Tag Archives: Pat Kelsey

Card Hoops Presser: Savoring the Morsels

Basketball, ,

Not sure there’s anything that’ll get a charter member of the Cardinal Chapter of Hoopaholic’s Anonymous more fired up.

A presser on the 16th of July. Coach Pat Kelsey. J’Vonne Hadley. Aly Khalifa. Kobe Rodgers. Mikel Brown Jr.

So ratcheted up is my anticipation for tip off of the season — still literally months away — I couldn’t begin immediately to share my observations. Though I did give a heads up to fellow hoopaholic Smarts, who is out of town on babysitting duty.

As well as my ex- who had waffled until deadline whether to reup on her seats. “I have just come from a basketball press conference. And you are going to be very glad that you are getting your tickets for next season.”

I know, I know, I’m easy.

But there was something about the four very articulate players presence, their sense of confidence that I wasn’t prepared for. Continue reading Card Hoops Presser: Savoring the Morsels →

Midweek Dis & Data

Baseball, Basketball, College Sports, Football, ,

I wanted to start with U of L football.

Honest, I really really did.

But just have to mention that film clip first.

You know the one. Pat Kelsey answering a question posed by ACC Network’s Wes Durham. (I think it was him.) Glorious Editor posted it in his last News & Notes. I trust that all true Cardinal fans have watched it, or at least heard about it by now.

Responding to what’s your favorite movie, PK immediately responds “Hoosiers.”

Imagine our surprise.

Then tells how a HS teammate and he watched the b-ball parts of flick every single day after practice one post season.

Then he shares that the Bobby Plump character Jimmy Chitwood netted 44 of 49 shots for Hickory High he took in the beloved film. Continue reading Midweek Dis & Data →

P(ortal) K(iller), Qu’est-ce que c’est?

Basketball, ,

What is this?

This is . . .

. . . Fa fa fa fa, fa fa fa fa fa fantastic.

I happened upon a videocast yesterday from Field of 68, on which insider’s insider Jeff Goodman and another fellow were interviewing new UVa coach Ryan Odom and Pat Kelsey.

When the subject of the week’s transfer portal haul came up, PK was all PK.

With that frat boy/ fan boy kind of enthusiasm, he said something to the effect, “Last year this time, we had zero stinkin’ recruits.”

As I recall, it was well into May, or later, when some announcements came. Like this year, in a flurry.

In 2025 starting on April Fool’s Day — joke not on Cardinal Nation . . .

. . . Pat Kelsey = Portal Kelsey = P(ortal) K(iller).

That’s what it is what it is. Continue reading P(ortal) K(iller), Qu’est-ce que c’est? →

The Cardinals: Who’s Got Next?

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Been rereading what I along with many others consider among the best primers on the process of writing.

Anne Lamott’s “Bird by Bird.”

It’s aimed at those wanting to write fiction, novels, short stories. But, there are more than a few observers believe fiction is what appears in this space a lot of the time.

One of her bits of wisdom is to follow where the story, plot development and flushing out of characters take the writer. Don’t be stubborn, locked in to what you thought might happen when you started typing.

On occasion in advance of a Cardinal game, a GameCap lede will come to me in advance, be it peripheral or pertinent. Sometimes it works win or lose. Like that I used for the Cal game the final week of the season.

Other times, it is victory specific. Which, for superstitious reasons, I’ll never write in advance.

Such as what was swirling around in my my hippocampus and amygdala  before the Creighton tilt.

The whole bird thing. Cardinals vs. Blue Jays. Which bird was tougher, meaner? If that could be researched? I had in mind throwing  in some college board lingo, the French term oiseaux, along with probably the term ornithological.

Well, given the result that wasn’t going to happen.

In the car the day after, a tune by a group called Futurebirds came on Sirius XM’s Jam Band site. Continue reading The Cardinals: Who’s Got Next? →

Some Takeaways on the Getaway

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We don’t want to stop chatting about Thursday night, do we?

But before you are inundated by my shtick, there’s this in the realm of adhering to correctitude when a mea culpa is called for:

Eagle-eyed loyal reader and adherer to all matters Hippocratic, Flaky caught the mistake. So I will reiterate a correction to the GameCap lede. Which, since it wasn’t result sensitive, was penned in advance. Louisville played Memphis State end of season/ tourney back to back in ’83, not ’86. The Milt game was in ’86 finale, but the schools had a game in between the season finale and their encounter in the Metro tournament. For the record, the final tally on that quartet of tilts: Cards 4, Tigers nil. 

Which is why, I must suppose, the ’86 title tee I adorned for the game worked. Even if my memory was off 1095 days. More or less.

 * * * * *

So, having actually gotten to slumber at a somewhat reasonable hour, the phone rang an hour and a half later, after midnight from Doc. Who, because of early rounds usually is in bed before me. A bit shocked I picked up but begged off conversation in hopes for no lost ZZZZZs. Continue reading Some Takeaways on the Getaway →

U of L CardFile: Georgia Tech

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There is only what is and that’s it. What should be is a dirty lie.

