Cardinals drop heartbreaker to Wildcats

In a game that features six lead changes, it was the Louisville Cardinals who were on the losing end of what was a wild fight for the Governor’s Cup. Quarterback Justin Burke threw an interception with two minutes left and the ball on the Kentucky 21, giving the Wildcats at 31-27 victory.

The interception was the second monumental miscue by the Cardinals late in the game. A few minutes earlier, clinging to a three-point lead and having just forced a punt, Trent Guy muffed the catch and Kentucky regained possession. The Wildcats would eventually score the game-winning touchdown.

Quarterback Justin Burke played admirably in rallying Louisville, completing 15 of 28 passes for 245 yards and two touchdowns and the ill-timed interception, which was tipped. And despite giving up big yards to dynamic running back Derrick Locke, the defense was opportunistic, forcing three consecutive turnovers in the second half to help the Cardinals climb back.

There are no moral victories when the Governor’s Cup is on the line, but considering that Kentucky appeared to be the superior team on paper (it entered the game as a 7-point favorite) and was at home, Louisville showed even better than was expected.

Saturday, September 19, 2009 at 3:43 pm by Raj Sethi

Pitino Calls Scandal “Pure Hell” for Family

After tempering the storm of a sex scandal over the past two weeks, Louisville coach Rick Pitino had enough last Wednesday, and lashed out at the media in an tense press conference .

Responding to Louisville police releasing audio and video recordings of phone calls and interviews of Karen Sypher, the woman facing extortion charges from Pitino, the coach tried (unsuccessfully) to put his crime into perspective.

“Everything that’s been printed, everything that’s been reported, everything that’s been breaking in the news on the day Ted Kennedy died is 100 percent a lie, a lie,” Pitino said. “All of this has been a lie, a total fabrication of the truth.”

“Enough’s enough, everybody is tired of it,” he said. “We need to get on with the important things in life like the economy and really some crucial things in life like basketball.”

Pitino used Sen. Kennedy’s death to try and place his wrongdoing in perspective; namely, that there are much more important things in the world to focus on. For his part, Pitino actively admits that his indiscretion has caused his wife great suffering.

“It has been pure hell for her and my family,” he said.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009 at 8:33 pm by bryan