February is coming to an end and the weather is warming up. This is a sign that Outdoor Track and Field is on the horizon and the end of Indoor season is near. The University of Louisville and University of Kentucky both competed respectably in their Indoor Conference Championships.

The University of Louisville headed to Geneva, Ohio to compete in the Big East Championships at the SPIRE Institute venue. Heading into the meet the Cards held 16 marks that ranked in the top 5 in the Big East. The Men finished 5^th out of 12 and UConn took the crown in impressive fashion. The UofL women finished 6^th out of 14 with Notre Dame taking the Championship.

Junior thrower Sam Bombaugh had a huge meet at the Championships. He became the first male athlete in school history to win both throwing titles at the Indoor Championships. He had support with his teammates Brad Vivace and Steve Wade finishing 2-3 behind him in Shot Put. Khadija Abdullah also came away with a Shot Put victory on the woman’s side. Michelle Kinsella continued her undefeated streak this season and won High Jump. Margret Harris also had an impressive day taking a victory in the 60m along with 3^rd in the 200m. In the distance side of the events, Ernest Kibet was valuable for the men’s side.  He placed 3^rd in the 5k and came back the next day and finished 7^th in the 3k. The Cards produced four Conference Champions and broke five school records. Over the next few weeks there will be a number of athletes trying to punch their tickets to the NCAA Indoor Championships located in Fayetteville, Arkansas on March 8^th-9^th.

The University of Kentucky was in action at the South Eastern Conference Championships this past weekend in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The UK woman finished 7^th out of 14 and the men finished 10^th out of 12. Arkansas won the team title for both the men and women.

The UK women were led by All American Cross Country distance runners Cally Macumber and Chelsea Oswald. Macumber accumulated 15 points for the team while winning the 3K title and coming back to place 4^th in the Mile. Chelsea Oswald accumulated 9 hard fought points for the team with the tough 3K/5K double. Allison Peare also put up an impressive time in the 800m to finish 5^th. The men were led by the victory of Louisville native Matt Hillenbrand in the Mile. He ran a personal best to take the SEC Mile Championship. Keffri Neal also scored 3 points while finishing 6^th in the 800m. UK athletes will continue into their post season campaign to try to reach the National Championships.

The weather is getting warmer and Outdoor Track and Field is right around the corner. Look for both of these teams to blaze up the track this spring. Both teams will be hosting home track meets including the Border Classic at UofL when Kentucky teams face off against Indiana teams. This season should be an exciting one.

Below are the players from the University of Louisville that recorded a stat in the 2012 NFL season.

David Akers: Kicker for San Francisco 49ers. Akers was 29/42 (69%) in the regular season with a long of 63. He was a perfect 44/44 for point after attempts. During the play offs Akers was 4/5 (80%) and 12/12 for point after attempts. Akers was 3/3 in field goals in the Super Bowl and converted both point after attempts.

Gary Barnidge: Tight End for the Carolina Panthers. In the 2012 season Barnidge had 6 receptions for 78 yards. His long was 24 yards. He had 1 touchdown and 3 first downs during the regular season.

Deion Branch: Wide Receiver for the New England Patriots and former Super Bowl MVP. During the 2012 regular season Branch had 16 receptions for 145 yards with a long of 25. He had 10 first downs for the Patriots during the regular season. In the play offs Branch had 2 catches for 16 yards and 1 first down.

Michael Bush: Local legend out of Male High School. Bush is a Running Back for the Chicago Bears. During the 2012 regular season Bush had 114 carries for 411 yards averaging 3.6 yards per carry. His longest run was 20 yards. Bush had 5 touchdowns and 28 first downs on the season. He also had 9 receptions for 83 yards averaging 9.2 yards.

Harry Douglas: Wide receiver for the Atlanta Falcons. During the regular season Douglas had 38 receptions for 396 averaging 10.4 yards per catch. His longest catch was 37 yards. He had 1 touchdown and 18 first downs. Douglas made several clutch catches in the playoffs. He had 5 receptions for 60 yards in the playoffs averaging 12 yards per catch. He had 4 first downs in the playoffs.

Elvis Dumervil: Defensive End for the Denver Broncos. During the regular season Dumervil had 32 solo tackles along with 22 assisted tackles. He also had 11 sacks on the season. During the playoffs Dumervil had 3 tackles.

