OMG.

So last night I told Terrence and Stacey they could have a friend over. BIG MISTAKE.

They TOTALLY took advantage of me and I just don’t know what to do. I have to be like super serious with them now. Like, I’ve always been the cool babysitter and let them play video games, make-up funny dances and play dress up (LOL, they love their JORTS).

I was just sitting on the couch, texting Wes about hot Seniors like alllll night, when all of a sudden I get a call. Hello, 9-1-1. Like what are you supposed to do when you get a call like that?

I’ll tell you what I did. I called my friend Sandy. She always knows what to do in situations like this (P.S. BFFL’s Love You Sandy) (P.S.S. I know you told me not to talk to Wes…but umm You Know ; )

So Sandy tells me I should give them a curfew so that Mr. Barnhart doesn’t get all grumpy with me. I don’t want to make Mitch mad. He let’s me do like whatEVER I want and pays me SOOOO well and like I’ve totally wanted these shoes that Scotty got ever since I saw them.

I totally did what Sandy said and like everyone seems happy, but IDK….Stacey is always trying to run away from home and Terrence always picks on the boys from the Moore House down the street.

The life of a babysitter is so tough. UGH.

-          Johnnie

There once was a baby bear

From the 206

Who skipped to the Ville

To join Rick’s bball mix

He was tiny and sweet

But often times doubted

Still valiant and strong

Peypey never pouted

By the next season

It became more than clear

This boy would ball

Without an ounce of fear

With each grin and smile

He quickly stole our hearts

And now I begin to cry

As the lights go out and he starts

Declared our Siva Savior

He will say ‘IAJ’

His humility and charm

Have lured me in all the way

I love that PeyPey Siva

I will cheer for him everyday

For when I am in his presence

All my worries and troubles fade away

Peyton is our star

With his Louisville First Attitude super-glued on

For all the wins he brings us

He is to be lovingly lavished upon

What is Happening here Bob?

With these Cards, one may ask

Well let me tell you

In the glory of our Siva, we will bask

Peyton, I love you

Oh Peyton, you can really ball

Peyton, you are perfect

Peyton, my Card, you are the best, the best of them all.

Happy 21^st Birthday to a sweet boy who deserves the world. We love you, PeyPey; here’s to another wonderful year of your life, and the joy you bring to the Cards.

Love,

GCA and Louisville

XOXO

World Wide Will Scott received a MBA from the University of Louisville in 2009, a Master of Philosophy from Oxford University in 2011 and now works for Goldman Sachs in New York City

This post penned by Cardinal basketball alum Will Scott. Post any questions for Will in the comments section and he will provide responses. 

My experience as a Louisville Cardinal has served as the foundation for where life has taken me today. I left Louisville almost three years ago to pursue a two year degree at Oxford University. Oxford, England is probably almost as far as someone can get from cardinal country. My degree at Oxford was a “M. Phil(Master of Philosophy) in Modern Chinese studies,” and is the University’s fancy way of basically saying masters degree. Feel free to laugh at any point by the way, as I have received my far share of jokes as a tall, pale, white guy attempting to speak chinese.

Upon arriving in rainy old Oxford, I was immediately struck by how beautiful of a city it is. The school has been around since about 900A.D. and the surrounding city is very much a part of the University (not unlike Louisville). What really struck me the most was the age or virtually every building I would walk past: 950A.D., 1410A.D., 1235A.D. These numbers really began to sink in as I would compare them with places that were familiar to me like Louisville (founded 1778A.D.), New York City (founded 1624A.D.) , or even the USA in general. The town served as a great environment, dressing up for old Oxford Balls (think harry potter), trying all the local English pies, and spending quiet late nights studying in the library(also think harry potter).

For about 8 months of my two years in England, however, I was required to live and study in Beijing, China, as a requirement for completion of my masters degree. This period was sandwiched directly in between my first and second year of school, and while I was not quite ready to leave, I was looking forward to the experience. Living and studying in Beijing at such an interesting time in China’s history was an amazing opportunity. The city is evolving rapidly, and I imagine it is similar to how the US looked in the beginning of the 20th century. While there is constant media and political tension with China in our country at the moment, I can tell you that people there want nothing more than we do: a happy life, and a better future for the next generation.

Coming back to Oxford for my remaining two semesters, I decided to re-embrace a lifelong love that I had not really thought about since Louisville: basketball. I played basketball for the university. As something i found interesting, while Pervis Ellison and Francisco Garcia fill the memories of U of L’s basketball history, Oxford’s basketball legacy is filled with names like Senator Bill Bradley, President Bill Clinton(although I think I would definitely take the U of L stars any day). On the season, we wound up beating Cambridge university (Oxford’s big rival, analogous to beating Kentucky on a much smaller scale) and went all the way to the national semifinals, something that had not been done since Bradley played for the team back in the 1970s. After the season, I took my final exams and graduated, a little surprised by how quickly the time had gone.