Lenny Bruce was a wise man.

The Louisville Cardinals “should” have built on their somewhat deceptive 11 point halftime advantage and “should” have won their 11th in a row.

But there’s only what is and that’s it.

As happened with the Cards last ten game win skein, it died in McCamish.

That game in ’20 ended 59-64 favor of the Ramblin’ Wreck.

Saturday afternoon’s was 70-77 favor of the far more assertive Engineers.

 * * * *  *

What happens in the euphoria of a winning streak, damn the analytics that U of L would be favorites in the rest of their regular season games is you still gotta play better than the other team. And score more points.

The last eight minutes of the Wake Forest game was obviously a harbinger. Continue reading U of L CardFile: Georgia Tech →

Hoopaholic’s Gazette: Quadrants ‘r’ Us

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At the risk of this seeming a fawning imitation of Glorious Editor, allow me to commence today’s exercise with some metrics. You know, like how he always starts with a point spread or something.

A little thing that will be known from now until Selection Sunday as 3Gs+Net. Referencing the three most respected hoops gurus, Ken Pomeroy, Bart Torkvik and Evan Miyakawa, plus the NCAA’s official rankings.

The Cardinals as of Thursday morning, January 30:

BT: 22.

KP: 25.

EM: 24.

NET: 25. Q1: 5-5, Q2: 3-0, Q3: 4-0, Q4: 4-0.

For comparison, if I counted correctly, there are 20 schools with winning Q1 records, and another dozen or so at .500 like U of L.

Translation: Were the bracket revealed today, U of L would be more than likely on the 5 or 6 line.

Yes, the ACC is down, way down this season. Louisville has not a lot ahead to add gloss to that resumé. Pitt. Stanford? Uh, that’s about it.

Here’s what’ll secure that spot: Just win, baybee. Starting with GT. And winning, as they have during this double digit W streak, by more than the metrics say they “should.”

Then come 7:00 pm on March 16, the Red&Black Nation be goin’ all Nicholas Brothers and Fred & Ginger. Jitterbuggin’. Continue reading Hoopaholic’s Gazette: Quadrants ‘r’ Us →

Hoopaholic’s Gazette: Coaches, Best & Beleaguered

Basketball,

The other night on CBS Sports Network college hoops nightly wrap up, Walt Szczerbiak uttered this often invoked take about the sport and a once proud program gone fallow but now on the comeback.

“College basketball is better when XXX is good.”

And as my loyal readers have surely guessed, he was not referring to the three time national champion Louisville Cardinals.

But by a school coached by a former Cardinal mentor, Rick Pitino.

St. John’s.

Of course, as others have indeed said, if that’s a truism, it certainly applies to U of L. The sport is better when the Cardinals are relevant.

Johnnie fans are having dreams of Chris Mullen era success, as we locals are moving back into the halcyon bliss of Grif and the McCrays.

Do we love J’Vonne Hadley doing the dirty work like Herb Crook?

Duh. Continue reading Hoopaholic’s Gazette: Coaches, Best & Beleaguered →

Dealing With It

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On the way to workout Tuesday, I heard Dolly Parton’s righteous version of Bob Seger’s “Night Moves,” with help from Chris Stapleton.

More than a half century on, it still cut to the core.

Still now I’m “tryin’ to lose those awkward teenage blues.”

Almost fresh, the missed moments of “tryin’ to make some front page drive in news” roiled through me.

I dunno, you’d think I’d moved on by now.

Apparently not.

But one of the lyrics resonated more presently on Wednesday morning after.

“Workin’ on mysteries without any clues.”

I mean, where do the if-it-wasn’t-for-bad-luck-they’d-have-no-luck-at-all Louisville Cardinals go from here? Continue reading Dealing With It →

Hoopaholic’s Gazette: 11/07

Basketball,

Trying to be more clever than I oughta in my Pigskin Prognostications this week, I made a historical mistake about Greek Mythos. About Sparta and Troy and that Wooden Horse, and who was zoomin’ whom.

Which a more knowing reader than I called me out on.

Good on him. Or her, whichever applies.

I’m getting to hoops, but I’m a wordy guy and it’s a long winding road, and I’ve got time because I rescheduled my HVAC appointment ’cause the guy was running hours late. Stick around, we’ll get there.

After a couple of minutes and a few added seconds of research, I relearned that the whole Trojan War brouhaha started when Paris of Troy charmed Helen, while she was betrothed to Menelaus. Who was the King of Sparta. Hubby didn’t take kindly to that.

Or, somethin’ like that, if my reading comprehension of Mr. Wiki is correct.

What I did learn of peripheral importance here is that, according to the various chroniclers of said conflict, neither of my personal favorite Greek GodWarriors — Naismithius and Bronconagurskius — were hidden in that horse. Probably a good thing, given there probably wasn’t any sort of bathroom facility inside said wooden trap.

Which senseless riffing leads me to what I am not going to do as an entry to chatting about Michigan basketball coach Dusty May. Continue reading Hoopaholic’s Gazette: 11/07 →