William Gay: Cornerback for the Arizona Cardinals. Gay had 45 solo tackles on the season along with 12 assisted tackles. He had 1 sack and 2 interceptions on the year. (Photo by Football Schedule)

Amobi Okoye: Defensive Tackle for the Chicago Bears. Okoye had 9 solo tackles on the season along with 3 assisted tackles. He had one sack on the season.

Bilal Powell: Running Back for the New York Jets. On the season Powell had 110 carries for 437 yards averaging 4 yards per carry. His long was 18 with 4 touchdowns and 23 first downs. He also had 17 receptions for 140 yards averaging 8.2 yards per catch.

Kerry Rhodes: Safety for the Arizona Cardinals. Rhodes had 58 solo tackles on the season along with 9 assisted tackles. He had 1 sack and 4 interceptions on the season. He has 23 interceptions on his career.

Greg Scruggs: Defensive End for the Seattle Seahawks. Scruggs had 5 solo tackles on the season along with 1 assisted tackle. He had 2 sacks on the season.

Sunday was a face off between the #12 Louisville Cardinals and the #25 Marquette Golden Eagles. There was snow outside and a White Out inside of the KFC YUM! Center; however, the Cardinal play was not cooled off. After a three game January losing streak the Cards snapped back to their winning ways in a Big East League that has proven anything can happen on any given night.

Louisville defeated Marquette in an impressive fashion winning 70-51 extending their record to 18-4 and 6-3 in Big East play. The Louisville versus Marquette series has never been a disappointment. The Cards lead the series 42-26 after the win Sunday.

Russ Smith supported his new black Adidas shoes with the sayings “Get Positive” and “Stay Lucky”; and lucky he was. Russ led all scorers with 18 points along with 5 boards, 3 assists, and 2 steals. His season average is now 18.4 through 22 games played which is the highest scoring average for a Cardinal since Reece Gaines during the 2001-2002 season. It would also rank Russ the 19th highest at UofL. Russ was 6-15 from the field and 2-6 from long range. Russ has scored double figures in 20 of 22 games played this season.

Peyton Siva also tacked on 14 points along with dishing out 7 assists. Siva and Russ were the only Cardinals in double figure scoring. Gorgui Dieng had a solid day on the glass with 8 boards along with 8 points and 3 blocks. Wayne Blackshear returned after missing the Pitt game due to a sprained right shoulder and he proved to be efficient on the court. Wayne added 9 points, 4 boards, and 2 steals while shooting 4-5 from the field. Montrezl Harrell is becoming a dominator on the glass and snagged 6 boards along with 6 points including a couple thunderous slams.

The Cardinals had an efficient shooting game going 27-52 (51.9%) from the field, 6-16 (37.5%) from behind the arc, and 10-14 (71.4%) from the charity stripe. Louisville had 42 points in the paint, 32 points off turnovers, and 19 bench points.

Louisville only has 9 more games until the Big East Tournament. This March Madness will truly be just that. Louisville is as good as any team in the country but we will only go as far as Russ and Behanan take us. If March Chane shows up again this post season then the rest of America better watch out.

The Cards next opponent will be at Rutgers on Wednesday the 6th at 7:34PM.

The University of Louisville Baseball program under the reign of head coach Dan McDonnell has been a bright spot for Louisville athletics. The team finished the 2012 season with an overall record of 41-22 and going 18-9 in Big East Conference play. In 2012 Louisville was crowned its third Big East Conference regular season title in the last four seasons. The Cards were knocked out of the 2012 NCAA Regional by the hot hitting Arizona Wildcats squad that went on to win the NCAA College World Series. The Cards are looking to bounce back and return to the College World Series in 2013.

The University of Louisville has already been tabbed as the favorite to win the 2013 Big East Championship which was voted on by the league’s head coaches. St. John’s, Notre Dame, UConn, and South Florida rounded out the top 5 preseason league rankings. The Cards also led all teams with four players selected to the Preseason All Big East Team with Adam Engel, Jeff Gardner, Jeff Thompson, and Jared Ruxer being selected for that honor.

This experienced Louisville squad will be returning 7 of the 10 Louisville All Big East performers from the 2012 campaign. The pitching staff will be the anchor of the team while returning All Big East right hander Jeff Thompson along with Big East Rookie of the Year and Freshman All American right hander Jared Ruxer.

The University of Louisville Baseball team will open up their 2013 season in Dunedin, Florida in the Big East/Big Ten Challenge against the Indiana Hoosiers on February 15th.

Tune in… this season should be an exciting one.