I accepted a job in New York City working for Goldman Sachs & Co. I have currently been working in their investment banking department for the past six months were my job is to advise companies looking to make strategic decisions, whether that be buying another company, issuing stock, debt, selling a division, the list is virtually endless. I chose this line of work as it allows me to deal with both US and Chinese companies, as well as allows me to utilize my business background that I built at U of L. The hours in the job can sometimes be very demanding, and the analysis sometimes very complex, but my foundation as a Louisville cardinal has, I feel, prepared me for anything. Whether it was our run to win the Big East regular season title, and then the tournament in my senior year, life as a Cardinal athlete prepares all of us to handle whatever life’s next challenge is. Hope everyone in cardinal nation is well, and I have two words to leave you with that I will embrace forever: GO CARDS!

#BringChickenToTheBucket @ChickenKnowles3

Nate Gerstle (above) experienced UofL soccer before and with Coach Ken Lolla

Change is Hard, and Winning Hurts…Literally

A lot has changed about the University of Louisville men’s soccer program over the last six years. From the outside, the change is obvious. Athletic Department leadership sought and hired Ken Lolla, who has ushered in a new approach, new ideas, and new results. Most anyone who follows Louisville athletics has surely heard about him or the team’s progress over this time. But what does the view from the inside look like? How did a program that was a perennial underachiever suddenly burst to the forefront of the national landscape? Many reasons exist, but let’s cover three of the litany.

Chapter 2 of the Burn Book can be found with-in and there are more chapters on the way.

As always, don’t forget to show GCA some love, by following her @GoCardsAttitude. She works for free, but demands twitter love.

-       Tony Perkis

Value is a regular buzz-word thrown around during conference realignment, which is about as much fun as watching a Michael Moore film with a voice-over by J-Bone.

Conference re-alignment means a lot of clowns offering a lot of opinions.

The Big East is now hot topic and we look to the most famous clown of all to offer some insight on the true value of the 8-football playing schools currently affiliated with the Big East.

We give you, The Big East Value Menu. Click through for more.

Click through to see the schedule of a Cardinal football player on Thursday, Friday and Saturday for a 7:00 PM game
 

"I don't know if we can beat Kentucky right now. We still have to catch up to their program." - Charlie Strong

My first thought when I heard that statement was that Coach Strong was using a motivational tool to light a fire under his team. There were many times when Coach Petrino would tell us that we weren’t good enough to not only beat an opposing team, but that we weren’t good enough to put on that red jersey and represent the University of Louisville.  Now most of the times that he would say that we would go out that Saturday, light up the scoreboard, shake the other teams hands after we kicked their butt, and head on our different ways.   Then I thought about it and realized that Coach Strong is absolutely right, he is simply being a coach and looking at the statistics.

I sat through countless special teams meetings and team meetings where coaches would go over statistic after statistic after statistic.  They constantly look at the numbers and I firmly believe that Coach Strong was simply looking at the numbers. Kentucky owns the series right now, the Governor’s Cup has stayed in Lexington for four years.  Have the games been close, absolutely, with the lone exception being 2008 in which the Cards lost 27-2.  However, the Cats have won four straight and are 2-0 to start the season against the Cards record of 1-1.

Art got a chance to hold the Governor's Cup for three years, and is ready to see it back home in the Schnelly

Now, I think the Cards are better than the Cats, I really do, but those numbers speak for themselves.

The question that was posed to me that led me to write this was how do I think the players have reacted to this.  During my college career the majority of my teammates and I were realists (sure there were those few guys who thought that we matched up favorably against the New England Patriots) and we understood the expectations, the tasks at hand, and the potential outcomes.

In 2004 we knew we were good and we went out every week and proved it.  In 2005 we knew we had a talented football team, and with the exception of a couple of 4^th quarters went out and showed it.  In 2006 we might not have been the most talented team, but we had great senior leadership that wouldn’t allow us to be complacent.  We held player meetings each week during the season.  In 2007 we knew that we had a lot of holes to fill and it showed in our 6-6 record.

This team has a lot of realists; they know what they are capable of, what their strengths and weaknesses are.  I have met Charlie Strong briefly, don’t really know him, and have never played for him.  What I do know is that he is honest, a great coach, and a great motivator of his players.  He knows that talk is cheap.  When asked a question, he answered it honestly, and may just have given his players the bulletin board material they need.  For four years there has been an empty spot in the trophy case at the Howard Schnellenberger Football Complex.  I was on that team in 2007 that had to give the trophy back to the Wildcats and I would like to see it taken back where it belongs.

Let me know what you thought or send me suggestions for future postings: Art@CarmodysCafe.com