The joke, of course, because a joke is the only way to start here, so difficult is it to get one’s hands wrapped around this cockamamie Cards-survived-on-the-road football victory. If, in fact, any type of objective, even faintly analytical comprehension of what went down Saturday night in Winston-Salem is possible at all.

So, the question is, will Danny Manning’s Demon Deacon hoopsters be able to equal the school’s pigskin tally of 59 when they visit the Yum! on February 5? (Insert chuckle track here.)

So, what exactly was the turning point — “a time at which a decisive change in a situation occurs, especially one with beneficial results” — in this whoopsie doo 62-59 Cardinal nailbiter of an ACC W against a “Top 25” foe?

Well, it didn’t come during the injured again Micale Cunningham’s stint before his somersaulting exit to the medical tent. During his time on the gridiron, the Cards’ starting QB fashioned an unheard of 331.9 passer rating. 5/6 for 99 yards and 2 TDs. He also rushed for 59 yards on 4 carries.

Nor was it Hassan Hall’s scintillating 102 yard kickoff return. Or his 83 yard return of the second half kickoff. Which led to a Dez Fitzpatrick TD catch. Continue reading Louisville CardFile: Wake Forest →

CORRECTION: In retrospect, it is obvious that the correct spelling of the first name of The QB Formerly Known As Malik Cunningham is Micale Cunningham, and that the transcription of his interview upon which I relied had an inadvertent typo. 

Silly me for believing what I read with my own eyes at U of L’s sports site. 

Apologies to all. 

So, let me see if I can clear up all this Cunningham first name stuff.

So, during the games, there’s a press box announcer who provides play by play details. Who made the catch, the tackle, committed a penalty, official yardage, etc. etc..

And it didn’t take long Saturday to notice he was calling the U of L QB what sounded like Mikhail Cunningham.

When it continued into the second half without any correction from Kenny Klein or Rocco Gasparro, I was glad I didn’t go over and correct him, as was my usual overbearing wont.

A fellow scribe advised Cunningham made a request that he be called by his given name, and that it is spelled Micale.

OK, well and good. So, my CardChronicle Glorious Editor, the Courier-Journal and real journalist Eric Crawford all used the new name and Micale spelling in post-game stories. The eagle eyed among you will not I did not. I spelled his name Michle.

Here’s why: It’s how Cunningham himself spelled it in his comments after the victory.

Here’s a cut and paste of the official transcript of his comments: Continue reading It’s Michle Not Micale & Other Final Thoughts on the BC W →

There’s a word to describe my state of being during Saturday’s nerve-rattling ACC W over Boston College.

It’s the Yiddish descriptor my mother would use when describing how she’d get so nervous during tight U of L battles, she’d leave her seat at Freedom Hall and walk the corridors when games were close down the stretch.

Shpilkes.

Anxious. On pins and needles. Ants in your pants.

It permeated more or less from the get go.

The Eagles took the opening kickoff and easily drove down field. A wide open pass over the middle for 17 yards. A swing pass that went for 36 yards. BC’s momentum was only thwarted when Cardinal Monty Montgomery stripped AJ Dillon of the pigskin before he could bull into the endzone for a TD.

Some calm descended — momentarily — when U of L crisply drove for a score on its opening possession. Followed by Trenell Troutman’s marvelous tackle on the ensuing kickoff, forcing the visitors to start their second drive from their 11.

My stomach really started gurgling and skin crawling, when Anthony Brown hit Hunter Long, who was so WIDE OPEN in the middle that the not exactly speedy TE was able to not only bumble and stumble but trundle the last 50 yards or so of the 72 yard scoring play to knot the battle.

It was obvious at that point — to me anyway — that this was to be the proverbial long day. Continue reading Louisville CardFile: Boston College →

One buddy of mine growing up was that kid who was just better at every game our gang would play. You know the type.

The pitcher in Little League. The scorer in hoops. The fastest guy in football, who’d either catch or throw the long one. Facile with a tennis racket, even if he’d never played before.

He was also cocky. Not nasty cocky, but confident cocky. And he’d back it up.

Later, during the Vietnam era, he joined the Marine Reserves, essentially to prove he could handle boot camp at Parris Island.

A bunch of us were hanging out once in our early teens, and he was in one of those moods, declaring he could beat any of us at any sport. Which he would do.

He was a winner. Because he was physically gifted. Because he was mentally tough on the court or field.

The Louisville Cardinals need to find that kind of intestinal fortitude before they shall be able to fully turn the corner.

Against a beatable Florida State Seminole squad, the Cards came close. But the Cards didn’t finish. Continue reading Louisville CardFile: Florida State →