Perfect Game Preseason Top 25

Rank School – 2012 Final Record (2012 Rank)

1. North Carolina – 46-16 (18)

2. Arkansas – 46-22 (5)

3. Vanderbilt – 35-28 (24)

4. Stanford – 41-18 (13)

5. Louisiana State – 47-18 (11)

6. UCLA – 48-16 (4)

7. Florida – 47-20 (6)

8. Oregon State – 40-20 (23)

9. N.C. State – 43-20 (12)

10. Oregon – 46-19 (10)

11. South Carolina – 49-20 (2)

12. Georgia Tech – 38-26 (NR)

13. Kentucky – 45-18 (21)

14. Texas Christian – 40-22 (14)

15. Louisville – 41-22 (NR)

16. Mississippi State – 40-24 (22)

17. Florida State – 50-17 (3)

18. San Diego – 40-17 (NR)

19. Mississippi – 37-26 (NR)

20. Oklahoma – 42-25 (15)

21. Rice – 41-19 (19)

22. Arizona – 48-17 (1)

23. Cal State Fullerton – 36-21 (NR)

24. Texas – 30-22 (NR)

25. Arizona State – 36-20 (17)

On Wednesday January 2^nd, 2013 the University of Louisville football team led by Charlie Strong accomplished something that few outside of Louisville thought they could do. The Cardinals not only defeated the #3 ranked Florida Gators from the almighty SEC conference, but they won the Sugar Bowl in dominating fashion behind the play of sophomore Teddy Bridgewater.

Louisville native Bill Plaschke of LA Times wrote a great piece back in March called His Old Louisville home isn’t in Kentucky. He wrote “My middle-class family was bathed in Louisville. Its work ethic fit us. Its underdog status defined us.” On Wednesday night the University of Louisville accomplished the biggest upset based on the Vegas line in BCS history. In the words of Ali, “Ima show you how great I am.”

Louisville accomplished what everyone said they couldn’t.

Florida has been perceived by several analysts as the best defense in the country. On Wednesday night Teddy Bridgewater torched the best defense in the land with a healing broken wrist. Teddy threw 20-32 for 266 and 2 touchdowns despite taking a helmet losing lick on the first series of the game. The sophomores 266 passing yards were the most yards that Florida has given up through the air since November 5^th, 2011. This was a season that Louisville finished 11-2 and crowned the Sugar Bowl Champs. No one will mistake Teddy as “Terry Bridgewater” anymore.

On Wednesday night the University of Louisville shook up the world.

I have been saying all season that the UofL receiving core was the deepest in the country. They went out and proved just that in the Sugar Bowl. I hope the rest of the country took note because 16-20 receptions were made by returning players for the 2013 season. Teddy Bridgewater will be returning as a junior and will be a top candidate for the Heisman trophy. In the past 2 games against Rutgers and Florida, Teddy Bridgewater has won the heart of America and has full momentum heading into the 2013 season.

Sophomore Eli Rogers led the core against Florida with 4 receptions for 62 yards. This is no surprise due to the Miami Northwestern High School connection. Teddy Bridgewater and Eli Rogers are best friends and have played with each other growing up. They have a connection on the field and Rogers always makes the big play. Senior Andrell Smith had a huge game pulling in 4 catches for 55 yards. Smith also didn’t fall for the onside kick to start the second half and made a huge play scooping up the kick for the Cards. Louisville native Devante Parker only makes big plays and is only a sophomore. He had 2 catches for 32 yards including a catch in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown. Parker has the uncanny ability to catch any ball thrown into the end zone. He is a walking high light reel. The Florida native Damian Copeland had a big game and got his pay for the season with a huge touchdown at a key point in the game. Copeland is only a junior but has led the Cards this season. He got his second touchdown of the season at the biggest stage in New Orleans. Copeland is a fan favorite of the UofL faithful; but oddly enough, he is also a fan favorite of the opponents we face. Copeland has been known to mess with the fans during the game including doing the “Gator Chomp” to the Florida fans.

Defenses everywhere are having nightmares about Teddy and his receiving core. After all, look what happened to the almighty Florida defense on Wednesday night.

The University of Louisville came to play on Wednesday night. Both the defense and offense played with an intensity I have never seen before from a Louisville team. Charlie Strong brought the SEC caliber to Louisville and he showed what the Cards can do on the big stage. There is not a sweeter feeling than beating the #3 ranked Florida Gators in the Sugar Bowl.

“You can buy a person a lot. But you can’t buy his heart. My heart & passion is with the University of Louisville.” – Charlie Strong