot doesn't seem like a far stretch to me.

Pacman on the other hand is famous for his love of strip clubs and squandering a professional career. Or perhaps you would like to remember Adam as I do - being hurdled by Tyler Palko. Either way, both of these men are hated, they are WVU alumni members, therefore as Card fans we can hate them a little bit more this week.

3. 2005 - Do I even need to add to what that says?

Why We Will Might Win


1. Victor Anderson, Darius Ashley, & Bilal Powell - These three players are form a great trio in the backfield. Vic being the all out force, Powell being the power back, and Ashley being the big speedster reserve. We have to be able to use these three, this sets up the pass and burns the clock to keep WVU's offense off the field. Big running game for us = better chance at victory.

Aside from that far fetched reason why we will win, I have no reason to believe we have a shot at victory. Let's face it, the next section on why we will lose could go on for days, and it took me an hour to come up with that reason why we might win.

Why We Might Will Lose

1. Our Offense is Terrible - The Cards rank 106th in Scoring Offense, and 68th in Total Offense. This, if nothing else, is offensive to all fans, and speaks volumes for Koach's decision to call every play. Really working out, Koach, really working out.

2. Noel Devine - I am scared that he can hang 300 total yards on us after watching that tape, rest assured that Mr. Devine will be featured in our nightmares (again).

3. Steve Kragthorpe - Koach cannot coach big games, small games, meaningless games, or any game for that matter. I have no faith in our gameplan, and I am fairly certain that we will be out of timeouts while still in the 3rd Quarter (I'm looking at you Cincinnati game).

Okay, I'm depressed and plan on being as drunk as a WVU fan by the time the 2nd Quarter starts. Thanks Koach for taking all of the excitement away from UofL football. To all of the Card fans driving to Morgantown, heed this signs advice -



GO CARDS!

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Peyton Siva, Will You Marry Us?

This is not a joke, Peyton, so don't laugh at us. Preston Knowles still has our heart, but Peyton is teaching us to share the love one spectacularly fast play after another.



In case you missed it, Siva (and the Cards) were featured in not one, but two of the plays in Sportscenters Top Ten for last night. Don't believe me? Watch and be amazed.

We are probably the last blog to get to this today, but better late than never as far as I'm concerned. Siva is amazing, the team looked great, and starting off with 3 guards and the twin towers down in the post had my excitement level maxed out. Nobody disappointed last night, and I'm actually building confidence going into the season.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

The Krag



My One and Only Enjoyable Krag Moment

Yesterday, our beloved Koach did something I actually enjoyed, gave me a quote to laugh at because it was funny and not sad. Allow me to give you the full quote, in all of it's glory -

"Sorry I'm late. I was actually on the phone with Jon Gruden. He wanted to know how tall Will Stein was."
View the full press conference to see more weird quotes, and un-Krag-like behavoir here. Something that shocks be about this quote, is that I think Koach is accepting of what the future for him at UofL holds, and he doesn't care. The season is over, his career here is over, and he has nothing to do but ride out the season and collect a check at the end of it all.

Think about it, has a coach ever openly made a joke referring to the guy rumored to be the number one candidate for his job? It is borderline disturbing, and all at the same time, it is the best thing Koach has done in his three years here at Louisville.

Krag's Call-In Show

It has become a goal of mine to get the real questions, as well as fan outrage brought directly to Koach himself. He fields softball questions weekly, and hears relatively none of the fan comments or thoughts. The call-in show is no doubt screened very well, but I want to prompt as many fans to call in, give false (positive) reasons for calling, and once on the air, let Koach have it. He has defintely earned this treatment.

Join us here at Inside the Cards on Thursday, and call in to his show and let him hear your thoughts, and have to actually answer the tough questions. All of the information on the call-in show is here. Or the highlights are below -

Steve Kragthorpe Shows



Affiliates on the Louisville Radio Network carry the
Steve Kragthorpe Show each Thursday night at 7:00
p.m. Th e show originates from the Tumbleweed Restaurant
on the River and is open to the public with
a reservation.
Either join us at the restaurant itself, or call in, we'd love to make an impact in every way possible.

Monday, November 2, 2009

T Will in the NY Times



An All Time Great Cardinal

A great article in the NY Times about T Will and his new living conditions as an NBA rookie for the Nets, it also goes back into his childhood. The man truly deserves everything good that comes to him, a hard worker who will be looked at as one of the greatest to put on the Cardinal uniform. Thanks to Eric Crawford's blog for originally linking to this story. Find it here.

Actually, the new 3,575-square-foot town house he is renting on a rocky perch above River Road (for about $7,000 a month with an option to buy at $1.3 million) has two oversized closets to go along with three bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, a high-end kitchen, a finished basement, an elevator and the roof deck that Mr. Williams better appreciated after experiencing the grueling training camp workouts leading up to the Nets’ season opener Wednesday night.

A Sad State of Affairs



Record Breaking Day in More Than One Way

Saturday was a sad, sad day for University of Louisville football. As evidenced by the picture above, attendance was the lowest in PJCS history, a crowd of 21,497. That low of a number only became smaller as the game went along, finally ending at an estimated 3,000. How did this happen? Blame Halloween if you'd like, but we all know that is not the truth, The Krag has brought our program to this low of an attendance. We cannot lie to ourselves any longer, the fan base is so outraged that there is no reason to attend the games anymore. Walking from our tailgate to the stadium on Saturday, you could feel the anger towards the Koach, and the sympathy towards the players.

The following picture is the sole reason my weekend was ruined



Did you ever, and seriously think about this, ever think you'd see a crowd like this at PJCS for a close game? During fairly decent weather? With a team that has guys you want to see succeed? I'll answer it for you, no, I never thought I'd see this.

What cheered me up? A lovely sign that a fan made.



Many fans let their voices be heard at the game on Saturday, the one's who showed up that is. Support for the players was there, but it is very clear, there is pure hatred for our beloved Koach. How can a man be so incompetent and keep his job for 3 seasons? On top of that, how can Tom Jurich (a bright man, and a man who we here at Inside the Cards deeply respect) not pull the plug on this train wreck sooner. The damage has been done, but we as a fan base are going to speak our while we can.

Bag Krag World Record

A huge thank you to anybody and everybody who helped out with setting a world record for most people Bagging Krag. To those of you who opted not to participate but showed your support to us anyways, thank you as well. At least 400 bags were given out and worn at the game, not a failure in our minds. Hell, we even made the Courier-Journal's photo gallery with this picture -



If you are the man in the above picture, contact me immediately, you are officially an Inside the Cards celebrity, you are owed a debt of gratitude. What that debt is will be figured out shortly, and you will be notified.

Don't let this be the end of Bag Krag, keep your bags, bring them back for the Syracuse game. Let the word out early, the Syracuse game will be the site of Bag Krag II. Breaking our original world record, and getting thousands more supporters. Help us help the Cards.

If you would like to help us plan or get publicity for Bag Krag II, contact me here. We welcome any and all of the help we can get. Preliminary plans are to have our tailgate at the lot across from the Whip Mix lot on Central, the same place as the Arkansas State game.

A huge thanks to the guys at Bag Krag for getting the word our and having a great site, and great ways to spread the anti-Krag movement. More thanks for Card Chronicle for links to us and Bag Krag, also a huge thanks to everybody else who helped spread the word.

Keep Bagging Krag in your daily life (send all of those images here), and get ready for Bag Krag II.