Tag Archives: Miami Hurricanes

Louisville CardFille: Miami

joaniecardGood teams should not lose at home come February.

Really good teams, i.e. legit contendas, do not lose at home in late February. Especially experienced ones on Senior Day.

Miami is a really good team. Miami is among those 20 or so schools that the pundits are saying could slip into the Final Four, and beyond. Miami, which starts three seniors and two juniors is experienced.

Miami is really well coached. Jim Larranaga is arguably the least heralded, excellent mentor in college hoops.

So, truth be told, the inevitable occurred yesterday in Coral Gables. On Senior Day, the Hurricanes did what really good teams do. They outplayed another good team, Louisville, down the stretch, and prevailed, 73-65.

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What a difference 72 hours and a change of venue makes. Continue reading Louisville CardFille: Miami

Louisville Card File: Miami

joaniecardIf Louisville’s successes this season hinge on how hard the team plays defense, and I fall in line with The Rick, and most everybody else who has observed the Cards flaky, often non existent, on again off again offensive prowess, agreeing that it’s stops über alles.

If that be the case, then it’s Man Up!

Mano a mano.

English translation: Man to man, Denny Crum style.

Or, as Jim Larranaga would call it: Manslaughter on man. (More on that in a moment.) Continue reading Louisville Card File: Miami

Louisville Card File: Miami

joaniecardIn my excitement over Louisville’s W last night in the balmy clime of Coral Gables, its 4th W in 5 road encounters during its inaugural ACC season, I forgot to stay tuned to WAVE3 TV for Kent Taylor’s piece on ’86 Cardinal star Billy Thompson.

That the station should run a where-is-he-now? segment on the fellow, who led that team to the school’s second national crown, is timely and germane, given the disturbing dynamic playing out this year between a portion of the U of L fan base and senior forward Wayne Blackshear.

Thompson was generally considered the best player in the land, coming out of high school in Camden, N.J.. He announced his college choice on national TV with Al McGuire. The Red & Black faithful had extremely high expectations for Billy T. Which started to wane, during his rookie season, even before he missed a breakaway dunk in the national semis against Phi Slama Jama, a non-score which far too many fans ridiculously felt cost the Cards that game.

Thompson was inexplicably reviled for his “underperformance” the rest of his career. Until, that is, he kicked it in gear midway through his senior campaign, paving the way for that NC2A crown. I specifically remember one fellow who sat behind my father and me at Freedom Hall, who, full of vitriol, as if Thompson was playing bad on purpose just to piss him off, never let an opportunity pass to loudly spew his venom toward BT.

The same type of thing is happening in this, his senior season, to Wayne Blackshear. He obviously is not meeting the expectations of many Cardinal fans, who seem to relish every chance they get to express how little Blackshear does for this team, how “awful” or “horrible” he’s playing, what a “non-factor” he is.

It all seems misplaced to me. Continue reading Louisville Card File: Miami

Quick Look: Louisville vs. Miami in R A Bowl

cardfootballSaturday is gonna be one intense day for Louisville Cardinal fans.

There’s that late afternoon hoops contest against arch rival, about which I’ve opined a couple of times, and surely will again before tip off.

Then there’s that Sunshine State pigskin grudge match in Orlando Saturday evening.

I don’t know much about Miami.

The Hurricanes started the season with 7 straight Ws, including victories over Florida and Georgia Tech. They had a woeful November, losing three straight to the Seminoles, Viriginia Tech and ACC surprise of the year, Duke. Then finished with Ws over Virginia and Pitt. Continue reading Quick Look: Louisville vs. Miami in R A Bowl